Wed, Oct 30, 2019:
We made it back safe and sound on Wednesday afternoon.
We got up to icy temperatures Wed morning in Reno. It was a lovely 17 degrees at 8am. We skipped the morning showers and opted for a quick oatmeal breakfast and early departure. (Mike put trail mix in his oatmeal again.)
We three work very well together so we were back on the road and headed for Sacramento by 10:15am. We knew when we had crossed into California becuase the texture of the road changed from marginally bumpy and annoyingly loud, to rattle-your-fillings-out and can’t-hear-yourself-talk loud. It was bad!
We stopped at the Donner Lake Overlook for a rest/photo break. The trees have really grown up around the lake so we really couldn’t see the lake.
We made great time to Sacramento and pulled into the RV storage yard in Rio Linda, CA around 12:40pm. We parked it and jumped in the Jeep to go grab In & Out for lunch. We couldn’t host Mike in California and not make a trip to In & Out!
After lunch, we were sleepy and not looking forward to driving back to the RV to unpack. But we did becuase it was the responsible thing to do and we at least needed our tooth brushes.
We tried to unload as quickly & efficiently as possible, but of course forgot things. (And had to make a second trip out there…and then forgot the RV keys and had to make a third trip out there.)
After all that, we were all ready for a much needed wind-down. Fred took a litte nap, Mike watched some of Fred’s favorite Jeeping YouTube videos, and I hit the gym for a little elliptical time.
11 days of vacation debauchery made for one unpleasant experience on the elliptical machine 😩 But I did my 20 minutes and felt better afterwards.
We had take-out Salmon Burritos from Dos Coyotes while we watched game seven of the World Series later that night. Mike was elated that Washington won! We baked chocolate chip cookies to celebrate.
Mike’s flight was leaving super early the next day and we knew this was our last day to hang out. We were reluctant to call it a day, but we crawled into bed around 10:15pm. We were beat from the crash of an epic 11 day journey and just needed some sleep. The Let-Down Effect was starting to kick in.
The “Let-Down Effect,” as the scientists call it, is when your body/mind take a dump after periods of heightened stress or stimulation… AKA, the vacation hangover. That’s why you feel lethargic and sometimes get sick after intense events.
I didn’t know much about it after our Honeymoon Adventure, but I found this article from U. S. News that explains it well – and how you can avoid it. (Basically, your body/mind needs a “cool down” like what you do after an intense workout. So you can stave off the crash & burn if you keep doing simulating things as you ease back into your normal routine. Like exercise, brain games, or what I am going to lobby for… mini adventures😜) I’m going to try hard not to be a waking zombie for the next week 👍🥴
So this morning, (Thurs, Oct 31) we got up at 5:30am to drop Mike off at the Sacramento Airport. It was a fast morning. By 6:45am, we had said our goodbyes & were headed back home. The Oakes Boys don’t linger with goodbyes.
Driving away from the airport marked the end of the adventure.
We are so sad that it’s over!! This adventure was awesome and epic, and our memories of it are already some of our favorites! The Oakes Brothers certainly know how to have a good time. The past 11 days spent traversing the western U. S. and wheeling the cliffs of Moab were so awesome and already seem like a dream.
We were starting breakfast by the time the sun came up and reminiscing about the trip and missing Mike. The kinda gloomy vibe almost overshadowed the fact that today was Halloween and the anniversary of our first date 10 year ago.
We met for a sushi dinner and then went dancing at the Thunder Valley Casino. We stayed up talking until 3 in the morning. We have repeated that first date many times over the years.
We were responsible today though. We’ve done laundry, cleaned out the Jeep and more stuff we forgot in the RV. We hit the grocery store. And had a celebratory burger and milkshake at Monsoon Burger. It’s been a great day.
To celebrate the evening, we caught up on Survivor & made a pizza (half Canadian bacon, half chicken, all pineapple.) It was just the cozy evening we needed ♥️🥂
Fred and Trina's Honeymoon 
Leave a comment