Yesterday amidst hugs and tears and laughter, I had a great send-off from the chocolate shop...boy, do I have treats!! Rachel is kind of like our Mom in that she loves to send us off with food...(if you have Thanksgiving at her house, you can be certain you'll go home with turkey and dressing). I was saying my goodbyes when she pointed me in the direction of the store front and handed me a large shopping bag with instructions to fill it up. I had fun doing that and I felt a bit of nostalgia. Christmas in Rachel's store has a bit of a magic feel to it. I'm going to miss that, but I'm looking forward to delivering goodies to my mother and others. I can't be too specific about who is getting what because this blog has ears, or at least eyes...
Rachel and I decided that if I get stranded or buried in a snowdrift on this trip, I have enough food in my car to last a month. Seriously...a box of Clementines--I love those things and they're easy to peel and sweet, ummm, a banana, (well, 1/2 a banana as of tonight), two large and two small chocolate and caramel covered fuji apples, pecan pralines, almond bark, english toffee, caramels, chocolate santas and tin soldiers, and if that weren't enough, sweet Jazzy sent me off with two large containers of homemade granola and a container of lemon cookies. Did I forget anything? Probably.
In addition, (for all you die-hard worriers) I have a gallon of water, snow chains, gloves, pliers and various sized sockets, jumper cables, emergency light sticks (the florescent kind you snap and they glow for awhile), and a flashlight. My phone is with me, my gas tank is never less than 1/2 full, my tires were recently rotated and balanced, the car received an alignment, my brakes were checked and my oil changed. I have some windsheild fluid that has antifreeze in it, and my
windsheild wipers are in good shape. I also have a map of the United States and a trip tik booklet from AAA with my route mapped out exactly (unless I decide to take a detour into the wilderness back roads (not really, just kidding))
By the time I said my goodbyes, stopped at the atm for cash and was actually on the road, it was 4 pm. I drove across the new span of the Martinez-Benicia bridge for the first time and then on through Vacaville and Fairfield. (Did you know that Vacaville is really a strange combination? Vaca means cow in Spanish, and ville is, I believe, French for a small town, go figure), anyway, the drive was uneventful and as I drove up into the mountains and over Donner, I had the strangest feeling that I'd done that before---like---a week ago?? I also thought about a geography teacher who explained how the weather gets colder so many degrees for every thousand feet in elevation. I couldn't remember the details, but that knowledge, and the fact that I left so late in the day, made me watch the temperature drop as I drove higher into the hills. Dirty snow rimmed the highway, but otherwise, the roads were clear.
I drove as far as Lovelock, Nevada last night. Stayed at the Royal Inn which has an autographed picture of Merle Haggard from 2006 sitting on the check-in counter. According to the gentleman behind the desk, Merle stayed there last year, as did Shania Twain and someone else "country" and famous, but being a mostly non-fiction writer I hate to guess and be wrong, so I'll just admit that I can't remember the third person, but the older gentleman was very proud of his claim to fame and I pretended to be indubitably impressed.
This morning I found out an important piece of information for travelers: Lovelock, Nevada does not have a bakery, a donut man, or a restaurant that sells homemade cinnamon rolls. Not even Safeway has anything close. I did, however, find out that the local Chevron sells Krispy Kremes. Too late; I had already gassed up at Two Stiffs Market, which is right across the street from the Whiskey Creek bar and grill and down a ways from the Cowpoke Cafe which I would have gone to had they been open...
From Lovelock I drove on...and on...and on...(I wonder how many sagebrush bushes grow in Nevada, or are they called Sage brushes?) I used the cruise control most of the way, stopping in Wells to gas up. When I arrived in Salt Lake City, it was dark and trying to snow. Traffic was slow but the drivers were friendly. They let me in whenever I had to change lanes. As I drove north on I-15 to Kaysville, I listened to music from The Nutcracker. I thought about Owen, who went to see that recently with his mother. I wondered if he can identify the instruments by the different sounds they make...when I arrived I was welcomed, literally, with open arms by Clytie and Spence, a couple who served a mission in Bay Point two years ago. They are lovely people and I'll tell you more about them later. Right now, I'm going to turn in for bed. Since tomorrow my destination is White Rocks, Utah, and that leg of this journey will take only three hours, I'm going to sleep in so,
goodnight John-boy, goodnight Meemaw, goodnight Poppa, ...zzzzzzzzz
This year I vowed that I would involve myself in as many holiday events as possible. Last year I was moving and missed almost everything. This year was a different story. I attended numerous musical events at the D.C. Visitors Center, including several choir concerts Chantel was involved in. I took my friend Kathy to see the lights. I went with the Calders to see the lights again and enjoy a barbershop quartet, and I attended two different ward Christmas parties. In addition, I made goodies for my neighbors, most of whom I barely know, but had fun leaving goodies at their doors. Christmas eve was spent at the Calders. I woke up to hear Owen, "Grammy! Wake up! It's time for stockings!" I love stocking time and always have. Once again, Chantel filled mine without my knowing it. She is an angel daughter. After breakfast we opened gifts. Later in the day, we picked up my friend Kathy and she, along with us and another family, enjoyed a ham feast complete with tablecloths and candlelight. A wonderful, lovely, Christmas day.
