Day 1466. No class this morning, so no alarm set. The kids are usually our alarm anyway. We got up, Randy made them breakfast, and I started packing our suitcases. Then I got myself something to eat. The kids were eager to go swimming one more time, so we put our swimsuits on and went downstairs to swim. Everyone was having lots of fun, but after a while it was time to return to our room and finish packing and leave. Randy then put everything into the car, and at about 11 am we were able to drive off. And we did not have far to go. We were meeting with our friends who were the reason we had stayed in the area this long, and they had picked a cute café not very far from us. And we actually got there early.
We were led to a table and got a high chair for Sammy. Then we waited for our friends to arrive. It was great to see them again after 5 years. We enjoyed catching up with each other, and the food was good as well. Sammy was sitting between Randy and me, and somehow I got to feed Sammy today, while it's been Randy in the restaurants most of the time. We had not brought the kids' tablets inside, but they were given paper and crayons to draw, and they did. It actually worked out fine without the tablets.
After two hours we said our good-byes and got back into our car to finally hit the road. Instead of 400 miles like on a regular driving day, we only had 200 miles to cover. But first, Randy wanted to get some cheap gas. My phone showed me where the cheapest gas in the area was, and it was not far.
And so we headed back to where the hotel was, as the gas station was right there, and it was a very busy place. Randy had the hardest time getting to a pump as there were so many cars and so little space, and so we spent quite a bit of time there that had not been planned. But then we were finally on the road and heading south to San Diego. We went around San Diego and took interstate 8, which goes straight east. At 2 pm I took the tablets away from the kids and asked them to go asleep. Eventually they were all asleep, but Sammy soon woke up. I myself just got a little bit of sleep, really not enough. Sammy was soon getting cranky, and then he throws his tablet or his duck down, and often I cannot reach it, but he wants them back. It's annoying. I had his cat, but he didn't want it either, but I have a few other things I can do to try to cheer him up.
Just after 5 pm we stopped at a cheap gas station in Yuma, Arizona, just down the road from our hotel. A few minutes later we were at the hotel and checked in. The lady was really nice and gave us an upgrade to a room with two bedrooms with a king-sized bed each. We had to get back into the car and cross the road to get to our room. We went inside, and Randy unloaded the car. The kids had some of the leftover food from lunch, then I put the swim suits on them. We then all went to the outdoor pool right there.
It was a little unusual to see a dog in a pool. Emmy was scared the whole time and stayed close to me. The water was really warm. On the road to Yuma, the temperature outside had reached 109 degrees one time. We were going through the desert for much of the time and even saw sand dunes. In any case we enjoyed the warm water, and the kids enjoyed jumping and having me throw them into the water. They've become really good swimmers and like diving now.
After some time we returned to our room, where everyone had some more food, and they then turned their tablets on, as there was nothing worth watching on TV. I sat down at the computer to work. Sammy was on the floor and got a hold of our tissue box without anyone noticing. When I looked over to him, I saw the tissues on the floor everywhere. He was having fun. He also enjoyed opening and closing the fridge that was sitting right on the floor. And then I looked over and saw him standing up by the fridge, holding on to the top of the fridge. I was really impressed that he was able to do that, as the top of the fridge was pretty high. Good job, Sammy!
At 8:30 pm it was time to get them ready for bed. After they had their pj's on, I read them a bedtime story, then I prayed for them and put all three next to each other into the King-sized bed to sleep. I stayed a little bit, but not for long. A little later I had to come back and move Sammy away from his siblings. Soon all three of them were asleep.
I sat by the computer working. I was supposed to have a 11 pm student, but it was 8 am in Europe, and he overslept, so no lesson. I simply continued working, and now it's 1:30 am. Tammy has already come to lie down in our bed, and I'm about to join her there.
