Back to the trip

Sorry about that . . Jeremy's birthday always throws me for a loop.... it's really hard to grasp that I really do have a son whose 36th birthday just passed and all I can do is miss him.....


So back to the end of our trip.... I think I left us in Idaho.. We headed out from there early on Wednesday morning - so no sightseeing there either - but this time was really for a reason... We could get up to Pendleton and see Gerald for the afternoon visit session if we did. So I was all for that...

So off we went.. Right up the Oregon Trail.. We went from watching the snow on the hillsides in the Grand Tetons and the Rockies to the Burnt and Blue Mountains with snow right to the side of the highway!! And this was end-of-May!! It was a beautiful drive tho' All of the trees up to the treeline and the green and the blue sky!! Until we got close to Pendleton .... the mountains were so high the cars in front of us looked like they were driving right off into the clouds!! It was awesome!! The clouds are really dark so you can really see where mountain meets cloud!! It was probably not one of Keith's favorite parts... but it worked for me!! We made it to Pendleton just after lunchtime - so we tried - and failed to check into our room early so we went to Wally's and then had a quick sandwich before heading off to our visit....

It is not a fun place to visit... I have never done a visit in a place like that.. I have probably watched way to many movies LOL Everyone was exceptionally nice to us. Even if I did forget the rules and had to go into the bathroom and cut the wires out of my bra to get thru the metal detectors (and yes, Chaplan had even specifically warned me beforehand). I met both the Hospice Coordinator Shaw and Chaplan Swartz. We discussed Geralds status, health, issues, and the protocol if I change my mind and want to go back for the "vigil". At this point it is not something I am inclined to do... but we discussed it. I was amazed that they would take time to see us and to spend enough time to thouroughly explain things to the point that I had no questions that even attempted to get thru the fog. I am not supposed to be burying my younger brother any more than I should have lost my son!!

So, back on track, the 2 visits we did were great. Gerald looks ill - but not terribly. Sounds weird... and it is weird... to see someone that isn't going to live long and they almost look normal... a little pale, a little jaundiced.... they are taking great care of him~~ He's spacy to talk to.... definately medicated.. but not at all scary ~~ Nurse Shaw and Chaplan had already explained it all to me... We had a great visit ~ actually 2 ~ we went back for the morning visit the next day, before we headed out... God Bless you and may your suffering be short, May He have mercy on you Gerald!

But on this stop - I did some shopping!! I have heard about "Pendleton's" all of my life and never wanted to show my ignorance in asking just what was so special - so we went to the Pendleton's Store. Beautiful stuff.... Georgeous!! Absolutely Wonderful!!!! I bought a jacket for Keith. Arms were long enough!!! It is a well-fitting nice jacket.... (about 500 miles away I found a "made in China" sticker inside ~~ I'll never go back ~~ my own fault, I assumed that the items in this "LOCAL" Oregon Store with the solid rep would have Made In America items on their label!!) I was definately annoyed!!!! I made Keith go away from the register after he did his routine questioning - of which this time he got very few answers - so he snapped this photo of me coming out of the store... I think he likes his jacket - he wears it often - I'm sure glad :-)

The ending of our trip on the next post. I will also upload pics onto Flickr - all you have to do is click the badge on the sidebar and it will take you there!!

My Son

Happy

Birthday

Jeremy

This is a hard day to get thru -

even after 21 years of

being without you.

I want you to know that we love you.

This is from your father,

he sent it to me,

and I am posting it.

Your family

On the road....

After leaving Missouri we traveled west, west, north, west, south, north, west, south and stop!!

We went thru Missouri and part of Kansas on Sunday, stopping in Topeka for a night, a dinner, and sleep. The Plains States are beautiful - if long.... The plan on Monday was to stop in Denver before crossing the Rockies - I picked out a place that had hot springs and all - but as things go - that didn't happen. Keith started driving and the next thing I knew - I saw the Wyoming state line!!! Instead of going thru the Rockies - we went around them - so Monday night we spent in Laramie, WY. Another eat and sleep and leave deal. On Tuesday we finished up Wyoming - seeing lots of deer and watching those majestic windmills that are popping up all over - I really think they are quite nice looking. If I had a choice - I'd take windmills over about any other type of "decor" (like power poles, transformers, cell towers, etc) I really don't know what the problem people have with protesting the windmills. Especially in some areas, wind is definately a renewable resource!! LOL I found new talk shows on the radio to keep me company as I drove and as I rode. When there was nothing on the radio to talk to - I talked to the deer, other drivers, sky, and if he was awake and listening, Keith. LOL It was a long drive.....

After Wyoming we went on down thru Utah, I think we were in the state an hour or so - maybe - only got out of the car for the Visitors Center and the rest stop - oh, wait! - that was the same place!! We enjoyed the scenery but soon came upon our first really bad weather on the trip. About 100 miles out of Boise, our Tuesday night stop-over, we started hearing about potential thunderstorms and that sort of thing on the radio. I was at the wheel. The clouds started gathering, we could see the wall of clouds to the west of us. They were big and they were black. But oddly enough - they never got to us!!! But a huge, brown, massive wall appeared in front of us and the wind began blowing - almost as badly as it can on the Oregon and Florida coasts!! Only thing was - there was this huge BROWN fog like wall that cars and trucks were disappearing into. So we followed.... tumbleweeds blowing across the Interstate - both hands gripped tight on the wheel - Keith hanging on for dear life (of course he does that anyway!) - we went into this wall..... It was like driving in fog...with very, very strong winds blowing. It was scary.... Keith started looking for hotels, motels, - I think about then he would've settled for a big rock to hide behind, hehehe!!! Well, I hung on to the wheel and after being sandblasted for about 90 minutes, we reached Boise. My shoulders felt like the bungie cords in them had retracted about 6 feet. The rubber bands were wound way too tight!! And to top it all off - Keith has an ugly rash on his legs!! I was afraid it was stress!! So we went to dinner and to our room to relax, check email, watch tv.... the transformer outside our window made a few ugly noises - but nothing to compare with the afternoon "festivities" so we ignored it.....

This ended our first 3 days "on the road"....

Ready to Roam

Click here for more pics

After a great weekend watching the kids play soccer, baseball, and swim, a sidetrip downtown to watch the Cardinals beat Tampa Bay, an evening at the Ameristar, and lots of great company, we spent the last morning enjoying the sunshine poolside before going over to Rick's family birthday party.

We said goodbye from there and headed out. We watched the scenery as we drove across the state of Missouri and part way thru Kansas. We have had wonderful weather as we cross the country. We landed in Topeka for the night. Look Toto, we are in Kansas LOL!!

Friday

We left Indiana in the midst of rain and gloom. We traveled from Mom's to April's thru Illinois in the rain. I drove the first 1/2 and Keith drove the second. We made really good time even with the nasty weather. We arrived at April's in time for a good visit with the kids and Ric and April before having Keith's favorite dinner - of course! - April fixed tacos for him!! Whoopee! He certainly enjoyed that! No one makes tacos like his "Little April" :-)

She gave me a tour of her almost-finished-with-remodeled house while Keith and the kids played. It is beautiful. One of the upstairs bathroom is still in the works - but she has wonderful taste in the rest of the changes. They also have put a pool in the back yard since my last visit. The kids will have an absolutely wonderful time this summer. This evening we plan to watch either: Brennan's baseball game or Elizabeth's soccer game. I don't know yet which Keith will choose. Tomorrow we hope to go to a Cardinal game (I even remembered to pack our Cardinal shirts hehe).

And, again I will have to post pictures when I remember where I packed the card reader :-(

More travel to come!!

Mother's Day

Mom Beatty with 4 out of 5 of her children

at Church for Mother's Day

Heather, Keith, Mom, Joy, and Melody

Keith and his happy Mom :-)

Click here for more pics

Some Pics

Keith and Baby resting up for

thier trips!

Holiday Inn Bowling Green, KY atrium

Ready for dinner

The first stop!

We have arrived at Mom B's!! It was a really nice trip up from Florida. We spent the first night in Georgia at a really nice Holiday Inn. The weather cooperated wonderfully! We only traveled for about 6 hours and made it further than the kids did when they traveled north LOL!! On Friday we traveled the rest of the way thru Georgia, Tennesee (where we hit a small amount of rain around Nashville), and up to Bowling Green, Ky where we spent the second night. This was a really, truly exceptional place to stay! The Atrium was beautiful, the workers exceptionally nice, and the weather was so absolutely gorgeous!! After a wonderful evening, we packed up again and headed up the road for the last little bit of our trip. We got to Mom B's home just before noon so we were able to catch her before she ate lunch and go down to the Mexican Restaurant here in Charlestown.

Mom B has her list of sonny-do's all ready and we started in right after lunch.... We worked in the yard with Joy and her husband Ray during the afternoon and had a great dinner of homemade chili while visiting and catching up on news for the evening. Keith's sister Melody welcomed him as did the other two, Joy and Heather. Dolores was unable to come up but will be over sometime before we leave. So far, it's been a really nice trip - and we are about 1/4 of the way thru it . . . . . LOL

I am having trouble uploading pics so I will try that at a later date. Have a great day!!

Ready, Set, ???

Well, it's the last day. . . . I've been cleaning, packing, unpacking, got my last 6 loaves of bread baked, the sheets are in the washer, dishwasher is running. All that is left is to put the stuff in the car and put away the stuff from above. My dear, wonderful, procrasinating, Husband has now decided that this is the time to clean out his pickup, worry about the number of black garbage bags we have left, and maybe, hopefully, put the things back in the storage that he has taken out over the last few days!!! :-)

Oh, we are doing great. He gave me the Noon on the 8th timeframe - and I will be ready!! The weather is helpong me get ready really quickly!! Up until last week I was ok with the heat . . . . . high 80's not to much humidity. . . . yesterday fixed that!!! I was sitting at my little laptop . . . . . sweating!!!

We finished all of our "travel" appointments with the various doctors that we seem to have accumulated over the years. . . got prescriptions refilled, tossed stuff that expired (it's really nice since this gets done 2x a year!!), sent clothes to charity as I was packing (ooops - no button there! haven't seen this on a body since. . . . ., and the inevitable. . . . this doesn't fit right). Pastor Craig included traveling mercies in our Wednesday group. .

I finally have gotten a hard diagnosis from a nerologist - fibromyalgia - and he has taken me off of several meds that I did use and replaced them with 1 - and of course, pain meds, for when I just "can't take it anymore". . . . but even tho' I generally ache all over . . . . I feel much more alert than I was. Mostly it is under control.... Keith's Doctors have given him a clean bill . . . his neuro had tried a different combo of meds to control the Parkinsons but they didn't work as well as the prior ones . . . so he will go back to them.... yippeee!!!! So we both wake up in the mornings with our "old age" aches and go for today!!!

All in all, our life is great. Our day of travel is upon us. We are ready. . . . well, almost :-) Wish us well and keep us in your prayers. . . . first stop. . . . Mom Beatty's. We hope to spend Mother's Day in Indiana with her. . . . God willing.