Halfway There

I am now in Fernley, Nevada. I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am to be here. Not a bad small town, if you like golden hills. Across the street is the biggest WalMart I've ever seen.

I left Dad's at 8 am. I could not sleep last night and finally got up at 2 am and took a Pamprin, which always makes me sleepy in addition to its other benefits, and Dad woke me up this morning at 6:30. I took a shower, finished packing the car, and got the cats in the crate without too much problem, but Dad had to help me get the crate in the car. How will I get it in the hotel room myself? So, I left an hour late and did not account for the time it takes to get from Dad's to Paso Robles, so that means I am not due in Fernley until maybe 4 pm.

I stopped twice in the first hour to clean up cat poop, my apologies to the city of Paso Robles for what I left behind on the street, and then I gave up on the whole idea of what time I will get there.

As great as whatever change you make is and as positive as you may feel about it, all changes include some loss. I felt sad to leave Dad's. I had a great time and it went by really fast and we didn't even really do much. I felt sad to leave my friends and I did not see my family enough, except Dad, before I left. But it is important to leave without regrets or resentments, and I do not think I have any of those.

Once when I visited Dad's from Las Vegas, I came in towards the 46 near the 5 and saw those golden rolling hills with scattered oak trees and I felt so homesick. It's funny what you end up missing. I enjoyed seeing them again today.

The entire drive along the 5 included signs that said, Congress Created Dust Bowl, and many of the groves of almond trees were dying. Anybody heard about this? I haven't had TV, but I read internet news, and I have not seen anything about Congress cutting off water to farmers in California and their crops dying. They were right, it was really dusty.

Spit settled down after about an hour, but Cruiser took longer. Every 10 minutes Cruiser would belt one out to remind me he was unhappy, or maybe this was Cruiser's equivalent of, Are we there yet?! We stopped for a long stop just before Sacramento and had a talk. I am fussing over the cats not getting enough air with the crate covered, but lately Spit spends the afternoon under a quilt, sometimes 2 quilts. You cats are not going to suffocate. Cruiser spends the entire afternoon laying around in the sun, either on the drafting chair, under the quilt with Spit, or in the dirt outside. Cruiser, this is not different, just lay down. For the rest of the drive they both laid down and mostly slept and were quiet.

I missed a turn near Sacramento and hit traffic. The funny thing about printing out directions ahead of time, is that you have to look at them during your drive. The road through Donner Pass sucks, it's really bumpy. I hate driving that pass, but it is much better on a sunny August afternoon than on a snowy early morning like it was on my road trip. So, with that and all the cat checking and resting stops, I arrived in Ferney, Nevada at 6:20 pm. I was counting the miles after Reno, and honestly during the whole drive I would see lodging signs and longed to just pull over. If I was not concerned about the money for hotels, I think I would have done this drive in a week, instead of 2 days, and if I had a dog, I would camp.

But I now know how resilient my cats are. Once that crate was inside the hotel room both cats were out of in a shot and investigating without too much hiding. Cruiser ate, Spit did not, and I'm not sure I will feed them in the morning, as a poop preventative measure. Regardless, we are leaving at our leisure tomorrow.