Road Trip, Day 7: End of the Road!

Can y'all believe it? We made it- all in one piece- we're fine, the kitty is great, and all our stuff is still with us (for better or for worse). We drove through Dallas this morning, and arrived in Austin around 3 pm. Got set up in our apartment, went to dinner, and then collapsed on the mattress we have lying in the middle of the living room.

What a trip. It took us 7 days to drive what I thought would take 4-5 days. We totally forgot to take into account how much weight we'd be pulling and how hilly the eastern half of the country is. So here are the stats (roughly): we pulled 4,000+ lbs. across 2,100 miles and used 240+ gallons of gas. OMG. We had a blast, but it was also very stressful. We're both very glad to have this trip behind us. And, I of course, am so thankful to back in TEXAS. I don't think Rob realizes yet where he is. I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees the house for the first time. I'll try to get a picture of that for y'all. Seems like every pic I take lately is judged on whether it is blog-worthy or not.

Another thing I want to say about our trek across the easten half of the US is how disappointing it is to see that all these major highways are peppered with the same businesses. Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowe's, Target. Burget King, Subway, Wendy's, Dairy Queen, Taco Bell, McDonald's. Best Western, La Quinta, Comfort Inn, Red Roof Inn, Holiday Inn. More billboards than you can count for all of the above. If it wasn't for the scenery constantly changing, you'd think you were driving in circles. It all looks the same. This country sure would look alot better w/out all this crap. I think I've seen enough of all this in the last week to last a life time. That, and individually wrapped tiny bars of soap. Don't need to see anymore of those either.

To explain the pictures above: Top: the road map of the trip, 2nd: the first road sign we saw to Austin, 3rd: Rob on the deck at the Hula Hut on Lake Austin, and 4th, a view of of our apt- we're on the 2nd floor. We're loving the central A/C and my feet love the cushy carpet.

One last thing- cheers to Rob for driving the entire trip. He drove like he was born to do it. Through the tight, winding roads of New England, up all the hills in Virginia and Tennesse, and across the flat, extremely windy highways of Texas. All without complaining or even appearing to be stressed about it.

Goodnight from Texas, Y'all

Raod Trip Day 6: The "penultimate" day of our Road Trip

You can't pass through Memphis without seeing Graceland. So that's what we did at 9 am this morning. Somehow we were the first people on the shuttle to the mansion, and I have to say the youngest. It was great though, there weren't tons of lines or chaos like I was imagining. I'd say the tour we did was "Graceland-light". We skipped out on the tour of all Elvis's cars and airplanes. Seeing the house was a good enough dose of The King- he had some extravegent interior decorating themes - there's the yellow and blue lightening bolt TV room, the pool room, jungle room (complete w/ green shag carpet on the floor AND ceiling). Maybe I can steal some of his ideas for the new Austin house. I thing green shag and lightening bolts would fit in just fine at Agave. OK, so the top picture is a portrait of Big E that hangs in the living room. The second pic from the top is his racquetball court that has been converted to a showcase for some of his gold records and Vegas suits. glitzy glitzy glitzy.

After Graceland, we high-tailed it out of Tennessee. Crossed the Mississippi River and into Arkansas. And that marked the end of the hills. The east side of the state is flat and pretty wet. The west side of Little Rock gets a little more hilly. Lots of religious billboards. We didn't stop to smell the roses in Arkansas at all- it's business time now. We just want to get to Texas. And we did, hence the last picture. We hit Texarkana, and I was disappointed when we didn't see a "Welcome to Texas" sign. That was the one sign I really wanted to see! We thought we could make it to Dallas, but we couldn't find a pet-friendly hotel, so we bailed on the Big D, and stopped short in Sulphur Springs, TX. And what do you know...it's a DRY county. No more "big ass beer glasses" for us.

So, now we're just sittin pretty in the middle of nowhere. We're 80 miles east of Dallas. And Austin is 179 miles South of Dallas. We should be in Austin by the end of the day Wednesday. I hope George is enjoying her last night as a hotel kitty.

Road Trip, Day 5: Virginia was the prettiest, but Tennesse is way Cooler

What history is to Boston, country and blues music is to Nashville and Memphis. The bottom picture is a guitar on lower Broadway in Nashville painted w/ the faces of country music legends. The picture above that is the Country Music Hall of Fame. We took a tour this morning- got to see the diamond plated Elvis Cadillac (complete with 24K interior and mini bar). This was the real "Pimp My Ride". The museum also had an installation on the Hank Williams family called Family Tradition.

The top two pictures are of us in Memphis. It was so tough to find a decent hotel that we almost skipped this city all together. We had to cross the border into Mississippi to find a hotel that would accept U-hauls and Georgies. Good thing we found it. We went into downtown Memphis and found Beale street which is said to be the birthplace of the blues and rock n roll: http://www.bealestreet.com/home.html

It reminds me of a cleaner French Quarter- there is music pouring out of every club and the street is closed off to traffic and they let you walk around w/ a "Big Ass Beer Glass". We ate dinner at Rum Boogie Cafe (top pic) and had Memphis ribs and red beans and rice....oh yah, and Gator Gumbo for an app. I swear, there really was alligator in there. Rob's gonna be a fan of cajun food and country music by the end of this trip - who woulda thought?

On to see the big "E" tomorrow morning.

Road Trip, Day 4: Tennessee...Tennessee...

We made it out of Virginia after all the hills, and into Tennessee this morning. Tennessee is more hills, but not as steep, so we made way better time today- 438 miles! We drove mostly through rain, which added more to the fun....and helped me (and George) fall asleep. We drove straight through Knoxville, and landed in Nashville. Haven't seen much yet, but tomorrow we plan to hit downtown (we're staying at a hotel in the city) and see as much as we can in a few hours. First on the list is the Country Music Hall of Fame. After Nashville, we're onto Memphis.....and you know what that means.....E-L-V-I-S.

Road Trip, Day 3: "Virginia is For Lovers"

I guess the saying, "Virginia is For Lovers" is true, because we can't seem to bring ourselves to leave the state. It's still very slow moving b/c we're traveling through the Shenendoah Valley....which is really all mountains. Big Ones.

So, we began the day at Arlington National Cemetary. The top picture doesn't do the cemetary justice, or show at all how many headstones there are. They go on forever. To quote my mom, "this is a grim reminder of why war is hell". The second picture is Rob and me in front of The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We watched the changing of the guards- which they do every hour (and sometimes 1/2 hour) 24 hours/ day, 365 days a year. I can't say enough about this place, you have to see it for yourself.

After the cemetary, we tried to see how far we could get in VA. Not far. We got as far as Roanoke. There we ended the day with some fab-o Mexican food. I know, I had my doubts- we are still in Virginia. But I could tell from the amount of good Mexican beers on the menu that we'd be OK. For the Houstonians reading this- it was very "Los Tios". Yummy. So, on that note, I'm ending this post w/ this- Virginia wins the "Pertiest State and Best Mexican Food" Contest. But that's only because we're not in Texas yet. hehehe

Road Trip, Day 2: 5 States, 10 hours

We left Fishkill, NY this morning (@10 am) with sunny skies, and a mediocre breakfast. The breakfast was free, so who cares. We made it through Pennsylvania w/out stopping once- and that state didn't get pretty until we were almost out of it. I think we drove through Amish country- Rob swears he spotted buggies. After PA, came a tiny corner of Delaware (no pics), then West Virginia with the trip ending in Virginia. Manassas Virginia to be exact. We're here b/c the goal is to get up early tomorrow morning and drive the Tacoma into Arlington to see Arlington National Cemetary. Otherwise, y'all aren't missin anything by not being in Manassas. Just picture any typical Suburban town in America and you got Manassas. We couldn't find a single non-chain restaurant. So far, our dining experiences haven't been too exciting- Cracker Barrel and Friday's. I'm holdin out for something cool in Tennesse.

So, I just googled our trip route- Fishkill to Manassas is 325 miles, estimated time 5 hours, 36 mins. It took us almost 10 hours. Goin up hill haulin all the stuff we have is still a little slow goin- we were going as slow as 40 mph through the hills of PA. Hopefully, our speed will pick up as the country flattens out. If that's true, Texas should be a breeze. Here's hoping....

PS- look closely at the rear view image in the 2nd picture- that's a piece of a rainbow we saw in Virginia after a good rain storm. There were 2 rainbows at once, but I didn't get the camera out in time to catch them.

The Journey Begins....at a Snail's Pace

So, after 3 days of packing and 2.5 days of loading the u-haul, we're finally on our way. A 24' u-haul, a toyota tacoma, 2 tall peeps, and an 8 lb. kitty. Holy crap. And we did it all ourselves, with the help of Rob's P's. And after all that, we finally agreed to hire movers in Texas. No way are we doin this again.

We didn't leave Boston until 3 pm...after loading the truck and cleaning since 7:30 am. Then we drove for 5 hours through 3 states- Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York. We stopped at 8 pm in beautiful Fishkill, NY- home to chain restaurants and roadside hotels. It's great to sit here and do nothing.

And last but not least...it's Rob's birthday....and what a happy one it is. ;)

Swanky Squares

How cool are these little square cutouts?

And this is a shot of our living room looking from the kitchen. For sense of scale- that is an 8' door leaning up against the wall. Tall people rejoice!

We're Getting Closer!

The green paint is totally done and it looks totally cool. If you notice, I'm in the first picture, on the sidewalk. Now u really get a sense of scale. Most newsworthy item is that our completion date moved from end of May to "sometime" in June. Big Shocker. Oh well, that gives us more time in the Mesa Verde Apartments pool. btw- that's where we found an apt. to rent for 2 months, thanks to Craigslist.

Squeakzilla

Everybody, Meet Ruby. Ruby- Everybody. This is what we wake up to almost everyday at the Russell/ Meek house. This is Ruby, the Rodesian Ridgeback puppy who's 10 months old, and is a complete freak show when she hasn't been walked or at puppy camp for 2 days. She likes to chew noisy things, make confetti out of sticks, and licking feet. Oh, and she has loves popcorn. Enjoy the video, I certainly enjoyed filming it. Turn the volume up on your computer, it's much funnier with the sound effects. And sorry for the sideways view...but whatever. it's still cute.Squeak!Squeak!

We have Limestone!

Who wouldn't want to take a shower surrounded by limestone tile? Not to mention standing in front of a 4' x 5' picture window. Yes, I'm talking about the shower in our master bathroom. It's huge, and that tile goes up to 8'-0". I may never leave the bathroom.

I think I see the Green Monster...

...and no it's not me. Check out the new color on the house....the chopped celery is finally there! They started painting the stucco today. The second picture is me at the rotunda at the new Long Center for Performing Arts. Pretty cool view, eh? The city looks pretty good too. ;)

Only in Austin....

Apparently, pink flamingoes are native to Austin. Funny, I never knew. This flock is the signage for a plant nursery off of Bee Caves Rd. There's at least 500 of em. Not too long ago, the Westlake neighbors weren't too found of all the birds, so they forced the nursery to remove them. The rest of the city pitched a fit loud enough to have them reinstated. I s'pose they add to the "Keep Austin Weird" movement. Love it.

11 Months....20+ Open Houses....3 Offers....and 4 Counter offers later....WE SOLD!

Me at Hut's Burgers Telling Rob the News