Tunis Sale - a Treasure

Now we know what the worst part of the trip was, but it's hard to say what was the best part. I was super pleased with my ram, and loved my two lambs, but maybe it was getting to buy this beautiful ewe!

This ewe from Darling Tunis Farm took first in her class and got serious consideration for championship.

When the auction came around Sunday I was pretty down in the dumps. I had hoped to buy that ewe but knew she would be one of the highest priced and we were facing a repair bill at the Chevy dealership. I had picked out some others that were lower placed in the show if I couldn't get this one. Bob was taking photos for the Tunis website and sitting next to me. When they brought her in the bidding went crazy, finally tapering off when Bob asked me if I wanted to bid on her. I asked if he thought we could afford it and he said sure, we have the tax refund. Guess that's what I should name her, because I ended up with her!

And the bad news...

Bob was sure it was the fuel pump and unfortunately it was 5:30 pm and no one was open. He checked the phone book for places to have it fixed hopefully on Saturday morning. He arranged to have a tow truck take it to a Chevy dealer in a nearby town (Rittman) early Saturday morning. They were only going to be open to 12, but we hoped that wouldn't be a problem. Our plans were to leave Sunday after the sale and go to Illinois to pick up some Tunis there.

Bob had the truck at Laria Chevrolet when they opened and explained to the service manager that we were stranded. So much for customer service, good ol' Mark didn't bother to give Bob a hint that they wouldn't even try to get to it, choosing instead to take other appointments. At 10:30 when Bob checked on it he was told they "might" not be able to get to it. I called him and pleaded, begged and cried but he couldn't be bothered. So we were stuck... at least they rented cars so we were able to get around for our extended stay in Wooster.

It's a horrible feeling to be stranded but we chose to consider it a blessing and enjoy our extra time. Luckily our friends had flexible work and our bosses also understood when we called in to say we wouldn't be back at work on Wednesday and possibly not until Friday.

Thankfully we have wonderful sheep friends too, many offered help and support. Louise and Jim took the ram and lambs and the ewe we bought at the sale to their house since they lived not too far away.

And come Tuesday, they called Bob to tell him sure enough it was the fuel pump, BUT they didn't have one in stock and it would be several hours before they could get one out of Akron. Bob told them he would find one and get it to them since we wanted to leave by noon if possible. He rounded up one at Napa Auto Parts and had it delivered that morning. By 1 pm they did have it ready and we finally were on the road by 2 to resume our great sheep adventure.

We made it to Wooster

We spent the second night in Dayton, Ohio and made the final drive into Wooster on Friday morning.

When we arrived at the fairgrounds we unhitched the trailer and I found my friends Walter and Denise Clark who showed me the ram they brought me.

Then I found other dear friends, Louise and Jim Dunham who were bringing me a ewe lamb. They surprised me with an additional lamb "because they didn't want one to be lonely"... I'm glad because they are both precious!

Bob, Charles and Ann went on to check in at the hotel and rest. I sat in on the board meeting and enjoyed catching up with old friends. After the meeting, I called Bob to come and get me and on our way to the hotel the truck started trying to die.

Sights on our trip...

Caught sight of this sign at a BP gas station, guess they should know:

Sights on our trip...

Cross - Effingham, Illinois.

From their website at http://www.crossusa.org/

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.

As a reference to how big this cross is... that's Charles standing at the base:

The 2010 Great Sheep Treasure Hunt is Over

We had a great vacation to Ohio to attend the 2010 Great Lakes Fiber Show where our National Tunis Sale is hosted each year. Bob and I and our friends Charles and Ann left last Wednesday and barring some car trouble while in Wooster we had a great trip. We made it back home this past Wednesday at midnight, Bob did a great job driving us all the way there and back with that last day driving more than 16 hours!

I will share some photos as I get them off the camera. Our first stop was in Tunica, MS where we stayed at the Horseshoe Casino. We have been there a few times now and the "boys" love to play slots. This is a sunset view over the Missippi River from our room.

Happy sheep

The sheep are sporting their new haircuts and loving the green grass.

The fruit trees are doing pretty good this year if the high winds will just die down.

We even have apples on our new apple trees. Apples aren't a fruit that normally grow in central Texas but we are trying. This poor tree is doing great despite the sheep's attempt to kill it by chewing off its bark.