Once again, I have forgotten my camera and have no pictures to add to my travelogue for your reading and viewing pleasure. Sadly, even if I did have my camera, I wouldn’t have a whole lot to show you as I forgot to take pictures pretty much everywhere we went. Sorry, I kinda suck as far as capturing memories lately.
So anyway, here I am safe and sound (and utterly cranky) back in my cubie at C-ware. I guess familiarity and routine is nice and comforting to some degree, but if it were up to me, I’d be back in Rigby selling lemonade with my girls and playing with the family. Oh well, I won’t dwell on that for all of our sakes. The trip was very nice, despite a few hiccups on the road, but refreshing nonetheless.
Day 1—Friday, the 4th of July
After staying up past 2 on Thursday night packing, Mark and I woke early on Friday morning to finish up the packing and got everything loaded to go and were on the road by 9. We paid over $4.20 a gallon outside of Jackson and that was the most we paid in gas the whole trip. We ate lunch and entertained ourselves in the car, and stopped in Des Moines at a Perkins for dinner. Then we drove another couple of hours to Council Bluffs to a Day’s Inn for the night. I remember when we were making this journey when I was a kid, we’d always delight at the sight of a Day’s Inn. We all loved the irony of the fact that the “Day’s” were “Inn” the house! And my Dad always joked with the hotel clerk that we should get a discount for being related and all…wink, wink, har, har. Anyway, I figured it was a safe bet when I made the reservation but was sorely disappointed when we got into our room and found that the bathtub still had used up little bars of soap on the ledge and a solid ring of dirt around it. Not only that, but the whole bathroom had clearly not been cleaned. We called the front-desk and while they cleaned, we drove off to find a park or someplace to “release our wiggles” (guess what movie that’s from). We found a park, but it was in a shady part of town, so we settled with a “walking/biking” trail. It was nice to stretch our legs, but the next day when we passed it completely visible right off of the Interstate, I realized it probably wasn’t the safest place for us to be running around. We got back to our hotel and decided to do our fireworks in the Hotel parking lot. We borrowed some matches from the front desk (although we probably could have bummed a lighter from one of the many people who had congregated in lawn chairs in the parking lot outside of the Hotel office), and grabbed the blanket from the car. We walked into a field next to the Hotel, put the blanket down and Mark lit off the first fountain. Oooh, ahhh, ouch, eek, HELP!! By the time it was done (literally a few seconds), I had been bitten at least 20 times by massive, blood-sucking mosquitoes as well as the girls. Even Mark who never gets bitten was slapping his ankles and running for cover. We grabbed the blanket and walked back to the hotel room, where I immediately took a Benadryl as I could feel a full-on freakout/episode coming on. We bathed the girls, slathered them in Benadryl cream and tried to get some sleep.
Day 2—Saturday, July 5
The next morning, we decided to visit the Winter Quarters Visitor Center in Omaha. I’m glad we stopped. It’s really a neat place if you haven’t been yet. It definitely lightened our moods and made us reflect on how lucky we were to have crossed Iowa in mere hours compared to the Pioneers who for many took 4 months to cross. The girls got to dress up in pioneer clothing and a nice sister missionary from Utah gave us an abridged version of the tour. At one point, as we were overlooking the Pioneer cemetary across the street, one of the displays said that many of the pioneers who died in Winter Quarters during the summer months was due to malaria contracted from mosquito bites!! Hello!!
We got back on the road around 11 and drove towards Cheyenne, where we finally stopped for dinner at a Shari’s. As we sat and ate our dinner, we were entertained by prairie dogs and wild rabbits outside the window. Not to mention the fact that we actually saw deer and antelope playing as we drove the rest of the way to our hotel in Rawlins, Wyoming. You don’t see that in Detroit every day, and it was a welcome sight. We stayed at a Comfort Inn, and it was so much nicer than the night before. There was a pool and an exercise room, so Mark watched the girls swim and I hit the treadmill. We definitely had a better experience there. We figured we’d get into Idaho early in the afternoon the next day, but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be.
Day 3—Sunday, July 6
We stopped for the traditional ice cream cones at Little America around 11 am, and then took the exit onto I-30 north through Wyoming towards Idaho. It was just a 2-lane highway and much of it was under construction. We were also constantly lagging behind semi’s and winnebago’s going 30 mph. Ugh. So in desperation, Mark would pass them at incredible speeds and be so relieved at the sight of open road, forget to decelerate. The first time he got pulled over, they let him off with just a warning, but the second time he got hit with a really expensive ticket. Not good.
We eventually pulled into Idaho Falls to visit with some of Mark’s extended family at his cousin’s house. It was fun, but we really all just wanted to get to Rigby. By Sunday night, we arrived in Rigby and it was nice to see everyone and be able to be out of the car!!
Day 4—Monday, July 7
Monday morning was Laurie’s birthday and her 2nd chemo session. We visited with her while she was hooked up to the IV drip, and you’d have never known. She was cheery and happy to see us. Apparently these sessions can last anywhere from 3 to 5 hours, and she was happy for the distraction. She says that she feels just fine when it’s actually happening, although the feeling of being tired and a bit nauseous never goes away. It’s not until a couple days later that the medicine catches up with you, leaving you utterly depleted and unable to exert any energy. The Oncology Center in Rexburg is a really nice facility and while we talked, the girls went outside to the patio and played around their waterfalls and ponds. While she was finishing up, we made a quick stop to Deseret Book and D.I. and then picked her up and drove out to Archer for lunch at Big Jud’s. Nothing says welcome back to Idaho like a Big Jud special. It was awesome.
So anyway, here I am safe and sound (and utterly cranky) back in my cubie at C-ware. I guess familiarity and routine is nice and comforting to some degree, but if it were up to me, I’d be back in Rigby selling lemonade with my girls and playing with the family. Oh well, I won’t dwell on that for all of our sakes. The trip was very nice, despite a few hiccups on the road, but refreshing nonetheless.
Day 1—Friday, the 4th of July
After staying up past 2 on Thursday night packing, Mark and I woke early on Friday morning to finish up the packing and got everything loaded to go and were on the road by 9. We paid over $4.20 a gallon outside of Jackson and that was the most we paid in gas the whole trip. We ate lunch and entertained ourselves in the car, and stopped in Des Moines at a Perkins for dinner. Then we drove another couple of hours to Council Bluffs to a Day’s Inn for the night. I remember when we were making this journey when I was a kid, we’d always delight at the sight of a Day’s Inn. We all loved the irony of the fact that the “Day’s” were “Inn” the house! And my Dad always joked with the hotel clerk that we should get a discount for being related and all…wink, wink, har, har. Anyway, I figured it was a safe bet when I made the reservation but was sorely disappointed when we got into our room and found that the bathtub still had used up little bars of soap on the ledge and a solid ring of dirt around it. Not only that, but the whole bathroom had clearly not been cleaned. We called the front-desk and while they cleaned, we drove off to find a park or someplace to “release our wiggles” (guess what movie that’s from). We found a park, but it was in a shady part of town, so we settled with a “walking/biking” trail. It was nice to stretch our legs, but the next day when we passed it completely visible right off of the Interstate, I realized it probably wasn’t the safest place for us to be running around. We got back to our hotel and decided to do our fireworks in the Hotel parking lot. We borrowed some matches from the front desk (although we probably could have bummed a lighter from one of the many people who had congregated in lawn chairs in the parking lot outside of the Hotel office), and grabbed the blanket from the car. We walked into a field next to the Hotel, put the blanket down and Mark lit off the first fountain. Oooh, ahhh, ouch, eek, HELP!! By the time it was done (literally a few seconds), I had been bitten at least 20 times by massive, blood-sucking mosquitoes as well as the girls. Even Mark who never gets bitten was slapping his ankles and running for cover. We grabbed the blanket and walked back to the hotel room, where I immediately took a Benadryl as I could feel a full-on freakout/episode coming on. We bathed the girls, slathered them in Benadryl cream and tried to get some sleep.
Day 2—Saturday, July 5
The next morning, we decided to visit the Winter Quarters Visitor Center in Omaha. I’m glad we stopped. It’s really a neat place if you haven’t been yet. It definitely lightened our moods and made us reflect on how lucky we were to have crossed Iowa in mere hours compared to the Pioneers who for many took 4 months to cross. The girls got to dress up in pioneer clothing and a nice sister missionary from Utah gave us an abridged version of the tour. At one point, as we were overlooking the Pioneer cemetary across the street, one of the displays said that many of the pioneers who died in Winter Quarters during the summer months was due to malaria contracted from mosquito bites!! Hello!!
We got back on the road around 11 and drove towards Cheyenne, where we finally stopped for dinner at a Shari’s. As we sat and ate our dinner, we were entertained by prairie dogs and wild rabbits outside the window. Not to mention the fact that we actually saw deer and antelope playing as we drove the rest of the way to our hotel in Rawlins, Wyoming. You don’t see that in Detroit every day, and it was a welcome sight. We stayed at a Comfort Inn, and it was so much nicer than the night before. There was a pool and an exercise room, so Mark watched the girls swim and I hit the treadmill. We definitely had a better experience there. We figured we’d get into Idaho early in the afternoon the next day, but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be.
Day 3—Sunday, July 6
We stopped for the traditional ice cream cones at Little America around 11 am, and then took the exit onto I-30 north through Wyoming towards Idaho. It was just a 2-lane highway and much of it was under construction. We were also constantly lagging behind semi’s and winnebago’s going 30 mph. Ugh. So in desperation, Mark would pass them at incredible speeds and be so relieved at the sight of open road, forget to decelerate. The first time he got pulled over, they let him off with just a warning, but the second time he got hit with a really expensive ticket. Not good.
We eventually pulled into Idaho Falls to visit with some of Mark’s extended family at his cousin’s house. It was fun, but we really all just wanted to get to Rigby. By Sunday night, we arrived in Rigby and it was nice to see everyone and be able to be out of the car!!
Day 4—Monday, July 7
Monday morning was Laurie’s birthday and her 2nd chemo session. We visited with her while she was hooked up to the IV drip, and you’d have never known. She was cheery and happy to see us. Apparently these sessions can last anywhere from 3 to 5 hours, and she was happy for the distraction. She says that she feels just fine when it’s actually happening, although the feeling of being tired and a bit nauseous never goes away. It’s not until a couple days later that the medicine catches up with you, leaving you utterly depleted and unable to exert any energy. The Oncology Center in Rexburg is a really nice facility and while we talked, the girls went outside to the patio and played around their waterfalls and ponds. While she was finishing up, we made a quick stop to Deseret Book and D.I. and then picked her up and drove out to Archer for lunch at Big Jud’s. Nothing says welcome back to Idaho like a Big Jud special. It was awesome.
Afterwards we headed back to Rigby and stopped by Dave and Melanie’s new house (which is very cute), and then made preparations for Laurie’s birthday dinner and party. That night, we finished lighting our fireworks from our first failed attempt in Council Bluffs. It was a beautiful night and so nice to share it with family.
Day 5—Tuesday, July 8
Tuesday morning, Dennis, Laurie and Mark and I were able to do a session at the newly-opened Rexburg Temple. It was wonderful. The Temple is gorgeous. I love all of the décor they’ve used. They have used a stalk of wheat as a theme throughout the Temple…in the iron scrollwork along the staircases, painted on the ceilings, and in the stained-glass windows. The murals in the ordinance rooms were done by Del Parsons, and are a perfect representation of the local landscape and wildlife. It was just spectacular. There is something so fascinating about Rexburg. Every time I return, it draws me in. I really love that little city. (Although it’s definitely not little anymore, I barely recognized it with all the new development and growth.)
After the Temple we went out for Chinese and then scooped up the girls from Aunt Melanie’s house and went back to the house. We rested for a minute and then took a trip the “Rock park”, it’s this little park that is shaped like a mountain complete with caves and natural “rock” staircases and slides back down into little valleys and more caves. It was really hot by this time, so Mark, Laurie and I sat in the car while the girls climbed all over the fiberglass mountain. Afterwards we got sno-cones and drinks from an old-fashioned soda fountain on Main Street, and Mark and I got to do a little browsing through the local shops…walking into some of them is like walking right back in time, circa 1960 something or other. I loved it. That night we made Magic Fish for Dennis, Laurie, and Dan, and then Mark and I went over to Dan & Shalee’s to watch “Passage to Zarahemla”. It was an interesting movie. We probably could have talked all night. I love that part of visiting with family.
Day 6—Wednesday, July 9
Wednesday morning, I caught the Salt Lake “Express” shuttle from Rigby at 5:20 a.m. The driver was 20 minutes late and what was supposed to be an Express shuttle ended up being an eternal shuttle. She got us to the airport an hour after we were supposed to be there, so I was kinda scrambling to get my boarding pass and to the gate on time. I flew from SLC to Phoenix, and then Phoenix to Detroit. Luckily I was able to sleep most of the 4 hour drive and the flight. It was almost more exhausting than driving for 3 days. My parents picked me up last night and took me to a late dinner at Q’Doba (my comfort food now). I was able to get all unpacked last night and get a good night’s sleep, although sleeping in your house all alone is never quite as relaxing as it should be. What was that?!?
Day 7—Thursday, July 10
So today I am back amongst my co-workers in the land of cubes and computers. I’m not thrilled about it, but am trying to remind myself that life has to go on. Vacations can’t last forever, and real life eventually takes over. I haven’t convinced myself yet entirely however. Ugh. I miss my family already. They will be coming back the weekend of the 19th. I know they’re having fun though (which should make me happy, but sadly makes it that much worse cause I know I’m missing out).
*Updated to add pictures I stole off of Mark’s blog. Enjoy!
1 comment:
Sounds like a fun time! So sorry you had to come back early.... Give me a call if you need some company!
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