The Odyssey

"We're on the Road to Nowhere... Come on inside."


When I was young, I was like most teenagers. Filled with wanderlust, I desperately tried to get as far from my home town as possible. I was starry-eyed, knowing that I was to take the world as my own. I would be famous, talented beyond recognition, and that would make all the childish people I went to high school with ridiculously jealous and wish they had always been kind to me.

As I have grown older, I realized that I didn't need anyone to tell me what it was that was going to make me happy. It was hidden deep within all along. And that all the emotional bullshit I lived through while residing here the first time was something I needed to get past. It didn't matter if I lived here or Cincinnati or California or wherever. I wasn't ready for what was about to happen to me, but I began to understand that going home, coming full circle, I could come to terms with who and what I had become. And that, despite what I had thought previously, I had really lived.

Enjoy the account of our odyssey home!

Monday, July 16
We commenced our five-day trip back to the Quad Cities. As usual, it was a rainy, cloudy day in Humboldt County. We did not weep at our ascent into the Trinity Mountains, where the fog lifted and we saw the sun for the first time in close to 4 weeks.

(First day in the car)


We drove along the 299, enjoying the beautiful green hills of California, and were happy to know this was the last time we would ever see it.



We arrived in Redding, where we would hop onto I-5 south toward Sacramento, at around noon. A few hours later, we were getting onto I-80 East. This was an exciting moment, just knowing this was the road that would take us home.



The drive through the Sierras is sort of scary, but the view of the Lake Tahoe area was just beautiful. It was sunny and warm.



My little munchkin was sedated the first four days of the trip. Look at those droopy eyes!



We arrived in Reno, our first stop, after about 9 hours in the car. We were quite tired, but still wanted to see the exciting city. We showered and headed downtown, leaving Mrs. Sleepyton at the La Quinta. Also, the dry, desert air was a welcome relief after all the damp humidity we suffered through for a year in Eureka.



Our first stop was at the ElDorado All-you-can-eat Buffet. We dined on crab legs, roast beef, taters. All kinds of stuff! And this was Vegas-style, baby. It was great quality, so we stuffed ourselves silly before heading out to the casino.

(Rob and his full belly)






We walked down to Circus Circus, where we saw a magic show and played Time Crisis at the arcade before heading to the slots. We won $10 and called it a night.





Tuesday, July 17

We hit the road at 9am for Salt Lake City, Utah. This was to be a long day, as it was the most mileage we would put on our vehicles in one stretch. I wasn't looking forward to it, as we would be driving through the Bonneville Salt Flats again. However, my dear friend Kevin called to help pass the time. We chatted for close to two hours (thank you, my love!!). On the drive through Nevada, we drove through a tunnel in a mountain. Before heading inside, I told Kev this is what it must be like to be born- coming out a hole and seeing the light at the other end. I commented, however, on how this was a man-made vagina, and Kevin coined the forever-remembered term "Ma-gina".


The big news of the day was all the brush fires Nevada was suffering from. It was extraordinarily hot and dry this summer, and half of Nevada was on fire while we were driving through. We were stopped at one point, for about 20 minutes, while the road crews made sure it was safe. We got through, but heard on the radio that about an hour after we passed through Elko, NV, I-80 was closed indefinately because the fire had reached the highway, burned across the interstate, and was burning the desert on the opposite side. We thanked our lucky stars we got through when we did.

(Driving through brush fire smoke in NV)


We hit Utah sometime in the afternoon, and drove through those annoying flats yet again.



(Sweet Jesus, not again)


When we were just outside Salt Lake, we hit a horrible storm. However, the sun still shone, and we saw close to 8-9 rainbows driving into the city. It was the most beautiful thing I think I've ever seen.





After we got settled in, I called my friend Matt Timion, who lives in town, and he picked us up for a late dinner. I hadn't seen Matt since 1995, just after my graduation from high school. It was definately a great night, drinking Sapporo, eating great sushi, and chatting it up about our youth.

(Matt and I)


(Matt, Rob and I, and the fat sumo guy at the sushi place)


Wednesday, July 18



It was to be a pretty short day driving to Cheyenne, Wyoming. It was another beautiful, sunny day, driving through the state. Wyoming is one of the most beautiful parts of the country. Only 500,000 people in Wyoming, there is more space than there are people. And I was priveleged to have my dear friend Thurman call while driving across the Utah border. Thanks for calling, Thurm!

(The beautiful hills of Utah, and Rob in front of me)


In the summer of 2000, I met a wonderfully kind man named Matt Nicol. I had joined the Mississippi Valley Blues Society, and being a great lover of blues himself, we met at a bar where a local blues band was playing (the Quad Cities is a blues-heavy town, being so close to Chicago and all). I will admit that I always had this lusty crush on Matt, with him even being 18 years my senior. He's a hottie, no doubt about it. During that same summer, I met his daughter Jess, who is also the same age as me. We had a group of us girls that always would go out together, and Matt would often be at those bars, too, listening to those local blues bands. Matt moved to Cheyenne a few years back for his job, and loves the area very much. We were quite honored to spend the evening with him when we were in town. He took us out to the Lucky 7 Steakhouse for an amazing dinner.


Afterward, Matt took us to the Golf Club he belongs to and introduced us to his friends. What a group these people were. A bunch of characters, they took us in as their own, and we had a wonderful time drinking and laughing it up. Thanks Matt!


Thursday, July 19

That next morning, it was onto Nebraska.



Nebraska is extremely boring. It's very flat, long, and there is NOTHING to look at. I recommend highly you avoid Nebraska at all costs when traveling West. Just don't do it. Although because it's so flat and long, Nebraska, like Nevada, Utah and Wyoming before it, has a 75 MPH speed limit. I like driving fast.


We got to Omaha around 5pm. We were so exhausted we got some take-out and ordered the movie Waitress on our hotel TV. If you haven't seen this movie, you must. Keri Russell is brilliant. I won't spoil it, but you do get what you want in the end, just not in the way you expect it. Go see it!


Friday, July 20

Our last day, a short one. We only spent 5 hours in the car that day, from Omaha to home. It was relatively uneventful. We didn't sedate Maddy that day, and she was happy to be alert and awake!



You always know you're close to home when you get to Walcott, and the World's Largest Truckstop.


Almost home!



We arrived at my folks house at 1pm, exhausted, testy, smelly, and ready to be out of the car. We celebrated with Mom and Bert that night at Governor's, eating on the patio.



After dinner, Rob and I decided it was time to have some Whitey's Ice Cream, food of the Gods.






Well friends, everything is unpacked. The phone is working, the internet and cable is hooked up, and the piano arrived today. Nothing else left to report except that I am exhausted. I need a vacation. But I am so damned happy to be home.