(An Almost) Day of Rest

We had absolutely NOTHING planned today, which was a good thing. We all needed a little free time to take care of the necessities of life, like cleaning, washing clothes and shopping. Bjørn and Inger left the boys at our house and went to the mall to buy them school clothes. It was a hot enough day we had no problem keeping them busy. They all helped clean out and wash the motorhome, and when that was done, Kory set up the slip-n-slide. Kaleb and the twins had a blast squirting themselves with dish soap and sliding down the wet tarps. Tobias just sat on the sidelines and watched with the rest of us (a friend stopped by with her kids for a while.) It was good the boys had a chance to run around and play and relax and be out of the car, since tomorrow they will be in for a long, long drive, heading to San Francisco. My battery was dead on my camera today so I didn’t take any photos. It might be a record day, as I’m not sure I have ever gone a day without taking photos. I was desperate enough to capture the slip-n-slide moment, so I set up the web camera on my laptop and got a few video clips, but unfortunately, could NOT get them to load on the blog. (Today’s photo instead is the view from our camp site of the orange and yellow fungi growing on the rock face at Steamboat Rock, and all the debris that has built up over the years of those rocks eroding away. Somehow the look of it, felt like today.)




I stayed off my broken toes by spending a good part of today on the phone, calling every Best Buy store from the Canadian border down to central California, looking for an iPad for Tobias. It’s the latest in techno-gadgets and he just HAS to have one. They cost about three times the price in Norway, so he was sure he could get one here to take home and be the envy of his social circle, but the problem is, they are all sold out. I called store after store and no one has them in stock. They said that Apple can’t make them fast enough and as soon as they get a shipment in, they are gone within hours. Tobias’s face sank at the thought of going home empty handed. Finally, by day’s end, I just told him he needs to pray, because when things seem hopeless, there is always hope. God has a way of delivering, every time. I trust He won’t let him down.



Kory took the RV in town to empty the holding tanks and fill the gas and propane tanks. After Bjørn and Inger returned, we all met up with him and drove the motorhome back to its generous owners then went out to dinner at Outback Steakhouse. Inger said Bjørn has talked about that restaurant ever since she’s known him. He used to live in Texas, where he was first introduced to their “Bloomin’ Onion” and baby back ribs. He licked his lips just thinking about eating there, so tonight was his night – he ordered both. Kory then took all the boys back home to get them to bed, while Inger and Bjørn and I did a little late night shopping at Wal-Mart, buying things to keep the kids busy in the car tomorrow. I can see the concern on Bjørn’s face as the reality of 13 hours in the car starts to sink in. Welcome to America, where life is just one long road trip after another.