Saturday August 24, 2024
Dear Diary,
Tracey and I woke up at 5:30 am. I went into the truck stop to use the bathroom. There was a gray haired lady standing outside the truck stop door with a big pile of luggage. She asked where I was going. I told her Coucil, ID. She didn’t know where that was and hopefully asked if it was near Sun Valley, ID. I told her it wasn’t. She asked if I could take her part of the way. I considered it but quickly realized it wasn’t something we could do. I told her I couldn’t, I was traveling with my family and we were packed full. I wished her the best getting to where she wanted to go and chatted with her a couple more minutes.
Tracey walked over to the truck stop as soon as I got back. He came right back and said the bathrooms were closed for cleaning. We drove to the gas pumps to fill up on gas. Angel had woken up and needed to use the bathroom. They were still being cleaned, so we waited around until they were finished. Angel was finally able to use the bathroom and we hearted (headed) out. I sent Tracey my morning gratitudes: Good morning my love, I am grateful for mountains. I am grateful for my boys. I am grateful for grandkids. I am grateful for walks with you. I am grateful for dogs. I am grateful for your touch. I am grateful for your smile. I am grateful for sunrises. I am grateful for you. I am grateful for peace of mind, I am grateful for joyful heart. I love you and I’m so glad you’re on this adventure with me. 💚 💛 🦨 🦋.
We drove across the high desert into Idaho. The desert looked barren and yellow from the hot dry summer. Today though it was only 68 degrees and cloudy. A cold front had come in and it drizzled rain off and on during our drive. I imagined the dry grass cheering as it soaked in the tiny drops of water.
We crossed over the Snake River several times and as we passed areas of Idaho that are dear to my heart, I wished Tracey was riding with me so I could point things out to him. He had been following me in the motorhome the whole trip. I thought about taking a quick detour to show him the Snake River canyon at Twin Falls, ID. but I was also feeling road weary and wanted to reach our destination, so I didn’t do any detours. On the way back to Texas we can do more sight seeing, plus we will all be in one vehicle and can take turns driving. We drove straight through to my mom’s in Caldwell, ID. only stopping once for gas. The last hour before arriving at my mom’s, I talked on the phone with my friend Ed who had called me. It made the time pass by quickly and we had a good down to earth conversation.
My mom was just getting her sewing room in her garage put back together after having a new garage door installed. We waited while she finished getting everything into place. I told we couldn’t stay long. I had to get to my sister Missy’s to start farm sitting for her. My mom had me pick out fabric for a quilt she wants to make me. Then she had me pick out fabric for my sister Trish’s quilt and Angel’s quilt and my adult daughter’s quilt. Then she dug through a cupboard to get out some gifts she had bought for me and Angel that she had planned to send to us. Her neighbor came over and said there was a dog in the motorhome tearing things up. He could see it through the window. Tracey had left his dog Cassie in there and she was wanting out. He didn’t take her out when we arrived because my mom’s collie Max and her neighbors labradoodle Moses were running around. Tracey thought that would be too much for Cassie.
I told my mom we had to leave and gave her a hug goodbye. We stopped for gas on the way out of town and Tracey took Cassie on a walk so she could use the bathroom. Then we drove the 1.5 hours we had left to my sister Missy’s. We arrived at around 3 PM. It was great to have our journey completed. We drove 1,756 miles in 3 days. That was a lot of driving. The motorhome and the truck both did great.
The first thing I did was let out the chickens and feed them. Then I checked on the cat Halloween. She was resting on top of the piano. Tracey looked around and then spent some time meditating. I got everything from my coolers put in the fridge. Then I made some tea. It was good to be back in Idaho and my heart was filled with joy. I was home.
Angel ran around looking at everything and wanted something to eat. I made her toast with honey. Then we took a long hot shower together. It felt great to shower. We were dirty and smelly. We washed and scrubbed ourselves down. Angel stayed in a lot longer after I got out. I sat on the front porch and wrote my blog. Tracey came back from walking Cassie just as I finished writing and posted it. He gave me a hug and started crying. I held him for a long time until he was all cried out. The trip had been intense and he was out of his comfort zone. He felt better after he’d had a good cry.
Tracey stayed at Missy’s to shower and rest while Angel and I drove 20 miles up the road to my sister Trish’s. Trish helped me take the kayak off of the roof of the truck. We unhooked the trailer and unload the back of the pickup. I started some laundry washing and sat talking with Trish while Angel played Animal Crossing on the TV. I switched the laundry to the dryer and sat talking some more. Tracey send me his gratitudes: Good evening beautiful🥰🌞🌻
I am grateful for meeting your sons and seeing you interact with them. I am grateful for safe travels. I am grateful for music. I am grateful for cool weather. I am grateful for you holding me when I need it most. I am grateful for being out of my comfort zone. I am grateful for meeting your mother. I am grateful for a hot shower. I am grateful for seeing quail. I am grateful for your sister’s. I am grateful for a comfortable bed. I am grateful for you Victoria I love and appreciate you♾️💚🙏.
When the laundry was dry I drove back to Missy’s. Angel stayed the night at Trish’s. Tracey was asleep when I came in. He woke up and got up for a few minutes. I put the chickens away and got more blankets out of the motorhome. It was going to be 52 degrees F in the morning and I wanted to make sure I didn’t get too cold. I crawled into bed next to Tracey and fell asleep by 9 PM.
Thank you for reading my blog and being a part of my life. I appreciate you.
Love, Victoria
P.S. this blog post was inspired by the Holy Spirit
Sunday August 25, 2024
Dear Diary,
Tracey and I woke up at 6:30 AM. I let out the chickens and fed Bits. Tracey made me a yummy tea. We sat on the porch and watched the sunrise together. It was a beautiful view of the sun coming up over the mountains. The morning was a chilly 52 degrees and we had our jackets on. You don’t get crispy cool mornings like this during the summer in Texas and I was loving it. I wrote my blog while we sat and the dogs ran around the yard. A Magpie came along and sang us the morning news. It was all good news.
After a while we went inside and I gave Tracey a back massage. Afterward, I laid down and we cuddled. I thought about taking a morning nap but wasn’t able to fall asleep. I called my friend Brett about taking us to a remote hot springs. He was in the middle of making breakfast and said he would think about where to go and call me back. He called back and thought of a hot springs not too far from us that was a 2 mile hike straight up a mountain. I’ve been on adventures like this with Brett and I know from experience that it is probably more of a 3 or more mile hike and it would be a very strenuous climb. When I got off the phone, I told Tracey the scenario and he said he was up for it. I was too but I didn’t think Angel was. I thought about going in the evening when my sister could watch her after work but that wouldn’t give us much time to soak before dark and I didn’t want to come back down the mountain in the dark. I also didn’t want to go on a weekend because other people will be there too. Plus this coming weekend I start a pet sitting opportunity in Donnelly, ID. On the other side of the mountain. We will probably go to a hot springs or 2 over there too since we will be there until September 11th. As for now though, it looks like Angel will have to go with us to the first hot springs. She’ll do fine.
Speaking of Angel, I called my sister to check on her. She didn’t answer but texted that she was on the phone and would call back. She called back and said that Angel was still sleeping. I told her we would come over to her place soon to unload the motorhome. I made an 8 banana, romaine lettuce, pineapple juice smoothie. It was great to be able to make my smoothies again. Tracey and I got ready to go and hearted (headed) to Trish’s.
We arrived at Trish’s at around 10 AM. Angel and Trish were cuddled on the couch together. I introduced Tracey and showed him around. Then we went on a walk on the Weiser River trail. The trail used to be a railroad track and has been made into 84 miles of a walking and bicycling trail. Here is information about it: https://weiserrivertrail.org. We met a man named Mark on the trail. He is a sort of nomad. We ate apples from a tree next to the trail while he told us about himself. He went on his way and we continued our walk. We walked for about a mile each way. We saw deer and quail and ate plums from a wild plum tree. Fresh fruit straight from the tree is my favorite, I call it fruit without stickers. Grocery store fruit always has stickers on it, so fruit without stickers is the best quality fruit. The weather was perfect, it was a sunny 70 degrees F with a slight breeze. The different smells of nature in the air was delightful.
Back at Trish’s, we all sat on the front porch together and talked. Then Angel wanted to ride her bicycle. It was still on the trailer I had unhitched out back. Tracey and I unloaded the trailer. I aired up Angel’s bicycle tires. A short while later, she found a neighbor girl riding her bicycle also. They rode around together and played. I was glad she had found a friend. Next, Tracey and I got started unloading all my stuff out of the motorhome and putting it upstairs. Trish has 2 rooms upstairs that she is letting Angel and I stay in through the winter. We will move into the motorhome in the spring, which will be parked in the back. Right now, Trish’s boyfriend has his motorhome parked there but it will be gone by the time I get back to Texas in October. In the meantime my motorhome will be parked at my sister Missy’s. Tracey might be moving his motorhome here to the RV park so that we can be close to each other but I don’t know his future plans for sure. I want him to do what feels best for him and not plan his life out for him. This is all new stuff for him. I’m a very versatile person. I fit in and make friends easily no matter where I live or travel. I also am aware that living in new places and having new experiences is not as easy for other people. I am sensitive to that and attempt to not overwhelm people with my fearlessness. I have a very strong sense of self confidence and self sufficiency, which took years to build. I know I can my fearlessness can be A LOT (as my friend Debbie P. likes to say, putting “a lot” in full caps). 😁 Tracey puts more thought and time into making decisions and I know he will move forward in the perfect way that will be best for everyone. I really appreciate that about him.
It took us 4 hours to unload the motorhome but it is done! Yay! Tracey rested in the bedroom on the bed. I was going to rest with him but I got started organizing, which is one of my favorite things to do. It’s so exciting to find places for all of my stuff. Trish was making dinner and when it was almost ready, Tracey and I walked to the store. Angel came along with us on her bicycle. When we got back, dinner was ready. Tracey and Trish had lasagna, Angel had a been and cheese taco and I had salad. I made my homemade tahini/lime dressing to go on it.
When we all finished eating, Tracey, Angel and I went to Missy’s. Angel ran around with the chickens and caught a baby chick. I was looking at a spot to put the motorhome when I saw three deer looking at me from out of the cornfield. A doe and 2 fawns. I quietly called Angel over and showed them to her. Bits came running over too but he couldn’t see them through the tall grass. I held him up so he could see the deer. He didn’t see them at first but then he saw them. His ears went up and he started shaking. I set him down and he ran all over but he was scared to go through the tall grass. He ran back to me and I help him up again. He looked at the deer and started shaking again. The deer went back into the cornfield and the show was over.
Angel took a shower and I found Tracey resting in bed. I waited until the chickens went into their coop and I closed them in. Angel got out of the shower and I got in. Freshly showered, I tucked Angel in on the couch and got into bed. I sang to Tracey a song I fell in love with in high school by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band called Oh What a Love: https://youtu.be/FAlWaqBW_Sw?si=yS_Pw8lytBkxK3qY. Angel came in and cuddled between us until she got too squirmy and I sent her back to the couch. I finished writing my blog. Then Tracey and I talked and laughed and fell asleep at around 9:30 PM.
Thank you for reading my blog and being a part of my life. I appreciate you.
Love, Victoria
P. S. This blog post was inspired by the Holy Spirit.