Having left our children at Billings Airport and no doubt shed a couple of tears, we shall be staying at the Laughing Horse Lodge, which just begs you to stay there no matter what. Actually, the very reason I do want very much to stay there is to thank them in person.
Three years ago, when our children were in a terrible car accident on the way to their vacation of a lifetime in Montana — planning to stay at, yes, the Laughing Horse Lodge — Aaron had to call those folks and explain to them what had happened from my daughter’s hospital room in Vacaville. They would not be able to make their booking this time, he explained to them. His co-pilot had broken her back. Their truck and all their possessions were destroyed.
Those folks were so kind and kindly that nightmare day — they canceled the reservations with no barking and refunded the monies, unlike some others I won’t mention. I wanted to tell them what a difference that made to us during that dreadful time, when everything seemed really dark and hopeless. And here I get to do it in person. So, yes, we will be laughing along at the Laughing Horse Lodge — dinner reservations have been secured for two nights — with humdingers like Huckleberry and Peach Cobbler on the menu, you can’t really go wrong.
And the Lodge is located on the lush-sounding Swan Lake, so I’m truly excited about all of that. We will be doing a little rest and recovery at the Lodge after what is likely to be a few mega days around Francoise’s 30th birthday celebrations and all the trimmings that will accompany that! Husband will likely sleep for the entire 48 hours of our stay, opening his eyes only for some huckleberry cobbler, but that is OK. A long journey home awaits, as we journey south again.
From the safe house of the Laughing Horse, we will be jetting westwards toward Spokane, Wash., that I know nothing about, except that it seemed like a perfect place to stop and rest our heads. It’s a good four-hour chug from the Happy Horse to the Centennial Hotel through Flathead and Coeur D’Alene Reservations. My husband’s ancestral folk would be found further north at the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, but I’m not sure if we will be making the detour that day, though I would like to. As we know, the map can be deceptive!
The following day we will continue our exploration of the Washington State reservations with a journey through the Yakama Indian Reservation to Yakima itself. A schlepp of nearly three hours, so a pretty short leg of the trip, all told; more if we take the scenic route, or get lost, which we likely will. Much of my travel agent planning criteria of this adventure — aided by my wanna-be travel agent daughter — is that the hotel must look like it has comfy beds and a clean room, also it should boast a pool and restaurant. Addicted as I am by water aerobics — or at least how it makes me feel — I shall be taking my water weights with me and anticipating a good hour each day with them, just as if I were at home and headed every day to the Soledad Pool for our 7:10 a.m. class.
The following day we will be zooming toward Salem, Ore. — about a four-hour ride — with our destination another hotel that boasts a super breakfast and indoor pool. How bad can it be? Boy you forget how humongous this country is. Pulling out my large map of the entire States really does pull the wool over your eyes. A four-hour drive here, a four-hour drive there and you’ve made very little progress on that enormous land mass. But it is all fabulous and interesting in the larger scheme of things and something we have been working toward for a very long time.
After Salem, we shall be cruising toward a more familiar Ashland, Ore., where my husband’s sister and mother live. Can’t cruise through Ashland and not give them a visit! Again, it’s another nearly four hours to get there and this time we will spend two nights at one location, something I’m sure we will appreciate when it happens! I’ve decided I will only schlep out my small “carry on case” when we are staying for one night in a place. Night stuff and wash things, swimsuit, water weights, clean outfit for the morrow and a good book. I shall be all set. This travel warrior will let you know how that goes. Instead of dragging along a large case, I shall be moving myself in two small ones. I see my family and friends giggling already, because I am not known at all for my light traveling prowess. But when you are in and out of the car on a road trip that will last over a month, you must be efficient. Or, at least, that is what I am telling myself.
After two days visiting with family in Ashland, we are coastal bound to Northern California. I am not proud of the fact I have never been to No Cal with its rugged coastline and luscious views. That finally changes right here! After a breath of fresh air in Eureka (again it will take us four hours from Ashland to the Cali Coast), we will be tripping nearly another three hours and then enjoying a guest suite in Fort Bragg, that looks like a superb oasis of gardens and peace with a hot tub and koi pond and the added luxury of being able to walk to town for dinner and decompress from our travels in a garden sanctuary close to the ocean.
It will be a long 300 miles from there that will bring us back home, after being gone for over a month and travelling many, many miles. My husband may well say don’t ever do that to me again. But we will have seen a lot, visited several unknown states and roadways and filled an enormous chunk of my bucket list. We may take a large part of October to get over it all, but I’m OK with that.
I’m so excited about the prospects of our journey to the top of the country and back again, I can hardly stand myself. I shall try to do some travel writing along the way and further encourage people to leave their home states to explore this mega country of ours; but we shall see. It’s going to be one step at a time on this adventure of a lifetime. Wish us luck.
