I remembered that I had this picture when Vicky made her comment about her Grandma Bingham, so I am posting it here. It pictures four generations: Me, Mother, Abi, and Vicky taken on Mother's last visit to Alaska--October to December 2000.
As you all know, Grandma Bingham wrote a book about their travels, FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA ON A SHOESTRING. This picture of her on her last trip to Alaska reminded me of the chapter she wrote about that trip. I decided to share it with you here.
Chapter 72 - Another Explanatory Interlude
I wanted to spend time with the Bloughs in Alaska before settling down at an assisted living home in Greenville. My plan was to have Dick accompany me on the flight up and have Marlene come back with me.
But those plans were changed. Marlene wrote that they would come down after me in a pop-up trailer and encouraged me to get moved out of the apartment, thus saving rent, electricity, etc. I had less than a month to break up housekeeping for good! Marlene had come down and helped me move out of our house in November 1998; now she came and helped me move out of our apartment almost two years later. I gave everything away to family and friends, and what no one wanted, I gave to Miracle Hill. When the time for leaving came, there were still boxes left and other stuff. Muriel and Dick took care of all that, and on September 22, I walked out of the apartment.
Chapter 73 - The Trip to Alaska
We left from Paton and Melinda’s home on Saturday morning, September 23, where we had spent the night. Our destination was Ron’s mother’s and sister’s homes in Holsopple, Pennsylvania. It was a beautiful drive, for the fall colors were just beginning to show off. We arrived after dark and found Grandma Blough not as sick as we had been led to believe. We stayed at Ron’s sister’s house, for they were gone. Their daughter Cindy lived very close by, so we saw a lot of that family.
Every day Ron took us on trips through the beautiful countryside. He preached at two different churches while we were there. On the last Sunday we were there, October 1, we celebrated Grandma Blough’s birthday (September 30) and mine, which was that day. She was 85 and I was 86.
On October 2 we left Pennsylvania and headed for Alaska, our destination. Becky and Adam had arrived from Arizona with their two little boys, so they traveled with us the first day and a half. The countryside was beautiful! We stopped the first night in Schenectady, New York, where Adam and Becky had reservations. We parked our van and camper in the parking lot where we spent the night in the camper. It was a new experience for me, but I slept very comfortably. We were able to use the Roland’s facilities to bathe and dress.
The next day we traveled with the Rolands for half of the time, visiting an old church in Bennington, Vermont. Bob and I had been there on one of our trips. Then we said good bye to them and went our separate ways.
On to Alaska for us. I’ve never enjoyed a trip more but only wished Bob could be enjoying it with me. It was unbelievably beautiful and interesting. I enjoyed every day to the fullest. The fall colors were on display. The sunsets over the Great Lakes were fantastic. The mountains were breathtaking. I just don’t have the vocabulary to describe the wonder and beauty of that trip.
We spent about half the nights in the camper and half in motels.
We stopped in Bemidji, Minnesota, where we used to live and went into the store we used to have, now a photo shop. We drove to Solway where we also used to live. Ron was so kind as to take me to places he knew I’d be interested in. We were in Canada for their Thanksgiving Day. I think it was October 5.
We started our trip to Alaska on Monday morning, October 2, and arrived at the Blough’s home in Ninilchik on October 12 having traveled 6,096 miles. Five of those nights we slept in the camper, four in a motel, and one at Judson’s in Anchorage. Our usual routine was thus: we would get up, dress, and start out. After driving for a couple of hours, we would stop and have a good breakfast at a restaurant. Then on we would go until about suppertime when we would stop for our evening meal. We had snacks with us to keep our tummies from growling between meals. After supper, we would travel on, often driving after dark. Then we would find a gas station where we would park in the back with the trucks, or we’d get a motel. One of the highlights of that trip was a stop at a beautiful log lodge that Marlene had picked out on their way down. It was made of very, very large logs.
It snowed on our last night on the road, but Ron had stopped along the way and had snow tires put on our vehicle. So, we arrived safe and sound in Anchorage where we met Judson at a restaurant and ate there. We spent the night with him in his apartment. That was on October 11, 2000.
Before I go any farther, I must write about the not-so-good part of our trip. The heater in the camper didn’t work right. It kept going off. I about froze to death even though Marlene piled covers on me. Poor Ron would get up and work with it. He would get it going and then it would stop again. Finally, we stopped at a place along the way and got it fixed. Another not-so-pleasant event was that I fell while getting up to go to the “bathroom”--a potty-chair near my bed. I knocked my glasses off the table on which I had laid them. I was not hurt, but my glasses were. They were all bent out of shape, but Marlene got them fixed well enough for me to wear and see with them.
In Anchorage we had breakfast at Judson’s, then shopped at Wal-Mart. They put me in a mechanized wheelchair, and away I went. I was making a U-turn between some displays and bumped into one. Down it came! Marlene to the rescue. She got the display put back together, and no damage was done. I haven’t been in one of those wheelchairs since!
We, of course, were duly welcomed as we drove up to Ron and Marlene’s home in Ninilchik. Joanna, Caleb, and Abi were on hand to make us feel welcomed and to make me feel at home. Joanna helped me unpack and put things into drawers they had emptied for me. This would be my home for the next two months. I was glad to be there.
I praise the Lord for that wonderful trip. It was the best of them all.
“Traveling in the company of those we love is home in motion.”⎯Leigh Hunt
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