Day one is in the books!

We woke up yesterday morning to the gentle voice of our Dad saying, "Good morning girls. You might want to wake up, because I just found a flat tire while I was cleaning the windshield and inspecting the truck."

Oh great, a flat before we even got on the dang road!

A few hours later, the roadside support from Budget has sent someone out to fix (replace) the left rear inside tire. Dad was concerned about the balance of new tire versus old, and being that he has been in the trucking industry as a driver/dispatcher/warehouse manager for all of my life, I was grateful that he instructed the nice repairman on how to move the tires around to ensure even distribution of weight and prevent another tire issue.

Dad tied off Megan's bike and secured the load one final time, we loaded our daily luggage, etc., locked up the back, and got our lil treats and stuff secured in the cab. Mom made sure we had everything we needed, including lots of hugs and kisses. Rufus had adapted well to M&D's house and their dog Annie, and even obliged me by doing his thing in a makeshift litter box before we got in the truck (he has a luxurious mechanized Litter Robot that is now packed up. What can I say, I hate cleaning litter boxes and would rather just take out a trash bag and yell out "TURD BOMB!" when I throw it down the trash chute). Then came the hard part...

All four of us hugged and held each other and we prayed and cried and took photos and cried a lil bit more. We put Rufus in his crate in between the seats, and Megan and I hopped in the truck. I drove the first leg and as I took the parking brake off and put it in drive, M&D were standing on the driveway waving and smiling through their tears as we waved back and drove off.

We got on the 210 east just after 1pm and headed toward our future. As we went up the 15 north, through the Cajon pass, I was grateful that we changed our minds and decided on the southern route via I-40, because I really can't imagine traversing the Rockies in this rig. We caught the 40 in Barstow and began the tedious, monochromatic drive through the California-Arizona desert in summer.

We passed through Bullhead City and I waved to Candace's grandparents who live there, they have always welcomed me into their family and treated me like one of their own. Over the Colorado river and on towards Kingman, AZ, I had been watching the gas tank and all of a sudden we were empty, before I knew it. Suffice to say that we made it to some random gas station in the middle of nowhere on fumes and prayers. I felt like such a moron! I know better than to go below a quarter of a tank on a road trip when I don't know where the next fuel is. But we made it, with white knuckles and bloodshot eyes and sweat dripping down our back because we turned off the air to increase mpg. A serious lesson re-learned. Megan took over driving at the gas station, and we tried letting Rufus out of his crate. He was calm and curious in the cab while fueling up so we kept him out as Megan pulled away from the miracle gas station, and he seemed happy. Rufus had been meowing quietly on and off the whole time up til then, but once out of his crate and on my lap or sitting on top of his crate looking out, he didn't even make a peep.

In Kingman we stopped for linner (late lunch / early dinner), at In-N-Out Burger, our last taste of a west coast essential. That cheeseburger with grilled onions, animal fries, and vanilla shake were just delicious! Rufus ate some food that I put up on the dash with some water, but didn't partake of the mobile litter box. After grubbing down, we headed toward Flagstaff, AZ, our target for the night, with Megan behind the wheel.

As we approached Flagstaff to refuel, Meg said she felt great and we discussed pushing on to Winslow, which had a few pet-friendly hotels. Checking Facebook at the gas station, I found out that one of my friends from high school, Kim, and her family are also moving to the east coast and had set off on their drive from Cali to New Jersey the very same day! I'm excited to have them close by and hope to hang out with them! After gassing up, onward we drove and we arrived in Winslow around 10:30pm.

The Quality Inn had free WiFi, free hot breakfast, and was right off the freeway so that was our home for the night. We pulled in and parked right next to a 21" Uhaul (towing a small Uhaul trailer, maybe they had more stuff than they thought?).

I took Rufus for a quick walk while Megan checked us in. Yes, I walked my cat. With a leash. I mean hey, if you know cats at all, they are slippery little creatures and there is no way in hell that I wanted to take the chance of him running away. I know I'm a runner now, but I will never set any land speed records, so I don't need to be chasing my cat around some parking lot as he goes after the huge Arizona cockroaches.

We took our stuff in, called our parents,Rufus made himself at home, Meg took a shower, and I crashed out as soon as my head hit the pillow. I woke this morning refreshed and ready to take on day two. Thankfully, a glance out our window confirmed that Bridget the Budget truck was still out there...

All in all, a successful first day on the road. Keep praying that the next few days go just as well or better!

*****PHOTO UPDATE*****

Our parents' house in La Verne, we parked the truck in the driveway overnight.  That's Annie, their adorable dog sitting in the driveway.

The suspect left tire that was flat in the morning.  The outside one was ok, but the inside rear tire had to be replaced.

Brand new and ready to roll!

Megan smiling with anticipation as we load up the last lil bit of stuff, including Rufus (he was in the carrier at this point).

Dad took a photo of me in the driver's seat, I've never driven a big rig like this before!

Mom and Megan getting in one more hug.

Megan and Kelly - about to set off across the country!

Here we go!

Our parents were sad, of course, but excited at the same time.

They smiled through their tears.

Sending the "I love you" hand gesture in American Sign Language, it's something we've done in our family for ages.

Running up the grass to wave bye!

Farewell for now!  Love you lots!  Here we go!

We thought it'd be fun to track our mileage.  Here's what we started off at.

Adios La Verne, we'll miss you!

When we were little, this freeway didn't even exist.  Now we're driving on it toward the next chapter of life.

Mom's alma mater.

Aw, Fruit Street, goodbye for now!

I was equal parts excited and nervous to be driving this big truck on the freeway.

 Goodbye, Cunamonica!  The name of my imaginary friend who lived in that house on the hill.

We tried to get a photo of the house we grew up on - it's right next to the freeway now.  But I don't think we got it, dang.

Megan was also excited and raring to go!

View of Mt. Baldy and the San Gabriel mountains.

We'll miss the mountains, for sure.

There goes our mountains.

Megan sure loved to put her feet/legs up on the dash.  Thankfully it didn't impede my view, but it did smear up the windshield...

Driving north on the 15, we were heading up the Cajon Pass and saw some rocks that Megan had hiked/climbed once upon a time.

Lots of trains going up the Cajon pass as well.

Choochooooooooo!

Another thing we did was take photos of our route... 15 north to the 40 east.  Then we were on the 40 for a long, looooong time.

The first guy we saw walking on the highway.

This tanker reminded us of Dad.  He used to drive a tanker and it was always as shiny as a mirror.

If you look closely, you can see Rufus' little face pressed against the grate of the crate.  He didn't care for being confined, although he wasn't too much of a pain.

So, this is what the drive was like through the rest of CA and all of AZ.

Ahhhh, at this point we were glad we had air conditioning in the truck because it was dang hot outside and the river looked mighty inviting.

Goodbye, Colorado River!

Hellooooooooo Arizona!

Megan reminisced about trips to Havasu in years past.

I wonder if that's the same train we saw before?

If you would please note the empty, FAR below empty fuel indicator.  We barely made it to the gas station.  Although later in the trip we found a button you could push to tell you exactly how many miles you have left on the tank.  That would have been helpful...

We let Rufus out of the cage at the gas station, he was thankful.

And it turns out he's a really good car rider outside of the cage.

Stopping for a lunch break, Rufus chowed down while Meg went to get us burgers.

Rufus' water and food set up for the trip.  What a handy little nook!

We had to stop one last time.

We were quite hungry by this point, so we shared an order of animal fries, and each had a cheeseburger with grilled onions and a shake.  Health food.

I was very happy that Rufus wasn't completely miserable anymore.

He was even able to nap!

Then of course he settled down right on my lap, happy for cuddle time and comfort.

The fur he left on my pants was just a little token of his appreciation.  Thanks, buddy.

While driving through AZ, we saw a wildfire that wound up taking the lives of six firefighters.  It was raging and sad to hear of the loss later that day.

Megan singing along to some tune as I captured a gorgeous sunset.

Rufus in his harness enjoying some dirt time outside the Quality Inn in Winslow, AZ.  I took him for a "walk" while Megan got us registered.

I know it's a little gross, but I had to share Rufus' traveling litter box set up.  I got a few disposable litter boxes to take with us.  While we were at our parent's house, I found out that it fits perfectly in an old paper box, which contains the litter and makes it (relatively) easy to transport.  And after a long day of driving, I was relieved that Rufus felt secure enough to relieve himself.

His water and food setup.  The boy did enjoy eating, for sure.

Our beds, they were pretty comfy considering we were at a budget motel.  We slept well and got up the next morning without any stiffness or soreness.  Success!