Day 130 - Just Catching Up

I am up late tonight.  Don't know why.  I am really mad at City Data Forum and I guess that is what has my brain spinning.  I had posted a question on each and everyone of the individual 48 contiguous state forums asking what time of year and where I should visit.  I had gotten some feedback and was looking forward to reviewing it and using it to help guide us on our travels.  Well, it seems that I did not follow the rules.  There's this little thing about 'cross posting', very specifically, "Do not post the same message to multiple forums, this is cross posting and multiple posts will be removed".  Oh, yeah, it's in there.  They sent me the link.  I'll be honest, I'm one of those people that rarely reads 'the rules'.  I mean, who does?  At least not when it's for something that seems so irrelevant.  If I was enrolling my children for something or applying for something, say, financial...I'm all over every last word.  But social networking?  Nope, can't say that I have.  Well, they deleted it all!  Every last stitch of well intended advice and kindness.  I got back out of bed and voiced my thoughts on the whole thing.  Not that it matters, it's just a social internet forum, right?  Hence, my not reading the rules.

Anyway, here's what we've been up to since my last post...

After the trailer was ransacked, we spent a couple sleepless nights worrying about the 'what ifs', then we gave it over to God and started getting some rest.  Seems the guy was 'identified'.  I'm still not sure if he was arrested.  Things don't work quite the same way in TN as they do in Orlando, FL.  The father of the homeowner actually spotted the guy that stole everything out riding on the 4 wheeler.  He confronted him and called the police.  He got the 4 wheeler back that day, but we haven't heard anything since we left town.  Suffice it to say, they just don't move that quickly up there in them mountains.

We left North Carolina and headed to our good friend, Debbie's house in Virginia.  We could  not have asked for a better hostess.  Martha Stewart ain't got nothing on her!!  The day we arrived, Debbie had prepared pork tenderloin with half a dozen sides and fresh, homemade rolls.  For dessert there was chocolate cake and oatmeal cookies.  A day didn't go by that Debbie didn't cook for us.  Oh, what a treat!

It rained the entire time we were visiting, but we still managed to make it out to Bristol, TN.  Or was it Bristol, VA?  Wait!!  It was both.  Who would have imagined a town with a street that ran right down the state line?  How much fun is that?

Danny didn't make it out with us that day.  He had not gotten much sleep the night before and was tired.  It is a good thing that he stayed back.  Poor thing was in bed with a fever the entire time we were gone and ended up with a stomach virus.  Worse part of that was that we were due to head out the next morning and really needed to get gone.  There was a 'winter weather advisory' that snow was heading our way.

Well, we did manage to get out and made it all the way into Columbia, SC.  We spent one night in a hotel and then another couple at Sesquicentennial State Park in SC.  We did not make it to the Capitol Building, but we did eat at Lizard's Thicket and I got to the laundry mat.

On our way back to Florida, we had a tire blow out.  Danny was driving at the time (thank goodness). We all heard it blow.  We couldn't have asked for better circumstances, we were right on I-95 at an exit.  For a brief moment, I was concerned about Danny having to change the tired on the shoulder of the Interstate, then I remembered that we were member's of Good Sam Club.  One phone call and an hour later we were back on the road.

We stopped in Jacksonville for the night, stayed in a Redroof Inn and had breakfast at Cracker Barrel before heading back to Orlando.  Since we were coming in on a holiday weekend, we had trouble finding a campsite.  We ended up at Magnolia Park in Apopka, FL - my hometown.  This gave me some time to catch up with my mom and abuse her washer and dryer.

We are taking some down time to do some necessary 'business' and plan the next trek of our trip.

It is good to be back on the road and in the trailer.  I will tell you, after about two weeks in that house in NC, Danny and I started to feel like we were being held hostage.  Having paid for a month's rental, we were stuck in one spot and it wasn't really sitting right with us.  After the break-in, it only got worse.  There is a wonderful sense of freedom to the life that we have chosen.  I plan to sit back and enjoy it for however long God sees fit to allow us to live this dream.  Your prayers are appreciated and I truly enjoy that you are following along on this journey with us.

Praying God's blessing on each of you.