Road Trip-Missouri Style

I am always up for new adventures. Sometimes as we mature in life adventures are few and far between, but I guess they are really whatever you make them into.

Recently I started another venture into the world of direct sales. A new hat I wear is Dove Discoveries Chocolatier. It's my second hat to wear in the direct sales world. For seven years I have struggled to sell Beauticontrol products (I still do that but with the economy makeup and spa products are a luxury) so when I was approached to do this I jumped at a new adventure. I debated on whether to travel outside my general area but when an acquaintance asked if I would drive 150+ miles one way to do a party for her I said I would.

So I put my road trip hat on and ventured south. I wasn't a virgin when it comes to packing up the car and going on a road trip. As a kid it wasn't strange for my Dad to decide we were going to drive down the Pacific Coast Hwy and find a place to stop for ice cream, get gas and then turn around and go home. The sites were indescribable sometimes but thank goodness I wasn't prone to car sickness.

This past Saturday, I packed my wares and started out. One major difference is no major freeway, mostly two lane highways to my destination,although they are widening to four lanes part of the way.

I passed towns with funny names like Rescue, Albatross and Plew which the last one looked like a word jumble that you thought wasn't even a real word.

Animals of every kind were not foreign; cows, and more cows, Texas Longhorns, llamas, emu and a camel of all things. I had to do a double take for that one. I was surprised and saddened how since the recent road improvements how some of the tiniest towns are more like ghost towns. Although the roads improved it didn't improve the populations or services if anything it probably made it worse.

As I got closer to my final destination I traveled the old "Route 66" and thought how wonderful it must have been back in the day to pass what now was just a memory. Old abandoned motor stops, run by families, old gasoline stations with old pumps, progress didn't up lift these home style amenities.

Of course this trip didn't come without getting a little misplaced. The google map was wrong, (NO GPS for me yet) so I basically crossed my fingers and stood at a crossroads much like Tom Hanks in the movie Castaway in the end, and had hope that I would be able to have enough signal on my phone to reach my party destination.

I mentioned on my Facebook that day if I did get lost at least I had chocolate to eat. Thankfully I didn't have to resort to eating my profits.

This city girl adapted as best she could to the real country. It was a Missouri Road Trip--what more could I have expected.

Once Upon a Time......Long, Long Ago....

This is the story of a shy, young girl. She worked eight hour days, five days a week. Went to college part-time three days a week and some Saturdays. She took time out for her hobby but this was the life of someone almost 21 years old. Sounds a little boring but she had just ventured out on her own and moved away from home into an apartment with a friend. Five months into this new and exciting life her office was moving to a new facility and she was asked to work extra days to help the move go smoothly over a weekend in November.

The moving company did a walk-through on Friday and she was introduced to a foreman who would be handling the move. Blonde hair, blue eyes with that little hint of devil in him and of course well-built in her eyes. This guy worked a fast pace. Directing the guys what to get and where to put it. Little did the young girl realize her life would be changed forever.

No this isn't a fairy tale, wait no maybe it is. But this is the beginning of my love story almost 29 years ago. David and I worked side by side that weekend and we haven't left each other's side since. It is hard to believe that tomorrow we will be married 27 years. Two children, 1 1/2 grandchildren later. Our lives have been filled with happy and sad stories, peaks and valleys, laughter and tears, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Although we don't get to spend our day together like I had wanted we did get to go out earlier in the week and have our date night. Sometimes we are like two ships that are passing in the night but, 29 years ago our ships bumped into each other head-on like the Titanic to the iceberg and I thank God for him everyday.

You really can't look for love, it hits you when you least expect it. The picture is on our honeymoon in my most favorite place Hawaii. I think one of the reasons it holds a special place in my heart. We were young, pounds lighter and not a care in the world and had no idea what was ahead of us. Little did we think that we would continue with the story this many years later.

Happy 27th Anniversary, may we have 27 more together.