Day One of Our Trip

I'm so excited; we are truly going to go to Las Vegas, Nevada! My husband has the financials and the route all figured out. I have meticulously ironed and packed my clothes and necessities. Everything is neat and orderly.

Tom has loaded the car and left room for our precious Snuggles who is not going on the trip with us, only to my youngest daughter’s home for the duration. I sure hope she does well. My daughter has a 19-month old. She assures me that they will get on well. And I must admit, any time I saw her son he was quiet and mild mannered. So, I’m trying to not be anxious about that.

Since we were going to Mary and Luiggi’s I decided I just had to make a cheesecake to prove once and for all to my son-in-law that I do make the best cheesecake ever. (You can too, by the way… ask me how and I’ll tell you. <grin>)

So I made the cheesecake, ate a piece, shared it with Tom and my neighbors and had half of it (it is a huge cake) left for Luiggi and the family.

We go from memory on the route. She has not lived there a year and we do not travel down her way often. We find the house! Hallelujah! It sure is a busy town, Radcliff.

There’s her house. I know it because of the really nice covered swing she has in her front yard. We are being greeted by the entire family, except my daughter. She has gone shopping! Oh well, I hope she comes home soon.

We get Snuggles out of the car and inside. She is really nervous. I lean down and pet her a lot. The little one, Abdiel, comes over to pet her. He is quite gentle and when told by Aieta (his other grandmother) to leave her alone, he does. What a comfort for me. I did not know until this very moment how anxious I was about leaving her. If I’d had my way, she would have gone with us. I am so grateful that my daughter was willing to watch her for three weeks. She promised me that she would see that Snuggles got the care she needed. I did not, however, complain.

I had my son-in-law taste my cheesecake while we waited for Mary. He really did not want to - he said he would wait for the rest of the family. I am no force to reckon with. I insisted. He cut himself a small piece and took a very small bite. He had a very straight face. Then he took another bite. Shook his head yes and started to take another bite.

“Oh, no you don’t. Tell me first.”

Sheepishly, he looked up and smiled that awesome smile of his.

“And?” I inquired.

“This is the best cheesecake I have ever eaten.” Joy, joy, joy!!

We both laughed and then chatted with Tom and Aieta. Finally, Mary toddled in and seemed surprised to see us, then admitted she’d forgotten we were coming.

Oh my grandson (age 16) is so handsome and my granddaughter(age 14) is turning out to be quite a beauty. They are even more beautiful inside than you can imagine of a pair of teens that age. Amazing, like their mother. And that little one is so cute. So absolutely cute! He looks more like his daddy every day. I suspect, however that he is going to be taller, like his momma.

Hugs and smiles all around were given; we visited a short while or so and then said our good byes.

Whew! Deep breath. Finally we are on our way to Las Vegas. I can hardly believe it. Always before, when a trip was talked about, it never came to fruition. I guess things do change, no matter what your age!

As I stated, I am very excited. However, my body does not differentiate between happy feelings and sad feelings. It simply reacts to emotion and I am in a lot of pain with my back and my head. I do not want to start the trip off by complaining. So I will not. I’ll take a pain pill and in an hour or so it will kick in. I have not had one for a long time, so it should be more effective than when I was taking them on a regular basis.

We left Indiana (home) at 9:30 am, EST and it has taken us three and one half hours to drive 106 miles. I’m glad the rest of the trip will not be this slow. We have stopped three times for food and gas (Thorton’s, Radcliff, and Sonora).

11:40 am, EST, we stop for gas. While Tom is pumping the gas, I pull out the CD player I brought for us to listen to music. His Van did not come equipped with such a beast. No CD player and no cassette player either.

Only the radio works. I am so bummed. Maybe Tom can fix it. Nope! I am really bummed now. My hero has no answer to this dilemma? I will not complain.

He goes into the store, and I decide to stay in the car. He bought replacement batteries (6 C sized - $15 for them.) What a sweetie. Now, let’s cross our fingers and play the CD. It WORKS! Yeah!! A thousand times yeah. I am so relieved and so happy that my hero did come through for me. I know he always tries to. Sometimes he has to ponder on a situation before he acts, but he always tries. I'm so blessed.

12:04 pm EST, on the road again. So far 27 mpg; how great is that?

12:10 pm EST, stuck in a construction parking lot on I-65 S. Well, there goes our good gas mileage. I’m all for pulling over and waiting it out, but Tom feels that would be a huge waste of time. I defer to him. He knows more about the road than I do. He used to drive for a living. Actually he drove all over three states in order to perform his job. Same thing.

12:22 pm, still in the parking lot on I-65 S. Nothing to do but wait and be patient. I am reading billboards and then I see it. Gas is only $3.43 at the Junction, LOVES. We cannot believe it. (Can you believe that four years ago gas was only $2.86 a gallon and we were griping about that!) Also, in 1979 gas was a whole $.80 at the pump. We sure have come a long way, baby!

12:50 pm EST We are moving again!! Cool. I’m just looking and looking, hoping to see something interesting.

Oh, there’s an Information Center/Rest Stop.I'm so excited. People and a place to take pictures.I gathered maps and anything that I thought would be interesting reading. I have 6 books with me, but I do like a variety.

Due to the “parking lot” on I-65 S, people were being grouchy and mean and the attendant, Linda, was ready to pull her hair out. It’s a shame folks have to take their frustration out on someone else. I say, make the best of it. I read half a book!