Greetings dear friends. Here is my first of many posts from the left coast. I guess the most pressing thing on your minds is how the move went, the 2500 mile cross-country journey.
Well... it went surprisingly well. There were no catastrophes, no blood, and only a few minor problems. Here is a stop by stop run down of the trip.
Day 1: NKY to St. Louis
The drive was rather uneventful and rather boring. I was in a panic about the trailer for the first 50 miles. Every time we hit a bump or a dip in the road I was certain that thing was going over and my Superman underwear would be splashed across the interstate. But... I never tipped. Once I got over that initial fear the trailer really only became a problem when trying to park and coming in and out of stops where the hitch scraped the ground. Sorry road crews!
When we got to St. Louis, being New Years Eve, the hotel was filled with people dressed up in the trampiest and douchbaggiest outfits (I am soooo old). However, we didn't hear noise all night and because they were being loud it was kind of liberating to not worry about the kids screaming their heads off.
Day 2: St. Louis to OKC
Here begins the long slow slog across the country. Let me tell you this is an EMPTY place. This country is not over crowded or over populated it is EMPTY. Again the drive was nice, but several of the family took a turn in OKC and we picked up some kind of stomach bug. Obviously a long drive across the country is conducive for the flaming doodies. As you can expect there were some issues, but after a few years of counseling I am sure I will be able to get over what I saw and felt.
The weather took a bit of a turn in OKC and the temp just dropped out the bottom of the thermometer. It was cold a windy (again an awesome thing when driving a box with another box hitched to it). We stopped in the really cool little part of town but it was so cold and we had no where to park so we ended up eating at Ihop. Then again, the kids actually ate their food and it didn't cost a zillion dollars so all in all the Ihop probably wasn't a bad idea.
Day 3: OKC to Albuquerque
Holly mother of desolation. There is nothing here, when the zombie apocalypse starts just jump in your car and head out west because there is so much space between towns the zombies would never actually get to you where you are. You better not run out of gas or get a flat, because you are F'd. The pattern with the drive continued. The kids were great in the morning session. They watched their shows (note to other parents: listening to Bubble Guppies on a loop for 4 hours can have mental and emotional side effects), and they took naps. We would hit up a late lunch which was a complete travesty. No one would eat (the kids weren't hungry from power eating donuts and cheeze-its and Mom and Dad were not quite over the devil but), and the twins would go bananas and run around every restaurant like a convict on a work release program.
I will say one thing for New Mexico, it is easy on the eyes. The landscape is amazing and so different from anywhere else I have been.
Day 4: Albuq to Las Vegas
I had such high hopes for this leg of the trip. I wanted to see the Grand Canyon (strike), I wanted to stroll the Las Vegas strip and show the kids the awesomeness (strike two), and I wanted to do a little gambling (strike three). The drive across Arizona was the most vacant yet, let me tell you once you get below a half-tank of gas you had better find the next gas station. You will go 50-60 miles at times between exits with services (food/gas). Say what you want about Kentucky, you will never go that far on a major highway without a McDonald's or a Shell station.
The stomach bug reached its pinnacle for most of us on day 4. So there were some moments where we had to contemplate pulling over and searching for cactus leaves, but we made it. By this point however, the twins and the boys had started to pick up a nasty little cough. There are apparently plenty of germs in the emptiness of this vast country.
Day 5: Vegas to SF
Ahhh... the victory lap. Again, the trip is full of wide open spaces. The views are amazing as you pass through the Sierra Nevada Mountains, but again, you better stop when you need to stop. At least by this point the weather was really nice and when we did stop temps were in the 60s.
We got into our temporary housing late that evening and we have still yet to settle in. Our stuff is everywhere and the kids have taken over the space. We are working on creating some normalcy in our day to day while we explore the bay area and find out where all the stuff is. I have already been completely lost multiple times, but then again I got lost in a place where I lived for 34 years.
The next week:
So we are going to try to get settled over the next few days, get unpacked, find our clothes, get the kids in school, and find what the good channels are on TV (I keep finding good shows in the guide only to turn there and find they are in Spanish). We will keep everyone posted and I will update this blog and Cyndi will kill facebook. Give us a few more days to settle in and the goodness will just start to flow out.
Hope to see everyone soon (at least sooner than later) and here is to hoping I don't get lost again tonight.
Thanks...
- Eric
No comments:
Post a Comment