A Road Divided

We left Savannah and made our halfway stop in Charleston, South Carolina. My stepfather had been hospitalized with a broken back due to his cancer spreading. He was given three weeks to three months to live, which would allow me to see him at the end of the trip. We were walking toward our lunch spot when I received a call that he did not think he would make it until Sunday. It was Friday. Michael and I were at a cute French restaurant called Chez Nous and had just ordered our lunch. We were eighteen minutes away from the Charleston airport and I booked a flight back to Palm Springs.

Michael:
Michael continued our trip to Murrells Inlet just outside of Myrtle Beach. This was our second to last time camping in our pop-up tent. Michael continued to send me pictures while I was in California to map our journey.

Next, Michael headed to our reserved Bed and Breakfast in New Bern, North Carolina and some fun antique shopping.

Next stop, Virginia Beach to the place where the Europeans first landed on the east coast. Our last camping site was at First Landing State Park. I wanted to touch the Pacific Ocean and then drive across and touch the Atlantic Ocean. I didn’t quite make it to the Atlantic Ocean, but Michael touched it for me.

Suzanne:
I caught the flight from Charleston to Palm Springs, stopping in Denver. The flights were uneventful. My sister Lisa picked me up from the airport and I was at the house by around 10:15. My sister Deborah and my mother were the only ones in the house. My stepfather, whose name is Charles Moyer and I call Mr. M, was sleeping. Deborah was supposed to wake him at 11 pm for his pain medicine. I went in quietly and sat with him for a minute and then waited patiently until it was time to wake him. I said hello to my mom.
When he woke up and saw me he smiled very brightly and said, “You made it!” This made tears come to my eyes. My mom said he was looking forward to hearing about my trip in December when we had planned to spend Christmas with my mom and Mr. M while waiting for our visa. He asked where I had flown from and when I told him South Carolina a big grin appeared on his face. I took his hand and he squeezed it and reached out for Deborah’s hand. He brought both of our hands to his lips and kissed them and then he brought our hands to his heart. He told us he had a great life and he loved us very much. We gave him a smoothie to eat and then he tired and told us to have a nice day. His consciousness dimished through the next day and he passed into the next life at 8:38 pm. The rest of my trip was spending time with my mom and sisters and my stepbrothers and stepsister.

Michael’s next stop was visiting his college friend, Sandy, and her wife in Townsend, Maryland. She had recently moved from Florida to a homestead with chickens, dogs, cats, and even a large tortoise. Michael had a great time catching up with Sandy.

I returned to Harrisburg, the birthplace of Mr. M, to pick up my journey with Michael.