Traveling Again on Back Roads
A week or so before Christmas, I flew up to Denver to stay with my son and family in Pueblo West, CO (about 60 miles SW of the Denver International Airport) for the holidays and to stay with my granddaughter while my daughter-in-law transferred to her new job in Texarkana, AR. And this trip really did take the back roads from Pueblo West to Texarkana.
We spent the better part of six days packing up the Colorado house to move to the Arkansas house. We had a short Christmas because we still had to do some packing and get all the furniture and boxes into the trailer that was to be picked up the Monday after Christmas. We spent Sunday nite at a motel and then headed out on Monday morning.
The caravan included Kirk (my son) in a pickup with the 7 fish in a large cooler with heater and aerator to keep them alive and one of the dogs. The second vehicle was Jenia and Anastasia (daughter-in-law and granddaughter) with the 2 other dogs. I came up last in Kirk’s pickup with the 2 cats. The original intent was for Kirk to drive straight thru with Jenia, Stasia and I stopping overnite at a motel. However, we managed to make very good time and decided it would be better to forge ahead and go the distance in one day. And when we thought about stopping overnite at a motel with all the animals, it just seemed more prudent to trudge thru and get it all done in one day. Talk about being tired and sore and very fed up with driving – a 14 hour straight thru 836 miles trip will do it. Yes, for the most part the roads were clear and 2-lane divided highways. However, a very long part, and it seemed to go on forever, was traveled on a 2 lane back road trip. A good portion of the trip was in the dark and driving in the dark is not my forte because of my eyes and lack of depth perception at nite. Not to do that one again. But all in all, we made it to Texarkana, AR and stopped for the nite at a motel.
We had put the 3 dogs, 7 fish and 2 cats in the house and we hit the beds in the motel and zonked out for the nite. Kirk, being the early riser that he is, got up to feed the animals and check to see if the fish were still alive. After breakfast, we all headed to the house to start a bit of the organizing and early unpacking that goes with a move. The furniture and other boxes were not expected until Thursday so we got an opportunity to check out the town.
Texarkana is half in the state of Texas and the other half in the state of Arkansas. It’s a pretty old town but has a lot of history so, to me, it will be an interesting place to explore. It was easy to find Walmart and some of the other necessary stores. We found where the mall is, but I’m not sure I could find it on my own quite yet (and truth be told, I can easily do without malls). We did look at a couple of senior housing complexes and there are some interesting oddities to them. In Arkansas, I don’t qualify for senior housing because I make too much money with my Social Security and 2 small work pensions I receive. In Texas I might be right at the top of the qualifying range. And here’s the kicker for me, in California I would just be at the very bottom of the income range to qualify for senior housing. And so you ask, why am I looking at senior housing.
The reason for me to come with the family to Arkansas is to be Stasia’s nanny. Jenia will be working very long and different working hours which would make it tough finding a day care person to watch Stasia. Kirk is still working in the St Louis area and only able to come home, now, a couple of weekends a month. So I decided I needed a change and the ability to live in a less expensive area than southern California. And here I am, at the end of another back roads traveling trip.
One nice thing about this area, we are within a short day’s drive of many places: Little Rock, Shreveport and even San Antonio. We plan to take a couple of short weekend trips after we get everything settled with the house. There are still lots of boxes to be unpacked. It will be fun traveling again on some back roads and seeing so many new places; tasting new types of foods; and getting acquainted with different people here in the South. A new adventure and one with lots of interesting people, places and things to see. Keep tuned for my next back roads traveling adventure.
We spent the better part of six days packing up the Colorado house to move to the Arkansas house. We had a short Christmas because we still had to do some packing and get all the furniture and boxes into the trailer that was to be picked up the Monday after Christmas. We spent Sunday nite at a motel and then headed out on Monday morning.
The caravan included Kirk (my son) in a pickup with the 7 fish in a large cooler with heater and aerator to keep them alive and one of the dogs. The second vehicle was Jenia and Anastasia (daughter-in-law and granddaughter) with the 2 other dogs. I came up last in Kirk’s pickup with the 2 cats. The original intent was for Kirk to drive straight thru with Jenia, Stasia and I stopping overnite at a motel. However, we managed to make very good time and decided it would be better to forge ahead and go the distance in one day. And when we thought about stopping overnite at a motel with all the animals, it just seemed more prudent to trudge thru and get it all done in one day. Talk about being tired and sore and very fed up with driving – a 14 hour straight thru 836 miles trip will do it. Yes, for the most part the roads were clear and 2-lane divided highways. However, a very long part, and it seemed to go on forever, was traveled on a 2 lane back road trip. A good portion of the trip was in the dark and driving in the dark is not my forte because of my eyes and lack of depth perception at nite. Not to do that one again. But all in all, we made it to Texarkana, AR and stopped for the nite at a motel.
We had put the 3 dogs, 7 fish and 2 cats in the house and we hit the beds in the motel and zonked out for the nite. Kirk, being the early riser that he is, got up to feed the animals and check to see if the fish were still alive. After breakfast, we all headed to the house to start a bit of the organizing and early unpacking that goes with a move. The furniture and other boxes were not expected until Thursday so we got an opportunity to check out the town.
Texarkana is half in the state of Texas and the other half in the state of Arkansas. It’s a pretty old town but has a lot of history so, to me, it will be an interesting place to explore. It was easy to find Walmart and some of the other necessary stores. We found where the mall is, but I’m not sure I could find it on my own quite yet (and truth be told, I can easily do without malls). We did look at a couple of senior housing complexes and there are some interesting oddities to them. In Arkansas, I don’t qualify for senior housing because I make too much money with my Social Security and 2 small work pensions I receive. In Texas I might be right at the top of the qualifying range. And here’s the kicker for me, in California I would just be at the very bottom of the income range to qualify for senior housing. And so you ask, why am I looking at senior housing.
The reason for me to come with the family to Arkansas is to be Stasia’s nanny. Jenia will be working very long and different working hours which would make it tough finding a day care person to watch Stasia. Kirk is still working in the St Louis area and only able to come home, now, a couple of weekends a month. So I decided I needed a change and the ability to live in a less expensive area than southern California. And here I am, at the end of another back roads traveling trip.
One nice thing about this area, we are within a short day’s drive of many places: Little Rock, Shreveport and even San Antonio. We plan to take a couple of short weekend trips after we get everything settled with the house. There are still lots of boxes to be unpacked. It will be fun traveling again on some back roads and seeing so many new places; tasting new types of foods; and getting acquainted with different people here in the South. A new adventure and one with lots of interesting people, places and things to see. Keep tuned for my next back roads traveling adventure.
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