One Year on the Road

Dad with his dog, Annie.

Dad decided it was time to sell his Jeep.

He took it for one last drive.

He drove his neighbor, Kendra, and her daughter Lanie to lunch.

We ate the Galloway Grill, owned by another neighbor&#039;s sister.

Lanie got carrot cake for dessert.

Kendra drove on the way home.

But the Jeep ran out of gas.

The girls her happy to see us return home.

We set up camp at the RV service center down the road.

It backed ont a grassy basin.

Groundhogs wandered around during the day.

The basin twinkled with lightning bugs in the evening.

Two dogs in a doorway.

Dad&#039;s patio is the neighborhood hangout at the end of the day.

Annie&#039;s such a sweet golden.

Frisco joins in the play.

Bailey hit it off with neighbor Mary Sue&#039; corgy, Frisco.

Bailey and Frisco really liked each other.

Annie runs freely about the cul-de-sac.

All the neighbors give her treats.

Bailey learned which doors to go to.

Neighbor Sharon, and her cat, Gracie.

One day Sharon was babysitting an 8-week-old lab for a friend.

He was headed to a new home.

He was a little shy around all the other dogs.

But we enjoyed him for a bit.

Until Bailey insisted he way attention to her.

Gracie comes to Happy Hour with Sharon.

Gracie goes everywhere.

One night we went to Pappy&#039;s Place for BBQ.

Its the oldest restaurant in town.

Started in 1929.

We went to Aviary or Father&#039;s Day dinner.

At the end of a great Father&#039;s Day.

While I worked, Kate did sewing projects.

She kept herself happy and busy.

She made a quilt for Hospice.

And another!

A sundress for our little friend, Madison.

And an outfit for Maddie&#039;s doll.

Some burp cloths for a friend&#039;s new baby.

And she started small quilt pieces.

Kate made an apron for herself.

I made banana bread and shared with RV lot workers.

One day, I drove the Jeep. Bailey liked it.

Every day, we hung out with Dad.

We were at Dad&#039;s when media announced the Supreme Court decision on gay marriage.

We listened attently to Obama&#039;s speed. It was so exciting.

Our friends, Jason and John, at Reliable RV.

That afternoon, there was a huge rainbow in the sky.

What an appropriate celebratory display.

Kate relaxing in the evening sun.

Me with my cousins, Mary and Murray.

All of us, except Kate.

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Grilled ribs for dinner with Kendra and Lanie.

Kate made a fresh peach galette.

Now Dad has two beggers.

Annie likes to ride in the car with Dad.

Kate and I worked on a Bessie project.

It&#039;s a collapsable stairwell cover.

It folds for convenient storage.

This was Kate&#039;s brainchild. I just helped see it to fruition.

Now Bailey can rest on her bed our of our way.

Neighbors gathering.

Dad&#039;s friend, Jim, loves Annie (and Bailey, too).

Gracie is so regal.

Kendra and Lanie.

Kendra.

Lanie.

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Kendra taunts the girls with a cookie.

Bailey wears a tiara that Lanie put on her.

Gracie in the plants.

Lanie and I pet Gracie.

Dad&#039;s neighbor, Carol, is moving to Florida to help out her dad.

What I great visit we had with my dad.

A little Springfield family history: My great, great grandparents house on my mother&#039;s side.

It was across the street from this house, where my grandmother&#039;s friend lived.

My Dad&#039;s parents built this house when he was a teenager, and lived there until they both died.

My grandfather built a large BBQ pit in the backyard.

My grandfather in the middle.

The grocery store where Dad worked from age 14 through college.

Our grandmother Hawkins&#039; house on Weller Street has changed little.

Dad&#039;s old high school, Springfield High School, is still a functioning school.

Mom and Dad met at Drury College.

What is left of the old Meyer Milling Company.

Mom with my sister and me in front of our grandmother&#039;s house.

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