Chapter 6

As the days passed, Patrick's family began planning their road trip to Albuquerque. Although they considered driving northeast to Colorado and then south to New Mexico, they decided the southern route would be faster. They also thought about renting a recreational vehicle large enough for the four of them and staying in state or national parks but neither Laurel nor Patrick had driven one nor had they ever done any camping. Their SUV was very comfortable and they preferred to stay in lodgings with air conditioning, nearby restaurants, pools and no wildlife on their way to and from Albuquerque.

The drive from Monterey to Albuquerque would take them close to 16 hours. That was too long to sit in the car and they decided to spread the 16 hours over 2 days. They planned to leave very early on a Thursday morning, driving to San Luis Obispo, where they would pick up an eastern route to Bakersfield and from there continuing east on I-40 to Needles, CA, anticipating 10 hours of travel, including brief stops.

They'd stay overnight in Needles, happy to find a hotel with a pool, family suites and good reviews. Friday, they'd get an early start on their 7 hour drive on 1-40 E which would take them right into Albuquerque. There they again found and reserved a family suite in a hotel that also had a restaurant, a pool and best of all, good reviews.

Although Sara Hope had her driver's permit for California, they'd see what the traffic looked like before adding her to the driving rotation their first day, part of their second day and for the same areas on the way home. The permit wasn't legal outside of their home state. Patrick thought there would be a lot of large trucks and knew neither he nor Laurel would be able to relax while their daughter was driving. Yes, she needed driving experience, but it didn't have to happen on a coast-to-coast roadway. They checked online for any road construction or possible delays on 1-40, but the only construction zone they found was farther east, in the Texas panhandle.

Laurel teased her husband a little, saying it was the first time he'd been anywhere in the U.S. besides the West Coast and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. As far as he knew, that was true. He was born in Puerto Rico, lived in Japan, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area and then Monterey, California. He'd gone to college at Cal Tech in Pasadena, CA, in Los Angeles County. Returning to Monterey with his degree and Master's, he started his business, Wicket, there. He'd met and married Laurel there, their children were born there and they still lived in Monterey County. It was home to him, something he'd needed badly after the crash that killed his father and, so he'd been told, his older brother and baby sister.

Although they'd traveled, their road trips had been to Oregon, Washington and up into British Columbia, Canada, to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, and of course to Valencia, Spain, with Laurel's parents. They planned to visit Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, in the state of Wyoming, although Yellowstone also covered parts of the states of Montana and Idaho. However, that hadn't yet happened.

Now he was excited about seeing a little more of the country as well as reconnecting with his long-lost family. The gallery had contacted Timothy Gibbs to advise him his painting would be personally delivered and he'd confirmed he would be home that weekend.

As they drove, the four of them talked about future road trips, especially the one to Wyoming which would probably also include Colorado. Andy asked if they could rent an RV for something like a weekend trip to a beach so his parents could get used to driving one and they could all get used to staying in one. Sara Hope loved the idea, "If we wait until after I get my license, I can help drive! We could go to Morro Bay or Pismo Beach, those aren't long drives."

Laurel didn't have to look away from the road, she was currently driving, to know her husband had a look of horror on his face at their daughter's suggestion that she help drive a vehicle that might possibly be the size of a city bus shortly after becoming a licensed driver. She spared a glance in the mirror and almost laughed at their son's widened eyes and horrified look. In the almost too long silence, she said, "That's a sweet idea to help us out, Sara. Let's see what shakes out. It won't be this summer anyway. You won't be back from Spain until the week before school starts and your father and I already have plans for Labor Day weekend. I think a trip to Pismo or Morro Bay should be for 2 nights, so we'd need a holiday weekend and there won't be a Monday holiday until Christmas vacation. I know our winters are mild but I don't want our first camping experience to be during winter. Let's talk about this again in about 6 months. Then we can plan the beach trip in the spring, maybe over Easter vacation and the longer trip for the summer, although it will have to be right after you're out of school, otherwise the trip to Spain will have to be shortened."

Beside her, Patrick quietly quirked a smile and mouthed, 'Thank you!'.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Over the next few weeks, when Tim was asked about the trip to Europe, he'd laugh and say it was so short that it took him longer to get over the jet lag than the duration of the entire trek. He was thankful he'd taken as many photos as he had as the details of what he'd experienced were a bit blurry in his brain.

He and Ellie talked again about taking their family to Europe on vacation, they thought three years would be a good timeframe to aim for. Their two youngest would be old enough to remember at least some of the adventure while their two oldest would still be kids, not quite teens and Lia and Henry would be the perfect age for the trip.

Busy at work and home, time flew by. He'd told Ellie about the painting for his dad and when he heard from the gallery, he told her it would be hand-delivered. The week it was due to arrive, the last week of school for the kids, he felt excited, like Christmas Eve, although he didn't understand it.

Yes, they would have a wonderful summer. The kids would leave for camp the following week and this time would be accompanied by Victoria Palmer and Hannah Hubbard. After their return, everyone would make the trek to Ruidoso. That would be great and he was very much looking forward to all the fun and adventures they'd have there and later at their beach rental in San Diego.

But that wasn't causing his bubbly, Christmas Eve excitement! He felt it was somehow related to the painting but didn't understand why that should make him nearly giddy with anticipation. Yes, Dad would love it and get a kick out of his 'covert operation' but that still didn't explain it. Ellie wasn't any help although she too recognized there was definitely something going on with her husband. She was further puzzled when Bob mentioned that Sarah had also been bubblier than usual.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Although they'd traveled a little more than 7 hours, as they'd stopped to stretch and eat, both Sara Hope and Andy were frustrated and on the verge of whininess when they were still in California after driving for what felt like the entire day. Their parents, tired and thankful they'd decided Needles was far enough for one day, told them to change for the pool. That quieted them and the swim was good for all of them. They ate dinner at a nearby chain restaurant, one they'd eaten in before. As it was still light and none of them were sleepy yet, they went back to the pool for another, longer swim.

Back in their suite, Patrick took out their route map, showing the kids what they planned for the following day. They'd drive for a little under 4 ½ hours until they reached Holbrooke, AZ. There they'd stop for lunch and a drive through the Petrified Forest National Park, which had plenty of things to interest the four of them and there would be some walking, too. From there they'd drive the last 3 ½ hours to Albuquerque. They'd leave early tomorrow morning and the kids could sleep in the car, they'd wake them when they got to Holbrooke or before if anyone needed a restroom.

Both of the children were excited about visiting another National Park, one that was new to them. In their travels, they had visited several of the National Parks in California, Oregon and Washington and now could add this National Park. There were 63 National Parks in the U.S. and Andy had announced on their last trip that he planned to visit them all.

Now, as tired as Laurel and Patrick were from the drive, they went to bed when the children did.

Up a little before dawn, the four of them were on their way after a quick breakfast made in the kitchenette in their suite. Sara and Andy fell back to sleep as soon as the car started moving while Laurel and Patrick made good use of the coffee they'd brought with them in their 'road trip' thermos.

After yesterday's marathon drive, or so it had felt, the 4+ hours to Holbrook passed quickly and the children woke as they arrived at the National Park entrance. The drive through was 28 miles and would take about 45 minutes to drive; however, there were several stops and short walks they could take rather than just driving through.

They had a wonderful time! Entering on the north side, they first stopped at the Painted Forest Visitors Center, picking up literature about what they'd be seeing, books about the Park and exhibits of petrified wood. From there, they continued on into the park, first viewing the Painted Desert, miles of colorful badlands and multihued mesas of stratified layers of mudstone, shale, and siltstone pigmented by iron and magnesium deposits. They parked at the head of a trail and walked along the path for about a half mile before reaching Kachina Point which offered panoramic views of the red, orange, pink and purple rocks.

Back in the car, they headed south, stopping again to view 'Newspaper Rock' which contains more than 650 petroglyphs etched into its boulders.

After another hike, this one a mile long and more strenuous than the first, they drove through the rest of the park, stopping here and there. At the southern end, they stopped for lunch and another break before returning to Route 66 and I-40 East.

While one of the entrances to the Grand Canyon was only 2 ½ hours by car from Holbrooke, they decided to either stop on the way home or visit another time, perhaps on the next visit to New Mexico. They'd been once before, when Sara was 9 and Andy 3. Undoubtedly the kids would have different experiences this time and in Andy's case, memories of the trip.

Although there wasn't any road construction along the way, there were a lot of trucks, huge semis hauling just about everything from coast to coast and points between. Watching from the back seat, Sara was relieved she wasn't allowed to drive here, it was too fast, too crowded, too scary for her!

As they traveled, her father, who was driving, remarked that the truckers knew the roads, he was just doing his best to stay out of their way. When they passed one semi, pulling back into the lane in front of it, Andy turned around and waved at the trucker, who waved back with a smile.

"He smiled, Dad, and waved. I saw it."

"Good, son, we must have done that right then."

Sara Hope nodded, "You used your turn indicator, made sure the driver saw it, waited until there was plenty of room to move, passed him and then moved back into that lane, using your turn indicator again, leaving him plenty of space and increasing your speed, going faster than he was, so you didn't crowd him or force him to use his brakes. My driving instructor would be very happy with you."

Pat chuckled, "Thanks, sweetie!"

They found that after their break in Holbrooke, they didn't mind the rest of the drive, even with all the trucks. All four of them cheered when they passed the "Welcome to New Mexico" sign. When they reached Gallup, New Mexico, they knew Albuquerque was only 2 hours farther. They stopped for ice cream before continuing on their way.

They cheered again when they passed the City Limits sign for Albuquerque and within minutes were pulling up to the hotel they'd stay in while they were here.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tim woke before dawn, too restless to sleep. Stealthily slipping out of bed without waking Ellie, he made coffee and after wandering around the house, he settled into his office. After doing some free writing, none of which made much sense, he made a list of places he wanted to see, making a note that he wanted to take Ellie to Paris for one of their milestone anniversaries, although probably not until both Jossey and Mackie were older. Maybe when they were old enough to go to camp, the kids could all go to camp while their parents had their own fun. When he realized how old Ty and Brynie would be, he shrugged. Instead of camp, maybe the kids could spend a few weeks with their Bishop grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins in Tahlequah. That was a better idea!

Ellie was up next, wondering where her human pillow had disappeared to. She followed the heady aroma of coffee to his office where she found him giggling over a plan for the two of them to run away somewhere for two weeks. Two weeks! When she heard the word 'Paris', she was immediately interested.

By the time Lia and Henry were awake, Tim had swapped grocery shopping weekends with his wife, taking her truck into town. When they'd designed their home, some of the wonderful gifts they'd given themselves were a large kitchen pantry, a generously sized linen closet and an even larger storage closet for all their bathroom needs. Both the pantry and the bath storage closet were jokingly referred to as their 'Costco' rooms as that was where they did the majority of their bulk shopping.

He was back quickly, putting the groceries away while Ellie put other household items away, with help from Ty and Brynie. Then he got busy making pancakes, even though those were their normal Sunday breakfast fare. He shrugged when Ty pointed that out, saying, "I know but today feels like a pancake day."

Laughing, his son starting setting the table, adding jam, three bottles of syrup, maple, chocolate and Ellie's new love, caramel, butter and what the littles called 'snowflake sugar', otherwise known as powdered sugar. He'd purchased fresh berries and Ellie washed them, slicing them into a bowl for a special pancake topping.

By the time the first batch of pancakes was ready, all the children were up, clean and dressed, sitting at the table waiting for their pancakes. The kids ate first, Ellie waiting for her chef husband to finish flipping the 'cakes. The four younger children played within eyesight while their parents ate.

When she finished eating, Ellie leaned over her sticky, empty plate. "You're even more wound up today!"

"I know and I can't help it, Els. I don't know what this is about any more than you do. I just hope whatever it is happens or doesn't happen or whatever, soon!"

She grinned, "I can't wait to find out what 'it' is! I know it'll be something wonderful."

He sighed, "Or it's something like very late spring fever."

"Mm, maybe but I think it's more." She took their plates to the sink, rinsing most of the sticky goo off before putting the dishes in the dishwasher, adding his kitchen tools before starting the wash.

He rolled his eyes. "What's the plan for this morning? Besides the people bringing the painting."

"How about we play with the kids in the play center? It's still a little early to swim."

"That's a good idea. I thought of a bike ride, we could ride over to The Grove, around and back. We need a proper bike trail!"

"Yes, we'll need one in another year or so. By that time, Ty, Brynie, Victoria, Hannan and Teddy will be tired of just riding around the cul-de-sac. Although I worry about the kids riding on the ranch by themselves."

"I agree, we'll have to think about that. I suppose we could have the trail near where the goats, sheep and llamas usually are, then maybe the llamas would guard the kids as well as the other animals."

"Really?"

"I have no idea. You know, the kids have to have an adult with them to ride the horses, it's possible that same rule will have to apply for bike riding anywhere outside the cul-de-sac."

"Unless we come up with another solution, yes, I'm for that. However, as I've said, I believe we have another year or so before it'll be an issue. And considering that Ainsley, Callum and Matt Crane are older than our kids, their parents will have to deal with the problem first and may have different ideas. Let's see how it plays out."

Gathering their children, they prepped for time in the sun and holding hands with the littles, walked across the street to the play center, also known as play island.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After checking into their 3 bedroom family suite Friday evening, happy to find it quite spacious, the Blairs unpacked their suitcases, tucking them into the closets in each of the bedrooms. As it had been several hours since their early lunch, they also had an early dinner at the hotel before changing into their swimsuits, grabbing their towels and wandering back downstairs to the pool. After spending a couple of hours swimming and playing in the pool, glad there weren't a lot of other swimmers, they retired to their suite and turned in early, all four of them tired and glad to be here.

Laurel set her phone alarm for 9:00 AM Saturday, giving her family a little extra time to rest. She'd told the art gallery that she'd contact the owner of the painting on Saturday morning to arrange the delivery.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Ty and Brynie were using the batting cage at the play center, Tim coaching them, when his phone rang with the expected call from the painting transport woman.

He smiled as he answered, knowing his parents had gone into town to have brunch with Kelly, Matt, their little girl Emilia and Rob and Ali and their little boy, Thomas. As long as the painting arrived within the next two hours, Dad was off the premises, the painting would remain a secret until Father's Day, coming up in less than two weeks.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Laurel smiled as her call was answered by Tim Gibbs. "Hello, this is Gibbs."

"Mr. Gibbs, I'm Laurel Blair, here in Albuquerque with my family on vacation and I have your painting with me. When would you like it delivered?"

"If you can be here by 10:30, that would be great. I bought the painting as a surprise for my dad and he's in town this morning, I know he'll be gone until at least 11."

"Great! Uh, my husband and I were also wondering if it would be possible to have a tour of The Grove? We heard that your LLC is considering expanding and we'd love to help, to invest, become members of the LLC. And we want our children to see first-hand what you've done out of the goodness of your collective hearts."

Tim grinned, always happy to show people around The Grove and talk about the LLC. They were indeed considering purchasing another parcel of land across the road from The Grove, to provide additional housing. Since their initial build of The Grove, they'd added two more neighborhoods of 20 converted shipping containers each and felt that was enough for the acreage. When they heard about the 60 acre parcel possibly going up for sale across the road, they discussed purchasing it for more low cost housing. A committee of LLC members were working to determine the need for additional housing and the feasibility in regards to the LLC. Since businesses forced to close in the Strike Zone had started to reopen, many were interested in starting up in New Mexico where there was plenty of room for growth. More businesses meant employees and housing would be needed. How many people would need housing and how many would be willing to live 20 minutes out of town were questions the LLC was asking. They were perfectly willing to grow their community, although water was still and would likely always be a problem. As new residents of the desert, LLC members had made their own adjustments in their usage, the original folks from DC remembering Shannon Gibbs' comments about taking fewer showers and planning to landscape with either native desert plants or xeric plants, or a mixture. With the number of residents at La Serenidad, they continued to pay for water deliveries, adding an additional tank to the one for the shelter.

Laurel heard the smile in Mr. Gibbs' voice as he replied, "Visiting The Grove is one of my favorite things to do and I believe my uncle, who is currently the spokesperson for the LLC, is available this morning. If you want, bring your swim gear, your children can swim while you meet with him. We have an Olympic sized pool and a toddler pool inside of what we call our play island and there are always adults there – and all of us have had basic training in life saving."

"Oh, thank you, that sounds wonderful!"

"Bring hats, they're mandatory and plenty of waterproof sunscreen. You'll need shoes, no sandals for walking around the ranch although flip-flops are fine for the pool deck. And if you haven't made plans for lunch, please join us. We love to meet new people and hear what's going on in other parts of the country."

"Great! Is there anything we can bring, beside the painting?"

"No, we won't have anything fancy. Any allergies we should know about?"

"No allergies with us. Great, we'll see you about 10, then. Oh, directions. I know we all have GPS but I like to know, too."

Smiling, he gave her the directions to the ranch, adding, "When you see the grocery store on your left, send me a text and I'll meet you in an ATV at the gate and you can follow me to our neighborhood. You'll see why once you're on the property."

Disconnecting, Laurel turned to find her husband sitting next to her. "I could hear him, that was my brother talking! This is real, isn't it?"

"Yes, sweetie, it is and I'm so proud of you, willing to come here despite your worries."

"Who did he say would talk to us about the LLC?"

"His uncle. He didn't give a name."

"That's all right, Uncle Jim wasn't one of the ones who rejected me. Or whom Natalie claimed rejected me. Although I guess it could be Dad's brother, Uncle Mark, but I don't remember what happened to him."

"What do you mean?"

"I remember that he was in the Navy and I have vague memories of him visiting us in Japan, but nothing after that. He'd be okay too." He suddenly smiled, "I remember one summer we were staying at Grammie and Grandpa Drew's house, this was when Sarah was a baby, and Uncle Jim took Tim and me to see a movie that was rated over our age group. It was a really cool movie, though. I think we saw Uncle Mark again after that and he took us to another movie, might have been one of the original Star Wars' movies. Anyway, we had a blast both times although we hoped Dad wouldn't get mad at Uncle Jim."

"You liked him."

Patrick nodded, "Yeah, he was the younger of our two uncles and he was a lot of fun – and funny. I hope it's him at the ranch!"

Laurel smiled, happy that he was looking forward to seeing his uncle as well as his brother and with any luck, his sister.