Anderson and his family have been through some trying times with the terminal sickness of his father and subsequent death in January.

There was a lot of family time at home through the long Nebraska winter. It was not until late April that we had finally heard again from Anderson for the first time since early December. There had obviously been a spring thaw bringing new life all around Nebraska, and, metaphorically, the same had occurred with Anderson.

To finish off all the locations from the 'Everywhere Man' song, Anderson still had 28 locations left to visit, and all of them now remained in the US. He had finished off all those in South America as of last October. The points remaining, plus a planned route map can be seen in this update's photos.

But it was finally time to get out of the house. And another family member was also seeking brighter pastures and new vitality - Anderson's mother! She is scheduled to join him at least on the initial and possibly other portions of this phase of the journey, which Anderson dubs 'Chapter 4'.

So, on May 18th, off they went, and Oskaloosa, Iowa was the first stop on their list. Travel with Mom had to be put to the test. He had become accustomed to doing all his journeying solo. It was not as if Anderson did not have apprehensions.

They made their way across Nebraska and across the Missouri River into Iowa. Later that day they ran into rain. In packing for this trip, Anderson had opted for the more easily packable rain ponchos, in contrast to the rain suit he had previously used. The ponchos, however, turned out not to be the best decision and were torn to shreds.

They decided to pull off the road and take refuge under a picnic shelter at Guthrie County Freedom Rock. It was here, drenched to the bone, that Anderson happily realized everything with Mom was going to be just fine. She had taken everything in good humor despite the tattered state of the ponchos and soaked clothing.

They stayed that evening at Anderson's cousin's house, just outside of Des Moines, Iowa. After waiting out another cold and rainy day, on May 20th the mother-son team made it to Oskaloosa, the first 'song' destination reached since he pulled into Salvador, Brazil 287 days prior!

And in the usual fashion, as Anderson had done throughout his trip, he made sure to visit all the famous and significant sights in a 'song' destination's location. That evening they stayed nearby with some relatives of his maternal grandfather's and explored further the next day. Anderson said he felt Oskaloosa was "so friendly and so fascinating". He seemed pleased to be back on track with his great trip visiting the 'Everywhere Man' song destinations. "….and kudos to Mom for keeping an awesome attitude," he concluded.