Good, good, and good.

It was a bit of an imposition to prepare to be gone, essentially, three days early. But I am ready. As I have mentioned, however, I will not need to leave early. The good thing about this is three fold, however. First, now I can really refine my gear, the packing, and my lists. Second, I can spend some real time packing the Xterra so that I can more easily use the Xterra as a sleeping compartment more easily, if need be, and so that my gear is placed in the vehicle in an orderly fashion. And, lastly, I no longer need to rush. I should be able to do all of this in a rather leisurely fashion, resting as needed and recommended, and taking care of my apartment as I am doing so in order that I have a kempt apartment awaiting my return.

I checked with Fedex last night, actually. I just could not wait and they did have a phone number. The woman I eventually spoke with indicated she did not know when the package would be delivered, but that it had not been destroyed or lost. I am not sure if we were on the same page, so I indicated that the facility where the package last tracked was in Cedar Rapids, which is in a flooded state. She just would not or could not confirm or deny anything other than that her information concluded that the package was merely delayed. Fine, no real information. Nothing more than I had before waiting a half hour to speak to someone. I checked, online, this morning. The package is loaded and being delivered, or so it says. If they are taking the official detour, delivery will be four hours late. If they are taking the practical detour known to locals, I might have it as early as now, or earlier (though I have strong doubts about earlier except as a theoretical possibility no longer in my current realm of realistic probabilities, give or take, besides, if somehow, through inexplicable causation, I receive the package earlier, I will not be writing this). *laughs* Yeah, I think that way.

I am going to have to wrap a few things up locally. I am checking with my neighbor. His wife and daughter are set to go to a mother and daughter function for several days today, I think. Since we had not been able to get together earlier, and since I am leaving Wednesday, and with his new grill, he asked me to contact him today and see about a barbeque. Well, grilling anyway, I never add sauce to t-bones. He and his family will be leaving for a vacation before I return, I believe. Which means I will not be seeing them for well over a month, maybe closer to two months. It’s a bummer, but I think I will try and get out more when I get back (water permitting). Perhaps I will be able to be his fishing guide, for once. It would be great to be able to pay him back for his help in outdoor access, advice, and such.

I also need to speak with several men from my church. One of the men volunteered with me, and I think I will stop by his home this afternoon or tomorrow afternoon, depending on when the cookout is. As well, I need to speak with another gentleman about our bible study. It has been postponed until next Wednesday. However, I will not be here, so I would like to check in with him, let him know what I am doing and roughly when I will be back, and get that straightened out. This is a good lot of gents and I want to both keep on good footing with them, and create then maintain personal bonds with them. I know, many may differ greatly politically, but I have decided the church is stronger than politics, and I am no longer represented by any politician or party to any great extent at this time in any case. I should also let the church know I will be leaving. I did not get to church yesterday. I know that with only one way (I-80, and that part under construction) for me (and everyone else in Coralville) to cross to Iowa City, the trip would take an exorbitant amount of time and the chance of just not making it while also blocking up traffic seemed to put the event out.

I am also trying to figure a way to bring a load of steaks with me. I have promised my friend in Nevada a few, I would like to offer a few to my first host and hostess, and there are others and places along the way where a steak would be good to share. These will be Iowa, corn fed, top of the line steaks. I am not sure if they will be ribeye or t-bone, but they should be pretty good. That is, if I can find the right sized cooler, dry ice, and figure out how to put them together. No promises, only a plan.

I may drive over to Iowa City, just to check things out one more time, before I go. I hear that the water level is going down. I am not sure if the sandbagging did end up helping, at least so far if it did. I am not sure what traffic is like currently, but the last time I attempted to cross I-80, during a relatively slow time of the night, it took about an hour to get what would usually have been a 10-15 minute drive during a busy time. Being that it is day, that what classes are offered are probably back in session, that businesses are beginning to operate and more surely, with at least one of the interchanges closed, and with the road work on I-80, I am guessing it will be a bit of a trip. Well, maybe I will not go. Hmm, I could see how well the traffic is moving before committing.