Before the main event we were able to tour the “hangar.” All of the teams had their machines lined up and were dressed in complementing costumes.

We saw cavemen…

piñatas…

AND even the president and his secret service!

The launch site was right on the harbor. We luckily had some new friends who staked out a perfect spot to see all of the launching.

I had my doubts on how fun this was going to be. I definitely underestimated watching people free fall into the water! It was actually great! All of the teams do a little skit or dance routine on the deck and then they push their flying machine out into the water. The video is a little blurry but here’s a peek at the action.

Verdict: Flugtag rules. If you have a chance to see this event in person, do it!

**Don’t fret all my pet loving pals. They are securely attached into their basket via their harnesses. They can’t jump out**

For all of you I’m-at-the-office-so-I-can’t-watch-videos this is what happened. The office looked like this.

I magically put together this fancy pants chair from Tar-jay, and now it looks like this.

That’s it in a nutshell, minus the circus music. You’re welcome.

Like I said yesterday, we were surprised how cold it was in Colorado but we were not prepared for New Mexico’s weather. SNOW!! We thought we were entering the desert country. So ladies, a word of warning. Do NOT forget to pack winter wear if you’re traveling cross country via New Mexico in May. Do not be like me and my freezing flip flop feet.

We did have decent weather (above 32!) the first half of the day which gave us a chance to get some great pictures of the wide open spaces!

Whew! Here’s the highlight reel from Day 2 of our cross country excursion!

Saturday morning we hit the road semi-early with Colorado Springs set in our sights. We were feeling pretty good. The Penske truck cruised at 70 and the dogs were doing just fine in their kennels.

Our first stop for gas was right outside of Lincoln, Nebraska. This my friends, is where the shit hit the fan.

Matt was pumping the Diesel and I had to rearrange the kennels. I took Lulu out of hers and put her on the bench seat while I tried to fit it back under the seat. Well, she decided to make a break for it and JUMP OUT OF THE PENSKE TRUCK. I turn around and our 4 pound puppy is lying on the cement just squealing like she broke her legs (which is totally legit since it’s like a 6 foot fall). I was hysterical (and I am grossly understating my emotional state). She went into some crazy trance where her pupils were dilated and she was all tense. I was 95 percent certain she was a goner. I wrapped her in Matt’s jacket and hoped for the best. If there was a vet anywhere in the vicinity we would have been there but Western Nebraska was pretty vacant.

I held her for about the next 3 hours and she started to perk back up and she had recovered by lunch time. I still had some serious guilt. I may have promised her a double cheeseburger if she could just make it through. She road shotgun with me the rest of the day since I felt so horrible.

The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful (thankfully!). We made pretty good time but were kind of surprised that there is still snow on the ground here! We’re staying at La Quinta-a great pet friendly hotel for all you travelers with furry friends! We found them via bringfido.com.

Here are some shots of today’s scenery….

Of course-the video we promised (we’ll try to be more entertaining today!)

Some people who shall not be named thought that was surely going to lead to our demise. No one can keep up witty banter for that long. So here’s our compromise. I’ll be taping bits and pieces of our travels throughout the day and posting them at night. You’ll be able to find the videos on the sidebar to your right.

Until then, here’s a picture of our faithful navigator…

Snow Day from Brittney Ahrens on Vimeo.