Vacation: Day 1 & 2

Abbi - being patient in her car seat.

July 29, 2009 -

Not a whole lot happened the first day. Lots of time in the car. And then lots more. We had planed on being over to Josh's parents between 8am and 9am, but Josh got called into work, so we got a later start than we originally hoped for. Once we finally got to his parent's house, we loaded everything into the back of the car and set off - 4 adults, 1 6-month old baby, and 2 dogs. We are brave!!

Josh was driving, and I started out in the front with him. Abbi was in back with Mike and Marilyn. She was really good for the most part, but on this first leg of the trip, she did fuss a bit. She's just not used to being in the car seat for that long!

Blue skies somewhere in Nevada

We stopped somewhere in Nevada at a rest stop to let the dogs get out and to feed Abbi. From that point forward, I rode with Abbi in the back, while Mike moved up to the front. Although Abbi wasn't horribly fussy, she seemed to settle down a bit when she could see her mama.

Max, riding in the car like a good boy. He spent probably 80% of the time in the car on my lap, but liked to sit on the front console every once in awhile.

It was a pretty uneventful day. Nevada is a pretty boring and not-so-pretty state to drive though. We drove to Reno, and checked into a hotel for the night. Josh wanted to rest his knee, so Mike, Marilyn, Abbi and I set out to find some dinner. We were looking for something fast - but I must have driven on all the wrong roads. We finally came upon a Denny's, and since that was the only thing we had seen, we decided to stop. I just may never eat at Denny's again. The food tasted ok, but I had a stomach ache through the next day, and Abbi was spitting up all day the next day - probably from what I had eaten. While we were at the restaurant, Abbi ended up playing with a spoon that kept her occupied almost the entire time. And I will admit - I let her keep playing with it, all the way out of the restaurant. I'm sure they probably only paid 10 cents for it anyway and probably throw lots away every day! That one, cheap spoon was probably better at keeping her happy the whole trip than most of the toys I brought for her!

Hotel in Reno

Max had been doing pretty well so far, but I think he was a bit freaked out by the time we stopped for the night. He's really only been to Josh's parent's house and our house, so I think he didn't know what was going on. He was in a strange room, and didn't want to go to sleep. That first night wasn't the best. He would sit on the edge of the bed, staring at the door. I think he was only happy when all 4 of us (Josh, me, Mike & Marilyn) were together. All night long, he was up and down from the beds, and I know poor Josh didn't get much sleep that night. Good thing I sleep like a log, because he didn't keep me up too bad!

Day 2

July 30th, 2009

Through the window photography! Lake somewhere in California or Oregon. Not quite sure - I was just glad to be out of Nevada!

Another day of driving, although not as much as the day before. I think the first day, the drive was about 9 hours, but this second day was probably only 5. And once again, a pretty uneventful drive. I have to admit - I was happy to get out of Nevada - there is not much to look at! We drove from Reno, through part of California, then up into Oregon. Abbi was much better this day of travel. She just played and slept like a good girl! Our stop for the night was at Josh's aunt and uncle - Karen and Bud's house in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Klamath Falls is where Mike grew up, so it was fun to hear stories and see him point out places.

Shooting the breeze in Bud and Karen's back yard

Once we got there, the dogs were super happy to be able to run around freely without leashes. It was quite a warm night, so we would have loved to spend some time outside, but the mosquitoes were horrible. They don't usually bite me, (I must have bad blood!), but in the few moments I was outside, I had a few try to bite. When they are biting me, that means they are really bad! I only spent a few moments out there before I took Abbi in so she wouldn't get bitten.

Abbi & Daddy. I'm not quite sure why, but her cheeks were super rosy this whole trip. Probably because she never got quite enough sleep because we were always on the go!

Marilyn & Abbi

That night, Bud & Karen treated us to a homemade meal of goulash, which I was very grateful for, especially after the Denny's the night before.

An exhausted Max

After some socializing, Josh, Abbi, Max & I headed out to their motorhome where we would spend the night. (Thank goodness, because the motorhome had air conditioning and stayed quite cool!) I think Max was just exhausted from all the excitement, because all of us crashed and probably got the best night of sleep of the whole trip!