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Another lovely drive

Somewhere Wedged Between the Kidney and Olympic is Summer

In the middle is where these stories lie. Stuck in the foggy parts of my brain that keep saying pssst! don't forget us. Yet how do I muddle through the thick web of tales spun? Where do I tell of the Mustang convertible we drove all over the hills of San Francisco. The plane being brought in from the hanger as the 'reason we're late' excuse, then turned out to be a prop-job straight from the movie screen of Indiana Jones. The crazy kid with his girlfriend behind me on Space Mountain that kept asking how his hair looked and caused me to forget most of the ride. MoneyPenny giving instantaneous directions that involved extreme braking and hairpin right turns. Endless amounts of rain that turned into seven straight days of beautiful northwest summer while family visited, just to turn back into raindrops as they drove away. The first cab I hailed on a dark street with a flick of my wrist actually worked. Eating our favorite Greek food every day in San Fran. Preparing for the worst on the back of Splash Mountain when three 200+ pound guys were sat in the front of our log, then laughing hysterically as I watched the 20-foot wave crest our log canoe. Eating Dippin' Dots at the zoo and watching a baby polar bear belly flop into the pool for a fish. The hand of my nephew grabbing mine over and over again dragging me to the garage saying 'doggies' and loving their drool and excitement to see him. Sitting at the park taking pictures of my childhood home that no longer existed, but reliving many happy memories. Taking pictures of bursting tar to have a girl, yes girl, pass mountain-man gas right next to me.




Before and after it all I've been reading, gardening, (which by the way, has exploded since I planted my seeds a few days before June 19th) cross-stitching, watching endless episodes of Sex and the City and eating many ice cream Snicker's bars all to my heart's content.


We even found time to say good-bye to the Honda and hello to the G8.

Olympic National Park

We decided to go to Olympic National Park, as with every weekend I have off, the Northwest weather made sure we couldn't see anything. Heavy rain and fog all day, couldn't see more than 25 feet at any given moment. From the looks of the road there is a good chance there might be some great views but all we saw was dark clouds and rain.... Near one of the parking lots at Hurricane ridge there was a blacktail deer walking around. On the way down the mountain the clouds broke for about 1 minute, we hopped out and shot a pic of the mountains. 9 hours in the car and only two pictures, not a great day.

4th of July

Pictures from the Northwest

Road Trip

Thirteen years ago I graduated from high school and my youngest sister started Kindergarten that next fall. Since I had college classes in the morning at Weber, and didn't work until the evenings, I would walk to the top of our street to pick her up from the bus stop. We'd then walk down the street while she showed me what she had learned that day. I wasn't able to afford the spring semester of my first year in college and I took advantage of opportunity, and would help my mom out by waking Becky up and watching her favorite TV shows and help her get ready for school. We'd watch "Bear in the Big Blue House" (Shadow! Shadow, Shadow Shad-ow!) and "Blues Clues". She would then fall asleep on the bean bags in the basement, and once I was home from work, she'd wake up and beg me to let her sleep in my room. I gave in every time and would drag the bean bag in my room and carry her in to sleep on it. I cherished every moment with her. Being 12 years her senior, I knew I would be leaving home long before she grew up.
Today we started the long promised 'senior trip'. I told Becky I would go on a senior trip with her if she found herself alone with no one to go. I got lucky (along with Suzy), and found myself flying from Vancouver to Salt Lake, picking up a rental and then spending fourteen hours driving from Salt Lake to Anaheim to go to Disneyland. Although it's been a long day (with bouts of separation anxiety from Bryan getting to me), it's been a fun adventure. Our compact rental car came in the form of a Mazda Crossover. All the comfort we could want, dual zone controls, tinted windows, and roominess. We stopped in Cedar City for some snacks, and then in St. George for ice cream. The brakes on the crossover work awesome; a last minute Moneypenny telling us to turn right gave the perfect opportunity to double check we could stop in 60 feet. About 5 miles outside of Vegas, the Cali traffic started, and the drive became...more involved. We stopped at Edwards, the AFB my family last lived at. I haven't seen it since we moved away in 1992, and a lot has changed. The housing where we lived no longer exists, and two of the schools I went to are no longer used as schools. The BX has been rebuilt, and the old library building has been torn down. We also stopped in Rosamond and saw the small rental we lived in; it brought back a lot of memories. Happy memories of riding bikes in the desert, swimming in pools filled with a garden hose, sleepovers every weekend and walks to the Four Seasons for Haagen Daaz ice cream bars and toys. The last drive into LA was long; we hit rush hour at its peak. Three hours later we finally went the last 25 miles and arrived at our hotel, directly across from Disneyland. Once in our room I changed into PJs in a matter of seconds ready to hit the sack. Zzzzzz...