As I finished up things today and prepared for departure, I have a lot going through my mind – “Did I finish cleaning the things I needed to?”, “What else can I shoehorn into storage?”, “How will I get to where I am going with the weather?”, and “When are we closing?”.

Since I had to replace the septic, it apparently paused the buyers’ loan process to finish the deal – and that is ridiculous. They had to have the appraiser come back out to verify – they just simply could not take the word of the septic people or my realtor. My realtor is pushing hard to get this finally done since I have bent over backwards and have busted my ass to take care of what was needed and we have a deal agreed to. The house is empty and I am living in the driveway in my trailer.

The only thing I have left to do is load up the dogs & crates and we are gone; there is nothing left. The weather is looking a little more atrocious for the route I wanted to take so I now may need to stay around a few more extra days. I am not really seeing many alternative routes with better weather and if I have to stay put to be safe then that is what I will do. The weather here will be okay for a few days, but they are talking some really cold & crazy goings-on here again with a Sunday night low of 14° F, and that is after a high of 72 on Saturday.

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Speaking of the septic, Jim (the septic company owner) & I chatted off and on all day – we were both busy doing what we needed to do but we did some catching up and talked about my dad. He helped my dad do some things around here like concrete work. When they were wrapping up and leaving I talked with him a few more minutes. I have known Jim a long time (he’s not the same Jim I went to Europe with in 2018), but have not seen him in probably 35-40 years excpet for a brief chat at the mechanic – who happens to be one of his brothers. He said something as we parted ways – “Well, Shawn…I probably won’t see you again…”.

That really landed kind of heavy on me; he said the quiet part out loud. It caught me so off-guard that I don’t even remember how I replied. I have actually thought about those types of things myself as I leave here once again and have gone to see & eat at places from my past.

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I saw a segment on the afternoon news talking about polio springing up in Europe and a few other areas. They also mentioned measles is going crazy here in the States. Even if you are thinking of a trip this weekend or in several months, these are the type of things you need to be aware of if you are considering a trip anywhere. Get a vaccine and take the other steps necessary to protect not only yourself but your loved ones and us other human beings around you.

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I know I do not need anything complicating my cardiac stuff so I am glad I have the confines of my trailer to travel in on this trip after seeing that news. However, since it is the off-season – especially going farther north – there won’t be any crowds to be concerned with. Also, I think most Spring Breakers are heading to the beach or skiing.

I will be burning through some propane by the looks of some of the temperatures expected pretty much anywhere I was headed to, but it is so helpful & so much easier having two tanks that auto-switch. I still have prepped food in the freezer to eat for a few more days.

It’s very hard to plan a long trip halfway across the country this time of year. I did it in 2022 driving back this way from Washington (after already driving down and then back up) and I raced some nasty storms that chased me into California and $6.50/gallon gas. That trip cost me a fortune, but I did get to see most of Route 66 though. Lemons & lemonade. I saw so many cool things on that drive plus I got to mark it off my bucket list. One thing I am running into looking at routes is I can go different directions for a couple of days, but then it gets into SINGLE DIGITS, wind warnings, and/or snows. I’m not sure what I will do right now.

If I travel a little west or north when I can it is still making progress. I have been stopped in my tracks more than once on a trip so I just learned to embrace it, relax and make the most of the time. No need for a driving marathon these days anyhoo.

At least I have those extra days to see which way the weather forecast goes over the next five days or so. Snow is bad and ice is a no-go along with high winds. Freezing temps and sitting still are not ideal as well. I will also not have the house hanging over me any longer so that will be a relief.

Yesterday it was so warm here that I had to turn in the air conditioner. Well, when I went to bed I forgot to switch the thermostat over to “heat” and I woke up middle of the night and it was 57° F inside! I made a dash for the thermostat and got the heat going.

I am gonna wrap this up for now. See you next time.

Shawn