Post Birthday Trip Report

As mentioned in my previous post we took a trip toward central washington and southwestern Idaho (basically east and south of here) over my birthday.

Unfortunately due to my NF2 I can't do much driving nowadays. I used to love to drive. I drove for an hour from Moses Lake, WA toward Idaho and I started to "freak out". I am not sure how to explain it. I think maybe I am having an anxiety attack. I got to the point driving on this highway through rolling golden hills and blue sky where things seem to blend together and I was seeing mirages. Then it seemed as if my vision was getting blurry. I could not look to either side of me but straight ahead. After awhile I realized I had been white knuckling the steering wheel and I was so tense that my neck was starting to hurt. However, I kept going. I wanted to at least make it to Washtuca, WA. I was almost there when I had the last straw and needed to pull over. Everytime a semi or truck passed in the opposite direction I flinched and felt as if I would hit it head on. They were not so bad at first but the last one really scared me. My stomach dropped as if I had just taken a step off a bridge. That was it! It was time to pull over and pass over the keys.

We had a good time with my folks. We celebrated my birthday there a couple days early seeing I would be at my sister's on my birthday. Harley spent the morning fishing with my dad, we rode the boat over to visit my sister in-laws parents, and Harley went tubing. (hehe) My mom got a little sea sick because my dad started going in big circles and over big waves trying to knock off Harley. My mom and I went shopping for the three worst things to shop for but we had fun: swimsuits, sunglasses, and shoes (well that is a challenge.....it is an NF2 thing).

When we finally made it to my sister's (yeah 10 or 11 hours later because my dad likes to send people on long excursions even though there is a much quicker route) we got to meet her little "Spud" and boy was he fun! He is a Boston Terrier puppy and is 11 weeks old. We also got to check out their new home that they recently moved to (yes they are renting a new house that has never been lived in before!). It is a very spacious and pleasant 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage in a newer neighborhood in Nampa, Idaho.

On my birthday we played mini-golf at the fun park. The two courses were really neat (like disneyland) with little old houses, bridges, fountains, rock formations, and the big head of some mayan or aztec dude. Afterward we got completely lost in the Boise corn maze and on both phases we ended up coming back out the entrance instead of the exit. Alas hunger overpowered us so we gave up and joined DJ (Michelle's boyfriend) for some dinner at Red Lobster. Hmmn those stuffed mushrooms and cheddar biscuits are always mighty tasty!

It was colder the last couple days we were there and Friday we had lots of wind so we tried to fly our kites in the farmer's field next to her neighborhood. LOL Unfortunately my cool looking and huge serpent kite was just that: huge and looked cool but flew like crap. The darn thing kept make a nose dive in the dirt each time we got it into the air. Thus Michelle and Harley kept having to chase the other end of it and launch it into the air for me. I could not move really because the ground was way too lumpy. If I moved while looking into the air I would have fallen over and my serpent would have probably buried its nose in the dirt again.

The ride home was long and difficult. I miss driving. Being a passenger is somewhat frustrating. I don't get car sick anymore but I end up passing out instead. If the road is at all bumpy (yes I am referring to the freeway) it is kind of disorienting and take lots of energy to see things normally. I try to read but it just becomes impossible after awhile and trying to focus completely fatigues me where I literally shut down. I basically can't keep my eyes open anymore and I end up passing out several times and forget what is happening or where I am. I noticed I was doing this passing out even on short drives to Boise and back. Yet those could have been because I was getting less sleep and trying to stay awake for a whole day.

We had a good trip and I am glad we got a chance to go out to visit. We figured now would be the best time because we don't know yet how the winter will be on the way there. We will now be heading down south on Monday for warmer weather in Arizona. It will be our first time visiting the SW region of the US.