Catching up!

Ok, I finally learned how to tether my phone to my computer...or vice versa. Now it's time to catch you all up on events!

Sunday, 15 August 2010

Today was the big day…time to leave home for a long time. I woke up extra early…well before the alarm went off. Then I packed. And packed. And remembered a few more things I needed to do, pack, print, send…oh my, the list was endless! I knew I had an 11 hour drive ahead of me. But I also knew I needed to get everything done.

By noon, I was beginning to see the end of packing and organizing. We grabbed a quick lunch and then headed out. I was hoping for a smooth trip…unfortunately that wasn’t the case. As we started the drive (meaning we were still on our street), I noticed my speedometer wasn’t working. I pulled over and turned off the truck to see if that would reset it. No such luck. I drove up and over the hill, then turned around and went home.

I wasn’t sure if I should unpack and stay home until I got the speedometer fixed, or just wing it. I decided to wing it. Today was my parents’ 40^th wedding anniversary and I really wanted to just get out of town and on my way. I went inside and got my GPS…the one I knew provided a speed indicator. Armed with my trusty GPS and a healthy sense of adventure, we got on the road once again. This time, it was a bit better. Although my speedometer eventually started working again, it was reading 5 mph off. Well, better than nothing, I suppose.

The trip wasn’t too eventful, thankfully. There was one momentary slow down for a roadside car-b-q. We drove through the desert…it was 104* at one point…hot! We drove, and drove and drove. The kids wanted to watch a movie while we were driving. I agreed, as long as I got to choose. I chose Tom and Jerry. The kids laughed and laughed and rewatched their favorite episodes. It was fun to listen to!

Eventually we passed Mammoth. The change in altitude was quite noticeable, as was the change in smell. If you’ve never stopped to smell a Jefferson pine, then you have no idea what I’m talking about. If you have, then you know how pleasing it was to smell the fresh woody vanilla aroma as we entered the higher elevations. It was intoxicating and rejuvenating. I knew I was close to my destination. We continued on past Mono Lake, and finally into Nevada.

At 11:15, we finally pulled into David Walley's Hot Springs Resort and collapsed into bed. What a way to start off a vacation!