November 17 - November 23, 2024
This week saw me leaving Texas (say, “bye-bye” to Alaska’s little brother! 😏🤣) and spending the rest of the week in Louisiana. As I headed into the week, I was looking forward to spending time with my friend and fellow coach, Lee, and getting to know his wife Tanya more and meeting his kids. Once I got there, I discovered that Lee set up me up in a friends travel trailer on their property, which gave me my own space to retreat to, and I joined him in the house most days when we worked. I enjoyed meeting a few of their friends and found their kids to be equally wonderful. The week flew by and I am so glad to have had the chance to get to know Tanya better!
Sunday, November 17th
I left the I-20 East Rest Area in Canton, TX just after 9:30 this morning and drove to Tyler, TX. I was originally going to visit Children’s Park so I could get a picture of two giant teddy bears, but it was a bit drizzly outside, so I took a pass on that and spent a bit of time at the Foundry Coffee House, where I enjoyed a chai tea and did a little laptop work.
I took a break at the Louisiana Welcome Center just past the border in Greenwood, LA for about an hour, then decided to spend some time at the library, so I went to the Shreve Memorial Library – Hamilton/South Cadoo Branch, where I worked a couple hours.
From there, I backtracked across states lines to the Texas Welcome Center and Rest Area in Waskom, TX for the night. (Free WiFi at Texas area rest stops!)
Monday, November 18th
I slept well last night, and was excited for what the day would hold. My first stop of the morning was a quick stop for gas, then I headed to the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana at the BHP Billiton YMCA location.
It was quite possibly the most beautiful YMCA I’ve ever been in. I knocked out the body weight exercises workout from Jon first, then put in 45 minutes of lap swimming. The water was *brisk* 
when I first got in, but by the third length I was comfortable and by the fourth length I was giddy. It’s funny- I love the water (even though I am not a great/strong swimmer) but I often drag my feet about getting in my swim time. And EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I finally get my butt into the water, within 2-3 minutes, I am so glad I did.
Why do we fight so hard against the things that we know are good for us?
After I left the Y, I headed to Shreve Memorial Library – Broadmoor Branch, where I worked for about three hours.
I ran a quick errand, then met up with my friend, Gretchen. Gretchen and I had never actually met in person before today- we became friends through an online church group a couple/few years ago. It was so wonderful to finally get to meet in person and hug each other!
In addition to being a pediatrician and an author, Gretchen is in the midst of some very exciting projects under her branding of All Things Dr. G, where she has two focal areas- Faith, Family, and Pediatrics for Women and Puberty, Power, and Purpose for Girls. We had lunch at Copelands, enjoyed a lovely visit catching up on each other’s lives and all our adventures, and then swung back by her house so I could meet some of her family.
After a short visit there, I decided I had better hit the road since it was already dark outside and intermittently rainy with occasional thunder and lightning.
I was heading to Welsh, LA, which was just over 200 miles away, which was about a 3.5 hour drive. I was excited to see my friends Tanya & Lee and meet their family.
Initially, the dark and the rain didn’t bother me, but about halfway there, the combination of darkness, increasing rain, narrow roadways and steep ditches made me increasingly anxious. Right around the half-way point, I decided the darkness and rain were a recipe for disaster, so I decided to turn around and head back to the closest rest area/safe stopping point for the night. I figured it was smartest to make the 5-10 minute trip back to the heart of town to wait out the weather- possibly overnighting so I would have better visibility.
This is the part where we have to decide if what happened next was favor or misfortune, so let me start this little side-story off properly…
It was a dark and stormy night…
I pulled up to one of the entrances of nearby business to turn around adn go back to town and discovered that it was gated and locked at that entrance. I backed up and turned around successfully, but as I was pulling back out onto the dark road, I COMPLETELY missed that I was too far left, and drove straight into the ditch.
So, there I am, nose down in the ditch, with the tail end of the Sequoia up. It’s dark and it’s pouring rain. I did NOT panic, but I did start to swear.
I start searching through my phone because even though I’m not sure WHERE I am, I *know* I’m going to need a tow truck. And I’m worried that it will be HOURS before anyone to can here to tow me out.
However, before I can even determine where I am or if AAA or my USAA roadside service can rescue me from wherever I am, I hear this knocking at my window.
I literally can’t see *anything*, but I roll down my window to see two young men standing in the pouring rain, their truck not too far away. These two nice guys wanted to know if I was ok and what they could do to help.
I told them I was just getting ready to call a tow truck, but wasn’t even sure where I was. They told me I was in Natchitoches. One of them lives in the area, so he jumped on his phone to call his dad to get the name of a tow truck nearby. His dad gives him two places to call. He passes along one name and number and I call there, but the guy tells me it’s going to be ‘a while’ and suggests I call Tony’s Towing.
I hang up, inform them that he is not available and that he recommended a nearby competitor, Tony’s Towing. The kid tells me that’s the second number his dad gave him, so I give Tony’s a call.
I explain my predicament and ask him how much for a tow.
He tells me he can’t give me a price since he doesn’t know how complex it will be to get me out.
I explain that I am nose-down in a ditch and will need to be pulled out from the rear. I give him my location (the guys told me I was across from Pleasure Pools (a swimming pool contractor)) and ask for ball-park figure.
He tells me it will cost $125 and up.
I explain that “$125 and up” is a wide margin and that I need a better idea of expected cost. There is some hemming and hawing, then he finally says it could be as much as $250. I say fine. He says it will be 45-60 minutes. I say fine (I mean, where else I am going to go?) and he agrees to head my way and we hang up.
So I wait. I send the two young men on their way, thanking them for stopping and assuring them that they do not need to wait with me. Over the next 10-15 minutes, several more cars stop — the road was a lot more trafficked than I would have imagined– and everyone wants to know if I am ok. Several offer to try to tow me out (“No thank you, I’ll wait for the tow truck”, and one woman insists she can wait me with so I won’t be alone. I reassure her that I am fine and send her on her way, telling her I don’t want her waiting in the dark and rain.
Then, ANOTHER truck pulls up to check on me. A lady leans out the passenger window to check on me. It’s still raining, but mostly a drizzle, and my eyes have adjusted to the darkness. With so many people stopping to check on me (for which I am grateful!), I’ve just begun routinely yelling my thanks for stopping, telling each Good Samaritan that I am ok and that a tow truck is on the way. But she’s not having it. She asks who I called. I tell her I called Tony’s Towing. She proceeds to tell me her husband runs Tony’s, then looks over to him and tells him to “Get on the phone and find out where that tow truck is!”
Less than FIVE MINUTES LATER 🤯😱, the tow truck pulls up. It has literally been less than 30 minutes since I began my ditch-diving adventure!
I thank her profusely for getting a truck here so quickly, and she nods sagely, telling me that she no longer drives in the dark and rain like this- she’s only out tonight because she was at her grand baby’s ball game. I explained that I was just turning around to find a place to stop for the night and that I don’t intend to be on the roads tonight. She tells me to be safe, then she and her husband leave and the tow truck driver (and his teenage son) get me sorted out.
Long story short (Sorry- too late), I get towed out, the cost is $250. He tells me he doesn’t have the ability to take a credit card and I advise him that am not carrying around that much cash. I end up following him back to town to an ATM to pay them, then find a nearby hotel (the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Natchitoches) and sleep off the adventure.
All’s well that end’s well.
So, dear reader, was this good fortune and favor, or bad luck?
Tuesday, November 19th
Despite the warmth of a hotel room and comfort of a regular bed, I didn’t sleep well. Isn’t that funny? Turns out that I would have much preferred the comfortable set-up in my Sequoia last night. 🤷🏽♀️
I got cleaned up, ate some yogurt, drank some chocolate milk and checked out of the hotel. I was back on the road by 7:00 a.m., stopping once for gas and once at a car wash to wash the remaining grit from the Sequoia from yesterday evening’s debacle. I inspected the visual damage, which is (fortunately) fairly nominal.
I arrived at Tanya & Lee’s just after 10:00 a.m., and settled in to work while Lee had some coaching calls.
After his calls ended, we drove in to Lake Charles (a nearby city) to meet up with his friend, Mario, who treated us to lunch at Toga Grill, a Lebanese and Greek restaurant. I had the shawarma, which makes me smile- I can never think or say shawarma without thinking of that ending scene in The Avengers. 🤷🏽♀️😂
After lunch, we caravanned over to Mario’s niece’s place, where Lee & Mario looked at her vehicle, which has been overheating. In less than 45 minutes, Lee had diagnosed the issue and searched around to find a place to order the part so she could get it ordered. (In his former life, Lee ran a very successful mechanic’s shop, which was utterly destroyed in a hurricane, giving Lee a fresh start in an area of passion for him as a life and business coach.)
We parted company from Mario, made a pit stop at the liquor store (Hocus Pokus Liquors) and headed back to their place, arriving just a few minutes before Tanya and the kids.
Their son Z. crushed me in a game of chess (my dad would be so disappointed), and daughter B. barely lost a hard-fought game against me.
Then we settled down for Tanya’s amazing gumbo for dinner.
Afterwards, us three adults jumped on a zoom call for Lee’s accountability group and had a very thought-provoking hour.
I wrapped up my night with them after being graciously included in their evening family prayers, then retired for the night, spending a couple hours working before truly calling it a night.
Wednesday, November 20th
Weird. Weird, weird dreams that I can’t remember but let me feeling disjointed when I woke up this morning.
I tried to shake myself out of it, then went straight to writing this morning.
Finally motivated enough to shower, dress and start some laundry, then back to work…. splitting time between working on two of my websites and some new design ideas.
It was also Hot Seat Coaching Wednesday, so I am buckled down to get my assignment done today. If I don’t, you’ll be seeing me singing the Barney song on FB live…
Gotta go.. gotta get to work on that and get it posted ASAP!
Thursday, November 21st
Today was a work day, interspersed with Lee & I running out to knock out a couple errands, but mostly each working on our on our respective work projects.
Friday, November 22nd
I doubled down on my work today, leaving the trailer only once to check and say hello, and then buckling down and working throughout the day and most of the early evening.
Saturday, November 23rd
This morning, Lee & Tanya took me out on the bayou to canoe for a while. Daughter R. wasn’t feeling well, so she stayed home and napped.
Lee & I were in a canoe, Tanya & daughter B. were in a double kayak, and their son Z. was soloing for the first time!
We were also joined by some friends of Lee & Tanya. I enjoyed chatting with Rob & Jenny had some wonderfully grand adventures together, scuba diving at exotic locations around the world!
We even saw baby gators as we slowly paddled about!
It was a wonderful, peaceful morning on the water with Rob, Jenny, and the Smart family. Afterwards, we returned from our water adventure to enjoy a nice lunch prepared by Tanya, Rob & Jenny.
Rob and Jenny left for home, Lee left for a walk, and I did a Splankna session with Tanya (yay!), then played a little four square with the kiddos.
Then, knowing that I still have some miles left to cover, I prepared to hit the road.
It has been years since I lost my beloved lab, Riley, and losing him hurt so much that I’ve not had the room in my heart for a dog since this. I’ve met some wonderful dogs on my travels and every now and then I try to convince myself that I want a dog, but whiten a few hours, I know I’m not ready.
The Smart’s dog, E., just about cured me of my anti-dog sentiment. He was one of the sweetest and most well-behaved dogs I’ve encountered in months. I thought about stealing him, A LOT.
However, I know I don’t really want the responsibility of a dog, and Paul definitely does *NOT* want a dog on the boat, so E. stayed behind with his rightful owners as I headed out just before 4:00 p.m.
I drove for several hours, stopping to grab Raisin’ Cane’s Chicken to (ch)eat for dinner, then stopped for the night at the Pearl River Rest Area in Slidell, LA.
