Leaving Hawaii..…and entering…..

Spring 2003:

January 2005:

September 2010:

 

It’s that time again, time for us to say Good-Bye and fly away. Even though when we came here this time it was with the intention of staying and possibly homesteading, I always knew this time would come.

One thing always rings true: It’s much better to visit than to live 

Joey left the island in August to work in Colorado and the kids and I stayed behind to see how things played out. After a couple weeks it was obvious that we’d be leaving the island for good so the job of packing up the condo and kids fell on me. I was actually looking forward to being the sole discretionary person to decide what goes and what doesn’t, and normally I’m fighting to keep more than he is, yet somehow we left Hawaii with less than we even came with! I decided if we hauled it all the way to Hawaii and never even used it, it got canned. So with less stuff I figured I could handle checking everything on to the plane with us, paying extra baggage fees but saving hundreds in shipping fees. Then three hours before the shuttle was to pick us up I was in a stressful mess…….I couldn’t even get everything into the van let alone haul through an airport!

Joey’s friend, Fish, came by to save the day and offered to take the big stuff that I didn’t need right away to the post office and ship it for me, only leaving us 5 checked bags and 7 carry-on’s. I finally breathed a little easier once we were loaded into the shuttle, just to get to the airport to have to unload everything onto a rental cart, then load it onto the conveyer belt for agriculture inspection, then back on to the cart over to ticketing. There I had to unload the heavy bags, that were on the bottom, for weighing and tagging for check-in, then back on to the cart to take it over to the check-in belt. Then unload the cart once again to finally get them out of my hands, and of course put the carry-on’s back on the cart. And the stuff that didn’t fit on the cart, I had to carry. We haven’t even gotten to security yet.

Security, of course, was a nightmare. We must have used at least a dozen of those grey boxes and held up the line at least fifteen minutes. Aside from opening the laptops, they also had to double check the x-box  and controllers because, you know, they look like weapons.

When I booked the flight I didn’t think about the fact that it was a red eye, I just knew it was the cheapest. I actually figured, great! we’ll get to sleep the whole flight and be refreshed and eager to start the new day when we get to Phoenix for our connecting flight to Vegas. I’ve never been sooo wrong in my life! The kids were split up in seats in front of me and I was in a back row seat that wouldn’t lay back. It was stuck straight up and almost leaning forward! I wanted to cry…..again. But even worse the nice old couple next to me were stuck sitting straight up too and I just couldn’t handle that. So….after much debate I finally convinced the old couple to swap seats with Jake and Jewel in front of us so they could at least lean back and have a comfortable flight………. Then with Jake and Jewel beside me I was able to use them as a pillow :-) It was still a miserable flight and after what felt like twenty five hours we finally landed in Phoenix.

We only had forty five minutes to catch our connecting flight and we had to wait for everyone to un board so the stewardess could go to the cockpit and retrieve my hula hoop that I carried on the plane. THEN after making our way to the next flight I realized I had left my fanny pack (that I wore so I wouldn’t lose my most important things) in the magazine holder in front of my seat! The flight attendant wouldn’t let me back on the plane to get it so I had to wait another few minutes for them to take their sweet time to get it for me, and then she had the nerve to tell me…”well, that’s WHY you’re supposed to keep track of your stuff” REALLY?? I thought I did pretty good for not losing my kids at this point.

Somehow we made it through the huge airport to our connecting flight and finally felt everything was going to be alright. Flying over Hoover Dam and Lake Mead was awesome, so awesome that I finally pulled my camera out and snapped some pictures from the air. I text my cousin when we landed so she could head our way to get us, and we then hurried to find the baggage claim. I always try to be super efficient so tried to time my cousin getting there with the same time we’d be walking out the gate, so of course, that seems to put me in a state of stress and slight panic. The bags were taking forever, but we finally started seeing them, so Jake wisely says, “We should unload the cart so we can put the heavy bags on the bottom when they get here” Great idea! So I set my precious camera bag on one of the seats about five feet away and then unloaded the cart onto the ground right beside it. We then get all our big checked items, load them up, put the carry on’s on top, and walk out the gate just in time to see my cousin heading our way. See…my timing is impeccable. I’m so happy to see her after all these years, we hug, I cry, we get in the car and drive away.

A few hours later, at her place, I want to take pictures of everybody and we CANNOT find my camera bag anywhere. I call the airport and all I get is a recording saying they’ll call IF they find it. Amy offers to haul me all the way back to the airport, only to find it gone. GONE! My big camera, my favorite point and shoot, a panoramic camera, multiple lenses, and a laptop……all gone.

Only twenty four hours out of paradise and it felt like I landed in Hell.

“This isn’t going to be some big romantic trip”

Now why would I think that? This was the first time we would be childless and we could take as much time as we needed. I must have missed the part where I would be driving the entire time. That’s all we did, drive, eat, sleep. Eat, drive, eat, drive, eat, sleep. Repeat three more times now.

Since our electric plug adaptor adaptors were stolen, and they’re a rare Canadian breed, we went without electricity the whole time. Also since I didn’t winterize before we left, we didn’t even want to find out if there was anything wrong with our water system until we got down to Texas, so we also went without water. And then, since I forgot to shut off the propane when we left in October, we were also out of propane. As if this all wasn’t joyful enough, our shit tank is still FULL. Five days of this, and no showers, ummm..yeah, not so romantic.

On the final day, our last two hundred miles, out of eleven hundred, I spotted diesel for only $1.99 and since Joey didn’t have his radio on I decided to pull up on his right (where he was making a right turn) and alert him to tell him to turn his radio on, and look..Cheap Gas! Only he didn’t see me and continued on with his right turn, right into me. Because of my brilliance and desperation to save a dime, we now need a new corner panel and lights for the truck, and the bus was seriously scraped between the front tires and the front door. I’m actually trying to forget the whole ordeal, so moving on…..

The kids did great with my parents, and really didn’t even miss us. I cried when we left thinking our plane might go down, and Joey had a talk with Jacob that if anything were to happen to us, they’d be living right there with Grama and Papa, and they DIDN’T have to go to school unless they wanted to. We like to cover our bases. :) My parents are really great for watching them and more surprisingly, respecting our wishes. I know it’s not always easy for them, especially when the kids stay up until four or five in the morning, or want mac and cheese at eleven at night, but they were super. Thank You, Mom and Dad!

In my last post I wrote so nonchalantly about First Class. I don’t know why I do that. It was actually kind of a big thing for me. I’ve always wanted to get bumped up to First, I hear about it all the time, but I’ve always been too chicken to ask. Since we were completely alone with this agent and there weren’t people waiting in line I felt brave. This is exactly how it went down: “Ummmm…uhhhh….I hear about people getting bumped up to First Class all the time…ummm…uhhhhh…..how could we do it?” I finally worked up the nerve, and then showed my ignorance by being on an airline that doesn’t even offer it. I just felt a need to clear that up.

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My Mom said Jewel told her she missed Dad the most.

Because he’s funnier.

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I discovered Windows Live Writer before I left, and I just knew it was the answer to my blogging dilemma. Then I decided it wasn’t because I didn’t always have an internet connection to blog while I’m traveling (with Live Writer I can be offline), I really just needed something interesting to blog about.…THEN I invented Mind Writer. When I’m driving I come up with the BEST blog posts, now if someone could just figure out the mechanics of Windows Mind Writer, I’ll be all set. In the meantime, for some real family adventure involving poop icicles you should check out Bluebird Family while they make their way up to Alaska. One storm at a time.

Happy Travels!

Helping Hands

Surprise, surprise....it snowed some more. A little fact I wouldn't have even known if Joey hadn't called and asked if I would bring a hot lunch to him and his buddy where they were working, just down the highway at the shop. Of course, I said yes. I don't often get to drive the back road so I was actually looking forward to it.


Yes, it was as cold as it looked.
Even the floating chunks of ice had ice on them.

These horses may just as well have been statues, they looked exactly the same on the return trip as they were the first time I passed them.


Then the beauty stopped. I nicely pulled over for a passing wide load.

And promptly got myself STUCK! It may not look like I'm stuck but whenever I stepped on the gas, I would slide farther off the road and any farther and I would have rolled into the ditch. The first truck that stopped to help was too afraid himself! He knew how close I was to trouble so waited for me to get hold of Joey to come rescue me. The next truck that stopped thought it was all funny and wanted to know why I bought a Ford? Then the toofless wonder asked if I wanted a push. Very funny.

Joey and his friend Matt eventually arrived and were able to tow me out, backwards. I figured he'd show me how to get out safely on my own, thus making me feel even stupider than I already did. I was happy to hear I did the right thing by calling for help, as Joey also agreed I was about to go over the edge.

OK now, it can stop snowing.

Badlands National Park

One thing about tent camping...we're up at the crack of dawn! It was fun to see how the other side lives. The city campground in Sanborn, Iowa has a really nice bathroom, but it was the first time I had to pay for a shower. Two quarters got me eight minutes, all of which I didn't need, but since the water ran regardless if I used it or not, I soaked up all eight minutes greedily. (It's nice to have a powerful hot shower once in a while.)

I think we were actually on the road by eight a.m.! Wow, what kinds of mishaps, I mean adventures, can we get into today? The kids were not as bright eyed, they continued sleeping while we drove. They woke up somewhere in South Dakota, enough time to play even more Nintendo DS. We stopped at a rest area along I-80 and the Missouri River that happened to have a nice Lewis & Clark Exploratory Center, or some such name. We ran around outside some, taking in scenic views of the river, before heading inside.


While Jonas and Jewel were in the rest room with me, brushing their teeth, a lady came in and said "no baths in the sink" and then walked into a stall. What the heck? Was she serious? I said, kinda snarky, that they weren't taking a bath, just brushing their teeth. When she came out she said that's what they tell the kids in school, because they come out with water dripping down to their shoulders. School humor, so over my head.....

On our way to Mount Rushmore, we realize The Badlands National Park isn't far out of our way so we decide to do the scenic drive all the way thru the park before camping at the other end. The Badlands is not a name that brings to mind beautiful scenery, but since it's a national Park, it has to be good, according to my book. Even as we pay and pass thru the gates, I'm not seeing much, but then it's non stop surprises, mile after mile.

Our first stop was the White River Valley Overlook, and is definitely named appropriately.
White:

River:

Valley:

Overlook:




Honestly, I'm trying to cut down on the pictures. It's so hard! If you're a photo junkie like me, you can see a slideshow of the whole day here, for the rest of you, I'll try really hard to keep it condensed.

These Yellow Mounds were among my favorites.

As was this grassy valley among rocky mounds:


Jewel overlooking the Pinnacles Overlook:

There was a lady freaking out that Jewel was so close to the edge....clearly a city gal.

We missed our turn to Prairie Dog Town and the campground so when Joey realized this he quickly backed up to turn around. Only, remember that welder he didn't want to trailer back? Ya, he forgot about it. The trailer didn't hold up well to a jackknifing.


Someday I'll tell the tale of how we lifted a five hundred pound welder, but first I must get thru the day. Joey was so sick over the accident we decided against going back into the park and focused on a hotel room instead, preferably one with a water slide. All along this stretch of I-80 are billboards for indoor waterpark hotels, so when we get to the turn off for Mount Rushmore and two hotels with waterparks we get online and check their prices... Back on the road, we look for a hotel with just an indoor pool, and the signs are blinking $49.95. Only turned out it was PER PERSON! So we head towards a campground, with a heated pool, but we so do not want to camp. They have a cabin available, and it's right across from the pool. After a long day in the sun, that was just what we needed.


The Badlands were fun, but tomorrow we meet four President's.