UT - to - TX (via CO)

After our honeymoon, we returned to Utah and stayed with Nick's sister Mikelle for a couple of days while we packed up Nick's stuff into John (John Elway- his car). His little Corolla was packed- the driver had to sit on a pillow and the passenger on a sleeping bag- but we managed to make it to Denver. We spent a few hours in Loveland pass where I braved a snow/ice storm...I just stuck behind the sand truck!

When we arrived in Denver at his parents home there was a Penske truck with a towing trailer waiting for us in the drive way. We had planned to pick up the truck ourselves, however the stop in the mountains kept us a few extra hours and thus Nick's dad was kind enough to get it for us so we could pack up first thing in the morning and head out. And that we did. We had a nice night complete with a homemade dinner, a few hours of sleep in a warm bed, and a hot shower. We took off late that morning with nothing more than a road map and an end destination.

We took turns driving the beast- not going more than 60 mph or stopping anywhere that we had to reverse the trailer! We made it to Abileen, TX before we needed to stop for the night. We discussed the possibility of getting a room for the night there in Abileen, however we didn't want to spend much and we had a bunch of extra space in the back of the truck. So...you guessed it! We found a welcome center just on the edge of town and we stopped there and parked. There was a security guard that came over and introduced herself- there were a few other cars and trucks parked there and we weren't really that creeped out. There were nice restrooms which we used to brush our teeth, etc. Then we hopped in the back of the truck and made a bed, piling every blanket we owned to soften the hard wood floor. We both climbed into Nick's sleeping bag and we watched an episode of Animaniacs on my laptop and then called it a night. It got pretty chilly during the night- good thing we slept with socks and sweatshirts and my pashmina and everything all in one sleeping bag. Unfortunately I slept on the side of the sleeping bag by the zipper which meant that every time Nick rolled over, the sleeping bag would unzip and I would freeze until my shivering made him roll over again! There was frost on the windows when we woke up- it said it was about freezing- and so we quickly headed out to find a gas station with hot chocolate! We drove all through Texas that day and pulled in to San Antonio around dinner time. Amy was actually at Young Women's but Ben and Isabelle helped us load their old couches into our truck and then we headed out for the last stretch. We finally arrived at my parents at bedtime and we were exhausted. It was nice to sleep in a bed that night!

We unloaded the truck the next day and stacked all the stuff in the garage. Then Nick and I filled the beast up with gas for one last time and returned him- whew! The trip was fun together and we ate tootsie rolls most of the way as Nick's mom had given us a huge bag. It wasn't that bad, but I am glad we are here for now!

I took a picture each day of Nick sleeping- please note that number one, Nick is sleeping with puppy (my baby blanket) and number two, I took them while I was driving...quite a feat! We also took a picture of me in Vernon, TX- woohoo! And of course one with John so packed on the way to Denver and another of the Penske truck with John being towed behind!