Friends and Family

Somewhere along our journey my Kia developed quite a wobble when braking.  Since I have PEOPLE here, I asked one of them what that was and how to fix it.  Mikie went for a short ride with me (to Walgreens!  We saw another Alaska license plate!). He said my brake rotors were warped.

The repair cost?  We just had to listen to a lecture about the inner workings of an engine, complete with visuals and math problems, while Mikie smoothed out the brake rotors and then put the car back together.  My family is the greatest!

We also got to meet Pops!  He'd been following our road trip progress, too, so we were kind of like celebrities.

There's my brake rotor!  Isn't it pretty?

And here's Mikie putting it back on the car. No more wobble.

We also got to have lunch with one of my nieces last week, Rachael.  A yummy lunch at Joe's Farm Grill and a quick trip to DSW where everybody found something we needed.  Fun morning! We also got to see the rest of her drapery and upholstery shop, Pillow Talk Designs.  She's pretty amazing!  You can follow her new custom furniture venture on intragram here.

Since I'm adding plugs for my talented family's ventures, Rachael's sister Cristal has an adorable shop on etsy that you might want to check out, especially if you have a little one.  Or know someone who has a little one.  Or know someone who loves hair accessories:  A Dash of Sass Designs.

While the job offers are pouring in, we spent some time shopping for apartments and furniture.  Here we are testing out a new mattress:

Turns out the apartment complex wants you to have proof of INCOME before they'll rent to you.  So we have the couch and beds picked out, but didn't get to buy them yet.  Guess we're staying at Lori's house a little longer.  We like it here.  It's very nice, and we get to use the kitchen.  Also, I finally got to have Marlon's famous tacos! Wow!  They live up to their reputation.  Delicious.

Also on the agenda:  catching up with old friends.  I attended high school with most of these people a million years ago. A couple of them went to Mesa High, but they turned out okay.  Thanks, Karen and David for hosting a lovely party!

The job search is not going quite as I'd hoped.  Andrew recommended LDS job service as a resource, and I'm going to their resume and interviewing classes tomorrow.  Somebody will be willing to pay me what I'm worth, I just need to find them. 

Our search for a new church continues, as well.  Tried a third one this weekend.  My favorite so far, but  St. Gregory's, our parish in Sitka, is going to be really hard to replace.  The churches here are all so big.  

Here we are

So this happened.  We're staying temporarily at my sister's house in Mesa, and both brothers came for dinner.  

This is my family!

Spent the weekend preparing resumes and searching job listings online. A new journey begins today.

Yesterday Cassie, Lori and I went to see Inside Out. Really enjoyed it!  I cried, of course.  It's Pixar. The short film before the movie, Lava, was odd. 

Here's Cassie at the theater:

Cassie and I also tried a different Catholic Church yesterday.  There are 30 within 20 miles and we've been to two of them.  We'll keep looking.

Avoiding Bill

Now that we've decided we've had enough, we are pretty much driving all day without stopping at any points of interest.  Avert your eyes from those tempting brown signs on the highways.  The historic sights will be there for the next road trip.

Pizza was on the agenda, though, as we headed toward Chicago.  Fortunately our fan club/following is keeping tabs on us and warned about Chicago weather.  Here's a screen shot of the highway closures due to flooding:

South it is!  

Drove above the speed limit (shhhhh!) to get pictures of the sculptures on the back of this flatbed truck.  Probably headed for Chicago.  Hope they made it safely to their destination!

Road work humor in Missouri. 

We did NOT want to be in Kansas, however, tropical storm Bill ruined our plans, so north again to drive across Kansas.  The eastern half is much prettier than the western half.

See?

Thousands of hours later, we made it out of Kansas, quickly crossed the edge of Oklahoma and arrived in Santa Fe. (Recommended by Phil and Heidi Taylor.). 

This is St Kateri.  Took this picture for Connie.  Pretty, isn't she?

The St. Francis of Assisi cathedral.

The downtown Santa Fe area is really cute. Adobe buildings must be a city ordinance . Lots of shops and restaurants.  We found a place for Mexican food and enjoyed an early dinner.  

Road trip ends tomorrow.  We've logged over 10,000 miles!  Thanks for following along.

Final Destination

We left Sitka eight weeks ago today!

At the outset, I believed that I would find my place somewhere along this journey.  We'd visit a quaint little town and I'd just KNOW -- "this is where I belong!"

That hasn't happened, and we are done with this road tripping.  It has been great.  We've seen some beautiful places.  I can pretty much rule out everything east of the Mississippi River, all of Kansas and Oklahoma, Denver, Houston, and all of California.

Where do I belong?  I asked Siri.  She said "I'd prefer not to say."  That was helpful.

So what's your vote  Where do I belong?

Escaping New York

A 2:00 am wake-up today so we could get through NYC before the rush hour traffic.  It worked!  And then we just kept driving.  

Well, I kept driving while Cassie napped.  

All the way across Pennsylvania, the Road Kill State.  I counted SEVEN deer, three raccoons, one groundhog, and countless unidentifiable dead critters.  

 

We stopped at Midas in Ohio for an oil change and new wiper blades (finally, and just in time for today's rain!). So that was a two hour break from driving.

The service plazas on the Ohio turnpike are very nice, btw. Very clean bathrooms, information booths, food courts (with Panera and Starbucks in some cases).

Oops!  Didn't mean to go to Michigan!  That makes 27 states so far.

Long Island

A beautiful morning to go walking at Robert Moses Beach!  Ciretta and I set out early, before the crowds and the heat arrived.  It was breezy and warm and just great to be with my friend. 

After the beach we visited the Sisters of St. Joseph Convent in Brentwood, and Ciretta showed me her High School.  

Next on the agenda: bagels and stops at A.C. Moore and the mall, and then it was nap time.  And time to recharge all the electronics.

Dinner at John Harvard's Brewery with Ciretta and Frank was a nice end to a relaxing day.

NYC!

Busy, crowded, noisy.  So much energy in the city.  We walked from our hotel to St. Patrick's Cathedral. The interior is undergoing renovation so there is scaffolding to navigate around, but still beautiful. 

Selfie outside the cathedral. We enjoyed people watching from the steps. 

Big puppy!!! (This one's for Annie.)

Just love this picture !

Lunch with Monique at Lucy's Cantina.  So fun!  We were all hot and sweaty by the time we were done, but the food and the company were awesome. 

And then with the driving...  Three hours to drive 47 miles in Friday afternoon traffic.  So worth it because we get to see Ciretta!!!  Looking forward to chilling and visiting over the weekend. 

Mamma Mia!

New York!  I decided it would be less hassle to get a hotel with parking than to park outside the city and take the train in and back.  Hm.  Well, parking was an ordeal, and I don't like that I'm trusting a stranger with all my stuff, but we did make it here.  And if we can make it here, we can make it anywhere.

Our hotel is great. They gave us cookies. And the concierge found Broadway tickets for us.  Our third choice of shows (this was after 5:00 pm), but we saw Mamma Mia and it was awesome!

Selfie outside the theater:  

After the show we walked to Times Square and visited Toys R Us.

Cassie played with the iPads. 

Tried on a dinosaur hat.

And found the Barbie Dream House!

Lots of lights!

Back at our hotel we got to FaceTime with our bestie.  

Hey there, lonely girls

It was eerily devoid of other campers in Mystic.  The RV part of the campground had guests, but the wooded area for tents and cabins was vacant except for us.  Can you find our tent site?

Bus loads of school children arrived just ahead of us at Mystic Seaport. Oh, my.  Our main purpose in going was to see Don Sinetti, a sea chantey singer who comes to Sitka for whale fest every year.  Cassie suggested we ask first if Don was even there.  Good call!  He wasn't working today, so we visited the gift shop, then asked Siri "what's fun to do in Massachusetts?"  She came up with a list for us.

On the list was Halibut Point State Park!  What?!?  We had to go!

As we were walking to the sign to take the picture, Cassie noticed that we needed a parking permit to be there.  We quickly left and drove to Salem in search of witches.

The witch dungeon show and tour in Salem was amusing. And the other drivers on the roads were very nice.

No witches here, it was just a pretty view from the road.  A drive-by photo shooting.

NYC tomorrow!

*** And now a public service announcement about Panera:  we noticed at the top of our receipt that it says if your order is not correct they will give you a free treat.  Of course we noticed this AFTER Cassie took back her salad because they forgot the dressing. This is good info. We will be asking for our free treats after this!  

Almost Mystical

Before our departure from Camp Taylor, Jeannie took Cassie and me up to see the Lakota Wolf Preserve, which is on the camp property.  Remember yesterday we didn't walk all the way there because of the terrifying snake.

This morning we were safe in the minivan all the way to the pens! 

Beautiful animals, and they put on quite a show with their howling, right up until I tried to video them.

And here's the lake.  Looks just the way I remember from way back in the 70s!

We thought we'd go to Connecticut, but decided as we drove to try finding some more family first.  In Glen Spey there was NO CELL SERVICE! So we stopped at the Post Office to ask directions to the cemetary.  This was not the same Post Office building where Daniel served as postmaster. 

Once at the cemetary it was easy to find Daniel and Nettie.  A little more walking around and we found more Gillespies.

{Note to Ginger: I took a few more photos in case you want them.  One we think might be Mary Porter's mom?  Margaret.}

Lovely view from the road to Glen Spey. 

After the cemetary, we turned toward Mystic Connecticut.  Stopped on the way for lunch and haircuts.  We so pretty!

Mystic Seaport tomorrow, then perhaps Vermont.

It's all relative

Coffee and waffles were a perfect start to a relaxing day.  Since we have a couple of nights here at Camp Taylor, Cassie slept in and then we wandered around a bit.

Found some of the family at Pequest Union Cemetary.

And found Nanny and Pop Pop's old house.  This took some texting back and forth with Mike and Lori, as well as a stop at the Post Office.  We had only the old rural delivery address, and those have changed.  We did find it.  Does not look like I remember.

It was a fun outing, anyway.

Back at Camp Taylor, Cassie and I walked past the pond and deer pens heading toward the wolf preserve, but turned around when we saw some other wildlife -- a gigantic black snake!  No, thank you, New Jersey!  

Jeannie made a fabulous dinner and we were able to get everybody in one picture, again thanks to Cassie and her amazing selfie skills.  

Cassie, me, Jeannie, Josh, Megan with baby Josie, Clayton, Phil and Heidi. 

*** Learn more about baby Josie here:  www.youcaring.com/josiesjourney. ***

Are we starting to smell?

Our morning began with mass at St Joan of Arc church in Hershey.  

We stopped for lunch and found the BIGGEST CABELA'S EVER!  It is seriously huge.  There are lions and even a rhino and an elephant.  Amazing.  And an aquarium.  And a huge room full of deer.

Found some friends from Alaska.

Look out, deer! There's a bear behind you!

There are educational films!

And a rifle range!

We continued toward Easton and called Jane to see if any of my cousins had time to visit this afternoon.  Turns out they did!  Great to catch up with them and enjoy a delicious dinner. Rudy and Bob both asked us if we wanted to shower. Do we smell?

Most of these people are *gasp* not on Facebook! So there was a lot of catching up to do.  Maybe we won't wait 15 years before the next visit.

After dinner we made our way to our 20th state and more cousins at Camp Taylor in New Jersey.  Clayton and Jeannie asked if we wanted to shower.  Seriously, do we smell?  (Family photos tomorrow.). Tonight, we glamp.