Mama Mia and Steak Dinner

From Match 16th ....

    Today was quite a day. We spent the day pressing forward toward Marion, NC. Our plan was to pull in to town, park at a truck stop and uber over to his mom's house.  Um.  Yeah...not happening.  There is no Uber service or Lyft service in town.  After talking with staff in the truckstop, we found a number for Abby's Taxi service.  Call made and  reality accepted ($60 to go 4 miles because our cab driver was 1 hour away), we cooked our dinner of steak, green beans, and potatoes and got ready. 

 

With our bellies full, we jumped in to our cab and headed out. Our driver's name was Raymond and he was a very friendly retiree who was just picking up some extra hours. He had quite the life story. 

He dropped us off at Mark's mom's house. It felt good to get those bear hugs that were waiting for us. 

At the end of the day, we felt so blessed to be living the life God has for us.  We truly serve a great God who wants us to live life to the fullest. 

Adventure Awaits, But There's a Twist

 Good morning from sunny Kansas. It has been a looooong time since I have even been on the truck, much less blog about it.  Life has handed all of us a major curve ball over the last two years.  I'm no longer a staff nurse, but a travel nurse.....  AND I LOVE IT.   I have met some amazing people on my nursing adventure.  

As the title implies, we are heading out for at least 3 weeks to explore this great nation.  The twist???   

A 10 month old siamese cat, who has never been on the truck. OH BOY.... 

Off to Joplin, Mo. to pick up insulation going to Greensboro,NC.  Our plan is to stop in Marion, NC and see Mark's mom.  

Bathrooms and Bridges

Port Arthur, Tx. What an interesting place. I had a friend from college who was from Port Arthur. I always wondered about this little town.  It was founded in 1895 by Arthur Stilwell. Today it has the largest oil refinery in the United States. It has a population of 54,000 ppl in the 2010 census.

We wound up making our way to the Port of Port Arthur, to SS Marine to pick up wood pulp. After  going thru the many check points, we were escorted to the yard to wait. We were, then, told to follow the yard dog who was supposedly pulling our freshly loaded trailer to the staging lot. We got ready to hook up .... no paperwork. The yard dog said the office staff  would bring it out to us.
We got to know the other 6 trucks sitting there "waiting on paperwork". One guy  had been there since 6:30pm the night before. Did I mention it was noon? This man had been waiting for almost 18 hours! Needless to say, there were some angry truckers in that lot. After about an hour, Mark made a phone call to the shipping office. Apparently that was the straw that broke the camel's back,  as the poor guy on the other end of the line proceeded to have a complete meltdown. The men loading the trailers had made a HUGE mess and he was angry. It wasn't long after the call ended  the dock worker's supervisor paid a visit to all the truckers waiting.  He would fix this problem he said and scooted off in his gold cart.

One thing that is hard for us females in the trucking world is the need for a bathroom. This location did not have one and even tho the men could use a bottle this gal couldn't do that.  Off to town we went, driving around looking for a bathroom. Due to covid, location after location refused to let me use the bathroom. Thank you covid for making that part of my life harder! He found a grocery store and pulled in there. The guy managing the door was gracious enough to let me in. THANK YOU MR GROCERYMAN.
Upon returning to our waiting lot, we noticed many drivers were gone. Could it be that our paperwork would be in the mailbox? YES!

  Off to Zachary, La. We went. We quickly found ourselves driving over miles of swamp land under us crossing bridge after bridge as we made our way north of Baton Rouge. Arriving at the receivers, we noted that there was a bridge with a limit crossing into the gates. After making another call, we were told to take our 44,000# load over the bridge with a 3 ton limit. WHAT????

We held our breath and over we went. Thank goodness it was a low water bridge.  After we unload, it's off to Reserve, La. for a much needed shower and a good night's rest.

Houston....

We left Wichita yesterday morning and decided to stop early in the day, calling it done in Paul's Valley, Oklahoma. We spent the afternoon catching up on one of my favorite shows, Deadliest Catch. Praise God for technology.

Started on this beauty yesterday.  Can't wait to see what becomes of it.

This morning we headed out bound for Houston.

I have been to Houston several times since he has been trucking.  The thing that gets me this trip is THERE IS NO TRAFFIC! It is the creepiest thing. We landed at H.E.B. Grocery with a trailer full of flour. I must say I got tickled at watching the Dance of the Supertrucker while sitting in the staging area. It is usually a battle of the fittest when it comes to lining up at the front gate. I am always so amazed at how these drivers can maneuver these big rigs into such cramped and tiny spaces.  We managed to get on a dock unscathed and while waiting to be unloaded and get our paperwork, I was able to feed the locals brownie crumbs and potato chips.

Hey, birds have to eat too.

It's on to Baytown, TX tonight.

Did you pack the butter?

Today I don't have to say goodbye to my trucker  because I AM GOING WITH HIM!🤩😍.  It has been a year since I went out with him. Life has been C-R-A-Z-Y to say the least.  There have been 2 college graduations, our daughter's wedding, a new grandbaby, COVID 19, and as of last Monday, I started my new position on Pediatrics.

The day started out with a bang. After taking the dog to the vet for boarding, we headed out to get  to get our traditional coffee that we always get when leaving. We pulled into the parking lot of the coffee place, Mark looks at me and says, "Do you have the card?" "I thought you had it." was my response. Back to the house we go.   Upon entering the house, Dani the cat had this look of a guilty preteen girl, who had just been caught with her Hello Kitty phone in paw, planning the party for tonight. 😻 After finding card, it's back on the road, only to realize 6 blocks from the house, that we forgot to pack the frozen foods we needed for the trip. Back to the house we go. I must say my husband was very calm throughout this whole process.

We finally made it out of town heading for wide open spaces. We pick up in Wichita,Ks and take the load to Houston,Tx.  So much for going to Maine. Oh well maybe next time.

Two hours out and I look at Mark, "Did you pack the butter? " Ooops.  😳😳

It's a Barn thing..

Woke up this morning to news that a tornado hit our old stomping grounds of Eldon, Mo and Jefferson City, Mo. First thing to do... call family.  Check on friends; pour over the hundreds of photos and video footage that is all over social media. I praise God for the protection over family, friends, and everyone in those towns. No fatalities in either town.

After we dropped our load in Rose City it was  . To Saginaw to pick up a load and take it to Holiday City, Oh.  On the way, I noticed a pattern of old, two story houses with WOOD barns... NO METAL BARNS. They were beautiful.

I have concluded that the people of these counties in Ohio are trying to preserve their old barns, possibly for barn swallows. Barn swallows don't nest in metal barns. Ohio is also known for their painted barn quilts that dot the countryside.

I hope to paint one of these beauties on the side of my garage this summer.  I'll keep you posted.

Another one for my bucket list!!!

My bucket list .... I was able to cross off another state this trip. I have been to 38 states now!!

I checked off Michigan this trip. Wow, what a beautiful state. I wanted to take shoreline trip around Lake Michigan to see all the light houses, but time and the size of the vehicle I was in were not on my side.

So I had to settle for the road side welcome center props. Lol.  We drove close to two of the great lakes, which I was able to see Lake Michigan but never caught a glimpse of Lake Huron. Maybe I will see it next time.  Did I mention that would be a check off of  my bucket list again...to see all five great lakes? We pulled into to Rose City, Michigan, a town with one street and no stop lights. I guess you could call it a One horse town. 🐎🐎🐎

We settled in for the night, glued to the weather channels as another round of severe storms were going thru southeastern Kansas and southwest Missouri. As we watched video footage of a tornado hitting Carl Junction, Mo. I was transported back to that fateful day of May 22,2011, when a tornado hit Joplin. It's strange how the brain works. It's like living it all over again, even though you know the difference.

Today we had a very uneventful day of traveling across wide open spaces. Spent alot of time working on crafts, while the countryside zipped by. The big entertainment for the day was watching the cat trying to attack the washing squeegee while Mark was washing the windows.

Indiana us pretty flat. There is not much to see, but there is a pretty good little pizza place where we are staying tonight, called Dwight's Pizza. I have had alot of pizza in my lifetime, including pizza in Rome, Italy. THIS WAS GOOD PIZZA. The owner was a nice guy, who had stories to tell. It made me stop and think about how in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we are so busy we cant stop long enough to listen....to just listen to others.  I am so fortunate to ge the opportunity o travel the country and meet people in all diff6places. God is so good!

Off again...

May 20, 2019

It's that time again. Off I go on the big red truck with one handsome driver, aka my husband. It has been a very busy weekend, I am looking forward to some quite time to just chill and enjoy the road.  Where to you ask?  MICHIGAN!

As we headed to Joplin to pick up our load, we see a very familiar scene, as of late, in Tornado Alley.... a severe storm heading our direction.
We made it to the shippers and hooked up just in time to stay dry. The rain started just after leaving the city limits of Joplin.  As the weather radar indicated, we would be trying to out run the rain for most of our day.
Needless to say it was a very long sleepless night, as the storm finally caught up with us in Dinwoodie, Mo.

On another note, this is what hit our town of Pittsburg Kansas...

Luckily our neighborhood is fine. Damage waa done on the south side of town.

Home Sweet Home Via Urgent Care! 🏨

We were not suppose to be home until today, but because of those "chiggers", Mark's asset manager got us home two days early, in order to get me to the doctor.  We parked the truck, and Mark immediately drove me to urgent care in town. It only took one look from the doctor to get a diagnosis.  I'll get back to that topic later.

After leaving El Paso, we spent the next two days delivering to Wichita Falls, Tx.  and then to Salina, Kansas.  Since we had been pushing ourselves for the the last two weeks, getting up no later than 3 am on most days, we were exhausted.  We simply pulled into both towns, dropped off our load, and went to the nearest truck stop to sleep.  It was so nice to see the Pittsburg, Kansas city limits sign this last Friday. 

I have had a wonderful time spending the last two weeks with my guy. I was able to visit places that I have not visited before,  We were able to actually talk to each other in the same location, not on the phone.  We were able to watch television...together.  Eat our meals together.  I have been in heaven, even if I was itching terribly.  We made memories.   I am so proud of how hard my trucker works everyday, and he does it for us. One of the treasures I brought back from the trip is this beautiful blanket he bought for me in Arizona.  I love how bright and colorful it is... reminds me of ME.

Ok, back to the chiggers.... they were not chiggers. I started figuring out  this was not chiggers about three days later, when the rash spread.  So, I thought that even though I had never had an allergic reaction to poison ivy, that was probably what I had. We went to Wal Mart to by Ivy Rest to help cut the oils and stop the itching.  We washed EVERYTHING, but the cat, that was in the truck. It had to get better now that we knew what it was, right?   It didn't help.  I was waking up every morning with new spots, sometimes on my back, sometimes on the other arm, but then it went to my right hand.  Boy Howdy did THAT itch.  I couldn't stand it.  That's when Mark told his asset manager and she sent us home.  

What was it, you ask???   OAK MITES.  I didn't even know those little creatures existed.  The doctor told me that they like to burrow in your skin and make tunnels. Then  they travel through the tunnels to different parts of your body.  I was given a steroid shot for the itching.... Ahhhhhh. I, also, had to put this cream on my body, from head to toe and keep in on for 8 hours.  Since Saturday morning, I have felt so much better.  

So.... another trip is in the bag for me.  Until Spring 2019.  I can't wait to see what memories are made then.  

Until next time, thanks for stopping by.

"Out In The West Texas Town of El Paso...." 🐴🐮🐂

My parents love country western music, old western movies, old western anything. So it's not surprising that I grew up listening to some of the greats, who paved the way for the country stars of  today; George Jones, Merle Haggard, Patsy Cline, to name a few.

My favorite singer, though I'm not sure I ever told my parents, was Marty Robbins.   Yep, you guessed it, I love his song, El Paso.  I sang it for Mark, from the middle of Arizona to the Texas border. I even pulled it up on YouTube and sang with the music. Mark appreciated that music, because I'm sure it sounded better than my attempts as acapella. "El Paso" led into several different songs from the past. "Big Bad John", "Folsom Prison Blues", " Coward of the County".... I know, Kenny Rogers was later, but I couldn't help myself.  The cat thought we were nuts, but we were having fun. 

Due to its geographical location, you don't have to be in El Paso long before you see the Mexican city of Juarez. I was struck by the difference a fence can make.  On one side, upgrades on the infrastructure, with new roads, brick homes, and malls with designer stores; On the other side, urban sprawl of poverty with homes that look like they are made out of cardboard boxes, dirt roads, and an abundance of trash.

The best thing about El Paso, to me anyway, is that Mark has family there and we had been invited over for lunch. After parking the truck, Mark's uncle picked us up at the truck stop.

Meet John and Lucille Williamson. I need to stop here for a minute and crow about Mark's family.  His family has been so loving and caring towards me and has accepted me as one of them since before Mark and I got married. They are genuine people. These two are no different. John made a stop at a store so I could get some medicine for those chiggers, which has turned out to be something else, we think poison ivy.  When we got to the house we were greeted at the door with a big smile,warm hug, and the most amazing smell of a home cooked meal in the oven.  It was going to be a good day!🍞🥗🥧  Roast, potatoes, carrots,  salad, bread, and pumpkin pie was on  the menu for lunch.  I was in heaven. It took me back to my grandmother's table, when my whole family would visit her and grandpa. After lunch, bellies and hearts full, it was time to head back to the truck. They loaded us up with gifts of pomegranate jelly and peanut butter brownies, and took us back. It felt good to have support from family. Life is good!. 

Tombstone 🤠🐎

Today we travelled across the dessert Southwest. Wow, I did not know just how beautiful that part of the United States was. God just keeps showing His omnipotence to me.

Crossing Arizona and New Mexico had so many beautiful sites, there are too many to post pictures of.  I really liked seeing all the vast amounts of veggitation that I don't see in Kansas or Missouri. Desert sand spread out for miles, sprinkled with several types of cacti, such as Saguaro, teddy bear, and hedgehog. The scene brought me back to those old western movies, where the guy is crawling in the desert, looking for water and of course there is a sidewinder slithering up to bite him. 

OOOPS, I got a little side tracked there. My favorite cactus were the flat pancake-shaped cactus, called Opuntia. This cactus is also known as The Prickly Pear cactus. I didn't get a good picture of those. 

Sanguaro

Half way across Arizona,  Mark told me to pick a.point of interest I wanted to see.  Noting that Tombstone, Az. was only 24 miles from our landing spot of Benson, Az., I decided that we should go have dinner at Big Nose Kate's Saloon. We pulled into the truck stop, unhooked the trailer, and headed south. Talk about fun. 

The town was just what I was expecting, old, dusty street with the wooden boardwalk along each side of the street. Since the towns people do reenactments of the Shootout at the OK Corral, there were several actors dressed up as Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and the Cowboy outlaws. You could hear the spurs of their boots hitting the wooden walkways, literally. 

Most of the shops were closed, but we were able to check out The Bird Cage Theater, opened in 1881, and was known as the most famous honky tonks in America between 1881 and 1889. The New York Times referred to it in 1882 as the wildeat, wickedest night spot between Basin St and the Barbary Coast. It was the scene of 16 gun fights, and its walls, riddled with 140 bullet holes show evidence of these happenings. 

 Dinner at Big Nosed Kate's (Holliday's girlfriend) was nothing short of entertaining. What once was The Grand  Hotel, built in 1881, is now a Live music joint with great food, and exciting atmosphere, and  was just the ticket for an evening out of the big red box, aka the  truck. 

Big Nosed Kate is said to have been the first prostitute in Tombstone. 

Here are a few more photos, because I haven't put enough in this blog entry. 😀😀😁

Next stop...El Paso, Tx where we have family to visit. 😎😎