Arleneholtz's Weblog

Journey to A New Life – Part 6

arleneholtz — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 11:51:24 +0000

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Our last day in Ohio went well, however, we had an unexpected event: we had to have the brakes fixed on the RV! Jan decided to have them looked at because they started squealing and making noise, even when he had his foot on the gas pedal and not the brake pedal. We called AAA for someone to come out and look at them to see if they could tell us how critical it was to have them fixed (if we could wait until we got to Pittsburgh or had to deal with them then and there). We were advised to have them checked. Also, we were given a recommendation on who could do it locally. We needed a specialist since the RV was too heavy for most garages because of the weight.

We had to unhook the trailer (once again!), leave it where we were, and drive to downtown Columbus to the brake shop, and luckily they were able to take a look right away. Jan and I proceeded to find a coffeeshop to go to while we awaited word. That experience was pretty amazing in itself – that the garage was able to look immediately, especially since it was Friday, and otherwise we would have been “stuck” there until Monday! Another demonstration of the power of the Law of Attraction. My experience was that when another “problem” cropped up (i.e. the brakes), i stopped my internal chatter of worry, surrounded myself and Jan and the whole situation with white light, and visualized the best possible outcome for all involved.

What happened next was also kind of interesting. While we waited, we decided to go somewhere since we had about an hour before we could hear what was needed. Jan said “It would be nice to find a Starbucks to go to close by”, and since we were just a few blocks from downtown Columbus, we drove away. Picture this: right downtown in a busy city we are driving up the busiest street at around noon when many of the work people are walking and driving around looking for a place for lunch, we and are stopped at a traffic light. I look to my left just a few minutes after Jan voiced this thought and what do I see? You guessed it – A Starbucks! The next thing that happened was I then looked to my right, and we were right in front of an empty parking space on the street! We were able to park directly across the street from it! We only had a couple of quarters for the parking meter though we would have needed more for an hour, and put them in, getting the hour we needed because there must have still been time on the meter from the last person! How great was that? Coincidences? I don’t think so.

Well, to shorten this tale, we did have to replace all the brake pads and the brake drums on the rear wheels. In fact, the mechanic declared that he didn’t know how we had made it this far considering how bad the brakes looked! They could fix it (to the tune of $600) and we could pick it up at 6 pm. Oh no!! We had to make the decision of whether to stay another night in Columbus or try to make it to Pittsburgh after that or drive for at least part of the way and stay somewhere else for a night.

We opted for the 3rd choice. We selected a campground about an hour and half away, and didn’t think it would be necessary to book it ahead of time. We hadn’t had to do that at all since the start of our trip, as most campground owners were complaining about how slow their business was because of the high gasoline prices. This place was difficult to find (the directions were bad and/or the road access had changed, but finally we pulled in, only to discover that they were absolutely full!!! This was around 8:00 pm.

There was another place about 20 miles down the road and this time we called and asked whether they had room. They did! It would have been easy to reach them before the office closed at 9 pm. However, we were out of gas and needed to stop to fill up. I quickly drove ahead in the car to make sure we got registered before they were closed and the gates locked. I made it there at 10 minutes to 9 and we got set up, slept, and got underway the next morning, arriving in Pittsburgh by 11:30 am on Saturday.

Certainly my lessons this time were about keeping my thoughts positive, visualizing only the best outcome, and trusting that whatever happens is for the best. We didn’t want to have to spend more money making repairs to the RV / trailer. However, it was in good time and it meant that we could drive the rest of the way without worrying about our safety. We found the best possible business to help us (it was a place that ONLY dealt with brakes) and they were able to do the repair before the weekend.

The other lesson was about keeping the mindset of just dealing with whatever comes up in the moment without going into a lot of mental chatter and stress about it – no questions in my mind about “why me?” or “how am I going to deal with this?” or “no! we can’t afford any more extra expenses” or any of the other internal self-talk that had in the past kept me in a state of stress and worry. This time it was only “what do we need to deal with?” and “what’s the next step?” We were thankful we had the money to pay for it (even though we would have preferred to spend it other ways!), and realize that whatever we need, we will have.

This has been a rather long entry – I guess a lot is happening! More about Pittsburgh the next time.

Journey To A New Life – Part 5

arleneholtz — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:46:25 +0000

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Now that our visit to Columbus, OH is almost over and we leave after breakfast in the morning, I find myself thinking about how our lives will change in Pittsburgh. I don’t know a lot of the details yet: where we will live, what kind of jobs we will have, what our daily lives will be like, etc. I am feeling that it is definitely time to finish our travel journey and start our new life journey!

We have been like vagabonds in a way – we mapped out a general route, but have selected each stopping point as we traveled according to how we felt and what we wanted to do in the present moment. It has definitely been interesting – and we have learned a lot along the way, as I have shared in each journal entry.

On the road from Walton, KY to Columbus, OH, we developed brake problems – first on one side of the trailer, and then on the RV brakes (since the trailer brakes weren’t able to assist in the braking of the whole vehicle). Jan did something which he thinks have fixed the problem. However, we will only know for sure when we start driving tomorrow. If anything feels “wrong” we will stop at a brake repair place and have them take a look at it. We have come too far to take a chance on this last 200 miles or so of our trip.

We know now, to just visualize that everything will go fine and we will be able to do whatever it takes to make this last drive safe and pleasant.

The past day and a half have been wonderful – we had a very good visit with my sister, Donna, with my niece Anna and her beautiful daughter Bella. We ate out at good restaurants and had a chance to visit and catch up. Now, at least, it is not such a long trip to see each other again – either her coming to us in Pittsburgh or us going to Columbus. Tomorrow morning we will have a final breakfast together in the little town of Westerville, where we are staying (outside of Columbus), and then we will get underway.

It’s funny – in spite of having had a relaxing day, we are both feeling tired. Maybe it is that we are just tired of traveling and are ready to go the final distance to get to our destination. Is that how it is in life? At the beginning of a new experience, we are all excited and gung-ho, but don’t really know what we are quite doing yet. Then we start to get in the swing of the trip and start feeling like we know the ropes and can enjoy the rhythm and flow of what’s happening. Towards the end of the journey, it starts to feel like we have been going forever and we are beginning to look forward to the end. Finally, in the last part of the trip we are weary of the experience and tired – and we want it to be over so we can consolidate, regroup, and start the next adventure.

So that is where we are now two and a half weeks since we started traveling. The last 200 miles to Pittsburgh – and the beginning of the next chapter.

I feel our journey will continue as we start to define how we will live in our new home city, so I will write a few more entries, if anyone is interested in hearing more. It has certainly been great to share what has been happening, and it has served to be a wonderful way to regroup my experiences. Thank you everyone who has been reading these messages for your interest and your friendship.

Journey To A New Life – Part 4

arleneholtz — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:59:33 +0000

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

It’s been a few days since I wrote a journal entry. Let’s see – since the last one, we have driven the rest of the way through Arkansas, then through Tennessee (through Memphis and Nashville), and just over the border to Franklin, Kentucky where we camped for the night. Then we drove through the rest of Kentucky to the northern end of the state to a town called Walton, KY, where we are still at a lovely little campground parked under the trees, by a little creek. This is our 2nd night here, so we have had a wonderful relaxed day of reading, talking, exploring the little town here cooking dinner and eating outside on the picnic bench again. These little 2-night stays are what have made it for me – time to relax and just be with no “shoulds” or “musts”. Then the next day we both are refreshed and driving for 4+ hours again is no problem.

By now we are so close to Ohio (Cincinatti is only 20 miles away), and it is about a 4-hour drive to where my sister, Donna, lives in Columbus, and where we will stay again for 2 nights to visit with her and with my niece, Anna, and her lovely little daughter. We are really looking forward to that, as I haven’t visited my sister in many years. She has come to Arizona several times, but I haven’t made it there to Ohio for a long time. Also, it will be fun to see my niece and meet my new “grand-niece”!

After that, our only other day of driving will be on Friday and that is to Pittsburgh! Jan and I are both finding that we are really looking forward to getting to Pittsburgh and settling down to our new life – finding a place to live, getting jobs, etc. Of course, we also will get to have lots more time with my son, Brian, my daughter-in-law, Brenda, and our 3 beautiful grand-daughters (Emily, Sara, and Laura). What a joy it will be to finally be able to share in their lives more regularly!

It’s hard to believe we are almost at the end of our journey. So many memories, so many lessons, and so much fun seeing all the places we have driven through, or camped in. I will say that as we have traveled east and are starting to travel more north, the scenery has changed and been so different. Of course we have enjoyed seeing all the GREEN trees and vegetation. After having lived in the Southwest for 10 years, it sure looks different. We are enjoying that very much. Arkansas was beautiful, and yesterday, driving through Kentucky has been awesome. Lovely, green rolling hills, lots of grass and space between the houses! It looks so idyllic!

Yes, we have had lots more humidity to contend with, and had several days of rain, but that’s what makes everything so green! There are always trade-offs, and it’s all good!

We had a funny incident yesterday I wanted to share. We are taking our 2 cats with us and it has, of course, been quite an adjustment for them riding in the RV, and not having their familiar territory around them. They have done very well adjusting for the most part. We found that they do best being closed into our bedroom while Jan is driving and then letting them out when we are standing in a campground. Of course, we have not let them out because I didn’t want to lose them, so we have been very careful keeping them in the RV. They have not taken at all well to being on a leash, so that has been out of the question.

Yesterday, we were sitting just outside the RV on our picnic bench having dinner, when out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw one of them (Sally) moving under the RV. I thought I was imagining it. Then a few minutes later, Jan saw the other one (Sugar) jump down from the tree onto a shed just on the other side of our site! OMG! Then I realized I HAD seen Sally as she wondered under the trailer and over to the creek, chasing a bug. They had both “escaped”! Well, I knew I hadn’t seen Sugar in a while, but she has a habit of curling up under our bed in the RV for hours, so I didn’t think anything of it. It turns out Jan hadn’t closed his driver’s side window and they just jumped out of it to get out. I was so worried we wouldn’t be able to catch them and bring them back into the RV. However, they had had their little adventure outside and were happy to come back into the RV, so they “let” us catch them easily.

What’s my lesson in this? I am not sure – maybe it is that to worry does not help anything, and usually what we worry about never happens anyway! Today they have both been quite content to stay indoors since their little adventure yesterday.

So, that’s about all for this segment. Next leg: Columbus, Ohio.

Journey To A New Life – Part 3

arleneholtz — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 01:50:13 +0000

Friday, July 11, 2008

Russellville, Arkansas – Lake Dardenelle State Park – July 11, 2008

When we started yesterday (Thursday the 10th of July), we were still in Oklahoma, and Jan and I had worked out a short distance destination (a 3 hour drive), a medium distance destination (maybe 4 to 5 hours), and a long one (6+ hours). We agreed to start out early – maybe be ready to leave by 6 am. Now, early morning time is not my favorite time of the day – it takes me a while to wake up and I usually need time to sit with some coffee, meditate, start the day slowly, in other words. However, I agreed to it, since it is really hot for Jan to drive the RV (the air conditioning up front in it does not work at all), so starting out earlier in the day is easier on him at the very least.

When I got up, though, I felt like we were pushing to make some distance, and that it had not as yet been very much like a vacation – at least not so far. Somehow, I could not face another long drive, sleep for 1 night and pack up and leave again early the next morning. We agreed to drive for maybe 2 or 3 hours only to the first nice campground we could find. Here we are!!!

It is beautiful here! It is a wooded State Park with hookups for RV’s lots of space between the RV sites, a huge lake, green grass, a little lake beachfront, and wonderfully quiet and peaceful. We arrived to our space and were greeted by a friendly squirrel who came up to within 2 or 3 feet of us, totally unafraid and cute. It has been wonderful here – just the place for a 2-night stay. NOW I feel like I am on vacation. We will move on tomorrow, but not necessarily early – just when we feel like it. The next campground we picked out is almost in Memphis, Tennessee, and that is not such a long drive either.

Tonight, like last night, we will cook out on the barbecue grill provided on our spot and totally enjoy ourselves. Jan has gone into the little town to find a hinge (one fell off our bathroom door) and a place to get a haircut. I have been reading, meditating, napping, and now writing in this journal.

We had a chance earlier today to sit in the air-conditioned visitor center where wireless internet connection is provided and catch up on some of our emails. We both have worked so hard for so long, that it is a lesson in itself on how to relax and “do nothing” without feeling guilty or like we are wasting time. That may sound funny to you, but we both are learning to just “be” instead of always “doing”. I think that is the big lesson right now.

More later…

Journey To A New Life – Part 2

arleneholtz — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 01:46:55 +0000

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.

Journey To A New Life – Part 1

arleneholtz — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:13:46 +0000

Sunday, July 6, 2008

This journal will be to chronicle our experiences traveling across the country from Arizona to Pennsylvania, where we will start a new life! It is now Sunday, the 6th of July and we started our journey on the first of July, so I will have some catching up to do. I will just summarize what has happened so far, since I didn’t start writing entries on the first day.

I think I was too mentally, emotionally, and physically drained and exhausted to start writing then. We started after weeks of packing, finishing up jobs, tying up loose ends, concerning not only our move but also our financial situation – foreclosure of our house, losing our other real estate investments, dissolving our corporation, closing down my art website, as well as my natural healing products website, and our personal bankruptcy. It really is a brand new start in almost every way.

The only business I am keeping and will continue to work is my health and wellness business, which I am thrilled to have and which does not require a huge investment to keep it going. Once we reach Pittsburgh, I will look for some employment of some sort – whether it will be some office work or perhaps teaching stained / fused glass, or ??? It is all an unknown entity to me now, and I just have to trust that the perfect opportunity will present itself, if I keep myself open and ready.

We have had some challenges with the trailer which we are towing behind our RV containing all our belongings – from a broken brake cable to losing a wheel, to losing another wheel. I am not clear why this is happening, from the “bigger picture”. However, we are just learning to stay flexible and deal with things as they come up, without too much anger or frustration. Things have just happened so we are dealing with them. We are waiting to go see the garage that fixed the first wheel problem when they open up again on Monday (tomorrow), and have them correct the problem they created. Then we can finally be on our way out of Albuquerque finally, and on to Texas as our possible next stop. Our other possibility is to stop in Tucumcari, NM – it depends on how long it takes to fix the trailer wheel this time and how soon we can be on the road again.

So, in the meanwhile, at least we have had a very relaxing weekend, which we needed so much, AND we actually have cleared some space to move around in the RV. When we started out, we had boxes of stuff piled EVERYWHERE in the RV and my car and it was getting on my nerves. Over this past weekend we got some laundry done, unpacked and organized stuff, and it finally is starting to feel comfortable in here. Also, the cats are acting more relaxed and at home too, which is wonderful. We found a really lovely campsite outside of Albuquerque, on the east side, which is surrounded by trees, off the highway, blissfully quiet and peaceful. It has been wonderfully healing being here, and I am so grateful to be here.

It only has internet right in or just outside the office though, so that has been a little inconvenient. However, it has meant I have gotten a real rest too. So, hopefully, one more night here and we can continue the journey eastward tomorrow. Maybe the next place will have internet right around the campground, so I can post this to all.

More later!