Tuesday, July 28, 2015
A month of travel
Well here I am almost 1 month into my journey. I didn't have much internet access while traveling due to limited data usage. I left Arizona on July 5th. It was hard saying bye to family. I traveled through New Mexico into Odessa Texas the first day. As I traveled I enjoyed the scenery in Arizona and New Mexico.....but was not impressed with west Texas. As I went through El Paso, it stunk like cow manure from the cow herds all crammed into feed houses. Then as I traveled further, I saw oil fields and machines and the smell of burnt oil. To me, I felt a bit of oppression, and knew it wouldn't be a place for me. There were also miles of windmill farms dispersed between the oil fields. After spending 7 months in the desert I was looking forwars to seeing lush greenery and water, so perhaps that is why I disliked the last part of day 1. I traveled 7 hours, but went through 2 time zones, so I was very tired when I found a hotel to collapse in!
Day 2 I set out for Duncanville, Texas to visit a lifelong friend I haven't seen in probably 30 years. I drove through Dallas to my destination just south of Dallas. I was not a fan of the traffic! Reconnecting with heavy traffic after desert non traffic was a bit nerve wracking! I enjoyed catching up with my dear friend and meeting her husband. It was like no time passed between us. This will be a cherished memory.
Day3 I traveled about 4 1/2 hours to Mena, Arkansas where I stayed with a high school friend from RI. Again it was nice to see another friend and catch up. The ride was beautiful, west of Dallas and heading north I began to see lush green, beautiful flowers and streams through the rolling mountains and tiny little towns of Arkansas.
Day 4 my friend lead the way to Hot Springs where we met up with another high school friend, my childhood babysitter. We got to tour Hot Springs and have pizza, something I missed in AZ! I spent the night catching up with her after our rounds through the area. It is absolutely beautiful there!
Day 5 I headed to some friends from PA south of Nashville, TN. I drove about 6 hours through AK, through Memphis and onto my stop for 2 days. Again such beautiful landscape. I could live in TN if I was afraid of tornadoes and not able to deal with the humidity. Day 6 we went to Lynchburg to see the Jack Daniels Museum and then onto Nashville. I fell in love with Nashville, we walked around, ate and listened to some good music!
Day 7 I drove about 4 hours to visit another set of friends from PA living in Knoxville. I got to go to his gig as he is a great musician. It was so good to see them again, I spent an extra day there to relax.
Day 8 I set out for my sisters house in Norfolk, VA. This was the longest leg of my journey! An 8 hour trip ended up being almost 10 hours due to rain, and traffic from 2 accidents. I was relieved to get out of the car and step in the sand of the east coast! I unloaded boxes to give to her family that came from my Nana who passed away Christmas Eve. Nana has been my other travel companion besides Betty Boop. Nana's ashes are to be buried in PA in the Fall so she is traveling safely with me.
Day 9 I drove north for about 3 hours to see a friend I worked with in PA. I got to catch up and reminisce about old times while relaxing on the porch. Of course with every stop the time went so fast. I had to head out on
Day 10 for Hatfield, PA to my best friends house for a night. It was about a 4 hour drive, got caught in a nasty rain storm and had to pull over, but found clear skies ahead. I got to enjoy coffee by her pool with good conversation and making plans for more time to catch up in a few weeks.
Day 11 I finally headed to my hometown I left in December. I have to say I missed people but not the area. I didn't have that excited feeling I get when I cross the bridge into RI. I felt anxious because I left a lot of bad memories here. The next few days I got to catch up with the important people in my life, true friends, and of course not enough time to see everyone. I got to see my son and his fiance, have breakfast and tour their new house!
I headed to RI for alumni week on July 20th. My sister was vacationing here at the same time so we got to do several things together. I sit here after over a week here, in my happy place, enjoying the company of good friends and hoping to get into housing here by next spring. Being disabled, I am on several waiting lists here and got a good lead to check out tomorrow, then onto a day at the beach. I have a few days more here, then back to PA and the Jersey shore until Aug 15th. I'll then return to RI to celebrate my birthday and spend a month exploring and remembering the good ole New England area!
Stay tuned, I have tons of pictures of my adventure and Betty everywhere, I just have to take the time to figure out how to load them here :)
Day 2 I set out for Duncanville, Texas to visit a lifelong friend I haven't seen in probably 30 years. I drove through Dallas to my destination just south of Dallas. I was not a fan of the traffic! Reconnecting with heavy traffic after desert non traffic was a bit nerve wracking! I enjoyed catching up with my dear friend and meeting her husband. It was like no time passed between us. This will be a cherished memory.
Day3 I traveled about 4 1/2 hours to Mena, Arkansas where I stayed with a high school friend from RI. Again it was nice to see another friend and catch up. The ride was beautiful, west of Dallas and heading north I began to see lush green, beautiful flowers and streams through the rolling mountains and tiny little towns of Arkansas.
Day 4 my friend lead the way to Hot Springs where we met up with another high school friend, my childhood babysitter. We got to tour Hot Springs and have pizza, something I missed in AZ! I spent the night catching up with her after our rounds through the area. It is absolutely beautiful there!
Day 5 I headed to some friends from PA south of Nashville, TN. I drove about 6 hours through AK, through Memphis and onto my stop for 2 days. Again such beautiful landscape. I could live in TN if I was afraid of tornadoes and not able to deal with the humidity. Day 6 we went to Lynchburg to see the Jack Daniels Museum and then onto Nashville. I fell in love with Nashville, we walked around, ate and listened to some good music!
Day 7 I drove about 4 hours to visit another set of friends from PA living in Knoxville. I got to go to his gig as he is a great musician. It was so good to see them again, I spent an extra day there to relax.
Day 8 I set out for my sisters house in Norfolk, VA. This was the longest leg of my journey! An 8 hour trip ended up being almost 10 hours due to rain, and traffic from 2 accidents. I was relieved to get out of the car and step in the sand of the east coast! I unloaded boxes to give to her family that came from my Nana who passed away Christmas Eve. Nana has been my other travel companion besides Betty Boop. Nana's ashes are to be buried in PA in the Fall so she is traveling safely with me.
Day 9 I drove north for about 3 hours to see a friend I worked with in PA. I got to catch up and reminisce about old times while relaxing on the porch. Of course with every stop the time went so fast. I had to head out on
Day 10 for Hatfield, PA to my best friends house for a night. It was about a 4 hour drive, got caught in a nasty rain storm and had to pull over, but found clear skies ahead. I got to enjoy coffee by her pool with good conversation and making plans for more time to catch up in a few weeks.
Day 11 I finally headed to my hometown I left in December. I have to say I missed people but not the area. I didn't have that excited feeling I get when I cross the bridge into RI. I felt anxious because I left a lot of bad memories here. The next few days I got to catch up with the important people in my life, true friends, and of course not enough time to see everyone. I got to see my son and his fiance, have breakfast and tour their new house!
I headed to RI for alumni week on July 20th. My sister was vacationing here at the same time so we got to do several things together. I sit here after over a week here, in my happy place, enjoying the company of good friends and hoping to get into housing here by next spring. Being disabled, I am on several waiting lists here and got a good lead to check out tomorrow, then onto a day at the beach. I have a few days more here, then back to PA and the Jersey shore until Aug 15th. I'll then return to RI to celebrate my birthday and spend a month exploring and remembering the good ole New England area!
Stay tuned, I have tons of pictures of my adventure and Betty everywhere, I just have to take the time to figure out how to load them here :)
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Ok, I've never blogged before, this is all new to me. Please be patient as I figure my way! Here goes.....
I will begin a journey in 6 days, from Arizona to the east coast. Actually my journey began last Fall when I put everything I own into 2 storage units and set out with my oldest and youngest sons to get to Ariizona from Pennsylvania before my Nana passed away. My sons planned to head to California eventually and I planned on staying for a few months, which led to 7 months.
Although my Nana passed away on Christmas Eve,
It has been great being with my mom and dad and family for this time. I've made memories I will cherish.
Although my emotions are all over about leaving mom and dad and seeing my kids head to California to start their next phase of life, I must go do what I have wanted to do for many years....go across the country visiting friends along the way and taking time for me.
Over the next 4 months I will essentially be living my gypsy life, my essentials stashed in my car and staying with friends and family all over the place! What an adventure this will be!
My trusty companion will be Betty Boop, who began this journey in November, she has had her picture taken along the way. I will be putting it all together in a picture book next Fall!
My other companion will be my Nana, I will be bringing her urn to PA for he final resting place. She was often my travel companion and will be guiding me along the way.
Here's to a great adventure and soul searching on this journey!
Life is good!
I will begin a journey in 6 days, from Arizona to the east coast. Actually my journey began last Fall when I put everything I own into 2 storage units and set out with my oldest and youngest sons to get to Ariizona from Pennsylvania before my Nana passed away. My sons planned to head to California eventually and I planned on staying for a few months, which led to 7 months.
Although my Nana passed away on Christmas Eve,
It has been great being with my mom and dad and family for this time. I've made memories I will cherish.
Although my emotions are all over about leaving mom and dad and seeing my kids head to California to start their next phase of life, I must go do what I have wanted to do for many years....go across the country visiting friends along the way and taking time for me.
Over the next 4 months I will essentially be living my gypsy life, my essentials stashed in my car and staying with friends and family all over the place! What an adventure this will be!
My trusty companion will be Betty Boop, who began this journey in November, she has had her picture taken along the way. I will be putting it all together in a picture book next Fall!
My other companion will be my Nana, I will be bringing her urn to PA for he final resting place. She was often my travel companion and will be guiding me along the way.
Here's to a great adventure and soul searching on this journey!
Life is good!
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