We made it!

We made it, finally, to Ames, the home of Missy's college mentor, Sande McNabb, and of his wife, Margo (Democrat). Tonight we'll be staying in our hotel, trying to work the kinks out of our backs, legs, shoulders, digestive systems, and whatever else we've managed to put through the wringer these last few days. Tomorrow we'll be visiting with Sande and Margo, and over the next few days we'll also hopefully get to see some of the campus here, and maybe some other old friends.

Missy went to school at Gonzaga, of course, but the summer after her freshman year (oh so long ago...) she spent doing an internship in plant pathology with Sande at Iowa State. This lead to some ongoing research after the summer was over, and to a friendship and mentoring relationship that has lasted much longer than that. The McNabbs came to visit us in Washington, D.C. in 2001, and despite being, well, old, they managed to run us into the ground. We visited tons of museums and places, and I think they probably kept on going for a few hours after we begged off to go home and soak our feet in salts. I'm pretty sure they got asked to leave Zanzibar's at about 1:00 a.m.

So, anyhow, I'm looking forward to seeing them in the morning, but I'm a little nervous; We've all gotten a few years older since the last time we saw them, but for me, proportionally speaking, it's a much bigger difference. Plus, I don't really work out any more to speak of (not that I did in the Marine Corps either...but that's a different story). Anyhow, I'll let you all know how it goes. As long as I don't have to spend time in the car tomorrow, I'll be a happy camper no matter what we do!

View Larger Map