Load 'em Up; Move 'em Out

The long awaited day arrived to say goodbye to our friends in Connecticut and trek home to Utah.  On Friday, March 25, we had a final apartment inspection at 2:30 p.m. and then we drove into the sunset.  But before that happened there was a bit of cleaning, packing, cleaning and did I mention packing.  Elder Mendenhall did a superb job to fill every little nook and cranny in the car.  It's a bit surprising we didn't do wheelies all the way home with the amount of things and extra weight.

Here I am, getting ready to board the Pathfinder express. P.S.  Notice the ruby slippers. I told everyone I was going to click my heels three times and say the words, "There's no place like home", just like Dorothy.

This is the inside view just behind the passenger seat. Crazy, huh.

The first night we stayed in Drums, Pennsylvania. With the lack of sleep and excitement to be completing our mission, it's a miracle we made it that far.  The second day we drove to Lombard, Illinois and stayed across the street from our old apartment. We stayed at the Weston Hotel that we watched being built just a few years ago.  Sunday we attended church at the Naperville Stake Center, had lunch at the Morton Arboretum and then it was off again.  This time we drove as far as Council Bluff, Iowa.

Notice in the pictures our nice road bikes attached to the bike rack at the back of our car.  Well, someone during the hours of 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. decided to relieve us of our bikes.  Yup, they cut the tungsten steel bike cable and stole our bikes!  The weather forecast was for snow. Elder Mendenhall didn't sleep well because he was worried about driving conditions. When he awoke to check to see if the snow had started yet, to his dismay he couldn't see our bikes.  He got dressed and went down to the car.  We couldn't believe someone would steal them.  By that time we were both wide awake. We quickly got ready for the day, gave a report to the police and started down the road. We had reservations to stay in Laramie, Wyoming but it was still daytime so we just kept on driving and drove into the welcoming arms of our family in Spanish Fork at 9 p.m.   

This last photo is a picture of Elder Mendenhall unloading the car the next morning.  Ahhhhh, there really isn't a better place to be than home!