We’re in chilly, snowy Pocatello visiting Justin’s parents and brother. The town is in a valley, and is surrounded by large hills/small mountains, and it is SO much better than Houston in so many ways. There’s a quaint downtown strip with busy, lit-up stores, safe neighborhoods, a pet store with a live nativity, Californians’ new mansions on the hilltop, and a few businesses I’ve been missing in Seattle (Sonic Drive-in, for one).

I’m rather tired, as our 11-hour drive turned in to an icy overnight trip. We left Seattle around noon yesterday and met good driving conditions, but once we hit the night roads in SE Washington and most of Oregon, the roads were icy, foggy, slushy, and just plain nerve-wracking. Justin drove until about midnight. When we weren’t nervous, I read aloud to him or talked. When we were, we ate chips or crackers and sat on the edge of our seats. When he stopped driving to rest, we slept for a couple of hours at a truck stop. I got up around 2 or 3 and drove for a couple of hours, then stopped again when the road started to get blurry. I finished the driving job between 7 and 9 mountain time, and when we got here, we slept from about 10 until 2. I’m getting tired again, and I look forward to a full night’s sleep.

More exciting news to come!