MY CRAZY ROAD TRIP- THE END AND A BEGINNING

If you missed the first four posts about My Crazy Road Trip, click on the link HERE to get caught up.

When we last left off, Mom and I had just escaped the Salt Flat People. After a good night of rest (three hours) we headed across the street to this lovely Flying J gas station.

After we gased up for our trip and grabbed snacks, we're ready to hit the road again. Only Mom's jeep wouldn't start. The battery was DEAD. 

And Mom's jumper cables were at the bottom of a pile of boxes in the back of her jeep.

It's at times like these when you realize how nice people can be. We got a lot of help. One man told us it was the alternator. He offered to call a tow truck for us. Another man thought the battery cables had loosened during the drive. Turned out, he was right. Only we didn't know it at the time. He tightened the cable for us. Unfortunately, the battery still died right afterwards, leading us to believe it really was the alternator. 

Mom called USAA road service, and they dispatched a tow truck. Meanwhile, we left the jeep connected to the Uhaul and charged it up while we waited. 

By the time the tow truck driver arrived an hour later, the battery was already fully charged. YAY!

 He checked it over for us. Everything was okay! He then gave us the go ahead. Thank goodness this didn't happen in the middle of the desert.

This side bar stole most of the morning. We didn't make it to Las Vegas as planned. Shoot, we didn't even try. We got really close and found a hotel at 4 p.m. We woke up at 1 a.m. and hit the road by 3 a.m. Las Vegas came and went at six a.m. The sun was just coming up, so the town was still lit up. Traffic was minimal. We crossed the Valley of Fire before it got hot enough to burn.

I discovered this gem at a little gas station in the Mojave National Preserve. It's actually animated, but my video wouldn't load. I'll post it on my Facebook page, if you want to watch it. I got a snort laugh from it (totally audible on the video, too.)

 

 

 

Next stop, San Diego, where I lost my mom on I-15. I pulled off onto the I-215, but I didn't notice she wasn't behind me. We ended up making the last hour of the drive solo. But we made it.

 

I got to spend the 4th of July with my mom (who refused to be in a picture posted online) and my sister at the ocean. It was a glorious.

 

Vinnie and Angie at the beach.

 

 

 

What I learned from this trip is that I'm stronger than I thought. If I had to, I know I could travel across the country alone. No problem. Having the trip veer off from the plan made this an adventure I'll never forget.

 

Tomorrow begins a new adventure when DARK EMBRACE (Dark Paradise, #4) releases. It's still available for pre-order. :)

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MY CRAZY ROAD TRIP-THE SALT FLAT PEOPLE CAME OUT TO DANCE

If you missed the first three posts about My Crazy Road Trip, click on the link HERE to get caught up.

I took this picture at a rest stop in Utah. We'd been driving through the most beautiful country. This is just a taste of the sights we saw in the mountains outside of Salt Lake City.

This little guy let me walk right up to him.

Little did I know that this rest stop was the last moment of peace we'd have for a long time.

Once we hit the mountains outside of Salt Lake City, it felt like we were driving in a speed race. We had to be going over 80 miles an hour just to keep up with the other drivers, who were going much faster. I've never been so terrified and...thrilled, to be honest. 

Whipping around those corners, speeding up to pass slower drivers. OMG, it was amazing.  I've never gone so fast before. When we came out of the mountains, and I saw the lights of Salt Lake City on the horizon, fireworks shot into the sky (literally). It was 4th of July weekend, but it felt like they were just for me. I've never been so happy.

Then I follow Mom into the city. By the time we hit the freeway, it was fully dark. I could barely see Mom's jeep because of drivers pulling in front of me. Some guy in a white truck almost ran me off the road. Traffic moved fast.

Mom got confused by the signs and ended up turning onto Hwy 80 for Reno. Next thing you know, we're lost. Trapped on a two-lane freeway with no way to pull off. We end up passing the Bonneville Salt Flats (which stink). It was close to midnight. I was exhausted and upset that we'd ended up an hour off course.

Mom finally noticed my frantic signaling and pulled off at a small gas station. The lights were off inside. Nobody else was around, but us.

Mom climbed out of the jeep and started to walk toward me. From the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of red. A pick up truck pulled in and parked next to us. A old guy in tattered overalls got out of the truck. He had shoulder length hair and a beard. No shirt (of course), because we'd just entered bizarro land. 

More pick up trucks pulled in and parked. It must've been a family caravanning, unless we stumbled across the gas station where the Salt Flat People held their parties. I say that 'cause the next thing I know, I'm watching a bunch of their kids dancing on top of the pick up trucks. It was the oddest thing I've EVER seen outside of a movie like Deliverance or The Hills Have Eyes. I wish I'd thought to take a video, but I didn't want to draw their attention.

Mom and I pulled out of the gas station and parked in a nearby field. We still needed to figure out where we were. And how to get back to Salt Lake City without being cannibalized by the Salt Flat People. 


So, the trip is already half over. What else can go wrong? I actually thought this as I laid down to sleep in a beautiful room at the Comfort Inn a few miles back the way we came, in Tooele, Utah (home to some of the nicest people on earth).

Foolish mortal.

Scroll down to enjoy a teaser DARK EMBRACE (Dark Paradise, #4). It releases Tuesday, July 14th, and is available for pre-order. :)

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DARK EMBRACE GOODREADS GIVEAWAY

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Dark Embrace

by Angie Sandro

Giveaway ends July 13, 2015.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

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MY CRAZY ROAD TRIP- WYOMING AND COWS, LOTS OF COWS

 

If you missed the first two posts about My Crazy Road Trip, click on the link HERE to get caught up.

We left Sturgis, SD around noon on Wednesday. I followed my mom because:

1) She's a better navigator than I am (if there is a way to get lost, I'll find it).

2) I couldn't see the jeep very well behind the Uhaul.

3) We were so exhausted, I had to watch to make sure she didn't fall asleep at the wheel. Every time she started swerving, I knew she'd drifted off and I honked to wake her up.

One terrifying moment had her swerving into a lane already occupied by another car. If you were curious about why it took us four days to drive 20 hours, it's a pretty easy answer. 

I wanted to get there alive.

I think we were still in South Dakota for this picture, but I could be wrong. I loved the beautiful yellow flowers.

The first day, we took two lane highways to get to Rawlins, Wyoming before getting a hotel. We were too exhausted to go on.

 

 

 

Somewhere in Wyoming.

Next stop on Friday, Utah. The place where I thought  Mom and I would be cannibalized by the Salt Flat People after getting lost. Sometimes having an active imagination is not a good thing.


Scroll down to enjoy a teaser DARK EMBRACE (Dark Paradise, #4). It releases Tuesday, July 14th, and is available for pre-order. :)

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MY CRAZY ROAD TRIP- EMBRACE THE CHAOS OR LET IT DESTROY YOU

If you haven't read about the first day of My Crazy Road Trip click HERE.

If you're all caught up, let's get to it. You'll remember where I left off. I was still in a  la la land of my own creation. A place where unicorns fart rainbows, and everything was wonderful and magical.

I still thought we'd get on the road by Tuesday. I didn't realize I'd spend the next three days packing my mom's house. She'd downsized a lot in her last move, but she still had a lifetime of stuff-- her belongings, heirlooms she wanted to leave to her children (my sis, bro, and me), grandchildren, and great-grands. She also had things that belonged to her mother and father. 

So, I boxed and wrapped all Sunday. Every time I thought I was close to being finished, I'd open a drawer or a closet and find more stuff. I found Time Magazines from the 1960's to present. Antiques were mixed in with Dollar Store junk. Pictures and important documents were mixed with magazine subscription requests.

Boxes and more boxes from the last move that had never been unpacked.

I thought I would lose my mind. At one point, I didn't think we'd be finished before the movers came. I think that was the first mini-break down.

Mom and I stayed up most of the night. I think the whole trip we averaged between two to five hours of sleep each night.

That blow up mattress never felt so good. I crashed hard.

This woke me up.

 

 



 

 

Now, I'm from California, and we're in a drought. We haven't gotten a storm like this in years. It was pretty amazing to watch with the thunder and lightning. But then, I got to worrying about how the storm would affect the move. Would the movers be able to load the truck in weather like this? Would it be safe?

 

I went to bed stressing about these things, but I woke up in the morning to this.

 

Unicorns do fart rainbows in South Dakota.

 

I took this from my mom's upstairs window

 

On this hopeful note, Mom and I grabbed the Uhaul and brought it home. Then we continued to pack. The movers are scheduled to arrive at 2 pm.

At noon, we got a knock on the door. The movers came two hours early. We weren't done packing. Not even close, but...I didn't care. YAY!

"Come on in." Get to work. Stop chatting. I don't need to make every decision about how to load the truck. I totally trust your judgment. Just put the boxes in ALL READY! UGH.

The guys moving us were really nice, but the main guy didn't move fast. He was like an artist who had to find the perfect spot for each box. Then he had to get permission from me to put it in the truck. The other guy almost came unglued because he and I were doing most of the loading, while the other one pondered the symmetry of the load and the mysteries of the universe.

I really felt bad for the guys after we  hit the two hour mark. It was hot and muggy. There were only two of them doing a job that should be done by four or five guys. Not cool given the amount of stuff that needed to be loaded. Or the fact that we discovered halfway through the move that the Uhaul was too small. There would be nine large boxes left over at the end of the day.

What really sucked was the fact that our movers, the ones who arrived at noon, weren't even supposed to be there. They'd been contracted by the company that canceled on us Saturday. Because they'd canceled, Mom had to scramble to find a moving company to replace them.

We discovered this error when Mom received a phone call from the company she'd hired  to replace them. They were scheduled to arrive at 2 p.m., and wanted to let us know they were on the way. This left everyone scrambling for answers. Especially the guys who'd been loading our Uhaul for two hours. They wanted to get paid.

We wanted to get moved.

It all worked out in the end. They guys stayed, but it took eight hours to load the Uhaul. And like I mentioned earlier, nine boxes were left over. We ended up trashing them. There was nothing else we could do. We tried donation, but Salvation Army wouldn't pick up. So Mom spoke to a lady at the trash company. She said to line the boxes up on the curb, and they'd pick them up.

Tuesday was spent cleaning. Going through the remaining boxes to try and salvage anything of importance. Then I hauled them down to the curb.

By late Wednesday morning, we were done. Mentally and actually freaking finished. The house was empty. We wanted out! It didn't matter that we'd only be able to drive for eight hours. We got on the road.  I drove the Uhaul and Mom drove her jeep. 

The new plan: Be in San Diego by Friday.

Stop by Friday for more craziness, 'cause we're finally on the road.

Here is how Dena Acker from my new novel, DARK EMBRACE (Dark Paradise, #4), feels about being on the road. 

DARK EMBRACE releases Tuesday, July 14th, and is available for pre-order. :)
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