I think that's how travel is for most people. They just pack their bags and get into the car, or get on the plane, then they check in or knock on the door and then they put down their bags and they enjoy their vacation.
I'm not about to complain about going to Tahoe, don't worry. I already now how lucky we are to have a home there filled with supportive and loving family.. who let us stay there for free (or maybe for a case of Two Buck Chuck). It's just that travel is so difficult sometimes that it makes us want to go back home, lock the doors and have groceries delivered.
Lucy and I went up on Thursday night, so we would be there in time for me to sing with my sister at the Good Friday Tenebrae service. I think it's the first time I've made it in time to practice and be able to sing with her at church. I love singing with her, so it was very special for me.
Lucy and I had such a nice drive. We stopped and ate inside In N Out burger, something she always wants to do and never gets to, since it is often easier for our family to keep driving while I feed kids in the back. She had great table manners and we really enjoyed each other's company. We talked for most of the car ride up.
Descartes brought Jake up after school on Friday, and despite a very big storm, made it in time to put sleepy Jake with the babysitter and still get a chance to go for a drink at a new-ish wine bar.
Saturday we took the kids sledding. Jake didn't last in the sled even to get across the expanse of flat between the car and the hill. The powder was deep, and when he dove off of the sled we were pulling we let him stay there, playing in the snow. I stayed with him for a bit, then Descartes while the other one of us helped Jaster and Demanda with the sledding. Then I heard Descartes holler for me.Jake lost a shoe. Lost a shoe? Lost a shoe. And of course this was the one time we had left the house without an extra pair of shoes for him. His snow boots had already been left at home, home 4 hours away, so we were pushing it with his tennis shoes. And it's not like Jake is going to tell us where he lost the shoe. Descartes carried him back to the car so Jake could heat up his frozy toes.
I'm not sure I've mentioned it yet, but we are headed on a cross-country trip this summer. We will be flying to the East coast, where we will meet Oma and Papa and their RV (which they will have driven across the country). I am going to the BlogHer '10 conference in New York that first weekend, then Descartes, and the kids, and the grandparents will pick me up at a train station in a state I've never been to (Pennsylvania?) with the RV with a car in tow. I will be detailing the trip later, but basically we spend a few days with my in-laws then drive the rest of the trip across the country with our little precious children, blisfully taking in National Parks and quiet streams and fabulous diners etc.
Except I just started to worry a little bit. The shoe thing got me thinking. I know if we forget anything we are probably going to be able to afford to buy it along the way, and there is an entire RV for Jack to hang out in if we lose a shoe, but what else will happen? I'm starting to get little butterflies about the whole thing. Detailed checklists will begin shortly.
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We will probably be blogging (Descartes is going to go all "bloggity blog!") the entire trip, and we will complete some of the same route that Descartes took with his family more than 20 years ago. It should be neat to take photos and take notes of the same places so many years later.
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