Short Vac Day I - SFV to Needles, CA

Wednesday - May 25th, 2011

Drive to Needles, CA

A month ago, started reviewing potential days to take some time off work and spotted Memorial Day which falls on May 30th -- perfect for a little getaway. Quickly applied for 2 days - Thu & Fri in conjunction with the long weekend to seize the opportunity for a short vacation. As the days passed, it seemed more and more unlikely that we (partner JP, at work and I) are going to be able to take the two days off due to the amount of workload we have.

We were absolutely stressed out, but being at work physically and emotionally stressed will not help anyone, we decided to proceed with our plan. A week before our scheduled leave, I did a quick research on where to stay and how to tackle our short vacation. In my mind, it was ambitious -- of what we wanted to do and where to go. It seemed doable and we said we will play by ear, thankfully we're not expecting anything much but just to get away and forget about work for a few days.

All reservations were done, almost at the last minute. Due to current economic situation, this will also be a budgeted trip with not much wiggle room, so we
packed
overpacked with food. Oh, did I mention, we were going to drive for this trip? After a few more revisions to our itinerary, I feel confident we could tackle the task we've set to do, and we definitely need all the time that we can get.

Wed the 25th, requested to leave work an hour early so I could go home and finish packing. I bought some croissant and fresh fruits & vegetables to make sandwiches along with cold-cuts. Filled up some bottles and got iced-teas and other beverages. Packed some canned tuna and crackers, made a few PB&J sandwiches as well. Also made yakisoba from 5packs of ramen the night before. JP bought a couple of ready-pack salads, a big container of potato salad, a big jar of mayo with chipotle, fruits, pita bread, and more water.

I also packed all the electronics, as much as we wanted to get away from work, we promised that we will keep an eye on work while on the road. So camera, laptop, iPad, iPhone and iPod, all check, oh yea GPS too. Was able to catch an hour of nap after shower since I went to bed really late the night before. Around 6PM, I started to pack everything into HD's car. Since he has a hybrid, it was the best method to take us around with the tight budget. Almost 8PM, I headed to JP's house to pick her up. It felt like we were all packed and have no plans of returning. The whole trunk that full, back seat was full with food and bags and pillow, etc. Giving it a glance, I told JP that we really overpacked. It was only going to be a 5 day trip.

First stretch of our journey should take us about 4.5 hours. We shouldn't hit too much traffic as it was almost 8:30PM when we started leaving LA and headed East. It seems improbable that we were actually driving further and further away, mid of the week and that we will be absent from work for the next two days...