You see, sometimes dreams DO come true and I have been living out my dream of seeing the Deep South and points in between this autumn! In fact, besides seeing places I had only DREAMED of seeing, I had the joy of spending extended time with my DD and her lovely family AND spending extended time with my DS#2 and his lovely southern girlfriend:) I even had the extra special dream come true of celebrating my birthday with them!
There were SO many times I wanted to pinch myself because I felt that this had to be a dream NOT reality -- but it was all true and I am feeling SO blessed right now I can't stop smiling.
But this dream all started several years back when my DH bought me an RV for another birthday...
suddenly in late summer a plan rapidly developed that we would travel from our beautiful PNW to the lovely South. Before the trip my hubby went through, it seemed, every square inch of our home on wheels making sure everything would be in good shape for the many miles that lay between us and our goal and, it seemed he packed every tool known to mankind (LOL). Meanwhile I went to work organizing the wardrobe, pantry and other parts of our home for the next month+
Then one morning, well before sunrise we set out on our adventure-an adventure which would involve aspens (my favorite tree!), lots of time with beautiful Arabian horses, learning how to make TRADITIONAL Mexican food (made by a woman with one of the loveliest hearts I have ever had the privilege of knowing), trips back in time (pony express, Oregon Trail and antebellum homes to die for)....
It truly, truly was amazing! We traveled through/to 14 states, crossed countless rivers, climbed over the continental divide and survived (by God's grace) winds that blew us around as well as semis that did the same, a storm such as our family in Utah had never seen and missed out on seeing the Atlantic Ocean because of a hurricane! I met a cousin I had corresponded with for years (so, so COOL!) and ate a whole bunch of Southern food (but gained-at the most-only 3#), saw many sunrises and many sunsets.
But perhaps you would like to relive our adventure? LOL--I know I definitely would so let's start! Let's call this an "appetizer" because I still have so many photos to sort through but I do have a little "dessert" for you at the end:)
Alabama
The butterflies were amazing there!
Alabama.
I FINALLY realized my dream of seeing a cardinal in person!
Next time I will dream of getting a better photo of these lovely birds :)
St Louis, Missouri
The Gateway Arch -- around sunrise and the Mississippi River!
Yep, I know this is an odd photo, but it helps bring back all the excitement of traveling through that city during the insane rush hour traffic! Needless to say, on the way back we hit the city well before dawn.
LOL
REAL cotton in a REAL cotton field. Can't recall if this was in Florida, Georgia or Alabama, but I LOVED the fluffy white balls (bolls) that were in fields and - sometimes - in the middle of roads!
One of the most memorable gifts I received while in the South was a cotton boll (the top of the plant) glued into a mason jar! Anyone that knows me, knows I LOVE nature and-in fact-my hubby and I kept adding to our nature table display wherever we went on our adventure>
Utah
Two of my DD's lovely horses! I spent LOTS of time petting them, enjoying their lovely horsey smell (better than the most expensive bottle of perfume to a horse-lover like me), watching them run, just BEING with them! Heaven on earth!
Closer to home--well sort of...
The Columbia River Gorge.
We were blessed to see the sun rise over many beautiful places--
the Gorge, the Continental Divide, Nebraska cornfields, the lovely Gulf Coast area of Florida--
so many beautiful places in our country!
And now -- a bit of dessert.
This year has been a year filled with countless blessings (like our cross country adventure),
but it has also been a year of loss for in less than one year we lost all three of our white furry babies :(
Little did we know that God, through our son and his girlfriend,
had a gift waiting for us in the Deep South--
a very, very special little gift who would always remind us of answered prayers,
the kindness of family
and
the South.
Meet our new pup pup
Blessings for a new week,
Aimee
PS: Since I am writing this at a rather late hour, I ask you to excuse any typos and other errors:)
Thanks!
11 comments:
Welcome back to blogland! I'm glad you had the opportunity to travel and see parts of the country far away. Your new puppy is adorable. Can't wait to hear all about your big adventure.
Well there you are. How nice to see a post and an update from your many blessings. A cross country RV trip with a little surprise to bring home sounds lovely and weather surprises you were spared from. Looking forward to more posts about your time on the road.
It was good to read your blog again. Missed you but so thankful for your dream come true trip to the south. It is pretty there and the horses are so amazing! Your pup is cute and enjoy! Sorry you lost all 3 fur babies this year. That is sad indeed. Looking forward to your next post of your journey east! I need to get my water falls trip on my blog soon. So many photos, so little time! Happy week my friend!
It's SO good to see you back. I've been wondering where you were and there you were, on an adventure!!! Hubby and I have been thinking of buying an RV or just taking our travel trailer and doing the same thing in a few years. What fun. I'm so sorry to hear of losing your furbabies. That had to have been awful. How sweet of your son to know you needed a new puppy to love. Your photos are amazing and bring back many memories to this midwestern girl.
Blessings,
Betsy
Welcome back to blogging! What an adventure you've been on! Looking forward to seeing more photos and hearing about your travels.
Sounds like such a wonderful trip. Glad you had a dream come true! Looks like a lovely pup you got as well. What is his/her name? I like your shot of the Gateway Arch. It's been photographed from just about every perspective, so seeing it with the whir of St. Louis traffic is a nice change. Great photo of the cotton field as well. We got to see some cotton fields in Arkansas and Texas, but I don't think the cotton was in this stage when we visited. The traditional Mexican food sounds wonderful. Perhaps you could post some recipes for us.
@Linda~
Thanks! It was a wonderful trip:) LOL,we think she's awful cute too!
Blessings,
Aimee
@Becky~
Thank you! It is beautiful down there-a whole different world! Thank you for your kindness. It was hard losing all three so close together. Getting our new pup was an answer to prayer and an awesome gift, but I still miss our white fluffy puppies.
Blessings,
Aimee
@Betsy~
Thank YOU! Once our plan was in motion, we were pretty busy and then I fell behind in my Bible reading (something I make sure is up to date before i allow myself to blog). Ah--thanks. It was hard as I have said. Dogs definitely leave their paw prints in your heart.
Glad my photos brought back some good memories! As I said on another blog, I really liked the midwest :)
Blessings,
Aimee
@Lorrie~
Thanks!! Definitely an adventure:):)
Blessings,
Aimee
@Bethany~
Thank you! She is a sweet gal--lots and lots of energy and you always have to be one step in front of her:) I LOVED the Gateway Arch--wanted to see it on our way back, but we ended up on a different bridge...The cotton was really close to harvest and being harvested while we were there. Cotton fields are gorgeous and it was fun seeing them! I would love the recipes my sweet angel friend made us but I am not sure how she would feel about sharing them--I will have to check.
Blessings,
Aimee
Oh makes me wish we were still RV traveling -- I loved that so much. Felt the same about my first cardinal! That was fun to read uou had the same reaction.
Thanks for visiting and letting ,me know youre still blogging. And your kind comments. My hands are healing and I can type with my left hand and a stylus. (well sort of anyway). I make a liot of mistakes, more as I get tired.
Looking forward to the rest of your trip.
Sallie~
It is a LOT of fun isn't it? Seeing new places -- love it:) Cardinals are one of the most amazing birds I have ever seen--I am not surprised we would feel the same about them at all! I think, no I KNOW, we both love birds:)
I am glad your hands have gotten a bit better Sallie. You are doing MUCH better than I would if I had to use my left hand.
Blessings,
Aimee
Hi Aimee, I am catching up on your November posts because I was on a road trip and then recovering from being on the road trip for the rest of the month and somehow missed your posts. It was a shock to me to find out when I moved here that there are no cardinals! I'm so glad you got to see one. I am so sorry you lost all three of your pets this past year. Your new puppy looks so sweet. I'm glad you had such a great trip, including good visits with your family. The cotton field, and all your photos are lovely! Thanks for posting xx
@Gracie~
Great to hear from you Gracie! Was happy to hear about your trip down to Cali:) I know, wouldn't it be wonderful if we DID have cardinals here! They are SO beautiful--my son saw a male one the other day and was telling me all about it. Thank you for your kind comment about our late furry ones-I still miss them a lot but our new little Pup Pup is bringing quite a lot of joy into our lives and that helps.
More photos to come of the South and more-thank you!
Blessings,
Aimee
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