Haha! We had our first run-in with the police today. In fact, we had two! But I will get to that later...
Mmm... Woke up to the smell of pancakes, as is the proper way to wake up in a grandma's house. We stayed our first night with Savannah's grandma, Breck (total badass [and kind of a GILF]). Golly, this woman is 69 and she's a snowboard instructor! Also, not remotely relevant but awesome: Sublime once played in her backyard. Yeah. Anywho, pancakes were delicious, as were the eggs and as the sun shone through the windows we prepared for the day. We had every intention of getting a quick and early move on but that's not how things work in Lake Tahoe. We took the dog, Charlie, for a stroll along the lake and Frank (the GILF's boyfriend) and I exchanged conspiracy theories as Savannah admired the scenery and Charlie had a conniption fit.
We packed our bags, loaded the the jalopy, and headed for Reno where Breck dropped us off at a prominent street corner in hopes of catching a ride.
Run-in 1: We weren't even out there with our cardboard "Vegas" sign for fifteen minutes when we were informed that within the Reno city limits it's illegal to hitchhike (or, as my lovely friend who you'll meet later in the story, Eva, would say, "hijack"). Sad. Sad. Sad.
Well, Breck came to rescue us and we tagged along as she followed her grandchildren on their Halloween adventures. I have never NEVER missed a Halloween so, long story short, despite the fact that I abandoned my poor, lonely costume in a closet in Roseburg, I made do (see picture). I'm like the fricking MacGyver of costumes!
Well, we couldn't catch a ride or a bus so after a school Halloween party, a church carnival, and two hours of trick-or-treating, we headed for Tahoe.
Run-in #2: I was thinking to myself that I was a little nervous with Breck behind the wheel. I mean, she's the nicest gol-darned lady but that doesn't mean that she knows how to stay in her lane. Funny thing is, even though she was wandering wherever she pleased with her brights on across the freeway, the cop had one look at the girl in the passenger seat (our own Savannah) and all was forgiven. Huzzah for being young and attractive!
Miss Savannah and I shared a quiet evening of bloody horror films back in Tahoe. As I sit on the floor, screams of agony and the sounds of blood splatter ringing out behind me, I'm finding that the weirdest thing is what I'm actually missing. My mind wanders to friends behind me and to the friends  ahead. I hope my mom is watching after my ferret and fish and I really hope I get a kiss somewhere along the way.