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!

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)

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!

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)

Vegas Baby!

Olivia flew in on Monday night, and her flight was smooth sailing. Olivia kept saying how beautiful the weather in California was so beautiful, and how it was Sunny with a breeze. I picked her up from the airport, and we grabbed a quick bite from Chevy's so Olivia could have a strawberry margarita! We headed back to the apartment, and packed up everything, and tied any loose ends up before going to bed.

We woke up yesterday morning, and had to go to UPS to ship all my clothes to Alabama. By the time we got to UPS, did last minute errands, and grabbed breakfast we didn't get on the road until 10:30AM. We stopped off at a road side fruit stand in Gilroy, and bought fresh fruit for the ride. We drove all day, and as I looked at the map I realized the Grand Canyon is right next to Vegas. So we changed our plans of staying in Flagstaff, AZ to Las Vegas.

***Fun Fact*** Olivia said she has no interest in stopping at the Grand Canyon, and said I don't want to go to the DAM! I was like, "Ok, it is the Grand Canyon, not the Hoover Dam, and how do you not want to see it?" and she replied "Um, OK what is the difference between them anyway! What the hell is the Grand Canyon?"...A canyon.

Our cellphones died and the car charger broke, so we were without cell phones for most of the drive. By the time we made it to Vegas which was about 10 hours of driving, we were hungry, tired, and annoyed so we were at each others throats. We kept bickering towards the end, but once we got into our hotel and ate dinner we were fine.

After dinner, we walked the Las Vegas strip, and we caught the show in front of Treasure Island. Sonny (my dog, for those who do not know) kept crying really loud when we left him in the hotel room. So we took him with us, and walked the strip. We were able to exercise him, and see the sights. There were fireworks that go off throughout the Treasure Island show, so he would start barking but other than that he was fine.

All in all it was a solid stop. We are packing up the hotel right now, and heading the Grand Canyon. I took TONS of pictures of the ride, Vegas, and random stuff but OF COURSE Olivia's laptop can't read my memory card! So from now on we are using Olivia's camera or my cell phone from here on out. Pictures to come....

It is a journey not a destination...

Well, this is when my blog entries are really going to start picking up! My last night at LB Steak was last night, and I leave for Alabama Tuesday morning! My sister Olivia flies in to California tomorrow night to help me make the drive back to Alabama. We are going to get some sleep, and wake up bright and early Tuesday morning and hit the road! Everyone keeps asking if I am excited, I am not really feeling anything. I don't think it is even hitting me that I am really moving. I started packing my car today, and tomorrow (Monday) will be full of last minute errands. Sonny is coming with me, so it will be Olivia, Sonny, and me on the wide open rode. The first night we are staying in Flagstaff, Arizona so we will see the Grand Canyon!

For those of you confused on why I am leaving California, and why I chose Alabama here is the breakdown:

I moved out to California 2 years ago for school. The state schools out here were not taking transfers, so I was taking classes at a junior college to buy time until I could get into San Jose State. After applying, I received a letter saying I met all the requirements of admission, but due to overcrowding they had to wait list me again. After 2 years of waiting, I knew I had to move out of state, and my other sister, Olivia, lives in Mobile. The tuition is cheap, and it is BEAUTIFUL down there. So it was an easy solution. I start at the end of this month as a Junior at the University of South Alabama. That's it!

So as for the drive, it is a 36 hour drive from San Jose, California to Mobile, Alabama. We are trying to do it in 3 days...hopefully! We will be driving through California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama.

I really want this move to be positive. I want to get healthy both mind and spirit, and graduate from school. I love moving because it really teaches you how strong and adaptable you are, and allows you to start fresh.

You know when Rachel and I told people in Michigan 2 years ago we wanted to move to California, they called us nuts. They said we wouldn't be able to make it, and I would be back in Michigan in 1 year tops because it was so expensive out here. I am here 2 years later, happy I moved, and not regretful at all. I met SO many great people, and saw some of the most beautiful places on earth.

I hope that if you want to follow you dreams, don't let other peoples opinions stop you. LIVE YOUR LIFE!! It is YOUR life. Seize every opportunity. You will always regret more what you DON'T do, then what you do.

It was an awesome ride California! I am off to conquer the Dirty South! Check my blog everyday to see updates and pictures of our road trip, and updates of my new life in Alabama!

Catch you on the flip side!