Enough already!

Photos.

We were dead beat last night and I only lasted till 9:08 with The Kennedys, a series I've been watching on CNN. Bob watched the news for 15 or 20 minutes but I was already sound asleep when he turned off the lights around 9:30. The great thing about a sleepless night is that I usually sleep great on the next try, and that was the case. I had a great sleep and was ready to go when I heard Bob in the shower at 5:00 a.m.

We had a good breakfast and were on the road by 7:20, with hotel coffee in a thermal cup. We gained an hour soon after when we entered the Central time zone, a good thing because we had a long ride ahead ahead of us, beginning with pretty fog in the mountains. Peaceful and serene, except for traffic racing around us.

We went through Nashville in late morning, perfect except for a minor wrong turn which was easily -- and quickly corrected. We had intermittent rain, but fortunately it wasn't very heavy when I was driving. The only slowdown was for an accident, bad for the car involved but only a 15 or 20-minute delay for us.

The temperature dropped quickly during the day, from about 69F when we left Chattanooga to hovering around 32F in part of Illinois. We saw snow on the ground throughout much of the state, a first for us returning from Florida, when we usually delight in the spring plants and flowering trees.

We stopped a couple of times at rest stops, where most people were clad in winter jackets and hats. Gloves too. We recognized fellow Minnesotans returning from points south, because we were all in summer tees and shorts. As always, my Vikings jacket attracted both comments and conversation. Bob mentioned several times that we looked crazy, but, of course -- and perhaps unfortunately -- I really didn't care.

We pulled into Rockford, Illinois, before 6:00 p.m. Unlike the GREAT accommodations at Holiday Inn Express, tonight's stop isn't terrific, but the king room at Baymont Suites is clean and breakfast is a nice early 6:00 a.m.

We had hoped to be returning to spring, a beautiful Minnesota season when we get it, but tomorrow's forecast for the Twin Cities is not particularly encouraging. This year we'll be back in time to blow and shovel snow.