We Are Family....

So we are sitting in southern Georgia and it’s been one week since leaving the driveway.  We left at about 7pm last Friday morning and after the tire leaking issue, drove until we got to Kentucky.  We stayed at a Walmart parking lot.  Yes what you may have heard is true.  (For those who are very active in the RV lifestyle, please keep in mind some of my readers have no experience.)  At most Walmart locations you can park and spend the night without any cost and without any hassle.  There are apps and websites you can go to find out which ones allow this and some reviews from those who have parked there. 

We slept until morning and after rush hour, continued on our way to TN.  We arrived the next afternoon about 23 minutes from my niece’s home at Henry Horton State Park.  It was fairly expensive at $31 per night.  We had a full hook up and while we had water and electricity, we did not have working wifi or cable tv.  Also we had to use a communal dump site.  (Normally for that price all of that would be available at your site.)  We spent the first night getting settled in and planned to spend 2 nights. 

My niece and her 2 kids came over the next day and I gave them some items I had brought with me as gifts.  The best part was presenting Jessica with a blanket that her late mother, my sister, had made me many years prior and a box of pictures of her and her family I had been saving.  Brooklyn, 4 and Bryant, almost 3 years old kids joined us in the RV during this time and investigated the rig, pretending they were driving and getting acquainted with our dogs.  The cats had taken shelter out of sight. 

We then took the dogs for a walk around the campground and to an area that had a play structure.  They played independently and intermittently came back to the benches to pet and walk the dogs around the area. 

Once lunchtime came, we piled into her SUV (sans pets) and went to a neighboring town for lunch.  Since she had 2 car seats in the backseat, Adam got to plunk in between them.  One of my favorite parts of the day was listening to his conversation with them while Jessica drove.  Adam is not a “kid person” so this was particularly amusing.  Brooklyn, immediately upon entry informed Adam that she had a tablet in the backseat and while he could “look at it, he may not touch it”.  J  She busied herself during the drive playing a game and explaining to Adam how each step worked.  Meanwhile Bryant, almost 3, kept Adam busy asking for drinking straws that he would then promptly drop to the floor and demand retrieval.  Adam did not understand that young kids find entertainment in this and was trying to reason with him.  Bryant also has the most adorable southern accent which only made this more hilarious to listen to from the front seat.

B:   “Gimme that straaaaawwwwwlllll”.  

A:  “You dropped it.” 

B:  “Pulllllllluuueeeezzze?” 

A:  “You shouldn’t have dropped it.” 

B:  “I need that staraaaaawwwllll.” Etc. 

We mostly decided on breakfast and of course Jessica struggled to get any food in her mouth while tending to the kids.  They were however, well behaved and ate most of their lunch.  We visited again back at the park until the weather threatened rain. 

The next day we were celebrating Bryant’s birthday at Jessica’s home.  The plan was to continue heading south after the party so we were packing up before heading out.  I decided to trim Howie’s nails and while doing so, cut them too close.  If you have ever done this you understand the copious amount of blood this brings!  So now, here is Howie, outside white paws drenched red in blood.  It was chilly that morning and I couldn’t let him inside until the bleeding had ceased.  He then decided I was trying to kill him so whenever I got near him he would start shaking.  We were late for the party and 20 minutes away and my dog wouldn’t stop bleeding!  Finally, I grabbed an old pair of socks and hair tied them to his foot to dry to contain the blood enough to bring him inside and start the trip.  Because we are pulling a large van and also because it’s REALLY HILLY around here, the decision had been made for us to unhook and for me to drive the van and follow Adam in the RV.  However, Howie kept trying to remove the socks and lick the blood off of his foot.  He was running around the RV with blood soaking through the socks which was also unacceptable.  So the question became, do I drive the van and leave him turning our RV into a crime scene or remain hooked, possibly damaging the RV’s transmission and hold him still until the blood stops?

I sat and held him for a time and the bleeding slowed.  He continued to want to lick his “major injury”, so I decided after a bit that I would remove the socks and let him tend to his foot.  I got into the van and we started on our journey. 

The party was nice with pizza and ice cream cake and a large decorated cookie.  Jessica had the house fully decorated and her husband’s family was there spoiling the kids with presents and attention.   We took plenty of pictures and video and enjoyed spending time with them.  We also took some time to allow the kids to Skype with my brother’s kids in California.  They had met one of the twins last Christmas and I heard Brooklyn telling Melaine “I’ve missed you so much”.  I also heard Bryant asking the kids “Do you like us?”    They were so good with the dogs and disappointed that they couldn’t meet the cats.  “Where are those kitties?  I wanna love on those kitties.”  I am telling you, Jessica has some of the most loving kids I have ever met.  Even though they had only met Adam and me once before, they didn’t hesitate to climb up on our laps and give us plenty of hugs.

The temperatures were going to plummet that night with a projected low of 16 degrees  so after our visit, we gassed up and headed to a nearby school’s parking lot to rehook the van and continue south. 

Hopefully we will get to spend many more days in the future visiting with Jessica and her family.  Meanwhile we stay connected through Facebook with pictures and messages.