Somewhere in Tennesee

I wanted to get past Nashville, but the rain, dark and traffic have just stopped me dead. I only drove about 603 miles today - but honestly I think I did pretty good. I have about 900 to go tomorrow and just pray there won't be rain or snow. enough is enough.

Arkansas

I am in Arkansas just past Texarkana. Stopped at rest area for stretch and coffee. This welcome center is beautiful. 

The Trip Home

Well - it took far longer than I wanted to get down here. That will happen when you travel with your mom who has seizures when she sees flashing/strobe lights. There are a lot of flashing lights on the roads between NY and Texas. So it almost became a game - I'd see some in the distance (could be radio towers with the strobe lights, plow trucks, police cars, tow trucks, wide load trucks) and put my arm up across my mom's eyes. Normally I would just say close your eyes, but then I lost my voice. We are a great pair.

And of course there was the black ice - in the first two hours of our trip on the NYS Thruway outside of the Warners Service area we hit black ice. I sat by the side of the road like a scared rabbit for almost an hour - too afraid to try it again. Two very nice State Troopers stopped and asked me if we were okay and told me to keep my flashers on (well, duh!) but their lights were torture for mom too, but she was able to handle it okay. Blanket over the head works wonders - with Ativan....

Then in Ohio, about half way between Columbus and Cincinnati, the snow started, it was dark and there were a ton of cars on the road. Mom started having difficulty with the snow and the lights - made her head spin - I went as far as I could and stopped in Jeffersonville to spend the night. It was a good thing, my poor mom's stomach rebelled and I had to run and get some pepto - Thank goodness for that pink stuff.

Monday was about 540 miles - and yesterday was 420. Matilda, my GPS, was awesome at keeping me aware of how many miles left.

We got to Rockwall at 3 - unloaded my poor car. I could almost hear her breath a sigh of relief. I know that I will be glad to have the view unobstructed - of course I say that now until tonight when the lights from drivers behind me are driving me nuts. We opened presents - I have some beautiful gifts - a table/counter top wine rack, a package of black frames that are begging for pictures, a red hand mixer to go with my red KitchenAid and a wicked soft blankie.

Well - I'm going to take a shower and get ready for the return to NY! Mom is staying in Texas, so this is a lone adventure. I'll be posting periodically from the road so that people know where I am in case anything happens.

:)

Made it to Jeffersonville, OH

The trip has been a little slow going. Just outside the warners service area on the Thruway we hit serious black ice. My car is so full that it was just sliding all over the place. I pulled over and let some air out of my tires - they were a little overinflated because of all the highway miles we are driving - but they are back to the correct amount now. I called the Thruway Authority and told them where we were and asked them to sand. Two different State Troopers stopped to check on me during this time. I wasn't moving until I felt safe - it took about 15 minutes after the sanders went by for the black ice to disappear - I tried driving three times and couldn't do it. Finally on the fourth time we were good to go. That took an hour out of our schedule. We were definitely running late.

We are at a decent Quality Inn, the lady is incredibly nice and the room is clean.

I've lost my voice and am now doing a lot of charades to get my point across.

I'll write more soon as we continue on tomorrow...

Made it to Ohio!

Lots of miles to go!

Merry Christmas!

I mean it from the bottom of my heart. I wish everyone out there a joyous Christmas with family and friends. My prayers go out to our Soldiers fighting so we "can wear our pj's and enjoy christmas with our families" as one soldier from the area put it. I pray for our firemen, policemen, EMT's, paramedics, hospital staff and anyone who does service to others. Thank you.

And a very special thanks go out to Johnston's Auto Body, Elizabeth Street in Utica. I ran out of gas today - first time in 25 years of driving that I have ever run out of gas. God was certainly watching over me. I just purchased AAA so I could have those marvelous maps and books - well I called them and they said it would be within an hour that someone from Johnston's would be there and put gas in my car. It took 23 minutes - the man was so nice and so efficient. He waited with me while we made sure that it was actually the lack of gas that killed my car. It was a very pleasurable experience for a very stressful week.

Please have a great Christmas everyone and thank people that help you...it helps them want to help even more people!

I'm driving to Texas on Sunday - we were supposed to leave tomorrow but that got changed big time - hence the stress - but I am sure that there was a reason for it. I know I needed some down time and this way I'll get it and will be in better shape for the drive.

**Update - I have the best friends in the whole world. When I ran out of gas today - I forgot to pick up my mom's meds. (she just got out of the hospital). I called Kelly's house and her mom answered I asked her if Kelly was home she said no that she was still at work. I called Kelly and begged her to help me. She picked up the meds for me and brought them to her house as I would pick it up after work. I went there and Kelly and her family were eating but she rushed to the kitchen and brought out dinner in a bag with the meds and 7 CD's for mom and I to listen to on the trip. Dinner was fantastic - and so appreciated. I have to admit I cried when I got outside. Awesome friends are hard to come by and I have a lot of them.

Merry Christmas,
Michelle

Cake Truffles

Yum!!!!

WOoooOoOOoo HOoOOoooOooOOOo!

Christmas is coming and we are having a snow storm! I know I shouldn't be this excited, but as I sit here waiting for the coffee to finish brewing, I can hear the wind whipping the snow around. Driving today won't be pleasant, but it will be beautiful. The local paper 'jinxed' us at the end of November when they wrote a column about how Utica and the surrounding areas 'saved' a ton of money because there was no snow in November so no plowing or salting. Then on December 1, it snowed. There were many minor fender benders and people going off the road from that. People forget how to drive in the snow all the time!

Well today we are in a snow storm...Lots of local schools are closed, I'm watching the list scroll through on WKTV right now. Everyone from Utica to South and East are closed, VVS and Rome are on delays - I wouldn't be surprised if they don't close too.

Well - enjoy the snow. Be safe, dress warm and smile! It will make you feel better and others around you too!

Utica's Finest gets good press!

The Utica PD has a couple of great articles in the OD today! Enjoy!
Public gets peek at police patrolling and Officer discusses life on the force

I went on a ride-along in September and had a fantastic time. Learned a lot and have a lot of admiration and respect for the Utica police officers.