The people who are brave enough to hang with us.
I think this picture about sums it up:
We looked at various iterations of this sign for 740 miles today. We moved into Mountain Time, and crossed the Continental Divide and spent 12 hours in the car. Oh, and we saw pronghorn antelope. Which, according to our two nerdy scientist travel companions, are actually specific to this region and this region only. Exciting to see, one might say. Who’da thunk it? I thought they were elk.
Well, we spent about ten and a half hours on the road today, and as it turns out the one thing we forgot to pack was our extra set of lungs. The California wild fires rode shotgun during pretty much our entire journey today, and it is only now, in Winnemucca, Nevada that we are actually starting to see something resembling normal sky colors.
Overall, I’d say it was a pretty good first day, and tomorrow looks to be equally long, however there will be an added bonus in that tomorrow’s trip won’t both begin and end in Humboldt County.
(click photo to see the set)
There are probably quite a few of you who don’t yet know of our upcoming summer plans. And if you are wondering why our summer plans may have any relevance to your life, it’s because you will soon notice a whole lot of photos posted over on Flickr that you will think look like they were taken from a car window whilst going 75 miles an hour. And that will be because they were.
As I have mentioned (mostly in passing) our very good friends Andrea and Brian are moving back East. As the reality of the situation began to set in, and the discussions about them moving became more real, we began batting around the discussion of driving back with them. One thing led to another, and tomorrow at 7:00 am the four of us will be packing up two cars, two dogs and a cat and heading for North Carolina.
My sister and mom arrived today to begin their leg of the child care rotation that will unfold over the next 11 days. It will be the longest I have spent away from my children, and although I know they will be indulged on every level possible, it won’t change the fact that I will miss them terribly.
In the meantime, we are going to be hightailing it to parts unknown, blogging whenever possible, and keeping you updated on whatever ridiculous exploits Brian and Steve convince us are necessary for “bettering our moral selves”.
As I have alluded to – off and on – for a couple of days now, my birthday managed to linger for quite a spell this year. I blame it on momentum, and the fact that it fell on a Thursday, and the fact that tequila was ever invented.
Thursday I worked and did all the usual rounds, however Steve and the kids had thrown together a little surprise party with pizza and presents. We all went outside to enjoy the day and Ranger helped himself to the rest of the pizza in the box that we ignorantly left hanging over the edge of the kitchen counter. How’d ya like them jalapeños, pal?
Friday, I opted to take the day off and Steve and I used that precious time together by going to the dump. I can feel your jealous stares. I did manage to spend a good portion of the afternoon reading one of my new books. My mindless new books with no purpose other than to entertain my shallow and empty brain. Even Vanity Fair can’t do that for me. As it turned out, Friday was also the summer solstice which, this year, came complete with a gigantic thunder and lightning storm. It was as though Mother Nature herself was sending over another round on the house.
Saturday found me lunching with my friends (mmmmm, desert martinis), then shopping, then home for more cocktails and reading. I think there is a commandment somewhere addressing the importance of not stopping while you are ahead. You find it yet? Yeah, that one.
Sunday was a little of this, a little of that, then off to the Baker’s for more food, more friends, more fun, PLUS a trampoline. See? Momentum. Let’s just say that by the time I dragged my butt out of bed on Monday, I was feeling sufficiently celebrated.
(click the photo to see the entire set)
On Saturday we hooked up with the A’s and the B’s for the Humboldt Crab’s season opener. If you lean in really close, you should be able to smell the beer and peanuts on our breath.
