Stuck

Month Eleven: Stuck

2/5/2023

Minnesota - Nebraska - Colorado

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I sat down to write this update and realized I had nothing really to share. Or at least it felt that way.

We were stuck in Minnesota longer than anticipated due to Jake sustaining an unknown crazy injury to his ankle/foot. So we waited it out in Minnesota, slowly repacking everything into not only the Yellow Submarine but my little mazda. After about a week, he was able to move around in relative comfort (or rather not in overt discomfort) and off we took in our modern day wagon train. 

Our goal: Omaha to visit with my brother, Dan. We made a pitstop in Des Moines for one last visit to Paws & Pints and so Leinie could stretch his legs and release some pent up energy.

Someone had fun playing in the snow

Leaving Des Moines we hit snow, a lot of snow. For anyone not familiar with the midwest/great plains in winter, oh man, it is a feat. The wind combines with snow and the semis all kick up crazy amounts of splash. Visibility at one point was maybe 20 yards. We pulled over at one point to see what our options were, we cleared off the headlights and elected to keep moving.

We rolled up to Dan’s around 10pm and found an icy mound of snow piled at the end of his driveway. He was still out of town on a work trip so Jake and I found shovels and the snowblower and got to work at the horrible task of clearing it. I was feeling very sure of my decision to never live in winter hell ever again.

After Dan arrived the next day, we were able to enjoy a single day of not horrible, terrible weather. And then it got cold. Very, very cold. Negative double digits. So we were stuck, again. The three of us stayed very much inside and Leinie learned very quickly to pee and poop very, very quickly. Jake attempted to leave early in order to spend quality bro time with Adam but ended up turning around after 20 minutes on the highway due to crazy high winds. At the second window of not horrible weather (it was still negative double digits), Jake attempted escape number two and made it to Fort Collins. 

I was supposed to follow a day later after some more time with the bro. However, my car refused to start. The severe cold drained the battery. So I spent all morning jumping it with Dan’s car and felt pretty confident after a test run to the gas station. The next day, dead. Again. So I spent another morning jumping my poor car. Any guesses on the third morning? Yep, deader than a doornail. I was prepared and woke up early to jump it with Dan’s car and let it charge while I packed. 

And off Leinie and I were, with a hope and a prayer that it would restart when I stopped en route to Fort Collins. When Leinie and I stopped at a rest stop for a bathroom break, I kept the car running. We had to fill up on gas in western Nebraska and I have never filled up so fast in my life. I held my breath and…it started. Collective sigh of relief

I know, I’m a badass.

I made it to Fort Collins without having to stop again. Whew. Spoiler, my car continued to need periodic jumps and ended up getting a brand spanking new battery.

Adam graciously opened his door to our transient family and we moved right on in and made ourselves at home. We had a goal: figure out what the heck we are going to do. We needed to reenter the real world soon. Where, how, and all that had to be figured out.

Guys, you know how well this group deals with indecision. I can safely tell you, we still have no effing idea. I mean, who knew that finding the best job in the best location in an area that is large enough to not be boring but small enough to feel comfortable with access to a good airport would be so difficult to determine.

So, yea. I feel like not much has happened this last month. We’ve been stuck, several times and now we’re stuck in indecision. At least indecision is a familiar bed fellow, so I’m sure we’ll figure it out eventually. I mean, we can’t be vagabonds forever, right?

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