September 30 - “Woodstock 2022”

42 degrees when we woke up. So glad we packed our winter coats.

 

Left our hotel and headed for Woodstock. Wait. What year is this?

OK. OK. Not the same Woodstock. This one hosted a national historic site. Somebody’s big mansion. The owner did some stuff related to conservation. And he married a Rockefeller. Guess that was enough.

 

My favorite roadside sign? “Hillbilly Recycling”. It was a … junk store. Huge place. Would have been a kick to go in and browse. We didn’t. Not sure why.

 

Sugarbush Farm. Shades of Coon Dog cemetery. Up on a mountain. Way up a dirt road. Finally came to a sign: “You are either here at Sugarbush Farm or you are lost.”  Not so encouraging.

 

They did have a store on the farm full of good-tasting stuff. How do I know? Free samples. Best cheese and honey I ever ate. We spent a dollar or two there. We saw where they do the maple sap collecting. Even took a little hike to see the actual sap lines hooked into the tree. No sap in them though. Wrong time of year.

 

Got to drive through an actual covered bridge right next to a (cover your ears) dam.

 

Drove south for a quick shortcut (Took 45 minutes, so not so quick) to a place called The Vermont Country Store. Huge place that reminded us of a Cracker Barrel on steroids. Great clothing sections, though. I stumbled across a new hat. Made in Ireland. What that has to do with Vermont, I have no idea. Cool hat, though.

 

Then it was across another border into New Hampshire. The state only has one national park site, so we had to get that stamp. The park they have chosen to immortalize is the home of an artist. He did some sculptures that were pretty impressive, but his claims to fame are the one of Abe Lincoln and the one of a regiment of soldiers marching to battle in the Civil War.

 

Our next goal is a famous scenic drive up in northern New Hampshire. Pretty popular place. So popular that we had to drive further south again to find a hotel. This place is full of crazy people trying to look at dead leaves.

 

John 14:27 says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

 

Father, thanks for the chance to check Vermont off our bucket list. Very pretty place. But cold. Really cold. Amen.

September 29 - “A side trip …”

With a fresh tank of gas and a bin full of clean engine oil, we left for the next New York leg of our journey. First stop?  Walmart!  We needed a new memory card for Chris’ camera. The new battery didn’t solve the problem, so this was next on the list. As luck would have it, the closest Walmart was about 30 miles away. But … it was right on the way to our next stop.  But wait. So was a cute little detour potential. Just a mile or two off the road. After Walmart we could go to … Cooperstown.

 

Yep, THAT Cooperstown. Baseball Hall of Fame Cooperstown. Not that I was particularly excited …

 

So … we were on that Road to Cooperstown. We were just casually driving along, and all of a sudden Chris said, “Dam.”  Imagine my chagrin. Oh, the horror. Oh the … actual dam over by the side of the road that she was pointing out. Oops. My bad.

 

The little town of Cooperstown was bustling. A steady stream of visitors followed us into the Hall of Fame. Others shopped in the shops on the main drag. We roamed through all the exhibits. Nothing was as we remembered it. Chris was terribly disappointed that they didn’t have an entire room dedicated to baseball cards. Not just rare cards, which they did have displayed. She meant the entire room of nothing but cards - whole sets from whatever year you wanted to see. It was the only thing she remembered from our last visit - me searching through each year, looking for some player I knew. She was sad to miss it. After that little side trip, we headed on in the direction of the next national park.

 

But first we had to make our way through the middle of … and Chris noted this one out loud as well, although she altered the pronunciation: the town of Rotterdam. She pronounced it “Rotterdum.” Close enough. The route we were on kept us away from tolls as requested, but it also allowed us to become intimate with the inner workings of the Rotterdam/Schenectady/Albany metroplex. She was even called upon to navigate numerous roundabouts. Woohoo!

 

We almost stumbled upon another hidden treasure. The National Bottle Museum. We were but 20 minutes away.  But we were also at the mercy of Google Siri and in the middle of nowhere. We knew we had better leave well enough alone when we were told to turn onto Coons Crossing Road. Scary stuff.

 

I forgot another of Chris’ “most enjoyable” car driving experiences. Narrow bridges. And boy, did we ever find one. Somewhere up in New York near Vermont. We had just seen the site of the Battle of Saratoga (Revolutionary War this time).  Yep. She still hates narrow bridges …

 

Finally, we landed in Vermont. First time we’ve ever been there, so we had to spend at least one night. Found a hotel in Rutland. Kind of in the middle of the state if you’re looking for it. Today we begin our search in earnest … for dead leaves. Multicolored dead leaves. Multicolored, still on the tree, photogenic dead leaves. We are off …

 

Isaiah 6:8 says, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!””

 

Father, thank you for this chance to see a different type of the beauty of your creation. Colors in dead leaves. Amen.

September 28 - “I’m gonna start doing that …”

We woke up to a specific destination. Bethlehem. No, we didn’t have a vision. We weren’t even responding to a call from Caesar to be counted. We just wanted to go by and see the Dammeyer family. They were all at work, but since they run a family business, they were all in one place. Well, except for Allen’s wife, Lauren, and Lindsey, who is back in Tennessee. We pulled them away from work duties for an hour or so just chatting.  Great to see them.

 

From there we drove up to Scranton, Pennsylvania, to the Steamtown National Historical Site. It had several trains and historical exhibits and of course a National Parks stamp. It was actually a working train roundabout. My Grandaddy worked on one of those. Fascinating stuff. While there we agreed to take on board a little rubber ducky train engineer. He was so happy to get to retire and travel that he threw up his wings and said, “Quackaluia!”

 

We made our way all the way into New York before stopping for the night in Binghamton. Once we got checked in, we went over to the nearby Cracker Barrel for some supper. While we were waiting for our food, a really old guy stopped at our table. Now, by old, I mean considerably older than me, although that “considerably” factor is rapidly shrinking. But this guy told us right up front that he was 90 years old. Or maybe he said 80.  But old. And why stop and talk to us? Aside from the comradery of age, apparently I looked like a football fan. He asked if the Giants won. Fortunately, I had checked that score since they played the Cowboys. Giants lost. And no, I didn’t rub it in by telling him I was from Texas. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway. He said that the score of a football game was just not going to change his life. Very wise man. But then he said that he had been looking all over for his wife. Seems no matter where they go, she can get lost in an instant and it takes him 15 or 20 minutes to find her. Fortunately, he spotted her at a table nearby, looking embarrassedly at him.  They were reunited happily. Think I’ll start doing that - roaming around the restaurant talking to strangers. Wait. I already do that …

 

After we ate, we decided to get the oil changed in the car. I mean, we had already decided before we left home that we would do that in either Pennsylvania or New York. But when we found out that Firestone couldn’t work us in, we decided to go to a Valvoline Quick Change place. The one right down the street, of course, didn’t have the correct filter. So they sent us to the next little town over. Actually I was glad for the switch. I really liked the new manager, and his whole team of five guys immediately jumped in and got to work. They not only changed the oil and filter, they also changed the air filter (after letting me look at it and decide if I wanted to or not - no pressure).  They also aired up the tires. On top of all that, when he saw we had found a $7 coupon on their website, he changed it to $15 to “give you some help on the air filter.”  The price was about what I expected, and they were finished in less that fifteen minutes, with us still in the car. Nice job. Before going back to the hotel, we stopped in at Aldi’s (first time ever) and picked up some bananas and oranges. Ready to head into the frozen northern wastelands now …

 

Romans 8:31 says, “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

 

Father, please be with the Dammeyer clan. Bless their business and draw their family closer to you.  Amen.

 

September 27 - “Safe from the Secret Service”

We got an early start yesterday. Had to get to Antietam Battlefield so we could also make some place called Catoctin and then Gettysburg all in one day.

 

Antietam reminded us of a smaller version of Gettysburg. Except there weren’t very many people there. It was set up to do a lot of hiking if you wanted to. We did one small one, then climbed to the top of an observation tower that overlooks the whole battlefield. Let’s just say … we got our steps in.

 

Next, we drove over to Camp David to check in with the president. Sadly, though, he wasn’t there. Actually, we never got anywhere near Camp David, but the Catoctin National Park is where it is hidden somewhere. If they tell you where … they have to kill you. I think we may have accidentally gotten closen though. We missed a turn and entered the park through a back/side entrance. Siri couldn’t find us, and when he finally did, he couldn’t find the visitors center. We finally stopped at a cabin that had a map outside, and I was able to figure out how to get there. Whew.  Safe from the Secret Service.

 

It was just a 30-minute drive over to Gettysburg. We have been there before, but that was in the days before national parks stamps. We were not missing this chance. In fact, after we got the stamps for the park, we decided to do the tour of Dwight Eisenhower’s farm and house. It was located right next to the battlefield.  Apparently, he was fascinated by history, not to mention the fact that he trained some tank battalions there.  We don’t remember that even being an option the last time we were there. We even sprang for the extra money to ride the shuttle bus in style. Check off that one. We did take a chance and drive into the town. It had Chris’ “third-favorite” traffic memento - a roundabout.  She only hates driving under train bridges and through tunnels more.  We saw the house where Abe Lincoln fine-tuned the Gettysburg Address. Couldn’t find the train station where he arrived in town though.

 

After getting some gas and some food in our stomachs, we headed for Harrisburg and our next hotel stay.

 

2 Chronicles 7:14 Says, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

 

Father, once again we were awed at the massive loss of lives in these battles. We sure want peace in your world, but I guess that would mean you coming back. Come on when you’re ready. Amen.

 

September 26 - “Walking to Maryland”

We left the hotel around 8:30 for the next leg of the journey - somewhere north. First stop was somewhere on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Well, not stop, exactly. Other than the visitor centers and a picnic table for lunch. This morning’s activity was more limited to driving and admiring some of God’s mountainous, treeful, creative activity. 

And the driving continued when we skipped an exit or two and hopped up into Shenandoah National Park. Same kind of thing as the Parkway. Beauty and apparently the occasional beast, although we never saw any other than the occasional hawk. We did experience some excitement up there, though. Just as we began our descent, a severe thunderstorm dropped open around us. Even had some hail. Fortunately, we were headed in opposite directions, so the storm didn’t affect us long. We were glad to get out of that one, for sure. 

After our morning of no particular mental strenuosity (like that word? Spell check sure didn’t), we next typed into our Siri: “Harper’s Ferry.”  Yep. That one wasn’t on our itinerary at all, but we saw it on the map just a few miles away, and we remembered it had some pretty big deal significance to the Civil War, so here we go. It was pretty interesting, too. They have reconstructed the actual firehouse that John Brown holed up in until he was finally soundly defeated by federal troops led by a certain up and coming officer named Robert E. Lee. Fully half of the little town has been repurposed into museums and exhibits relating to the times and events surrounding the Civil War and before. We even walked across a railroad bridge over the Potomac River into Maryland. The civilian part of town provided food and “entertainment “ (read here: bars).  We ate in the town. I had a very well-done (read here … dry - oh, so dry) cheeseburger. Sad, too, because the meat was really thick. Could have been really juicy. It wasn’t. Chris had a tuna salad sandwich. No complaints from her. 

‭‭1 John‬ ‭2:6 says, “Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.”

Father, thank you for the chance to take advantage of serendipitous map discoveries. Amen. 

September 25 - “Hikin’ with ol’ Dan’l”

Our first real hike of the journey came when we left our hotel and drove over to Cumberland Gap National Park. Yep, we hiked the Cumberland Gap with ol’ Dan’l Boone and the gang. Even had a peak-nik at the highest point. The views from that high point were pretty amazing, too. But the most impressive part was when we undertook the “easy” 1.2-mile hike.  So of course we left the hiking boots in the car. “As, how hard could it be,” we said. “It’s just a little over a mile,” we said. Not an easy hike at all. Fun. Beautiful. But not easy. Why not? Because it was straight up. But here’s the exciting part, the reason I wanted to do this particular hike. It led us to the point where the three states converge. With some minor contortions I managed to get myself into all three states at once - Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. How’s that for an accomplishment?

 

When we left the park, we went through three different states in about ten minutes: Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. Crazy road system. After climbing Powell Mountain (in the car), we snaked our way through such booming metropolises as: Jonesville, Duffield, Gate City, Bloomingdale, Kingsport, and Bristol. Then we picked up an interstate out of nowhere and zipped our way across the state to the Booker T. Washington National Monument to grab the sticker there. It was located just outside of Roanoke, so we reserved a hotel in the big city for the evening. But it took us 45 extra minutes to get to the site, itself. Sure didn’t look that far on the map. We pulled up at ten minutes before closing time, but the Ranger was really helpful. She obviously loved her job. She was talking from the minute I walked in to the minute Chris walked out. Then she followed us outside and offered to take a picture of us under the sign. Whew. Glad to have that one behind us. And now … further east and further north.  Well, after a good night’s sleep. 

 

After snaking our way back through more country roads, we finally arrived at our hotel.  But first … some supper.  We were both quite hungry, and as luck would have it, we passed an Italian food restaurant named Mama Maria’s just around the corner from the hotel.  We decided to give it a try, and a good choice it was.  The place was packed, and judging from their conversation, many of them were locals – always a good sign.  Papa was roaming around, bussing tables and welcoming customers – just generally doing what he could. His son Dominic – the new generation – spoke to him often in what was surely a gentle rebuke in Italian. That in itself was heart-warming.  The food was excellent.  Of course, for me, it is hard to mess up manicotti. And Chris had spaghetti with one massive meatball on top. 

 

Full day.  I managed to stay awake for the whole Astros game, though.  exciting stuff.  11-10 comeback win in the ninth for the good guys.  Even got to watch it on MLB.com on my phone.  Free game of the day. 

 

Matthew 7:13-14 says, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

 

Father, thank you for the unique experiences of being in so many states in such beautiful surroundings. You did really good in your creation out here. Amen.

September 24 - “Across the gap through the tunnel”

We woke up yesterday in a different world. Actually, we hadn’t even left our time zone as yet, but there was one thing about the day that made us certain we had truly exited the welcoming warmth of South Texas. It was … cold. When I woke up it was 48 degrees outside. Cold. If this doesn’t kill those leaves we came to see in their deceased state, I don’t know what will.

 

And speaking of a different world, did I mention that the room we were assigned had an interesting designation posted on the wall next to the door. We would be staying in the Presidential Suite.  You may bow and curtsy now.  It wasn’t really all that different from other rooms we have had, save for the extra sink and wall of countertops around it and the kitchen table and four chairs.  Everything else was essentially the same.  But hey … “Presidential.” 

 

Oh, and one other thing.  On Thursday night (hear a background of eerie, foreboding music here), we were just settling in and relaxing in our room when we heard a knock at the door.  Now we were miles from home.  We had met no one in the area.  Tentatively I reached for the door handle.  That’s when it hit me.  It was Thursday night.  Surely this was not Lauren and Cathy, come to haunt us for Bible Study.  I turned the knob and inched the heavy door back on its hinges.  And there stood … no, it wasn’t Cathy and Lauren.  It was the lady from the room next door.  She had knocked on our door by mistake.  She was mortified at her bumble, and apologized profusely. 

 

On the interstate between Nashville and Knoxville, we had an abrupt reminder of why we don’t like to travel on interstates. A big truck (not an 18-wheeler, but big, nonetheless) blew a tire all over the car in front of us. We were able to dodge the bulk of the debris. Guess the truck figured he had a couple extra tires and didn’t need that one. He never slowed down. At least he did change lanes. Fortunately, our exit was not too many miles ahead, so we were off the interstate and back onto the interesting paths of Americana.

 

And what should greet our gas-needing little Chevy when we took the exit?  Buc-ees!  Of course we had to stop and support a truly iconic Texan enterprise. Got some gas and snacks and got right back on the road.

 

Our next stop was the Manhattan Project #2. We have been to the portion of it in Los Alamos, New Mexico. #3 is in Washington State. This one was in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Yes. That’s where the Oak Ridge Boys were originally from. Together they did the work that ultimately resulted in the development of the atom bomb that ended World War II (the Manhattan Project people, not the Oak Ridge Boys).

 

Oh, and before we left town, we stopped off at the neighborhood Friendship Bell. Big ol’ bell hanging in a park. You can even bong it with the big log attached. We behaved and … didn’t. I still regret it. But someone else did while we were having our lunch picnic.  Sounded just like those massive Chinese gongs you hear in the movies.

 

Next we crossed the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky. Chris was driving and we had to go through a really long tunnel under a mountain. If you know Chris, then you know … she was not happy. We did make it through to the other side without being horribly crushed by millions of pounds of rock and dirt, though. We spent the night in Middlesboro, Kentucky. We had supper at Cracker Barrel. Imagine that. Thanks again to the ones who gave us gift cards.

 

While we were waiting for our food, Chris got a call from UTMB. It was about the results of her sleep study. They wanted her to come back and do another one. Told you so. They did backtrack rather quickly when they found out Chris’ doc hadn’t even talked to her about the options. Now we wait for his office to call.

 

John 15:4 says, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

 

Father, help us with the waiting - the abiding in you while we wait. Amen. 

September 22 - “Patrolling the battlefields”

Chalk one more up in the win column. Not just for the Astros. Gotta add this Comfort Suites we just stayed in. Not much to complain about here. Nice, clean, spacious room. Manager’s special free supper at night. Good hotel continental breakfast. Kind, even vivacious personnel. I would go back to that one.

 

Headed out for our next battlefield in the morning. Not that we were fighting or anything. But somebody did. Sometime in the past. Civil War time frame in this case. It was not very well-preserved or marked, but it did honor a lot of lives lost.

 

From there we headed north to Corinth. We went to the Corinth visitor center for some stamps for Chris’ book. Then we needed some food.

 

Where to eat in a foreign city? Where the locals do. Abe’s Grill in Corinth was absolutely, hands down the best place we have eaten so far. The burger shack was carved out of an old gas station. The walls were covered with old license plates. Old Abe himself welcomed us in. Well, after a lady outside saw us taking pictures and offered to take some of the two of us. I was almost speechless. She reminded me a whole lot of my Mom. Once inside we barely had room to turn around, and we sat at the grill area, a bar about three feet from the grill. Abe the second (his son Rob) was the cook. And Abe’s wife (Mom) did waitressing. They chatted with us and other customers who were mostly locals. Our burgers were amazing. Old time style, greasy, cheesy deliciousness. And the fries had been fresh cut that morning. When we went to check out (meaning we stood up so the next customers could have our seat and turned around to face the cash register), Old Abe asked us what we had, said it would be twenty bucks, and called it a day. Oh, he did ask where we were from. He knew of Galveston, though he’d never been there. We told him to put it on his bucket list.

 

From Corinth we drove into Tennessee to the Shiloh National Park. We have been there before, but that was before Chris started getting stamps in her book. We didn’t do the drive around the park again, but as it turned out, it was a good thing we stopped. Sitting in the gift shop area was none other than Ollie Otter, big tail sticking out behind. I love otters. Needless to say, Ollie joined our journey.

 

Next, we took off all the way across southern Tennessee to the town of Murfreesboro. There was another national battlefield there. You know, I remember reading about a lot of these places on the back of the Civil War trading cards I have. Should have brought them for research …

 

We drove just a little further and spent the night in Lebanon, Tennessee. It’s a small town not far from Nashville. Oh, and it got chilly outside. In the 60’s. That’s winter in Galveston. 

 

Not sure if we’ll backtrack toward Nashville today or not. May just keep heading farther east and farther north.

 

Galatians 6:2 says, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

 

Father, it was pretty sobering seeing how many lives were lost during those battles. And both sides were Americans - family. Please help us learn from that. Amen.

 

September 22 - “Surprises”

We had a surprise blessing to start this leg of the journey. We had enough loyalty points to get a hotel room for free. The hotel desk clerk was the nicest. Even the breakfast lady was super-helpful. I’m impressed. So, thank you, Comfort Suites Monroe, Louisiana.

 

And we’re off. We drove away from the hotel around 8:30 and headed for Poverty Point National Monument.  Yes, that would be the first stamp for Chris’ National Parks book this trip. Good thing they had a stamp, too. Not much to this one.  We did get to do one hike. Up the only mountain in Louisiana. It was actually an Indian mound from a few thousand years ago. Not a bad hike.  Just short.

 

Next, we turned our attention toward a national battlefield near Tupelo, Mississippi. But we had a problem. We got sidetracked. See, we went through a place called Leland, Mississippi. Guess who was born there? Kermit the Frog. Had to do a little side trip to check out his museum. Gotta honor these huge celebrities when we get a chance, I guess.

 

On to Tupelo. Went through a town called Kilmichael.  Stay away, all you Michael’s out there.  We also saw a preponderance of massive crosses along the side of the road. Best guess as to their origin says that massive giants had them as charms on bracelets and the bracelets had a tendency to break, causing the crosses to cascade down upon the land and get stuck among the trees.

 

On the way to Tupelo we ended up on the Natchez Trail. We have been on that route before. It’s miles and miles of nothing but trees. No signs. No wildlife. No evidence of civilization at all. And the speed limit is 50. Always 50. Boring. Somewhat pretty, but boring.

 

We made it into Tupelo around 3:30 or so. And the big battlefield we were heading toward? It incorporated less than a city block right smack in the middle of town. One big monument and a few canons flanking it. Hum. We did find out that the visitor center was … back on the Natchez Trail about six miles further north. We had time, so we took off. And we did find it - just in time. The Ranger, although getting ready to close up for the evening, was a great help. Very talkative, but he eventually even gave us directions to our hotel.

 

Speaking of the hotel, we got a really unexpected treat. Last night was Manager’s Special Night. Free supper. Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes. That was a surprise we would never have anticipated. The food was pretty good, too.

 

Psalms 8:3-4 says, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”

 

Father, thanks for the surprises. They have already made the trip really exciting. Amen. 

September 21 - “Where the Rougarou Roam”

The funeral we attended went well. The Huntley’s provided us with a great breakfast of bacon and eggs beforehand. The Colley’s daughter Arica was particularly happy to see her long-time G.A. Teacher from her childhood (that would be Chris. The two of them hugged and cried … a lot). G.A. Stands for Girls in Action, a Baptist program that teaches young girls about missions. The Colley’s son Brandon did a fine job of eulogizing his Dad. After the service we joined the Huntley’s at Uncle Julio’s Mexican Food Restaurant for lunch. Good stuff to kick us off on our official vacation beginning.

The rest of the day was spent in the car. The highlight for us, tourist-wise was one thing we passed too quickly to get a picture of.  In fact, I'm kind of glad we were racing past.  It was ... frightening.  Off to the side of the road, rising from beneath what appeared to be a spring or well, was a gigantic hand.  Now this whole giants  coming out of the woods and standing by the side of the road thing is becoming some kind of theme for this trip.  But a gigantic hand reaching up from the bowels of the earth?   Especially in Louisiana, where the Rougarou roam?  A bit much, don't you think?

Fortunately, we dodged any further encounters with Rougarou Robere, and we made it to Monroe, Louisiana for the night. Just lolled around the hotel. Speaking of the hotel, we had the best front desk clerk in recent memory. She was kind and helpful and even said, “God bless you,” as she handed me my keys. Then she came up to the room when our cable wasn’t connecting. She basically just reset the receiver. But great job. Oh, and I liked her name: Diamond.

 

Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

 

Father, please watch over Kay and the family as they walk through the next few days and weeks. Give them your peace. Amen.

 

September 20 - “Canceled”

Well, then. Early start to a very busy day. We both took the walk this time, and I could sure feel this one in my errant hip. Guess it was just tuning up for the afternoon doctor’s visit.

 

When we got back to the house, Chris immediately kicked into high gear. Her first task, water the new azalea bushes she’s trying to get to take in the front yard. From there, it was finish the last load of laundry and dig in with the packing. I had three other tasks. Figure out how to pay one of our bills online. Figure out how to enter our info into the Entering Canada app. Go to Randall’s to get a few prescriptions. After all our tasks were complete we could then head to League City for the doc appointment. Or so we thought.

 

All the prep stuff went well. Everything fell into place nicely. Corey and Janell came over to say goodbye and to assure us they would look after the house. And as Chris was finishing up packing the last suitcase … the phone rang. UTMB. We assumed it was her doctor calling. We’ve been trying to get the results of her sleep study (My guess is … “Inconclusive“). But no. It was for me. Seems the hip doc just went home from the clinic sick. No appointment today after all. Reschedule for the end of October. Wonderful.

 

Actually, it wasn’t really bad news. Oh, it does mean I’ll have to live with the hip pain for another month or so, but I’ll handle that. The funny thing was, Chris visible relaxed. She seemed to melt into enjoyment mode all of a sudden. No more deadline. I was even able to finish part of the episode of Halloween Wars I was watching on the Food Channel. We were on the road by 1:15.

 

And it was a good thing we left so soon. As it turned out, we faced not one but two serious detours on the interstate. The first wasn’t so bad. We were sent down a back road that was quite scenic and wooded. Great shade from the afternoon sun. But then … the second problem area popped up. Construction. Traffic was backed up for miles. And the little Siri voice from the GPS on Chris’ phone kept insisting, “you’re still on the fastest route.”  Thank you.

 

We finally pulled into the Huntley’s driveway around seven. Several hours of catching up later (and after munching on some yummy cookies), we hit the sack. Long day.

 

Zephaniah 3:17 says, “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”

 

Father, thank you for safety through all that traffic. Please bless the Huntley’s hospitality, and wrap your arms around Kay and the kids today at the funeral. Amen.

 

September 19 - “Emergency”

We got to church and were enjoying the first few songs when I received a phone call from our next-door neighbor’s daughter. She was calling an ambulance for her mother and needed us to unlock the door (we have a key). We jumped in the car and headed out.

 

We beat the ambulance by 15 or 20 minutes. That gave us plenty of time to get the key and make sure our neighbor knew that we were there and that the ambulance was on its way. They arrived and got her all loaded in, so we checked in by phone with her daughter who was on her way to meet the ambulance at the hospital.  Finally we headed back to church, listening to as much of the sermon as we could online. Got there in time for the last few songs and dinner on the grounds.

 

After church Kel’s family came over. I fixed sno-cones and we watched the Astros game (Good guys won) and half of the Texans game (couldn’t figure out who were the good guys – seemed like neither side wanted to win). Once the LaMarque Vaughans left (with Freddy in tow), though, Chris kicked into high gear getting ready to leave.

 

So … packing this morning.  Loading up the car and heading for my doc appointment first in League City.  We’ll leave from there for our overnight stay with the Huntley’s in Midlothian.  Tomorrow the plan is to attend a funeral, then hit the road East from there.  Here we go …

 

John 11:25-26 says, “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?””

 

Father, please be with Linda and her doctors. And walk with her daughter through the hospitalization experience as well. Amen.

September 18 - “Moonfall”

We are working through our pre-trip to-do list. Today’s for me was mowing the grass to get started. Well, I mowed while Chris went for her walk. When she got back, she did her sweep-up of the sidewalk as well as of the leaves in the backyard. I helped in both cases. I used the leaf blower in the front. Switched to a grass rake in the back.

 

Oh, and I also trimmed the neighbor’s tree. That thing has been bothering me for years. It’s supposed to be a fruit tree. Some kind of plum. It has never even bloomed, must less put on fruit. It spends too much energy putting on branches and leaves. Now it actually looks like a tree. We’ll see about the fruit.

 

We found a movie we hadn’t seen before. Disaster genre, if you’re into that. It was called Moonfall. All about … the moon … umm … falling.  Is the moon really the moon? And did aliens …? Conspiracy theories abound. 

 

Psalms 27:14 says, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

 

Father, please be with us at church this morning. Draw those folks there who you want to be there. Amen.

September 17 - “60 cents a gallon”

Our day was kind of quiet for a change. Well, except for the thunder (and accompanying rain) that greeted us upon arising. So much for a morning walk. Instead we did some more pre-trip planning.

 

On that note, we received some sad news. A friend of ours from our days in Arlington died. Bryant Colley has been battling cancer for a year now. The funeral is Tuesday, so we are trying to figure out how to add that to the beginning of our journey.

 

We made a Walmart run to pick up some of the last-minute trip stuff. You know.  Snacks and the like. We also went to Randall’s. They had the coffee I like on sale.  While there we also filled up with gas. With the perks from the store, we got no less than 60 cents off a gallon.  Filled up for $2.39 a gallon. It’s been a while …

 

James 5:13 says, “Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.”

 

Father, please be with Kay and the Colley family as they walk through Bryant’s death. And welcome him home with you. Amen.

September 16 - “Lollygag”

Chris took off on another walk yesterday, of course. It was my day off, though, so I stayed behind. I didn’t lollygag, though.

 

Lollygag. Now there’s a classic term. Been around at least as long as my Mom and her Mom before her. I remember hearing it as a kid. Not that I ever participated in said lollygag-Itry.

 

So … no lollygagging. While Chris was gone, I took over the housecleaning duties for Thursday home group. Sweep, dust, vacuum, clean toilets. About the only thing I missed was mopping, but I just ran out of time (she got back home). She was surprised at my efforts. So was I, actually.

 

We both were hard at work all afternoon. Chris was doing her initial pass-through of a scrapbook of our trip to the Panama Canal Zone. She is now ready to start with the actual scrapbooking step now.  That means cutting and pasting and inserting and re-inserting.  All stuff she is really good at.  I wanted to be in the same room, so I worked on the latest jigsaw puzzle. I also went over the Bible Study. The Astros started a little early, so we watched them up until the home group folks started arriving.  Good guys won again, by the way. 

 

Psalms 85:2 says, “You forgave the iniquity of your people and covered all their sins.”

 

Father, thank you for the folks in our home group. They are a group of really special people to us. Amen.

September 15 - “Mexican Italian food”

I was back to my early rising again yesterday. We went to bed at ten, so my waking up at 4:30 wasn’t that far off, I guess. Six and a half hours. Not bad.

 

I did join Chris on the hike part of her workout. Two and a half miles. But the good thing? I found a penny. Woohoo.

 

We spent the afternoon watching the Astros game. Well, at least I did. Chris watched some of it. Good guys won, but they made it too close. I also worked on our latest jigsaw puzzle.

 

Last night we were invited to Texas for dinner. By “Texas” I mean Nathan and April and Cailyn’s house. We haven’t seen them in quite a while, so we were both looking forward to the excursion. Dinner was amazing, as usual. Parmesan chicken, spaghetti and meat sauce and some kind of Italian pico. Not sure where that recipe came from. I ate some, though. Not bad. And I don’t particularly like pico. So … Mexican Italian food. Definitely a first.

 

John 10:11 says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

 

Father, thank you for the chance to hang out with our Santa Fe Vaughan clan. Amen.

September 14 - “Vascular Verification “

We were out of the house by 7:45 yesterday. That’s a.m.  I had an appointment with a vascular doc at 9 a.m.  In Angleton. That’s about an hour from Galveston. It was the only appointment I could get with this particular doc before we leave on our trip. And Chris insisted that we weren’t leaving on the trip until after I saw this doc. So, what’s so special about this one?  Well, somehow there is a chance that the pain in my hip could be related to a possible plaque buildup in my aorta. Go figure. Hence, the trip to the Angleton clinic. But, hey.  We’ve never been ones to shy away from an adventure.

 

The vascular doc was pretty impressive. Young and pregnant (not that that mattered).  She had done her homework on me and obviously knew her stuff. I have to do one test to verify blood flow to my feet (Vascular Verification), but she seemed sure that all was well vascularly.

 

On the way home we stopped at a Hobby Lobby in Lake Jackson (another not-so-massive metropolis south of Galveston). Come to find out, she had a gift card that was burning a hole in her pocket. No longer …

 

Oh. The trip? Looks like we’ll set departure date for Tuesday morning. I gave one more doc appointment on Monday afternoon. This one is with a sports orthopedic doc. She is the one who gives the steroid shots into offending joints. Ouch.

 

Proverbs 19:17 says, “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.”

 

Father, thanks for the good report so far from the vascular doc. Amen.

 

September 13 - “Thirty cents”

All that hiccuping yesterday must have really taken its toll on me. I knew it hadn’t allowed me to get in an afternoon nap. And you expend an awful lot of energy exercising your diaphragm like that. By the time they dissipated for the evening (again … for no apparent reason), I felt like I had run a marathon. I gotta say, though, I slept really well. Aside from two quick bathroom breaks, I slept all the way to 6:30. Been a long time.

 

I had a call from the oral surgeon’s office. They were just checking up on me. I asked what was the deal weigh the two days of hiccups?  She replied with a laugh, “Hiccups are to be expected.” Well, they weren’t!  They should put that on the post-op instructions.

 

We spent a long time in the morning doing some trip planning. Sort of. This one is kind of a long one, so we do need a general idea of which direction to head. Chris broke out her National Parks book and dove right in. I found a sort of up and back route, and she filled it in with all sorts of fun details as possibilities. We may or may do everything she found, and we may run across something else that looks even better. But we have the beginning of a trip here.

 

In the afternoon we made a Walmart run. Just needed fruit. When we checked out, Chris noticed that the watermelon came up thirty cents more than what was marked on the bin. We took it over to the service desk to get our money back. That didn’t happen as quickly or easily this time. The posted price just didn’t match the the one in the system. I finally went back and took a picture of the bin with my phone. She agreed to to care of it. But check out how. She refunded the entire price of the watermelon onto a gift card. Then we used the gift card to turn around and buy back the watermelon. Now we have a gift card with thirty cents on it. Not even enough for a pack of gum. Oh, well.

 

Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

 

Father, thank you for the hiccup relief. And would you bless those folks who called to check on me. I appreciated that. Amen.

September 12 - “Hiccup”

I can honestly say I didn’t sleep much on Saturday night. Not that we were invaded by aliens or anything. Not even that I was in particular pain (any more than usual). I went to bed, did a crossword or two, and had the lights out by a little after ten. Went right to sleep. But at 2:30 I was wide awake. Just awake. I tried all the usual tricks of the trade. Prayer. More crosswords. I finally got up so I wouldn’t keep Chris awake. It sure is quiet around here in the wee hours. Not that I’m complaining. And after her usual initial burst of energy, racing through the house looking for her “friend” (AKA favorite toy), Freddy went back to sleep with ease in her rocking chair in the office. It was nice.

 

My latest malady has been a sudden onset of the hiccups. No idea why. I have a hunch it might be related to the anesthesia, though. Why not?  It’s as good a reason as any. I tried all the home remedies except maybe the scaring yourself one. I drank water, sucked on ice, held my breath. I finally tried one I’ve never tried before. Warm milk. Tasted weird, but it actually worked. Good for bedtime, I hear. But it’s morning now, and they are back. Any ideas?

 

We went to church twice. Well, church came to us. We watched Josh preach at 9, then pulled up Kel at 10 and watched Seaside. That makes us double holy, right? And I didn’t bother anyone with my incessant diaphragm spasming. 

 

After church Kel and his family came over and hung out with us for the afternoon. We pretty much spent the time watching the Astros win big and the Texans blow a 20-3 lead to end up in a tie. Gotta love our Houston teams.

 

Psalms 147:3 says, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

 

Father, thank you for the early morning quiet time.  It was nice.  Amen.

 

 

 

September 11 - “Into the Borg”

Well, I made it through my first night, sans toothache. Hope the means “without.”  Just trying to add some European-ish spice to the report this morning. I actually didn’t have any pain or swelling that I could tell. The only complaint I had - and still have - was the stitches. The ends are hanging down into my mouth, which is quite annoying. Chris assured me they would go away on their own. We’ll see.

 

Kel left right at 6 a.m. He had to get back home to help with ferrying kids to karate classes. I told him I really appreciated him being here. We had no real idea how the whole tooth surgery aftermath would play out, so Chris was really glad he stayed.

 

Speaking of Chris. She made it through the night of wires and stickers on her head and body all connecting her to a machine at her sleep study. Apparently, she even slept for a while. Convenient, since it was a sleep study. However much she got, it was more than I did back when I had mine many years ago. She had enough rest to head out for her walk this morning. Went 3 miles and averaged 16+ minutes per mile. That’s almost running. I was always happy with about a 15 minute per mile pace when I was running long distances every day. Guess I’ve really been slowing her down. 

 

We were excited in the afternoon. Two reasons. One, Josh called to check up on us. Always fun to hear from him. Second, the mailman brought us the replacement wheel we ordered for the suitcase that was damaged. It took a bit of elbow grease, but we got the new one on. Now we’ll have to take it on a test run sometime real soon.

 

Revelation 7:9-10 says, “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’”

 

Father, thank you for that no-pain night. And thanks for being with Chris through her journey into the Borg. Star Trek fans will understand that. Amen.

September 10 - “The offending tooth …”

Pretty successful early morning hours. I got the jigsaw puzzle down to four pieces so Chris could finish it out. Hmm. What does that say about me when success is measured in completed jigsaw puzzles and dentist appointments. 

And speaking of the latter… 

My emergency dentist appointment was with the guy who pulled two other teeth out of my head. I didn’t really want him to do it. He just didn’t impress us last time. Sigh. Perfect case of beggars can’t be choosers. I’ll take what I can get. 

We got to the office at 4 and started on all the proverbial paperwork. It was right at six before the actual procedure began. They gave me some happy juice in an IV, so I remember nothing until they were waking me up, telling me to get up and walk out. Good thing they had a wheelchair nearby. Let’s just say I wasn’t very steady on my feet. And the double vision didn’t help. I tried to help Chris drive on the way home. Hey, there were two of everything out there. She had to be extra-careful. Back at home I sang a happy tune in the way inside. No, really. I sang something. You’ll have to ask Chris exactly what. So inside, I got set up on my recliner to watch the Astros game.  The offending tooth is gone. Kel came over to spend the night with me. Sleepover! 

And beyond helping to make sure I didn’t hurt myself, why was Kel over?Chris left shortly after we got home. She had to be at UTMB by 8 for her sleep study. She sent me a photo of her digs and another of her all hooked up to the wires and such. Pretty sparse surroundings. And I still don’t see how you can get any sleep in a hotel room wanna-be, all hooked up to monitors with cameras filming your every move. She’s free to come home by 6 or 7 in the morning. Can’t wait to hear her report. 

James‬ ‭1:19‬ says, “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,”

Father, help Chris get some sleep tonight. Thank you for Kel coming to hang out with me. Bless him for that. Amen.

September 9 - “Reached my limit …”

We teamed up again. Sort of. I still felt pretty miserable (measly), but our yard really needed mowing. So Chris took off on her hike and I pulled out the lawn mower. The worst thing so far about this whole tooth adventure is the fact that it doesn’t really matter what I eat or drink. The tooth will flare up. That’s not helpful when you are hot and sweaty and need to drink water to stay hydrated. I got through the mowing, but the liquid aftermath was just as painful. As I said before, though, at least the tooth pain is tricking my brain into forgetting about my back and hip. 

After struggling through a very long and painful early afternoon, I decided not to attempt leading Bible Study last night. The group was really understanding and encouraging. 

Finally, around 4:15, I decided I had pretty much reached my limit. There was no way I could last a whole week with this pain and the annoyance that it brought trying to do even basic (and necessary) stuff - like eating or drinking a glass of water (a straw helped, by the way). I called the office to see if there was any other approach they could recommend to control the pain. The lady was quite kind and understanding. She had me hold on while she called and made arrangements with one of their colleagues to do the extraction this afternoon. Amazing. Now I only have to last out the rest of today. Well, plus whatever the recovery period is. 

OK enough about me. Chris has her sleep study tonight at the hospital. She will try to fall asleep for them amidst all the wires and TV cameras and such. As impossible as that sounds to me (and was proven impossible for me, by the way, back when I made the same attempt some years ago - results “inconclusive”), if anybody can pull this off, it will be Chris. After all, she is used to being all wired up while she did cardiac rehab. 

Ephesians‬ ‭5:1‬ says, “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children”

Father, please be with Chris tonight and let her actually get some sleep. Amen.