I'm back

Alright, where did we leave off? Perhaps in Wyoming. Okay, Sunday we left Cheyenne after enjoying our free waffles (we stay at La Quinta and they do that) and trucked across Wyoming into Utah. I did not get a picture of the welcome sign because it was lame and I didn't realize it was the sign. It was a small billboard mentioning the Olympics. It didn't have the sense of commitment and permanence the other states' signs do.

Once into Utah, I-80 dropped to 65mph. Uncool. Luckily the speed increased again once past Salt Lake City. Luckily all we did in SLC was pass through it. The Great Salt Lake was pretty cool to drive past. It smelled like the ocean only stagnant. I suppose those out boating either had the benefit of air movement or were used to it. From there to the border we passed lots and lots of salt. We saw the Morton salt plant which was processing like crazy. I felt my blood pressure rise just looking at it. Beyond that the salt got even thicker and in the sun it glistened like so much Vegas showgirl jewelry. Sadly my drive-by method of photography didn't capture it well.

We ended our day in Elko, Nevada. Our hotel had a sign that said "Dog Walk" which directed you through a gate out the back of the property onto a dirt road leading to houses. I guess that's one way to deal with it. That one was not a La Quinta. Our original plan was to make that my last night on the road but we decided to make one more stop in Reno. Our days have been 550 to 650 miles and a good nine hours behind the wheel. My sitting parts are not my friends any more. So, now tomorrow I head to Monterey with the dogs and Brandon hopes to get to Eugene for his last night on the road. In the meantime, we'll be hitting the Sierra Trading Post Outlet store and the all-you-can-eat sushi place.

More later!

Moving on

Okay, so we last left you in Memphis while deciding what to do with our rainy day. The afternoon cleared up so we headed downtown for a walk around and barbeque at the Rendezvous. The walk around turned into people watching from a bar called the Flying Saucer. They boast loads of beer on tap and more in bottles. From there we watched two 12 or 13 year olds gettting busted outside the mall across the street. Two undercover cops had them and mall security was there and finally a uniformed cop. Apparently it was a big enough deal for the uniformed cop to drive the wrong way down the one-way street. Also it was not a big enough deal for the kids to actually get arrested. Okay then.

After that we had dinner, Brandon had a full rack of Memphis ribs. He was happy. We then walked around Beale Street which Brandon described as "Bourbon Street with a conscious." After that it was back to the house and the dogs and we rolled out of town Thursday morning on our way to Kansas City.

Memphis to KC was another 9-hour travel day. That seems to be our regular interval. We got to Scott, Connie, and Grace's house right as dinner was being served - thank you. Friday we hung out with Aunt Marge and worked in some Kansas City barbeque - another full rack for Brandon. He won't say which he's partial to, probably a good move. Friday night we were back at the cousins' place and joined by cousin Don. We kinda grazed through leftovers for dinner and Brandon had none as he was still working on that rack.

Saturday we were back on the road and made it to Cheyenne. We headed north out of Kansas City and were in Iowa for a couple of minutes, then a full day of Nebraska. I-80 through that state is about as straight as it can get, but the speed limit is 75 and for that we were grateful.

I'll pick it up again soon, but there's more road to cover. P.S. You may find some photos over at the Flikr photo icon on the side.

First two days

We packed up the cars and hit the road Monday at 10:30am. Much later we realized we'd left the milk in the fridge. Oops.

So, we made it to Asheville, NC, that day, miles for the day were 383. We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express on the east side of town, adjacent to the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove. Just thought you'd like to know. The hotel had a surprisingly nice restaurant and Brandon enjoyed pecan crusted trout. Shane had her first elevator rides, that was interesting.

Tuesday we got an earlier start - 8:30 - and set to our 500 mile day. We got to Vonnie and Wendy's late afternoon and the dogs decided to get along well. That was a bonus. Well, mostly Shane played with Jack and Georgia and Quentin crashed around in the bushes by himself getting as wet as possible. Did I mention there was a helluva storm? Yes, it was headed east so it hit Memphis before we got here then passed through us. Really we passed through it but if felt like the other way around. Overnight we had a couple large thunderstorms and therefore shared our bed with Shane for half the night. Quentin barks at thunder and tells it where to go, but Shane can't fight that battle alone.

Today is still rainy so we're trying to find some sheltered activities. Eating ribs is on Brandon's list and that shouldn't be at all inhibited by weather, it's just the rest of the afternoon we have to worry about. We'll let you know how it works out!

Garbage Sale

Our sale was to run from 8am to noon today. We got up at 6am to make that happen and had some early birds who were kind enough to buy. Now it's 1:30pm, I'm still sitting outside. I'm sitting here wondering how, if we made almost $300, there's still so much crap in the driveway. Brandon's backing the Subaru into the driveway and is totally prepared to take all the leftovers to the dump. Gotta go, gotta make sure nothing crazy happens!

Back on the Trail again!

We're hitting the ol' dusty trail again. Heading out Monday. Took the dogs to the cleaners yesterday so we can stand to be in the car with them for long driving days. Also so the people we visit can see through to their true charms. So, until we leave, I've got my last Garden Club meeting and my last Scrabble game, a garage sale, and some general panic. After we leave, you'll find me and the dogs summering in Carmel while Brandon lives the island life on Whidbey in Washington. Only after those good times will we officially move from North Carolina to the high desert of California. This means we will have to come back to NC in August, dashing my plans of totally avoiding a second summer in the humidity. The dry, desert heat will feel like air conditioning by comparison, however.

We'll be posting travel pics and stories right here. Y'all come back and check!