stepping off the edge

Well, we are off. Barely enough room for all the luggage and supplies. The Tesla is significantly smaller than the mighty Telluride but more in a later post. You would think we were crossing the prairie, well, we are but seriously, Walmart is EVERYWHERE!

Going away breakfast was spent with one of my favorite persons, my sister-in-law Deb. Fun, loving, energetic and not someone to be trifled with! I will leave it at that so as to stay in her good graces.

We went to The Point, a local favorite and I, uncharacteristically, ordered a very modest breakfast. I usually use pivotal events to go way off the reservation with things like chicken fried steak and eggs, corned beef hash and eggs, biscuits and gravy… not this time. Going for the slow build on my road trip “diet.”

We were met with a pleasant surprise by dining next to the Capitola Museum volunteers. Many old friends, great treat.

Much to the dismay of my best friend, John, we are only going as far as Tehachapi. A mere four hours, lightweight day of driving in John’s opinion. But we are going slowly on this trip. Taking it easy.

But the planning, oh my the planning. This trip has been analyzed by Mrs. T to every stop, stay and eventuality; I will pause here to say the rest of this description has been self redacted to keep my marriage in tact. If you remember from the last blog series, Mrs. T edits all my blogs to one, correct my hideous spelling and punctuation, and two, to keep me from revealing the true depth of my insanity.

Suffice to say that packing, repacking (more on this later), mapping, reserving, minor home repairs so as to have the house in the best shape possible. Not only the functional repairs but also the cosmetic ones because heaven knows we could never leave without the painting touch up, cabinet cleaning, and all the other “putting the decals on the model airplane” items.

Then there was the purge, not to be confused with the movie but almost as painful. More clothes donated, errata thrown away, memorabilia given to friends and offspring.

Back to the packing. Now I am a very seat of the pants packer. I attribute this to endless motorcycle trips where I would pack two saddle bags and just head out. Mrs. T has always taken exception to that model and had often shaken a handful of packing bags in my face saying, “THIS IS THE WAY TO PACK AND WHY ARE YOU NOT ROLLING ALL YOUR CLOTHES.” I have resisted this with my whole heart and soul, not unlike never considering pickleball just because everyone is doing it. Well, I folded, or rather I rolled!

I gathered those silly packing cubes, rolled all my clothes, and was ready and packed three weeks before the trip like an eight year old promised a trip to Disneyland.

And so, off we go. Visions of long lovely drives, stays in places we have been and loved as well as those that are new and exciting. Mrs. T with road atlases and her trusty phone to make reservations and research, me with visions of fried chicken and waffles for breakfast.

Next stop, glamorous Tehachapi.