I learned a fabulous new world that really described how I was feeling waiting for my cross-country trip journey to begin.
“Resfeber – (n.) the restless race of the traveller’s heart before the journey begins, when anxiety and anticipation are tangled together, a ‘travel fever’ that can manifest as an illness” – other-worldly.tumblr.com
The first wait was the few days I spent before driving out to Utah to see my parents. The second wait, was having to delay a few days to get started on the journey so my dad could finish his damn shed he started building two weeks before. As soon as I got to Utah, I knew my dad would not be ready to go on the next Tuesday, so I gave him until Friday. Friday, I sat around and waited with the stress and frustration building to the point I felt like shit with a migraine. So finally by 8 p.m., I knew there was no way were leaving, so I just went to bed hoping we could leave in the morning and make my nephews’ soccer games in Twin Falls. Saturday, I awoke and went out side to make sure Dad had finished up everything and the roof was still missing. “The wind is blowing,” he said; “It’s not safe for me to finish the roof.” It took all my effort not scream and smack him, but I just turned around and walked away.
Finally, around 1 p.m. he finally put the last screw in the roof and started cleaning up so we could go! We started the drive out of the house by 2 p.m. and were finally on are way, or at least until we got to the top of the block going back after stuff my dad forgot. 🙂 It took us three trips back to the house before we finally made it out to the freeway. The last turn around was to go back and get our bear spray since we are heading to Glacier National Park for a few days, so I forgave that turn around! Safety first. So at 3 p.m. on Saturday, we were really headed out!
The first stop of the journey was to spend the weekend with my brother Mike, and is beautiful family Sydney and the boys, Quintin and Kia. So we drove alone I84 North through Tremonton and Snowville, across the Utah/Idaho border, over Switzer Pass, past Idahome and Burley, until we reached Twin Falls.
A few minutes past 5 p.m., we arrived at Java, the coffee shop where Syd works and for many years my brother used to manage. Idaho has not had the third wave coffee movement speed through it’s rural landscape, but damn Java still offers a great Italian style cappuccino and tasty coffee! Plus, the treats they make are just fantastic. So I highly recommend a stop at Java’s as soon as you pull into Twin Falls!
Syd working at Java
Syd and the boys were waiting for us at Java so we could go meet my brother at their brother-in-law Cole’s house warming party. It was fun to meet many of my brothers friends, drink Pabst, eat BBQ, and have a relaxing Saturday evening after the drive. Plus, we needed to save energy for the adventures we were about to go on the next day.
So finally, we made it back to Mike’s, and it was time to try out the beds we set up in the back of the Rav4. The first night sleep was comfy, but sleeping on a small-town city street on a Saturday is not the most peaceful place to be. Definitely lots of loud cars racing by, and I kept worrying a drunk driver was going to crash into our parked car. But otherwise, all the layers of padding worked!
You might ask why we didn’t sleep in my brother’s house. First, there was no extra room with Mike, Syd, and the boys. But the true reason is that my brother is very into gory horror stuff and haunted dolls. I’ll let you decide if you want to sleep around these lovelies!
Sunday definitely started with a trip to Java to grab some coffee to fuel the day. Then we headed out to the Stricker Ranch in Hansen, Idaho. The Stricker Ranch was located on the Oregon Trail and the store at the ranch, was the 3rd oldest store that was part of the Oregon trail. So we walked around the store, the wet cellar, and dry cellar/jail. With the flat fields of potatoes and grain stretching for miles around the ranch, it was an absolutely beautiful tour of history!
My Family at the Ranch
The it was off to Albion to visit the historic Albion Normal School, one of the earliest colleges in Idaho. The buildings are now used for a haunted mansion in the fall. We wander around the buildings and then played soccer in the large grass commons area. That was the first time I’ve kicked a soccer ball around since high school.
After all the soccer, everyone was hungry so we headed to dinner at Janitzio. This was the best meal I’ve ever had in Twin Falls! The food was made with fresh ingredients and not at all greasy! My fajitas were tender and super flavorful and everyone else loved what they had.
So to close out the day, my dad and I went over to the local park so I could play on the swings. If you have not played on swings, walk yourself over to your neighborhood park and do it now. It is just as fun as when you were a kid!
We slept one more night on the street in front of my brother’s house. Not as noisy as Saturday, but still not as peaceful as a campground. We woke up on Monday morning, headed over to Java’s again for our fuel and finally headed out for the next leg of the journey!
Mike and I before I head out on the next leg!
Crellim Creative 