Florida or Bust!

With so much happening in our lives of late, and a new cancer treatment beginning soon, we decided we needed to get away and forget about the cancer for a bit and focus on us!  So, I am journaling about the trip on the laptop as we travel.  Nurse Robin called right before we drove off to find out when Tim would be available for the treatment to begin, so she is working on that and will probably call us while we are traveling to let us know when the first treatment is to be.  If you are interested, google "Yervoy" and read all the disclaimers!

Monday Evening, January 27, 2014

We are on our way to Florida as of 6:10 p.m.  Our original plan was to leave in the morning after we picked up the rental car (Chevy Captiva) from Enterprise.  However, there is supposedly some bad weather coming across from Texas and up the Eastern coast and we decided that it would be better to leave tonight if we could.  So around noon, Tim called Enterprise to find out if we could pick up the rental car early which was no problem.  AND instead of charging us an extra day, he said he would post the car a little bit later in the day to save us right at $95!

I spent the morning doing up the last bit of laundry so we could be sure and have enough underwear with us to last the week and I also wanted to take my bath and hair towels so washed a load of towels.  Tim had nothing to do after reading his notes for the preacher’s fellowship meeting later in the day, so he ran his check to the bank and changed the church sign while I was busy working in the house and packing the suitcases. 

At 1:10 p.m. we left for the preachers’ fellowship meeting at Shallowford.  Tim was on the schedule to preach or we probably would not have attended.  But, if we had not attended, we would have missed wonderful sermons from Bro. Stalnaker and Bro. Overton.  And, during the break for snacks we enjoyed fellowship with some of the pastors and their wives from sister churches that attended the meeting.  Not only that, a couple of the dear pastors gave us love gifts for our trip.  God is so good to bless us with wonderful friends working in the ministry.

Shallowford always treats those who attend the services to a meal out at a nearby restaurant.  We opted to skip the meal and head on home, pack the car and head south.  At some point down the road we will stop for Subway, hopefully!

We entered South Carolina at ~7:30 p.m.  Traffic was pretty heavy around Charlotte, NC but moved steadily along.  Tim made the comment that Brad will NOT like the traffic around Charlotte when he and Liz and family get moved down here from Buffalo, WV.  We took the first exit that showed a Subway.  Back on the road by 8:13.  Gas price showing $2.93.  When we entered SC the emergency road signs stated “Winter storm operations started” and you can see the brine on the road.  We are praying we are well into FL before any bad weather begins tomorrow!

The last time I cashed in our credit card points, I got Sunoco gas cards.  Well, I won’t do that again because there are very few Sunoco stations around the areas we travel to, and I didn’t think to check around the house.  So even if we don’t really need the gas, if we see a sign for a Sunoco station, we go ahead and make the stop to fill up, which we just did at $3.06/gallon.  It is 9:30 p.m. and we are 7.5 miles from I-26 E (Charleston, SC) exit.

I worked on my Bible study for Good Morning Girls so that I could copy and paste it into the facebook group that I lead.  “Intentionally Focused” is the name of this winter study.  Each week of the 8-week study focuses on a different area of our lives as Christians.  This week is focusing on our spiritual life.  We are seeing from the scriptures brought to our attention how that Jesus was very intentional in His life.  He was always focused on His goal of living to die.  How I am amazed at His willingness to give up His throne in heaven, live a lowly life here on earth of ridicule and persecution, to die the awful death and suffer the torment that He went through to purchase my pardon of sin so that I could then spend eternity in heaven with Him as a joint heir with Him!  It is incomprehensible! 

Charleston, SC is 100 miles at 9:45 p.m.  We are 47 miles from I-95.

10:24 and reached I-95.  227 miles to Jacksonville, FL.  Savannah, GA is 95 miles but we are not going that far.

10:45 stopped over in Walterboro, GA (50 miles North of Savannah) at our choice of hotels for the price, Holiday Inn Express.

Beginning around noon tomorrow the weather will begin to be nasty!  So, we will be out of here early in the morning!