Well, we’ve been on the road since January 8th. We have a little less than a month left before we are home. I miss my bed and I am tired of living out of a suitcase. We thought about an RV, but running our business takes space so unless we buy a bus it won’t work (neither of us wants a bus so an RV isn’t happening). Plus, I’d miss things like this morning – we were late leaving because I was staring at the bird feeder behind our Airbnb in Tennessee. There were two different types of woodpeckers and red winged blackbirds! Besides the cardinals, blue jays, chickadees, etc. Spring is springing in the south! Even in Virginia, where we are now, has signs of spring! I am writing this from an Airbnb on a sheep farm in Virginia about three hours from our next show. We got here and it was still daylight so I just stood and watched sheep…including cute lambs following their mommies so they could nurse!
Tucson Recap
The show was LONG…17 selling days! We didn’t do anything fun, other than buy more rocks. Our first show in Tucson was a learning experience, but we were happy with it. We will put our lessons learned into how we approach 2023 when we return to the GIGM Red Lion show. Yup, we are going to go back to Tucson!
Texas Recap
I definitely had my fill of Whataburger, almost to the point I didn’t want anymore! I already miss HEB, the best grocery store ever 😊 We ate lots of Mexican food, but my favorite was this little out of the way place outside of Texarkana. We really didn’t do anything fun in Texas this trip south. Our week off was spent relaxing since Tucson was exhausting.
We don’t know what 2023 will bring when it comes to Texas. Our plan is to be back at the Fredericksburg show the third week of January. The Clear Lake show is moving to the third week of March, hopefully a temporary move, but possibly too late in the month for us to do the show. The Gulf Coast show should be the same weekend as normal (the first weekend of March), but there was no confirmation as of last Sunday. The San Antonio show is up in the air; we hope to know something after their April show. We will keep you posted as to what our Texas plans are, right now we have no idea.
Other interesting anecdotes from our travels
There are definitely snotty people at shows, but normally we encounter one or two per show (at the most). In Tucson it was one or two a day. Although we didn’t get out to shop much, other than within the Red Lion show, I cannot imagine being grumpy in Tucson since it is Disney World for rocks!!!
I admit it, I am a horrible passenger! I work on my computer or my phone while Chris drives so that I am not a backseat driver. I periodically look up to see hills, rock formations, and animals, stop doing other things to search for gas stations or restaurants, and sometimes to say “slow down” or something like that. I am also known to say “moo” every time I see a cow, which by the way means I am saying moo a lot in parts of New Mexico and Virginia.
I’ll also admit that I am pretty picky when it comes to where we stay, Airbnb or hotel. This trip has had some hits and some misses. Highlights, besides birds and sheep, include staying in a class C RV where Chris didn’t fit in the shower, staying in the middle of a pecan orchard, losing a yellow 13 from our Rummikub game, staying next to a cattle ranch (fresh ground beef in the freezer and cows in the backyard), and being the killer of wifi (in three places, including where we are now, we’ve had no internet). Seriously, if anyone has an Airbnb, I am happy to share what some of my pet peeves are.
I’ll leave you with some pics from the road, including pecan trees in New Mexico, deer at my brother-in-law’s and sister-in-law’s house, and sheep at sunset in Virginia. I updated the videos on the home page as I know not everyone is on Facebook...cab and carving eye candy. Happy Spring, Theresa