Quick Trip To See The Moms

The featured image above was the sunset in Hendricks County Indiana that greeted us!

We have now been at our old hometown in Virginia for three weeks.  The long list of action items is coming along quite well.  It has been a busy and somewhat stressful three weeks as we are rushing to meet some deadlines.  One of the things that we wanted to do while in Virginia is a quick 500 mile trip to see our moms.  So, we rented a car, packed a lunch and took off on Tuesday last week!

We needed to make the trip back to Indiana from here since we will begin moving southwest soon and will be even further from the Hoosier state and would have less time.  So, we took four days from our time and made the trip.  Two road days and two days visiting.

The 500 mile trip is a little tedious going through the West Virginia I-77 turnpike with all the twists and turns and mountains.  Once through Charleston WV it gets much easier as we take Hwy 35 north through WV into Ohio.  Then I-70 straight west to Indy and then on to Greencastle.

We arrived in Indianapolis at 4pm, just in time to meet my mom for dinner at her Westminster facility.  She has an one bedroom in this very nice independent care home.  And they have some of the best food in their dining room.  No kidding.

I am very pleased with how well that mom has adjusted to the transition from living in her Florida waterfront, pool home and driving her car compared to the apartment in the Indy facility and giving up driving.  I hope I do that well in the future when/if I’m in a similar situation.

After dinner, we hung out awhile with mom and then took off for Greencastle Indiana to Pat’s mom’s place.  Another hour and a half drive.

Pat spent both days with her mom running many errands, making meals, and enjoying the time together.  They also went for her mom’s first ever pedicure in her 90 years.

I asked my mom what she wanted to do on Thursday.  She replied that she wanted to go to Terre Haute, Indiana to see a niece and her sisters.  That made for a 350 mile driving day, but much worth it to hang out with mom.

On the way to Terre Haute (about an hour and a half drive), we stopped at the Gray Brothers cafeteria in Mooresville.  A very familiar place as we have eaten here many times during our years in Indiana.  Some good food and popular with retirees at their 11 am opening time.

Mom wanted to see her niece (my cousin) who is now the City Clerk of Terre Haute.  We made our way to the City Building and had a nice visit with Michelle Edwards, at her office.  Michelle was appointed to this elected position with the retirement of her predecessor.   She has many years of experience and hopefully will be elected next year.  I forgot to take a photo of them together.

Then it was on to Shelburn Indiana, a few more miles west of Terre Haute to visit Aunt Kate and Uncle Wayne.  They live in a very quiet, rural area with no close neighbors.  Just the way they like it.

We had a very nice visit with her sister and they enjoyed catching up on events over the last 6-7 years since they have seen each other.  At 86 years old these get togethers are very important.

Then it was back to Indy with a quick stop to shop for a new shirt for mom.  It was a long day, but time spent with mom is priceless.  We chat on the phone twice a week, but being together is great.

The two days flew by and then we were back on the road to Virginia.  Why does the return trip always seem so much longer?  Well, in our case because it was longer.  We were hung up in two traffic delays because of accidents.  After eleven hours of being road time, we were safely back at the RV in Ft. Chiswell.

Thanks for following along on our Journey!  This week we buy a new car, prepare for the wedding, and finally travel to Washington DC for our son Bryan’s wedding.  It’s gonna be exciting!