And finally into Holladay, UT...

So on Saturday we started the last leg of the trip. We left Mariann's around 9 and got some coffee and breakfast before heading up to I-80. We decided to go the northern route to bypass some of the great Rockies. It was a smart choice. We went up into Fort Collins and then headed over the northern mountains. Pulling a trailer put a lot of stress on the car so we had to go a little slower but it wasn't as bad as I was anticipating. We stopped for lunch at Subway and used the last of our gift cards--thanks Mom!--and finished up our trip around 5 or 6. Our apartment is ok. The great thing about it is that it is in a nice neighborhood and the owner is on site most days of the week because they are remodeling the units. He is a nice guy and cares about the place so it is cared for but kind of old and outdated. We can walk to a lot of things. Julian's school is within a half mile and across the street from the library where he can go after school if he wants or needs to. Before you get there, we have a drug store, corner market called 'The Store too' which is a little higher priced but has great produce. I decided to shop at Walmart for most things but I will be buying my produce from that store. It is all very fresh. There is a pizza shop and Chinese restaurant and several other little eateries. There are some other little shops there and within another half mile of Julian's school we have a movie theater and several other shops and a McDonalds with an outdoor Redbox! Another half mile down the street there is a really nice big fitness center that we will join later on once I find a job. The scenery here is beautiful. We are literally surrounded by mountains. Yesterday on our travels we saw a big moose on the side of the highway. That was really cool to see. Jaime took us to the farmers market which is amazing...full of crafts and food and produce. Next order of business is finding a job. I have applied to 11 positions so far and have several more on my list before scouring the ads again for more. Keep your fingers crossed!

Second leg of the tour...

So the second leg of our tour started around 9pm on Tuesday night. We had stopped for dinner with the group at a local eatery that was right on the water. It was a really neat place but I can't recall the name at the moment. The menu is on a chalkboard and you stand in line to order. Then you get seated after you help yourself to drinks and when you leave you just go up and tell them what you had and they ring it up. It was my turn to drive as we headed out. The roads out of Oak Island, NC are not heavily traveled at night. It was kind of creepy to say the least. Jaime was sleeping so he could drive into the night and Julian was sacked out in the back. You know what its like being alone traveling in a car on strange roads? Everything looks creepy. I had the radio turned down and at one point I passed a house with two people sitting out on their porch. It was close to 10 or 11 o'clock at this point and they were just sitting, looking at the scenery--which was me--with blank looks on their faces. I felt like I was in a movie. Then, shortly after that, out of nowhere something was in front of me and I ran it over. It was black and white but bigger than a skunk--plus it didn't stink. When I look back the only image I have to compare it to is a hyena...although I really don't think it was one. I don't know what it was but I wasn't stopping either. There would have been nothing I could do...it really freaked me out. LOL. Then, as we got further out onto the highway, I had to get gas and have Jaime take over the wheel. At this point it was about 1am. We stopped at a little "truck stop" in the middle of deliverance country. I got out of the car to use the bathroom and got whistled at twice on my way in by a group of skanky men. Jaime was standing right there pumping the gas. I had to use the nasty bathroom which was disgusting and when I came out I bought some water and the guy at the counter couldn't wipe the freaky grin off his face. I swear I was the first woman to ever set foot in that door. So, off we went for a few more hours. We drove with me trying to sleep which was impossible. We stopped at a rest stop and slept in the car until dawn. After that, we had breakfast at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant--one of my faves on road trips--and set back out on the road. We traveled through Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and finally into Oklahoma. We found a nice Best Western to stay the night in OKC. We were exhausted and needed a good night sleep before heading over to Sayre to see Lance and Sandy and family and the Morenos. This hotel was very comfortable and I slept well. We stopped to pick up our trailer and headed over to Sayre. We arrived there late morning and stopped to see Lance and Sandy at their new store. They were both very busy so we stopped to see Jaime's parents and then headed over to Lance's to go through our stuff and start packing up the trailer. It was great to see everyone. Julian briefly saw some of his cousins who are growing up fast. And the Acklin girls are so adorable. After a dinner of pizza, we slept in Mercedes' new zebra room. It is painted purple with zebra accents. Her choice. She is such a little diva. We headed out at around 7am. We went up through Texas, into New Mexico where we entered our new time zone--Mountain--and finally into Colorado. We stopped to see Emily real quick before heading over to Mariann's house. She lives in Arvada in a cute little house in a cute little neighborhood. Her house is for sale and looked like a magazine. Julian had a great time playing with the kids and getting out some energy. We ate dinner with them and spent the night. It was great to see them and I'm hoping that since we are closer we can see more of each other.

No longer at latitude 17N...

Well we are no longer at latitude 17N nor have we been for a very long time. I am not sure if I will start a new blog or continue to use this one. Our trip out to Holladay, UT was eventful...we left on a Friday afternoon and traveled through NYC around 6 or 7pm. We went over the George Washington bridge which was a hairy experience. We stopped for the night at a cheap hotel in Fredericksburg, VA. We traveled the rest of the way to NC--our first destination point--in heavy traffic. We got off and on the highway several times before realizing that the traffic is not going away and just dealt with it until we got to NC. We arrived at Chris and Andrea's rented condo in mid-afternoon. The condo was right across the street from the beach...a very nice beach that was not very heavily used. The sand was fine and white and the water was like a bath. Very warm and, after the first day, pretty calm. The first full day we were there Julian got stung by a jellyfish. It didn't take him long to get back in the water though. Later in the same day a little boy in our "group" got stung as well...and then another person later in the afternoon. We spent every day on the beach soaking up the sun and playing in the water. I spent hours in the water just floating around. Julian spent hours floating in the shallow pools made by the tide. At times he truly looked like he was a dead body that had washed up on shore. At night Chris and Andrea had friends also staying in the condos that would come by and hang out. It was very relaxing and fun to spend time as a family doing something fun for once. On Tuesday night we headed back out onto the highways and byways of the U.S...