Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Whirlwind of time….the good and the bad

It has been a hectic week and a half and energy for blogging was something I greatly lacked.

 

We were peacefully enjoying  Hot Springs Park when suddenly our cooling unit in the coach refrigerator started to fail.   In talking with a tech and doing some testing on our own we determined that it, in fact, was the cooling unit itself.   We had a small chance that the failure was in the electrical heating tubes of the refrigerator which would have been less costly…(not to be !!!!)

In as much as the temperatures were beginning to flirt with the high seventies and low eighties, I made the decision to cut our trip short and head straight North to Shipshewana IN where an Amish factory that builds new and improved cooling units is located.   I had been in contact with JC by phone and he said he would do his best to work us into his schedule on Monday or Tuesday.   The decision was an easy one…pack up and cruise North.

 

The evening before we left Hot Springs, a couple  pulled into the space next to us and low and behold, we were blessed with quite a shock.    As we watched them get situated, out of the truck steps a man with the same right side deficit from a massive stroke as Bob suffered.   I believe this incident was no accident.  Whether we choose to believe or not, in my opinion,  there definitely is a higher spirit in our lives.  Later, after they were settled in and outdoors,  I went over and introduced ourselves.   We shared a bottle of wine, talked, laughed and cried together for a few hours.   For me, it was the BEST moments of our travels.    I find it strange, we shared an instantaneous friendship  as if we had been life-long friends.    After a few hours it was decided between Sherri and I that next year we will travel in tandem to Lord knows where.   Icing on the cake????…   They also live in Michigan  !

 

Despite the looming weather in the Midwest this past weekend,  the southern winds at 20-30 MPH pushed us home quickly and our fuel mileage to a solid 12mpg….Woohoo!  

Several of Bob’s kids came over last night and got the well hooked up, water heater going, mowed the lawn, and started up the pellet stove once again.   It was a wonderful surprise,  even though we surprised them and snuck in a day earlier than expected.   We had a  nice time and Bob is thrilled to be home to see his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

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We have had a wonderful winter of traveling and although there were a few bumps in the road, I feel very fortunate to have made the decision we did to be “snowbirds” 

 

Life is Good

7 comments:

  1. Welcome home - glad you had a safe journey...and good fuel mileage!! How nice for you to meet that other couple. I hope it works out for you to do some traveling with them next year. Sounds like you could be a help to one another.

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  2. I'm like you... believe that nothing is really "by accident". So glad you met a kindred spirit... hope that works out for all of you. I really like the picture of Bob with the baby... makes me kind of homesick for our own great-grandbabies.

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  3. Good to see that you're home safe and sound. Sure happy that you made it back there o.k. God Bless you all.

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  4. I'm glad the remainder of your journey was a safe one. Those fridges can sure be a pain.

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  5. God does work in mysterious ways, does he not? Have a fun summer at home!

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  6. So glad to hear from you. Hope you keep us posted periodically thru the summer. Your new friends sound like a "god send". Won't you have fun next year. Maybe you can fit in a mid summer trip with them.

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  7. Now for a quiet summer - planning your fun snowbirding for next year.

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