The Trip

I couldn't be in New York when they needed me because I had to coach a volleyball tournament in Reno this past weekend. Because of this, I decided that I wanted to go home for a few days before I left for Reno and New York. This is how the longest trip of my life started and ended!

I graduated from college in Rexburg, Idaho on the 10th of April. We left around 3pm and got into my uncle's house in Dayton around 11pm. Sunday morning we were back on the road around 11am and got home around 5pm. I was at home Sunday evening, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning finishing up packing, getting some stuff ready to ship, finishing up shopping, and getting my hair and nails done (of course!)

Wednesday around 3pm, my sister Jessica and I left for Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and got there around 10pm. We slept at my grandparent's house there and left at about 10:30am the next morning. We arrived in Rexburg, ran a few errands, and then were finally back at my townhouse around 7pm. I started cleaning (or procrastinating the cleaning as much as possible) and then went to sleep around midnight. We got up around 7am the next morning and headed to The Ridge to move all of my sister's things into her new apartment. We finished there around 9:30am and were out of town and back on the road by 10am.

We drove to Provo to pick up my other little sister, Melissa. While in the narrowest part of the Provo area construction, my sister's car started to die. We were stuck in almost rush hour traffic in the middle of a construction zone and her car was slowing down by the second. I finally decided I would just shut it off and then turn it back on. For some reason, it started going again. We then determined that it was only when we slowed down to speeds lower than 25 that her car decided to die. So we ended up driving all the way through Provo and to the mechanic during school zone times. I think we ended up turning her car off and back on at least 30 times...and we took a corner probably at 15mph because I didn't want to slow down and be stuck in the middle of a busy intersection! It was quite the disaster! Melissa came and picked us up at the mechanic, we ran some errands, and then we took her car to Reno instead.

We got into Reno and into our hotel around 11:30pm and I crashed...but not for long because I had to leave the hotel for the tournament at 6:45am. We had a lot of fun in Reno...or at least I did...coaching and hanging out! It was pretty scary, I'm not going to lie...but we went out and had a good time! We went to see "How to Train Your Dragon" and all loved it, and we went and played at Circus Circus and loved it! We all went down there with $20 and weren't going to spend any more than that! We stopped at the game where you squirt water into the clown's mouth to blow up and pop a balloon. There was a guy sitting next to me and then another guy wandering behind us yelling saying "number 14's a winner" over and over again. He started talking to us/flirting with us and we all kind of ignored it. We played once and none of us won, Melissa won the second time, and then those two guys gave Jess, Melissa, and I money to play for a third time and I won. Then they said that they wanted to have a Skeeball tournament with us. I warned them that I was really good, but I think they didn't believe me. We had our money out and ready to go, but the guy came back with money for each of us. They paid for us to play 3 or 4 games of Skeeball. The last game, somehow I got a score of 400 and so I had to lug around a HUGE teddy bear the rest of the time we were at Circus Circus! We all came away with a ton of stuffed animals, so it was a pretty good haul for each of us only spending about $20 ;)

After the tournament was over Monday morning, we left for Provo around 11am and got into Provo around 8pm. Melissa and I stayed in Provo and Jess left for Rexburg after we picked up her car from the mechanics!  (Thank goodness it was a small problem with her car...nothing big at all!) Melissa and I went back to her apartment and I tried to get all of my stuff back into my suitcases. I planned on taking a carry-on suitcase, a computer bag, and one medium-sized checked suitcase. For some reason, I could NOT get my stuff situated in my suitcases and I was really stressed out about it! I was just freaking out under the stress of a new situation and the nervousness I was feeling...not to mention my long week or two that I just had!

Anyway, I slept at my friend Katie's that night and then my friend Jane took me to the airport the next morning at 8:30am. Being the idiot that I am, I thought I needed to take something out of my bag that morning to use it, but then I couldn't put it all back in! I was literally standing on the sidewalk outside of the airport with my suitcase wide open handing Jane things to take back to my sister so my mom could ship them! It was a disaster! I got in to the airport, printed out my boarding pass and then went up to check my suitcase. The scale read 52 pounds and I was about to faint. The lady at the counter must have sensed that I was having an incredibly rough time because she let me get away with it without charging me extra! I got through security without any problems...which I was really surprised with because I usually forget about something that had been buried in the bottom of my bag for months! (I went through security with a legit pocket knife before without being stopped...) I went to my gate and got there 5 minutes before we boarded. I was already hot and exhausted from the night/morning I had/was having, and I'm not a really good flier anyway, so I was pretty nervous. We get into the plane and I am in row 42 and in the middle seat! Not a good combination! There was a crying baby behind me, someone forgot to put on their deodorant that morning, there was a lot of turbulence, I was sitting next to two armrest hogs, and it was 90 degrees inside the airplane. All of these things do not combine for a smooth flight for myself. I really thought it was going to be the first flight I would get sick on! I calmed down just before it was time to land...just in time for me to feel sick again. I hate that feeling like your body is falling but your stomach is staying right where it is! I got off the flight in Atlanta and went to my last gate and got there about 10 minutes before we boarded. This flight was so much smoother, despite the fact that we were delayed 20 minutes because of a storm that was coming in! You never would have been able to tell! It was a small plane...weird, but I like these small planes so much better! I think it's because I'm used to them! I've flown on A LOT more small planes! This flight immediately started off better...and WAY cooler. I even got goosebumps at one point! Haha! I sat by a retired New York firefighter who was coming home from the Oklahoma City bombing anniversary with a bunch of his buddies. They were all on a different flight because he was the only one from upstate New York. He was fun to talk to and even said at one point,"You can share the arm rest with me! Don't be shy!" He was super nice! There was a crying baby on this flight at first, but she stopped as soon as we were in the air and didn't start again! :) There was a lady next to me that had her DOG in her carry-on under her seat! I didn't even notice until we started to land and she reached down to pet it and accidentally hit it's collar! It was crazy!

The mom that I am working for picked me up at the airport. It was really good to finally meet her! When we got back to her house, the boys were already in bed, so I didn't get to meet them until the morning. She gave me the tour of her house (which is so cute) and then I ate a little something and went to bed in my room! :) I was so relieved to know that my traveling was over for awhile!!! Finally!