Untold Tale of the Bucket Trip - Amarillo, TX

In between leaving Oklahoma and arriving in New Mexico, we drove through a small part of Texas.

We weren't going to be staying the night in Texas but there was one roadside attraction that I wanted to make sure that we wouldn't miss.

Cadillac Ranch.

Originally installed in 1974, these 10 vehicles are the inspiration for Ornament Valley in both the movie, "Cars," and in Carsland.

It's going to be a grow photo spot.

"The Kids" don't want to come with me to see it up close. My Mom's wheelchair wouldn't be able to handle the cow pasture where it is located anyway.

We overshoot the location of Cadillac Ranch and have to double back on a surface road that is running parallel to the 40. It is a little confusing but we get to where we need to be. Jack pulls off the road along with all of the other highway travelers that are stopping here.

I grab my iPad and iPhone and I hop out of the car. My Mom is not doing well today and I don't want to take anymore time than I need to.

The Cadillac's are about 500 yards away from me and the ground feels really...strange.

I realize it is because I am standing on the flatest land I've ever been on. It feels as though I can see so far that the curvature of the Earth is visiable.

I feel like I could fall off the Earth.

It's a weird feeling and I try to shake it off as I head off to my goal.

The cars look puny in the distance and the rise up from the ground the closer I get to them.

Up close, the cars are covered in a cacophony of color.

They are beautiful.

I watch other people climb on, take pictures with, jump in, and otherwise explore the cars for a moment before I go to work and get my pictures.

There's one other thing that most people are doing.

They are spray painting the cars.

It has been encouraged over the years to do so and the cars have been tagged more times than concrete banks of the Santa Ana riverbed.

I take a bunch of pictures and I'm just about ready to head back when I realize something.

I need to tag one of the cars with something from "The Bucket Trip."

But I didn't bring any spray paint with me.

I look around.

There are discard spray paint cans everywhere.

I start checking the cans to see if any one of them have paint in them.

First can, no paint.

Second can, no paint.

Third can, no paint.

Crap! This would have been so cool but I'm running out of time. I need to get back to my Mom and Jack.

I decide that I'm just going to try one more can.

It's a can of black paint. I shake it back and forth to try to get whatever last bit of paint in there ready to go.

I aim and depress the nozzle of the can.

I've got paint!

I put a giant black "T" on the side of a cadallic fin.

I drop down to paint my next letter.

I add a giant black "B" just below my "T" and I'm thrilled.

I'm really going to do it. The Bucket Trip will leave a mark here!

I go to add the final "T" with a horizontal line. Success!

I have just one horizontal line left to make and I'll have "TBT" on one of the cars.

But nothing comes out.

The can is out of paint.

I snap a final picture of my work. No runs. No drips. No errors.

It would have been perfect if I could have gotten all three letters on there. It feels like I have unfinished business.

It's not a good feeling as I head back to the Jeep.

I pick up the pace as I get closer to the car and I promise myself one thing.

This will be the only piece of unfinished business that I have on this trip.

Nothing else will be left unresolved.

Day 21 - Santee, CA - Conclusion

So The Bucket Trip is over but our journey with ALS has just begun.

We will have doctors appointments and hospice visits to set up.

And my family will face this together. Next weekend, my Mom and Jack will come up and do what grandparents do.

They will watch my Madeline perform in a dance recital.

You might find the theme of the dance recital interesting.

It is all about Route 66.

There are no coincidences.

When I finally get home, something interesting catches my eye on the way into the house.

It is something familier but it is a little beat up. A little deflated.

It is a Mickey Mouse glasshouse balloon from Disneyland.

I don't know if someone in the neighborhood lost it or if this one flew all the way from the Happiest Place on Earth.

It doesn't really matter how it got here.

Because there are no coincidences.

Day 21 - Santee, CA - Part Four

Dear Jack,

You sir, are my hero.

Thank you for taking care of my Mom.

Your son,

John

Day 21 - Santee, CA - Part Three

Dear Mom,

Words have been spilling out of me for three weeks and now as we end this journey, I don't know how to say what I want to say.

Most of all, I want you to know how sorry I am that this has happened. I really still can't believe it. It seems like a nightmare that we can't wake up from.

I can't imagine what you are facing right now. I just want you to know that you won't be doing it alone. We are all here for you.

Like every parent and child relationship, we've had our peaks and valleys. There is one valley that I wanted to explain to you.

When you and Jack got married without telling James and I, I got very upset with you.

The reason that I was so upset was not because you had done that.

It was because I wanted to be the man that walked you down the aisle to give you away.

In hindsight, I can see why you made the decision that you did. It was something that the 17 year old me would never understand. I hope you can forgive that kid.

I want to thank you for all of your help with my own children. It breaks my heart that they will not get the opportunity to grow up with Grandma Johni. I will do my absolute best to make sure that they never forget the love that you have always had for them.

Thank you for letting me go on this Bucket Trip. I will treasure this time for the rest of my life.

Your son,

John

Day 21 - Santee, CA - Part Two

The Bucket Trip wouldn't have been possible for me without some amazing support. I would be remiss if I didn't take the opportunity to thank those who helped make this possible.

Catherine and Jamie, thank you for taking care of the kids in my absence. Each picture or video that you sent me of them kept my spirits up. I have missed them dearly.

I can't thank enough the amazing team that I have the honor of working with each day - both my leaders and my peers. Thank you again for not even blinking when I got my "ugly cry" on in front of you and asked for the month off to do this. As for my peers, I just want you all to know how fortunate I feel that I get to work with each and every one of you. I have learned so much from spending the last four years with you all on this time. The only other job that I had more laughs at was my first one at Disneyland (and most of the time in that job, we were laughing about pooh or vomit or a combination of the two). You are truly the gatekeepers of Walt Disney's dream and on a daily basis, you have the opportunity to change the lives of 11 people a day (one every 45 minutes). Thanks again and please, PEECK UP, PEECK UP, PEECK UP!

There is one person out there that, without his help, I simply couldn't have done the physical part of The Bucket Trip - Davey Albaugh. Davey has been helping me once a week for almost a year now at the gym to try to build up my overall strength. His encouragement and guidance put me in a position where I could do the heavy lifting on The Bucket Trip. I can't tell you how many times I had to support all of my Mom's weight and I could hear your voice telling me "YOU'VE GOT THIS!"

There have been so many friends back home that have been encouraging along this journey too: Rabbi Gary, Mike G, Traci, Cheryl, and Rueben. Thanks for checking in and helping me along the way.

Then there are the folks to that took the time while The Bucket Trip was going on to spend some time with me: Carolyn, Jenny, Anne and her family, Scott, and Jenny. It was amazing to see so many friendly faces while on the trip.

I hope the genuine affection I have for the Hatley side of our family came through in the blog. They were so amazing to us. I enjoyed spending time with each and every one of them and I can't wait to see them again.

The last group of people that I need to thank are all of you. Thank you for following along this journey. Your notes and your "likes" on facebook have been part of the fuel for me to keep going. You also helped turn The Bucket Trip into something larger than I ever expected. You honor me when you share the link on your facebook page. More than anything, I know that I have something special here. Something worth sharing.

From the bottom of my heart.

Thank you.

Day 21 - Santee, CA - Part One

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until home comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow." - Lim Yutang

Day 21 - Casa Grande, AZ to Santee, CA - Daily Distance - 333 miles - The Bucket Trip Final Distance - 4063 miles.

Before I know it, it's over.

I thought we are going to have one more day on The Bucket Trip. Santee was over five hours away and that would be just about the most amount of driving that we've done in a day.

But my Mom wanted to get home. Be in her own bed.

We're going home.

And for the most part, we ride in silence.

Not a bad silence.

I don't know about my Mom and Jack but I disappointed that it was all over.

For three weeks, we had stopped time. Our real lives were on pause.

Now it felt like the fast forward was getting hit.

And there's no final resolution. There's no big learning moment.

We just pull up to their house and the trip is over.

We get my Mom into her bed and Jack and I sit in silence for almost an hour.

It is time for me to go.

I say goodbye to my Mom and we agree that I'll be back Tuesday morning to help again.

She thanks me for coming on the trip.

Jack has to move the Jeep so I can get out.

"I had a really good time," I say.

"Me too," Jack replies.

"We couldn't have done this without you."

I get in my car and start my drive back to Orange County.

As the sun sets on this day, I feel a new feeling begin to sweep over me.

I don't recognize what it is at first but then it comes to me.

It is joy.

A smile stretches across my face for nobody.

I am so happy right now and it just takes me a second to figure it out.

It is because there is only one way to describe what we did over the last three weeks.

It was fucking awesome.

Day 20 - Casa Grande, AZ - Conclusion

Casa Grande put us within shouting distance of some other members in my family.

This time, it was my Dad's side.

I don't have any first cousins on the side of the family. My Dad had one brother and he never had any children. But my Dad's cousin's did and those were the cousins that I grew up with locally.

After my parents divorced, I really didn't have a lot of exposure to this side of the family. We typically spent the holidays with my Mom's side of the family.

In recent years, the only time that I've seen folks from my Dad's side of the family were at the five major funerals that this side of the family.

A great aunt and great uncle and their son.

My grandmother.

And my Pop.

It was going to be nice to see someone from this side of the family and NOT have it be at a funeral.

My cousin, Scott, was about an hour away from Casa Grande and when I got into town, he and his wife were willing to drive down to see us.

The only other time that I've seen Scott in the last 20 years when we weren't mourning the loss of a family member was a totally random moment when he ran into me while I was sweeping in Tomorrowland in 1992.

Scott and his wife make it to Casa Grande pretty quickly and they meet me at the hotel lounge.

And this is where I think facebook is so great.

We've been connected there for a couple of years and we've been able to stay up to date on so many things that have been going on in our lives.

Ten years ago, this would have had the potential to be an awkward get together.

Tonight, it was family just reconnecting.

My Mom and Jack get up after their afternoon nap and join us in the hotel's restaurant.

The food isn't amazing but it is a great dinner. It is so nice to catch up in person.

Scott does one thing that cracks me up. My Mom's first cosmo comes out and it is in a TINY glass.

We can all see her disappointment.

We she orders her second one, Scott asks the server if she can get it in a larger glass.

She says she'll ask and when it comes out, the second cosmo comes in a HUGE glass.

It's a great way to end one of our last days on The Bucket Trip.