Over the next few days I ran errands, packed, & planned how best to make the 17 hour drive to Missouri as comfortable as possible with 4 adults and two small children. 
On my way to pick up said adults & children I took a time out to have lunch with my niece, nephew, their Mom and a family friend I've not seen in too many years.
If anyone reading this is traveling through Winchester, Virginia, I highly recommend lunch or dinner at "One Block West". It is not just a meal. It is an experience.

After a quick visit from her grandkids, Mom was ready to  leave Winchester, and we were off to pick up my siblings!

We stopped off  on our way out of West Virginia to visit my baby sister and her family. She wasn't able to accompany us to Missouri, but it was wonderful to see her. It has been quite some time since I've seen her.

The next 17 hours flew by and we arrived bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at my sister's house in Missouri.


Right. 


We drove straight through with very few stops, and control freak that I am, I insisted on driving until the last half hour. To be honest, I only relinquished the wheel to my little sister, Dani because I was seeing two of everything, including the unfortunate possum who crossed my path. 
(I hit "both" of them and promptly started sobbing.)
Dani got us safely to our big sister's house and we all enjoyed coffee, a wonderful breakfast and then collapsed in beds, couches, on the floor and in arm chairs.

Rested and refreshed I was able to (with another cup of coffee) look at the Missouri countryside and truly appreciate the raw beauty. Even in 30 degree weather with very few leaves or flowers, I could see what had drawn my sister and her family half way across the country to settle 150 undeveloped acres.  

Later, the whole family set out on foot to explore the property. We walked the mile long driveway, then turned onto a smaller path toward the back fields. 

We visited the 18th century graves of the property's original settlers and paid our respects.

Stopping at the kids' rope swing on the way back to the house, we cringed as Shianne swung higher than I've ever seen a kid swing before. She loved every second of it and was begging to go higher, but it became too much for the nerves of us Aunties and the Gramma. We voted for less thrilling adventures.

Gramma and us Aunties were happy to retire inside to watch the kids play with the new Golden Retriever puppies!

Our first night there I think the cousin of the possum I hit paid us a visit on the front porch. He exacted his revenge on the styrofoam cooler I'd left outside.

The Missouri trip was wonderful. It was lovely to be with my family for Thanksgiving and to spend time with all the kids. They grow so fast! There were a few hiccups that marred the trip...I got a stomach flu right before Thanksgiving, then a regular flu, then upper respiratory infection...but overall it was an amazing experience. By and large, even on the return trip home we all still got along and nobody killed anybody else. The two children never cried once! I am so glad that I did this trip, and that my dear husband was willing to sacrifice my presence here on the island at Thanksgiving.
Thank you, Dear.

Ok, so it should not have taken me a full ten days to get around to finishing the tale of my Thanksgiving visit home. In my own defense though, I have been working on a particularly challenging custom jeans request. (More on that in the next post!)


As you'll recall in "Tis The Season: Part 1" my rather eventful drive from Florida to Virginia had just ended and I was settling down with a glass of wine.
Did I mention though, that it was about 38 degrees out and there was no heat in the house?
No? 
Oh, well...It was 38 degrees outside, and there was no heat in the house. 

Thankfully, though, there IS a wood stove in the house, and there was just enough wood next it to last through the night. I am rather proud to say that I got a roaring fire started with ONE match and NO fire starter logs that first night. (Which is a good thing, since there WAS only one match!) Anyway, I settled down in front of the fire with my second glass of Cabernet and prepared to explore my new Kindle. (A present from my dear hubby that was waiting for me when I got to the house! Thank you, lovey!)

With some very unladylike words, I abandoned the warm embrace of the fire and my friendly glass of wine in favor of doing battle with the garrulous smoke detectors. There were three of the chatty little white disks, all cheerfully chirping to announce their desire for new batteries. A desire I would gladly have fulfilled with gusto had the damn things not been 4 feet above my head. 
I searched high and low for a step ladder, but no luck. I used the handle of broom to push the little buttons on them, but no luck. After an hour of fruitless "beep bird" battle I tried beating one of them into submission, hoping that if it was in pieces it would no long taunt me.
Taking a firm grip on the broom, a chose my victim and swung as hard as I could at the ceiling. THWACK!!! Solid contact.
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!!!

(Sigh)
Suffice to say, it was a long night, and I lost no time the next morning contracting an assassin for the "Beep Beep Birds".

Well, for the first time in nearly 8 years, this Thanksgiving drew me away from the blue waters, warm sand, my Butchie & my Billie dog. The siren song of family & friends too long abandoned summoned me up the East Coast, through the West Virginia mountains, and eventually all the way out to the Ozarks of Missouri.


My journey began when I boarded Watermaker's Air on Staniel Cay. I landed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida a couple hours later and along with my companions-in-flight filed into the small Customs/Immigration building that was our first stop upon entering the U.S. 3 men were travelling together and had an assortment of boxes, coolers, and bags for the agents to inspect and clear (hopefully). Their only hang-up was a box containing miscellaneous tools, greasy engine fittings, and a myriad of other related accessories in varying degrees of cleanliness. They were eventually cleared for entry along with their impedimenta. That left myself and the one other passenger, also a lone female, to run the gauntlet. As is my habit, I stepped back and offered her the next place in line, so as to go through last myself. Carrying only a purse and 4 loaves of fresh-baked Bahamian bread (the aroma of which caused much stomach rumbling on the flight over), she was quickly passed through and my turn came. 
My seeming reluctance to receive the attention of the Customs agents was due to the fact that I carried with me a cooler containing Spiny Lobsters and two paintings on driftwood. The lobster do not normally present a difficulty, but carrying any meat/groceries back and forth between the countries could potentially pose a problem. My biggest worry, though was the two large slabs of driftwood that I had painted and sealed. If these agents wanted to, they could confiscate my paintings for inspection by Department of Agriculture agents. Thankfully, after a little razzing, I and my dubious cargo were passed through too. 


I was met outside the customs building by a rep. from the airport where we keep our car. After dropping him off, I commenced to program my proposed route into the GPS. A mere 15 minutes later I was on my way. Ship the paintings: Check! Pick up gluten free snacks for the drive: Check! Get this show on the road: CHECK! 7 hours of driving later, I stopped just outside Savannah, Georgia and stayed the night in La Quinta Inn. The next morning I made my way north to Clinton, North Carolina to the home of our former nurse on the island. After a brief, but wonderful visit, I was back on the road. 


The remaining 5 hours of the drive were a blur of increasingly heavy traffic and a myriad of police and emergency response vehicles. Somewhere around Roanoke Rapids, Virginia, about twenty minutes ahead of me, a Virginia State Trooper was performing a routine traffic stop for a speeding vehicle. The trooper watched the vehicle slow and pull off to the shoulder. He ran the Pennsylvania tags and approached the vehicle as per normal. The driver rolled down the window...like normal....and then shot Virginia State Trooper, John Taylor four times in the neck, arm, chest (thank God he was wearing a vest) and abdomen. The vehicle then drove away and headed South on I95. For the next two hours heading north I pulled over for responding officers from Virginia State Police, several counties, SWAT teams, and un-marked black SUVs. I stopped counting responding vehicles at 50. After an intense manhunt police apprehended and surrounded Michael Edgerton and Renee Phillips of Pennsylvania. Edgerton committed suicide rather than be taken (good riddance) and Phillips remains in jail while fighting extradition to PA. for outstanding charges there. (http://www2.wnct.com/news/2010/nov/17/109/officer-shot-halifax-county-ar-545780/)
After all that, you better believe I was glad to pull into my driveway and close the garage door. I was even happier to pop open a bottle of wine and enjoy a couple of glasses while decompressing.


To be continued in 'Tis The Season: Part 2