Since 8 June 2005

Boy oh boy, where do I start?

Back on the 8th I left AZ and headed to UT. I was going up to help my brother and his family pack up and move to TX. I went up a couple days early so I could go see other friends and family still up there. Many of whom I hadn't seen in around 3 years. Of course a lot can change in 3 years, but one might expect in the e-mails to them over the years they might have mentioned BIG changes.

So I'm in my rental car and running down to see some friends at a company I worked for my last few years in UT. I get to the building and it's got for sale and lease signs all over it. No sign of them or where they've gone. So I checked another friend -- his office had moved too. Blah, blah, blah. Basically my first day there I managed to see my cousin Georgia and only my cousin Georgia. I guess that's not entirely true. I did see my sister Stacey, her husband Tyson and my brother Patrick Ryan that night.

That night I had decided I was going to the one restaurant I miss in UT: OTTAVIO'S! They all tried to convince me otherwise since the plan was to go Saturday after packing the moving truck. HA! I would go twice, but had to go that night. Good thing I did, since the Saturday visit was cancelled. HA! So I got my Rigatoni Fra Diavolo anyway! Mmmmm. I wish they'd open one in Mesa.

Managed to find most of my friends the next day and see them all, with a little bit of confusion. It was good to see them. I had to find one more the next day, but as there was nothing to do -- it all worked out.

Friday was packing the truck day. Blargh. With some help from the local Elder's Quorum it actually went pretty quickly. I am still surprised that we were cramming things into the last inches of the truck and needed more space. So badly that they tried to put a bike rack on the back of the moving van with 2 bikes.

Sunday we began the drive. It started raining (with a little hail in the middle of it all). Sunday we began the drive. It started raining (with a little hail in the middle of it all). Less than 2 miles from the house [I was driving the truck with my nephew, Alex (a few years older than this pic), who wanted to ride in the "big truck"] and got hailed to the side of the road. The bike rack straps had snapped and the bikes were dragging. Who knows how long... and after the drive I almost wish I'd ignored the guy who pulled me over. We ended up putting the bikes in the van in the middle seat section. We got soaked to the bone doing this. It also meant Alex had to make the whole trip in the moving truck which he weathered very well actually. It ended up the bikes weren't the most important things and if they'd been demolished Sean's wife says she wouldn't have cared all that much. So if I'd have let them drag... ah well, it didn't happen that way.

We made it to Cheyenne that day. Sean was exhausted from a very stressful week. Dad wanted to go to Denver just to get more miles in. I knew we'd be okay... long drive or not, got to get some rest sometime. Thus begane our chain of stays in the Super 8 Motels where surprisingly enough, I slept better than I ever have in any motel -- but for the Grizzley Bear snoring in the other bed.

Monday took us to Wichita with a lot of stops and starts. We did have a 6-year old with us, you know. Even so, it worked out. No other major mishaps. Though we did have one event that's noteworthy. We had stopped for a Blizzard at a DQ and this old lady pulled in. She didn't know where she was (not even that she was in Kansas) or where she was going (East or West), where her son lived (which coast)... we finally got some info to help her on the right road. I hope she was just distraught because after thinking about it for a moment, I realized she could be in real trouble. I went back in and had them call the Highway Patrol to keep an eye out for her because she really was lost. She told us she was mad at her husband and just took off, so I hope she calmed down and realized what she was doing, but what if she really was that lost? She was planning on going to S. Carolina! Poor lady, hope she's okay.

Tuesday we got into Dallas/ Ft Worth, got him to the hotel where we met up with his wife and daughter. I had just met Bethany the week before and she's absolutely adorable. After getting settled a little bit we really needed to relax some. Sean especially, it had been a rough time for him. The Inn had a pool (no longer a Super 8). I tell ya, that was the PERFECT solution. At least for me. It was just what I needed to wind down from the drive and everything. Alex and Bethany joined in. Though I had to swim in my shorts since I hadn't packed a swimsuit. Oh well -- denim drys like other materials.

We found out the next day that the expect 3-6 month stay in TX was no longer valid but he was being offered a position in Alabama (to leave to on Friday -- it now being Wednesday). Alas, non-refundable plane tix meant Dad and I were leaving Thursday morn at 6:05 am. The good news from that is we didn't have to unload the truck, they could just drive that one out and be done.

Since my last blog was about books I ought to mention this whole time I have read less than 100 pages. My Dad doesn't like SF/Fantasy and the like so he didn't approve of A Darkness at Sethanon by Feist so instead of reading while he was driving, I just sat and we chatted. I did finally finish it Wednesday afternoon so I could get to Shogun which I had been itching to get to for days now. I also got to see Batman Begins. More on that some other time.

Dad and I were going to hang around from like Midnight until our flight at the airport, but the plan changed 15 times and it was finally decided to get up at 4 and go. I dozed on and off for a couple hours but stayed up most of it and did read some Shogun. If I haven't mentioned it in another blog it has been at least 17-18 years since I've read it... before I started keeping a list of the books I read each year. So I was really chomping at the bit to read it. We get to the airport, almost forgot Dad's cane -- and off we go. I get checked in and as I'm going through security I realize I left Shogun in the carseat in the Van. *le sigh* Of all the damn fool things to do... ah well, I knew I could find a used one in town... there isn't a used bookstore in America that doesn't have 15 copies of Shogun, right?

So I thought until after calling a dozen stores yesterday I finally found one store that had ONE copy. Man, when I was younger they were everywhere. Whatever the reason, it was a lot more difficult to find than I thought, but now I can read it. Yay.

Anyhow, 'tis good to be home, even though it was a good trip on the whole, it's always nice to return home.

Until next time--

~Gojira