As I'm writing this blog I'm listening to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Rusty and I went to the movie
Jersey Boys a couple of nights ago and really enjoyed the show. The music was very well done!
A very close group of friends and I celebrated several momentous occasions with dinner and a movie.
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| Dinner at Dish. (Back Row: Jan, Chris, Lorraine. Front Row: Di, Kathie, Linda) |
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| We saw the film of the play Driving Miss Daisy starring James Earl Jones and Angela Lansbury. |
In early June, my cousin Linda Gorman from Lexington, KY, paid us a visit.
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| I tried to give her a taste of Lincoln, including the State Capitol building. |
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| She enjoyed hearing the tour guide talk about the many mosaics in the building. |
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| This intricate, wood, paint and gilded ceiling is in the State Supreme Courtroom. |
Jeff and Karen stopped by and overlapped Linda's visit. We had some interesting conversations!
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| Jeff and Karen treated us to UNL Dairy Store ice cream. |
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| We had a lovely evening (Linda's treat) at The Green Gateau. |
Later in the week, we enjoyed the company of cousin Cheryl Gorman and Dar and Tom. Because of distances, these cousin gatherings happen way too seldom!
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| Cheryl and Linda |
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| Dar and Tom arrived one day before their 40th wedding anniversary. Congratulations to a wonderful couple! |
A very big week for us was that of Tour de Nebraska. Dar and Tom joined us on the ride. I'm pretty sure they are convinced that Nebraska is not a flat state; this was an incredibly hilly ride.
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| The village of Pilger, NE (30 miles west of Pender) was mostly flattened by twin tornadoes one day before we drove to our starting town of Pender. |
Most nights on the tour we observed big clouds and storms as they surrounded us, but luckily we did not have any severe weather in our immediate area. We saw a lot of debris in the farm fields as we rode our bikes.
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| Dar photographs the clouds. |
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| Day One was Pender to Ponca. We camped at Ponca State Park. We enjoyed a cold one at the end of the ride. |
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We had a beautiful view of the Missouri River, Iowa, and South Dakota.
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| Rusty and Dar. |
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Dar and Tom listening to the evening entertainment.
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| Day Two: Ponca to Crofton via SD. This is a double-decker pedestrian bridge crossing the river between NE and SD. |
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| We rode the upper level going north and the lower level coming south. |
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| Dar and I at the foot of the double-decker bridge. |
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| This was a tough hill! |
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| Enjoying Rusty's shuttle ride to the showers after a hot day. |
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| Chillin' after a long day. |
Day 3: Crofton to Verdigree
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| Breakfast: Eggs, Sausage, Rolls and Fruit. YUM! |
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| Grab a cold one. |
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| Happy to have another day under our belts. |
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| Time for salty snacks and gin and tonics. |
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| Verdigre had a polka band during dinner and kolache for breakfast. |
Day 4: Verdigre to Pierce
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| Clip on the mirror and get ready to ride again. |
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| More hills. |
We went through a very tiny town called Winnetoon, NE. I had never even heard of the town. The 2010 census reports 68 people, mostly Amish. They had quite an Old Town display on main street.
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| Dar and Di posing with vintage characters. |
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| I'm headed to the millinery store. |
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| This buckboard had a springy (and slivery) seat. |
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| Jail scene. |
We also rode through Plainview, NE, which is the town where the movie
Nebraska was filmed.
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| This is the Keystone Bar with the corner door. |
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| The bar owner (back left) had a great time sharing details of the filming. |
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| The booths in the bar are held together with duct tape and look just as ratty as they did in the film. |
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| Pierce, NE offered a beautiful park with lots of shade. |
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Of course we had to make a trip to the famous Cuthills Winery, Nebraska's first.
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Saturday evening we had music, slide shows and dinner. Various riders were honored and the coveted Spirit Award was decided.
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| Celebrating in Pierce |
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| Current and previous winners of the Spirit Award. (I'm in center, back.) |
Day 5: Pierce to Pender
It rained much of the night and all morning during the ride. We stopped at Wayne for some good hot coffee and Mexican food.
I knew this was to be my last Tour de NE ride (I've completed 21). I slowed down for the last five miles and enjoyed the scenery and sucked in the pure country air. I thought of all the wonderful friends I've made on this ride over the years. The days of big hills, rough roads, rain, heavy traffic, scorching sun and headwinds were more than satisfied by the tailwinds, nice shoulders, smooth asphalt, exhilarating hills, singing birds, gorgeous farm fields, warm and friendly townspeople, and good old midwestern hospitality. It seems just a bit magical. It's a lifetime of good memories!
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| Troy, a new friend from Plainview, rode all 271 miles pulling his own gear. |
