Grateful Way and The Drive

Look who was right outside my window this morning! I opened the curtain of our first hotel room stay. And Tah-Dah, a friendly neighbor.

That was two nights ago. Along the historic Route 66 in Oklahoma. The next day we drove and drove. Then we stayed a second night in a hotel in Conway, Arkansas. Both nights were really nurturing. And we watched tennis. And ate breakfast from the complimentary hot-food bar. A welcomed rest. But both days traveling were hard. Hot and, well,  HOT. 

And then we drove to Graceland. I mean, come on. We just saw the movie and we’re passing through Memphis. 

And then we drove some more and stopped in Lebanon, Tennessee. 

It’s our last night on the road. Always we find it’s harder to end than begin. Strange, but we never really felt lost when we didn’t know where we were or exactly where we were going. Heading back to the known is just harder somehow. 

These past few days have been challenging. Extreme heat and the journeys-end fast approaching. There’s this sense that the ending should be kinda epic. Instead it’s just hot. Feels like ever since we left the redwoods we have done more surviving than thriving. But this is an adventure. Not a vacation. There is a difference.

On a vacation I plan to relax. 

On an adventure I expect to be surprised by what I learn. Learning  both about the world around me. And the world within me. 

And we learned LOTS of things. 

In just the past few days we learned how to sit still in the desert. How to appreciate the brief coolness of a morning. And love the long, slow sunset. How to gather water. Some for drinking and some to pour over our heads. Or wet a tennis towel for wrapping the head and cooling the face. 

And maybe the hardest learning…how to leave the comfort of nature and our well-known little-guy-life to sleep in air-conditioning and watch tennis on a t.v.  

I haven’t watched or heard one minute of news/weather in almost 8 weeks. I don’t really think I’ve missed anything. But I must say, I am loving the U.S.Open and the soft sheets and the super fluffy pillows. And well, , air-conditioning is one of the greatest inventions ever!!!  

Whoa, whoa, whoa!!! Wait a minute. This is an adventure story. And it’s one of those choose-your-own-ending stories. We can’t choose to end this way. In hotel rooms along an interstate. 

Soooo, we’re up and headed across Tennessee toward the NC mountains. Good-bye a/c. Good-bye internet. 

Hello Mother Nature. In a way that feels very round and complete, here’s how we landed in our last campground. 

Some years ago we met new friends while  playing tennis in Chapel Hill. We got to talking about travel and camping and the lure of the outdoors. They had a teardrop camper. We fell in love with it, started researching for one, and found our Little Guy in south Florida. The first owners were from the Netherlands and had stickers attached saying 

“N.L. Onze Bedstee (our bed) 

We LOVE our Little Guy. 

And we treasure all of the travels. 

And we thank our lucky stars for meeting friends who opened up this wonderful way of exploring the big, wide world to us.

AND, in that wonderfully synchronistic way of the road, these are the very same friends who texted us as we drove across Tennessee saying if you’re in the neighborhood we’ve snagged a campsite for you. 

Whoa!!! That’s the perfect invitation. 

Lakefront at Bandit’s Roost. On the Kerr-Scott Resevoir in Wilkesboro, NC.  With a campfire and gourmet camp meal and wine and laughter and our very first welcome home hugs. Now that’s a best last night on the road!

Steve

The Drive

When it’s too hot to camp, we are left with the DRIVE. 1800 miles 4 days. Wake up, load car, drive 500 miles, stop at motel, shower, eat from our cooler, watch tv, go to bed, eat crappy breakfast and do it again. I’m sure Debbie could make this journey sound like an adventure but I can tell you it was not. 

Clinton Oklahoma, Conway Arkansas and Leland Tennessee were graced by our presence. The highlights were being chased by a huge thunderhead, dark and menacing, and going to Graceland.  My sister is a huge Elvis fan and we wanted to surprise her with Elvis memorabilia. We thought about the tour but we would have been out $150 or $225 if you wanted to see Elvis’ sock drawers. 

By the end of the third day we had lost our smiles and were ready to tuck our tail between our legs and get home. We saw an email inviting us to bandits roost to camp in nc. “I love Bandits Roost “ Debbie exclaimed. I wanted to end our trip with dignity. So we set sight for Bandits Roost at the foothills of the Blue Ridge 

A huge welcome and celebration awaited us from our friends Kurt and Claire. They found a filet mignon in the bottom of the cooler and baked potatoes. We brought the salad. Storytelling and laughing and hugging ensued. We swam in the lake, got bit by some stinging ants and laughed some more. What a warm welcome for our weary souls.

Lulu our 2005 Toyota Corolla pulled into Blue Heron Farm after performing flawlessly towing a camper  for 8000 miles.  The next morning she woke up with a flat tire. We hopped into our bed that night. Something didn’t feel right so I said to Debbie, do you want to sleep in the little guy.??

Back into our cocoon for a good nights sleep.