Acknowledgements

I want to thank everyone for the wonderful hospitality we were shown on this trip. Everyone's picture is posted who provided us with accomodations, dinner in, dinner out, beer, and/or breakfast. Not only was this the funnest raodtrip of my life, I got to see many friends and family who I love and miss very much along the way. Derek decided he hates blogs and is sadly not going to be adding any more commentary, but I know he feels the same. Please accept our gracious thanks! We all made it to California happily and healthily (even Lowrider after attemped suicide and Krull the Warrior King after being left overnight in the car). I welcome everyone to come visit us in San Francisco so we can return the favor, and please keep in touch! Our address will be 427 Arballo Dr., San Francisco, CA 94132. This completes my first ever, and probably last ever, blog. Cheers!

Permanance

This morning I woke up with a little knot in my stomach because I knew we were going to try to find an apartment. First Brianne made pancakes with the blackberries we picked at the bed-n-breakfast, and we went to the local farmer's market and bought some more fresh fruit. We had 3 appointments to view apartments in the city, in South San Francisco, and in Burlingame. Genentech, the company Derek is going to be working for, is located in South SF, and I just have to be close to the airport since my position is regional, which is technically located in Burlingame. I was secretly hoping to find a place in the city, though. I wanted a short term lease (6 months or so) since we are planning to buy something while the market is still good but have to scope out the area and pull together a down payment first, which could take some time. Knowing we will never be able to afford to buy a place in the city, living there in a short-term apartment sounded perfect, and this was our first appointment. Luck was on our side. We signed a lease for only $1900 a month! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! California real estate is awesome! We signed a 10 month lease to avoid short term fees and will be paying these people $19,000 in 10 months time! Lee's bought his whole house and 4 acres for practically the same price in Carlinville! Also shocking is that most 1 bedroom apartments cost at least $500 more than what we are paying in the city. It includes parking, is right next to a train station to take Derek to work, has a dog run and parks for Lowrider, and even has a farmer's market every Saturday. Plus, it was just renovated so the carpets, applicances, etc are brand new. I am happy.

Derek is also happy, but I think he is most excited about the In-N-Out burgers he ate for lunch today.

Lowrider is simply confused as to why we have not gotten back in the car to drive away.

Last day on the road

We stayed at a bed 'n breakfast in Grants Pass, Oregon, last night with a gift card our dear friend Milloni gave us for Christmas last year. The innkeeper wouldn't shut up, and I think Derek was very close to stuffing a rag in her mouth. Before that happened we left to get some dinner to go. We brought it back, dodged the innkeeper, and drank a bottle of the Oregon wine we bought earlier that day on a balcony overlooking the Rogue River.

We hit the road today for our final day of travel. Northern California's wild fires made some areas pretty smoky. Otherwise, we got as far as the 11th CD out of 32 of our book on tape, and arrived in Sunnyvale, CA, without incident. My best friend Mary from high school lives there, and she and her friend Brianne are going to put me up for the next couple weeks before the movers come with our stuff. Mary's a traveling physical therapist and Brianne's a traveling nurse. Sadly, they will only be living here for the next month before their 6 month contract is up and will be returning to the midwest. :( The good news is Milloni lives in San Jose, so I will have one friend out here. Maybe my only friend for awhile!

Northwest fun

I feel repetitious because I rave about everywhere we visit, but Seattle is really cool too! I was obsessed with all the homes built into the hillside as you come into town. It felt unlike any town I’ve ever visited. European maybe. I’m still confused about the Space Needle, however. I don’t really understand what it does. I’d never heard of it, which appalled Derek, because it is supposedly the famous tourist attraction of Seattle. But Derek doesn’t know what the point of it is either (no pun intended) , which proves my point. Anyway, Jamie, Eric Meissner’s girlfriend, who I now think of as a friend independent of Eric because she’s awesome, took us to a local pub to get some microbrews while we waited for Eric to get off work once we arrived in Seattle. She told us there is a homeless man named TB Guy who lives in the garden area of their apartment complex and throws bricks at people. Luckily, we didn’t run into him. As we were sitting at the pub, a truck stopped in front of the building (we were sitting outside) and a guy started screaming at a man who was probably an alcoholic, sitting at the table across from us. All I heard was “Your padlock’s changing tonight!,” then he flipped the bird. I’m assuming the alchy man hasn’t paid rent in awhile and that was his landlord. Freak watching is pretty fun in Seattle too. Eric showed up shortly after and told us about the Code Brown that had happened at the hospital earlier that day. There is no need for me to explain what that is, but if you use your common sense, you can figure it out, and it is very unpleasant. We played with Eric’s pet toads when we returned to their apartment. And the next morning we went to a coffee shop, and there was a floral design in the froth of my latte when they handed it to me! Long story short, we had a fabulous time.

Omigod, I forgot to tell you that we left Lowrider with a petsitter because Eric’s apartment is adamantly against pets. I had spoken with the woman whose home we were leaving the pup at earlier in the week to make arrangements. We arrived to drop him off and realized that she and her husband were both blind! I’m also certain they were the kindest, most dog-loving people we’ve ever met, so I felt confident in our plan. Nonetheless, a noteworthy experience.

We are now on the road in Oregon. Because the drive was only to be around 6 hours, we decided to tour Oregon wineries on our way. We are now 3 wineries deep, 4 bottles of wine poorer (richer!), and happily driving down the interstate. Clearly I am not driving.

I-da-ho

I'm moving to the city of my dreams, yet somehow I am jealous of Dedeke and Barry. We went for a walk in Hamilton and passed the buildings where they work. The view from their building is of a several thousand-foot-tall mountain. Bummer. And we had such a nice time sitting in their big back yard on a perfect summer evening. I'm fairly sure San Fran doesn't have big back yards. At least not ones I can afford. Not that I'm complaining...

We stopped in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, today and took a short hike on Tubb Hill, which is covered in pine trees and overlooks a purdy lake. After passing through Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, it is vividly clear to me that I love the mountains, and I love cowboys. Derek better go find his boots quick, cause otherwise I'm gonna ride off into the sunset with some dude in chaps on a mustang. And I'm gonna like it.

Tetons!

We camped in Teton National Forest last night. Grand Teton National Park campgrounds were all full so we drove a few miles out to another campground on a lake. It was totally gorgeous. We had to stop and wait for some buffalo to cross the road in front of us on the way there. Then we bought some dawgs and some beer and made a campfire. I love camping. Unfortunately, a ranger man stopped by to tell us that a cougar was spotted in our very campsite that morning, so we should be careful. This meant that Lowrider had to sleep in the tent with us so he wouldn’t be eaten. In the middle of the night I awaken to what sounds like a cat mewling. I nearly crapped my pants. I’m laying there frozen, expecting a cougar to pounce on the tent at any moment. Derek and Lowrider were of course sound asleep. I hear this sound several times. Then I realized that Derek is making goddamn cat sounds in his sleep. I don’t know if I was relieved or pissed. I also had to pee really bad, but I was scared if I got out of the tent to go to the bathroom, the cougar would suddenly appear and kill me. Long story short, I did not sleep well last night, and cougars suck.

Because we stayed at a campground that had no showers, we drove into Jackson, WY, this morning and bathed at a hostel. It was kind of weird, but Jackson Hole is totally awesome. Everyone should visit.

Oh crap

Lowrider fell out the window. We were driving around looking for a place to camp. I was behind the wheel, and Derek said “Babe…” in a really weird voice. I looked over, and Derek’s staring behind the car, and I don’t see Lowrider anywhere. I stopped the car, and here comes Low with dirt all over his head because he face-planted. Derek said he looked stunned and confused, but he was unharmed. It is unclear if he fell, jumped, or was pushed, but Lowrider fell out the window.

Denver Days

Another couple days have passed. We successfully reached Denver, where we stayed with Derek’s Mom and step Dad. His sis and nieces stopped by to visit and catch up over some fried chicken. It was a lovely evening. We decided to spend an extra day in Colorado to get a break from driving and from the dog. Derek’s friend Dustin, a wrestling buddy from high school who used to roll around in a unitard with him, drove us up to Fort Collins, home of Derek’s alma mater CSU, so he could get nostalgic and I could see all the places he talks about almost daily. We went to a Mex restaurant called Rio’s where Dr. Jeff Chang, Derek’s old boss from the CDC, and Brent, Derek’s good friend from working at the CDC, met us for lunch. We drank margaritas that had Everclear in them. It was very unnecessary for lunchtime. Dr. Chang grabbed Derek’s ass twice. Then Brent, who is a very bad influence, convinced us to go across the street to the Steakout Saloon and drink pitchers of beer. He also convinced Derek to go to Vegas with him in a month. I like Brent. I like Fort Collins. Derek’s dream is to eventually move back to Fort Collins someday, and I now concur.

Brent told a funny story about the CDC. He said they spent 13 million on building some new lab space, but mud swallows kept trying to build mud nests in the awnings. To prevent this from happening, the CDC hired Mexicans to run around on the roof swinging sticks with fake owls dangling from strings to scare the swallows. They also built water cannons to shoot the swallows. This is a perfect example of our tax dollars at work. It is also the dumbest story I have ever heard. Fortunately or unfortunately, someone reported them to the Environmental Protection Agency or something and they had to stop harassing the swallows. It is unclear if there are now mudnests on the building.

Dustin drove us back to Denver, and we picked up his wife Courtney from work. We went to a bar at the to of the Hyatt, which had a beautiful view of the city, then ate some sushi.

Dustin called us bad luck because right after he read our blog two days ago, his radiator blew up and he lost his wallet. He must have passed the bad luck back to us because we blew the fuse to the lighter as soon as we got in the car, which is our power source for everything. Without GPS, we cannot find our way! Without laptop, I cannot blog! Derek fixed it though.

Corn

There is absolutely nothing in between Lincoln and Denver. The highlight of the day was hearing Roxette sing Joyride on the radio. The lowlight was realizing I left Krull in the car overnight last night. I am a terrible mother.

Midwest rules

We've spent the last 2 days doing the midwest tour. Thursday night we arrived at the qLoBue homestead. Lee disappeared into the shed and reemerged in a 1970's Harley Davidson golf cart painted in ridiculous red and blue and covered in Cubs emblems that he personalized and gave to Dad for Father's Day. He gave Derek a tour of the property, including the future wedding site for the LoBue-Black wedding in September, while Lowrider chased them. Mom and Pops made BLTs for dinner with fresh tomatoes from the garden and then Lee again disappeared into the garage, this time reemerging with fireworks. We shot off some bombs until Derek realized Lowrider was missing. Found him curled up in a chair hiding his head. Poor buddy. We apparently discovered Superdog's kryptonite. Finally! We departed Friday morning after some nice country walks and talks.

We struggled to find interesting stops while driving across Missouri. We attempted to tour Mark Twain Cave in Hannibal, MO, but Lowrider was not allowed to go spelunking.

We rolled into Lincoln, NE, home of my Aunt Janet (Mom's sister) and Uncle Dan (Dad's best friend and college roommate) on Friday evening. Wanna guess how my parents met? Uncle Dan is a soil science professor at University of Nebraska, so he gave us a grand tour of Cornhusker Country, followed by a stop at a local brewery where we taste tested beer flights. Lincoln is a beautiful little city.

Apparently it is also a natural lightning rod. A lightning bolt struck a tree in their yard that had X-mas lights in it that were grounded in the house. All the bulbs exploded, the current followed the cord, blew out their metal backdoor frame and continued into the house along a piece of metal in the wall blowing out nails and plaster as it went. It grounded out at the bottom of the stairs without starting a fire. Somebody's lucky! Long story short: don't wrap X-mas lights around a tree and plug it in the house. Plug it in outside. Now everyone has had their lesson for the day.

Uncle Dan also coined a new nickname for my boyfriend: Derelicious. I encourage everyone to use it. :)

So Ill

Raise your hand if you have ever been to Southern Illinois. Raise your hand if you have ever dreamed of visiting Southern Illinois. I didn't think so. Prepare to be dazzled! There are geological wonders hidden within! See our photographic documentation of the Garden of the Gods, the natural remains of a 3 million year old sea that receded into oblivion leaving behind mud and minerals that petrified to beautiful stone bluffs. Now who wants to go to So Ill? I thought so!

Also of note is the southernmost town of Metropolis, IL, population 6500, home to none other than the world's most beloved super hero. He's taller than I expected. We also decided Lowrider looks like a perfect Superdog when he sticks his head out the window at high speeds.

Day 1 recap (from the male perspective)

Ah, what a day the 30th turned out to be. Anna and I and Low and Krull left Chapel thrill without a hitch (although perhaps a bit late). Here is the rough timeline for the day:

6am- wakeup, punch anna in the stomach.
6:30- leave for lab to stimulate T cells.
8:00- help Ginnie move a compost pile roughly 80 yards down the street to her new house.
10:00- buy a 1-2 car outlet converter to power our GPS and XM radio! nice!
2:00pm- multiple car gauges go wild, which means I have no idea how much fuel is in the tank, how fast I am going, and the rpm's......very foreboding.
2:10- all electrical fails in the car, luckily I just got off the highway and was still on the off ramp as I coasted to a stop.
3:20-Paid for the alternator; mechanic with poor dental hygiene brought to my attention a little problem......Anna's tags were expired! (Women)
3:25- Made it to the DMV.....actually not Anna's fault, and they gave her tags so we are now street legal......Anna avoided corporal punishment.
6ish- Lowrider pukes up the equivalent of a clear, mucus-like squid creature onto my shorts (Li LoBue called it right).
7ish- realize the right side of the two pronged converter didn't actually work, now we are back to square one.
8:00- Reach the mainou-thornburg residence. Dogs got into a little scuffle, most likely because Lowrider is an annoying little punk.

The day ended with a great chicken dinner (thanks chef Bernie), had some choice colorado beers and put the women and children to sleep.
All in a days work I guess. Hope day 2 is more smooth.

Dollywood

I have always wanted to go to Dollywood. I don't really know why, and I don't really know what it is--a tribute to Dolly Parton or a tribute to Dolly Parton's boobs, I figure. Anyhow, this was our first planned stop about halfway to Nashville, our final destination for this fine Wednesday. Unfortunately, this was not to be... Because Veronica broke down in Asheville. I spent 750 big ones at the shop last week to prevent this exact thing from happening. She has new rear brakes, a fresh coolant system, air filters, you name it. But they didn't say anything about the freakin alternator. So now we are late. And I don't get to see Dollywood. But I'll tell ya what: Biltmore Village is not a bad place to break down. I drank a cherry Italian soda, Lowrider was invited into an art gallery to view some homemade dog dishes, and they turned the car around in an hour. Except for the fact that alternators are really darn expensive, it wasn't such a bad experience.

Warrior and protector

We're on our way. What completely slipped my mind is that I am not only traveling with a dog that has already relegated me to the backseat while he gets the front, but also with a fish. All things considered, the most ridiculous part of this trip might be the fact that I get to carry Krull the Warrior King, aptly named after Matthew McConaughey's penis in 'How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days', with me everywhere I go in his travel bowl.

T-25 hours 23 minutes

In little more than one day, I'm going to get in a car--my blue 1999 Ford Escort named Veronica with 106,577 miles--with a man and a dog, and I'm going to drive 4000 miles. Nine days later, I am going to get out of that car and look around at the city I will soon be calling home. I've lived in Chapel Hill, NC for the past 5 years, 11 months, and 13 days. The first time I felt anxious to leave NC was approximately 5 years, 8 months, and 2 days ago. Now that it's happening, I feel...excited? Yes. Very excited! Scared? Maybe. But there are like nine other things I'm feeling that I can't really describe, one of which is the need for 2 more cups of coffee. Anyway, I wanted to document this life altering trip we're taking to a land far, far away named San Francisco. So here goes my first ever (and probably last ever) blog!