We woke up with a timeline and we met our timeline perfectly. We thought our pack up from Lake Tahoe would be a little more strenuous, but with the help of the kids, we were up and loaded in record time. Our departure from South Lake Tahoe was sad, but we continued heading towards home.
Tyler and I still weren’t sure what our plans were from here. We thought about going through Idaho and Eastern Oregon before heading home, but after some discussion with family, we have decided to visit another time. This has left us wide open to anything. We ventured towards Reno, NV, where we knew we would be meeting my Dad to drop off the kids.
Since they finished online schooling, they have had a hankering to get to Condon. They were thoroughly enjoying our trip, but deep down they just can’t stop thinking about their summer weeks spent in their favorite little town with a few of their favorite people. Since our trip was coming to an end, we caved and decided to allow them to ride home with my Dad. They plan to spend time with my mom and the rest of the family while soaking up some pool time.
Tyler and I on the other hand are at a crossroads. We aren’t sure if we should continue to adventure, or head straight home. We have been traveling for 45 days now and we desperately want to meet our new nephew as well as get back to routines, but we also want to take advantage of this time we have. Tyler has a deadline to be home for work purposes, but with a little more than a week until that time, I can’t help but think of the things we could do!
We made it to Reno, NV this morning, and met up with my dad, grandma, and aunt who are all traveling together in a Toyota Prius. The kids and I prepped their bags last night and as the evening progressed, more and more items made it into the GO pile. I became concerned for space they would have as they traveled back in such a confined space with a packed car, but today, we were able to load all of their clothes, scooters, and dumbbells into the car.
Our goodbyes were bittersweet. I can’t believe that tonight we lay our heads to rest and our kids are not in our cozy little trailer. I love that they have the opportunity to spend quality time with family, but Tyler and I miss them tremendously and the remainder of this trip will look so much different without them.
After we dropped them off, we remained parked in the Atlantis parking lot in Reno. Mom and Allan had a room for the night and we intended to meet them here for a few hours. Without the kids, we managed to go in and enjoy some adult time in a casino with the family. We went to lunch at a little seafood restaurant in the sky terrace overlooking views of Reno. We intended to continue our travels and stop a few hours down the road, but a little fun lasted longer into the day than we expected and we changed our plans. I suppose with the kids away, we can play!
I, by no means, am a gambler. In fact, I don’t typically enjoy gambling. I enjoy the experience and people watching, but if I am going to spend $20 or $40 on anything, I want something tangible to come out of it…GUARANTEED! Tyler will take small risks, but he is very smart and calculated. We were able to spend the whole day at the little electronic roulette table enjoying ourselves. Tyler occasionally would jump over to the live roulette table for a bet that was too good to pass up. All in all, we did not lose money and we enjoyed our time spent with mom and Allan.
For dinner, we came back to the trailer and made Taco bowls. Mom and Allan even joined us! It saved us another meal out and we had turkey burger in our refrigerator needing to be used. We went back to the casino for a couple more hours and then called in a night, knowing Tyler is back to work tomorrow.
So tomorrow will bring more uncertainty. We do not know what’s next and will need to make some decisions before heading out. We’ve come a long way in our adventure and I no longer allow the stress of planning to affect me. I am actually excited to see what we will land on as we take on the rest of this adventure sans kids!
If you were us, where or what would you do from here?
The Church Hideout 