Floridahhh

We pulled up our jacks and drove out of chilly New York on Thursday morning, November 10th. Our "mini-caravan" consisted of me, driving my Sentra, following close behind George and Lucy in "Little Miss." This was our first time going separately and we both had mixed feelings about the pros and cons of solitary travel.

As the main conversationalist of our trio, I caught myself commenting about road signs, talking to myself about the drivers and the scenery and I BLASTED my Sirius XM radio turned to a Pop station. I sang along so loud that I never heard my navigation system's audio directions. I sang along to Ariana Grande, Alesia Cara, Maroon 5 and Sia, to name just a few. My new favorite song is the one by Alisia Cara, "Scars to Your Beautiful." What a powerful song.

George would never admit that he missed me, my singing, my talking or my navigational assistance, but I know he did. We called each other often and kept up with the plans for pit stops or for one of those,  "stretch the legs" breaks. 

I must pat myself on the back, because I managed to drive the over 1,100 miles, most of which was on I-95, without panicking too much. In my defense, no one likes driving through the cities of Trenton, Baltimore, DC, Jacksonville or Orlando either.

During my ride, I took the time to notice the little things and smile often because that's just the way my mind wanders. 

Below is a great imagery of a "woman's mind" and exactly how my mind is usually churning with thoughts of people, places, seasons and feelings.

A Woman's Mind

While driving through New Jersey, there is a Service Plaza called "Thomas Edison Service Area." My thoughts, similar to the little balls in the gif above were as follows:

• Humm, Thomas Edison.
• His name is actually, Thomas Alva Edison.
• I know that because my father went to Edison High School in Mt. Vernon and always said Thomas Alva......
• I lived in Mt. Vernon.
• I'm in New Jersey.
• I remember driving in the car with my parents to visit my mom's family in Linden, NJ.
•  I wish the tractor-trailer behind me would either pass me or back off.
• We spent summers in Seaside Heights, NJ.
• My step-mother is moving from New Jersey to New York.
• Gee, I just left New York and I'm already in New Jersey.
• My grandmother was born in Boonton, NJ.
• I've got a lot more miles to go.
• Bruce Springstein was born in New Jersey.
• Humm. I'm still in Jersey.

Clara Barton, Founder of the Red Cross

I could have gone on and on, but then I came to the Clara Barton Rest Area and remembered that she was a nurse.

This is no lie. This is how my mind works.

We were able to utilize the parking lots of three Walmarts on our trip south. The first was in Maryland, the second was in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina and the last night was spent in Georgia. Besides the cost for food, gas and tolls, the trip only cost us $10, which was the fee to dump our grey tank. We even got a free fill up of potable water at a North Carolina Pilot Service Station.  Life is good.

On Sunday afternoon, we arrived safe and sound at 233. The long drive was over and the work to get all settled began first thing Monday morning. Five loads of laundry (poor Lucy had "the sick" on our bed), food shopping, cooking, weeding, unpacking, re-packing and sitting in my rocking chair filled the long, damp day.

Tonight, I'm waiting for the last load to dry while watching "The Voice." I'm enjoying the music and trying hard not to sing along - for George's sake.

Deep thought for the day:   I have an almost complete disregard of precedent and a faith in the possibility of something better. It irritates me to be told how things always have been done .... I defy the tyranny of precedent. I cannot afford the luxury of a closed mind. I go for anything new that might improve the past. ~ Clara Barton (1821-1912)

I may sometimes be willing to teach for nothing, but if paid at all, I shall never do a man's work for less than a man's pay. Clara Barton
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/c/clarabarto276762.html

A soft spot to land for a little while...

The Merry Traveler. What a great cat!

Although it's been some time since my last blog entry, I figured I should formally end "The 3rd Great Big Adventure" with all the memories that helped to bring it to a bittersweet close.

Our last stop found us nestled along the shore of Lake Wallenpaupack, in Hawley, PA for the night. When I saw that our route was going to take us almost directly though Hawley,, we decided to stop to visit my very good friend, Berni and her husband Ron, who reside in the sleepy little town.  I just couldn't be that close without checking to see if she would be home and available for a visit. It was so last minute, but we were able to pull it off and spent a very enjoyable, impromptu evening together drinking wine and catching up. It was just what the doctor ordered - for us both. I needed to see a friendly face, and she had spent the day with her 90-year old mom who was rapidly approaching her last days. Besides sharing a couple of glasses of wine, we shared a few tears and laughs...only as friends can.

Here are a few statistics of our long, 3rd Great Big Adventure:

1 overnighter at a Bass Pro Shop
1 visit to an Animal Hospital
1 toll booth navigated by me
2 elementary school fairs in 2 different states
3 Walmart over nights
6 grandchildren were visited
6 new blood relations were met for the first time
7 National Parks and Monuments were visited
8 State Stickers were placed on our USA map
14 states were traveled through (not including NY)
16 blog entries were written
20 campgrounds supplied us with services for either one or multiple nights.
30 miles were driven by me
7,018 miles were driven by George
400 + photos were snapped

It turned out to be a magically, wild and wonderful journey full of beautiful sights, sounds, laughter and even some tears, that are forever burned in our memories. If I were to pick a favorite National Park, I believe I would choose The Great Smokey Mountains and a few of my favorite States are South Dakota, Tennessee and Idaho.

So, with our 3rd Great Big Adventure freshly behind us, we landed at Croton Point Park amidst rules, regulations, restrictions, controversy and frustration, but we did get to enjoy time with family and friends. Many meals, lots of wine, dinners out, dinners in, hearty laughs and happy times offered us an enjoyable, albeit short time in NY. Life was indeed good.

Our original plan was to spend the months of October and November at Croton Park, but we were only "allowed" a 4-1/2 week stay in a 30 amp electrical site. With overnight temperatures rapidly dropping after Halloween, and the lack of being given an extended stay, we decided to end our time here prior to Thanksgiving and head south.

The beginning of color

We did get to witness the beauty of of a New York fall which is one of the most colorful of seasons in the Northeast. Situated in a County Park provided us with scurrying squirrels, soaring eagles and hawks, brilliant colors and falling leaves.

Carpet of leaves

A Sugar Maple in full fall regalia

Heading south this time will be quite a challenge for me since I will be following George, the over 1,100 mile trip, in my new Sentra. This will be my first extended road trip. My max to date is 5-1/2 hours - from DC to NY.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I can add a sticker to my US map of Emergency Room visits. After only 2 days at Croton Park, I took a bad tumble out of the RV with the worst damage being caused to my right knee. Ten stitches a bruised tendon and lots of pain followed and the pain is still present.

Lucy getting in some sleep before her next gig on the road.

The next blog entry will generate from sunny Florida. Yippie-ki-yay.

Deep thought for the day: When I'm told "no," I usually rebel and do the opposite. So when the doubt entered my mind that I couldn't drive to Florida, I decided that I'll be damned if I don't. Florida here I come.