January 29 will be the 10th anniversary of IFAQH! Can you believe it?? Reflecting on the past ten years, so much has happened in each of our lives, our country, and the world. Through all the changes and events of life, IFAQH has carried us through the good times and the difficult times. IFAQH has personally given the three sisters purpose, opportunity to focus on others, unity, friendship, and gratitude. We are grateful to have IFAQH which has built the three sisters a deeper friendship. It guided us through a divorce, retirement, the joy of grandkids, and the unforgettable year of 2020. IFAQH has taken us to so many places none of us would have ever gone. We have visited 47 of the 50 states with only North Dakota, Maryland, and Alaska are left.
Our “heart sowing adventures” are highlights for us. We have mentioned our adventures before, but I want to give you a glimpse of what they look like. We sew, sew, sew like crazy to get enough hearts for our adventure (2,000-3,000). Cheap flights to anywhere is how we select our destination! Typically, those cheap flights only allow one personal item, so we each stuff a backpack with everything we need for our journey. This summer we have two heart sowing adventures planned. We will pack those backpacks and fly to Missoula and Chicago and venture out from there. Who knows, maybe we will pass through your town! Throughout the year we search garage sales, curb alerts, etc., for free or next to nothing carry-on bags for our hearts. We purchase a one way carry-on bag for the outbound trip. No need to pay for the return, as the hearts will be gone! We have carried on an empty suitcase without paying about 4 times, only once have we been told we needed to pay so we left the suitcase, which totally baffled the agent! We really needed to video her reaction; it was priceless, and we still laugh about it.
We arrive to our destination, get our rental car and boogie. If possible, we love to follow the road less traveled, to old quaint down towns, parks, etc. Once we arrive to our heart sowing destination, we either divide and concur the territory, or if dark, a little hesitant of our surroundings or just want more sister time, we’ll walk together. “Meet in 15 minutes” is our go to time frame- which amazes me every time, because we are coming from a different direction at the exact same time never checking a watch. Once in the car, we share how many hearts we each sowed, as we log every heart sown in every location. Our journal is full of little notes written of cute, fun, silly, interesting people, things, or scenery that we see and want to remember. At the beginning of each trip, we log the FB likes, followers, dates, type of rental car and mileage. Each sister has her “job” while in the car. One is our driver – how she does it EVERY day for approximately 400 miles/day is beyond me! Thank you SEESTER, I am grateful for you! One sister manages the GPS and maps, she is the navigator – also something I am VERY grateful to as I would get frustrated with that job. I manage snacks 😊, the log book and sorting and replenishing everyone’s heart bag. The three sisters have naturally assumed each of these tasks.
When our friends hear where we are going they always want to share a place or restaurant that is a MUST. If we can see that place and they have great places to sow a heart, we may fly by it, but we don’t linger or dine on our trips. Breakfast is either at the hotel if it is open by the time we leave (6 a.m.) or a coffee stop and oatmeal/bagel. Lunch is snacks, and dinner is a trip to the grocery store if there is one with a salad bar, or possibly a Panera or Chipotle. Our last trip outside California was last year when we flew into Orlando, FL. It was a 5 day trip (really 4.5 with flight times) and we made 129 stops, went through 4 states with the majority of travel down the east side and up the west coast of Florida. We drove 2,291 miles and sowed 1,537 hearts. A few noted highlights we came upon were the spider lilies that Cottondale, FL so generously shared with us, the water fountain in Marianna, FL that allowed me to rinse off the shirt I spilled coffee all over and the watermelon festival we happened upon in Hampton, SC that had absolutely nothing watermelon related, lol. We were so looking forward to a piece of watermelon! At one time, I was wearing a Fitbit on our adventures and I would log 22,000-30,000 steps per day. In our down time of driving, we talk, reminisce, laugh until we are crying, or just enjoy the drive. We each have special places or things we have seen, but usually, each of our favorites are all of our favorites. I am so very excited to head back up to Canada! Canada is absolutely breathtaking. Last time we were in Canada we wanted to try a huckleberry. We were about 2 weeks too early, this time we will be a month too late, but someday, we will get to try one!
Currently we are dealing with our web theme no longer being supported, and it is causing a few issues. We aren’t getting all the emails, sometimes pictures won’t load so we can’t post your story, and a few other issues that are too technical for me to explain. We have a programmer working on it, but it may be a while before the issues are resolved. Thank you for your patience and understanding while we try to get the non-fun stuff dealt with. You are another thing we are grateful for. IFAQH has a strong base of followers, advocates, and friends, and we are truly grateful for you. The three sisters look forward to the next 10 years – who knows what adventures, life events, and changes they will bring!
Warmest Regards,
The Three Sisters