Spirit Lights The Way

Are You Tripping?! June 27, 2017

Wherever You Go . . . There You Are

On the ride out, we took 4 days to drive 1972 miles.

On the return trip, we drove 2005.4 miles in 3 days ~> 486.6 miles + 766 miles + 752.8+ miles.

Surprisingly enough, I found sitting for mile after mile rather “meditative.”

It helped that most of the roads “out west” aren’t clogged traffic arteries like on the east coast.

Time is relative.  

Heading out, time changes from Eastern to Central to Mountain time gained us an hour on two different days ~ allowing us to leave late and arrive early. Lovely!

Heading back, we lost those hours . . . meaning that even though we left early, we arrived later than expected.

We are NOT minimalists on the road.

Before leaving, we followed the 3 P’s ~> packing, planning, preparation.  Did a hold on the mail.  Added minutes to the cell phone.  Charged up phone & iPad.  Packed most of our clothes . . . and ample food.

What?!  It’s a L~O~N~G drive so we need S~N~A~C~K~S!  

Georgia Troopers Mean Business

Right before we arrived in Dalton, traffic came to a stand still.

As we crept along at 2 mph, we saw flashing lights ahead.  Then more flashing lights.  Then a few more for good measure.

Arriving at the scene of the accident, we saw 11 police cars surrounding a sedan that had been pushed into the concrete divider by a cop car.

Problem solved!

The Difference Between Being Religious & Being Spiritual

Over margaritas, Pam shared a thought her minister had shared with her:

Religion is sitting in church thinking about kayaking.

Spirituality is sitting in a kayak contemplating a Higher Power.

Ohm . . .

Life is better with laughter.

In order to maintain a sense of humor during our visit, I picked just the right coffee mug to start each day:

“Life is too important to be taken seriously.” ~ Oscar Wilde

Quotes like that remind me to look at the light side of life!

Sharing with Stranger at the Breakfast Bar

At one of the hotels we stayed at, BFF got into a conversation at the breakfast buffet with a woman who was meeting with lawyers later that day.

When I overheard her say, “Lawyers make me nervous,” I tuned in to see whether BFF would reply, “I know.  I never should have married one!”

Actually, the whole conversation was a bit odd since BFF doesn’t normally share his time with strangers.  Especially not before breakfast!

This might just be stupidity talking . . . 

Our last day, we were anxious to Be Home and getting a bit punchy.  Everything seemed a bit funnier than usual.

*As open fields gave way to kudzu covered trees, I made an astute observation.  “Kudzu is just creep-y!”

*A few minutes later, Route 123 split off from Route 231, and I thought how tough a route change like that must be on someone with dyslexia.

*As we crossed into Florida at 2:30 pm (with another 6-7 hours of drive time ahead of us), I grinned at the thought of being HOME.  A minute later, BFF (who had done ALL the driving) groaned with fatigue when I said, “This might just be stupidity talking . . . but if we get home by 10, I probably want to unpack the car.”

She Remembers!

A few days after we got home, my sister spoke with mom; mom remembered that we visited!

Yay!  Some days she doesn’t even remember whether she had lunch . . .

Aah . . . that’s better!

Signs of the Times June 24, 2017

Weather often determines whether travel is smooth sailing or slow going.  On the way out west, the wet & wooly weather left us feeling a bit water-logged.

We had brief respites as the sun struggled to shine through layers of cloud cover.

Of course, the “soggy” weather had an upside ~> we weren’t tempted to stop too much.

The morning we left GA, a twister touched down in Dalton.  After hearing that, we watched the skies with increased intensity, searching for signs.

No, NOT that kind of sign.

We had our eyes peeled for signs of wicked windy weather ahead.

And we saw lots of it.

Lucky for us, we didn’t run into a deluge.

Instead, the rain mostly spit at us.

While offering sobering hints of what lay ahead.

No matter how fast we drove, we couldn’t escape the clouds.

But every time it seemed we were headed straight into harm’s way, the road shifted, steering us clear of danger.

Eventually a sign for Fort Collins came into view.

With relief, we headed north where the weather improved.

For most of our stay, we enjoyed sunny skies punctuated by short showers.

As we left for home, we enjoyed one last look at the Rockies . . . under Blue, Blue Skies!

With better weather ahead and over head, we looked for other signs.

The Lost Pizza Company in Tupelo, Mississippi did not disappoint.

STOP!  Those shades look FAB on you!

“Why thank you.  Thank you very much!”

Everywhere we looked, we saw signs that made us smile.

The Lost Pizza Company is . . . Like No Place Else.

We also enjoyed the signs at Busy Bee in Live Oak, Florida.

Including the sign advertising Clean Potties.

BTW:  The sign was spot on . . . the bathroom was spot less.

But our favorite sign appeared at the Florida Welcome Center, where we stopped for a shot of fresh Florida orange juice.

After all . . . there’s No Place Like Home!

Aah . . . that’s better!