Joey takes a driving shift

Vegas - 7/27/08 - 7/29/08

Gas under $4.00?? We're not in Cali anymore!



Oh Sponge Bob, you're so hot!



Cheers!!



These samplers are becoming a habit with me...




Sir Nathan of Maine

Leaving Las Vegas, on my 34th birthday, and the best present I can think of is to never have to stay at theExtended Stay on East Flamingo for the rest of my hopefully long life!

What a skanky, stinky, sticky poorly managed joint! We actually had 3 rooms within our two night’s stay. The first one was a smoking room and the cabinets and floor were as sticky as a frog’s tongue. Didn’t want to even begin to know what that was about. Thankfully, we did find out that they’d just reshellacked the cabinets and it wasn’t drying in the heat. Phew!!

The next room had a smell. You know those smells that you can’t quite identify, but you just know that they’re gross? That was this. However, they’d tried to cover this mystery odor with some sort of 99 cent store air freshener. Eventually, as the dime store rosiness dissipated, we were left with a scent that reminded me of someone’s apartment I was in once, where their roommate had an untrained puppy that had saturated wee pads all over the place and they weren’t throwing them away. It was the nauseating and overwhelming fume of puppy pee. Yuck-o!

Meanwhile, as Joey and Nathan crawled and walked around on the floor, their legs and feet got increasingly black. They looked like little coalminers. I don’t care how extended someone’s stay was, how in the world can a carpet get that dirty?

We stayed in the dirty carpet stinky room Sunday night, but moved for Monday night to a newly shampooed room. It was scuffed and chipped and stickily shellacked, but it was a lot cleaner than the first two. And the clock was set an hour ahead, which we didn’t realize and turned out to be an advantage. We ended up getting on the road to Utah by 8:07am.

So, now, I write to you as we pass over the Utah state line. Steve thinks every single person we see is a Mormon. I wonder if we’ll pick up a sister wife for me on our travels. Someone to help with the kids and the cleaning? Happy birthday to me.0!!! (Just kidding…)

Grandparents

Grandma Carol and Joey




Joey and his sand toys at the park in Brea






Grandma Carol pushing Nathan







Grandpa Tom, Grandma Wendy and the boys

Me, Mel and Mo at BJ's

Birthday Beer Sampler



Moira, Melissa and their cocktails




Such a pretty b-day girl



Gross!

So, to kick off our trip, we visited friends and family for about a week and a half. We got to visit with my grandma Fran, spend time with my folks and Steve's, see Steve's "second mom" Sharon, fondued with Greg and Amanda, followed by a really fun swim and hot tub at Steve's parent's pool, and dinnered with my uncles and cousins. Alas, Aunt Jan was out of town. :)

Also, Steve got to spend a night doing car/guy stuff with his good buddy Mark, and I had a little girls lunch out with my Mo and Meli. Can't remember the last time the three of us got to hang together. For those that don't know, they were the bass player and lead singer in my band, Tilly's Everywhere, as well as being two of my very best friends for very many years. They are now, also, officially, the devils that forced me into eating a pazookie at BJ's, taking me completely off my diet, for which I have yet to return. Ugh!! But, mmmmm.....pazookie....half baked chocolate chip cookie ice creamy goodness! And you East Bayers wonder why I had trouble giving up my chain restaurants for two years!

So, I didn't take nearly enough pictures of that part of our venture, but here's a few, anyway.

Goodbye to the East Bay

So, after almost two years of living in Alameda, CA, just across the bay from San Francisco, just a bridge away from Oakland, just a stone's throw from magical San Leandro and Hayward (sarcasm intended, but not meant to seem snobby), we must say goodbye to our life in the East Bay of Northern California.

I have questioned, pontificated and theorized on the area over the last couple of years. Why do people live there, and why couldn't I join them in the community spirit? It's so inconvenient and often times unwelcoming. Yet I met some of the nicest people I've met in my life while there, and it did allow us easy access to limitless excitement, whether it be the City itself, wine country, Monterey, Tahoe, Santa Cruz, and on and on. I mean, I would even put the dang Jelly Belly Factory Tour in Fairfield high on the list. Fun and free, and you get a free bag of Jelly Bellies at the end. But I digress. The question still remains for me, why pay so much to live somewhere that's not all it's cracked up to be?

But I say all of this at the risk of insulting people that love their lives in the East Bay. I think, in the end, it's less about anything being wrong with the area, and more about Steve and I just needing to experience some new adventures. The adventures were there to be had in Nor Cal, but it was so expensive to live there that we remained in a sort of purgatory, peering out at the unlimited weekend adventures we could have if only we could afford them. Instead, we stayed home a lot, and went to a lot of parks, and got a little bitter at times.



Then, it happened. We had to move on. Yes, we wanted to move on, but may not have for a bit longer. My friendships were really starting to grow, and my comfort for exploring the area was at an all time high. Whereas I once suffered panic attacks every time I drove through an area that may have looked slightly unsavory, I was now driving through the sounds of gunshots with my head held high. Mega murder rate, shmegga shmurder shmate!



We were searching at our own pace for new career opportunities for Steve, realizing that there was nowhere for him to move up in his company. Unfortunately, some craziness went down before he could leave of his own volition, and so, he was laid off, without severance, but with a killer reference letter, because his old boss would rather sign something I wrote then take the time to write one herself. It's a good one if I do say so myself.

The details of Steve's last days with his company are more his story to tell than mine. I harbor a bit of resentment, as I do feel that it didn't need to end in the way it did, but I guess it could have been much worse. Still, no severance, after two years of loyal service??? Dare I mention that they went on a two week cruise in Alaska and then bought a Mercedes convertible the month before the lay offs, and parade around the small town of Alameda in it, and we're supposed to really believe they could no longer afford their staff? Not very classy, kids.

Still, the stars somewhat aligned to lead us on a really crazy adventure. Everyone that knows me seems surprised at how open I am to moving to Portland, Maine. It's the opposite side of the country. It snows there. A lot. And I'm not the hugest lobster fan. What are we doing???

It just feels right. This place is lauded as a mecca for raising children. It's beautiful. It's less expensive to live there. And the locals seem, by and large, really friendly, down-to-earth and extremely family oriented. What's not to like?

Oh, yeah, it is quite a few miles from both of our parents. However, it brings me a lot closer to my sister, nephews, and two very close friends - one in Boston and one in New York. And with Steve's parents about to retire, and mine already having done that a few years ago, there isn't a better time for us to make such a drastic move. It will require effort and adjustment, yes, but as everyone has advised us with a standing cliche, it is our life and we have to do what's best for us and our family.

Since Steve landed a fine job with a well known company, and they're relocating us with a fairly handsome bonus to boot, it seems like it would be foolish to say no. And one of the best parts of the whole deal for me is that this includes a two week cross country journey, with basically all expenses paid.

And so, that brings me to this blog, which will focus on our trip from Palmdale, CA, to Portland, ME. At present, I sit on the computer at my folks house, and we will leave for Vegas in two days. Armed with digital and video cameras, I will bloggity-blog my way through these United States, and share the adventures with you. (Thanks for the idea, Sam Morgan!!!)

With that, let the adventures begin....