the pillows are always too big.

I'm sitting here watching Joe and Eliza watch Back to the Future. One of them. The one with the Western theme. Doc is now trying to help the woman he loves make it onto the next part of the train. Dramatic. Joe and Eliza are so cute watching so intently. They both have their legs crossed and their hands folded on top of their bellies. Lying on the bed propped up on the fluffy hotel pillows. That's the thing. We have been staying in hotels every night on this trip and the pillows are always so blasted fluffy. too fluffy. Joe would disagree I am sure because he always has to have 2 of them whether they are fuffy or not. Even the nicer hotels have these huge ass pillows. What's up with that?

Eliza doesn't seem to mind about the pillows, she's just excited that we are staying in hotels. The first two nights they were nothing to speak of. A little on the dumpy side. We're talking Super 8 here. Literally. Last night was a sweet hotel. (as Eliza would say). Hotwire is killer. Tonight we are staying right on the beach in a nice hotel so that in the morning Eliza can experience what will soon become her beach bummin,' surfer girl sweet spot. I'm so amazed by her. She has been simply delightful on this long road trip. We stopped by the St. Louis arch. Eliza went wild. She's been taking pictures so that she can enter this Discovery Kids photography contest. She took 52 pictures of the arch and the Missouri River. She is pretty sure that she will win a prize.

The last 3 nights there have been beautiful thunder storms. Last night and the night before were midwest storms. Eliza had never seen such lightening or rain. The rain was falling like it did in Kansas when I was a child. Buckets of water falling on the car. Lightening that seems to strike the ground just in front of you. Lightening that lights up the entire sky without a visible bolt... I think she loved it like I used to. Tonight it was a smaller storm but there was lightening over the ocean in Florida. She seemed to enjoy watching it more than the nights before. The bigger storm might have made her a little nervous. It's funny because I don't remember being afraid of it. I always loved the sound of rain on my window and crashing thunder and bright flashes of light. Florida should have some good storms for her to learn to love. Hopefully not hurricanes.