Road Trip!!

I'm starting this on 4/18, two days before I leave, while my brain is still lucid. I will complete it upon our return. And yes, we WILL return. I honestly believe that. [And so we did! :) ]


I LOVE road trips. They generally evoke good memories, and spark those "kid" emotions of excitement, wondering what awaits. This one will be 16 hours, round trip, with the 90 year-old Dad who I still let think that he's the boss of me. Well, some of the time anyway. Destination: White Rock, NM., near Los Alamos, home of the Manhatten Project. Will try not to come back glowing in the dark. Purpose: To see my sister and her two boys, and their girlfriends. (We only met one. See photo.) It's been too long since I've left my nest, so it's time. We'll be driving dad's Buick Rendezvous, judged by Consumer Reports to be the worst of the worst in it's class. That, however, is a matter of opinion. He's had little to no trouble with it. There hasn't been time since it's an '06 with only 16,000 mi. on it. But my fingers are now crossed. ;).


Some of you may be thinking "What is the big deal about taking your dad to see your sister?" The biggy is that he's 90 and more fun than most who are that age. So, onward and, hopefully, upward ~

And THAT'S for SURE!

The Checklist: Someone to care for my cats & water my sick garden? Check. Necessary clothes packed? Check. Camera? Check. Bottles of Starbucks Mocha & water? Check. Supplements? Check. Kindle? Cell phone? Garmin GPS thingy? Recharging cords and charged batteries? Sunglasses? Check.

UPDATE: 4/28/12

All of the above was tossed into the infamous Buick on 4/20/12 and we exited my driveway. Before we reach the end of it, I miss my little cats. Back for one more kiss? Okay, so no. Be brave.


I programmed Jezebel (my GPS) and we put our fate in her hands. Dad doesn't "get" how she knows where we're going and what time we'll get there. I keep explaining that the satellites can see all, and I do mean ALL, so don't do anything gross. We entered the stream of traffic heading for I-17 to hook up with I-40 west in Flagstaff, a somewhat mundane drive I've done many times. Good time for a nap, but it's perhaps prudent to wait until I'm not driving. The day is bright and warm, and the sights pass us by one after the other. The kid in me is bound and determined to make an adventure of the next four days, and it began with dad "saluting" someone who cut in front of us, comments about ridiculous speed limits, watching two jets paralleling at about 30,000 ft., 2" from each other (at least from our point of view), commenting about RV fools (dad used to be one, and still shakes his head in wonder that he and mom did that for years), and motorcycle idiots (I used to be one of those, so I disagree and wish that I still had one). Meantime, I'm writing one-word notes with the steering wheel as a desk (I need a voice-activated recorder).

 The Infamous Notebook!

Then suddenly I see a photo op. I can't let these things pass me by. Once they're gone, they're gone! After 50 years of driving thousands of miles accident-free, I trust me to get us where we're going. I know . . . many of you are shaking your heads with doubt. Dad agrees with you.


I won't make this a blow-by-blow, detailed report. I probably wouldn't read it either, if I were you. It's simply meant to be one of my serendipitis moments in time. Four days is a drop in the bucket in relation to the whole scheme of things. So onward . . .


We saw truck after truck, train after train (some double stacked!), and some with five, yes five, engines, and dinosaurs! Add to that bright, sunny skies, cloud formations so typical of the West, lots of flat land, and tons of unique mountains and mesas.

 Approaching Flagstaff

 The double-stacked trains

 Yeehaw!

 Approaching Albuquerque

 Scenery near Los Alamos

 Headin' back to AZ.

Schtick (Funky turoid traps)

 Trucks & more trucks

 Love those clouds

 Pit Stop

 Ahhhhh!!

 Driving 80 at 90 :)

A good pair!

While we were at our destination (White Rock, NM) we did a lot of visiting in the back yard.

Jane, dad, and Kevin (her youngest)

We went to the dress rehearsal of a musical Jane's oldest son was in.

Thomas on the left (Sr. in H.S.)

And I took many photos of the prom couple, Thomas & McKenna. (Dad's in love!)

Oh to be young again!

Waiting for the phone call to end ;)

McKenna, Thomas, and Jane

And I didn't have to miss my cats TOO much! June Bug filled in as best she could. She learned who would rub her ears while they read in bed. ;)

Jane's kitty

I hope you enjoyed the capsule accounting of a four-day road trip that is now added to my memory bank, and I'm sure to my dad's. We're lucky to be here as we nearly met our Waterloo near Flagstaff when a damned fool in a pickup decided to fly inches, yes inches, in front of us across 3 lanes because he wanted to go to I-17 rather than stay on 40. Seriously. I would have waited until the next exit, then circled back, but he was one of life's dorks. We're still here, however, and darn glad and lucky to be!