Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Day 4 - Off to Denver - September 30th




Today we took it easy. Started the day late, slept in to 7am, leisurely breakfast in room - provided by Super 8's free breakfast in the lobby. Waffles, fruit, coffee. There is a laundry across the street, so we did our laundry. A neat little community grocery store was next door to the motel. We picked up a yummy lunch for a picnic on the road. Stuart Iowa to Lexington, Nebraska. 321 miles. The most road construction of our journey - seems the mid west roads are cement and replacing/repairing is a different venture than with asphalt. Lots of dust with cutting up the old and replacing/repairing. And when the process is in the making with ridges in the cement travel lanes...the "music" made by our tires, humming and whining varying pitch and volume was quite the experience. Long stretches of single lane travel...of course this was off set with the 75mph speed limit. We did not go that fast - eats up too much gas.
In Stuart, Iowa were power windmills. They lined the ridges all around the little town. We wondered if there was a factory nearby and this was a testing ground, because there were so many of them. At least 30, possibly more. Some were actively rotating, others were dormant. They are H U G E ! Really huge. I tried to get a picture to show perspective, but didn't capture the "essence". The country side from Iowa to Nebraska awesome. Iowa with the rolling hills and cornfields to flat Nebraska with cornfields that go on and on and on. We crossed the Missouri River separating Iowa and Nebraska, that was fun. We passed Omaha and Lincoln - big cities at the right times and no heavy traffic. Tomorrow we finish the trip and drive all the way to Denver. It will also be the shortest leg of our travels so far. Nice. Our plan is to go directly to the church. We would like to meet up with some of the members there and ask about a good place to stay until the Travel Company apartment is available, then attend Wednesday night Bible Study.
There may be a tad of a snafu. Last Friday I spoke with my Nurse Manager at the Travel Company and all seemed to be in order at that time. All medical tests in, all paperwork completed and NO further testing indicated. Today, in Iowa, travelling down I80, I received a phone call - more blood tests needed, a PPD questionnaire to fill out and questions about the license verification in Colorado. Go online and get the information updated asap. Seems Presbyterian St. Luke's is very strict about certificates, tests and licensing. My nurse manager was out today - due in tomorrow and her replacement was alarmed at my "incomplete portfolio". My hope is that my permanent Nurse Manager has all the information needed and is just a bit behind in the paperwork. In the mean time I will do what I can to remedy the missing links. I called my Nurse Recruiter who is a wonderful support person - though has nothing to do the the actual medical/professional aspect of the job. She was out today as well. I am not worried. I know the information was there on Friday when I spoke with the Nurse manager at that time. But, Eeeeee Gaaaadddd! Not much I can do while driving down the highway in the middle of Iowa!
A nice dinner tonight with Nebraska steak, tasty but a very different texture than we are accustomed to. We watched Americas Biggest Loser - Family Edition and got inspired.
Tomorrow is a big day and we are looking forward to seeing Denver for the first time.
Good night and sleep well - we will.
Grace and Peace
Grammie BT

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