Road Trip!

Question: What do you do when you're feeling slightly claustrophobic in your nice little town, and just want to get away from everything* and you have a full tank of gas.

Answer: You take off work three hours early (with permission), you get a long-awaited oil change (my poor car!), go home and change into a super-comfortable travel outfit (loose yoga pants, a tank top, sweatshirt and flip flops), make a sweet playlist entitled "road trip" (including beauties like "Sway" by Michael Buble, "If I Had a Million Dollars" by BareNaked Ladies, "We Didn't Start the Fire" - Billy Joel, a few sweeties from the Momma Mia! soundtrack, including some by Abba themselves, "Only the Good Die Young" - also Billy Joel [which I can't listen to without remembering getting caught rocking out to that song by my sister while exercising in her garage] etc - the rule was that I couldn't skip or replay any. I only got halfway through the list... I think another trip is in order - soon.), then head off to Wyoming. That's right, Wyoming. Evanston to be exact.

The first time I stumbled upon this nice little town was when I was heading up to my sister-in-law's uncle's cabin somewhere beyond Park City. I missed the exit and ended up in another state. Yesterday, I purposely drove to Wyoming. I just wanted out of Provo.

Here are a few photos chronicling my trip:

showing off my full gas tank and new green spot telling me that maintenance is no longer required (thank you jiffy lube!)

my travel companions

shots from the car... while driving (don't worry, I never actually looked through the camera. I'd see something pretty, grab the camera and randomly point. not bad results, right?)

self-portrait - me rocking out to Michael Buble's "Sway" (I don't know if it's possible to hear that song without dancing)

destination in sight!

welcome to Wyoming! (arrival time: 4:37)

a building that I like the look of

I just like the horse and rider.

scenes within Evanston.

look at all that wide open space!

after driving down their main street and turning around, I was ready to head back to Utah. I filled up the tank... it cost less than 6 dollars to get me to another state!

scenery pictures from the way home (I love sunsets!)

my trusty steed, felix, after the trip.

treasures discovered at the gas station in Evanston:

I may need to go back just to get more of those...

You may have noticed that my "no refined sugar" was put on hold. I figured if a trip to Evanston wasn't worth taking a break, what was?! I'm not sure how long that break will last...

So, highlights from the trip include (but are definitely not limited to):

singing loudly to: "somebody to love" - the anne hathaway one from ella enchanted

and "love's great" - michael peterson (including lyrics like: "love's great, when you're not in it...")

acting like I know the words to "la bomba" - ricky martin (it's completely in Spanish)

and loving the lyrics to:

"life's a dance" - john michael montgomery (lyrics include: life's a dance you learn as you go, sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow, don't worry about what you don't know, life's a dance you learn as you go...)

and "life goes on" - leann rimes (with lyrics: life goes on, and it's only gonna make you strong, it's a fact - once you get on board say goodbye 'cause you can't go back)

and "c'est la vie" - shania twain is also a good one (lyrics such as: Don't let it get to you c'est la vie! that's life, and that's how it's gonna be c'est la vie! hold tight, it comes right eventually.)

The biggest highlight of all being that I ended the trip at my brother's house in SLC for an impromptu visit. Turns out they needed a babysitter and hadn't been able to find one. They had been ready to divide and conquer (each taking one of the kids with them). I just stopped by because I wasn't ready to go back to Provo yet. So, I ended the day with some time with my niece and nephew (both so cute!). It was great.

Moral of the story: escape when you need to. It was great. And it isn't the last time I'm going to do something like this. I really would like to go back to Evanston and actually get out of my car to walk around a bit. Maybe some Saturday coming up...

*don't get me wrong, I do love my mountains, but I kind of felt like they were closing in on me. now I'm happy to have them back.