Now we are in Middletown, New York, Irene’s hometown and where I lived for 2 years after moving to the United States. We wanted to spend a few days here because this is where Irene’s family lives and we had to say farewell before leaving for Nebraska. Also, it was my mother-in-law’s birthday yesterday so, naturally, we had to spend some time here.

Unfortunately, as we drove from Poughkeepsie to Middletown, we found that my three goldfish were starting to die from lack of oxygen in their little moving tank. There is just no way they will survive moving all the way to Nebraska. So the fish are going to stay with Irene’s mother who has bought an aquarium for them. I have set up the aquarium and they should be fine. One of Irene’s mother’s friends has said she will take the fish and pay for the aquarium once she herself has moved house later this year. I am very sad to leave the fish behind, but the alternative would have been to watch them die on the trip to Nebraska. At least this way they will be okay.

If I had known this was going to be a problem I would not have shipped all my aquarium equipment on the moving truck. The chances are that, once we settle in Scottsbluff, I will not get any fish for awhile. I suppose that if I do decide to get fish again, then, at least, I have everything I need to get started again.

Tomorrow we will leave Middletown for Scottsbluff. We expect we will get there on August 1st which will be my 37th birthday. This time we will pull over and spend the night in the hotel to make sure we get a good night’s sleep and to avoid what happened last month.