Thursday, November 5, 2015

Lillie in My Rearview But Forever in My Heart

I left New Mexico and, instead of heading to Texas, I decided to see the aspens change their color in Colorado.  Spiritual renewal for nature and me, I'd hoped.  It was the day after choosing to give my friend peace.  "Objects are closer than they appear".  Lillie will, from now on, be in my rearview but forever enfolded in my heart and mind!


The mountain views off of the Million Dollar Hwy and in Durango and Silver City were amazing and therapeutic!  The weather was perfect and the casino I parked at was awesome!!  I was going to stay only 2 nights but loved it so much that I stayed 5.  If you're looking to go to the Durango area, visit Sky Ute Casino!!  The staff, pool/hot tub, casino, restaurants, RV park, showers/toilets, and I'm sure (though I didn't need them), the accommodations are amazing!!

I finally left there to return to Texas.  From upper 60's temps to mid-90's was not nice but I needed to park Shantilly and Jeep so I could fly to Hawaii to visit my daughter and son-in-law.  I cried a lot as living without Lillie was difficult and Shantilly felt extremely different without her.  I bought Shantilly FOR Lillie!

Hawaii did me a world of good!  I was out of Shantilly (where I pictured Lillie all of the time) and was having to interact with people!  I couldn't shut myself in.  My daughter kept me active and entertained and Hawaii itself did as well!!

Oahu offered a lot of distractions for me!  I hiked a lot, visited various beaches, visited Pearl Harbor, took a dance trip on a night pirate ship, ate amazing food, danced, played a weird beer pong kind of game (slap pong)..apparently invented by my son-in-law, and took a multitude of amazing pictures of the incredibly beautiful landscapes!!  I  met my daughter's good friends, I drank a lot, I relaxed, I got sunburned, I ate AMAZING pineapple ice cream at Dole Plantation (where my daughter works), I had a blast doing a sort of scavenger hunt in the  "world's largest maze" at Dole Plantation, I saw awesome
waterfalls, hula dances, Japanese tourists to the extreme, discovered a lot of "pill boxes" left behind by WWII, met fun travelers from all over (my favorite thing!), and got 2 weeks of precious time with my youngest baby girl. I also had the bonus of my nephew visiting the area with a friend for a week (some of the BEST of those fun times were spent with them!)!!

Now, I'm moving forward!  In 6 days, I go to work!  What???!!!  Yup.  I will park Shantilly in Boyd, TX and start work for Amazon Camperforce.  I'll be at the Amazon Haslet, TX warehouse (largest Amazon warehouse in the world, so I've
read)!  It is a fullfillment center and I'm hoping for the most physical job so that I can get back in shape! 
Other than just plain needing to make some money, the reason I chose this job is so that I can be near my new granddaughter for her first Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I also want to spend time with my first born and her husband before I leave.

Leave?  Where am I going?  Well, once work ends and after Christmas, I plan to head out for a last bout of Shantilly camping and friend/family visiting (south and east US) before I park Shantilly and Jeep indefinitely. My current plan is to fly to Australia in early February.  If I can get a house/pet sitting gig for 1 to 3 months, I'd be in heaven!  I'll let y'all know the score!!