Boise, Idaho

We made it! We got in about 5 pm. It was dicey from Seattle to Yakima, but managed a good clip. Thanks to all of you who came to our aid when the windows were frosting over. Robby and Kelly each had official ice scrapers; I used a credit card. The frost from my windows fell into my lap, and I regretted not wearing my snow pants.

Oh, I won't be buying a car from Barrier motors. I have waited 5 days for them to call me back, and he did today. We were at a rest area in eastern Oregon, a very nice one I might add. Kelly accused me of having IBS (she pronounces it ibs, not i-b-s)...but I found the two rest area bathrooms nice, warm, quiet places to text message, since I would do white-knuckle driving for three hours at a time. Well, were minding our own business in our respective stalls, when my phone rang. It was a 425 prefix, I asked kelly if it was her dad, she said yes. I answered it thinking it was an emergency. (I don't text or talk from the stall, usually). Just as I said hello, Kelly must have left her stall, and there was a loud, echoing whooooosh, as the automatic did its job. I was mortified. So I fled my stall, forgetting the whole auto-toilet-in-a-cinderblock-echo-chamber effect, and whoooooosh. I was laughing too hard to say anything...finally I choked out, can I call you back? I can only hope if there is a legend of the crazy Barnes woman in Randle, Teena or Shanna step up. From now on, all car inquieries will be made for Kelly Bloomstrom or Darla Blankenship. Thanks.

We are waiting for pizza. Ten hours in the car is about the limit. We sang our favorite songs at least three times. So far, car favorites include: Celine Dion, It's all coming back to me now; Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart; Fallout Boy; Rent soundtrack; Backstreet Boys; and Abba. By the time we crossed the Idaho state line, Robby feigned sleep; Kelly tailgated at 80 mph on ice; I watched my life pass before my eyes. I taught her about car lengths, how to map distance on a national map with a glove for perspective, and not to eat 5 servings of baby carrots on a road trip (my effort not to gain weight).

More later. Robby needs to upload photos, and the pizza is here.