Well, the last piece of the puzzle has been placed. The car is now registered in New Jersey and has NJ plates, which I must say are really boring - they're yellow. No more pretty mountain riding with us, but at least I have the plates for memory sake. The Elantra doesn't look right any more and the plate number is wierd. I liked URV...
Registration in NJ is different - if you are financing your car (which Andrew is), then you have to send paperwork to the lien holder for them to release the title to NJ, then you get a call to say that they have your title so that you can then go in to register the car. After registering the car and getting your plates, you then get to drive over to the inspection center and wait forever to have them figure out if they can use their new OBD technology or have to emission imspect the old-fashioned way (which the guy working on our car had to do). At least it's two years before we have to do that again.
Also finally got the new parking validiation sticker for Princeton's campus, and Parking Services now has the new plates.
Dangit - I'm definitely a New Jersey resident now. However, I will always be a Seattlite and Washintonian, and I will forever a Dawg that bleeds purple.
Showing posts with label move. Show all posts
Showing posts with label move. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
I promised you this post...
Chicago! I finally have the time to discuss all the fun that we had in Chicago! (yes, all boxes are now unpacked - working on getting my sewing area set up, which will take a week in itself to figure out my new organization scheme)
So, as you know, Andrew and I took a slight break in the road trip in spending a few days in Chicago over Labor Day weekend.
We arrived about 5ish Sunday night, and hit traffic. Reminicent of Seattle traffic, but just a bit worse, especially given that we were not on familiar turf (but we were on I-90 if that counts...) Oh, and I should mention that GPS navigation gets totally confused when there are lots of tall buildings around - no workie so wellie in humungous city. Luckily, we still managed to find the hotel and the self-park garage for the hotel. After getting settled into the hotel and thinking, "Thank you Hotwire.com!" Andrew and I met up with Gen and Bobby in the lobby to go walk over and have true Chicago-style stuffed pizza at Giordano's. Let me just say, I will never look at a stuffed pizza the same way again. Boy was that pizza good! It was great to catch up with the two of them, and Gen was really helpful in giving us ideas of things to do while we were there. After dinner, Andrew and I crashed with full tummies on a comfy King bed.
Monday, we slept in and then figured out public transportation to the Field Museum. Putzed around the Museum for a good couple of hours (lots of dinosaur fossils - very impressive to see, especially Sue) and started to want to watch Night at the Museum again. We then went back to the hotel to grab the laptop in hopes of finding free WiFi at B&N cafe (found B&N a couple of blocks away, thanks to the bus), had no luck, but bought Andrew a book anyway. To finish off the evening, we took up one of Gen and Bobby's suggestion of taking the Red Line "L" to the Hancock tower, eat dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, then go up to the observatory. Yes, the Sears tower is the tallest one in Chicago, but Hancock is tall, reportedly cheaper to go up in, and you get to see the Sears tower from the observatory. Best of everything, right? Only downside to that trip was that the elevator talks to you for the 40 seconds your are traveling up or down. But the sights at night were impressive. I only wish we were able to catch it at dusk rather than at night. But on the bright side - less crowded!
Tuesday was the day of the Cubs game! Before the game, we walked over to Millennium Park to see the ampitheater and the bean. For reference, as you walk past Millennium Park, there's this structure that is curvy like the EMP, but not as funkily colored. Still makes you wonder what it is. Up close, the ampitheater is more impressive and has better functionality than the EMP ever had. Unfortunately, the day was too hot for us to feel up to putzing around the park for a long time, so we cowered in the hotel room until we left for the Cubs game.
Now - the Cubs game - Wrigley Field - AMAZING!!! If you want a baseball game, go to a game at Wrigley Field. We went early enough to catch the last hour or so of batting practice. The nice thing is that you can walk all the way down to the field (still within the bleachers) and literally stand just feet away from a ball player. Let's just say that Andrew was feeling like a five-year-old baseball enthusiast school-boy. And our seats for the game were quite good too. It was a packed game, and unfortunatley with the location of the seats, there was no air-flow, so needless to say, it got really warm there. But it was a great ballgame, and definitely not like the games at Safeco Field in Seattle. For one, Wrigley is smaller than Safeco (not a big surprise, Wrigley is a lot older...), but one perk is that there is less going on with the jumbotron, given that there isn't a jumbotron to do anything on. Also, the fans - that really brought in the baseball experience. Everyone there was there for a ballgame (and of course to drink beer). But I haven't seen fans really get into a game like I did there (even back during the glory days of the M's). The stadium was loud and we were up and down in our seats a lot. It was fun. And it was actually a competitive ballgame instead of a blowout. The game went into extra innings, and unfortunately, the Cubs lost it in the 11th.
Pictures of Chicago will be posted on my photo site soon - I am finally working on our desktop machine, but all the pictures are currently on Andrew's laptop (actually, I lie - Wrigely is not downloaded from the camera yet...), and guess who has that computer right now?
Okay, I should probably get back to organizing the sewing area before I head out to join the other ladies from Graduate Christian Fellowship for dinner...
So, as you know, Andrew and I took a slight break in the road trip in spending a few days in Chicago over Labor Day weekend.
We arrived about 5ish Sunday night, and hit traffic. Reminicent of Seattle traffic, but just a bit worse, especially given that we were not on familiar turf (but we were on I-90 if that counts...) Oh, and I should mention that GPS navigation gets totally confused when there are lots of tall buildings around - no workie so wellie in humungous city. Luckily, we still managed to find the hotel and the self-park garage for the hotel. After getting settled into the hotel and thinking, "Thank you Hotwire.com!" Andrew and I met up with Gen and Bobby in the lobby to go walk over and have true Chicago-style stuffed pizza at Giordano's. Let me just say, I will never look at a stuffed pizza the same way again. Boy was that pizza good! It was great to catch up with the two of them, and Gen was really helpful in giving us ideas of things to do while we were there. After dinner, Andrew and I crashed with full tummies on a comfy King bed.
Monday, we slept in and then figured out public transportation to the Field Museum. Putzed around the Museum for a good couple of hours (lots of dinosaur fossils - very impressive to see, especially Sue) and started to want to watch Night at the Museum again. We then went back to the hotel to grab the laptop in hopes of finding free WiFi at B&N cafe (found B&N a couple of blocks away, thanks to the bus), had no luck, but bought Andrew a book anyway. To finish off the evening, we took up one of Gen and Bobby's suggestion of taking the Red Line "L" to the Hancock tower, eat dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, then go up to the observatory. Yes, the Sears tower is the tallest one in Chicago, but Hancock is tall, reportedly cheaper to go up in, and you get to see the Sears tower from the observatory. Best of everything, right? Only downside to that trip was that the elevator talks to you for the 40 seconds your are traveling up or down. But the sights at night were impressive. I only wish we were able to catch it at dusk rather than at night. But on the bright side - less crowded!
Tuesday was the day of the Cubs game! Before the game, we walked over to Millennium Park to see the ampitheater and the bean. For reference, as you walk past Millennium Park, there's this structure that is curvy like the EMP, but not as funkily colored. Still makes you wonder what it is. Up close, the ampitheater is more impressive and has better functionality than the EMP ever had. Unfortunately, the day was too hot for us to feel up to putzing around the park for a long time, so we cowered in the hotel room until we left for the Cubs game.
Now - the Cubs game - Wrigley Field - AMAZING!!! If you want a baseball game, go to a game at Wrigley Field. We went early enough to catch the last hour or so of batting practice. The nice thing is that you can walk all the way down to the field (still within the bleachers) and literally stand just feet away from a ball player. Let's just say that Andrew was feeling like a five-year-old baseball enthusiast school-boy. And our seats for the game were quite good too. It was a packed game, and unfortunatley with the location of the seats, there was no air-flow, so needless to say, it got really warm there. But it was a great ballgame, and definitely not like the games at Safeco Field in Seattle. For one, Wrigley is smaller than Safeco (not a big surprise, Wrigley is a lot older...), but one perk is that there is less going on with the jumbotron, given that there isn't a jumbotron to do anything on. Also, the fans - that really brought in the baseball experience. Everyone there was there for a ballgame (and of course to drink beer). But I haven't seen fans really get into a game like I did there (even back during the glory days of the M's). The stadium was loud and we were up and down in our seats a lot. It was fun. And it was actually a competitive ballgame instead of a blowout. The game went into extra innings, and unfortunately, the Cubs lost it in the 11th.
Pictures of Chicago will be posted on my photo site soon - I am finally working on our desktop machine, but all the pictures are currently on Andrew's laptop (actually, I lie - Wrigely is not downloaded from the camera yet...), and guess who has that computer right now?
Okay, I should probably get back to organizing the sewing area before I head out to join the other ladies from Graduate Christian Fellowship for dinner...
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Moving sucks, part 2
Okay, so moving not only sucks in the packing, but also in the unpacking.
The unpacking started off with unloading the UPack truck, then packing the UHaul truck, then driving the UHaul to the apartment, find a place to park it, and then UNPACK the UHaul - that's right two unloadings for the day. And need I mention that this was Friday, which was really warm and muggy? At least we met a few neighbors during the fun and one was really nice to help us out with some really big pieces (read: the armoire and mattress.)
Anyways, we managed to survive that with only a broken quilt rack, bookcase, and entertainment unit, along with several boxes that made me cringe to look at - one of which that had the sound of broken glass - oh, great... and of course a really tired, sweaty, sore, and exhausted Andy and Niecie (big props to Andrew for all that he did - I am a lame overheating, non-cooling, blacking out person.)
However, slowly, but surely, we are unpacking boxes and buying schtuff to fill in for the pieces we parted with or broke along the journey (yay for credit card points!) Pictures will come once the whole place is set up. So far, we have only lost the ice tea picture and the glass in a target framed art piece besides all that furniture. Amazingly all kitchenware survived. What can I say? I can pack a kitchen, but not a box of picture frames. And I still have yet to find my sonicare charger...
Anyways, just thought that I'd post quickly. Off to a Wegman's run, which better include getting quarters for laundry tomorrow! (I miss the days of free laundry...)
Cherrio! (should probably buy some at Wegman's...)
The unpacking started off with unloading the UPack truck, then packing the UHaul truck, then driving the UHaul to the apartment, find a place to park it, and then UNPACK the UHaul - that's right two unloadings for the day. And need I mention that this was Friday, which was really warm and muggy? At least we met a few neighbors during the fun and one was really nice to help us out with some really big pieces (read: the armoire and mattress.)
Anyways, we managed to survive that with only a broken quilt rack, bookcase, and entertainment unit, along with several boxes that made me cringe to look at - one of which that had the sound of broken glass - oh, great... and of course a really tired, sweaty, sore, and exhausted Andy and Niecie (big props to Andrew for all that he did - I am a lame overheating, non-cooling, blacking out person.)
However, slowly, but surely, we are unpacking boxes and buying schtuff to fill in for the pieces we parted with or broke along the journey (yay for credit card points!) Pictures will come once the whole place is set up. So far, we have only lost the ice tea picture and the glass in a target framed art piece besides all that furniture. Amazingly all kitchenware survived. What can I say? I can pack a kitchen, but not a box of picture frames. And I still have yet to find my sonicare charger...
Anyways, just thought that I'd post quickly. Off to a Wegman's run, which better include getting quarters for laundry tomorrow! (I miss the days of free laundry...)
Cherrio! (should probably buy some at Wegman's...)
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Monmouth Junction, NJ
We have arrived safely in New Jersey!
If you are wondering where Monmouth Junction is, it is about a 10 minute drive north of Princeton. Yup, that's right, we're finally home... well... sort of
Tomorrow is the day we get our keys and grab all of our stuff from UPack. Finally get to finish the move.
Oh, and I should give the report of where we have been and how far we traveled, so here's the idea of how we traveled recently:
* Sunday through Wednesday Morning: Playing in Chi-town
* Wednesday: drove to Cincinnati, OH to stop in and say hello to my Dad's cousin and family. It was great to see family again, especially from the Volkmar side, that's not my sister (I do love you Emily, I just see you and talk with you more often than anybody else!)
* Today: final push into NJ - traveled through OH, WV, PA to get to NJ.
--> Miles traveled: aprox 610
--> Hours in car: Way too many
--> License plate bingo (since last post noting states seen): found every state except for Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Andrew and I deemed the road trip to finally be over tomorrow after Andrew returns to the apartment after returning the UHaul. We are crossing our fingers to get the last three!
* Trip overall:
--> Miles traveled: aprox 3,300
--> Hours in car: WAAAYYYYY too many
--> States traveled through: WA, ID, MT, WY, SD, MN, WI, IL, IN, OH, WV, PA, NJ
DUDE!
Andrew and I both agree to not do a drive like this again... couple days driving, okay... week and a half, too much.
Due to the time of night, I will post later about the time in Chicago and Cincinnati, as well as the report of the move. Pictures will come as I have time to write about the trip (which will include pictures of the new place.)
Wish us luck for tomorrow!
:)
If you are wondering where Monmouth Junction is, it is about a 10 minute drive north of Princeton. Yup, that's right, we're finally home... well... sort of
Tomorrow is the day we get our keys and grab all of our stuff from UPack. Finally get to finish the move.
Oh, and I should give the report of where we have been and how far we traveled, so here's the idea of how we traveled recently:
* Sunday through Wednesday Morning: Playing in Chi-town
* Wednesday: drove to Cincinnati, OH to stop in and say hello to my Dad's cousin and family. It was great to see family again, especially from the Volkmar side, that's not my sister (I do love you Emily, I just see you and talk with you more often than anybody else!)
* Today: final push into NJ - traveled through OH, WV, PA to get to NJ.
--> Miles traveled: aprox 610
--> Hours in car: Way too many
--> License plate bingo (since last post noting states seen): found every state except for Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Andrew and I deemed the road trip to finally be over tomorrow after Andrew returns to the apartment after returning the UHaul. We are crossing our fingers to get the last three!
* Trip overall:
--> Miles traveled: aprox 3,300
--> Hours in car: WAAAYYYYY too many
--> States traveled through: WA, ID, MT, WY, SD, MN, WI, IL, IN, OH, WV, PA, NJ
DUDE!
Andrew and I both agree to not do a drive like this again... couple days driving, okay... week and a half, too much.
Due to the time of night, I will post later about the time in Chicago and Cincinnati, as well as the report of the move. Pictures will come as I have time to write about the trip (which will include pictures of the new place.)
Wish us luck for tomorrow!
:)
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Chicago, IL
Okay, yeah, so I have been in Chicago since Sunday night, but internet at our hotel is expensive and today was the day we thought would be worthwhile to pay for the connection.
However, I will leave you all in suspense as to what all we have done here in Chi-town so far...
But good news - I am setting up a web album to host all of my pictures! I found Picasa to be annoying, so I decided to go with photobucket. So far I have uploaded all the pictures that I have talked about. Chicago pics to come later after I have the time to talk about the whole stay.
Click here to go to my photobucket album
Off to Wrigley Field for tonight's Cub's game. :)
However, I will leave you all in suspense as to what all we have done here in Chi-town so far...
But good news - I am setting up a web album to host all of my pictures! I found Picasa to be annoying, so I decided to go with photobucket. So far I have uploaded all the pictures that I have talked about. Chicago pics to come later after I have the time to talk about the whole stay.
Click here to go to my photobucket album
Off to Wrigley Field for tonight's Cub's game. :)
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Austin, MN
yet another day of a lot of driving, and today was really, really, really boring (except for the 45 minutes driving through the Badlands)...
* Miles traveled: 480
* Hours in the car: aprox 8 hours
* Current time zone: Central (and I finally changed the setting on the computer so my blog time reflects when I posted today Central Time!)
* License plate bingo: Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, West Virginia
* Bonus points (in the order we saw them...): Quebec, New Brunswick, Manitoba
* Tumbleweeds hit: 1
Quote of the day: "These are the drive-by shootings I am a fan of." ~ Denise, just after taking a picture and rolling up the car window as Andrew drives through the Badlands, SD.
Badlands - gorgeous, and really the only thing in South Dakota. Once again, I will be setting up a Picasa album and will link to that once I have that up with all the pictures from the trip. If you ever take I-90 through South Dakota, take the Badlands loop and just drive it (we only stopped at one outlook point). Nothing like looking at mounds formed from volcanic activity.
But other than the Badlands, there is nothing to note of South Dakota - it's hot, it's flat, but it at least has more color than Kansas ever did. However, their rest areas are really nice - inside a visitor center-esque building with clean restrooms. Oh, and I should mention the wind... for some reason there was a lot of wind that was hitting us from the right side... made for a terrible time to try to stay out of ditches... but we did :)
Minnesota is so far much better - less wind, and more activity off of I-90. And tonight, we are actually staying in a city that has civilization - 23,000+ residents... and a Target! Woo-hoo!
Tomorrow - 6 hours into Chi-town and meet up with Gen and Bobby for some infamous deep-dish pizza. Andrew and I are both ready for a break from all the driving, so luckily we get into Chicago tomorrow and will be putzing around there until Wednesday morning. If you know of stuff we should do in Chicago, please let us know!
Catch ya later on the other side of the Mississip!
* Miles traveled: 480
* Hours in the car: aprox 8 hours
* Current time zone: Central (and I finally changed the setting on the computer so my blog time reflects when I posted today Central Time!)
* License plate bingo: Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, West Virginia
* Bonus points (in the order we saw them...): Quebec, New Brunswick, Manitoba
* Tumbleweeds hit: 1
Quote of the day: "These are the drive-by shootings I am a fan of." ~ Denise, just after taking a picture and rolling up the car window as Andrew drives through the Badlands, SD.
Badlands - gorgeous, and really the only thing in South Dakota. Once again, I will be setting up a Picasa album and will link to that once I have that up with all the pictures from the trip. If you ever take I-90 through South Dakota, take the Badlands loop and just drive it (we only stopped at one outlook point). Nothing like looking at mounds formed from volcanic activity.
But other than the Badlands, there is nothing to note of South Dakota - it's hot, it's flat, but it at least has more color than Kansas ever did. However, their rest areas are really nice - inside a visitor center-esque building with clean restrooms. Oh, and I should mention the wind... for some reason there was a lot of wind that was hitting us from the right side... made for a terrible time to try to stay out of ditches... but we did :)
Minnesota is so far much better - less wind, and more activity off of I-90. And tonight, we are actually staying in a city that has civilization - 23,000+ residents... and a Target! Woo-hoo!
Tomorrow - 6 hours into Chi-town and meet up with Gen and Bobby for some infamous deep-dish pizza. Andrew and I are both ready for a break from all the driving, so luckily we get into Chicago tomorrow and will be putzing around there until Wednesday morning. If you know of stuff we should do in Chicago, please let us know!
Catch ya later on the other side of the Mississip!
Friday, August 29, 2008
Wall, SD
We finally made it into South Dakota after spending a lot of time in Montana and Wyoming. Sorry for not posting yesterday - for some reason our Super 8 in Cooke City decided not to provide the free WiFi... so, here's the update:
Yesterday: Yellowstone!
* Miles Traveled: ? - we drove from Bozeman down to the north entrance and through the main loop hitting up Mammoth Hot Springs, Norris, Old Faithful, West Thumb, and then back out through the Northeast Entrance. Then we spent the night just outside of Yellowstone in Cooke City. I will say that Old Faithful is definitely the place to hit up and some of the stops in the other "towns" weren't really worth it. Driving around Yellowstone Lake was really pretty, but long. And going out through the Northeast entrance is even longer with some steep cliffs - oh yeah, and Bison blocking the roadway - but the vistas were pretty - especially with the sunset hitting the mountains. Pictures to come... probably will set up a picasa album and put a link up on the blog.
* Hours in the car: ? - we did spend a good amount of time walking around and sitting out at the lodge at Old Faithful. Definitely less time in the car compared to the previous day.
* License Plate Bingo: Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Virginia. Bonus Points: Ontario. Über Bonus Points: Deutchland (yes, really - European plate with the lovely "D" sticker)
Unfortunately, we did not come across any recently married Jens and Cams :(
Today:
* Miles Traveled: 547
* Hours in Car: 10 hours (Including 1.5 hours sitting on I-90 12 miles from Buffalo, WY waiting for roadside assistance to come with some gas to get us to Buffalo like we had hoped. Moral of the story: don't trust the husband with the history of the car - get gas as soon as you find a station after your gas light turns on - stupid me for not pulling the veto rank as "driver" at that moment in the afternoon. Though, what's a roadtrip without some hiccup and needing to pull off to the side?)
* Liscense Plate Bingo: Iowa (finally! Now all we need are the East Coast states which are to come. Also really hoping to come across Saskatchewan as we keep heading east... who knows, maybe tomorrow...)
Also to note with License Plate Bingo - it seems like almost all of the trailer trucks come from Oklahoma... very rare to see one from another state.
I must say that it was nice to take US Highway 212 back to I-90. Yes, the road did suck as you traveled through Bearclaw Pass as you went up and down the mountains through several switchbacks and hairpin turns with cliff on either side of you the whole time (yes Becky, we have not found a cliff or a ditch to go into yet!). Hard drive, but really worth it for the views and the elevation change. We went from 8,000 feet in Cooke City to 11,000 at the top of the pass and then back down to 7,000 feet in about 80 miles. It was also fun in the sense that we started in Montana, to drive through Wyoming to get back to I-90 in Montana, and then pass back into Wyoming, all to get to South Dakota. At least I can now mark South Dakota on my list of states visited :)
Tomorrow - drive through the Badlands (we are just a few miles from the beginning of the loop) and maybe head into Minnesota - Andrew will be taking over the computer shortly to figure out the itinerary. Sad to say that we are not hitting up Mount Rushmore, but that was a detour that we felt was not necessary for getting there just to take a picture and say that we visited that landmark (go ahead and tell me how wrong we are...) Anyway, we drove past all opportunity to go detour there and would have to back-track.
Anyway, I'm tired, I think it's time to rest up for tomorrow's drive.
Later!
Yesterday: Yellowstone!
* Miles Traveled: ? - we drove from Bozeman down to the north entrance and through the main loop hitting up Mammoth Hot Springs, Norris, Old Faithful, West Thumb, and then back out through the Northeast Entrance. Then we spent the night just outside of Yellowstone in Cooke City. I will say that Old Faithful is definitely the place to hit up and some of the stops in the other "towns" weren't really worth it. Driving around Yellowstone Lake was really pretty, but long. And going out through the Northeast entrance is even longer with some steep cliffs - oh yeah, and Bison blocking the roadway - but the vistas were pretty - especially with the sunset hitting the mountains. Pictures to come... probably will set up a picasa album and put a link up on the blog.
* Hours in the car: ? - we did spend a good amount of time walking around and sitting out at the lodge at Old Faithful. Definitely less time in the car compared to the previous day.
* License Plate Bingo: Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Virginia. Bonus Points: Ontario. Über Bonus Points: Deutchland (yes, really - European plate with the lovely "D" sticker)
Unfortunately, we did not come across any recently married Jens and Cams :(
Today:
* Miles Traveled: 547
* Hours in Car: 10 hours (Including 1.5 hours sitting on I-90 12 miles from Buffalo, WY waiting for roadside assistance to come with some gas to get us to Buffalo like we had hoped. Moral of the story: don't trust the husband with the history of the car - get gas as soon as you find a station after your gas light turns on - stupid me for not pulling the veto rank as "driver" at that moment in the afternoon. Though, what's a roadtrip without some hiccup and needing to pull off to the side?)
* Liscense Plate Bingo: Iowa (finally! Now all we need are the East Coast states which are to come. Also really hoping to come across Saskatchewan as we keep heading east... who knows, maybe tomorrow...)
Also to note with License Plate Bingo - it seems like almost all of the trailer trucks come from Oklahoma... very rare to see one from another state.
I must say that it was nice to take US Highway 212 back to I-90. Yes, the road did suck as you traveled through Bearclaw Pass as you went up and down the mountains through several switchbacks and hairpin turns with cliff on either side of you the whole time (yes Becky, we have not found a cliff or a ditch to go into yet!). Hard drive, but really worth it for the views and the elevation change. We went from 8,000 feet in Cooke City to 11,000 at the top of the pass and then back down to 7,000 feet in about 80 miles. It was also fun in the sense that we started in Montana, to drive through Wyoming to get back to I-90 in Montana, and then pass back into Wyoming, all to get to South Dakota. At least I can now mark South Dakota on my list of states visited :)
Tomorrow - drive through the Badlands (we are just a few miles from the beginning of the loop) and maybe head into Minnesota - Andrew will be taking over the computer shortly to figure out the itinerary. Sad to say that we are not hitting up Mount Rushmore, but that was a detour that we felt was not necessary for getting there just to take a picture and say that we visited that landmark (go ahead and tell me how wrong we are...) Anyway, we drove past all opportunity to go detour there and would have to back-track.
Anyway, I'm tired, I think it's time to rest up for tomorrow's drive.
Later!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Bozeman, MT
**Edit: I forgot to mention how many times we crossed over Clark Fork in Montana - the answer is 7, yes, 7 times! (sorry, memory of my dad yelling out "Clark Fork" when we did our trip to St. Louis in '93)
Greetings from Montana!
Day one of the drive has gone well so far... and boy are we tired of sitting in a car already!
Notes about the trip so far:
* Miles traveled: aprox 670.
* Hours in the car: aprox 10.
* Current time zone: Mountain
To spice up the trip a bit, I suggested that we play "License Plate Bingo". If you are not familiar with the game, the idea is that as you take a road trip, to try to find all 50 plates from the USA. Bonus points if you come across any from Canada. The one stipulation: you cannot "find" the plate if it's in its state (dude - I can't believe that I did that using it(')s!). So, here are the plates found thus far (in alphabetical order):
* Alaska (found while driving to dinner tonight)
* Arizona
* California
* Colorado
* Florida
* Hawaii (found during a gas stop at a Conoco station in Missoula, MT)
* Idaho
* Illinois
* Indiana
* Kentucky
* Minnesota (a lot of cars driving in WA, ID, and MT from this state today...)
* Missouri (and one of them cut me off in Missoula)
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Jersey (found at a rest stop just outside of Phosphate, MT)
* Oklahoma (a lot of truck trailers coming from there)
* Oregon
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Texas
* Utah
* Washington (lots of them in MT currently...)
* Wisconson (complete with Green Bay Packers frame)
* Wyoming
**British Columbia
**Alberta
Yes, that's right - we already have half the states covered! Great idea to play this as it really helps Andrew survive with all the miles of the road.
Washington was long, and of course I get the leg in Eastern Washington (Andrew drove through the pass - lucky him). The hour in Idaho was really pretty with all the hillsides and cliffs covered in trees. Montana is long with barely any civilization, but really pretty - and you can see why they call it the "Big Sky State". Amazing cloud structure (you see the whole cloud), and the variance of the blue in the sky... and pair that with the pretty hillsides with trees and clay colors... what a site.
Anyway, probably should head to bed - putzing around Yellowstone all day tomorrow - I hope we can get it all in!
Oh, but before I head out: Today's Quote:
Denise: "So, if Idaho breaks into two states, would they be 'Idaho' and 'Udaho'?"
--> Corollary, started by Andrew: "And you know the irony of what issue would separate Idaho?" Denise's response: "Legalized Prostitution"
(My apologies for all friends and other residents of Idaho - we are not trying to make fun of the state, but rather try to survive a long road trip)
Toodles! :)
Greetings from Montana!
Day one of the drive has gone well so far... and boy are we tired of sitting in a car already!
Notes about the trip so far:
* Miles traveled: aprox 670.
* Hours in the car: aprox 10.
* Current time zone: Mountain
To spice up the trip a bit, I suggested that we play "License Plate Bingo". If you are not familiar with the game, the idea is that as you take a road trip, to try to find all 50 plates from the USA. Bonus points if you come across any from Canada. The one stipulation: you cannot "find" the plate if it's in its state (dude - I can't believe that I did that using it(')s!). So, here are the plates found thus far (in alphabetical order):
* Alaska (found while driving to dinner tonight)
* Arizona
* California
* Colorado
* Florida
* Hawaii (found during a gas stop at a Conoco station in Missoula, MT)
* Idaho
* Illinois
* Indiana
* Kentucky
* Minnesota (a lot of cars driving in WA, ID, and MT from this state today...)
* Missouri (and one of them cut me off in Missoula)
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Jersey (found at a rest stop just outside of Phosphate, MT)
* Oklahoma (a lot of truck trailers coming from there)
* Oregon
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Texas
* Utah
* Washington (lots of them in MT currently...)
* Wisconson (complete with Green Bay Packers frame)
* Wyoming
**British Columbia
**Alberta
Yes, that's right - we already have half the states covered! Great idea to play this as it really helps Andrew survive with all the miles of the road.
Washington was long, and of course I get the leg in Eastern Washington (Andrew drove through the pass - lucky him). The hour in Idaho was really pretty with all the hillsides and cliffs covered in trees. Montana is long with barely any civilization, but really pretty - and you can see why they call it the "Big Sky State". Amazing cloud structure (you see the whole cloud), and the variance of the blue in the sky... and pair that with the pretty hillsides with trees and clay colors... what a site.
Anyway, probably should head to bed - putzing around Yellowstone all day tomorrow - I hope we can get it all in!
Oh, but before I head out: Today's Quote:
Denise: "So, if Idaho breaks into two states, would they be 'Idaho' and 'Udaho'?"
--> Corollary, started by Andrew: "And you know the irony of what issue would separate Idaho?" Denise's response: "Legalized Prostitution"
(My apologies for all friends and other residents of Idaho - we are not trying to make fun of the state, but rather try to survive a long road trip)
Toodles! :)
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Reality setting in...
I must say that it's really hard to think that come Wednesday, Andrew and I will be starting our trek to the East Coast.
Reason why this is sinking in: Just got done with the party that Nancy and Keith threw for us (excellent party I must say). Included all the in-town friends and church buddies - good ol' BBQ with great friends, who I will really miss.
It's just really hard to pick up your life and leave it. In a way, I kind of did that when I moved out of my dad's house, but those were different circumstances, and I was just moving 15 miles away. But here, many more miles, and having to part with some friends that I have really grown close too. And I suck at making friends and keeping in contact with them.
Of course, Andrew is more seasoned, as he did this for four years while going to school at Cornell - and he did it with a tearful girlfriend at the time - this time that girl is going with him....
I just hope that God really does have a plan for me on this one. It's hard to say that I'm moving to the East Coast, when in a way, this is more of Andrew's adventure than mine. But I told him that I would follow him - and I told him that many years ago. I just wish that I knew where this adventure will lead me rather than to Princeton, NJ, where I can look for a job since a grad student stipend doesn't even go far enough for the student, where I can finally have my own dog to take care of, where... who knows what...
I hate change.
I hate leaving friends.
I suck at keeping in contact with people.
I hate trying to make new friends and opening up my shell to more people who I don't know if I can trust them.
But I will do what I can to keep in contact with all my Seattle buddies, I just hope that they do the same for me.
Yes, I have a fear of abandonment as well as a fear of social interactions. But, if you know my past, you can probably guess why.
Please God, help me through this. Comfort me. Guide me. Show me where you want me to go. I definitely can't do this on my own and Andrew can only do so much.
All this is just another reason why moving sucks...
Reason why this is sinking in: Just got done with the party that Nancy and Keith threw for us (excellent party I must say). Included all the in-town friends and church buddies - good ol' BBQ with great friends, who I will really miss.
It's just really hard to pick up your life and leave it. In a way, I kind of did that when I moved out of my dad's house, but those were different circumstances, and I was just moving 15 miles away. But here, many more miles, and having to part with some friends that I have really grown close too. And I suck at making friends and keeping in contact with them.
Of course, Andrew is more seasoned, as he did this for four years while going to school at Cornell - and he did it with a tearful girlfriend at the time - this time that girl is going with him....
I just hope that God really does have a plan for me on this one. It's hard to say that I'm moving to the East Coast, when in a way, this is more of Andrew's adventure than mine. But I told him that I would follow him - and I told him that many years ago. I just wish that I knew where this adventure will lead me rather than to Princeton, NJ, where I can look for a job since a grad student stipend doesn't even go far enough for the student, where I can finally have my own dog to take care of, where... who knows what...
I hate change.
I hate leaving friends.
I suck at keeping in contact with people.
I hate trying to make new friends and opening up my shell to more people who I don't know if I can trust them.
But I will do what I can to keep in contact with all my Seattle buddies, I just hope that they do the same for me.
Yes, I have a fear of abandonment as well as a fear of social interactions. But, if you know my past, you can probably guess why.
Please God, help me through this. Comfort me. Guide me. Show me where you want me to go. I definitely can't do this on my own and Andrew can only do so much.
All this is just another reason why moving sucks...
Thursday, July 31, 2008
All my bags are packed and I'm ready to go...
But I'm not leaving on a Jet Plane (though, those are currently roaring overhead - wooo! SeaFair weekend = Blue Angels are in town!!!), rather driving, and in a month...
Phase one of the move is done, with a lot of heavenly help from the fabulous truck driver - wait, we did not see him help us... also with Nancy's help and a dolly with a flat tire (a dolly with a flat is better than no dolly at all!)
Now I'm doing the Bellevue to Seattle commute, but only for a few days (12 to be exact).
So far living with the in-laws is fine. It's funny to hear Keith already lamenting on Andrew and my leaving, and all I can say is: "Wait till the end of the month, you'll be ready to kick us out by then."
But of course, and this should be no surprise to anyone out there who knows of this weird relationship I have, the dog is super-happy to have me around. This is one of the biggest perks to closing out the apartment at this time. I got the best greeting when I finally made it to the house last night and I look forward to that black mass with pink tongue hanging out giving me his gassy rump to scratch. I love that dog :) And for the next month, he'll be my dog. Not just my dog on Sundays.
Then I'll have to wait a little bit before we adopt one in Jersey...
until then, he's my dog and always will be, as he has made me his (from the first day we met, gosh, maybe 7 years ago...)
Suppose I better "work"...
Phase one of the move is done, with a lot of heavenly help from the fabulous truck driver - wait, we did not see him help us... also with Nancy's help and a dolly with a flat tire (a dolly with a flat is better than no dolly at all!)
Now I'm doing the Bellevue to Seattle commute, but only for a few days (12 to be exact).
So far living with the in-laws is fine. It's funny to hear Keith already lamenting on Andrew and my leaving, and all I can say is: "Wait till the end of the month, you'll be ready to kick us out by then."
But of course, and this should be no surprise to anyone out there who knows of this weird relationship I have, the dog is super-happy to have me around. This is one of the biggest perks to closing out the apartment at this time. I got the best greeting when I finally made it to the house last night and I look forward to that black mass with pink tongue hanging out giving me his gassy rump to scratch. I love that dog :) And for the next month, he'll be my dog. Not just my dog on Sundays.Then I'll have to wait a little bit before we adopt one in Jersey...
until then, he's my dog and always will be, as he has made me his (from the first day we met, gosh, maybe 7 years ago...)
Suppose I better "work"...
Monday, July 28, 2008
Moving sucks
Okay, I know that I'm stating something that everyone knows, but I just wanted to say it.
Granted, my last move (and only real move (moving in and out of the dorms doesn't count)) was into my current apartment, and that was from my Dad's house and the dorms, and that move happened in stages, and I didn't have nearly as much crap. This time, I have all the crap I ever need and more, and it all has to be boxed up and put on a truck to travel to the other side of the country. What was I thinking?
Fortunately, all but two boxes are packed and I hope the remaining bit of stuff that has to be packed will fit in those two boxes.
Unfortunately, I am not sleeping.
Is it Wednesday yet? Can we just get this over with? I hate living in this state.
Now to somehow work...
Granted, my last move (and only real move (moving in and out of the dorms doesn't count)) was into my current apartment, and that was from my Dad's house and the dorms, and that move happened in stages, and I didn't have nearly as much crap. This time, I have all the crap I ever need and more, and it all has to be boxed up and put on a truck to travel to the other side of the country. What was I thinking?
Fortunately, all but two boxes are packed and I hope the remaining bit of stuff that has to be packed will fit in those two boxes.
Unfortunately, I am not sleeping.
Is it Wednesday yet? Can we just get this over with? I hate living in this state.
Now to somehow work...
Sunday, July 27, 2008
I hate packing
Ahh, yes... moving. It sucks.
The good news is that we are on our way to being fully packed. All of yesterday, I finished packing up the kitchen and cleaned it fully. If you ever plan a move, plan on taking a full day or day and a half to do it - but luckily it seems to be the worse room to pack up.
Andrew has been doing a great job with the packing as well. All of the books are packed and the electronics are in boxes. Seems like all we have to go now is all the piddly crap. Sweet.
Good thing too given that we're loading up a truck on Wednesday... finally I'm starting to feel more confident of this move.
The good news is that we are on our way to being fully packed. All of yesterday, I finished packing up the kitchen and cleaned it fully. If you ever plan a move, plan on taking a full day or day and a half to do it - but luckily it seems to be the worse room to pack up.
Andrew has been doing a great job with the packing as well. All of the books are packed and the electronics are in boxes. Seems like all we have to go now is all the piddly crap. Sweet.
Good thing too given that we're loading up a truck on Wednesday... finally I'm starting to feel more confident of this move.
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