Out of pocket

Yo Momma goes on a bike ride every year with her friends in Iowa. They get on their bikes and ride 62 miles whichever way the wind is blowing. For five days they ride, staying in motels at night and just having a grand time. At the end of the week they call one of the husbands back in Davenport, IA and say "come get us!". Sometimes they wind up 300+ miles away, sometimes they circle back to where they started. Yo Momma then stays a few days afterwards to visit with the family we have back there.

About 2 months ago, Papa Bear came up with an idea. Why don't we (Papa Bear and I) fly to Iowa the day that the ride is done and surprise Yo Momma. In fact why not surprise everyone back there and just show up. The plan was set in motion, tickets were bought and the fun began. I was so good at keeping the secret that I didn't tell some people who really needed to know! Sorry!

Anyway, the time came and we flew away (arms flapping all the way, Meggie, hee-hee). We arrived at 6pm Chicago time, rented a car and drove into Davenport. We had a time crunch though because our favorite ice cream shop was closing and we really needed to get there. The idea was that we would send Yo Momma a text pic with us eating ice cream and ask "Where are we?". We arrived 5 minutes before closing and gleefully had ice cream before dinner! Yo Momma, though, had turned off her phone so the surprise had to wait.

Next morning, after a night in a local hotel, we hopped into the car and headed to our friends house for the surprise. A ring of the door bell, the opening of a door and the exclamations began. What are you doing here!?! I can't believe it! It was a good surprise...I saw the tears in Yo Momma's eyes.

So, for the last few days I've been *out of pocket* as my friend Ben T. likes to say and it's been fun. I love traveling back to Iowa and being with the family there but also love driving through the countryside, looking at corn fields, going to the Isabel Bloom store and spending money, admiring farm houses and just being a little slower than life in CA tends to be. Not to mention the nightly ice cream stops (lose weight on this trip? naaaahhhh). BTW, If you are ever in Naperville, Illinois stop in downtown at the Egg Harbor Cafe...oh my goodness that food is good! They have multiple locations. I highly recommend the Cinnamon Bun French Toast. Drooling as I write this!

My time away is not yet done, though I am back to the hurried-ness of CA. This time though, it's me and God and no one else. I'm looking forward to the time to be quiet and pray.