Thursday, May 1, 2008
Joliet, IL to Des Moines, IA
 Up and moving at 6:30 am CST.  Called Hertz and found where we needed to take the Prius
to be serviced. After breakfast and loading the car, went to the Firestone store in Joliet and
after an hour we were back on the road.  However, it was the first time that store had
serviced a Prius, so we're still showing that we need service.  We'll find a Hertz repair shop
on Friday.
Stopped in Moline, IL for lunch and arrived in
West Branch, IA at 1:30 pm.  West Branch is
the birthplace of our 31st president, Herbert
Hoover.  Hoover's wife, Lou Henry Hoover, has
ties to Wooster.  Her father was born in
Wooster and Mrs. Hoover visited Woo-City
frequently, even when she was First Lady
(according to one of my local history sources.)  
 The web page for the Hoover Historic site is
http://www.nps.gov/heho/
Back on the road and arrived at the Hampton
Inn in Des Moines at 6:00 pm.  There was a
strong head wind all day long, so our mileage
wasn't as good today - only 41 mpg!  Went
exploring Des Moines and got some great
pictures of the Iowa state capital building.  
Tomorrow it's beginning to head to South
Dakota - Rapid City is under a blizzard
warning for this evening so we might have to
make some course corrections.