California Welcome
Well, we have arrived in California and as much as I wish it were an easy trip the universe has a way of keeping things interesting. We've struggled for the last two weeks to pack up our home and make the minor repairs it needed to be put on the market. School and work took up our days while the packing and repairs took up our nights. Combine that with our trip to Moab and somewhat short notice of the move made the month of March rather crazy. The most frustrating part about it all is that in the end we didn't finish all of the things that we needed to complete before we left and this caused us to leave without seeing everyone we wanted to say goodbye too and it leaves us ten hours from our incomplete projects.
We put all of this behind us Sunday morning and tried to keep an upbeat attitude as we left early in the morning. Making good time we decided to swing in to see our grandparents in St. George, UT (my grandfather had just had an operation) and after an hour we pushed on. Our travels continued to be good until we were just south of Las Vegas, NV. An accident near the Nevada/California border had all three lanes of I-15 southbound backed up past Jean, NV. Normally the drive from Jean to Baker, CA takes around an hour. It took us three. To rub salt in the wounds every gas station and rest stop from Jean to Barstow had no parking and horrible lines for restrooms. I can tell you that I have never seen so many cars pulled over for side of the road potty stops in my life. It's actually kind of comical now but it wasn't last night. With this being spring break for California we believe this helped add to the heavy traffic. It was a definate learning experience and in reality it makes a better story than just a boring ten hour drive (this drive ended after fourteen.)
This is also my first hotel travel trip with a dog (no, we still haven't found a house yet) and when traveling with a pet for a long term stay severely limits your options. The positives are that we do have two beds (originally they only had one bed available) and a nice kitchenette so that we can eat in rather than waste money eating out. The negatives are numerous but the most annoying is the smells of corridors due to other people cooking odd foods and what I'm telling myself are burning inscence. It's a bit nasty but I know it's only temporary.
We are now settling in to find a home and some kind of normalcy. Unfortunately housing is hot and a bit hard to find right now but we'll be patient. Tomorrow I start my new job and the countdown to going back home can begin.
It's not all bad, folks but our adventures would be boring if I didn't fill you in on all the "fun" we're having. We know that we're having a bumpy start but it will get easier as time goes on and we're still excited to be here. Tune in Friday for a new update and the we'll be getting back to our travel adventures soon. Have a good week!
Brandan
We put all of this behind us Sunday morning and tried to keep an upbeat attitude as we left early in the morning. Making good time we decided to swing in to see our grandparents in St. George, UT (my grandfather had just had an operation) and after an hour we pushed on. Our travels continued to be good until we were just south of Las Vegas, NV. An accident near the Nevada/California border had all three lanes of I-15 southbound backed up past Jean, NV. Normally the drive from Jean to Baker, CA takes around an hour. It took us three. To rub salt in the wounds every gas station and rest stop from Jean to Barstow had no parking and horrible lines for restrooms. I can tell you that I have never seen so many cars pulled over for side of the road potty stops in my life. It's actually kind of comical now but it wasn't last night. With this being spring break for California we believe this helped add to the heavy traffic. It was a definate learning experience and in reality it makes a better story than just a boring ten hour drive (this drive ended after fourteen.)
This is also my first hotel travel trip with a dog (no, we still haven't found a house yet) and when traveling with a pet for a long term stay severely limits your options. The positives are that we do have two beds (originally they only had one bed available) and a nice kitchenette so that we can eat in rather than waste money eating out. The negatives are numerous but the most annoying is the smells of corridors due to other people cooking odd foods and what I'm telling myself are burning inscence. It's a bit nasty but I know it's only temporary.
We are now settling in to find a home and some kind of normalcy. Unfortunately housing is hot and a bit hard to find right now but we'll be patient. Tomorrow I start my new job and the countdown to going back home can begin.
It's not all bad, folks but our adventures would be boring if I didn't fill you in on all the "fun" we're having. We know that we're having a bumpy start but it will get easier as time goes on and we're still excited to be here. Tune in Friday for a new update and the we'll be getting back to our travel adventures soon. Have a good week!
Brandan