Thursday we left our haven with Christy in Denver where the 10+ pound cat jumped up on our bed with a big woomp and if it was unlucky enough to get near Susie’s feet, was unceremoniously kicked off to a loud lummmmpf. Mostly the cat slept on the floor or in our suitcases, but it did spend some time at our feet which was fun. We packed after a week at Christy’s and the cat was inconsolable, slipping into every open suitcase, hiding under piles of dirty laundry, watching very closely if the garage door got opened… OK so we said “we’ll take you with us.†Christy said we couldn’t take the cat… We drove to Lincoln,  Nebraska, and I was really impressed (as I usually am when we drive across America)… As we left Denver behind us, the mountains disappeared and the plains began. Corn fields and cows abound and not much else. When we stopped for gas, there was nothing but the gas station… It felt a little odd. 7 hours of corn fields and nothing else. We drove into Lincoln which is the home of the big red “Nâ€â€¦ The Nebraska Cornhuskers. We drove through town and saw the University and several concert halls, ate dinner, and then off to bed. We continued to drive on route 80 which is an interstate that takes the course of the old pony express riders’ trails… a straight line across the plains into Des Moines. Route 80 continues east, but we turned north and headed up to Clear Lake where we are right now (Friday evening)! Basking in middle America sunlight and looking out over the big lake in the town where the music died (Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper performed their last concert here at the Surf Ballroom and then crashed). We will launch the boat and go to dinner when Tim arrives. All is well. Saturday passed with eating sweet corn and beef and boating… and a vigil Mass at St Patrick church. …. Sunday meanders to a close as people leave the lake to go back home wherever that is. I can drive easily to the small Catholic Church in town where I can go when they have daily Mass (Tuesday, Wed, Thursday). We take the boat across the lake to town and the VFW (where I will send this message via Wi Fi next time we go) and we ear sweet corn and burgers or go to one of the several lake side eateries… like pubs where we can catch a picnic table and watch sunset. Last night sunset was spectacular. The moon is half full and a giant planet hangs in the west after sunset. I’m thinking Saturn, Kyla thought it was Mars…  We’re also working on a puzzle of Key West that Tim and Kyla graciously provided. I don’t have internet access here at the lake and we might have to go across the lake into town to find a wi fi spot … look for me to emerge every once in a while with tales of the lake. God bless you.   Ps: Monday morning, Tim and Kyla are back in Des Moines (with Tim working to pay our social security) and we woke up to a little cloudy and 60 degrees. Chuck chose to lounge and read and drink coffee while I took off to the north around the lake… I only walked for about a mile (21 minutes) before turning back, and it was all wonderful… It’s like Big Pine Key’s cousin… walk along the lake and the shore across the way looks like an island. Houses look over the lake and it’s like we’re home on Big Pine / Doctor’s Arm /Coral Way. The “only difference†is this place will be covered with 5 feet of snow come November. They melt out around May and start really boating in June, and close up the sidewalks in September. One of many good parts about visiting at this time of year is the sales in the small shops that will close for the winter in Sept. It warmed up and we launched the boat and came over to town to hang out in the VFW for the beer and WI FI. It’s windy and they don’t have cleats on the town dock, so Chuck was a little concerned about leaving the boat… …. But we’ll leave here and go back on the lake to an outdoor restaurant to eat, read and paint..  Love to you, God bless you.