Teri Parris Ford's Blog

Road Trip 2019 Complete

I traveled over 3,400 miles, leaving on July 2nd for California and arriving August 5th from El Paso, TX yesterday. I stayed the night in Vale, CO my first night and in Wichita, KS last night. I purchased close to 300 gallons of gas and got about 18 mpg on my Yukon. I pulled my first trailer to the beach. For the first time ever on a road trip, I never turned on the radio because my Yukon has Apple Play with Waze (a GPS navigation program). I listened to two books, about a dozen podcasts and a lot of music on my playlists. Balt enjoyed a lot of space in the back, although a lot more going to California then on the return. I came home with 3 bins and several bags of stuff from my mom's, baskets and a shelf, as well as 2 big bins of Jim's stuff. 

I actually slept in this morning. Balt never woke me up, which was surprising since he sleeps the whole time in the car. I didn't get out in the road until after 7am. I spent a good chunk of time on the Kansas turnpike and stopped  every 1/2 tank for gas and ice. I treated myself to a large Dunkin latte on ice for breakfast and a Diet Dr. Pepper for lunch. I did not stop for food but had plenty of snacks in the car to hold me over. While I haven't weighed myself, I'm pretty sure I'm coming home a bit lighter than when I left. Overall I feel like I accomplished a lot for the month I was away. 

Back to the Heat

Yesterday's Ventura high was in the mid 70's with an overcast morning. The sunshine didn't come out until almost 4pm which made for a cool day but so pleasant. Today was set to be a much warmer day but we had to check out by noon. We rolled into 100 degree temps at my mom's an hour later.

My cousin and I had a wonderful time and hope to make it an annual outing. Her husband loves camping but had never camped at the beach before. They all fell in love with something I have loved for so long. Of course camping at the beach always makes me think of my dad since he was the one to first take me camping to the beach. As I got older I loved taking my girls along too, but he was always in charge. Last year my brother took me, so I guess he was in charge of everything. This was the first time, I was in charge!! I pulled the trailer, set it up and had to hitch it all back together and then clean it all out once back home. Having my cousin's family there to support me made it easy (they did all the cooking). I'm ready to do it all again next year! 

Beach life

Life’s a beach

We enjoyed a leisurely day walking on the beach reading, eating, sunning, talking and napping. Amazing!

It’s in the blood!

 I drove my brother’s trailer all by self to the beach today. I hitched it all together and prepped for a trip that I thought might be all by self but my cousin’s family came too. We got in late afternoon but the temps went from 103 in the valley to 73 at the beach which was wonderful. 

Tuesday Sunshine

We had a beautiful day getting a little of this and that done. I'm getting into a good schedule of working on my computer after my walk in the morning when I'm fresh. Either once the laptop battery dies or I'm dying, I stop and start working in the garage until I'm too hot or too hungry. Lunch and then swim and I pretty much call it a day. My mom and I watch the news and Jeopardy. She likes Wheel of Fortune but me, not so much. I usually end the day up in my room with something on HBO that's too naughty for my mom to watch. 

Travel Buddies

Without stopping, it's about a 30 hour drive from my house to my mom's. I once made it in 32 hours with me and Jessi driving straight, only stopping for gas. Monika and I did it in 34 hours once because Monika wanted to stop and eat. I left Tuesday morning at 6:30 am and drove to Vail, Colorado where I slept from 10:30pm to 4:30am. I got back on the road this morning with several morning stops to enjoy Colorado and got to my mom's place at 7:30pm this evening. So a 39 hour trip (I added 2 hours from time zone crossings). It was a fairly pleasant drive but quite hot at times. I kept the windows down for hottest parts. I poured water over my head to keep me cool, drank plenty and kept a bowl with water and ice in the back for Balt. It was in the 90's going thru Nebraska yesterday and 107 going thru the Mojave in California this afternoon, but freezing cold over night in Vail! I was so glad I had two blankets and light sweatshirt.  I woke up at 2am with cold feet and put on my socks and sneakers and asked Balt to get closer. He does make a great travel buddy. He rarely complains-- never as long as I get him out periodically for potty stops and offer him plenty of water. I notice that a lot people seem afraid of him when he's with me, even though he's so gentle. I do feel safer having him along. 

On the road!

My last day in Pensacola, Fl

Today was my last full day and Jessi has gone for most of it but Cody took good care of me. He took me to the Aviation Museum after a slow morning. We got to see the Blue Angels practice show which was absolutely amazing. The day was pretty hot so we went back to the apartment complex to hang out at the pool while we waiting for Jessi to go out to dinner. We went to McGuire's Irish Pub. Jessi and Cody shared a steak and I got a hamburger. Jessi had too much studying to do to stay out for too long and I had to pack. We watched a movie on Netflix to finish the night.

Pensacola

Jessi had to get up at 5am for a 7am briefing and a 10am flight. I hung out at her apartment, enjoying the quiet morning. I did some laundry for her, made coffee, listened to the Daily podcast, went for a walk, checked out the complex gym, did some prep for next year's classes. It was a nice morning. Cody got home first and we watched an episode of Star Trek together. Jessi got home early in the afternoon with plenty of time for us to go out to lunch at Flounders and then to the beach for fun in the sun. The water was as warm as bath water. It reminded me of Cuba with white, perfectly soft sand. It was a wonderful first Monday of Summer. 

Until Next Time

We spent a very morning watching news, sipping coffee, etc. I did some school work, answering emails. I won’t see Jim again until mid summer so I just wanted the time near him. We walked around. I got an iced tea and then we went out for Mexican for the third time this trip. No complaints! 

I got to the airport early and to my gate in record time— El Paso is a small airport. I flew to Houston am waiting to go to Milwaukee. 

Back to El Paso, TX

It's a 4 hour car ride from Tuscon to El Paso. We spent the morning enjoying the hot tub and a leisure breakfast. We checked out at 11am and set out for Texas. We stopped for gas and bathrooms, and then for lunch in Las Cruses at the same place we had eaten the last time I was here. Jim loved those enchiladas. I think he'd love to try enchiladas from every Tex Mex place in the whole southwest. We talked about retirement and wondering about what the future holds. I often wonder how long it will take forus to finally live together again. In the meantime these visiting trips are fun and kind of intense. Work is work, and play is play.

I tried not to get into my work email more than just an hour in the morning while Jim was busy getting ready. I got a snap from one of my students in yearbook of the kids all working on pages. The whole book is due in a week and I've left them to finish it. A part of me was concerned that my timing was off but I could see that I've released ownership to them and that is really a great thing. 

One more night of relaxation and then it's back to finishing my National Boards and making sure the year ends strong. As the rain poured down on our car ride, I was glad to be away and happy to be next to my life partner.

Those Cacti

I woke at 3am, knowing it was my normal waking time in Madison, so when I got up at 5am, I felt well rested and like I had slept in. I talked Jim into going for a long morning walk that started with a Starbucks run and then around a local golf course. I must say the morning was glorious -- about 60 when we left the hotel. We spent the rest of the morning lounging around the pool. We went downtown to walk about and then came back to the hotel and walked to a local restaurant for Easter dinner. We finished the evening in the hot tub to soak our bones. It was a most wonderful day!

Weekend Getaway

I left at 3am to catch a 5:30 flight to El Paso. Jim picked me up to drive out to Tucson for a holiday extended weekend. 

Travel Day back to Madison

I had enough time this morning to have a cup of coffee with mom, but I left by 8am. I enjoyed the ride to the flyaway with Monika. I got to LAX by 9am for a 11am flight, so I made crazy time with no traffic and no lines. I enjoyed a nice morning at the airport. Southwest offered me $900 not to take the flight home since they were over sold. It wasn't all that tempting, it looked like all flights to Milwaukee were full. I guess it was a busy flying weekend. I left at 8am from my mom's and got home in Madison at 8pm with 2 hours lost in time travel.

Saying goodbye to sandals and sunshine.

It was nice to have the morning together without a lot to do. My flight boarded at 9:50am. I've learned from now on to use my boarding time as the time to get to the airport instead flight leaving time. We enjoyed breakfast together and some time to chat about our future together and spring travel. I'm eager to return. El Paso is not the prettiest place but it's sunny and warm. Of course come summer it will be hot. I got a little bit of sun this weekend. I'm returning to more snow and weeks of freezing temperatures. I may need to come back for spring break.

La Cruses, NM

After a leisure morning, we head out of El Paso to La Cruses. I wanted to see the above sculpture, which was created in 1993 and refurbished 2012 by local artists Olin Calk and Dan Smith. I had seen google images of it but wanted to see it for real. It is off Hwy 10 outside of Las Cruses.  It was really windy and amazing to see how it seemed to have no trouble in the elements. It's quite impressive! 

We then made our way to the historic part of the city, called Mesilla. We walked around lots of shops and enjoyed the weather. We had a late lunch at a local hot spot, called La Posta that is in an 18th century stagecoach station  and also features a piranha tank & aviary. We both got enchiladas, I got green and Jim got red. I'll probably gain 5 pounds from this trip but I'm ready to get on a diet next week. 

El Paso, TX

The weather was nearly perfect, low 70's. We enjoyed a very leisure day. Jim took me out to a steak house for dinner and we had an amazing view of the city before dark.

Valentine Travels

It was not an ideal day. I missed my morning flight out of Milwaukee. I thought I had plenty of time and so, stopped for coffee and that did me in. I got pulled in security to have my bags searched for explosives. The nut bars stuffed in my shoes looked very suspicious. The TSA officer asked specifically for all of my electronics and each one of them were wiped and tested. When I said I was going to miss my plane, she told me all would be fine. I guess it was but not what I wanted. Instead of leaving for El Paso at 10:25, I left at 3:40. I had plenty of time to move my truck from the expensive lot to the cheap lot and save myself $75 in parking fees. I had time to watch Star Trek and work on my ancestry. I finally make it to El Paso at 8:30pm. Jim had a busy day so I think it worked out for him as well. He was still in uniform when he picked me up which was a bonus.  

In Transit Back...

I left late in the morning on New Year's Day because Jim had to work and I was eager to get home with some time to transition back. I needed to have at least the weekend to prep for back to work but a couple days more would be even better. I had originally planned to stay until Thursday but once I found out Jim had to work on New Year's, that was all the excuse I needed to get going. As much as I wanted to spend time with him, I didn't want to spend time alone in a hotel room.

I must really like driving? I take so many of these long drives here and there every year. 12 days ago I left for a 20 hour drive to Corpus Christi, which was fairly pleasant. I left yesterday for a 23 hour drive from El Paso to Madison through New Mexico and Kansas. The New Mexico was a route I'd never gone through before but Kansas? I' ve done that and it's worse than Nebraska, plus there was construction. I ended up in Greensburg for the night because I was too drowsy to make it to Wichita. Since there aren't any nice rest stops on the 54, I thought stopping a small, cheap looking motel would be okay. It was so shady that Balt had a hard time getting to sleep. He kept barking at noises and stayed up past midnight staring out the window. I passed out with all my clothes on and was glad we weren't next to anyone to complain about his barking. He finally settled down at 1am. My alarm woke us both up at 6am and I was on my way. I had McDonalds for breakfast and Taco Bell for lunch, a pack of Starburst for dinner. Tomorrow the holidays are over and I'm on a diet.

Cold Day in El Paso

We woke to a blanket of snow. Balt let me sleep in until after 7am. My morning walk with him was very brief. Jim joined me for the hotel's free breakfast. Once Monika woke up, she joined us as well. We went exploring through El Paso but everything downtown looked closed. We ended up at a Barnes and Noble. We went to Andale's for lunch (#2 on Yelp-- the #1 place was packed.). Instead of going out to a movie we went back to the hotel, turned the heat up and watched a movie. 

I'm guessing El Paso is a much nicer place to visit when it's not freezing but I'm here for the company, not the sights!

Austin to Van Horn, TX

Balt and I walked to a Starbucks a couple of blocks away from the hotel, near the capitol early this morning. Monika got to sleep in. We packed up and drove around for a bit before heading out to Hamilton, TX where one of Monika's college room mates grew up and was visiting her family for the holidays. We enjoyed lunch there and a nice visit. We stayed a bit too long and didn't quite make to El Paso, but there was no hurry to get there since Jim has to work in the morning anyway. We are at a Red Roof Inn in Van Horn. We'll have time to do laundry in the morning. Ideally, I'd love to sleep in, but I know Balt will get me up early. Side note-- Balt is walking without a limp and seems to be on the mend.

The Day After Christmas

On Sunday, shortly after arriving at Jessi's, Balt tripped on the stairs of Jessi's apartment. I noticed his toe was bleeding, and his nail looked crooked but it was fully in tact. On Monday morning I called his vet to get some advise on what to do. They said that if the nail broke and became detached, I should see a vet but it was fine at that time. While at the beach on Christmas eve Balt enjoyed a nice walk in the sand without any limp and seemed like all was well. On Christmas morning we woke to find the nail fully sideways on his foot but still attached. If we touched him, he yelped. The quick was fully exposed and bloody. He needed a vet but it was Christmas day so yeah, it had to wait until today. Cody's grandmother gave me the number to her vet and I made an appointment first thing this morning, 7:50am. Balt needed to be sedated inorder to have the nail completely cut down so that it would grow back normally. The whole process took 3 hours and $175. I picked him up groggy but hardly limping at all.

Monika and I decided to drive to Austin, TX. I had never been and Cody's uncle needed a ride so we took him. The traffic was awful. The day was wet and at time pouring. Monika found a LaQuinta across the street from the capitol. We checked in around 3pm, giving us time to freshen up before exploring the capitol and some of the downtown. We got a 5 mile walk in and a vegetarian dinner. I'm very happy to report I'm sleeping in a very comfortable bed tonight!

Christmas in TEXAS!

The morning was really fun. I was on the couch downstairs with Balt, while the girls slept in upstairs. I made a second batch of cinnamon rolls which came out a whole lot better than my first batch yesterday. Eventually we gathered to open presents. I had a bit of time out in the sun before we had to get ready to leave. We had lots of cleaning to do and pack. We drove about 3 hours to New Braunfels, to Cody's grandma's home where we had dinner and a stocking exchange.

Everything about this Christmas was different. I had to pick who to do Christmas with and only Monika had the freedom to join me. As I went to bed in a yet another pull out mattress, I thought how wonderful it is to sleep in a good bed and perhaps that should play a part in my travel decisions in the future. I know my meeting Cody's family was important to Jessi and I wanted to be a part of her holiday experience. As much as I missed having Erika around, I live with her and I knew she would be busy with work most of my time off. I looked up yoga studios in New Braunfels (thinking about tomorrow morning) and there wasn't a one. That was what Erika did this morning and I would have loved to have joined her!

We finished the night with a fun game of rummy. Keeping score, I was in last place when we finally called it quits. 

Christmas Eve Fun

After a leisure morning, we spent the day exploring Corpus Christi and ended the day at the beach. It was wonderful!

Driving to Texas

I left on Saturday morning at 6am sharp. I popped into Starbucks to pick up my venti latte and then got to driving. I had a 20 hour drive and I wanted to try to get most of the way in. I listened to Becoming by Michelle Obama which was a 19 hour book that would get me almost the whole way! My truck overheated in Arkansas. I brought extra oil and coolant with me, so I was able to pull over and add fluids and get back on the road pretty quickly. I've been prepared to have to buy a new car as soon as mine dies, but I think it's still got some more life it after all! Balt was a dear the whole trip-- no complaints and enjoyed every stop. He's great at keeping me company and scaring all the bad people away.

After 11pm, I was getting close to Houston and decided to stop at a very a rest stop. I had made a nice bed for myself and Balt. I climbed into the back and fell asleep. My alarm woke me up 5am. I was able to freshen up a bit and take Balt for a short morning walk. I had to wait until I got to Houston to stop for a Starbucks latte. Once I got to Corpus Christi, I did a quick stop at the grocery store so that I could make sure to have the stuff to make Christmas cinnamon rolls. 

Jessi picked up Monika early this morning from San Antonio airport. The 3 of us went out to lunch and enjoyed our meal outside in the sunshine. The beach weather means its very mild (mid-sixties). There was no way for all of us to spend the holiday all together this year, but at least 3 of us can enjoy some nice weather!! 

Travel Back

We woke up at 5am to get out on the roady by 6:30am. Erika had a 9:20am flight on standby. Jessi and I had tickets out at 9:45 and 9:50. All three of us on different airlines. Jim had to get back to El Paso and Monika got to stay in California. We all had smooth sailing home-- no delays, no problems. I'm not sure when the next time all five of us will be together again... it won't be in 2018 and we forgot to get a family photo!!

Erika and I got into Madison with a few minutes of each other. I had Balt waiting for me, Erika had Kelly. We both have a very busy week ahead of us. 

A Funeral

The weather was cool and grey. I suppose for mid December it was seasonal for Santa Clarita. It was somewhat appropriate for the taste of the day. Jim's dad funeral was at 11am. It was a very private affair, no guests, just immediate family. Jim spoke and Erika and Linda both shared some as well. Tears were shed remembering the life of a good man who had lived for 90 years.

It is interesting to find Jim and I are on parallel experiences with our parents although my parents are so much younger than his. We are finding ourselves in a very transitional time of life as we watch our parents age and our children become adults.

After the funeral we gathered for pizza and pasta at a local Italian place. Monika scheduled a family activity per Jim's instructions at 4pm. We got reservations for the Broad in downtown LA. It was a really fun experience and great opportunity for photos. I kept thinking how much I wish I could bring my department! We made our way home in the traffic and spent the rest of evening together watching tv.

Out and About

We had a very relaxing morning. I got up at 5am just knowing it was 7am in Wisconsin and I didn't want to sleep in too much. My feet hurt from all the walking I did yesterday, so I decided to take it easy today. Diet and exercise start on Monday. We enjoyed family breakfast, lounging around. Jessi and Cody went hiking, Erika and Kelly went to the mall and Monika and I went out to visit my brother's family then to a cat show. We had In N Out for a late lunch and got ice cream after seeing a movie-- the new Fantastic Beasts. We had back tomorrow early in the morning. 

A Red Eye

I had the day off but Erika had to work. I went into work to take photos of the girls basketball team and check on the newspaper. I made it to a noon yoga class and then took Balt for a follow up exam. He's back to normal officially which makes leaving him behind a lot easier. I have a service walking him in the morning and a friend of Monika's condo sitting in the evenings. Erika, Kelly and I left at 5pm for an 8pm flight that was delayed. Luckily we did not miss our connection through Kansas City to LAX. It was pouring rain when we got in-- crazy! I have no memories of rain on Thanksgiving in California. This is a first, but it won't last.