Heartbreaking devastation

I haven't watched the news for more than 5 minutes in the last three days. I know I'm a coward, but the misery and tragedy are too much for me to contemplate and digest. I read stories on news websites, but usually can't finish them, and usually end up in tears. I feel like most people can't even comprehend what this disaster means. I know that the tsunami last December was a million times worse, but it felt a million miles away. Then to see the air of detachment--soullessness, coming from our commander in chief. . .well, it's just too much. They're his next-door neighbors, for God's sake. I want to do something, but it seems so hopeless, so gigantic. I pray and hope that some good can start happening for these poor people, soon. My problems seem non-existent.

OMG is summer really almost over?

It is something in the air, I know, that almost always makes me sad this time of year. A sense of loneliness, a coolness that wasn't here yesterday, or just that hint of brown around the edge of a leaf. It flew by again and tomorrow is my first day back at school. Everyone is always hopeful that this year it will be better and things will really get going right this time. It's a great feeling of completeness that rarely is matched at any other time of the year. Got this great picture back from our trip--think of the cheers these kids could do at their games!

Corn, corn, wherefore art thou, delicious sweet corn?

Just have had a horrible revelation--the only good sweet corn I have munched on this summer has been from Young's Farm in AZ. It's a sad state of affairs, when I have built Minnesota corn up in my mind these past few years; actually comparing it in my memory to farm corn from our own corn patch back in the day! What is going on? In my opinion there must have been some weird drought stress that affected corn here and affected the flavor and texture. There is still more time for MN corn to redeem itself, although the corn days are becoming short and sweet like the last days of summer.

Started my new PT job at Custom Costumes--a funky, fabulous little haven of creativity and quality, run by the awesome costume maven, Carol. I do odd jobs, sew, press, wait on customers. It will likely get HECTIC before Halloween, but as far as PTJ's go, it will more than satisfy.

Esta mas buena que tu pensabas. . .

It seems like a dream now--the balmy breezes off the ocean, flounder sizzling on the grill, limes floating in an icy Sol, but yeah, we are almost back to our little home nest. The drive has been fun, not too taxing. We even stopped at the best preserved meteor crater in the U.S. It slowed us down a couple of hours, but it was pretty stunning. We are back in Kansas, and I can tell you, a pillow top matress and HBO make ALL the difference in the world. More from home with extra pictures of assorted freaks along the way. Just finished reading The Kite Runner. Made a poignant impression on me and added a different dimension to my vacation.

View from our balcony

But it's a dry heat. . .

We finally made it to the oasis by the sea. To get there though was a kind of firey gauntlet. The temps ranged from a balmy 95 to a sultry 105. I had forgotten how that kind of heat felt.

Rocky Point has grown so much in the last five years. There are new condo projects everywhere, and the small sleepy beach town atmosphere of 15 or 20 years ago is gone. The sea is still awesome and the beaches are still great.

A whole week of relaxing and having fun awaits!

Topeka KOA swimmin' hole

Toto, thank God, we're not in Kansas anymore!

After a hot and sticky start, we finally made it to Topeka, and when the road to the campground was gravel, I should have been getting some messages. It was what you would definitely call boondocks. We decided it was useless to ask if they had high speed wireless access.

The place reminded me of something in one of those southern horror movies. If anyone terrorized you out there, no one could hear you scream. But the pool was glorious (it's not really the one in the picture). We stayed in until our body temperatures had cooled enough to set up the tent (what was I thinking?). Oh well, it was a learning experience to see that we couldn't possibly survive the next couple of days in those conditions.

So I changed the reservations I could to Kamping Kabins (they are the adorable little log cabins in every kid's dream of a playhouse), and here we are in Amarillo. The weather took a sudden beautiful turn to total cool. We are happy and comfortable, finally.

Traveling down the highway

In just hours we'll be starting out and hopefully make it safely to our first stop in Topeka. The weather looks blistering, but it's August afterall. It's starting to rain in AZ, which is typical for this time of the year as well.

Whenever I make a LONG trip like this (which I haven't done for a few years), I always marvel at the fact that I can actually do it. The driving, the boredom, the crazy drivers. The trick is not to take too much on in one day, and stop when you feel tired. It helps not having a toddler ( a teenager, now) and no pets along for the hairy ride. And of course your guardian angel watching over you on the road below is the main thing.

Later posts from unseen stops to follow!