Nashville...It Was Not Meant To Be

Well, Friday the 25th my Mother-in-law and I left in my husband's Grandma's car heading for Nashville for a Home Interiors Seminar.  BUT...we ran into some sleet in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.  We were intending to pull off at the next exit.  But just as we were crossing a bridge before that exit, two cars in front of us started to spin...they hit each other...then we started to spin and hit the concrete barrier.  I was driving.  It was a scary experience for me.  Fortunately, we did not hit anything but a concrete barrier and no one was hurt.  I think our guardian angels were doing overtime on Friday.  (I found out the next day in the newspaper that we were just 1 of about 47 accidents in that area that day) Well after assessing the damage done to the car, we were told we would need a new rim and tire on the car because the "donut spare" would not get us back home.  Well, Arkadelphia is a little town.  The closest rim they could find was 100 miles away and they could not get it because of the weather and the roads where closed.  And, If they ordered one, it would not be there until Monday or Tuesday.  Not to mention it would have cost us $400 - $600.  To make a long story short, back in Dallas, Jack, the kids and my Father-in-law found a rim and tire to be used as a full size spare so we could get the car home.  They drove it up to Arkadelphia on Saturday.  My in-law's drove Grandmas car home Sunday and WE set out on a "mini' vacation" or a "Scenic drive home"...whichever you want to call it.  Instead of heading back home on I-30, we took some back roads through Arkansas, Oklahoma  and then back into Texas.  We had so much fun!  We found camping sites that we will probably return to this coming summer.  We took an hour long detour up through a Wildlife Refuge area on the side of a mountain.  If we saw a side road off of the main road, we took it just to see what we could find.  The kids love different kinds of rocks...so every time we stopped, we would look for some interesting rocks to bring home for their collection.  One time we took a winding side road back into the woods.  We came up to a river that was flowing over a low bridge.  We stopped and let the kids play in the water and I took a little trail down stream to some rocks in the middle of the river.

 

Though I never made it to Nashville...I had a great weekend with my Husband and kids.  Looking back,  it was a nice way to de-stress and have quality time with them.  Plus, it inspired us to take out some time this summer to camp out in some of those same areas.  I guess it was another one of those "blessings in disguise".  I keep telling myself that there was a reason I was not able to make to Nashville.  Above all...I am SO thankful that God was watching over us and kept us safe in the midst of it all.