Utah

We left at 4:30 AM Friday, December 19th, 2003 from San Leandro, California. Destination: Saratoga Springs, Utah. Purpose: Visit very pregnant sister and family for Christmas and birth of second nephew.

Driving to Utah from here takes about 12 hours (about 7??-800 miles). Best to describe it in three 3-4 hour chunks.

First chunk of departure: I slept.

Second chunk: I wake up amidst snowy mountains. The Sierras. A beautiful sunrise. About 7 AM. Arrive in Reno about 8 AMish... pop in contacts at the Reno Hilton bathroom (humongous). Breakfast at Carrows with family. Yummy $2.99 plate includes 3 (humongous) pancakes, scrambled eggs, and untouched sausage. (Sausage makes repeats in me. Ick.)

Third Chunk: ..OK, maybe they're four chunks...
Drive, drive, drive through boring Nevada. I sewed two pockets for my jean jacket which was made with absurdly small pockets. I hoped to remedy that, but after sewing for 3+ hours (completing 2 larger pockets) I was too bored to sew the 2 large pockets into the jacket. I intended to do that on the way back, but you'll hear about that adventure soon.

Third Chunk also includes listening to 6 CDs of "shoo-wap" music my parents adore. I like a lot of the songs, but I was going crazy after a while.

Nevada scenery: BORRRRRRRRING!!! A straight road. Hills in the distance with a few trees, flat land with little dull-colored bushes. Repeat that description over and over and over again.

We stopped in Elko, Nevada ("home of Cowboy Poetry" or so they claim. I didn't see or hear any cowboy poetry while I was there.) We ate in a Prings-like diner that makes your skin crawl. I ordered a chili cheeseburger and regretted it. Not in the way you're thinking. I regretted it because I was worried about the quality of the beef in the burger. The whole mad-cow scare. Besides, I have full intentions of becoming a vegetarian when I move out.

We left the sticky-tabled diner and began Chunk Four of our Journey:

A little more of Nevada (OK, that took about 2 hours or so) and then, Utah.

Utah is very flat. The first part of Utah going on Interstate 80 from Nevada --salt flats. Salt flats: white, flat land. Mountains waaaaaaaaaay in the distance.

Very boring.

Finally we reached Saratoga Springs. It was dark by this time, around 6 or 7:30 PM, can't remember whose time.

It was great to see Kathy, Mark, and Alex again. Alex was very excited to see us. Very. We saw their beautiful house and backyard and Alex showed me his room. ...Or more like every item in his room, which has a transportation theme...and talked non-stop about trains. His room is adorable -- you will see pics. Yellow and blue with a cool border around it and cute furnishings that match. The baby's room -- also adorable... a more pastel shade of blue with green and a sports/teddy bear border and theme. Kathy's room is also cool -- looks like a jungle theme with palm tree border, green walls, and this neat furniture that matches.

Regina is dying for my attention so I must pause.