The story of my travels.....

There seems to be some interest in my life on the road. Hi, I am Alie and my husband is Jim, we have a 10 year old lab mix (mostly lab with a touch of dalmation and whatever) as of 2018 and a 13 year old small maine coon, again as of 2018. Both are rescue animals.

I met Jim years ago before I retired. I was actively working as a RN in North Carolina. My contract with the hospital was to do seven shifts on and have seven shifts off (12 hour shifts). This gave me the chance to go back to Canada to visit family if I wished. I do not think they allow this anymore, it is more commonly four shifts on, a couple off, then three on or something like that. On my time off if I did not travel home, I would work in the ER or Same Day Surgery rather than my normal ICU.

During one of these days in ER, Jim came in with a work injury that required suturing (stitching). I had everything set up for the doctor, suture tray, the site was cleaned, local anesthesia ready. Jim noticed an accent immediately and wanted to know where I was from, how long had I been in the USA. After the doctor was done the questions were a little more personal, but not offensive. Basically, would I be interested in allowing him to buy me a coffee in the cafeteria as a thank you. I explained that it was my job to provide his care and the coffee was not necessary. He insisted, and I arranged my lunch break with the other nurses. We had thirty minutes.

We talked about Canada, my ancestry (being Native American Indian and Wiccan), his work (he co-owned a boat building company). When my time was up he asked if I would think about getting together again and gave me his business card. I made no promises.

It was four days later that I called him and agreed to having dinner, but only if it was dutch. Reluctantly he agreed. So, we decided on a place for the next evening.

Over dinner the conversation continued as before and then he asked if I could teach him more about Wicca. I told him I would have to think about it and would let him know. I had taught classes both on line and in person, but usually from coven referrals. About two weeks later I agreed to instruct him.

Once I had the honor of teaching a catholic priest, who of course, had no intention of converting but did want to know more. Ironically this came about after I attended a close friend's wedding and he saw my pentagram and advised me I really shouldn't be there. Of course, I tend to use laughter in difficult situations, so I simply told him, 'Well, I didn't burst in flames, so I guess we were okay.' A month later, my friend asked me if I could contact him, which I did, and he asked about learning more. I agreed on the stipulation that then when he attended the basic class he did not wear his collar and that we would not refer to him as 'Father'. Surprisingly he agreed, taking it off and putting it on in his car. He was attentive, he participated (because we never pushed people beyond the basic level, this was just an information group). At the end he was pleased with what he learned.

Anyway, Jim learned the basics, which left him a little more at peace with who I was. We met on and off for a few months and then started the dating process, then came marriage.

Because he had not converted and been initiated, and because I did not wish a church wedding, our choice became the local Justice of Peace or Las Vegas. Las Vegas it was. We had a drive thru wedding, we literally were driven in a limo (the provided service) up to a drive thru window and were married by a minister and a witness stood at her side. We wore matching t-shirts, jeans and flip flops. We treated ourselves to an Elton John performance at Caesar's Palace. And had a great four-day weekend in Vegas. (Oh, if you decide to try this, be aware that you need to apply for your license the day before and early in the morning as it gets super busy and no guarantees..)

Now Jim did have an eight year old daughter, who visited every other weekend and shall remain unnamed.

We bought a small house, he continued to build boats- the 34 foot ocean fishing boats, and I continued working in the hospital for a few years before I switched from ICU to hospice. A fantastic, educational move. I continued to work until 2013, when I chose to retire. With the economic decline at that time, and the business failing, Jim suggested full time RVing. We thought about it and decided to go for it.

We put the house on the market, had several yard sales, got the 5th wheel camper ready and headed for Texas. We had spoken to an agency about oil rig gate guarding.

To be continued......