I recall that on one cross-country drive in the early 90s, i made it across Indiana without downshifting, having no particular reason to stop. Since that time we have acquired a very good reason to stop in the state, Linda’s sister Dawn and her husband Bill.

Dawn is a perinatologist in Indianapolis, and she and Greta have always had a great relationship.  At first I thought this was because no one likes little girls as much as a mother of teenage boys, but it has become clearer in recent years that they have a lot in common – both interests and personalities.  In recent years, Bill has been active in remodeling and reselling homes, and he has an excellent eye for and understanding of design issues.  So given our predilections and Greta’s, we left her behind in Indianapolis to web-surf and play with the dogs while Bill and I headed to Columbus for a day of architecture-geeking.  The next day we dragged Greta along, and Bill gave us a fantastic tour of Indianapolis.  (He also introduced us to Graeters ice cream, which we somehow managed to eat four days in a row.)

It was a really nice break from an intense few weeks of travel to just relax with them, catch up on sleep and laundry, and eat fantastic and healthy home-cooked meals.  (Greta’s not yet sure if she should blog about home-cooking or just stick to restaurants.)  It’s been great seeing friends on this trip, but there’s something special about being able to stay with family.