Almost time to go!

Tomorrow we're planning on hitting the road and heading north. We have a lot of packing and grocery shopping to do, but I'm not too stressed about it. Whenever we travel, we're rather casual about it. Well, at least when we travel within the country. International travel requires a lot of preparation.  

We won't be gone for long and since we're not going anywhere fancy I don't have to pack many clothes. To quote my mom, "this isn't a fashion show." The camping supplies are in storage near the car, so it won't be a problem to quickly load them up. 

Food is always a wild card on these trips. I almost always enjoy the food we cook over a fire for dinner or breakfast. I will never forget being in Joshua Tree, sitting on a boulder, watching a beautiful desert sunset with my favorite person in the whole world while eating a delicious burger hot off the campsite grill. That memory is definitely filed in the happiest memories of my life folder.

Then there's the food memories that aren't as positive. On these trips we usually get a loaf of bread and some peanut butter and live off that for lunch. It gets pretty boring after awhile. I remember being in the Kelso Dunes and it was over 100 degrees in the shade. I was watching a lizard and trying to choke down a dry peanut butter sandwich to stave off the hunger pangs. Ha. Now that I remember it, it doesn't seem as bad as it was at the time. Funny how time makes unpleasant memories seem humorous.

I hope the weather cooperates... I don't have high hopes to be honest. I imagine it's going to be like what we've been experiencing here in San Francisco, only wetter. I'll be packing jeans, sweatshirts, and my raincoat. 

I should mention that we've decided to cut Lake Tahoe out of the itinerary. After reading in Sunset Magazine about 4th of July Lake Tahoe traffic jams and hearing admonitions from our friends, we've decided it's a bad idea. Maybe some other time.