8500 miles. 15 states. 565 gallons of gas. 35 days. It was quite a journey!
Sitting in PA on a Thursday night, I decided it was time to finally cross off a major item on my bucket list... driving cross country. Why now?
Mom is not going to be better than she is today. Her decline has been consistent and relentless. If I imagined her a year from now, I couldn't see us making this trip at all.
The problem with a trip of this length is usually one of two - money or time. We had the time and could deal with the financial ramifications later. If I'm working, there's no way to take off a month or so at a time. So it seemed now or never.
We chose now.
I spent Friday packing and prepping for the haul to Arizona, making the decision to use our truck, instead of the car that is only 48 years newer. The hope is, that all the new parts we replaced would mean a trouble free drive. How would it end up?
The OTHER reason to go now was the weather. Snow was coming and I hate snow, only a LOT. Seems funny to still be living in PA, since winter is such a downer, but the "new normal" is much more tolerable than the cold and snow I had as a kid. As I looked at the the next week or so country-wide, I saw a window of opportunity that was just too inviting. Not a hint of rain or snow all the way if we go thru the southern route, including Texas. Good to go.
Day 1: I can't believe we are actually doing this. Driving thousands of miles in our old pickup truck, searching for sunshine and warmth. It isn't too far down the road that I realize this was a GREAT idea. 500 miles to go to the first night of many on the road....
Day 2: Snow. On my truck. THIS wasn't part of the forecast!!!! Ugh... At least our destination was more hospitable, with the great company of our Econoline Family. A bit over 400 miles and we are there. A nice dinner, and a lousy Super Bowl to watch, my mind was on the next week or so of travel. This certainly was a good way to start though. Unless you were a Chief's fan.
Day 3: We arrived at Sulpher Springs, Texas, after 450 miles of bliss. The weather had improved and made driving the miles much more easy to take. So far so good....
Day 4: The site of our first Palm trees... Van Horn Texas. It was an almost 600 miles away and it was the first day of feeling tired of driving. A nice quiet little stop on the loooong passage through the state. At least the speed limit was 80! It was pretty cool to be able to go that fast without worry of a ticket! I had decided to get to the Phoenix area a day earlier than planned since we made good time the entire way. So far, the lack of creature comforts wasn't noticed that much, since the joy of cruising in a classic has it's own rewards!
Day 5: We landed in Chandler, Arizona, in the early afternoon. Almost 550 miles passed under our wheels, allowing us to get unpacked and organized, in advance of surprising one of our Econoline brothers nearby. The routine of loading/unloading the truck and eating, maybe walking a bit, then getting settled in for the night, worked out well for Mom. She slept very well and enjoyed the long rides of course.She seemed to enjoy talking to her own reflection in the mirror, so at least we weren't alone. I couldn't help but think, "Why haven't I done this drive before?"
The surprise of Jeff, our fellow Econoline owner, was a good one. He didn't have a clue we were going to be there. He was gracious host for a few hours, and allowed us to prepare for the NEXT surprise...
THAT one didn't go so well.
The inspiration to go to Arizona has been almost lifelong. For decades, I wanted to visit the Southwest, and see the sites that I only saw in pictures. For THIS trip, Ivanne was what inspired me to finally check this off my bucket list. She is special, and we talk every day. I had many ideas on how I wanted to reveal our arrival, and the final version involved getting her to drive to Jeff's house to "pick up some parts". I figured this would be a GREAT way to let her know we were in town.
It WOULD have been...
If only I didn't go for a walk with Mom while we waited for Ivanne to be on her way. It seemed simple. Just go around the block, enjoying the sunshine and the exercise. What I didn't discover (until it was much too late!) was that the "block" was short on one side and LOOOOOOONG on the other. When we finished the first one in a few minutes, it was quite logical to just go for another and then we would be done. I should have checked the map a little closer, because we didn't get back to Jeff's house before Ivanne arrived, and Jeff had to let her in on the joke. Ugh... So much for the grand surprise.
One of the things I found difficult was being dishonest to Ivanne along the way. While we were driving, I couldn't take any phone calls unless I pulled over. Dester was much too noisy, and it would give away what we were doing. The guilt was quite a load to bear, despite the good intentions. The best thing about getting there early was the fact I could stop lying a day sooner!
Day 7: One of the first stops I wanted to make was to visit the Fat Fender Garage. They build some of the coolest Ford pickups you will ever see, and their enthusiasm for Dester was apparent right away. It was such a good time to speak to Jason, the owner, as he is the face of their company on YouTube. His passion for trucks comes thru the video every single time. They even fixed my exhaust leak, which developed in Texas during the hours of maintaining that 80 mph across the state. Fun has it's price, right??
The things going on in my mind were many and unending.
Could I relocate here? Would I want to? What are the summers like? Would Mom enjoy it here? Could I find any other Econolines while we were here? What sights should be we see while we were here? Should we go to California, since we were so close (a days drive)? Was I going to be broke after this epic journey was over?
Week two to follow soon...
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