Hello, everyone! Louise here, to fill you in on everything that's been happening.

One week ago, at 5:30am, Sean got the call we've been waiting for from the Red Cross. He was deployed to the relief operation for the incredibly destructive tornadoes that blasted through Alabama. By 1:00pm, he was on a plane for Birmingham. Today, he is heading up the technology department for the biggest operation since Hurricane Katrina. 16-hour work days are the norm at this stage, as the hard work of feeding and sheltering thousands of displaced folks ramps up.

Needless to say, he's been a bit too busy to blog.

Since his skills were needed immediately, there was no time to drive Odyssey to Alabama. Several factors conspired to keep me in California, so I have been comfortably parked at the Redwood City Elks lodge. It's a lovely facility with a golf course, and I've had a dark, quiet, friendly dry-camping spot for a week.

The things that have been keeping me here are:

1. Increased enforcement of the Red Cross' nepotism rules do not allow me to report directly to Sean. So in order for him to head up the department in Alabama, I either have to work for another department (yuck), not work, or work a completely different relief operation.
2. The project that I've been helping with here in California was not quite completed.
3. Flying me to where the tornadoes are would require kenneling the cats, our increasingly frail and ancient dog, Opal, and storing the bus.
4. We have many friends and family here, so this is a great place for me to hang out.
   
5. Dang, the spring weather is NICE in California!

However, we've been keeping a nervous eye on the rising waters of most of the major rivers in the Midwest, and things don't look good at all. So close on the heels of the huge swarm of tornadoes that leveled so much of the south, the possibility of multiple floods means the Red Cross will be working overtime. Experienced, trained volunteers are needed. And I can't sit idly by, enjoying the balmy sunshine here in Lotus-land while there's work to be done.

You know the old saying, "Lord willing and the creeks don't rise"? Well, the creeks are risin'.

So today I'm heading east in Odyssey, with Memphis as a possibly destination. Flooding along the Mississippi can be followed in slow motion, as the pulse of high water works its way downstream. I have a few days to get close enough that if and when the Red Cross calls me, I'll be well-positioned to help. We are not allowed to "self-deploy," but nothing stops we RVers from traveling the country any direction we choose. I choose east!

Long-time friend Godfrey will be my co-pilot. He's a member of our group of motorcycling buddies, and has useful mechanical skills in case the bus gets cranky. We'll share the driving, and he'll get a peek into our exciting life of 2000 miles of interstate travel punctuated by thrilling visits to WalMart and truck stops for the night.

In the last 24 hours, as I made the decision to get moving, I needed to line up several options for this trip. I asked my Dad to help with the driving, in case Godfrey couldn't commit. Dad agreed to be my back-up wingman, and I'm so grateful to both him and my Step Mom for their willingness to help.

I'll try to blog a bit from the road, and maybe post a few of Godfrey's photos. He's an excellent photographer and will probably bring more cameras than clothing on this trip.