Once again we repeated the trans-Midwest journey, in reverse.  This may be our final revisiting of Ohio as a halfway point, hopefully.

Let me backtrack.  We didn’t do erev Shabbat as usual, too much other prep to do.  I worked on the herb garden and watered everything.  Avdi and I went out to eat at The Crow’s Nest in Maplewood, then browsed a nearby indie bookstore (with two beautiful black cats).  Then we tried to sleep (unsuccessfully) for the early departure of 5:30 AM.

Avdi and I switched off driving across the endless miles of flatland.  We eventually arrived at the same meeting place in Columbus.  The kids seemed happy and cheerful.  Stacey and I caught up through lunch.  She will move to Michigan soon, then the kids will spend the rest of the summer with her.  She has a new job there, and the trip is half as long (Chicago would be the halfway point by train).  Yay trains!  So it will be much easier for the kids to visit her, or vv.

After shifting the piles of stuff to Avdi’s car, and emotional goodbyes, we all started back across the same relentless miles.  The kids were quiet, even the fidgety S, whose mountain of “comfort” blankets, animals, and paraphernalia  inevitably expanded onto me.  Avdi drove the whole way, with the blinding sun in his face, until it finally set toward the end of the trip.  It was good to see the illuminated Arch, under a full moon.  Then we and all our stuff tumbled out of the car and into the house.  I got to drive Jess’s car home, where I totally made up for lost sleep.