New Brunswick

Saturday morning dawned sunny and warm, although the wind was cool. We got a good start for Houlton, the US/Canada border town. Heather once lived here and attended part of grade 1 in the elementary school.

We shopped for various items to take along over the border, and had lunch in the R.V.

Crossing the border was no problem! Another 2 hours and we arrived at brother Paul’s place. Heather's dad was the pastor of a church here (before Paul was born!), so it was like coming home!

The twins Taylor and Victoria, 9, were happy to see us! Zeke, 14, welcomed us, too. Evidently they have been waiting anxiously for our arrival. We had some catching up to do – it was 2018 when we were last here.

Then we were informed that we were singing in the service Sunday, so we had a little hymn sing with Chanda before retiring. We'll be doing more music because the girls want to sing with us.

On Wednesday Roger went with brother-in-law Paul and his pooch, Abby, to the groomer. It was a 1st for Roger to watch the process since he is not a "pet person".

There's a bird feeder outside the dining area and it's fun to watch the bids eat. The last couple days there's been an aggressive fat squirrel sitting there daring us to come out and chase him away.

Heather has been asked to teach the kids' Sundays School class next Sunday and then in the morning church service to present a Bible story followed by her witnessing seminar. 

Next Day...More

We were up and dressed before 6 a.m., determined to have a better day! We weren’t up more than 15 minutes when Roger opened the overhead bin to get a cup, and knocked his brand new mug to the table and floor. It shattered!!

Several trucks around us had left, but some were still there. Traffic was light, the roads were generally good (the worst part is always the bridges), and we only got lost a couple of times. It’s not unusual here to have roads marked with one going south and the same sign with another going north. If the sun wasn’t showing, we weren’t sure which direction we were traveling! Also, in several States the exit numbers have been changed, so we missed at least one exit because of that!

We crossed the Hudson River heading to New York and stopped at a high lookout point. Here are some images.

I left the large serving spoon in the pot that I set on the table with a taco dip in it. Roger prayed, thanking the Lord for the food. After his amen, I added, "& that we can eat from the table today." Roger then immediately knocked the loaded spoon on the floor, so I salvaged some of that, too!!!

But it was a good day overall. Roger was able to find a place that let us park for the night with hook-ups, even though they aren’t officially open. They even got the laundry machines running just for us (it took several attempts…). So, the washable things that got stew on them will be clean again!

A beautiful sunset and peaceful place will refresh us for tomorrow, when we cross the border to Heather’s brother’s place.

Trials, Troubles ... and Blessings...

We pulled out from Florence in high hopes Wednesday morning. The weather was great; the roads were mostly great; traffic was light; things were rolling along. The wild flowers and blooming trees have been so colorful and varied as we move north. 

As evening approached, Roger found a Baptist Church where we could worship with them. Folks were super friendly; the lesson was on Joseph and we enjoyed it immensely. Before we left, they gave us 2 gift cards! We could have parked in their lot, but they have a school with over 100 kids and traffic was too busy in the mornings. We told them we’d go to Walmart, near-by. One of the ladies gave us her address and said to park at her place if Walmart wouldn’t let us. Well, they wouldn’t! So we started for her place; but on the way found a rest stop and decided to just stay there. It was late (we’d been shopping, too) and dark. We just snuggled up next to some trucks and had a good sleep.

The next day we got off to a late start for several reasons. It was almost 10:30 before we were on the highway. That wouldn’t have been problem except that traffic/construction was especially heavy. We try to avoid toll roads, too. Between our GPS, Google maps and the atlas, we were totally confused!! (They just don't always agree!) We spent the better part of an hour wandering around downtown Baltimore, MD, on narrow streets! It was a great relief to get back on the Interstate.

Shortly thereafter, we pulled into a rest stop for lunch. I had a stew in the pot, hot and ready, when Roger reentered the R.V. We had not leveled it and a series of small movements caused the pot to tip off the stove and crash upside down on the floor. Stew was everywhere!!! That is an understatement. Walls, fridge door, ceiling, mirror, in vents, bedspread, rug under the table, and of course, me!! – splattered head to toe! I have to call it a miracle! How could it have done so much damage? Since I had just mopped the floor, I didn’t hesitate to eat right off of it, scooping handfuls from the floor to my mouth! As I write this, I’m cracking up with laughter! Don’t we call this a missionary trip? Some natives eat better that than…

We weren’t able to find a place to hook up so we could do a proper cleaning, so made do with what we had. Once on the road again, we again got turned around and wandered for a time in town (not sure which one – out east here, they just all run together). We drove until an hour after dark, looking for a place to park. Finally, we found a slot off the road with the trucks. Not sure we were supposed to be there, but we were so tired and worn out and we hate driving after dark. We slept well, but made a resolution to start earlier the next day.

Maintenance Required!

7 years ago we made our first volunteering stop at OM ships. While there the R.V. developed a flat tire. Roger was able to get it fixed and we were on our way.

Now, 7 years later, our “new” R.V. developed a flat tire. The RV had been parked on the grass for a week and we noticed the outside "dually" tire was flat. Roger didn’t really want to drive anywhere since the tire was completely uninflated. We called the same truck tire repair company who still had our information on file. They drove out and removed the screw stuck in the tire. In less than 90 minutes from our call their mobile unit fixed it entirely on site.  Enjoy the pictures.

Looks like we’re ready to roll again!