I'm back!!

Wow. Gone for two weeks. It doesn't seem that long. Maybe because a week of it was spent traveling.

I could say the trip was uneventful, but I'd be lying. I could say it was uneventful for us personally, which it mostly was -- until we were in southern Kentucky on our way home.

I took a ton of pictures (Thank god for digital cameras!). I had never been out west before. Have any of you ever seen the mountains in Montana?? They are... majestic. They make you feel so insignificant, and, at the same time, very much a part of things.

The water in Idaho is phenomenal! People regularly bathe in the lakes and rivers out there. What a wonderful feeling! I did it twice while I was there - once in a lake, and once in a river. My hair was sooo soft. I didn't want to take a regular shower ever again. I didn't want that softness to go away. But here I am, back in the land of dirty water. The water is so clean there, you can see all the way to the bottom. Incredible!

But I'm jumping ahead...

We left here Wednesday the 6th at 11pm (about). We took turns driving and sleeping (since neither of us got a nap before we left). Every couple hours or so we would switch. No problems at all. I was even speeding through Wisconsin (something you should never ever do - The cops are strict, and if you don't have the money for the ticket right then, off to jail you go.) without a hitch. Oh, and when I say speeding, I generally mean 90mph or above - unless my internal cop radar goes off (I'll slow down then.).

We arrived in Minnesota around 4pm (well, 3pm Central time). Perfect! We actually arrived minutes after my father-in-law. We also found out that Husband's aunt and uncle would be caravanning with us in their RV. Coolness!

So we get all loaded up, it's after dark when we leave (I think). Oh, and by 'we' I mean me, Husband, Little Diva, father-in-law, sister-in-law, nephew, and Grandpa all in one RV. (Mother-in-law had previously flown out.) We immediately took our places. The smokers (sister-in-law and me) in the back bedroom with the windows wide open; the two kids on the upper bunk, Grandpa in the table/living room area; and Husband and father-in-law up front. At some point after take off, Husband comes back to the back bedroom -- he needs a catnap if he is going to be able to stay awake while his dad is driving. S-i-l was already asleep, and I was just laying there keeping an eye on the kids. I motioned to the space in the middle of the bed (it's a queen size) as a good spot for his nap. His sister wakes up a little while later to see her brother in bed, and thought that was a bit strange. :D When we stopped in Fargo, (I was also asleep by this time - as was everyone, but f-i-l driving) f-i-l came back to see if he could have the bed (I'm guessing). Instead, he saw all three of us passed out, and thought that was the funniest thing. He told the story many times over the next few days. Anyway, Fargo is only about three hours away from where we started. At least we were on the road! Get up, use the bathroom, get coffee... This ritual would be repeated countless times.

We had almost crossed North Dakota when s-i-l and I noticed the other RV pulled over on the shoulder. We yell up front, they start talking on the radio, and f-i-l starts looking for a flat enough spot in the median to turn around (did I mention this big RV is also pulling a trailer?). He found one, and only knocked the gray water pipe a little loose -- he was able to tie it back up.

The other RV was acting like it was out of gas. Not possible. We just filled up. Hmm... Fuel filter? Maybe. But no. Fuel pump? Bingo!

Anyway, since we were stopped, we took the opportunity to get clean clothes out of the trailer (I forgot to have a change in the RV). Also, we kicked the kids out. So what if we are on the interstate! Look at this big grassy ditch -- Perfect for laser tag!!

Luckily, Grandpa had AAA, and has the hundred mile tow option. He generously offered it to them. Turns out, AAA won't tow an RV unless you specifically have 'motorhome coverage'. Please. They had to pay for a tow. At this point Aunt C is freaking out, wanting to just turn around and go home, etc. They convinced her to continue on. Anyway, the tow truck charges $100 an hour. He had to tow them for about 15 minutes (if that). Guess how much he charged them -- $175!! Why, you may ask? I know I did. They had to pay for his drive time back to town after dropping them off at a shop. Bastard. The shop made up for it though. They were just about to close, but called Napa, got the part, dropped the fuel tank, and fixed her right up. A loud cheer went up from everyone when that baby was fired up!

On the road again...

Going through the mountain passes of Montana, their transmission started slipping. The first thought was that they were low on fluid. The drive shaft (?) was pulled loose during the tow - maybe some leaked out. Well, that got fixed, and all seemed well -- until we started going downhill. Tranny slipped again! We pulled into the next town, and found a Napa. Uncle R was going to change the filter and fluid. Luckily, Napa let us do it in their back lot. And we were also in town long enough to order pizza. Yum!

New filter and fluid in place, trailers switched (both RVs were pulling a trailer - now we were pulling the heavier one), we gave it another shot. We made it all the way to Idaho without any more problems. Yay!! I actually believed we were never going to get there. Illogical, I know.

Since it was starting to get dark, we didn't set up our tent until the next day. (Oh yeah. I can't remember where we stopped to sleep again, but we had different sleeping arrangements. *laugh* Husband and I in top bunk; S-i-l on couch; Kids on table bed; F-i-l in the back bed; and Grandpa in the driver's seat {He needs to sleep sitting up.}) So, same sleeping arrangements that first night in Idaho, only plus a mother-in-law.

I woke up the next morning in a hurry. I believed we were at a truck stop, and I needed to get up, get coffee, use the bathroom, etc before they left. I fly out of bed... to realize I'm in Idaho. *laugh* I should have gone back to sleep...

Anyway, that first day, laundry was big on my agenda. Since we only had hours to pack, we brought both clean and dirty clothes. No time to wash them here - plus we have the wrong cord for our dryer. They have a laundromat very close by. Woo hoo! Three loads. How can three people have so much stuff on a vacation?? It must have been just enough though, because when we got back to MN, we had a lot of laundry then too.

While I was at the laundromat, the RVs and tents got set up - plus this huge tarp to go over the cooking/eating area. We had a stove and a refrigerator (like you would find in your kitchen) outside. How cool is that?

I've never seen a family that enjoys each other's company as much as this one. Very different from my family - we are a set of individuals that happen to be related.

We went swimming, visited Granite Falls and the shoe tree, went swimming a couple more times, a few went rafting, and a lot of us cracked a whip. You heard me.

A cousin (N) bought a whip on the way to Idaho. He has an 8 foot cheap one at home. This one was real leather, 10 feet long (12 with the two leads tied on it), and beautiful. We were using plastic cups for targets. Even the kids were taking turns. That was pretty cute. They all had to use two hands, because it was so heavy. My kid started insisting we buy a whip. Husband tried it and thought it was fun. Then I gave it a whirl. I am so hooked! As a matter of fact, Cousin N and I have a wager. He thinks we are the most likely people to get a whip. The wager: If I don't ever hurt myself (which he believes is impossible), at the next family reunion, I'll get to snatch a cigarette out of his mouth with the whip. I'm fairly certain I can pull it off (not hurting myself, I mean). I also need to figure out what exactly I was doing differently with it. Everyone's shoulder or forearm hurt after playing with it for a while, but that never happened to me. It's not because I'm stronger or built or anything like that (not even close!!), so it must be technique. He suggests we start with a cheap 8-footer like he did. He said they were about $30. His nice whip that we were all playing with was $100. I'm having withdrawals, can you tell?

On Thursday the 14th, we packed up and went home. Well, home to MN. We arrived around 3am Saturday. We were planning on leaving Sunday night to come back to TN. We gathered all our stuff, got it ready to load (it was too hot to load some of that stuff and let it sit in the van.), and were fully prepared to leave. That is, until I said I didn't want to leave yet. Now usually, Husband will be practical and responsible in situations like this. He would normally give me reasons why leaving that night would be the best idea... Normally. This time he immediately considered it. Then, before any decision is made, his dad says he could come to work with him the next day if we stayed. I had to leave the decision up to him -- he is the one with a job, after all. He decided he would like to stay another night. I think that was best. I was ready to leave by the next night.

We loaded up, headed out, same routine as before: switching off every couple hours. We were beyond Indianapolis before we were both awake and staying awake. We were going to try a new highway on the way home. It was more of a straight shot than the interstate. We were going to get on it in southern Kentucky. I wanted him to drive the new road. He wanted a quick nap, so we switched in Lexington, KY. I would drive until Corbin. It started raining. I HATE driving in the rain. I love being in the rain, I love watching, smelling, hearing the rain. Just hate driving in it. I'm watching the mile markers and the green town signs, counting down to when I can wake him up and get out of the driver's seat. We were about 35 miles away from the switching destination when this guy pulls out in front of me (I'm in the left lane), and then slams on his brakes. I think, "Oh, shit!", and slam on my brakes. Husband wakes up to the G-force and sees us sliding into this moron. If it would have been a dry road, we most likely would have stopped in time. But it was wet, the tires were locked up, and we were sliding. Crash! (which is what my kid woke up to.) Son of a bitch! I pull over to the shoulder (it only now occurs to me, I should have done that in the first place to try and avoid hitting him.). Now I can see why he stepped on his brakes - there is a car sitting sideways in the middle lane. Now after some thought, I don't understand why he slammed on his brakes. We were in the left lane. Couldn't he have just given them a wide berth? I'm freaked, worried, wondering if I broke the van (buckled the hood and pushed the radiator back a little), hoping the people in the other car aren't hurt, wondering what caused the first accident, and trying not to be pissed for getting cut off like that. I mean, fine, you want to be in the left lane? You DO NOT cut in front of someone and slam on your brakes! Sure-fire way to get crashed into. But, since technically, it was a rear-end collision, it is my fault. That's why I was trying not to be pissed. A technicality. How stupid. So moron is all worried about his dented hatch (whatever). He's hoping it will still open and all that rot. Ya know what took the brunt of the crash? His spare tire which is on his hatch. He could have had it completely bent in, window possibly broken, and all that, but he had a spare tire on there. Very lucky for him. I almost felt like saying "How dare you worry about a dent? I don't even know if I'll be able to make it home, you prick! And all because you couldn't wait until I passed and pulled into the lane behind me." But I was trying not to be pissed, and didn't say anything to him. Husband did all the talking. I stayed where I was, calmed the kid down, told her No, she could not get out, and other such things. Also, it was still raining, and I now had a cop to deal with. I had to be polite as possible, because technically it's my fault. Why is that a law? If that first accident wasn't there, and he pulled in front of me, slammed on the brakes for no reason, and I hit him, it would still be my fault. Why?? I'm not sure that is exactly fair. I hate driving in the rain.

Anyhoo, we're home, the dogs were picked up, and they are just fine (I have to walk them soon), the hamster is still alive, the house is still a disaster from just moving into it and never being home to unpack. All in all, everything is just peachy.

I am glad to be home, and I'll be even happier in a little bit when I take a shower. We are going to a drum circle tonight. Yeas, that's right. We get home last night, and we are leaving again tonight. But we have no plans for the weekend, and we both want to keep it that way. Maybe get some unpacking done. We haven't even been home long enough to get the electronic stuff hooked up. It's crazy, man, just crazy.

So, was this long enough? *laugh* Consider it two weeks worth of posts.

And now, back to your regularly scheduled broadcasting...

~Do not expand~