Time SO flies!!!

Whew. I don't think I even know what day it is anymore! :D It's been a long haul into and up California; tonight is our last night on the road before we get to our friend's house in Bend, OR; we'll be there for a few days. It will be NICE to not have to go anywhere for a while - except I can't wait to go to some of the places we USED to go and take photos. :D

ANYWAY. Remember when I was talking about my two peas? Yeah. I have PROOF.

We met Kaisa and her boyfriend at the Denny's in Mojave, CA, for brunch before we hit the road again. We had a good time, and I had fun shooting these two silly, most-important-in-my-life
 people. :)

It was difficult saying goodbye, but hopefully she'll come visit soon.

And off we went!

(I need to load up some photo editing software on my computer; these are all straight off my camera, and I have LOTS more to do. So please bear with them - and me. :D )

Desert. Yes, it started looking a LOT like El Paso. And jut like when I lived there, I can't figure out WHY people live there. :D But Sunday's drive was only a couple of hours long; we were going to a friend of Kenn's from way ago, in Bakersfield.

They live in an oasis. Seriously. They have a glorious house with an incredible back yard and a beautiful pool. Just lovely.

(I wish I had my software to help soften the lighting on this, but this is what it was at noon in the desert. :D )

Kenn and Tom had a great visit; I got to know Nancy pretty well. We spent a lot of time together while they boys were off playing. :D

So Monday, we drove to Modesto. Kenn's allergies were off the charts because of his time outside with Tom, so we didn't do much fun or fun for dinner. It was a nice property, a Clarion, so if we ever come through again, we'd like to take our time and enjoy ourselves. I think we're both just road-weary.

Today's drive was up to Weed, CA. We made one stop, but it wasn't anything to brag about. So I won't. :) Neither was dinner - we spent too much money on meals that didn't deliver today!

But this HOTEL ROOM!!! It's a brand-new Quality Inn in South Weed; Kenn got us a jacuzzi room since it's our last night. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. (The thing I miss most on trips and vacations is my garden tub. :D ) What a nice treat. Kenn's allergies are still pretty bad; my eyes are itchy. <sigh> I need a beach wind! :)

Oh, and this hotel room? This is the view from my BALCONY. Yeah. Uh, huh. :D

That would be Mt. Shasta, ladies and gentlemen. We are back in the Cascade Range!

OK. Time to relax a little more, get a good night's sleep, and rock the last leg of this segment out. THANK YOU for praying for us - keep it up! PLEASE pray for the allergy problems. It's not fun - and his eyes glow in the dark almost. SO awful. We love and miss people in TN, but have been blessed to see lots of friends we haven't seen in forever. :)

Kaisa

We only drove for about five hours today! Hooray! :D We're in Lancaster, CA, visiting Kaisa - Kenn's daughter. She is a lovely young woman; she's always been a good kid, and she continues to be a bright light in Kenn's life. :)

A lot has happened in our lives and her life since we last saw her, so it was a good time to catch up with her today. I still can't believe she's going to be a milestone year this year's birthday; she still looks like she's 17. :D I had a good time showing her pictures of her cousins, so she could get to know their faces. She's only met two in person!

It's fun watching her interact with him as an adult. They are as alike as ever, my two peas in a pod.

Tomorrow, we'll do lunch together before we head on down the road to one of Kenn's friends in Bakersfield. Relationship-growing! :) THANK YOU for praying!! Keep it coming, peeps! :D

Get your kicks...!

Good Friday Evening from Needles, CA!

It was a MUCH better day - thank you all for praying for us!!!! The wind went away, for the most part, and our gas mileage was MUCH better. We didn't turn the car off until we stopped to unload, then stopped for dinner - and it started both times! HALLELUJAH! The car had a much easier day, even though we went way up and way down on elevation - started at over 6000, ended up at about 450!

It was a GOOD day. The morning, especially, was really easy driving. This afternoon, we decided to stop in a little town one of Kenn's friends had told him to stop in, Seligman, Arizona. We couldn't figure out WHY - it was out in the middle of nowhere, literally.

OH, was it a cute town! The reason we got off the interstate in the first place was to take Kenn's picture at the advertised Roadkill Cafe for his friend. :D But it was SO CUTE!!! AND - you guess, ON ROUTE 66!!!!

There was so much to take photos of - great old signs and cars. It was pretty quiet in town, so we stopped up and down the "strip" to take photos. :) Here's Kenn, taking a photo of an old colorful car! :D

We spent about a half-hour there; I bought a new hat to wear. :D I splurged, but it was worth it to me. :D I've been wearing my OR Coast hat to travel in, so I don't have to worry about what my hair looks like. I think I'll start a collection of "beach hair hats". :D I've got two now. :D

We changed our last time zone, so we're on Pacific time now. We got here early in the afternoon for them; we ate dinner, and we're checking email, etc., now - getting business out of the way. BTW, if you ever have a reason to come to Needles, CA, I recommend the Rodeway Inn. It's a great rate and a nice property, and easy to find. We're going to enjoy the outdoor hot tub tonight - it was 85 degrees here today!

Please keep your prayers going - what a difference in today! :) Tomorrow, we go to visit Kenn's daughter. It will be so great to see her again - it's been a LONG time for me!!!!!

A bit road-weary!

Hello, everyone! My goodness, it has been a BUSY week of traveling. I think it's Thursday evening, right? :D We're in Gallup, NM, on Historic Route 66. I've always loved the history of this highway, so I've really enjoyed looking at some of the old signs that still exist. I didn't get a chance to stop and take a picture of the one I wanted to; we're having a bit of trouble with the car. :( Please pray - it seems to be a short in the starter again!!!!

Anyway. The wind was buffeting and tearing at us ALL day; it was so noisy at times that we couldn't hear each other YELL. Phew! Praying it dies down for tomorrow's travels across Arizona!

Today was from south of Amarillo up to Santa Rosa, NM, and then all the way across 40 to Gallup. Tomorrow looks to be about the same length in miles. We DID stop at the Continental Divide to take a photo; I honestly don't remember much of this stretch the last time we came from CA to TN. But I was with the same handsome guy. :D

OK. I think it's time to veg with him and enjoy a little quiet! Thank you for your love and prayers - we'll take it all!!!!!

What a wonderful week!

How do you sum up a week of time with family? A week of laughter and giggles, of crafting and kisses? A week of smiles and tears, a week of sharing meals and memories?

We had a wonderful time, although poor Kenn has been really suffering with his hay fever and allergies. We had beautiful weather for most of the week; my oldest nephew caught a fish and decided to release it - but being the ONLY one to catch a fish did great things for him. :) Most of the kids did crafts with me on three of the mornings together - they are so creative in different ways, it was great fun to watch them work on their projects.

We three sisters had our only chance to just be US Tuesday night; we laughed and cried, shared joy and grief over the loss of my nephew, and plotted and planned. It was a miraculous, incredible few hours. I am SO blessed to have them as sisters AND friends. God has been SO good to me!

We had a wonderful week with my family, and spent the last two days in Oklahoma with Kenn's family - and it was wonderful to get to visit his Aunt Alice. She's sharp as a tack, even though she's over 90. She is absolutely AMAZING. And we stayed with David and Sheila, his cousin and his wife. We got to see lots of cousins! :) A great family.

SOOOOO blessed. Tonight, Kenn and I are in Shamrock, TX. Tomorrow night, we'll be in Sudan, TX, with my college roommate, Rhonda. We're having a good trip, but the allergens are still bad for both of us. It will be good to get to the beach. :)

How on EARTH...???

do you fit SIX MONTHS into your car??? This may not look like much, but it IS. And it's HEAVY. And it's pared down as much as I can make it at the moment. Tomorrow's load-in. Will we fit everything? Will we have a fit? I have to remember that, as long as we have ourselves, meds, and clothes, we'll be OK. Right?!?!??!
<sigh>

We'll be going soon!

Well, here I am with yet another blog. :D But I think it will be fun to have someplace to post what we're up to from my perspective, and share a shot or two. We'll see how I do, how often I post - because most of my journaling last time was directly into our photo book, and I plan on doing that again.

SO. If you're here, you're definitely invited to be a part or our journey! This is the link to Kenn's travel blog, if you'd like to follow both of us. :)

Please pray for travel safety, relationship-building both inside and outside of the car :), and finances and a place to live!

I'll be back soon - we leave in nine days!