the 20 hour drive

It was, for the most part, uneventful. And thankfully so. Some minor noteworthys:

* Ely, NV is full of extremely odd individuals (I guess that's not completely fair to say since the only folks we ran into were the ones who served us/lunched with us at McDonald's that day. Think Twilight Zone).

* It's amazing how giddy two little boys get when they're given the green light to pee in the dirt on the side of a highway.

* Vittles, Strawberry Shortcake DVDs (Brent's a softie), naps, They Might Be Giants and this passed the time pretty well for the kids. A neck pillow (thanks mom!) was my saving grace. I don't know how Brent survived, but he did.

* I finally found it. World's best beef jerky! Located at a Love's travel stop in Ontario, OR. If you're ever passing through Ontario, Oregon and pass a Love's travel stop (or any Love's gas station for that matter), PLEASE buy me some beef jerky. I'll pay you back. And give you a $1 tip. Thank you.

* I was pretty set on taking a family picture underneath the "Welcome to Washington" sign, inspired by my SIL who recently relocated to Austin with her family. Unfortunately, as we came up on the sign going north on I-82, we realized it was smack dab in the middle of a bridge over the Columbia River. And there was no shoulder on the road. So much for the cool picture.

Here's the bridge:

Here's the sign:

And here's my solution:

(Photo editing is obviously not one of my more polished skills).