On the Move... Day... I Don't Know... What's My Name?

Aaaaaaannnnnnddddd.... I'm Done.

We have one more day of driving in front of us.  I'm not sure I'm going to make it.  Today wasn't a day of long driving, but it was difficult driving.  There was also some disappointment for us, which didn't help.  I managed to not take one picture with my camera today.  (While somewhat upsetting, this is not the disappointment I'm referring to... but I'll get to that in a minute.) Thankfully, Mick's iPhone is permanently attached to him, so we do have a few to help us remember today.

We started out in Rock Springs, WY in the cold and wind.  And I mean capital W-I-N-D; the kind that pushes the car door back closed on you when you try to open it.  Not 15 minutes down the road, we see a sign that says our interstate has been closed.  So, we pull over in Little  America, WY and find a traffic update hotline.  It appears that a crash has shut down the interstate.  We found out from the Little Debbie delivery man that an 18-wheeler jack-knifed across all three lanes, which caused another big rig to run off the side of the road and into a ditch, which triggered another truck to also crash.  We sent up prayers that the drivers, and anyone else involved, were okay. 

We were advised to stay put at the Little America hotel/truck stop/anything you could possibly need including ice cream cones for $.50 location until the road was re-opened. Otherwise, we would end up on some back roads with higher winds and blowing snow, and this Alabama girl was having none of that.  This recommendation worked out really well for the Little America folks.  The sucker that I am ended up buying AJ a puzzle, travel car/airplane magnet case, tiddly winks, and snacks.  Hey, we had to have something to do while we were just sitting around.

I have no idea why these came through sideways... I fixed them before uploading.

Finished product!



 

We stayed in Little America for almost two hours.  Thankfully they had a playground outside, and we were able to get lunch.  Eventually, they cleared the road, but not soon enough to save our stop in Salt Lake City to see Mick's brother.  Mick wrestled with the decision of whether or not to drive the extra 30-45 minutes out of the way and risk roads being closed due to weather tonight. Unfortunately, he had to make the call to get us through the rough patch before dark, so we didn't get to see Uncle Chris.  AJ was so bummed (along with the rest of us), but now that we'll be living on the west coast, we know we'll get to see him soon!

 

After crossing the border into Utah, we made a pit stop at a rest area in Echo.  Mick & AJ headed inside, while Wrigley and I stretched our legs in the snow.  Have I mentioned that Wrigley LOVES snow?  He runs around in circles, and then stops to wait for you to throw the "ball".  He's very confused when he gets to the landing spot and the "ball" has disappeared.  The best part is throwing the snow right at him.  I find it hysterical when he catches a snowball in his mouth and it explodes all over his face. I wish I had taken a video, but I was too busy laughing.  He would bark at me if I wasn't throwing the snow fast enough.  It was a good spirit lifter to watch him today.

 

We continued on through Utah, also a beautiful state, as I took in the views of mountains covered in snow. There were some spots where you couldn't tell where the mountain ended and the clouds/sky began. It was awe inspiring.  The ice on the roads, however was not much fun. 

 

Once we crossed into Idaho, the snow started to disappear, but the winds picked-up.  Mick and I have very sore arms from the tight grip we had on the steering wheels this afternoon.  We arrived safe and sound in Burley around 6:00 p.m.  The wind was continuing to get stronger, so while it was a tough decision, and one we didn't want to make, skipping Salt Lake City was probably the right choice.

 

We did get to visit some family today!  We had a really nice, long-overdue visit with Mick's sister, niece, and nephew.  AJ has found a new best friend.  Poor Ethan probably has bruises up and down his left arm from sitting next to AJ.  Regardless, a good (albeit wild and crazy) time was had by all.

 

I've never seen a child act as nuts as mine did last night. Research is showing that a four-year-old's threshold for being strapped in a car is four days.  I think that's my limit too... One more day kiddo... just hang on!

 

My Musings from Day 5:

 

1.) What does it say about your city if you have a billboard proclaiming that the best food in town is at the Best Western?

 

2.) I understand that truck drivers need exercise too, but is it the best idea to select a cold, wet sidewalk, during a light snow, at a rest area in Echo, UT to do your push-ups?

 

3.) My eyes are starting to cross.  Thank goodness I'm in the hotel.  No cheek-slapping necessary.  By the way... I don't want to drive another day... please don't make me.

 

Coming up... Richland, is that you??

 

(Side note... this didn't get posted last night because I fell asleep while reading back through for mistakes.  I'm going to pretend that's not a reflection on my writing skills and blame it on four solid days of driving.) :-)

 

 

On the Move... Day 4

Beautiful! Gorgeous! Wish You Were Here!

 

 

We woke up in North Platte, NE to snow flurries and VERY cold weather.  The temperature never got any better, but thankfully, the snow let up for a little while.

 

Today was a light driving day.  From Nebraska to Rock Springs, WY, we drove about seven and a half hours.  The first two and the last one were the worst.  A little background on me... I'm from Alabama.  When there is a threat of snow, we head to the grocery store for bread and milk (noone knows why, it's just what you do), then the city shuts down, and we settle in for a night in front of the fireplace.  We do not, nor do we have any desire to drive in winter weather.  So to say that my knuckles were white and every muscle from my wrists to my neck were tense is an understatement. 

 

When the snow let up, we stopped in Sydney, NE for a quick break.  Sydney's claim to fame?  The Cabela's World Headquarters is located there.  The things you learn on the road.  After Sydney, there were a lot of wide open spaces.  Wyoming is gorgeous!!  I wish I had been able to take pictures while I was driving. (Well, I took a few, but don't tell anyone.) 

 

We stopped in Cheyenne for lunch and a chance to stretch our legs... all ten of them.  Mick found a great little park with space for Wrigs to chase his tennis ball and a playground for AJ.  I think this has been AJ's favorite day so far.  It was so cold, we were the only ones there.  Does this make us crazy or adventurous?  I'll let you decide.

 



Cheyenne has these boots all over. We saw four or so in the short amount of time we were there.

 

Cheyenne's Big Boy - One of four steam engines built in New York.  It was so cold, my brain didn't retain any more info than that...

AJ and Mick in front of the Big Boy.  This is the best we could get from AJ who was too cold to smile... until...

There's a smile.  It's never to cold for a playground... if you ask a four-year-old.

King of the Mountain!!

It's all about how you hold your tongue...

  

 

Superman!!  This became the favorite slide...

...but this one was pretty fun too.

 

 

After we had all the fun we could stand in the cold, we got back on the road to Rock Springs and discovered that sometimes you just have to make an unscheduled stop when you see a billboard advertising this:

 

 

That's right.  I can now say that I have visited America's smallest city.  I just checked off something I didn't know was on my bucket list.  You should add it to yours.

 

The rest of the trip was great.  The sun stayed out for the most part, but the clouds had us a little spooked.

 

 

The snow held up until the last hour of our trip.  Thankfully, we arrived safe and sound at our third LaQuinta. Let's hope that the family with the screaming kids (that woke us up at 6:30 a.m. this morning) stayed in North Platte.

 

My Musings from Day 4:

 

1.) I'm from Alabama... what on Earth am I doing driving in snow/ice?  And where is my milk and bread?

 

2.) I need to develop a way to get the mental pictures in my head, downloaded onto my computer.  Man, I took a million of them today that I'd love to share.

 

3.) Are we there yet?

 

Coming up... Closed roads in Idaho????

 

On the Move... Day 3

Are You Sure We're in Nebraska?

After a GREAT night's sleep in Columbia, we got on the road a little later than we had hoped, but my mood was up and nothing was going to get me down.  I cranked the tunes and nearly blasted poor Wrigley out of the backseat.  By Kansas City, my mood was still up, but starting to dip just a little. 

A quick... or not so quick... stop to see Arrowhead Stadium and the Royals' field, along with some exercise for Wrigley, and we were back on track.

Arrowhead Stadium.  Wrigley was not impressed.

Play Ball!  Well, that's what Wrigley wanted anyway...

 

Looking for a few good people to play duck, duck, goose...
 

For lunch, we had bar-b-que.  Let me just say, Kansas City BBQ lives up to the hype.  Very tasty!  (I mean, it's no Dreamland or Full Moon, but yummy nonetheless.)  After leaving the restaurant, I got on the phone with a friend and killed an hour and twenty minutes with fun conversation.  And then I looked up... out of nowhere, this dense fog rolled in.  I'd love to tell you how beautiful Nebraska is, but I haven't seen it yet.  We spent the rest of the afternoon and night driving white-knuckled through the Cornhusker state. 

Welcome to Nebraska!

Thankfully, it lifted just enough for us to get a few pictures of Memorial Stadium on the University of Nebraska campus in Lincoln.  Being an Alabama girl, I was raised in the heart of SEC country.  Because of this, I had no idea what a successful football program Nebraska has.  Mick is slowly but surely convincing me that there might be football outside of the southeast.

I'm not sure if it was the fog, or if Wrigley was breathing funny, or if the caffeine wore off, but my mood slipped severely, and I didn't know if I could make it to North Platte.  Don't ask me, I don't know where it is either... Thankfully, I found a Rick and Bubba CD in my car.  Instant mood refresh, and I was able to (with a few head shakes and cheek slaps to keep my eyes focused...) make it to our second LaQuinta! 

And on that note, I'm off to bed.


My Musings from Day 3:

1.) I have already memorized all the playlists on my iPod.  It might be time to hit up iTunes again...

2.) Missouri comes in a close second in the "Most Adult Superstores Per Mile" category.  Should I be proud to say that I've driven through the #1 state in this category as well?  Prayers for Missouri going up.

3.) Really have to get that map out.  I swear we crossed over the Missouri River ten times today.  That thing must loop and twist and tie itself into a bow.  On a related note, have I ever mentioned I HATE bridges?

Bonus Musing: If I only drank half of a 5-Hour Energy, would that give me two and a half hours of energy?  Because, really that's all I need...


Coming up... Snow.

On the Move... Day 2

Oh What a Beautiful Morning...

 

 

As rough as Day 1 was, Day 2 was that great!  We woke up, ate a quick breakfast at the hotel, and got on the road.  It was a gorgeous, sunny morning in Kentucky.  I bet you didn't know this, but there are a LOT of horses in Kentucky.  The drive was beautiful... at least until we got past Lexington.  Then the sun went into hiding and the clouds came out.  Oh well.  At least we started on a high note.

 

Our first stop was in Louisville. Another tidbit you might not know is that my husband is a HUGE baseball fan. So, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to stop by the Louisville Slugger Museum. If you ever make it to Louisville, I highly recommend it.

 

Because everyone needs their picture in front of a 120 foot tall baseball bat.

 

When you're named after Mickey Mantle and you have the opportunity to hold a bat that he used in a game, you take it.

The Great Bambino's bat.  There are notches around the logo for each home run he hit with this bat.

Because when you've had your picture taken with a 120 foot bat,  you also need one "wearing" an extra-large bronze glove.

I couldn't get them to pose like Junior with their mini-bats.  No fun I tell you.

After a much longer visit to the museum than we had planned, we headed to Saint Louis, MO in the rain.  Even in a gray, foggy sky, the Arch is breath-taking.  If you've never seen it in person, you need to. We hoped to ride to the top, but we arrived about thirty minutes before closing and the rides were all sold out. So, instead, we looked through the museum they have about western expansion.  We didn't have enough time to see everything we wanted to see, so we'll have to make it back one day.

 

You see pictures, but they just don't capture how HUGE the St. Louis Arch is.

We headed to dinner after the Arch, and saw that Mick received voice mail from a friend in Birmingham.  We both assumed that she was mad at Mick for moving us to Washington.  We nearly fell on the floor when she announced that she is pregnant with twins!!! Yay!!  Now she and I are BOTH mad at Mick for moving us across the country.  ;-) 

 

After dinner, we drove to Columbia for our second hotel.  I think I neglected to point out that our first hotel left a little to be desired in the cleanliness department, so I mentioned to Mick that we should probably try a different chain for night number two.  LaQuinta Hotels are awesome.  We had a very restful night to prepare for Day 3!

 

My Musings from Day 2:

 

1.)  I want to quit my job and go give the factory tours for the Louisville Slugger Museum.  No seriously. 

 

2.) Columbia, MO would have been much more exciting if Coach Z were still there. 

 

3.)  I really need to look at a map, because I'm not sure how we drove through Indiana and Illinois on our way to Missouri.  I guess that fifth grade geography class didn't stay with me.

 

Coming up... The Cornhusker State.

 

 

On the Move... Day 1

Moving is of the Devil

 

We pulled out of Durham at 3:20 p.m. on Saturday.  Wait let me back up...

 

Jackson and Walter came Thursday and lovingly wrapped our knick-nacks in bubble wrap.  I had a good feeling about these guys when as we were discussing what stayed & what got packed, Walter asked if I had any garbage bags that they could put the toilet brushes & plungers in for packing.  (See previous post if you are now confused.)  Walter is my new best friend.

 

On Friday, the truck showed up early, and  I'm thinking this move will be the best yet!  So I leave Mick at the house, drop AJ off at school, and head to the bagel shop to work, so that I won't be in the way of the movers. I get my bagel & Coke, pick a prime spot, and open up my laptop.  No sooner had I turned it on, that I realized my battery was about two minutes away from shutting down.  I glanced around the shop, and while they provide free wifi, they do not, apparently, provide free electricity.  So, I proceed to drive around town to look for a place that has both.  I finally found a Starbucks with an open table near an outlet, so I ordered a coffee... because you can't go to Starbucks and not order a coffee... and went to plug in my computer.  Much to my chagrin, I realize that not only do I not have my ac adapter with me, I'm positive it got packed up with my office stuff.  I force back the tears and head home to get the one from our personal laptop.  Great start to the day. 

I returned home, found an empty spot on the floor to work, and realized that the poor movers are loading the truck in sleet/snow/freezing rain.  I begin to pray that no body parts are broken on an ice covered loading ramp.  My prayers paid off, and the truck pulled out Friday afternoon without incident.

Saturday was a rough day.  The winter weather wreaked havoc with our carefully laid out plans.  The carpet cleaners cancelled, the walk-thru with our leasing agent fell through, Time Warner Cable's two offices within driving distances were closed (even though everyone else was able to open...), and we lost an integral component to a happy drive.  AJ couldn't get his LeapPad in the case, so he "stomped" on it to make it fit.  Shattered screen.  No power.  Sad Daddy. 

All that was forgotten as we stopped at Chick-fil-A on the way out of town and had lunch with one of our favorite Durham people.

In true AJ fashion, it took about 20 takes to get this one shot.

Thank you for the visit and the fire truck Cameron!!  We will definitely miss you.

After all the morning adventures, the rest of the day was long, but fairly uneventful... at least from bad stuff. 

I was able to convince Mick that we needed to stop in Mt. Airy, NC.  Anyone know the significance of this small town?  Anyone?  Anyone?   If you guessed the home of Andy Griffith, you'd be correct.  I'm so glad we stopped, because even though the museum was closed, I snapped this priceless picture.

You're whistling the theme song, aren't you?

After that, it was a lot of driving. We drove through four states in a matter of hours. The Blue Ridge Mountains are beautiful. 

A beautiful sunset heading into the Blue Ridge Mountains.

We arrived in Morehead, KY around midnight Sunday.  I was ready to crash.  So, I did. 

My Musings from Day 1:

1.) I will be praying for West Virginia.  A lot.  Based on the number of "adult superstore" billboards I saw, they need it. 

2.) When you're so tired from driving that you can't see straight, shaking your head a la Mack in the movie Cars, will uncross your eyes for approximately 30 seconds.  Smacking your cheeks works much better.

3.) Mick has been driving his car with AJ, while I'm in mine with Wrigley.  I'm not sure if I feel worse for Mick being cooped up with an active four-year-old, or Wrigley for having to listen to my singing.

Coming up... Day 2 & 3... probably in one post.  :-)