Home Sweet Home

As nice as it is to be on vacation, it's oh so nice to be home.

We spent Saturday morning at the National Automobile Museum. I expected a building filled with a bunch of old cars and that I'd be bored.

Nope.

This place was really cool! They covered the history of the automobile and complimented the exhibit with well written displays and an audio tour. I learned a lot and my kids all enjoyed. We took a nap in the afternoon and then had a nice dinner with a good friend.

In real life we should have left early to come home.

Instead, we made the 8 hour drive in one day stopping in Winnemucca for brunch with my niece and her mother -- my favorite ex-in-law. We was nice to see them but it's always to leave Winnemucca.

We had a glorious vacation and are already planning our next adventure to Yellowstone and Mt. Rushmore and every national park in between.

It's fascinating to watch my rural raised farm kids experience city life. They're not used to waiting in long lines. They're very sensitive to noises and smells. They're intrigued by things a lot of people take for granted; public transportation. They love taking buses, trams and buses, but at the same time, they don't really understand why they have to wait in line to do it.

Back at home, we curled into our own beds and I started work on the mountain of laundry we've amassed.

We're all exhausted and feeling entirely spoiled by our great fortune. Last night, my oldest couldn't sleep. She was, in fact, over-tired, but in her mind she was feeling guilt that we were able to take such a long and luxurious trip. Today she suggested we start living more frugally.

No more trips to Costco, she suggested. We should shop from a menu and a list and shop the pantry and the freezers first. We should only go out to dinner for special occasions and rarely.

We should shop locally when possible and go through the house and our rooms and get rid of most of our stuff.

She's right and she's ready to commit to doing the menu planning and organize the lists. I suggested we do it for a limited amount of time -- like 90 days -- and then see what changes we like in our life and what changes we don't.

We're both a little undecided about a garden. Every year I start out with great plans for a garden. I actaully have no skills in this area. I jsut plan a lot of stuff and spend a lot of money in hopes the spirits of gardeners before me with possess my body and soul and somehow force me into being a good garderner. Last year got off to a great start I made it into July before I got overwhelmed. The warmer weather and garden soil is calling to me again, but I hesitate to start again.

My daughter's ideas are great and I'm looking forward to seeing what she puts together and supporting the effort. I'm grateful for our bounty but rather than feeling guilty I'm hoping I can teach her there is a middle ground between abundance and poverty.

Be it the luxury of a vacation, a fully stocked freezer, a life without lines and pollution or the simple abundance of friends and family the greatest gift I can give her, perhaps, is appreciation for all the she has no matter the amount.

Old West is best

We spent the day in Virginia City.

I love this place. We toured an old mine, the museum, the Mark Twain museum ... we wandered about the board walks and marveled at the geological wealth and the incredible and dynamic history here.

I enjoy small towns with great history. I could spend hours and hours going through each store, each museum and go through every headstone in the cemetery. Alas, I was with my husband and children so I just did a few of each.

It's definitely on my list of "come back to soon".

Reno is also a beautiful place. It's sad to see the hotels and casinos dark in this wretched economy, but there seems to be lots to do and the scenery is breathtaking.

It's been a quiet day -- and that's welcomed.

Tomorrow is our last day of vacation and although I had kind of wanted to drive half way home tomorrow, it looks like I'm the only one with that vision so we'll make the 8 -9 hour drive all in one shot. Bleh.

As much as I've enjoyed this trip, it will be so very nice to do laundry and sleep in my own spacious bed. While I generally fight routine -- it's the rebel in me -- I find comfort in the rhythm of our hectic schedule.

The time in the car has given me time to think, plan and re-evaluate a few things. We've had time to talk to the kids without a ton of inference. This vacations are a bit crazy, but our family functions better with them than without.

National Park tour concludes

We spent one more morning in the Grand Canyon.

I'm certainly glad we were there in the "off-season". I wouldn't want to be there in the height of the tourism months. It was entirely too crowded.

One of the things I love about the parks we've visited is the variety of hikes available. The all have "easy, moderate and difficult". We walked along the rim trail at Grand Canyon, which travels, obviously, along the rim.

It's been good for kids to see and hear and occasionally meet people from all parts of the world. There have been few cultures to which they haven't been exposed -- at least a little.

We didn't walk along ... just long enough to find my three favorite vacation hot spots; bathroom, visitor center, book store.

First, I'm officially old enough that, when traveling, my digestive system (to be delicate) doesn't work well--sometimes not at all. While it's a difficult problem, it has the bonus of forcing me to walk a little further in search of a bathroom, so I'm getting more exercise. (which you'd think would help the situation, but it, sadly, does not)

After I've checked out the facilities, I must visit the visitor centers so I can get my nifty "National Parks Passport" stamped with each park's official stamp. Then, I must go to the bookstore to buy the official sticker to attach to my nifty passport. Plus, I buy the official park badge because I have a plan for one of my world famous PROJECTS! A lovely photo memory quilted wall hanging that will, of course, include the official park badge. I will point out that each park offer pre-printed quilt blocks. Those are for sissies!
After wrapping up our Grand Canyon tour, we headed for Las Vegas.

Again, I just want to point out there are simply NO picnic tables in Arizona. We met my older brother in Kingman, Arizona. (He's a geologist and lives there part time in search of minerals and metals and other geology.) He suggested a lovely city park. My assumption: park = picnic tables.

This park did contain a bench. And an old steam engine. A tree.

NOT ONE PICNIC TABLE.

We walked across the street to a diner. The restaurant happened to be on the famous Route 66. One of my many items on my "bucket list" is to travel Route 66 (in a convertible) so I am always looking for opportunities to spend time on this famous byway.

This particular restaurant was not worth the extra effort.

In theory it's only supposed to take about 90 minutes to get from Kingman to Las Vegas. Those calculations came, apparently, before 9 -11. Now it's takes 90 minutes just to get over the Hoover Dam.

Every car must stop and some cars get searched -- I'm assuming you get searched if you look like a terrorist threat, whatever that means. We didn't get searched. I'm guessing the guards don't have kids. Kids trapped in a car for as long as my kids have been in a car this trip would certainly be threat to anyone who knows kids.

There's a really cool new bridge being built and it's almost done. That, rumor has it, will eliminate the need for searching cars before they cross the bridge because then the terrorists will only be able to blow up a bridge, not the dam.

I was a little nervous about taking the kids the Las Vegas. It's complicated and busy. As much as I knew they'd like the lights and the attractions, I've never felt it's a great place for a family vacation.

As expected, the kids loved the circus-like atmosphere, but the problem with Las Vegas is that it takes you so long to get from one place to the next everyone, especially children are exhausted by the time you get there.

They loved the downtown light show, though they were exhausted. The next day, we tried to show them the sites, but the miles it takes to walk from one attraction to the next made us all tired and cranky.

We finally took them to the indoor amusement park at the Circus Circus and let them ride the roller coasters etc. The loved it! We also took in the Tournament of Kings. The food was wretched, but the show entertaining.

We had planned on riding the roller coaster at the Sahara this morning, but it didn't open until noon. Not wanting to wait, we headed for Reno.

Don't get me wrong. Nevada is a beautiful state. The state planners, however, put the highways through the ugliest parts of it. Further, taking a clue from their Arizona neighbors they didn't put in a rest stop or picnic table. After 3 hours of driving we frantically pulled into a town called Goldfield. It look inhabited. Mostly by miners, but inhabited nonetheless. Saw a sign for a city park, so once again, we figured there was a good chance there would a bathroom or a picnic table.
No bathrooms. No picnic tables. Miners, it seems, don't need to go to the bathroom.

Katy and I crossed our legs and Clem drove 90 miles an hour toward Tonapah. This town must have been really cool in it's hey day, but those days are long gone. They do, however, have a gas station with a bathroom. It was too cold for a picnic, so we found a Mexican restaurant recommended by the gas station restaurant.

We also drove through the US Army's storage depot. Holy cow! Imagine miles and miles of bunker looking buildings storing who knows what for the US Army. Throughout the desert there are thousands of mounds of dirt with a concrete door. Then miles and miles of metal buildings.

OOOH! I forgot to mention that just outside of Las Vegas we drove through an Air Force base and we got to watch one of those little drone planes they fly remotely to spy on people and things.

It was pretty cool.

We also passed a couple of naval bases and a sign that said there was a Coast Guard base nearby -- which I can't really understand -- but I can see why the government puts military bases in Nevada. Even the most vicious of terrorists wouldn't want to drive out here to what literally is the middle of freakin' nowhere.

There are no rest stops or picnic tables.

So far, I REALLY like Reno. It's got the cool stuff that Vegas has, but not the smell and it's really easy to walk around town.

We tried taking the children out to a nice restaurant. Clem had his heart set on this place, but taking three children who have been stuck in a car for eight hours to anyplace but McDonalds is really just, well, stupid.

I'm sure we were quite entertaining the the lovely and refined couple next to us. There was minor barfing, butter pat artwork, slurping, talk of farting -- make that Loud talk of farting.

I had two mojitos and it didn't even start to help my headache.

I want you to know that when I write these updates in my head as we're driving down the freeway, they sound so much better. Witty even.

Alas, those moments are gone.

Some vacay pics!

The kids get their first look at Grand Canyon
Where we spent Saturday afternoon....
Katy overlooking the Grand Canyon
The kids at a petroglyph site in St. George
SUN!!! Zion National Park

From snow to sun!

Remember when the Brady family went to the Grand Canyon?
They failed to illustrated the 300 miles of vast nothingness that one has to drive through to get there.
We left from St. George, Utah. From St. George there are two routes to the south side of the Grand Canyon. Long and Longer. We started with long.
Throughout this vacation we've been staying in hotels with free breakfast and then picnicking through lunch. That way we're only eating out officially once a day. It's cheaper and theoretically better for the family.
We left later than we'd planned today, but headed out thinking we could have lunch on the Colorado River near the Navajo Bridge.
Guess what?
There is not a picnic table anywhere along that 300 mile stretch.
Not one.
Not even a good place to pull off the road and have a nice picnic.
Apparently picnicking is something the Navajos are not big fans of. I found one city park. It was a large square of red dirt in the desert.
So we finally pulled into a convenience store parking lot and grabbed a cheese stick and an apple out of the cooler.
I always pictured the grand canyon as being surrounded by desert.
It's actually pretty wooded. Throughout the parts of the park we've been in so far, you can't really see the rim through the trees.
I have to admit to being a bit skeptical. I drive over the Snake River Canyon on a regular basis. How much different could the Grand Canyon be, really?
Well, by golly, there is a reason they call it "grand".
It really defines the word awesome.
It's stunning.
I will also point out that it's crowded. And this is the slow season.
But like most native Idahoans, I'm offended when other people have the audacity to show up in nature at the same time as me. I really prefer to enjoy nature without anyone else around. I don't think that's too much to ask really.
I don't think we'll spend a ton of time her in the morning. We'll check out a few more sites and then head for Vegas.
So far my favorite park has been Zion, which we hit yesterday morning. It's truly spectacular and after waking up yesterday morning with 6 inches of snow on the car it was really wonderful to feel the sun on my face. We hiked to several sites. (Our family policy is no more than 3 miles per hike) On one hike, I ran into some people wearing UI Vandal gear. Turns out we were sharing the trail with Vandal Defensive line coach Eti Ena. It was my brush with greatness for the day.
We spent some time with my aunt and uncle in St. George. I hadn't seen them since my wedding, so it was nice to get caught up and St. George was a pretty and friendly city, which we plan to visit again soon.
It's been such a lovely trip so far and great joy to watch my kids discover some of the countries greatest treasures.
The DVDs, Ipods, DS, and other distractions we packed for the journey aren't very attractive onces we've passed through each park's gates. They'd discovered the art of echoes. The only electric gadget they carry consistently is their camera. (And sometimes their phones, to take pictures and send them instantly to aunties waiting for updates at home)
I wish I could give every child an opportunity to visit a National Park -- or a state park or other natural -- and national treasure --.
I'm so lucky I can share this with my children. I hope they too, understand, what a gift this trip has been.

What was that about making plans??

We are in Beaver, Utah.
This is not where we're supposed to be.
We spent a glorious morning hiking through Arches National Park.
More on that later.
About 1 p.m. we headed due west across the state so we could get to St. George Utah, which is at the southwestern corner of the state. We, however, hit a spring storm.
Not like a little weather pattern that dumps a skiff of snow and moves on.
A giant blizzard.
The kind that closes freeways and causes jack-knifed trucks etc.
We made it through several mountain passes on I-70, but as soon as we got onto I-15, the snow started coming down at a slant.
A few miles in traffic came to a complete stop. We sat on the freeway for 90 minutes. We finally got going, but not for long.
It was white knuckle driving.
I'm pretty good in theses situations -- but dang.
We finally got to Beaver and I needed to pee and get a break.
We opted for staying put.
Good thing we did, as the road ahead to the south was closed -- oh so we hear.
We we grabbed a late dinner at a cafe' which, did not serve beer, I might add and that really irritated me.
But we got one of the last hotel rooms in the place and got in a nice swim in the luke warm pool.
My cameras in the car, so will post photo and more information about Arches tomorrow.
We think we'll be able to get to St. George in the morning before the next storm hits.
We're thankful we have a comfortable hotel room and the safety of staying together.
It's so bad out there that churches and homeowners in the area of opening their doors to strangers to get off the freeway.
Stay tuned for more...tomorrow

The National Park quest continues

I now own a National Park passport.
Yep, I'm that cool.
It was a nearly perfect day and I'm exhausted.
We started out early traveling from Salt Lake City's Midvale area to Price, Utah. It was a beautiful drive. Utah's mountains are close. They're not some beautiful peak in the distance, they're so close it feels like you can reach out and touch them. The further we traveled south and east away from SLC, the red rocks of the southwest become more and more prevalent. Breathtaking canyons lined with juniper made it hard to concentrate on driving. There are still pockets of snow, so all of the colors made for an incredible pallet of color.
At Price we stopped at the Eastern Utah University dinosaur museum. It was quick and easy and very informative. The kids had a great time. This state has a remarkable history.
We stopped for picnic lunch in the tiny, desolate town of Green River. The main drag is lined with out-of-business motels which were probably locally owned. The outer edge of this town is lined with chain hotels. Currently in business. There's a surprise. We have yet to figure why anyone wants to stay in Green River. It was actually kind of a creepy place.
We continued east toward Moab and the scenery became more and more spectacular. There's no real way to describe it -- we've all seen this area in the movies. Thelma and Louise went off the cliff just outside of Moab. Against a Crooked Sky, Mission Impossible II... There are countless pictures of the area on everything from postcard to Utah license plates. We had originally planned on getting settled in our hotel and then heading out to one of the national parks.
But when we came across the sign that said "Canyonlands National Park next right" -- how could we simply drive by? So we coined a new term. Remember we have the voice of Homer Simpson on our GPS navigator? Well, when we go against Homer's instructions, go renegade you might say, we call that "Going Bart". We turned Homer off. Again, there is just no easy way to describe the vistas in this park. We had a blast.
We took short hikes at several of the popular sites. The air was crisp and clean. And as the sun set, we kept thanking our lucky stars we were able to make such a journey. How lucky are we?
We also met Adventure Man, my son's alter ego.
"Sometimes, I'm just an ordinary 7-year-old boy, but when I'm on the trail, I'm Adventure Man."
Adventure Man guided me through the trail making sure I got back to the car.
"Watch out for that cactus."
"The snow makes it slippery here, step over there."
"You know, the older you get the less attention span you have."
"Really," I said.
"Yep, the older you get, you just don't pay enough attention."
"The younger you are, the more agility you have."
With Adventure Man's help, we made it into Moab and had a great dinner at a place with fire grilled pizza and a nice salad bar. It was some of the best pizza I've ever had. We got back to the hotel and swam a couple of laps in the chilly pool.
A hot shower and I'm ready for sleep.
Tomorrow we will take on Arches National Park and make our way toward St. George. There are a number of parks and monuments along the way and two big parks to cover while there.
I hesitate to say it in fear I'll jinx our luck, but if the rest of the vacation goes this well, it will be an amazing vacation.

Fitzgerald Family Adventures Day One

We left early.
We NEVER leave early.
I kept thinking, something's gotta be wrong. We NEVER leave early.
We headed into the grade school to pick up the two youngest. When they hopped into the back I noticed the wireless headphones for the DVD were missing.
The option at this point is backtrack--something my husband despises regardless of the fact that at that point, we were only 10 minutes from home--or face 2300 miles listening to anything the kids were listening to. There was no way option two was going to work.
So we went back.
So much for leaving early.
We grabbed the kids and headed south.
It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and relatively warm. Headed east on I - 84 we traveled through the western edge of Idaho's famed potatoes fields. It's a bit too early for much farming. There were a few tractors out, but they were not moving. The ground is too wet. Idaho spring is nearly torture for a farmer. It gets just warm enough to make you think you can get outside and then just as you get everything ready to go -- bam! winter is back and you have a foot of snow on top of the tractor.
As we aim for Salt Lake, my husband starts telling "landmark" stories: tales of where he did what along this route.
"We bought a Case 930 tractor there. My dad was still alive."
He's only 52, but he tells stories like a man 20 - 30 years older. He's apparently always been like this. His dad called him "Walter Winchell" because like the famed commentator, he "always has the story".
Within an hour we start the argument that will follow the entire journey. He likes to travel in the relative comfort of a refrigerator. I prefer not to see my breath while driving.
I spent $12.95 and downloaded the Homer Simpson voice for the navigator. The investment paid off with great laughter from Clem and the kids. When you get on the freeway Homer laughs and says "Woo Hoo". I figure it couldn't get much better and then when we pulled into our first stop, Home said. "You can celebrate because you're a genius." I love it!!
We ate dinner in Sandy, Utah at the Mayan. It's a Mexican-like cuisine -- and truly, the food was just OK. The best part of this establishment is the entertainment. "Cliff divers" appear twice an hour and jump off the synthetic cliffs into a pool of water. It's entirely cool! My children loved it! My son, following the second show, let out a good ol' fashioned southern Idaho, "Yee Haw" -- this is his highest compliment.
We've decided to stay in Best Westerns along the way until we get to Vegas. Best Westerns have free breakfasts and tend to have pools. Very kid friendly. The pool isn't open here -- but we've shoved a roll-away into a tiny two queen room and we're watching The Marriage Ref, our new favorite show.
Off to Moab tomorrow!

Southern bound

Here's the deal.
I bought a National Park pass. It's ridiculously expensive to get into our National Parks. This is rather irritating as I could swear I already pay taxes for our National Parks..but that is a soap box best saved for another day.
Soooo, as God as my witness, we will get our money's worth from that park pass.
I will be posting updates from our adventures on the road in the Catholic Assault Vehicle. We like to say the CAValry is comin'.
First stop, we're headed to Sandy, Utah tonight for dinner in the famous Mayan restaurant. We are leaving, if all goes well, after school tonight to start the first leg of the whirlwind tour of the southwest and the National Parks therein.
In the meantime, I'm frantically packing ... and seem to be running terribly behind.
I'll check in later tonight.
National Lampoon's got nothin' on the Fitzgeralds.

Springtime in Idaho

You know it's spring in Idaho when you have one child on the ski hill and another on the golf course.
It was a fabulous spring day. Busy for me, but in a pleasant way. I got up early and put my 9-year-old on the ski bus with a friend. Then, after a quick nap I took my 11-year old and 7-year-old to Twin Falls. I dropped my son off to meet my sister at the fabric store where they picked out fabric for his First Communion outfit. To give you some example of his personality. He chose a bright green silk for the lining and a sparkling silver for the front of the vest. This is not a traditional 1st Communion outfit. I've decided I don't care. He should feel comfortable and express himself the way God made him. Last year, my middle child wore pants. Another break with tradition. They were darling white satin capris. So once again, we'll send up a stir with in St. Peter's parish.
Then, my oldest needed dropped at the golf course, where she played 9-holes with one of the state champion golfers -- a senior with whom she attends school. This young woman has become an amazing role model for my young daughter. She's a good student, a good and kind person, an athlete and generous with her time. Today she played golf with my sixth grade daughter. She's a senior with lots of friends and plenty to do, but she took time out of her weekend to play a few holes of golf with my daughter -- who, by the way, had never played golf with anyone but her dad.
Middle child is hooked on skiing. This is an odd thing as she is the one who hates being cold the most. She loves it -- but no one else in the house skies, so she's kind of on her own. Each weekend for the last month or more, I've found someone to take her skiing or I've taken her on my own. Today I paid the pass fees for a neighbor girl/babysitter. I put them on the ski bus to the mountain. They skied from open to close and came off the ski bus tired and sun burned.
My babies are growing so quickly. Each of them are in the process of losing their "baby" and turning into a young man and young women. My oldest, at 11 is rapidly -- as in with lightning speed becoming this ...this... woman.
She has porcelain skin and fuchsia lips and the most amazing eyes... and I keep staring at her...and her sister... in hopes if I stare at them long enough I'll never forget how they look at this moment. I'm trying, albeit a futile effort, to memorize each freckle as they look at this moment. The curve of their smiles... the glint of wonder in their eyes.
My son still has his baby face..although that, I sadly know, will start to change over the summer. With him, I want to pack around a tape recorder so I will know each amazing phrase the young man utters. He has a command of the English language I can't even begin to fathom. He, like his sisters, is an old soul with an understanding of the world most adults will never understand.
Yesterday, after a series of frustrating losses on the wrestling mat, my tiny little man looked at me and said, "I know I didn't do as well as I did last year, Mom. But I'm still really proud of myself."
Why can't I have such confidence?
It's a joy to watch them grow, truly. I look forward to seeing what they do and who they become. But it's days like these that I wish I could freeze time and hold their tiny hands in mine forever and ever and ever... I hope the freckles never change.