Sunday, June 21
Happy Father’s Day!!!
We got up early this morning, straightened the house, loaded the car for our trip to New Mexico, closed Big V down, and then headed off to Mineola to attend church with Mother, T.J., and Joseph.
When the service was over, Mother took Barbara and me to a really good restaurant to enjoy a buffet spread before we took off on our journey. We enjoyed a very nice hour of good food and conversation before taking Mother back to her house and saying our goodbyes.
It was a very warm (downright hot) day and we decided we weren’t interested in driving all day just to get to Artesia late at night, so we stopped early and just chilled out for the late afternoon and evening.
Monday, June 22
This was nothing more than a travel day, with eleven hours of driving to do to reach Artesia at a decent hour. The hot West Texas winds were blowing all day, but the Vibe’s air conditioner was up to the task and we arrived in Artesia in time to unload and put away our luggage in Jean’s spare bedroom before going over to Jerry and Nancy’s house for pizza and a lot of catching up on the happenings of our families.
We did find, when we got to Jean’s house, that she had bought a new car and that for Mother’s Day Jerry had arranged to have the section of the driveway from Eastwind Road to the house paved…Lots of excitement that no one had told us about.
It was great to be back with the family and hear all the things that had been going on with them…we’ve really missed them since we left in the middle of March.
Tuesday, June 23
After enjoying an early morning cup of coffee on the back porch while we watched the sun come up over 12-mile hill, we adjourned to the house for a light breakfast.
While Barbara and Jean visited inside, I went out to do some work around the place. I had mowed Jean’s four acres before we left in March and was expecting to do that again while we were here this week, but with no appreciable rainfall since we left (only .6 of an inch since January 1), nothing had grown except under the pecan trees (where the watering schedule for the trees benefits the grasses and weeds) and over the septic tank. Beyond that, it is as dry as I’ve ever seen it.
I did do some weeding around the concrete pad where we park Big V when we’re in town and then put out some weed killer and some “ant candy.” There seems to be a bumper crop of ants this year, with about twenty large beds on the west side of the property.
Later in the day we drove into town to check the mail and go to Forrest Tires to see about a problem we thought we were having with the Vibe’s tires. We’ve been hearing a constant rumbling sound that could have been tires that were mounted incorrectly, but found that was not the problem. We still don’t know what that particular problem is, but did find out, when they rotated the tires, that both front tires were worn out. In fact, the right front tire was beginning to separate…guess we were extremely fortunate that we didn’t have a serious problem with it in that hot drive yesterday.
There were no tires our size in stock, but they told us they would order them and would have them in by noon Friday. We had no choice but to put all of our plans, including a trip to Roswell tomorrow or Thursday, on hold until the Vibe had new shoes.
Tonight we just hung around the house, watched the College World Series game, and visited with Jean.
Wednesday, June 24
We finally got into the swing of our “Artesia routine” today…had a leisurely breakfast with Jean, worked a little around the place during the morning, joined the “lunch bunch” at Chaos with Jean, Jerry, Nancy, Becky, and Susie.
The afternoons are blistering hot, so we just stayed inside, read, and took short naps until everyone got home from work.
Jerry, Nancy, and Becky came over for ice cream during the evening. While Jerry, Jean, and I watched the championship game of the College World Series, Barbara, Becky, and Nancy were busy playing a card game.
I don’t know who won the card game, but Texas lost the World Series to LSU, a real downer for all of us.
Thursday, June 25
We all voted yesterday that this would be a good day for a family trip to Ruidoso, so shortly before 9:00 this morning the whole clan, including James and Susie, who drove over from Hobbs, piled into Jean’s new vehicle and we took off for an adventure, beginning with a stop in Roswell for apple fritters and other assorted goodies to tide everyone over until lunch.
After visiting the Apache Travel Center for a while, we drove on up the mountain to the Inn of the Mountain Gods for some fun time and a great buffet lunch.
Later, we went back down to the travel center for a few minutes before pointing the car back toward Artesia.
Since James and Susie had WAY more fun than the rest of us during the day, they offered to take us all out to dinner at The Wellhead, a steak house in Artesia. Nancy, who had to stay behind and work today, joined us for the evening meal and we all enjoyed a great evening of good food and conversation (except when we couldn’t hear the conversation for the loud music).
Friday, June 26
I went out early with Jerry this morning to join the Methodist Men’s Breakfast group at the hospital cafeteria. During the summer months they meet there instead of cooking breakfast at the church kitchen. It was really nice to see some familiar faces and exchange news of our activities since the last time we met.
Since our new tires weren’t expected in until around noon, we just hung around Jean’s house this morning, and took time to organize everything that we would need to pack before returning to East Texas. We found a few things out in the barn that we wanted to take back with us, but since we would be picking up Jaycie and one of her friends in Lubbock, we decided there was nothing here that we just couldn’t live without until the next time we return.
During the afternoon I went down to Forrest Tires to get a front end alignment and have the new tires mounted, but found that the tires wouldn’t be in until later this evening. I did get the alignment and a promise from the staff that they would balance and mount the new tires at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow…not the most satisfactory arrangement, but there really wasn’t much choice.
Saturday, June 27
It was with a bit of trepidation that we drove to Forrest Tires a few minutes before 8:00 this morning, but true to their word (at least the last one), they were prepared for us and within thirty minutes we were back on the road for a trip to Roswell to do some shopping and visiting.
Our first stop in Roswell was at the donut shop for a couple of apple fritters. Then, we went to Champion Sports to buy a couple of new visors for our motorcycle helmets. While we were there, we also found a couple of hydration vests to wear during really hot rides…all we’ll have to do is soak them in water, strap them on, and voila…we have air conditioning for ourselves. Several folks have told us that they work wonderfully…now we’ll have to find out for ourselves.
No trip to Roswell is complete without a stop at Happy Jack’s used book store, and we felt a need for a complete trip, so we stopped to turn in a large batch of books that one or both of us has read and invest in a new batch for the weeks ahead.
With the main part of our shopping completed, we went to Cal and Carol’s (Barbara’s sister and brother-in-law) house for a visit. We were delighted to see that Cal is holding his own as he continues to have breathing problems.
After talking for a bit, Barbara and Carol went out for a bit of shopping while I stayed at the house and shared stories with Cal. The girls always seem to find plenty to talk about and share while they are out store-looking...
When the girls got back, Carol prepared the table with a variety of sandwich items and we sat down to a light lunch before Barbara and I had to leave to go see Jerry and Jane (my brother and sister-in-law). Unfortunately, even with several phone calls and much doorbell ringing, we somehow missed Jerry and Jane this afternoon, but did finally connect via a phone call later in the evening.
When the girls got back, Carol prepared the table with a variety of sandwich items and we sat down to a light lunch before Barbara and I had to leave to go see Jerry and Jane (my brother and sister-in-law). Unfortunately, even with several phone calls and much doorbell ringing, we somehow missed Jerry and Jane this afternoon, but did finally connect via a phone call later in the evening.
Back in Artesia, we joined the family over at Jerry and Nancy’s house for grilled chicken (Jerry tried out a couple of new spice rubs) and all the trimmings. While waiting for the meat to be ready, Becky and Barbara decided to revisit their childhood by playing a game of Pick-Up Sticks (see bottom right photo). We finished off the evening with a rousing game of Chickenfoot, one of our favorite activities when we all get together.
Sunday, June 28Today we joined Jerry, Nancy, and Becky for the morning worship service at First United Methodist Church. After the service, there was a church-wide wiener roast and brat cookout where a good time (and good food) was had by all.
Before returning to Jean’s house, we stopped at the laundry to run a couple of loads of clothes through the washers and dryers, hoping to get everything ready for our trip tomorrow.
This afternoon and evening we packed and repacked, finally getting everything “just so” in the Vibe. All that was left was to say our goodbyes to the family, get a good night’s sleep, and strike out tomorrow on another new adventure.
Monday, June 29
After spending a leisurely early morning with Jean, we threw the last of our belongings in the car, said goodbye again, and struck out across southeastern New Mexico for a trip to Lubbock. After stops in Hobbs and Lovington, we drove on to Lubbock to spend an evening visiting Jimmy Clint, Cathey, and Jaycie, and getting Jaycie and her friend Kiersten ready to go spend some time with Grams and Gramps in East Texas. Kiersten and her family came over to get all the information about our plans and to bring Kiersten’s clothes so we could have them packed and ready to go by 7:30 tomorrow morning.
Tuesday, June 30It was another travel day…we finally left Lubbock around 8:30 (after a couple of false starts and a stop at McDonald’s for breakfast). Our route for the day took us down U.S. 87 to Aspermont, and then across U.S. 380 to Denton, where we turned south on I-35E.
As a side trip, we drove to Plano so the girls could visit WOGA, the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy. Both girls had been on the same cheer teams in Lubbock, and wanted to see what this new facility was all about.
From Plano, we made our way a few miles to Richardson, where we spent the night with Heather, Andy, Alexander, and Abby. Because Heather and her family are leaving for a two week trip to Boston tomorrow, we needed to get our final instructions about house and cat sitting. Our original plan was to spend another night there, but after that plan was made, we found that Leah was going to bring granddaughter Randi down for several days, so we cut this visit short and promised to make it up on the other end…kind of like daylight saving time.
Heather and Andy were busy getting kids, clothes, and other necessities packed for their flight to Boston, but took time out to fix a great supper for all of us and we used the time to get caught up on the latest news.With an early start on our schedule for tomorrow, we all headed for bed at a semi-decent hour, with Abby graciously giving up her room for Jaycie and Kiersten while she bedded down on an air mattress for the night in Alexander’s room.
ADDENDUM
June 30, 2009
In a strange twist of fate, we found ourselves once again headed toward East Texas exactly one year after we left Artesia with Mother to move her to Mineola. The route was a little different, and we did spend the night in Heather and Andy’s house in Dallas rather than in a roadside rest area, but we couldn’t help remembering the significance of the date…three years to the day after packing Big V and leaving Liberal, Kansas, to start our retirement, and one year to the day that we moved Mother to her new home.
As we ponder the events of the past six months, we again realize the wonderful blessings that we have received, both in our travels, and in meeting new friends when we are “home” in either Artesia or on our lot at Holiday Village of Lake Fork.
Ah, yes, arguably our most significant event of the past three years was the purchase of a lot at Holiday Village in late February. Until that time, Artesia was our home when we weren’t on the road in either Big V or the Vibe. But, circumstances dictated that we have something closer to Mineola and Mother, so we took the big step toward land ownership. Now, we claim two home bases…Artesia and Lake Fork.
Our only major trip in Big V during this half-year was to go to Ethridge, Tennessee, in April to join a team building a new church, and then on to Toccoa, Georgia, to volunteer for three weeks at the Georgia Baptist Conference Center. In addition to serving God through our efforts, we had the very real blessing of greeting old friends and meeting many new ones through work and activities that will bind us together forever.
And, there were all those miles we traveled to see friends and family. While the motorcycle again got short shrift in logging miles, the Vibe and Big V more than made up for it, as we traveled 11,186 miles in the Vibe, 2,453 miles in Big V, and only 445 miles on the cycle, for a total of 14,084 miles in six months. But, our plans for the immediate future include making up for lost time on the Voyager by riding through parts of the upper mid-west before once again loading up Big V and the Vibe for another trip to Toccoa and then on to Richmond, Virginia..
It has been interesting to review the past five journals to see where the retirement journey has led us, as we look forward to whatever is in store for us in the future. Our thanks go out to all our friends and family who have commented on or contributed to our story…it wouldn’t be the same without you.
And so, we head off into our fourth year of retirement and an uncertain future, thanking you for your love and friendship, and wishing you the very best for your families and yourselves,
Thanks for continuing this journey with us.
June 30, 2009
In a strange twist of fate, we found ourselves once again headed toward East Texas exactly one year after we left Artesia with Mother to move her to Mineola. The route was a little different, and we did spend the night in Heather and Andy’s house in Dallas rather than in a roadside rest area, but we couldn’t help remembering the significance of the date…three years to the day after packing Big V and leaving Liberal, Kansas, to start our retirement, and one year to the day that we moved Mother to her new home.
As we ponder the events of the past six months, we again realize the wonderful blessings that we have received, both in our travels, and in meeting new friends when we are “home” in either Artesia or on our lot at Holiday Village of Lake Fork.
Ah, yes, arguably our most significant event of the past three years was the purchase of a lot at Holiday Village in late February. Until that time, Artesia was our home when we weren’t on the road in either Big V or the Vibe. But, circumstances dictated that we have something closer to Mineola and Mother, so we took the big step toward land ownership. Now, we claim two home bases…Artesia and Lake Fork.
Our only major trip in Big V during this half-year was to go to Ethridge, Tennessee, in April to join a team building a new church, and then on to Toccoa, Georgia, to volunteer for three weeks at the Georgia Baptist Conference Center. In addition to serving God through our efforts, we had the very real blessing of greeting old friends and meeting many new ones through work and activities that will bind us together forever.
And, there were all those miles we traveled to see friends and family. While the motorcycle again got short shrift in logging miles, the Vibe and Big V more than made up for it, as we traveled 11,186 miles in the Vibe, 2,453 miles in Big V, and only 445 miles on the cycle, for a total of 14,084 miles in six months. But, our plans for the immediate future include making up for lost time on the Voyager by riding through parts of the upper mid-west before once again loading up Big V and the Vibe for another trip to Toccoa and then on to Richmond, Virginia..
It has been interesting to review the past five journals to see where the retirement journey has led us, as we look forward to whatever is in store for us in the future. Our thanks go out to all our friends and family who have commented on or contributed to our story…it wouldn’t be the same without you.
And so, we head off into our fourth year of retirement and an uncertain future, thanking you for your love and friendship, and wishing you the very best for your families and yourselves,
Thanks for continuing this journey with us.
"Any idiot can face a crisis; it is this day-to-day living that wears you out." - Anton Chekhov
From Richardson, Texas, and on the way to Our LITTLE Lot at Holiday Village,
Jim & Barbara
From Richardson, Texas, and on the way to Our LITTLE Lot at Holiday Village,
Jim & Barbara
