The Two Tandems West Gang getting ready to cross the Mississippi River into Iowa at the end of an 83.5 mile day! 

This is the reaction I got when I told Rachel that the odometer showed that we'd ridden 1100 Miles!!

The Two Tandems West Gang would like to send a HUGE Thank you to Dawn and Denis MacNamara for all they did for us as they drove the support vehicle through Illinois! The Macs (both retired Marines...OOORAH!) have been close friends of ours for many years and held the banner when we rolled out of the driveway on 1 June.

Camping with Mac and Dawn.  "Ahhhh...this is the way to camp!!"

What would you do for a Klondike Bar? Would you ride 1200 miles on a bicycle?

Imagine this...one hot day we were riding along in 40 mile an hour head wind toward our lunch stop in Cullom, IL. We had been battling the wind for over 25 miles and were really looking forward to stopping for an hour or so. About a half mile before we got to Cullom, we heard a vehicle coming up behind us and heard a familiar sound...two beagles barking!!  What a surprise to see Dawn and Mac (Smedley and Max, too!) pull up along side of us! They were in their motor home heading from Arkansas to Michigan and decided to make a slight detour to catch up with us. 

The kids decided that Mac and Dawn know the real way to camp! "Cafe du Mac" provided tons of GREAT chow in a convenient roadside setting. Here, in the Odell IL Municipal Park, the Macs had camp set up, dinner ready (all our favorite foods, too!) and the beer & soda chilled when we rolled in after our hardest day yet. We rode 62 miles in a 30/40 mile per hour head wind (gusts to 60 mph) and were about to throw in the towel, but the R&R they provided gave us the energy to keep going! The next day, we stopped for second breakfast on the side of the road at Cafe du Mac...Great chow, Dawn...what are you doing for the rest of the summer? 

The Macs followed us for two and a half days until they peeled off to head to Michigan to pick up their son, Ryen, who will be heading to Marine Corps Recruit Training in Parris Island SC the end of the July. Good luck, Ryen...Semper Fi, dude!!!

Dawn, Mac you are very special people to us and we love you so much! We REALLY appreciate all you did for us...IT WAS GREAT TO SEE YOU!! If you get the urge to go to Washington State this summer...well, you won't get any argument from us!

Later that same night, I happened to stop at a house on the outside of Odell, Il to ask directions to the Municipal Park which would be our campsite for the night. As I walked up to the house, a man, wearing an American Legion cover, met me at the driveway. To make a long story short, he is John Stonecipher, a former Marine Sergeant who went to recruit training at San Diego in 1943. Sgt Stonecipher is the president of the Odell chapter of the American Legion and was on his way to a meeting.  After the meeting, he and his wife, Loyce, drove out to our campsite and presented us with a 9x13 Marine Corps Flag to fly from the back of our "Semper Fi" trailer. Thank you Sgt Stonecipher...now we're really traveling in style!!