3,659.9 Miles

According to the GPS system that is. Why am I still so tired?

I learned a lot about myself on this trip. And I can scratch a few things off my bucket list too.

I have said before I despise heights, but with all the bridges I had to do, I realized that I can do it and not close my eyes. While driving.

I found that I still don't like heights when they are in the mountains and high winds or down pouring rain are involved. Especially when there is a big drop off to the side of me.

Sandstorms are cool to watch, just a pain to drive through.

I remembered to turn my a/c off in the car, open the windows and turn the defroster on high when the car temp starts to rise. Brings it right back down. I learned that in a movie and to this day I don't remember which one, but that piece of advice stuck. And it works. Went from 210 back to 183 in less than 5 minutes.

I found that people are genuinely nice no matter when I travelled. Including the guys at the Cherokee stop after I had left OK City. We got talking about my trip, the weather and how the rain had been following me. They asked if they could put me up in a hotel for a couple of days since they really needed the rain. LOL

That truck drivers still watch out for four-wheelers, especially women travelling alone. I used to see it when I drove back and forth from Syracuse to Boston.

That I like small privately owned motels more than big chain hotels for the most part. I highly reccommend the Monteray Non-Smokers Inn in Alburquerque, NM. They have the cutest doxie there and are just the nicest people.

That I can travel with less crap than I think I need. Next time, I will do better.

And there will be a next time. I still haven't hit all 50 states. I want to drive across country again, this time going across the midwest or up north. I want to do it when I have no agenda in the end, just a final destination. I want to do it with someone I may not want to strangle by the end of the trip. Maybe. Maybe alone again since I had only myself to please.

I have a lot of things on my bucket list. However, I also believe that there should be one thing on it that is unattainable. That way when you have done everything else, there is still something left to live for. My unattainable- fly to the Moon. I don't know if I will still be around when that is a common thing, but it gives me something to look forward to and a reason to live as long as I can, doing things I want to do.

Ramblings

I am really tired still. But at least it isn't taking until 3am to fall asleep anymore. It was only 1 this morning. At least she gets to sleep but I have to get up with the dogs every morning again.

Everything is back to status quo around here. Max is back to barking and growling at hubby when he comes to bed or goes to kiss me good bye. This morning he even snapped at him. Got his butt swatted for his efforts. The dog that is.

We went to the Shinedown concert on Sunday. It was very good. I was really amazed at the range of ages at the show. Lots of people from my generation, and not just there with their kids either. we didn't get home until after 1am- in the rain and fog. I am so tired of driving right now.

Last night we took her and a couple of friends out for her b'day dinner, along with a couple of hubby's kids. We had a good time- it was just the right size of group. We went to our favorite Chinese restaurant and as usual, they took very good care of us and the food was yummy!

I have no idea what she has planned today other than we do need to go say hi to the neighbors on either side of us. I love that about a small neighborhood. Everyone keeps track of everyone else. We have a baby due down the end of the road in a couple of months. That will be fun.

Hopefully I will find some time today to just sit and read. I just finished Kim Harrison's new one, White Witch, Black Curse. I really enjoyed it. I liked how she tied up the murder of one of the main characters in an earlier book. (Not saying much because I don't want to spoil it.) I am not looking forward though to future books when the life spans of other characters come to their natural end. That will be a pile of kleenex read.

Now I am reading Christina Dodd's Danger in a Red Dress. It's not bad. Parts have been darn right laugh out loud. But I hope that I am not reading into the plot and can see what is going to happen. I will be very dissapointed in that.

It's 9am. Too early for a nap? nah.

Home, Sweet Home

Well, we are back home in NY. Finally.

I am exhausted. We spent the last 3 days moving her to a new dorm room because of all the problems she was having in the building she was in. It was the party building. It's where all the young, first time away from home kids end up- cause they are shared rooms and the cheapest. Unfortunately, the ones who are there to actually study are the ones who suffer. So now she is in a studio apt with her own bath, no sharing, in a different building that is nice and quiet. Now she just needs to finish unpacking and organizing everything. I did all I could. Hope she saves some money for her groceries and gas. LOL

Some of her friends helped us move. It was a Charlie Foxtrot at times. She was moving into a room that someone else was still in and moving out of, while someone else was moving into her old room. So we would take some of her stuff over, move some of his into her old room then load up and do it all again. Meanwhile, the person in her room waited until the last minute to do much of anything besides clean out half the room so she could move her stuff in. Got that straight yet?? It was a never ending circle of hell.

One of these days when I am out there I will get to see something besides the inside of a Target, Walmart or Lowe's. Or fast food joints. I actually saw more going to the airport today in the shuttle than I have both times I have been there!

The dogs were so happy to have me (maybe even us) home. It's hard to pet 3 dogs when you only have 2 hands! But I was pleased that Max didn't bark his head off at either one of us, instead they all just sat there and pushed to be petted. Poor Charlie was right between my legs trying to get all the attention he could. I think he missed me, poor baby! I know I missed them.

My husband called me the other day and told me not to ask him to rake the lawn anytime soon (NOT that I would anyway). I thought the dogs had done something in the backyard that I really didn't want to know about, but that wasn't it. Our neighbor 2 doors down was out raking the other morning and dropped dead. He is only a year older than hubby but not in the best of health. His poor girl friend is devestated. I went over to see her right after I got done with the animal greetings since I saw she was still up. Her girlfriends were all there too. So tomorrow I have a wake to go to before we head to Poughkeepsie for the Shinedown concert.

I really should go to bed, don't ya think?

MADE IT!

Well, I finally made it about 1pm CA time yesterday. Then immediately went into overdrive to help Heather move to her new dorm room. Which still has an occupant and will until today or tomorrow. While someone else, who is helping us move, moves into her dorm room. Got all that straight?

When I first got there she came running out with her arms wide spread- to fall with glee upon her car and molest it. She just gave me her keys to go use the bathroom. I don't even think I got a hi. Kids. Dorks. The drive up from San Diego was really nice. Even the traffic isn't all that bad, or at least different from what I deal with in Albany all the time. Just more lanes is all. Never get in the way of a NY driver.

I know that they moved in a bunch of stuff from her room yesterday, and I did my best to unpack what I could given the space limitations, but, holy crap you should see the mess still left and we have to finish by tomorrow nite! She is supposed to turn her keys in today, but since she and Kyle are friends, she is holding one of her spares until she can get all her stuff out. What a mess this is. Not organized at all. I hate that.

Her new room is made for 2 people, complete with two vanities and bathroom sinks, but at least she has her own bathroom and it is in a quiet part or the complex. And a laundry room that works right.

We went to dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen with a friend of ours last night. It was nice to repay him for keeping an eye on her and making sure she had adults to talk to. Interesting place and the food was good too.

I am sitting here at her school while she takes a final. The kids are nice and don't look at me totally like I am a weirdo. Guess it's cause it's CA and everyone is weird in their own way??

I hope to hit the hot tub at the motel today. I really, really need it.

It's a Zoo Out there!!

Today was the day I have been waiting for. I hit the zoo before they were opened and grabbed myself a scooter. Good thing I did too. If I was sore after walking the fairly flat zoo in Alburquerque, they would have had to take me out in an ambulance after today.

Talk about hilly. Up and down and up and down. They do have shuttles if you want to go to the Polar Bear or Panda exhibit and save some of your battery. I can see why. I only did the shuttle once, because I was hungry and wanted to go to the other side, and top, of the park to eat. There is an area called the Treehouse, and a really nice sit down restaurant there. Albert's Restaurant. They had the best Flan I have ever had. If I had known that it was on the menu, I wouldn't have ordered anything else. Since I had a late lunch,I won't be eating dinner tonite. I also had breakfast at the Flamingo Cafe. (There is a running joke in our family about Flamingos).

One of the worst moments of the day was right at the beginning. Actually, the only black spot on the day. Right as you walk in is the Flamingo Pond, so naturally I headed there to take pictures. There was an egret that flew in and ate a baby duck. I wanted to hurl. I know its life, but really, don't they get fed enough by the humans? Other than that the rest of the day was so much fun. I have a sunburn on top of my sun burn from NM. That's my sun for the year as I am not usually one to hand out in the sun. I even garden in a sundial format, sticking to the shade as much as possible.

I got to see the wild animal show- complete with howling wolf. I hope I got it on video. I also finally got to see the Pandas late in the afternoon as it was always crowded. They were sleeping, but still cute. The Meerkats were hysterical. The chimps were all in a monkey puddle. One of the orangatangs had a burlap bag that she was hiding under. I got that on video too. If it wasn't for one nice lady who pulled me around the corner, I would never have known. A lot of people passed it by and it was just too cute. Almost like she was playing hide and seek or You can't see me!

I think I saw everything I wanted to, or at least did my best. The only place I didn't go to was the reptile house. I don't do snakes, lizards or bugs. I would love to come back again and do the wild animal park and sea world.

The zoo was so clean, the people, including the other guests, so nice. At Disney, people didn't care if you were in a scooter or wheelchair (I couldn't blieve the nasty comments) but not here. People went out of their way to open a door for me or move out of the way, not walk in front of me. I had complete strangers strike up conversations with me, and one young man who walked with me for awhile until our path's went different ways. He is from Ft. Lauderdale and has an interview at Sea World tomorrow along with a lot of swimming. I hope he makes it!

I was one of the last people out of the park. I didn't want to leave. This is definately on my return list and with Heather living only a couple of hours away, I can do that!

I am going to go through my gifts tonite and mail as many out as I can. I don't want to carry back stuff I don't need to an my suitcase is full enough as it is!

Murphy's Law at Work

You know that old adage- if it can go wrong, it will? That was last night. I no sooner got my blog posted, checked my gmail and closed out IE, then my computer died. Deader than a door nail.



Naturally, I still needed something off it- my confirmation email from Navy Lodging. The hotel system had an out of order sign on it. We finally got the email to work and then the printer wouldn't. So I called #1 Daughter who said she would fax it to me. Then she couldn't get on her computer. So then I called #3 son who tried to fax it- the first machine broke. He finally got it to me on the 2nd one.

The GPS had me going to LA and then San Diego. Why, I have no idea. Unless it was because it didn't want to do mountains again. And that is what we did. At least it wasn't as windy or as much traffic today. Even though it was only 65 out, there was still a worry about overheating. However, I opened the windows and turned on the defroster and the engine temp went from 210 to 185 in no time and stayed there. The engine was no where near being redlined, but I felt better that way. Especially since I refused to hurry up or down the damn thing.

I finally made it to San Diego and then had to find the base. There is no physical address for Navy Lodging, so I did the next best thing- found something in the same zip and used that. I knew I would see signs for the base and I did. They even had one just for base decals and passes. Once I got that they pointed me to the hotel, which was just across the street and up a block. It is in a complex with the NEX and Commissary. Absolutely HUGE. Far bigger than West Point. The NEX is as big as the two story Walmart at home, and they are currently making it bigger. A huge food court. Free movies at the theater. And I got saluted coming in. Snort. I had forgotten what that was like since West Point went to civilan guards. Not here. LOTS of guys in uniform. My view out my window is of the Navy yard. There are 5 ships there, one of which I can see all of and the others I can see their towers and upper decks. Kinda cool.

Tomorrow is the San Diego Zoo. I have always wanted to go there and can't wait. So I am off to bed as I want to get up early and head out and make a day of it.

Never again!!

Let me just say, that as much as I loved most of this trip, today sucked. Big time. I will take driving in a snowstorm or down the Smokies in the pouring rain again over what I did today.

The day started early, overcast, with High Crosswind warnings. They weren't kidding either. About the time I hit the NM and AZ boarder, it was not only blowing so badly that I had problems keeping the car on the road, but I hit sand storms. Sand storms on the left of me. Sand storms on the right of me. And then there are the ones I drove through.

Thankfully, no one told me about what driving through Flagstaff would be like. I wouldn't have done it. Especailly with the winds the way they were. There was no way in hell that I was going to do 75 down that mountain. Nor were the truckers. But the ones who I think have totally lost their minds were the bikers. Un-effing-believable! How they were able to stay on their bikes is a mystery to me.

My hands hurt from gripping the wheel tightly. My body is killing me from all the walking I did yesterday. I can barely move right now. My sunburn itches. And I have a family in the room next to me who is noisy. Earplugs tonight I think.