Snow 'n flip-flops

Typical girl road trip “necessities” for 48 hours: 1 Aero bed, 2 pillows, 1 blanket, 1 expandable case of makeup that weighs approximately 12 1/2 pounds, 1 pair of camel colored Kuggs (Knock-off Uggs), 1 pair of brown boots, tennis shoes, 22 makeup brushes, 6 pairs of earrings, 3 necklaces, 4 bracelets, 3 long sleeved shirts, 7 short sleeved shirts, 2 hoodies, zebra print pajama bottoms, 1 pair of jeans, 1 pair of sweats, 1 pair of brown corduroys, 2 scarves, 1 baseball cap, 1 zip up sweater, 1 jacket, 4 pairs of socks, 1 laptop, 1 digital camera with all the lenses and filters, 3 Netflix movies, 1 scrapbook project to share with fellow scrapper, 1 apple, 1 banana, and 5 oranges. Options. Give a woman options and you’ll keep her happy.

Lauren road trip necessities: Music.

~ P!nk, Hinder, James Otto, Colbie Callait, Shakira, & Muddy Waters. Daily servings from all the major music food groups. A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll, with enough blues, spice, and Bubbly to keep things interesting.


So far today, safe trip, good scenery, good friends…great day off.

Quote of the night:
Gary (mid-story): “We were drinking one night…was it a holiday?” (ponders the thought, looks up, scratches his chin).
Patti: “No. There was no occasion, Gary. It was Summer and you had a porch.”

Today, I took myself on a 4-hour road trip to visit the Robinsons up in Susanville. I have to admit I wasn’t overly thrilled at the thought of driving in the rain, and possibly the snow, for 4-hours by myself but I had already planned on being gone for my weekend and I was expected.

~Just outside of Red Bluff

My GPS was steering me towards all kinds of routes as I drove north up I-5, but I took the “pretty” one on good advice. Glad I did, because it was absolutely beautiful! I gotta get out and get my drive on more often!



I was mesmerized by the greenery as I turned out of Red
Bluff onto I-36 and then I was captivated by white snow as the elevation got higher. Every time I passed one of those big, yellow “Watch For Snow” signs, I chuckled to myself. I am! I am! I swear I am! Minus the windy, rain-slicked, winding road bordered by 4 foot snow banks on both sides, I was watching the snow all around me like a kid glued to cartoons on a Saturday morning. I must have stopped about a half a dozen times to take pictures. This is the most snow I’ve seen in my 27 years. Really, truly, it is. It’s strange (and sad) for me to hear myself admit that considering how often I take flight and travel. I figured I would have spent at least a little time in the snow by now during one of those adventures, right?



~ Mill Creek, CA

I am not a snow person, but it’s not like that on purpose. I can count the number of times I’ve been in the snow in my lifetime on one hand. The last time I was “in” the snow, it was April or May of 2005 and I was:
1) in the snow
2) in the Swiss Alps
3) in flip-flops.
Yes, you read me right. Flip flops. The only thing that could have been more obvious was a blinking fluorescent sign around my neck with an arrow pointing down at my next to naked feet: “Tourist, tourist! Look, it’s an American tourist!” You see, I am never prepared to be in the snow. Ever. I don’t live close enough to snow to have snow clothing. I mean, it’s a cold day in Vacaville if it hits below freezing at 4am on a mid-January night. It just doesn’t ever get that cold where I frequent.


~ Lake Almanor just outside of Chester, CA

Really though, I could be a snow person. I think I want to be a snow person on occasion. I live pretty damn close to Tahoe, so I could have snow gear - really I probably should have snow gear, but I don’t. My family was never an adventurous one while we were growing up. We didn’t really go anywhere on vacation. I can only think of a couple trips that we ever took as a family. One summer when I was about twelve maybe, we went to Hearst Castle and the Monterey Bay Aquarium and it was miserable the entire time. Imagine a two-tone brown Ford Aerostar van circa 1989 filled with the sounds of childhood misery, bickering, and the non-stop nagging of 3 siblings, 1 cousin, and 2 parents. Needless to say, we never bundled up as a family and headed towards the powder to revel in a full day of cold, wet, miserable non-stop nagging and bickering. Still, as close as we were to the snow growing up, I should have made at least one snow angel as a kid even if I had to sit in that brown van to make the trip.

Note to self: when you have some, take your kids to the snow while they’re still kids. Just make sure they’re not in flip-flops.