We are back in the Northeast. Last I wrote we were in Louisiana and it was about 85 degrees. And here we are now in cold and there was apparently a good amount of snow in Maine. We are currently at James's grandparent's house in Manchester, CT and there was snow covering everything when we woke this morning, although it is now raining and the snow has been washed away. It is cold! I dread what we will find as we drive further north tomorrow. So first I will backtrack a bit....
We left our campsite near Lafayette, Louisiana for a day of driving over swamps and marshy land, through the rest of LA to Mississippi, the small fraction of Alabama that I-10 goes through, and into the panhandle of Florida. We stopped in Fort Walton Beach, FL where my cousin, Jeremy lives and his wife Mona and sons Noah (6) and Eli (3 almost 4). The last time we saw them was when Eli was just a baby, as was Parula as well. It was great to see them and spend time by their hot tub and pool and catching up on life. We stayed in the van in their driveway, going to bed way too late and waking up late in the morning. It was great talking to them and finding out their reasons for moving to what seemed like this random place in the world. They too spent many years in the far north, (Twin Cities area of Minnesota, where Mona grew up) and where ready to get away from the cold and dark and snow. Jeremy told me he never wants to shovel snow again! (My feelings are similar). They love to be by the beach and swim, so they decided they should move to Florida! It was a nice place, but not quite what we are looking for....
We went on our way leisurely the next morning and headed to the end of I-10 and up I-95 up the east coast. This section of road is familiar, as we drove all the way to Florida from Maine last winter when we tried to go to Jamaica but a mid-Atlantic snowstorm completely halted all thoughts of the Carribean, so we just drove south. The eastern highways are a familiar path for us at this point. We ended up driving late into the night and made it as far north as Florence, South Carolina and stayed at a Red Roof Inn, mainly so we could take a shower the next morning. The next day we pushed it and drove all the way to my mom's house in PA....our GPS told us it would take 8 1/2 hours but it took way longer, as we stopped a few times for bathroom breaks. The dairy queen from the previous day's drive was not fairing well in mine or James's intestinal tract....oops. We made it to my mom's house by 9:30 p.m. and got the kids settled into bed. We visited some more with family and drove up to CT yesterday, with no traffic we made it here in a record time of 4 hours (no speeding in the beast). We are spending another night here and heading back to Maine tomorrow.
An unfortunate thing happened yesterday very shortly after we arrived at the Pierson's house. River found a tasty treat in the basement, a nice patty of mouse poison. Pia then decided it should be good food and began to lick it. Fortunately, James recognized what it could be immediately and was able to get some hydrogen peroxide down River's throat to make her puke, which happened shortly there after and the poison all came out. A call the animal poison control and some more doses of hydrogen peroxide to Pia, and the dogs seem totally find now. We were advised to get River's blood tested in 72 hours to make sure her blood isn't affected by what she ate. The poison is actually an anti-coagulant, very similar to what I used to take after my stroke (Coumadin/Warfarin) and could cause devastating long-term affects if not treated. So, one more thing to do, but so glad the dogs are o.k.
After all of this travel (we aren't done yet!) I have come to realize that I really still love traveling. Even though we have logged many hours and even more miles in the van, this trip has been a great adventure. We have spent so much time visiting with friends and family and getting to know some previously unfamiliar places, visiting places we have lived in the past, and traveled through places we have never been to before. There were some interesting moments in campgrounds, but overall it was really fun camping in RV parks and getting to be in our traveling home through it all. James and I have found out the pros and cons of our van and things we need to fix or change (like the leaking roof), and will hopefully have a smoother time on our next trip. I will still keep updating this blog from time to time because after all, we will always be LIVING OUR DREAMS!
