After flying in on Wednesday night and graduation on Friday, I loaded up my mother’s Chevrolet Equinox with most of my worldly possessions (thanks for the packing help Dad!) and the two of us started across the country early Tuesday morning. Armed with a few audio books, my trusty GPS and some initial healthy snacks (I instituted a no-junk-food rule that made it to Nevada), we headed south from Sauk Centre with yours truly at the wheel. Somewhere in Iowa or early Nebraska I turned the reins over to Sally who, for some reason wasn’t listening to Mrs. Garmin, and after 10 minutes of sleep I awoke to, “Was I supposed to turn there?” But, “recalculating” got us back on track and we made it through an incredibly long and boring Nebraska, listening to Benazir Bhutto’s Reconciliation – I have to admit that the Sauk Centre library’s audio book selection was slim-pickings a day prior to our departure. The book was an example of many books I start and never finish – deep and informative and impossible to read; but surprisingly easy to listen to. And we did make it to Denver at the end of day one and spent the night at the house of newly engaged Jodi Marthaler and Jeremiah Ervin.
We awoke the next morning to rain in Denver, which we soon discovered was decently heavy snowfall in the mountains as we toiled through the Rockies to Grand Junction, where we stopped for lunch at a great Indian restaurant recommended by Ms. Caroline Knox. Denver and Grand Junction reminded me how much I love Colorado and why it was high on my list of residencies; but the snowy drive up and down the mountain slopes may very well be why it was not my first choice.
Our second night was spent in Las Vegas, at a casino-hotel off the strip. No gambling for us, but I did drive down The Strip on our way out of town for my mother to see, and photograph, the imaginative monstrosities that line Las Vegas Boulevard.
We took our time and made it to Ventura in the early afternoon. It was an incredible relief to unload the contents of the vehicle into Nicky and Kyle TePoel’s garage. The vehicle had been packed to the gills – no rearview mirror action, no reclining the cramped front seats, suitcases on top and bike on the back – and we had been unable to leave it unattended up to this point.
Nicky and Kyle had family in town and so we stayed with Amy Dilbeck. A dear Kampala friend, John Napier, had put me in touch with one of his best law school friends when he learned of my stupendous match. Amy is a recent graduate of Pepperdine Law and has set out a shingle as an expert in wills, estates, and trusts, in a beautiful historic house in downtown Ventura. She is a truly amazing person and a practiced hostess. I hope she realizes we are going to be spending lots of time together in Ventura.
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