Friends and Readers...I am changing my web address to charleswear.com. Please update your bookmarks accordingly.

Blessings,
Charlie Wear

Thank God, we made it home to Valrico, Florida this evening around 8.30 p.m. I have so much Monster energy drink coursing through my veins I may never sleep again, but we are here. Tomorrow is a big day of unpacking, turning in the trailer and a lot of other stuff. Thanks to those who have been following our journey and praying for us once in a while.

This is the second time I have made a mad dash across the country with a U-haul attached to a vehicle. From California you travel through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisianna, Mississippi, Alabama and then Florida on the way to our new home in Valrico, Florida. This trip we spent two days at Loretta's folks in Tucson, Arizona. Then one day brought us to Van Horn, Texas, about 126 miles from El Paso. Next night we were in Boerne, Texas, just outside of San Antonio, Texas. Last night we were in Sulphur, La. And today we crossed Louisianna, and the tips of Mississippi and Alabama to arrive in Pensacola, Florida. With a long day of travel tomorrow we will make it home. Only about one day later than we expected. No more overheating, since the first day out of Tucson and the rythm of the road and travel has set in. Lots of time to think and talk on the road, and it is always a bonding experience!

Can you tell that we lightened our load considerably? We spent two days at my wife's parent's house in Tucson. One day was spent unpacking, giving away stuff, and then repacking. We took a long break in the middle of the hottest part of the day. We finished up at about 8.30 Tuesday night. Wednesday was a rest day.

We hit the road at 5.30 a.m. As a result of the jettisoning of a portion of our worldly goods, after 11 hours of driving and only 1 rest stop because of overheating we made it to Van Horn, Texas.

Of course, all of the driving has a tendency to cause my ankles to swell. Since you don't see my ankles on a regular basis you may not be able to tell that this is one swollen ankle!

And so that brings us to how Ben occupies himself in the early evening hours. Thank you Steve Jobs. I am sure that it is because of your dent" in the world that the video ipod exists and Benjamin can watch Dora the Explorer to his heart''s content. By and large Ben travels well in his car seat in the back of  the F-150. However, even a trip to the McDonald's playground isn't enough to burn off all of the pent-up energy.
He spent a couple of hours last evening crawling all over his tired old dad's stomach!

I was also able to download Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny and Little Einsteins. After all day in a pickup truck Ben wants to swiing from the chandeliers in the motel room in the evening. Cheeze pizza, multiple glasses of water, and other forms of entertainment cannot keep a toddler fully occupied. Tomorrow we try to make San Antonio.

Okay, we made it to beautiful Tucson, Arizona about 6.30 p.m. last night with the temperature gauge in the red for about the last 20 minutes. Does God answer prayers for mechanical intervention? I am hoping that I haven't already blown the engine.

We are going to unload some of our worldly possessions here in Tucson hoping that a lighter load will make ease the strain on the truck. We are tired, but moving forward!

If you have been reading between the lines for the past several months you may have discerned that the Wears' are moving to Florida! We pulled out of the parking lot at our former apartment complex in Fountain Valley, CA at 1 a.m. and checked into our motel room in Colton, CA at 2:36 a.m. We had gone 60 miles. After a brief stop at my son's house in Loma Linda we made the longest trip to Blythe, CA I have ever made.

I was exhausted when we started Sunday morning. Loretta and I worked about 20 hours on Saturday loading the truck and van. Ben looks happy tucked into his co-pilot's seat in the back. I lost track of the number of times we had to stop to make it over the summit between Indio and Blythe. Then heat guage was in the red. We would stop for 15 minutes and then travel 2 miles. We spent a lovely hour at the Rest Stop letting the engine cool. Apparently we have overloaded our 6 cyl. F-150.  We hit the McDonald's in Blythe at 7.30 p.m. and our motel room at 8.30. Our goal today is Tucson, Az. At this rate we will make it to Florida by the end of November. :)

I had a shock this week. I learned that a dear friend, that is probably not the best description, died on July 2. Memorial services are over. Her son had called my cell phone and left a message, but I was driving when I listened and didn't know who was calling.

All of us have people in our lives who are special. For many of us, it is our parents, or grandparents. For some, a teacher or a pastor. This lady was the mother of a high school friend of mine. This was a special family. I think I may have been the first in a long line of folks that they took in and helped out when the help was needed. This family gave me food and a place to stay during my first year in college.

Later, when I became an attorney, she was a client of mine. She was a fine Christian woman who did her best to care for her family and for strays, like myself, that came across her path. I did stop by to see her a few months ago, and had a nice visit. Her name was Lillian Miller. She lived in Loma Linda, California where she was a Realtor for several decades. I will miss her, for now, and expect to see her again someday in the sweet bye and bye.

If you don't have anything to say, is it better to keep quiet? That is the dilemma...

Here are links to some of the other projects that have been occupying my time: Serve! Ezine with Steve Sjogren, OutwardBuzz with Steve Sjogren, and GrowingEdgeBuzz with Steve Sjogren.

I am so busy editing and publishing ezines and other blogs that there is never enough time to post to this blog! I've noticed this phenomena in other blogs. Lots of posting with interesting things being said, and then weeks and maybe months with nothing. I still read the regular bloggers, Andrew Jones and Jordon Cooper, come to mind immediately. I really don't know how they do it. But I am glad they do. Anyway, there you go, a blog post about how I don't have enough time to post to my blog. Yikes!