$17,500

That's what a 71-mile helicopter ride will cost ya in the St. Louis area.

We stopped to see my brother Jim (the base jumper mentioned a couple months ago), and that's what the helicopter bill was. His insurance reportedly is only paying $5,000.

Updating the blog has been difficult due to lack of internet access and time. After leaving Utah, we traveled to spend a few days in Colorado and held a ceremony for Tasha (my doggie), we headed to see my family in Iowa. We stopped briefly in Ames for dinner with my nephew, great-niece and sister, driving through snow flurries to arrive at my mom's late late at night. Robin met an onslaught of relatives. One of them advised Robin: "They all seem normal at first but watch out! They're not."

We safely made it through 5 states all in one day: Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. We stayed at a horse ranch in Kentucky and witnessed a nasty dog attack (long story but the dog is going to be OK after a trip to the vet). Robin got an 8-point buck and now we have 100 lbs of meat with us to help feed us once we arrive at Dry Tortugas.

Now, we're in Macon, GA for the night and head to Titusville to meet his mom tomorrow.