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Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Sweet Tea vs. Iced Tea: Y'ALL got any SWEET tea? *Insert Southern Accent here*


Everyone who knows me, will tell you Iced Tea is my favorite drink on Earth. I prefer my tea fresh brewed, with a squeeze of lemon, extra ice, and no sweetener. Yes, I have it down to a science. Down here, in the Dirty South, they drink Sweet Tea like people in California eat avocados...CONSTANTLY. When I go to restaurants out here, and want to order my drink of choice, it usually goes like this:
Me-"Yes, Can I please have an Iced Tea?"
Server-**Thick Souther Accent**OK Darlin', you want Sweet Tea."
Me- "No, Can I just have unsweetened tea, please?"
Server-"OK, So unsweet sweet tea."

Yes, because "Sweet Tea" down here is the root word. They refer to Unsweetened Iced Tea as "Northern Tea".

I think Iced Tea would kick Sweet Tea's ass in a smack down 10 times out of 10.

School is anything but cool, it's fucking hot down here.


I started school here on Monday at the University of South Alabama. The campus is MASSIVE. They have a thing down here called "The Jag Tran" which is a bus system on campus that runs from building to building. Yes. A bus system to drive you between the buildings, because the campus is so big and spread out that you need a motor vehicle to make it on time. Needless to say, Olivia and I had to get our parking permits. We arrived on campus at 8:45AM to make sure we had enough time to wait in line. Long story short, the website gave inaccurate information on what we needed to get our parking permit. We had to hike all around campus to find a computer to print out a form, and hike all the way back. We did all this on foot in 100 degree humid weather. I was ready to kill someone. At 10:05am we finally got our permit, and Olivia had to drive me to class so I could make it on time because my first class was on the other side of campus. I had the full on sweats, and I literally had to go to the restroom take paper towel and wipe the sweat off my face once I finally got to my first class. If anyone wants to know how hot hell is, come to Alabama in August.
All in all, my first day on campus was a nightmare, but now that I know my way around, I love it. I feel like I am finally making progress, and my classes are smooth sailing.
As for work at NOJA, I am definitely dreading being new. Whenever you start a new job, it is stressful. When you are a server, you develop what is called "your rhythm" it is a flow that is unique to the place you are serving. Once you find your rhythm, you can handle as many tables that are being thrown your way, but in the beginning when you haven't got it yet, working is stressful, overwhelming, and scary. You can get flustered simply by a 2 top. This was the case with me last night. I felt like a ball of chaos, running around, and doing my best to just keep pace. Tables kept asking me where I was from, and wanting to talk about California for hours, and it slowed me down at my other tables. The good thing is, all my coworkers help me out so I haven't got too in the weeds yet.
Last night, I was finishing out my side work, when one of the servers said "Kaitlin, did you look at your check out?" Apparently instead of typing in "$30" on one of my tips, I hit "$3,000". Although I was shocked, I thought no big deal, it is an easy fix. We just have to go in, reopen the tab, and adjust. Well, the computer system at this place is horrible. My manager had to sit on the phone with the company who makes our computer system for close to an hour, they had to dispatch a tech guy to come to the restaurant, and it was a huge ordeal. This was a my first major screw up. I am sure I am going to have more blunders to come.
I am hoping with time I get my rhythm, and learn my way around campus better. I am anxiously awaiting September so I can escape this crazy, ridiculous fucking heat.
Until next time!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Work Outing

This is a sculpture made out of watermelon in the center of the Brunch
Live music
Part of the Brunch Buffet
The group heading out for some croquette
View from outside our table of the bay

Hey All,
Today our boss/owner of Noja took out the staff as a treat to brunch. We went to The Grand Hotel in Point Clear, AL. It was incredible! It is right on the water, and the hotel is HUGE. The brunch had tables and tables of food, a full dessert table, sushi table, omelet station, prime rib station, you name it! Plus, live music. True in Southern form they had the New Orleans type walking band with the big tuba and saxophone that would play to individual tables. We went out side and they have croquette so we played a round, and headed up stairs to see the piano lounge. We rounded out the event by going to their cigar and lounge bar. All in all a great time, and I want to go to brunch there with Olivia and Rachel because it really is beautiful. http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/ptlal-grand-hotel-marriott-resort-golf-club-and-spa/ There's the link so you can get an idea of how beautiful this place was.
Alabama Weather: Sunny with a chance of unpredictable.
It was beautiful and Sunny, and when we went to leave it was complete thunderstorm down poor. I had to drive back over the bridge that goes over the Gulf, and the storm clouds were rolling in and it was complete torrential rain. They have a van service that drove us to our car so we didn't get wet, but while Kelly was jumping in the car she fell into some bushes. Quite the ending to our day! Haha
Tonight I am getting all my laundry done, and just finishing up decorating my room because tomorrow I start school! Ah! Wish me luck!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Show me the Money!

It has been a while since my last update. I haven't really had time to do much because I am still sleeping like a bear. Although, recently I have been forcing myself out of bed in the morning to try and get on a normal sleep schedule. I have been trying to hydrate as much as possible, and it has consistently been over 92 degrees everyday.

Everyone keeps asking how I like my new job. Well, it is probably the coolest serving job I have ever had. The entire staff is super friendly, and everyone has been more than welcoming. I will say, that my managers are Republican, and constantly want to talk politics since I am a bleeding liberal. I have refrained from having such convo's, because shit would get awkward. It is better if I don't get fired up. Haha I have been in training for the past week, and tonight was my first night on the floor by myself. Everything went really smooth, and I am finally making some cash. I literally had $1.76 in my Checking Account, and Olivia has been buying my food. Luckily, I got my check for training and my cash flow is somewhat there again. Reasons why Noja is the best restaurant I have worked at thus far:
1.) No Kids Menu
2.) No Kids Cups
3.) No To-Go Boxes
4.) Closed for lunches, holidays, Sundays, and Mondays
5.) No Tip Out
6.) Charge Fee for Splitting Dishes
7.) No Free Refills on Soft Drinks
8.) They have "outings" where the owner treats everyone to a nice dinner or trip.

Yes. This is the perfect place to work while I am finishing my degree. The servers all tip pool, and so they make between $150-$200 a night.

I start school on Monday, and I am pumped! I am ready to be at a University, and just bang out my last 2 years. The University of South Alabama is completely remodeled, and the campus is beautiful. I am not looking forward to trekking it across campus in this crazy heat, but everyone keeps telling me the weather gets better.

Almost daily, I am in awe of the manners that everyone has. I was walking into Subway, a guy who was in the middle of ordering his sub, stopped ordering, walked over and held the door for me. I must've looked stunned when I said "Thank You" because he smiled and said "You're welcome Miss. There are still some gentlemen left on this Earth." Another situation, Olivia and I went out to breakfast, and the table next to us struck up conversation, and after finding out we were new to the area told us all the places to go, and directions how to get there. EVERYONE TALKS TO EACH OTHER. Its great. Honestly, I love the friendliness the most of all so far.

One weird quirk about the people down here is they are obsessed with drink containers. They love coozies, even if they are just drinking regular pop out of a can, they line it with a coozie. They also love cups that don't "sweat" which means double layered plastic cups so no condensation builds up on the outside. I have to admit, I have one now. Olivia bought it for me at the mall. I use it to drink ice water.

I have been doing my best to see the Mobile night life. Each bar downtown has its own little vibe. I went to the oldest bar in Downtown called Hayley's, and I was hit on by this English dude that was traveling the country for the month, then flying home to England. He was wearing a Star Wars t-shirt, and was chubby. He was really aggressive, and kept trying to buy me drinks and kiss me. I told him I was tired and I had to go and he said "I am trying to pursue you. Would you like to go back to my motel room?". Yikes. If the Star Wars t-shirt didn' t kill the mood, the mention of a MO-tel did. Umm, no. I'll go home, and cuddle with my dog Sonny. But other than that, the bars down town are super cheap, and just a great time.

My hair is still yellow and uneven, because I have been to broke to fix it. I plan on going to a hairstylist a girl at my work recommended once I get some cash in my pocket.

Tomorrow morning the owner of Noja is having an outing at The Grand Hotel. He is treating us all to brunch. So I am off to bed to prepare for that. I plan on finishing my room tomorrow, so I will post pictures, and blog about my first day of school.

Until next time!


Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Sc-HAIR-y

Front of my mullet, and also the end of my fried hair
How many colors can you count?!
Yellow...white...brown...brass...

For those of you who are not aware of the hair issues I have going on I am here to fill you in. The day before I left California I needed to get my head highlighted because my roots were out of control. My neighbor assured me she could do my hair for cheap, and she was licensed to do hair. She charged me $70 for a full head highlight and hair cut. That is a steal because I normally have to pay around $200 at a salon. Well...little did I know that was the biggest mistake of my life.
She took over 4 hours to do my hair, and after words my hair looked like complete shit. I am not sure how she manged this, but I still had roots when she was done but my roots were a pink-ish brass color, and my roots were bright blonde. The hair cut was horrible. My left side of my hair is actually 2 inches longer than my right, and she put in "layers" (even though I asked for a trim.) and she literally gave me a mullet. I was pissed but I was like whatever I'll buy one of those highlighting kits from the pharmacy, and have my sister Olivia just touch up my hair until I could get to a real salon to do my hair. Olivia had never foiled hair before, and on top of that the dye we used was super strong. My hair came out white, yellow, orange, brown, and cheetah spotted. Yup. I was actually going to dye it brown, and just let my hair get healthy again, but Olivia talked me into letting her dye my hair one more time. So we bought blonde dye and she dyed the whole head one color. My hair is still orange, and parts white but I can't dye my hair or I am scared it will fall out. My haircut is still really bad but I don't want to cut it because I am trying to grow it out and to cut it would mean my hair would have to have like 4 inches taken off. I actually had to interview and train with this hair. Yow-za. So enjoy the pictures :o) Hopefully I can fix this catastrophe before my sister's wedding in November.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Awesome-ness

Sorry I have waited for a few days to write this. I have been getting off work and passing out because I am still wanting to sleep all the time.
**Warning the next paragraph is boring restaurant talk, but a lot of my restaurant peeps are interested**
Noja has been really great. They have a super small staff so everyone has been welcoming and friendly. At LB Steak, we had bartenders, back servers, expos, and runners. At Noja, it is a team service, so they don't have any of that. They do 1/3 the covers we did at LB Steak, but because there is no back-staff support, you stay just as busy. It is nice cause there is no huge tip out, and the servers make pretty good money. They do not have a kids menu, they charge for refills, there is a charge for splitting dishes, and they have a dress code for customers! Heaven. I think it always sucks being new because you have to learn all the quirks, but I will get there soon enough. I am training until next week Wednesday and start on the floor on Thursday of next week. I e-mailed True and told them I couldn't except the position, so Noja it is!
**OK, Enough talking shop...on to the next...**

Some weird/cool/funny things about Alabama, they have NO liquor cut off time. Bars can stay open as late as they want or close as early as they want. People stay at bars all the way until 8 am. Oh, and the bar tabs here are ridiculously cheap. It is a $1 a beer, and $2 for mixed drinks at pretty much everywhere.
My work is right in Downtown, and there is a club called Atlantis. It is for the ghetttttoooo fabulous. Apparently, the object of the game is to wear the least amount of clothes legally possible. There was a girl that walked in, and I kid you not, had underwear on that she wedged up her butt so you could see her butt cheeks, and she was wearing a spaghetti strapped tank top. Cutie. I wanted to take pictures for the blog, but I risked being shot. All the people going to that club dress in super tiny clothes, like they will wear a blouse and just stretch it down and not wear pants. Quite frankly, I was in people watching heaven.

Oh, I love watching people get arrested. It is a hobby of mine. Anything involving cops slamming people into walls or cement I like to have front row seating. Last night, a girl from work took me to a bar directly across from Atlantis, and we sat out on the porch and had beers. I saw cops literally chasing after people, riot police run into a bar, and sheriffs on horseback (yes! horseback.) trot down the street for crowd control. I was in police HEAVEN.

Somethings I hope rub off on me:
- the southern phrases like "just standing around like a bottle of piss" which is another way of saying you have nothing going on and you are bored.
- the manners everyone here talks to everybody, uses ma'am and sir, and is genuinely nice.
- the cowboys enough said.

Until next time!





Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Change of plans.

A whole display in the grocery dedicated to crawfish boils

Yes! My boxes with all my clothes arrived!
Noja- This is where I'll be working!
Noja- My new work
A picture of the porch I had dinner on tonight!
Complete with ceiling fans and an ice maker :o)
Country home in downtown Mobile
An Iirsh dive bar in Downtown Mobile
My dream home!



Well, slight change in plans regarding my work situation. As previously mentioned in the blog, I was going to start working at a restaurant down here called True this passed Wednesday (8/10). The manager told me that I didn't start training until Tuesday (8/16) so I got an extra week off. Noja, another fine dining restaurant in Mobile, contacted me for a second interview today. During my first interview a month ago with Noja, I talked with the General Manager. Today I met with the culinary team and serving staff. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming and told me I could start tomorrow. Noja is only open for dinner, closed on Sundays, Mondays, and all major holidays. The owner also takes the whole staff to "outings" every few months. August 21 the whole staff is being treated to Sunday brunch and then hanging out at the pool at a nice hotel all paid for by the owner. Also, they have a very low turnover rate. The newest employee has been there a year and a half. So I think that speaks to how well people enjoy working there and never leave. So I am going to start training at Noja tomorrow, if I don't like it I will start training at True on Tuesday as planned. But if I like it, then I am quitting True, and sticking with Noja as my job while I am in school.

As for other news, I have been sleeping A LOT. The heat knocks you out. I literally go to bed no later than 10 pm, and wake up at 11am, sometimes even sneaking a nap in. I don't know if it is my body adjusting to the heat, or just the time change. Either way I am hibernating like a bear. When I am not sleeping the day away, I have been doing really good with unpacking! My boxes I shipped all my clothes in arrived on Monday, and I wasted no time unpacking. Once I have all my pictures hung up, I will snap some pictures of my bedroom so you all can see!

Crawfish boils are really big down here. Mobile has a strong Louisiana influence both architecturally and culinary wise. When we went to the grocery store they had a whole display specifically dedicated to crawfish boils. I have yet to go to one, but I will be sure to let you know how it goes!

My sister took me to this Irish pub in Downtown Mobile. It is SUPER country-fied with a wrap around porch with ceiling fans. My sister and I grabbed burgers and drinks, and sat out on the porch enjoying the heat. I was born to live in the South :o) I snapped some pictures of cute country homes I found in downtown Mobile, complete with porch swings!

I will write a blog to let you know how my first day at Noja goes. I hope I like it! I am just happy that I am going to start making some cash! I am running low on funds!

Until next time!


Sunday, August 7, 2011

My first few days in Alabama

Driving back into Mobile from Daphne (Mobile Skyline)

Sunset over Mobile
Gulf of Mexico




The joy of unpacking :o)

The humidity here the first day made me really crabby and tired. I am feeling better now though, and everyday I get more and more used to being in humidity again. The first night we got here Olivia, Dave, and I unpacked the car and set everything in my room to unpack. Between shopping for things for the apartment, running errands, and doing some sightseeing, my room looks like a bomb went off. I finally just attempted to start unpacking and organizing, but then I took a break to blog :o)
I guess the big question is: Do you like Alabama so far?
Yes! I love not having to fight traffic, I love the fact that people are so nice, and going out of their way to ask how you are doing. One thing I have to get used to be besides the weather, is how spread out everything is. I think whenever you move somewhere there is an inevitable fear, that you will fail, but I feel this every time I move, and then I am fine. I have always been a worrier. I am just excited to start work this week, and school really soon. I even saw my first thunderstorm for the first time in 2 years. (For my non-California peeps, they don't have thunder or lightning storms on the West Coast ever.)
Last night Olivia and Dave took me to Alligator Alley which is a long deck that is built over a swamp. The locals bring bags of marshmallows to the dock, and feed the gators. The alligators love marshmallows, who knew?! We were able to see a gator that was about 12 feet long, and another baby one. The highway here drives over the Gulf, and we were driving back at sunset so it was beautiful. I took some pictures as posted them above.
I am going to tackle some more unpacking! Wish me luck!

Saturday, August 6, 2011

I am a weirdo.

Well, now that I have some down time to write, I wanted to tell you a few things I learned about myself during the road trip. The first being: I am a weirdo. I think everyone has unusual quirks. I think mine were amplified on this long journey. Let me explain.
I have a deep, constant, and HUGE phobia of homeless people, driving at night, and gas stations at night time. If you have ever hung out with me, you know that homeless people make me nervous. I always think they want to rob me or kill me. I realize that this unrealistic phobia has developed due to my CONSTANT viewing of TruTV, Forensic Files, and The First 48. It has convinced me that everyone wants to murder me, and potentially can get away with it. When I see a homeless person, I will purposely walk the long way so I don't have to interact with them. They make me fear for my life. Case in point, weirdo-ism number 1.

Weirdo-ism #2
I HATE driving at night. When it would get dark out, Olivia and I would switch and she would have to drive, and I would white-knuckle the handle on the door, and gasp every time we are going around a bend on the highway that is not fully illuminated. I have a huge fear that I will hit a deer, the deer will puncture through the glass of my windshield, and bring me to my fatal and untimely demise. I, also, think truck drivers won't see us, and switch lanes unexpectedly pushing us off the road. Every time Olivia would pass a semi on the highway, I'd always mutter "Whoa, whoa, whoa." as I clenched the handle to the car bracing myself for this imaginary collision I have painted in my head. Keep in mind, I only have this fear at night time. I wish I could tell you there is some foundation to this constant fear, but there isn't. I have never hit a deer **KNOCK ON WOOD**, and I have never had a run in with a semi. It just boils down to the fact that I am weirdo.

Weirdo-ism #3
I hate gas stations at night time. As soon as I pull in, my heart starts pumping faster, my palms sweat, and I am constantly scanning the place for people who could rob me. I won't pump gas if there is another man pumping gas, and/or a seedy character is lurking around. My definition of "seedy" has now grown into anyone who is not female. Olivia and I stopped for gas in Louisiana, and a man was pumping next to us. I told her to lock the doors, and we needed to wait until he was done pumping and left the station before I'd get out of the car. Then, I had to use the restroom, so I ran for my life towards the gas station, and out of nowhere an old man was standing by the door. I froze in fear, he looked at me, then smiled "Did I scare you? Sorry Miss, I just wanted to hold the door for you." Wow. I am an asshole. Olivia wanted to stay parked at this gas station so she could get an hour of sleep before continuing the drive. After 5 minutes of me saying "Why the fuck is that car pulling in?" "Oh my god, oh my god, there is a car that is parking over there" I just took over driving, so I could get out of there before inducing a heart attack on myself. Great. This fear developed when I was robbed a few years back at a gas station, and has developed into full-on post traumatic stress disorder over the simple task of getting gas at night. It has manifested into fear of all things related to getting gas at night time, and there fore furthering my weirdo-ness.

A few other quirks:
-I don't like talking first thing in the morning. I don't like people to talk to me, and/or me to talk to them. I just need 10 minutes of silence, and then I can handle you.
- I have to be FREEZING when I sleep. I need to feel like I am taking a snooze in a meat locker before I can drift into hibernation. If the tip of my nose isn't freezing, and my sinuses running from pure frigid temperatures...then its not cold enough.

Please feel free to share on my comment board any items that make you a weirdo :o)

Friday, August 5, 2011

Sweet Home Alabama!

**Remember you can click on the photos to make them bigger, if their hard to see!**
My apartment complex
Leasing office to my apartment
This was the temperature in Mobile when we arrived.

Oh my ogd...it was my TruTV dream come true to see this!

Mississippi

Confederate Flags swinging on side of the road..you're not in Kansas anymore Toto

Welcome!

YES! We finally made it! We woke up this morning in Monroe, Louisiana and had breakfast at the hotel. We left the hotel at 11AM, and and made it to Mobile by 4:30PM. I have to say, for this being a 36 hour road trip, we really enjoyed the drive. All together, we drove through California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. 3 hotels, 8 tanks of gas, and 4 days later, we made it safely with no speeding tickets! Amen! Sonny went from being an only child to having to share his space with 4 other dogs. They are all getting along together, but Sonny is just sticking by my side for the most part because he is unsure still. Olivia and I are showering then grabbing dinner tonight. Once we get back we have the joyous task of unloading the car (ugh.) But I am happy to be here, and I can't wait for this chapter of my life to begin! I miss my California, Chicago, and Michigan peeps! But at least now you have somewhere to come for vacation when you need to get away ;o)
I start working at True Restaurant in Mobile this coming Wednesday, and I start school at the University of South Alabama on the 21st of this month! I am going to keep writing on this blog to let you know how my transition to the Dirty South is going, and all the great stories I am sure to have!
I posted pictures, unfortunately we drove through the top of Louisiana and Mississippi so there are not too many pictures but I posted some. GOOD NEWS! Tonight I will be able to upload those pictures from Vegas that I couldn't upload before. Those I will post later tonight.
I want thank everyone for their well wishing, and positive affirmations! Moving is so stressful and scary, and I am lucky to have such love and support in my life. **Cheers!!** Here's to finding a HOT cowboy boyfriend!...and then blogging all about it :o)

Mmmm God Bless Texas!

Sonny in our hotel in Monroe, LA getting ready for bed
I snapped this in Texas...really? Rattle Snake warning sign...in the designated pet area. Great.

The Big Texan Ranch Hotel
The Steak Challenge at the Big Texan Ranch
A country singer comes around and sings to the tables
Inside the main dining room
Banquet Room
Outside the Steakhouse
This sums up Texas, HUGE wide open spaces
New Mexico

Well, we woke up this morning in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and overall New Mexico was uneventful. We were determined to drive as far as humanly possible to try and put a dent in this road trip. We thought we could make it the whole way, but that would have meant 20 hours of driving. We hit the open road sharply at 9AM, and crossed into the Texas border within 3 hours.
Texas is really amazing because it is so beautiful, and you literally just see flat land as far as you can see. It really is God's Country. We passed hundreds of Cattle Farms and horses...I was really living my country dream today.
It was on my bucket list to eat a steak in Texas. We kept seeing these signs that read "BIG TEXAN RANCH STEAKHOUSE! HOME OF THE FREE 72 OUNCE STEAK!" It was located in Amarillo, Texas and we decided this would be the place I checked off this item on my bucket list! Let me just say...this place is UNREAL. You pull in and they have a ranch in the back that you can dock your horses, also included on this Ranch/Steakhouse is : Hotel, Limo Service, Banquet Hall, Dog Park, Gift Shop, full Steakhouse, and full saloon. As promised, they do have a 72 ounce steak...sort of free. You have to eat a salad, 3 shrimp, baked potato, rolls, and the 72 ounce sirloin steak in less than an hour and it is free, if you can't finish you pay $72! This place was featured on Man VS. Food a while back. Anyways, the steak was GREAT, and I washed it down with Sweet Tea...HEAVEN. The servers all wear full cowboy gear, and they have an old man with a guitar walk around and sing country songs to tables. Perfection.
After stuffing ourselves, we got back on the open road. We really wanted to make it all the way to Mobile, Alabama. We kept driving all the way until 2:30 AM, and our ETA according to the GPS was 7AM. Our sister Rachel called, and when she heard we had driven 14 hours, she told us needed to stop and rest and just finish the last leg tomorrow so we didn't fall asleep at the wheel. So I am writing this from our hotel room in Monroe, Louisiana! This is one of the nicer hotels we have stayed in, with a full continental breakfast in the morning. We will be back on the road tomorrow once we sleep in. We have 5 hours left until we get to Mobile. So tomorrow night we should be home! All in all, a productive day, and I can say I completed one item on my bucket list!

Thursday, August 4, 2011

It is a journey, not a destination.

The Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon



Cactus all over the desert.




Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam

Ram Crossing

Lake Mead in Nevada


So, our driving plan originally was going to be 12 hours of driving per day, so we could get to Mobile in 3 days. However, we have been sightseeing and it has put us behind schedule by 1 day.

Yesterday morning we woke up in Las Vegas and hit the road. We drove to the Hoover Dam which was about 40 minutes outside of Vegas. I kept telling Olivia I was really excited about seeing the Dam, and she was less than thrilled. We pulled in and tried to park in the tourist parking structure, but apparently federal law prohibits dogs from walking the bridge over the Hoover Dam, and/or even being in the parking structure. So Olivia and I took turns dropping each other off, and driving Sonny around while the other walked the Hoover Dam Bridge. Which saved us $7 for parking and neither of us had to walk anywhere! Olivia kept saying "I don't get all the hype about a Dam", but once she saw it she said it was beautiful and thought it was super cool. The Dam is really breathtaking and HUGE.

So we looked at the map, and headed towards the Grand Canyon. Apparently the Grand Canyon is 276 miles long, so we just wanted to see the Western part of the Grand Canyon. It was 2hours East of the Hoover Dam. We drove over towards the Canyon, and apparently the Western entrance to the Grand Canyon is owned by an Indian Reservation. So you literally have to take a 12 mile drive on this rough gravel road. It was so bad Olivia and I thought our tires were going to pop. On the way down this what seemed like forever road, we saw "ranch cows". We thought they were wild but apparently they belong to a ranch that was planted in the middle of the drive. These cows had miles and miles of free roam without any fences. So while we were driving all of a sudden all the cars were stopped in the middle of the road and when we got closer we saw it was because there were cows randomly on the shoulder. The first set of cows was a family with 2 small calves. We pulled off to get pictures and video. Olivia wanted to get out and pet them but I told her no way, the cows were mooing at our car when we got too close. For the rest of the trip to the Canyon we saw tons of the cows just off the road everywhere. Too cool. We finally made it to the entrance though, we were able to see the Canyons from a distance and they were gorgeous. You have to buy helicopter rides or bus packages to get into the park to go look at it. We knew we had to get back on the road, so we just drove down the road where you could see the Canyon in the distance. I have to say. the Grand Canyon is one of those things that really take your breath away. It is SO gorgeous. I know I will go there again, and hopefully camp.

So some random knowledge about our journey thus far... First of all my other sister Rachel gave me her Mazda earlier in the year, and it is PERFECT for long road trips. Olivia keeps telling me how she can't believe how tricked out the compact car is for comfort and convenience. We are able to plug in our GPS, a phone charger, it has an ipod dock station, and a 6 CD disk changer! We are set to go. None of our electronics lost battery today because we planned ahead.

The speed limits almost the whole day was 75 for us which was nice because we were truckin it! Once we got to New Mexico there was no more sun. Holy cow it is so dark in this state at night. We couldn't see hardly anything. If we looked out the window to the open fields we just saw black. Because it was so incredibly dark for miles after miles Olivia and I noticed the stars were SO bright! Probably the brightest we have ever seen. The whole sky looked like it was filled with glitter. So pretty.

Sonny actually found a spot on top of all of the junk we have piled to almost the ceiling in the back seat. It was comfortable for him because we threw a blanket over the stuff for security reasons so it gave us extra leg room for the whole day. It is little things like that that are victories when you are taking long distance road trips.

We decided to stop in Albuquerque, NM because it was getting late and it was just too dark out to keep going. We did about 13-14 hours of driving yesterday. We are just going to drive as far as we can today and see what ground we can cover.

(Click on pictures to enlarge)