The Weekend Dispatch

Our weekend began on Thursday when Bro.Jared Burris from our home church spent the day at the barn doing some much needed work. We appreciate him taking time to help us on a few projects. We also really enjoyed visiting with our dear friends. 

This barn was built in 1982 but the rafters needed more bracing to prevent movement  and there was no walkway down the center of the rafters. Brother Jared took care of both of those items and also fixed the metal and trim around the front overhead door.

We installed the overhead door a few years ago, but I have never been able to get the outside metal and trim completed. I did not take any pictures, but I will try to get some pictures of the finished work.

Friday night was our fifth night in our Summer Revival Series. Thank you very much for watching and commenting. 

We made our way to Carter Caves State Park near Olive Hill, Kentucky with my parents for the Boggs family reunion. This was our first time attending since 2021. In 22 we were preaching in California the week before the reunion and Colorado on reunion day. In 2023 we were in the northeast preaching. 

We had a great time visiting with friends and family and we enjoyed the actual reunion very much. Here are a few pictures and we hope to have more tomorrow.

Sunday morning we checked out of the state park cottage we rented with mom and dad and we went south about 40 minutes to Laurel Gorge Enterprise Baptist Church near Sandy Hook, Kentucky. Sandy Hook is actually where our Boggs family hails from. 

Several of my dad‘s first cousins and their families attend this church. It was wonderful to see so many of them and get to be in church with them. We have sang and preached in several of the area churches where our family attends, but we do not get to be in church with them often enough.

A few years ago, Dad took us by the old church in the country that my Great-Grandmother Mary Boggs attended along with her children. Sunday, I found out the Laurel Gorge Church is the same That church. They moved to this new location several years ago.

We really enjoyed the service and they received us with open arms.

Long time readers may remember seeing George Boggs on the blog several times before. George is one of dad‘s first cousins and he and his family are very dear to our hearts. 

Kelly Jo drove us back home Sunday night and we were glad when The Lazy OD Ranch came into view.

That pretty much wraps of the weekend. Thanks for joining us. May God bless you.

Davy 

Boggs Family Reunion at Carter Caves State Park

We are gearing up for a big weekend again and I am sure that Odie will treat us with a bunch of great pictures. We will make our way about three hours from home to Carter Caves State Park just outside of Olive Hill, Kentucky.

Saturday will be the annual Boggs Family reunion at Carter Caves State Park. We do not always get to attend, usually we are in Revival many miles away, but we are excited to be there each time that we can.

The park is a beautiful place with miles of trails, cave tours, a wonderful campground and beautiful lodge with a great restaurant. We have been vacationing there and having reunions there as far back as I can remember as a child.

It is also one of the first places that Kelly and I went together and spent a few days walking miles of trails and falling in love with Carter Caves for ourselves. 

We have had some of our fifth wheels there and the bus there several times. There are only a few places the bus can fit in the campground, but we have enjoyed camping there with our Kentucky family on various occasions. 

If you search Carter Caves on the desktop view of our Mile Markers, you can find posts like this one with hundreds of pictures of scenery, family and even church services. 

We plan to be in church with Boggs family on Sunday and then make our way toward home Sunday night by God’s grace. We are really looking forward to the weekend.

Thank you for joining us today.

Davy

It Is Done! And I Feel Good About It

We made it! By God’s grace the deed is done. The BoggsMobile is now in Vonore Tennessee at Jeff Rowe’s shop in good hands.  

I was up way too early Tuesday morning in anticipation of the day’s events but did not begin preparing until after 6:00. In the mean time I was trying to prepare myself and the Lord was ministering to me. It was a lovely few hours. 🙌🏽

The bus cranked fine, aired up normally, the brakes released completely and we were off like a herd of turtles. KJo and my Dad followed the first 8 miles and then we attached the Jeep and took off in earnest. 

We timed Cincinnati right for a change and had no traffic slowdowns in Cincy, Lexington or Knoxville. Hallelujah! The only traffic glitch was south of Jelico near the Rocky Top exit. We probably lost 30 minutes there due to construction. 

We drove 322 miles and arrived at 3:30 for a total of 6 hours and 40 minutes including a few stops. I felt confident and competent driving the bus with no problems and I am thankful for that. 

My body responded afterward like I expected but we are trusting that gets better with time. I feel about half dead, but at least I’m not twice dead and plucked up by the roots.😂

We are incredibly thankful for the Lord‘s help. This is probably my biggest non-spiritual accomplishment since the stroke🙌🏽🙌🏽 Feeling comfortable driving the bus is a necessary step in moving forward. Thank y’all for praying for us. 

This gives us the confidence to try some more. We believe if we travel shorter distances and allow more time for travel, we may actually swing into something near normal. That is exciting. 

We started home in the Jeep Tuesday evening and finished Wednesday. It is nice to have that trip behind us. Thank you for dropping in.

Davy

Sometimes Duty Comes Due

You may have wondered about the bus being in a different position in Sunday's picture. Of course, there is a reason for that.

Sometimes Duty Comes Due

The bus had not been started since I moved it out of the barn and drove it about 5 miles near the end of March. We need to get it to Jeff Rowe in Vonore, Tennessee this week, so we needed to get it ready to travel. 

That became the focus of our Saturday.  

There are legitimate concerns about a diesel fuel tank sitting too long without any activity. That concern includes condensation adding water to the fuel and also the possibility of fungus growing in the tank. Water in diesel fuel is always bad and the fungus clogs the fuel filters and shuts you down. 

I added the appropriate fuel treatments back in February, but I treated the fuel tank again on Friday. After getting the engine running Saturday I let it run a few hours to make sure the treated fuel was completely circulated. 

Then I pulled up to Odie‘s house, we unloaded some PA equipment there and then I pulled it back down to the parking lot and turned it around. 

Originally, we had planned to take the bus to Tennessee on Monday. However, after a long day of preparation Saturday and knowing our responsibilities for Sunday, we decided to finish some of the work on Monday and make the drive on Tuesday by God’s grace. 

I have driven the BoggsMobile over 240,000 miles so 300 miles is like a walk in the park. But I am a little apprehensive since the bus has been mostly sitting in one place since December 20. 

This has never happened before. Even when I was sick with Covid we took the bus someplace about every 30 days to keep it limbered up. That was not possible this time. Hopefully, prayerfully and carefully we will try. 

Please pray that the bus runs well and the trip goes smoothly. We plan to drive the Jeep back home and leave the bus with Mr. Jeff Rowe a few weeks.

You are probably thinking, what happened to trying to avoid traveling long distances to allow my body to build up strength to do it? That is a completely legitimate question. 

I am not sure the answer is completely legitimate, but it makes sense to us. When we are ready to hit the road, the bus needs to be in the best shape it can be for a 29.5 year old bus. Therefore getting the bus worked on takes preeminence and, unfortunately, it must be done. 

If all goes well, we will arrive in Tennessee this evening and be back home on Wednesday. Either way, I have A Word For Wednesday ready to go tomorrow. 

Thank you for praying for us.

Davy

Tomorrow

Finishing In Mississippi And The Road Home

Our last full day in Mississippi was Sunday and we had two great services at White Plains and enjoyed the fellowship tremendously. Pastor Ricky Boler has a ways to go before he is completely well, but he felt like he was able to preach the following Wednesday and turned us loose after Sunday. 

The folks at White Plains treated us so well and we enjoyed the eight services we were there. May God bless our friends.

Kelly Jo hit the ground running after church Sunday night and by Monday morning we were ready to roll. We sure do miss being in the bus at times like this.

Kelly does most of the driving on these trips and does a fantastic job. She is very hesitant about driving the bus though. If we keep traveling like this, I wonder if she is willing to drive a U-Haul truck? It looks like we need one for sure.😍🤣

We had already planned lunch in Laurel, Mississippi on Monday so we headed there first before pointing the Jeep toward Ohio. 

We met Pastor Kenny Morris and Sis Joan, Pastor Scott Morris and Sis Kim, Pastor Andy Stringfellow and Sis Tina and Bro James and Sis Faye Hunnell. It was so wonderful to see our dear friends and spend a few moments with them.

This was the very first time since the stroke that I had sat down with people other than my immediate family and tried to eat. I nibbled on a few green beans and greens. I did not dare try to eat meat.

It was not a super accomplishment, in the grand scheme of things, but it was a momentous occasion for me and KJo. I ate a few ounces of tender Ribeye a few days before, which put a big smile on my face!

Unfortunately, the bread is completely off-limits. 

Now a few pictures from Monday.

It took us parts of three days to drive 700+ miles and I felt the effects all along the way. As you may remember, I did not plan to travel this far all summer and I hope to avoid it the rest of the summer. However, doing my best to help my friend was worth it.

I should have plenty of time to recover. Thank you for stopping in today. 

Davy

Odie's 2024 Travel Day To Florida

Hey Friends,

One week ago today, my long-awaited vacation ended. I never look forward to going home day, but all good things must come to an end. This was my first vacation since January 2020. 

I plan to spend the next several Saturdays letting you peek in on our fun. It will take me a while to compile everything. I spent the first few days home quarantined to my room with a cold. I did not have much brain power to use for blogging or editing pictures.

Singing at Sea 2024 was worth the wait! My awesome friend Nicole Estes joined me for the adventures this time around. We had an absolute blast together for the week.

Travel Day To Florida 2024

Today is focused on Saturday, January 27th, my travel day to Orlando. My friends Nathan and Emily Roberts came and picked me up on Saturday Morning. They made sure my stuff and I arrived safely and plenty early at the Cincinnati airport. Emily helped me get inside and checked in for my flight. 

Somehow, I neglected to get their pictures when they picked me up or dropped me off for the trip. Nathan and Emily were a massive help to me. I can never thank them enough for their help!

This was my first time flying on Southwest Airlines. I was able to get a nonstop flight, and the check-in process was easy. I only had to answer some questions about my scooter and get it appropriately tagged.

Security at CVG was very easy. They did not ask for my iPad or liquids bag to be removed from my carry-on. I was on the way to my gate in no time. Flying with a scooter makes navigating airports much easier.

I had time to sit back, relax and enjoy some Starbucks before boarding the plane. I was in vacation mode.

Once the plane was fully ready, we were bound for Florida. 2 hours and 25 minutes later, after an extremely turbulent flight, we arrived. It was bumpy the entire flight. The flight attendants could not offer their full service. I was so thankful to be on the ground safely!

I could see my suitcase being loaded on the plane.

Ready to go!

Mid Flight.

Hello Orlando!

My suitcase and scooter both arrived. I was so happy when their AirTag locations were updated on my phone. I breathed a lot easier then!

Once I retrieved my suitcase from baggage claim, I called the hotel to request a shuttle. I journeyed outside to enjoy the beautiful Florida weather while I waited. It did not take me long to shed my vest! 

The first Shuttle arrived to pick up me and two other Ohio passengers waiting to go to the same hotel. The van was almost full, and the driver did not have room for the scooter. 

I waited a while longer for the next shuttle driver. He was extremely friendly and accommodating. He was getting calls for more people to pick up before we left the airport. I told him I did not mind if he stopped to get them. He said no, you have been waiting long enough. I am taking you straight to the hotel.

We stayed in a room we booked through Templeton Tours. They put us in the Hilton Garden Inn by the Orlando airport. This hotel is newly renovated. It was beautiful! We had a gorgeous big room with two queen size beds. That is hard to find when booking a handicapped accessible room.

The Beds

Room number 423.

The accessible bathroom.

Coffee, microwave and fridge station.

Closet area.

The View from the 4th floor.

I had time for a nap and to get a little settled before Nicole arrived. Her flight was delayed. I was so glad to see her arrive. We had anticipated this day for many months. Vacation time was finally here!

The first vacation meal together was Chicken strips and chips from the hotel restaurant. It was a yummy way to start the vacation meals.

That wraps up the travel day to Orlando adventures. Stay tuned for more next week. Thanks for dropping by!

Odie