March 29, 2015 - Returning from Huntington Beach State Park.

Huntington Beach is a three mile stretch of sandy shoreline that is the beautiful border for the campground and state park! There are several walkways to the beach, making it possible for all campsites to just be footsteps from the ocean and all of its glory! We could hear the sounds of the ocean inside of our RV which was especially enjoyable at night!

A part of setting up camp was to find a place for my sign. I thought of the comment I once heard, "build a Walmart and they will come" and an idea was hatched! We taped it to the front windshield alongside of the "light up" tree of life! Boy oh boy did it get attention! I would watch as people would approach the sign "squinting and reading" and every single persons face exploded into the biggest and broadest heartfelt smile! It was then that I realized that a sincere thought in the heart will always trigger a smile! The sign was a win-win for everyone and is now a part of my journey souvenir collection. 

The "tree of life" was always lit up and shining at night time for everyone to enjoy.

The first day of the trip brought a small leak from the washer/dryer combo but Ricky had that repaired lickety-split! People who know Ricky also knows that he can fix anything!

A "man and his dog." Boo-Boo definitely knows his Master Ricky can do anything!

This is one of the many clean and well groomed walkways to the beach!

It is such a great place to walk, ride bicycles and stay active while enjoying the company of fellow campers!

It's also a great place to sniff! lol.

This is one of the many towers for bird and alligator watching or just taking a moment to sit and admire the surroundings.

Atalaya Castle is also in the park and is opened daily. It was built in 1931-1933 and was the former oceanfront winter home for Anna and Archer Huntington. I highly recommend visiting the castle and learning about the Huntington's and the history of Atalaya!

Lots of walking and beautiful scenery here!

We spotted this guy having his own fun! RVers love to be active and have a stress free life!

This was given to me by Cancer Services of Gaston County. The jar contains notes of inspiration and motivation written by different cancer patients. I read one each morning so of course the jar traveled with us! This is another ministry in itself I have found on this journey. This would actually be a great idea to make and give to someone who is in a "situation" that may need encouraging. My jar contains a combination of scripture verses, positive sayings and encouraging random thoughts. I love my jar!

Once again we came into the park as strangers and left as friends with so many nice people. The "sign" opened up so many conversations with others who either had cancer or knew someone with cancer. We are leaving here so happy remembering all of the smiles and the thumbs up from so many people, young and old. There are faces and stories we will always remember and we know our paths crossed for a reason. Life and people are good. Relax and enjoy both. This trip was definitely a number 10!
  

March 22, 2015 - RVing After Chemotherapy.

My next appointment with Dr. Mitchell is not until April 2, so off we go! We head for Huntington Beach State Park to enjoy its 2500 acres on foot and on bicycle!

We did manage to get out of Mount Holly before stopping for lunch. lol. We pulled over at one of our favorite places to stop for lunch when in this area. It has a large open area with easy in and easy out access to I-95. As I sit here having lunch and looking out the RV window, I realize just how grateful and thankful I am for this view complete with a Subway sandwich and of course a Little Debbie raisin cake! I can't leave home without her! lol.

After lunch, we get back on the road with about an hour of driving time to go. Next stop site #98 at Huntington Beach State Park!

  We are here! The rain on the windshield doesn't bother us at all!

Over the bridge inside the park headed to the campground! The view of water on both sides is just beautiful! Now to find our site and set up camp!

Our first day started out well and ended well. We met our neighbors who are a really nice couple from Ontario, Canada. They have been here for four weeks. We love being here and being able to leisurely look out over the water as the day ends. Life truly is a journey - not a race. 

I am ending this blog entry with a thank you card that I made for all of my blog readers, locally and internationally. The pink side of the card lists the countries of my readers while the white side shows "thank you" in different languages. Thank you to everyone everywhere for reading and journeying along with me! This has been a day of thankfulness for me. As I end, we are enjoying a sound that you cannot buy in any five star hotel. Its the wonderful sound of "pouring down rain" in an RV when it's bedtime! Good night and sweet dreams! All is good.

March 18, 2015 - Rockin' The Wig!

I have to give a BIG shout out to Cancer Services of Gaston County! They serve our community by providing support and services needed by people living with cancer! I had a two o'clock appointment today to look at their different products. I met with Patricia and I have never been so impressed with an organization! She was very knowledgeable with all of the products and extremely skillful with taking measurements but at the same time did everything with a kind, understanding and gentle touch! 

No blog entry would be complete without a couple of selfies with Patricia! She really did a great job with me today!

Cancer Services of Gaston County is located at 306 S Columbia Street in Gastonia. I encourage you to visit and see the great work they are doing! What better place to donate your time and/or money! This is just another wonderful "ministry" I have identified  along my unexpected journey! I LOVED leaving with hair!

March 12, 2015 - My Last Chemotherapy Treatment.

As I head down this hallway today for my last chemo, I can't decide if I should walk, run or cartwheel! Lol. I walked but I was certainly "high-stepping" it! Lol. I signed in and as usual was called back within a couple of minutes. 

This is Morgan accessing my port for this last treatment. The staff here are always so kind, sweet and have such a gentle touch.

I am wearing a special pink ribbon ring with a pink ribbon top that were given to me by Kaitlin and Donna Small that I had been saving until today! This blanket given to me from "Ma and Pa" has been with me since the first treatment and will be another souvenir of my journey. I decided to do my sign on pink paper today rather than on white "because I can!" Lol.

 This is me acting silly for the camera! Lol.

Chelsey brought me lunch from Groucho's Deli. It was a delicious tuna salad sandwich on whole wheat with fresh lettuce and tomato! This was the best deli sandwich I have ever eaten! I highly recommend Groucho's Deli! For those who are looking to help someone on chemo, deliver lunch to them during their treatment. They will appreciate it so much. This was always the highlight of my treatment! 

Today was another rewarding day for me at chemo. I made new friends with Marilyn, Jane, Rose and Nancy and chatted again with Dianne. As I look up at my last drug dripping in, I began to think about my journey and all the different people I have met in these twelve weeks and feel every path was crossed for a reason. I can only hope that I said or did something to help them as much as they have helped me.

As I look back at my signs, it's all good. To all of my readers, thank you so much for your gifts, your kind thoughts and comments, your loyalty and above all else your many prayers. Please continue to pray for me as I continue onto the next leg of "my unexpected journey."

March 11, 2015 - Preparing for my last chemotherapy tomorrow.

My twelve weeks of chemotherapy and this leg of my journey are quickly coming to an end.  I never dreamed that white shoe polish would be part of my journey! lol. I spent a lot of time today being excited and preparing for tomorrow and my last chemo. It has been a fast twelve weeks filled with humbleness and thankfulness. I have met so many wonderful people and learned so much that I now realize I would have missed out on had it not been for this journey. This was a very thought provoking day for me. We decided to take the grandchildren and a friend and visit at Alexander for their Wednesday night service for kids, youth and adults. We went by the little kids' class first (pictured below). They were raising their hands and taking turns giving prayer requests when one little girl raised her hand and ask that everyone with cancer be made well. "Out of the mouth of babes!" I fought back tears listening to her. She may have been all of eight years old! We moved on to the older youth class (pictured below). As I went in, I was immediately hugged by a teen wearing a "fight like a girl" blouse! Again, I fought back the tears. While the kids went to their different classes, we stayed for the adult service. Pastor Jerry started by requesting prayer for me and others followed. It always feels so good to be in the right place at the right time and really paves the way for a good night's sleep! This night was just what I needed before my big day tomorrow! To be continued...

March 5, 2015 - Thinking PINK Today!

 My last chemo treatment is next week so we have begun to take our traveling plans off of "hold" and putting them back into "passing gear!" lol.  Nothing would please me more than to have our RV painted PINK similar to the one in top right picture! I would also want the signage on ours to include triple negative breast cancer. We love traveling to different places going in as strangers and ALWAYS coming out as friends with wonderful memories! I can only imagine the response a pink breast cancer motorhome would get when stopping for fuel, pulling into the rest area and finally arriving at the campground. I feel I am in an excellent position to really raise breast cancer awareness. It's great that I am an experienced nurse and teaching and educating comes naturally for me. The biggest advantage that I will have in raising awareness and helping others is my own breast cancer. I have now experienced sickness/disease from both sides of the sheets. The big pink motorhome will grab people's attention but it will be the fact that they are actually talking with a breast cancer patient that will hold their attention. I have so much to offer from my own personal experience and it would certainly raise the breast cancer awareness bar to an all time high! 
I am putting on my "thinking cap" to figure out how to make this happen. I would absolutely love providing this kind of service while traveling!

March 2, 2015 - Changing of the Dishes.

I love it when the calendar finally reads March and I can finally put away our winter dishes! I woke up so excited knowing it was "dish change" day! I love dishes and love changing them out to match the season. I am always looking and pricing different dish collections. My favorite "finds" have come from Craig's List, estate sales and the clearance closet at Belk. I truly cannot resist a good dish at a good buy!  If it is possible to have a fetish for dishes, I have it! lol. I started by putting away the snowmen dishes and began to clean the shelf as I usually do, except this time was different. I found myself thinking back to several years ago when Ricky decided to build this shelf over our kitchen sink. I remembered watching him repeatedly applying several coats of shellac followed by buffing until the finished product was undeniably perfect! I immediately fell in love with this shelf and loved displaying our dishes on it!  It's simple, practical and never stops working. It truly is the simple things in life that can give us the most pleasure and bring us the most happiness. 

I decided to go with my favorite set of spring dishes! These were made in Poland and are named Sheraton Rose. I bought these at an estate sale about twenty years ago. I fondly remember that day so  well. And of course I had to fill my favorite dish with our favorite homemade vegetable soup!
Simple pleasures ( my shelf ) are life's treasures. Slow down, enjoy and cherish the simple pleasures in life - find your shelf!