Soso, MS

Bob and I packed up this morning and moved on to Soso, MS. Along the way we passed a town called Hot Coffee and one called Sanatorium, and it got me thinking about odd names of towns. Mississippi boasts its share (maybe more than its share) of odd town names. The following are actual towns in MS: Alligator, Arm, Chickenbone, Chunky, D’Lo, Ecru, Gin, Mhoon Landing, Money, Possumneck, Rolling Fork, Shivers, and Whynot.

We are parked in the prettiest campground.

Our view from the motorhome is a delight.

Bob, Auggie and I had a lovely walk long the water and enjoyed the peace and quiet of this place. 

Tomorrow we will visit Laurel, MS, which you may recognize as the setting of the home improvement show, Home Town. I can’t wait.

Storm Delay

On Tuesday Bob and I decided to stick around Monroe, Louisiana a little longer and drove into West Monroe to check out the Cotton Port Antique Mall. Which was actually in Antiques Row, a block of town where there are several antiques shops. It was a pleasant way to spend some time, although the town seemed run down and in definite need of a makeover. We had fun looking, anyway.

We had planned on leaving for our next stop on Wednesday morning, but when we looked at the weather forecast we decided to stick around for another night. The Wether Channel predicted windy conditions with gusts of 50 mph or more, as well as rain. Nope, not driving in that! It wasn’t going to be any better at our destination, either. And we were so glad we stayed. About 1:30 the wind really picked up and the rain came down in sheets. Then our phones started alarming—a tornado had been spotted in the area. We scooped Auggie up and ran for the car, which Bob had unhooked from the motorhome just in case. We drove quickly to the campground office where we took shelter for about 20 minutes until we got the all clear. The rest of the day was spent knitting, reading, and braiding on this neat little kumihimo disk that Bob had made for me.

I was thinking about granddaughter Jillian’s passion for phoenixes, her “favorite mythical creature” when I picked out these colors.

Tomorrow (Thursday) we head for Soso, MS.

Louisiana

Today (Monday) was another travel day. We spent last night in Wills Point, Texas. I love east Texas; it’s so different from west Texas. There is a lot of green, there are forests and pine trees and rivers. It’s very pretty and it smells heavenly. I don’t realize how much I miss the scent of green growing things until I return to them. The bird calls are so different, too, and there are more of them. If I had to choose a part of Texas in which to settle, it would be east Texas.

Then we crossed into Louisiana.

Route I-20 through Shreveport, LA, however, right over the border, has to be one of the absolute worst roads in the country. I’m hoping the Infrastructure Bill puts some money into the roads in Shreveport. There were times where we went airborne I think. 

We have decided to spend an extra day in Louisiana before moving on to Mississippi on Wednesday. It’s pleasant here (apart from the roads) and Bob needs a break from driving. From here on out, we have no more one-night stays and our pace slows down, until we turn north to NJ after visiting with my sisters in Florida at the end of April. I’m really looking forward to this part of our journey.

The Sun Has Riz…

… the sun has set. And here we are in Texas, yet. Bob is feeling so much better, taking his meds and eating well. We have continued to travel, arriving in Abilene, TX yesterday afternoon for a brief stop, and continuing on to Wills Point, TX today. We are stopping midway on these trips for a rest and to have a bite of lunch. This seems to be working well. Today we passed through Fort Worth…

and Dallas…

…without any problems. Weather has been lovely, with highs in the low 80s and lows in the 60s. When fueling up today we saw this giant Transformer statue. Pretty neat!

We are doing a lot of one-night stops right now, but after tomorrow’s one-nighter we’ll be spacing out our drives with 3-7 days in one spot until we leave Florida for the final push to NJ.

We tend to turn on the heat first thing in the morning and Auggie has let me know that he prefers his bed pushed next to the vent, thank you very much. What a goof.

Tomorrow we’ll be out of Texas, finally, and on to Louisiana.

A Scary Week

We had a lovely time in Tucson with our friends Linda and Chuck. I got to visit some favorite shops (Grandma’s Spinning Wheel, the Quilt Basket and the West) and we had loads of fun catching up. From Tucson we traveled on to Deming for two nights, where we ran some errands and just relaxed a bit. On Saturday we stopped in Van Horn, which is where things turned.

On Sunday morning Bob and I were getting ready to move on when he went outside to hook up the water hose so I could finish my shower. I heard a yell from outside so I ran to the window. Bob was on his hands and knees in front of a puddle of blood. “Call 911,” he said to me. He told me later he had felt light headed and had passed out, hitting his face on the hard ground. Blood ran down his face from his forehead and nose. As we waited outside for the ambulance, a couple was driving past and stopped to offer help. They waited with us while the EMTs took vitals and prepared to take Bob to the local health clinic in town. The couple who had stopped offered to drive me to the hospital, as our car was still hitched to the motorhome. 

We were halfway there when the woman said to me, “I’m going to leave you my car. My husband is in his truck right behind me to drive me home. Just bring it back when you come back to the campground. We are just a few sites down from you.” I looked at her in amazement and replied, “I don’t even know your name, and you’re leaving me your car??” We exchanged names and numbers then and this lovely couple left me at the ER.

After several hours at the ER it was determined that Bob had a blood clot in his lung and that he needed to go by ambulance to a bigger hospital about a hundred miles away. I drove back to the RV, dropped off the car, asked these angels (for they truly were that) to help me unhitch my car, and grabbed Bob’s phone and iPad so he would have them at the hospital. We both agreed I should stay with Auggie in the RV. I had folks I could ask for help if needed; surely Bob wouldn’t be in the hospital for long.

As it turned out, Bob also tested positive for Covid, although he had no symptoms. His blood pressure was a little high, and his sugars were high as well. So he was getting lots of treatment. The day after he was admitted to the hospital he blew his nose and a pebble flew out. That’s how hard he hit the ground!

God sent other angels as well. Another couple pulled in right next to our campsite on Wednesday, driving a motorhome of the same make as ours. The fellow offered to hook up the hose so I could dump the gray water, since my tank was getting pretty full despite my efforts to conserve water. He didn’t feel the connection was secure enough so he gave me a brand new hose he was carrying as a spare. He and his wife were so kind!

We had so many people, all around the country, praying for us. Family, friends, and total strangers. We were so lifted up by these prayers and the support we received. Bob and I felt surrounded by the love that was poured out for us. 

On Thursday we waited for the go-ahead for me to pick Bob up and finally we got the word that he was being discharged, and  Auggie and I drove into El Paso to get him. It was a long day. From Sunday to Thursday with no shower and still with blood on his clothes, he was a bit scruffy and smelly, but I was so happy to see him.

This morning, needing to fill his prescriptions, we drove 120 miles to Ft Stockton, TX. It was that or else return to El Paso, since Van Horn has no pharmacy. Can you imagine living in a town where you have to drive over 100 miles to fill a prescription? So we are on our way again. Bob has no restrictions on traveling and I feel better now knowing he has his meds. He has also pledged to eat a more healthy diet, so again, another thing to feel thankful for. I tested negative for Covid and have had no symptoms.

This hasn’t been a fun story to post, but I am thanking God for all the ways He showed His love for us this past week. It could have had a very sad ending.

More Details on the Tucson Trip

Yesterday I glossed over the actual trip to Tucson because I was so tired after a long day of moving and traveling, but while we made it there just fine, the trip took a little longer than we had planned. We stopped to fuel up along the way, then got back on Route 10 heading east. We were 40 miles away from our destination when all traffic suddenly stopped. Every few minutes the car in front would advance about a car length, then we were stopped for another five minutes. After three hours of crawling forward we were still 40 miles away from our destination. Remember that scene in the movie Office Space where the person using a walker passed the fellow stuck on the highway? Well, it was like that. 

Finally we started to move and saw the site of the accident that had held us up. Apparently some idiot stole a car, drove west at over 110 mph, then crossed the median and attempted to drive east but was hit by a tractor trailer. We read that he was conscious when pulled from his burning vehicle. The driver of the truck was not seriously injured but his tractor was being towed when we passed.

At least the scenery was pretty to look at as the sun set!

When it was obvious that we would not arrive before the campground office closed at 5:00, I called to let them know. They gave the information to the gate attendant and we were able to get into the campground, three hours late. This was only the second time we had had to park after dark and it went amazingly smoothly. Our friends, Chuck and Linda, came over to welcome us but didn’t stay long as we still had to set up and fall into bed.

On Wednesday Linda and I went shopping at our favorite Tucson shops; The West (cross stitching,) Grandma’s Spinning Wheel (knitting and weaving,) and the Quilt Basket (sewing.) We had a grand time, coming home with lots of projects that will keep us busy for a long time.

Meanwhile, Bob and Chuck were assembling some kind of an awning for their bikes and kept themselves busy doing guy-stuff. We all ate dinner together and visited some more in the evening.

Tomorrow we will say goodbye to our friends and head to Deming, New Mexico.

On the Road Again

First off, our thoughts and prayers go out to our neighbor and good friend who is in the hospital at the moment. We wish him a speedy recovery.

We have had a good season. Bob has kept busy with his woodcrafting and has made a couple of new bowls.

He made me a second Viking gnome to go with the one he already made me.

He also made a lovely bread box for daughter Emily who has been sourdough-bread-baking up a storm.

Didn’t it come out beautifully? I’ve also been baking sourdough bread using the book, Bittman Bread, and have not had any white flour since the new year. It makes a nice loaf.

I’ve also been sewing quite a bit. Here’s a bag I made for our upcoming Sisters’ Weekend in Florida…

…and a quilt I made for my new niece, Orla.  

Also I crocheted a doughnut rattle, just because!

And here are a couple of Christmas ornaments I made for grandson Alex and granddaughter Jillian.

We celebrated 21 years together on February 9th by visiting Scottsdale and going out to lunch at The Herb Box, where we enjoyed a delightful meal.

 In mid-February Bob and I visited the Mesa Historical Museum and had a lovely time seeing the exhibits. They featured a Karen Kuyendall exhibit that was very interesting.

The following week we visited the Mesa Museum of Natural History. We had no idea that Mesa had so many interesting places to visit!

January and February flew by, and suddenly we were into March. Time to get ready to move. On March 8th Bob drove the motorhome to the park and we started to load up. It took us the full week to move everything but now it’s done and we are on the road as of this afternoon. As usual, our first trip was a short one and we arrived in Tucson despite all the difficulties of the morning. First we somehow misplaced part of the Blue Ox tow bar system and Bob had to run out to get a replacement. Then our rear drivers side slide wouldn’t come in, but Bob managed to fix it somehow. Hopefully it’s all smooth sailing from here on.