Nicole feels

Most of Wednesday was spent in the van. Again. We took our time getting on the road that morning. I suppose we could have left a half hour earlier if I hadn�t gotten lost trying to find a grocery store. I ended up on some dirt road near a state park. I am usually quite proficient when it comes to finding my way around; I think the pick-up hauling the huge propane tank that came within inches of broad siding me threw off my concentration a bit.

Rob�s mom�s house was only 5.5 hours from Williams, AZ. When Rob and I looked over the map, we realized that Hoover Dam and a drive through Las Vegas added a mere 1.5 hour to the trip. Who could resist?

We stopped for lunch at a Burger King in Kingman, AZ, scoring some great Six Flags Magic Mountain coupons. The kids enjoyed the much needed �play-place� break and I enjoyed onion rings for the first time since I started dieting back in March.

When we left Williams, the temperature was in the balmy low 70�s. No humidity. Blue skies. Gorgeous.

The blue skies followed us all the way to the dam. We hopped out at a �scenic overlook� to catch our first glimpse and take some photos.

Who turned the heat on!? Oh. My. Word. Hot doesn�t even begin to describe what it feels like to exit your vehicle to think that you are in the fabled oven of Hansel and Gretel fame!

It took us a whopping 30 seconds to decide to skip the dam tour(!), take a few pictures, and drive on.

It really was an awesome sight. And to think of all the men who gave their lives during the course of its construction was quite humbling.

Not even a mile away we crossed the border of Arizona and Nevada. We had some fun posing for a photo and taking some pictures for some other hot and hapless tourists.

The oppressive heat compelled us quickly back to the air conditioned confines of the van. Which was also where we gawked at the unabashed excess of the Las Vegas Strip.

We were the quintessential tourists, me pointing the video camera out the window and Rob snapping pictures with the digital as he drove.

�Hineys! Hineys!� Parker exclaimed with an uncontrolled giggle as we stopped at a light behind a cab, which was unabashedly festooned with an ad featuring about 10 g-string clad bottoms. Kaytlin and Nathan erupted in side-splitting laughter as well. I inadvertently filmed at least 30 seconds of it before realizing what I was doing. (It will go great on the family year-in-review videos we send out to the grandparents, dontcha-think?)

Then, wouldn�t you know it, without warning, the 4-year-old�s �hiney� chant quickly dissolved into the high-pitched, I-mean-business, �I GOTTA GO PEE!� that every parent loves to hear as they are in bumper-to-bumper traffic with nary a Micky D�s in sight.

We eventually maneuvered our way through the town and back onto the freeway long enough to find a potty stop. After fueling up, the atmosphere in the van quickly disintegrated into one of hilarity and silliness as three children realized the next stop was MeeMee�s house.

Yes, MeeMee is that kind of grandma. The kind every kid should have, but only in limited doses. Knowing we were in for at least 3 more hours on the road, not to mention 5 days at grandma�s, Rob and I quickly assessed the situation and promptly told them to lie down and take a nap.

Yup, we are mean parents who value our sanity when driving through the desert. Shame on us.

Parker had a hard time falling asleep and wrestled with his pillow and muttered to himself for at least 20 minutes before finally giving in.