Greetings from Harlem Ohio!! We have been here a few weeks now. We have been doing the family thing with all my folks in Ashland, Ohio. Been great to spend time with my sisters and their families as well as my parents. I also got to spend Fathers Day with my dad. Have not done that since 1987. I can tell you he looked pretty happy to have 3 of his kids eating breakfast with him at the American Legion. I can also tell we three kids were pretty happy about giving him that time! There is a lot to be said about taking time with our parents. I, for one, have not done the best job. I will be changing that.
So before we left Rapid City we made one last trip up to Mount Rushmore. It is such an awesome symbol of our great country. It is a sight to behold and humbles you each and every time you see it.

We finally went downtown to see the President Statues. Every President has a statue in downtown Rapid City, President Obama’s will be placed this summer. The City of Rapid City encourages its citizens to place hats, gloves and scarfs on these statues from the fall until April. Like many towns Rapid City has a homeless population, many are Native Americans. So this is an awesome way the community can give back to those that need it the most. We took some pictures of some of our favorite Presidents.
And leave it to Dianne to find anything Basset Hound related. Rapid City has all their traffic control boxes painted or wrapped. Dianne found one with a Basset Hound on it!

We began our travels East. Day 1 was just a short drive to the western side of South Dakota across the Great Plains. The farther East we traveled the realization hit that we were leaving the massive and majestic mountains of the West.
Day 2 took us to North Sioux City, Nebraska. We stayed in a City Park right on the Missouri River that had an RV Park. Not only was the RV Park top notch and well kept, but the whole park was. Beautiful facilities, dog areas, softball/baseball diamonds and little cabins to rent. It was also very inexpensive to stay there.
Day 3 was a challenging day. It was windy, rainy and cold. The rain finally stopped the last 30 minutes of the trip. The devastation from all the flooding this spring was obvious. Many farms were still flooded when we went by. We were greeted by a giant pig at our destination RV park.

Day 4 was quite eventful. I noticed that my already crappy gas mileage pulling the RV was getting worse. So on a whim I checked the air filter. Things was stopped up dirty. So I said to myself “Bob, just take the air filter out and replace it when you get to the next destination in Indianapolis”. The first two-thirds of the trip it was very windy. The last one-third was no wind, but we got the first blast of a strange thing we had not felt in a long time….. HUMIDITY. Then, 5 miles from our destination, the truck went into a low power mode. Oh, great for me. Limped to the RV Park praying for it to be nothing major. A little research on Google and found out that it was probably from too much air flow/dirty air coming to the intake. So after dinner at the place I had been waiting to eat at for almost 4 years, I obtained a new air filter. And I bet anyone who knows me knows what restaurant I missed………

….That’s right Waffle House!!! I had the Chicken Sandwich Plate, Scattered, Smothered and Covered and a waffle!! Man oh Man I missed Waffle House.

Got back to the RV just in time for a thunderstorm. Been awhile since we had been around one of those two. Morgana and Mahana did not like it one bit, Monty slept right through it.
Day 5 was a short drive to our destination in Ohio. We slept in a little, took the dogs for a nice walk and I put in the air filter. As we do each day we said a prayer and were on our way. I-70 from Indianapolis, Indiana to Dayton, Ohio SUCKS! That has to be the worst maintained stretch of road I have traveled on in our 4 plus years we have been doing the travel nursing gig. The truck had zero issues and got the best gas mileage of the whole trip. Conclusion – tow rig needs to breath, it just needs to do it through a filter!!
We got here Memorial Day weekend. The weather was not bad that weekend. I worked with my sisters to pull off a little surprise party for Dianne’s 50th Birthday or as we now call it the 1st anniversary of her 49th birthday!! Lots of fun was had by all.

Me and my sisters with our babysitter Abbie

Dad

Mom

My Nephew Nick with his Niece, my great Niece, Elle.

Elle’s dad, my nephew, Blake after breaking a plastic chair. He did hold on to the hotdogs he was about to cook!!!

Dianne and her cake!

My wife got some wonderful presents from her friend, who is also a travel nurse. She sent Dianne a stuffed basset hound and basset earrings. They also sent a set of pug earrings. Here is Blake modeling them!!

My Brother-in Law John and myself rapping to some old school rap!!!
Since our arrival my sister Betsy and her family have been down a couple of times to visit. I even cooked for them. Yes it was edible and enjoyed by all! My sister Tami and her family are trying to come down next week.
Other than the rain, lots and lots of rain, we are enjoying our time here in Ohio. Looking forward to many more days of fun with my family between now and August. Dianne seems to be enjoying her assignment at the Ohio State University James Cancer Center. The staff has been super nice and helpful to her. She has noticed that ‘Buckeye Pride’ is a real thing. Everything in the hospital is scarlet and gray. The OSU “O” is in the architecture of several places in the building. Even statues of Brutus, the Buckeyes Mascot, adorn the entrances to the hospital buildings. I just smile at her each time she tells about something new she has discovered that shows the pride of OSU. Man it is great to be back in the land of my beloved Buckeyes, Indians and Browns!!
Until next time, be safe and enjoy your summer.