11 Months and a much needed vacation

It has been 11 months since Arley was diagnosed and things are slowly starting to return back to normal.

I decided completely spur of the moment, that I wanted to get a head start on that bucket list I mentioned to you all a few entries back and pack up my little car and take a much needed and long desired road trip.

Those who know me well, know that I have a huge love of traveling and driving long distances and being on the open road does wonders for the mind. Considering that you have miles upon miles to think, blast the music and sing to all your favorite songs that you so conveniently created on eleven mixed CDs... (yes true story there are 11 all of which are a mixture of genres) is just something that I can't even explain, you just have to experience it.

I wanted to visit some states that we have never been to before and explore around a bit and we were quite successful. A couple of our favorites were stopping at Antique Archaeology in Nashville, Tennessee which is the newest store location of the hit History television show American Pickers. 

It kind of looks like a very eclectic yet vintage boutique, but it's so very cool and fascinating nonetheless. I bought Arley a Kid Pickers t-shirt and several bumper stickers to send to my parents and brother.

From there we drove down to New Orleans for a quick visit to the Audubon Zoo which was a lot of fun. Arley has a huge love for animals so it was fun to take her there. Originally we had planned on spending two nights in NOLA and experiencing their Spring Fest down at the French Quarter near Jackson Square, but I felt the desire to continue on with our road trip and head further west.

And here we are now, currently exploring more of the beauty that surrounds us on this side of the Mississippi, having the time of our lives taking in the rich culture and all that the Central Time Zone has to offer. I don't know how far we will go or when we will head back, but what I do know is that this mother/daughter bonding adventure is something that I will always cherish especially being away from the hospital setting for a while and trust me, there is nothing else more amazing than that.