We're not sure exactly how long this drive will be, my car's GPS said Denver to the suburb of KC where Joe's dad lives is a 13 hour drive (!!!), but Apple Maps and Google Maps both said 9 hours and 15 minutes. Desperately hoping my car is wrong.
Tuesday, May 7
Tuesday's leg was Las Vegas to Holbrook, AZ (about an hour East of Flagstaff), so we awoke fairly early (for Vegas) and were on the road by 10 a.m. Holbrook was going to be our final stop for the day, because they have a motel called Wigwam Village where you get to sleep in a (concrete) wigwam.
***Side Note*** If you have ever seen Cars, this Wigwam Village hotel is where they got the inspiration for The Cozy Cone. ***End of Side Note***
Just outside of Vegas is the Hoover Dam, which was our first planned stop of the day. Being the cheap frugal folks we are, we didn't want to take the tour of the dam since you not only have to pay for the actual tour, but for parking as well. LAME! (Plus, it would have taken too long.)
Thankfully, as I was putting together the roadtrip binder I came up with an alternate plan (good 'ole roadtrip binder). In the little town of Boulder City, NV there is a museum about the building of the dam from the perspective of the workers. I've always prefered to look at history through the lense of individual experiences rather than just read a string of facts, so this seemed like a perfect way to learn about the Hoover Dam.
The fact that admission is just $2 per person also helped ;)
When we arrived we were greeted by an old man who put the museum into context by bringing us up to speed on why the town of Boulder City was established, why the Hoover Dam was built, etc. It was awesome. The museum, itself, was also awesome. Seriously, one of the best museums I've been in and it was ONLY 2 DOLLARS!
After the museum, we wanted to get some photos of the dam, so we went to a bridge with a pedestrian path and direct view (quite the popular tourist stop). The winds were incredibly powerful, and I realized the fear of heights I've always had (but didn't think was too bad) is, in fact, QUITE bad when I start imagining the wind lifting me like a rag doll and throwing me over the side of the bridge. I alternated from feeling lightheaded, to nausous, to being pretty sure I was going to pee myself. But, as a budding photographer, I had to get some shots.
What I won't do for my "art" haha.
The next planned stop was a cheesy roadside attraction called "Flintstones Bedrock Village." When adding it to the binder, I imagined there would be a few statues and buildings, and thought it would be a fun photo-op. But when they opened the door to let us in, I was blown away. There literally was an entire village back there and we got a ton of fun pictures.
Bedrock Village was about 20 miles or so off our route (sort of ridiculous, but entirely worth it) and we planned to just turn around and get back on the highway. Then we saw a sign that stated the Grand Canyon was 30 miles further. I'm not a huge nature person, plus I figure we'll go back with kids someday, so visiting wasn't part of the plan. But how could I possibly drive 20 miles to see the Flintstones Village and not 30 more to see the GRAND CANYON. How un-American could I be? So we kept driving.
Little did we know, the 30 miles would take 1.5 hours with all of the traffic. Also, little did we know that the skies would be so gloomy that the canyon wouldn't look quite so grand (especially in photos).
Nevertheless, I whipped out my camera and started snapping away. That was when my hair suddenly started to stand on end. Joe, ever the scientist, declared that there was "electricty in the air." As if on cue, thunder boomed and hail started falling from the sky. I screamed (much to the enjoyment of the rest of the tourists) and ran to the car.
Eventually, we made it to Holbrook and to the cozy Wigwam that was awaiting us.
Wednesday, May 8
My mom's side of the family lives in Colorado Springs, so Wednesday's leg was Holbrook to Colorado Springs (about an 11 hour drive with bathroom & gas stops), so we left at about 6:45 a.m. Before we left, I got some photos:
Much of Wednesday was extremely boring. I quickly learned (as in, day one) that several hours in the car is NOT enjoyable, but am doing my best to have fun by crocheting as Joe and I listen to podcasts and books on tape. I'm brand new at crocheting, but I think I am picking it up quick.
We arrived in Colorado Springs around 5:45 and hung out at my grandma's house a bit. My mom decided to fly from California so she could visit with us when we were there and spend some time with her family, so we got to see her as well.
Around 7 p.m., we went to my cousin Kris' house and visited with her family (she has 5 kids and a granddaughter) and my other cousin Cassie (Kris' sister) and Cassie's boyfriend and son. It was great to catch-up with all of them, and I definitely enjoyed holding the newly born granddaughter (she's just 3 weeks old!).
Thursday, May 9
Thursday morning we went back to my grandma's house, and Joe, my mom, grandma, grandpa, great aunt Betty, and I watched our episode of The Price is Right. That was a riot. We were onscreen quite a bit (6'4" Joe more often seen than me).
We visited some more, and then my mom took Joe and me to lunch and said goodbye. Poor lady isn't a fan of how far we are moving, but I have to give her credit that she is very supportive and not making us feel guilty about it (as I am sure some moms would).
Our next stop was Denver. We had plans to meet up with Ariel from Love Like Enamel (a great blog by another dental school wife) and her husband, Robbie. We were SUPPOSED to get to Starbucks at 4, but it started hailing on the freeway and that basically stopped traffic. Then we hit rush hour coming into the city. Poor Ariel and Robbie had to wait around until we finally got there at 4:45.
It was really great to meet them, and I know that Joe really enjoyed hearing more about what school will be like. If you don't read Ariel's blog, I recommend that you check it out.
After we said goodbye to our new friends, we headed over to my cousins' apartment (I have two cousins who live in Denver). One of my cousins had to work until 10 p.m., so the other entertained Joe and me until the four of us could hit up a bar for some late night pizza and FREE drinks for the gals (uh, can I say that I really hope we find a bar in Philly with a Ladies Night?! Free drinks are awesome haha).
Friday, May 10
With a post of this length I am pretty sure I lost many people along the way, so congratulations to those of you who are still with me. You are either very dedicated, I am more entertaining than I thought, or you have no life.
But now we are 100% caught up, and hopefully I won't get this behind again.
Today is just a driving day, so there's no exciting news or adventures.
Luckily, we'll be getting a good break from the car for the next two weeks. We'll be spending several days in the Kansas City area with Joe's dad's family, a couple of days in Columbia (in the middle of Missouri) visiting more family members, and then 10 days in St. Louis with Joe's mom, stepdad, and more family.
I haven't seen any of Joe's family since November 2011 :( and prior to that, the few trips we've taken to Missouri have been pretty much a whirlwind. I'm blessed to have married into an incredible family, so I am super excited for the next two weeks! Finally, some quality time with the in-laws :)
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