Instead of creating new posts for this trip, until I do something worth creating a new post, I will keep adding onto the bottom of this post.
I left home on Wednesday afternoon and headed to northern Florida. I drove about 180 miles and stopped in a rest area the first night. I did have to stop partway and take a short nap and rest. Thursday morning I completed my journey and arrived at my friend Cindy’s house in the early afternoon. I did have to stop partway on the drive and rest for a while before completing my journey. It’s great seeing Cindy again and to have time to visit together.
Sometime next week, I will continue on my journey and go to southeastern Georgia to visit the firefighters, the library, and animal shelters that helped. It will be great to see everyone again. Chief Dent said that they are going to have a cookout when I get there. It should be fun to visit with all of them. After that, I plan on heading to western South Carolina to visit other fire department friends. Then, I will see what direction I want to travel to. I don’t know yet.
Update: Thursday, May 14th: I plan on leaving Cindy’s on Thursday afternoon or Friday morning and heading into Georgia to spend a few days with my firefighter and library friends in southeast Georgia. If I am feeling okay after a few days in Georgia, I will go to visit Chief Caruso and Pam near Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Healthwise, I am doing pretty good most of the time. I have been having some pain and I’m taking my medicine and resting quite a bit. It feels like the tumor might be slightly growing again because occasionally I feel some intermittent sharp pains, and my abdomen near my ribcage feels bruised again. It will be this way for several days and then the internal bruising will heal and not feel so sore. I’m careful when I drive and if I get tired I stop and take a nap.
Cindy works during the week, however, we spent time together on the weekend when she was off, and she took off today so we could have time together. We did several errands and went thrift store shopping. We like to browse and see what there might be that we just can’t do without. I like to look at kitchen gadgets and books. Even though I have a bag of paperbacks with me, and my Nook, I like to see what other books I might want to read. I’ve read 5 books in the week I have been on this trip. I will donate them to the Ludowici Library when I get there in a few days. I’m looking forward to meeting Cathy who works at the library. We have spoken and emailed many times, but have not met yet.
I spoke with Chief Dent of Madray Springs and he told me that several of the departments nearby, including those that came to visit me last year, want to have a dinner for me. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again and also meeting the members of those departments that I didn’t meet last year. Chief Dent’s wife Lindsay is due to have their 2nd child any day now, so if she has the baby while I’m visiting I might get to meet him. They know it’s a boy and his name will be Murphy.
My Garmin GPS stopped working, I had it checked and found out that the connection on the back of the unit where the cable connects doesn’t connect tightly and I need to purchase a new GPS device. At the moment, the routes I am going to take are pretty straight forward and I might not need a GPS. I will see how it goes as I travel and decide whether or not to buy one. I have state maps and an Atlas and I’m used to using maps. In fact, usually the night before I travel anywhere I look at the maps and plan my trip. That’s about it for now. I will write more when I have an update. It’s supposed to rain the next couple of days, I’m hoping if it does, that it’s a light drizzle.
I’m glad to hear you are managing well and are having fun. You’ve become an expert at pacing yourself and maximizing every minute of every day. Happy Travels! Maps still work too, don’t they? 🙂