Ellie’s First Road Trip, Episode 1
Well it’s on. Our cross country road trip has begun, and the plan is to stay with the Marcoccia’s in Erin, NY for the month of December. It’s been several years since I was home for the holidays. The year before Danette and I were married we went to NY for Christmas, and we haven’t been back since. I am looking forward to relaxing at home for a month, rather than trying to squeeze in everything in one week’s time. We’ve got the Yoda (Toyota Tacoma) loaded, complete with dogs and holiday goodies.
Our first day was a push on the highway, that’s for sure. We drove from Heber City, UT to North Platte, NE. I set my trip odometer on Main Street in Heber and when we pulled into the La Quinta (exit 179 I-80) in North Platte the mileage had just turned on 630. Ellie did excellent, up until Cheyenne, WY…where we took a break for a while at Sierra Trading Post. Then all hell broke loose, so to speak 
She was over it. She screamed bloody murder for the last couple of hours. Poor kid. Once in the hotel she settled into a good meal, and good night sleep.
Now for the fun stuff to report. Well, not so fun actually but an adventure none-the-less: We’re stuck here at the La Quinta in North Platte! An ice storm hit us early this morning and as I type, there is about 1/4 inch of ice coating the truck and the parking lot. It’s not worth the risk to leave so our plan is to hold out until mid-day to see if the weather breaks at all.
I did walk over to the convenient store across from the hotel and the clerk said that he had just come off the Interstate, and that it wasn’t good. He mentioned about 3 miles east of us a cow trailer was on it’s side, and they were in the process of wranglin’ up a dozen head of cattle on the freeway. There were also semi’s jack knifed and cars off the road. So it goes without saying that we’ll ride out the storm here. Hey, at least we’re not stuck in some snow cave waiting out a storm…although that might be better than an Interstate La Quinta Inn.
It did report on the news that it’s suppose to warm up as the storm progresses so we’re hoping for the best. I certainly don’t want to stay here another night. I’ll chime in soon again, at our next stop…
