A beautiful drive, as we are crossing over to a different valley. We arrive early, because we are heading to a “First Come First Served” campground, which we had been told after calling them that they had plenty of availability.
That was true, because when we got there, the campground was empty and we were advised that it was closed for an annual event that they didn’t know last week would be taking place over the next couple of days…
So thankfully, we had good cellular signal, and we were able to quickly make a booking at an alternate campground.
After being checked in, and while finalizing plans for the next 3 days, I discover that two museums we planned on visiting are closed on Mondays. That’s a perfect example of why its important to remain flexible.
On the positive side, our Starlink satellite internet equipment stopped working when we arrived in Mandeville LA on 1/21.
Well today it works again, after we picked up a replacement kit that we had them ship to us in Albuquerque. So we were almost a whole month without our high speed internet. (we had to go through three phases of troubleshooting, under the guidance of Starlink.
We replaced the cable which was presumed faulty. We ordered one from Best Buy and picked it up in Cedar Hill TX on 1/27.
Then they replaced the router which we received on 2/5.
And finally, we picked up the new kit at a Fedex location that does “hold for customer pickup” today.
Claudette’s Two Cents.
Ah plans. What’s the saying I’ve had a few colleagues share with me, “If you want to make God laughs, tell Him your plans?” We got it. And we’re rolling with the punchs.
I wasn’t too happy with the campground, on a reservation, that decided at the last minute that they weren’t open. An elderly lady was sitting in her suburban, towing a small trailer. She was planning on taking a few days off. She looks distraught and when I told her it was definitely closed, she bursted out crying.
I walked over to her and held her in my arms. She shared how as she was getting older, she lost her confidence and felt she wasn’t good at much. I looked at her and told her “You are driving this suburban, on your own, towing this trailer, on Your Own. This isn’t a small thing. You drove here only to be told it’s closed. It’s terrible.” She looked at me and smiled, acknowledging what she’s capable of doing.
We chatted for a few more minutes, asking her about alternatives, and maybe enjoy a bit of adventure in another campground. By the time she left, she turned that thing around and headed of to hopefully enjoy her time off.
We never know what to expect, or who we meet. Life is full of adventures. Let’s just enjoy those moments. And as long as I’m with Bernard, we will conquer just about anything – together.
Resilience.