Thursday, July 31, 2008

San Rafael to Salt Lake City (Day 1)



We left at 8 am, three hours later than planned, for Andy, as many will attest, cannot manage time or space with the finesse that most possess. After a frantic search for the various things left unpacked, we tore out onto the Interstate 80 East, the back of the car packed tighter than Dick Cheney's clogged, evil arteries.
Nevada passed by slowly; three discs of a Carl Hiaasen book-on-tape, four pit-stops/gas-ups, half a bag of turkey jerky and counting those "can-you-imagine-living-here" trailers in the desert helped ease the journey through that smoggy, bland scrubland, but the real highlight of our mad race to SLC in one day was our last pit-stop at Wendover, literally on the Nevada/Utah border.
While I loaded the car back up with dog and drink, Emily played two pulls on the penny slots at the Peppermill Casino- and won $104! Needless to say, we immediately raced on, fighting the urge to feed the slots and lose her lucky winnings.
We arrived in Salt Lake City late in the evening, the last few miles of the highway shining in the sunset tinted by the pink mountains ahead. Meeting my Auntie Sue at the Addicted Cafe, a small vegan cafe in the bohemian section of town, we caught the tail end of Shannon 's show, a talented singer-songwriter friend of Emily's from college.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

July 2, 2008- Our Rough Itinerary

We've sorted through the shelves in our local stores for books and maps to aid in our journey. AAA has been consulted (our little TripTix book came promptly with its loose leaf printouts spiral bound) and we now begin the ardous task of making reservations for campsites and hotel rooms. Time to solidify our trip!

July 30-31: San Rafael CA to Salt Lake City UT
August 1-4: Denver/Rocky Mountain National Park CO
August 5: Des Moines IA
August 6-8: Chicago IL
August 9-10: Niagara Falls Canada/NY
August 11-13: Westport NY
August 14-17: Brunswick/Portland ME
August 18-20: New York City NY
August 21-22: Savannah GA
August 23-27: Valrico FL
August 28: Baton Rouge LA
August 29: Houston TX
August 30-September 2: Austin TX
September 3: Palo Duro Canyon TX
September 4-5: Santa Fe NM
September 6-7: Grand Canyon AZ
September 8: Tucson AZ
September 9: Long Beach CA
September 10: BACK HOME!!!!!!!!

(Small Print: Plans are not written in stone, check back for updates!)