Other than that, we knew that we wanted to take a proper vacation this year so we saved up and planned for the first week in August. We just didn't plan on a specific DESTINATION. We debated on taking the group to South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore or to visit a place in California... After much discussion, Cali won out. My aunt pointed out that Mt. Rushmore's 4th of July fireworks are "to die for" so I think we will plan that for another year. This year the little offerings in California appeals to all of us, so that is where we headed. I spent most of Friday night researching the Internet for "things to do" and last night we finally made the decision and booked the hotel rooms...
(Disorganized?!? Yes. You can say that, but I prefer to think of it as "exciting". My husband and I have been married for 20 years and the first 10 of those years were spent in spontaneity -- never really planning anything other than our major goals of finishing school and getting "real jobs". I sure miss those days! For the other half of our life together, we have had to take more care in planning things and they never work out to be as fun as I wish... I have a lot of HOPE for the success of this trip!)
We made the usual mad-dash to clean the house yesterday. I like to come home to a CLEAN house after a week away, so our sanity and our sleep are things that we sacrifice before a trip. All in all, we got everything packed in time and we left ONLY an hour after we intended.
The drive to San Francisco was (blessedly) uneventful other than the fact that I had to yell about three million times for everyone to "keep your hands and body parts on your OWN side of the car" and I even had to go so far as to pull out my trusty Sharpie marker and draw a line for some of the passengers in the car to be able to distinguish between their side of the car and the other passenger's side of the car. *sigh*
On the way, we drove from our town to I-80. We passed the spot where I got my first and so far (knock-on-wood) speeding ticket 23 years ago -- the location has been forever burned in my mind because it was such an unpleasant experience (who would have know that old piece of crap car without a working spedometer could go that fast?).
We passed the "big salty lake" and true-to-form, the water reminded most of us that it had been a while since we had the opportunity to use the "water closet", so we stopped in a town that I used to pass through in my teen years... (I was really sad to see how much the water has receded since the first time I drove by that lake due to this drought.)
Then, we drove back onto I-80 to finish the JOURNEY west.
I am a little embarrassed to say that I was a resident of Tooele County for a couple of years but I never took the time to drive out to the actual Bonneville Salt Flats. Since I moved away, I have even driven past the salt flats but didn't stop. I have seen numerous pictures of it... I have often speculated on what it would be like... I enjoyed watching the triumphant swagger of the pilots walk across the salt in "Independence Day" after saving the world from aliens... I have seen "The Last Indian" movie where they race a motorcycle contraption on the salt... My brother even worked out at a salt company for a few years. BUT... I have never actually taken the time to stop and enjoy the view.
Well, because I was in control of the wheel this morning I decided that we were going to experience something that has been on my "bucket list" (of sorts) for a long time... We stopped at the rest stop on I-80 and walked AS FAR as we could on the bed of salt, took a few pictures, tasted the salt below us just to "see" if it was real, AND we tracked it back into our car... It was absolutely amazing! To think that all this wonderful, naturally occurring substance is right there for the "taking". It nearly gave me high blood pressure just standing on it, let alone thinking about the fact that THIS is the STUFF we put on our food... It was WAY cool!
Next major stop: Winnemucca. ONE of us was STARVING to death, and of course someone else decided that they were too, so we stopped for lunch. We couldn't get away with eating at a new restaurant; we had to go for the old boring standby that we CAN and practically DO get every day of the week... *yawn*
On the way to the restaurant, we noticed an antique car show on the main street and because we are suckers for old cars, we decided to stop and take a gander... I was ABSOLUTELY amazed at how many 29 Model A's there were -- very similar to the old rusted bucket that we have in our field. Pretty cool, if you ask me! We even got to see a 1927 Model T coupe like the one that our grandpa used to drive... We were in old car heaven! I just can't wait until we can get our '66 fixed up to take to shows.
We FINALLY arrived at our destination late in the evening-- Petaluma, California. We stayed in this town last year and thought it was a beautiful drive to San Francisco, so we decided to stay again. We took a longer route and drove over the ($5) toll bridge across the water -- and a couple of us were absolutely AMAZED by the beautiful sight! We have been in our hotel room for a couple of hours now and SOME of us are too keyed up to sleep because it is the first time they really remember sleeping in a hotel room. (DID I ALREADY MENTION that I hate riding in cars for long periods of time?!?) Unfortunately, I am not one of those people that are too keyed up for sleep tonight -- they are "forcing" me into staying awake by all the noise they are making so I decided that it would be the PERFECT time to write about our experiences today...
I SIMPLY CANNOT WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW! We plan to buy a City Pass and visit all of the sites on offer. We plan to spend a lot of time at the beach; to visit Fisherman's Wharf; to see the Exploratorium and the Academy of Sciences; and of course, we plan to visit the Aquarium by the Bay. The best part, though, will be the trolleys. I think we will spend as much time as possible in the trolleys because SOME of us will think that is the CAT'S MEOW! I can't wait to see the glow -- to hear the laughter (and hopefully not the fighting).
Lucky for me -- I accidentally-on-purpose (a direct quote from the conversation I had with my man) forgot to pack the jacket that I bought in San Francisco last year so I plan to get a new one. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Hard Rock will have a RED one this year!!!
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