I had recurring terrors that something awful was going to happen on this trip or associated with this move. I had terrible fears that I couldn't release. I ignored them. What else to do, really?
Today our party of two vehicles ventured forth from Rock Springs, Wyoming in snowy conditions. Weather was reported online to improve as we moved westward. We decided to take it slowly. 15 miles down I-80 I watch our precious "Yellow Bug" (aka our rented Penske van) gracefully glide in an exit-like motion. It's a sly off-to the right and down sort of descent. I soon realize that this is not an intentional exit that was unannounced over the talkies. It's an accident. A slide into the ditch from icy roads. I hit the same patch of ice in my Subaru and negotiate our car to the side of the road. We soon learn over radio that everyone is okay. With hazards flashing, I abandon our Subaru to the far shoulder and run down to the truck. Shaken friends are safe inside. Library Lady is praising her mother's training on the use of anti-lock brakes. She comments that the coffee hasn't spilled. Nothing in the truck, including the harp, shifted. (Kudos to Biker Boy for his talent with ropes and knots.) On the way down into the ditch the truck hit a sign post and the driver's side-view mirror is busted off. A few scratches mar the driver's door. Amazing.
We get the vehicles off the road. Amazingly the forces larger than us time this at an exit ramp. I bow down to my all-wheel drive and am pleased that I have paid over $20K so that I can easily drive down across the ditch to the exit ramp. We proceed back to the nearest exit with hotel/gas/food and stay put.
Penske, meanwhile, is planning to bring another mirror to us. They have the part but are unwilling to drive from Salt Lake City to us because the highway patrol advises against travel. Penske, it should be noted, is from my home state of Pennsylvania and every customer service rep I speak to on the emergency outline is the pinnacle of helpful, quality service. I love them. I'm also thanking the gods that I got the comprehensive damage insurance that prevents me from paying anything in the event of damage. We will not get the mirror until tomorrow and given the weather conditions cannot continue forward without the crucial driver-side mirror.
By the time we check-in at the hotel my wife admits that she has a migraine. Biker Boy does his pressure point magic to help stave off the pain and nausea.
I spend the day with Mr. Man and we do fine until I get the call from my brother that my father is in the hospital again, after over 24 hours of roaming the streets. My brother needs to vent because the cops and my dad's landlord are pressuring him to "do something" about my dad.
These are all my worst fears about moving west. The burden on my brother. My dad's deteriorating mental health. My mother's deteriorating physical health. Driving across the mountains in the winter. Losing my family.
Meanwhile the landscape is breathtakingly beautiful. Really. The rocky buttes rise up and appear from nowhere. Much like my fears.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Tension in Wyoming
We traversed most of Wyoming today. It was rough at the beginning, as the white, cloud-covered horizon blended in with the snow-covered mountains and made my eyes tired. Eventually we got into bluer skies and had easier driving. The good news today was that we managed to skirt all the storm systems around us and our conditions for driving were ideal.
What I never expected about Wyoming was the number of oil wells and oil refineries. They seem to be everywhere along I-80. Also, the train runs parallel to the highway, so we watched huge freight trains barrel alongside us all day. The land varied a lot, ranging from flat open areas to rolling hills, rocky buttes and occasional high mountain peaks. There seemed to be little civilization along most of I-80.
About 30 minutes east of Laramie, Wyoming, we stopped at a Denny's-like diner for lunch. It seemed ironic that in a seemingly hick-like town we were served by a considerate, very gay waiter. The laugh of the day was that Library Lady's order requiring blue cheese was very weird to him, but our orders of skillet meals without eggs or cheese didn't make him blink.
I'm exhausted today and I'm in a bit of a fog. While I got to release UST (unspoken sexual tension - a term coined by Library Lady), the rest of our group is still tense. I think sleeping 4 adults with a child in one room for five days is starting to wear on our need for privacy. I hope the next few days go smoothly and we find an easy path back to our respective homes. As much as our traveling companions are dear to me, I'll be happy to be back in the comfort of my family's rhythms.
What I never expected about Wyoming was the number of oil wells and oil refineries. They seem to be everywhere along I-80. Also, the train runs parallel to the highway, so we watched huge freight trains barrel alongside us all day. The land varied a lot, ranging from flat open areas to rolling hills, rocky buttes and occasional high mountain peaks. There seemed to be little civilization along most of I-80.
About 30 minutes east of Laramie, Wyoming, we stopped at a Denny's-like diner for lunch. It seemed ironic that in a seemingly hick-like town we were served by a considerate, very gay waiter. The laugh of the day was that Library Lady's order requiring blue cheese was very weird to him, but our orders of skillet meals without eggs or cheese didn't make him blink.
I'm exhausted today and I'm in a bit of a fog. While I got to release UST (unspoken sexual tension - a term coined by Library Lady), the rest of our group is still tense. I think sleeping 4 adults with a child in one room for five days is starting to wear on our need for privacy. I hope the next few days go smoothly and we find an easy path back to our respective homes. As much as our traveling companions are dear to me, I'll be happy to be back in the comfort of my family's rhythms.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Release on the Road
So my intentions to post every day since BikerBoy got on the train haven't been realized, as you can tell by now. In short, the days before the trip went like this:
Day 3 - Realization that change was coming. It finally hits me that I have a new job.
Day 4 - Party Day. Mr. Man has 12 ~5yos running screaming through the house for 3 hours for his unbirthday/farewell party. This is followed by a wonderful party thrown for us by friends. Amazing vegan food, drinking and a great grownup time.
Day 5 - Work and Pack. Work and Pack. Stress. Work and Pack. Work and Pack.
Day 6 - Last day of Work. Stress. Work and Pack.
Day 7 - Load and Pack. Clean and Pack. Pack some more. Amazing friends help with all of this.
We were slated to leave early Wednesday morning, but we were delayed because there were more errands and yet more packing. We actually left around noon, just in time to hit Chicago traffic at rush hour. We sat on the highway parking lot for hours and eventually made it to Davenport, Iowa. The last 20 minutes was spent in a horrible storm - huge flashes in the sky, torrential rain and hail. In the morning before leaving Davenport we went to the Mississippi River.
On Thursday, we traveled from Davenport to Omaha. Iowa is beautiful and very sensual. The hotel in Omaha was downtown. The staff was amazingly unhelpful once we realized that the truck wouldn't fit into the underground parking lot. In general the service was very bad. The hotel gave me flashbacks to the hotel in Angel.
We spent the first part of today visiting the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. They have a huge indoor jungle and rainforest exhibit with animals and birds and all sorts of stuff open and all around you. There is also a huge dome with a desert inside it. The aquarium was also very nice. This gave Mr. Man time to have some fun, which was much needed.
Nebraska is not Iowa! Let's talk flat for miles around. It's nice in it's own way - a great wind across the open space, but not much to make the driving easier. We made it from Omaha to Oglalla today. Another big storm front moved in so we were happy to get off the road. When you're out in the open, the storm fronts look huge!!! One cool thing is that Nebraska must be on the migration route for cranes. There were thousands of these birds all around - on the ground, in the sky, etc.
I guess it's Nebraska where there's nothing to do or think about in the great expanse except sex. We were goofy today and the tension among the 4 adults is high. The women of the trip, well, let's just say we communicate. When hotel plans were being made for a 2 bedroom jacuzzi suite, we started thinking of adult options for the group. When that hotel fell through because of the cat, Lovely Librarian Lady devised a plan to give my wife and I some much needed time together.
In perhaps the most irresponsible move since we Mr. Man was born, my wife and I sent BikerBoy and Library Lady to the pool with Mr. Man while we had a much needed quickie(s) to release some energy. It was all very good until BikerBoy returned with Mr. Man for a potty break. Enter lots of giggling and furious attempts to cover the birthday suits. Somehow BikerBoy missed all the planning we had done to orchestrate this event and was quite confused. All went well, the pee break finished and my wife and I got back in the sack. I'm quite relaxed now and can continue into any weather up ahead in the mountains.
Day 3 - Realization that change was coming. It finally hits me that I have a new job.
Day 4 - Party Day. Mr. Man has 12 ~5yos running screaming through the house for 3 hours for his unbirthday/farewell party. This is followed by a wonderful party thrown for us by friends. Amazing vegan food, drinking and a great grownup time.
Day 5 - Work and Pack. Work and Pack. Stress. Work and Pack. Work and Pack.
Day 6 - Last day of Work. Stress. Work and Pack.
Day 7 - Load and Pack. Clean and Pack. Pack some more. Amazing friends help with all of this.
We were slated to leave early Wednesday morning, but we were delayed because there were more errands and yet more packing. We actually left around noon, just in time to hit Chicago traffic at rush hour. We sat on the highway parking lot for hours and eventually made it to Davenport, Iowa. The last 20 minutes was spent in a horrible storm - huge flashes in the sky, torrential rain and hail. In the morning before leaving Davenport we went to the Mississippi River.
On Thursday, we traveled from Davenport to Omaha. Iowa is beautiful and very sensual. The hotel in Omaha was downtown. The staff was amazingly unhelpful once we realized that the truck wouldn't fit into the underground parking lot. In general the service was very bad. The hotel gave me flashbacks to the hotel in Angel.
We spent the first part of today visiting the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. They have a huge indoor jungle and rainforest exhibit with animals and birds and all sorts of stuff open and all around you. There is also a huge dome with a desert inside it. The aquarium was also very nice. This gave Mr. Man time to have some fun, which was much needed.
Nebraska is not Iowa! Let's talk flat for miles around. It's nice in it's own way - a great wind across the open space, but not much to make the driving easier. We made it from Omaha to Oglalla today. Another big storm front moved in so we were happy to get off the road. When you're out in the open, the storm fronts look huge!!! One cool thing is that Nebraska must be on the migration route for cranes. There were thousands of these birds all around - on the ground, in the sky, etc.
I guess it's Nebraska where there's nothing to do or think about in the great expanse except sex. We were goofy today and the tension among the 4 adults is high. The women of the trip, well, let's just say we communicate. When hotel plans were being made for a 2 bedroom jacuzzi suite, we started thinking of adult options for the group. When that hotel fell through because of the cat, Lovely Librarian Lady devised a plan to give my wife and I some much needed time together.
In perhaps the most irresponsible move since we Mr. Man was born, my wife and I sent BikerBoy and Library Lady to the pool with Mr. Man while we had a much needed quickie(s) to release some energy. It was all very good until BikerBoy returned with Mr. Man for a potty break. Enter lots of giggling and furious attempts to cover the birthday suits. Somehow BikerBoy missed all the planning we had done to orchestrate this event and was quite confused. All went well, the pee break finished and my wife and I got back in the sack. I'm quite relaxed now and can continue into any weather up ahead in the mountains.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Who Woke Up a Grownup: Day 2
Today was one of those snow days that shouldn't have been, where all schools for counties around closed school. I wonder if there's a domino effect for this sort of thing. If one school closes, do they all start to fall in nearby districts by mere inertia? We had a bit of ice but nothing treacherous. However, I took pleasure in my last opportunity to exercise my current employer's inclement weather policy: If the local school district is closed, use your own best judgment. Seeing as Mr. Man already had a 10am doctor's appointment we planned a family breakfast at the only diner in town that can present a good vegan breakfast.
Mr. Man was excited for the morning. So much so that while I began to shower, he put on his red briefs, got himself dressed and marched downstairs to put on his boots. All of this without any urging from us. In fact, it all happened before I was out of the shower and before my wife even got out of bed. When I got out of the shower he was ready to put on his coat. I wasn't sure who this kid was, given the struggles we have on school days. Too bad we're moving to a city without snow days.
Later at breakfast without telling us what he was doing, he kindly flagged the waiter with his hand and requested a straw. I think we put a 4yo to bed last night and woke up with a 7 year old. Also, I think he took a talking pill. He's usually a talker but today he seemed in high gear. At bedtime he went on ad nauseum about the space shuttle and space camp and about some crawler that moves the shuttle when it's standing up for launching. Apparently the crawler moves at a speed of 1 mile an hour. I watched him talk, enthralled by what he knows and how he learned it. The beauty of his maturing weighs heavy on my mama heart, for traces of our baby seem far gone.
Today we got photos of some apartments we thought seemed good and for a lesbian-owned property management company. The one apartment is absolutely beautiful, just thoroughly remodeled with new appliances in a nice, trendy neighborhood. There's even a fenced in patio area in the back where Mr. Man could play and my wife can could container garden. We saw the pictures and immediately said "I want it." Stay tuned. I'm thinking the forwarding address could be coming soon.
Mr. Man was excited for the morning. So much so that while I began to shower, he put on his red briefs, got himself dressed and marched downstairs to put on his boots. All of this without any urging from us. In fact, it all happened before I was out of the shower and before my wife even got out of bed. When I got out of the shower he was ready to put on his coat. I wasn't sure who this kid was, given the struggles we have on school days. Too bad we're moving to a city without snow days.
Later at breakfast without telling us what he was doing, he kindly flagged the waiter with his hand and requested a straw. I think we put a 4yo to bed last night and woke up with a 7 year old. Also, I think he took a talking pill. He's usually a talker but today he seemed in high gear. At bedtime he went on ad nauseum about the space shuttle and space camp and about some crawler that moves the shuttle when it's standing up for launching. Apparently the crawler moves at a speed of 1 mile an hour. I watched him talk, enthralled by what he knows and how he learned it. The beauty of his maturing weighs heavy on my mama heart, for traces of our baby seem far gone.
Today we got photos of some apartments we thought seemed good and for a lesbian-owned property management company. The one apartment is absolutely beautiful, just thoroughly remodeled with new appliances in a nice, trendy neighborhood. There's even a fenced in patio area in the back where Mr. Man could play and my wife can could container garden. We saw the pictures and immediately said "I want it." Stay tuned. I'm thinking the forwarding address could be coming soon.
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