Kansas Trip Part 3

November 27, 2020

After a six-day visit with the in-laws it was time to head back home. We were on the road by 10:50 am. It was a sunny cold day, 44 degrees. 

We drove all the way home this time. I didn't want to fly plus we do enjoy road trips. We made stops at rest areas to stretch our legs and use the restroom. 

Driving on long stretches of road definitely gives you time to think. One of our conversations was about coming up with male cat names for a possible cat in the near future. We wanted to stick with traditional regular men names. This is what we came up with: Virgil, Wyatt, Franklin, Atticus and Donald. Fast forward six years, and the name we picked was Franklin (after Benjamin Franklin).

Jacob always begins driving on our road trips and most of the time he'll drive the entire time but sometimes when he gets too tired that's when I end up taking over.

We stopped for the night in Loveland Colorado, had dinner and headed to the hotel to call it a night. I didn't get good sleep. Had a restless night.

November 28, 2020, Saturday

I can see snow-capped mountains, pretty. We were on the road by 8:22 am. We drove past Fort Collins. It's a cute town. We saw lots of cows. I find cows so cute.

By 9:17 am we crossed into Wyoming. We stopped in Rawlins for lunch. Pizza is always a fun choice. We love pizza. Pizza Hut used to be our favorite. I loved their buttery crust on their pan pizzas but while we ate, we noticed that the pizza crust didn't quite taste the same, so we googled it and read that Pizza Hut had changed their recipe the year before in 2019 after 40 years with the original recipe. So after we discovered this we no longer eat Pizza Hut pizza. I wonder why they even had to change it. I don't know if they have gone back to the original recipe.

It was sunny and quite cold, 33 degrees.

We stopped in Evanston for some coffee and to swap. We then got gas and here's where I saw a couple of dead deer on the back of a truck. It was my first time seeing this. It was hunting season. I don't agree with killing for sport but if it's to feed your family then it's fine. It still doesn't make it less sad though. I hated seeing that. 

We crossed into Utah at 4:37 pm. 

Driving on the Dwight D. Eisenhower Hwy. I like how the side of the hills look.

The sunset drive paints the landscape with vibrant orange hues turning our drive into an awesome experience. It definitely looked a lot cooler in person. 

We stopped at Brigham City for the night. Got Mexican take out, took it back to our hotel and ate. Afterwards we walked over to a Christmas village that was near the hotel. 

It was cute. It was very nostalgic, of long-ago times. Seeing all that reminded me of my childhood. I remember my mom would have us get dressed in our Christmas clothes and head over to one of the malls to see Christmas decorations that contained moving figurines. It is unfortunate that malls don't decorate with nostalgic Christmas animatronics anymore. I'm sure people would enjoy seeing them.

I liked this display of books by the window ... obviously.

Another very cold night. 

November 29, 2020, Sunday

Our goal is to make it home today. We were on the road by 8:10 am, sunny and 25 degrees. When I got my water to take a drink I noticed tiny pieces of ice in it. 

We saw sheep on the side of the hills. They blended in so well that you wouldn't be able to spot them in a picture. 

We stopped at the Bliss rest area. It was windy, we were freezing. We saw several people wearing shorts and t-shirts though. Crazy! 

We stopped in Boise Idaho for lunch at Bittercreek Ale House. We enjoyed our meals. The burger was very tasty. But now, it was time get back on the road. We couldn't wait to get home!

Snake River ... it borders between Oregon and Idaho.

These hills remind me of the way suede feels. I love these colors.

We came across a bit of snow on the side of the road. We saw that an SUV had hit a deer and it lay dead on the side of the road. That's very sad. 

We stopped at Arrowhead Travel Plaza so I can take over driving. It was already dark and cold, 36 degrees. 

We crossed over into Washington at 5:40 pm.

GPS took us on a back road and that's when fog became extremely thick. I could not see but one car in front of me. That stretch of the drive seem to have taken an eternity. I finally came across the freeway. Semi drivers were passing me up like if it wasn't foggy. It was SO nerve-wracking driving through that. It felt like I was going to hit a wall. 

We finally made it home by 10:12 pm. What a relief. Driving through that thick fog really wore me out!

We were so thankful we made it home safely and happy to see our older children and our cats. 

There is nothing better than being home after being gone on vacation. Looking forward to getting back into my daily routines especially to have home cooked meals is one of the best feelings. I also couldn't wait to enjoy some time alone visiting a bookstore and going thrifting. These are some of the ways I destress.

Homemaking is surely in reality the most important work in the world. -C.S. Lewis

The best things in life are the people you love, the 

places you've been and the memories you've made along the way.