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Published: August 13th 2013
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Parting is such sweet sorrow when you are bidding farewell to a new, albeit temporary, member of the family! We returned our RV on time and in one piece, and when we had finally pulled everything out of it, we stood bewildered for a few moments at how we had managed to bring the mountain of stuff packed beside our minivan out here in the first place.
But Todd is a man of many talents, including squeezing every available inch of space out of a vehicle. We managed to get just about everything back in the van, and only had to drop off one box at UPS to be shipped back. Worth every cent, as it meant the difference between the kids have a small carved out space for their legs vs. sitting criss-crossed for four days!
When we awoke this morning, we weren't entirely sure we'd make it out of Denver as Sean was just as ill as he had been all day yesterday. As expected, I was already making plans for finding the closest ER and Todd was proposing that more time was needed before we called in the surgeons. Sean was not shy about communicating his state of distress, which made for a more tense morning of last-minute packing than we would have liked. But after falling asleep on the one-hour drive from campsite to RV rental place, he awoke and promptly announced that his stomach did not hurt any more. Honestly, it was like someone had flipped a magic switch. Not sure what changed during that power nap, but all we could say was "Thank the Lord!" Except for Todd, who couldn't resist a couple of "told you so's."
So, after a leisurely lunch in Denver, we hit the road in our family truckster, heading for the northern route through Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, etc. We're here in North Platte, NE, with plans to see our former nanny Deborah for lunch tomorrow, and then staying with my brother, Brian, tomorrow night in Des Moines, IA. Wednesday is a bit up in the air, as we may head to Chicago to catch the Cubs at Wrigley, or venture to Dubuque, IA to see the Field of Dreams. Decisions, decisions...
But our conversations now with the kids revolve around what they learned, what surprised them, where they would go back to, and what they might have skipped now that they know about it. The overwhelming clear majority winner, with a unanimous vote of 6 to 0, is to return (someday) to Zion. We're also pretty fond of the RV option, especially compared to tent camping, though I have to confess the amenities of a hotel hold a lot of sway for me. But, it's probably a little soon to be thinking about our next adventure, which I have teasingly told Todd is going to be an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean!
Seriously, though, it was a sentimental departure as we waved goodbye to our trusty RV and pulled away in our minivan, which Todd promptly proclaimed felt as if he were driving a sports coupe compared to what he had been steering the last 3 weeks! It's all in your perspective, I suppose. And for this family, our perspective is that the West was a trip well worth taking.
Marcia
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Judy
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Sorry to see...
...these blogs come to an end. It has been quite an adventure to live vicariously through the great writing and beautiful photos. Can't wait till your next trip - to the Caribbean or wherever!