Journey To A New Life – Part 2

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Hard to believe it has been over a week already since we left Arizona! We stayed in New Mexico (outside of Albuquerque) to get the 2nd trailer wheel fixed on Monday morning. The guys at the repair shop were extremely helpful and fixed not only the 2nd wheel for us, but also the other 2 wheels, as well as the trailer stand which had collapsed when we unhooked it. They worked on it almost all day, but did not charge us any extra for all the extra work. That was a gift, for sure.

Since they didn’t finish until 3 pm on Monday, we couldn’t drive very far that day, and we definitely wanted to move on, since we had stayed much longer in NM than expected. We made it to Tucumcari, NM (almost to the border of NM and Texas), and stayed for the night there. It rained and rained all night and we discovered some leaks in the RV roof which necessitated different sleeping arrangements, but we managed to rest well in spite of it.

Tuesday, we chose to have a long driving day to catch up some distance. We drove through Texas (the northern piece of it), and made it to Oklahoma where we found a wonderful state park where we camped in. We actually had chosen a different one than we ended up staying in. The first one had a road down to it that was steep and windy and would have been impossible for our RV towing the heavy trailer to get back uphill from. However, we did find another one about a half an hour away that was lovely – lots of trees right next to a river. We slept so well – it did rain again, but the leakage wasn’t so bad this time.

Today, we drove some more in Oklahoma, but only for about 200 miles this time and are camping at another beautiful camping / RV resort – again under the trees in a natural setting with a pool, and actual swimming (if one chooses) in the river itself. It is so hot and muggy, that once we set up, we have been sitting inside with the air conditioner on. However, it is cooling off outside and we hope to eat dinner outside on our little picnic table.

Tomorrow, we may just drive many miles again, and could be driving right through Arkansas and into Tennessee before we stop. Not sure yet. Today, the road condition was terrible in spots – many miles of road surface that was so bumpy I thought I had a flat tire at one point and pulled off the road twice to check! I didn’t but it sure felt terrible driving over it for mile after mile. We are taking Interstate 40 almost right across until we head north at some point to go to Kentucky and Ohio and then into Pennsylvania.

Some of the lessons I am learning on this trip are:

1) Go with the flow and just live in the moment. Nothing is a big deal if you just deal with things as they crop up and always see the best possible outcome happening in your mind – it works!!!

2) Sometimes you have to be specific in what you ask for! Today, when I checked into this campground, I asked if there was wireless internet connection. The lady said yes and then nothing else. I discovered that I needed a code to log into it, which she did not offer to me until we went back to the office to specifically ask for it. Also, it ONLY applied to my computer and not to Jan’s! By then, the office was closed, however, so he doesn’t get to use his computer today.

3) Always treat everything as an adventure, enjoy what is happening (even if you are stepping into ankle-deep puddles or waiting patiently for your car / trailer to be fixed), and be thankful for what you DO have. It makes life so much easier if you do.

4) Trust that all is meant to happen, is in your highest interest, and is for a reason. Yesterday, my cell phone just mysteriously stopped working. I almost panicked, but realized that even if it did, I could find a solution. Today, it just as mysteriously started working again!

Well, I hope this journal will not only serve as a reminder to us about where we went and what our experiences have been, but also to keep our friends updated on our progress.