Saturday, May 14
Toccoa... Lake Louise at the Georgia Baptist Conference Center.
Volunteering...these two words just go together in a special way for us. And, this morning after being inspired by the above view, we made our way to the kitchen for 7:00 AM duties.
++++++++
Sunday, May 15
I have no idea what happened but I awoke this morning with severe headache and other ailments. Jim and I finally decided that I was having my first real taste of allergies. And, I certainly wasn't impressed! Because of this, I spent the entire day sleeping or just curled up in bed. I didn't even make it to our evening volunteer meeting.
When Jim returned, he said he was going to go out and practice. I'm never too sick to hear him play; so I went to the front of Big V, opened the window, and let the music soothe my soul.
Imagine my surprise when I noticed the kids from across the road tiptoeing down to the pavilion where they quietly sat down on the bench. Then, imagine Jim's surprise when we finished a song and the kids clapped! He was facing the lake so he had no idea that he had gathered a new set of groupies.
Since it was getting dark and the kids still wanted him to play for them, they all came up to Big V where I could sneak pics without disturbing the concert. Now, I love Jim's playing but to hear the sweet voices of the children singing along with him was an extra special treat which warmed my heart!
++++++++
Monday, May 16
Even though I still wasn't feeling 100%, I asked Jim to come up and get me at 9:00 so I could work with Michelle. (Jim went in at 6:30 AM).
Jim's aunt has friends (from her Artesia days) who now live in Clarksville, Georgia, just a short drive from Toccoa. Dick is receiving cancer treatments in Toccoa so we had made arrangements to meet he and Martha at the college for pictures and a short visit. Jim was just making conversation with Dick when he asked him if he had known his Dad, Joe. Dick lowered his head for a moment and when he raised it up again to face Jim, his eyes teared up and he began telling of the night that Jim's dad was killed while he was on a rescue mission to save people in southeastern New Mexico from flood waters as he simultaneously reported on the situation for KAVE Radio in Carlsbad. Dick was in another vehicle covering the story as the editor for The Artesia Daily Press when the two vehicles got separated. Dick spent the next two days on the search team that was looking for Joe. While Dick's telling of those awful days brought back sad memories, Jim was grateful to finally hear, after nearly 50 years, his only first-hand account of what happened that night in August, 1966.
May 16th is always a rough day for Jim and me as it's the day our grandson Jameson was stillborn to Leah and Ryan. This year, with the arrival of foster/soon to be adopted son, Kaiden, we were all able to find a measure of peace. I "built" the following collage to honor both grandsons, Jameson and Kaiden. (Until Kaiden is legally adopted, we are not allowed to show his face.
++++++++
Tuesday, May 17
++++++++
Wednesday, May 18
I'm finally feeling great! What a blessing! And, I'll just let the pictures do the talking for the rest of our Toccoa time.
++++++++
Thursday/Friday, May 19-20
One reason Toccoa is so special to Jim and me...look at the great people we get to work with each day!
++++++++
Saturday, May 21
To say that we were ready to head for home is quite an understatement. We had enjoyed every bit of our time away from home; but let's face it...the adage, there's no place like home, brings certain comfort when you've been on the road for such a long time! So, even the rain couldn't dampen our spirits as we pulled out of Toccoa at 9:00 AM.
Our first stop along the way was to get gas at a RaceTrac about 60 miles down the road. And, that's where we faced our first "Oops!" of the day. Jim found that the coolant reservoir had a nice healthy crack in it and was leaking coolant. Ever the OMer, (a creative problem solving group we used to coach), Jim "fixed" this problem the best way he knew how (no duct tape available, but electrical tape was a good temporary fix).
The second "Oops!" didn't occur until we were in the bustling, hectic traffic of I-985 right outside of Atlanta. That's when a car pulled up next to Jim and honked and a passenger motioned that something was wrong on the passenger side of Big V. Finding a halfway level place to pull over, Jim and I stepped out of the RV to find that our awning was not completely in! It's not like one can solve that problem on an interstate! So...we used our trusty "What's at the Next Exit" book and found the closest Cracker Barrel (they have RV parking). This meant that we had to drive another 5 miles or so before we could pull over and fix the awning.
I don't even know how to explain the next "Oops!" because it was two-fold...first, there was a car on my side honking and pointing to the front of Big V. Of course, this meant another stop in the middle of traffic, but this time we were in the heart of Atlanta on I-85...oh, lordy, what an experience! We thought we were going to find that we had tire trouble; but no, we had a fender panel loose and it was flapping in the wind! Jim pulled Big V over to the shoulder and performed a temporary fix with some heavy duty glue (just what they would have done at a shop...if we could have found a shop), and then we worked our way back into the traffic pattern. However, within minutes I looked out the window and the fender was flapping in the breeze again! So...
Once again we turned to the Exit book; but this time it failed us! (Did I mention we were using a 2013 book and that things change in 3 years?) Anyway, I had us take an exit that was supposed to have a truck stop, but....instead it was a fancy residential section with unique, quaint markets...no big parking lots, and no intersections where we could do a u-turn to get headed in the right direction. We probably drove 30 minutes before we found a small gas station that we could pull into. Jim was able to buy the glue he needed to fix the panel and there was a small authentic Mexican restaurant where we could eat while we waited for the glue to set up.
By the time we got back on the interstate, it was obvious that getting past Birmingham was NOT going to be an option as we both were exhausted!
Finally at 5:30 PM, we pulled into an RV campground in Pell City, AL. To put this day in perspective, it took us 8 1/2 hours to go 208 miles! Any way one calculates it, this was not a particularly stellar journey for a trip that should have taken 3 1/2 hours. But...we were safe! Can't complain!
++++++++
Sunday/Monday, May 22-23
Travel!
Unpacked and ready to begin the small town life once again!
++++++++
Tuesday, May 24
Jim got up early to attend prayer meeting while I began to tackle the mounds of dirty clothes, make a glass arrangement of shells collected in South Carolina, and design a North Myrtle Beach memory book to mail off to Linda and Jack.
And...then...we got to go for a ride!
++++++++
Wednesday-Friday, May 25-27
Hair cuts, cooking, band practice, and household chores filled these 3 days. Just ordinary, "get'er" done days!
++++++++
Saturday, May 28
Jim and I took our Autumn Winds ladies a special treat to let them know we had returned from our trip. Oh, how we love Addie and Jenny! They brighten our days with their wonderful outlook on life. And, we try to brighten theirs by visiting and taking them goodies such as Whoopie Pies I learned to make at Toccoa.
++++++++
Sunday-Monday, May 29-30
It felt good to be back into the routine of life in Mineola.
In addition to playing with the Praise Band in church this morning, Jim also sounded Taps as the congregation honored all who had fallen in the service of our nation.
Jim was getting behind on yard work, so since we didn't have church tonight, he started hacking away at the overgrowth around the yard.
++++++++
"The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life." William Morris (British Poet 1834-1896)
Back home again in Mineola, Texas,
Jim/Dad/Gramps and Barbara/Mom/Grams/Gramsy
