Alright, I'm finally going to start this thing. My apologies that it's been a few days and I have yet to post anything. I'm just so darn busy! (Or I didn't have the internet. You decide.)
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| pack lightly.... |
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| odometer before the trip began... |
Anyway, let's start at the beginning. I was planning on leaving my house at 2pm, and I did that, but I was not expecting it to be that difficult. I was really, genuinely scared. Not like, cripplingly so, but to the point where it was a big sigh and a big prayer than made me think, "Alright, Joanna, there's no turning back now." I said bye to my mom & dad, and all my mom's family, and pulled out of the drive way. No turning back, indeed!
First stop was actually Los Lunas. 20 minute road trip. (Don't get crazy.) No, but I was stopping by to get some goodies for my cousin in New York, and ended up staying and talking to my good friend Eleanor for a good hour and a half. Unexpected (and very welcome) first stop of the trip! I did not plan to eat lunch in Los Lunas, and I'm absolutely thrilled that I did. (Minus, of course, the 10 million mosquito bites I've since been dealing with, thanks to all the rain in LL. Brilliant.)
Next, it was on to El Paso! With no stops. And thank God for GPS's. They are fantastic. I need to name mine. The robotic woman on the GPS who tells me where to turn might be nicer if she had a name. No telling, though.
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| bye bye, NM. |
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| oh hey, texas! |
Made it to El Paso safe & sound, and we headed off to this crazy little hole in the wall bar called Hope & Anchor. Judging by the sketchy front, I wasn't too sure about this little dive, but once we got in it turned out to be one of the coolest little bars I've ever been too. Tiny little place with a huge patio out back. Wrought iron patio furniture and picnic tables. Best. Bar. Ever. Got me some pear cider (I'm a girl, don't judge.) and proceeded to hang out w/ my awesome friend Carly. She is, without fail, one of the funnest people to hang out with, and her friends are as well. Cheers, to El Paso peeps for that one!
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| me & carly |
The next morning we went to church, and some little place for sandwiches afterwards. Then it was on to the Sunday nap. The best of all naps, in my opinion. Upon waking up, I got to watch the last 10 minutes of the Princess Diaries. Score. Then we went to see Crazy, Stupid, Love, which, btw, was hilarious!
Unfortunately, my stay in El Paso was very very short. Carly has a real job, and I was off this morning (Monday) to drive to.... drum roll, please.... DALLAS! Texas, by the way, is EXTREMELY boring to drive through. Except the super cool sign that I passed which read, "Prison Area. Do Not Pick Up Hitchhikers." Um, thanks, Texas! Noted.
I made it from El Paso to Dalls in 10.5 hours, with only one stop being the Burger King in Midland, TX. Road trip food is the healthiest of all the food groups. Burger King and Spicy Cheetos. Super.
Again, I have to thank the good Lord for my GPS system, because without that robotic woman, I'm not entirely sure I could have made it through the Dallas/Ft Worth area which is convoluted and enormous. I suppose its just prepping me for when I have to drive in NYC. Or Chicago. Or LA. (gulp.)
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| road trip food. |
Anyway, all that to say I've made it just fine. I'm staying w/ my Aunt & Uncle and cousins, who are already being ridiculously hospitable! I'm loving it already. Beef Stroganoff and Berry Pie = delicious. And we also went to some weird little Korean grocery store. It was epic. This, among other relatively normal things, was a smattering of their offerings:
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| what is pocari sweat & why would i want to drink it?? |
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| yup. you read that right. |
Alright, well that about sums it up. I'm exhausted, and so far most of my trip has been driving. Theoretically these posts will get more and more exciting as the trip goes on, but I can't promise anything. I can already tell you though that I just might hate being in a car when all this is said and done. Not yet though!
TALLY
miles driven: >1,000
time spent in my car: 14 hours
cities visited: 3
states driven in/through: 2
I love you. And I'm so glad I was the (sort-of) first stop on the trip. You are too nice to me! I think YOU are one of the most awesomest people ever!! Can't wait for more blogs and pics!
ReplyDeletePS pocari sweat and lamb butt. I'll take 3 please
You should name your GPS! Our GPS is named Doris : )
ReplyDeleteYay! Sounds like it's been an adventure. I once drove by myself to the outskirts of Dallas and that was more than enough adventure for this country-raised kid, so kudos to you for making it through the whole thing. :)
ReplyDeleteOver 1000 miles in 14 hours - how fast do you drive on the open road and how many tickets did you get???? Carly's G'pa
ReplyDelete