There and Back: The California to Texas Roadtrip 2006

I am back! You missed me, I know. (For what it's worth, I kind of missed you, too, but I don't really want to admit it!)

I took a deliberate break from all things digital during our 9 day journey so I haven't yet caught up with what's happening on the internets or in the world. Did I miss anything?

You need highlights, don't you? Well, here ya go...

I know I am forgetting very important things but I am still tired from our marathon drive home and a little hungover from last night, so here's what comes to mind right now!

The traffic: Bumpy start. Getting out of LA - 3 hours. Ugh. The rest of the trip, though, was like a dream! No traffic. Plus, our car rocks on road trips. It's a smooth, comfortable, and quiet ride and the trip computer is really handy.

The weather: From the time we left until the moment we got home, we had nothing but perfect weather. I have no idea how we lucked out like that, but everything was simply gorgeous as a result.

The Grand Canyon: Beautiful, as always. You should stay at the Bright Angel Lodge if you ever get the chance - it's charming and cheap!!

Albuquerque, NM: whirlwind visit with cousins, uncle and grandmother. We stayed overnight and headed to Texas the next morning. We arrived in Fort Worth at 11:00 p.m., I think.

Fort Worth, TX: In a word - splendid. My parents were terrific and very easy to be around. We had no drama whatsoever!! I know! Unbelievable! I took Greg (Mr. Q) just about everywhere significant and he loved it all. The people there were amazingly friendly and warm. We found an awesome hang-out in Sundance Square and made it our home-away-from-home for a week.

We did a few touristy things and they were all a resounding success.

• Monday we toured downtown and Sundance Square. My husband bought me a gorgeous sweater and many beers. Later, to celebrate my birthday, my parents took us to dinner and I received a beautiful silver bracelet that my dad made specifically for me. It's so cool!

• Tuesday, November 21st, (the day before Nov. 22nd, duh) we visited the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. If you have never been there, I highly recommend it. It was educational, emotional and extraordinarily well-done. I was apprehensive about going, but it is a moving tribute as well as a thorough and balanced examination of the people and events involved.

• Wednesday, we went to the zoo with my mom & dad. I give this zoo two opposable thumbs way up! Again, if you can, you should go. As a bonus, Wednesdays are 1/2 price so we got in for about $5 each!!

• Thursday, Thanksgiving of course. Another perfect day in every way. My family was just incredibly cool and sweet and my grandma is doing pretty well. My kids called, even Josh from Iraq!! Yay! Overall, turkey day was a blast! We ended the day by going to see the new James Bond movie, Casino Royale. Go see it. Now. I'm not kidding. Right now.
  
  Side note: after the movie, we saw at least 100 people camped out in front of Best Buy to go shopping the following morning. It was barely 9 p.m. I do not understand this. I know a laptop for $99 is a good deal, but really? Camping out. At a store. I would like to hear from anyone who has actually done this.
  

• Friday, we pretty much had a down day, but went to a wonderful Parade of Lights with mom & dad in the evening. Fantastic parade. Exceptional crowd. A perfectly charming end to a perfectly charming week.

• Saturday, we said a sad goodbye to my parents, filled up the car with gas and embarked on our amibitious 20-hour drive home. It was caffeine-fueled and ultimately exhausting, but totally worth it to get home before all the return holiday traffic! We arrived back at our pad at 5 a.m. Sunday morning. I'm still recovering. Luckily it's pretty slow at work so I can semi-snooze at my desk!
  

Anyway. We would like to present special awards in the following categories:

Cheer: Texas Department of Transportation for providing the world's most awesome rest areas!!! I'm talking 5-star rest areas, with free Wi-Fi, and CLEAN restrooms!! Superb!

Cheer: The people of Fort Worth for being so darn nice to us.

Jeer: The people at Whataburger in Midland, TX for being the one and only negative experience of our whole trip. You sure seem to be a miserable lot. But at least I learned a valuable lesson: to always check inside my hamburger for rogue receipts or paper or god-knows-what-else.

Cheer: My family for being all-around sweet, loving people!

Personal awards go to: my husband, friend and traveling companion extraordinaire, Greg. You made that the best vacation ever!

Our friends, for constantly staying in touch and entertaining us from afar and giving us a reason to return home.

And, again, my family for their generousity and hospitality.

Conclusion:
I know I have a charmed life these days (really it's not perfect perfect, I can't seem to pay my bills on time at all), but it always amazes me how really good it is and how simple it is to be with my loved ones. Greg and I had not one cross word with each other or anyone else, not one argument, not one moment of anything but pure delight. How does this happen? Perhaps, like someone wise told me on Thanksgiving, I have forgotten who but I am sure they were wise, the more grateful we are, the more things we find to be grateful for. Or something like that.

Ciao for now. Maybe I'll post some pictures tomorrow. For now, I am going to take a power nap at my desk. Don't tell my boss, okay?