Back to the Beginning

Wow...today was a crazy day. So much happened during our travels through the rest of Oklahoma. Dad started out with drizzle and clouds with a slightly warmer air, around the mid 60s. Before we left Clinton, OK - a couple from southern California, Patti and Tom Lovejoy saw our car's sign and asked Dad about our ride. They began to talk with us out in front of the hotel and we discovered that Patti was the director of a ministry at her church that worked with young mothers! They were a huge encouragement and we were honored to have met them. As we headed out on the Oklahoma turnpike east of OK City, the lady at the toll booth asked if we had experienced any hail. She said that many people who had been traveling the same route we were on had seen quarter-sized hail only a few hours beforehand. We had dodged the storm....at least for a while. Later this afternoon, it started to rain, no check that - downpour. We had caught up with a storm system that was heading east at a lazy pace of 45mph. As soon as we saw the lightning come near us, we knew we should seek shelter for Dad. We stopped at a restaurant in Miami, OK and waited the storm out. After a great dinner, we continued northeast and drove into Galena, Kansas and drove on the actual historic Route 66! Dad had a history with Galena, as he and a buddy of his hung out downtown there about thirty years ago. We asked a local about the whereabouts of the town and found out that the writers for the movie "Cars" had used Galena to get some of their inspiration for the characters and location of the movie. My nephew Asa, absolutely loves that movie - so we took the opportunity to take some pictures. During our time hanging out in Galena (which almost seemed like a ghost town on the stretch we were on) we met a man named Mike who was working on his truck. Dad and I talked with him for a few minutes and Dad gave him a Bible. He took it and shook both our hands as we headed down the road. It was a touching moment when we saw him thumbing through the Bible. A similar picture of our buddy Roger in Nevada. We really hope God speaks to them in some way. They were both loners and seemed to be searching for something. I pray they find Jesus. Tonight, we are staying in the same motel we visited our first night of our trip in Springfield, Missouri. Its crazy to think that we have covered so many miles. We will give you a final tally at the end of the journey. See you all soon!