Puppy-girl Round Up

So up prior to when Lane and I began this great Travel-Nurse adventure we had three sweet doggies: Sophie, Piper, and Daisy.  Our dogs have always been animal shelter mutt rescues.

Miss Sophie was the largest and oldest of the three.  She accepted Daisy and Piper as her own puppies and was always motherly to them.

This is Sophie taking a well deserved nap.  She made it to around 14 years old when her health really declined fast.  We lost her just before we began this adventure in January of 2014.

When we hit the Travel-Nurse road we brought our remaining two little girls, Piper and Daisy.  They were both rescued as small puppies on the same day from the same shelter.  We called them sisters even though they were not truly related, and they often acted as though they were two halves of a whole.

They loved traveling and were always so much fun.  This is from just a few days into the adventure, right after we arrived in Dallas.  We were all enjoying a nice pic-nick on a very cool but sunny January day in a Dallas park.

We often take them with us as we explore the different places.  We always have a blast.

Here Pipe and Daisy are all set for our multi-day trip to Houston.  They just love traveling.

Celebrating Christmas as a family in Tamarac, Florida in 2014

Piper and Daisy were both over 13 years old.  In late December 2015 while we were still in Nashville, Tennessee Piper developed bad health problems, and many tears were shed when we had to let her go.

We will always very much miss our little Piper girl.




So now we are down to just one sweet girl.....

Our travels are continuing with the beautiful miss Daisy Duke.

Many more adventures yet to come.

"You can't explore it if you haven't ever been there." Brian Hallman

Christmas decorations at the Opryland Resort's Atrium

We met up with Marsha, a fellow travel nurse at the hospital where Lane works.  

Lane and Marsha

"You can't explore it if you haven't ever been there." Brian Hallman

Thanksgiving back in North Carolina

We headed back to North Carolina for Thanksgiving with our girls and Lane's family.  Along the way we again were able to appreciate the extraordinary beauty of the Tennessee countryside.

And we had a great Thanksgiving with the family.

Next Up...        Christmas

"You can't explore it if you haven't ever been there." Brian Hallman

Downtown and Honky Tonk Row

November 4 we drove into downtown Nashville.  Parked near the Tennessee Titans Football Stadium...

... and walked over the Shelby Street Bridge over the Cumberland River to downtown.

The first place Lane wanted to go was The Big Machine record store.  She found out that we had just missed Tim McGraw stopping by the store by a few hours that same day.  She was so sad.  He probably had just left town because his informants told him a new stalker had arrived in town.

Not sure what her right hand is doing there.

Then we walked all along Honky Tonk Row.  Checked out all the bars, restaurants, and hat & boot stores.  No shortage of any of them there,

While I had never heard of it before, I was educated that this is the World Famous Tootsie's Orchid Lounge.  Later in our stay here we returned one evening and partook of its live music, food and beverages, and its special atmosphere.  Very much fun.

We had a delicious serving of loaded nachos too.

The King was out and about too.

Another wonderful day exploring.

And as always...         remember...



"You can't explore it if you haven't ever been there."
 Brian Hallman

RV looking in Kentucky

We still have not given up on our plan to stop living in rented apartments and switch to living in an RV, so in late October we took a quick day trip up to Kentucky to look at RVs.

While stopped at a rest stop & welcome center I wandered toward the back of the truck parking area and found this off in the distance.  Someone's race house farm I guess

I'm glad someone has money.

We didn't find the RV we wanted, but did enjoy the Kentucky scenery.

We'll keep looking.






"You can't explore it if you haven't ever been there."
 Brian Hallman

Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, and the Grand Ole Opry House

Just a few days arter arriving, we headed out to begin our exploration and sight seeing.  The first place Lane wanted to go was the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center and its (unbeknownst to me) famous atrium.

From what I can tell, there are a series of high end hotel room buildings and convention center buildings all built around a central atrium that contains several lush indoor garden/park like spaces and even a small indoor river complete with a boat tour.

The Travel Nurse and her House-Boy enjoying one of the many indoor waterfalls.

After several house exploring the atrium, we walked over to the nearby Grand Ole Opry House.  

Looks like a couple of crazy locals

We had a beautiful day!



"You can't explore it if you haven't ever been there."
 Brian Hallman

Hey Yall, Nashville, Tennessee

We allowed enough days between the end of the Myrtle Beach contract and the beginning of the Nashville, Tennessee contract to be able to stop off in F-town a few days to check on the house and take care of some business there.  It was good to be home.  We also continued to fine tune what we carry with us on this adventure

Then in mid-October 2015 we headed west to Nashville.  After a full year in the flat lands of south Florida and South Carolina, we very much enjoyed the scenery as we meandered west through the North Carolina and Tennessee mountains.

We had again elected to use company provided housing, and this time she was given two choices for the apartment complex we wanted to live in.  We opted for one in Hermitage, which is just a part of the Nashville metropolitan area.

The front of our building

The previous assignment in Myrtle Beach had included the largest apartment we have had so far. This apartment in Nashville turned out to be the smallest.  We barely had room to move around.  In fact, the day we moved in Lane had to contact her travel company to have them send the furniture rental company back out to take away some of the furniture so we could have a little more room.

Our little patio

We were also the farthest away from Lane's hospital assignment this time.  It ended up being a good 20-30 minute drive each way, and since the House-boy duties include door to door chauffeur service for the Travel Nurse, I spent a little more time driving this time.

If you have read my previous posts you know Lane was indescribably unhappy at her previous assignment in Myrtle Beach, so after her orientation I was understandably anxious the first night of actual work in the ER as I waited to pick her up.  I was fearing a second, back-to-back bad assignment.  My spirits were lifted when I saw her walking out with a co-worker and they were laughing and happily chatting.  This was not going to be a bad assignment.  So grateful.






"You can't explore it if you haven't ever been there."
 Brian Hallman

Good by and good reddens to Myrtle Beach

As much as we had a good time seeing the sights and shopping and playing putt-putt and eating great food and having lots of family visits and being really close to the beach for lots of beach days and being pretty close to home, all that was overshadowed by Lane's indescribable level of unhappiness at the hospital ER assignment here in Myrtle Beach, so everything was colored by the anxious daily countdown to the end of the contract.

As the end approached and she was making her selection for the next assignment, the ER here managed to inflict one final un-niceness:  they scheduled her to work on the very last day of her contract. Previously every other assignment had scheduled her to work the first few days of her last week so we could have the remaining last few days to use for getting packed and moved to the next assignment.  Not this time.

So we waisted no time packing and leaving, and I have no doubt we will not be returning, ever, for her to work in this facility.

Next stop....            Nashville.









"You can't explore it if you haven't ever been there." Brian Hallman

Nice having a spare bedroom in Myrtle Beach

Being in Myrtle Beach, with our family just a few house away was nice.  Especially since we now have a spare bedroom and second bathroom.  We knew by the first week Lane was not at all interested in staying at this hospital one minute longer than she had to so there was not going to be a contract extension this time.  We put word out to the family they better get here before we were gone.  And they did.

This is our "guest room" in our really nice two bedroom - two bathroom apartment.  The nicest place we have stayed so far.

Our oldest daughter and her husband were the first to arrive.  We spent a lot of time at the beach.  Go figure.  Pack a pic-nick lunch and off we go.  A five minute drive from the apartment to the beach.

Enjoying a day at the beach.

A House Boy hard at work... again.

Later Lane's sister came to visit for a few days, and then the two of them attended a multi-year high school reunion elsewhere in the state.

Lane and her sister

And our youngest daughter came to visit as well.  We had a really nice time. I think Myrtle Beach must be the miniature golf (putt-putt) capital of the world.  We played many, many times.

Lane celebrates after making a hole-in-one.

One of the days when Lane was at work and after I had finished all my tiring and difficult house-boy duties, I was taking a well deserved rest period by the apartment complex's pool and looked up from my book to see a neighboring raccoon had come by the pool as well.  I guess he had finished his house-boy duties early as well.




"You can't explore it if you haven't ever been there." Brian Hallman