Unlikely Prayer

So fortunate to had made a ‘Winchendon’ stop during the sixth week of our eight week cross country motorcycle adventure. For it was then that we were able to visit Carol, our sister-in-law, though ALWAYS considered our ‘sister’. Diagnosed with cancer in April of 2016, Carol was a mere 85 pounds when we made our three day stop. Glad that we had the opportunity to talk, laugh a bit and enjoy a Saturday afternoon family gathering.

Notice Karen in the bottom right

Leaving Sunday morning the 11th of June, Carol decided that she needed to go to the emergency room. We assisted her to the car, Karen whispered to her ear that she'd see her in August and we began our return journey to the West coast.

Then the 18th of June happened, Father's Day. While slowing to stop at the Chamberlain, SD rest stop, where stands an incredible statute honoring Pocahontas, we received a call telling us that Carol had just died. The next twenty-four hours were filled with tons of emotion, I know not just us, but so many that were connected to Carol’s life.

Though I know that there had been many prayers for Carol and the family (especially her three adult daughters), prior to her death, it was those afterwards that seem to hold even greater purpose. That is the prayer to sustain those who remain, again especially her daughters.

It is here where two prayers stand out above the rest. Packed, ready to depart our traveling partners one more time (as we would begin an expedited trip home), a fellow camper from our ‘Camp Welikeit' campground in the Black Hills of South Dakota approached. We shared then, as we would several times during our return to Silverton, why we were shortening our adventure. It was then that Shayla asked if she could pray for us. A short, but beautiful and heartfelt prayer ensued.

A mere two days later we found ourselves in Yak Yak’s. No, that is not a miss-spelling! Always on the search for a ‘Mom and Pop’s diner, we found it in Yak Yak’s. I determined that it was either an oriental restaurant or someone just having fun. It was the later.

While enjoying a good meal a tour bus arrived out front with forty some folks from a Catholic church in St. Louis, Missouri on a Pacific Northwest tour which included lunch at Yak Yak's. Having two available seats we invited a couple from the group to join us. The conversation that followed had the four of us enjoying the journey and adventure of each. Ours of course included the reason for our shortened trip. As with Shayla in the Black Hills, these sixty something ladies said that they would offer prayers, along with their group and priest later that day in their mass.

So I sit here this morning, the day in which our eight week cross country, ‘Newport Triangle’ trip concludes in Newport, Oregon. At 1am this morning, Friday June 30th we returned from our interlude to celebrate the life of Carol Pace and to be surrounded by family.

Often I’ve enjoyed a prayer to someone I've met for the first time. To have that be reciprocated twice in a brief couple of days … well that is truly “priceless”.

View...during our expedited journey home

 

 

 

The moral of this blog … thank you Shayla and thank you St. Louis Catholics. Might each of us daily listen to the stories of the other and offer a spontaneous prayers of hope, of encouragement, of strength to sustain one another.

Coast to Coast...02

Six thousand miles into this motorcycle tour that we’ve dubbed the ‘Newport

Newport, RI oceanview

Triangle’ found us staying two nights in the second of ‘Newport’s’. The first, Newport, Florida was quite quaint as all that remains is a park which displayed the town name. Then through Newport, RI. Talk about adventure! I/we had no idea that this was such the historical, nautical and tourist location. More to follow on another blog.

So the adventure has continued with some mechanical challenges. Jim’s VTX required some welding, which fortunately they were able to find a young welder with great integrity who repaired not one, but three areas on the trike. At the same time I had a firefighter ‘Try before you Pry’ moment. That is, after two hours of attempting to locate the origin of a non-functioning right turn signal on our trailer, I discovered that the bike/trailer wire connection was ever so slightly DISconnected. Somebody give me a “Gibbs” (NCIS reference).

Tents in 'Cherry Hill'

So I noticed that I didn’t bring much positive adventure experiences to light in the first C2C blog, so here we go…

Friday June 9th concluded our fifth week of travel…with all the weather conditions that we’ve met, we have yet to have to unload/load the trailers or set up and take down the tents while it was raining. That’s simply amazing! For which we say, “Praise the Lord”! This includes our stay while camping on the ‘Outer Banks’, North Carolina. Saturday and Sunday nights had me (and MANY other campers) contacting management regarding a large group of inconsiderate, loud and obnoxious knucklehead’s. Anyway, the short of it, I went in to talk to the park manager and even before I could ask for refund of one nights stay ($85) she offered to put both couples into individual suites for the night. SWEET! And even more sweet because it poured during the night which means that we would have been taking down wet tents. Instead, it was dry when we packed our trailers after our very comfortable nights lodging. A miracle perhaps 

Leaving NC, stops in both our nation's capital and NYC provided architectural and historical sites that are unparalleled. From the Lincoln memorial to the statute of Liberty, we were honored to visit the tributes of the men and women,  our nation and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

With Patricia and Birane

It is now Sunday the 11th of June, our third and final day in Winchendon, Massachusetts. The ride to this, our ‘New England Home’, had us traveling up highway 140 through the center of rural Massachusetts. One of four favorite rides so far on this now six week journey. 

The stay in Winchendon included a full, but enjoyable schedule. Visits with Carol, Kristy, the Romero clan, Tony plus Ray and Carla were surely our ‘Top Forty’  But also, Jim getting some final suspension adjustment, plus a window bag to boot through a friend of ‘little Tony, should make the trek home most refreshing. Then a ‘Family Gathering’ Saturday afternoon allowed us to mingle with many that we're seldom able to visit.

Well…now we begin our journey back west. A route that the itinerary has us venturing into Canada, back into Wisconsin, then toward Rushmore and Yellowstone before connecting Newport, Oregon and finally home. For now … one day and adventure at a time.