Hurricane Hilary, Road Trip and 60th Birthday Party Celebration - Part Four

     I know...I'm so wordy right? So this is part four of my tale, if you want to get caught up, here's part ONE, TWO and THREE.

   So when last we left the adventurous Alicia and her sister Lisa, they had just travailed the scary bridge that was to lead them to the Old Hwy 58 in what was the beginning of Hurricane Hilary, now downgraded to a Tropical Storm. (But we did not know it had been downgraded.)

    Here's a map of the trail that we followed. Mind you, it was bumper to bumper traffic because everyone had found out that you had to take the Old Hwy 58 to the New Hwy 58, but at least we were all together. 

    By now it was raining pretty steadily and we could see water starting to gather, but we weren't worried...yet...so we were enjoying the rain and the scenery and reminiscing about traveling on the Old Hwy 58 with mom and dad. Lisa took some pictures and you can see the water starting to gather. I'm sure it was not too long after we drove by that the roads started to flood, but by then they were in our rear-view mirror and we thought we were safe.

Photo by Lisa, you can see the water gathering.

    

Photo by Lisa - The water gathers fast, that's what creates the flash floods, they happen in a flash!

    We were pretty happy with ourselves for getting out of there and we were even happier that it seemed like there were no trucks on the highway with us. We figured we had left them all behind us in Barstow just milling around like little worker ants. We figured we would be home soon as it was only 127 miles away and would take us about 1 hour and 55 minutes. Oh how wrong we were!

    What we did not know was that up on the Tehachapi Pass where we were headed, this was going on.

You can see the water and mud starting to break through and it's all over the highway.

Looks like Caltrans was already on scene trying to clear things up, but you can see traffic was still going through.

Check our the Landstar truck in the mud there.

    We got close though but right around the Mojave exit the California Highway Patrol had blocked off traffic and they were directing us to get off the highway. The problem is that Lisa and I had never had this happened, we didn't know that we could look up the Caltrans app and start getting info, we were just lost and scared.

    We stopped at a Subway Sandwich shop in Mojave and there were several other people just as lost and scared as we were. We were tired and wet and we finally decided to just get a hotel room there at the Best Western while it was still an early closure of the highway and we could still get a room. It was a lovely hotel and the person who checked us in was so nice and accommodating, we felt very safe. 

    Once we got into our room it started pouring rain, it's like the skies were waiting until Lisa and I were somewhere safe before letting loose!

    As the sun started to come down and Lisa and I were safe and sound in our hotel room, eating our Subway sandwiches, this was the Tehachapi Pass. I hope that driver made it out.

    We both notified our families by phone and then posted a message in our family group chat about what had happened and we had an army of family and friends praying for us. We both called our jobs and notified them we were stuck and hoped to be able to get home the next day. They told us to not worry about it,  just be safe.

    Luckily our brothers Fred and Jaime and their families all made it home safe and sound. The scary thing is my mom had all her babies on the road, in a hurricane all at the same time. I don't know how she made it through the day!

My mom's babies!

    We had a good nights sleep, we felt very safe. The next morning we had breakfast there at the hotel as they had a free breakfast. I had a lovely Waffle with Scrambled eggs and coffee, because even in the midst of chaos, one must eat!

Make your own Waffle with the Best Western Logo.

    Lisa and I had already plotted our way home, but we were really lucky that our cousin Steve who owns a trucking company and was already checking roads so he could dispatch his drivers first checked on how to get his cousins home! Bless you Steve! He checked with CHP & Caltrans to make sure the roads were cleared for the route we had already chosen. It made us feel that much safer knowing there would be no road closures along the way. Here's the route we took. 

    The roads were passable and it was a very beautiful and enjoyable drive home. The skies were cloudy and you could see for miles since the rain and wind had wiped out all the normal crud in the skies. 

    Never were Lisa and I happier to see this sign!

    We stopped to pick up Fancy at the groomers and she was so happy to see her mom. Then we drove home and I was logged in and working by 1pm!

    What an adventure. Never a dull moment when Lisa and I take a trip. I hope to never get stuck in a Hurricane or Tropical Storm again, but it's good to know that we can handle it. I shudder to think what would have happened if we had not had all that delay in Barstow and had arrived on the Tehachapi pass the same time as that Landstar truck! The spirits of our ancestors and God were definitely with us.

The end...

Hurricane Hilary, Road Trip and 60th Birthday Party Celebration - Part Three

     This is part three of the adventures of Alicia and Lisa heading to Arizona for a birthday celebration for their cousin Copa, you can read part one HERE and part two HERE.

    When we got back to Copa's house after the party we started watching the news to see if we could get information on the Hurricane. There was not a lot of information but what we knew for sure is that it was expected to hit the Mojave desert area around 3pm on Sunday, the day we were heading home. 

Hurricane Hilary on NOAA satellite Thursday afternoon. Hilary is expected to make landfall over or near the Baja California Peninsula on Sunday, then move over California as a tropical storm or depression on Sunday night and Monday. 

    There was a lot of speculation, so Lisa and I studied all the weather apps and watched the news and we decided that the best thing for us to do is to head out as early as possible the next morning, watch the news first to see which route was the safest for us to take.

    We had not been happy with the route we took to get to Phoenix as it was congested and there was a lot of traffic. We've always been used to taking the I-10 out of Phoenix to the 72 heading into Parker, Arizona. From Parker we always like to take the 95 to Lake Havasu City. Then we take the 95 to the 40 to Needles and continue on the 40 to Barstow. 

    Heading into Parker was iffy because they have flash floods constantly, but our cousin Michael who lives in Parker told us to take an alternate route and we made it to Parker. We actually did really well until we got into Barstow. Then all Hell broke loose. 

    We always get off at the first exit heading into Barstow to gas up and use the bathroom and buy some snacks, then we get right back on the freeway. But not this time! This time the trucks were backed up for several miles before we could get off and once off it was wall to wall of trucks in the tiny City of Barstow. We figured there had probably been an accident ahead of us on the freeway and they were re-routing traffic.

    We tried using GPS to lead us back to the highway but as it turns out the area we were in was experiencing a power outage. We drove for almost 45 minutes and we probably only traveled at most 5 miles. Finally I told Lisa that we should just find the Marshalls Store that we sometimes stop at and just wander around the store for an hour for the traffic to die down. So we did that and Lisa spoke with a man who told her that a transformer had come down on the highway and they had shut down all lanes of the highway and it had caused the power outage.

    Now that we knew, we called our brother Fred who is a truck driver and he told us how to get to the Old Hwy 58 to the New Hwy 58. We were sure it would clear up soon and we had only been in the store for 30 minutes. But then we heard it start raining outside and we received warnings on our phones over and over again, every one in the store was receiving the same warnings.

Actual Alert from my Phone

    We started panicking! We headed to pay for the items we had found in the store and our brother called to see if we had found the old Hwy 58 and when he found out we were shopping he blew a fuse! We tried to explain to him that we weren't shopping, we were trying to wait until the traffic died down, he was not having it, he told us to get out of there because the flooding was going to start soon and we were going to be stuck! I'm sure he was terrified for us.

    But yet again, the Spirits of our ancestors were with us or God or Karma, whatever higher power you believe in because Lisa was asking the clerk at the store how we could get to Old Hwy 58 and this sweet lady that was waiting in line in front of me to pay said, "Who wants to go to the Old 58? I'm heading that way, follow me!" So we did.

    We got outside and she was parked right next to us, which we took as a sign that it was meant to be. She told us to follow her and she would take us to Main Street and that she was going to turn right there but we were to turn left and keep heading from Main to First Street and then turn right. Well, I guess she had second thoughts as to my and Lisa's ability to navigate, or maybe she saw the wall to wall of trucks and knew that we would get lost and she pointed to us to turn with her, but we thought she was waving good-bye so we waved good-bye and blew her kisses and asked God to take care of her and make sure she got home safely and then we turned the wrong way!! 

    Well it was actually the right way, the way she had told us, but she knew we were going to get trapped by all the trucks and she had been trying to point to let us know to follow her. By the time we realized that, it was too late. Well this angel of a lady, turned around and found us and got out of her car yelling at us to follow her, so we navigated our way to where she was and she told us she was going to take us all the way to the bridge and at that point she would let us go on our way. WHO DOES THAT??? Who goes out of their way to help complete strangers? In this day and age? In a storm, on a Sunday afternoon?

    We followed our Angel to the bridge she had mentioned and she waved good-bye and this time we new it was good-bye and we missed her the moment she left, especially when we saw the scary bridge we had to cross over, in the rain with wall to wall traffic! Yikes!

    But we did it, we go over the bridge...but that was not the end of our adventure. Stay tuned for part four!

Hurricane Hilary, Road Trip and 60th Birthday Party Celebration - Part Two

     This is Part 2 of our crazy trip to Arizona, for part 1 click HERE.

    We had a great nights sleep since both Lisa and I were exhausted! We had planned to spend the day shopping and getting ready for the big party that evening, however our cousin Lydia aka Copa has recently been diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer and just that week on Wednesday she had her first round of Chemo and she wasn't feeling the greatest. Have you ever seen a more beautiful and positive person getting her first chemo treatment? She's a true warrior!

    So we sat with her and just got caught up on everything she had been going through and how our jobs were going and how family was doing and we had a very nice time just being with her.

    Then our cousins in Eloy, Arizona called and said they were all gathered together at our cousin Norrie's house and where were we?? So we put ourselves together and headed to Eloy. Eloy is the city of our ancestors. That is where most of our parents met. Copa told us that we would come back to her house before the party so we didn't take our party clothes or gifts with us...we should have!

    We had so much fun at Norrie's house! They were cooking the food for the party. They had asked Copa what she wanted for her birthday dinner and she had such a crazy idea for a menu, very different from the usual Chile Colorado or Deep Pit BBQ that we usually have at family events. Copa wanted Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Green Salad, Macaroni and Cheese, Rolls and Cake! Norrie rounded up all the cousins that live locally and some were making meatloaf, some potatoes, etc., and they had it covered!

    We finally realized that we had been having so much fun we had missed our opportunity to head back to Phoenix to get dolled up for the party, so we decided to go to a local store that I love called Bealls Outlet. I always go to the one in Parker, Arizona when we head that way, but luckily there was one close by in Casa Grande. Lisa, Copa and I all went praying that we would find something suitable for the party and we did!

    Then we returned to Norrie's house where our niece Sarena did Copa's make up! Sarena is such an angel, she's an RN and just the sweetest, most loving, giving person in the world! Here she is working her magic! Oh yeah, check out Copa's tiara, she's a true queen!

    Love these next shots, you can tell she's very happy with the end results. It took some convincing too as she's not a makeup person, never wears it. I think she's going to be shopping for some makeup in the future! I love the last photo, beautiful ladies. I am so blessed to have such amazing women in my life!

    The rest of this post will be photos that I took at the party with some commentary on who and what.

From left to right - My sister Lisa, our Cousin Copa and me.

    

Copa and the loves of her life, her beautiful daughter Daniella aka Copita and her wonderful son Mark aka Markie. 

L-R: Me, our Aunt Ninfa, Copa and Lisa 

L-R: My brother Federico, my sister Lisa, me and my brother Jaime.

L-R: Brother Federico, Sister Lisa, Cousin Copa, Me and Brother Jaime

 Cousin Copa also wanted all the July and August family and friends to be included in the celebration, so she requested this cake.

Everyone had a wonderful time, there was a raffle with great prizes, we played games, had great food. There was a beautiful desert table filled with candy and popcorn and rice krispie treats and cake pops and almost anything you can imagine!

The party ended around 9:30 and then we drove back to Copa's house in Phoenix as we were all exhausted. We also had heard that there was a Hurricane getting ready to hit California and that where we live was right in the path of it so we wanted to get a good nights sleep so we could get up super early and head home.

Get ready for part three...

Hurricane Hilary, Road Trip and 60th Birthday Party Celebration

    On Friday, August 18th my sister Lisa and I  headed to Phoenix, Arizona to celebrate the 60th birthday party for our cousin Lydia aka Copa. It was going to be a quick trip, up on Friday arriving in Phoenix around 3pm, then Saturday evening the party, then we would head back on Sunday and back to work on Monday. The route that we chose is displayed below and would take 7 hours and 7 minutes. Remember that, 7 hours and 7 minutes! 

    Right away we should have known it was probably a good idea to just cancel and go back to bed! We planned to leave at 4:30 am as we were dropping off her new dog at the groomers house who was going to take care of her for us. I have to share this picture of her dog named Fancy K or Fancy for short. She's so cute and just the sweetest little girl! She's a rescue from the dog shelter and I'm so happy she has a forever home with my sister.

    When Lisa came to pick me up she said that she we needed to stop and put air in the front passenger side tire. But while putting the air in, Lisa noticed that there was a nail or bolt in the tire. Great! We decided we would go ahead and go drop off Fancy at the groomers, then come back to her house and wait until 8am when the tire shops would open up. This would put us way behind, but better safe than sorry.

    On the way to the groomers, we kept an eye on the tire gauge and noticed that it was holding air. After dropping off Fancy we decided to go ahead and proceed to the next leg of our trip so we headed to Tehachapi which was 40 miles away. We got there successfully and stopped to buy some snacks and other items we needed at Walmart, then we picked up coffee and cream cheese Danish at Starbucks and decided to go ahead to the next leg of our trip from Tehachapi to Lancaster and see if we could find a tire shop open there. That was another 45 miles. 

    Lancaster is a beautiful desert city with SO MANY STORES!! I told Lisa definitely we needed to make a day trip with our mom and bring her shopping someday. Lisa who dislikes shopping was not as enthused as I was. As it was still early and the tire shops were still closed, we decided to live life on the wild side and head to the next big city, Indio. 

    I lost track now of where we stopped to eat, but it was somewhere along the way and it was around noonish and we stopped at WaBa Grill. We enjoyed a good, light and healthy lunch of Spicy Asian Salad and I had a side of dumplings or as we call them in our family potstickers. Lisa had a side of some kind of taco which we shared.

    As our tire pressure was still doing well, we decided to just head on down the highway and get to Phoenix and worry about getting the tire fixed or replaced there. We made the mistake of taking a phone call from our mom who was checking to see how we were doing and Lisa mentioned the tire and mom immediately became worried and told us we had to stop NOW and get that taken care of. We didn't want her worried so when we arrived in Indio, we started calling some tire shops. Almost all of them told us it would be between a two to four hour wait and we were already behind schedule big time!

    But the spirits of our ancestors were with us and they wanted us to get to Phoenix safely and I called a company by the name of America's Tire Co at 81124 CA-111, Indio CA. I give you the address because Jeff there is the best guy in the world and if you ever need a tire company in Indio, you need to go there! That's not Jeff in the picture, just FYI.

    We called Jeff and explained our situation and he said, if you come in right now I will get you in an out right away, so we did and he did! We were there less than 30 minutes and he didn't charge us anything to patch the tire, Lisa gave him money and told him to buy himself some lunch with it and he was so appreciative. Good people still do exist!    

    We called our mom and let her know that our tire was fixed and that really set her mind at ease. From there we drove straight through to Blythe where we gassed up. The traffic was a bit heavy in places, but not too bad. We made it to Phoenix by 6pm. More than 12 hours for what should have been a 7 hour trip! But we got there safely, that's what's important! 

***See Part two next***