After a quiet night at the Springfied MO Elks, we headed east to our next stop, Poplar Bluff. The 200’ish mile drive took about 4 hours. We have been to the area before, just never with our 5th Wheel home.

This stop would prove to be a special one. There is a lot more to this story, but suffice it to say it was a “coming home” of sorts. Let me explain.

When I was 11 years old, growing up in my small home town of Cliffwood Beach NJ, my family moved about 4 or 5 blocks away, and I made a new friend in my new neighborhood. Her name was Terry and she lived around the corner, about 5 houses away. We became very close, best friends. We told each other EVERYTHING – like girls of that age will. There wasn’t a weekend that went by that we weren’t staying at one another’s house. We rode our bikes everywhere together. We walked along the seawall, through the woods, delivered newspapers, babysat, and walked to and from school – basically all the things, together. When boys started entering into the equation, we shared and discussed all that stuff too – the good, the bad and the ugly. Also as we got older, we partied together, be it down the beach, at Robbie’s or Michael’s house.

Then, about 5 years later, in the summer of 1980 (same year Bill and I began dating), Terry went with her family on a vacation to visit their extended family in the small town of Ellsinore MO. They came home with some devastating news – they would be moving to MO over Christmas break a few short months away. Terry was NOT happy and neither was I. I couldn’t imagine my life without my bestie.

Happy about it or not, Christmas break arrived. There were a lot of tears and promises to write. A lot of promises to visit, anything to not let go of our friendship.

You may think the story ends there until we arrived at her home back in May, but it doesn’t. We stayed close over the years, with visits back and forth; we kept our promises to one another, writing, calling, and visiting. We both had a rough go in our teen years and our friendship helped us each get through. Terry was my Maid of Honor at my wedding. She brought her first husband Glenn to see her home state and they stayed with us. Bill and I brought the kids to visit Terry and Glenn, and my kids got a taste of country life. We had a lot of fun together. My kids loved their Aunt Terry.

Sadly, back in 2005, Terry and I had a falling out. I’m not going to get into the details of it, but it was a very sad time. It’s probably fair to say I never got over losing my friend.

Then about 2 years ago I got a Facebook message from her. She had been looking for me, even sending messages to other’s she thought could have been me (but weren’t) but then noticed I was friends with her brother Patrick. Small world and all that. The long and short of it was we reconciled, after all those years. Needless to say, we had a lot of catching up to do.

Earlier this spring, when I realized Bill and I would be going by her general area, I told him I’d like to stop and visit if he didn’t mind. He said that was fine, so I reached out to see if she would like us to visit. She was thrilled! We had numerous talks about us fitting in her yard, including a Facetime walk-about. We decided to give it a try, with Poplar Bluff Elks Lodge as a back up if needed.

We arrived and quickly realized we wouldn’t need the back-up, as there was plenty of room and the ground was well enough packed. Once Bill had us parked, Terry and I exchanged huge long overdue hugs. For me at least, I felt like the reconciliation was complete. I had some butterflies when we were getting close, not knowing how I would feel in person, but all that melted away.

Terry (who prefers to go by Theresa now) had dug out old photo albums, which we looked through. So many memories. Her new husband, John, arrived home a little while later. Theresa cooked a yummy dinner and we talked into the night.

Over the next few days, we visited some local places and enjoyed hiking in the beautiful spring weather. John took off work Friday and we headed to their fav BBQ spot for lunch, followed by a hike.

One evening Theresa and I went and did some fun painting. She had been to Canvas & Grain many times before and invited me to try it.

Saturday, we packed up and headed to Cape Girardeau, which was about 2 hours drive away. We would stay one night and visit with Theresa’s brother Patrick. Theresa and John came also and it was a wonderful afternoon catching up with Pat. Theresa’s grandson, Ian (2 years old) also joined us.

I am so happy that after so long, Theresa and I were able to reconnect. I had missed my friend.

Louisville, KY was our next destination, and I’ll tell you all about it next time!

Previous Post: Family and Friend Visits in KS and MO

If you haven’t already, I’d like to personally invite you to receive our newest blog posts in an email – can sign up by entering your email below where it says “Follow Blog Via E-Mail” on the sidebar or bottom of this post. Thanks in advance!

Supporting our blog:

We also would love to have you check out our list RV must-haves by clicking the “Stuff You Need” tab at the top. You can also just click the “SHOP HERE” link on the sidebar. Using the links to purchase from Amazon helps pay for this blog and we appreciate you using them to purchase one of our pre-chosen items or anything else you may need from Amazon. Please be aware you can still use your Amazon Prime!

Keeping In Touch

There are a few ways you can keep in touch and we’d love for you to reach out anytime! First, you can comment on any/all posts – we love to hear your thoughts on our posts! Second, you can follow us on Facebook or Instagram for the most up-to-date goings-on! Third, you can always reach out via email: bkamericanodyssey@gmail.com.

Thank you to all our readers! We appreciate you taking time out of your day to follow along with us! See you in the next post!