Three days to Aiken.

All trips are a journey.  Most times you are going from point A to point B and rarely take time to see what's in the middle.  Well, our trip to Aiken ended up being a journey, and its not done yet.  As I pulled out of the farm on a crisp (read 2 degree) Sunday morning I recall saying to our farm manager Jami, "You know, there is something about this year that is making me feel like I shouldn't be going..." It was strange. I was the most organized, planned out, packed up that I have ever been, and yet, something was holding me back from being excited and "ready" to go.  If only I could have known what was ahead.

The drive was beautiful and sunny, and the mountains through West Virginia gleamed with snow, sparkling in the sunlight.  I saw two rainbows at different times and thought, "huh...its not even raining! How strange!".  I called and told my Mom how weird it was to see the rainbows circling the sun, and even managed to snap a picture of one.  About an hour later, those rainbows would be far from my mind.  As I began ascending the hill into Beckley WV, my truck suddenly started decreasing in power. The cruise control shut off, the tacometer went crazy, and I was now limping up the hill at 30 mph praying to God that I would make it to the top.  By the grace of God I got to the top where my truck completely lost power and shut off.  I COASTED the entire rig into the Beckley service plaza and came to rest directly in front of the gas station.  I think I must have had an angel on each corner of the rig flapping their wings to get me in there!   The ordeal I went through to finally get the rig towed to a garage would take another blog post, so I will leave it at the fact that five hours later, everything was safe and secure, and Rose and I were at a hotel. 

Sadly, the garage I was towed to was a bit back yardish, and after wasting a better part of the next day, I finally found a Ford dealer about 20 miles away and had it towed there.  They were able to look at it, but couldn't get it fixed in time, so Rose and I spent another night in Beckley.  Now it was Tuesday, and Ramey Ford in Beckley had figured out the the oil pump had broken, and had our truck ready to roll by 3pm.  I hooked up and started out of Beckley, finally.

 Unfortunately, Beckley wasn't ready to say goodbye to us.  Fifteen miles into the trip, the truck was struggling again, and I turned around and limped back to Beckley, saying my Hail Mary's the whole time.  We made it to the dealership by 6, got a rental car this time, and went back to the hotel, where the staff watched me walk in slack jawed with disbelief.  They must have felt really bad for me because they gave me a huge suite with a wet bar and sitting room this time!  Rose and I licked our wounds, ordered a pizza, and bedded down for the night.

So, now its Wednesday, and I have been in Beckley WV since Sunday afternoon.  Our wonderful shipper Marvin from Ridgewood Transportation was on a time schedule, so the horses had to leave today or wait until next Tuesday.  I decided last night to ship the horses and have them leave at noon, to give us a chance to get the truck rolling.  At 10 am, when they were still deconstructing the truck I came to the conclusion that I needed to call in the cavalry.  A friend of mine, Amy Hoffield, had offered to help out should I need anything, so I called her up and she is presently on her way with her truck to pick up me, Rose, and the horse trailer, putting us about an hour or two ahead of the horses.  I cannot even begin to think of how I can repay or thank her, but suffice to say she is a SAINT for coming to my rescue. 

Rose and I are patiently waiting, and optimistic that we and the horses are going to get to Aiken today, and we will just take it one day at a time.  I keep looking for the reason why God choose to plunk me down on my butt here in Beckley, and I am keeping an open heart so that I can do whatever it is I am supposed to do here.  Hopefully, my work will be done by the time Amy gets here, and we can continue our journey.  While it wasn't my plan to stop here, it was somebody's and all I can do is take it all in and keep going.  Maybe, I'm supposed to remember that its not about point A to point B, but instead the inbetween part of getting there.