A man and his car

NEWS FLASH: During our two day drive home from Albuquerque, I finally finished the sixth and final book in the Diana Gabaldon series. I realize that this news flash only has meaning to those select few who have been ensnared by Gabaldon's tales, but those who have I know are giving me a silent, "you go girl!" Now I am free to begin reading the growing pile of books that were in the "books to read after Gabaldon." Thanks Gail for getting me started down this road. I also curse you Gail for getting me started down this road. I apologize to Lynnie for having gotten you started down this road.

Back to our regularly scheduled post.

It is Sunday afternoon and a few hours ago Dan and I arrived home after a 12oo+ mile drive from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Chico, California. It was a LONG drive through the most ugly terrain. I'm sorry folks, but I am not a desert person at all! As I stated before we went there to see a man about a car. A car that Dan has been playing mental footsy with for a couple of years now. He finally decided to take the plunge and buy the car. So he booked the tickets, arranged for the hotel, and we were off. Upon boarding our flight, we quickly found our seats, 18E and 18F, as as we were settling in we looked up and saw a very familiar face, Lana Kramer, the mother of Cody's best friend. What was all the more amazing was that she was assigned seat 18D. What are the chances??!! I say none. We had such an enjoyable flight, getting to know each other even better and what better way to keep our minds off of any potential flight anxiety. Before we knew it we arrived at our destination. There was not much sleep to be had that night, in spite of the nice accommodations because Dan was too excited. We arose at 5:45 am and went downstairs for our free breakfast. After finishing breakfast we returned to our room and Dan placed a call to the seller of the car to confirm our 7 am meeting time. All systems were go.
Dan used this time to complete the New Mexico Bill of Sale so that upon the seller's arrival we could finish the paper work quickly and be on the road.

This is Dan's first look at his new car. I had a hard time getting a decent picture as a strange thing kept happening with the morning light causing my pictures to come out dark. There must be something about the "land of enchantment's" lighting that messes with cameras. We promptly completed all the paperwork and were on our way...homeward bound.

As we were leaving Albuquerque we were greeted with the most lovely sight of early morning hot air balloons. It seemed as if everyone had come out to say goodbye and wish us a safe and enjoyable trip home. I realize that this is a tad bit narcissistic, but I found the fantasy to be a highly enjoyable one.

The first day of driving we were able to make it all the way to Bakersfield, California. We arrived around 6:30pm, promptly found a hotel and then set off for a great Mexican dinner at El Torritos. We were exhausted after a long day of driving and little sleep the night before, so we immediately went to bed when we returned to our hotel, after calling and checking on the kids. Our kids did so well while we were gone. Uncle Fred took them to Olive Garden on Friday night. Cody and his cousin Liam rode their bikes to Bidwell Park on Saturday, whereupon Liam lost his bike chain and one of the two had a flat tire. Cody called me from the park to inform me about their disabled status. They had already called Uncle Fred to come and retrieve them, but they were clearly having fun on their little adventure.

The next morning we arose at about 7 am, got in the car, drove to Highway 5, had a little breakfast and were back on the road making great time. We arrived back in Chico around 2 pm.

Now it's time to really unveil the new car, the newest shrine, Dan's new 2001 Acura NSX!

Isn't it pretty? And the trees turning fall colors ain't so bad either.

You can tell by the smile on Dan's face that a) he's glad to be home; b) he's proud of his new car; and sadly c) relieved to no longer be sitting in the slightly snug seat. When we both got into the car for the first time, be looked at each other and agreed that our behinds were slightly too big for the size of the seats. It appears that we need to lose some weight so that we can fit in our new car. It's much easier to buy bigger size clothing, much more difficult to get larger car seats.