The Long Road Home
The drive east from Lake Tahoe to Park City, Utah was the first time that it felt like we were heading back home. Along with the physical movement towards home my thoughts are turning more and more to what will need to be done in the 16 days we are home before we go to New Zealand. I don’t like that I am less able to be in the moment now, but at the same time I appreciate that I put off thinking about our quick travel turnaround until we were three-quarters of the way through our summer trip.
We got into Park City late on Tuesday night. We had booked a condo at a resort a few miles from the downtown area in the interest of having more space and not spending a ridiculous amount of money. The weather forecast for Wednesday wasn’t great with a good chance of rain for the afternoon. We started the day driving to Provo Pass and stopping to see Bridal Veil Waterfall. We realized that we were pretty close to Sundance so we took a short detour to check out Robert Redford’s mountain resort and artist haven. I honestly didn’t know a lot about its origins so it was nice to walk around and learn more of its story. After Sundance, we went to check out downtown Park City. At that point it was raining consistently so it wasn’t the best time to be walking around. We did a little shopping and had an overpriced lunch before going back to our condo for the evening.
On Thursday we drove to Vail where Cameron and Jackson were having the eighth round of their match play golf tournament. On the way we made a quick detour to Dinosaur National Monument because it was only a few miles off the highway. We only took the time to go through Quarry Hall and see the “logjam” of dinosaur fossils embedded in the prehistoric river bed floor. After leaving Dinosaur we drove the rest of the way to Vail through western Colorado. I was so surprised by how unpopulated it was until we got the Rockies and its resort towns. We were only in Vail for about 18 hours so we didn’t get to experience much of it, but I don’t know that I have much of an interest in going back. After the guys finished their golf match (Cameron tied the series at 4-4 and forced a ninth round) we made the short drive to Denver.
A “logjam” of dinosaur bones in Quarry Hall at Dinosaur National Monument.
We were looking forward to staying with the Ekedahl family, who had also hosted us for part of our Colorado ski trip in Jan. 2018. David, a dear friend from college, and his wife Katie are wonderful human beings and very gracious hosts. Ada and Jackson also get along really well with their two daughters, Eleanor and Zoe, so it makes for a fun and easy stay. We really loved Denver when we were there in the winter and were looking forward to spending some time there in the summer. I think we could definitely live there if we ever wanted to move west.
We got to their house on Friday evening and I headed right back out the door to be Katie’s plus one at the Sabor Food and Wine Festival. It was nice to get to dress up (a little bit), have adult conversation, and enjoy some amazing food and drinks. David and Cameron hung out at the house with kids and played Mario Kart. That evening was the beginning of a four day back and forth Mario Kart competition between Jackson and David, which Jackson would probably say was the highlight of our time in Denver. Late Friday night Patrick Patten, another dear college friend, arrived from New Jersey and we all sat up way too late catching up.
Saturday was a day full of runs in the park, walking to lunch, the kids making chocolate, time at the pool, playing tennis, and then a relaxing dinner at the house. On Sunday morning I went with Katie to a Body Pump class and then we were honored to be guests at Zoe’s Wizard of Oz/Narwhal sixth birthday party. They had rented a bounce house for the whole day and almost everyone (adults included) got in some serious jump time. It was fun to be at a younger child’s birthday party again as we haven’t had one of those at our house in a while. Zoe was beaming all day and it was a great reminder of the simple joy that comes when family and friends gather to celebrate. Covered in glitter tattoos, we ended the day with a movie, more Mario Kart, and an impromptu family olympics. The innate competitiveness of the Farmer and Ekedahl families came out that night as we divided into teams and competed in Mario Kart, board games, a foot race, and an arm circle competition. From start to finish, it was a great day and we were all happy and exhausted.
While David and Katie worked on Monday morning, we hung out at the house and then walked with all the kids to Devil’s Food Bakery for a late breakfast. After that, our family went to the Denver Central Market for lunch and ice cream and then Cameron and I took Ada, Jackson, and Eleanor to a climbing gym for the afternoon. We ended our last night in Denver with dinner out, more Mario Kart, and a never-ending game of Catan. Many, many thanks to David, Katie, Eleanor, and Zoe for hosting us. We are trying to convince them to come to NC so we can return the favor.
We got an early start on Tuesday because we had an almost nine hour drive to Kansas City. My Great Uncle Bobby (the youngest and only surviving of my paternal grandmother’s eight siblings) lives there, as do his four kids (my dad’s first cousins). Growing up, I spent many summers at my grandparent’s house in Virginia Beach and I remember Uncle Bobby and his family coming to visit many times. It was always an event when they came. Uncle Bobby and Aunt Kate were definitely favorites of their nieces, nephews, and the rest of the family. As an adult, I had only seen any of their family at a handful of family reunions and at my sister’s wedding four years ago. Bobby’s daughter Leanne and her family graciously offered to host us even though we barely knew each other. For anyone that knows my dad and his family, this is no surprise as family always comes first. Some of my fondest memories of my summers in Virginia Beach are of family members that would stop by, taking a seat at the kitchen table to visit with my grandparents, inevitably commenting on how much us kids had grown since they last saw us.
Leanne and her family have a beautiful home in the Northland area of greater Kansas City. Our first night there we enjoyed dinner with them and then the kids swam in their pool until after dark while Cameron and I sat and chatted with Leanne and her husband Chris, catching up as much as we could in those couple of hours. Ada and I got up early Wednesday morning to go to Jazzercise with Leanne at one of the two studios she owns in the KC area. We had a great time, especially Ada. That afternoon Cameron and Jackson had their ninth and final golf match while Leanne took Ada and I to lunch and to see some of the highlights of downtown KC. We were joined by Reese, Leanne’s daughter, and her boyfriend Luke. I didn’t know what to expect of Kansas City, but in our whirlwind tour it seemed like a very fun place that I definitely want to come back and explore more (in the spring or summer). I liked that the urban part of town was spread out in little pockets and it didn’t feel oppressive and congested the way it does in some other large cities we have visited.
Leanne graciously had arranged for her dad, her brothers Reid and Chad, and her sister-in-law Doris to come over that night for a cookout so we could all have time together. Her brother Josh couldn’t make it because he was flying in late that night from a work trip. Even though it was only a couple of hours together with all of them I really appreciated having that time and I really want to go back out there again in the next couple of years. I am also really glad that Ada and Jackson got to know them and will be able to remember it well now that they’re older. Uncle Bobby definitely had them laughing just like he used to do to me when I was their age. They also all enjoyed ribbing us for being Denver Bronco fans. Being with them reminded me of family get-togethers in Virginia Beach as a child and it was comforting to me. As everyone left that evening we made arrangements with Doris to stop by the next morning on our way to Nashville so we could have a little time with Josh since he would be back in town. Josh is the cousin that I probably remember the most of all of Uncle Bobby’s kids. He had been a career FBI agent, which to an impressionable young person was very cool, and Doris and he had always been very nice to me when I saw them.
After getting in a short visit with Josh and Doris on Thursday morning at their lovely lake house we started the long drive to Nashville. We have been spoiled in this last week of our travels to have stayed with family and friends instead of being in hotels or Airbnbs. Jason Oschwald, another great friend from college, and his son Ryman hosted us in Nashville. Unfortunately, his wife Alissa and their baby son McRae were out of town on a work trip so we didn’t get to hang out with them this time around. The last time we saw Jason was almost seven years ago when we had driven through Nashville on our way to a wedding in Mississippi. We spent Thursday night catching up on all the time that had passed. While Ryman was in school on Friday Jason took us to downtown Nashville where we had a great lunch, enjoyed watching all the bachelorette parties pass by, and then did a tour of Ryman Auditorium followed by a quick stop at the Country Music Hall of Fame to see the Hatch Print Shop at work. After getting Ryman from school and chilling at the house for a bit we went to the 12 South area to walk around, have dinner, and then get our last dose of ice cream for the summer part of our travels.
As I’ve been typing this we are driving down I-40 headed back to Winston-Salem. I’m excited to be home, not excited to have to deep clean the house after it sat for 8 weeks, and definitely feeling a little stressed about getting ready for New Zealand. Cameron and I are going to make some lists to try and feel better prepared and then will start working our way through the to-do’s tomorrow. My mom is bringing our dog Scout home today so she can be with us for a couple of weeks before she goes back to live with them this fall while we’re gone. The kids are definitely most excited to see the dog and their friends. They’ve been messaging them as we drive trying to get plans made for this week or next. This first part of our grand adventure has been amazing and honestly went much better than I expected. We all got along really well, had very few snafus in our itinerary, and it was all highlighted by the places and people we got to spend time with along the way. Many thanks for following along this summer. We leave for Hawaii (three day stop on the way to NZ) on Aug. 26th so I will pick the blog back up sometime after then.