Monday, December 12, 2005

Bright and early, like 5:30AM I made the mistake of getting up to go to the bathroom. Smart, wasn’t I. Brian heard me and decided we should get up to get on the road. Uh, no, last night we agreed on leaving at 7AM. We didn’t need to get to the house until 1PM, it was a five hour drive so I figured 8AM would be good but suggested 7:30, no Brian said 7. I agreed but now he wanted to get up at 5:30! Fine. So, Brian got up and showered then left for breakfast (I didn’t want to go eat – I wanted to sleep). After he left I got up and got showered and dressed. He got back from breakfast and decided he wanted to attempt to fix the lights on my trailer. So, he went out to do that while I stayed in the warm room. It was COLD outside! A while later we realized that the trailer lights couldn’t be fixed with what we had so we did the best we could with turning on the lights on my Passat so you could at least see that there was a trailer there. And, at 6:30AM we hit the road again. This time, however, we were heading east!

We drove for a while and eventually passed into Washington. Shortly after arriving in Washington we ran into fog. It was thick and not fun to drive in. But, we drove on and on and on and… I think you get it. Pretty soon we started seeing signs for Spokane. That was exciting. Spokane is just across the border from the new house so it was an end in sight. LOL But, Lord help me, when I actually saw a sign with the mileage to Coeur d’Alene I actually bounced in my seat!! J We continued on and around 12:00 we arrived in Coeur d’Alene. Brian said he wanted to stop by a hardware store to pick up a shovel but I asked him if we could go by the house first and drop off my vehicles since I really didn’t want to drive through town with no lights on the trailer.

Oh, did I forget to tell you about the snow? See we assumed all along that the snow would have melted by the time we got to the house. About a hundred miles before we got to Idaho Brian calls me on the walkie-talkie and said he thought there might be some snow left since it was all we’d seen since we’d crossed into Oregon. But, we didn’t have a snow shovel or anything to get rid of snow so we needed to get one. But, in all my intelligence I thought we should unload a car then do our driving around. Brian agreed. So, we got off the main highway and headed towards the house. About half way down the street Brian beeps me again with “I’m getting a little worried”. See, there wasn’t just a little snow around, there was A LOT. Like snow EVERYWHERE and ice on the streets, the whole bit.

So, we slowly approach the house and what do we see? Snow. White, flat, smooth, snow. Like 5 inches of snow. Yeah it was pretty, but there was snow EVERYWHERE. On the front drive way, on the side driveway, in front of the garages. Everywhere, snow. And we didn’t have a single vehicle that was equipped to drive through 5 inches of snow. So, we sat. We finally got up the courage to actually drive around the corner to see the side of the house first-hand. Yep, snow. We parked. Brian got out and went into the house to turn on the heater. We sat and decided a shovel just wasn’t going to cut it, we needed to plow attachment for the lawn mower.

I had to call one of my clients with some work information so I got my computer out and did some work from the front seat of the car. As I got out of the car one of our neighbors walked by. I’d met her last time and she stopped to say hi. She asked how my drive was and welcomed us back. It was so nice! A neighbor actually took the time to say hello and acknowledge that she remembered meeting me before. She also commented on my clothes, or lack of clothes, and suggested I learn to dress in layers. I had to agree, layers are a good thing!

Brian and I decided it would be a good thing to just stash my vehicles and clear the drive. So, we drove to the mall where I parked my cars and we went inside to buy the plow attachment for the lawn mower. After buying it we drove home and I wandered around the house while Brian worked on getting it hooked up. I decided I should be useful and decided I’d shovel the front porch. Yeah, that’s fun. But, I did get the front porch and steps cleared off, I thought about doing the walk to the garage but conveniently got side-tracked. Faye and Ally (and Brian’s friend Scott from California) arrived from the airport and we all hung out while Brian finished hooking up the plow…yeah, it took a while. Scott ended up doing the front walk (thank goodness) and Brian cleared the driveway. It was pretty late when they were finished but I did need my clothes from my vehicles so Brian and Scott went to get the cars.

We all went to bed a little early, which would have been good except that I was sleeping on an air mattress. And, I learned, an air mattress in a cold basement means a VERY cold bed. It was not a good night’s sleep. But, I was in my new room, in my new state so, it was OK.

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Dec

Sunday, December 11, 2005

admin in My Random Life

We didn’t get back to the house until after 11PM last night from our family Christmas party. I got into bed around 11:20 or so and didn’t sleep very well. Brian came into the room I was in at 4:20AM so we could hit the road. We were dressed, final checks done on the cars, and on the road by 4:40AM. I can not tell you the last time I was up that early…it was insane! The first hour was OK, until I realized I had to go to the bathroom. Uh oh. L I knew Brian didn’t want to stop until we got to Weed but that was a LONG way away. Like HOURS and HOURS away. But, I finally just had to tell him we had to stop. So, we did then quickly got back on the road.

A short time later the fatigue hit me. I was TIRED. I could barely keep my eyes open, it was the most horrible feeling I’ve ever had. I’ll admit, I was actually scared at how tired I was. But, I stuck my head out the window and started my book on tape. By the time the sun came up I was doing OK. It’s tough heading out for a 12 hour drive BEFORE the sun comes up and with less than five hours of sleep.

After the sun had come up we got to an area that we were able to see Mt. Shasta. It was my first (but definitely not last) snow sighting of the day. It was VERY exciting! So, we proceeded along the highway headed north. We reached the Shasta mountain pass, I’m sure there is another official name but that’s what I’m calling it. The drive through the pass was really nice. I swore when I left for this drive that it would be my one and only time DRIVING from Idaho to California. But, driving through the pass made me think that maybe I would rethink that. It is definitely a place I would like to visit and actually LOOK at. So, we kept heading north along I-5 until we got to Weed. Yes, there is a city in California named Weed. We stopped for gas in Weed and stretched our legs a short bit. We also got a muffin to eat. That muffin was important…it was our only food for a long, long time. From Weed we hit I-97 still heading north (there’s a pattern here…the heading north part, so just assume I’m heading north).

Shortly after leaving Weed we passed into Oregon. Now, when we were in Weed there was a small patch of snow on the ground…yes, it was my first photograph of snow, but it was so neat to be that close to it. But, once we passed into Oregon, OMG there was SNOW! The roads were all very clear and dry (just what I’d prayed for J) but on each side of the highway as far as the eye could see was snow. Flat, white, smooth snow. It was GORGEOUS. There were even these trees that were silver. I’ve seen pictures of silver trees before but never with my own eyes. These were leafless trees that sparkled in the sun. I just wanted to pull over and stare at the silver trees but, there was a long way to go still. So, we continued north.

Around 2 we decided it was time to stop for a bite to eat. Remember, we’d been up since 4AM and had only a muffin to eat since then. So, the first place we came to was a McDonalds. Joy of joys, we ate at McD’s. Pulling into the parking lot wasn’t so bad; remember I’m driving the Expedition pulling my Passat, until the Expedition slipped a little on the ice. It wasn’t a huge slip and anyone who’s driven in ice/snow regularly would probably laugh if I told them it scared me, but it did. But, I remembered to pump the brakes and the little slip ended up being a blessing in disguise because it made me realize how aware I needed to be.

After our yummy lunch we headed back on our favorite road going, you guessed it, north. About this time I realized, I’ll definitely make the drive again. There are some really beautiful sights that I’d love to be able to look at. But, I can assure you that the next time I make the drive it won’t be in the winter (even though that is pretty) and it won’t be with me pulling anything. If I have my way, I’ll be sitting in the passenger seat of whatever vehicle is making the drive.

Around 5PM we pulled into Biggs Junction, OR. It’s a small town along some river on the Washington/Oregon border. We pulled into a truck stop to gas up before heading across the street to sleep for the night. After my vehicle was gassed I told Brian I’d pull across and park and wait for him. That’s when we found out that my trailer didn’t have any lights. We’d checked them that morning and I’d been following Brian all day so it wasn’t until we’d traveled for 12 hours that we realized I had no lights AT ALL on the trailer. Great.

After we parked and checked into the motel we ran across the street for a bite to eat then hit the sack. Seriously. I was asleep by 7PM. LOL I was tired!

So, it was a really exciting day.

Hours of driving: 12
Miles traveled: 650

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Dec

Did I tell you about my jacket?

admin in My Random Life

Well it rained today in California. A lot. The scary thing is that when it rains here people don’t know what to do. The news is all about the rain. The traffic is horrible. Life is just aweful. Surprisingly enough, I didn’t have to much trouble today. My 30 minute commute to and from my client’s office only took me an hour. But that’s actually good. (I know, can you believe I’m not complaining about an hour commute.) That’s another reason I’m so glad I’m moving to Idaho. Did you know that the entire STATE of Idaho has less people living in it than the Bay Area in California. By a fraction. It’s going to be so nice. So, in case you care…

Reason #948 that I’m happy to be moving to Idaho — NO Traffic.

But, what I really wanted to share is my new jacket. Can you see how excited I am? I’ll be toasty warm. (I think) But, I decided last night that if THAT jacket doesn’t keep me warm then I’ll stay indoors by the wood stove. LOL I know, you all were expecting me to say I’d move back to California. NOPE, there’s always inside with a warm blanket, a sweatshirt and a fire.

And, for the record, the official countdown is 8 days, 4 hours, and 47 minutes. LOL
Till later…