Out and About – Week of September 26th

Once again I’m taking you along as we really get Out and About.
On September 12, we left Three Rivers for Omaha, Nebraska, where we would join a couple thousand other Lions for three days of breakout sessions, celebration, camaraderie, and, of course, food. This annual gathering is known as the USA/Canada Lions Leadership Forum. Last year it was held in Grand Rapids, next year the venue is in Portland, Oregon, but this year we traveled to Omaha.
Attendance at the USA/Canada Forum is smaller than the annual International Convention, because Lions from throughout the world attend the latter. The Forum registration is costlier, because of the many breakout sessions offered. We prefer the Forum because of the smaller crowds.
Getting back on the trail to Omaha, we traveled the first day just south of Chicago, where we picked up I-80 West. We camped the first night at a KOA campground in Rock Island, Illinois. A day of hard driving because of the Chicago traffic. It’s amazing how nice the driving became in western Illinois, once away from the Windy City.
Crossing the “Mighty Mississippi” started off day two, then having a huge breakfast at the I-80 Truck Stop gave us a positive feeling that our second day of travel would be less taxing.
Iowa has a reputation of being almost boring when it comes to traveling east to west across the state. We found it quite interesting on I-80. We noticed quite a few wind turbines in use, which means that Iowa is on the right track when it comes to conserving and using energy economically. We ran into a minimum amount of highway construction along the way, but it’s summer, so one must get used to dealing with those orange cones.
Upon entering Nebraska, the threatening rain gave us a pleasant, but damp welcome. By 4:30 PM, we were settling into another KOA campground. This would be our basecamp for the next four days. The nice thing about traveling in a motorhome is that you’re never living out of a suitcase. Your closet is just a little smaller, as is the refrigerator.
The following morning, we drove into Omaha to check out the venue for the Forum. Upon arriving downtown, we noticed that the downtown traffic was quite easy to deal with. Unlike Chicago, where the urban traffic is always in high gear. We picked up our registration packets then headed back to Gretna and the KOA campground. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and planning for the next three days of activity.
I won’t go into detail about everything we did, but will suffice to say that we both had a great time and learned more than we thought we would. Renewing old friendships was probably the most fun.
The highlight for me was receiving our Bachelor and Masters Certificates from Lions University. The ceremony took place Saturday afternoon and we joined over four hundred other Lions who had also put forth the extra effort to learn more.
Next week I’ll share with you our return trip to “Pure Michigan” and home.
See you Out and About!

Submitted by Norm Stutesman