Change of Plans, Sort of

One of the items on Ben's Bucket List has been to go to Burning Man. Not sure why. Camping in the middle of the desert for a week does not sound like fun to me. But since thousands go every year, and we have friends that go every year, I guess others don't think like me. A few days before this year's Burning Man started, Ben found out that one of his friends had an extra ticket and a spot in the RV. Since we were already here in Vegas, Ben and I decided that maybe this was a good time for him to go. We spent the next few days frantically trying to buy supplies for his trip. I am so thankful that my mom came into town and was able to watch the kids while we did some of the running. Finally, on Monday he was on his way!

We were on our way too. We all were supposed to go to San Diego. Ben had a conference and my mom and I (and the kids) were going to go visit my great uncle. Ben and I were going to stay in San Diego and my mom and the kids were going to stay with her cousin. Well, the hotel wouldn't let us cancel the reservation, so my mom, kids and I ended up staying there instead. We stayed at the US Grant. I have to say, it would have been so awesome to stay there with Ben. So fancy pants!

Tuesday we started off our morning with a donut from the Donut Bar. They were huge! And yummy. Then we went to La Jolla to see the seals. We ended up playing in the sand a bit too. It's interesting to see the differences in the kids. Adelyn has always loved the sand and ocean. Even though she freaks out if a little something gets on her outfit, all those cares disappear when she's at the beach. She would be happy to be at the beach forever. Odin... well, he isn't too sure about the sand in his toes. And he didn't know what to think about the waves getting his toes wet. Sometimes he was all smiles and other times he was crying. Silly boy. After La Jolla we went to visit Uncle. It turns out that his daughter, Mary Jo, was also in town. She comes in every month for a few weeks to make sure he is doing alright (should mention that he is 95). Anyway, long family drama story, my mom hasn't seen her since they were little girls! They had a fun time catching up. The kids loved picking figs from Uncle's tree and eating them. After that, we got a little tour from cousin Connie as to the properties that Uncle owns. Then we went to Connie's place to chill out and wait for the traffic to clear.

Wednesday we headed to Coronado Beach. Once again, Adelyn had so much fun dashing in and out of the waves and playing in the sand. Odin started to get the hang of it. We grabbed lunch along the main drag in Coronado and then headed to the cemetery to see where my recently deceased great uncle Vincent was laid to rest. My mom's grandparents and other uncle and aunt are also buried there, so we got to visit all of them. Then it was back to Uncle's. Mary Jo asked Adelyn if she wanted some ice cream. She said, "No thank you. I would like some water though." Seriously, who is this kid? But after some water and a fig or two, she decided that ice cream would be good. While the kids were eating ice cream, I got an almost instant mega-migraine. I've never had one come on so fast. And so severe. I asked for something and went to rest. It didn't take long and I was running to the bathroom. Thankfully everyone was still outside, so the kids didn't see that. The cousins and my mom took the kids to the park while I rested. Adelyn came back with a flower for me to make me feel better. So sweet! I still was feeling pretty useless, so they went out to eat with the kids so I could rest some more. Then we headed back to the hotel.

Thursday we packed it up and headed back to Vegas. I should mention that a good portion of the drive to San Diego and parts of the drive to Vegas we hit rain. Pouring rain. Pouring so much that it was hard to see. But we made it safe and sound. And now the kids, my mom and I are settled into our "home" for two weeks, the Platinum Hotel. So far I like it. Much roomier than our last place. And we have a balcony. 

On the Road to Nevada Part II

We made it!

A quick Adelyn story: While we were on our hike at Arches National Park, Adelyn was walking ahead of me with Ben. She said that she needed to talk to mom, so she came back to walk with me. She said, "Mom, I want to get a tattoo." "Oh? Of what?" I asked. "Um. A purple flower on my tummy. Did we bring my paints so I can get a tattoo?" Ben and I had a good chuckle at this exchange. As did some people who were walking by.

Here's more of our journey.

Monday we had a low-key morning while Ben worked for a bit. Then we met up with our friends again for lunch. After lunch we headed to their place. They live on top of one of the mountains near Denver. Such a pretty view! From there we went straight to Lucky Pie Pizza to meet up with some other friends. We didn't go for their pizza. But their short ribs were very yummy. Right next door was an ice cream place, Sweet Cow. Both places were connected outside with a little park like area. It was astroturf with benches, flowers and gardens. Perfect for the kids to run around while the adults continued chatting. It was a very fun night. I was sad when it was time to say goodbye. After that, Ben brought the kids and I back to the hotel. We were beat. He went off for one final visit. I was sad that I didn't go see Jeff and Beth, but I did appreciate the little extra sleep I got.

Tuesday we went for a swim at the hotel pool. After that we packed up and headed to Grand Junction, CO. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but the drive was amazing. So many pretty colors. Strange rock formations. Mountains. Truly breathtaking. We got to Grand Junction and tried out Il Bistro Italiano for dinner. Our favorite was the mushroom pizza, although, I thought the pesto gnocchi was good too. We brought home a piece of fresh peach pie and chocolate cream pie for dessert. YUM.

We decided to take out our stop in Utah. We didn't hear back from the people in Eden, so we didn't know if we had a place to stay. And our friends there were out of town. So, we decided to skip that part and plow through to Las Vegas. So Wednesday we packed it up and hit the road. Once again the route was beautiful. Just when you thought that we were leaving the mountains, some more were there. We decided to take a detour to Arches National Park. It was nice that the road got you pretty close to a lot of the sites there. We did do a short little hike. The kids did great considering the heat and distance (maybe a mile) that we went. It would be a lot of fun to go back and spend more time there and do some more exploring. In a few years, I know the kids will love it. From there it was just a lot more driving. We got into Vegas around 10.

I did forget to add to the packing list that we brought one of our juicers. Today Ben and I decided to get back on the healthy bandwagon. We had mean green juice for lunch. My body was very excited to have some real food.

Now we just need to figure out where we are going to call home.