We have survived possibly one of the longest driving days of our trip—638 from Hartford City, IN. We stopped many times and walked about and no one could believe we had been on the road as long as 12 hours. Today was an ideal driving day. Clear skies, no rain and the best of road conditions. Traffic was heavy on I-80, but other than that, no problems. Gas was as high as $ 4.09. We packed in record time and actually left early. ( the girls wanted points for 15 minutes early leaving). Jerry’s brother, Fred, wanted to sell tickets to the packing frenzy, but we nixed that. We were serious about getting all the bags in the car and still see out the back and we made it. Lydia and Joyce have managed to build their nests in the back seat and are comfortable as the guys take turns driving. 
We were all a little nostalgic as we went through Peoria and right past the hospital where 2 years ago, Lydia was a serious heart patient. Glad we were all together to plan and enjoy this trip.
We planned a stop in South English, IA, the birthplace of Joyce’s Mother, Maurine Brower Beery. The town itself is tiny, only 205 now live there. Our goal was the English River Church of the Brethren Cemetery and we found it with the trusty GPS. We were prepared for many stones bearing the names of Brower, Stoner and Wine, all early settlers in the area as long ago as 1855. We found many and others escaped us as we roamed the beautifully kept grounds. Joyce realized early on that much more research was needed and she and Bob plan another trip back to visit cousins and look for more stones. She found stones for relatives nearly back to the middle 1800s, including great, great, great grandparents. Such fun. 
All the way across Illinois and Iowa, we saw more and more corn and soybeans. Some were even being harvested. We saw a number of wind farms also.
We were ready for our fist stop in Des Moines, IA and called ahead for rooms at the Hampton Inn.
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