Glad Michelle posted that we were home. When we crossed the Bay Bridge, I totally ran out of gas.
But, I wouldn't have traded the time with Michelle and Lucy (well some of Lulu's time ) for anything. We talked from D.C. to S.F. and the time flew by.
Thanks for viewing our blog....
A once-in-a-lifetime-hope-we-make-it-out-alive roadtrip from VA to CA to reunite the posse once and forever!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Probably the last blog entry... for me.
Yesterday, Auntie, Lucy and I arrived home in San Francisco at 10:00am to a beautiful 60 degree day. Well in advance of our 8pm planned arrival, might I add. It's been funny to field all the different opinions about our journey along the way... "Wow! You're making great time." or "You're only in Colorado??"... funny how everyone has a vision of where you should be along the way.
Here is the bottom line for me-- I learned some really interesting things about my aunt and my family along the way-- my maternal grandfather worked on the railroads across the midwest, I have a distant family member who died recently in a bar fight in Winnemucca, my Uncle was stationed in Fort Carson, CO in the intelligence unit, and many more fascinating things for me-- but probably not for you-- so I'll spare you all.
Now I'm looking forward to getting settled in my apartment later this week... and shortly on the heels of that, getting settled in my new classroom and starting back to work teaching on August 15th.
My life feels very surreal at the moment. It almost feels as if my life has been a movie that was on "pause" for two years and I've pressed "play" in California again. Not to say that I've been paused in my work... but all of sudden, now that I'm home, my time in DC feels like a dream... a wild and wonderful feeling.
Once I and I (lol) have a chance to recover and refresh from the trip, we'll post some pics from along the way...
Until then, signing off!
Here is the bottom line for me-- I learned some really interesting things about my aunt and my family along the way-- my maternal grandfather worked on the railroads across the midwest, I have a distant family member who died recently in a bar fight in Winnemucca, my Uncle was stationed in Fort Carson, CO in the intelligence unit, and many more fascinating things for me-- but probably not for you-- so I'll spare you all.
Now I'm looking forward to getting settled in my apartment later this week... and shortly on the heels of that, getting settled in my new classroom and starting back to work teaching on August 15th.
My life feels very surreal at the moment. It almost feels as if my life has been a movie that was on "pause" for two years and I've pressed "play" in California again. Not to say that I've been paused in my work... but all of sudden, now that I'm home, my time in DC feels like a dream... a wild and wonderful feeling.
Once I and I (lol) have a chance to recover and refresh from the trip, we'll post some pics from along the way...
Until then, signing off!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Sunday morning--like a kid on Christmas morning!
Poor Auntie Rena.
This morning brings back memories of Christmas mornings past (and sadly not as far past as I would like to admit) when I would be awake far too early and ringing her and My at some ridiculous hour to see if mom and I could come over to open the presents. In my pajamas btw.
This morning there isn't a present in sight except the knowledge that today brings us one state closer to home--- that is the shiny wrapped present with the big red ribbon under the tree waiting to be ripped open--- too bad we have to go through the charcoal in the stocking town of Winnemucca first....
Pray for us...it's going to be 100 degrees there today.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
This morning brings back memories of Christmas mornings past (and sadly not as far past as I would like to admit) when I would be awake far too early and ringing her and My at some ridiculous hour to see if mom and I could come over to open the presents. In my pajamas btw.
This morning there isn't a present in sight except the knowledge that today brings us one state closer to home--- that is the shiny wrapped present with the big red ribbon under the tree waiting to be ripped open--- too bad we have to go through the charcoal in the stocking town of Winnemucca first....
Pray for us...it's going to be 100 degrees there today.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Park City Utah
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Saturday in Park City Utah-- Michelle's Version
It's our second night in Utah, and if I'm being honest-- I've been pleasantly surprised, if not a little alarmed, by how incredibly nice people are here. Nice yes. Diverse, not so much. I have seen mostly suntanned white people, a few latino people (working in the hotel of course-- although aforementioned suntanned white people seem to also have a monopoly on most of the hotel jobs as well), and tonight we even sat next to a (gasp) interracial couple named Harry (a Union Pacific locomotive engineer) and his wife of 24 years, Kathy.
The only reason I originally planned to stop for more than a night in Utah was to see Maureen Schiffman, one of my dearest friends and former teaching colleagues. We got to spend three sunshine filled hours catching up. One of the many beautiful things about our friendship is that no matter how much time goes by, it is literally as if not more than a day has passed since we last spoke. Later in the afternoon, her husband, Josh and her three kids, Noah, Ben and Lilly joined us plus her new yellow Lab puppy, Cali. It was quite a fun reunion.
One of things I love most about my time with my aunt is learning so much about her. Here are a few
things that I've learned that Irene particularly enjoys: (translation: things that Irene has very very little patience for. :-))
1) People who talk just a little too loudly on their cell phones outside their rooms. (I think this might have something to do with being "the listenator" and being unable to hear the OTHER side of the conversation.
2) Mormon weddings with no alcohol. Oh and goofy dancing groomsmen in PINK vests with tuxedos in Mormon weddings.
3) Adolescent girls playing with American Girl Dolls in restaurants
4) Waiters who eyeball her for saying she's finished with a half eaten ice cream sundae
5) Women complaining about chewy steaks from Ruby Tuesday-- Um. It's from RUBY TUESDAY.
To be continued--
The only reason I originally planned to stop for more than a night in Utah was to see Maureen Schiffman, one of my dearest friends and former teaching colleagues. We got to spend three sunshine filled hours catching up. One of the many beautiful things about our friendship is that no matter how much time goes by, it is literally as if not more than a day has passed since we last spoke. Later in the afternoon, her husband, Josh and her three kids, Noah, Ben and Lilly joined us plus her new yellow Lab puppy, Cali. It was quite a fun reunion.
One of things I love most about my time with my aunt is learning so much about her. Here are a few
things that I've learned that Irene particularly enjoys: (translation: things that Irene has very very little patience for. :-))
1) People who talk just a little too loudly on their cell phones outside their rooms. (I think this might have something to do with being "the listenator" and being unable to hear the OTHER side of the conversation.
2) Mormon weddings with no alcohol. Oh and goofy dancing groomsmen in PINK vests with tuxedos in Mormon weddings.
3) Adolescent girls playing with American Girl Dolls in restaurants
4) Waiters who eyeball her for saying she's finished with a half eaten ice cream sundae
5) Women complaining about chewy steaks from Ruby Tuesday-- Um. It's from RUBY TUESDAY.
To be continued--
Saturday in Park City, Utah
Today is a day off from driving while Michelle visits with Maureen, a former teacher friend who lives in Salt Lake.
LuLu, Lucy, Tula, Boo Boo, (all Lucy's names and she answers to those and more) and I are hanging out in our beautiful room at the St. Regis Dear Valley...if you have to across Utah to get to California, and that would be the only reason, IMO, to cross Utah, then staying in Dear Valley is a nice treat. It's beautiful and the weather is spectacular. Lulu and I just came in from a walk on the trail and now it's time for nappies. Her not me.
My side of the aisle knows that I am a dog lover, and have had 4 goldens during my lifetime. But, have to say this trip with Miss B and Tula has broadened my perspective on traveling with dogs. Lucy is a golden doodle with a big Golden personality. (My iPad says that golden doodle is two words...tough writing this blog when you're traveling with an English teacher.).
So far I've learned:
1. leave your scented shirt with the dog if you leave her alone in the room
2. make sure you leave the leash on the dog so you can grab her when she starts growling and barking at the Colorado State Trooper who has a big gun and is giving mommy a ticket.
3. offer the dog ice water when she's over-heated in 109 degree weather so she throws up on her special blanket...I couldn't look.
I've learned more but I don't want to risk Michelle leaving me in Utah if you catch my drift.
Tomorrow we head to Winnamucca, home of Mother Mucca, see Tales of The City, and a few Agnos relatives....but that's another story.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
LuLu, Lucy, Tula, Boo Boo, (all Lucy's names and she answers to those and more) and I are hanging out in our beautiful room at the St. Regis Dear Valley...if you have to across Utah to get to California, and that would be the only reason, IMO, to cross Utah, then staying in Dear Valley is a nice treat. It's beautiful and the weather is spectacular. Lulu and I just came in from a walk on the trail and now it's time for nappies. Her not me.
My side of the aisle knows that I am a dog lover, and have had 4 goldens during my lifetime. But, have to say this trip with Miss B and Tula has broadened my perspective on traveling with dogs. Lucy is a golden doodle with a big Golden personality. (My iPad says that golden doodle is two words...tough writing this blog when you're traveling with an English teacher.).
So far I've learned:
1. leave your scented shirt with the dog if you leave her alone in the room
2. make sure you leave the leash on the dog so you can grab her when she starts growling and barking at the Colorado State Trooper who has a big gun and is giving mommy a ticket.
3. offer the dog ice water when she's over-heated in 109 degree weather so she throws up on her special blanket...I couldn't look.
I've learned more but I don't want to risk Michelle leaving me in Utah if you catch my drift.
Tomorrow we head to Winnamucca, home of Mother Mucca, see Tales of The City, and a few Agnos relatives....but that's another story.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Happy Hour-- We don't care what time it is and trust us, this is the best entry yet.
A big thank you shout out to all of you who are concerned about us driving in the 110 degree weather. You know who you are. We left Colby (don't ask) Kansas at 7:30am this morning and headed out onto the wide open I-70 W to Boulder, Colorado ....it was a beautiful morning and we decide we would give Bossypants another shot. Bossypants + Tina Fey reading in her own voice + Sleep Deprivation + Driving through cornfields of Kansas = Hysterical Laughter.
Michelle had the first 2 hour driving shift today and and we were moving across Kansas laughing big belly laughs with our Greek sister, Tina.
All of a sudden, I hear a panicked "Oh SHIT!!!" in the middle of "My Honeymoon or a Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again".
"What's wrong?" I respond, my heart beating wildly...
In this case, a picture really is worth a thousand words.
I'll let her tell you how her speed got up to 96mph....it was something with the cruise control (yes I tested the system on my shift and I can see how it happened). But my recommendation is not to listen to Tina Fey (in any form) while driving through rural Colorado. Too much potential for getting pulled over at 96 MPH. (Betty, breathe. It's okay.)
Editorial Comment from Michelle: Some great co-pilot she is... she never saw the cop behind me OR that I was going 96mph.
Fast forward to the beautiful town of Boulder, Colorado. Turns out that it's not so dog friendly on the Pearl Street Mall... so we grabbed lunch at Chipotle (neither of us will be eating that again for a while. 'nuff said.) We decided Lucy might benefit from a good run at a dog park and the friendly FedEX driver (a bit too friendly if you know what I mean) told me how to get to a nice park...
Two words: The Regulars.
Now in most dog parks, what you find is people, walking throughout the part, whilst their dogs romp around joyfully playing with other dogs. Not here. The Regulars were all assembled in a semi-circle sitting on chairs. BTW I think Boulder went 99% for Obama (hence the progressive bent emanating from the semi-circle).
There was the guy with the Greenpeace t-shirt, communist insignia bag, white ankle socks with Dansko clogs (sorry Beth) giving a lecture on the history of the refugees in Palestine.
Then there was Troy, the Solar Panel Installation Specialist and when I say Solar Panel Specialist, what I really mean to say is, Specialist on every subject known to man and womankind. You wanna know about that dog breed? It's a Catahoula. A combination of 14 different dog breeds that the Native Americans first bred on the reservation. What? You're thinking of taking Karate? Excellent idea. It will help to center your Chi and balance your aura, as well as teach you how to throw punches so that you can disable an attacker by using his own power against him. I won't even go into the conversation on why the adopted Shitzhu had a slightly turned in hind leg.
Jeff came late from his lunch break with his Weimeraner, Sofie... There was the woman who was about to have knee replacement who brought her friend, Amy with the adopted dog with the hind leg issue. Upon hearing the discussion about the knee replacement, Michelle leaned into me and said, "If you tell her, we'll be here for the next three hours."
Suffice it to say, Lucy had fun...
So now it's Happy Hour-- Does it get much happier??
One puppy, two tennis balls, a few glasses of wine-- can you tell?
Michelle had the first 2 hour driving shift today and and we were moving across Kansas laughing big belly laughs with our Greek sister, Tina.
All of a sudden, I hear a panicked "Oh SHIT!!!" in the middle of "My Honeymoon or a Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again".
"What's wrong?" I respond, my heart beating wildly...
In this case, a picture really is worth a thousand words.
I'll let her tell you how her speed got up to 96mph....it was something with the cruise control (yes I tested the system on my shift and I can see how it happened). But my recommendation is not to listen to Tina Fey (in any form) while driving through rural Colorado. Too much potential for getting pulled over at 96 MPH. (Betty, breathe. It's okay.)
Editorial Comment from Michelle: Some great co-pilot she is... she never saw the cop behind me OR that I was going 96mph.
Fast forward to the beautiful town of Boulder, Colorado. Turns out that it's not so dog friendly on the Pearl Street Mall... so we grabbed lunch at Chipotle (neither of us will be eating that again for a while. 'nuff said.) We decided Lucy might benefit from a good run at a dog park and the friendly FedEX driver (a bit too friendly if you know what I mean) told me how to get to a nice park...
Two words: The Regulars.
Now in most dog parks, what you find is people, walking throughout the part, whilst their dogs romp around joyfully playing with other dogs. Not here. The Regulars were all assembled in a semi-circle sitting on chairs. BTW I think Boulder went 99% for Obama (hence the progressive bent emanating from the semi-circle).
There was the guy with the Greenpeace t-shirt, communist insignia bag, white ankle socks with Dansko clogs (sorry Beth) giving a lecture on the history of the refugees in Palestine.
Then there was Troy, the Solar Panel Installation Specialist and when I say Solar Panel Specialist, what I really mean to say is, Specialist on every subject known to man and womankind. You wanna know about that dog breed? It's a Catahoula. A combination of 14 different dog breeds that the Native Americans first bred on the reservation. What? You're thinking of taking Karate? Excellent idea. It will help to center your Chi and balance your aura, as well as teach you how to throw punches so that you can disable an attacker by using his own power against him. I won't even go into the conversation on why the adopted Shitzhu had a slightly turned in hind leg.
Jeff came late from his lunch break with his Weimeraner, Sofie... There was the woman who was about to have knee replacement who brought her friend, Amy with the adopted dog with the hind leg issue. Upon hearing the discussion about the knee replacement, Michelle leaned into me and said, "If you tell her, we'll be here for the next three hours."
Suffice it to say, Lucy had fun...
So now it's Happy Hour-- Does it get much happier??
Day 4-- crossing the Colorado State Line
We have officially made it to the WEST! A little drama this morning... Will share the deets later but suffice it to say that I now have first hand knowledge that state troopers in Colorado are cute AND charming... To be continued.
- Posted by Miss B
- Posted by Miss B
Day 3 was a Long Haul but we'll be "West" soon
Auntie and I have been sympatico this entire trip...mostly because we think so much alike. It's been time that has been great to talk (we've pretty much talked the entire time!) So much for all those movies, and audiobooks I made her download. We started listening to Bossy Pants yesterday but had to shut it off because we were talking through it. We'll try again today.
This is most of the day looked like yesterday... oh yeah, at above 100 degrees pretty much the entire way.
Lucy has been a total champ throughout the last three days. The second night, we had to give her some doggie drugs because she kept barking at every noise she heard in the hotel-- mind you this was the hotel that was dog friendly, but that we snuck her into because we didn't want to pay the additional fees for dogs. She was very anxious and it was a busy hotel-- so there were lots of noises. At midnight, when the barking wouldn't stop... she got some doggie Valium and was chilled out the rest of the night. Last night she was perfect. No barking... just slept the entire night. As did I, and Auntie, FINALLY. (However-- the Holiday Inn Express beds in Colby Kansas leave a LOT to be desired. Just sayin.)
Each day/night of this trip I've been amassing ONE mosquito bite. Now, I'm up to three. LOL. I think of it as my own personal roadtrip ticking mechanism... I'm ticking off the days with mosquito bites. Cool, huh? Okay, maybe not so much.
Auntie and Lucy are fully bonded at this point. Lucy is slow to warm up to 99.9% of people that she meets but it didn't take long before Auntie worked her magic. It MIGHT have been the pup cups from Starbucks-- cups full of whipped cream that she gave her. It's unclear at this point.
Per Myra's request (and it's a fair criticism)-- we are going to include more pictures of US. Neither of us is super excited about having our photos taken... but we will start once we get to Colorado and have a chance to clean up a bit!
In the mean time-- here's a cute shot of Auntie doing her shift behind the wheel. Note: we each had three shifts yesterday of two hours a piece. 630 miles. But we REALLY wanted to get closer to Colorado for Day 4.
Okay... one last photo in honor of the "sustainable" folks in the family... Windmills everywhere outside of Colby Kansas. Who knew?
This is most of the day looked like yesterday... oh yeah, at above 100 degrees pretty much the entire way.
Lucy has been a total champ throughout the last three days. The second night, we had to give her some doggie drugs because she kept barking at every noise she heard in the hotel-- mind you this was the hotel that was dog friendly, but that we snuck her into because we didn't want to pay the additional fees for dogs. She was very anxious and it was a busy hotel-- so there were lots of noises. At midnight, when the barking wouldn't stop... she got some doggie Valium and was chilled out the rest of the night. Last night she was perfect. No barking... just slept the entire night. As did I, and Auntie, FINALLY. (However-- the Holiday Inn Express beds in Colby Kansas leave a LOT to be desired. Just sayin.)
Each day/night of this trip I've been amassing ONE mosquito bite. Now, I'm up to three. LOL. I think of it as my own personal roadtrip ticking mechanism... I'm ticking off the days with mosquito bites. Cool, huh? Okay, maybe not so much.
Auntie and Lucy are fully bonded at this point. Lucy is slow to warm up to 99.9% of people that she meets but it didn't take long before Auntie worked her magic. It MIGHT have been the pup cups from Starbucks-- cups full of whipped cream that she gave her. It's unclear at this point.
Per Myra's request (and it's a fair criticism)-- we are going to include more pictures of US. Neither of us is super excited about having our photos taken... but we will start once we get to Colorado and have a chance to clean up a bit!
In the mean time-- here's a cute shot of Auntie doing her shift behind the wheel. Note: we each had three shifts yesterday of two hours a piece. 630 miles. But we REALLY wanted to get closer to Colorado for Day 4.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
6am Wednesday
Ready to rock and roll. 600 mile goal for today, It's 100 degrees already.
Sorry about the crummy pics but it's a challenge to shoot from car traveling 80 miles per hour and steer at the same time. Maybe if I move into the inside lane?
Just saw Al Roker's weather map. We are traveling straight through the reddest part of his weather map. No such thing as beating the heat.
Michelle is a great traveling mate. Good conversation and great snacks.
Lucy is perfect in the car.
More later
Irene
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sorry about the crummy pics but it's a challenge to shoot from car traveling 80 miles per hour and steer at the same time. Maybe if I move into the inside lane?
Just saw Al Roker's weather map. We are traveling straight through the reddest part of his weather map. No such thing as beating the heat.
Michelle is a great traveling mate. Good conversation and great snacks.
Lucy is perfect in the car.
More later
Irene
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Collinsworth
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
End of Day 2-- Highlights from the Road
All went very smoothly on Monday-- Auntie Rena arrived safely and intact and after a perfectly executed exit from my high rise building sans every belonging I have, I picked up Lucy from day care and headed to the airport to pick up Auntie.
She literally put her bag in the crowded car and was quick to point out that we would really need to do some re- organizing. For those of you who know ME, you know I'm pretty damn organized... which I've learned from all the women in my life--- But Auntie Rena takes organization and specifically organization in the form of packing cars into an art form. Suffice it to say that when I picked her up there was barely room for the three of us and all the stuff. Today, there is room to hit up a few outlet stores along the way if we so choose.
We had a quick stop for dinner in Cumberland, MD at the Crabby Pig. Great little patio to dine on and dog friendly!
Then we hit the road again only to encounter a wicked lightning storm (sadly, the cool message on the back of the window has been demolished in the rain), a few toothless and very very tattooed folks in the gas station in West Virginia, and a convention of folks in town in the middle of nowhereville who were inconsiderately taking up all the rooms we had hoped we could easily secure for the night's lodging. So we drove on until very late and finally found a room at the Double Tree near the Meadows Race Track in Washington PA. It was decidedly dog UNfriendly, so we sneaked Lucy in. Rebels.
Today we drove over 500 miles from Washington PA to Collinsville, Illinois (just outside of St. Louis, MO). Great dinner and a good night's sleep are on the agenda. Here are a few shots from the road. Not too exciting... other than the World's Largest Bottle of Catsup. If you know Irene's obsession with ketchup (Heinz to be exact), you know just exactly why we drove out of the way to see this little part of Illinois. Saint Irene is too tired to write anything...
She literally put her bag in the crowded car and was quick to point out that we would really need to do some re- organizing. For those of you who know ME, you know I'm pretty damn organized... which I've learned from all the women in my life--- But Auntie Rena takes organization and specifically organization in the form of packing cars into an art form. Suffice it to say that when I picked her up there was barely room for the three of us and all the stuff. Today, there is room to hit up a few outlet stores along the way if we so choose.
We had a quick stop for dinner in Cumberland, MD at the Crabby Pig. Great little patio to dine on and dog friendly!
Then we hit the road again only to encounter a wicked lightning storm (sadly, the cool message on the back of the window has been demolished in the rain), a few toothless and very very tattooed folks in the gas station in West Virginia, and a convention of folks in town in the middle of nowhereville who were inconsiderately taking up all the rooms we had hoped we could easily secure for the night's lodging. So we drove on until very late and finally found a room at the Double Tree near the Meadows Race Track in Washington PA. It was decidedly dog UNfriendly, so we sneaked Lucy in. Rebels.
Today we drove over 500 miles from Washington PA to Collinsville, Illinois (just outside of St. Louis, MO). Great dinner and a good night's sleep are on the agenda. Here are a few shots from the road. Not too exciting... other than the World's Largest Bottle of Catsup. If you know Irene's obsession with ketchup (Heinz to be exact), you know just exactly why we drove out of the way to see this little part of Illinois. Saint Irene is too tired to write anything...
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Final Night in DC
Feeling like Oprah a little-- minus the star-studded send off and the billion dollars of network programming at her disposal... not bitter, just sweet-- although I will miss my friends in DC, I'm so excited about what comes next for me.
Boxes are all set. Movers are confirmed. Chinese food (steamed Chicken and veggies) is on the way. The Holiday is on tv. And I'm relaxed and ready for the big departure tomorrow. I even scheduled a mani/pedi for the morning.
Goodbye DC. You've been great to me, but I'm going HOME!!! (fade in California here I come... right back where I started from...)
Boxes are all set. Movers are confirmed. Chinese food (steamed Chicken and veggies) is on the way. The Holiday is on tv. And I'm relaxed and ready for the big departure tomorrow. I even scheduled a mani/pedi for the morning.
Goodbye DC. You've been great to me, but I'm going HOME!!! (fade in California here I come... right back where I started from...)
Friday, July 15, 2011
We are sooooooooooo ready.
Three days and counting
Nerves are getting frayed a bit as final preparations for the road trip are completed....I got to thinking that this is going to be the most time I've ever spent with Michelle...I am excited. Who thinks we will make it across country and still be talking to each other? I know who you are out there.
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