California Bound - Day 1

So I attempted to do this same thing with our July trip, and then our computer crashed so I only got halfway through.  I have yet to finish that one, but here goes round two with our California trip.  I can barely find the time to sit down and write at all, so I know there isn't a chance of getting the whole thing done at once.  I also know as a reader you'd get beyond bored with the pics.  ;)  So we'll just do a day at a time...


Day 1 - Friday (12/16)
Day 1 of this trip is always immensely exciting - since it involves a 12+ hour drive through Nevada.  :P  I really can't find a redeeming quality of Nevada - and don't say Vegas, because I'm not overly fond of that place either.  I woke up at 4am to finish packing, loading the car, and just make sure everything was ready.  We were on the road by 5:20am and I took the first leg of the trip (first time ever -- I've finally convinced Loren that I can drive apparently).  I figured I'd only drive maybe an hour or two, but the rest of my party zonked out until right before McDermitt -- and who wants to stop in McDermitt? -- so we pushed through to Winnemucca.  Excellent start to the trip!  (you must remember my last trip to California -- last year when Hayden was 2 weeks old, I was still a hormonal wreck, we had 2 extra people with us, and we were given the worst-ever advice of leaving at night so the kids would sleep - ha!  instead no one slept and we were all exhausted, grumpy, and a bit overly emotional)  We grabbed a bite, let the kids get some energy out, and then hit the road again. They watched some movies (thanks Amy!) and I attempted to get some sleep, but Addie was insistent that I "could nap when we got to California" -- mind you, we discovered that "California" means Great Grandma Dee's house, because after we crossed the border and I told her we were in California, she shouted "No!  This isn't California!"  :)  We were doing so good we even bypassed Reno and hit the mountain.  It was clear and gorgeous!  SO much better than the blizzard we hit 2 years ago when we had to put on chains and drive for what seemed like forever at about 10-20 mph (when Addie was 9 months old and I was still a freaked out new mom).  The kids were ready to get out, so we hit a rest stop after going over the summit.  We explored the woods and ran around a bit, and then headed for Auburn.

There we stopped for some food and ice cream and then loaded up for our last stretch.  Unfortunately we hit late afternoon traffic near Sonoma -- and found our gas light turned on with no gas station in sight and had two kids awake from a nap too early -- wailing for about 20-30 minutes.  Amazingly we made it to a gas station in Sonoma -- I'm positive the poor Sub was running on fumes!  We got out for a minute, and Addie decided she was ready for the last 20 minutes to finally get to "California".  We ended up making it there by about 5:40pm our time, so we made some good time with 2 littles.  :)  We checked in with Grandma and learned that we had the whole downstairs apartment to ourselves, so we settled right in.  Addie was ready to see second cousins Dillon and Conor, so they came to visit for a bit.  With the little sleep I got on the way, I was definitely ready for bed!