Pinetop Post, Part 2

(Continued from the previous post....)

Monday started out well.  Half the family was going fishing at Big Lake (seriously, who named this place?  Someone with no imagination) so I had to have K and B up and ready to go at 5am.  This is not an easy thing where B is concerned.  B can now sleep through blaring smoke alarms-- a little shouting from her mother doesn't even make her stir.  But I got it managed.  K was feeling perfectly fine and back to normal, thank goodness, because he had long been looking forward to fishing on the lake from the boats.  (The rule is the kids have to be 8 before they can go.)

Once the fishing group was off, Terence and J and I went out for a bike ride.  I didn't stay with the boys-- I had a better bike (and I'm faster in general) so I rode for about 90 minutes on the roads in the paved trails and residential roads in the area.  There were some beautiful places out there!  The temperature was perfect, the bike ride was glorious, the trees were soothing-- I enjoyed myself thoroughly.

Later we loaded up the rest of the family and a cooler and made the hour long drive out to Big Lake ourselves for a picnic lunch with the fishing crew.  Here we had the first sign of our cursed day.  The van was sluggish to start-- really sluggish-- and it was obvious even to me that our battery was on its last legs.  I didn't worry about it too much but it was making Terence nervous.

At Big Lake came a parting of the ways.  Terence decided to stay and go back out on the boat with B and K, but I was determined to get some hiking in.  Terence was nervous about me driving back to the hiking trails with an iffy battery and no cell service.  (The service out there is pretty much non-existent).   At first I tried to hike around the lake a bit with my grumbling crew of kids, but it was miserable and no fun at all.  So I bailed on the lake and took M, J, & S to hike about 20 minutes away from the lake.  We got out on a new trail that we hadn't taken in previous years, and at first all was fine.  But about halfway through our 2 mile hike, I started to feel queasy.  Then we started to get splattered by big fat raindrops.  We turned around and tried to hustle back toward the car.  S was wearing out though, and pretty soon I was so nauseous I wasn't sure I was going to be able to go any farther.  And a tiny part of my brain was really, really worried that when we did finally make it back to the car, the battery would be dead.

The last quarter mile was the longest walk I think I've ever taken.  We wanted to beat the rain, S was begging to be carried, and I was sure I was going to throw up at any second.  I only got any relief at all if I stopped moving, but I couldn't stop on the trail and wait for the rain to drench us!

Eventually, we made it back to the van.  The first thing I did was try to start the engine.  It struggled, but it did start, to my everlasting relief.  We still had a 40 minute drive ahead of us to make it back to the cabin though.  M wanted me to sit and wait until I felt better before I started to drive, but I was afraid that I was only going to feel worse with time and having M drive was NOT an option.  So with a grocery bag in my lap just in case I needed to puke, we got on the road.

It was THE LONGEST DRIVE EVER.

When we reached the cabin, I left everything to be unloaded by the kids and dashed for the bathroom.   I spent the next eight hours unable to leave the bathroom for longer than 5 minutes.  I was that sick.  Every time I tried to lay down in bed I had just a minute to close my eyes before I would have to leap up and run back.  It was simply miserable.

My mom made it back from the lake first, and she brought me gatorade, pepto bismol and some homeopathics to take.  Eventually, Terence made it back too, and he gave me a blessing that mercifully allowed me to sleep for some longer stretches of time.  (Rather than just dozing on the bathroom floor.)  Then he had to take the kids and make the drive into Show Low to get a new battery for the van.  (He had to buy a new tool kit to install the battery as well.  It came in handy to getting the bumper reattached too.  Now it just stays in the van.  We'll be better prepared next time.)

The worst part of all this?

It was Terence's birthday.

Yep.  I was sick as a dog and unable to move on my husband's birthday.  Wife fail.  Fortunately he was very patient with it all!

The next day was the 4th of July.  I had planned to get in some racquetball matches with Terence, go hiking again, and take in the fireworks at night with the kids.  Instead I spent almost the whole day in bed.  I was able to venture forth by evening, but I was beyond exhausted and weak, so heading out to the fireworks wasn't an option.  So much for holiday fun!  And then the very next morning we had to load up and head back down to the valley.

At least my kids got to spend quite a bit of time with their cousins.  And despite all my fears, no one else in the family came down with what K and I had.  (I had nightmares of kids with the stomach flu on the drive back down the mountain.  We even skipped dropping off M at girls' camp Wednesday morning, just in case.)

But with every thing that happened, I never managed to take one. single. photo.

*sigh* Hopefully the family reunion vacation will be branded in my kids' memories anyway.  I know it will forever be branded into mine!

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