I made it!

Even though I crossed the CA state line it didn’t feel like I had really gone all the way across the country until I stuck my feet in the Pacific Ocean this morning. First I went to ballet class with Brenna and assisted with her two and three year olds, adorable. Then it was to the beach! Thanks Brenna for documenting my official cross country arrival to Newport Beach, CA!

Don’t worry, even though I made it, there are more adventures to be had as I make my way back to Martha’s Vineyard.

Butterflies

To the beach!

Yay!

Joshua Tree

When I left Lordsburg New Mexico it was -7, thank goodness it was 60 when I arrived in Orange, CA. The early morning sunlight on the mountains and cactus plants was gorgeous as I drove down the Old West Highway. I honked a few times as I crossed the state line into California. Joshua Tree National Park was on my to do list for this trip, and it was amazing. When I hit the 91, traffic stopped, but the sunset was beautiful and silhouetted the palm trees perfectly. I arrived at John & Brenna’s tired and hungry. After some yummy Thai food I quickly went to bed on the most comfortable couch I’ve slept on thus far.

Beep Beep is so photogenic.

I ate my lunch on that little concrete slab in the upper left corner.

Cholla cactus

Arch Rock

Now that's a Joshua Tree

Skull Rock

Crossing the Continental Divide

I-10 all day…

I’ve mostly been listening to books on CD as I’ve been driving. It makes me feel like I’m using my time wisely. I usually switch back and forth between a book CD and a music CD. Yeah, I know I’m old school, I still listen to CDs. The playlist can make or break a day on the road though.

As I drove through the wide open spaces of west Texas it was time for some Dixie Chicks, volume up singing along at the top of my lungs. Then came NPRs animal stories where I learned about shrimp on treadmills (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js00pIKORb4&feature=related).

As I was searching for Dixie Chicks I came across a homemade “Car Tunes” CD. I vaguely remember my cousin Drew making a copy of it for me on some past road trip, I may be mistaken though. I don’t recall actually ever having listened to it, but it was a nice surprise today. It’s upbeat, made me laugh and mentions many types of cars, as well as duct tape and driving in Massachusetts rotaries, gotta love ’em!

My thermometer went from 22 when I left Gonzales to 11, then back to 18, and it snowed… I thought I left all this snow stuff back in New England! I crossed the Continental Divide at some point, wasn’t too sure what that meant until I googled it; and I learned it’s where the watersheds are divided. Now all water flows to the Pacific instead of the Gulf and Atlantic.

There is a screaming child in the hotel hallway; it’s time for some earplugs and shut eye.

Eye test - how many windmills do you see?

Gonzales & Luling, TX

It was just a short drive down I-10 to the Bucees exit for a brief visit at the St. James Inn (http://www.stjamesinn.com/). My Aunt and Uncle have been running the B&B for as long as I can remember now. I was greeted by the smell of brownies as I opened the door. Aunt Ann had some nibbles set out which was perfect since I hadn’t eaten lunch yet. There were grapes and cheese, chips & guac, pimento cheese sandwiches, and of course warm brownies.

Per my request we took a drive to Luling to go on an oil pump hunt. I had been there with them years before and remember the pumps as these fun yard art pieces all over the town. As soon as we spotted one Uncle Rew quickly maneuvered the car around for me to hop out and take a picture and then we were off to find the next one. Their water tower is painted like a watermelon and there’s a Watermelon Thump festival every year, and of course it includes a seed spitting contest.

Our evening entertainment included the Gonzales City Council meeting. The main agenda item was a movement to terminate the City Manager. After many stories of support from city residents, business owners, and a moving speech by the City Manager himself the good old boys voted to terminate him. Even the mayor was against it. It was truly unfortunate and very sad. There’s a movement in progress to remove the councilman who made movement to terminate the City Manager. I think Aunt Ann is on top of that.  

Hasta la vista Houston

I’m on the road again tomorrow. My stay in Houston has been nice and laid back. I got to hang out with my best friend Melissa, lay in the sun by the pool, take a spontaneous trip to the Kemah boardwalk (because we needed to see the ocean!), and visit the Space Center.

Today was tough. It’s been a year since Melissa’s dad unexpectedly passed away. I was watching the Grammy’s at a friend’s house last year when I got a frantic phone call from her. He had a heart attack at 54. She was completely caught off guard; they had just gone skiing together a couple weeks before. The weeks and months that passed were filled with disbelief and grief. It takes time to process and heal from loss.

It was a true eye opener for me. And, it is a reminder to live in this moment and be happy in this moment, because this moment is all we really have. We can spend hours and days worrying about our future, what to do about it, where are we heading in life? But we sometimes forget to live our lives; we’re too busy worrying about them and planning them out. Sure, I’d love to know that I’ll have a wonderful, financially secure future. But, I’m not going to spend all my time trying to make that happen and forget to be present now. I’m not going to be irresponsible either and leave my job, work a seasonal part time job, and spend all my savings traveling, oh, wait… Oh well, I’m having fun in this moment. There’s plenty of future ahead of me and opportunities abound.      

A cross competing with the power lines

Melissa & I with our new spacemen boyfriends

She touched the moon!

It smelled like the last person to try it on had eaten garlic alfredo, eww!

NASA's new Rover design, the suits are on the outside and the astronauts climb in through the backpack.

Hanging out with Neil, Michael, and Buzz.

  

Beep Beep Surgery

Yesterday my little beep beep went in for surgery. I was so worried. But, it was time to finally get the check engine light fixed. Beep beep had its guts taken out and a new intake manifold installed. It all went amazingly well, and it has fully recovered. I have an incredible extended warranty that covered everything. I didn’t pay a cent. Whew! Thank goodness for that since I’m on a tight road trip budget, and beep beep is always thirsty!

Houston Arrival

As I drove down I-10, the city came into view and I felt my stomach sink. I passed my old exit, Chimney Rock road and I thought of life here five years ago. Houston leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I moved here in August of 2005 following my college boyfriend. I knew I didn’t want to stay; it was a stopover on my journey. I wanted to move back to the northeast. I had no desire to live in this city with its huge highways and huge billboards for darque tan, breast enhancement and lipo suction. I wanted to live where it was ok to be naturally you, where it’s ok to grow old with wrinkles, where thrifty is cool and there’s no need for such excess and materialism.

Well, I stayed in Houston for another year until I moved to Martha’s Vineyard at the end of January, 2007. Once there, it felt like the right place to be. Sure there are big homes and excess there too, but there is also a really great community of caring and environmentally sustainable people. My ex was going to move to the island. He gave his two weeks’ notice to his job in Houston, and they offered him a promotion, he stayed. There was a fleeting moment I considered moving back to this god forsaken city, but it passed and I stayed on MV. We tried the long distance thing. I flew down to Houston, he flew to the Vineyard a few times but when I visited him for Labor Day weekend 2007 our relationship finally ended. He never admitted it, maybe because it’s not true, but I think he had started dating someone else in Houston. He’s married now, and their wedding web page says they met in May of 2007. Hmm? Oh well, I don’t think it would have ever really worked anyway; I think I loved his family more than I loved him. I’m a little hesitant to put my heart on the line now, but aren’t we all? I’m sure my prince will come. He will find me. He will find me and be ready for the adventure!

Within six months of being on the Vineyard, my best friend moved to Houston. Crap, now I’m back in New England and the person I like to hang out with the most is in Houston. I think that may have been why I had that fleeting thought of moving back here. She’s still here though and that’s probably the only reason why I would ever visit Houston. There are a few things I’m looking forward to in Houston though, visiting the Arboretum where I worked, the bats under Waugh Bridge and pitchers of margaritas at Fajita Flats; I hope they’re still open! I’ll be here for about a week and then will keep on heading west.