I made it!
2,778 miles ... four days, 13 tanks of gas, three hotel rooms, 12 bottles of water, not quite a whole bag of Hershey Kisses, innumerable 100 calories snack packs, one bag of pretzels, two bags of cheese popcorn and a can of ready-made fat-free tuna that I know I brought but can't find. I won't mention what FAT Rudolph ate. Let it just be said that when Jenn made her wonderful fajitas tonight he mumbled something about it being nice to eat something that wasn't in the middle of a bun and did not require catsup. This from a creature who before the trip only ate pretend carrots!
I knew I was getting really tired when I got in the car this morning and actually spoke out loud to Rudolph and asked him if we should have breakfast first or drive for awhile. He didn't answer, which is a good sign.
When I pulled up in front of Jenn and PJ's house, Chris came running up to the car and was all excited ... then he started pointing to the front of the house and said: "LOOK, AMMA, LOOK!!!" Jenn and the boys had a huge banner hanging from the balcony that read "WELCOME HOME AMMA!!!" I have to admit it was the one time through this entire trip that I got weepy.
This was another "Oh Wow!" day...I was too tired last night to appreciate coming into Flagstaff (6000 feet up as compared to many of the deserts I drove through for much of the day), but Arizona is another land of contrasts. I didn't even notice that there was snow outside the door to my room last night. As I started the final leg of the journey, I was amazed at the towering evergreens and the snow in between them, and then an hour later I was in the middle of the desert again .. it went from 44 degrees to 73 degrees and I got to the desert on the other side of the mountains around 9 a.m.
I have to say that the roads in AZ were the hardest to travel, surface wise. I guess the harsh weather and the miles and miles of miles and miles make them difficult to maintain. They were very bumpy, and I was feeling quite sore from bouncing around. There are practically no rest areas, and there are sometimes 50 miles between exits (and frequently there was only a gas station at the exit), and even with "the most bars anywhere," there is not always a cell signal. I was a little concerned that if I had any kind of car trouble, I'd wind up stuck in the desert until a trooper came by (and I hardly saw any of them). Of course, I had all the comforts of home with me (tons of water, snacks, an air mattress, sheets, blanket, pillow) so I could have stayed there for days if I had to! I met some real Americans I thought were only on TV. I saw incredible poverty and people living in conditions that those of us who have been so privileged throughout our lives cannot even imagine, and I saw mansions sitting on the tops of green hills and in the middle of valleys.
In OK City, I saw Bentleys and Rolls and mansions... (oil money) I saw acres and acres that are still tended by what I guessed were generations of the same families...in the bible belt, I saw people with bibles on their belts! when I stopped, I would sit and watch very proud people and loving people and met many very kind people and helpful people... I have been blessed to have so many of those in my life and it was a gift to meet strangers like that. I think we all get so busy sometimes we forget to take time to appreciate those that make our lives easier or try to be helpful ..like the man in Missouri who interrupted his cell phone conversation to tell me that a dollar had fallen out of my pocket... The chatty kids at those fast food places who would ask about the weather and where I was going while filling Rudolph's order.
The many memorials along the highways... it made me very conscious of how things can change in an instant. I will never forget that Indian burial site with the flag and the "Thank you America" sign. I whooped when I saw "Welcome to California" and Rudolph almost peeled his birch off he was so excited. I took big deep breaths of the ocean air when I saw the Pacific again and was comfortable driving my OWN car, not some thing I had rented and couldn't figure out where the A/C was and smelled like cigarettes (mine just smells like food and hopefully will NOT smell like tunafish if I can find the can.)
I can't describe how I felt when I got to the last fold in the map and realized I'd made it! I remembered a card that I have had for many years, always posted on a bulletin board in my house... it' s a quote from George Eliot and it says "You are never too old to be what you might have been." And I am just that.
I always wanted to drive cross-country, although I wish I'd had time to stop more and see some of the places that I just passed through and meet more people. Another life goal achieved! I will do it again at some point and will make sure get to do the stopping.
I have to say that the roads in AZ were the hardest to travel, surface wise. I guess the harsh weather and the miles and miles of miles and miles make them difficult to maintain. They were very bumpy, and I was feeling quite sore from bouncing around. There are practically no rest areas, and there are sometimes 50 miles between exits (and frequently there was only a gas station at the exit), and even with "the most bars anywhere," there is not always a cell signal. I was a little concerned that if I had any kind of car trouble, I'd wind up stuck in the desert until a trooper came by (and I hardly saw any of them). Of course, I had all the comforts of home with me (tons of water, snacks, an air mattress, sheets, blanket, pillow) so I could have stayed there for days if I had to! I met some real Americans I thought were only on TV. I saw incredible poverty and people living in conditions that those of us who have been so privileged throughout our lives cannot even imagine, and I saw mansions sitting on the tops of green hills and in the middle of valleys.
In OK City, I saw Bentleys and Rolls and mansions... (oil money) I saw acres and acres that are still tended by what I guessed were generations of the same families...in the bible belt, I saw people with bibles on their belts! when I stopped, I would sit and watch very proud people and loving people and met many very kind people and helpful people... I have been blessed to have so many of those in my life and it was a gift to meet strangers like that. I think we all get so busy sometimes we forget to take time to appreciate those that make our lives easier or try to be helpful ..like the man in Missouri who interrupted his cell phone conversation to tell me that a dollar had fallen out of my pocket... The chatty kids at those fast food places who would ask about the weather and where I was going while filling Rudolph's order.
The many memorials along the highways... it made me very conscious of how things can change in an instant. I will never forget that Indian burial site with the flag and the "Thank you America" sign. I whooped when I saw "Welcome to California" and Rudolph almost peeled his birch off he was so excited. I took big deep breaths of the ocean air when I saw the Pacific again and was comfortable driving my OWN car, not some thing I had rented and couldn't figure out where the A/C was and smelled like cigarettes (mine just smells like food and hopefully will NOT smell like tunafish if I can find the can.)
I can't describe how I felt when I got to the last fold in the map and realized I'd made it! I remembered a card that I have had for many years, always posted on a bulletin board in my house... it' s a quote from George Eliot and it says "You are never too old to be what you might have been." And I am just that.
I always wanted to drive cross-country, although I wish I'd had time to stop more and see some of the places that I just passed through and meet more people. Another life goal achieved! I will do it again at some point and will make sure get to do the stopping.
So, Tuesday I move into my own place. I am very excited about it and have really spent this whole time in the car looking forward (because I had to see where I was going, literally and figuratively) I took a lot of pictures while driving and I will put them up on Ofoto when I figure out what they are... (I know, it's scary to snap and drive, but it wasn't that distracting. The camera really does it all on its own)
I can't thank all of you enough for all you've done for me...the love, the support, the encouragement (my sister and my parents!), the phone calls along the way (which SO passed the time and always seemed to come during the most boring times) the prayers (thanks for getting me the hotel room last night, Mommy!) the cards (Rosanna Rosanna Danna was played more than once along the way, Jess!) the gifts (Friends, the tote bag came into the hotel every night with all my important papers in it) the little things like the book Carly gave me which also came into the hotel room every night with me and was the last thing I saw at night and the first thing every morning...and the " Keep on truckin' " emails and calls from PJ along the way and the sign that Jenn and the boys made... it all makes me feel very special and I'm really not! YOU are all special! and even though I'm ending "Travels With Rudolph" I'm beginning a whole new chapter of "Travels with Judy" and I like her. And she doesn't eat fast food for breakfast, lunch and dinner like that pesty reindeer!
LOVE YOU LOVE YOU LOVE YOU. J (and R!!!)
PS ... He will not be put away with the other decorations when they arrive. I will find a
special place in my new home for him...even though my landlord has a VERY strict "No
Pets" rule!
I can't thank all of you enough for all you've done for me...the love, the support, the encouragement (my sister and my parents!), the phone calls along the way (which SO passed the time and always seemed to come during the most boring times) the prayers (thanks for getting me the hotel room last night, Mommy!) the cards (Rosanna Rosanna Danna was played more than once along the way, Jess!) the gifts (Friends, the tote bag came into the hotel every night with all my important papers in it) the little things like the book Carly gave me which also came into the hotel room every night with me and was the last thing I saw at night and the first thing every morning...and the " Keep on truckin' " emails and calls from PJ along the way and the sign that Jenn and the boys made... it all makes me feel very special and I'm really not! YOU are all special! and even though I'm ending "Travels With Rudolph" I'm beginning a whole new chapter of "Travels with Judy" and I like her. And she doesn't eat fast food for breakfast, lunch and dinner like that pesty reindeer!
LOVE YOU LOVE YOU LOVE YOU. J (and R!!!)
PS ... He will not be put away with the other decorations when they arrive. I will find a
special place in my new home for him...even though my landlord has a VERY strict "No
Pets" rule!