We have left Texas!

Hi folks:

We have lots of good news and a little broken news.


Amber and I packed up and left the RV Park in Mission Texas on May 21, 2008. The heat became pretty overwhelming. Burned out the battery on both cars. After getting them both running again, we packed everything up and were glad to see we could get everything into both cars.

After the cleaned everything and got it ready to be in storage for months, we were able to leave. Going in and out of the heat while packing was very taxing - as Anna is sensitive to the heat. But we got to leave around 8:30 pm, and got to my niece's home in Sabinal around 3:00 AM.

It was wonderful to drive during the night hours, because both of our air conditioners had bled out all its freon while in all the heat.

We left my niece's house on Friday, drove through the Hill Country in Texas up to Kerrville TX, It was spectacular. Lots of houses in the low areas were built on stilts however, because Texas is so prone to flooding.

In Kerrville, we spend the night, then visited my Mom and Dad's home on Ruth Street, It was for sale. The new owner had done major remodeling, and it looked wonderful.

A ten hour drive took us my brother's. We have been staying with Derrill and Linda for a couple of weeks (my brother).

While here, we have solved some problems that we just hadn't been able to figure out.

When I had gotten ill with the flu in Mission, we were delayed by the six weeks it took me to recover. However during that time, I was able to do lots of writing. I finally have had ideas begin to gel about future career directions. I am very excited about that. That was part of my mission in Mission. Think about alternate ways for generating income, and about my career.

It was quite wonderful to be able to keep progressing even while I was sick.

Then I became concerned I would not be able to keep up forward motion when we were packed up and on our trip. But that has not been an issue either. I do keep writing, and I am really thrilled that no matter what, forward progress is being made.

Our destination has also been changing so our plans kept changing. For a few weeks we were planning to return to Minnesota to work for the summer, and to buy an airstream trailer from my next door neighbor in Mission. That didn't work out. His son had sold it while he was living south for the winter.

We have now decided to go to the Pacific Northwest - our original plan. We have numerous friends in Oregon and Washington. My sister lives in Washington on a small blueberry farm, so we are going to spend the summer with her. She needs help.

It is quite unusual for me to live in this gypsy mode, and I just love it. We are still following our original plan of travel, however instead of it being a "road trip" carrying our house on our back in the form of a trailer, we are living for a few months at each stop. That is working very nicely.

We had a wonderful time getting to know the community in down there. We enjoyed the lifestyle and the people enormously.

Living with my brother for a total of six weeks has been quite lovely as well. I have really enjoyed their company and their lovely home. Amber and I developed a whole new relationship with cooking and food. I am finding that my creativity is flowing when cooking.

That may be nothing to those of you who have always enjoyed cooking, but to me, it is major. Nurturintg self and family was always a chore to me. Now its lost that energy, and it is beginning to be fun. I have learned to grill, and Amber and I have been the chief cook and bottle washer while at my brothers. Both of them work out of their home. They sell colloidal silver over the internet and honey. If you use colloidal silver, their's is fabulous and inexpensivie. www.n-ergetics.com

Linda does accounting remotely for a number of businesses, and manages the fulfillment of the orders oftentimes. (well they both do).

It has been powerful to be in a home of several homebased businesses.

My fifteen year old Niko dog finally was put down while we were in Mission. It broke my heart. I stayed with him during the procedure. So did Amber and Sirius. I just wailed when my body realized he was finally gone. He had been in lots of pain and was not eating. I think he is a lot more comfortable now.

Sirius is learning how to be First Dog in our home. He is the sweetest dog. He does great at notifying us when someone comes to the door by barking once or twice. He's very well behaved. His only problem, according to Derrill, is that Sirius doesn't know he is a dog.


Our formal address is still Minnetonka MN. But I find that my home rides around inside my heart. I feel home, whereever I am. Direct result from the Teacher work!

Fuel prices have really changed since we first were going to start for Washington which impacted out thoughts about taking two cars to Washington. We had always hoped to take only one, but selling one, and figuring out what to do with the things we took in that car has been an ongoing dilemma.

Well it got solved in the small town where my brother live. There is quite a bit of poverty here

We tried to sell the Toyota. Our hearts and energy just wasn't in it. Intuitively didn't feel right.

This week Derrill recommended we try selling the Red 94 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. Spend several days cleaning, polishing, and making it really shine.

It sold at full price (far more than I expected) because so many people it. In seven hours, we took five parties for test drives, and received three low ball offers, and then at 5:30, two cars of people drove up at the same time, and they both wanted to buy it.


The next morning, we met at the bank, got the Bill of Sale Notorized, signed the Transfer of Title, and sent cashiers check to pay off the lien, and the buyer went with us to the post office to send of the cashier's check. The buyer was a delight. It was a wonderful experience. And an amazing one.

Amber has been attending all these personal business meetings with me, the financing of cars, the closing of our home, the selling of this vehicle. She is getting an amazing education. I remember going to the closing on my first home in my early 30's and not knowing anything.

My brother and sister in law suggested a freight company they use to receive the product they sell, and we are going to ship half of our belongings to my sister's in Washington. They should arrive there after we do.

We had planned on leaving Saturday, June 14. We sold the car on June 12. We packed and weighed all the boxes to ship, and figured out how they would fit exactly on the palatte.

Then we repacked the belongings that are traveling with us in the Toyota Avalon, and got them all packed in the car late Friday afternoon.

Then as we were just putting the last items in, I stepped on the two foot porch, and my weight landed on the outside of my foot twisting it inward, and the bone (fibula?) that doesn't bear the weight in the leg. snapped, right where the ligaments connect that bone to the other bones in the foot.

So off we went to the emergency room, with everyone shook up. Amber has the drill down now. First water and ibuprofen, then pillow and ice packs, and away we go. I heard it snap, but I didn't think I had a broken bone. However, did not test that theory. Did not put any weight on the foot.

Which was good. X rays showed a break, but the bone is aligned well. So it will heal well.

That of course has delayed our departure. We spend the weekend recovering with me keeping my foot lifted and moving around on crutches, and a rolling office chair, if I must go anywhere.

Will see a doctor today to see if the swelling has gone down enough to put on a cast.

Thank heavens, it has not been very painful.

In the meantime, Derrill, Linda Amber and I have had a chance to visit, look at family photos.

My brother Derrill has been the family historian and geneology buff. He has collected copies of photos from various family member's photo collections.

Our home in Naples burned down while we were on a family vacation to Maine when I was 16 years old. It has been a great journey finding photos of all of from before that time.

Sunday, Derrill and I labelled photographs. Talk about going down memory lane. Then Amber and I watched The Bucket List during the afternoon.

Quite a potent journey.

In Kerrville Texas, Amber and I went to the gravesite of my Mom and Dad. Amber had never been there. It is a beautiful area overlooking a long valley under a huge oak tree. We savored the quietness and the beauty of the spot.

I wept when I saw the grave marker for the first time. Even though Mom has been gone for 13 years and Dad has been gone for 8 years, it was startling to see their names carved in stone with the dates they were born and the dates that they died.

When I am with my family, we talk about them all the time, and it is as if they are still with us. We laugh at the things and stories my Dad told.

I guess this is a life review in a way.

Seeing my niece who is now 33 with three children of her own, and remembering her as a 3 year old is kind of a mind bender. Now her daughter looks a lot like her. And I look a lot like my Mom.

With the heat so fierce, I have let my hair grow so that I can pull it back into a ponytail. With my hair away from my face, I look very much as my Mom did in her later years. Now that is uncanny as well.

Life just keep circling around.

Our plans are to get the cast on, and then make our way to Washington on a route going from Texas to Colorado Springs, through Denver, over the mountains to Salt Lake City, and then up through the desert to Washington. We'll probably cross the Cascades either in Washington or Oregon.

We are doing well. Our spirits are up. We remain flexible, and are enjoying the journey.
Anna