The End of the Road Trip

Welcome back to another weekly installment from Adventures of an Ordinary Life….and only a month and a half late! 

I procrastinate because writing these posts take me so long….far longer than they should.  I don’t know how other bloggers work and I’m not totally clear on what a blog is exactly supposed to be….wait – I just looked it up!  According to the Oxford Dictionary (via Google, of course – how much research do you think I’m capable of?), the definition of a blog is:  “a regularly updated website or page, typically one run by an individual or a small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style”.  Hmmm…so except for the “regularly updated” bit, I’m almost on the right track. Anyway, my problem is that I agonize over every word and imagine lots of criticism as I write.  I worry that sharing what’s on my mind and in my heart is frivolous and self-serving, especially when there is so much pain and suffering in the world.  Sometimes I question how exposing my inner thoughts  is any different than posing provocatively on social media.  Aren’t both of those things attention seeking?  I struggle with this because I really don’t like to draw attention to myself, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that getting feedback has been validating.  Feeling heard has helped  me feel more grounded and understood.  And maybe the discomfort of busting out of my introverted box is exactly what I am seeking – a little fear to help me to evolve and grow.  It has been therapeutic for me to write about my experiences –  to be able to be honest, raw, sad, silly, vulnerable – all the things – and share them with you kind and patient people.  

Ok….let me climb out of that rabbit hole and get on with the story…..

It’s been a crazy busy few months – lots of travel, visitors from home, social plans and all the tasks of just living life.  But now, with day after day of heavy gray skies and rain, rain, rain, I’m taking some time to vegetate in my beloved sweatpants (not that unusual).   It’s these dark and damp days that constantly remind me that winter is rapidly approaching – a real bummer for this Southern California gal, so getting back to some writing might be a good distraction.

Last time I left off with our one quick night in Memphis before heading to Hendersonville, North Carolina. The very first thing I should say is that as we continued our road trip that day we got the news that Parker’s masses were BENIGN!  Thank the goddess!  Parker was still acting as strange as ever, but at least we knew he was physically healthy and we could carry on with our plans. What an insane bunch of days we all had and we only left home ten days before.

It was a long but beautiful drive from one end of Tennessee to the other  (who knew Tennessee was so big?), and now having received the good news from Parker’s pathology report, we were able to relax and enjoy the peaceful green pastures, the forests and more Taco Bell bean and cheese burritos (probably the first time I indulged in that garbage since my early 20’s).  

Hendersonville is in the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina. My Mom, two of my sisters, my Nana, and two of my favorite aunts all lived in Hendersonville.  Having visited many, many times over the years, it was like a second home for me. For this trip, we’d  be staying for 10 days at Firefly Cottage at Mistletoe Hill – the vacation cottage on my Aunt Denise’s property, which was down a quiet country road near downtown Hendersonville.  When we arrived, we found that my ever-thoughtful Aunt Denise had decorated the cottage for Christmas  and left us treats and surprises to welcome us.  This really touched me since we were feeling so disconnected from our home and our normal traditions. Even though I’m not really big on Christmas, being away from our kids and grandkids for the holidays really, really hurt.

It was such a relief to be able to unload the cram-packed car, settle in and just stop moving for awhile.  We still had so much to do before heading to New York, but for the moment it was good to just breathe.   For the first time since leaving San Diego, I felt more like myself again.

The morning after we arrived, I had a Christmas brunch with the “The Ladies” at my Aunt Denise’s Victorian home.  It’s a warm and magical place which she decorates so beautifully every holiday.  The “ladies” – my Nana, my Mom, my sisters Danielle and Summer and my Aunts Sue and Denise –  got together pretty regularly.   This was something I usually missed out on since I lived on the other side of the country, so whenever I did get to join the “Ladies” events, I was so, so grateful.  I had the best time; relaxing and basking in the presence of some of the very best women on the planet.  I ended the day with a restorative yoga class with one of my favorite yoga teachers, Tish.  Danielle, Summer and my Aunt Sue went to the class too.  So bittersweet when I look back on this day since it was one of the last times I would spend with I my Aunt Sue.   It was such a special way to end our day and it still warms my heart when I think of it.

After that  my Aunt Denise went to New York for Christmas and my sister Summer stayed at Denise’s to house/pet sit.  Denise had a Muppet of a dog, Jax, Parker’s cousin and new buddy.  Denise’s yard is  very large and grassy and the dogs had a blast chasing each other all over.  We enjoyed our time  each morning on the back porch, bundled up against the cold winter air, drinking our coffee and watching the dogs play and explore together – so many smells! so many squirrels! so many different kinds of animal poop! It was a relief to see Parker relax and just be a dog again. 

One day, I asked Summer to keep Parker for us so we could get some things done.  We didn’t want to take our travel weary pup for a boring day of errands and have him wait in the cold car.  Parker was going to hang out with cousin Jax and Summer at Denise’s.   I  also told Summer that Parker would be just fine on his own in the cottage if she had other things to do or just needed a break.  We called Summer at one point and she said she had taken him to the cottage and he was doing fine.    So we decided to take a little time to ourselves and go out to dinner – a short date for Mommy and Daddy without the kid for a change.  We had a very early dinner at Mezzaluna, my favorite restaurant in downtown Hendersonville, where I ate the same thing I have eaten there a hundred times before – Carolina trout with mashed potatoes and broccoli – never disappoints.  When we got back to the cottage it was dark and as we were driving up the long driveway, I saw an animal pacing in front of the house though the headlights.  That animal was Parker!  That smartypants, anxious weirdo opened the door and got out!  Dear god….that dog!  He was crying and so scared.   I was so freaked out and so grateful that he stayed put and didn’t try to find us in an unfamiliar place or get hit by a car or lost.   Again, I thought about how selfish we were to force him to come on this journey.  I also felt stupid to think he’d be OK on his own in the cottage (like he was in his former familiar home). What was I thinking?  Clearly, I wasn’t. I still shudder when I think of all the terrible things that could have happened.  (I should add here that Parker was notorious for opening doors, but usually just doors with levered doorknobs.  These were round door knobs, so he really stepped up his game for this great escape.)

During our time in Hendersonville, we spent time with family and tried to unwind.  We went to some of my favorite places and restaurants, knowing we wouldn’t be back for some time.  We went to the Carl Sandburg home where there were tons of goats that we could visit and hang out with.  So many babies! I do love farm animals! We were lucky with the weather, crisp and cold but no rain, and a few colorful fall leaves still clinging to some branches. 

Danielle and I, on a quest to spend as much time together as possible, visited the Grove Park Inn to see the annual gingerbread house competition –  unbelievable works of art (which I completely neglected to take any photos of, so you’ll just have to take my word for it).  Danielle always wanted to take me there and now with my big move just days away, we took advantage of the opportunity.  We had great day enjoying the hotel, the scenery and overpriced glasses of wine and it was worth every minute/penny.  On another day, Danielle and I took the dogs – Parker and Danielle’s little Teddy – another of Parker’s cousins and new buddy on an invigorating hike in the mountains.  Spending time in nature, hiking in these mountains with my sister has always been an elixir for my soul. Our dogs also had a great time, running the trails and streams off leash together….the cousin-dogs and our canine kids finally getting to play together. It made my heart so happy.

On Christmas Eve, we spent some quiet time with my Aunt Sue – and now looking back at my photos to jog my memory for this post, I’m remembering that this truly was the last time I saw her.  Oh jeez.  She laid on the couch with my Parker boy sitting with her and licking her face as we talked about our plans for our move.  I must have been getting emotional because I remember her asking me if I was worried about being far away from her.  I told her I was, of course.  She told me not to worry – she was so excited for us and she told me she’d come visit me for sure! She had been sick for a long time, but always seemed to bounce back like the Energizer Bunny.  But I knew she was getting tired,  yet still hopeful for another one of her magical energetic surges.  I told her that I would fly back the minute she needed me…..which I meant so absolutely, but then the world changed so drastically just a few months later and of course I couldn’t keep my promise.  My Aunt Sue was a truly magnificent soul.  I used to say she was a “glass half-full” kind of person, but that’s not the real truth.  She was a Big Gulp-sized cup spilling over with hearty laughter, gratitude and love….and so much more.  Her story deserves  much, much more than I can tell in this post.  I intend to do that later. 

Christmas was very strange for us that year.   No home of our own and now after so many years of celebrating together, our California kids and grandkids were celebrating on their own.   Christmas Eve was always spent with the California kids and grandkids and Haley would spend the night – allowing us to hang on to our little kid tradition of seeing what Santa Brought on Christmas morning and opening our presents together.  We’d always have lox and bagels and watch a movie in our jammies – each of us taking turns to pick the movie for the following year.  We’d watch things like My Favorite Year, Victor/Victoria or a Mel Brooks classic….bliss.  We had our own lox and bagels in the cottage but it was so quiet, no movie and no presents under the tree, no tree! No gifts this year because we couldn’t face lugging one more thing in our overflowing luggage.  Later, we went on an easy hike at Triple Falls and then to my Mom’s for a small Christmas gathering. Parker got to play with cousin Teddy again and my Mom got tipsy from one sip of her non-dairy/no egg eggnog!  Kind of a melancholy Christmas, but I was happy we went to my Mom’s and didn’t spend the day moping around on our own.  

The day after Christmas, we went to visit my Nana.  My Nana was 93 years old at that time.  She was tiny, feisty, adorable and sharp as a tack.  She called Skip “Joe Cool” and she had a serious crush on him which was really cute and a little creepy….which I told her and she just laughed. They both loved it.  On a previous visit to North Carolina, my Nana had been saying that she was tired of people always saying she was “cute”. I wasn’t there for this conversation, but Skip was. He told me that he said, “Nana, I don’t think you’re cute, I think you’re hot!” I was horrified when he told me and I asked him what she said. He said that she just said “thank you!” with a smile. Oh my god….those two.

Our family is very large and  eclectic and she was so accepting of all of us.    She had a million grandkids and great grandkids and always sent birthday cards to every one of us, every year.  She was a very loyal watcher of a particular news outlet and we definitely had very differing views.  However, she did ask a lot of questions and  always seemed willing to entertain other ideas.  Once she asked me if I was afraid of all of the “dangerous people”  coming from Mexico.  This concerned her since I lived in San Diego, and in her mind, very close to the border.  I told her that I never felt any fear and that, as a labor and delivery nurse, I had seen my fair share of desperate people who chose to make the dangerous trek to get to the US.  I told her that they were some of the most gracious people I had ever encountered, and that in different circumstances, who’s to say if we wouldn’t do exactly the same to make a better lives for our children.   I think she really heard me and was very thoughtful of my response.    However, even with her efforts to have an open mind, I don’t think she really understood our desire to wander the globe, to go so far from home and to set out on an unfamiliar path.   I can still see her face, her eyes squinting as she asked if we were really sure we wanted to move to France.  But bless her tiny little self for trying to understand.  She sent us off with big hugs and wishes of good luck.  That was the last time I saw my little Nana.

That was a hard, hard goodbye to be sure.  I knew, that at 93 years old, she wasn’t going to be around forever, I wasn’t dilusional.  But like with my Aunt Sue, I promised her that the moment she needed me, I’d be on a the first plane to North Carolina.  Another promise broken.  Like my Aunt Sue, she also died in 2020.  She was 94 years old….strong of mind and still full of sass almost to the very end.  My heart broke that I couldn’t keep my promise to her.  I felt terrible that I couldn’t help my Mom and my sister when they cared for her in her last days and so very sad that I wasn’t able to share the honor of being there for her last moments.  Still makes my heart ache thinking of this, so I better move on from this for now.

We left North Carolina the next day, December 27, after some frantic last minute tasks.  We crammed our stuff and the pup back in the car after a 10 day break from  the road.  I left feeing adrift again and sad after all of the goodbyes, but looking forward to getting on with the remainder of the road trip.

That night we stayed in Staunton, Virginia – the birthplace of President Woodrow Wilson, but that’s not the reason we stayed there.  It’s just a little factoid I picked up just now while looking up the town….you’re welcome.  It was chosen purely for driving distance purposes.  We stayed at the stately Blackburn Inn which reminded us of The Shining.  In fact, originally it was a psychiatric hospital and then later a prison, and yet surprisingly quite charming!  We had a nice dinner – separately – since no dogs allowed in the restaurant, a nice big glass of wine in the room and took lots of photos of the dog, because what else did we have to do in a former psych hospital/prison in President Woodrow’s birthplace in winter?  

The next day we headed to New York.  We’d be staying in Brooklyn because the Queen Mary II departs from the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal .   We were both extra tense as we headed into the city.   Skip is a very skilled and confident driver, but I think we were both experiencing sensory overload as we navigated the city, the traffic, the bridges as we made our way into Brooklyn.  I also think we were both intimidated being in such an unfamiliar and imposing place.  It was getting dark when we arrived, the parking was terrible and we were questioning whether or not it was a questionable-ish neighborhood.  We still had to figure out the lockbox to get into the ground level apartment, potty the pup and get ALL of our crap that we had been dragging over 1000’s of miles of the United States into the apartment.  We were keyed up and wrung out all at the same time.  We were finally on the last stop of the road trip.  

We managed to get in the apartment, unload the car, get our bearings and our wits about us and venture out in our new neighborhood – which was actually pretty cool.  We got a pizza and went back to our little Brooklyn apartment that would be our home for the next week.  The apartment itself was ok and we felt safe there, but it really could have used some updating….for instance, the mattress had a serious sagging issue and we found ourselves rolling into each other in the middle of the bed every night.  Like way back to Las Cruces, I find myself cringing at the memory of this.  

The next day, we took a drive around the city for a little sightseeing, drove across the Brooklyn bridge into lower Manhattan with wishful thoughts  of finding a place to park and walking around a bit…silly us.  But it was ok, we just drove around and absorbed some bustling NYC energy. Then we went back to Brooklyn and to a bougie dog food store for special food for Prince Parker and then to Trader Joes, where Skip circled the block a million times while I shopped because of the terrible parking situation.  I shopped for groceries of the rest of the week, including the ingredients for Hoppin’ John soup.  It’s supposed to bring good luck to have the soup for New Year’s and we felt we needed all the luck we could get.  Plus, I knew it would be a long, long time before I’d be able to shop at my beloved TJs, so I made the most of my shopping experience.  We walked around Brooklyn Heights, enjoyed the views across to Manhattan and much to our surprise, Parker really seemed to thrive in the urban environment.  We took lots of photos and tried to relax and enjoy our time in the city.  It was cold, but beautiful and we were getting more and more excited about our journey. 

I’m from New York originally, Long Island specifically.  I still had some family there and my friends Rob and Stephanie too.  The next day, we made plans to visit with my Aunt Donna and my Cousin Jake.  It was a freezing, stormy day, but we had a really nice authentic New York Italian lunch and a great visit.  After lunch, we visited my cousin’s business, Love Grace, a natural juice company.  I was so proud of my cousin and so happy to see the company he built – it was very impressive. He gave me lots of samples! The juice really is the best and I’d drink it everyday if I could!  

Later, I stopped at a grocery store to pick up a bottle of wine to take to dinner.  Silly me! No wine in New York grocery stores!  Ha!  I found a liquor store, found a nice California red and went on to my friends Rob and Stephanie’s home in Syosset.  They are old friends that we hadn’t seen in years but had always kept in touch.  In fact, it was Stephanie who expressed interest in buying my trusty little BMW.  I loved this idea because I knew how much I was going to miss little Greta and the thought that my good friend might could enjoy her too made me happy.  We had discussed the details during our road trip and agreed to discuss it further when we got to New York. 

When we got to Rob and Stephanie’s it was still pouring rain.  We were greeted at the door by Rob and Stephanie and their 2 sweet beagles, Alice and Trixie.  We were all happily trying to hug each other hello while attempting to dry off our wet dog.  There was lots of barking (all the dogs) and growling (Parker), so it was a bit of a frantic entrance.  We chatted for a couple of minutes then Rob and Stephanie went out to meet Miss Greta and go for a quick drive.  When they came back, we talked about the car a little, and then settled in and enjoyed the warm house and wonderful hospitality. Parker even decided to lighten up and be a decent houseguest.  Of course all three dogs wanted to go in and out of the house a hundred times, making us have to wipe muddy paws over and over and over, but it really was a wonderful evening – great dinner, great conversation and we got to spend time with their three awesome kids too.  Even after not seeing each other for years, it was such a warm and comfortable evening.  But…as the night went on, we knew we needed to head back to Brooklyn, but we hadn’t sealed the deal on Greta.  I was pretty sure it was a go, but we hadn’t actually confirmed anything.  Finally we got brave and jumped back into the car discussion.  We really needed an answer – one way or the other – because our time in New York was running short.  Skip was convinced he could get it sold, but I was much less convinced and I was getting pretty nervous about the whole thing. I definitely didn’t want them to feel obligated or pressured,  but it really was a great car and I was going to sell it for a really great price.   Plus  Rob was in the car industry and knew BMWs very well.  I know selling a car to friends could be risky, but I did feel that Rob was well informed and knew what to expect of a 13 year old BMW.   

Thankfully Rob quickly confirmed that he would buy it – partly because he really did want it, but also because he knew that selling it and transferring the title was going to take longer and be a bigger deal than we anticipated.  I really did feel good about selling the car to them and I was grateful and relieved to have  that business taken care of.  Another hurdle cleared.   

The next day, New Year’s Eve, in the last few hours that we still had my car, we ran a few essential errands, then Skip took Greta for a good cleaning while still in his care.  He got her all spiffed up in time for Rob and his son, Owen to pick her up and take her to her new family in Syosset.  Oh man….as relieved as I was to have the sale of the car taken care of, I was so sad to see my sweet Greta drive away.   I loved that car – it was my dream car when I got it 13 years before and one of the very last links to our life in San Diego. 

Now I’ll get to the part about Parker’s travel requirements….it’s a little out of the chronological order of the trip, but I’m hoping by putting it all in once place, it will make more sense.

Preparing Parker for the crossing on the Queen Mary II was quite a process.  The minute you board the ship, you are considered to be within the UK borders.  This includes animals – well, especially animals as England has very strict requirements for any animal entering the country.  There can be long, long quarantines when bringing pets into the country, so it is vitally important to jump through every hoop to avoid any unexpected quarantine.  Can you imagine Nervous Nelly in extended quarantine in England?  In a strange kennel for weeks?  The goofball couldn’t even stay in a comfy cottage for an hour by himself without busting out!  

The requirements are very specific and have to be timed exactly as directed.  We started the process well over a year prior with our vet in San Diego who was required to be a USDA certified veterinarian.  Really it’s just up to date rabies, microchip and deworming before boarding, but all of the vet visits and documentation had to be done in very specific steps, at very specific times.  A potential for complications at that time, the that the UK was in the midst of the Brexit debacle and the vote had been already been delayed a few times.  The result of the vote had the potential to complicate the requirements for pets entering the UK.  Not knowing what the status of Brexit would be at the time of our crossing, I did everything I could to avoid anything that could lead to an extended quarantine or refusal to board the ship – expensive rabies titer, canine flu vaccine, etc. I may have been overthinking this a bit (wait, what? me overthinking? so weird!). Anything that could have compromised the mandatory requirements and prevent us from boarding the ship would have put an immediate halt in our plans.  We’d be stuck in New York and who knows what we would have done if that happened.   

The day after Christmas, while still in Hendersonville, we went had an appointment for vet visit #4 of this trip – should have only been the second, but we had the added fun of the Georgetown vet visits.  

So, for vet visit #4, we had an appointment with my Aunt Denise’s vet, an exceptionally kind and patient woman, Dr. Carrie Carmen.  As I mentioned, the documents had to be precisely timed.  This pre-boarding exam and blood tests had to be done  within 10 days before boarding the ship.  This entirety of our road trip was timed specifically for the requirements of DEFRA (Department for Environmental and Rural Affairs – the UK’s equivalent of the USDA).   To add to my already fever-pitch anxiety, the  forms had to be sent to a USDA facility and then returned to us in time for vet visit #5 in New York.  Two big challenges with this:  1; we had no address to have the forms sent to,  and 2; there were two weekends and the winter holidays in the middle of this process.  In our particular case, the USDA facility was in Albany, NY.  I actually plotted out yet another road trip to Albany and pick up the documents ourselves, but with after many phone calls and Dr. Carmen talking me off the ledge, we were assured that the documents could be over-nighted from Hendersonville to Albany and still get to Vinegar Hill Veterinary Hospital in Brooklyn in time for the final vet visit.  This vet hospital also agreed to receive the documents from Albany – an unusual request. Vinegar Hill was on the list of vet hospitals recommended by the Cunard Lines. They also happened to have lovely and patient people working there with whom I had been corresponding with for months.  They knew exactly how to walk us through this complicated, nerve jangling process.

So, to further explain this anxiety-provoking and mind-numbing part of our adventure, a little recap:

Vet visit #4 on December 26, rushed lab results back on December 27, Dr. Carmen filled out and sent (and paid the postage to over-night the forms to Albany and the USDA fee of $38 and refused to accept any additional payment…..I mean, what an extraordinary human).  Now, remember the bookending weekends and the holidays that I was worried about?  Well, December 27 was a Friday and the USDA offices were closed on weekends, so all I could do was pray to whatever gods were willing to listen to me that the documents would be received in Albany on Monday, December 30th, and the USDA vet would review and sign the forms and send them back that same day so they could somehow make it to Vinegar Hill on the 31st in time for our vet appointment.  The final exam and dewormer that had to be done precisely 24-120 hours before boarding the ship and the next day was a holiday, so the 31st was THE ONLY DAY that all of this could have been done! 

I remember nervously fidgeting in the exam room when I noticed an autographed Vampire Weekend poster on the wall (Brooklyn is for the cool kids, you know).  Vampire Weekend played prominently on our playlists while driving across the country, so it seemed so funny to me to see this poster at the bitter end of the road trip and the very last day we’d own our car.  Weird how the brain works when it’s overworked.  Anyway, I explained to the vet tech why we were there and she said she didn’t know anything about a package from Albany and went to go look for it.  Oh my god….I’m screaming in my head just thinking about all of this again.  The vet finally came in with the package and said it arrived just before we did.  Dear god, the stress!!   She completed the final exam, administered the dewormer and completed her part of the documentation.  I couldn’t believe we really pulled it off – the final piece of the crazy puzzle that had been our lives for months was finally in place.  The final critically timed hoop had all been jumped through.  Finally….I could exhale.

How surreal it was to be in New York for New Year’s Eve.  For so many years we joked about celebrating “New York New Year’s” while living in California – being able to ring in the New Year at 9:00pm PST so we could go to bed early,   but now we really were in New York, but there was little chance we’d make it to midnight…….we were done, done, done. Completely and utterly depleted.  

The next day, New Year’s Day with no car and all of the most labor intensive tasks accomplished, was a perfect time just to stay in an to rest and regroup after a crazy few weeks.  A perfect start a new year, and just 2 days before starting a whole new life (little did we know how absolutely delight 2020 would turn out to be….crazy).

On January 2, our last full day in New York, Skip finished the last of his work for Becton Dickinson after 25 years. He was officially retiring on January 10, 2020 but we needed to send his computer back before leaving the country.  The last little task to complete.  We found a place in the neighborhood where he packed up his computer and cut up his company credit card and sent them across the harbor to New Jersey where BD’s corporate offices are.  That’s it….we were done!  ALL DONE! With nothing else left to do, we decided to take an Uber to the Brooklyn Bridge and walk over to Lower Manhattan since we weren’t able to walk around when we drove over a couple days before.    I was on a mission to get a New York bagel and a knish before leaving because it had been years since I had either one and who knows how long until I’d have the opportunity again.  There were lots of street venders, lots of food to be had but no knishes to be found and I never even came across a deli or a bakery to get a bagel!  We were starving, so we finally settled on a Pret a Manger – a very casual sandwich place – which interestingly enough, is a London-based chain.  I had never seen one in the US before and now that was going to be the last place we’d be having a meal out before leaving New York.  They let us bring Parker inside – very unusual in the States.  Almost like a practice run for being in dog-friendly France where dogs in restaurants is very common. Kind of funny to me. 

We walked for hours, just meandering the streets and absorbing the vibe of the city while still marveling  that everything was done and this was really our last day in the US after 18 months of planning.

It was getting late and we were getting cold and tired, so we made our way back to the bridge only to be turned away because they said it was closed!  Too many people on the bridge!   What??  We ordered another Uber and hoped that the driver would allow dogs to ride and be able to drive across the bridge.  We were really tired by then and just wanted to get back to the apartment and get some rest.  Luckily, an Uber wasn’t far and the driver was agreeable to a canine passenger.  We were able to get across the bridge – evidently car traffic is ok even if there are too many pedestrians.  We finally got back to the apartment, tired but relaxed and I was only a tiny bit bitter about never getting my bagel or knish. 

The next day was January 3, 2020. It was finally here!  I could hardly believe it.  We’d finally be boarding the Queen Mary II.  We didn’t need to be to the ship until noon, so we had the  morning to finish organizing and packing our many bags.  My Uncle Tom who lives in New Paltz, a few hours away in Upstate NY wanted to come visit us before we left.  We were so happy for the last minute visit!  It was so good to be able to spend this unexpected time with him, plus he was happy to take a bunch of our stuff that we decided couldn’t make the trip with us….I loved that!  Plus, he offered to take Parker and I to the cruise ship terminal.  We were planning on ordering two Ubers because of our mountains of crap, so this worked out perfectly.  We only needed one Uber now and it meant so much to me to have family come see us off on the next part of the crazy adventure. We were overwhelmed, but excited.  It was finally happening.

That’s all for now….this post became so long! My longest yet, I think. It’s time to let you nice people get on to some other, more important things. I just want to say that it’s been interesting writing about the journey this far. Sometimes it’s hard for me to keep looking back at the photos and then writing about this time in my life. I often wonder how healthy it is to keep looking back, but I still want to do it. It’s also been difficult to write so much about my Parker Boy. He was such a big part, maybe the biggest part of this story. I wonder, now that I know how his story ends, how different my perspective is as I tell our story. Life certainly is an interesting adventure, isn’t it?

Thank you for reading. Next time with be about our Transatlantic crossing….and hopefully much sooner than this last post!

Much love to you all,

❤️ Lisa