Day 1 of the Great Adventure: San Antonio to Muleshoe

I need to post a disclaimer before these trip posts get started: there are going to be way more pictures than most of you want to see and of things most won't really care about but this is to update our family, too, and they love all these minor details!  :-)

Today we started out not quite as bright and early as we had planned, but at least we got going, right?  We packed as much as we could last night. In the middle of packing the backseat and the skybox, we went inside then I heard a weird noise. I looked outside and it was POURING down rain. We ran out and closed all the doors and the box. Things only got a little damp but I'm glad we realized it when we did!

We got up early and packed up all the last things, like our air mattress and the boys pack n plays. Even though we planned how we were going to pack everything, it took a while to actually get it all in there in a way that allowed Tim to see and for nothing to rattle.

Our set-up includes a rear hitchmounted tray that is carrying a large weatherproof box and two gas cans (that are for use in Canada).  The load on the tray has to be evenly distributed so it doesn't cause the car to lean on one side more than the other.  And we also have a Yakima skybox on top of the car.  The things that are in there and in the box on the back we don't need during our travels, we just need them while we were in the house here and once we get to the house in Alaska because we are going to be without all of our things for over a month.  

The boys were excited to finally start the "'venture to Alaka"!

Tim and I walked through our house one last time. I cried. It was the first time I allowed all the emotions to hit me. Seeing the first home we ever bought completely empty and knowing we would never live there again was pretty hard for me to handle. Thankfully, we are blessed to be renting it to some friends of ours from church. The Lord completely took care of us in the situation. 

After we stopped to weigh the car (we have an extra 1600 pounds on the car!) we hit the road.

The boys did great and took naps at their regular times. We have their white noise sound on my iPad so I just stuck it back there when it was time for a nap and they slept great!

 

We made several stops, including lunch at Wendy's house (everyone has to have a house, according to Robby, so it couldn't just be Wendy's!)

We got to Muleshoe around 6 and were greeted by Catie, Gus, and Maddie!  The last time we saw them was in February so we were really excited to stay with them. We realized Monday afternoon that we were overdue for a tire rotation so Tim decided we would get it done once we got to our first stop. The perk was they are 30 minutes from the New Mexico border so he had an extra hour to get it done because of the time difference!  We ate dinner from our favorite panhandle Mexican restaurant that night. We've really missed Leal's!  Tim had one last proper Texas Dr Pepper before we left!

After we bathed the boys and put them down, we stayed up until after midnight talking. They are such wonderful friends and I'm glad we could make our trip work out to see them one last time. I can't wait until they come see us in Alaska in a year!