Looks Like We Made It!

(We gave up on wishful thinking times mid-trip, so today we left the hotel at checkout at 11 a.m.)

After leaving our things in storage at the Stratosphere, we went to the IHOP on the strip for breakfast. We decided to get a bus pass for a couple hours and took it down to the Mirage, where we gambled away hundreds of dollars! Ok, ok, I only put down $10 on the roulette table on the number 6 for my dad (it came up 7- doh!), and Grant spent $20 on a variety of slot machines. At least he walked away with $12 still in his pocket, only losing $8.

We took the tram over to Treasure Island and walked around there for a bit, checking out the pirate ships that are “docked” outside. I wanted Grant to see the pirate ship battle that my friend, Paula and I had seen forever ago, but I don’t think they have it any more. Bummer. So we continued on the bus up that side of the strip and then down the other side. This was Grant’s first time in Vegas so I wanted him to see the entire thing. The bus was the easiest and cheapest way to do that in a short amount of time. Once we got back to the Stratosphere we decided to get ice cream, so we went to Roxy’s Diner. I had a sundae with hot fudge and caramel and Grant had a banana milk shake. Once we had our sugar high going it was time to go pick up Cai at the Long Beach Airport.

We left Vegas at 5 p.m. and crossed into CA at 5:48 p.m. At exit 239 we saw a sign for ZZYZX Road. We really saw some strange road names on this trip! Did a 4-year-old name this one?? Anyway, we stopped for a bathroom break at Desert Star Ranch, which was another place in the middle of nowhere (thank goodness for those!). After that we saw signs for East Main St. Needles, Rancho Cucamonga and Mt. Baldy.

We picked up Cai from the airport at 9:30 p.m. and made our way to the new house. It was fairly empty, since Steve wasn’t arriving with the truck until Wednesday. Now, of course, we have all of our furniture in it and are slowly but surely getting unpacked and settled.

This road trip was exactly what I needed to leave the old job behind and begin a new chapter in our lives. Complete with random stops, world records and plenty of good luck, it was a wonderful adventure. And a huge thanks to my partner in crime, Grant, whose upbeat attitude and offbeat humor made the long drives not only bearable, but enjoyable.

License plates we saw:
3:15- Delaware
5:15- Montana
6:06- Quebec

Days traveled: 6
Miles traveled: 3,076
States passed through: MA, CT, NY, PA, OH, IN, IL, MO, KS, CO, UT, AZ (for 10 mins.), NV, CA
Dollars spent on gas: $400
Total cost of lodging: $480