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Published: January 4th 2018
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Hallelujah...our journey has begun. It had a pretty rocky start last week but after time, patience, repairs and a checkbook, we are on our way. This time, the only loud squealing heard upon pull-out was our squeals of joy, excitement and relief. We adopted that famous motto: If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again......we did. Our second shot has been a success.....thus far: fingers crossed.
It’s so heartwarming to see all your beaming faces as you settle into your seats. Welcome aboard. Lulu is doing her happy dance....best she can without legs.
The car repair place called Cory last evening at 5:00 PM to let us know the car was repaired and ready to go. Yahooooo. They fixed all the damage done cause by dragging it down the road....groan. Who would have thought?? We have four new tires that should make our ride in the car this winter nice & comfy. They did not replace the air compressor for the air conditioner. They also removed a cracked engine protector plate so it didn’t fall apart on the trip down. We shall have both of these taken care of after we get settled into our winter abode. Sure
don’t need an air conditioner right now.
Geeze....what does Mother Nature think she’s doing anyway. She’s mean....plain mean!
Lory drove her father up to the car repair place this morning. I preferred not to follow Cory back home in our old van. Thanks, Lor. After Cory returned, we repeated our ritual of preparing the RV and house for our trip and absence. We can do it with our eyes closed now....lots of practice. But having your eyes closed is not a good idea. Poor Cory rapped his noggin bad while hooking up the car. He truly gave his blood, sweat and tears in making sure we were good to go. This time there was more to pay attention to in the house with the temperatures so freezing cold and actually getting worse. Lory watches over our house while we are away. This year, her brother, Cory, said he would help her out with this task. We pray they don’t encounter any problems....it has happened in the past but we are thinking positive now. Fingers crossed and wood knocked.
Our rolling rig hit the pavement this morning @ 11:00 AM. The sun was shining and the sky was
that beautiful blue that we always call “a Florida sky”. The temperature was freezing! 11 degrees! Yikes. Cory ran the 2 furnaces in our RV. It’s kind of like blowing hot breath inside an igloo. We piled our last minutes goodies back into the RV. It looks like a unkempt thrift shop with our clutter heaped all over. But we still made room for all of you. We know you understand and remain non-judgmental. You are not traveling with Martha Stewart.
We layered our multiple pieces of winter garb back onto ourselves. Same outfits as the first time around.....review my other blog for the clothing list. I see you all wised up and dressed more appropriately.....shorts and tank tops just won’t do....at least not for awhile. Looks like Florida is even experiencing this chill factor so you may be wearing your long johns longer than you think.
Even with our front heater and 2 furnaces running, it is still COLD traveling in our airy bus. It is like riding in a big, walk-in cooler......Cory & Lulu driving this metal refrigerator down the pike. Cory bought a dozen “hot packs” for the trip. Enough to share with all of
you. I stuck them in my muck boots....I think they helped a little - I think...but they surely weren’t hot — far from it! Made my boots feel lumpy. As you can see, when I covered my face with my heated blanket, I looked like I was wearing a burka. Lulu took my red hat....she likes bright colors. The blankets we use are a Godsend. We have used them for years. We plug them into the cigarette lighter and they warm up. They do take the frigid chill off our lower extremities as we plug along. At least this time we didn’t see our breath inside the vehicle. We have in the past!
We travel pass hillsides frozen with dripping ice. Brrrrrrrr. If it weren’t so cold, maybe it could be pretty. Not now, though. We would rather see swaying palm trees instead of giant icicles. The roads are clear and the traffic is light....so far. We are happy to be into 2018....all seems good. Pray it all stays that way. Pray, Pray, Pray.
We have stopped for the night at a very familiar stomping ground....or scraping ground, I should say. We are outside Carlisle, Pennsylvania at a
Sleep Inn. Remember our RV is winterized (thankfully). We have stayed here before....several times on our trips south. But one time stands out in our minds. And....with not a good memory! You were there! Remember?? Remember the hidden, snow-covered stone? The dastardly, rotten rock? The bad, bad boulder that caught the side of our RV as Cory maneuvered around it getting out of the parking lot? It took out a couple of our basement compartments along with paint gouging. Remember? How can we forget?! Well, that pile of granite still stands in its same spot. Gouged,scraped and scratched. Our signature marks are engraved into it as well as others who have encountered this same hard, solid mass. Lulu perched herself upon it....rising above it and letting this gigantic pebble know we had moved on and would never, ever drive close to it again. This time it was not cloaked in a snowy veil ....hidden from sight from astute RV drivers like a Halloween ghost. We could see it: Big and “Bould” and Brash. Boooo, Hisss!
Minus this one anguishing mishap memory, we like this place a lot. The motel is clean and cozy. They serve a nice breaking the
morning. Coffee and hot chocolate available 24/7. Just across the parking lot is a Cracker Barrel Restaurant. We love CB. I always get the same meal: grilled spicy catfish, green beans & dumplings. It is always perfect and delicious. We held ourselves back from getting their double chocolate Coca-Cola cake. We love this scrumptious treat...to die for! But, we were full from our meal and it would really put us over the top. We’ll be at more CB’s and will definitely indulge in this splendid sweet treat. Probably even several times. Yummmm. Lulu slugged down Cory’s frosted Root Beer. She never has to worry about her weight....except, let me tell you: her head is getting very heavy to haul around! She just shrugs....or tries to....no shoulders!
Time to get some rest. There was a lot of yawning going on in the bus today. Must be you were up late last night. Of course, it not easy to sleep as we travel. We are all stacked together like bowling pins. But that helps in keeping each other warm. Top priority. ????We Are Fam-ilee????. Listen for the wake-up call.
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mary lou
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on the road
Glad your on your way...safe travels and stay warm...