Sleepless in Bothell

It's 2:50 a.m. and I'm supposed to be asleep and recuperating from surgery, but I'm awake. I don't like this. I think it has something to do with the leftover Chinese food I ate in front of the TV with Bill and the three dogs. He had tortilla soup he made himself. I would think I'd be the one sleeping like a baby and he'd be the one wide awake. But, not so. I can here him snoring blissfully in his room.

In exactly five hours and twenty minutes, I'm supposed to see my surgeon. I'm hoping he's going to tell me I'm doing so well I can drive a lot. My friends have been wonderful about getting me out of the "Guy House" (house I used to live in but now occupied by husband and his new roommate), but I've got cabin fever. Bad.

Yesterday, Frances and I plotted our road trip to Indio. We plan to leave in my Camry on September 15 with a bunch of maps, one small dog (Oliver), reservations at some Motel 6's and some friend and family homes, and arrive in Indio on September 22nd. I'm excited to start my new life but sad to leave my friends. I could be all dramatic and say that's what's keeping me up--but no, I'm pretty sure it's the Chinese food.

I've always loved road trips. In my current condition, this 1400-mile trip would not be possible without my fellow road-trip lover, Frances. We'll leave Renton early in the morning, stop in Portland to have lunch with her brother, and make it to a Motel 6 in Roseburg for the night. We're planning to head to Crater Lake after that, since neither of us has seen it from the ground (it looks great from airplanes), and spend a night in Klamath Falls. Then we'll descend upon Susan H. in Cottonwood. Susan and I have known each other since we were in second grade. Her mother was my Brownie troop leader, and I had a crush on her brother when I was in 4th grade. She's an adventurer, too. I'm probably about 4 albums behind on keeping up with her worldly travels. We'll fix that on this trip! She has a lovely ranch home on some acreage on the Sacramento River. She and Frances can take nice long walks while Oliver and I sip ice water and look at picture albums in the shade of the patio.

My sister Diane is the next lucky recipient of our company; she lives in wine country in Santa Rosa. We'll stay two nights with her and Stan; she's promised us a little tour of their favorite wineries and a picnic lunch at one of them. Could we refuse such and offer? Well, we could if we were stronger people, but we're not. The siren call of lovely scenery and great wine is too much for us. Two nights it is! We'll have a long day when we leave Diane's (hmmm, better keep wine consumption to a minimum!), heading to my mom's house in Lakewood CA. One night with mom, then off to Indio and my new home. Frances will spend two nights with me, then fly back to Seattle.

I'm getting tired just thinking about it. Maybe I'll try sleeping some more. 7 a.m. is going to come mighty soon.