Attack of the Bunny and other strange creatures

Ok, I meant to write this the other day, but I got sick. You'll understand how in a minute. Yeah, so it was my first Halloween in a neighborhood with kids and a sidewalk!! Funny how the sidewalk makes all the difference - my home in Wilmington, NC (the darling little house for sale) faced a rather busy road with NO sidewalk in front of it - so I rarely had trick-or-treaters. This year I live in a busy residential neighborhood with both lots of sidewalks and kids! I was prepared - I decorated the front of my house with cobwebs and giant fuzzy spiders (after my neighbor decorated hers I had to decorate mine to not look so grinchy). I had 5 bags of candy that I was very proud of not opening until the big night. And then I started to wonder, as all hosts do - what if no one comes? I can't have 5 big bags of chocolate candy in the house! No worries - the doorbell rang. And rang. And rang some more! Being an engineer, I naturally counted everyone who came to my house. I ran out of candy with child #87. I gave out candy to bunny rabbits (not to scary but she was only 2 and very cute), Buzz Lightyears, Pirates, lots of vampires, princesses, and monsters. It was fun - everyone got candy, mom& dad got the update to the World Series game that was on the tv - life was good! Until - I found out what those kiddos gave me in a return - the world's worst cold. Next year I'm not turning on the light.

Can you be Homesick without missing home?

Wow, to say I have neglected the blog is an understatement, but even though it's been neglected, I think of it often and miss it.

So today I cried for the first time since moving to CA. I'm not sure what I was crying for, but something was whelming up in me, and had to come out. It's a feeling of homesick and missing, but I like it out here. I like my job and my co-workers, and the area, and the weather. But what I think I miss is that comfort zone, that longing for a simpler time, when I didn't have heavy decisions on my mind. I don't even think the longing goes back to when I lived in Wilmington, NC for 6 years. I think the homesick feeling goes all the way back to when I lived in Savannah, GA just out of college - no worries, no debt, no mortgage - just living and enjoying. Now I'm struggling with trying to sell a home 3000 miles away in a dismal market - and it's such a darling little house, and suited me - and understanding my new role in my career where I knew what to do for all these years, and now I don't. I'm ready for the time when this becomes my comfort zone, but going through the struggling time is what makes us who we are.

Black Out!

Exciting night last night at the ol' Residence Inn! There was a multi-block black out, which isn't as exciting as the entire town, but it will due. The power went out last night about 7:30pm. No big deal I thought - it's like a hurricane party! But without the flashlights, candles, and beer (they closed the bar). I made the mistake of going down to the lobby via the elevator (we had some power) to find out what was going on. That's when they told me the elevator was in emergency mode and only went down - to go back up to my room I would have to take the stairs. To the 10th floor. D'oh! So, I got back to my room and ate the ice cream in the freezer before it melt, as any good considerate person would do. You wouldn't want it to melt and make a mess in the freezer, would you? The broccoli was on it's own. And then I went to bed out of boredom at 9pm.

Road Kill

Wow, I've seriously neglected the blog!

Time has been flying by and I can't believe I've been in California for 2 months now! It's been an interesting and fun adventure! I'm beginning my new career as a manager and I'm hoping the deer in headlights look isn't permanent. I greeted my staff and fellow coworkers with a cheery "hey y'all!" which generated many humorous attempts to say "y'all" by them. They need to work on it some. I get many etiquette questions about when to properly use "y'all" or "all y'all". Next lesson is on proper use of the word "fixin".

Me and the boys (aka 2 cats) have been living in a fabulous new Marriott hotel in downtown Sacramento that is within walking distance of my office. Everyone asks when will I move into my new permanent place and I have to pretend it's a nuisance to live in the hotel. But secretly, I love it. It's easy, it's close to the office without driving in traffic and paying to park in an expensive parking garage, they have maid service, and room service. Why would I want to move so I could cook my own food and clean my own toilet? I miss my couch, but the one here is working just fine. Wait, that sounds like I'm cheating on my furniture...

Living in California is fun! I'm learning it's always sunny here, and never rains. Like not at all, all summer long. No more summer thunderstorms at 4pm. It's also hot here, but not humid and when you walk under a tree for some shade, it really is cooler! That is amazing! I had no idea that could be possible! After living forever in the south with humidity, where ducking under trees had no impact except for reduced sunburn. I heard it'll rain come November.

It's also easy to get around here. I took the train to San Francisco the other weekend! The train! It was so easy! Very interesting people live in San Francisco. I saw lots of people dressed up in drag, and naked men walking around (well, they had on tennis shoes). I'll just say this once - guys, that's not a good way to advertise. Granted, I wasn't their target audience, but I'm just saying. But the area is neat and there is lots to see. I went to Muir Woods and saw amazingly tall trees! So pretty! And the Golden Gate Bridge - which btw, cost $6 to cross in tolls. California is not for the poor. Don't get lost while driving there and find yourself in the lane to go over the bridge a second paying time (listen to the voice of experience on this one kids).

But I am digressing. You are probably wondering the nature of the title of this blog post. Well, I'm not a geologist, but I'm pretty sure we have earthquakes all the time out here. Why just the other day I was walking to work in the morning and in a rush to get across the street at the cross walk, when splat! I found myself laying face down in the road, bags flung around me, and me, looking like road kill just as the light turns green. See - must have been another one of those earthquakes. I know I'm not that klutzy. I laid there for a moment, unsure of what to do - continue laying there until the earth swallowed me up, or jump up and pretend nothing happened. As fate would have it with all those cars waiting for me to get out of the way, wouldn't you know people wanted to see if I was alright. That means they saw me fall. Crap.

Well, it's Saturday night and I should call it a blog for tonight. I promise to write more - there's much to report! Next week I have my first Junior League meeting here in Sacramento!

The Eagle has landed

Whoop whoop! We made it to California! Yes - all of the travelers who started this journey are still accounted for and we are all here.


Sunday we drove from Salt Lake City to Reno, NV. The drive was pretty, but long - over 500 miles. Thank god for the audio book - a creepy murder mystery that atleast keeps you engaged, but not wanting to ever leave the safety of your car. Today we drove the last leg - and the last 2 hours of the drive from Reno, NV to Sacramento were long. We drove through Tahoe, which is a beautiful area, and it was 32 degrees out and snowing! Atleast by the time we got to Sacramento it was 64 out.


Ah, so now the easy part of this adventure is over. Driving across the country was a wonderful experience and I enjoyed seeing parts of the country that I have never seen before. The true challenge will start later this week when I start my new job. I wonder where my paper bag is....

Dam Detour

First - yeah! We are in Salt Lake City and can wear flip flops and crop pants again! Yeah! No more tourist fleece and long pants!

Okay, so yesterday we took a slight detour to see the Flaming Gorge Dam. Like I could pass up seeing a dam! It's 502 feet above bedrock and a thin-arch dam.

The area is called the Flaming Gorge for the beautiful red rocks. The detour was an absolutely beautiful drive and worth the extra time.

Now off to Reno, NV!

Day 6

The cats revolt. Mom and I decide to take their Valium, sit in the back seat, and let them drive.

Kitty treats for dinner

The adventure continues!

Ok, so I started out the day by checking out of the hotel in Denver, and the woman working there had a mustache! Like a real one - like I know guys who would be jealous of her mustache! Holy cow! And then I saw a truck driving down the interstate with 2 MISSILES in the back of the truck! They were in the bed of the truck and they were the length of the truck so they were pointing out. Oddly, I wasn't too concerned as they were going the opposite direction of us...

But I digress....

Today we were in Denver, CO and went west to Golden, CO to see Buffalo Bill's gravesite. He was buried not in Cody, WY - the town he founded - but atop of Lookout Mountain. They also had a museum and he was a pretty interesting guy.


Harry (the cat) had a big adventure today too. Prior to seeing Bill, we stopped at Wal-Mart and got the guys some kitty treats. They were in the bag in the back seat of the car. Harry must have gotten a little cabin fever while we were at museum and he popped open his carrier (who knew he knew how to do that!!), hopped out, and got himself some snacks. When we got back to the car, I opened the front door to find my cat sitting on the floor of the car on the driver's side. I gave them the remaining kitty treats for dinner.


We are currently in Wyoming in the town of Rock Springs. It is the 4th largest town in WY so you have no excuse to have never heard of it. There are like only 5 towns in the whole state. Despite being desolate, WY is probably the most beautiful state I have ever driven through. Tomorrow, Utah!

Whew! We're NOT in Kansas anymore!

Colorado Baby!!

First, for the record, the same passengers that started this journey are still in the car. Just thought I'd put that out there in case you were wondering. Although it's been touch and go for a few of them. We have discussed though, adding more - picking up an engineer at Ft Leonard Wood, a cow or two. They'll just have to sit in the back and hold a cat, and the bottle of bourbon.

Not much to report from Kansas. Saw a port-o-potty in the middle of a large field where the cows were grazing. There were a couple of cows waiting in line to go. There are a lot of fields in Kansas and only 29 people live in the entire state!

More to come from Colorado. Good news - no snow!

Stormy Weather

I'm starting to forget what day it is...

Today we drove from just outside St Louis, MO to Salina, KS (west of Topeka - but east of Dodge City). I think we are in the middle of nowhere, Kansas. And it's been storming for hours. I think it started about at Kansas City - during rush hour and a thunderstorm with lots of lightening and hail - just fun stuff to drive through! The storm has continued to follow us, and I hear when we get to Denver, they have snow! I see a trip to the mall for some warmer clothes in my near future.

But before we left St Charles, a quick picture of Daniel Boone. He was an early settler of St Charles, MO. Also, Lewis & Clark were in St Charles.

So, the history lesson for today - we went to the Winston Churchill Memorial and Library in the United States. Where is this you ask - why Fulton, MO! Where else!? It was actually very interesting. In March 1946, Winston Churchill gave the famous "Iron Curtain" speech here at Westminster College. This was the first reference to the iron curtain, and many people believe that this speech sparked the beginning of the Cold War. ("From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.") It was touted as a "two for one" since President Harry Truman was also present and the two men rode the train to Fulton, MO for the occasion.

At the school is the reconstructed Christopher Wren-designed Church of the St Mary the Virgin. This church was bombed in London, torn down and rebuilt in Fulton like a giant building jigsaw puzzle, as a tribute to Churchill.

There are also 8 sections of the actual Berlin Wall that have been sculpted by Churchill's granddaughter, Edwina Sandys. Pretty cool.


Very interesting indeed...
I'll try to be more witty tomorrow

Vices (or Boubon, Betting, and Pink Elephants)

Yesterday was a long day and I didn't get my blog on last night. But I have lots to report!

We spent the night in Lexington, KY and drove first to Versailles, KY to go to the Woodford Reserve Distillery. It was actually a very pretty drive - horse farms, rolling hills, and pretty green grass (I have grass envy). We got to Woodford Reserve and just had to take the tour! It was actually pretty interesting - did you know that the calcium in the water is what makes horses in that part of KY so strong - the extra calcium in the water. Woodford Reserve is a fairly new brand of boubon but they have been making bourbon at that site for over 100 years. Since I am driving, I only drank my sample, and not my mom's.

From there we headed west to Louisville, KY. Eh, the drive wasn't as pretty from the interstate. We went to Churchill Downs and took pictures. Churchill Downs is a beautiful track (from what I've seen on tv) but boy, it is NOT in a nice part of town!

We continued west towards St Louis and yes, we stopped and saw the Pink Elephant! They were at a nursery (plant, that is) along with such buddies as buffalo, horses, a bobcat, and some eagles!



We spent the night in historic St Charles, MO - just west of St Louis. Cute town, ate a historic inn and had bbq.

Today's drive will be uneventful - found nothing interesting to stop and see and we'll go just west of KC to BFE.....

Who's Chicken?

First, the good news - we still have the same travelers that started out this morning! No one had to get dropped off at a random corner with bus fare, or was traded for a cup of coffee.

We left Charlotte and headed first to Asheville where we had lunch with dear friends of mine, Shawn and Amy Evans. It was 90 degrees out on Saturday, but at lunch today it was a chilly 64. From Asheville, we were able to continue west on newly re-opened I-40 to Knoxville, TN and then north on I-75 into Kentucky. Taking pictures of the rock-slide on the side of the interstate while traveling at 70 mph isn't as easy as it sounds (so my mom says). To fulfill our quest for seeing the oddities in America, we searched for Kentucky's Big Chicken. How hard could it be to find a big chicken? He was a bit elusive! Now I'm not the best map reader in the world, but.... The chicken was on US Hwy 25 East. One would assume that if you went the opposite direction of US Hwy 25 WEST, that would be east. Not quite! And, did you know you could travel North on US Hwy 25 East? My favorite was two signs that said North US 25 East and South US 25 West and they were at 90 degrees to each other. Huh? I'm embarrassed to admit our detour to see him cost us an hour, if not more, but you can see why.

Tomorrow's agenda? A giant pink elephant drinking a martini in Indiana! Atleast he's supposed to be right off the highway...

Have Route, Will Travel

I have my route planned!!

It's Sunday night and I finally have details more than "just heading west". I have decided to take the multiple interstate route, vs I-40 W for 2000 miles (which is pretty hard to screw up). Day 1 will involve driving up to Asheville, Knoxville, and Lexington, KY. After that, it goes something like this: Louisville, St. Louis, Kansas City, Denver, Salt Lake City, Lake Tahoe, and Sacramento. We have 7 days and therefore plenty of time to see what the country has to offer in roadside attractions. I am voting for any "World's largest ____" and welcome any suggestions!

The real adventure begins in the morning.

Moving isn't as glamorous as it sounds

Still technically into Day 1 and I am yet back again at Walgreens.

I have no idea where anything is and the inside of my car scares me at the moment. It's worse than the garage (if I had one) and all I see are the things I have no use for - 3 brooms (who own 3 brooms?), an electric sander (the movers packed the sander case but not the sander), and an extra deadbolt lock, plus a couple of boxes of work stuff. Atleast I have my computer, but the movers were quicker than me and packed my computer bag. I am on my way to the drug store to re-purchase the items in my toiletry bag that I left behind in Wilmington. (Did you know it costs $80 to overnight a toiletry bag to Charlotte? - I'll just go re-buy the stuff) Next big task before the drive - unpack the clothes I brought and see what I have. Normally I pride myself on packing for a trip - I plan out what to wear, make sure everything is coordianted, clean, and has interchangeable pieces - I'm seriously anal about it. But for some reason, packing for a week long drive, starting a new job as a manager, and living out of a suitcase for up to 90 days seemed like a good time to "wing it" as I just threw a bunch of stuff in 2 bags. Excuse me for a sec while I breath deeply into this paper bag...

Good-by Wilmington, NC!

So, today is bittersweet.

I have lived in Wilmington, North Carolina for the past 6 years, and moved there from Savannah, Georgia. After living in Savannah, I don't consider Wilmington, a sister city, to really be that southern of a town, but now I have accepted a new job out in Sacramento, California and it is time to hit the road. Yesterday the movers came and packed up all of my belongings and loaded them into the 18 wheeler and it only took like 6 hours to pack up my life. That is great that it didn't take forever and they were nice and polite, but shouldn't have it taken longer?

So now the house is empty and it is still a darn cute house! I'm going to miss my house - it's a 1948 cape cod style with a front porch that has a swing, and a screened-in back porch. And a For Sale sign in the front yard. Sigh.

Today started Day 1 of my big new adventure! I picked up the 2 cats (Sam and Harry) from the vet where they had been hanging out while the movers were at the house, and we headed West. Well, we only went about 200 miles west - to Charlotte where I will see my family for a couple of days and pick up my mom. We start the drive on Monday, May 10.

This blog is going to be about my cross country drive and about how a southern girl learns to be a cali girl. It should be an interesting adventure... pictures to follow.