By Bus with Vicki - Part 4

Hi Friday Fiction Fans,
I'm sort of on vacation. Being at my grandparents house is considered vacation, right? Even if I do work on one of my projects. But I don't write. Guess you'll have to wait until I get back home for further exciting updates. :) Oh, and yes, I did write 11,100+ words last week. :) It was such fun to make progress on so many of my stories!

Thanks for signing up to be test readers, those of you who did. It's going to be fun using my list of test readers instead of trying to find some on my own. If you haven't signed up, and want to be a test/beta reader, go sign up on the Opportunities page on Read Another Page. I don't have anything ready to be read yet, but do it now so you won't forget.

Well, I really don't have much to say right now. I hope you enjoy this next part of the story.

By Bus with Vicki

Part 4

    Eagerly her eyes darted here and there, trying to take in every detail, from the birds on a distant fence post to the car of the State Trooper which was driving slowly along with its lights on and his window rolled down. “I’m going to have such a story to tell Amber when I arrive,” she whispered, looking up to Kayla’s face.
    Kayla couldn’t help smiling back.


    Vicki leaned back in her chair and looked around the crowded cafe. The food had been as good as the driver had promised, and Vicki eyed the last half of her piece of pie still on her plate.
    “Think you can finish off that pie?” Clyde teased.
    “I don’t know.” Vicki reached for her fork but didn’t straighten up in her chair.
    “Don’t make yourself sick,” cautioned Kayla. “A few bites left of the meal you’ve eaten isn’t anything to feel bad about. I don’t think I can finish mine. Clyde, you want the rest?” And Kayla pushed over her plate with half her apple pie still intact.
    Clyde shook his head. “No, thanks. I’m having trouble finishing my own.”
    Drawing patterns on her peanut butter pie with her fork, Vicki remarked, “If I don’t have to walk back to the bus, I think I could eat this . . .” She eyed it with longing. Her tongue wanted it, but her stomach protested.
    “We do have carry-out boxes if you want to take the rest of your pie with you.” It was one of the waitresses.
    Instantly requests for them were made around the room. Vicki looked at her pie. It was such a small piece, it seemed a shame to take an entire box for it, yet she wasn’t sure she could eat it now, and it would be a waste if it was thrown away.
    Kayla helped her out by placing the piece in a box for her. “There. I don’t want you getting sick because you ate that when you were already too full. I still don’t see how you could eat all you did eat!”
    “I didn’t eat much breakfast this morning. You see, I was so excited about going on the bus that there just wasn’t room in my stomach for food.” The girl giggled and adjusted her headband. “Mom kept trying to get me to eat something, but I just couldn’t.”
    “Well, I think you probably made up for that now,” Clyde remarked. “And there’s our bus.”
    Carefully holding her box with her pie, Vicki climbed back into the bus. “Well, now I’ll have something to eat later if we should be late for supper.”

    The afternoon proved a drowsy time for all the passengers. Even Vicki’s exuberance seemed dulled by the bright sunshine, the steady hum of wheels, and a stomach stuffed with good food. Leaning against the window, Vicki watched hill after hill slip past her until her eyes closed and her whole body relaxed.

    When she awoke an hour later, all weariness had vanished, and the delight of traveling across the country by bus returned. Quickly looking around, she discovered Kayla reading a book while Clyde slept with folded arms in the seat beside her. To Vicki, he didn’t look very comfortable, but she had seen her own brothers sleep in strange positions before and thought it just must be what boys did. Behind the brother and sister, Mr. Newspaperman was dozing, his paper over his face. Vicki had discovered that he wasn’t as bald as she had first thought. All the other passengers were either sleeping, reading, or talking in such low tones that Vicki couldn’t hear them.
    Scooting to the aisle seat, she looked out the front window. It was strange to be so high up. Suddenly she noticed a strange haze way up ahead. “What is that?” she asked.
    “What?” Kayla asked, looked up from her book.
    Vicki pointed.
    “I’m not sure if that’s mountains, or smoke, or dust.”
    “Smoke? You mean like something might be on fire?” In her excitement, Vicki forgot that others were still sleeping.
    “Eh, huh? What was that?” And Clyde straightened up in his seat, blinking in the bright light of the sun.
    “That hazy stuff in the distance,” Vicki repeated. “Do you think the driver would know?”
    “Why don’t you go ask him?” Clyde yawned.
    Standing up quickly, Vicki started forward, grabbing the backs of seats as she staggered along. It was much harder to walk on the swaying bus than she had expected.
    A few minutes later she came back with a beaming face to drop into her seat. “He said he isn’t sure, but that’s the way we’re going so we should find out! Oh, I do love to have adventures! If Susie were here instead of me, she wouldn’t like it. Susie doesn’t like adventures. At least not like Chrissy, Candy and I do. Greg likes them too. If he had come, he would be trying to get the driver to let him drive the bus.” She giggled.
    “How old is Greg?”
    “Um . . .” Vicki pursed her lips and wrinkled her nose in thought before she replied. “He’s almost eleven. I think. Yes, I’m pretty sure he is because Candy is older than him and she is the same age as Chrissy. They could be twins, except their birthdays aren’t on the same day and they’re cousins instead. Candy and Chrissy are, you understand. But wouldn’t it be so much fun to share a birthday? Oh, look! There are flashing lights up ahead! I wonder what happened? Maybe a fence is broken and the cows are on the road. Dad said that happened to him one time when he was going west.”
    The bus slowed down, and the rest of the passengers who had not been awakened by Vicki earlier, roused themselves and began to look around.
    “Oh, it’s another State Trooper! And he’s coming to the bus!” This last was added in a squeal as Vicki hugged herself, her eyes glowing with eager anticipation.

What do you think is going on?

Have you ever had to stop on a trip because of flashing lights ahead?

Are you going anywhere this summer?

By Bus with Vicki - Part 3

Hello Friday Fiction Fans,
(If you aren't all on vacation.)

What a week this has been! A good week, but still. On Sunday morning I played my violin at church, worked in the nursery and read a story at home that a dear older widow wrote about her own little boy. Wow! I want to fictionalize it into a story. She might let me as she loves my books. That night my Read Another Page blog was transferred from Blogger to a WordPress website. So, if things were rather strange when you went to it, or something, sorry. I'm still working on making everything right now. I have to get used to WP and figure out the hows and where. :) But, now that it's on WP, I actually have a place where you can sign up to be a test reader! So head over and sign up. And, if you have an experience with WP and want to offer your help, I'll take it. :)

On the writing front I've been busy. And I don't just mean writing my thousand words a day busy. Nope. I've been writing at least 2 thousand words except on Wednesday when I had to work nursery and so didn't have as much time. Okay, so I'm writing more, but does that mean the story you want is being worked on? Perhaps. ;) I spent Monday on my new story, Tuesday was split between the new story and TCR-6. Wednesday was the new story. Yesterday was "Hymns in the Hills" and TCR-6. Here's an overview of where each of the stories stands right now.

Dylan's Story: 16 parts
Hymns in the Hills: 12 parts
TCR-6: 12 parts
Finding Joy: 12 parts

As you can tell, they aren't very far along yet, but think of it this way, TCR-6 is about 5 chapters written. Does that sound a little better? And I still have tonight and tomorrow night to write. 

And if that wasn't enough, the first TCR book is almost out in AUDIO! Through the Tunnel should be coming out the in a few weeks and  . . . the audio for Gift from the Storm is going to start production next week and should be done around the end of August! I'm telling you, this has been a week!

Of course I don't know if anyone is taking the time to read this now. After all, it is summer. (That's why Read Another Page doesn't have lots of helpful writing posts right now.)

But, if you are reading this, I hope you enjoy the next part of

By Bus with Vicki

Part 3

    “Did it have electricity?” Vicki had left her seat and now perched on the edge of the seat next to Kayla.
    Clyde shook his head. “Nope. It was pretty rustic. There was a fireplace and we had to cook all our food over that when it was raining outside.”
    The rest of the morning slipped by as Vicki sat, an entranced listener, to the stories her new friends told about ‘their’ mountains.
    Suddenly, into the steady swaying of the bus and humming of the engine, came a bumping and thumping.
    “What is that?” Vicki asked, looking around as the bus began to slow down.
    “Sounds like we may have a flat,” Clyde remarked.
    “A flat tire?” Vicki stood up in her eagerness to see out the windows, lost her balance and almost toppled into Kayla’s lap.
    “Careful there,” Kayla cautioned, steadying Vicki. “We don’t want any injuries on this trip.”
    Others besides Vicki were peering out the windows. There were no houses to be seen on either side, only fields and rolling hills. “Oh, how exciting,” was Vicki’s assessment.
    The noise grew louder and the bus seemed to tip a bit as it came to a stop. The driver stood up and looked back at his passengers. “We seem to have blown a back tire, folks. I’d like everyone to remain in their seats while I take a look at the situation.”
    As the driver stepped from the bus, a low murmur of complaints began, but above them all came Vicki’s excited exclamation. “This is the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me in my whole life! I’m going to have a real story to tell my sister when I get there. Oh, do you suppose we’ll be stuck here for a long, long time?”
    “I hope not,” Kayla said, smiling, though she looked slightly concerned. “I was looking forward to my lunch.”
    “Lunch?” This seemed to put a new idea into Vicki’s head, for she drew in her breath quickly and her voice was clearly heard throughout the bus. “Oh, I do hope we are stuck here. Wouldn’t it be such fun to walk to that little town up there,” and she pointed ahead to a small cluster of buildings, “and find a place to eat? I’m a real good walker and it would be so exciting!” The girl gave a bounce in her seat and then stopped. Putting her hand over her mouth she giggled. “I didn’t mean to shake the whole bus.”
    It was a few minutes before the driver came back. “Folks, I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but I’m going to need all of you to get off the bus while the tire is being repaired. Your luggage will be perfectly safe where it is, as I shall lock the door.”
    “What about lunch?”
    “How long is this going to take?”
    “Is there another bus coming along?”
    The driver held up his hands and the passengers grew quiet. “There is a small town just up the road a bit with a small cafe that serves really good pie. The meals are good too,” he added hastily, “but the pies are among the best I’ve ever had. As far as how long it’ll take to change the tire, I’m not sure. And there is no other bus scheduled for–” He glanced down at his watch. “Almost five hours. Now, anyone who would like to–Hold on a minute. Help might be arriving.”
    Every head on the bus turned to look out the windows. Nothing could be seen on the road side, but Vicki had scrambled across to her own seat and was peering out the window there. “It’s a policeman!” she squealed. “Or maybe he’s a State Trooper,” she amended, shivering with half suppressed excitement.
    The driver was outside talking to the State Trooper. Minutes later he came back. “I’m told that it’s about a fifteen minute walk to the town. Is anyone interested in walking there for lunch?”
    Hands went up all over the bus.
    “All right. The State Trooper said that if anyone couldn’t walk that far, he’d take them in his car. He’s also radioed for some help in getting the tire fixed, so by the time you’ve eaten we should be ready to get back on the road and make up for lost time. Now if everyone would quietly make their way up to the front of the bus, the Trooper will escort you all to town while I wait for assistance.”
    Vicki could hardly contain herself. Clasping her purse with both hands, she waited with what patience she could until Clyde and Kayla rose and motioned to her. “I can’t believe we are going to walk to town!” Her stage whisper to Kayla brought amused smiles to many faces, and even some who had grumbled began to relax.
    When she reached the door, the driver frowned slightly. “I forgot about you, Miss. Maybe I should ask the State Trooper to take you with him.”
    Vicki’s heart sank just a little. She had wanted to walk to town with the others, but riding in a State Troopers car–
    “Would it be all right if she stays with my sister and me?” Clyde asked behind her.
    For a moment the driver hesitated. “Are you sure you can walk that far?”
    Eagerly Vicki nodded. “I have really strong legs and I love to walk. I promise to stay with Clyde and Kayla just like they were my brother and sister.”
    After getting a promise from Clyde to keep his eye on her and to stay with the rest of the group, the driver gave in.
    Vicki couldn’t refrain from skipping a little as the group of about a dozen people started off towards the small town. The sky was a soft blue, and here and there piles of white fluffy clouds floated lazily. Whispering softly, a breeze stirred the grasses along the side of the road and caressed Vicki’s flushed face.

Have you ever had a flat tire and have to walk?

Would you be as excited about this "adventure" as Vicki?

Have you signed up to be a test reader on Read Another Page?

By Bus with Vicki - Part 2

Hello FFFs,
I hope your June has started out well. Mine has. I'm getting a lot done on things which is always nice. Our cooler weather seems to have abated leaving us with heat. The humidity isn't nearly as bad as it sometimes is, but that's okay. :)

Quick question for you,
What happens when you mix 2 seconds of an add, a picture from pinterest, and my brain?
Answer: A new story.

Yep, I've started writing another book. I know, I know, I'm supposed to be working on TCR-6. And I was. I've made good progress on it and I think I can pick it up and write it soon. And Dylan's Story is waiting for me to correct parts 16-21, so there has been progress with that book. And Hymns in the Hills, well, I'm a little over half way done with the next hymn. So, you can see there is still hope for the other stories. :)

This new story was an accident. I was NOT going to write it. I just got a vague idea from seeing 2 seconds of an add (didn't even know what the add was for), saw this picture and the idea grew. But I still wasn't going to write it. I jotted the idea down on a file card for some later date. Little did I know that the "later date" would be the very next day. As much as I tried to forget the story idea, it continued to grow. By that night I had a working title for it. (That Never happens!) And the next morning my characters were having conversations in my head! Yikes! I had to do something. So . . . I decided I'd just start writing and maybe it would help. It did. Only it didn't help make the story pause. Nope. I wrote 2,000 words that first night, 1,000 the next night and 2,100 last night. And I can't wait to get back to it tonight. It's really moving and I'm loving it! :) So, if you want to see the three pictures I've found for this story, visit my pinterest board.

That's what's I've been doing. What about you? Have you been reading any new books this summer? Or are you going to travel? If so, will it be by bus like Vicki? :)

By Bus with Vicki

Part 2

    The two ladies exchanged glances again which Vicki didn’t see, for she was gazing out the window.
    “Was that your family who came to the bus station to see you off, Child?” asked the lady with the knitting.
    Pulling her eyes from the field of cows outside the window, Vicki nodded. “Yes, that was my family. Only not all of it.”
    “Not all? How many are there?”
    “Well . . .” Vicki scooted back in her seat and prepared to talk. “There are ten of us all together, if you don’t count Candy and Greg and Lizzy, who are just cousins but live with us, Grandma Mary, who is really Daddy’s grandma, or Mom and Dad. My oldest sister, Amber, is married and lives in San Jose, that’s in California, and I’m on my way to visit her! And then my oldest brother, Thomas, is away at collage. That leaves Mom and Dad, and me, and seven other brothers and sisters at home,” she finished, counting on her fingers. “It’s rather crowded at home sometimes, so it will be nice for everyone while I’m away.”
    Upon reaching a stopping point, Vicki drew a breath, swung her legs, and twisted her head to look at the other passengers until a voice beside her asked, “Are you the third born, Dear?”
    Whirling her head around so quickly that her hair flipped in her face and her headband slid back, Vicki laughed. “Me? No, I’m almost in the middle and am only twelve, though being twelve is practically grown up, you know. First is Amber, then Thomas, Henry, David, Susie, and then me. After me are Chrissy, Roxie, Hannah and Johnny. And you have to fit in Candy, Greg and Lizzy too.” A momentary pause followed as Vicki waited to see if another question would be asked. When it wasn’t she went on of her own accord.
    “I have a pet canary. His name is Suzuki and he loves to sing. We also have some fish. Greg wants a dog, but we don’t have room for one until Henry goes to college. Boys take up an awful lot of room, don’t you think?
    “But Mom said I wasn’t supposed to talk non-stop to anyone. And I don’t suppose it is very polite to tell everyone everything about yourself if they don’t ask, is it? I don’t mean to be a bother. Where are you going?”
    Mrs. Bookreader smiled. “We are going to visit a dear friend of ours who is ill. And you aren’t a bother, Child.”
    Vicki’s face, ever changing with her emotions, sobered, and she placed her warm, young hand over the wrinkled one beside her. “I will pray for your friend,” she promised.
    “Thank you.”
    “Do you have families?” Vickie looked from one to the other of the ladies. And so, for the next hour, Vicki talked with her new friends, asking questions and answering others with the same bubbly manner as had characterized her actions since she got on the bus.

    When the bus pulled up before another station, the two older ladies gathered their things and said good-bye to Vicki, wishing her a pleasant journey. Vicki was sad to see them go, but waved to them with a smile from the bus window until they disappeared inside the station.
    No new passengers got on and Vicki returned to her own seat. Picking up her bag, which had remained where she had dumped it in her first excitement of being on the bus, she settled it on the seat beside her and gazed out the windows thinking about her ‘old ladies’. After a full five minutes of silence, Vicki, who never was content with silence unless she was asleep, began to look around for someone else to talk to.
    A warm smile from across the aisle reminded her of her earlier thought of the couple being newly married. Giving a sigh of delight, Vicki scooted to the extreme edge of her seat and leaned across the armrest to ask in a stage whisper, for Mr. Newspaper was still buried behind the large paper, “Hello, what’s your name? Are you just married?”
    A silvery laugh escaped the young woman and she shook her head. “No, this is my brother, Clyde, and I’m Kayla.”
    The young man looked around and gave Vicki a friendly greeting.
    “Where are you going?” Vicki couldn’t help asking.
    “Home now. Clyde and I were visiting some relatives and are on our way home again.”
    “Oh, do you live in California? Because that’s where I’m going, and it would be such fun if I could have you traveling with me the whole time! I could pretend you were my older siblings. Except, of course, that Susie is only a little older than me and Amber is married. She’s the one I’m going to visit. But I could pretend you were my brother and sister. I do have three older brothers. Are you going to California?”
    Kayla shook her head. “No, I’m afraid we aren’t. We’ll be getting off in Colorado.”
    “In the mountains?” The dreamy tones brought another smile to Kayla’s face, and Clyde turned to the window clearing his throat.
    “Yes, we live in the mountains.”
    “That must be so exciting with all the blizzards and grizzly bears. Do trappers or Indians ever come to your house?”
    There seemed to be something wrong with Kayla’s voice, for she coughed and cleared her throat before she replied. “No, we live in Denver. We do get a lot of snow though.”
    “I told Henry, he’s my next-to-oldest brother, that some day I was going to go to the mountains and stay in an old cabin. Don’t you think that would be fun? Have you ever done that?”
    “No, I can’t say that I have.” Kayla turned to her brother and nudged him. “Clyde, when you and your friends went hiking in the mountains, did you stay in an old cabin?”
    “Well, we stayed in a cabin, but it really wasn’t that old.”

When you think of mountains, do you think bears and blizzards?

Have you ever stayed in a rustic cabin?

Where is your favorite place to travel to?

By Bus with Vicki - Part 1

Hello Friday Fiction Fans,

It's another rainy morning. Or course some days this week started out sunny and the rain came after lunch, but yesterday is was rainy in the morning and then sunny after lunch. At least it hasn't been really hot and muggy this week. It feels more like the month of April. So much for summer. Not that I'm complaining as the heat and humidity of summer make it my least favorite month. :)

I feel like I've been rushing this week trying to get things done. Hmm, maybe I have. :) I've been trying to get blog posts ready for Read Another Page, and the story corrected for this blog. Not to mention listening to chapters from TCR-1 (The audio is almost finished!!!), practicing music, writing, and working on my big project.

The project I'm working on deserves some explanation. You see, my grandpa rides his bicycle. And he has since he was a boy working for Western Union delivering telegrams during WWII. Yep, he was one of those boys. :) Anyway, he shared his love of bike riding with his wife, their five children thirteen grandchildren and even the six great-grandchildren. Over the years he has ridden his bike to every county seat in Kansas, ridden to WV several times, rode with my three uncles from Seattle, WA, to Kansas City, MO, and taken dozens of other trips. My project is to compile all the diaries kept during the bike trips, and the photos into a book that will also include maps of most of the trips.

Right now I counted 39-40 bikes trips I have to record in this book! It's fun and daunting at the same time. My goal is to get this book finished by the end of the year, so I'm really trying to work on it as much as I can. I have to design each page in photoshop since I'm adding pictures and maps to the diaries. I can't wait to see it completed!

You will be happy to know (at least if you are TCR fans) that I've been writing TCR-6 and have the first few chapters written. I'm still struggling some on this, so keep praying. :)

My quote for today is:

God's best gifts are not in things

but in opportunities.

And now let me tell you just a bit about this new story. It's totally different from what you've been reading the last few weeks (or should I say months), but I hope you enjoy it. I started it last year after I had thought of an idea for one of my writing students, but dropped it for other writing projects. But now it's finished. There are several fun moments in the story that I hope you'll enjoy.

By Bus With Vicki

Part 1

    “Good-bye! Don’t forget to feed the fish, and and make sure Suzuki has fresh water every day!” Twelve-year-old Vicki Rogers waved to her family from the steps of the bus as she started up them. “Oh,” she whirled around once more before the driver could shut the door. “Don’t forget to cover Suzuki’s cage at night or he’ll be cranky in the morning, and–”
    “Honey,” her father interrupted, stepping close to the bus, “we’ll take care of everything. You already wrote a list of things. Now go find your seat. You don’t want to make the bus late.”
    “Goodness, no! Good-bye, Daddy!” With a farewell kiss, Vicki scrambled up the steps and hurried down the aisle. Finding an empty seat by a window, she quickly claimed it, dropping her travel bag and staring down at her family. “Good-bye,” she mouthed, alternating between waving with both hands and blowing kisses until the station had disappeared from her sight.
    With a long sigh, Vicki turned around and settled herself quite properly in her seat with her purse in her lap and her hands resting primly on the purse. She was going on a real trip. A smile tugged at her pretty mouth and would not be hid, though she bit her lower lip and tried to look calm, cool and collected, as she knew Susie would do had she been the one traveling. “But she’s not!” she thought, giving a little bounce in her seat, for she really could not sit still. “Susie’s not going, I am!” The smile came out in full and flooded her face with joy.
    Reveling in that one delicious thought, Vicki gave another satisfied sigh and looked out the window. Several of the other passengers on the bus couldn’t help but look at the child who had made such a commotion when she got on. It was almost impossible not to help smiling, and a few amused glances were exchanged. Vicki’s light brown hair, cut just below her shoulders, hung loose and free, only held back from her face by a wide ribbon headband whose bow, tied carefully that morning, no doubt, by her mother’s loving hand, was askew. A sprinkling of freckles crossed the child’s nose and danced about her flushed and rosy cheeks. Those who were closest noticed the sparkle and flash of her light brown eyes, the eager look in them as she turned from the window to cast a quick, excited glance about the bus before turning back to view the passing scenery.
    It was hard work, but somehow Vicki managed to remain outwardly calm and still as the bus drove through town. But, once the highway was reached, she gave up the effort, tucked one foot up and turned to study her fellow passengers. Those in front of her offered little to look at except the back of their heads, so Vicki, after a quick look, shrugged and settled more comfortably in her seat. Across the aisle sat a young couple, and Vicki was sure they hadn’t been married long. How she longed to slip over and ask, but, upon reflection, she decided she would wait. “They might not want a girl who has only just gotten on asking them questions,” she thought. “I’ll wait until later. I just hope they don’t get off before I can make their acquaintance.”
    Just behind the young couple, a man sat reading the newspaper. At least Vicki felt sure it was a man. “Who else but a man would hold the paper in such a fashion? I’m sure no lady would open it all the way up and then bury themselves behind it.” She gave a soft giggle. “Perhaps he is taking a nap. I wonder what he looks like.” For a full minute, Vicki sat perfectly still trying to imagine what the reader of the paper looked like. At last, having decided that he was older, mostly bald and had a mustache, she resumed her scrutiny of her fellow travelers.
    The back of the seats in the bus were so high that Vicki at last climbed onto her knees to get a better look over them. As she scanned the heads and faces behind her, her smile broke full across her face. Oh, such delight! Directly behind her sat two older ladies, one with a book which she wasn’t reading, and the other with some knitting. Both gave Vicki smiles and the young girl forgot about seeing who else might be on the same bus.
    Quickly she slipped from her seat, clutching her purse with one hand and the seat with the other, for the motion of the bus made her legs unsteady. She reached the aisle safely but then, as the bus gave an unexpected bump, she nearly lost her balance and half fell, half dropped into the empty seat beside Mrs. Bookreader. “Oh, may I sit here?” she gasped with a little laugh. “I was getting rather lonely all by myself.”
    “Of course you may, Child,” the lady with the book replied, patting Vicki’s arm in a friendly manner.
    “Thank you so much. My name is Victoria Anne Rogers, but everyone calls me Vicki. My brother says it is because I am never still long enough for anyone to say Victoria, but I don’t think that is true, for I am often quite still. Are you two sisters?”
    Both silver heads were shaken, and Mrs. Knitting said, “No, only very dear friends.”
    “Oh, have you been friends for long?” Vicki delighted in learning about other people as much as she enjoyed talking about herself.
    “Since we were babies,” Mrs. Bookreader replied. “We often slept in the same crib while our mothers worked or visited together.”
    Clasping her hands together, Vicki gave a long drawn out, “Oh!” She beamed on the two old ladies. “I’ve always dreamed of having a life-long friend, but I never knew anyone who really did. I thought that only happened in story books.”

Have you ever traveled alone?

Would you make friends with older ladies?

Do you get excited when you are going on a trip?

P.S. Have you checked out Homeschooled Authors to see what they have going this summer? If you haven't, you might want to.  And yes, I'm participating this year, so go check it out!