Not many people talk about them anymore but we were blessed to have had some assistance from one as we headed out on our last adventure.

As we packed up for our first Freedom trip since New Year’s, I grabbed a red towel because I’m a sweaty mess!! LOL Who knew that I would really need it in just 10 short miles to alert traffic as we sat on the side of the road!

We recently purchased a new Hensley Hitch for our trailer. We were concentrating so much making sure we installed it correctly that we forgot to include some of our normally necessities. Our floor jack and another wheel gadget that my dad had given us in the event we ever needed to change a flat tire “easily”. I must say that our hitch worked perfectly, as we never felt the trailer tire blow out! As Heath saw the rubber fly, he pulled as far to the side of the road as possible but there was not much of a shoulder. After exiting the vehicle and checking we realized that we didn’t have the above mentioned items and had to resort to the truck’s manual jack…

Tommy is already wondering what it is that we are doing as this is NOT the “freedom” destination that he was looking for!! The jack happened to be located behind his seat so I began to tell him to “get out” to which he looked at me as if I had lost my mind! This is early September, Southeast Texas heat, the time of “hot flashes” and I am coaxing my autistic son out of the truck on the side of the road like it is a wonderful idea! LOL It took some convincing but we got him moved into the front seat with the instructions of “no touch” – don’t touch anything!!

Heath is now lying under the trailer with his feet across the yellow line and I’m waving my red towel so we are seen better. How is this visual playing out for you? LOL

Just then our “good Samaritan” showed up. He had driven by and turned around to assist us. Thankfully because we might still bethere! He was a very nice man and a fellow camper headed out to the lake also for the long weekend. It was wonderful having the additional help and support, we were blessed.

The spare is on and we decide that if one tire is dry-rotted, the others may be also. We turned back towards home to purchase new tires and it was a great decision because it did look as though we were about to lose another tire. A short forty-five minutes and we are back on the road and made it to our destination with plenty of daylight to set up and relax in the pool! We were ready to enjoy our new home for the next few days.

Our destination was Jasper, Texas. A Fairly new RV park called Country Club Park. The owners were very friendly and accommodating. The park consisted of many acres of beautiful rolling hills, a game room, driving range, swimming pool, several stocked ponds and walking trails. This is a great destination for a weekend getaway or a longer stay. The park hosts several events throughout the year and have plans for even more expansion.

Labor Day

As we awoke, many campers were packing up and leaving. I am so glad that we took an extra day to enjoy the quietness. The weather was better; cooler and a little over-cast compared to the past few extremely hot sunny days.

Heath has always been a fisherman. He took every opportunity to fish with anyone. Our families, fathers and friends! After dad passed, Heath was given a couple of his rod and reels as keepsakes and decided to take one with us and enjoy a little casting. Tommy and I walked down to one of the ponds to see how daddy’s fishing was going and noticed a “duck crossing” sign. We looked around but did not see any sign of them. As Tommy began to quack they came waddling from a distance. They thought it was “treat time”. By their actions that campers feed them a lot. We returned back with bread and they became Tommy’s best friend.

“Hello Duck, Hi Guys!!”

— Tommy

A Different Duck

I have been pondering and sitting on this blog for two weeks now, unsure how to finalize it… We very much enjoyed our long weekend vacation and returned home safe and sound.

Today, I am reminded of 1 John 2 vs 16-17. The bible instructs us to love not the “things” of this world for it and all its desires, lusts and pride will pass away; but for those that do the will of God abideth forever!

Heaven has always been real to me since I was a small child and chose to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. But after the loss of my father; someone so near and dear to me, Heaven is even more real! Striving to run this race here on earth with my final destination of home being those streets of gold. We have lost many more friends & family members this year and I can just see my daddy at the pearly gates like the “Walmart Greeter”, welcoming each and every “new body!”

The world may not understand the ways of God, but I pray that for those of us Christians continuing to run our race that you be a “different duck.” Though life in the world as we know it now can and is often a daily struggle, that you be a “light.” God will give you the strength to continue on one day at a time!

God Bless -