Leaving on Another Road Trip!

We're leaving again today. It's 29 degrees right now, and we're in Alabama! Gary wants to go somewhere to see just how cold it can get -- I want to go somewhere that I can see how hot it can get.

So we're headed for snow country. Our first stop is Ft. Wayne, Indiana, to visit Cousin Rita. Gary has not see her in about 35 years.

I'm just not so sure about this snow thing. I lived in Washington, D.C. for two years right after college and learned to hate snow. Two years ago we went skiing. Let me tell you, if you haven't learned to ski in your first 50 years, don't try it at the beginning of the second 50 years.

We took the beginners class. I knew there was trouble when I couldn't even lift my skis. The instructor had to carry them for me. Then we tried the first slope, a tiny, barely not level slope. I slid right into a class of four-year-olds, knocking little kids right and left, and their instructor yelled at me. I took off the skis and vowed to never put them back on again. Now Gary is mentioning words like cross-country skiing.

This is going to be an adventure, I'm afraid.

P.S. And for all of you who have told me you can't believe we're sleeping in Wal-Mart's parking lot, here's the whole story. We didn't actually plan to do that. We've camped all our married life and have all the equipment. We had originally planned to camp in state parks. What we didn't realize was, unlike around here, the parks in the north close their campgrounds in the winter. That's how we got to Plan B: Wal-Mart. I had read online about a lot of people doing that, so we decided to give it a try. There's apparently a whole underground of people sleeping in Wal-Mart parking lots across the country. It's great! No tent to put up, doesn't matter if it's raining. Just crawl in the back of the car and go to sleep. Whoever wakes up first starts driving.

Try it -- you'll like it!!!!!!