Ah the trips we have been on and the adventures we have had.  This week takes us to Louisville, Kentucky first quite by chance, as we had a small brake fire and it shattered the pads on both sides- when the smoke started pouring out I threw all my important stuff toward the backdoor thinking in my head the whole time “I shoulda got the bigger extinguisher”!  And you notice I said my important stuff-haha camera, laptop in one hand and the extinguisher in the other.   So we spent some time with Kavanaugh’s Complete Car Care Center-they were great and even had to go to another shop to pick up custom lines since our rv is a classic.  I guess these are things that can happen when you purchase a 1977 Mini Jimmy Class C Motorhome and a day later jump into it and head out on the road.  They were so nice to us and asked were they could contact us about the RV when it was done we both laughed and said “we will be in the back eating a sandwich can we make you one?”.    Unfortunately this was about all we saw of Louisville, Ky and we are looking forward to going back and exploring more some day. 

All this made us decide not to head down to the Mississippi delta and to instead mosey toward home.  Across the Ohio River we drove and landed first at a little campground on the Ohio River in Madison Indiana.  It was tiny just 34 lots and we felt so lucky to get one on the river.   This is where we learned many rv rules and responsibilities, a great couple taught us how to be good rv neighbors and what was considered rude and not rude-also some tricks with hooking up water etc.  And the nice man that ran the place taught us how to empty the s-h-i-t-t-e-r!  Another very important skill! 

  We Walked down to the river and looked for river glass and old shells with holes punched in them from the button factory.  The Key West Shrimp House is in part of the old button factory.  We had a fantastic meal there.  All the attractions we saw were walking distance from the campground.  The town has spectacular old architecture I had such a hard time picking what images to use for today because there were just so many!  We also toured the Lanier Mansion State Historic Site.  It was breathtaking, and the tour was great.  The town itself had many interesting shops.  We really enjoyed our time in Madison and look forward to going back.

From there we moved on to other towns staying different places but those will be a story for another Monday.

On September 30th 2006 I married Steve Trent.  We were giddy, silly in love.  We were the couple that just makes you nauseous to watch-holding hands and giggling.  We went on a wonderful honeymoon.   Leaving  with no plans and a general direction gave us a lot of choices.   No reservations just heading somewhere fun and where the weather seemed good.  So for the first part we decided that we would do the typical Niagara Falls Stop so we headed over the bridge to the Canadian side and lucked into a fabulous little suite for a great price.  We did all the crazy honeymoon things.  We did the journey behind the falls of course.   We walked along the Niagara River down to the Rainbow Bridge.  We ate and took funny pictures and saw every touristy thing.  We also watched the fireworks over the falls.  This was the beginning and the trip was fantastic we traveled all the way out to the east coast.  I will have many more stories about our stops later.  It was a great way to start a trip that is a symbol of how we spend our lives together, not that there haven’t been bumps along the way.  It has been a whirlwind and a rollercoaster ride since then.  It is always an adventure and there is no better way to travel through the hills and valleys and across the scenic routes than with someone you love.

In May of 2012 we took a little roadtrip.  Steve had several gigs the last one being in Milwaukee Wisconsin.  Now this was the time pre rv so we stayed in motels along the way.  What most people don’t know is that even if you play first, often you have to stay until after closing and the money gets counted to get paid-that being said it makes for very short nights when we are on the road.  Sometimes I become a little cranky from lack of sleep.  During that time I had been known to curl up in the corner booth or table with the merch  and sleep, even with all the noise, I think I can sleep almost anywhere if I am tired.  Some of that is learned behavior from working nights for a private ambulance company, we would post (sit in a parking lot somewhere and wait for calls) so I would curl up in the front of the ambulance and sleep-this behavior was not me being lazy, it was a matter of survival for a single mom working 2 jobs at the time.  Anyhow this trip Steve had his first show in Fort Wayne Indiana at a little place called The Friendly Fox It was in the afternoon and there was another show that evening at The Berlin Music Pub –There was metal fencing (like chicken wire) between the bar and the show area, this usually sends up red flags for me but everyone was very nice.  I have an awful lot of very interesting bar stories but that is for another time.   The Friendly Fox was great the food was fantastic and Steve literally sang for our supper!  From there we headed up to Milwaukee, after a few hours sleep at a local motel.   We stopped at Sweetwater music and spent a little cash on the way. 

Steve played a little battle of the bands with his friend Subourbon Son at Kochanskis-Concertina-Beer-Hall.  It was two –one man bands set up at either end of the bar and they took turns playing sets.  It was a very interesting night to say the least.  After yet another very short night we woke up early the next morning and I have to admit I was a little crabby and not too excited to see Milwaukee, but once we started driving around I eventually had to get excited about it!  What an interesting and beautiful city, I wish we could have spent more time there.  One stop was the Pabst Mansion it had incredible iron, wood, and stone work.  The craftsmanship was unbelievable, I was snapping images left and right!  This is someplace I would highly recommend visiting while in Milwaukee.  We also walked by the Pabst Theater.  We checked out the Pabst brewery of course.  With rockabilly music fans being such huge PBR drinkers how could we not swing by there.  We visited the gift shop but didn’t have time for the tour, we did grab some lunch however at a street vendor and set on a very old stoop to eat -talk about getting in the city spirit!  There is so much more to say about this trip but I have rambled long enough for now.  I haven’t even mentioned the Kenosha Pierhead Lighthouse.  This may be a two parter. 
Please enjoy the slide show below.

This image sets the mood for a time in my life when things were spiraling, at that time I had no idea just how bad things would become.  In January of 2011 we were off to watch my Niece play hockey, she had a game at Kent State main campus ice arena.   The day was bitter cold, the air was crisp and sharp.  My breath formed little crystals that hung in the air, frozen.   We were hoping my Dad would come with us, not only were we going to her game but also going out to eat afterward  celebrating both my Niece and my Brother’s birthday.   It was bittersweet I was excited to see her play and sad that Dad was missing this opportunity.  Dad would not come- not because he didn’t want to, or wasn’t able to but for other reasons.  I had been watching him become entwined and entangled in a dangerously controlling relationship.  Now I loved my Dad with all my heart and I was very happy when he met what seemed to be a nice person and a good companion.  Then slowly there were signs that crept in, hiding in the grey shadows, things that were warning signs.  I had the utmost respect for my father, and had no business telling him how to live his life so I didn’t.  I watched and I listened, staying as close as I could.   I constantly checked on him. I continued to invite him to dinner and any other family functions.  The one odd thing I noticed was that he would get anxious if he had to leave and couldn’t communicate with her on the phone.  He  would make sure he was in the house at certain times, never letting her know if he left the house after dark.  They remained in their own homes, at my Father’s insistance.  According to her she had buried 4 husbands before she met him this was shocking for someone who was only 66 years old.  She had anxiety if she didn’t know what he was doing every minute of the day, she would talk to him for hours on the phone.  Anyhow this became more and more obsessive.  My youngest daughter ended up moving in with him, he was very kind and this was helpful more helpful then we could ever have known at the time.  One day Dad got sick and my Daughter called me and said “Mom something is very wrong with Grandpa and she is trying to get him in the car and take him back to her house before you can get here”  I immediately went over and he was sick, I am a paramedic I knew when I saw him, he was very sick.   I called 911 and she quickly left before they would get there.  He would have died that day if she would have taken him to her house.  As he was hospitalized then home then back in the hospital again The women disappeared.   She stopped seeing him stopped talking to him.  She came to the calling hours when he passed and left quickly.  I did nothing to keep them apart but she disappeared on her own into the shadows.

This is a true story.  It is the condensed version.  I struggled with the decision to share it.  I have intentionally left out specific names.