Friday, December 19, 2008

I slept in Needles...

I don't want to make this a long boring story, so I'll just tell the basics. We left for Utah on Wednesday afternoon and didn't make it far because every freeway, highway, or street leading to Utah was closed. We ended up in Needles, California after 9 hours of driving, which was pretty frustrating because it's actually only about three hours into the trip.

We found a lovely motel called Desert Mirage, it was basically like a five star resort, here are a few pictures of the beauty.

Okay, so it was pretty gross, but it had a bed (without bed bugs) and it was warm.

Jordan slept on the bed with us, which was NOT fun. He moves around more than I would have ever guessed. Benji had feet in his face most of his night, at least I ended up with Jordan's arms and face. I discovered a few funny facts about Jordan's sleeping behavior that I probably would have never known. Occasionally he will sit up in the middle of the night and say a cool word. He said, brush, basketball, and waterfall at different times during the night only to lie back down and fall asleep right after.

We woke up in the morning to beautiful blue skies and sunshine. We were thinking maybe our traveling luck had changed and we would actually get to Utah. We packed up and left our hotel room at about 9:30. Everything was going great and then we hit some traffic and stopped....and we stayed stopped for three hours. There was a bad accident on the highway and they closed it down to clean it up and to plow the roads. At first it was funny to see people get out of their cars to play in the snow, and then it became the only thing to do to pass the time. Once we started moving again we passed over 20 snowmen on the side of the highway. Jordan got to play in the snow for a few hours and that made him happy. It was fun to say I played in the snow on the side of a highway, but I'd prefer to never do it again.Jordan touching snow for the first time.
Notice the sled in the background.



So, we eventually made it to Utah even though it was 32 hours later then we planned. We really appreciate all of the prayers and support from our loving family. I've learned that when you pray for good driving conditions your prayer may be answered, but not the way you ever expected. We are happy to be safe and happy we aren't in Needles. The end.

6 comments:

BreAna said...

wow that is disgusting. You should call if you would still like family pictures from linc. Sorry for the very long trip.

Anonymous said...

I know how those type of hotels go! We stayed in one JUST like that in Wyoming once. However, non of us slept IN the bed, just on top and we skipped the shower because it was so nasty! Definitely makes for good stories later!

Stephanie said...

I like your snowman on the Highway, but I sure hope you aren't stuck like that again.

Steph said...

All I can say is BUMMER! On the bright side, your Christmas vacation can only get better, right?

Ashley said...

Oh my. Thank God that was not us. We do not share your optimism for 32 hour detours. Or your well behaved child. Something bad would have happened, I'm sure of it. So sorry about that.

Mardi and Jeremey said...

I am glad you ended up making it. That hotel is horrible!!!