(The lessons are not in any kind of order. The numbers are just for fun.)
Coming up on six months on the road. The wedding is checked off our list. In preparation for tomorrow’s early morning start from Sashe cramento to Phoenix we started packing what could be left overnight in the van. Before we were halfway through the adrenaline-induced travel itch kicked in and we were talking about leaving today.
We left.
As I was thanking Sue for being so much like me and loving this as much as I do she said, “This is what nomads do. Nomads go.”
It’s been raining for days. Last night the wind was howling like a freight train. The storm is supposed to follow us from California to Arizona. We could have done the conservative comfortable thing. Spent the afternoon watching the tenth Doctor Who save the world five more times, gotten a good night’s sleep, and left early in the morning.
But that’s just not us.
We’ll stop when we get tired. We know that no amount of caffeine is a substitute for sleep, that forces of nature have to be respected. If the weather says stop, we’ll stop. But there’s not likely to be anything life threatening driving the flatlands from Sacramento to Phoenix. Even the Grapevine south of Bakersfield is only a couple of thousand feet. We’ve crossed it dozens of times in every kind of weather.
Time spent waiting to leave always feels like time wasted. Good planning is never wasted. Common sense always makes sense. But without a reason to stay, nomads go.
It’s starting to rain.
Yep, just couldn’t wait any longer. Fiona’s got a brand new dot-to-dot book to keep her entertained and got her SunnyD to drink and a few fun snacks for the road. We’re off!
Oh, and Fiona started the trip by telling us a story. She loves to tell stories. She’s also told us we have to record her singing some of her ‘new’ songs.
Wow, you guys sure don’t waste time! I thought a little post-wedding exhaustion might have kept you in your beds for a couple of days of sleeping in. Happy travels.
You go over the Grapevine to get from California to Arizona? Madness :-)
From Bakersfield take 58 -> Tehachapi -> Barstow/US40 -> Needles -> AZ95 through Lake Havasu City to US 10 -> PHX
Way faster, skips LA altogether. And there’s an In-n-Out in Lake Havasu City, so a good fuel stop :-)
Hassan, that’s the way we used to go, but the friends who live in PHX recommended the other route, which they take . . . then we met the owners of Fab Hot Dogs in Reseda, and it was all downhill from there.
Of course, last night, when the Grapevine was closed due to snow, so was 58 between Baker and Tehachapi. So, they’re equally good this morning as we sit in a StarBUCKs waiting for the snowplows.
Welcome, once again, to sunny California.