On the Road Again

I've learned that sometimes the best trips are the ones where little to no preparation is involved.  Just do it!  So we did.  This weekend we took a road trip to Idaho.  Seventeen hundred miles round trip. Roughly 425 miles a day.  It was grand!

Where Have You Been?!?!?

We’ve all said and heard it before, “where have you been?!?” Well, that is the question I wanted to ask my luggage Thursday night when my bag came off the carousal in Salt Lake City. I know my luggage has seen better days, but this trip was much harder on it then I expected. Although sad to see it go, Southwest happily gave me a new piece of luggage, not as cute as the red but still as functional. Not only do bags fly free on SWA but if they can’t take the ride you get a new one………no charge!!

Wow, what a ride..........

Make-up case and poor little lotion didn't fair so well either!

Crazy..............

Carpool Lanes

The carpool lane is a new way to make the freeway operate better. The lane is provided by allowing high-occupancy vehicles their own lane during peak commuter hours; in our area between 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and in the afternoon from 3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. It doesn't take much to be considered high-occupancy; in our case just two people! We fit the bill perfectly. It is interesting to me that not only are signs posted regarding the qualifications to be in said lane but also the fine attached to it if you are there and don't have that extra person with you.  Currently that fine is $281.00; not sure what they are going to do with that extra dollar but apparently the state has some use for it.  Maybe they should post the fine for speeding; would that make people slow down?

Now that the time has changed our commute takes place both coming and going in the dark. As we are "buzzin'" by we see a lot of red lights!  Sometimes it can be a little un-nerving because we are moving and the other two lanes are just crawling along.  It is crazy to think that all they need is just one more person in their car and then they too could enjoy the ride!

Anatomy of a Near Miss

Driving in the left-hand lane on Hwy 101 near King City, CA
Pickup truck rapidly approaching in our lane
Quickly move to the right-hand lane and slow down
Pickup truck passes
Pickup truck then cuts in front of us and drives onto the shoulder
Rocks and dirt are flying
Pickup truck driver (PTD) wakes up
Pickup truck shoots back across both lanes to median (PTD still waking up)
Pickup truck takes a wild ride down the median
"Hold on," I shout………"hold on"; it was like watching a PBR event
PTD gains control and avoids rolling over
PTD gets back on the highway
PTD takes the next off ramp
We let out a collective sigh of relief
We collect our thoughts and thank the angels who were riding with us and the PTD

The Drive

We do a lot of driving.......... a lot! Recently on the drive to work I commented to Val that it was funny to me that there was time when the worst thing you would ever see a person do while driving was pick their nose........it was like their actions were invisible to the world! Those are habits of yester-year! Today the things we see people do while driving is quite remarkable to me. Why just the other day I observed a women reading a book, while driving. Another women was curling her eye lashes, while driving. In both cases we were on the freeway. Of course talking on the phone, although now illegal in the State of California is still being done; you are invisible when inside your car don't you know. I don't know about you but it is just weird to me that we can no longer just drive and enjoy the scenery!

No Cell Phone Use While Driving Please.......

July 1st it became a California law that you could not drive and use your cell phone unless it was hands free. Of course this is not a problem for me because for the past nine months I'm rarely the driver; in fact I don't even remember the last time I drove to work. Well, this has been hard for Val/Dad especially now that he has a Blackberry. He can't stand for it to go off and not look at it.......the email part. I'm always saying to him don't look at your email while you are driving; to me that is worse than talking on the phone. Plus he doesn't have a blue tooth for it just ear pieces so when he does get a call everything is usually all tangled up and it causes a situation. We are a pair that is for sure!! Anyway, on the way home tonight I tried to call Justin, no answer; I tried Ashley, no answer; I tried their home phone no answer. Then next thing I know Val/Dad is talking to Justin, I look over at him and I'm like what's up with that!! Well, their conversation is cut short (we must have driven through a bad spot) and next thing I know my phone is ringing, I say oh that must be Justin calling back. WRONG.......it's Val!! I'm like hello I'm sitting right next to you...........we have a funny little conversation as we head up the hill, our voices echoing back and forth.............I love that man!!

On the Run......

The day is ending, one foot in the bed and I realize yikes I didn't blog.......It has been a busy day from start to finish. We leave for Lompoc tomorrow about noon; going to see some football, soccer and a play. Looking forward to the get away and upon our return the addition will have been painted. Can't wait to see our new look. Pictures will be forthcoming.

The Red Sea

So this is an after thought or a continued thought of yesterday's commute. After the road way was cleared and we continued on our journey home it was like everyone disappeared. For the life of me I don't understand how 90 minutes of none moving traffic in both directions could somehow just disappear. It was weird to me. We were on a two lane mountain road with no where to go, no side roads to turn on to go around the accident yet once we started moving it was like everyone disappeared..........it was like the parting of the Red Sea.

Normally

So "normally" Val picks me up each day from work between 4:00 and 4:30. Ideally 4:00! But today it was 4:30 when he got to the office and he was worried I would be sitting around waiting for him. But actually today I was busy finishing up a project so he went into my office and got on my computer to check his email. So our "normal" departure time turned into a 5:00 p.m. departure from Cotati. Our travel through Santa Rosa was a breeze. This certainly isn't "normal." So on we travel toward home sailing smoothly along. That is until we started up "the hill." No sooner had we past the 2nd passing lane and were approaching the 3rd passing lane when traffic stopped and I mean Dead Stopped!! Fifteen minutes turned to 30 minutes; 30 minutes turned to 60 minutes and 60 minutes turned to 90!! "Normally" we would have been 30 to 45 minutes ahead, had we left at our "normal" time. Thankfully today was not a "normal" day. Had today been a "normal" day we could have been part of the delay - A Head On!. I'm happy today to sit in the car and draft my blog. "Normally," I couldn't do that while driving over the hill. I'm grateful some days just aren't "normal!"