October 17, 2012

Driving Up

Well hey there everyone, and a surprisingly warm (today) Fall hello from Auburn Hills, Michigan!

I apologize for not letting you in the loop of how everything is going sooner.  Since we said our final goodbyes Friday morning, it has been a crazy, exciting, and busy week getting settled in and looking for a new home.  Scott’s new job with the Detroit Pistons is in full swing and I attended my very first game last night vs. the Orlando Magic!

Talk about being thrown right into it…

Coincidence much?

I had a great time, but I will save that subject for another post all together!  Right now I want to back track back to Friday morning before the big drive up to our new home.

Driving Up

Saying goodbye to Orlando, our friends and our family is certainly not an enjoyable thing to do.  It is hard, and it kind of hurts a little.

As we got up to say goodbye to my mom early Friday morning, she was in a big hurry to get out the door.  She said she had a few important meetings at school, but I really think that was her way to avoid having to say a sad goodbye.  I don’t blame her.  Her rushing out after a hug made it a little easier on me too.

My sister showed up a few hours later in the morning with two loves of my life, Aspen and Cali.  I missed them so much the week they stayed with her!

They were the last thing to pack up in the car, and along with Roadie and my dad, Scott and I said goodbye to my sister and headed out on our not-so-short eighteen hour drive up to Michigan.

Diggin’ the boots and my entire outfit, aren’t you? I strategically planned to wear those in the car, and brought a pair of jeans, a long sleeved shirt, and a sweatshirt to layer with as we started driving into the colder climates.  Hate all you want, I was one comfortable little traveler!

Right around Noon, we were off to start a new chapter in our lives.

Scott drove, my dad helped navigate, and I had the ever important task of keeping everyone happy in the back seat.

Considering I had the smallest seat space out of everyone, I have to say I did a pretty good job.  I now know that driving with all of our pets is doable and that we also have a true road dog on our hands.

It was not long before we stopped to get our first meal on the road.  Trying to avoid the awful greasy tummy feeling I usually get from fast food, I opted for the pulled chicken barbecue salad from Bubbalou’s Bodacious BBQ with a light Ranch dressing.

I am notorious for getting pulled chicken or pork barbecue salads at BBQ restaurants, and I am not ashamed of it.  They are, in fact, pretty bodacious.

And we were back on the road in a flash!  The reason you can not find Cali in most of these pictures is because she slept in her crate for majority of the drive.  Aspen claimed the “explorer” title pretty quickly, and spent more time crawling on our laps, stretching out on the dashboard and walking around than she did laying down.

With our bellies full and a full tank of gas, we hit the open road.  Everything was going great, until we realized our tarp full of random household items wasn’t holding.

Thank you, movers, for doing us the favor of leaving these things behind.  Speaking of movers, I have a few posts coming up dedicated to stories and advice I have gathered during this entire moving process.  Stay tuned my friends.

For now, rest assure we had a fun and frustrating time dealing with the tarp flapping away in the wind and exposing our vacuum, trashcan, and small suitcases.

After a new tarp from Target about a half hour outside of Orlando, we set off to the interstate and made pretty good time all the way up to Georgia!

I do not get to cross state lines very often, so of course I wanted to take full advantage of taking a “hey, I made it here” picture at the state welcome center.

Back on the road, I finally broke into some of the snacks I had on hand.  A favorite of mine had to be the Archer Farms: A Handful of Everything Trail Mix from Target.

It really is a handful of everything, and a really good time.

Along the way, Scott thought it would be a good idea to see how the cats reacted to being outdoors.  He has leashed his previous cats before (I am not kidding) (lol) and wanted to see if they would use the bathroom outside of the box inside the car.

Little Miss Explorer ate up every minute, while Cali crouched as close to the grass as possible and plopped down every few steps.  I think she thought she was invisible.

After another few hours of driving, we called it a night and stayed in a Days Inn near Athens, Tennessee.  Oh, the choices in hotels you have when traveling with pets… again, I could dedicate an entire post sharing stories about staying in motels.  But, I will move on instead.   You’re welcome.

Day Two

I am starting to realize this post could get pretty long, so I will try to sum up the rest of the trip as quickly as possible! Ready… go!

A few hours of driving in Tennessee led to the state line of Kentucky, where of course I had to take another photo.

Notice the comfy, yet publicly acceptable outfit this time?  Ha.

We were making great time and only stopped for lunch and gas.  When we realized we were literally right off the road of the Original Kentucky Fried Chicken location in Corbin, Kentucky, we had to stop in and try a piece.

Colonel Sanders Cafe – The Original KFC

Although I am not a true advocate of fast food, I have to admit that seeing where KFC was born was pretty neat.

Harland (Colonel) Sanders Cafe has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior and has grown to become one of the largest quick service food companies in the world.

If you have not yet heard about Colonel Sanders, here he is sitting on the far left beside my dad and I.

Love that guy.

After we ordered our food, we took a look around at all of the history right in front of us.  In this very kitchen is where the original KFC recipe was concocted, made, and distributed to travelers passing through the area dating all the way back to the 1930′s.

He did not have his own restaurant yet, so patrons ate from his personal dining tables, located just beside his own living quarters.

Cool, right?

I must say, the fried chicken, cole slaw and even the biscuit was worth every “fast food greasy” bite.

It was finger lickin’ good!

Back on the road up, we stayed focused and plowed through the rest of Kentucky and only stopped when we needed to reload for gas, let Roadie outside, or take a bathroom break ourselves.

For being on the road for almost two days straight, I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was to do with the pets.  They didn’t seem to be phased one bit.  Just another day in the life, I guess.

Getting up to the northern states, we crossed into Ohio and this is the closest I could get to getting my state line picture.  This was taken via Instagram while crossing the Cincinatti Bridge, and that is as much as I can remember about Ohio.

I may or may have not fallen asleep for a good part of this state.  Hey, it happens.

As we drove into the night, we finally made it to Michigan, but it was also too dark and rainy to get out and take a state line picture.  We had to stop by the airport on the way into Detroit to pick up my car, and I was thrown into driving the highways right then and there.  Good thing it was rain and not snow!  My fear for driving in snow is no secret.

After being in Michigan for more than a few days, I can tell you that both Scott and I are smitten.  It may just be the honeymoon phase of something new, but from what we can tell we are really going to enjoy living here.

I can’t wait to share more about it very soon! At the moment we are staying in an extended suites hotel and I am working from my ridiculously slow MacBook laptop.  Bear with me as I try to post as often as possible for the next few weeks… what I am used to getting done in an hour has taken up to half a day at times, and it can be a tad frustrating.

I guess that just means I will have more to share with you later on…

Thanks for reading and see ya soon!