Down and up

Yesterday was a grumpy day.
Wind. Ice. Impossible running conditions for the 2 measly miles I managed.
Taxes. Financial Aid apps. Sore tail bone from sitting in front of the computer too long.
Missing my dad.

But. Today was another day.

Only a bit of ice and got in a good run with friends.
The time in front of the computer today was with Deb, another friend, who is helping me with the planning of this grand adventure - and we got bunches done. Lots of letters to Chambers of Commerce along the route. My husband's elementary school is hoping to connect with schools along the way via books that the second graders at Kendall's school (Creekside Elementary) are going to put together about Creekside. We will send these books to interested schools along the route - along with a blank book for those schools to fill out and return to Creekside. And we'll meet with whomever from the school who wants to meet with us as we pass through the towns. Should be fun. Back to the Chamber letters: that's where we're asking for school contact info - along with sights to see, events, route suggestions, etc. that we might want to know about as we pass through the towns.

I gotta tell ya', this is one of the aspects of the run that excites me the most - seeing all these towns and all this territory in an up close and personal kind of way. For example, I'll be passing through Johnny Carson's home town, and the town of the mythical University of Okoboji, and Jesse James' stomping grounds, along the Lincoln Highway (the nation's first transcontinental highway), and the shoreline of Lake Michigan. Not to mention all the corn, cows, and scarecrows I'll see!