From Denver, CO to Moodus, CT.

Well, as life often teaches us, it’s about the journey. Although the original plan was to go from Colorado Springs to the Pacific Northwest, life had other plans for us on this journey. 

It was 4 months ago when we learned the devastating truth about Catherine Murphy, a friend/family member and mother of my God Daughter, Cassandra. She was diagnosed with Glioblastoma; stage 4 brain cancer. The diagnosis is incurable and action had to be taken immediately. Catherine had 4 brain surgeries and multiple life threatening complications but has now made it through her radiation/chemo treatment.

I traveled to UPenn hospital twice during this time and knew then that I could be helpful going forward. Catherine had no “home”. She was living alone in South Carolina where she had started a new job but was swept away quickly when she started to get sick. Cassandra and super boyfriend, Josuel, packed her rented condo up and brought it to a storage unit in New Jersey. We all thought Catherine would live with her sisters family for a bit. This was before her grave diagnosis.

After lengthy discussions with my wife and sandwiched in the middle of an amazing job offer for her, we knew what we had to do. We need to temporarily move to Connecticut, set up a home, and move Catherine in. 

Once we made that decision, the plan started to unfold.

Jennifer, the SonoHo/HIHO offered the unthinkable. She said she would fly to Denver and do the 1900 mile road trip with me and Mollie while Kimberly flew to Raleigh for her first week at Ascom. Jennifer and I had figured out multiple foreign countries…on boats, no less, without losing life or limb so I knew this could work.
We thought originally that we would drive Yolo to the Hartfords property in VA since they kindly offered. We could then empty the contents into a truck and drive to Connecticut. But it got complicated since we had no way of finding a rental by then. 

That’s when I started searching campgrounds near Cassandra’s house so we could have a month to find a home. I found Grandview Camping and Cottages in Moodus, CT. Kimberly and I are here now with Mollie. It is nestled in the beautiful NE rolling hills and is peaceful and serene. It’s also 34 minutes from Cassandra’s house.  I will begin to look for rentals near Wethersfield next week and we will see Catherine today.

Kimberly made her flight Sunday to Raleigh and Jennifer eventually landed Sunday in Denver…later than expected. The winds were howling in Denver and I was feeling anxious about leaving so late. So the universe took care of that for me.

We got less than 10 miles down the road when the tires pressure monitoring system (TPMS) started beeping. We were clearly losing air out of a front tire. I was able to pull off and get us to a gas station with a air pump but it would not add any air…it just let more out. Then Jennifer saw a fire station. Jennifer goes searching for firemen and BAM the garage door opens and a high powered air compressor comes out; on wheels with a fireman to boot. We had air in the tire. Unfortunately, I was unable to turn the rig around with the toad connected so the fireman drove the fire engine out and I drive through the fire station! See pictures. 

Our excitement to finally get moving again was short lived when the same tire started losing air almost immediately. Thank goodness for TPMS. We never were stranded with a flat. Jennifer navigated us to an open Firestone. No leak was detected from anywhere but the tire was low. It was Fathers Day and he was the only employee there.

Time to find a hotel and a meal in Brighton, CO. we ate in a very loud Texas Roadhouse and tried to sleep. 

I woke up knowing I was replacing all the old tires. We found Les Schwab opening at 8am nearby and we were there at 0745. Yolo was the first customer of the day. At 0900 with a belly filled with Buckys and Bites (our new slang for Starbucks and egg bites), we finally started our 1900 miles on Monday morning.

We drove until 7pm and landed in a Sleep Inn where we would not be sleeping in near Brady, Nebraska. We walked across the street for some local Italian food with only 464 miles of 1900 miles behind us. Boo. 

Tuesday morning we departed 0630 and made it through the beautiful state of Iowa and half of Illinois. We ended up at some “dodgy” Days Inn and walked to Chilis for a cold beer and a salad. Thanks goodness for “space dust” on draft that made Morris, Il. tolerable. We had 939 miles behind us.

Wednesday we landed in Austintown, Il. with 1368 miles behind us. We had dinner on the deck at the Post Office Pub and Mollie was a crowd favorite. We stayed in another skanky Sleep Inn and once again didn’t sleep in. 

Thursdays goal was Scranton, PA where we decided we needed a 2 bedroom suite with a bath tub! We arrived at our Marriott in time for a great lunch…leftovers for dinner, watched the J6 hearing, took a long nap and enjoyed some down time.

Friday we walked for Buckys and Bites with Mollie, who is a Buckys expert now, before heading for our final destination.

Friday we drove on some horrendous roads through PA, NY, CT. We stopped at some dilapidated old mall to find food before we arrived since we knew there was no food in Yolo. And at 2pm we arrived at the Grandview Campground and Cabins in Moodus, CT. After a high 5, a cold beer, a good cry, and a hug, Jennifer took the Toad to Bradley airport and passed off the keys to Kimberly in her last, perfectly orchestrated step, to “get er done”. 

I’m not sure a greater feat of friendship has ever been had. 1900 miles together in 5.5 days. She even drove the rig, which was a major milestone for me and her. I have never been able to let anyone else drive Yolo. My anxiety just couldn’t handle it. I have to give Jennifer credit for the ability to barrel through MY anxiety. I was a mess.

It was so nice to finally have our family back together on the other side of this pivotal week. Kimberly and I spent the evening sharing our weeks experiences and totally smiling about being on the other side of the big transition week. 

She had a great first week at work for Ascom. It seems she made a great choice and we know Ascom made a great choice. She will still be traveling a good bit but is now full time and not contract so everything is better in that respect.

Whenever this chapter is complete, we will likely get back on the road again but one thing we have learned after 13 months and 10,000 miles, the best laid plans often go astray. 

We are where we need to be right now. Life is for service.