The Kindness of Strangers

The Tazmanian Devil - that wolf-looking, whirlwind-spinning, jibberish-speaking character in Bugs Bunny - has got nothing on us. We are blowing in and out of towns at warp speed!

In spite of the swiftness of our journey Eastward, one constant has welcomed us into each town; that is, the kindness of strangers. Whether it's opening a door, pointing the way to where the Locals hang, or upgrading our reservations to a better room, we are embraced daily by the empirical "goodness" of those we've encountered. Kindness so genuine that my six-year-old recognizes just how "nice everyone is."

Perhaps this exposure to goodness is contagious, as I find myself smiling more to strangers and helping old ladies across the street. I do resolve to smile more when I get back to LA, so if you see me with a silly grin, just smile back, and pay it forward!

Meet Us in St. Louis!

Did you know: The St. Louis Arch is comprised of, simply put, stacks of equilateral triangles ranging from 54 feet at the base to 17 feet (each side) at the top.

The Arch, built to commemorate the great Thomas Jefferson in a memorial expansion project, is truly breathtaking. The best view of the Arch is if you lie down in the grassy explanade underneath the Arch and stare up.

Under the actual ground level of the Arch area is another "world" filled with diaramas and life-size replicas of life in the pioneer times.

8 circular pods make up a tram which takes passengers up to the top of the Arch, which although short and uneventful, is kind of an opportunity no visitor can pass up. Neither did we.

We waited in the ticket sales line for 10 minutes to pay $30 for the 4 of us to wait another 90 minutes to get in another queue to wait another 20 minutes to board a pod which elevated us 600 feet northward.

When the ride was over, the pod's doors opened and we walked up a flight of stairs to the actual top arc of the Arch. The 30-step walk from end to end led us to another line to board the pods so we can ride down the Arch and back to the lobby of the museum.

Like any attraction, the actual ride was not very memorable. The 12 adjacent 1'x3' viewing windows does not make it easy to see the view of the city below. However, the memories were made during the wait, as we wandered through the exhibit, and waiting in another 20-minute line to buy bread and sausage slices to silence our grumbling tummies. Making Jonah Dogs and Micah Rolls with the bread and meat, and seeing Johnny make up yet another Baseball Trivia game to entertain the boys is what has made this price tag...priceless.

Drive, Drive, Eat, Drive, Drive, Eat, Drive, Drive, Eat,Drive, Get Lost, Drive, Arrive!

Revelation of the day: the Rocky Mountains were named because there are indeed A LOT of rocks on those mountains!

The title precisely summarizes our longest day of driving thus far on our journey to the East Coast.

We knew when we left at 10AM MDT that 6/27 would be a day when we would need to "power through" some miles across what we were told were the "flattest, boring-est part of the road trip." Still, no matter how much we knew, how much we psyched ourselves out, it was still a very, very, VERY long drive!

The landscape rapidly evolved from the textured topography of rolling hills and rapid rivers, to what seemed like a never-ending facade of amber stubs of grain. As if driving along a 500-mile backdrop from Universal Studios, I would at times shift my rear view mirror lower so that my line of vision would be upon my boys watching Tom & Jerry.

There is something to be said about watching a 6-year-old watch Tom & Jerry. Jonah would often break out in a cripy, hearty laugh that testify to just how awesome these simple cartoons of yester-year truly are! Compared to the present-day noise of Jimmy Neutron, Fairly Odd Godparents, and a miriad of blah-blah-blah whiney cartoon characters randomly drifting in and out of our kids' TV time, Tom & Jerry brings laughter through the simple and absolutely insane concept of cat vs. mouse, cat gets decapitated, cat's body runs around the tree and connects to the head of cat and starts chasing mouse again! See? Simple & timeless!

(photo courtesy of Jonah Tang, bored child with camera)

In total, we logged over 12 hours of driving time, but Johnny did take me to a great dinner at Whiskey Creek along our route to celebrate my birthday. Micah bought me a Kansas magnet which I picked out to commemorate our day of driving.

Our day ended at our arriving at the Sheraton in Kansas City, Missouri, the clock read 2:30AM. We put our boys on the valet cart (the ones that the luggage service would use during 'regular' hours), along with minimal luggage, and headed to our room.

Pull Over, Ma'am

Buena Vista, Colorado, is a town of maybe 2,500 people. There is one stop light in town. 

After rafting, we had lunch at a hoagies joint called Biggies.  Behind our table were a few police officers, one of which I initiated a conversation who was very interested in our road trip. After our casual conversation, we parted ways. 

About an hour later, I left Johnny and the boys at the rental unit and headed towards our 2 loads of laundry washing at the nearby laundromat.  I was on the road for 2 minutes when I spotted flashing lights behind me. It took me awhile a realize that the attention was meant for little 'ole me, so of course, I pulled over and waited for the officer to tell me what I did. And really, I had NO idea what I'd done.  

The SECOND he walked out of the squad car, I recognized the officer as the one with whom I had the chat with at Biggies. The moment he saw me, he chuckled and shook his head.  Taking off his spectacles, he said to me, "You're lucky you were nice to me at lunch." 

After taking FOREVER running my license, he walks up beside me, laughed and said, "Add this to your Great American history lesson."  "Drive slowly," he added.

OK, now that he's not here, let me share with you that this would be impossible! It is IMPOSSIBLE to drive 15MPH! My van's fuel injection pushes the car faster than 15MPH! The entire surrounding area of this town has a 35MPH speed limit except for this block where I was driving. Still, for the rest of the day, I had my foot on the brakes and managed to drive 10MPH, just in case!

BTW - I did not get a ticket!

Sledgehammer, Widow Maker, Last Chance, Oh My!

What I Learned Today from Rafting the Arkansas River:

1. 8 hours ago, the water was snow up in the local mountains.
2. Melted snow is cold - the water is around 38-degrees.
3. Do rent wet suits, don't rent booties...cuz you never know whether the previous feet in those booties were...um...fungus-free.
4. River guides sound like surfer dudes, live nomadic lives, and don't necessarily wash their hair everyday.
5. A dude named "Fat Bob" isn't necessarily fat.

Touching the Clouds...

We've been on the road since 4PM Mountain time; it's been 5 hours of traveling down a two-lane highway, rocking out at times to Black Eye Pea's Boom Boom Pow, and then to the deafening beats of the traveling summer thunder showers.

At times there were two simultaneous rainbows justifying the words of the Rainbow Song my boys have been singing since Kindergarten. Then, when these colorful arches faded, we would see the vastness of the open land, dotted by the meandering cattle roaming as if homeless and wild.

The ever-shifting clouds kept the boys entertained, but it was the electric lightning show flashing in distance that brought the most excitement. We would see the bright skies ahead interrupted by a veil of ominous clouds and columns of pouring rain, only to drive right into this fantastic storm that pounded our windshields and silences all other noise.

Jutting out of the great plains were mesas freckled with what seemed like millions of thistle brush plants whose name I could not stop to get.

As we rounded a bend in the highway, open fields morphed into mountain ranges with such mystery that even the clouds drifted close to the land to get a better look.

We felt compelled to stop the car at the beckoning of the "Welcome to Colorado" sign, and a native mosquito personally greeted me and left a souvenir on my right thigh.

Grey clouds prematurely darkened the early evening skies, and the darkness is now our lone companion...well, except for the glow of my trusty laptop.

Nothing much to see as we enter into the town of Buena Vista, but I hope that tomorrow's rafting trip will provide an amusing tale or two.

4 Tangs in a van...good night.

Days 1-3

Tummies full of Taco Bell, heartburn's a brewin'.
Kids watching Sponge Bob, hubby's a drivin'.
Thought this a good time to catch up on writin'
And to distract my nostrils from burning from his fartin'!

The Phoenician in Scottsdale, day one and day two,
Boys out all day frolicked in temp one-oh-two.
Mom had a migraine that floored her by four,
But was as-good-as-new by the next morn.


Continuing the next day at good ole Albuquerque,
John's off to work and the kids are busy blogging.
Colorado's a-coming up when work is completed here,
Another 6 hours drive ahead so I'll keep my computer near.

Where's Our Office? Wherever the Van Takes Us!

There's an 18-wheeler going 12 mph trying to pass up two other 18-wheelers that are going 10-miles an hour. If we are stuck behind the faster of the three trucks, how long before we get to Albuquerque?



As we cruise up the 2-laned Hwy 17, I am the pivotal role model for the 21st Century entrepreneur. My Tom Tom GPS informs me that we are still 322 miles from our destination, while I update real estate forms and send them off to clients on my overheating Sony laptop. I don't worry about my battery running out of juice, as long as I have my trusty power inverter (just learned that word) which allows my computer adapter to plug into an index-card unit that is plugged into the cigarette lighter.



Our Verizon wireless card allows us to access the Internet from wherever we are, and I'm just learning from friends about other amazing services that encourage us to leave the 6-by-6 cubicles and work from our homes, cars, and other more interesting destinations.



Well, gotta go read through a loan document now. I'll send this off now, and hope my wireless card does its job.



Oh, if you're wondering how this multi-tasker is doing all this and driving, she's not. Johnny's behind the wheel and he's talking to himself. Guess it beats the radio!

C U Later, Procrastinator!

Is procrastination part of the Nature vs. Nurture debate? Can procrastination be cured? Should it be cured?

37 days ago, I happily posted my "resolve" to pace myself and pack my house just in time for my summer tenants arrival on the 17th.  Somewhere along the way, I "miscommunicated" with my husband on the date of their arrival (he said 19th, I said 17th, he talked to the tenants, I said 19th).

37 hours ago, just as I was (procrastinating yet again) updating my Facebook profile to reflect my "resolve" to finish up the clothes portion of my packing, I received a call from my tenant.  "Hey Jennie, just wanted to let you know we'll be there around 3PM tomorrow."

"TOMORROW?!"

Folding nicely became throw everything into the Space Bags (see photo above). Sorting through paperwork quickly morphed into dump everything into a large bin. By the way, did I mention that my husband was still in Texas while all this is happening?!

I shall spare everyone the details of the hours that led up to now. 

What's now? Now is returning from meeting 2 of the 4 guys renting my home for the summer. Now is seeing my garage door close with me on the outside for the first time. Now is lounging in the large massage chair at my mom's house blogging and feeling very, very relieved.

This is the Procrastinator...good night!