4- Oklahoma to Maine

We made it to Maine!!

After spending two months in Oklahoma, I am finally back in Maine. Seven days of driving, 2000 miles, a dog, a cat, a husband, and my personality; needless to say- there was never a dull moment.

The vibe has been all business these last couple months. It's no "small ordeal" to sell a house and 90% of the belongings in it. The relief I felt putting my John Handcock on the dotted, was like letting out my breath I didn't even realize I was holding.

(Its called fashion baby. Every day for about a month I was on the phone or Facebook market place selling our house hold items)

August 13th, we put the rest of our belongings into a 6ft x 12ft trailer, closed on our Oklahoma house, and began the drive to Maine. I have done this drive twice now. The first time we powered through the distance by averaging 10-12 hour days for 4 days (it's not fun) on the northern route from OKC to Maine. So this time, we took the southern, knowing we'd be moving slower with the trailer and all the animals.

(A man of many talents)

To reduce the expense of traveling, we stayed in various KOA and motels.

KOA Cabin- $45 to $80 (depending if the cabin has a bathroom)

Motel 6-$90 (Do not recommend)

La Quinta Inn & Suites -$100 (by far the most comfortable)

*each location is pet friendly*

There are so many beautiful sights to see while driving cross country. I was particularly interest in eastern Tennessee and Virginia. The smoky mountains are absolutely beautiful. Though we didn't have time to go to any National Parks, we managed to squeeze in a few walks and explore some local areas.

(.2 seconds after the picture was taken, the cat jumped out of my backpack)

(Time is irrelevant in Nashville. It was 11am on a Sunday and the bars were rocking, bridal parties were going hard, and the drinks were ice cold. Needless to say, I loved Nashville. Notice the cast on my finger? Keep reading to find out what happened!)

Two places I'd highly recommend to anyone traveling in the area is Natural Bridge, and White Oak Lavender Farm.

(Natural Bridge State Park in Virginia)

Natural Bridge State Park is a must see! It is a very small state park and very easy to get too since it right off the interstate. The walking trail is paved and dog friendly. Admission is $9/person. Any one in any physical shape could do this walk. The whole trail is about 2 miles, with no elevation change. (There are 4 flights of stairs to get to the park entrance)

https://naturalbridgeva.com/things-to-do-natural-bridge-va/

The other location I want to high light is White Oak Lavender Farm

(Roller used to separate the lavender flower from the stem.)

White Oak Lavender farm is also a winery. Admission to tour around their lavender garden is $3. There is also a gift shop on site filled with anything you can imagine that has lavender in it. The area absolutely beautiful and the ladies working the farm, where extremely knowledgeable about the plant.

To top it all off, there is a winery on the lavender farm. We did a 12 one ounce tasting for $12 each. There was a variety of wine, ranging from white, red, ports, and of course lavender infused wine. This was a lovely stop for an hour to stretch our legs. I highly recommend paying them a visit!

https://www.whiteoaklavender.com/

It wouldn't be a Cheri Mahoney trip if everything went smoothly. We left Oklahoma City and rented a cabin for the night in Arkansas. The cabin was cute, and the KOA was well maintained. It was the official first day of our drive. The car was loaded, and we were moments away from hitting the road. Pat had to use the bathroom. While I was waiting for him; I wanted to throw some trash away. As I was getting out of the truck, the cat jumped out.

My cat is an outdoor cat, and she will run to me if I call for her, so I wasn't concerned about her jumping out. However, the cat jumped out of the truck as I was closing the door. Somehow, between the cat, the stuff in my hands, and the door, I managed to shut the door on my finger.

Two thoughts went through my head. First, "huh, well I'm an idiot." And the second, "Holy Hell I need to open the door!!"

(I am fully aware I have freakishly long fingers..)

The small silver lining is I smashed my finger on the first day. By the time we got to Maine, the swelling was almost gone, and the tip is just a little sore. This is a good thing because, I still had to help unload all of our belongings from the Uhaul trailer. It all worked out. Just no high fives with my right hand for a few weeks.

We will be here in Maine for a few weeks getting organized.

Until the next post!

Cheri