Okay - -

Well, I promised to post about last weekend's little "road trip" - - and now that this HECTIC week is FINALLY over, there is finally time to do just that! :-)

Dear Hubby had two gun safe doors to pick up in Ohio (one for himself, and one for a co-worker) - - so he was taking a Friday and Saturday to make the trip to pick them up. Would I care to go along?

Hmmmm - - riding 6-1/2 hours, in the cab of a pickup, pulling a trailer all the way out there, and pulling the trailer and an additional 1,500 pounds (more or less) all the way back - - bumpy, rough, LONG . . .

Heck yeah - - I want to go - -

Seriously.

Because - - no matter what it is, it seems that if he and I are doing it together, it's always FUN! :-)

And it was . . . .

We pulled out last Friday morning at 5:00 a.m. Yes, that is 5:00 in the MORNING. Yes, I'm crazy . . .

We stopped in Rantoul for a quick breakfast, at the local Hardee's, where it seemed all the local farmers gathered. Listening to them pick at each other was pretty amusing as we sat there and ate. Then it was back on the road.

We stopped for lunch in a small town just across the Indiana/Ohio border called Antwerp, at a Friendly's. If you have never eaten at a Friendly's, I highly recommend it! The only time I had been to one was in New York City, and all I had was Italian ice or ice cream. As it turns out, their FOOD is great! We will definitely stop at a Friendly's again on future trips.

We finally made it to the small town of Tontogawa, just north of Bowling Green, Ohio, to pick up the safe doors. After about 45 minutes of loading and securing, they were ready to go, and we were on out way back towards Ft. Wayne, Indiana to spend the night.

This is where the REAL fun began . . . . . :-)

We pulled into Ft. Wayne, which is a fair-sized city. Of course we got lost trying to find the Red Roof Inn. Finally found it, turned to go to it - - and of course wound up on a street with NO entrance to it. *sigh*

SO - - it's time to backtrack and take another stab at it.

As we get back to the intersection and are waiting to turn left, we look about 1/2 block up, and see a very LARGE neon sign - - of a girl dancing on a pole. The sign with it said "Brandy's Exotic Dancers". I looked at Steve, and he immediately said, "I'm innocent here! I've never been in Ft. Wayne before! Honest!"

I just started laughing . . .

So he is still protesting his innocence as the light turns green, and he proceeds to turn left. As he does, we look next door to the Red Roof Inn - - -

and there is "Showgirls I Gentlemen's Club". Right next door.

I bust out laughing even harder.

Steve just says, "Aw S**T! I can't win here!"

But then it got even better - - we had to pull into Showgirls drive and go THROUGH THEIR PARKING LOT to get to our hotel.

He was mortified. I couldn't quit laughing at him.

Poor guy.

I tried to smooth things over - - I even pointed out to him that we didn't even have to drive anywhere for supper, because their sign advertised "Free Buffet until 7:00 p.m."

He didn't go for that, for some reason . . . . :-)

Oh well - - it was all fun. At his expense. *snicker*

The next morning we found a GREAT bakery for breakfast - - Richard's Bakery. They are kind of a small place, looking pretty plain and unassuming, but when you drive by, you can see they have wedding cakes and all kinds of other things they make. So, we decided to stop and try a couple of doughnuts.

Oh. My. God. Those were SO good.

We got two apiece, but they were so BIG and so FILLING, I could only eat one. Steve managed both of his, somehow. But I kept mine wrapped up in the bag and saved it for Sunday (which, by the way, it tasted just as good and just as fresh-baked as the one the day before).

Ever in Ft. Wayne - - stop at Richard's. You will NOT be disappointed. That's a promise.

After breakfast, we headed up to Auburn, Indiana, the home of the Auburn-Cord-Deusenberg Car Museum. It is located in the original manufacturer's building, which has been totally restored to its original grandeur, including the Art Deco designs on the walls, floors, and ceilings. Absolutely amazing! And the cars - - oh my, the CARS - - are awesome. Completely restored Auburns, in all their bright, bright colors; Cords, and of course, Deusys. BEAUTIFUL works of art.

We loved every bit of that place, and will definitely go back again some day.

After a couple of hours of browsing fun, it was time to start heading back towards Illinois. We made it to Champaign right at supper time, so of course that meant stopping at our all-time favorite Barbeque place, Li'l Porgy's. They are one of the best!

Finally made it back home, just in time for a pounding thunderstorm. LOTS of fun unloading in the rain . . . *sigh*

But, we were home, and that's all that mattered.

It was fun going away with Dear Hubby for a couple of days, but it was even better being home with him and the fur-babies (who, by the way, were VERY glad to see us!)

SO - - that is the "Reader's Digest Condensed" version of the weekend trip. There were lots more things that we saw, and some more things that we did, but too much to go into right now. It's been a helluva week, and it's not over yet. I'll be in the office tomorrow trying to finish up my yearly Data Book (about 175 pages or more), which is due the first part of April. It's extremely difficult to get it finished up during the week, with phone calls and numerous interruptions, so tomorrow will be a good time to do it. It may take some time on Sunday also . . . oh well, I may have a weekend SOMETIME . . .

Thanks for stopping by. I'll post more over the weekend. :-)