Day 28 - T.G.I.F

Boy am I glad it is Friday!  Getting back into the "real life" groove this week was a rude awakening to say the least.

Between round trip drives to the beach every day, 4 full days of work video conference calls, the traffic battle on the 405 driving to LAX to pick up Cassidy, and my down and out day with the stomach funk; I am ready for the weekend!  

Once I was done with my final conference call today, I grabbed the girls and we headed down to the beach to meet up with Eli after Jr. Guards.  As you can imagine, the beach was packed.  I like going a little later in the day (which is a change from when I was younger - if I wasn't there by 10am....why go?!).  Later in the day, people start packing up to go home and the beach starts to clear out a bit which is nice...I don't feel like we are sitting on top of one another.  

Besides dropping Eli off in the mornings this past week, I have not been to the beach this summer - this was the first time!  The water is unusually warm this year, the sky was clear today and I was in good company.

Salt Creek Lighthouse, Underpass, Buried Cassidy, Best Friends,
my Boogie Boarding Fool, Required Equipment and the view at 5pm

End of week 1 - Salt Creek Jr. Guards

I don't know what is in store for us this weekend but I sure am glad it is Friday night because we had tacos for dinner and now we are all lounging around watching TV.  Olivia is our house guest again tonight with Cassidy and all is right with the world!  Until tomorrow.....

Day 27 -

Day 26 - Teenage Girls!

Cassidy flew home today from Kentucky!  She and Sammy were to fly from Louisville, KY to Las Vegas, NV together.  Sammy would be picked up and Cassidy would then fly into Los Angeles.  

When I got Samantha's flight itinerary from Charma about a month or so ago, I had not yet booked Cassidy's flight home. I purposefully put her on the same return flight so that the girls could sit together and keep each other company on the 4+ hour flight.  Well, I found out earlier today that there was a little snafu with this plan......Teenage Girls - ugh!

Apparently, when the girls arrived at the airport there was plenty of time...to the tune of about 45 minutes before they were to board - great.  According to Cassidy, they were hungry so they decided to find food, which I guess wasn't an easy task.  As they were looking around, Sammy realized that she had left her flannel shirt at security.  Cassidy tells her that she remembers someone announcing a short time before, that there was a shirt left at security and it needed to be claimed!  Off the girls ran, to claim the shirt - excellent.  Back on track for the food. They ended up at Chili's. Tacos were ordered and the question of how long it would take to get the tacos was asked.  The answer was acceptable so they waited.  Tacos in hand they start heading to their gate.  It wasn't long until they realized that their names were being called over the loud speaker, "Samantha Mount, Cassidy Mount; this is your final boarding call".  The girls had thought that the boarding time was the time listed on their tickets not the take-off time....whoops!  Of course, they were flying on the airline that seats people via cattle call rather than by assigning them.  If you fly at all....you know that once people are all "set up" in their slim 2 1/2' wide space it is likely they are NOT going to move - it is just too much of a hassle! Well, the girls got to experience that first hand today.  Nobody was willing to move so that they could sit together so Cassidy ended up at the very back of the plane and Samantha in the middle - big fat bummer!  

Well, the girls got to spend a little final time together at the Las Vegas airport when Aunt Charma came to pick up Samantha....they went to Wendy's for french fries and a Frosty - thank you Aunt Charma!!

Shale and I picked Cass up and hurried home because it is Mason's birthday today, he is 22!  When we left for the airport, Mason, Kirsti, Alexa and Ryan were at the house with Eli swimming and hanging out.  We all met at The Habit for hamburgers when we got back down south and then back to the house for birthday cupcakes!!

Happy 22nd Mason!!

It really is nuts how fast time flies.  I know I have said this before but tonight really reminded me of how fast.  Mason was 13 years old when he came into my life....that is Cassidy's age!  He was a cute little guy with braces and such a happy, fun spirit.  He may be older and yes, the braces are gone but he is still the fun, happy spirited young man that I met 9 years ago and now...he is 22 AND getting married - holy cow!  We sure do love you MayMay!!

Well, I am certainly happy to have my teenager home tonight.  I love that she is old enough to fly by herself and that she wants to stay and visit with family for longer periods of time and also sees the value of this time spent with aunts, uncles cousins and grandparents but, I also don't like it.  I hate it because she IS getting older. As much as I know she will always be my baby girl, she sure is turning into a lovely young lady and I am so proud of her!

I have a feeling that Miss Cassidy will be sleeping in late tomorrow morning by the look in her eyes tonight when we finally said, "good night" - she's had a long day.  We all had fun this evening and it is late so I am signing off and heading to bed.  Until tomorrow.....

Day 25 - Sick as a Dog

Day two for Eli at Jr. Guards and two days until Cassidy is to come home from Kentucky!  

Cassidy is actually in Indiana tonight hanging with the Indiana based family.  My nephew Joseph  made it back from Oklahoma  so he joined the group.  Sammy wasn't with us all a couple of weeks ago either when we all made the visit to Indiana so this, I am sure; was fun for her.  A visit to the new LDS Temple, which happens to be not too far from Marcia and Jeff's in Fishers, IN was a nice stop for everyone today also.  There will be an open house for the general public to walk through the Temple beginning this Friday and for a few weeks before the Temple is dedicated - too bad Cass won't be there, I've seen photos of the inside and it is beautiful!

Cassidy and baby Emerson

148th Operating temple in the world
Indianapolis, IN

As for me....I was down and out sick today!  Yep, I am thinking that my "yummy" dinner last night didn't sit too well with me!  I woke up feeling really bad and sitting in the truck as we took the trailer back to Chino wasn't fun, at all!  Shale picked up all the slack today which I am very grateful for.  Dropping Eli off this morning, picking him up after guards, running him to his orthodontist appointment, grocery shopping and making dinner for us!  The soup and sandwich Shale made for dinner is exactly what I needed....I am feeling better already, as I put this post together.  I am in hopes I wake up tomorrow as if I were never feeling bad at all - I absolutely hate being sick like this!

We are choosing a movie now to finish up the day with so I will say good night and look forward to a much more enjoyable day tomorrow!  Until then......

Day 24 - Back into Action

Not too terribly much happened today.

Eli went down Salt Creek Beach for his first day of Jr. Lifeguards and had a blast!  None of his friends are signed up for this session which is kind of a bummer, but I don't think he really cares.  Eli loves the beach and the Jr. Guard program so he is good!  I think a few of his girlfriends from school will be joining him in a few weeks so that will be fun for him!

I didn't talk to Cassidy at all today.  I know that Grandma and Grandpa took she and Sammy down to Nashville, TN for the day and I am in hopes to get some fun photos from her tomorrow!  I am guessing that they had a blast and calling me was at the bottom of her list!

Shale and I worked on getting the trailer all unloaded, cleaned up and ready to deliver back tomorrow.  A welcome surprise visit from our good friend Pat Hemstreet to help us out late this afternoon was nice.  He helped us unload the last of the contents and hung out for a little while.  We decided to meet up with his wife Lisa and the kids, Jordan and Olivia for dinner at one of our go-to favorites - Cosmos, in Aliso Viejo.   

Speaking of Pat and Lisa's kids......Jordan, who is a really good friend of Eli's is now driving!  What?! He got his license this past Friday while we were out of town so seeing him waiting for us to show up in the restaurant parking lot behind the wheel of his mom's car (without anyone else in the car) when we pulled up was to say the least, a little weird!  He looks good behind the wheel and this just really reminds me that it won't be too long until my own two kids are driving themselves around - agh!!!!  Where has the time gone?  The Hemstreet family popped over to our house for a little while after dinner.  Before the three of us went to bed, Shale, Eli and I had some pool table shenanigans going on - too funny!

So, as I said at the beginning of today's post; not too much happened today - we are just getting back into action and the groove of the "normal" life.  Until tomorrow......

Day 23 - Blog Day Off!

Aha!  I caught you......

Why is it that you are even looking here to see if I wrote anything!? Didn't I tell you I was taking the day off?  I definitely am...we are lounging around, eating crappy food and watching movies - need I say more?  

Until tomorrow.....

Day 22 - Homeward Bound

There were three things on our agenda today.....
     
     1.  Our granddaughter, Launa's baptism
     2.  Pick up Eli in Las Vegas
     3.  Getting home

These three items may not seem like a lot, but as yesterday went, today was also a VERY long day. 

1.  Baptism

8:00am the alarm buzzes and it is go-time.  Shower - check.
Dress - check.  Heels - check. Out the door at 9:30am to the church in Spanish Fork, UT for the 10:00am baptism.   Launa is the oldest daughter of Shale's daughter, Brittney and her husband, Porter. Launa has a sweet spirit and an independent mind.  She is definitely the leader of the pack between herself and her three younger sisters. We were so happy to have been able to make this stop and celebration today as a part of our trip!  Once again, I am bummed that Cassidy and Eli weren't with us - they were missed greatly!

Meet Launa Ming Nielsen...... Yes, her middle name is Ming!

Lunch followed the baptism at Brittney and Porter's home.  Lots of family joined the celebration.  I am always happy to spend time with this group of great people and.... it is always hard to say
good-bye.  We had to get on the road early today since Eli would be arriving in Las Vegas from Kentucky, so we were off to hook up the trailer and start the final leg of our trip.  We were officially going to be, homeward bound.

The drive through the beautiful Virgin River Gorge south of St. George, UT

2.  Pick up Eli in Las Vegas

Eli was to arrive in Las Vegas this evening at 7:30pm.  My brother-in-law, Max had agreed to pick him up for us since we weren't sure what time exactly we would be getting into town.  Because of the time change and the fact that we got on the road a little earlier than we expected, we got in before Eli even landed.  A favorite Las Vegas restaurant was calling our names so we stopped there to eat and pick up food for Max and Eli before heading over to meet the two of them and Charma, my sister-in-law at their house.

By far, THE.BEST.TACOS around!

Eli took this photo out the window of the plane on his way back - cool!

Why did Eli fly to Las Vegas without Cassidy?, you ask.  He will be starting Jr. Lifeguards this Monday morning down at Salt Creek Beach so flying home a little before Cassidy was necessary. I think Cassidy will be having some awesome girl-time with Samantha in Kentucky and I know that makes her happy!

Before Eli climbed on the plane in KY earlier today, Grandma and Grandpa had taken him, Cassidy and Sammy to Fort Knox for the afternoon.  There is a water park and miniature golf course there that they had some fun at.  Once again, Grandma and Grandpa are the best!!

                                  
                            I really need to talk to the kids about making sure they
                                           are in the photos....  Sheeesh!

3.  Getting Home

Visiting with Max and Charma is always a pleasure!  We hung out with the two of them for a couple of hours catching up, talking about the fact that they will be grandparents in just a few short months and we were also able to have some time with Charma's father - he is great!  


So here's a funny story...we are all sitting around chatting once Max showed up with Eli from the airport and I get a phone call from the mysterious "No Caller ID".  Don't you love those?!  It is about 9pm at this point so I silence the phone knowing that it was nothing remotely important.  We continue our chat session.  Ten minutes later...ring, ring, ring - yep, same "No Caller ID" - agh!  Ok, I feel at this time that I should pick up and give whoever is calling me a piece of my mind.  "Hello, is this Robin Mount?"  "Yes" I reply.  "Is your son, Eli Jackson Mount?"  "Yes".  "Does he happen to have a phone with him?"  "Well, no...he has an iTouch with him but no phone, why?'  Now, you have to remember that my son is at the "I lost my head" stage in life so the only thing I can imagine is that he has left his iTouch on the airplane!  Wait...I think about this quickly before my inquiring caller has a chance to say something else.  Eli is sitting in front of me and he and I "spoke" via text from his iTouch to my cell phone earlier this evening when he arrived at the airport, hmmm.  "Ma'am, do you know if your son has his iTouch with him?"  "Yes, yes he does...I am looking at him right now and yes, he has his iTouch".  The voice on the other side of the phone hesitates and says, "You are looking at your son now?  Right now?"  Seriously??  What the heck?!  "Yes, I am looking at him right now, he is sitting in the chair across from me....What is going on?!"  "Well", the voice continues, "He is NOT on the airplane going to Salt Lake City and we have been calling his name over the loud speaker to board the plane and we were about to call the police!"   You can imagine at this point that I am totally confused.  "Why in the heck would you be calling the police?" I asked.  Well, Ma'am, he is not on his connecting flight to SLC and he is a minor so we were going to call the police".  Agh!!!!! This is the point that I start to get really irritated because our world has turned into a "non-communicative world"!  You see, I had changed Eli's flight yesterday from a connecting flight to SLC through Las Vegas to a flight ending in Las Vegas not to mention that when Eli got to the airport earlier today with Grandpa, they made sure that they let the ticketing agent know AND had his bag checked through only to Las Vegas.  I let the voice on the other end of the line know all of this and he was, to say the least...upset with me.  "You need to let US know (hadn't I?) that he will not be flying through to SLC!!!"  Ummmm, what had I just told him?People just don't listen when we talk anymore.  Obviously, the gal I had spoken to yesterday about this didn't listen so that she could make a note of the change in her computer.  The ticketing agent earlier today listened to only PART of what was going on (I guess I should be happy that Eli's bag actually showed up in LV) and not one person let the people that apparently "needed" to know, what the change was...know what the change was!   Frustrating!  Anyway, if you are planning on flying somewhere and need to make a change....you should probably set aside say, eight hours of your day to continue calling the airline about your change so that EVERYBODY knows that you are changing something because obviously, communication between airline employees these days is obsolete!

So, after all that....we got on the road for the absolute final hurrah of our journey around 10:30pm.  Shale was REALLY ready to get out from behind the wheel. Although the 4 hours to get home was nothing in comparison to all the hours we have spent on the road, I am pretty sure this was the roughest stretch.  We finally rolled in at 2:45am - safe and sound!

As much as I am sad that our 22 day/ 5,800 mile road trip is over, I am happy to be home too.  Twenty-two days....1/3 of our sixty-six days of summer, over already.  I am ready for the next chapter of this time in our lives to begin.  Eli will start Jr. Guards on Monday, Cassidy will be home later this week, Mason and Kirsti are in town this week and well....Shale and I will begin by unloading, cleaning out and returning the Airstream - ugh!  Before all this begins though, tomorrow is our day off. A day of nothing, a day to sleep and recover, a day to lay around - something that is being looked forward to by the three of us very much.  

I am sure that if I were to post tomorrow, it would be anything but interesting so I am going to spare you the agony and I am officially declaring tomorrow, "Blog Day Off".  Until Monday...

Day 21 - We Are Family

I have got some movie watching to catch up on.  Between Jurassic World on Monday and the Minions today the kids are two up on me and I don't like it!  I am guessing by the enthusiasm behind their explanations of each of the movies, they won't have a problem going again with Shale and I when they return!  I am not a huge Jurassic Park fan so I could take that one, or leave it but those Minions.....they are so freaking cute, I can't even stand it!  The above is the only "photo" I received from the kids today, it's been raining a lot in Louisville so lounging around and going to the movie was about the extent of their day.

A lack of photos today seems to have run in the family.  Shale and I took ZERO pictures today and now that the day is over, I am so sad about it!  Today was all about family...how can you NOT take any photos?  Oh, I'll tell you how.  We had so many places to go and so many people to see today that I obviously lost my brain - sigh.  

Shale and I left Bear Lake at 8:30am this morning after being up until well after 1am.  We were up at 6 this morning to get the trailer all hooked back up so we could get moving again.  

Our first stop was in Murray, UT to see my step-daughter, Shea (who is expecting baby #1 in early September) and her husband Kevin.  They recently bought a little place and going to see it was definitely something we wanted to do.  It took us a little longer to get through the canyon from Bear Lake than we expected so the visit was real quick (just enough time for a tour), but we knew we would be seeing them later in the day - excellent!

Stop #2 was in American Fork, UT to visit with Shale's mom Lonnie and her husband Ed.  Last year they bought a new house and moved from Fountain Valley, CA to UT.  We spent about an hour with them, ate lunch and were on the move....we'd be seeing them later as well.

Springville, UT was next - Stop three.  This is where we would be dropping the trailer.  Driving around with the beast for the rest of the day was just not in the cards.  We would be staying at the KOA in Springville for the night so why not drop the trailer now and give ourselves a little freedom.  

There was a lot of rain today in all the parts of Utah we were to visit but somehow we missed it all.  Stop #4 was at Pioneer Park in Provo, UT to meet up with all the Mount side of our family. Kandis, my other step-daughter and her four boys (Mason, Michael, Hunter and Holden) were there. My step-son Shane, his wife Molly and their kids, Savannah and Duke, came.  My niece, McKenna (who is expecting baby #1 in October) and her husband, Tommy showed.  Niece and nephew Brianna and Josh and Shea & Kevin came down from Murray.  Shale's son Mason and his fiance, Kirsti joined the gang too!  Nineteen of us total met up and the only one that couldn't make it because he was working was Jeff, Kandis' husband - pretty good I'd say!  It was nice to see them all and get caught up on what's been going on.  Before we knew it, we were all saying good-bye only because Shale and I were to be at his sister's house for dinner at 6:30pm.

Last destination for the day - Stop #5....Soya (Shale's younger sister) and her husband Lances' home.  23 Mings (plus McKenna and Tommy) greeted us when we arrived for dinner!  All of Shale's Utah based brothers and sisters were there - Soya and Lance plus a couple of their kids (Riley, Hunter and Trevin), Jade and his wife Andrea with their girls (Irelan, Peyton and Avery), Dena and her husband John, Shale's oldest daughter Brittney and her husband Porter along with their girls - Launa, Jean, Audrey and Lily all came. Shale's mom, Lonnie was there and his sister Kindra and her husband, Russell from Idaho came down too.  And of course....Mason and his fiance Kirsti joined the fun!  That is a LOT of people!  We hung out, ate pizza and an array of other yummy dishes that everyone had brought to the table, laughed, talked and just had a good ole' time!  

The Mounts and the Mings are a really GREAT group of people! We figured that we saw about 99% of our immediate family while we were on our trip!  That is pretty darn good considering the size of both of the families.  We missed my nephews John and Jacob and Jeff, who I mentioned above and a few of Shale's nieces and nephews but all in all....we saw the majority our family - yay us!!  

It wasn't until after midnight when we left Soya's house for the night.  Both of us feeling very tired and worn out from the long day that we just blazed through, we knew we needed to get to bed right away because tomorrow was going to be another doozy!  Until tomorrow......    

Good Night!  xoxo

Day 20 - Pickleville

Pickleville, UT.... pre 1979 was its own little town founded in 1879 and incorporated in 1935.  The name, funny as it is; came from Charles C. Pickle who in one way or another helped this little town with its culinary water project way back when.  In 1979, Pickleville officially became part of its neighboring town to the north, Garden City. Why in the world am I providing you with this perhaps "meaningless" trivia, you ask?  We will get to that in a little bit.

Shale and I were able to sleep in this morning which was a welcome change to the past few days.  Once we were both up and had grabbed a bite to eat, we headed out to rent some bicycles. We cruised through the small town of Garden City that borders Bear Lake.  What a beautiful day!  The blue sky was filled with huge white puffy clouds, the green hills dotted with homes of all different sizes and design, cows roamed close to the bike path in the shade of the willowing trees and the town was a buzz with people just like us, enjoying the fresh air and beauty of the area. This is definitely a summer town.  There are multiple different types of eateries, the lake is readily accessible, hiking, biking, walking, boating and camping are obviously the areas's go to activities and while you may be visiting, get yourself a raspberry milkshake or pick up a carton of fresh raspberries and make yourself a pie - raspberries are in abundance here!

A few shots from our bike ride today through Garden City

Lunch today was at Cafe Sabor.  We love Mexican food and it is Thursday.  Most Thursday nights we meet up with our good buddies, the Hemstreets; at one of our favorite Mexican eateries in Laguna Hills after our girls are done riding horses and have some fun.  It's been  four weeks now since the last fiesta with our friends so in honor of them this Thursday....Cafe Sabor was our choice for lunch!

Shale said the mariachi band was missing a harmonicist

Plans for tonight....a play, dinner and catch up time with my niece, Kasi.  We were off to the Pickleville Playhouse at 4:30pm for the five o'clock show.  There it is.....Pickleville - I told you the above "meaingless" trivia would come in handy.  The Pickleville Playhouse was started and named after its hometown back in 1977 just a couple of years before Pickleville became part of Garden City.  This playhouse, started by the Larsen family is now run by the one and only daughter of the Larsens, Andrea Davis and Kasi helps run the place during the busy summer (which is the only time of year this little theater is open).

We had tickets for the melodrama, "Juanito Bandito in, The One With the Monkey".  A talented cast, a creative storyline, good music and lots of laughter kept us engaged for the 2-hour show - it was great fun!  We moved to the outdoor patio for a cowboy steak dinner after.  Grilled steak, beans, baked potato, salad rolls and cookies were on the menu.  This playhouse has got it going on and come to find out, it is one of the most popular playhouses in all of Utah!  Next time you find yourself in Utah looking for something to do (during the summer), make the drive to Bear Lake through the Logan Canyon and saddle yourself up for a good time at the Pickleville Playhouse! 

www.picklevilleplayhouse.com

Garden City, UT

We all headed back to the trailer after dinner to enjoy a warm fire and lots of conversation.  I love chatting with Kasi, we could talk for days and not ever cover the same subject.  She is much more than my niece...she's the younger sister I never had, a good friend and one of the few people I could call any time for help, support or validation of some silly idea.

Our iPhones may be great for daytime photography (shut it Lisa!)
but at night....this is the quality you get, oh well.

Cassidy and Eli had a busy day.  Lexington, KY was where they spent most of their day with Grandma, Grandpa, Sammy and Aunt Laurel.  I am really bummed that I wasn't there to make this day trip with them all.  Lexington is SO beautiful as you will see from the photos that the kids sent over to me this evening.

The Kentucky Horse Park was where the bulk of the groups' day was spent.  This horse park is a working horse farm and educational theme park.  "The Park is dedicated to man's relationship with the horse".  I am pretty sure Cassidy would agree with this statement! She sent me so many photos today from her "field trip" that it was definitely hard to pick and choose which ones to post.  

Top Left Photo:  Pacing (or Harness Racing) Triple Crown winner 1997, 

Western Dreamer - The only gelding of any breed to win a Triple Crown

It is late, Kasi has gone home and we have a very early morning and long day ahead of us tomorrow. I am certain I will fall behind on my posts knowing what lies ahead the next two days....don't worry, I'll bring you up to date and get back on track soon enough!

Until then....

Day 19 - Every Day is an Adventure!

I am SO glad today is over!  7+ hours on the road, rain, hail, wind, 2-lane highways and a LOT of tension in the car!  It is good to be done for the day to say the least!

Rain moved in during the night last night and the temperature dropped quite a bit too.  We woke up to a very wet, gloomy day....maybe this has to do with why OUR day was "gloomy"!
We rolled out of our Cabela's campsite around 10:45am after no shower and having a yummy breakfast that we cooked up in our little kitchen.  This Trader Joes Toasted Coconut pancake mix is AWESOME! You gotta go get yourself some!!  A tiny bit of butter on top is really all you need but syrup is delicious too!

Below is the last photo I shot of Nebraska before crossing over into Wyoming.  You can see the gloom in the sky and the flat farm land...Wyoming's landscape is MUCH different and it changed so quickly!

Sidney, NE

Onward into Wyoming, the Equality State or the Cowboy State depending on who you talk to!  You guessed it....NO, there was not an opportunity to even snap a photo of the Wyoming welcome sign through the rain and massive construction project that was going on around it - dang!  So, I found one (thank you Google) to show you.  It really was a cool sign too! 

Just after I took the above picture of Nebraska, I shot the photos below.  You can see how different the land is.  All of a sudden there are large rock formations mixed in with beautiful landscape!  I am certain that these photos would have been much better if we would have had clear skies but you can still see through the mist and clouds the difference in our view.  I'll tell you, I do like Kentucky but Wyoming, I think I would choose you over the Bluegrass State! I have been to Wyoming before.... a long time ago with Mike when we went on a snowmobiling trip through Yellowstone in January 2001.  The Grand Tetons are a sight to behold and I so wish that we would have had the time to make it there on this trip!  The kids will love Wyoming so this will be a destination point for us all on a future adventure.

Between Cheyenne and Laramie, WY

Laramie, WY happens to be the home to a giant head of Abraham Lincoln!  I kid you not....this enormous monument sits just on the northern bank of I80 as you wiz by!  The head was built to honor Lincoln's 150th birthday.  The head is bronze and it sits on top of a 30' granite pedestal.  Robert Russin, a University of Wyoming art professor is the one to thank for this monstrosity.  It was constructed in 1959 and was originally placed on a hill overlooking the old U.S. Highway 30 but when Interstate 80 was completed just 10 years later, Lincoln was moved to his current spot which is a rest area between Cheyenne and Laramie.

As we continued west, we passed by the 7,000' elevation of the Continental Divide which is just outside of Rawlins, WY.

Rawlins was our next stop for lunch.  We pulled in to Penny's Diner which, in my opinion; served up a darn good buffalo burger! 

The stop for lunch wasn't until 2:30pm which was 3 1/2 hours into our day.  I wasn't sure what Shale's plan was regarding how long we were going to be on the road today but with yesterday's long day behind us and the time spent in the car today....my back was starting to really hurt and I know Shale was uncomfortable.  Based on our conversations last night, I was pretty sure we would be pulling over within the next couple of hours to set up camp.  Well, that didn't happen!  This is when the rain really started to come down, the hail started up and we could barely see in front of us. Shale had to slow way down just so he could see the road.  Large trucks would pass and kick back even more water on us- it was pretty hairy!  We pulled over in Rock Springs to get gas. Shale thought it was too "trashy" of a place to stay for the night so we kept going.  He thought perhaps at this point it would just be best to press on into Utah - 2 1/2 more hours!  Agh!!  We wouldn't get in until late but....I guess not having to drive tomorrow, at all; was the bonus.  Ok.

The more west we traveled, the clearer the sky became and again; so did the landscape.
The mountains started to look a little more like the ones in Arizona and there were large
expanses of beautiful meadows.  Some with horses, cows and even sheep!

Utah would be next and I was hoping that maybe I would get lucky enough to get our photo with the Utah sign since the last few have not worked in our favor.  WoooHoooo!   Utah got smart and put this particular sign at a turn-out!  Shale was so happy he didn't have to battle the edge of the highway for this one AND.....we weren't going to get flattened!

BONUS!!  On the eastbound side of the highway, the Wyoming sign stood tall!
Yes, we ran across and snapped this picture since the sign from earlier in the day
was not accessible!  

The northwestern part of Utah is beautiful.  It definitely helped that the sky cleared up a little and we had some sunshine.  There was light at the end of this gloomy day's tunnel and I was so happy!  We were only about 40 minutes outside of Laketown and Garden City, UT which sit on the banks of Bear Lake where we will be staying until Friday morning.  I am really excited about being here!  My niece Kasi is living here for the summer and is working at the Pickleville Playhouse.  We are going to hang with her tomorrow, see the show and have dinner - yippee!  My Sister-in-Law Kindra and her husband Russell will be joining us also. They live just a little over two hours away in Pocatello, ID and will be driving down!  Tomorrow, is going to be a good day!

Driving into Utah

We found a place to camp for the next few nights and raced to get things set up while we still had a little light.  Boy do we miss our "Pit Crew"!  I am actually outside our trailer now writing today's blog and it is wonderful!  The sounds of other campers talking quietly, Shale's music playing, wood fires crackling and the soft glow of our strung cafe lights surround me - this is a good ending to a rough day.

While I am sitting here, the kids have finally sent in their daily report and photos.  I am very proud of them for keeping me updated so I can share with you!

Grandma and Grandpa had gotten tickets to a musical at an outdoor amphitheater (My Old Kentucky Home State Park Amphitheater) in Bardstown, KY.  

Bardstown, KY

The musical they saw was The Stephen Foster Story (America's first great composer).  "The musical is set to take you back to the 1850's with lively dance, timeless music and breathtaking costumes!"  This is what one review that I pulled up on the internet stated anyway.  According to Eli, it was a really good show....good job Grams and Gramps!!

The bottom left photo is Sammy popping her head through a cardboard cutout

Well, it is well past midnight now and most everyone around us has gone in for the night, I guess we should close things up too.  I am looking forward to a good nights sleep and a restful day tomorrow.
Kasi....I know we talked just a bit ago and I didn't tell you we had just pulled in - Surprise!  Don't kill me when I see you.....I love you!

Ha!  I am certain this sign is correct and I can't wait!

Until tomorrow......

Day 18 - Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

Thus far...The best campground we have stayed at!

I know it doesn't look like much but when was the last time you traveled across the country with a trailer in-tow and stayed at RV camp grounds, Hmmmmm?  That's what I thought!  So, we got pretty excited about this one and all the grass!  Kids, sorry you missed this one.  The glow in the dark Frisbee would have been awesome here!

So, we hit the road again around 11am this morning, heading through the last part of Iowa and into Nebraska.  I haven't been to either of these states so checking out this part of the country is very interesting to me - wasn't the last "Bachelor" from Iowa?  Maybe we should do a drive-by!  Just kiddin'!  Ok, he WAS pretty cute, I have to admit!

Given that Shale gets VERY anxious when we cross state borders and I yell, "Hey, the state "welcome" sign is coming up"....it is a really good thing that the Nebraska sign was NOT on the side of the road.  I think the fact that we were "going to be flattened" yesterday in Iowa was enough to make me thankful that I had to think fast to get this pic!!

Hello Nebraska!

Onward we pressed into Nebraska, the Corn Husker state.  You would think that having five full days (well, really 4 days since we spent day 5 (Sunday) visiting with family in Indiana) would be enough time to make it to our Thursday destination without any stress!  NOT!!  Shale is a bit on edge at this point, and honestly...I don't blame him.  Driving with the Airstream behind us is to say the least - nerve wracking.  Today the weather has cooled down quite a bit and it was windy.  I know that he was stressed driving and that doesn't make for a very "fun" time on the road....take this into consideration when you get ready to hit the road!  I am serious, pulling this trailer is a chore for sure and I am really thankful that HE is driving and not me at this point!

Nebraska is nice!  Lots of green rolling hills and farms.  The clouds and sky today looked
like a painting.  Lots of flat land for farming though like Iowa...just not 
as much corn..  Nebraska is the Corn Husker State so they obviously help Iowa out!

The kids had some fun today!  Grandma and Grandpa took them all to a Louisville Bats baseball game.  The "Bats" played the Indianapolis Indians at the Louisville Slugger field.  Because of the rain Louisville has been having, they almost got rained out but luckily....the rain let up and the game was on!  They told me it was a blast!!  It looks to me like Grandpa was in his element...who doesn't love a Brat while watching a baseball game?!

Shale and I pulled into Sidney, NE around 11pm!  It was late and we were beat.  The only place to set camp was at a Cabela's campground.  Yes, Cabela's (the outdoorsmen's mega super store)  had a campground right next to their retail store in Sidney, NE.  We pulled in to find that they had spots with "electric only" left.  Fine....we'll take it.  We decided that we really didn't need to take showers anyway in the morning since we had taken showers earlier today and we'd done absolutely nothing but sit in the car all day - I am good with that!  It started to rain as we got situated and it is cold....MUCH colder than anything we have experienced on the trip so far - I think it is about 50 degrees!  Yes, jackets are required!  The funny part about this particular stop is that when we pulled in and I opened the door to the trailer....there was kitchen crap EVERYWHERE!  I am not kidding you.  Two of the kitchen drawers decided that they didn't want to be drawers any longer and all the pillows on the "sofa" joined the contents of the kitchen drawers on the floor!  Agh!!!!!!!  YARD SALE!  The photo below only shows PART of the mayhem!

Seriously??!

I touched base with the kids even though it is an hour later in KY than it is here currently.  They are having a blast and I don't think they miss me much.  Oh well, I miss them!

On to Wyoming tomorrow....making tracks across the US - Until then.....