Road Trip, Day 5

Start: Walla Walla, WA

End: Graham, WA

Distance: 293 miles

Drive time: 5 hours, 3 minutes

With such a short, leisure drive, we decided to stay with Brian's parents for a while and have Easter breakfast before we hit the road. After spending a little more time with Rick and Jan, we packed up the dogs one last time and headed on our final drive.

As we headed out of town, we passed our favorite winery, L'Ecole No 41. My mouth just waters at the thought of their wines, and I can't wait to take a trip back to that winery and drink my fair share. The winery is in the old school house and the bar top in the tasting room is made of chalkboards so you can rate all the wines as you drink them.

There isn't a whole lot else to say about this drive. We have made this drive so many times, that it's hard to even say much about it. We only hit one hiccup, when a tree decided to fall across the freeway we were on and made for quite the lengthy back-up. Luckily it was cleared after about 30 minutes and we were on the move again.

Once we got home, we didn't even think of unpacking. The couch was calling our names so we just ate, relaxed and fell asleep very early.

The next day, I was finally able to see the "fantastic" packing job that Brian and Rick did. Luckily, I haven't noticed anything to be broken, and only a few scratches on some of the furniture.

We had that truck unloaded and returned to the rental store by noon. Do you think we were beyond ready to be done with the move?

Home, sweet home!

Road Trip, Day 4

Start: Twin Falls, ID

End: Walla Walla, WA

Distance: 379 miles

Drive time: 6 hours, 36 minutes

Ahhh ... the joy of a drive less than 10 hours long! And the easiest part of it all. This day flew by as we cruised along through Idaho, Oregon and into our final state, Washington! The weather was perfect, the scenery was beautiful and it was a great welcoming back home.

The day started a little rough, when the roads were a little frozen and so was our windshield wiper fluid. We had to stop and clean the windows and refill on fluid before we could get on the road. After that, though, we cruised along.

Brian got a little nostalgic as we entered his old stomping grounds, sharing stories from his past. It was pretty cute, I must say.
What was even better, was we made it into Walla Walla by noon! We were able to shower, change and actually do something besides sit all day.
Since Brian hadn't been back home since Christmas of 2006, there was quite a lot that had changed about the town so we cruised around and took in the new sights and even did a little shopping downtown, with Rick and Jan leading the tour. We also stopped to visit a friend of Brian's, Marshall, in the rehabilitation center recovering from a terrible work accident in December.
Jan had invited a few family friends over for dinner and we were finally able to eat a home cooked meal and relax in the comfort of a home.
Oh, and I don't even have to say it, but the dogs were estatic to be out of the car and running free in the Hall's yard.

Road Trip, Day 3

Start: Fort Collins, CO

End: Twin Falls, ID

Distance: 635 miles

Drive time: 11 hours, 30 minutes

Oh how quickly things can change. We knew driving into Fort Collins the night before that there were some weather issues in Wyoming, but figured they would clear by morning. Just to be safe, we got an extra couple hours of sleep so we could start our drive after sunrise. We ate some breakfast, checked the weather report (the roads were looking a little crummy so the boys contemplated changing our route and heading north to Montana, but we stayed with our plan and figured we would see how the roads were) and hit the road.

Let's just say there is a reason there aren't many pictures from this part of the drive. I was too nervous to pick up the camera. There were snow drifts, white-outs and black ice. But we drove on, slowly, but still making progress ... until Laramie, Wyoming. Why did our progress stop there? Well because the road that we were taking over the Rockies was closed, had been for two days. The town was FULL of semi trucks waiting for the pass to open, and one even told us it would be another two days before they opened it. We were about to turn around and brave the roads back to Fort Collins when, just our luck, the pass opened!!! And even luckier, the roads over the pass were better than the ones we had already driven leading up to the pass.
It was smooth sailing from there with a quick stop in Rawlins, Wyoming and then again in Ogden, Utah.

I decided to speed ahead of the guys to get to Ogden early and check out this dog park I found online the day before. I figured these dogs of mine could use to run free for a little while and pick up their spirits a little. It was right off the freeway, so I called and got directions from my sister and found it easily. The bad part is that the park was closed! (But don't tell Brian because he gave me a hard time for wanting to stop so I told him and Rick that the dogs had a great time running free at the park. shhh!) We ran around in the nearby fields instead, but it just wasn't the same ... my poor dogs.

Once we got back on the road, Brian and Rick were way ahead of me so I didn't catch up to them again until at the hotel in Twin Falls. One thing I learned is how comforting it is just seeing that big yellow moving truck either ahead or behind me. It got a little lonely out there on the open road, just me and the dogs.

Our hotel that night wasn't as nice as the last, even the dogs didn't want to stay. But at that point, it didn't matter because we were exhausted.

Road Trip, Day 2

Start: Mustang, OK
End: Fort Collins, CO
Distance: 749 miles
Drive time: 12 hours, 7 minutes

Our first real day of the trip. Going into the drive we knew we weren't in for anything too exciting scenery-wise ... our drive was taking us through Northwestern Oklahoma and all the way across Kansas. Let me tell you, I would be okay with not visiting Kansas again. Not only is it probably the world's flattest area, but it smells ... bad.

We made it out on the road at about 6:30 a.m. (after Brian and Rick attempted to fit even more stuff in our already full moving truck, with only a partial success ... don't get me started). After a quick stop at Braums for some breakfast and coffee, we were on the open road. We were making great time, and then the wind hit.

We were getting pushed around the road like a tumbleweed by the 50 mile per hour side-winds, which made the truck's power max out at about 45 mph. We were sure it was going to set us way back on our progress, and Brian about had a fit battling the gale force winds, but before we knew it the winds subsided and we were making our way into Colorado. The view definitely improved with the sunset over the Rockies, even though it began to rain and then sleet as we made it to our final spot for the night.

Oh, and can I say how strange it is to start the day with the temperature right about 80 degrees at 6 a.m. and watch it fall all the way to 30 degrees by 6 p.m.? We definitely weren't dressed (nor did we pack) for winter weather. I guess we forgot not everywhere in the country has Texas weather.

And as for the dogs ... the drive started with smiles and wagging tails, but about half-way through the day they started to get a little annoyed with the confinement and I was definitely getting some unhappy looks. They sure were happy when we checked into the hotel and they claimed their bed.

Road Trip, Day 1

Start: Carrollton, TX

End: Mustang, OK

Distance: 202 miles

Drive time: 3 hours, 15 minutes

The day we had been waiting for was finally here ... moving day! I had to head to work for a few hours to finish up some last things, and Brian had to give his final resignation to work so things were already starting a little later than we planned. After a little miscommunication at the moving truck office, Brian and Rick drove away with a 26-foot truck, as apposed to the 22-foot we had ordered. I guess this worked out in our favor since we ended up filling it to the edge, and even had to leave a few things behind. (I won't say its because we have a lot of stuff ... because honestly we don't ... but I won't blame it on those who packed the truck either. We all have our own opinions on this one.)

We said goodbye to our first home together (but not before taking the first of many photos from our trip) and hit the road ... Brian and Rick in the moving truck, and me and the dogs in the Yukon ... and headed North toward Oklahoma City. The drive went smoothly, the dogs were excited to be going somewhere, and we were all wide-eyed and bushy tailed to be beginning our trip.

After a quick stop in Gainsville, some major leg cramps for Rick and a short walk for the dogs. we arrived in Mustang at about 9:45 p.m. We were staying at Brian's grandpa's old house and had a few things we needed to attempt to add to the moving truck. Since the house was empty and without power, we all slept on the floor in the living room, knowing we would be up before sunrise to get an early start on the first long day of the trip.

All in all, the trip was going smoothly. Let's hope this trend continued ...