A personal blog about the Strand Family. Written by Jennifer.
We spent our holiday weekend planting a garden. We tilled the ground, built a box and planed young plants. Not realizing we started “late” – we ended up with what they had left at the home store. Tomatoes, zucchini, strawberries, peepers, cantalope and, of course, flowers.
Well, here it is – the journal of our trip. Be sure to see all the pictures
HERE.
Day 1:
We leave New Mexico a little later than planned, but in high spirits. We drive all night and arrive in Oklahoma. After a little detour (google maps suck!) and a drive completely around Tulsa – we find our first campsite.
Day 2: After taking the morning to play in the lake and feed the fish and ducks, we decide to drive some more today. We arrive late at our next campsite in Arkansas.
Day 3: What a nice campsite! They have great horse stalls and horse trails – too bad it’s so far from New Mexico! The weather is sunny and warm, so we spend the day playing in the lake/river. We decide to stay another night.
Day 4: We spent the late-evening/night fighting with some raccoons over who gets to have the trash (we did win – but they put up a good fight!). After a lazy morning, we pack up and finish our drive to South Carolina.
Day 5-9: We stay at Laura’s house and spend our days vising Mom, Aunt Jackie and cleaning out the storage unit. On Sunday, we leave early, spend all day in the car, and after 14 hours we arrive in Florida. Thank you to Pat for the hotel room!!
Day 10: Our first day in sunny(?) Florida! The winds were hight – I heard 50 mph on the news later in the evening, but we went to the beach anyhow! We started at the state park (north beach from where we started) then headed to the peer, and then down further south to the more commercial part of the beach. Here Laura and I are cleaning up the trash on part of the beach.
Day 11:
Today we took the trek down to the Florida Keys. We found a state park called John Pennekamp Coral Reef Park. The wind was a bit high – and the waves were high – so the recommendation was for “good swimmers” – so I was the only brave one to sign up to go out on the reef. After a 20 minute boat ride, I was snorkeling in the keys!! A fun and beautiful experience I will never forget.
Day 12: Today, we went to a place Bobby and Jeri told about called “Saw Grass Mills”. Laura took-off with a smile on her face to go shopping, Ellse, Borgar and I go to something called “WannaDo” city. Ellse loved it! It’s a small amusement park where kids can try out different types of jobs. We were there all day.
In the evening, Bobby took us for tour of Station 80. It was very cool to see the trucks, Ellse loved “driving” one. Later that night, after pizza and a few “adult-beverages” – Laura and I attempt to put on Bobby’s fire outfit. Okay, only 1/2 of it. Supposedly, Bobby can put the full suite on in less than 2 minutes, I did 1/2 in 1:15! Shake and Bake, baby!
Day 13: Another day at the beach! Ellse, Laura and I spend the day doing… NOTHING! And loving it. Borgar took a few hours to visit a local history museum while we sit on the beach and build a sand castle, find sea shells and just play. Ellse loves building stuff just where the waves reach once in awhile and letting it all be washed away.
Day 14: We begin our long drive home. Ellse see’s Papa take off his shirt to work on the trailer, so she jumps in to help. We drive through “Alligator Alley” today – I spotted 21 alligators along side of the road – going 65 mph, and that’s what I saw for sure – imagine how many there actually were! We are just ahead of the fire consuming northern FL – they close the road just after we pass.
Day 15: Spending all day in the car is tough on all of us – and Ellse is being a trooper. She listens to her books reader, colors in her notebook or plays “guess what” with mom. Today we pass through New Orleans – still very much destruction to see. We also cross the Mississippi for the 2nd time in 2 weeks. Here I am writing in our journal (note my way-cool hat, Thanks Bobby!).
Day 16:
Wow – we are exhausted and ready to get home! Both Ellse and I are sleeping when Borgar wakes us with – “the trailer tire just passed us” – WHAT? Yes, we have to take a 3 hour detour to fix a tire on the trailer… good thing Borgar got the insurance on that dran thing!
Hello, Old Friend,
Oh, yes, you know
I lost my child a while ago.
No, no please
Don’t look away
And change the subject
It’s ok.
You see, at first I couldn’t feel,
It took so long, but now it’s real.
I hurt so much inside you see
I need to talk,
Come sit with me?
You see, I was numb for so very long,
And people said, “My, she is so strong.”
They did not know I couldn’t feel,
My broken heart made all unreal.
But then one day, as I awoke
I clutched my chest, began to choke,
Such a scream, such a wail,
Broke from me…
My child! My child!
The horror of reality.
But everyone has moved on, you see,
everyone except for me.
Now, when I need friends most of all,
Between us there now stands a wall.
My pain is more than they can bear,
When I mention my child,
I see their blank stare.
“But I thought you were over it,”
Their eyes seem to say,
No, no, I can’t listen to this, not today.
So I smile and pretend, and say, “Oh, I’m ok”.
But inside I am crying, as I turn away.
And so my old friend, I shall paint on a smile,
As I have from the start,
You never knowing all the while,
All I’ve just said to you in my heart.
Thank You to Kelly Cummings for this poem.
Yes, we are back from vacation – the site is back up – I’ll be putting up all the pictures and stories this week.
Sorry for the site being down for so long! Hopefully now I can get everything fixed 