Friday, February 8, 2013

we. are. here. (and alive...sorry, no internet!)

1 night in North Carolina.
2 nights in Georgia.
1 night in Louisiana.
5 nights in Texas for the girls, 2 for us and 3 in California.
5 nights in Colorado Springs
1 night in Grand Junction, CO
1 night in the nightmare of a city Eureka, NV...dude...
and THEN WE WERE THERE!!!!
2 more nights in a hotel until we could get into our house but WE WERE THERE!

60 hrs of driving.
8 hrs of flying.

gah.

but:

We signed for the house the day after we got there.
Our stuff was unloaded the very next day.

WE ARE LOVING IT!

The girls did eventually hit melt down.
They had been sooooooooo good.
Like, freakishly good.

And then the day we rolled into town we stopped to eat lunch at a restaurant and THAT is where they decided to unleash their furry.
It lasted another two days.
Whining. Demanding. Awfuling. Arguing. Disobeying.  Blah blah blah. Tears, annoyingness, blah.

We did our best to just keep reminding ourselves what we were putting them through.
We failed mostly but succeeded some.
some.

Just praying they don't get bitter towards this whole moving thing because of how we failed.
I grew up doing this and have no bitterness whatsoever....I so want to gift them with that as well.

Day two of being in the house, when they had their own space and a forest to explore for hours on end....our children returned to us though so maybe we didn't do too bad?

I hit melt down in Eureka, NV when we drove through the town and realized we were in a western version of some Appellation town.
3 restaurants to choose from TOTAL.
total.
And we had to go in them ALL before we found somewhere to eat:
#1 - Chinese/American food
I checked the menu before we all walked in to be served as the only people in the building besides the anorexic looking male, Asian server....in Nevada....on "The Loneliest Road in America" (no joke, that is what it's called)
Menu had some American food on it, I was NOT eating Chinese in this town.
We all sat down, ordered and were told there was no American food that night.
Right.  So we left....besides it smelled SO bad in there!

#2 - A casino that someone pointed us to and told us was kid friendly.
A person that was working in the grocery store that had it's 'trim' around the top of the walls covered in Taxidermied heads...bears, moose, dear, freaky things....COVERED.
The smell of cigarette smoke knocked me over as soon as I opened the door to the 'non-smoking' side of the casino...so we just shut it and kept walking.

#3 - last but not least.
Sloppy Joe's Diner.
An 'all fried food' diner named after the owners son who died of Diabetes.
'Free' pool.  One you could play on with balls and sticks and swim in because there were puddles of water all around it from a flood some where in the back of the building.  Double free!
Ordered corn dogs for the girls...had to send them back because after they'd been fried, they were still frozen in the middle.
We choked down what we could, headed out and as we were leaving I could see the owner and his daughter chit chatting in the kitchen...while she was picking scabs on her arms.
MELT. FLIPPIN'. DOWN.

I think I cried a little.
No, I know I did.
And then I cried even more for being such a snob.

gah.

So.
The moral of this story.
Highway 50, The Loneliest Road in America, was pretty cool.
I actually really really liked it! (apparently people don't?)
Eurkea, NV 
SHOULD NOT be one of your stops for the night....
It just shouldn't.

The whole trek from Colorado Springs to Nevada City, CA was ridiculously beautiful though.
Prettiest drive we've ever ever ever made.

I was sorta better the next day 'cept that's when the girls hit their melt down.

good news.
it's all over!

WE ARE HERE!


LOVE my yoga studio.
Didn't gain even a 1/2 a lb. on our trip. (uh, not sure HOW!? especially after Sloppy Joe's diner.)
LOVE our new kitchen....actually, the whole house is coming together great.
3 days of unpacking and I'd say we're 1/2 way done.

LOVE my new coffee shop:
where I happen to be sitting right now because we live IN THE BOONIES and getting internet is proving to be a circus act...not sure when it's going to be hooked up but I'm hoping soon because I'm going through WITHDRAWAL...although 'having' to sit in this sweet coffee shop, that even though I live in the boonies is only 5 min's away - I am not exaggerating - is soothing the pain a little.

Speaking of no internet.
We also have NO cell reception unless we drive down the mountain 3 minutes.
Like, our phones aren't even trying to search for it anymore.

So, we'll be able to utilize them through wi-fi once we get internet but until then we've basically fallen off the grid....unless we come down the mountain for something (I just like saying that ;-).

Internet and our presence in the world is coming, but it may be a week or two (again, BOONIES, no one is in a hurry here ;-) before we are easily reached.

For emergencies...we do have a home phone, I don't want to give that # out too much because as soon as we get wi-fi we'll use Magic Jack or Vonage or something like that.

Again, in a week or two, all contact info will be available!

Until then, just checking in here to say:
The drive was great.
We hit melt-down but got over it.
We are knee deep in boxes but getting there.
And my Coffee is YUMMY!!!

Pictures and more updates coming....when we get that internet thing figured out.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

We drove on that stretch of road as well, thankfully we didn't stop in Eureka, Jared had did a ton of research and found what towns to stop in...although those towns weren't all that more civilized or cultured ;) However, driving that stretch with the boys may have lead to their obsession with peeing on tires, so maybe we aren't that civilized either. Good luck with unpacking and settling in!

Missy said...

LOVE your new coffee shop!! So very California. :~) And the drive is ridiculously beautiful. So glad you are loving it!

Liz W. said...

so cute! it looks like it could be the set of the new "Friends" series. So happy to hear things are falling into place!

Courtney said...

wow. what an adventure! i think it sounds like you ALL did amazing. meltdowns and all. i mean, a person can only take so much! missing you around here...but thinking of you often! ESPECIALLY yesterday (happy belated birthday!!)

Courtney said...

ps. i can't believe you didn't gain 1/2 a pound! that's amazing!!!