In our visits, nobody had a dog until we stopped to see Frances. We were really missing our two! I pulled into the driveway reasonably sure I was at the right house. Seeing it brought back memories.
My daughter was reading the mail box and said, “I’m not getting out until you make sure this is the right place.” I’ll admit, my road memory skills were slower than normal to return, but seriously? I got out and Bela said, “The mail box says DAILY!” I had to laugh because in our adopted town, there are a few people with Daly as a surname. What she had actually read was DAILY TELEGRAPH on the newspaper box!
Frances and I have been great friends for more than 20 years!
Misty is a great little dog, and we enjoyed playing with her so much! Thanks for sharing her with us! We were experiencing dog withdrawal!
Bela and Misty
We had a great (too brief) time catching up after so long. I went to see her mom as well. She got to meet my Bela.
Ysabela, Verna and Frances
Frances’ sister was there with her two lovely daughters. If you really want to see one of the girls doing something cool, check out this video. I was amazed.
If you’ve been keeping up with us, you will know we FINALLY arrived for our visit. It had been about three years since we’d been back in Virginia. We had missed family and friends long enough, so we made the trip happen. We arrived Sunday (later than I wanted to be), rested a bit (and ate some great food) and started making the rounds of visits we had on our list.
Richard and his chicks!
Who can resist chicks?
By the time we finished chatting, I was (almost) mentally ready to drive over to see “my” Judy. (Her daughters and I fight for visiting time!) We had planned to meet at Canton (Chinese place), but it was closed. Plan B landed us at Hardee’s.
Too long between visits!
Judy drove my car so we could visit another friend and her son. Lisa and C. J. have always kept in touch. Lisa’s my go-to person for class supplies, handouts, etc. It was good to reconnect.
Nice to see Lisa again!
Stay tuned for the next installment! I have to get a bit more rest….
Materials needed:
roll of paper towels
brillo pad (scrubber)
wooden spoon
2 dish towels (different, but complementary)
button (to sew on a dish towel to make it into a scarf)
needle and thread (to put a couple of stitches on the lower dish towel and to sew the button)
marker (to draw face)
I had never seen one of these before, so I was thrilled when my mom said she was sending it to my house! I can’t wait to make a few for shower gifts. I bet if you wanted to modify it for other occasions, it would be simple.
Before I got home, Mom warned me she had put my picture on the WDBJ7 channel to celebrate my birthday. I was glad for the warning! 🙂
I hate seeing myself in pictures, but at least I’d had a good night’s sleep. (We got to Mom and Dad’s a little after lunch Sunday.)
It was funny because when we were within two miles of the house, I told Bela, “I can smell the macaroni and cheese from here!” There was a feast prepared for us–homemade mac and cheese, fried chicken and green beans……yummy!
Dear friend Judy called in the moment I was deciding to stop, and that sealed our fate. Judy said for me to rest. I was tired (almost weepy), and I had to sleep.
The Motel 6 in Cookeville was passable, but not stellar. We had a room on the second floor, the bathroom was tiny (barely room for a butt on the potty because the walls were so close), but there was a queen bed. It was around 11 (p. m.), and I had a wake-up call coming at 6. We had just enough energy to drag our “devices” (laptops, Nooks, etc.) and our carcasses up the two flights to the room. We were settling in when our friends, Joseph and Pam, called to check on us. (To meet them, see Mother Trucker-Part 1) They are the COOLEST! After connecting the phones to charge, we crawled into bed.
After being told about breakfast at 6, we trudged to the car with our devices, drove to the office area, and went looking for food. We found only coffee. I was slightly (!) annoyed. We drove across the street (in a huff), grabbed a coffee and topped off the tank. Cookeville was a memory in no time!
Ysabela kept helping watch signs for Bluefield. It finally appeared. When it was 14 miles away, Ysabela was ready to do a happy dance. I was too, but I explained that we were NOT going all the way to Bluefield—our exit was SOONER! I finally spotted the exit we needed, gave a war whoop (we are part Cherokee) and felt like
Nashville was finally showing on the road signs!!!! Wait…that meant Ysabela and I would be on our own. Hmmmm.
Joseph pulled the rig into a truck stop, and we had one last discussion about my directions. (Road warrior Pam was sleeping.) He said he’d call us when he turned off to offload, and I would continue driving. By this time, naturally, I was getting tired and my back was hurting. My neck was tight, and I swear I had a cramp in my palm from gripping the wheel.
I thanked him for all the help he and Pam had given us. I felt a bit sad at being on my own again, but home was a lot closer than before!
Ysabela and I went back to playing Banana! and Punch Bug! to amuse ourselves. (I’m sure I won the banana game.) I started singing with the radio to stay alert. We drove and drove (and drove) until I felt it would be dangerous to keep driving. At Cookeville (TN), I gave in and got us a room. I figured I could breeze on home after I got five or six hours of sleep. After all, I had been driving for a whole 24 hours. Enough already! I had been driving like it was my job! The trip was taking longer than I had anticipated and I was feeling
Some of you may have noticed silence on my part since late last week. I will explain.
Do you ever get the feeling things happen for a reason? Yeah, me too. This weekend is one perfect example. I thought I had my clock set for 10:15 (p. m.) Friday so we could get ready to leave home by 11. My plan was to drive all night and get us to Virginia by late Saturday night. So much for my plan. The alarm went off at 10 instead, so I got up, showered and we left 15 minutes early. No big deal, right? Wrong. It was part of the master plan.
At the beginning of the trip, I had on my game face and was ready to drive. I felt like
My Uncle Roger has been a trucker for years, so if I need driving directions, he’s my go-to person. He always gets us where we need to be. Earlier in the week he had faxed me directions with approximate distances and other details. I managed to make it to Lincoln before the second step of my plan went awry. Uncle Roger is very precise, but this time, an exit number was off, and I ended up on what I thought was the right road, but I had to make sure. (I can get lost in a paper bag!)
We narrowly missed a collision when a truck passed me on the right side. I was struggling to move into the left lane to pass a tractor trailer. It was just getting dark, and I was taking my time. The driver behind me must have been in a hurry because after nearly hitting us, the truck immediately swerved in front of me to pass the rig. The important part is that we did NOT get hit. When near misses happen, I always wonder if someone was praying for me in that very moment.
After the near miss, the rig and I ended up side by side at a red light. Wanting to reassure myself of my route, I had Ysabela roll her window down and wave to get the driver’s attention so I could ask if we were in the right place. Imagine my surprise when a LADY rolled down the window to give us an answer. AWESOME! She was coincidentally (?) heading the same way we were, and she was kind enough to let us follow her until we hit the next road we needed.
The three of us stopped for a potty break. Pam and I had a chat and exchanged travel info while Ysabela chose a snack. I discovered Pam was driving while her husband, Joseph, was sleeping until it was his turn. She also warned me that she had a mandatory 30-minute rest coming up. I asked if it was OK if we hung out and waited since she was heading to Nashville. The part that worried me most was getting around St. Louis.
By this part of the 21-hour (we thought) journey, Ysabela had entertained me by singing her favorite songs. With headphones in. While I was trying to listen to the radio. And watch road signs. After the entertainment was over, she concentrated on beating me at “Banana!” and “Punch Bug!” She took a few naps in between all the fun. While she slept, I kept count of all the yellow (banana) vehicles I saw as well as the VW bugs. (I jokingly told her I had won the banana game 500 to 25 since she slept for a few hours.)
We drove a couple hundred more miles, found a truck stop and had a great meal. Pam made me laugh a lot! The conversation between Pam and the waitress went something like this:
Waitress: What can I get for you?
Pam: (on a fact-finding mission before making a choice) Do you have pepper Jack cheese?
Waitress: No, sorry.
Pam: Do you have Pico de Gallo?
Waitress: (confused look) No, sorry.
Pam: (sigh) OK, I’ll have……(something I can’t remember)
Waitress: Would you like toast, biscuits or English muffins with that?
Pam: Do you have any scones?
Waitress: (wincing) No.
Joseph woke up to find his lovely wife and two strangers in a booth awaiting sustenance. He seemed like a very even-tempered fellow, and Pam quickly explained why Ysabela and I were tagging along. I commented that I wasn’t spending as much on gas as I had expected, and Joseph reminded me of something I should have remembered—drafting! (Don’t panic—I wasn’t glued to the bumper!) I checked my gauges, and my gas mileage was better than on any other trip I have taken.
By now, we had swapped cell numbers and email addresses. If I got lost, I could call them for help. A few hundred miles later during yet another rest stop, Joseph and Pam offered us an alternative to our original directions that would alleviate some of my stress. I could follow them to Nashville, they would offload and I could catch I-40 over to I-81 and onward.
I am a very suspicious person by nature, but this awesome couple was put in my path for a reason. (If we had left home as scheduled, we never would have met them.) I am SO glad Pam and Joseph were part of my trip.
I have been planning a trip for the last few weeks. It causes a lot of stress to make sure things are lined up and will work. It’s hard to replace me at my house! My first concern is always making sure my furry kids are taken care of in my absence. I am thankful there’s a dog boarding facility in our small town. Koko’s Palace is a safe, happy place for Boxita and Chance. I am also thankful to have a great neighbor who will be in daily to care for the other critters we have. Our furry, four-legged “children” are considered family around here!
Now that I think about it, I have a lot of reasons to be thankful—people who want us to visit, good friends, a car, a roof over our heads, food in the cabinets and freezer, work that I enjoy, people who read my blog 🙂 and even more.
All that remains is to fill the tank, get some rest and have a safe trip.
Ramblings of a Perforated Mind 