Day 1- continued

I had high hopes for getting out of town by noon. But packing up clothes and craft supplies for two months is harder than you would think. Thankfully my son Chris was there or I would still be there. He helped me load up, get the camper ready and mostly kept checking in to see if I needed help.

I love how Scotty is looking! I painted the inside a soft aqua color a couple of weeks ago and it looks so much brighter and more cheerful. May daughter Maryanne (Ironman) stopped over last night and I was telling her about the leaky side of the camper- she touched part of the roof and all this dusty rotted wood fell out on the cushion. So day Chris helped seal it up on the roof and inside with some spray rubber- I’ll let you know how it goes… possibly sooner than you’d think, since it rained about the last hour I drove tonight…

The other thing that held me up was printing and adhering the sponsor decals on the back of the camper. I was waiting to hear from a few sponsors and finally I got the answers I was hoping- YES. So then the printer decided to put lines across some of the artwork. Anyway, I finally pulled out of town at 5:15 and called to check on this brake question I had. Chris said Oh Dad just walked in… We wound up meeting up at Chili’s for one more meal together which was really nice.

So I started driving and was shooting to arrive in Lumberton, NC tonight but had to stop sooner because I was getting tired, plus it started raining pretty hard. Lucked out with a Quality Inn from Hotwire! Very clean and I even took my shoes off and went barefoot on their rug- that does not usually happen!

Day 2

I spent a very restful night. When I woke up I did some email, started this blog post, then decided that I should get going. I was still about 700 miles from my friend Cheryl Boglioli’s where I was spending the night. So I just drove and drove. I talked on the phone a lot of the day, listened to music and thought about whether I had everything I needed ready for my first class at Everything Scrapbooks and Stamps.

Arrived at Cheryl’s house at about 12:30 and hopped into bed. She had the most comfortable mattress! I didn’t want to get out…

Then it was off to Michelle’s store. We got there on time but wound up sitting n the parking lot for 30 minutes while a huge thunderstorm rolled through.

The ladies didn’t let a little storm stop them though and had a great time in class. I was so grateful to have Cheryl there with me helping to make sure the class was running smoothly. Didn’t the class do a great job on the Flower Boxes?

After class, we went to the Old Key Lime House, the oldest restaurant in Florida. Cheryl, Michelle and I spent three hours sitting outside, enjoying the delicious fresh fish and talking shop. Then it was back to the Hampton In where we tried to catch up on social media, (but kept talking instead!) prepped for class tomorrow and finally headed to be.

See you again!

I just realized that I never posted the last installment of my last trip. What happened was my husband’s step-dad Ray passed away while I was in CT and I had to come back early for his funeral.

So here’s where I left off…

Day 20

Enjoyed another delicious breakfast at the Hampton Inn and headed over to Mary’s Scrapden for class. We worked with the Sizzix Mini-Album die.

Pam Latham, who I have been chatting with on Facebook but had never met in person, came to o class. She drove in from Kentucky and I was very surprised and happy to meet her!

She brought some interesting chipboard purse bottoms for me to experiment with. They work great with ScoreBoards dies and fit perfectly through the Big Shot! Thanks Pam 🙂

We had a fun afternoon crafting, then Kimberly and I headed over to Applebee’s for a Chicken Oriental Salad- my fave!

We got to catch up on our family happenings and do a little Show and Tell. I am very blessed that Kim and I somehow managed to meet up while stationed many miles apart, often with kids in tow, to talk crafts, art, computers, PhotoShop, buy paper and generally have a crafty getaway. 

Day 21

I woke up bright and early after a refreshing sleep. (apologies to Kim for falling asleep the minute my head hit the pillow!)  Teaching on the road really tires you out! I don’t know how people who do it all the time handle that- or maybe you just get used to it? I do know that for a few weeks after I got home, I would wake up in the morning thinking, “AHHH! Where am I and where do I have to be???” Then realize I was in my OWN BED and be so relieved… there’s no place like home 🙂

It was a beautiful Sunday morning and Kimberly and I headed off to Newburgh, IN for some Ken Oliver time! I met Ken at the National Stationery Show several years ago. He was working for Uni-Bind and Sizzix had a booth which I was helping out in. We were across the aisle from each other, struck up a conversation and the rest is history!

Thankfully there was room for me to park Scotty and Big Daddy right across the street from where Ken lives.

Mary Shepherd, owner of Mary’s Scrapden,  joined us for a morning selfie.

Ken has this amazing place right on the Ohio River. The old building he lives in is the perfect backdrop to showcase Ken’s style- lots of room and very unique. We took a tour of the apartment-…

A great little deck out back. Here’s Kimberly resting – she matches Ken’s furniture…

everywhere you looked were cool vignettes and vintage pieces

artwork done by friends of his

and then there was his studio!

Wow- great display pieces…

I asked Ken to touch up my roots with Prima Color-Bloom spray. Does’t he look excited?

Check out the storage pieces in the background- to die for…

After we stopped drooling over Ken’s amazing place, we realized it was almost noon and we had not eaten yet!

So it was off to brunch at the Edgewater Grill. We ate outside (it was HOT I’m not gonna lie!) but so pretty because looking out over the water, we got to see all of the barges and boats going by.

After we ate Ken took us around to all of the thrift and antique stores in town (even though he had just done it the day before for ladies who came down from St. Louis to visit!). Such a good host!

It’s about 100 degrees here. Yuck- I’m a northern girl!

Along the way I found this adorable little desk and chair or $100.

A happy memory of the PaperTrail trip- it now sits next to my recliner at home and holds my stitching.

I stopped in a Wal-Mart on the way home- and look who’s name is on the bottom.

and who is on page 74!

After a great day, it was time to say good-bye to Ken, Kim and my adventure. I had lots of time to reflect on the people I had met, places I had been and sights seen along the way. I’m talking 900 miles worth!

I stopped outside of Cincinnati for a quick rest. You don’t want to know where I stayed… but it was only for about 8 hours. When I got to NJ, I had a quick rest and then went to church to say goodbye to Ray Sullivan, my husband’s step-dad.

He was 94 1/2 when he died. He spent the last 4 years down in VA- a year and a half with us and two years in assisted living when we just couldn’t take care of him any longer. Rest well Ray…

Many thanks for letting me share my journey with you. Thanks to the stores along the way for welcoming me and letting me spend some time with you. And most of all, thanks to my awesome sponsors – Sizzix, ThermoWeb, Craft Attitude, Clearsnap, Craffiti Direct ,Where Women Create, and Be Inkandescent– who helped make it all happen!

And that ends my #PaperTrail journey for now… stay tuned…