Aloha, from the weary traveler!

Ok, so I'm not really that weary. We've been sleeping very well actually. I'm just adjusting, soaking in family time, and trying to get to everything on the To-Do list.

I wish I could write a detailed description of everything that has happened in the past week, but no luck... So I'll try to be very unlike how I normally am... BRIEF!

We went to San Francisco on Saturday with the Davis family. It was lovely, busy, and picturesque. I have not even attempted to view my photos, so sometime, they will be processed and posted. But until then, I'll just tell you the views were lovely. What a neat city, with Lombard St, Pier 39, the people, the [stinky] seals, and the Golden Gate bridge.

Sunday was a family BBQ at Matt's grandparents. Doesn't matter where they are at or what happens during them, I love family gatherings!

We hit the road Monday morning. We headed for Lake Tahoe first, and spent the majority of the day going around half of the rim. Such fabulous photos and scenery. Again, photos to come at a later date. I promise :). We headed crossed into Nevada and made our way East on I-80. We stopped for the night in Elko, NV.

Motel 6's... anyone have any experience with them? Good or bad? Cheap, that's the reason that we chose this one. I'll just say that I guess for 40 dollars a night, you can't expect much. It beats sleeping on the ground, but let's say that the kicker to top off our stay at the Motel 6 was more than a few [6+] old, gross BOOGERS on the ceiling. Like someone had to jump on the bed to stick them on the ceiling. What happened when I laid in bed to try to sleep? I stared at the boogers. Haha, it makes for a funny story now, but I didn't rest all that peacefully that night.

We crossed into Utah on Tuesday morning and make our way through the state, stopping to check out the Great Salt Flats. So neat! Photos again... yeah, yeah, you get. To come later. We made our way into Wyoming too, and continued to make good time. We crossed into Nebraska as dusk fell, and rolled into North Platte, NE at 1 am Central time Wednesday morning. We chose a Super 8 this time, both because I hoped it'd be booger-free, and it was the first hotel we saw and I was getting mighty sleepy driving while Matt was conked out beside me. With AAA and military discounts, our room was 41$ plus taxes!! Yippeeeeeee!!! For a cheap-o like me, that's fantastic news. We even got breakfast the next morning. And you will be happy to know, I checked for boogers, and it was totally booger-free. We slept like rocks and forced ourselves up the next morning.

After the continental breakfast, we hit the road again, and made our way through Nebraska. We conquered NE, then went into Iowa on 80 until Des Moines where we turned onto 35 North. We make record time and entered into Minnesota around 5 pm. We were in Brainerd by 9:30 pm Wednesday. It was so surreal heading north on 371, rolling onto Brainerd; disorienting almost. I forgot where things were located and I kept asking if this or that was new. I'd only been gone 9 months, it must have been really weird for Matt. He hadn't been back for 15 months; 4th of July 2008!

Today was filled with getting groceries, making phone calls, unpacking our clothes, and rekindling with friends. I got to see my friend Quinn, for the first time since January and that was LOVELY. She was in town just for the night, for her mom's birthday. [Happy birthday, Rachel!] Nothing like catching up with a good friend after a long time apart. Tomorrow night, I'll get to see two more girlfriends, and one of them has a 'new' baby [born in MAY, so not too new, but new to me since I haven't seen her yet!] that I get to finally meet! Cannot wait for that! I think I'm going to have to bring along the camera.

Leaves are changing here in Brainerd. I took a few photos outside, but then my fingers started to numb up and shake. I knew it was time to come back inside when I couldn't push the trigger down hard enough to take the photo, haha. I need gloves next time.

Anyway, there's the Reader's Digest version of the last week. Busy but great days. Thanks for tuning in to Radniecki-world and be on the lookout for more updates! Happy fall!

P.S. We are getting our first snowfall tomorrow night. Ready or not, winter is quickly approaching!!!

xoxo - Laura