05 November 2016

A Dream Come True: Aimee's Autumn Cross Country Adventure

Oh my, it's been a long time since I've posted, and a long time since I read and responded to your always kind comments. For the latter I do offer my sincere apologies, but I have an explanation :)

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!

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