Wednesday, January 7

I told Laura that I was on vacation and my idea of vacation was just doing nothing. She tried and tried to get me to go somewhere touristy, but I was on vacation and I wanted to do absolutely NOTHING! So, on this day, for the most part we stayed home except for the time Laura took me on a tour around the base (all the streets and houses looked alike..don’t ask me how to get anywhere). Nothing too exciting on this day, except I got to do absolutely NOTHING! Wahoo! I was finally on vacation!

We waited for the fence people to come and put up Laura’s fence (she just moved to this house before she drove out to California). I sat and watched them thru the window because I love watching anything being put up…especially if I don’t have to do it myself. I was able to spot 3 deer (after Laura shouted at me to look out the window) running across the field. What a beautiful sight! I’m such a city chick!

Later we went to the base grocery store. Don’t ask me why I thought it would be any different from the grocery stores I had been to in the past. Maybe it was because there are so many more rules on base that we don’t have in the outside world…like 15 mph speed limits! Anyway, after eating out all week it was nice to have something home made (especially if Laura was making it!).

When we got back, I thought about doing my lesson plans for when I got back to school…but that would take away from my vacation, so I played on my computer instead….yes, that was definitely vacation activity….playing online games guilt-free!

Tuesday, January 6, Ft. Knox

The ice that stopped us on the road last night was slowly melted away by the rain. We were going to have an early start, but waited until the rain melted the ice on the road. We finally got on the road about 9:30 am.

Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee were not originally on our route, but after watching the news and realized a storm was coming down into St. Louis, Missouri, we decided to take the southern route and go thru Tennessee. It rained the whole time we were on the road. Sometimes, it drizzled but for the most part it just POURED. We hadn’t seen direct sunlight since we left California on Saturday. Because of the rain, we decided it was best to just keep driving all the way home….just like the little piggy.

We drove all day and laughed all the way. I love traveling with friend Laura and Archie dog! We got into Elizabethtown, KY just at dinner time and ended up eating at the Chinese food buffet. Yuuummmmy! When we got to Laura’s home, it was still in the 30s, but it was SO nice to be at our final destination. We made it. 1500 miles, two snow storms, icy roads and lots of rain and we had made it!

That night, it was like having two girls at a sleepover....'cept we had Archie dog to keep us in line!

Monday, January 5, Oklahoma City and Arkansas

We planned on getting an early start so that we can go to the Oklahoma City Memorial. This is a memorial to those killed in the Alfred P. Murrah federal government building that was bombed on April 19, 1995. I remember when this happened and was really sad about it, but not nearly as sad as I was to see it in person.

It was very cold outside as we crossed the street, about 22 degrees. As soon as we entered the building, I knew it was going to be an emotional visit. It was a self guided tour and so we got to do it on our own. The first part of the tour showed that April 19, 1995 started just as any other day, then we entered a room that showed the events and devastation. Without going into too much detail, Laura and I spent 3 very emotional hours at the site. As I walked from room to room, I cried and cried. My head and heart hurt so much. How does one move on from such loss and devastation? How can a mother bury her children? What do the children do after mom or dad are gone? These are the things that weighed heavily on my heart.

After the inside tour, we walked the grounds and looked around. I thought I had composed myself, but as I walked around the Field of Empty Chairs, I realized there was more. Here, 168 chairs represent those who were killed. I started crying again at the site where two little chairs with teddy bears were...because those were for Aaron and Elijah Coverdale, 2 little boys who were at the daycare center on the 2nd floor.


Across the Reflecting Pool

Survivor's Tree, an American Elm that was in the heart of the blast zone, but survived.
The Gates of Time that mark the times that changed Oklahoma City forever.

We walked out of there in silence.....nothing more needs to be said. If you can, go and visit in person and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. If you can't go, visit the website at http://www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org/index.php. Nothing more can be said about this day. It was so worth it to go to the memorial but be prepared to be emotionally changed.

OK, OK...we did get a bunch of laughs when we went over a lake called Lake Lotawatah! No lie! Look it up in the encyclopedia!


We drove through the Ozarks.

Our final destination for the day was supposed to be either Memphis or Nashville. However, we hit a lot of ice and rain, so when it got dark and the roads started to get slippery, we stopped at the first place we could...and it happened to be Lonoke, Arkansas. God was definitely watching over us because we got the last double bed in the motel! The rest of the night, we spent looking outside at all the iced-over trees and frozen-over windows!
Ice on the wires told us we had to stop for the night!


Ice on the trees forced us to stop, too!

Sunday, January 4, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma

Ahhh.....after being awake 36 hours, I slept really well. We had originally planned to be on the road by 7 am, but it was so cold and we were both tired, so we ended up just chatting and relaxing before we hit the road.

I will have to say this for Laura: I'm glad Archie is her dog on this trip. You see, Archie had to use the potty and she took him out first thing in the morning and last thing at night....Brrr!

We had a good routine: Laura takes Archie out. Dee showers. Laura and Archie come in and Laura showers. Dee loads the car. With this schedule, we were able to get out of there in good time.

That would have been perfect if it went according to plan. Well, I am easily distracted and when Laura took Archie out that morning, instead of showering, I decided to check my texts and voicemail. After doing so, and without thinking, I inadvertently dropped my phone in the ice bucket! Yuppers...the ice bucket. I even walked away...and THEN realized that I dropped my cell phone in the water. I quickly retrieved it...but it was too late! It was soaked! As I picked it up, it was still working, so I hurriedly sent a last ditch text message to inform everyone that my phone was wet....and dripping...What was I going to do? No computer on the drive. No phone. My world was falling apart! I dried my phone best I could and then showered. We'll see what happens......

We finally left at 8. We drove through Albuquerque, NM. The drive before that was pretty uneventful...until we got to Albuquerque because it had started to snow again! As we climbed up out of town, it seemed that the higher we got, the more snow we encountered. Again, my prayer life went up! Laura was such a great driver and God really protected us! The snow was pretty thick and the roads were slick, but we made it!

All this time in the car, Laura and I talked about anything and everything. We listened to Sirius radio...mostly the 70s and 80s station. We shared trivial information and laughed at all the old tv shows, dress styles and songs. Oh yeah...we had a great time!!

We were at a straightaway when we realized that there were brake lights everywhere! Hey, this is the middle of nowhere! What's going on? We ended up stopped. It was cold outside...28 degrees! I wasn't going to get out of the warm vehicle to ask what happened. As it turns out, there was an accident a few miles ahead and we were stuck...as in we had to turn off our car stuck! We enjoyed the scenery and Laura pointed out a couple of horses a distance away. I took a picture and it is one of the best I've taken.
This was our view for 35 minutes.
My favorite picture ever!

As soon as we got out of the New Mexico area, the weather cleared up and everything was fine. We passed by the world's biggest cross! It was huge! I made Laura slow down as we drove by since we didn't make it to church!


The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful, except it was COLD....like freezing cold! I don't think we got higher than 28 degrees!

We stopped in Oklahoma City for the night! My phone seems to have survived...some functions are still missing, but other than that, I can talk, text and send pictures when I'm in a Verizon area! I can't believe that in 2009, there are still some places that are not Verizon friendly!

Saturday, January 3 The Great Departure

I hadn't slept all night. I didn't get everything done, and here it was, 7 am. I had been awake 24 hours. Laura was coming to pick me up at 7 am. I thought I could sleep just a few hours and then it will be all better!

Laura called at 6:50 to let me know she was running late and that she would be there closer to 7:30. Great! I could take a little nap. No, if I take a nap, I might not wake up. Too bad I packed up my laptop and router. Oh well, I guess I'll read...better yet, I'll take out the junk from my truck.

At 7:30, Laura gets there on the dot! Wahoo! It's a bit misty and wet. What a cold day for a drive! After we loaded up...first stop: Starbucks!

OK, I will have to confess that I was a bit worried about riding in a car with Laura and Archie (her black lab). I have known Laura for almost 4 years. She moved out to Ft. Knox, KY when her husband got transferred there. She is a dear friend...but we have never traveled anywhere together! As we drove that first day, I learned that Laura and I had so much more in common than I expected. We laughed the whole day! We saw something and laughed and just had a great time. Archie was also a great traveler! He didn't like that I was there. I think he missed sitting in the front seat!


We went through Barstow and Needles. We stopped to get gas in Needles: $1.89/gallon! What a bargain for the dessert! As soon as we crossed the state border, I noticed something! What? Could it be? YES! The speed limit in Arizona was 75 miles per hour! Wahoo! I could drive fast and it was legal! Oh, but I'm tired! I'll drive later!

We drove through Flagstaff, Arizona....Brrr....it was cccoold! Actually, we stopped to get gas and it was snowing! I wasn't quite ready for snow, and here it was! As we headed back on the freeway, the snow got heavier and heavier. I didn't want to say anything, but I was a wee bit concerned because we didn't have chains. My prayer life went sky high! God really took care of us! He gave Laura steady hands and we made it up and over Flagstaff.


As soon as we started downhill, the weather improved and we just had a little bit of snow on the side of the road. We stopped at a rest stop near Meteor Crater in Arizona. It was just cold and windy there...no snow.


We drove until 7:30 pm and stopped in Grants, NM. The motel we stayed in had no internet connection, so I couldn't upload my blog. Oh well, another day, perhaps.

We had spent the day stressing about the snow on the road, but laughed the whole time. I have never laughed as much as I did on this drive!

Friday, January 2

Originally, I had planned to be ready for my trip by December 31 so that I could enjoy a couple of days doing nothing. Instead, I puttered around the house and didn’t get it as cleaned as I wanted, so I was going to spend Friday doing laundry, cleaning and packing. I had already gone shopping for things for my trip, so really, there wasn’t much else to do.

The day started off pretty well. I had made a list of things I needed to do and was slowly checking them off. However, my last day did not turn out to be anything at all like I wanted it to be. I had been dog sitting for a friend and this dog chewed up something I needed for my trip. So, I had to go and get a replacement part.

As many of you know, I used to have 2 dogs, Sheba and Roxee. Roxee went to doggie heaven in October and I didn’t want Sheba to be on her own, so I took her everywhere with me. Today was no different. I took Sheba with me to do my errands. She loves riding in my truck and going places with me, so off we went to buy last minute things. Sheba likes to sleep when we do errands and as I sat at an intersection, I took her picture. I thought she was quite cute in that position. Then, as I started to drive, I scratched her head and neck. Then, as I scratched her ear, I felt a lump. I thought it was strange for her to have such a big lump, so without even thinking, I turned around and went straight to the vet.

We spent close to 2 hrs waiting to see the doctor and it turns out that Sheba has a hematoma. She had to have surgery! I panicked because I wasn't prepared for this and Sheba still needed to have a bath before she wentto Jean's house while I was gone! I tried to postpone it until I got back, but it wouldn't have been the best case scenario for her, so I had to leave her overnight.

I was very uncomfortable to leave her there because we just happened to be in the same room where I let my Roxee go. I was very sad the whole time we were there. I also had visions of Sheba not coming back to me. However, I also knew that this was the best thing for her, so I consented for her to have her surgery. It was very hard for me to leave her there overnight because I really wasn't ready to be without her. You see, Sheba has been my sole company for the last few months. Imagine how heavy my heart felt as I watched her walk away...and look at me as if to ask, "Why am I going away? I don't want to go." I cried.

With Sheba at the vet, I went home and spent my very first night in over 7 years at that house...alone. I had never been alone at that house. It was a bit freaky and I kept looking for Sheba. I guess it was how she felt when we lost Roxee because she also kept looking for her. I hated it and realized just how much comfort I had with Sheba around because I knew she would alert me and protect me as needed.

I stayed up all night, cleaning and packing and crying for my Sheba and my Roxee.