the hubby left...
the help came...
the packing went...
the help left and came again...
the hubby came back...
the trip to Wichita...
THANKSGIVING...
and the morning after...........
gone.
Yep, the day after Thanksgiving a ton of family and close friends met at the Cracker Barrel in Park City, Ks. We joyfully had a great breakfast, lots of conversation, and lots of tears. We gave our hugs and more hugs. I'm not sure it hit me until I was hugging my dad goodbye. Always hard for this girl to be away from her mommy and daddy.
We were excited out our upcoming adventure. Three days on the road. Two nights in hotels. Three days with kids in the car. (We weren't excited about that last one) Oh, and don't forget the dog! As we said our final goodbyes, we loaded into a very crammed car and headed south. We decided to go the south way to not risk getting stuck by snow somewhere. Brent did have to go back to work on Monday.
Originally we were planning to stop in Amarillo, but when we got there it was only 5:00 and the kids were doing great, so we continued on! Our first stop was in Santa Rosa, NM. Neat little town. We drove a bit on old route 66 to see some of the old motels, diners, and gas stations. To bad it was night, because I wanted to take some photos. Oh well, I'm sure we'll make the trip again someday. Everyone was happy to see a place to run, jump and sleep. I think the kids were excited about the running and jumping part. Our room was huge! We had the pack 'n play, the dog bed, a large suit case, and still plenty of room for us!
Day 2:
We were still excited to get into the van and get going! We had made such good time the day before, the kids slept for a couple hours during day 1, so off we went. After an ok hotel breakfast of course. An hour later we stop to pee, another hour later we are stopping to pee, another hour later we stop to pee, yep you guessed it we're stopping to be only an hour after the last!
Since we had realized long before we left for our move that we weren't going to get to stop and enjoy something along the way. We tried to intergrade it into the drive. Today we were hopefully going to make it to the Petrified forest. Brent had been wanting to see this since he was little. With all those stops we weren't sure it was going to happen.
As the sun was setting on the horizon we saw the signs for the forest!! Yep we made it, it wasn't at all what we had thought it would be, but exciting none the less. And COLD! It is the desert, and does get REALLY cold. This area was really pretty, but what is petrified wood you ask?
Wikipedia says:
it is the name given to a special type of fossilized remains of terrestrial vegetation. It is the result of a tree having turned completely into stone by the process of permineralization. All the organic materials have been replaced with minerals (mostly a silicate, such as quartz), while retaining the original structure of the wood. Unlike other types of fossils which are typically impressions or compressions, petrified wood is a three-dimensional representation of the original organic material. The petrifaction process occurs underground, when wood becomes buried under sediment and is initially preserved due to a lack of oxygen which inhibits aerobic decomposition. Mineral-laden water flowing through the sediment deposits minerals in the plant's cells; as the plant's lignin and cellulose decay, a stone mould forms in its place.
Our pictures of this adventure are great!
As we were driving out of the forest a beautiful sunset came across the land and I realized it's going to be one of the last sunsets I see where I can see for MILES!
We got to Flagstaff, which we were told to stop if there was bad weather, but there hadn't been any so we kept going and stopped for the second night in Kingman, AZ. This was a fancy hotel, but one of the only ones we could find that would accept the dog and wasn't full. It was so modern I felt like I was in Vegas!
Maybe wishing I was in Vegas too!
Day 3:
We're tired, tired of the road, tired of the car, tired of each other! I think the only reason we got into that car was because we new our house was at the other end! We had a great breakfast.
Thank God, we needed it compared to the breakfast the day before.
Shortly we were driving into California, so weird to go through customs crossing state lines. Anyway, it was almost 11:00 we had gotten started around 9, and was going to be arriving around 6 that evening. Our shortest day! Yay, we were excited!!
Everything was great until....
we hit traffic.
Oh we were stuck in traffic
an hour later...
a stop light.
Really that's why were backed up!?
Going smooth again, yes we're moving...
until more traffic.
Holiday traffic...
since we decided to travel the weekend after Thanksgiving
everyone is coming home from their travels south.
Then came the...
FOG
Through the mountains we went.
PRAYING
After much more time in the car, we made it!
3 days, 2 nights, it's 11:00 pm
5 hours late,
but we're here.
Our California LIFE began!
