Would you like to hear about our day?

Someday I think we'll laugh about this. "But it is not this day!" (LOTR reference...)

Today is day 1 in Napa. It started out ok. We were planning on leaving Toquerville at 4 am this morning, but we decided to leave yesterday night instead and stay with Zach and Shella in Henderson, which was a brilliant move. 10 hours is a TON shorter than 13. We left their house at approx. 6 am Vegas time, and Louise slept for about the first 3 hours. Justin and I took 2 hour driving/playing with Louise shifts, so we were good for about another 6 1/2 hours (add that up and it equals 9 1/2).

Well, the last half hour Louise decided she was totally done. Done, done, done. Screaming bloody murder to the point that she could barely breathe. On the way, we had taken her out of her car seat when there was little or no traffic, but the last half hour was in the city, so we couldn't take her out. It was pure torture. Poor Justin was sitting back with her at the time, so he now understands the feeling of when she looks at you with a slightly crazed look in her eye because she's trying to communicate (none too subtly) that she's had it, and you're not doing anything about it. No one will help her. Her parents, whom she trust more than anyone else to help her, won't help her. It's the worst feeling ever, and I'm sure all of you parents can relate. So anyway, while this is going on, we're trying to navigate the last of the drive and sing to her and try to distract her. When we were finally almost there, I took a wrong turn, then another wrong turn, adding another few minutes to her torture. After we finally found the place, we were all completely frazzled. I went to check in and Justin stayed with Louise to make amends.

After we got our stuff in our hotel room (which is kind of gloomy compared to our last one, with those pillows that make your head feel like it's on the floor above) we remembered some things that we forgot to bring, but there was no way we were going to put Louise back in her car seat, so we asked the front desk man how far it was to walk to Target. He said it would take about 20 minutes. That was do-able, I figured. We walked more than that around town at home and we could use a little walking around after being in the car all day. So we set out (at sunset, mind you) with the little umbrella stroller, a blanket, Justin's little camel pack, and a very large knife (which I wasn't aware of...). The beginning of the walk was fairly pleasant. It was fun to look around and see the more neighborhood-y part of Napa. Except then the sidewalk ended and we were on a busy street. So Justin was carrying the stroller that doesn't latch shut and I was carrying a sleeping baby in a huge, slippery blanket as we trekked across people's yards.

We FINALLY got to Target (way more than 20 minutes, by the way) and had a hard time finding anything we needed. Also, we realized we looked homeless: neither of us had showered because we left so early, we both had hats, Justin had a backpack on, and a stroller. After walking around forever and getting partials of what we needed, we left. It was completely dark by now, and apparently they don't believe in street lights in Napa. So there we were, me pushing a stroller with a no longer sleeping baby and Justin carrying a bag of milk and apples with his camel pack bulging (I really didn't think this thing through), exhausted from little sleep a very long walk and a very trying day, stumbling around in a pitch black foreign neighborhood with no sidewalks, and we come upon a strange man wearing all black with a hood pulled over his head and carrying something and walking really slow. I was totally freaked out. We passed him quickly and tried to joke about a traffic jam or something (no reply from him) and came to an intersection. There were cars on both sides that couldn't decide whether to wait for us to cross or not, and by then the old man was right behind me again. So we quickly started to walk across, only the blanket fell off the front of the stroller and got caught in the wheels, so it couldn't move. Of course it happened in the middle of the busy intersection with cars on both ends itching to go with a creepy old man on our heels. I panicked and called out for Justin and scooped Louise (who was starting to cry now) up in my arms and Justin grabbed the stroller and we practically ran for a couple of blocks (I'll admit I was fighting tears). Then we took a wrong turn (which ended up being better because there was a sidewalk). Now we were exhausted, cold, lost, petrified, and holding a whimpering baby, worried that the neighbors would hear and think we kidnapped her, trying to not show how scared or nervous we were so the other wouldn't be scared or nervous either.

Well, we eventually got back to the hotel, but not before deciding to never, ever do that again. Justin told me that after we passed the man the first time he had made his plan of attack involving the stroller and knife, which he carried in his hand and sleeve the rest of the way home. Have I done an adequate job of relaying our terror?