This summer we are doing a cross-country road trip to see the sites, family, and friends. We’ve done this twice before. We drove across the country in 1968 to work in Providence, Rhode Island for the summer: Roger at Rhode Island Hospital and I at a Mental Health Hospital. Once there, we found a summer cabin near the coast. When we rented the place, we didn't understand that "summer cabin" meant no hot water or indoor shower/bath. We still laugh at how we bathed each night in the kitchen in a baby pool filled with tap water and boiling water. On weekends and holidays, we explored New York City Philadelphia, Boston, Cape Cod, and DC.
Trip 2 across the country occurred in 1971 at the request of President Nixon. We traveled through the south this time with one-year-old Bonnie in a pretty blue Fiat convertible. We stopped in Texas for basic training (Roger, not me...I'm untrainable!) and then went on to Charleston, SC where we caught an Air Force flight to Puerto Rico where Roger was stationed. The car followed us by ship. That trip is memorable for our first-ever visits to Bryce, Zion, and Grand Canyon National Parks plus the unrelenting heat of Texas.
Fifty-some-odd years later, we are heading east again on another cross-country road trip. We feel good about driving all this way because of our relatively new e-car, a 2023 Kia EV6. It releases no CO2 into the atmosphere. We love this car!
That said, we do have range anxiety (running out of electricity to run the car in an area where there are no chargers), especially as we head into the center and more remote areas of the country. And each charging station seems to have its own idiosyncrasies, sometimes deciding not to work. So, we plan each day pretty carefully and trust that we will make it to the east coast and back sometime in 2023.
Our first 5 days have been fun-filled. We headed out on June 28, driving from St. George to Paonia, CO. This was the longest day's drive that we have planned. We stayed 2 nights in Paonia with great friends who live in a beautiful post and beam home on acreage above town. We caught up on each other's lives, took walks, tried to pick cherries (a few days too early in the season), drank wine, and ate wonderful food together. We have known Kyle and Mark since our days on Guam (1990).
We were back on the road on day 3 heading to Boulder, CO. One of the most beautiful stretches on that drive is between Paonia and Carbondale. It is so comforting to see trees again!!
Roger and I explored town afterward. It was packed with people due to the Grateful Dead (who??) concert that night and summer travelers. Boulder has a high-energy, colorful downtown made especially people-friendly by its no-car zone.
Caroline and Thor took off for NY for a 4th of July celebration with their Eastern family, leaving us to cat-sit for them. They have 2 friendly kitties who are very spoiled and loved! Later in the day, we drove south for an hour to Castle Pines for dinner with Roger's niece, Chandra, and her family. We haven't seen this part of the family for (too) many years. It was a wonderful reunion made especially nice by the homemade pizza and cookies.
Today, Roger and I walked to breakfast at Le Peep (recommended). We arrived about 9:30 am and were seated outside immediately. When we left an hour later, the late risers (we figured they had attended the Grateful Dead concert until late) waited up to 30 minutes for a table. After a strenuous walk and a large breakfast, we napped with the kitties (Ollie is above Roger in the kitty bed).
All refreshed, we hopped in the car to explore the neighboring towns (Lafayette and Louisville). Tomorrow, we head to Minnesota...with several stops along the way.
So far, our weather has been great. A few afternoon sprinkles, but generally clear skies with temperatures in the 80s. Whoopee!
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