Highways and Byways: From Florida to Michigan

Just when you think you've got it all planned out you get a curve ball.

The plan went awry waaaaay back in June when we found out J had made the All-Stars team. Which is awesome and I'm super proud of him because he worked so hard to make it. But it did push our schedule back since the games would be in July. No biggie. We just pushed the departure date back a bit.

July playoffs come along and don't you know - they win the District 14 title! Way to go Winter Garden All-Stars! But, another set back all the same. At least the sectionals were at the end of July. So I go ahead with our plans and drive to Michigan to work for a week or so and then fly back for the games. Not a curve ball this time - we got hit by the pitch! The car broke down in Atlanta, costing me a one day delay and a Greyhound ticket. Plus the car is now stuck in GA.

So I work the week and a few days, saving every penny, only to have to pay extra for the plane ticket back because I had to wait to purchase it. Oh well. What do you do?

The weekend of playoffs was a wet one. It rained and rained. So many delays! But the weekend was finally over. The team came in 3rd place. I half wish they'd won to go on to State, but at the same time I'm glad we could finally get moving.

We loaded up the RV and pulled out the next day. Only to find the A/C was out on the truck and the heat index was over 100! No way were we driving without A/C! So another delay. Several hours and several hundred dollars later we were finally ready to head out. And then I discover that K's fish died. :( He hadn't been looking so well the last few days so I knew it was coming. And really, just as well he stay in Florida. K took it. She said it was a sign. A sign that we were not supposed to leave Florida. But leaving we were!

After an agonizing 6 hour delay we were finally on the road. We stopped for the night outside Atlanta to get a good nights rest. By morning we were infested with sugar ants.

I couldn't make this stuff up!

We dumped a bunch of ant stuff all over the counters and hit the road. By 1 am we were ready to stop outside Indy. We pulled open the RV to fall into our beds, but the ants were still crawling all over the place. And the inside of the RV was at least 90 degrees! No rest for us. Back into the truck and back out onto the highway. We finally arrived in Michigan at the break of dawn. We grabbed our pillows and crashed in the basement at Chad's moms. When we went out to the truck the next morning...the back tire on the truck was flat. I don't mean low or squishy...I mean FLAT!

You think I'm kidding don't you?

Luckily Grandpa had an air compressor and we filled it up. After dropping the RV we took off for Niles to get the tire fixed. Wouldn't you know it, they wouldn't fix the tire. So we went to Sam's in Mishawaka where we'd purchased the tires. Another 2 hour delay and the tire was fixed. But it still had a leak. So they put the spare on and tossed the old one. Another hour and we were on the road back to Dowagiac.

Later that week we moved the RV to a resort outside Decatur where it now sits in the shade of two lovely maple trees. After all the misery of that trip, it deserves a nice place to rest.

After all that, we're still not sure where we're going and what we're doing. All we know is that Life certainly takes some funny twists and turns.