Frog Hair Fine

Escaping the Heat

July 31, 2026

While the heat wave was brewing out west, Terry and I decided to “get outta Dodge”. I don’t tolerate heat very well and heck, Terry always wants to travel! Plus, BART had just gotten a couple of upgrades, and we wanted to try them out (more on that later).

After watching some informative YouTube videos—thank you LoveNesters! —we decided to head north. We threw some clothes and food in the van, and I checked the radar and traffic and we hit the road.

There were some showers and accidents on my screen for the latter part of our first day’s driving, but Terry was sure that all would be clear by the time we reached that point. And, of course, he was right.

One of the things we do when we drive anywhere is to check off the state license plates we see on the road. Terry’s rules are that the plate must be on a passenger vehicle (no tractor trailers, etc.) and that we both have to see the plate. Bonus points are awarded if the plate is from outside the US.

So, we’re driving along, headed north on I-55 in Illinois when Terry points out a Mexican plate from Puebla. Bonus Points! He then admits he doesn’t know what part of Mexico that is. Google Queen that I am quickly inform him that it’s just east southeast of Mexico City. And then I notice that’s the region I actually visited on a mission trip I took with my church about 10 years ago! What a coincidence!

A few hours later, we arrived at our resting place for the night. . . an alpaca farm near Belvidere, Illinois. The site is one of several Harvest Host locations we have used as we travel. But they had more than alpacas! Pictured above is me with their kissing llama!

Life on the road is certainly an adventure!

And check out our Instagram page for more photos of our journey!