From Salt Lake City to Nevada

No pictures today because the card reader is in the car.

The Tally
Miles driven 520
Hours in Car 12 but I did take a pit stop to visit Mormon Temple in SLC
Touristy thing I did stopped at Mormon main compound in SLC. Pretty cool. It reminded me of the Vatican. This is all of our property all of our wealth, you can peak at it but really it stays with us.
Amazing thing that happened I experienced actual silence. . . more to come
Funny Sign I saw "Perish County" it was at the county limits.

The Mormon compound was very large, very pretty, somewhat creepy but the folks where generally nice. No one accosted me to spread the Word. I did have a chat with a foreign Sister. She offered me the Book, I kindly said no but now I guess it might have been a good read. I took some pictures of a giant plaque, I'll have more to say on that when I post the pictures.

When I left the Mormon compound I cruised through the rest of Utah. After SLC it was a different drive, I passed the Great Salt Lake and after that it was mostly a sandy drive. there was artwork in the sand for the last 50 or so Miles out of Utah. First I thought it was from the travelers but then I realized based on the many beer bottles buried to create the art that it is probably the work of the teenagers in Salt Lake and the surround towns. It was fun to look at.

The silence. There were stretches of Utah where there were no exits. NONE. Before I left SLC I got some coffee and a yummy seltzer spritzer, needless to say, I needed a stop. Well there was a "rest area" for the truckers not far from the Utah/Nevada line. I stopped. It looked like a giant ice covered lake that went right up to giant mountains. It was really a giant expanse of white sand. Very lovely. Pictures later. Well the stop was set off of the highway and there was not much volume on the highway. When I got out of the car I noticed there wasn't as much noise as there usually was but as I was making my way back tot he car there was silence. Actual, silence in nature. Different from the silence in a park or even in a field, no wind, no rustling of leaves or children or pet nothing. The only otter time I have head, or not heard, this silence was when I went sky diving. A body plummets to the earth at some crazy speed all you can hear is the wind in your face and ears and you notice as you are falling to the earth that you a really unreasonably close to the person with whom you are tandem jumping. Then the SHUTE OPENS (on a good day) and there is silence. Total, complete and utter silence. It was as silence I had never heard before. I heard it again in Utah. I was moved, it touched me in a way that I didn't think it would. I was grateful to be in the silence, even though it was only for a few moments. I listen mostly to the road noise when I drive and the quiet at the hotel is quiet but artificial. Until I was in it, I didn't realize how much I needed it. It was a gift.

Today destination is HOME. I am a mere 250 miles from home. That is a shorter drive that Philly to Pittsburgh.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Zig Zag update. ZZ is so accustomed to the road now he eats and uses the facilities. He still gets a little wigged out around 1 or noon, not sure why. He didn't care for driving so late into the evening last night, there was much meowing. Oh, he loves the big rigs. I can't explain it but if he is awake and we pass a big rig he runs right up to the window to check it out. He only opened the window once today and that was my own user error having rolled the windows down while we stopped for lunch, I never put the window lock back on.

Amazing Cuteness

How cute is this cat?? Taken at mile marker 387 in Nevada.

Utah

From the Mormon compound

From Salt Lake City

The Tally
Miles Driven about 430
Hours Spent in car I think 11
Coffee drinks 3
Hours spent lost in Salt Lake City a mere 10 miles from my hotel 1.5 YES 90 minutes. It was rough

Zach Photos

Photos of Utah as I was coming into town. Really, the photos don't do it justice

As I was heading through Wyoming I stopped at Laramie.

Today's efforts

Reno Nevada about 520 miles

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Is this funny orjust inappropriate??

A stop on the way

Matthew Shepard memorial bench at U of Wyoming in Laramie

Did the Cat Fart or is that Nebraska

So, I saw lots of pretty things yesterday but I don't have time to write about them. It is time to go and my computer is mad slow.

The Tally:
Miles driven about 530 ish
Hours in Car really long, could it have been 10 hours.
Coffee drinks 1 drink secured at the end of the day
Sad things I passed A meat (read: cow) slaughter house. The smell was bad, the many, many cows in such close quarters was worse

Today's journey should take us to Salt Lake City (about 440 miles). When I get there I'll write about yesterday and today. Yesterday's food pickin's AND COFFEE on route 80 was dismal. Luckily I had gotten some delicious food on Monday in Iowa City. No such luck today. Let's see how the vegetarian does in cow country, it's supposed to be corn country too, right?

Of course there are photos.

Nap time

Is it the NPR that put him to sleep??

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Zach enjoys a little NPR on the road.

TUESDAY

Tuesday's start from Omaha. today's destination is somewhere around in Wyoming.

Day 3 Destination Omaha, Nebraska

Today's drive was rather great. The downside is that I saw a Starbucks about 20 minutes into the drive and skipped it because I still had my morning coffee with me ~ coffee that I enjoy but not Starbucks. Well, I didn't see another Starbucks for over 400 miles. 400 MILES. Yeah, that's too far.

Funny things I saw today:

• Signs telling me to exit for "the birth place of President Regan" and a sign from the actual tourist division of Madison County Iowa for folks interested in the "Bridges of Madison County." Yeah, I am not making this up
• Other funny thing beside route 80 somewhere in Iowa there is a dirt road. On this dirt road, with a trail of dust behind it, I saw a large Chevy pick up coming eastbound (I am going westbound), I thought, well if that isn't just an Americana Chevy commercial I don't know what is . . . well, it turns out that the new Chevy truck had just passed a late model Chevy truck heading in the opposite direction THAT my friends would have made a VERY Americana Chevy commercial.

I started in Illinois this morning and went through Iowa. I can report back that the second half of Illinois and the first two thirds of Iowa were flat, mad windy and mad cloudy. There was never a threat of rain but the cloud coverage was thick and they all really seemed to be at the same altitude ~ is that possible?

Zach continues to be rockin' the road!!! Today he ate while we drove along. He still doesn't drink, I think he may lack the coordination to enjoy a cool beverage because he certainly feels free to lie in the bowl or use the bowl to push off for a jump to the seat.

The Tally
Miles driven Just under 500
Hours on Road about 10
Coffee Drinks 1. 1 lonely drink at the end of the day
Crazy things that happened today I didn't turn on any music/programs/radio at all. It was a quiet day

Monday

Zig Zag is Ready for Monday's drive.

The End of Day Two

I am in Morris, IL about 30 miles southwest of Chicago. The hotels in the city limits were either wicked expensive or we not suitable for me and Zig Zag.

Things I found out on the road:

Location of Indiana (really, I am serious)

It is mad windy in Indiana and the speed limits is 70 mph on the highway

I wasn't far from route 66

Turns out Zig Zag has inclinations to be Toonts the Driving Cat ~ I don't fully understand the character but folks have been making the joke for weeks and today Zig Zag tried to help drive. He is really calm in the car. He doesn't try to escape at all. He spends a fair amount of time looking out the windows. Today he also spent a fair amount of time napping.

Zig Zag is doing great on the road. Today he was relaxed enough to eat on the road. He is also pretty relaxed at the hotel, no hiding or hunger strikes.

Tomorrow's goal was originally Lincoln, Nebraska, not quite sure how I feel about that at this point. 1-it was a long day with a late start 2-there are some cool things I want to cruise in Iowa City. Of course, I don't want to leave Zig Zag in the car so there may be little or no cruising of anything. Today he very happily stayed in the car during potty and coffee stops but I ate in the car, wrote notes in the car and made any calls I had to make in the car. I don't want to leave him.

Today's Items of Interest:

Miles driven about 500

Hours on road about 10.5

Coffee drinks consumed maybe 6 ish ~ I swear that last one wasn't decaf!

Giant sink holes almost driven into on dark deserted entrance/exit ramps 1 (somewhere in Indiana)

Day Two of Driving Begins

I am headed to Chicago today. It is about 461 miles from Pittsburgh and should take about seven and a half hours to drive (plus coffee and potty) stops. I am working on packing the car now, Zach already has is harness on and has been given a dose of Rescue Remedy. That's all I've got for now.

Working My Way Back to You (read: The Girl)

So, today was mostly uneventful. I have a couple of pictures from the highway of the lovely PA foliage that I'll work on posting. A picture or two of Zig Zag doing whacky things. He was great in the car. No eating, drinking or using of the facilities but he did nap a couple of times. He never tried to escape when I would exit or enter the car. He spent more time looking out the windows, all of the windows, even the front window, then he did hiding. And he only had that crazy dying animal cry twice. All in all, it was pretty good.

We are now in Pittsburgh, staying with Miss C. and puppy Toby. It looks like Bob will be released from the hospital over the weekend. They'll head back to the home of tax free shopping and I'll continue my treck to the Left. I'll be in Pittsburgh till then so it will be quiet on the posting front!! Feel free to call or text.

Stats for Day One:
Miles Driven Just under 300
Hours on the Road 6
Coffee Drinks Consumed 2
Times Zig Zag Opened the Window on the HIGHWAY Just once--really, it happened

The Very Begining

Zig Zag enjoys the begining of the trip.

How Can You Miss Me if I Won't Go?

I moved some of the large furniture today. One piece remains and a friend in Delaware is going to help it move after I leave.


I have been working on a map. Of course I have been working on this very map for weeks. I think this is a good guess on how things might go http://tinyurl.com/totheleft No day is more than 8 hours or 600 miles. I am a frequent stopper for beverages and as a result for potty breaks. I know a couple of locations where there is a Whole Foods stores close to the highway, between those and grill cheeses I am sure I won't starve given the options of available road food.


I have been staying at The Girl's folk's house in DE, it has been very nice. Zig Zag and I have had full access to a proper bed and bathroom and a laundry. Awesome. As I head out on my trip, my first stop will be Pittsburgh to see The Girl's folks. And her Dad is well enough to be heading home, probably this very weekend. So we'll see each other before we each go Left and Right, respectively.


As far as touristy places go I am mostly underwhelmed. I looked for the largest ball of twine (I am, after all, traveling with a cat) but I didn't see any (yes there are three or four classifications of the largest ball of twine) very close to the highway. There is something called Carhedge outside of Grand Island between Lincoln Nebraska and Rawlins Wyoming. I have a lead or two on a cool spot in downtown Cheyenne and the world's largest truck stop is somewhere along route 80. I don't remember where but I am guessing it's a lot like South of the Boarder and there will be signage for 150 miles in either direction.

I will mostly be working on getting Left. Getting home.

Not Yet in Motion

But thinking about motion.

So a couple of weeks ago, I thought Sunday (this past Sunday) might have been my departure date. It has been an unexpected couple of weeks. Sunday came and went and I thought I wasn't really ready to go yet.

Sunday I went to my folks' house and went through a couple of my Mother's things. The things still smell like her. I wasn't really ready to go. Monday came and went, I had more than a few things left to take care of in terms of the condo and just stuff, I was busy. Today was a wrap up. I got to catch up with friends, do some school work and sort the car. I finished the day by going to my folks' house again. Again I went through some of my Mother's things, my sisters had spent the afternoon there doing the same thing. They had done the lion's share. It is pretty sad. It is harder to leave than I thought it might be . . . then perhaps it wold have been.

I am working on it.

Monday Night

Zig Zag hanging out at Miss C's (read Grandmoms)

Two of Two

It's over but it is sort of just starting.

The family made it though yesterday. Nobody's head exploded. No one had to be carried out of the church. Now the quiet starts. Folks head back to normal life. I did . . . of course it isn't realy normal. The painters came this morning, The Girl stayed to let them in the house. I took Zig Zag to The Girl's Mom's house. He is at his Grandmom's house and in the Grandma room. A little bit of a funny coincidence. I took the my National Boards Test for massage. I passed. I don't know my score but I left the testing center knowing that I passed. Now I am on campus gathering information for a paper that was due on Monday. My teacher said I could have till Friday, very gracious.

I am wearing a ring of my Mother's. Two people have commented on it so far today. I responded each time with "Thank you, it was my Mother's" I don't know know if that makes me sad or happy. I don't know if I want company or want to be alone. I eat when I get hungry now, but I don't have a taste for anything.

I uploaded the photos that I have taken over the last few day just a few minutes ago. I file the photos chronologically when they are saved. First to the year, then to the month then to a subcategory with the name of the event. I didn't have it in me to name the folder "Moms_funeral" or even just "Mom" the folder is called "Not_sure" because I am just not sure. I have a voicemail on my cell phone from a message she left me last Friday. I only have until this Friday to capture the message.

Normal life.

One of Two

So, tonight is the viewing. My father wanted an evening viewing and then the church service the next day. The thought was that the working folks couldn't make a day long series of events on the day of the burial. He is right. He also wanted a viewing before the church service for the older folks who don't drive at night. Again, he is right. Two days.

I don't know if I really want to be in the church when they close the casket. I know she is already gone. She left the moment the heart stopped working. We stayed with her in the hospital emergency room for hours. She was already gone then too. Still, the closing of that casket is probably going to be rough.

The Girl is home. I am beyond grateful for that. I know I am not alone, I have amazing friends who love me and would do anything for me (and have), but I am deeply, deeply grateful that The Girl is here. I have to go get dressed now.

The Day After

Fags 1

Drinks 4 coffee drinks, 2 scotches, 1 Coke Zero

Boxes Packed 2



Births Witnessed 1 amazing birth

Totally Cool

OK, so I have been a little nervous about mappage on my cross country trip. OH THIS JUST IN--IT IS LOOKING VERY PROBABLE THAT MY FRIEND FELTY WILL BE JOINING ME FOR THE RIDE!!! I know we just get on 80 and go left but we will be pulling off the highway for lodging and food and stuff and we may want to see stuff. I called AT&T yesterday and got Internet on my phone. Now, normally I am way to frugal to do this on my tiny-screened phone but heck. 15 bucks for the month is much less than the hundreds of bucks it would have been for a GPS. I just downloaded Google maps onto my phone and I LOVE IT! It is a little slow and a little small but it absolutely meets my needs. And as an extra added bonus (bonus for me perhaps snoozer for you) I can access Blogspot and Facebook from the phone now. Coolness!

The jury is still out. I will fiddle with it for a few days and then I'll know for sure.

Tallys and Photos, in that order

Yesterday was Monday. Many things left the house including paint to a craigslist person, lots of trash and lots of goodwill. I started my day with an amazing wonderful new Starbucks drink--one should never, ever look up the nutritional information on this beverage--really, I haven't I would encourage you not to. The drink is called Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. OMIGOD. I had it first thing and was strung out and through 2 p.m. My friend Felty came over to help, we did a lot of dropping off of stuff, even shipped The Girl's fancy pants guitar and wrapped up artwork for the move. It was a good day.

I finished the afternoon with dinner with some folks I had been a doula for. The Dad travels to China pretty regularly so we had a dee-lish-ious Chinese Food dinner (complete with fake duck) and yummy tea. LOTS of yummy tea. After dinner I came home and packed much more!


Yesterday's Tally (Monday--leaving me 5 days to movers):

Fags none (v gd)
Drinks (read coffee drinks ~ that may be sub-categorized later) 2
Tea too many to count
Boxes packed 9 or 10
Things disassembled 0
Warm cookies 0
Caffeine?? There was a lot of tea



Pictures from The Girl

5 Days 6 Nights . . . Much better than that stranded on a desert island movie . . .

What a productive day. I packed the utility closet this morning. I had a massage client this afternoon and then Rabid Squirrel (RS) came over to help me pack, stayed for dinner and took with her several items for which I was trying to find a new home! Hooray for RS!!!

RS helped me take apart some larger items int he garage and pack up the last few things in the garage. We attempted to drain the gas out of the Sakura (the motorcycle) but did not succeed. I will call the dealer tomorrow and ask for a tip or just ride most of the gas out. RS also helped me properly dispose of some unused latex paint with some much unloved kitty litter she had lying around. Sadly, I made her take was was left of the kitty litter home with her. I still need to find a home for some items in condo, a breakfront, an armiore and a blue hutch. Very sad. I posted my car for sale at the end of last week. No valid inquiries as of yet.


It is 7:32 p.m. and I have exactly SIX DAYS until the movers arrive.

Fags none (v gd)
Drinks (read coffee drinks ~ that may be sub-categorized later) 5
Boxes packed 6
Things disassembled 5
Warm cookies 3
Caffeine?? two cups

All in all, I feel pretty good about the move. That being said, I really only have until Wednesday to prepare. My birth doula client is scheduled to be induced on Thursday that means I'll be at the hospital probably until Friday. Then I will need to sleep for at least a few hours. I hope to pack tonight the suitcase I'll be living out of for two weeks. That way I can pack the rest of my clothes in boxes and take apart the shelf in the closet. I will not disassemble the bed until Friday night, no need to give up that luxury until I have to.

So, tonight--pack suitcase and sweep big room for items that need to be packed. OH, I CAN'T FIND THE DARN TAPE. Where ever it is, it is hiding the utility knife, too. Darn tape! The Girl did pick up some brown tape but there is a limited supply of that.

A New Tally

So, I've decided as things get down to the wire that it might be funny or at the very least entertaining for me to keep track of some things a'la Bridget Jones style. Now when I read the book I thought it was a hoot and tried, yes I really did this, to drink the way the character did. It was one weekend and I had nothing else going on. I thought heck, if she can do it, how hard can it be. Well, it turns out our gal Bridge was really a freakin' alcoholic. I made it one day and realized it was beyond my abilities to consume booze at that level. Thank goodness.

So, it is noon on Saturday and I have exactly one week until the movers arrive.

• Fags 1
• Drinks (read coffee drinks ~ that may be sub-catagorized later) 1
• Boxes packed 3
• Warm cookies 4
• Caffeine?? Not yet

This is What I know so Far

• Birth Doula Client having her baby on October 9th.
• Movers will be here on October 11th
• Painters will be here on October 14
• I will take my national boards for my massage license on October 14th (yes same day, don't be concerned, I'm not)
• Carpet people will be here October 20th.

I will depart with Zach two house plants and the car ???? Not sure yet but it will be sometime around the 17th to the 21st. Hopefully, if everything else falls into place.

The Girl has had several days at work. She reports back that it is pretty cool. She likes the folks she has met so far. She has caught the campus shuttle twice, the first time it was very direct and she was at her destination within 5 minutes. The second time she took the tour, 40 minutes later she arrived at her destination. It was dark so she couldn't really even report back on the path. She did say she walked home from work one day, took about 7 to 10 minutes--AWESOME!

Packing Update

The kitchen is packed, both bathrooms (though only one is clean), the balcony is all packed and one of two desks have been dismantled. Stuff still to be packed: some clothes, some garage items and a bit of a wreck in what used to be the office. I was informed by the painters that I will have to take down the shelves in the kitchen. We were going to leave them but now that I have to take them down we are thinking about just taking them with us. I was told to swap out a ceiling fan for the standard issue light fixture the joint came with. Not sure if that is still applicable.





Totally unrelated--HOW COOL IS THAT BICYCLE?!?!?!?! It still isn't as comfy as my old beach cruiser but it is pretty darn cool. The bike shop couldn't get their hands on the wire collapsible saddle bags but I know they have them in Palo Alto so I'll just get them there.

My new car!

Where is the clutch??

The Proper Tool 4 the Job

Sadly the proper cork screw is already packed. Lucky for me, I am a girl w/ a swiss army knife.

Skinny Stupid People

I used to think that only stupid skinny people forgot to eat. Not the case. I am neither stupid nor skinny and it dawned on me 1 p.m. that I had not yet eaten anything today. I had coffee, but no food. And I remember being hungry at 11 a.m. too. Hmmp. Well, I just had a yummy tofu salad sandwich and I am back to packing. The kitchen will be complete soon.

My next big job is the utility closet. I am little afraid of it for two reasons 1--there is a lot of stuff in there 2--Much of the stuff in the closet can not be tossed without some precautions and can not be packed for shipping. We'll see how that goes. I will most likely post it on Craigs List. I have noticed that while folks may not be interested in my "for sale" items people come out of the woodwork for "free" items.

Cookies and Cats . . . in that order

BUT BEFORE WE BEGIN --- Today is the Girl's first day of work at her new gig. Be sure to send warm happy vibes her way!!!!! Thanx!

So, yesterday I started to pack the kitchen, which means packing the Kitchen Aid. Now some of you may know about my love affair with the Kitchen Aid, yes, it's true, I am in love. Well, I couldn't put the KA away without using her and I had some pantry supplies to use. My question is this: "How many cookies is too many cookies?" No solid answer on that one. I whipped up a batch of Neimen Marcus cookies and a batch of Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip. I did exhaust my butter supply but not my flour supply. I didn't actually bake the cookies ~ that really is too many cookies to be alone with ~ but I did scoop out the cookies and then freeze them. This is my offer : Anyone who comes to help pack gets warm homemade cookies!!!! Warm homemade cookies!!! And you may even leave with a couple of frozen dough balls--that doesn't really sound as nice as it is, hmmp.

Today I will finish with the kitchen and start the utility closet. I have to head to campus and I should probably do some school work.

The Cats: I used a pet communicator this morning to talk with and hear about all of the cats. Before you say SCAM let me tell you. The woman was very intuitive and did offer some unique cat specific insight. That being said there were also some universal truths that came up. All in all I feel good about it and I am glad I did it. Feel free to harass me at will. You know as I I see the similarities between this and reading someones cards. Both are full of universal truths that are applicable to everyone but if the connection is there it can really be an amazing insightful experience. I am wondering why I just didn't read the cat's cards? Well, I can't really do that from far away, but I could have read Zig Zags.