WEDNESDAY, 10/10:
Well, time to head home. “Home”
- almost seems surreal. Our life
for the past 11 ½ weeks has become “home.”
Will it seem strange to wake up in a house that’s not on wheels? To not ask each other first thing, “Which
hike did we say we wanted to do today? “
Or, “Do you want to take the kayaks out this morning?”, followed by, “Do
you want to eat breakfast outside?”
In any case, we “set our face like flint,”
(says Bill), to not be deterred. We left
shortly after 7:00, but then were delayed some because Bill needed to check the
pressure on one tire, fill it with more air, etc. And it was slow going out of LoLo Mai to
I-17, north to Flagstaff, and then more slow going on parts of I-40 because of
elevation climbs. We drove about 525 miles
in about 11 hours. Not great. Plus, we lost an hour. So by about 7:30 Central Time, it was pitch
black, and we were hungry (hadn’t eaten since stopping at McD’s about 10:30
back in Winslow), and Bill was very tired.
So we stopped at Tucumcari, NM and just found a large gas station which
services a lot of big rigs and asked if we could park the RV there
overnight. Sure, no problem. Conserved electricity (since we were on
battery now), but propane was no problem, so we heated up our Manwich leftovers
on the stove and dined in romantic candlelight (well, lantern-light). I remember hearing about Tucumcari even as a
kid - I think it was on the original Route 66, and we probably stayed here when
travelling to Minnesota.
As we went east today, we tried to start thinking a little about the
transition to “home.” We took turns
enumerating some of the things we’re looking forward to back home. Here, in no particular order, are some of
those thoughts:
--getting my hair cut!! It’s getting so long and thick now, it takes so
long to dry it! I already made an
apt for Friday afternoon!
--reliable phone & internet
service
--going to Twin Oaks on Sunday
--motorcycle
rides
--not having to go every single
place in a noisy, monstrous diesel-powered truck
--playing the horn
--not having to put trash/garbage up
on the counter every time we left so that Pappy wouldn’t get into it
--seeing a pretty St. Louis fall,
especially seeing the row of woods behind our house
--trying some of the recipes from my
new Elote cookbook
--watching the Cardinals on TV in
post-season play
--watching our exciting Sunday
evening line-up of 60 Minutes and
then taped (DVR) of the panel from Fox
News Sunday, the only show on Fox that Bill and I can agree to watch
together
--having a refrigerator which holds
plenty, without having to stack things on top of and in front of each other 7
different ways!
--creating a scrap/photobook with
our pictures and journal entries of our trip
--not having to have a roll of
quarters (or more) on hand for doing laundry
--get out on the KATY trail w/ our
recumbents (after getting the wheels fixed!)
--of course, the main one – seeing
family & friends
On the other hand, as we look back west, we’re of course feeling somewhat
sad and melancholy that our adventure is over.
But mostly, we’re filled with gratitude and wonder that we were
fortunate enough to be able take this trip. In 9,180 miles, 79 days, and
touching 10 states, we saw and experienced so much - from kayaking in a high Rocky Mountain
lake, to climbing down into the Grand Canyon, to reveling in watching
foam-splashed turquoise waves against a Pacific coast sunset, to hiking amidst
stunning red rock, to riding in a jeep on top of the world. The United States is truly blessed with “an
embarrassment of riches,” from sea to shining sea – even though on this
particular trip, we only traversed a certain section of it.
We had good – more often, great – weather nearly all of the
time. A variety of climates and
temperatures, which we were prepared for – from shorts & sleeveless tops to
jeans & sweatshirts, so we were always comfortable.
We ate everything from hot dogs and
PB&J’s to gourmet dinners, more often than not, on a picnic table relishing
the wonderful scenery surrounding us.
In the truck, we had fun listening to
everything from Brahms to Springsteen, but more often, just chatted or were
simply quiet, taking in what we were seeing out the windows. And always
Pappy in the back seat, content to lie down until the next gas stop or new camping site.
And of course, we’re very grateful that we
got to spend time with loves ones – kids, grandkids, sister, mother, aunt,
cousins, and old friends.
We’re extremely grateful that we enjoyed
health and feeling good all the way, and that God’s protective Hand kept us
from any serious accidents or mishaps (minor ones notwithstanding!)
Most of all, we’re grateful that a loving
and compassionate Lord led Bill and me to each other, and that we’re now in a
season of life where we’re afforded the exquisite luxury of being able to take
some extended trips like this one (our “trial balloon”), where we can see and
experience so much and draw closer to each other and to the Creator God who
provided all of this world for us to draw pleasure from.
THURSDAY, 10/11:
Knew we wanted to leave early, as we had
over 800 miles (855,but who’s counting??) to drive if we wanted to make it home
tonight. And we do! But I had no idea that “early” meant 2:30
a.m.! Actually, Bill couldn’t sleep well,
kept waking up and looking at the clock.
So he just decided, “Let’s get going1”
We were on the road by 3:15. I
was totally oblivious till we stopped to get gas around 6:30 – that’s only
beginning to be a civilized hour! Poor Bill will have a long haul today; wish
that I could take a turn and relieve him, but no way. Well, we can pull over
and rest if need be.
Are making good progress by 11:30 a.m.
when we got gas just east of Okla City (am writing this as we go along
today). Have come 425 miles – almost
halfway. So looks like we’ll get in
after dark, but at least before midnight.
Weather has turned very cloudy and cool by
the time we reached Oklahoma City.
Totally overcast and grey as far as you can see. Haven’t seen this kind of sky for a long time!
Seems a little too bitterly & ironically appropriate – to be welcomed back
to the Midwest in this way. C’mon!! L
Had our only meal of the day in Joplin
about a 3:00 (our standby, Subway). If
we didn’t feel such time pressure to get home, we might have driven through the
town to see what progress has been made since the devastating tornado 1 ½ years
ago.
So
HOME!! At 9:30 p.m. After we opened the door and walked in, we
just fell into each others’ arms with relief, gratitude, and exhaustion. Bill immediately offered up a big prayer of
thanks for having arrived safely and everything looking wonderful. Both of our first reactions to being inside
our home was, “Wow, it looks so BIG! And
so clean!” Pappy was beside himself
with excitement! He couldn’t stop
running from room to room and jumping all around. One might think he prefers stability to the nomad life! Brought in essentials from the RV, but will
get the rest tomorrow.
We wound down some by watching one of the
Dr. Phil episodes we saw taped. Were surprised that our DVR taped & saved
so many shows. So that was fun – and we
saw ourselves on camera at the very end, as he was walking out with Robin! Snapped a picture of the TV screen for posterity!
THE NUMBERS:
Total
for gas (diesel): $3,342 Avg price/gal: $4.25
--Highest
prices: $4.84 at North Rim; $4.79
At Baker, CA; $4.45 in Malibu
--Was $3.39 when we left Lake St. Louis; when
we got back in town, was $3.97
-- Averaged
11.4 mpg, both with and without
pulling the RV
Total
for lodging: $3,941 Avg $50/nite (the premium price at Malibu
raised the average). Most places averaged around $40
Total
for all else: $3,720 Avg 335/wk
(doesn't include truck & RV repairs, nor
(doesn't include truck & RV repairs, nor
replacement hearing aid lost during a jeep
ride!)
No comments:
Post a Comment