It was a long time in the car, but I actually like car trips and seeing so many new things. My family does too - despite what they might try to say about it. And, not to be forgotten - Libby was along the whole time too!
Going through Southern Idaho we saw the tail end of some fires that had plagued the area in August but they were all contained and no one was in danger any more. Utah was the first state that was new on our list and we purposefully drove further south to meet up with I-70 in order to go through to Denver. Along the way we were very near Arches National Park so we swung through there in order to see the Delicate Arch that is portrayed on many of the Utah license plates and in most of the literature.
We were so excited and anticipated this huge, natural structure. I don't know if we were just too far away, but it was kind of like a firework that is supposed to light up the sky, but just flares and fizzles out on the dock.
That's it on the left. Yes, it's cool, but for being a Utah poster-child, it was a little less than what we expected it to be. But, that aside, it was a beautiful park!
Then it was through the Rockies and into Denver. We ended up taking a little longer in the park than we had anticipated so by the time we were crossing the Rockies it was dark. I would love to go back and see Vail in the daylight. I don't see well enough to drive at night and especially if it's raining so I was looking around as much as I could as we went through. However, it was raining so hard and there was so much construction that I kind of - no, I'll say it, I had my head down in my lap a lot of the time. There were so many semi-trucks and puddles and construction and curves and hills and, and, and. Usually Craig just shrugs at me when I get nervous at times like that but even he was stressed out. It went onto his list of one of the worst driving times he's ever had, and he travels for a living! Between that and the length of the park stay we were also stressed because we were late to get to the airport to pick up Sydney. It turned out that her plane was delayed because of the weather too but we were still late and then had to drive around the airport twice to find a spot to stop and pick her up. We felt like a get away car because you have to be so fast anymore, we just pulled up to where she was standing, threw her suitcase in the back, she jumped in and away we went! The next morning as we were getting into the car we stopped and realized that we hadn't had our usual hug greeting - so we recreated it in the parking lot of the hotel :) I was a happy momma to have both of my girls with me for at least part of the trip.
Sitting on the Sinclair Dino in Colorado - which turned out to be a "photo Spot" for Sinclair and this picture was featured on their website!
making the most of getting lost by stopping and playing in a corn field in Nebraska
Walking the "Yellow Brick Road" at the Oz Museum in Kansas
Eating too much sugar, way too late at night
Seeing the Gateway Arch in St. Louis - and yes, even with my fear of heights I rode up to the top in that little space-ship and even looked out. It was a great experience!
Sydney is a "big girl" now and has a real, adult job so she was only with us for a few days. We enjoyed a great dinner down the street from where the Cardinals were having a ball game and then had to take her to the airport.
But after that it was straight on to what Audrey considers the Capitol of the World - Nashville, Tennessee! When Audrey crossed the stage at high school graduation, with her class of 18 (7 of them had been together since kindergarten and she was one of them) it was announced that she was going to go to Eastern Washington University for one year and then transfer to Belmont for the rest of the time. Having grown up with her learning challenges, autoimmune troubles and the like there were a lot of people that just smiled and I'm sure were thinking "yeah right, that's a nice thought but she'll never make it". We are all very proud of her because that's exactly what she did! She has now been there a month and has already immersed herself in the music business. She's met so many people that she just has to make sure she slows down and enjoys school!
That was so much fun - but so hard too! Even though she was so excited to be there, it was another story to realize we were going to drive away. We all had a hard time with it. But God has a plan for all of us and this is definitely where she is supposed to be so that means it will all work out. She has always looked up to her big sister and part of the strength she gets to keep moving forward toward her dreams comes from watching Sydney pursue hers, so I think that helped too. Having already lived through the experience of leaving Sydney in New Jersey for college and watching her succeed there helped Audrey to know she would be ok. As for me, on the other hand, I still need to take one day at a time. It was so hard to have my oldest leave - she and I are a lot alike and it left a big empty space in my life. But, then my youngest flying out of the nest was just as bad! We've had 4 great years of just the two of us. Those first few years with Sydney -when she was born and into pre-school - were so awesome. They gave my life meaning in a way I never knew before, and these last few years with Audrey have been just like that in a way. They are each my daughters and my friends and I miss their company every day! Which is why I couldn't go straight home! That'll be for next time though. . . .
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