The best day, worst day and longest day scenario

         My brother-in-law’s sister had returned home from a lesson on perspective (I think) and posted a thought about her best and worst Christmas – both which had taken place in 2005. It was a great thought, and I asked permission to share it on my blog.  She said that her understanding was that it was up for Church publication and it would be best if I did not share.  I figured when it was published in Ensign magazine, I could refer to the link.  But I don’t see any evidence of publication thus far.

         I saved a copy to my own personal files, but seem to have misplaced the ubs or it somehow got deleted or something.  I’ll find it eventually.  Meanwhile I have my own thoughts about one of the longest days of my life (starting out with a trip to the Medford Temple and ending with waiting for Greyhound)

         June 5, 2015.  What a day.  Denise and I had actually left the motel room early because she had wanted to go through the Medford Temple.  It was her main insentive for having had driven the much shorter but scarier route.  She had gone online to learn how late the temple would be open on Thursday night.  She failed to look at the hours of operation on Friday.  It was closed.  The gates were locked.  We had driven all that way and couldn’t get inside.  The temple in Medford doesn’t open until 3:00 p.m.  That seemed like the latest time that Denise would have had to leave Roseburg and be on her way to Newport. We had missed going inside.

         I had had a rental car lined up, but had cancelled believing Roland’s understanding of having someone physically take me to the address.  My main reason for being in Oregon was to secure a rental that was waiting for us outside Roseburg.  I had called the property management several times to let them know I was coming.  I was hoping that Denise would be able to drop me off at the rental and I would be able to get a ride back to Century 21 to sign the papers. 

         They didn’t get any of my messages.  We weren’t communicating at all.  I would still have to have a rental car.  What was I thinking?  I called a car rental in Medford, but they did not have anything.  They referred me to their location in Roseburg.  I thought I was all set until they called me back asking for either a major (non-debit) card and/or an Oregon driver’s license – neither of which I had.  So they had to cancel my reservation.  So I called the agency I had initially booked with.  They couldn’t find a car for me until 7:30 that night.  Property management would have been closed by then.  And it didn’t give me enough hours of sunlight that it was worth renting a car for. I can’t drive in the dark.  I decided that I would just take a bus home (originally I had wanted the plane – but the bus was a third of the cost – plus I didn’t have a way to the airport)

         Payments had to be in form of Money Order or a Courtsey check from the bank.  Oh, great.  I have two checks from a credit union that have branches in Utah and Nevada – not in Oregon.  I was frantic.  I did have a bank account number that Corey had given me.  There was a branch not far from Century 21 that I went to – but I had to open my own account and ask Corey to work with me from Las Vegas.

         The procedure seemed long.  I had a deadline for getting back to Century 21 and barely made it.  The girl who assisted acted like she had been put out.  Really?  What about me?  I had traveled three days to get there.  And then they wouldn’t accept my check.  I had to open an account.  It had been very painful.  And the day was not close to over.  Little did I know that I wouldn’t be leaving Roseburg until 2:30 the following morning!

         The location of the bus pick/up had changed.  We drove around the same street three times before Denise pulled over and I went into a sevice station to ask.  Denise hated the GPS and Siri and will probably never use again.

         She pulled up to a service station and had me go inside to make certain I’d really be able to purchase a bus ticket.  If you read my earlier post, you may recall that the bus was scheduled to come at 5:58 – but I had been told that it would be running late.  I did not share that information with Denise or Roland however as I did not want them to worry. 

         As the sun was setting, I started crying, knowing (or thinking) that Denise was still on the road and has bad night vision like I do.  I spent the last 6 hours of the fifth at the service station waiting for the bus.

         As long and horrible as I believed the day had been, there was so much that I needed to feel grateful for:

A kind sister (who was planting flowers near the gate) opened the gate to let us inside and Denise took several pictures and the sister took pictures of Denise and I sitting in front of the temple. 

Denise stayed with me.  She sacrificed several hours of being on the road.  She drove me to Roseburg to get the key and then to back to Mayberry to look at the house – which really is a nice house by the way.

Denise drove me to the bank. She waited for me for over an hour (that is what it felt like anyway) and Corey waited in line in Las Vegas to assist me with my problem.  And it worked.  We had cut it very close bringing me back to Century 21 to sign papers. 

Denise waited for me.  I had called a cab so that she could be one her way. But she chose to stay with me and take me to the bus stop.  She did not get back on the road until after 5:00.  Heavenly Father blessed me big time through both Denise and Corey.

Though the bus had been late, I did not have to wait for it alone.  Jake kept me company for the first five hours – one hour after the station was closed. I also had the protection of Heavenly Father and a good book to read.

After an 8 ½ hour wait, I hadn’t missed the bus due to falling asleep or waiting on the wrong side of the building.  I was safe.

Back Up to June 4 & 5

         Denise and I didn’t always communicate.  She likes to use the map.  I like the GPS.  She had issues about trusting the GPS.  I can no longer navigate from a map without becoming nauseous.  I’ve just never seemed to be able to move forward while looking down. I don’t know why. The exception was when I was on my mission and did the navigation as my companions drove around.  But that was over 30 years ago.

         Anyway, Denise and I had moments of oddities, but we never got on each other’s nerves to the point that we became emotionally upset about it.  I suppose she had every reason not to trust Siri.  After several hours on Highway 140, Siri seemed to be getting bored as she directed us to take the “unpaved road” First of all, really?  Second of all, there are no roads – unpaved or other except for Highway 140.  But the Garmin took our car off the path and stuck it on the side in the middle of the black screen and Siri kept advising us to get on the main road.  I shut off the Garmin.

         Garmin reset once I plugged back in, and we were on the road.  As mentioned in this post our plan was to go to the Medford Temple to do a few names that she brought.  She had wanted to go Thursday night.  Again, I misunderstood her.  We were both so tired.  I sensed she was in pain after having driven all day.  She took a nap for longer than she had hoped and so we did not make the temple until the following morning.

         Unfortunately for us, the Medford Temple does not open on Friday until 3:00.  We were hoping that she would have had me in Roseburg by then and on her way to Newport.  Friday turned out to be a sensationally LONG day – but that’s for another post – or maybe four.

        

         The main draw for Denise to drive that route in the first place was to go through the Medford Temple.  She handled it well.  Took lots of pictures.  There was a sister working in the garden who took pictures of Denise and me in front of the temple – so that was nice.

         So here are some pictures that were taken days 1-3.  All before Denise and I parted company:

Salt Lake Bountiful Flats under water

the salt sticking out reminded me of glaciers

Lucky Reservoir

falls at Lucky Reservoir

Highway 140 had some very sharp curves

Medford Temple

Highway 140 has lots of names

     Denise and I have taken pictures and some could very well go with my road trip posts, but I have to wait until I return home in order to retrieve them from the camera.

     Denise likes to sleep in and stay until checkout.  Never in my life have I stayed at a hotel/motel/inn that long.  Get me back on the road as soon as there is enough light.

Denise thought she woke me up when I was certain it was the other way around.  Roland called before she was dressed and she asked if he was asking us to get back on the road.  Well, yes.  And fortunately we did.

We had breakfast in Winnamucca – which was very fortunate, as we did not hit the next town until four hours later.  The diner was crowded and it was a while before somebody had even taken our order.  I noticed the group (in the booth next to ours) left before their order even made it to the kitchen.  We probably weren’t even there for an hour though it felt like we had.  I think it was the earliest Denise had ever left her apartment (or in this case motel room)

It was just shortly before or after ten when we left Winnamucca.  Our main road companion was Highway 140 – which was pretty – even with the scary curves at one point.  The Highway changed names (and it felt like direction) several times as Siri would lead us to this road or that. 

For the first four hours, though the name changed, it felt like an endless drive.  There was nothing to stop for.  I think only two rest stops between Winnemucca and Lakeview.  Lakeview actually offered two motels – I can’t imagine that there is enough money there to create a livelihood for ones self.  Population of less than 3,000.

At that point we didn’t even know if Lakeview was in Nevada or Oregon. Denise was quite frustrated with the lack of signs welcoming us into each state or even letting us know where we were.  The Garmin would just give directions and map out streets (well, when there were streets) that we would pass or come to.  Garmin never let me know what city we were in, but changed the name of Highway 104 to Denio and Freemont.

It was in Freemont that we stopped to take pictures of Lucky Reservoir.  I can’t remember if that came up before or after the dangerous curves (which were actually not so bad for travelers going north, but it certainly gave me good reason not to be driving that thing by myself while traveling south)

After we passed the town of Lakeview, Highway 140 became Klamath Falls-Lakeview Highway and then finally to route 62 which is called Crater Lake Highway. 

It appears that the Highway is being straightened out in some areas – but that always accounts for construction.  We got held up a few times.  White City looked like a booming town when we finally arrived – as there had been little signs of life during our entire journey.  What we had both anticipated might take six hours ended up taking us almost eight.  Denise’s back hurt from driving all that way and we were both exhausted.  Still exhausted.

I actually got up because the alarm clock had started going off.  I finally unplugged the dang thing as I couldn’t figure out how to turn it off.  And Denise still continues to sleep.  That actually fascinates me because I am such a light sleeper.  Evidently she is not.

She says she has always wanted to go to the Medford Temple (well, since she converted to Mormonism 18 months ago) and finally has the opportunity to do so as we are ten minutes away.   So our plans now are to get up early (though I think my definition of early and her definition or early are two different times) and come back to the room and pack and then she will take me to Roseburg where I need to meet the individual who has the key to the property where Roland and I would like to live – even if only temporary.

Denise has planned everything.  She likes to know exactly where she’s going, and have a specified destination.  She’ll call ahead to book a room.  Today she and I will part ways.  She will continue on to Newport to visit her grandkids, and I will hopefully get to see a house that hopefully we’ll be moving to in just a few weeks.

I did have a room booked in Roseburg – for last night.  I also had a car.  Right now I don’t have either.  Nor do I have a way of getting home.  I’m hoping to take the bus from Roseburg to Salt Lake.  I am hoping to leave this weekend. 

I’m going to dress and get something to eat before Denise gets up and we head for the temple.

Road Trip

The story of Noah teaches us that we need to be prepared.  It is drilled into us as boy scouts or members of the church – to always be prepared.  Sometimes we are.  Often we’re not.  And sometimes we think we are and then life takes us in a completely different direction – or else the answer doesn’t come as soon as we had hoped.

My sister-in-law, Sunny, had had a calling to serve in the primary presidency at one point.  Once a month, each member of the presidency was asked to create a sharing time.  Now this was back before Pinterest or SugarDoodle.  Each month she would read and pray and study and pour out her heart and soul.  It always seemed to me that she wouldn’t receive revelation for her sharing time until Saturday night or the Sunday morning in which she needed to present the activity.  I thought that would drive me nuts.  And it does, but my last minute revelation or movement seems to be more about my life than presenting lesson.

My dad was a very organized individual.  He would always plan things out.  When we took family vacations, he always made arrangements on how far we would travel from one point to the next and in which town we’d stay and what activities we’d do – with some leisure.  I don’t recall having ever made motel reservations, as we would look for vacant signs and something hopefully with a pool.  Mom and I seemed to use more spontaneity after his passing.  More times than not we had a plan in place, but I remember taking road trips in which we would drive to nowhere in particular – or else we would start out with one destination in mind (the arches in Moab for example) 

and change our minds at the drop of the hat (why not go to Bryce and Zions instead.   

And hey, while we’re at it, why not hit the north rim of the Grand Canyon.  How far can it be?)

The problem with not having planned or made reservations is that we had her mother (my 70 plus year old grandmother) whose bladder wasn’t used to such fullness from one area to the next.  We had to stop – we had to get a room with a toilet.  We had to get a bed.  And there was nothing between the Jacob's ladder and Fredonia, Arizona.  It was a long drive in the dark before we finally found a bed and breakfast.  Two more miles and we would have been in Kanab – which we were the next morning.  But I don’t think we were even using a map at that point.  GPS was a foreign myth.  And mom had a lousy sense of direction besides – but hey, we got some excellent pictures (whatever happened to those?)

Some things need to be planned for:  scheduling appointments, attending graduations, weddings – even funerals – though many of those don’t seem to come with as much notice as does a wedding or baby blessing. 

Sunny would always plan for family members to attend baptisms, priesthood ordaining, and so forth.  She contacted family members weeks in advance.  And it was always an eventful occasion.  My boys were, “Oh, by the way, I’m being ordained this morning” and then wondered why so many family members didn’t attend.  Not that I ever set a great example.

As mentioned in an earlier post, Roland and I wished to be married in the temple – to start life on the eternal path (so to speak) and would make a date and change the date and change the date again – hoping that we’d have a clearance and would be able to go through the house of the Lord.  Ah, but God’s plans didn’t seem to exactly mirror our own.  Until finally I was fed up with the “celestial red tape” and decided to ask my bishop to marry us right away.  Everyone in attendance (including the groom) was given an eight hours notice or less.

That seems to occur A LOT in my life.  Take this road trip for example.  Roland and I had both known that when/if we went to Oregon to secure a rental, it would be at the drop of a hat, and it was.  Corey had initially agreed to go with me and had made arrangements – and though we had an address, we didn’t have a key nor signed the final papers.

Denise, who recently moved from Newport, Oregon, lives in my ward and told me that she would be driving to Oregon tomorrow.  Roland called on the rental yesterday and we looked into options on getting me to Roseburg first to take a look at the house and then to seal the deal so that we can move in ASAP – I decided to call Denise and ask her to change her plans to leaving earlier and a different route and I would pay for the gas (which I would have had to do on my own anyway)

Denise and I actually share the same first name (which is neither Denise nor LaTiesha) and today she drove us from West Valley, Utah to Winnamucca, Nevada.  Tomorrow we will go as far as Medford.  And then I may have to go all the way to Roseburg to meet with the property manage rep, or perhaps she’ll agree to meet me at the address where I wish to live.  We've taken a few pics, but I won't be loading them from the camera until after I return home.

I had reservations in Roseburg for tomorrow night, but they have been cancelled – along with my car rental.  Tomorrow Denise and I will try going through Medford Temple – or perhaps we’ll have to wait until Friday morning.  And then I will look for a rental car there (hopefully one I’ll be able to drive one way to Salt Lake) and a room in who-knows-what-town I’ll end up in?  Don’t know how I’m getting home at this point.  Denise and I will be parting company on Friday.  And then I guess I’ll play it by ear. What is up with that?