Ambitious or Crazy?

We made it.  And more amazingly than that.  So did our 5 suitcases, pack-n-play, and 3 car seats!  We had a very gracious man checking us in who gave us time to sort our bags and let one slide which was slightly over the 50lb limit.  Then we were blessed when we went to the car rental agency and got a stow and go van (which will make carting our 5 suitcases around much easier) and Scott was somehow able to talk them into a price several hundred dollars cheaper than the estimate we had gotten online.  God is so good! 

I do not even want to tell you the things my children thought looked interesting enough to lick while on our cross country adventure.  Why oh why did it look like a good idea to lick the side of the plane when looking out the window or the glass door at the airport?  (I know you are gagging Rebecca, my dear OCD friend). I cringed inside, scolded them too late, and prayed for health on our trip.  I tried to sanitize often, but one way we passed the time on our many, many hours of flying and waiting in airports, was by eating snacks.  And yet I, the one who didn’t lick the window touched by who knows how many hundred dirty, germy hands, am the one who arrived in El Paso with a hoarse voice.  I went to bed early last night and have been drinking more than my fill of OJ in hopes of fighting this off. 

Ok, are you ready for the itinerary?

Here’s our grand adventure mapped out in google maps.  After a one day excursion from El Paso to White Sand National Monument (for some sand sledding), we will again leave El Paso and head to Guadalupe NP, then Big Bend NP followed by some time in San Antonio and then a few days outside of Houston with Scott’s cousin.  It’s funny how the trip kept growing… “well San Antonio is really about the same distance from Big Bend as El Paso, and since SW uses one way tickets anyway, why not fly out of San Antonio instead and see more of Texas”…and then “San Antonio is only 3 hrs or so from Houston, so why not tack a few days more on and go see our cousins since we’ve been wanting to get out and see them?”  Suddenly we find ourselves driving for a grand total of

1,394 mi – about 1 day 5 hours

When  a lady in the airport about our planned vacation, her response was, “Wow, you guys must really like to camp!”

First though we are spending a few days in El Paso with Scott’s sister and brother in law.  Today we are enjoying life on the army post.  I got to go to the commissary for the first time.  Mac-n-Cheese is so much cheaper here than at home!  I wanted to stock up, but since we had already pushed our weight limit coming out, decided to forgo the souvenirs.  And as I type this my son and husband are taking a look at the tanks with Uncle Jim.  My little man is in camouflage heaven!  He was pummeling Uncle Jim with questions about every part of his uniform…even his pockets.  He was surprised to learn he just keeps his phone, wallet, and keys, in them…no bullets or bombs. 

It’s been a very relaxed and low key start to our vacation, which really was the perfect transition for us.  I love the weather out here…we had lunch in the backyard and it is that perfect not too hot, not too cold, just wanna stay outside forever temperature.  The landscape is so different than what we have back east.  It’s crazy to see all this dirt and sand.  And land, lots of land…looking out the window of the plane it was much more barren than what we are used to back home! 

So despite the fact that I am feeling a bit under the weather, I am truly enjoying the beginning of our trip and am so excited about all we have in store for us over the next 2 weeks. 

Watch out Texas, the circus is in town!!