Passing the time

The past two weeks saw me coming off an intense audit trip and then turning around quickly to head out on vacation. It was wonderful to spend time with my extended family who I hadn’t seen since the previous Christmas.  My nieces and nephew are growing like weeds and are amazingly busy with school, after school activities, social activities and of course the normal daily chores and routine of country life.

I spent a week rotating between my parents house, my sisters house and my grandmothers house..then an additional 3 days with my aunt in MN. I must admit I took advantage of having people around to try out a few new recipes (garlic mushroom steak with sour cream and Parmesan cheese mashed potatoes, mixed vegetable beef stew with honey corn bread, Swedish meatballs with egg noodles) and took special requests from those who had a craving for some comfort food (beef stroganoff, grilled brats and potato salad, fudge meltaway bars). It is so much easier to cook for 3-4 people than it is for just one.

One of the best things about visiting the family is taking out my favorite bike and going for leisurely rides on the country roads. Cty Rd “A” in particular – 15 miles of beautiful bluffs, artisan springs, a winding river twisting its way alongside the road and the stectacular sight of leaves changing from summer green to the splendor of the fall orange, yellow, golds and browns. I honestly thought I was going to be to early to see any foliage changes but lucky for me they had already begun to change.

Although the visit went by quickly it was a wonderful time to reconnect with family, take some great photos of the kids and to remember that life while busier is still simpler out in the country.

The holiday weekend saw Tricha and I departing for San Jose, CA early Friday evening for a classic road trip adventure across the United States (or at least to Dallas, TX).  After a nice flight into San Jose via Denver, CO we picked up Tricha’s truck from short term parking and headed down to Gilroy to check into our motel room. 

After catching a few hours sleep we headed out at 7:20am to have breakfast with Tricha’s parents and at that point the adventure took a new turn as we discovered that we had a flat tire. Thank goodness for AAA!  While the tire was being repaired in Gilroy, Tricha’s parents, Tricha and myself all adjourned to the Big Bear Diner for a wonderful breakfast with Northern sized portions. After collected the truck from the tire shop we once again hit the road with the goal of putting some miles behind us before any more “adventures” came our way.

By mid-afternoon on Saturday we were on the south side of Bakersfield, CA and we saw a fresh fruit farm that looked interesting so we decided to stop and check out the sites. Actually we just really liked their water tower – so we though we would stretch our legs for a few minutes.

 -There should be pictures of us at the fruit farm here but unfortunately the system isn’t cooperating-

So after sampling some of the best grapes, peaches, melons and raspberries ever, we once again hit the road for the next leg of the jaunt. Many ipod songs later and a few stops for gas we crossed the boarder into AZ and we kept on rolling, rolling, rolling. We then crossed the boarder into NM where after a few more hours (think 3am) we arrived at our destination for the evening in Grants, NM. Then we slept the sleep of the truly exhausted.

The next morning we decided to head into Bernalillo (just 13 miles north of Alguquerque, NM) to check out their wine festival. And what a time we had….

–there should be 4 pictures of us enjoying the festival here – once again technology isn’t going my way–

We sampled wines from at least 8 different vineyards and had some of the best chicken tacos every. Also we sampled a variety of things infused with garlic – everything from goat cheese to jerky. Additionally a favorite find for both of us that day was the Hot Sweet Green Chile spread – delicious, delicious. I plan on serving it over cream cheese with crackers and a nice sauvignon blanc. So good!

We also had the delightful experience of a mid-afternoon thundershower which completely drenched us but didn’t deter us from continuing to enjoy the festival – we weren’t the only ones sans umbrella.

–More pictures go here!–

Well after dragging ourselves away from the festival – as we both decided that if we were to have a hope of reaching Dallas before work on Tuesday we had better get moving – we once again merged onto I-40 and watched the miles pass by, saw another beautiful sunset and continued to sing along with the ipods as the scenery slipped on and on.

Sunday evening/Monday morning saw us pulling into Abiline, TX at 2:30am for a few hours sleep and the satisfying knowledge that we were only a few hours out from Dallas.

Monday morning we left Albiline at 9am and safely reached Dallas by 12:30pm. We unloaded the truck and after a few minutes to sit still we headed off to the next adventure which was a window shopping trip to IKEA. Window shopping quickly became “real shopping” as we picked out bedroom, kitchen and bathroom furnishings for Tricha’s new place. After loading up and tying down everything including the mattress in the back of Tricha’s truck we then drove back to my place and unloaded everything into my apartment.

At the end of the day – all I can say is Whew – what a weekend! All in all it was a fantastic time – Tricha and I are still talking to each other and on Wednesday we will move all of Tricha’s new apartment items out of my place and into her new place just a few doors down from my place.  

Road trips are so much fun – especially when you have fun people with which to travel – Thanks Tricha for the fun memories – some great pictures - and the opportunity to see New Mexico and Arizona (although Arizona was dark the entire time we passed through it )