We have been traveling for 10 months. There are many lessons learned during these many miles. One of them is that we NEED a break from the constant setting up and breaking down that is required with the travel. It isn’t hard, as work goes, but it does get tiring. The driving gets tiring, too, even though we enjoy the new scenery that passes by.

After our amazing “surprise trip” to Hawaii(surprise to me, that is; Dave knew about it for a year), we made the decision to return to Desert Hot Springs and just hang out for a few days. Those few days turned into nearly 6 weeks. The hot springs and the pools, and the warm weather, and the dog park for Snugs, our intrepid fellow-traveler, were just too tempting.

And, I had fallen in love with the desert. My favorite time of the day was the early morning, when Snuggles and I would walk through the gate into the desert. The walk got longer and longer, and I felt better and better physically. Snugs and I enjoyed the funny California quail, and I rejoiced in the budding out and blooming of the Paramint Daisies. Then we had several storms in a row that covered the surrounding mountains with snow. That made our desert walk even more amazing!

Dave and I also enjoyed the two churches we visited on Sundays: St. Joseph of Arimathea in Yucca Valley, and St. Anthony OF the Desert in Desert Hot Springs. Both congregations and the clergy were so welcoming and friendly. I preached one Sunday at St. Anthony’s and con-celebrated one Sunday at St. Joseph’s.

We finally got back on the road on February 28th, heading for the Tucson area. We stayed in a Cracker Barrel parking lot that night and then again several more times before we got to Port Isabel, TX. Snuggles had a difficult time adjusting to being confined again and not having the dog park. She’d settle in for the drive, but get into all kinds of mischief in the coach when we stopped for the night.

We traveled many miles along the border with Mexico, in N. Mex., Ariz., and Texas, and saw many, many border patrol police. It makes me sad for my beautiful Mexico and its warm and wonderful people. I’m also proud of my church that it is pushing for a humane answer to the illegal alien problem. Arizona’s answer is NOT IT!!

And then, ah! The wonderful smells of the water at Port Isabel. I was reminded of my brother, who, at nine years old, stood on a dock in Gloucester, Mass., breathing deeply and saying, “Oh! What a beautiful stink!” As much as I became enamored of the desert, I knew I was home when Snuggles and I walked on the docks. Snuggles loved the docks. I loved the cormorants and the pelicans and the Great Blue Heron that frequented the canal bordering the RV park.

And, another wonderful little church, St. Andrews-by-the-Sea. After the Ash Wednesday service, we were invited to join several parishioners for dinner at a local restaurant. Wonderful people.

But the best part of Port Isabel is South Padre Island, a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico. It is just over an impressive bridge (that has warning signs, “Watch out for Pelicans”)on the other side of Laguna Madre. We took Snugs there several times, at the far end where the beach wasn’t too crowded so that she could run without her leash. The three of us enjoyed these times.

Then, on to Biloxi, MS, where we hoped to find the church we were so taken with on our first trip along the Gulf Coast, in 2005. That church was the old one, built in the early 1800’s, being used because their “new” one, built in late 1800’s, had been destroyed in Hurricane Camille. I’m sure I wrote about that at the time.

The next fall, the church we had attended was destroyed by Katrina. We wanted to see if the congregation survived that second traumatic loss. When we looked for it the winter after Katrina, only the cross from the belltower was there, stuck in the ground.

We braved the St. Paddy’s Day parade, and looked for the church, to no avail. I was saddened that they had not survived, but took Dave’s advice to search on the internet. Hooray! The Church of the Redeemer was listed, 5 miles inland from the Gulf.

The next day we went to services in their brand-new church. It was built with funds from their insurance, and the sale of their long-owned Gulfside property. They moved in last October. The Rector, who had seen them through the disasters, said they didn’t lose any parishioners with the move, but they have lost touch with the neighborhood in which they were so involved with outreach programs.

However, they still own a small hall in the neighborhood, and every Friday, they have a Requiem Mass, open to the area. It keeps them in touch with the people, and honors those who lost their lives.

We left Biloxi, staying in Cracker Barrel parking lots, and arrived in Okeechobee, FL, to visit our Rhode Island friends, who winter there. We had a wonderful two weeks. I must say my friend and I spent hours talking, as usual, although we no longer can stay up til 2 in the morning the way we used to! They were very gracious to put up with our lively puppy, who glommed onto my friend and stuck to her like glue. She couldn’t sit down without Snugs jumping into her lap. If she moved, Snugs was right there beside her. If she couldn’t follow my friend, Snugs kept her chair warm.

And I washed and washed and washed. Laundry on the road is very expensive, so many things are overlooked. When we left, after two weeks, I finally felt CLEAN!! (Thanks again, dear friend)

And now, after a couple more nights in Cracker Barrel parking lots, we are here in Shenandoah country, preparing for the big wedding. I did my homily in Florida, but my alb needed to be dry –cleaned and pressed, and my hair needed to be cut. I meet with the other priest tomorrow, then the rehearsal on Thursday. The ceremony is Friday night. Thanks to a frantic shopping trip with my friend in FL, I have a decent outfit for the reception. Dave’s suit is cleaned and pressed. So, I guess we’re ready!

That’s the saga of the last few months. More adventures to come, and hopefully, more internet so that I can record them. BTW, we did stay in many RV parks, also, in order to fill our water tank and empty our waste tanks. But Cracker Barrel is our overnight stop of choice.

Life is good, on and off the road. Thanks be to God.