The Mega Post…

Okay I’m sorry for the delay but this trip is totally catching up with me and there has been LOTS of driving lately! It will not happen again! Now let me go through this blog and change all the tenses since I totally did write it yesterday (Friday) with all intentions of posting last night. Look at that, I even got the day right! Okay here you go…
I’m not sure why I didn’t include this the other day but this is the sunset we pulled over to see on the way to San Diego. Unfortunately I was driving so I kept trying to see it in the rearview mirror and then the sign popped up to pull over! Thank you San Diego!!

So my boss Kelly was nice enough to let us stay in his condo in San Diego which worked out awesome! The condo is actually IN Petco Park which is where the Padres play so the huge balcony overlooks the stadium. Also, he arranged for the Padres to have a game that night right around when we were getting there, way to go the extra mile! So needless to say Brian was loving life… and so was I! Do you have any idea what a nice feeling it is to get changed and get ready to go out and think, eh I look sooo tired then hear thousands of people cheering for you?!? Thanks guys! So after my ego boost, we headed out to the gaslamp district which was conveniently located right where we were! Unfortunately we were going out to eat around 10 and a lot of places stop serving food around then. It’s a really cute area with lots of outdoor seating and just tons of restaurants and bars. So we walked around for a while and then decided on Asti for some Italian. We got mussels & clams for an appetizer and they were delicious and so was the bread that we used to sop up all the extra yummy broth! For dinner Brian got veal marsala since veal is on the list of things I won’t make (it’s baby cows!). Judging from the fact that there was not a crumb left on his plate, I would say he liked it! I got the potato & spinach gnocchi in a creamy gorgonzola sauce, sounds fancy huh? Yea I’m pretty fancy. It was sooooooo good but it was soooo much so I sadly could not be a champ and finish it. I think I may have still been full from Kam’s, not sure. Since neither of us could move we decided to just go back and crash. Oh and here’s Brian on the balcony/in Heaven…

Since I was so health conscious in ordering my dinner the night before, I decided to go to the gym this morning to make myself feel better, it worked a little. It also helps that I didn’t feel like I was going to die. I didn’t include this earlier because I was embarrassed but I’ve been trying to keep up with the couch to 5k running program and when I did it in Lake Tahoe I literally thought I would die. My throat was killing me, my lungs were killing me, it was really really bad! So I was thinking wow a week away from the gym and I’m this bad already! But after successfully completing week 4 day 1 in San Diego I decided that Brian was right and it wasn’t me but the fact that I was running 8,000 feet above sea level, which is a bit more than I’m used to! Phew! Then it was back to get ready for our next busy day. We got ready to leave and headed over to Mission Beach. This is the famous one with the wooden rollercoaster and all the carnival looking stuff. We walked down on the beach and it was such nice weather! Oh and the sand was so soft, it’s like what I imagine walking in confectioner’s sugar would be like (yum!). Of course I had to test out the waters… yup it was freezing!! We walked a little more, then back to the car, my favorite activity!

Now we headed over to the San Diego Zoo since Adrienne and Gary said we had to (thanks guys!). We got in and waited on line for a bus tour. The bus tour takes you around and shows you 70% of the park which we figured would be good since we were short on time. If anyone is interested in doing this, go for it! In the beginning I hated it because we were on the opposite side of everything and this stupid girl across from me thought she was cool and was like sprawled out on the arm rest so I have her giant head and arm in half my pictures! But then kharma struck and we saw fun stuff on our side! Brian and I made sure to spread out while oohing and ahhhing. The tour was about 40 minutes and then we decided to re-visit the hippos, orangutans and polar bears. The zoo isn’t actually too huge (only 100 acres which is less than my sister’s yard!) and I feel like we did pretty good on time and seeing everything we wanted to. So if anyone is planning a trip out there and doesn’t think you can cover the zoo in 3 hours, you can! Here is Brian and the gigantic hippo that was napping!

Then of course, it was time to head back to our favorite place-the car! We made some PB&Js and hit the open highway! So I’m pretty sure that 90% of the Southern California population lives between LA and San Diego. Once we left San Diego there was nothing! Hills, giant piles of rocks, and dirt- yup that’s pretty much it! We were stopped for some racial profiling a few times but that’s about it. Oh yes, they call it the Border Patrol inspection but we’re traveling with out of state plates, a giant cooler covered by a blanket and the cover pulled over in the trunk, I would think that looks a little suspicious! But apparently border patrol does not! I rolled down the window and they said “have a great day!” I mean of course I’m glad they didn’t make us empty out the entire car but I mean come on, make me feel a little safe guys, they’ll let anyone in! So when we hit AZ, the scenery changed big time, we were now looking at mountains, dirt and cacti … or cactuses… hmmm spell check’s not helping me out on that one! Well it’s still a whole lot of nothing!

Oh and I’ve decided to give you guys some road trip tips. Today’s road trip tip of the day is the rule of 9s. Generally if you go 9 mph over, the cops will not bother you. I’ve done much research on this and every time I’ve ever been pulled over I was doing way over 9. I mean of course when you’re looking at nothing, sometimes it’s easy to go a bit over 9 but just bring it back if you notice. Also by doing 9 over on these long trips you’re shaving down precious minutes! On a 6 hour trip, we cut half an hour off! Obviously if you do the math, it should have been more but realistically you should stop for gas a few times on a 6 hour trip or your trip will be drastically longer when you’re stuck on the side of the road in the desert! And that is your tip for the day!

So now back to writing in the present tense (phew that was confusing). We stayed just outside Tucson with my godmother Lois and her husband John last night. We got there in record time so we were able to sit and chat for a while and then go out to grab a bite to eat. So remember how like everything on this trip is magical? Yea they have a magical Chili’s where you walk in on a Friday night at 7 and you’re seated right away! I know, it sounds crazy but it happened! We actually love Chili’s but barely go because an hour is a bit too long to stand around just waiting! So we had a yummy dinner and then headed back to their house. Luckily Lois and John have done a lot of traveling so we got lots of helpful tips for the rest of our journey! And we even got some behind the scenes info. Did you know that in New Orleans, everyone walks around causing mayhem all night long and then in the early early morning they have people that come and clean up the street to make it nice and clean for the next day? I can’t wait to see this!! So we stayed up for as long as I physically could and then it was back to bed! This morning I woke up, showered and got ready to head out for the longest leg of our trip! It takes about 13 hours but since we’ll be crossing TWO time zones (thanks to AZ not believing in daylight savings) it will be about 15 hours-FUN! So thanks to my amazing godmother and her wonderful husband for hosting us! We had a great time and wish we could stay longer!

Oh and I almost forgot to mention, they have THE softest towels I’ve ever used in my life. I asked Brian what I should wear today and asked if he thought it would be acceptable for me to just keep the towel on, it’s that soft! Oh and when we went to leave bright and early this morning, she made us lunches (sandwiches and my favorite- pickles!) and a snack bag with muffins and cookies! (Gym friends please ignore that last part!) Yumm!

So then it was off to meet our friends Josh and Kayleigh for breakfast. They live about 40 minutes from Tucson so we met up there at The Good Egg. There was actually a lot of people there! The most I’ve ever seen in Tucson! So I was thinking eh we have a long trip today so I’ll order a short stack of pancakes. Thankfully the waitress asked if I’d ever had their pancakes and when I said no she recommended I just get one. Yea it was bigger than the plate, so obviously bigger than my face! Insane, I have no idea how they flip that thing, but who cares! So we finished breakfast and then you guessed it… We’re so glad we got to see Josh & Kayleigh even just for a little bit!!

So today is our longest drive of the entire trip – 900 miles. We finished going through AZ and we stopped at The Thing after seeing a bunch of billboards for it… we paid the $1 admission to go see The Thing and I swore we were going to walk out the door and be instantly killed. I mean it was a really nice place, you guys should check it out! Well obviously we weren’t killed and now we can say we saw The Thing!!! We even got a magnet from there to prove it! Then we went through New Mexico for a little bit and then Texas. And then some more Texas. And then, yea just a little more Texas! This state is sooooo huge! I think it’s never ending and we’re not even going all the way through! So here’s some observations of Texas… When we got in they had a sign that said Speed Limit 80, at night 65. This is so awesome because I’ve never seen a speed limit of 80 (except in Canada but that’s km so that doesn’t count). Let me tell you why it’s not awesome though… of our 13 ½ hour trip today, 7 hours are in the dark. What makes it just a little worse is that the navigation is based on 80 so the minutes just keep adding up! Texas also smells. For a while, it was cow shit, that’s just not pleasant. Then we switched over to dirt, also just not fun. Then a mix of dirt and grass, my allergies are super excited for the entire day we have here tomorrow! I’m hoping once we get to San Antonio, the stinks stop. And a final observation of Texas is wow this place is dark! I mean you can see like 100 feet in front of you, so I guess that’s okay, right? I just wonder what’s waiting after that 100 feet though… Oh and I forgot to mention what the worst part of driving back east is. On the way to CA, you’re chasing these beautiful sunsets and I have tons of pictures to prove it! Unfortunately heading east, they’re all behind us so we can watch them in the mirrors but no pictures =(. They really are something else though! The one great thing about driving through nothing with zero lights is the stars. It is unreal how many and how bright they are when you look up out here- Amazing!

Okay so since this is like a 3 day post rolled into one, I’ll give you a second road trip tip. One of the most important things to consider when planning a road trip is music. Your ATTC will be sleeping sometimes, or typing on a laptop, or maybe you run out of things to talk about. Unless you have satellite radio, you must plan for these times. I suggest not even knowing what you’re bringing. I grabbed a bunch of stuff, mostly old which is good because you need a little surprise sometimes. Like for example, today on the longest trip, Bri was having a snoozefest and I was dragging at the wheel… Hootie & the Blowfish to the rescue! Not that I wasn’t loving Daughtry, Kelly Clarkson & Bon Jovi but sometimes it’s gotta be Hootie. Or as I used in Wyoming, the My Girl soundtrack. Gotta keep yourself on your toes on these long trips! Okay well I have to go sing to Bri to keep him awake. It’s almost 11 TX time (12 NY) and we won’t get to San Antonio until about 2:30. Needless to say I’ll be uploading, then sleeping so by the time anyone reads this it will be Sunday! Happy Sunday everyone! Oh and most important, HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY to Kristin and Anthony (my wonderful sister and brother-in-law)!!! Feel free to wish her a happy anniversary if you’re reading! Nite y’all! =)