I'll be home for Christmas

In about three hours, I will be on my way home for the first time since the July 4th weekend of 2006, and it will be the first time that I've seen my family since the July 4th weekend of 2007. On my move from California to Baton Rouge in July of 2007, I stopped briefly in Salt Lake City to visit my family as they were there for the West Fest celebration. I was with them for two days, then continued my journey to Baton Rouge.

I am kinda excited to see everyone. I have a nephew that I haven't met yet and haven't been with the entire family for two and a half years. It will also be the longest amount of time I've spent at home for at least ten years. I will be there from Dec. 20 through Dec. 30....10 days! I don't quite know how to prepare for this, and it will be the first visit during the winter I've made in at least five years. My sister told me that they had a foot of snow and asked if I was ready to go tubing....I'm not sure if she was joking or not, but I'm a little scared that she is telling the truth.

I will take pictures of my hometown. It is pretty small, about 3500 people and everyone knows everyone. It's also very rural, but unless you live in a place similar, it is hard to understand. Most everyone in my hometown has to buy a new car every two, and if they're lucky, three years, because they drive so much to do anything. A quick trip to McDonalds or Wal-Mart? For me, it's about two blocks to Mickey D's and five miles to Wally World, my parents have to drive a minimum of 80 miles, AND that's if they leave the state and go into Colorado. The closest Wal-Mart to them while staying in Utah, is a three hour drive to Price, UT. The closest shopping mall in Utah to my parents is four hours away in Provo, UT, but if you drive to Farmington, NM, it's only two and a half hours away. I have two large malls within five miles (Mall of Louisiana and Cortana Mall).

I love that I grew up in a small town and I see the benefit of raising a family there, but now that I'm grown, it's also great to be out of there. I don't go home often, simply because it's hard to get there. The closest major airports are Salt Lake City (5 hours from home) , Phoenix (7 hours), Denver (7 hours), and Albuquerque (6 hours). To get any closer, the plane ticket doubles or triples in price and I can get as close as Cortez, CO (80 miles), Durango, CO (130 miles), and Farmington, NM (140 miles), and that's about it. This will be the first time I've flown into Durango, and it was only $150 more than flying into any of the major airports mentioned earlier, rather than the $600 extra that Cortez was aking.

It's 1am and Jerome, Kevin and I just left the Daiquiri Cafe, I have pretty much finished packing and will leave in 2 hours and 45 minutes. I'll update you all later on how the journey goes.