Hearst Castle

My Mom has always wanted to travel to Hearst Castle but for some reason I never got around to it.  We were given the chance to go and I took about 10 days ago for only 2 days but the preparation for it was weeks in the making.  Making sure the car got all the maintenance it needed, routing our travel route making sure we had enough rest stops so she can go to the restroom, finding the right hotel not a motel and making sure we were near a hospital and letting our Safe Return know we would be traveling.  That didn't include making sure I had her pill boxes in order, the door alarm for the hotel door, making sure I had all of her clothes backed, cosmetics, etc...

My Mom did very well the first day, she was very excited and happy although she kept asking who was going to watch our dogs so I had to pull out my post it notes and write on them that my Sister would stay with them and put the post it note on the dashboard which help me drive.

She was in such a good, fun, silly mood on the first day (see bee picture below) but on the second day I could tell her anxiety was affecting her and she wasn't enjoying too much so we drove home after Hearst Castle. She was still enjoying it but she wanted to get home, I asked her if she enjoyed herself and replied yes and I asked where we were coming back from and she replied "Downtown LA"...  When she would forget where she was I can hide my feelings but I was so exhausted from not sleeping the night before because I was worried about her getting up and leaving the room even with the door alarm and the chairs behind the door I still kept waking up that when she told me she enjoyed her trip to Downtown LA I started to cry as I drove.  She saw me and started to say that she hated her brain that it doesn't let her remember and how bad she felt which made me feel worse for showing my emotions so we pulled over for dinner and I had a drink and waited for the traffic to clear up since it was rush hour.

I really enjoyed this time we spent and she loved Hearst Castle, seeing her eyes light-up I will always be grateful that the Alzheimer's Association helped made this trip happen for her.