On Friday, Anne and I drove from Saint Louis to Rochester, New York.  It was an epic drive of 820 miles, but we made it.  The reason for this journey is that this weekend David graduates from the University of Rochester.

All-in-all, we made good time.  It only took us thirteen and a half hours, which was the Google Maps estimate.  We only stopped five times and each time only briefly.

Normally when we come to Rochester we also see our friends and former Saint Louis residents, Alice and Chris and Bob and Noreen, but due to poor planning on our part all four of them have flown the coop.  Alice and Chris are attending a relative’s graduation down in Texas.  We will get to see them, but not until Sunday night. 

Bob and Noreen are traveling to Missouri this weekend.  They have a timeshare place down in Branson, Missouri.  By happenstance we our trading places with them this weekend.  We are staying at their place and they are staying at ours.  As near as we can tell, we passed each other somewhere in Ohio.  We hope to hook up with them in person after we return home.

Anne and I each tried to take some interesting photos of the cityscapes and countryside as we drove all day.  It is hard to get the shot when you are cruising along at sixty plus miles per hour.  The one haf decent shot we got was probably the first picture taken.  In the middle of Illinois, at Effingham is a gigantic cross.  The picture doesn’t do justice to the size of this monument, but it looks nice in the early morning light.

According to their website:

The Cross Foundation completed a 198 foot Cross at the intersection of Interstates 57 & 70 in Effingham, Illinois. The site is intended to serve as a beacon of hope to the 50,000 travelers estimated to pass the site each day. The Cross Foundation is dedicated to building both faith and family on an ecumenical basis.

Dave emailed us the preceding YouTube video about his senior project.  The video explains it much better than I ever could.  Dave is the guy that is modeling the device.  It is a much more sophisticated project than I expected.