EngelFish.Net

While we are getting away for the weekend to Charleston, I thought I’d post this picture of Belle.  She’s growing daily, which is a good thing.  She is not, however, catching on to the concept of outside = bathroom.  I’ve heard Taryn use more profanity in the past few days, normally brought on by stepping onto a cold wet spot on the floor.  Not pretty.

The trip to Charleston was Tommy & Kendall’s idea, but it comes with 100% support of Taryn.  I know we’ll have a good time, but being the curmudgeon I am I can only think of how much work I have to do.  I’m sure it’ll all be fine once we arrive…. but still.  ~grumble grumble~  But at least I get to do the driving there and back.  That’ll be loads of fun… for me… not for Taryn. ~grin~

The trip to the west coast went well.  That being said, I wouldn’t recommend anyone go out and rent a 26 foot truck for a 3,200 mile trip.  Taryn and I both agreed that it was gruelling, and that we’d love to do it again in a motor home.  Sleep and time are valueable, and we passed by many things we’d have like to seen while racing to meet the delivery deadline.  We pulled out of Raleigh around 2:30 pm (EDT) on Saturday, June 30th, and arrived at around 2:00 am (PDT) on Wednesday July 4th.  That clocks us in at just over 3.5 days (86.5 hours to be exact).  The only significant delays were a couple of hours spent at a truck stop while I worked on some office work, and a half day spent visiting with Wayne Casey in North Dakota.  Not a bad time for a cross country trip. 

It was great to visit with my sister and her kids.  It’s amazing how much they’ve grown up since the last time we saw them.  It was also my first chance to meet Lilyth, my niece Cristina’s daughter.  She is a super sweet child, and an expert at wheedling candy from her grand-uncle. :)  I’m hoping we get to take many trips out there to visit with all of them.

IMAGE: There is a herd of Elk that live in the woods around my sister’s home.  They’re radio-chipped so that alarms go off when they’re close to the highway.  Because of the alarms, we knew they were in the area, so we piled into their family van and went in search of the herd.  We found them wandering in a nearby neighborhood that’s under construction.  I climbed out and crept up toward them, taking cover behind a pile of sheetrock that I also used to stabilize my camera.  After few minutes of giving me the evil eye, this guy decided I was not safe and started moving toward me.  I decided that I didn’t need anymore pictures, and walked back to the van… checking over my shoulder periodically to make sure he wasn’t following me.

After a long long night of driving and working on the computer, we made it to North Dakota. Taryn has a friend from South African, Wayne Casey, who’s over here for a few months learning how American’s farm. He’s been great to visit with, and has provided us with a place to get some real sleep and a hot shower. It has been really great. They’re catching up and enjoying the conversation.

Well, we’ve passed the 24 hour mark.  We’re in Madison, WI and still doing alright.  I’m working from a TGI Friday’s while Taryn sleeps in the truck.  We made good time, and are actually enjoying ourselves.  I’ve got a few good pictures, which you can see in my flickr stream.  I’ve had a red bull and a coffee, so I’m ready for my shift.  I think we’l be online throughout the day, and twittering as well. We’ll stop tonight to visit one of Taryn’s SA friends who’s over hear working in North Dakota, then carry on.  Wooo Hooo.