My Adventure Across the US with JoJo and John!

We drove from California through AZ, NM, TX, LA, MS,

AL,FL,GA,SC,NC,VA,MD,to Delaware!

Five weeks ago we were over-the-moon blessed by a generous gift from my husband’s mother, JoJo. We got to go with her to California and see her 1st great granddaughter (our first granddaughter) Lucy Ophelia. What a wonderful time! We flew back and she decided to stay a while longer. The day after we left JoJo fell in her hotel room and broke her kneecap and a bone in her face near her eye. The doctors declared that she couldn’t fly back to her home in Delaware. She stayed with my husband’s ex-wife and her husband (and our good friends) to recuperate. A couple weeks later, the doctor said she still couldn’t fly.

 

SO, last Tuesday John and I flew to California and drove JoJo back to Delaware. Talk about an adventure! We didn’t know what to expect in the way of weather, how JoJo would do in such a long trip or how long it would really take. But we made a plan and off we went.

 

God, in His mercy and goodness, decided to part the Red Sea for us, as far as weather went. It was as if we were on a summer trip. Sunshine was everywhere. Only hint of bad weather was when we drove through Mississippi at night with heavy fog. Thank you GOD! :0)

 

I think I’ll probably be processing the trip for a while (I flew back last night) but I have realized some moments we experienced are ones I won’t forget. So for now, here are some highlights from an incredible adventure across the United States with John and JoJo!

 

• Nicest Hotel – Country Inn and Suites in Tucson, AZ

• Worst Hotel – La Quinta in San Antonio

• Ugliest scenery – Lousiana Swamps

• Most Beautiful Scenery – Tie between sunrise in South Carolina or Sunset over Chesapeake Bay in Maryland

• Best Discovery – 5 Hour drink – WOW! Kept us alert but no jitters and no sugar. :0)

• Most Disappointing simply because of High Expectations – Enterprise Rental Car – The service was horrible and Los Taquitos restaurant. Guy Fieri recommended it on his show Drive Ins, Diners and Dives. It was okay, but nothing to put on a TV show. :0)

• Worst Meal – Jack in the Box, San Antonio. We are Jack fans, so we called the home office. It was that bad.

• Best Meal – The Red Lion Pub in Houston. Guy Fieri recommended this too and it was FANTASTIC!

• Best Surprise – We got to have lunch with a former student of mine in Texas. Woot!

• Worst Traffic – Washington D.C.

• Most Monotonous Drive – Tie between the endless desert in New Mexico or the tunnel of trees in the panhandle of Florida.

• Best moment of driving for me – When I came upon the Speed Limit 80 – in West Texas! YES!

• Best moment of nostalgia and gratitude – Showing my hubby and mom-in-law around my hometown of Van Horn, Texas.

• Hardest moment for me as a Mom – I called Noah once and he was having a horrible day and I couldn’t rescue him.

• Best moment on the trip for Noah’s growth – I called Noah and he was having a horrible day and his mom couldn’t rescue him. :0)

• Funniest moment (There were MANY) – We were driving through Louisiana at night and we just knew that serial murderers had gotten rid of bodies in the swamps we drove by. All three of us are fans of that show “Criminal Minds” which is creepy. So we wrote an episode based in Louisiana about an Evangelist who gives an invitation at the end of his sermons, then kills whoever held their hand up first. He then gets rid of the bodies in the swamps, leaving one hand above ground. We would call the episode “I See That Hand!” :0)

• Best Name of a Town – Coosiwatchie, South Carolina. I would love to live there just for the shirt.

• Weirdest names of a place - Tangipahoa Parish – What?

• Rudest employee – Glenda at La Quinta – she was having a bad night. :0)

• Nicest employee – Larry at the Holiday Inn in Mobile Alabama – Southern hospitality at its finest!

• Sweetest Moment for Me – Watching my husband take care of his Mom.

• Best Conversation for me – Talking to JoJo about her life and listening to her tell John stories.

• Two moments I add ONLY because JoJo told me I HAD to:

• Worst Moment for JoJo – She locked herself in toilet in Van Horn Texas and couldn’t get up to get out.

• Best Moment for Robbie – Discovering I was thin and agile enough to crawl underneath stall door and help out JoJo! :0)

Moments I will never, ever forget – Seems that everywhere we stopped – gas stations, hotels, drive through joints – John would look at me and grab my hand and we’d dance. Just a few seconds, but enough to communicate that we are best friends on an adventure. Some may not see driving a mom-in-law across 14 states in 5 days as an adventure. But my best friend and I decided to give it all to God and enjoy the journey. And JoJo, one of the sweetest women on the planet, made it easy.

 

I’m home now and I love, love, love being home. But I wouldn’t trade the last week for the world! :0)