A Weekend Away

I made the drive back to Johnstown for the 4th of July holiday weekend. It was an interesting trip, with both ups and downs. Here are some of the more notable of each.

Downs:

Making the trip alone. I thought my days of solo road trips were over. I suppose they were, just not permanently.

Southern Wyoming. Three hundred and fifty miles of nothing interesting whatsoever. I've made the drive through the monochromatic wasteland that is I-70 so many times that I can practically do it in my sleep. Not a good thing when you're already tired (see below).

Back trouble. I wrenched my back on Thursday morning, which made the four-day weekend not as enjoyable as I'd have liked. I'm sure I wasn't as much fun as the family would have liked, either. Muscle relaxers will do that to me.

"Why aren't you married anymore?" After about the fifth time my niece asked me this, I got annoyed and said, "I've already told you. Please don't ask me again." Okay, I know she's only four; I know her parents are divorced and she's just trying to figure out what this whole marriage thing is about. I should have been more patient. I guess I was just annoyed that almost five months into this thing, I'm still not sure I know the answer to that question myself. I‘m not sure I ever will.

Family politics. A couple of my family members aren't on speaking terms right now, so I wasn't able to see the whole family at once. Mostly I just heard them complaining (separately) about one another. Too much anger, too much pride, too much fear of admitting that they might be to blame for the situation. Maybe one day they'll figure out that what's right is more important than who's right. Yeah, right.

Utah drivers. More on (moron?) them in a later post. >evil chuckle<

Ups:

Seeing the family. Even in less than ideal circumstances, it's great to see my family. I know they'll always be there for me, and being with them helps me to put aside my own problems for a little while.

Seeing Derek. We talked about all kinds of things, from comic books to movies to old friends to academics to future plans. We reminisced well into the small hours, something we get to do all too infrequently anymore. And as an added bonus, we discovered that for the first time in our quarter-century of friendship, we have the same haircut.

Fireworks. From the driveway of the Homestead, we could see fireworks from Greeley, Loveland, Fort Collins, Longmont, Johnstown, Platteville, and all around Weld and Larimer counties. And we could see them without nineteen thousand other people getting in the way.

Highway 40. I decided to take a few extra hours and make the drive westward via the scenic route. And it was quite scenic! Even the sagebrush is prettier there than in Wyoming (green foliage and red soil as opposed to green-brown foliage and brown dirt). It was well worth the extra time and distance. I did get a bit freaked out over Rabbit Ears and Berthoud Passes (due to this little fear of heights I've picked up somewhere), but even then the scenery was exquisite.

My rental car. I got it cheap - $16 bucks a day plus taxes and fees on Priceline - and it was a great car. It averaged almost 33 miles per gallon for the trip and was large enough to seat me comfortably, even with my back being fussy.

Maybell, Colorado. I live in downtown Salt Lake City - which admittedly is a far cry from East L.A. - so I'm used to locking my car every time I get out of it. I made a pit stop in this little town, and one of the locals, on seeing me lock up the rental, smiled and said, "You probably don't need to worry about that in Maybell." And I believed him. I wonder if they're going to need a chemistry teacher there in the next few months...?

The nieces. Yes, even when they're asking tough questions or trying to convince me that I really don't need to take a nap, they're more fun than a barrel of monkeys. They're the greatest. I wish I could see them as often as I'd like to.

Highs in the low 80's. It's 10:00 pm in Salt Lake City right now, and it's still 83 degrees outside. Yes, I know it was my choice to move to the middle of the barren desert for school, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Barbeque. With all due respect to the vegetarian(s) in my life, there's just nothing like a steak grilled by someone who really knows how to cook over charcoal.

Finally, just getting away. Rental car: ~ $100. Gas: $60. Food and snacks for the road: $35. Four days away from work, physics, and trying to find a new apartment: Priceless.