It is almost eleven o’clock at night, and I am just now sitting down to my computer to attempt to put the day’s events into words.
As I lay in my bed, my five month old puppy, Indiana Jones (or “wrecking ball” as we might nickname him if he continues to crash into doors and furniture), is playing with a loud squeaky toy as he runs from room to room, spending the pent up energy he stored while sleeping in the Land Rover all afternoon. I suppose I don’t mind. He does seem to be having fun, and the more he plays now, the better he’ll sleep tonight. And I really need a good night sleep. It was a long, long day…in a good way…but still.
Back to North Carolina we went…
After giving the aging Land Rover a good “once over” Mike packed up the safari vehicle like we were trekking out to deepest Africa on a quest to hunt down the elusive “white tiger” or something. Alas, the only animal on our safari would be Indiana Jones, himself. Indy (after several failed attempts to “boost” him up to the backseat) was finally loaded and ready to roll.
One of the major problems with buying a mature vehicle is that you inevitably run into the occasional inoperative components. In our case, a broken switch for the electric seat control for the front passenger seat would be my primary nemesis. I wouldn’t be so put out with it if not for the fact that it is broken in the forward most position, thus putting my knees firmly against the dash for the entire ride. I suppose this wouldn’t be an issue if not for my ridiculously long legs and big feet. Both of which are now miserably sore.
Nothing a few Advil can’t fix.
As uncomfortable as the ride may be, I was very glad to be securely strapped into our safari vehicle once we started up the steep climb to the property in Murphy, NC. It had rained quite a bit since we were last there, so the “roads” that are already barely roads were even more uneven, and washed out in places.
My right hand is still cramped from gripping the “oh shit” handle as Mike navigated the Land Rover up the rough terrain. I made several joking remarks comparing the Land Rover to a camel. Mike was not amused. He loves his new toy…and camels spit.
Once we were safely at the top of our part of mountain—tucked into the little nook where our property starts—I could relax and enjoyed the scenery. The views from the top are beautiful. I think I might even be talked into living in a yurt if it meant I’d be able to move there sooner. Well…let’s not go that far. I have visions of bears breaking into a yurt with little to no trouble at all. And we all know I’d rather not get eaten by bears…or anything else that is inclined to snack on my flesh (such as the zombie raccoon that may or may not have attempted to feast on my poor ninja kitty).
We were barely up the mountain when it was time to come back down again.
We had to turn around and get back to the other side of Atlanta in time to pick up our youngest daughter from her mother’s house. According to the GPS navigation (which we know never lies) it would take us less than two hours to get there.
Almost three hours—and a treacherous, winding mountain road—later, we arrived to pick Mady up. An hour after that, we were back home.
This is when I discovered that I had not peed since leaving the house that morning. When I made those remark about the camel, I wasn’t talking about me. But I did have several bottles of water and a diet coke on the way, and never noticed a moment of discomfort.
And you know what they say…if the storage capacity fits…
Until the next time…we’ll be up at dawn to head back to the mountains!