The Journey Begins pt 2

New Beginnings and Heartbreaks go Together

The last two weeks of preparation for our moves was exhausting, the last four days we had about four hours of sleep each night. The last day was no exception, we woke up early and worked all day long trying to fit our van with what we could making decisions and cleaning the house. It was three o'clock in the morning when we went out to the van, the kids were already asleep in the back seat with pillows and blankets piled on top of them and under their feet. We were so exhausted our legs felt like rubber, our minds seemed distant, and our bodies were known and ready for sleep.

We were far too tired to to begin our road trip and we had grown children and young grandchildren that we had yet to say goodbye to. So we drove across the small town of Shelbyville to the Days Inn, and at 330 in the morning we packed our things into a small room for the night, or at least what was left of the night. When we got inside the room, we realized that hotel was full of old. We were stuck, too tired to move on, into allergic to stay there. So we made a compromise, we went to sleep for about 3 1/2 to four hours and got out of that room. Still exhausted and barely refreshed we began our exit from that little town we lived in for so long.

This is where the heart ache begins. We called our daughter and son-in-law and went in to pay them a short visit and say our goodbyes to our daughter son-in-law and are for beautiful granddaughters. From there we made the 30 Mile Drive to Indianapolis where we met with our son who is attending IU Purdue as an engineer. About one a clock in an afternoon sunlight back to work in the gun on the road heading north. We had one more stop to make in Indiana before pointing our van to the southwest, we had to say goodbye to mom in South Bend. We made it as far as Kokomo where we saw a nice clean new looking hotel, and decided to take that opportunity to get some long needed rest. The room was mold free, we all got showers and a bite to eat and we propped ourselves up on the bed and didn't go anywhere until sunrise. It was nice.

That morning we got up and we made the rest of the trip to South Bend Indiana. Mom talked us into spending two nights with her since she knew we are moving 1000 miles away. From there we headed southwest to Granite city Illinois to visit Carmellas grandmother and grandfather. We had a nice visit their, very relaxing.

This would be a good place to share some thoughts and emotions that had gone through our heads for a period of time. It's very difficult to put a perspective on what you're going to do, when you pack up your family and your plans are to live in a tent with no solid foundation to call home. We weren't sure exactly what our final destination was, we didn't have a lot of money to just stay on the road indefinitely, and yet for the sake of our health and the health of our children there really was no other option than to put our faith in God and head toward a destination unknown. You're somewhat daunted by the fear of the unknown, and yet excited at the prospect of the freedom of just being on the road with the sky as our ceiling, the ground as our carpet, and God's creation as our home. At first we stayed in hotels and families homes, but once we got on the road and pitched our tent that first time, the pressure and anticipation were gone. Suddenly we found ourselves living an indefinite vacation, and in time we actually found ourselves, my wife, our children, and myself, were all developing a new bond and a new type of closeness that we had not experience until then.

With that being said, after leaving grandmas house in Granite city Illinois, we headed west to visit our son in Missouri, or should I say misery. We weren't really sure of our sons living conditions and if we would have a place to stay there or not, so for the first time on our journey we knew we were setting out into the unknown. No more turning back, no more family members to rely on, now it was just us, our camping gear, oh and did I mention our kitty cat.

We made it to Union Missouri to visit our son TJ. I have to say if you have allergies and problems with mold and pollens, Missouri is not the best place to be. We had a nice afternoon visiting, but the only accommodations there had a pretty bad mold problem. The situation being as it was, we decided we should go ahead and move on down the road. Our visits and experiences throughout Indiana and Illinois to this point in our nasal congestion was maxed out, and we were anxious to get that behind us. So we made our way back to the I-70 and headed west.

to be continued....