day one

More about our move from Omaha to Pocatello...

We had planned to leave Omaha on Thursday, December 20, but we didn't hit the road until Sunday, December 23. Why the delay? Loading the moving truck took waaaaaay longer than we anticipated, we were trying to figure out what to do with all the stuff we couldn't fit in the moving truck, we still needed to spend some time with Dave's family, and we were just too exhausted to drive.

After losing my wallet and looking everywhere for it (but never finding it), we finally got underway late Sunday morning. I was crossing my fingers for an easy, police-free trip, as I had no wallet, no credit cards, no ID, no drivers license, nada. Ugh, what a way to start the trip.

Dave drove the Penske rental truck with his Blazer in tow behind while I drove the van with three kids and two dogs. Luckily, Dave agreed to take the cat in the moving truck with him. I'm not sure who had it worse. :)

Anyway, we had decided that we would stay together on the road, at least within a couple miles of each other. To be on the safe side, however, we had purchased long-range walkie-talkies a few weeks earlier so we could at least talk to one another if the need arose. I, of course, was way too anxious and impatient to stay behind Dave and the pokey rental truck, so I pulled ahead of him a few miles. Stopping at an I-80 rest area, I figured he'd catch up to us and we'd be back together again, right? Well...

Lesson One: when you agree to stick together on the road, stick together... really... stick together.

Lesson Two: life isn't going anywhere... don't be in such a hurry. Be patient!

Dave caught up and passed us while I was taking the dogs out to pee. I knew that we'd be back on the road shortly and we'd catch up to him in no time, so I didn't worry whatsoever. After the dogs peed, the boys had their diapers changed, Kayley and I used the facilities, and I stretched my legs a bit, we were ready to go. Huffing down the road at 75mph, I thought I would catch up to Dave within a few minutes since he had just passed us a short while earlier. After a bit, however, I still didn't see Dave and thought to myself, "Wow, he must really be making good time with that big yellow moving truck!" I tried reaching Dave on the walkie-talkies, to no avail, as we were too far out of range. (Long-range, my ass.) I increased my speed to about 85mph in an effort to catch up with him. Heh heh... little did I know that Dave had already pulled off at an exit to refuel.

Remember when I mentioned that I lost my wallet? As my "Low Fuel" warning light came on, I remembered that I had no cash... no credit cards... nothing with which to buy gas. And... Dave (who had all the cash and credit cards!) was still nowhere in sight. Crap. I was able to make it a few more miles down the road to an exit with a gas station. I figured I would simply wait there and continue to try raising him on the walkie-talkies. Again, nada.

I waited at the gas station for about 45 minutes before realizing that, if for some reason Dave was behind me on the Interstate that whole time, he would be going by my exit soon. The walkie-talkies weren't working for shit and he would never see where I was parked or know that I had even taken that exit. Sigh.

I decided to head back out to the Interstate and park on the shoulder of the entrance ramp. If Dave were going to pass me, he would at least see me sitting there. Besides, I figured I would have better range with the walkie-talkies out on the road anyway. So... the dogs and kids and I sat on the entrance ramp... and we sat there... and we sat there... and we sat there. I was trying to reach Dave via the radios (again, long-range, my ass!) every couple of minutes, but the only answer I ever received was silence. Silence. Silence. Silence. Gettin' the picture?

It was getting dark and it was cold, so I had to keep the van running so the kids could stay warm. As we sat and waited, I watched the dashboard message center count down the miles I had left before I hit empty. 12 miles to E... 11 miles to E... 10 miles to E. I was really starting to worry because we had been sitting on the entrance ramp shoulder for nearly 1 1/2 hours and still there was no sign of Dave.

I played several scenarios and weighed our options over and over in my head. I could get out and try to flag down another car to help us. But... what would they do? I didn't have any money to offer someone if they stopped. Besides, there are always those crazy axe-murdering types looking to prey on a Mom and her scared kids. Scratch that idea. I could try to make it to the next exit where we could at least hang out in a truck stop or diner or gas station. We'd be warm, off the road, and relatively safe. But... I didn't know how far down the road the next exit was. What if we didn't make it and got stranded on the Interstate with no gas to run the heater? OK, scratch that idea, too. Alright, I got it... we're not going to panic, we're not! We'll just sit here on the shoulder and idle the van for as long as we can. When it runs out of gas, we'll all just huddle up together in the back seat, cover up with a blanket, eat some snacks, and wait for someone to come. Someone would come to help, right? Anyone? Dave?

Lesson Three: always be aware of your surroundings. Know exactly where you're at, know where the next exit is and how far you have to go to get there. Be aware, be aware, be aware.

After what seemed like an eternity, Kayley said she heard a crackle on the walkie-talkie. Silly Mom didn't believe her -- I mean, after 1.5 hours of trying (unsuccessfully) to get Dave on the radio every few minutes, why would I think he would be in the area at that point? I just knew that he had gone on to Wyoming, thinking all along that we were ahead of him and having no clue that we were stranded behind him somewhere. "Mom, I heard something on the walkie-talkie!" Kayley shrieked. Uh-hmm.

"Daddy, is that you?" she shouted into the radio. Crackle, crackle, snap, and pop... there was Dave on the other end. He tracked us down and I had not ever felt so worried and angry and thrilled and scared all at the same time. He led the way to the next exit, assuring me that I had enough gas to make it, and I swore I wouldn't let him or that big yellow moving truck out of my sight for the rest of the trip.

Lesson Four: always make sure you have some money when you're traveling... always, always, always.

Lesson Five: always, and I mean always, have a plan to contend with emergencies. If you get separated from your party, what will you do? Where will you go? What time will you meet? What will you do if your plans fall through? Do you have a backup plan? If you can imagine the worst that might happen, it might happen. What will you do if the worst happens?

Lesson Six: pack a car emergency kit. Sure, you may never need it... but, what if you do? Will you be prepared?

In the end, we made it to Laramie, Wyoming after 10 or so hours on the road. Initially, we had planned to stop earlier in the evening, but had lost so much time with the aforementioned fiasco we thought we ought to make up a bit of time and mileage. Anyway, by the time we hit the Wyoming border, Dave and I were both so excited to be out of Nebraska, we decided to keep going. It was dark, the kids were asleep, there wasn't much traffic on the roads, so we figured we'd keep on keepin' on. It was a long and lesson-filled day, but we both felt terrific that night when our heads hit the pillows.