Arranca! (And they're off!)

The snow gods have presented us with gifts twice: we have had a wonderfully mild winter until today; and now that we are heading to warmer climes there is snow! What could be better than to leave the snow behind as we head west?

Because of the forecast we have accelerated our departure from tomorrow to today. We drove to Albany late this afternoon after getting haircuts (very important) which leaves us with a much shorter drive tomorrow to Niagara Falls. The driving wasn't great, but we've seen and driven through much worse.It was just the right amount of snow to coat the trees and create that wonderful Rockwellian New England winter wonderland.

Our new Volvo wagon arrived two days ago and we are enjoying it immensely. It's painted "flamenco red", so we will need to remember that when searching the parking lot. Bob ordered it with just about every option possible. What is it about men and toys? There are voice controls for the radio, the telephone, the GPS system, and all of the car's settings. The cruise control adapts itself to the speed of traffic flow. There is a light to tell you when a car is in your blind spot, and beeps to tell you if you stray over a line without signaling. There is a rearview camera, and when you park, there are green, orange, and red lights surrounding the image of the car to tell you how close you are to the curb and other cars. There is so much more technology than the 11-year-old model we traded in that it will probably take us all 2736 miles to Tucson to figure it out. And of course it has the turbo engine option. Bob was unable to resist it.

We learned that there are no Starbucks headed west on the Mass. Pike.

The heaviest snow was between Worcester and Springfield, and then it steadily tailed off. By the time we reached Albany it wasn't snowing and there was perhaps an inch on the ground. Neither Buffalo nor Niagara Falls was forecast to get any snow at all!

We hope our friends back in Acton don't have too much snow to deal with. We are glad to be on the road and looking forward to the days to come!

Today's blog entry was brought to you by the letters S and T. S is for Snow and Starting our trek. T is for Turbo and Testosterone. 

Interlude II

It's only two weeks before the day we are leaving and the list of things to get done beforehand is growing. The route has not been plotted out; we haven't decided on a northern or southern trajectory.We have made no hotel reservations. We haven't even looked for our passports in case we have a need to slip into Canada, or perhaps to wave them to authorities as we cross the Arizona border.

So what have we been doing in preparation for our big trip? Those are all small details.We like to think large, so we have been giving President Obama a hand with the economy. New car? Check. After all, the current one is 11 years old and major things have been going wrong for the last few years. And we may not find a Volvo dealer in Kadota, South Dakota. (Although it's highly unlikely we will go near there, we passed through there once on a previous trip. It was so much fun to call home and say. "Hi, I'm in Kadota, South Dakota." It slips its way so deliciously rhythmically off the tongue.) But I digress. The new car is also a Volvo. And 33 years after that phone call there are plenty of Volvo dealers should we need one.

We have planned ahead just a little bit on wardrobe. Now here we have run into two vacation maxims, both of which sent us out yesterday on the first of our shopping expeditions.

MAXIM 1: Khaki pants that fit perfectly last summer, when carefully hung in the closet, shrink over the Winter! Now I know many of you have experienced this as well. Perhaps it's the dryness in the air that does it, but since we can't wait around for the August humidity to see if they revert, I'm going to have to buy new ones. I'll probably buy a larger size, too, although I'm certain I don't need it, just in case the dry desert air in Arizona attacks my new pants the same way. I can't think of any other explanation for it.

MAXIM 2: You just know that all of the tops, shirts, and sweaters you have accumulated for many years, some of which you wore just this week, suddenly (a) become baggy; (b) become dated; (c) are wrong for the activities you think you will do; (d) make you look like a tourist; or (e) all of the above.

So shopping we went, and a few things we bought. To judge by the folks in stores and at the mall, there is no lack of patriotism. Democrats and Republicans were buying in equal amounts. (Poll accuracy +/- 3 points). It's truly country before political party when it comes to shopping, and we were proud to be part of it.

I was people-watching as I was eating my lunch in the food court - a very good slice of pizza from Regina's - and was left with one unanswered question: If these are the same people who are buying bagsful of new, stylish clothes, why do so many of them dress so badly?

Interlude I

Our trek is still weeks ahead of us, but I got so excited by the prospect of seeing a few of my 1stWest friends in Arizona that it occurred to me (duh!) that there are even more 1stWesters within striking distance of Boston. Somewhat miraculously, I was able to find a time just three weeks away for 5 out of the 6 locals to get together for lunch and catching up. Some of us, like me, have more catching up to do than others!

Everyone arrived on time. I hadn't really thought about how we would welcome each other, given that I hadn't seen one of the ladies for 30 years and the others for quite some time, but there was no squealing or screeching. The odd and wonderful thing was that it seems so normal. After the usual hugs and air kisses, we sat down for lunch, and we might as well have been sitting around the table in one of the dining halls freshman year. The conversation rambled as it always did, from current events, to current TV shows (Downton Abbey took up quite a bit of time), to what everyone else who was not with us was doing, and of course now about our children and families.

Probably food was a lot better in the dining halls then we ever gave it credit to be, but what Bob prepared for us was a truly delightful lunch. Two quiches - bacon and leek, and spinach and feta - a lovely green salad, fruit salad, and for dessert there were miniature cupcakes and heart-shaped Linzertortes. (I have to admit that the dessert was purchased, but everything else was not.)

After lunch, we had a video conference with Gale and Barbara in Tucson and it was just as though they were in the room with us! We talked for over an hour and a half, and it was hard to say goodbye. When Bob and I are out there we promised to do another video with the folks back here. I think I will feel as though I just passed through the network to Arizona at that point.

Here are couple of photos of the gang:

All of this has just added to our excitement to get out west and connect in person with our friends in Arizona. Counting the days now....