States: Utah, Nevada
Soundtrack: Brewers podcasts
Hotel: Hotel? No, sir. Home!
When we were growing up, the highlight of the summer was the annual road trip to Colorado. We loved establishing traditions on the trips – what we listened to (Mom’s famous Colorado mix tape), where we snacked on in the car (for me- strawberry gum and pop tarts; for Liz – spearmint gum and granola bars), and where we stopped along the way. And one place we always stopped was in Richfield, UT to eat KFC and play in the little town playground. Quite a different experience this time in Richfield! Our little hotel was nestled in a beautiful valley of mountains and dessert in every direction. Wally and I woke up for our daily morning adventure and went walking and fetching. We met another traveler and his dog, also making their way to New York from California – a Broadway dancer who was in the original cast of “In the Heights”! He said they were on the home stretch as well, starting out their Day 5. So it was Day 9 for us. The joy is in the journey! 😉
Before hitting the road, we had a lovely Mother’s Day continental breakfast with a special treat – a machine that would take pancake batter and crank out a pancake in 2 minutes! I want one. Then we set out on the road to get home. Wanting to just get there as soon as we could, we didn’t make a lot of stops. Well, we made one. A nice welcome back to the west coast with a delicious burger and milkshake at In ‘n’ Out (what a Mother’s Day!). Can I mention that I love Utah? The past two days of driving have been a religious experience. I don’t think there is anywhere more magical.
After lunch we finally arrived – home sweet home! It was such a wonderful blessing to be home with Mom on Mother’s Day – especially my first one! Charley is such a happy gal when she’s on Grandma’s lap. We had an amazing, relaxed, comfy day catching up, watching Charley play, and just basking in the glory of being home. Thirsty? Dad has a fridge full of beer and two frosty mugs in the freezer for you. Tired? Stretch out on the couch…as. long. as. you. want. Got 5 bags of dirty clothes? Take over the laundry room all day and night. Hungry? How about a feast of PF Changs? And that’s what we did. A glorious Mother’s Day feast of lettuce wraps and mongolian beef. Ahhhh.
Best of all is the feeling that tomorrow morning we can wake up and just stay home. As we Seagraves often say, “Life is Good!”
Jill & Carey 