Day 17--Friday, April 6--Sweet home Chicago

We slept in a truck stop a couple hours past St. Louis. When we got on the road in the morning, both kids complained that their stomachs hurt, so we got out the seasickness arm bands that hit the pressure points. They usually work quite well.

Last night we had a late dinner at a mediocre place called The Feed Lot. Our waitress was a skinny, young blond. When Dug asked her what imports they had, she replied in an Oklahoma drawl, "Weeeelllllllllll, I'm not even sure what an imported beer is, but we have that henny-kind or Hinekin......... however you say it." The kids both had Kraft looking mac and cheese, so I don't think their sick bellies this morning are from the food, but who knows.

We stopped for a quick carry out breakfast which Sagie promptly threw up. At least we had a plastic ice bucket from the Rio Sands in Aptos already in her lap in case. She hit "the pukey bowl" and I balanced and lurched my way to the bathroom to dump it and wet a wash cloth for her mouth and fill a swish n spit cup. (Another moment when RV is GOOD). Funny, we made it through all the mountains and twisting bumpy roads fine and when we got to the flat, wide highways of Illinois, she let loose.

Joilet was the closest dumping station, so we stopped there to drain the tanks so we wouldn't get charged $75. It was bitterly cold and windy and we had to dig out our winter coats again. A few snowflakes were even falling. Ah, lovely spring in the Midwest. Hard to believe we were baking in the desert less than a week ago.

As we drove toward the Chicago sky line, an el train passed us on the left, and I got a bit sentimental about big, dirty Chi Town. Also, I missed the big galoot, Nakama, and Allie girl. Alia was an 8 month old pup when Dug and I took our 1st road trip. She was so distraught without me, that she literally ATE the COUCH while I was gone. She decimated the fabric and ripped the foam to shreds. Really, it was so bad, the couch had to be thrown out. My previously mentioned friend, Bill, a dog walker and good friend of Alia's was watching her. She stayed in the same apt., with the same roommate, and our Husky, Ubu, and she still flipped out. Mama's girl. Luckily, she's mellowed with age, and at nearly 13, she didn't destroy anything during the 12 year reunion tour (that we know of).

We made it to Avondale, in the early afternoon, and began the great unpacking and cleaning of the chalet. Amazingly enough, we DID find a close street parking spot at the end of our alley. The trip was great, but 3,250 miles later........it's good to be home!

Way back at the beginning, in San Francisco, our shuttle driver from Monster Park asked if we'd ever been to S.F. before. We replied that it was the kids' first time, and Dug had come in highschool, and that I'd been there, but not in 12 years. He said, "A lot has changed in 12 years. They've torn old buildings down and built new ones up. But no one has moved the hills."

During the trip we heard one of my favorite songs, "Once in a Lifetime" by The Talking Heads.
It wasn't the first song of the trip, but one of the best. It's been a reoccuring theme in my life and pops up periodically at significant times. I got so much joy out of hearing Sagie and Dugan belt it out with me in the Chalet.

Skip forward to today, Mon, April 9th, as I put the finishing words to the blog. The trip has technically been over since Fri., but this morning Dug went off to work and the kids went back to school. It was the first day of alarm clocks since March 21st, which seems like eons ago. So now it officially seems vacation has ended. You guessed it, the radio alarm woke us today to "Once in a Lifetime" to wrap up this twice in a lifetime road trip. I'll end with the lyrics.

-----------------------Once in a Lifetime-----------------------

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself-Well...How did I get here?

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.

And you may ask yourself
How do I work this?
And you may ask yourself
Where is that large automobile?
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful house!
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful wife!

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.

Same as it ever was...Same as it ever was...Same as it ever was...Same as it ever was...Same as it ever was...Same as it ever was...Same as it ever was...Same as it ever was...

Water dissolving...and water removing
There is water at the bottom of the ocean
Carry the water at the bottom of the ocean
Remove the water at the bottom of the ocean!

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/in the silent water
Under the rocks and stones/there is water underground.
Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing undergroundInto the blue again/after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.

And you may ask yourself
What is that beautiful house?
And you may ask yourself
Where does that highway go?
And you may ask yourself
Am I right?...Am I wrong?
And you may tell yourself MY GOD!...WHAT HAVE I DONE?

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me downLetting the days go by/water flowing undergroundInto the blue again/in the silent waterUnder the rocks and stones/there is water underground.Letting the days go by/let the water hold me downLetting the days go by/water flowing undergroundInto the blue again/after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.

Time isn't holding us. Time isn't after us. Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was. There's a twister comin'. Here comes a twister.

Same as it ever was...Same as it ever was...Same as it ever was...Same as it ever was...Same as it ever was...Same as it ever was...Same as it ever was...Same as it ever was...