4/29/2021 Fox Lake, IL If you saw my Instagram account, you probably noticed a bunch of pictures that were not in Arizona. I already posted about the drive, but the reason was that there was a family emergency and I had to drive home before I planned. From Benson, AZ to Fox Lake, IL, the trip was a little over 26 hours. It took 3 days to get home. The first night I stayed in New Mexico near Las Cruces. There was a beautiful rest area that I could have spent the night at, but didn’t know about it until later. The next day I took off and stayed in New Mexico a second night. I drove through Texas during high winds and fought thousands of tumbleweeds flying across the highway (damaged a headlight) all the way to Kansas, where I stayed the third night. Finally, in the driving rain, I was in Illinois and arrived in Fox Lake around 9 pm.

For clarification, I have 4 sisters and I’m the oldest. One of my sisters (#1) came in from Florida and she stayed with her husband at one of my sister’s home (#2), while I was able to stay in the driveway at #4. I stayed with my family until my mom passed away peacefully on April 20. She had suffered from lung cancer due to smoking and had angina, and was in hospice at home. Mom was 86 years old and had a good life, joining my step father in peace. Her service was on May 2nd and we celebrated her life with literally hundreds of pictures with family and friends. There are a lot of great memories!

I’ve been boondocking and camping since. I stayed at a hotel one night and hate spending the money, but I needed to rest and clean up. Camping a state park felt good and it was nice to be in one spot for a few days. It was peaceful and quiet and I have everything I needed. Later, a client of my sister (#4) offered her driveway and a bathroom in exchange for odd jobs for a few days, and that has been working out well, for my first “moochdocking” gig. There are a also lot of fitness centers that I can join and I will do some research to see what works best for me moving forward. I’ll be camping at the park again with some friends before I head out on my next trip.

I love you Mom, and will think about you always. You had a great sense of humor and was sharp witted until the end. I miss you…