Some call it a vacation-and we're on our way----finally

Some call it a vacation, we call it a mystery-adventure, because one never knows what sort of adventure awaits around the next bend. An example of this is the adventure we returned from yesterday.




We had planned this for months. My husband - the long-haul truck driver, even stayed out on the road for just short of six weeks so that the timing would fall into place that he could have the same week off that I did. While he was out there,I was here making preparations. I made the reservation online managing to get a room in the hotel my husband loves. Why, I'm was not fully sure, as a room is a room. All we needed was somewhere out of the weather to sleep and a place to stash our stuff as we wandered about. Originally it was going to be me and him, something that hasn't happened in a long time. I had booked a room that had a king size bed and a Jacuzzi. According to the description of the room it would sleep four-just in case James was able to come up for a night. We weren't sure if he would be able to or not since he had to work.



As time passed I purchased things along the way that we would need. Clothing, memory cards for the cameras, shoes, batteries for the cameras, a hat, lens cloths for the cameras..



The week that my husband was to come home he picked up a load somewhere in Virginia, or Maryland, or Pennsylvania..(after a while it all runs together for me). He took one look at the bill and had a meltdown. The load they had given him went to California. There was no way he could get to California and back in three days. If they made him take this run our adventure was over before it began. As luck, planning, the Good Lord and savvy dispatcher would have it, my husband delivered the load to the company yard and picked one up there to deliver here in NC. (What a waste of a good meltdown)



I was having a wonderful time trying to get our washing machine repaired while all this was going on. We were finally able to get everything set up and in motion for Thursday afternoon. All the while my washer had been down the dirty laundry pile had grown. It was a monster waiting to consume my time and energies.



Friday afternoon he pulled into the place that my brother had built for him to park that big rig and dropped the trailer. He then pulled the tractor around so that he could empty it of items that he was tired of hauling around. Too much clothing, some empty water bottles, bread bags, DVDs that were damaged beyond repair..and enough dirty laundry that I'm going to be busy for a while. Once he had everything he wanted out piled up on the ground and at various areas of the house he headed for Charlotte and the place that was waiting on his truck to do servicing and search for a coolant leak that so far no one has been able to accurately track down. James was in from work and got the good fortune of following him over there. It was somewhere in the midst of all this that I found out that James had managed to get time off from work and was going to get to come up Monday afternoon. He would get to be there the entire time. One set of plans changes, another emerges. I was glad he was going to be there. At his age I don't know how many more 'family' vacations there will be.



Over the course of the weekend we finalized plans, synchronized watches and began to pack. Well- we planned to pack. Actually.....we didn't touch anything anywhere near packing. We did go shopping for a few items needed, socks and stuff.



The plan was to leave out Monday morning at seven. Sunday night at eleven I was finishing up the laundry I was going to do and trying to ignore the Mount Everest of clothing still waiting. I was exhausted and the early morning wake-up that alarm was going to give me was a frightening thought.



Monday at seven I was up. James had never had any problem getting up and getting ready for work but the mom concerns ingrained within me always feared that first time. So there was I, waiting to hear that alarm as I put a pot of coffee on. My husband was up and he began packing what he was going to take. Once he finished I would gather my closet. After James had left we began to pack my Explorer. Suitcase, cameras, cooler, hats and more were stacked within. Was this an adventure of a few days--or weeks? I am always an over-achiever when it comes to packing. My mother on the other hand can pack enough clothing for a week in a carry on bag. By the time we were finished loading the vehicle I'd swear the poor thing was audibly groaning.



Finally making sure everything was locked up-it was now somewhere around ten-thirty- we left the house and headed out. That Revels' timing thing was falling right into the routine it always does. We were leaving out at least three hours later than we had planned.  First stop, to fill up the Explorer with gasoline. Once that was accomplished we stopped at Wal-Mart. A few last moment odds and ends along with a box of contacts for James. Since it was so late, we stopped to get a sandwich. Finally, we pulled out and headed for the interstate. We were on our way. We had no idea of the adventure that awaited us.


                                     to be continued...............................