Day 5 of this journey started very early for Susie and I, in a hotel room just off Hollywood Boulevard, a couple of blocks away from the boy’s apartment.  The agenda this fine sunny Southern California morning….move as much of Chris and Kenny’s apartment from Los Angeles to Chris’ Dad’s garage in Reno, Nevada.  

Very early on a Sunday Morning on N. Sycamore Street

Kenny and Chris’ Building, The Westbury…just like the town Kenny grew up next to on Long Island

The boys have been packing boxes, suitcases, and anything else that would hold “stuff” for weeks, and were very prepared for this move.  Now it was time to put all this work into play, and load up the Expedition and the Explorer for the 500 mile or so trip to Nevada.

The other car

We were on the road by 9 AM, happy to have a beautiful sunny morning for the trip, and happy to not be inundated with the almost constant traffic we find in LA, every time we are here!

  Just a note about LA.  Although Susie and I have been here a number of times over the 39 years of our marriage, I doubt we will be back.  The boys were really the only reason for our last two visits, and without them here, I doubt we’d come again.  

So the directions for the trip were really easy.  Get on Interstate 5 North and drive to Sacramento.  In Sacramento transition to Interstate 80 East into Reno.  Easy peasy. 

Susie and I are getting used to no longer taking our Garmin GPS with us on trips, and using Waze on our cell phones for navigation.  Our new Honda CRV that we got 4 months ago, has Apple Car play, so when we plug one of our phones into the car, the map display and gps program on your phone, shows up and works via the car’s sizable touch screen.  We’ve gotten very used to using this program, and thought it was time to give it a shot, and it worked beautifully.  I started driving and we had my cell phone plugged in, then when we switched drivers we switched cell phones.  This way, whoever was not driving had the use of their cell phone, the phones were in essence “backing each other up”, and both of our phones were always fully charged.  Worked out well, and it’s time to assign the Garmin stand alone GPS to the garbage pile.  

The trip takes you through California’s Central Valley and mile after mile of fields growing things.  We saw lemons and limes, oranges and grapes, and just about everything else you can think of.  Like many states, California seems to be struggling with different interests that are all pulling for the same resources.  Irrigation water for the Central Valley seems to be one of those issues, because we saw so many signs with slogans like “is growing food a waste of water” and “water for Central Valley = food for LA”

Remember me mentioning about that we took I-80 into Reno?  Well, we are very familiar with the other end of Interstate 80, as the Eastern End starts as you come off the George Washington Bridge.  In fact our big adventure a couple of years, and many many of our family car trips have started on Interstate 80 in New Jersey.  Well folks, same road, same route number, but boy is it different.  Take a look.

Doesn’t look like New Jersey, does it!  As with many of the Western States’ Interstates we’ve been on over the years, this one is a modern highway building marvel…even scaling the 7000 foot plus Donner Pass going over the Sierra Nevada Mountains!  I’m glad we did this drive in the day time!  

Just a few minutes after getting off I-80, we were at Chris’ Dad and Stepmom’s house, and Lexi and David truly made us feel like the family we are all going to actually be in just 6 short days, as our boys start their life together!  

Lexi and David’s Backyard and a couple of people you may know!

So that’s it.  One of the main tasks of this trip is completed.  Cars were loaded in LA and unloaded in Reno.  Now it’s FAMILY TIME, as more and more of our family and the Fox Family gather in the Reno/Tahoe area this week,  and as we count down to the moment this Saturday afternoon, when the boys tie the knot.  

See you soon….