Our second day on the road...at a rest stop eating somewhere in Virginia, I think.
Any way it was nice and cool there.On the road again...this is the Shennandoah River...it took us 45 minutes to go about 3 miles at this spot on the trip. Norman was not a happy camper. We decided to look for a different route to take home to avoid this delay.Finally crossing into Pennsylvania!!!
I had Googled our trip for directions and they were great...right up until the last 3 miles. Actually, the directions were not at fault...a road sign had gotten turned so it threw us off. We drove around up and down country roads for a good 30 minutes with me calling Jim and Phyllis' number every few minutes before we finally got Phyllis to answer the phone and give us directions. Anyway, as we topped the hill we saw Aunt Claudia and Jim standing near the road with waving arms and smiles on their faces! What a great sight!
Aunt Willa Dean thought she would never get to see Aunt Claudia again when she moved from Benton, so this was a sweet reunion of sisters.
Hugs for Mother
And Daddy is moving in position to get his hug!
Another sweet reunion for baby brother and his oldest living sister.
Time to take a look around. They had a 10 acre place with a huge red barn that had lots of country charm. They have 4 horses, a mule and a goat.
Phyllis's horse Beauty giving her a nudge in appreciation of the belly rub.
Daddy, Norman and Jim talking it over at the fence.
This was our view from the front porch..two swans on the pond across the road.
This is Phyllis and Jim's house...such a sweet peaceful place.
Here is where we spent most of our first day just talking, laughing and catching up... out on the front porch in the nice cool breeze. Temp was in the 70's. Aunt Claudia said she had prayed for the weather to be cool while we were there...and God sure anwered her prayers!
Mother and Daddy enjoying the peaceful porch and the swing.
Aunt Claudia and Aunt Willa Dean in the glider on the porch... (she is not asleep...just caught her with her eyes closed.)
This is where the men sat and talked while we women were on the porch.
We also spent a lot of time in the living room looking through the Curtis Family scrapbook and remembering old stories and funny tales. I thought I had heard all of them over the years, but alas they came up with some new ones that I had never heard shared. Oh my goodness, at the laughing and sometimes crying that went on in that room.
Tuesday, Dick and Debbie came to eat with us. Jim grilled T-bones for everyone. They were yummy!
After dinner we sat around the table and heard more stories and enjoyed more laughter!
The next day we headed up to Dick and Deb's in Etters, PA for the afternoon and evening. In this picture we are enjoying some great homemade soup and cornbread...and it rained while we were there and was even a little chilly. We also got to see deer feeding in their back yard.
Here we are watching the Razorbacks in the college world series...at least some of us were watching...Aunt Claudia was "resting her eyes."
The crew in their kitchen before we left for the evening.
The last remaining children of the Curtis clan...only 3 left of the 14 kids. Aunt Claudia, who just turned 88, Aunt Willa Dean who is 79 and Daddy, who is 82 almost 83.
Norman and Jim listening to the stories being told.
This is the morning we left...it was very hard to leave, because at the ages they all are, the thought most prevalent in their minds was "this could be the last time we will see one another on this earth." There were some tears, lots of hugs and lots and lots of kisses.
Thankfully, we are encouraged by the fact that they each know Jesus as their Savior and even though "we may never meet again this side of Heaven, we will meet on that beautiful shore"...someday.
This was a wonderful trip. I am so glad we got the privilege of taking Mother, Daddy and Aunt Willa Dean to see Aunt Claudia. And Praise the Lord, no one got sick, we had no accidents, Renee's suburban ran beautifully and Norman did a wonderful job of driving. Of course he had excellent guidance by his trip navigator who sat right behind him feeding him the directions, exits, and rest stops all along the way! Maybe if everyone stays healthy we can make the trip again next summer!