I thought I would share some of the photographs I’ve taken on my morning walks and excursions around the Ohio countryside. I have traveled all over this great nation, and the one thing I am so in awe of, is the vast beauty of our country. Each state showcases its own unique qualities, and Ohio is no different. Lush, green, rolling hills, family farms, rich history, and breathtaking in autumn; something I just found out recently, the state motto is, “With God all things are possible”…we truly are a blessed nation! 
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My Husband Jeff took me away last weekend to Hocking Hills State Park for a weekend of hiking to celebrate my birthday. It was the perfect weekend, shorts, t-shirt, hiking boots, hair back in a ball cap and no make-up! My kind of weekend! We hiked 10 miles the first day and 6 the next, it was great! We stayed in a wonderful french country bed and breakfast, sat under the stars, and ate breakfast on the patio surrounded by grassy meadows, flowers and forest! We finished up the weekend on the SUPER ZIP zip line…a quarter mile at 50 mph, flying through the trees and over the river…the perfect way to usher in year 53! 
I started out so good about blogging our cross-country trip, but quickly realized that if I wanted to enjoy the moment, I would have to focus on the moment rather than documenting it. So as it has been said, here’s the rest of the story…
Day 5 & 6
Day 5 was a long one, 13 plus hours as we motored our way through Texas, New Mexico, and into Arizona. As are typical with long road trips, our conversations ran the gamut, from contemplative exchanges of existentialism, to heated debate on the correct pronunciation of saguaro cactus. We played all manner of music trivia, name that tune, who’s that artist, what year was that record released, etc., and thanks to the Internet, we learned all kinds of general facts about the topography, geology, and history of the areas we passed through. We watched the landscape change from lush green, wooded, rolling hills, to vast desert wilderness. And as sunset approached, we watched, in awe, as the desert sun slipped behind the desert mountain peaks, transforming them into a majestic purple; a nightly event, yet a truly profound and mesmerizing transformation. An unmatched show of beauty and splendor, as God put the desert to sleep. Day 6 was not so long, only 6 hours. We were anxious to get to California, so we didn’t make many stops, but we did make a stop to take photos of the saguaro (suh-gwahr-oh) not (sah-wah-ro) cactus (never came to a consensus on the pronunciation haha). We rolled into San Clemente, California just as the sun was setting on the beautiful Pacific Ocean.
Day 7-17
California, beautiful California! To say we were glad to see California would be an understatement! We hadn’t seen our precious granddaughter Peyton in over a year! She had grown so much, and was talking like a little adult; so smart and so cute, we could not get enough of her! We went to the beach, out for ice cream, to Disneyland, and shopping for little girl stuff! It was awesome! And of course, it was wonderful to have most of our family together, Aaryn, Hailey, Brandon, Shanan and Peyton, but we were missing Blair 😦
As the week flew by, I began to realize, it would be just a few short days and we would be saying good-bye to Peyton, Brandon and Shanan, and then Hailey…as much as I tried not to think about it, it gripped my heart and I had to fight back the tears…a battle I didn’t win. As predicted, when that dreaded day came, and we had to say our good-byes, it was hard, very hard. With a lump in our throat and tears in our eyes, we loaded up and left for Phoenix…more good-byes to come.
Back across the desert we drove. We stopped in the lovely town of Blythe, California…it was 120 degrees, 120 degrees!! And there are people, actual people who live there! When we stepped out of the car, it was as if God had a heavenly blow dryer set on fire from Hell, blowing down upon us! Needless to say, that was a very quick stop, we were back on the road and headed for cooler temperatures…Phoenix, it was only 110 degrees there!
Phoenix! Our first day on campus began with lines, long, long lines of parents moving their kids into the dorms. It was chaos, in 115 degrees, that’s right 115 degrees! The campus is situated a little south of the surface of the sun…we were melting! We went to the orientation expo and the freshman orientation, from what I can remember, I was in and out of consciousness from heat exhaustion. We made numerous trips to Target to stock up on all the necessary dorm room essentials. Target had to have had record sales that week; it was a sea of parents of college students ravaging the shelves like swarming locusts. I overheard a sales person say to a wide-eyed parent looking for a twin XL mattress pad, that there was not a Target within a 20-mile radius that had any. Despite these battle conditions, we got Hailey moved in and settled. The rest of the week, while she was doing school things, Jeff and I checked out Phoenix, and made a few more Target runs, then each evening, we met up for dinner, and of course a little shopping in between. We spent all the time we could together, as we knew, soon it would be time to say good-bye. Suffice it to say, when that day came and it was time to leave our daughter, the last to leave the nest, it was a very difficult and tearful good-bye…before we knew it we were on the plane, and headed home.
That first day back home was so strange, I felt like I had been sucked into a wormhole and spit out the other end, disheveled and disoriented! It has taken a couple of days to reorient myself, but things are beginning to get back to normal, a new normal I suppose…as…gulp…empty nesters.
Day 3 & 4 – In an effort to try a little bit of all Dallas has to offer in the way of eateries, I think we have eaten our way through Dallas! We got to meet some of Aaryn’s friends, and catch up with Beth and Matt (our niece and her husband), who is preggers with their first baby! So exciting to see them, especially during this wonderful time in their life! Our family is scattered all around the country now, so when we see each other, it is quite a treat! Our sight seeing wasn’t as successful, we decided to check out the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens…it was 106…very humid…we didn’t think that one through…that lasted about an hour. Then we thought, better do our sight seeing indoors…so…we went to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science…didn’t investigate this well…great museum…if you’re 7! I’d like it noted, I wanted to go to the Dallas museum of Art. Nevertheless, we had a great time! It was time to leave Dallas, and get back on the road! We had planned to get an early start as we headed for Tucson, but AIS at 7:00 turned into 9:00ish…late starts seem to be our theme on this trip :). Next stop, Tucson!
Day 2 – Headed to Dallas to see Aaryn!
Day 1 was under our belt, and we were ready for Road Trip Day 2! We packed up our things, and got started! Unfortunately, the order of Day 2…delays! Heavy traffic, road construction and torrential rain made for a slow going day. Interstate 40 was like an18-wheeler convention! I’ve never seen so many trucks in my life! But, we made the best of it, turned up the tunes, and enjoyed the scenery! Such a beautiful drive! First stop, Memphis (I knew it was home to Elvis, but apparently home to The Great Pyramid of Bass Pro Shop??), grabbed a bite, checked out a bit of downtown, and back on the road! We crossed the Mighty Mississippi and into Arkansas, over the Arkansas River and into Little Rock, then on to…Arkadelphia?? We stopped there too, we just had to ;), through Texarkana, and finally to Dallas! Day 2 was in our rear-view mirror! Oh, and a little side note, Rags is back to his old self, spunky…and ornery (won’t take his medicine), back to normal!
Road trip, day 1- Monday night our dog Rags came down with a gastrointestinal infection, he could keep nothing down, which kept me up all night letting him in and out. We couldn’t leave him outside, it was raining and our deck is not covered…so…in and out…all…night…long…followed by cleaning the carpet, then an early morning trip to see the vet. Worried about Rags, running on no sleep, and finishing up all the loose ends for the trip, made for a pretty grueling day. However, we were glad it happened Monday night rather than Tuesday night, the night before we were to leave. Unfortunately, while the medication did help, it hadn’t kicked in completely and we had another sleepless night (thank goodness for my Hoover Steam Vac! It has paid for itself 100 times over!!). Day 1 of our trip began with calls to the vet, and calls to our dog/house sitter, Mary Ann (angel!) to ensure we had everything lined out for Rags. Do you ever feel like you’re moving non-stop, but getting nowhere? That’s exactly how I felt, but, we pushed through, loaded up the last few things, and we were off…at 10:00 am. Not the start we had hoped for, but we were on our way! Our drive was beautiful, lush green landscape, with blue, sunny skies, and only one thunderstorm! Can’t have all that lush green without the rain. We made our way through Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio, Louisville and Bowling Green, Kentucky, and finally into Nashville! Despite losing our navigation system as we entered Nashville, we found our way to our hotel, thanks to Hailey’s boyfriend Patrick, who navigated for us, 2000 miles away! We met up with Aaryn, had dinner at Bakersfield’s, (we had to, right 🙂 ) then walked around Nashville to take in some of the local country music, and Nashville flavor. Day 1 had a few bumps, but we made it!
It has been a while since my last post. I have intentionally spent the majority of my time with my daughter Hailey, and so, have not been online much. The summer has flown by! We got a bit of a late start on summer here in NE Ohio; it rained the entire month of June and into July! Though we did not see as many sunny days as we had hoped, we made the most of it, and had a wonderful time together in spite of it. This is Hailey’s last summer at home as a “kid”, tomorrow we leave to drive out west to take Hailey to college. It is a bittersweet time for her dad and me and for Hailey too, but she is excited to begin her first year as a college student. Hailey is the last of our four children to leave the nest, and I suppose, because she is the baby…by ten years, the hardest for her dad and I to see leave. We are turning the page on a new chapter, Hailey as a college student and Jeff and I as empty nesters, scary and exciting at the same time. We are so proud of Hailey, and all that she has accomplished, and we are filled with delight to see what God has planned for her, as she embarks on this new and exciting journey!
First stop, on our way our west, Nashville! We are meeting Hailey’s oldest brother, Aaryn, in Nashville, where we plan to take in some great Nashville food, and of course, some good country music! There will be pics to follow! 🙂
PS-I have been filled with inspiration, and have three new books in the works. My newest book, Words Are Just Words, will be released in early 2016!
And, last but certainly not least, thank You for your continued support of, Miss Hattie’s Amazing Garden and Seeds of Life! The wonderful feedback, and support of my work, is deeply appreciated! Thank you!! 🙂
Blessings,
Shannon
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Shannon Richardson ~ Author & Photographer 