California, Here We Come!

Early Friday morning, Nathan and I (sans Rachel, since she had already headed out) packed up the car and began the long drive to California - the place where this crazy journey began. There were lots of mixed feelings. One the one hand, it would feel so good to be back on the West Coast ... and back to our home time zone! On the other hand, this chapter of our lives was rapidly closing. I felt happy and sad at the same time.  

The insane weather mirrored the emotional turmoil I felt inside. When we left in the morning, it was raining. And, mind you, this was in Phoenix, a town that averages 30 days of rain a year, and we were there for one of them. Shortly after that, we drove through the Mojave desert, where we baked and had to turn on the A/C. 

When we hit the outskirts of Palm Springs, it truly felt like a homecoming, seeing familiar places and realizing that we could be back in Long Beach in less than two hours. But, Long Beach isn't home anymore, and we kept driving west and north. Just above San Bernadino, we rose up through the mountains to the Cajon Pass, into the high desert. We left the 15 freeway near Victorville and turned due north on Highway 395, the iconic road that would take us between the Eastern Sierra and Death Valley to our destination: Mammoth Lakes. When we left the freeway, we were surprised to find ourselves in the middle of a snow flurry ... in 50-degree weather! When we finally made it to the home stretch north of Bishop, we found ourselves in a full-on snowstorm. 

It was short-lived, and by the time we arrived in Mammoth, it had stopped. But, it seemed a fitting end to the day.

We would be spending the next week in Mammoth with the Michelyras at their vacation home, and we were excited to see Mark and Miles that evening. They were scheduled to arrive a couple of hours after us. And thank goodness, because after unpacking the car, it was time for a nap!

This is what the day looked like.