Grand Island bridge 10:30 a.m. May 28

Ron reached the bridge south of Grand Island on the Tom Osborne Expressway at 10:30 a.m. on May 28. For a full listing of bridges he's reached and a running total on his mileage, see the earlier posting entitled: "Bridges/Approx Miles/Progress Report."

Those of you familiar with this route between Grand Island and Hastings know that over an expanse of several miles the Tom Osborne Expressway has at least 5 bridges on it that cross different channels of the Platte River. The one Ron went under was the next bridge south of the one near the Arby's south of Interstate 80. I, of course, was waiting at a different bridge. I was reading a book on the riverbank by Arby's, ready to hand Ron a roast beef sandwich and a bottle of chocolate milk. Fortunately, cell phone service is wonderful in this area. He'd been watching for signs that he was on the channel by Arby's, because that was the section most full of water, and the section he hoped to be on. As he got closer, he could see the signs for the Holiday Inn Express and could tell he was on something different. One day he wants to see the river from a plane to see where the channels divide and come together.

Yesterday we had yet another "which bridge are YOU at" conversation, south of Gibbon. I told him a red pickup had just crossed the bridge Sheila and I were on, and he said, "A red pickup just crossed my bridge, too!" But we still saw no sign of each other. In about a minute, we saw another red pickup, going the other direction. Now we laughed and asked each other, "So was your red pickup going north or south?" Two different bridges, two different red pickups, too much fun.