Dodging Storms

In an effort to spend Christmas with the Marcoccia side of the family for the first time in four years Gary and I decided to pack up the truck and haul ourselves to New York. The state that is, we’re not city folk that’s for sure. So here is a little chronicle of our adventure so far… (and a link to Gary’s version of the trip here.)

DAY 1

We left Heber at 8am after a frantic morning of playing what are we forgetting? and oh, I should burn a CD. (that was me)

First break was my favorite Little America truck stop just outside of Evanston, Wy. Then on to Cheyenne where we took a pit stop to freshen up at Sierra Trading Post with a minor incident, the following is an email to my mom explaining…

Well, I guess we better be careful what we ask for because we are on a real adventure. We had a good start yesterday everything went smooth until Cheyenne like Gary said in his blog, what he didn’t tell you is that I had a run in with a total nut job in the restroom at Sierra Trading Post. I mistakenly didn’t lock the bathroom door when I was changing Ellie. This lady came in and said “I gotta pee, I don’t mind if your in here.” I told her we are almost done if you could just wait a few minutes. She proceeded to pull down her pants and do her business in front of Ellie and me! I still had to snap up Ellie and as I was doing so this crazy nut job asked me if I wanted counseling on postpartum depression. I said NO we are doing fine I don’t have any problems that way and then walk out. I was totally freaked out and grabbed Gary and told him we needed to get the heck out of there. She totally freaked me out.

Ahh Cheyenne, not such a good first impression.

DAY 2

We got as far as North Platte, NB the night before which was actually quite a big push. We woke up the next morning to learn that everything outside was covered in a 1/4 inch of ice. That’s right we were in the middle of a crazy ice storm and hearing tales of tractor trailers jack knifed across the interstate and people sliding about all over the road. So we decided to get cozy and wait out the storm until the roads cleared. Nothing like spending 24 hours in a little hotel room with two dogs and a babe. Smelled pretty funky by the time we left. Ellie was good though I must admit.

DAY 3

Ellie woke us up at 5 am so we packed up and headed for Omaha, NB where my Aunt DeeAnn and Uncle Dan live. We made good time although the first hour or so of the journey the road were still a bit icy until the sun peaked through. We made it to their house around noon and had a great visit, chatting about corn, farms, work, and babies. Thanks again you guys!

DAY 4

Ellie woke us up at 4am (ugh) so we decided to go for it and get an early start to miss the rush hour traffic in the Chicago area. So we slipped out of there and drove to Des Moines only to find out that the poor dogs had been suffering in the back of the truck. Gary opened up the back window and found Chip shivering like crazy and ice covering the inside of the bed of the truck (oops). So we turned up the heat in the cab of the truck and I got in the back with Ellie while the dogs warmed their weary selfs in the front seat. Once the sun started shining brightly we got them back in their place and pushed on now here we are as I type just over the boarder in Indiana.

DAY 5

Our goal is to get an early start again. This time avoiding frozen dogs and make it to New York in time for our nephew Kevin’s Christmas Concert. Wish us luck…

2 comments

1. 

   Leslie

   Posted on December 4, 2007

   Aaaahhhh . . . road trips with babies, human and canine. I’ve had the experience many times with the human ones of course. Every trip you take will lead you down a road that has a couple of surprises. Just knowing that they are bound to happen can make you relax and expect it, instead of being surprised. Enjoy the time together, take in the journey. Stop if you see something you can’t resist like the world’s largest frying pan or such. Mark and I have just accepted the fact that when we travel in Europe we ARE going to get lost. We think of it as added adventure to a well planned out trip!

   Reply
   
2. 

   Sara

   Posted on December 5, 2007

   You guys are definitely having an adventure! I’m actually quite jealous. Remember those great road trips we took during our college years? Great times! Have fun and be careful of freaky people in bathrooms!!!!

   Reply