LYN'S JOURNALS
February, 2004
February 1, 2004 - Sunday - Church Day - 2505.3 = Total Miles to Date 46.5 Total AR Miles - Day 7
Last Week's Total Miles - 52.5
Today we got up and got ready for church - I accidentally woke Joni up an hour earlier than I was supposed to - oops. Oh well, she got up not knowing that it was an hour early, and I didn't realize it until Sam went over to do her *GAJ BIT in the bath house (it's warm in there and there are almost always places to sit). All of a sudden I realized what I had done. I said to Joni, "I think I got you up an hour early." She smiled and said that she thought so. Our camp landlord came over to give me directions to the church, and I gave him our card and a packet of stuff that Sam has put together from various updates and such that we have on file.
Finally we headed off to find this church. When we got there we paused in our car in the lot to have prayer, then went on inside. Several greeted us right away, then the pastor came and introduced himself to us and asked if we were the ones Jewel told him about that are walking across America. We told him we were and gave him some information. Then we went to find our seats. During the service Pastor (or Brother) Sam Stewart asked the three of us to come up front and he sort of interviewed us, and gave the congregation a chance to ask questions. He referred to our Journey several times in his message. Many came and talked with us afterwards.
When church was over and we finished visiting, we headed out to find a place for lunch. We ended up at KFC/Taco Bell. After we ate we went back to the castle, then Sam and I left Joni with the "kids" while we went to do a small shopping. We came back and put things away, then I went over to talk with Jewel and Jean the camp owners (the place is called the 2-J RV Park). I needed to take care of our reservation and ask about RV repairs and propane. He gave me two RV repair names and where to get propane. We visited for awhile, along with a permanent resident in the park, Jackie.
Back to the castle to work on journals and stuff.
*GAJ BIT = Great American Journey Bible Inspiration Time
February 2, 2004 - Monday - Waiting Day - 2505.3 = Total Miles to Date 46.5 Total AR Miles - Day 8
Last Week's Total Miles - 52.5
Today I got up about 6:30 and got ready, got Sam up, and did my *GAJ BIT, then called a couple of RV Repair places. The first gave me a tentative time for tomorrow morning; the second said he would come out and look. I canceled the first hoping the second could do the work. He couldn't come out until late afternoon.
I spent the day working on reports and letters, and struggling with all that was happening. It is one thing after another and I'm wondering if we'll ever be able to just walk on a regular basis again. It seems like something is always happening to either the castle or the van. Plus I'm finally realizing why I'm struggling so much with everything. The gray and cold days are beginning to get to me pretty bad, and that ugly old depression is coming back. Joni's depression hits in the summer and mine hits in the winter.
The guy came at about 4:30 to check out the RV problems. He was unable to help us since he deals mostly with the RV appliances. He did agree that it would be necessary for us to dump before anyone could work on it -- that's what the first place told us also. He was very kind and though he couldn't think of anyone around that would be able to really help us he did come up with a possibility for us when Joni asked about a porta potty pump place. Then the man came up with Kelly's about 10 miles away. We decided that we would go over there in the morning in the van and talk to them in person and see what could be done. Sam will probably stay here with the pups while Joni and I go, or maybe we'll take Cassie. Here's hoping Kelly's can help us.
After he left we went to Pizza Hut for dinner, and then back to work on the computer for a bit and do my journal. I called Cathy Lampman and Debbie Corona, but wasn't able to get Debbie. I left a message and told her I would try again. I did talk with Cathy and let her know about the good timing of what she sent to us.
Finally Joni and I walked the dogs and headed for bed. I'm really exhausted today from all the uncertainties. Most of our problems have been pretty straightforward, but this one is complicated by the fact that we have to do something before anyone can touch it, and there's not too much possibility for doing the dumping without the connection that came off. Well, LORD, it's up to You. We really don't know what to do.
I got through to Debbie just before I went to bed and we talked for quite awhile. I told her about some of the things happening and about the struggles. She prayed with me on the phone - so appreciated. Then we had our evening prayer time and went to bed.
February 3, 2004 - Tuesday - Waiting Day - 2505.3 = Total Miles to Date 46.5 Total AR Miles - Day 9
Last Week's Total Miles - 52.5Today I was still up early (a bit after 5 AM) even tho' I knew we wouldn't be walking today. By the time I finished my *GAJ BIT we were all up and getting ready for the day. By 9AM Joni and I were on our way to Paragould, AR to see about getting our sewage pumped out so we could get the repairs done. We first went to McDonald's for breakfast, then on to find Kelly's in Paragould. Sam stayed home with Waliluke to work on some things there.
When we came to Kelly's we saw it was an RV Sales and Repair place. We thought we were looking for a porta potty place that had the pump trucks - hmmmm. Well, we figured this was still a good place to talk to someone and find out what we could. As it turned out we thought we talked with Kelly Bryson himself, but it turned out to be James -- Kelly is just a young man. He was very knowledgeable and VERY helpful! It really pays to go talk to them in person because it makes it a lot easier to explain the problem, and they know you're for real as well.
James showed us several diagrams and parts and helped us figure out just what it was we needed - or just what he would need to do. He also called Roto Rooter for us in Paragould and lined them up to come out to 2-J RV Park to pump out the tanks so he could work on it. Wow! That was nice of him to see that we really got someone to do this, instead of just saying "I don't know how you'll get it done, but you'll have to dump before you bring it here," like the place in Jonesboro told us. In fact the guy in Jonesboro told us to go find a fill road and just open the valve. Now what's a fill road? And how sanitary is that to just dump there? Hmmmm - I really didn't like that idea at all.
I felt a lot better after talking with James. My depression was still hanging in there a bit this morning, though not nearly as bad as yesterday. From Kelly's we went back to Walnut Ridge - or actually to Hoxie to the post office to mail some letters, then to a video place to see if we could pick up a couple of DVD's to watch while we had the forced time off. The video place wouldn't be open until 1 PM, so on we went. Next we went to Wal-Mart where we got a few things that we were low on. Back at the castle we found Sam hard at work cleaning our windows - they had developed a mold which we knew wasn't good for us. She had also filled our dish tubs with hot water from the bath house and washed the dishes that were stacking up. What a gal!
I went back to working on Journey reports that I was sending out. Then when Sam finished up what she was working on, she and I went to the video store and to the post office again - this time for stamps and to mail some stuff for Joni that she wanted the postage checked on. We also needed to get some zip codes. Then we stopped at the grocery store for a few items. The Wal-Mart here is not a super center, so groceries and other things are at separate stores.
Back at the castle we watched one of our DVD's. Dave called just as it finished, so we talked for awhile. He was planning to go to the City Council meeting tonight, so figured he better call me instead of waiting for me to call him. I was glad I was able to report some good news about at least part of the repairs. Now hopefully all this works out. After Roto Rooter pumps out our tanks tomorrow we're supposed to call Kelly's and then get the RV over to them and they'll get it done just as quick as they can.
After talking with Dave, we fixed our dinner, journaled and watched another DVD in our PJ's. Then took the dogs out again, had evening prayers and went to bed.
February 4, 2004 - Wednesday - Waiting Day - 2505.3 = Total Miles to Date 46.5 Total AR Miles - Day 10
Last Week's Total Miles - 52.5
Another day of waiting on repairs, but a very active day of waiting. After I got up and had my GAJ BIT, and the others were up, we each got busy with our own things. We were getting ready to have a sharing time when we heard a truck drive in. Looking out I saw it was the sewage pump truck - they didn't call to give us any warning as they had said they would. Oh, well, we were ready for them. I quickly put on my shoes and headed out. The guy was really nice - his name is Eddie Brown and he works for Hedges Portable Toilets. I took pictures of him at work, and was amazed at how quickly he got the job done. I thought he was still hooking the pump up when he said he was finished. It cost us $60, but worth it.
After he left I called Kelly's RV repair and talked with James, the one we had talked with yesterday who was so helpful. He said to bring it on down and he'd get the guys onto it as soon as possible. We quickly packed stuff up a bit and then headed out. Joni followed in the van. First we went to get propane since our gage showed below empty - yet GOD had graciously allowed us to continue to get heat from our heater this morning to take off the COLD CHILL that permeated our area. It took us a bit to find the propane place, but with a little help we found it at Moore's Feed and Seed Store. We just never know where they're likely to sell propane. They were really nice there and the cost was reasonable. They did get more propane in than we had ever gotten in before. The most we've gotten before is 17 gallons. This time we got 22 gallons. I realized how close we must have been to running out, and thanked GOD that he had kept us warm. Little did I know what a problem that would bring later on.
We got over to Kelly's and I went in to talk to James. While I stood there James told Kelly about our problem and told him what he wanted him to do for us. As I watched, Kelly put his head in his hands and just sat there. Hmmmm, I wasn't sure what to think. But Kelly was very nice - he just hadn't known about any of this ahead of time, and he had several things he was already working on today. He just didn't know for sure if they could do it until he got his man looking at it, and then how much time it would take. Maybe they could get it done today, and maybe they couldn't. Finally we left planning to be back before 5 PM to see whether we would need to get a motel or it would be ready for us.
We drove on into Paragould and found a place to walk the dogs for a bit, then we went to Sonic to eat. There we could sit in the car and eat. Sam had brought the computer along and we had a video we hadn't yet watched. So we plugged it into the cigarette lighter and had our own drive-in movie. Of course we finished eating before the movie was over, and soon it was time to head back to Kelly's. We turned off the movie and left.
Back at Kelly's I went in to see what the word was for us. Another guy that I had seen around, but hadn't met, said to me, "You've got a big problem. You've got a bad gas leak." I had no idea what he was talking about, and figured he must think I'm someone else. But he insisted it was my RV he was talking about. He finally went to get the guy who was working on our RV to come explain what was happening. This one (I'm not sure of his name) took me to the back to where our castle was. They had moved it from inside the garage to outside. It seems that he had done some work on it inside, then left it there while he went to get some parts. When he got back the smell of "gas" was overwhelming, and he saw "gas" pouring out of a hole. It turned out that the propane people had filled the tank too full - evidently it is only supposed to be filled to a certain point to leave room for expansion or whatever, and they had filled it all the way. They may also have left off a small cap from the overflow valve - at least that is what the guy at Kelly's thinks. Anyway, he got it out of the garage and into the open air so that they could decide what to do.
They still figured they can fix our plumbing problem, but that they will need about 2 or 3 hours tomorrow to do it. I still haven't fully figured out the propane deal, but they had us leave the heater on at about 68 degrees for the night as we got some stuff to take with us to go find a motel. The heat will hopefully do two things - bring the level of propane down a bit, and keep our water pipes from freezing overnight with snow and ice predicted for the night.
We then drove back into Paragould to get a motel. There are very few motels in this area in any of the towns. The Best Western had a railroad convention based at their place, so we ended up at the Ramada Inn. Thankfully they allow dogs with a deposit. We got our room and got settled. We were in an inside room (no openings to the outside, just halls) and it was very warm. Their thermostat goes no lower than 60 degrees and the room was quite stuffy. The air conditioning system is turned off, so only the heat system works. We were able to open the sliding door a bit to the "big hall", and block it a bit so the "furry people" couldn't get out, but they could sniff the cooler air and we could get a bit of that cooler air in our room. It wasn't a lot cooler out there, but at least a bit.
We had a hard time getting to sleep since we had brought only warm things, not expecting it to be so hot inside the motel. People around here must think that because it's cold outside, you need it very hot inside. Whew! We Californians are finding this combination of cold weather and overly warm rooms very strange. Oh, well.
February 5, 2004 - Thursday - Waiting Day - 2505.3 = Total Miles to Date 46.5 Total AR Miles - Day 11
Last Week's Total Miles - 52.5
Today I woke up much earlier than I wanted to - 5 AM. I tried to go back to sleep since we didn't have to check out until noon, and the RV wouldn't be ready until about noon or later. I may have dozed a bit, but not a good sleep. I got up at 7:15 and showered (how nice to have a shower available without having to tromp across a field). Unfortunately their drain didn't work too well, so I had water up over my ankles by the time I was through - and yes the plug was up.
I sat and did my *GAJ BIT, then did my journal for yesterday. I took Waliluke out for a walk and had to walk through icy pools of melted snow and slush. Finally the others were up. Sam went down to go swimming for a bit after she did her *GAJ BIT. We loaded the van and then drove it around to the other side so that Waliluke would think he had really gone someplace. We put his muzzle on to keep him from destroying anything in the van, and we went into Perkins Restaurant to eat. We had a 10% discount coupon from our stay at the Ramada Inn. I had a wonderful Country style Eggs Benedict. It was really good!
After we ate we went out to order flowers for Dave for our anniversary tomorrow. I believe this is the first time in our 44 years we've been apart for our wedding anniversary. When the gal asked me what I wanted to say on the card, I cried -- not much, but the tears came. I got them from Bren's Flowers. Then we went to return our rented DVD's, and to Wal-Mart to get another 20 gallons of drinking water. Kelly's RV had called to say the RV was ready, so we headed there next. It took them awhile to get the bill all added up, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. I bought some stuff to put into our holding tanks to keep them from freezing.
Now it was back to 2-J's to get hooked up and settled in again. There was a lot more snow on the ground here than in Paragould. Hooking up was a mess in the snow melt all around. We had icy cold water over our feet. Once we got hooked up and filled our water tank to a bit over half, we got our of our wet shoes and socks. Then Sam and I went into Hoxie to return the DVD's we had gotten there. We went to another video store to see if they had Sister Act I and II or Ground Hog Day on DVD. They didn't. Those are 3 movies we'd like to get on DVD sometime, so we keep looking. Joni has not seen any of these 3.
Back at the castle I wrote a letter to Laurie and Evan and the kids, then I ate my dinner, journaled and went to bed.
February 6, 2004 - Friday - 10.5 + 2505.3 = 2515.8 Total Miles to Date 57.0 Total AR Miles - Day 12
This Week's Total Miles - 10.5
Today we finally got to walk!!! After a whole week of not walking, we were really ready for it! I was up at 5:45 and did my *GAJ BIT, and had breakfast. The others were getting up and ready as well. At 9:30 we finally headed out the door just as a car drove up at the office. A lady got out with a floral arrangement, and Joni said, "I bet those are for you, Lyn, for your anniversary." So we asked the lady if the flowers were for Lyn Hanush by any chance, and she said they were. We took pictures of Kay from Kay's Enchanted Florist handing me the flowers. She was really sweet. What fun! He had the three Milky Way bars in among the flowers as is his custom. What a guy! "Happy 44th Anniversary, Tiger."
We headed up on Hwy 67 to Pocahontas, then turned onto Hwy 62 to get back to our start point. On our way north we stopped by a little church that I think is the one Jackie here at the campground attends to check out the time of their Sunday service. It starts at 10, and is probably where we will attend this Sunday. Then on up north. As we came into Pocahontas we saw that they had quite a lot more snow than we had 15 miles south. On the way to Viola we stopped in Hardy and Salem at the post offices to get any mail we might have and to turn in our forwarding address cards. As we continued on my phone rang. Joni answered it, and it was Dave. I had her tell him I would call back as soon as I could find a place to pull off the road. We had snow banks on the sides of the road from the snow plows so it was harder to find a good place to stop. We ended up driving all the way into Viola and stopping at the Senior Center. Then I called Dave back. "Happy Anniversary, Tiger."
I told Dave I had received his flowers, and that they were beautiful - they really are! I love them! We talked a bit, then went into the library (in the same building as the Senior Center) to use restrooms. Then back to our start point at the east end of Viola. We had to pull into a very snowy street, but enough traffic had been on it already that it was manageable. We were all ready just to jump out with our stuff so that Joni wouldn't have to sit in the middle of the street should a car come along. Sam and I got our signs on and headed out with Waliluke. My phone was beeping me to tell me I had a message, and since I had called Jim and Betsy Hawkins earlier to ask a favor of them I figured it was them calling back - and it was. Then I called Betsy right back and told her what I wanted. I asked her if she and Jim, or Jim and some of the guys, or whatever, could go over to our house sometime today and sing "Dream, Dream, Dream" to Dave for our anniversary. This was a popular song sung by the Everly Brothers back in the 50's when Dave and I were dating, and it was "Our Song". Betsy said they would be happy to take care of it. "Happy Anniversary, Tiger."
Our walk continued on through the snow covered country side. I took several snow pictures throughout the day. It really was quite beautiful! I really had fun today. On every picture I took I gave my talking caption, and always said, "Happy Anniversary" at some point. Then I looked for a nice unblemished patch of snow where I got down and wrote out D & L - 44, then drew a heart around them and took pictures and called out a "Happy Anniversary" into the camera. I blew him a kiss in a couple of pictures. We all had fun coming up with different things. At a park on the outskirts of Salem there was a flock of ducks heading toward us. I took their pictures and told Dave (via the camera) that the flock of ducks were coming to say, "Happy Anniversary!" We had Joni drive on to the Dairy Queen for our last stopping place for the day. "Happy Anniversary, Tiger."
When we got there we went inside and they told us to come on in and order whatever we wanted and that it was on the house. We ordered chili cheese dogs with onion rings and fries and hot chocolate. That was so sweet of them. We got their picture, and I had them say "Happy Anniversary, Dave & Lyn," into my camera, then give their names - Jamey and Mary. It was really fun. We enjoyed our meal, then said good bye to them and drove off toward our castle. "Happy Anniversary, Tiger"
As Joni drove toward Walnut Ridge, Dave called and started singing "Dream, Dream, Dream" to me. I laughed and knew he had gotten my gift of a song. He told me that Jim and Betsy had really had fun with it. They had parked down the street and sneaked up to the house, but the dogs caught them and barked up a storm. Then Dave told me that the song brought tears to his eyes. "Happy Anniversary, Tiger."
Just before we got home Dave called again to say he had just gotten a floral arrangement. I'm glad they got that delivered. He told me he is having dinner at Charlie and Earline's tonight. I'm glad he'll be with them. How sweet of them. "Thank you, Charlie and Earline!" After we got back to the castle Brenda called and we talked for quite a bit. She heads down to Paso tomorrow to stay at our place and work for Dave, as well as do some housework/cooking/etc. for the guys. "Happy Anniversary, Tiger."
Finally I got our mail out that we had picked up at the Salem post office today and read the letters to all. We had one from Lorraine Barry, one from Aldiene Schroeder, and two from Earline - our faithful correspondent. It is so much fun to get and read our mail! Many thanks to each one of you who writes to us. You are all wonderful! After reading the mail, Joni and I took the dogs out for their nightly walk, then disconnected our water hose for the night (in case of frost). Back inside we got ready for bed, and I did my journal, then went to bed. A fun day! "Happy Anniversary, Tiger!"
February 7, 2004 - Saturday - 2.0 + 2515.8 = 2517.8 Total Miles to Date 59.0 Total AR Miles - Day 13
This Week's Total Miles - 12.5
Today we actually left the castle a bit before 9:30 AM. The sun was shining some around clouds of mixed color and looks. We drove to our start point at Salem. On the way we shared from our *GAJ BIT's and discussed them together. Then Sam read some more from the book we are presently reading - "Let's Roll" by Lisa Beamer.
When we arrived at the Dairy Queen in Salem we pulled in to the parking lot and got ourselves ready to roll. Jamey saw us in the lot and came out to say hi, and see if we needed anything. I took a star bow in that Patty Dowden had made for us. They had our card taped to the front of the cash register, so I gave them another card so that people could see both sides of it. Jamey said he was going to put the star on the cash register also. Then he gave me his e-mail address and home address so I could mail him info once in awhile, or at least at the end of the Journey. Then we said good bye to him and to Mary, and Joni and I headed across the street real quick to see Nanna's Treasures - a store we looked at every time we went past and said we had to go in there. I really thought it was more of a gift shop type store that had local type things - a place where I could maybe get my Arkansas earrings, pin, and ornament. But as soon as we walked in I saw it wasn't that type of store at all. It seems to be more of a fancy gift shop - right now they had a lot of Valentine type gifts - all quite beautiful, and a real nice shop, just not what I wanted. So I was a bit disappointed.
Back to the van where Sam was waiting with the dogs. We got going right away because it was snowing. Oh, it was SO beautiful. I have never seen snowflakes fall on me and land in such a way that I could actually look at them and see the designs. I was really excited about it. Maybe it doesn't take much to get me excited, but that was so much fun. The snow was a dry fluffy snow, so it wasn't super cold. Of course we were well wrapped up. I must say that when I saw my cheeks in the mirror later they were really red - maybe it was colder than I thought. I took some videos of Waliluke playing in the snow. He really enjoyed it. Part of the time he would be walking and then suddenly run into the snow, grab a bite, then walk on. A few seconds later he'd grab another bite of snow and walk on. He just kept repeating this. Then he'd run through it and prance about. It was just so cute.
The snow didn't last too long, at least not as much of it as it was at first. Joni waited for us at one place to see if we needed anything, then she went on a bit further. A bit later as we came around the bend we saw Cassie running in with some donkeys. Then we saw her go out and Joni got hold of her leash, then off she was again in with the donkeys. Then we noticed the donkeys chasing Cassie. This happened a couple of times that we saw. When we got there I saw Joni trying to hold Cassie, and soon we realized that something wasn't right so we went over to help. It turned out that Cassie had pulled Joni down the little embankment and that Cassie had then gone after the donkeys. The donkeys either kicked or bit Cassie on the ear, or maybe she caught it on the barbed wire. Just below her ear was a lot of blood. Then we realized that Joni also was hurting and quite shook up. Though she insisted it was just sore muscles from being pulled so hard, I wasn't really convinced. We managed to walk on to the van, which fortunately wasn't too far away.
As we got into the van, a young man drove up to see if we needed anything. I asked him about a vet. He told me where one was in Ash Flat. So we drove on to find it. We missed it and ended up in town, so I stopped to ask at the service station. The gals there told me where the vet was, and even called for me to find out if they were in. They weren't, but their recording gave me a home phone for emergencies. So I called that number and talked to the vet. She agreed to meet us at her office in a few minutes. She had to get her kids dressed up first. The gas station gal told me how to get to the vet office. We got there before Dr. Mills did and waited in the car. Soon she came and we all piled out and went into the office with her. She was really nice. She had a daughter that was maybe 7 or so, and another one that was about 4 or 5 months. Once she got the baby settled, she was able to look at Cassie. Then she drugged Cassie a bit to put stitches in. We got pictures of Dr. Kathy Mills working on Cassie, and one by herself and with Joni.
I was very concerned about Joni through it all. She kept getting dizzy and nauseated a bit. I went out and called Dave to see if he had Beth's phone number. He didn't but said he would do some checking and call me back. He was able to get in touch with Joan Moore, and get phone numbers for me. In the end Joni talked us into waiting a day to see if she wasn't feeling a lot better before going to the doctor. I don't know if that is the best thing to do or not, but we'll see.
I drove us on back to the castle. We stopped first in the Wal-Mart parking lot to eat our lunch, then back to Walnut Ridge and our castle. There I discovered the water wasn't working, but didn't get out to check it right away to see what the problem was. When I finally did, I was surprised to find it frozen already. It was getting cold fast. When we got back at 4:30 the temperature was 32. Now at 7:30 it is 23. It will be a cold night. I disconnected our hose, and put it under the castle by the heater exhaust.
Marilyn called and we talked for quite awhile. I shared about all that is happening here, and she shared all that is happening with them. After we hung up Joni and I took Cassie and Waliluke out. Joni was hurting, but had taken some meds to help, so she managed okay. Joni fixed some frozen meals for us (microwaved them) and we ate, then Joni went to take a shower to try to get her shoulder to feel better. Both her shoulders are hurting, but she can move them. We'll see what she's like in the morning.
I finished my journal, and called Dave. Then cleaned my stuff up and headed for bed.
February 8, 2004 - Sunday - Emergency Room with Joni-2517.8 Total Miles to Date 59.0 Total AR Miles - Day 14
Last Week's Total Miles - 12.5Today Sam and I got up and got ready for church not knowing for sure if we would actually be able to go or not. When Joni got up she was still in a LOT of pain. She wanted us to go to church then come home and take her to emergency. At first that was what we were going to do, but we decided we needed to get her in soon, and we didn't feel comfortable leaving her alone. I went to the office to ask where an emergency care place was. Jewel told me where the hospital was and said he would tell their church so they could be praying for her. I also called Earline and Charlie to tell them what was going on and ask them to pray.
We told Joni we were going to take her to the hospital now instead of after church. She was a bit upset with us, but agreed it was okay. We got her over to the hospital. While the nurse was getting her vitals I gave the info to the Admissions clerk. It turned out he had been at White Oak Baptist Church last Sunday when we were there, so he knew who we were and what we were doing. His name is Michael Crane. Everyone was really nice and very helpful. The nurse's name was Erica, and the x-ray tech was Polly. Dr. Cranford was the attending physician. We got pictures of all of them.
Initially there are no fractures, but it's possible the radiologist will spot something that the doctor doesn't notice. The doctor says there could be torn ligaments and/or tendons. We're supposed to take Joni to see a doctor tomorrow and we'll find out more. They gave her some vicoden, and sent us off.
Back at the castle we got Joni settled and sort of comfortable, then Sam and I went to work. Sam started laundry while I fixed brunch. We ate, then I cleaned up. Before cleaning up I went out to see if I could hook our water up. Our hose was frozen earlier so I had set it out in the sun - what sun there was. Now I took our blue tub out to the restroom and filled it with hot water, then gradually worked the hose through the water until I could get the ice melted enough to get water through the hose okay. I hooked it up and was then able to use the running water rather than pump water to do dishes.
Then I worked on report letters to our Journey acquaintances and made copies of the cover letter to send along with it. I got another 30 or 40 ready to go. I worked on my journal, and I fixed some popcorn for Joni and me. I talked with Dave, and he told me that our prayer request had gotten around on the prayer chain, and that by the time it had made the rounds I was the injured party. He also said that they had prayed for Joni and for our whole team in church.
Later I talked with Alyce-Kay and she asked how Joni was. I told her what all had happened at the hospital. She said that their pastor had prayed for the whole team this morning as well. She was going to ask the pastor to pray for Joni, but before she got his attention from behind him in the choir Kittie had raised her hand in the back of the room. He called on her and she asked prayer for Cassie. So the pastor prayed for Cassie, and then for the whole team. How sweet of Kittie.
Alyce-Kay just got back from Florida yesterday. She told me she brought back hermit crabs for everyone in their family. These are pet hermit crabs - I don't ever remember hearing of PET hermit crabs. She tells me they are really cute, and that the kids are fascinated by them. Interesting.
I took the dogs out (one at a time), gave Cassie her pills, and finished my journal, and finally headed for bed. We won't be walking tomorrow, and not sure just what we'll do about walking for awhile. I don't feel comfortable with Joni driving until she is a lot better, so we'll have to see what we can come up with.
I had one of our hymn books out this morning singing as I was fixing my breakfast. One of the songs I sang was "Count Your Many Blessings." The last verse was rather interesting, and I had Sam read it out loud as we drove to the hospital. Here it is: "So amid the conflict, whether great or small, Do not be discouraged, GOD is over all, Count your many blessings, Angels will attend, Help and comfort give you to your journey's end . . ." We've had a lot of "conflict" lately (frozen pipes, lost pipes, gray skies, rain, sleet and snow, and on and on goes the list), but GOD is over all. Certainly angels have been in attendance - Joni's injuries could have been a lot worse. We have all had times when we've tripped, or various things, close calls in the van a time or two, and various other things. Truly GOD is giving us help and comfort to our Great American Journey's end - realizing the song is talking about life's journey, but it fits in this case too.
February 9, 2004 - Monday - Joni to see Doctor Lancaster-2517.8 Total Miles to Date 59.0 Total AR Miles - Day 15
Last Week's Total Miles - 12.5
Today we slept in a bit - at least the other two did. I woke up a bit after 5 AM, but knowing I didn't have to rush to get going, I managed to snuggle into the warmth of my sleeping bag a little bit longer - until 6 AM. I had my *GAJ BIT, then I called the doctor's office to see about getting an appointment for Joni. We were able to get an 11:20 appointment with Dr. Ted Lancaster.
When the others got up and ready and it was time to go, we headed out. First we had to fill out papers, but there wasn't much of a wait after that. The nurse was really nice. Her name was Joyce Walton. She weighed Joni and we all watched. Her weight was . . . . . . Soon Dr. Lancaster came in - he was really fun! He was actually a blast! He checked Joni out very thoroughly. When Joni asked if she could drive, he looked at me and I whispered "No". He went out to get something, and when he came back he went to great lengths to show her why she shouldn't drive for awhile. He had her put her arm in different positions -- or at least try to -- that she would need to put it in for driving. When she had a hard time doing these various positions, he very nicely pointed out that she would be in big trouble in an emergency. Poor Joni really feels bad about keeping us from walking, but I would rather miss walking than see her have an accident because she couldn't turn the steering wheel or something. Joni keeps telling us that she'll be fine "tomorrow" and we can get out and walk. The doctor was quite impressed with what we were doing, and he kept coming back into the room to talk with us. We got pictures of the nurse and the doctor.
While we were at the doctor's office the Nakamura's called Sam (these are friends of Garrett's from San Jose who moved out to Sweetwater, TN a couple of years ago - maybe more). They had been in Branson and were on their way home, and we are on their way. They said they would call back when they got closer to Walnut Ridge. Just as we finished with the doctor they called back. We arranged to meet at the castle in a few minutes. We headed out. As we went down our route home, Sam said, "That was the Nakamura's". They had just pulled over to the side of the road and Naka was picking up his phone. I pulled over ahead of them a bit, and Sam answered the phone. They asked which way from a certain point, and Sam told them to just follow the green van ahead of them. They did, and we led them on out to the castle. They could only stay for a few minutes since they had to get all the way back home tonight. We took pictures of them, and had a nice little visit.
After they left we did a few things, then Sam and I walked the dogs before we took off for Pocahontas to do shopping at Wal-Mart and go to the post office. After we did that we came back to the castle with our carload of groceries, and got them into the castle and put away. Then we ate dinner, did our printing and journaling, and finally went to bed.
February 10, 2004 - Tuesday - Lyn & Joni to Doctors-2517.8 Total Miles to Date 59.0 Total AR Miles - Day 16
Last Week's Total Miles - 12.5
Today we had an appointment for Joni with Doctor Woloszyn at the outpatient clinic at the hospital. He is an Orthopedic Surgeon, and Dr. Lancaster wanted him to look at her shoulder. Her appointment was at 1:15, so I let both Joni and Sam sleep in a bit. I had my *GAJ BIT, then I
ate my breakfast and looked at maps and wrote out some thoughts about this "forced time out".
When the others got up and ready to go, I shared with them some of my ideas. I also decided with their help to try to get an appointment for myself today to see about my leg and foot pain. I called in and made the appointment - Dr. Lancaster had no openings, so I asked for his daughter, Dr. Peyton. She did have an opening at 2:20 PM. Perfect to fit in with Joni's appointment at 1:15 with Dr. Woloszyn.
Before we left we each had some of the wonderful soup that Sam had made in the crock pot. It was a minestrone type soup. The recipe came from Toni Wyffles - ummmm, it was delicious. Then we headed out. It was a good thing we got to Joni's appointment early - they gave us a whole ream of forms to fill out - well, maybe not quite. Joni wrote some, then I wrote some for her since that kinda hurts her arm. When we finally got them all filled in we were taken right in to an examining room. We didn't have too long to wait there either. We've noticed how little you have to wait in doctor's offices here - what a difference from the usual waiting times in doctors offices in our areas.
Dr. John Woloszyn was a lot of fun, too. Like Dr. Lancaster he had lots of questions about the walk. In checking Joni's arm he came to the conclusion that in being dragged she had burst a bursa sac in her shoulder. Thus the extreme pain. He went out saying he was going to give her a cortisone shot. He told the nurse to prepare her for a shoulder injection. The nurse came in - her name was Jackie Baldredge. She was really nice, too. All the medical personnel we meet seem to be in awe of what we are doing. Amazing. Soon the doctor came back with a nice long needle. Sam and I were ready with the cameras. I think we got some good pictures. Finally we thanked them all and headed out across the street for my appointment. Again there were forms to fill out. It didn't take long, and soon we all trooped into the examining room.
As we sat there waiting we decided we should never go to the doctor alone. It's way more fun with the three of us together. Now we'll just have to call each other up when we have doctor appointments and we'll all come from our various homes - Sweetwater, TN; San Jose, CA; and Paso Robles, CA - to accompany each other. Nice idea, huh? Dr. Shawn Lancaster-Peyton soon came in, and right away said, "What an honor to have you come to see me." On the other hand we thought it an honor to get to meet her after out appointment with her dad yesterday. They are both absolutely delightful people. She checked my leg and foot thoroughly and sent me off for x-rays. The x-rays showed no fracture - she thought it might be a stress fracture in the foot. It did show quite a bit of arthritis which surprised me. She also told me that a stress fracture is not always easy to spot, and that sometimes they have to do another test for which I would need to go to Jonesboro. First, though, I will try a few days of rest, then a day or so of walking with some special stretches, then come back in to see her next week. If it still is bothering me she'll send me to Jonesboro for a bone scan.
I told her what I've thought was causing the problem and she agreed that it was likely what I thought - that is the way we walk facing traffic causes the left leg to be on a slant much of the time. Indeed that could cause problems like this. But she does want to be sure since we are on such an extensive walk. I wish y'all could hear the cute little accents of these folks. We just love to listen to them talk.
From the doctor's office we drove to the Walnut Ridge/Hoxie City Limit signs, prayed and wrote out Special Memorial Stones D & E, and left them by their appropriate signs. Then we went to the post office to drop off some mail. Next to Paragould to pray and leave Special Memorial Stone F. The special stones are for towns were not walking through, but have had some special experience in or are staying in. Then back to our castle to eat, read Earline's latest letter and clippings (we really love Earline's letters - they are so much fun to read - her little comments are just priceless). Then Sam went to do a load of laundry and I washed dishes. I did my journal, talked with Dave, and finally did a few leg stretches and went to bed.
February 11, 2004 - Wednesday - Day at Little Rock -2517.8 Total Miles to Date 59.0 Total AR Miles - Day 17
Last Week's Total Miles - 12.5
Today we got up and ready to head out to Little Rock. As we were getting ready Sam got a call from her mom. She had heard that we were going to be laid up for awhile, so she wanted to know if it would be possible to come and get Sam for a few days. We talked it over and agreed that she might as well go home for awhile. So we agreed to meet in Little Rock. Joni and I decided to stay the night in Little Rock. So we took a little bit longer to get ready since we all had to pack some things.
We disconnected the water to the castle and left the heat on low in case of cold weather. I went over and talked briefly to Jean to let her know what we were doing. Then we headed out. Driving along Hwy 67 we spotted a man on a bicycle loaded with all sorts of stuff, and with a beautiful black dog running with him on a leash. We pulled off up ahead of him a bit and got some snacks together and a can of diet coke, and a couple of dog biscuits. Then I jumped out and walked back to him and offered him the things we had gathered. He took it and thanked us, and drank the coke right away and ate the little chocolates. His dog, Beau, didn't want his treats right then. He was heading to Little Rock, but didn't expect to make it for a couple of days. He said he's been homeless for 4 years and has just roamed all over the U.S. on his bicycle (I think he said this was his 6th or 7th bike. We took his picture and bade him good bye and continued on our way.
As we got closer to Little Rock the rain started and it got heavier the closer we got to Little Rock. In Little Rock we found the Visitors Center and we went in and talked with the volunteers. They were very interesting. While we were there another man came in. The ladies told us he was from California. I went over to sign the guest register and noticed that the man was from Campbell, CA. I knew I had to meet this guy. We went over and talked with him briefly. He has only lived in Campbell for 2 years, and before that he lived in Foster City. Interesting.
From the Visitors Center we went to the State Capitol and toured it. We had a lot of fun there - especially looking at pictures of the Assembly throughout the years. It was interesting seeing the various ones in the different years of the Assembly. We followed a few people through from picture to picture; year to year. It was really funny to see some of the changes in people. Of course we don't change - only other people. When we first began our tour in the capitol building the governor's reception room was closed, but later when we went by it the door was standing open. This is the large room where the governor meets with various people of "importance", or has conferences, or other such things. With the door open and beckoning we walked in and looked around. Then we decided to pray for the capitol city right there in the governor's reception room. We never left a memorial stone anyplace in Little Rock, but we did pray in a most memorable place.
Finally we headed out to find a motel. It took awhile to get onto the freeway, but finally we got onto Hwy. 30 (we had really wanted to get onto 630, but with the rain and the dark and the traffic we just gave up and took the first freeway we could get onto). Down the highway a bit we found a Day's Inn. We got a room there, and let Alyce-Kay know. The room was cold. We put the heat on and we watched some TV, and we ate egg salad sandwiches. The room never did warm up real good. Joni even went to the office to see about a space heater or some way to warm things us a bit, but they weren't any help. Finally Mike and Alyce showed up. We visited a bit, then they took Sam and headed back to Tennessee.
Joni and I watched a movie, then headed for bed.
February 12, 2004 - 9 Months -- Thursday - Day at Little Rock -2517.8 Total Miles to Date 59.0 Total AR Miles - Day 18
Last Week's Total Miles - 12.5
Today Joni and I were both up by about 8:30, and I did my *GAJ BIT (Joni always does hers in the evening). We watched a bit of news on the TV, then packed up and loaded the car, and left by about 9:30. Joni took in the comment card that we had filled out when she took in the keys. She mentioned to the manager how cold the room had been and a couple of other problems we had. Instead of an apology he only said that all motels were that way. Hmmm. Our two most recent motel experiences were not the best - one was too hot, and one too cold. Will the next one be just right? It's kinda sad when we really look forward to sleeping in a nice motel room and we end up looking forward to getting back to our castle with its many problems. Well, maybe that's not too sad. Maybe it's good. We really do appreciate what GOD has provided for us after these experiences.
We drove into the city (Little Rock) via the surface streets looking for a place to eat breakfast. We settled on McD's. Then we headed into downtown Little Rock to find the Old State House. It took us a bit, but we enjoyed some of our wanderings through some of the residential areas of the city. It's a city in the hills with some table rock, and beautiful old homes of brick. We were also looking for a Bank of America. The first BofA we found wasn't connected with the California banks (?????) so we couldn't get cash from them, but they told us where a BofA was where we could get cash. So off we went to find that BofA and get some cash. It worked.
Next we went to the Old State House. We had to plunk 50 cents into a parking meter to get an hours worth of parking while we toured the Old State House. It really was a pretty place - they've done a nice job of renovating the building. It has one room dedicated to Bill Clinton - with his saxophone, sunglasses, tennis shoes, and a few other items. We took pictures of each other behind his desk. One room had a lot of the dresses worn by first ladies of Arkansas. These were very nice. One section upstairs was all about "John Barleycorn must die". This was the prohibition period. Did you know that the national prohibition began in Little Rock, Arkansas? It spread through the state by 1915. and in 1917 a law was passed that said no liquor could come into the state. Two years later prohibition had been passed by the U.S. legislature making all of the U.S.A. dry. Today many of Arkansas' counties are still dry, but not all of them.
The old senate room was also upstairs. When we finished up at the Old State House, we plunked some more coins into our parking meter and went next door to the Peabody Hotel. Now I've heard about the ducks and the Peabody Hotel, but I've never seen this, so it was a real delight when we went in and saw the fountain and pool with the ducks swimming around. Two men came up while we were taking pictures and asked if we had seen the ceremony of bringing the ducks to the pond or returning them to the upstairs. They said it was quite a show they put on as they do this. The ducks are brought down each morning at 11 AM in the elevator with great ceremony, then returned upstairs via the elevator again and with great ceremony. These men were at the hotel for some convention. One of the men, when he found out we were from California, wanted to know what part of California we came from. He had lived in San Jose for years, so he knew the area well. He, himself, was originally from Louisiana, and has lived in Arkansas now for about 5 years, I think he said. We gave them our card and took their pictures and they gave us a donation.
We rode the glass elevators up to the very top, got out and took lots of pictures - views of the city, pictures of us in the big mirrors, and even the carpet with its pretty design. Back down the elevator to the lobby and out to take pictures of the outside. Then we rescued our car from the parking meter and set about to find the governor's mansion. We managed that pretty well, though it was quite aways out. We drove all the way around it taking pictures from 2 or 3 sides. On two sides of the mansion one is in a very poor part of town. On the other two sides we found ourselves surrounded by beautiful homes. It's like the governor's mansion is right in the middle holding the rich and the poor together. Interesting.
From there we headed back to Walnut Ridge via Hwy 67 again. We stopped in Cabot at McD's for a salad (Lyn) and a fish sandwich (Joni). I drove to the town of Tucker, then Joni drove the rest of the way. She said she felt really comfortable using her arm now - it was just so much better after the cortisone shot. We got back to our castle, unloaded things and put them away. Then we ate a bit, did our journals, and got to bed. It was a fun day. We kept wondering how Sam and Waliluke were doing. Hopefully all is going well for them.
February 13, 2004 - Friday - R & R Day -2517.8 Total Miles to Date 59.0 Total AR Miles - Day 19
Last Week's Total Miles - 12.5
Today we slept in (well, one of us did), then after breakfast we got ready and headed out for Pocahontas and Hardy. Our first stop was at Wal-Mart to get a new pair of pants for Joni. We did some looking around, and I got some Tylenol to supplement the Celebrex that Dr. Peyton gave me. She said I could use Tylenol with it but not Aleve or Motrin. I also got a couple of disposable heat wraps. We'll see how all this works.
From Wal-Mart we went to the Post Office to get our mail - we had a fun package from Dellie. Of course, we had to open it right away. Then we went up the hill to see what the beautiful church was. It was St. Paul's Catholic Church. We took pictures of the outside, then headed back downtown to the square to look around. The big building in the center of the square was originally the old Randolph County Court House. It now serves as the Chamber of Commerce offices and Visitors Center. When we went in the man in charge was talking with another gentleman. Very quickly he offered us help, and asked us to sign the guest book. We were dressed in our flag shirts and they were curious. So we explained what we were doing. I went out to the car to get some cards while Joni continued talking with them. The man in charge is Wayne Gearhart, the Executive Director of the C of C.
When I came back in Wayne G. was showing Joni some pictures of a Pocahontas statue that stands in England near where she grew up. Pocahontas actually died in England. Joni knew this and remembered seeing this statue frequently when she was growing up. Wayne G. was a delightful man. He has asked us to please notify him as soon as we know what day we'll be walking into Pocahontas so he can contact the newspaper. His daughter was working in the next room and he called her over to meet us. Her name is Malinda Gearhart. The other gentleman there is Steve DeClerc (I think). We got a picture of all three of them. They were able to put together several papers and booklets for us about the area. They were really a delightful group, and so kind. Malinda gave us each her daddy's card to make sure we called them when we'll be walking through.
Malinda advised us to return to St. Paul's Catholic Church to look inside. She told us it was really beautiful. So when we left the town square that's what we did. She was right it was quite beautiful inside. We took more pictures. Then finally we headed on west to Hardy. This was our main goal for the day. We parked in the old downtown area and walked the boardwalk to check out the shops. It turned out to not be what we were expecting. We were hoping for shops with a lot of local stuff, but it was mostly antique shops. While we both enjoy looking at antiques, that was not what we wanted at this time. After looking through several shops we headed back to our castle. As we went through Imboden we saw a RV sales place and pulled in to see if they sold RV supplies. We wanted to get a hose insulator so that we can leave our hose connected all night - even in freezing weather. The man didn't carry that sort of thing, but he suggested Dickson's hardware store. He told us where it was and we went back the two miles to find it. The clerk there knew exactly what I needed, and I got two packages of 12' each - our hose is a 25' one.
Then we continued back to the castle. I went out to connect our water and put on the insulation, but the hose was still frozen from last night. I disconnected it and took it over to the bath house where Joni had gone to take a shower. I shoved the hose under the shower door to her and she heated it up and ran hot water through it to get all the ice out. That worked great. Then we wrapped it and hooked it up, but our hose is longer than 25' or else the insulators aren't really as long as they say. We brought out towels and a space blanket and wrapped the rest of the hose in that. Tomorrow we'll see if we can find some more insulators locally. We'll see how all this works tonight.
We read through some of the material that we had picked up, checked out the new training collar that we got for Cassie (the package was on our step stool at the front door when we got back), and I did my journal, then we went to bed. We had a fun day, though we really are anxious to be back on the road with this Journey. Tomorrow we'll do some walking around here at Walnut Ridge to test my foot, then hopefully we'll be able to resume walking on Tuesday after seeing the doctor again on Monday.
February 14, 2004 - Saturday - R & R Day -2517.8 Total Miles to Date 59.0 Total AR Miles - Day 20
Last Week's Total Miles - 12.5
Today I got up a bit before 6 AM, had my *GAJ BIT and ate my breakfast. When Joni got up we got ourselves ready to go walk a bit. First we had sharing and prayer time, then we went to a local hardware store (Barton's) and picked up some more insulators for our hose. They only had one package and we figured that would do it. We went back and put it on, but still needed some more. We've got a longer hose than we thought we did. We decided to wait until after our walk before going to look for more insulators.
We drove up Hwy 67 to the first street on the left, then out that to a dirt road where we parked the car in a church yard. The church was quite old and was originally a school. It was called Clear Lake Free Will Baptist Church. The sign looked fairly new. We peeked in through the windows and could see pews set up - some with song books or Bibles. A table was set up in back with decorations and candles on it. They must have church here, but it does look like it could use some work. There are three Free Will Baptist Churches within about a 5 mile radius of our campground. We have decided to attend one just north of us right on Hwy 67 tomorrow.
From the church we started out walking with Cassie in her new training collar. Joni had me carry the zapper while she told Cassie to heel, sit stay, come. That was all we worked on today, but Cassie did very well. She is a quick learner. I had to teach Joni to use one word commands as much as possible - she was a fair learner and I didn't have to zap her too much either. HO HO HO. We walked up and down this dirt road for an hour or two. As we passed one house a big dog came out with tail wagging. He was very sweet, but we didn't want him to follow us. He really wanted to get amorous with Cassie, but Cass wasn't the least bit interested - in fact she was a bit afraid of him. I had Joni walk on while I told the big guy to sit - he did, and I told him to stay. He did that pretty well too. I stayed with him until Joni and Cassie were pretty far down the street, then I left "Big Guy" there and followed them. Big Guy lost interest and went back to his own yard.
We went back at the car, then we went back to the castle. After a doing a couple of things there we went on into Walnut Ridge to the Wal-Mart to see if they had insulators - they did, so we got one more package. Each package has 4 - 3 foot sections. We looked around for a couple of other things as well. And we noticed a new John Grisham book out, so stopped to look at that. We also went over to the big bin of DVD's to see if there were any that sounded interesting -- the ones in the bin are usually pretty cheap if you don't mind digging around in there to find something. I usually don't want to be bothered, but this time we spent quite a bit of time searching just for fun. We didn't buy any, but it gave us some ideas and we stopped at the video store to get a couple of DVD's. Then we went back and put the insulators on the hose so that it is now completely insulated. Last night didn't get that cold so we don't know just how well it works yet. It feels plenty cold today, but the temperature didn't look that bad - the wind chill on the other hand seemed much colder.
Joni decide to do the laundry today, so we both changed clothes and went through our things to see if we had any other clothes to wash. I took care of some of the accounting for the insulators and other things I bought for GAJ. Then Joni heated up a couple of TV dinners for our evening meal. Mine was good - Joni had the same thing, but didn't enjoy it that much. While she went over to continue the laundry, I did dishes and cleaned up. Then I worked on my journal. Later we watched a movie, then we headed for bed.
February 15, 2004 - Sunday - Church Day -2517.8 Total Miles to Date 59.0 Total AR Miles - Day 21
Last Week's Total Miles - 12.5
Today I slept a little later - almost 7 AM. Then I got up and got ready for church and had my *GAJ BIT. We had breakfast and then headed out for the church we had chosen - the Eldora Free Will Baptist Church between Walnut Ridge and Pocahontas. We arrived just before it started - the sign said 11 AM, but they actually started at 10:45 AM. Oh, well, we tried.
It was a good service with lots of good music. It was real toe tapping music and a very informal service. The pastor is Jarel Dean. He also sings very well - he and his brother, Jerry, both sing in a quartet with another man and this man's wife. Afterwards we met a few people and one couple invited us to go with them to lunch. They were Dewrell and Oneta Thompson. Her dad joined us for lunch also - Ralph Jarrett. Ralph is 84 years old (I think that's right) and has lived in this area all his life. They took us to a nice little restaurant in Pocahontas. It was a great time of visiting and eating.
We went back to the castle and worked on letters and such. We also unclogged our plumbing (oh, the joys of not having a man around when you need them), and dumped our holding tank, paid the "rent" for another week at 2-J's RV Park, and sorted out papers, etc. Finally we decided to go back to the church for their evening service to get in on some more of that toe tapping music. We talked to quite a few people when we arrived. We told them we had enjoyed the music so much that we had to come back for more. All through the music part of the service they kept referring to us California girls.
Then after lots of good music, the pastor called on us to share a bit about our Journey. The pastor preached a powerful sermon on being ready for that "meeting in the air". Then afterwards a lot of people came and talked to us and hugged us and promised to pray for us as we journeyed on. Several people gave us prayer requests to take with us. Finally we said good bye and headed back to the castle. What a great day. Thank You, LORD, for a day that will have lots of great memories.
Back at the castle we decided to watch a DVD we had rented. It was called Simon Birch, and it was a real teary one. It was cute and funny, but with a very sad ending. Then it was time for bed. Tomorrow we see Dr. Peyton about my foot, then we'll know if we start walking on Tuesday or not. I really think we will. I can hardly wait to be back on the road!
February 16, 2004 - Monday - Doctor Day -2517.8 Total Miles to Date 59.0 Total AR Miles - Day 22
Week Before Last Week's Total Miles - 12.5
Today I got up and ready to go to see Dr. Peyton. Joni and I headed over to the clinic at about 9:25 and got there a bit early. We sat in the waiting room and watched a health show on TV until they called my name. It wasn't long until she came in all smiles. What a neat gal. We talked a bit, then she asked about the foot. I told her how I had awakened once in the night and stretched. When I did this my foot sort of popped and then there was a burning sensation along with the prick of pain. As soon as I said a burning sensation she brightened up. She had just been ready to get me in for a bone scan, but now her diagnosis began to change. Now she thinks I may have Morton's Neuroma. This is when nerves between the bones become compressed, inflamed, and painful. Dr. Peyton says that Dr. Woloszn will probably give me a cortisone injection. Joni is really enjoying that idea since Sam and I made such a big deal of Joni getting her injection.
After the doctor we went to Wal-Mart, and I got my prescription filled (Dr. Peyton wrote me a new prescription for one of mine that expired.) We did some other shopping, then went home to the castle for a bit before running out again to return our DVD's. We checked to see if Moore's delivered propane. They don't, so I asked if anyone did, and they told me that FerralGas does. He told me how to get there, and off we went. It turns out they don't normally do it for RV's, but they'll be making deliveries out our way on Wednesday, so if we can be sure to be here they'll do it. That will be such a big help to us. It takes a lot to move the RV with everything set up for staying in a place for awhile.
We went to Dollar General and Family Dollar to see about TV trays (wood ones) to put the printer on when we use it. Much too expensive, so we started looking at other ideas. Stay tuned to see what we settle on. We went to the post office to mail some letters. A couple needed to be weighed - I forgot it was President's Day. Oh, well, tomorrow. We stopped to eat at KFC/TacoBell. Then home to the castle.
I called Russ to wish him a Happy Birthday, and we talked for a long time. That was good. I enjoy talking with him. Later I called Carol and got Don. Carol was out, so I said I would call again this evening, which I did. We had a real good talk - so neat to talk to her! I also talked with Gail in the afternoon for quite awhile. Joni fixed dinner and we ate before I talked with Carol. Joni also talked with Carol for a bit. I wrote a letter to Linda Davis in response to an e-mail from her about the possibility of her meeting us at some point.
Finally I called Dave, then headed for bed
February 17, 2004 - Tuesday - Doctor Day -2517.8 Total Miles to Date 59.0 Total AR Miles - Day 23
Week Before Last Week's Total Miles - 12.5
Today Joni and I got up kinda lazy like. I spent quite a bit of the morning after my *GAJ BIT looking up some Scriptures that I needed for a project. Then Joni and I went out to the post office and to Wal-Mart, and then sat at McD's with fries and coke until time to go for my doctor appointment.
At the clinic I was given a "sheaf" of papers to fill out, then I was called into the examining room. There Dr. Woloszyn came in and worked with my foot. He did not think it was Morton's Neuroma, but was more likely an old stress fracture, if that. He did give me a cortisone injection in the foot - he actually divided it between two bone spaces. He strongly advised me to get Dr. Scholl's Gel Insoles for my shoes, but felt that a bone scan would not be necessary or advisable. While we were there he asked Joni how her shoulder was doing, and she told him that it was doing fine, but that the other one was hurting a lot. He asked if she wanted a cortisone injection in that shoulder, and he ended up doing that for her. We took more pictures and then headed out for Wal-Mart to get the Gel Insoles. Then back to the castle.
I called Sam and told her what was up, and that it would be good for her to return tomorrow so we could begin walking again on Thursday. She said she would have her mom call me when she returned. There was something about the way she said it that put a bit of a dark cloud over me. Later when Alyce-Kay called I sort of found out why. A-K would not be able to bring Sam back until Sunday or Monday. I'm really having a hard time with that, and so is Joni. Well, we'll have to pray about it and decide what we are going to do. GOD, this is Your Journey - give us wisdom.
I talked with Dave just a bit while he was in between seeing clients - that was before Alyce-Kay called. Anyway, Dave just wanted to know what the doctor had to say. I'll try to talk with him again later.
I spent the afternoon with my feet up working on the computer. Joni and I were SO excited about getting back to walking on Thursday, and now this disappointment. Joni warmed up the soup, and we ate dinner, then headed for bed.
February 18, 2004 - Wednesday - R. & R. Day -2517.8 Total Miles to Date 59.0 Total AR Miles - Day 24
Week Before Last Week's Total Miles - 12.5
Today we got up and got busy with cleaning and laundry and some map and paper work. It was a busy morning, but we got much done. Joni did most of the physical work while I was doing more of the paper work. Alyce-Kay called to tell us that Sam was okay with us going ahead and start walking and A-K would bring Sam on Monday. That was disappointing since Sam hadn't missed any, but Joni and I have been on pins and needles waiting to get moving, so we decided to go ahead.
Then we decided we needed to get away for awhile and got ready to go to Pocahontas to get our mail. As we talked about going to Pocahontas we began talking about our mail that was already at New Madrid. Looking at the map we decided to go on into New Madrid, MO. It was a beautiful drive along the route we'll be walking. On the way Sam called to say she really needed to be home a few more days for R. & R. and could we possibly wait to walk until she got back. I told her we'd talk about it and pray about it and let her know. We did talk and pray about it and agreed we would wait for Sam's return. The ups and downs of going and not going are what's hard.
Joni and I decided we also couldn't just sit around in the castle waiting, so we would look at our maps and come up with a good sightseeing trip. We called Sam to let her know it was okay for her to stay a bit longer, and we would wait.
It took us a bit over 2 hours to get to New Madrid, then we found the post office, picked up our mail and looked for a place to eat. We found a little café across from the city offices. Joni ordered catfish, while I ordered fried chicken and deep fried okra. When our orders came we looked at them and thought, "Look at all that deep fried food." Oh, my, it was quite - fried looking. Perhaps a bit much. After we ate we headed back to Walnut Ridge via Hwy 55 and 412 - we had come via Hwy 62 all the way.
Going back on 55 we stopped near Hayti to see the KOA where we'll probably camp next. We talked to the owner and left her our card, and told her we'd probably arrive the first week of March.
Then we got onto Hwy 412 and stayed on it right back into Arkansas and on to Walnut Ridge. That was a pretty good route, and we ended up having done a complete circle. It got dark soon after we got onto Hwy 412 so we didn't see as much as we'd like, but that's okay. We'll probably see it when we drive the castle over to the KOA.
Back at the castle finally we got into bed, prayed, looked at maps and talked about where we might go on our little holiday before heading to sleep. It was a day of mixed feelings, but we did accomplish a lot. We had quite a bit of mail to pick up at both post offices. And we decided to go to Saint Louis after we talked with Dave a bit. We've never been there, and we can see the Arch and other things.
February 19, 2004 - Thursday - Saint Louis Travel Day -2517.8 Total Miles to Date 59.0 Total AR Miles - Day 25
Week Before Last Week's Total Miles - 12.5
Today we got up and started getting ready to go to Saint Louis. Now that we had decided to do that we were really quite excited about it. We planned our route up Hwy 67 to 55 and on into St. Louis - or nearby for accommodations.
I had my *GAJ BIT before Joni got up, and then I shared with her. - it was from Joshua 14 about Caleb at 85 years being as strong as he was at 40, and going to battle against the people of Hebron to get the land he had been promised. I compared it to GOD calling two "old" women and one young girl to walk across America - the "old" women still as fit in their 60's as they were at 40. We laughed, but then thought seriously about using that line in our book. It might be a cute way to start it out.
After packing and turning off the water, leaving the heat on low, writing a check for another week at 2-J RV Park, and taking it over to Jewel and Jean and letting them know we would be gone for a few days, we finally took off just a bit after 10 AM.
The drive was beautiful through the Mark Twain Forest much of the way. I drove the first part and Joni drove the last part. While she drove I looked through the AAA book for possibilities of motels to stay in. I checked off several good possibilities - some on the MO side of St. Louis, and others on the Illinois side. We decide to try first the IL side and pick up an extra state that way.
The first one on our list we decided against when I noticed they had a $75 deposit for pets, and only get $50 of it back. We ended up at Super 8 in Fairfield, IL - a good rate and no deposit for the furry person.
On the way I had called Sam and told her voice mail what we would be doing and told her to have a good time for the rest of her stay. She called back during a time we were out of service and left a message.
After checking in and getting settled Joni and I headed out to find some dinner. We ended up at Carlos O'Kelly's Mexican Restaurant. Excellent food, but way too much. We both stuffed ourselves to the point that we felt sick much of the evening. Ugh!!! Back at the motel we worked on journals and made phone calls , talked about our plans for tomorrow, prayed and went to bed.
February 20, 2004 - Friday - Saint Louis Arch Day -2517.8 Total Miles to Date 59.0 Total AR Miles - Day 26
Week Before Last Week's Total Miles - 12.5
Today we were up and about fairly early and ready to leave by 9 AM. We had breakfast at the motel before we left, then we drove on into St. Louis to the Riverfront parking at the Gateway Arch. We were amazed at the size of the Arch and how awesome it looked. We got in to the ticket area and bought our tickets for the tram and the movie. Then we went into the tram area where we watched the pre-video that tells a bit about the Arch. Then they had us enter the tram. This in itself was an interesting experience - the door is only four feet high, so you bend over to get into this tiny tram car that has 5 seats. There are several cars to a tram. It takes 4 ½ minutes to ascend to the top of the Arch, and 3 minutes to descend.
At the top we unfold ourselves and step out into the top of the Arch. There are tiny windows on both sides - to the east we look our over the Mississippi River and to the west we look out over the city of St. Louis. We took quite a few pictures and got another couple to take pictures of the two of us up at the top. They were Harold and Doris from MN. While we were taking pictures the Arch suddenly began to sway. It was then we discovered that it sways in the wind. What fun. Well, Joni wasn't sure it was such fun, but I loved it.
Going down we were in the same car with the gentleman who took our pictures. He asked us more about our Journey (we had told him some when he took our picture). Another couple was in the car with us and asked about it too. They remembered seeing us at the motel this morning when we were eating breakfast. Then we recognized them too. As we got out at the bottom, the first couple now asked if they could take our pictures with their camera - they were quite excited about what we were doing.
Next we watched the movie - The Great American West - which was a great history of the westward movement of America. It included a lot of Lewis and Clark adventures, wagon trains, the railroad and other frontier movements. It was on the giant screen and was really incredible.
Following the movie we walked through the Museum of Westward Expansion. This was also an incredible piece of work - one of the best museums I think I've ever seen. I liked their layout, and the many quotes they had around from both Lewis' and Clark's journals. They had several life size forms that talked and told us stories as we walked into their area.
We finished off our Arch time in the Museum Gift Shop. There we looked at stuff, but it was all quite expensive, so Joni bought only postcards and I bought nothing. Then we headed out to take more pictures of the Arch from outside, and to go back to the van to take Cassie out for awhile. She appreciated that. Then she went back into the van while we headed out to find something to eat. We ended up at Skeeters on the Landing where I had a pepper burger - delicious. Joni had some sort of steak sandwich which she said was also very good. We continued on then back to Washington Ave. and walked up it to the Visitor's Center.
Now at the Visitor's Center we were given several brochures and ideas of what to see and do. Joan Friedla encouraged us to walk across the Eads Bridge that spans the Mississippi River here. We decided to do that tomorrow. We bought a few things here at the Visitor's Center - prices were very reasonable. I bought a bag here for $8 that I've seen similar ones at other places for $18 - big difference. Joan Friedla was very helpful to us as we sought her input at the St. Louis Visitor's Center. We gave her our card, got her card and took her picture.
Our next stop was the Old Courthouse. This is a beautiful old building that has been nicely restored. The winding stairway that leads up into the rotunda has no middle vertical support. It was installed and embedded in the walls of the courthouse in 1854, and is made of cast iron. It's amazing.
From there we continued to the Old Cathedral - Basilica of St. Louis - founded in 1770. This was a nice, but very simple cathedral. After looking around and taking pictures, Joni and I knelt in a pew and prayed for St. Louis. Three young boys (teens) were cleaning inside the cathedral, and we asked one of them to take a picture of us. He did.
Now it was time to go back to the van and head back to our motel. The drive to Fairview Heights, IL, where we are staying. We turned the other way from our motel when we got there in hopes of finding a grocery store. We've come to the conclusion that the locals don't buy groceries. We finally found a small market, and I bought drinking water, but they had no bananas today. They probably have no bananas any day. The lady there was able to tell me where to find a full grocery store so tomorrow we'll get some bananas.
Back at the motel I called Sam and she helped me download our pictures. Then I did my journal. We watched some TV and then went to bed.
February 21, 2004 - Saturday - Second Saint Louis Arch Day -2517.8 Total Miles to Date 59.0 Total AR Miles - Day 27
Week Before Last Week's Total Miles - 12.5
Today we got up and got ready to go back into St. Louis. We had breakfast at the motel, then before we left Joni called England to talk with John. We headed out at about 9:45, and got into St. Louis about 15 minutes later. Traffic was heavy as we got into the city area. We drove down to the Riverfront garage and parked, then headed into the Arch lobby to see about tickets for later in the day. We had heard about a parade in St. Louis today at 11 AM, so we went looking for it. We also heard it was the Mardi Gras parade, so we were a little excited about our first Mardi Gras. Well we followed the crowd and had no trouble finding the parade. On the way we saw some people in costumes, some with lots of bead necklaces.
We picked our spot and then we found out about the beads - as the parade participants pass along the street they toss bead necklaces out to the crowd. It didn't take us long to get into this. We were waving our arms like everyone else, calling and cheering and grabbing these bead necklaces as quickly as we could. We got tired of standing in the same place, so soon we began walking along following the parade route and stopping now and then to catch bead necklaces. At the end we had collected about 90 between us. We found out a bit later that at some Mardi Gras' the meaning of the beads is a little bit risque, but the people here have a little more respect or whatever. Anyway, everyone was having pretty clean fun as far as we could tell.
After the parade we meandered slowly back toward the Arch. At one point we smelled something quite delicious smelling. Upon investigation we discovered a hot dog stand set up for the Mardi Gras attendees. We decided on a bratwurst with chips -- very good. Then we went back to the van via the Old Courthouse. At the van Joni got Cassie out for a bit. Then we went back to the Arch, and bought our tickets for the tram and the documentary movie on the building of the Arch. The movie was first and was very informative, and the seats were very comfortable after all our standing, jumping and walking. We thought our injuries were pretty well healed, but Joni's shoulders were sore from reaching out and up to catch beads, while my leg and foot were sore from standing and jumping. The building of the Arch began in 1963 and was completed on October 28, 1968. It was really quite a story. So glad we saw it.
Finally it was our time to go up in the Arch. It was a fun ride and we enjoyed the top once again. We were happy to see things from the top in the sunlight this time. We took more pictures, had some guys take our pictures and finally rode back down. Joni and I had to take separate capsules down and had interesting conversations with the ones we were each sharing capsules with. We headed right out to get back to the motel. On the way we stopped at the grocery store to get bananas and drinking water. Then we went to Boston Market to eat dinner - the first Boston Market we've been to, or seen, in months.
Finally back to the motel. There I took a nice soak in the tub and a shower. It's so nice to have a good tub and shower. Then we watched a Lawrence Welk rerun, and a Mary Higgens Clark mystery movie. Finally I called Dave, then we headed to bed. It was really a fun day of doing things we never dreamed we would do.
February 22, 2004 - Sunday - Church Day -2517.8 Total Miles to Date 59.0 Total AR Miles - Day 28
Week Before Last Week's Total Miles - 12.5
Today I woke up real early, then couldn't get back to sleep for awhile. When I finally went to sleep again I slept until almost 7 AM! Up and at 'em - I jumped out of bed and got myself ready for the day, then sat and had my *GAJ BIT while Joni got up and ready. We went down to breakfast, then loaded the van and checked out. We then headed back to St. Louis to the parking garage at the Arch. We had discovered on their receipt that they had put in an extra digit making our parking fee $120 more than it should be. We knew we had given them a $10 bill and had received back the correct change. Anyway we figured it might be a problem on their bookkeeping so we decided to take it in and let them know what happened since it really wasn't more than a quarter of a mile out of our way.
When we got there I dropped Joni off and drove around the block -- or blocks. Well it turned out I got in the wrong lane on my return route and was stuck going across the bridge over the Mississippi. I got off at the first exit in Illinois and got back onto the freeway we had come in on, and back over to pick up Joni. This all took about 15 or 20 minutes instead 5 or 10. When Joni got in she asked what on earth had happened to me, and I burst out laughing. What I had done struck me as very funny and I couldn't stop laughing. Finally I was able to tell her what I did, and she laughed with me. I drove her around a bit of what I had done, but managed to turn at an earlier spot this time. The part I took her on was a brick road that was extremely uneven - 5 mph is about as fast as you want to go for the sake of the car and passengers.
By now we were cutting ourselves short on time for finding a church - it would have to be an 11 o'clock service. We drove south on Interstate 55, and watched for steeples - every church around here has a steeple. We saw several and took off on a side street heading for one. Timing wasn't right, but we knew there would be more churches so we just stayed on the side street. Soon Joni spotted one to our left and we aimed for it. This was on the outskirts of St. Louis. As we drove up and parked we noticed a man going in, so hoped the service started at 11. We went in and picked up a bulletin and another paper that told us it did start at 11 - it was now two minutes to 11. Nobody was in the foyer - rather all 16 people were already inside. The pastor was standing just inside and greeted us (his name was John Kuykendall), then we sat down in the second row. Soon the pastor's wife came over and greeted us also, and then it was time for the service to start. We were at Victory Independent Baptist Church of St. Louis.
A few hymns were sung, announcements made, and we were introduced but not given a chance to share. His message was from the Word, very direct - no beating around the bush - a real fire and brimstone type of preaching. They're preparing for revival services in April, and are planning a lot of door to door work in preparation for it, as well as many evenings of prayer. We'll add them to our prayer list. A few people greeted us afterward (of course there were only a few there), but no one seemed to want to know anything about what we were doing or why we were there. It was a rather interesting experience, but we did feel like GOD led us there for whatever reason. I almost got the idea that since we were just passing through and weren't prospective members there wasn't much point in paying too much attention to us. Ah, well.
We continued our journey back to Walnut Ridge, AR. The drive was basically uneventful with stops for gas, restrooms and drinks. Also I had a couple of phone calls that I pulled off for - one from Ling Tong, and the other from Dorothy Black. It was good to talk with each of them. In Pocahontas we stopped at KFC for our dinner, then back to the castle.
After unloading the van I called Dave and talked with him before he headed to church. Then we unpacked things, and Georgia called to see how we were doing. She had been on a cruise with her daughter and we hadn't talked with her for two weeks, so I had to fill her in on our injuries and delays. She had a wonderful cruise - her first. I'm so glad it was a great experience for her. Finally we worked on journals and then headed to bed, had evening prayers and read for a bit. It's good to be back at the castle, though it was truly a magnificent few days away.
February 23, 2004 - Monday - Rest Day -2517.8 Total Miles to Date 59.0 Total AR Miles - Day 29
Two Weeks Before Last Week's Total Miles - 12.5
Today I got up at 5:30 and had my *GAJ BIT, ate breakfast and studied my ballot so I could vote and send in my CA absentee ballot for the CA primary. I sure didn't want to miss voting. I'm so glad I had signed up as a permanent absentee voter.
Joni got up and as soon as I finished my voting I went out to organize and clean the back of the van, "our trunk area". That done I went to work on writing some letters while Joni started the laundry. In between putting laundry in and taking it out Joni continued working on catching up her journal - she had gotten quite a ways behind, though she had written a few notes most nights to help her out.
At about 1 PM we went to Wal-Mart, the post office, Hays Grocery, and got gas in the van. Then we stopped at McDonald's for hot fudge sundaes - our first in a long time, but with the temperature soaring to 88 today it seemed like a good thing to do. Joni had a caramel sundae. We asked for the usual extra fudge and caramel and they gave us a very nice amount of extra!
Back at the castle we got things put away, and continued our letter and journal writing. Then I ironed the collars and cuffs to our red team sweaters and buttoned them back on. Sam called to let us know that she and her mom were almost to Memphis and would stop there for dinner before coming on back to the castle. I think we're about two hours from Memphis (by car - a bit further by foot).
I sat and read for a bit, and popped some popcorn for my dinner. I did my journal and waited for Sam and Alyce-Kay to come - and Waliluke! We're not sure if Cassie will be happy or sad to see Waliluke again. It will mean she has to liven up a bit - she's been very lazy while Walls has been gone.
After they arrived we visited awhile, then went to bed.
February 24, 2004 - Tuesday - 15.2 + 2517.8 = 2533.0 Total Miles to Date 74.2 Total AR Miles - Day 30
Total Miles for Week - 15.2
Today we got up and ready to leave by a bit after 9 AM. It was our first day of walking since February 7. We drove to Pocahontas to get our mail first - my new driver's license finally arrived! Plus a few other letters. Then we drove on to Ash Flat where we stopped for restrooms, then to our start point just east of Salem. We walked at a very steady pace throughout the day. Alyce-Kay drove for us.
A-K met us every 2 miles the first couple of times, then after that she stretched it to about 4 - that's a good amount. Before we got to her on the second time, a man stopped at a driveway ahead of us, got out and walked back to meet us. He asked if we were the ones walking across America, and told us that someone had told him we'd be coming this way in a few days. Wow. His name is Dave, and he borrowed my cell phone to call George at his paper. A few minutes later George came and interviewed us. He was really nice, and was fun to talk with. Joni answered a lot of his questions today - really good answers. I enjoyed listening to her. She could really become a professional speaker.
Other than the newspaper the day was pretty uneventful. We just walked at a steady pace, stopped briefly at the van for snacks and water throughout the day, and finished at a bit over 15 miles.
Alyce drove on back to the castle - a long day for her of just sitting around waiting and helping us so much in this way. We really do appreciate it. It was so good for Joni to be able to walk with us today - all day. Back at the castle Alyce served us a delicious chili and a salad and muffins for dinner. Then we walked the dogs, did what we needed to do and headed for bed.
*GAJ BIT = Great American Journey Bible Inspiration Time
February 25, 2004 - Wednesday - 12.5 + 2533.0 = 2545.5 Total Miles to Date 86.7 Total AR Miles - Day 31
Total Miles for Week - 27.7
Today we all got up and ready to head out walking. We all ate breakfast and got stuff loaded up. Sam wasn't feeling real well, so we asked her if she needed to take today off. She assured us she would rather be walking, so we got in the van and were ready to take off when I remembered my shoes were in the castle still. I ran back in and got them, and when I came out Sam and Alyce-Kay had decided to follow us in the rental car in case Sam couldn't do the day. Then a bit down the road my phone rang and it was Alyce asking us to pull off when we could. They had talked it over and decided that Sam really needed to go home to Tennessee for a good long rest. It meant we would continue the walk without her - at least for awhile. It was a hard decision for her to make, I know. There were tears as we went back to the castle to get her things ready. She is leaving most of her things here, so that's a good sign she'll be back sometime. We really want her back.
With hugs and tears we said good-bye to her and Waliluke. As they got in the rental car and backed it up to leave, Waliluke looked frantically out the window at us wondering why they were going off without us. He even barked at us to get in the car. It was very sad. After they left Joni and Cassie and I got in the van and drove to our starting point just outside of Ash Flat. It was 12:45 when we started. It was really hard starting out without Sam. At first I didn't feel like waving to people, but soon I told myself I had to wave and smile. I forced myself to do just that at first, but found that I felt better for it, so it got easier to keep up. Over all it was a very sad day for us, though.
The route took us through both Highland and Hardy today. Joni missed the Highland sign, so we agreed to pray for both towns when we reached Hardy, and take the Highland Memorial Stone back later. We found a stone near the Hardy sign and wrote on it and placed it there by the sign. We continued on through Hardy with me walking alone and Joni driving ahead, parking and walking back to meet me with Cassie.
We took pictures of a few things - scenery, signs and our Memorial Stone. When the sun was getting low in the sky we decided to quit. We had talked about that earlier in the day, and agreed that night walking was not an option without a partner.
We drove back to the castle via Pocahontas and decided to stop at Wal-Mart to get some inexpensive "dickies" - not sure if that is what they are still called or not, but it is collars with just a bit of shirt material to better hold them in place. This is to wear under our team shirts and others. We couldn't find them at first so we asked a clerk. She thought they were all gone, but looked around some for us. She wanted to know where Joni was from - originally. Joni told her from England and that she had lived in San Jose, CA for 40 years. She used to live in Los Gatos, California. We talked quite a bit, then Joni gave her our card and told her what we were doing.
We continued on to get the rest of our purchases, then went to check out. As we were putting stuff on the check-out counter, the clerk came up and said she had found some of the "dickies". We put our things back in a cart and followed her to the back. As we went she kept stopping to introduce us to other clerks. Then she showed us the "dickies" and they were on sale for $1.00 each. We ended up getting several of them each. After we checked out and gone to the car, Joni remembered she had wanted to get some cash back. So we went in again and decided to go find our helpful clerk to get her picture. When we found her she was being greeted by a man who she introduced to us as the former mayor of Pocaontas. He had been mayor for 12 years. We took pictures of both of them, and talked and then headed out.
At last we got back to the castle, took stuff inside, ate some of the delicious stew Alyce-Kay had started in the crock pot for us this morning, got stuff ready for tomorrow and headed for bed very tired ourselves.
*GAJ BIT = Great American Journey Bible Inspiration Time
February 26, 2004 - Thursday - 15.1 + 2545.5 = 2560.6 Total Miles to Date 101.8 Total AR Miles - Day 32
Total Miles for Week - 42.8.
Today we got away fairly early to go to Pocahontas for breakfast at McDonald's to celebrate my 62nd birthday. Then to Ash Flat to the Wal-Mart to use restrooms. Back to Hardy and beyond to where we had stopped yesterday. We got our stuff on (braces, shoes, etc.) and then I headed out walking while Joni drove up ahead to walk back.
We had a couple of places that we stopped to look at merchandise. The first was a place where they had the cowboy cutouts along with many others. One was a large "End of the Trail" cutout. They had a lot of cute or pretty stuff, but we wouldn't know where to put any of it, and we don't need it, and we don't want to spend the money, so we didn't buy any of it. The owner and creator of all this stuff was Theresa, and we got her picture with the "End of the Trail".
The second place was quite a bit later at the Water Wheel where a flea market is set up every weekend, but one guy has his trailer out there that he lives in and keeps his booth up all the time. Here I did buy something. He had a beautiful wrought iron bell with Amish horse and buggy that he was selling for only $10, and I couldn't resist that. Joni put it into the van for me as I continued walking. She drove ahead every few miles and walked back so we could continue walking on together.
The weather today was sunny and beautiful. Temperatures got up into the 70's with only a bit of a breeze now and then. This was a very good day for walking. In Ravenden we took pictures of the giant raven, and looked in one shop that was almost all square dancing outfits. We joked about getting square dance dresses to wear as we "square danced" our way across America.
One time when Joni and I met while we were walking she had a little car flag for me that she had found beside the road. When we got to the van we got out the duck tape and taped it onto my walking stick. After that as I waved to people they were really waving, not just a lift a finger or two type wave. One man saluted me, and some young men gave me a wolf whistle (that made me feel pretty good on my 62nd birthday) . One man stopped to ask who we represented. I told him what we were doing, and he asked a lot of questions. His name was Joe Rone. He has an RV Park and he drives a school bus. In fact he had seen us earlier while he was in his school bus. He told me he is from Kansas City, MO.
From Ravenden I walked on to meet Joni about 3 miles west of Imboden. There we called it a day and drove on to Pocahontas where Joni treated me to dinner at Pizza Hut for my birthday. Our waitress, Barbara Bishop, was really cute. When she found out what we were doing, she went back and brought out another waitress, Amy, and they both asked for our autograph. We feel like we have really made it now. It was a delightful day and a delightful evening. Oh, Gail called me this morning to wish me a Happy Birthday, and I talked with Dave at least twice. Finally I did my journal and went to bed.
*GAJ BIT = Great American Journey Bible Inspiration Time
February 27, 2004 - Friday - 18.0 + 2560.6 = 2578.6 Total Miles to Date 119.8 Total AR Miles - Day 33
Total Miles for Week - 60.8
Today was an exciting day for us. At last we were going to walk into Pocahontas - something we've been looking forward to for weeks. We left here around 8:30 and drove into Pocahontas to first check on a place to get the van serviced. Joni spotted a place on the other side of the road, so I went up and turned around since I was in the wrong lane to get in there. We both went in and lined up a time -- we wanted late afternoon, so he gave us 3:30 PM -- and told Philip what we wanted done - fluids, rotate tires and balance - and gave him our card. He told us he had heard about us and was delighted to meet us. Here we can believe they have heard about us. We've been around a long time and met lots of people, still it's always a surprise when someone says that. Next we went to the post office to mail the CD to Dave. The gal knows me now and told me we didn't have any mail today even before I asked.
It looks now like we'll be in this area for only 6 more days, then we'll move to a KOA near New Madrid (pronounced New May-drid) and finish the second portion of Missouri. We may only need 4 days for that so we'd move on into Tennessee before hiking Kentucky. Of course we don't know how long this wonderful weather will hold up, and that can make a big difference. Right now it is incredibly beautiful - today's high was 81 degrees. We are getting so anxious to get out of this area - we've been here way to long!
We got started walking at about 9:30 this morning. As we were getting out of the van and getting ready to start walking, Joe Rone drove up and stopped. He is the fellow we met late yesterday. After he left I headed out. We had 3 miles before we turned and headed into the last 14 miles to Pocahontas. That 14 miles was really beautiful as we crossed rivers on beautiful bridges and walked through forested areas on rolling hills. I have my flag that Joni found yesterday for me taped onto my walking stick, and Joni and I were both wearing our flag shirts and our flag hats, so we were noticed by many people. A lot of people waved before I did. I really miss having Sam here to enjoy this with me. It was a fun day with lots of people waving and honking. Joni got in quite a bit of walking too.
After our manna break, Joni drove on into Pocahontas (about 3 ½ miles) to leave the car at Brinkley's Auto Service, then she and Cassie walked back to meet me. Poor Cassie was limping so we walked a little slower after that. We were supposed to be at the Chamber of Commerce by 4 PM and knew we were close enough to do it so we didn't worry. We got there with 10 minutes to spare. When we walked in we saw a lady and I asked her if Wayne was in. She said he wasn't and that he had called in at noon and told her he was going to spend the afternoon at home taking care of some things there. That was a little disappointing since we had called yesterday to let him know when we'd arrive in Pocahontas as he had asked us to do. Oh well. We told the lady we'd stop in on Monday morning as we went through then.
We walked back to pick up the car, stopping at Baskin Robbins on the way for ice cream cones. It was a perfect day for that. At Brinkley's I went in to take care of the bill. Philip asked how far we had walked today, then he reviewed with me what they had done on the van, and then added it was on the house. They appreciated what we were doing and didn't want us to put out the money for this. Wow! That's the first time that's happened. I was really overwhelmed and almost cried - but I didn't. I did take his picture and shook his hand and thanked him. What a nice thing for him to do. He was Philip Brinkley of Brinkley's Automotive. When I told Joni what he had done, she went back in to thank him and take his picture as well.
Then we went to Wal-Mart to get a few things we needed, and then back to our castle. We unloaded the car, put things away and then did journals before we ate - it was actually about 5 PM when we got back, and still daylight. We ate and I did some writing, then we went to bed.
*GAJ BIT = Great American Journey Bible Inspiration Time
February 28, 2004 - Saturday - 15.6 + 2578.6 = 2594.2 Total Miles to Date 135.4 Total AR Miles - Day 34
Total Miles for Week - 76.4
Today I woke up at 3:30 and didn't go back to sleep, tho' I certainly tried. At about 4:50 I finally got up and got ready for the day. The sun came up and it looked like it would be another beautiful day - and it was. Joni got up at about 7 AM and by 8:15 we were heading out.
We drove into Pocahontas where we began our walk at Black River Overlook Park at the Century Wall. "The Century Wall includes a few presidents, a few poets, a few inventors, scientists, and artists. It includes those who challenged us to do more than we ever thought we could, and those who admonished us when we did less than we should. The Wall will help us remember those who, with their special gifts, made us smile when we didn't think there was much to smile about, or who helped us see with eyes we didn't know we had. It depicts those who, with their extraordinary vision, gave us glimpses of worlds we hadn't dreamed even existed. The Wall portrays those who walked where we walked at the best and at the worst of times, and those who ventured where we never could. The Wall introduces us to Americans whose footprints went largely unnoticed, but not unfelt, and to those who have made us consider whether the ways in which we are different are really more important than the ways in which we are alike. It places before us men and women who, in all the rich and beautiful tapestry that is America, helped to shape this nation in the 20th Century."
There are actually three walls - the first has pictures of men and women from 1900 to 1940, the second from 1941 to 1965, and the third from 1966 to 2000. The Wall was unveiled on July 4, 2000, but its concept began five years before. "Unable to narrow their selection to exactly 100, the group finally settled on a few multiple-face entities (the Wright Brothers, for example), resulting in more than 100 individuals, but producing 100 'portraits' overall." We were able to get some good pictures of The Wall so we can study it more later.
Finally we left the park and moved on - Joni driving ahead and me walking. We met at the Welcome to Pocahontas sign where we prayed and left Memorial Stone #148. Many people in this town have especially blessed us so we left a rather large stone with a few more specifics on it. Our Journey continued east heading toward Corning, AR. Corning is 24 miles from the far outskirts of Pocahontas, so we knew we wouldn't get that far today, but figured we would get as far as possible.
As we headed out of town we stopped at the Conoco station to use the restrooms. The clerk chatted with me while Joni took her turn. Her name was Elizabeth, and she was quite excited about what we are doing. She promised to pray for us. Continuing on I came to a fascinating bayou with strange shaped trees growing in it. Joni was coming from the other direction, and we happened to meet right there at the bayou. After we walked on to the van and Joni drove on ahead, I had two men in a truck pull off on the wide shoulder facing me. One jumped out and asked where we were walking. I told him what we were doing, and he said he had wondered if it was something like that. His partner got out and I got their pictures. They had seen us in Pocahontas yesterday. Their names were David Kegel (sp?) and Kevin Flannagan, and they work for Pritchard Furniture in Pocahontas, AR. A little later a motorcyclist went by, then turned around and came back to see if I needed a ride anyplace. I told him what we were doing, and that he might see my partner walking toward me as he went on his way. I took his picture - his name was Shannon, and he was from Biggers, AR. Joni told me later that he honked and waved as he went by.
About this time Joni met a man in a truck who stopped to see what we were doing. He was so excited he asked if he could take her picture. So he took hers and she took his. His name was Joe from St. Louis, MO and he was on his way to Houston.
Soon we stopped for a lunch break. I was pretty tired today, and was walking quite slowly, so I knew we wouldn't get in a huge amount of mileage today. But I did want to at least get in 15 miles. At the turnoff to Biggers, AR we prayed and left Memorial Stone #149. We continued to about 3 miles before Datto. Our stopping point for the day was at a Sinclair Service station with a small roadside park. It will be easy to pick up there on Monday.
We drove back to the castle, took stuff in, fixed our dinner, changed clothes so that Joni could start laundry, and worked on journals. I went to the office to pay another week's rent on our space, tho' we will probably only be here another 5 days - the price for 5 days or a week is the same. Finally I called Dave, and after we talked I worked on another project, and then went to bed.
*GAJ BIT = Great American Journey Bible Inspiration Time
February 29, 2004 - Sunday -Church Day - 2594.2 = Total Miles to Date 135.4 Total AR Miles - Day 35
Total Miles for Last Week - 76.4Today we left for church at about 9:30 to attend Clear Lake Free Will Baptist Church down on the dirt road where Joni and I had worked with training Cassie in her new stimulation collar. We had wondered if the church was still meeting or not. The sign looked fairly new, and it said they met at 10 AM. So today we decided to try it figuring that if it wasn't meeting we would still have time to find an 11 o'clock service someplace. We pulled in right behind another car and asked them if the church was still meeting. They said it was and we would be welcome to come on in. They also told us their attendance was small - about 5 people. Sure enough, we brought their grand total up to 7. Besides us there were Robert and Marilea Barnett with their son, Kendall; and Relton & Loyse Forehand. Robert is the pastor, and Relton is the Sunday School teacher. We had a little singing, then the offering followed by the Sunday School Lesson on Titus 2 &3, and then the sermon from Acts 16. It was a very different service, but a very good one. We enjoyed both the service and the people very much.
After the service we took a picture of the whole congregationand had them write down their names and addresses so that we could write them at the end of the Journey and give a final report on the Walk. The pastor and his family took us to lunch at Bonanza in Pocahontas, and we had a delightful visit with them.
Back at the castle we changed clothes and Joni got laundry started while I began downloading pictures. Somewhere along the line I ran into a problem with having too much on the C drive disc. In frustration I set it aside while I went to Wal-Mart to do some shopping we needed to do. When I came back Joni had baked my birthday cake (a mix that Alyce-Kay had left with her) and I had a piece of that. She had 3 candles for me to blow out - one for the past, one for the present, and one for the future.
Then I called Dave to get his help on the computer since I couldn't figure out what to do. Fortunately his computer and mine have the same icons and information etc, so he could walk me through it all. It turned out to be quite complicated since we had to figure out what to get rid of and then dump it. We finally managed to get it. Then he gave me all the info I needed for downloading and getting them into the right files. I got it done and Joni and I both formatted our cameras. That is so scary! I'm always afraid I will totally lose something. "Thanks for being so patient with me, Honey."
Joni did some letter writing, and I added some notes of my own. We ate some dinner (I had my usual Sunday night dinner of popcorn) and talked. The rain finally came - pretty hard at times. It has been very windy all day. It's supposed to rain throughout the night, then be cloudy and windy tomorrow. It's warm though, and isn't supposed to get particularly cold.
Finally we quit for the night and headed for bed.
*GAJ BIT = Great American Journey Bible Inspiration Time