After one of the most insanely mind numbing weeks of packing and parties Tim and I got on the road to Los Angeles. With so many good friends and family in Athens it was hard to say good bye. Both Tim and I watched as Kenny and Jay, the last Athens folks we saw, stayed on 544 Blvd. (the dream street)
The first 15 minutes were full of praise for our friends and family, so helpful and supportive. Then we got quiet. Were we doing the right thing?? Hmmm
Our first stop was Nashville. Tim's dad serendipitously was at a conference at the Opry Hotel. We had a great sleep, $15 omelets (thanks John), and some sleepy conversation before we were on the road again.
The truck wasn't as difficult to drive as I thought it would be, but it did take a considerable amount of concentration to guide it through the inevitable road construction encountered entering and exiting each city.
We breezed through Arkansas and Oklahoma, putting in 12 hour days in the hopes of getting one day off to go to the Grand Canyon. They were long days, but we needed to see the physical distance that lay between where we were and where we were going to be living. Besides, I've mostly traveled to other countries rather than seeing my own. This was a great op. to see what this country really looks like. As we went from craggy mountains, to lush bridge covered lakes, to flat ranch lands littered with windmills, to the seemingly endless dessert, I think Tim and I both were coming to terms with the move we were making. It's a big world out there and I we haven't seen enough of it.
(Quick aside...)
Oklahoma is pretty damn safe. We had gone to several Wal-marts along
the way in hopes of finding a certain kind of lock that we had seen in
Athens but failed to get the correct size. Once in Oklahoma, noticing
they too did not have the size lock we needed I asked "Do you have these
locks somewhere in the back?" "Nope", the hardware sales guy says and
goes back to helping a couple with house paint. "How about tazers?", I
asked (I was convinced we would meet with trouble in the dessert and had
heard Wal-Mart now sells them) "UUUhh No!", answered the paint and
hardware guy. Finally, the customer who was being helped told me that
the lock I was looking for was a "high-security" lock and that I would
have to look in a less safe town for such a thing. "O.k. We're traveling
on Hwy 40. Where's the next unsafe town?", I asked with little or no
irony, only thinking about the fact that the Athens Wal-Mart had five
sizes of this "high-security" lock. "Ah, maybe Oklahoma City..if your
lucky. My friend is a locksmith and he don't hardly make any money.
People don't really lock their doors around here." We decided to take our
chances and call off the search.
Then it was on to Flagstaff where our gracious hosts, Matt and Cameron Clark gave us a warm welcome and our first non hotel bed. I had expected that Arizona would be hot and dry. Nooooo! I couldn't believe it it was actually snowing!
It was my first time seeing the Grand Canyon and the snow just made it more magical. There really isn't much I can put into words about the G.C. outside of just saying, everyone should see it. If you really take it in, it will make you surrender those petty worries.
So we are now here in Cali. I've scarcely seen the outside of the house we're staying in...but I know this flu will pass soon. It's funny to see so much in such a short time and then to be confined to looking at four walls from a sick bed. Ahhh life.
