On the Road Again: We're Home!

We made it!

Yesterday's trip was Albuquerque to Phoenix, not terrible, and certainly more scenic than the Texas flatlands up north. The mesas and colors in New Mexico and northern Arizona never fail to astound me!

Please ignore my foot in the photo.

We stopped in Winslow, Arizona, for a fun little side stop:

Last night we got to stop in Phoenix with Jon and Tina, one of my beloved besties and regular road trip stop. When I moved to Georgia, Dad and I got to hang with them for a night (and by night I mean we were there about 8 hours and slept about 7 of them) - and I hung with them in Phoenix for a week on my way out of Texas. Love them and am so grateful! Anyhow, so we met up with Monica and Todd and their cutie pie, Jace, for dinner to catch up - I didn't think to get a photo. I was way too tired!

This morning, we slept in a little bit, knowing we had a fairly short drive ahead of us (shortest drive of the whole trip), and got out of Phoenix about 10:30 this morning. After a stop at the Colorado River for Molly to get a little swim in (check out my Instagram for more road trip fun), we were finally in state #10! Hooray!

State #10 and our final state line!

And now... we're home! We got to my parents' house about 4:45 this afternoon after an easy 5-hour, where sleepiness promptly punched me in the face, so I'm off to bed here soon! Can't wait to sleep in with plans to go nowhere... mostly.

Tomorrow: to nowhere! We're here!

On the Road Again: Days 2 & 3

So sorry I didn't get to post last night - it was a long day, and we actually go out and had a little fun last night in Oklahoma City. Sunday, or Day 2, as I'm trying to keep my days, dates and time zones straight, was from Memphis to Oklahoma City. Not terrible, but a pretty decent drive.

We made it to OKC just about 6:30, and headed down to the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum - while the museum was closed, we got to walk around the memorial and listen to a park ranger for a bit. While I was young when this bombing happened (5th grade), and I don't think it resonates with me as hard as say, 9/11 or Columbine, walking around the memorial and listening to all the stories and different aspects of the memorial and why it was designed the way it was made it very real. A beautiful memorial; I would love to get back to see the museum at some point.

After that, we headed over to Bricktown to walk around a bit and grab dinner - our first non-fast-foody kinda food finally! We had a great dinner at Bourbon Street Cafe and enjoyed being outside. Bricktown is a seemingly very mini-version of San Antonio's Riverwalk (which I love), and the weather was decent enough to enjoy it. Being a Sunday, it wasn't super alive, but I can certainly tell this is quite the place to be!

And today I write from...

Day 3! I'm tired. Have I said that yet? This morning we left OKC and headed down to Norman, home of the University of Oklahoma. More student affairs nerdiness at its best! While it was almost an extra hour we were on the road, it was a fun trip and another neat campus to see. I'm grateful for Doug putting up with the nerd in me - I think I keep him amused by making sure we stake out each campus' football stadium. Wins for everyone!

After blasting through Oklahoma, we were finally into Texas (Molly's home state!) and got to stop somewhere I've always wanted to go check out: Cadillac Ranch (more)! I was so excited - and truthfully, not disappointed. You really have to be in to such randomness, but the concept is really quite cool. We signed about four cars, so hopefully our names stay for a liiiiiitle while (they say that if you bring spray paint, also bring a camera because your art will be there less than 24 hours).

{ source - since my photos aren't uploading}

Doug drove all day today (he's the best, have I said that?) and we are chillin' here in Albuquerque for the evening where we were greeted with a pretty substantial summer monsoon. Happy Monday, friends! Good night! Tomorrow: to Phoenix!

On the Road Again: Day 1

Hello from ...

Day 1 in the books. Athens to Memphis isn't a terrible drive, goes pretty quickly (we did it in about 8 hours) and thank goodness for how green the south is! I just love it and it certainly makes the southwest part of this drive be more bearable with all the greenery we get to experience prior to that. The desert is dull.

Today started with a fairly early alarm to ensure we got the last bit of furniture (ahem, the mattress) down to the POD and locked up and ready to go when the POD movers arrived. They got to the complex about 12:30, with an estimated time of 1-2 pm. We were just fighting with the mattress when the truck arrived and the super awesome dude helped us finish getting our stuff together.

Just about on the road!

Today's drive was mellow, just over seven hours down to Atlanta, through Alabama, Mississippi, and up to Memphis. While on the way, I made sure we had some fun though. It's mandatory, especially on such a long drive. I've always wanted to visit Ole Miss's campus so I made sure we made a slight detour (but still on the way) to Oxford to check things out. Gorgeous campus! 

After that, it was a quick buzz up to Memphis where we're staying down here near Graceland.We are beat - we fought rain almost all the way through Alabama and that threw Molly for a loop for quite a bit. She spent the last half of Mississippi in my lap, and then from Oxford to Memphis slept in my lap - she was fighting sleep for a while, so hopefully that calmed her down for a bit. She's already passed out here on our hotel floor.

For now, friends.. I am wiped. It's bed time here in Memphis! Tomorrow: to Oklahoma City!

An Adventure Awaits

Campus sits on a bluff overlooking the ocean. Hello. <3

Well, friends, after lots of vague comments about traveling lately, I can finally share some exciting news...

I'm moving back to California!

I know Sandy's been waiting for this, but now it's finally true! I am really excited to get back to the left coast and to my home state.

So... whatcha doing over there?

I've accepted a new position at a college in the LA area. Fancy pants, right? So I'll be working with their student government, intramural programs, student organization, leadership development programs, and some parts of alternative spring break trips and orientation programs. A random mix of a lot of really awesome programs that you couldn't find into a combination position like this anywhere else! I am so stinking excited, it's not even funny! Being that the school is so close to downtown LA (25 miles or so), I'm in primo racing place - can you say finding a race in LA every weekend? Yeahhhh, me too. :) 

So when does this adventure start?
Ha! There's the fun part of this whole story. So my last day here at UGA is on Friday - yes, as in this Friday! And then we depart Saturday morning. Seriously. So Doug arrives on Thursday afternoon, after I'm done with Peachtree, and we'll be going to the Braves game to celebrate the Fourth and check out the firework spectacular (because you can't miss fireworks on the Fourth!). On Saturday morning, my POD gets picked up, and we hit the road for a four-and-a-half day across the country through ten states (unfortunately no new states) in the middle of summer. Woo!

First Georgia 5K and race!

Half that fun adds to the fact that while I get back to the LA area on July 10 or so, I'll be moving into a temporary apartment in their housing they're able to provide me for a few weeks on July 15. On July 17, I have first aid/CPR training all day and HR paperwork, and at midnight I hop on a flight to Pittsburgh for my sorority convention from July 18-21. I get home late in the day on the 21st, gave myself the 22nd to recuperate from, well, everything, and then start the new job officially on July 23! Can you say whirlwind month?

I am sad to be leaving Georgia in some regards - it's been a whole new place to live, that has definitely given me loads of new experiences. I really became a runner in Georgia - my first half marathon was here, as were the majority of races I've done in my life now. It's helped me become a little more confident in who I am and what I want out of my career and my life. And now it's time to move on to that!

I'll have some posts next week once we hit the road and share the I-40/former Route 66 adventure. Here comes the fun! 

Who wants to visit!? 

PS. Don't forget! Power Ice giveaway ends Wednesday, July 3, at midnight!