Travels of the Bay family and the Yoda Van

Today’s front page in the Utah Sunday paper said: Alcohol sales zoom 62%.
This was before we arrived here!  And that’s good, because after yesterday’s day on the road Alcohol was exactly what we needed today and we didn’t want to stand out too much, considering that I only have one wife.

After Allison’s last entry things didn’t go as smooth anymore. We spent too much time in Idaho and it was getting very late to find a campsite. We were very low on gas and no gas station in sight. The kids were getting very fuzzy in the car and we still didn’t know where to spend the night. To make matters worse, the Yodavan started making funny noises. And those noises weren’t funny ha ha.  Finally we reached a gas station and they even had RV parking in the back. Life was good again, at least until we saw what they considered a RV site. There where absolutely no amenities. No pool, no playground, no internet service, not even a toilet. THAT’S BAD! That’s probably why we where the only people on the site. LESSON LEARNED!

Today was much better. We spent little time in the car (the noise in the van came back after one hour of driving) and we found a campsite with lots of things to do for the kids. We now know, when the kids are happy, so are we.

Oh, I almost forgot. Our alcohol consumption and our monogamy didn’t raise any eyebrows in Mormon Country, but not sure if William naked on his scooter didn’t.

We left Thursday just before 9 AM. We said goodbye to my parents and drove off. Matthias and I were full of emotions when pulling away, but mostly exhilaration and euphoria that this trip we had envisioned for more than a year was finally a reality. We started out by passing through the rush hour traffic I spent every day commuting in. It feels great to have given it all up and hit the road.

We actually spent a lot of time driving the first two days. The first stop was just past Pendleton, Oregon. We stayed in a beautiful area in the Blue Mountains. That evening was just wonderful. The excitement and the warm weather, and the familiar Northwest forest provided for a great evening.

The second day we traveled from NE Oregon to Mountain Home, Idaho. We stopped in Baker City, Oregon which is a neat town. There is a well preserved historical downtown, with a nice shop, Bella, which sells kitchen gadgets, coffee, European wine and organic food. It was a bit tough with Julian whirling his Big Bird through the air, but the owner is very nice and remembered us from the last time we stopped in there over two years ago.

The landscape changes so fast and dramatically once you are out of Seattle. We are staying in Idaho right now on the prairie. We are surrounded by brown mountains and tumbleweeds. The playground here is not the recycled tires/wood chips surrounding we are used to, rather loose brown silt. Honestly, we’re filthy, but happy and still anxious.

Today was also rough at times. We’ve decided to spend a lot of time in the car to get some distance behind us during the first few days, and that it is a little tough for all of us. Today our high temperature reached 100 degrees as we turned off the highway to a visitor’s center (that was closed) and a leaky propane tank (that turned out to only be a safety overflow) in a town where the only grocery store was a Wal-Mart (which we refused to patronize). It is apparent that we are quite far from our familiar home. But then we met a lawyer who worked in Central America as legal council for a group of American missionaries that were murdered (years ago) and knows Mexico and Central America very well. She gave us lots of suggestions and encouragement for a great, safe and worthwhile trip. I watched Julian practice stacking blocks and worked with him to learn to identify colors (he knows which block is the orange block 95% of the time now). Then the four of us all took a walk together in the area and explored the surroundings. We looked for snakes, watched the sun set, found a bunch of ants, played tetherball and swang on a swing. Despite the long day in the car, the loss of a permanent home, and changing our lives 180 degrees, I’m still ready and eager for the next day.