Next Stop, Dallas?

 Travel talk time again. I recently spent ten days in Virginia with my son and his children while his wife was in Illinois. She, along with one of her sisters and one of her friends, opened a great frozen yogurt shop in Illinois. Michelle wants to one day franchise the shop and it will probably go very smoothies for her (play on words – FroYo Creations is a frozen yogurt and smoothie shop).

Because her husband (my son), Greg, is still a Marine, they've had an opportunity to live in various parts of the country (my son was also stationed in Japan, Iraq, Kuwait, and other overseas countries). They now live near Quantico, Virginia. She may open a shop there some day. Maybe not. I'm not sure how well they like the area.

At one time she and my son talked about moving to Dallas, so she may one day open a FroYo there as well. I've never been to Dallas, but I hear it's a beautiful city. I've been to Austin and Houston – was more impressed with Austin – and have heard that Dallas was just as beautiful a city as Austin, only larger.

Just recently I came across a woman I used to work with at Billings Hospital in Chicago, who lives in Dallas with her husband. I found her on facebook and I'm waiting for her to invite me to visit her.

OK, I'm kidding. I haven't seen her in about 30 years, but just in case I ever go there (my sister once wanted to move into that area as well), I once again will have to look into auto repair shops for my ancient automobile BEFORE I make the trip.

My trusty 2002 Saturn now has over 145,000 miles on it and while it's still running strong, I want to be prepared, so Dallas auto repair is going to have to be on my list of places to visit in case I run into trouble. Who knows when I'll need a brake job? Every once in a while the "check engine" light comes on in my car and I wonder why it's so sporadic – you would think if it was an ongoing problem, the light would stay on.

Anyway, by the time I can actually travel anywhere, WHERE I go will probably be in my car, which by that time should also be my home. I don't think my Saturn is going to be comfortable enough to sleep in. After all, it will almost be like sleeping on another planet (Saturn, get it? – oh, come on…give me a brake – sorry, I'm on a roll – we are talking about cars and a car sometimes needs a brake job – OK, I'll stop).

Anyway, I can't afford some of the more conventional RV's, so I'm thinking of maybe getting a truck. The Chevrolet Silverado has plenty of room in the back seat for sleeping and lots of storage in the rear to hold my tent. What? You don't think I would enjoy a little variety now and then? I can't ALWAYS sleep inside the truck.

Before you start feeling sorry for me, I want you to know something – it hasn't gotten that bad yet, and before I live in a tent, I'd probably live in a camper anyway.

If you'd like to donate a Chevrolet Silverado to a worthy cause, please leave your contact information in the comments below.

Leaving you with smiles and a wink ;)

What If I Take A Road Trip and Need A Repair Shop?

After my son and his family moved from San Diego to Virginia and got caught up in record breaking snowfall this year, I started thinking about how they're probably wishing they were back in San Diego, not far from where my granddaughter and her family live.

To help me appreciate all the snow we've had both in Virginia and in the Midwest, my lovely granddaughter, Sarah, sent me a photo of herself and Ayla (my great granddaughter) ON THE BEACH in San Diego – makes me want to take a road trip back there.

However, I'm concerned about my old 2002 Saturn with over 103,000 miles making the trip. What if my "check engine light" comes on while I'm there? How will I get back home? What if I get stuck in San Diego (oh, yeah, that would be awful)?

So, as a plan-ahead kind of girl, I decided to check for places – fair places – with great ratings just in case I needed to find an auto repair shop. And that's when I came across the San Diego Auto Repair. Their website is set up to locate the right shop for any car (all I had to do was enter Saturn in the box that said, Find the right shop for your car, and I was given a list of 14 different auto shop options in the directory).

What I really like about this web site is that it lets me know what my repair costs will be. All I had to do was enter the make and model of my car, choose a problem I wanted fixed, and they provided an estimate for what the cost would be. What could be easier than that? Why doesn't every place offer that option?

Though I've never bookmarked my own pages before, I'm bookmarking this blog on my laptop, which I will be bringing with me, so I'll have easy access to the page should I decide to take a surprise trip to visit my granddaughter in San Diego. Maybe I'll take her mother (my oldest baby) with me and we can make a vacation of it after my radiation treatments are over.

Maybe we'll take her new vehicle (she's supposed to be getting one soon). I forgot what she plans on getting, but who knows, maybe it will be another van or a Ford F-150.

WOW! I just noticed a Rate this Car section when I looked up Ford F-150. Owner reviews appear under the photo. I'll have to tell Keeley about this before she purchases her new van or truck.

California here I come...