Kim: Mmm, this is so romantic! Late afternoon walks, snuggled up in sweaters.
April: Or, in Ryan’s case, a huge down parka.
Kim: Oh, so exciting! Ryan’s first time in winter!
I rolled my eyes and quickly typed while they were sending rapid fire texts about me being in the winter element.
Ryan: You know, it does get cold here.
The screen filled with continued back and forth texts from them ranging from “lols” and GIFs of laughter.
April: My dear Ryan. A winter in Vegas is nothing compared to a Midwest winter.
Kim: Russell will keep him warm.
Ryan: I’ll just fart a lot. It’ll keep me warm too.
Kim: Do you have anything warm? As in, warm enough for the holidays with Russell’s family?
Ryan: Russell said we’ll pick some things up.
April: I’d say so. Like in a hurry. When do you guys leave?
Kim: You have to give us the rundown of the schedule. This is so exciting!
Ryan: We’re going out tomorrow and Monday to pick up some things. Since Thanksgiving is a week from Thursday, we’re going to leave this Wednesday. That gives us a week to travel and see some sights.
April: You’ll have to send us pics from along the way.
Kim: Make sure Russell is in the pics.
April: Kim!
Kim: What? He’s hot. Who doesn’t want to see the dashing silver fox on a holiday vacation?
April: Just make sure we get pics, Ryan.
Ryan: I will.
Kim: Make sure one is of you in your winter coat.
I chuckled as I typed to them that I’d catch up with them over the next day or two before we left. They wanted the itinerary so they could follow along.
Once we climbed into bed, Russell brought his iPad to life and held it between us. He pulled up a map and an itinerary.
“Alright, are you ready to see our travel plans?” he asked.
“I am,” I replied and propped the pillows up behind me. Even though I was very nervous about meeting his family, I was excited for the trip. Russell hit the “Day One” button, and a map appeared and highlighted a section of road from Las Vegas to Utah.
“Okay, Wednesday is the day we leave home. We’ll travel about seven hours to our first stop in Moab, Utah. The seven hours doesn’t include us stopping for lunch—”
“We don’t have to stop for lunch. We can hit a drive-thru and keep going,” I suggested.
Russell stared at me with one of his eyebrows raised.
“Or not,” I quickly added.
“We’re not in a race—”
