The Move, day 4-5: Cousin and Boulder

In case you missed them, check out my other moving and settling in posts here: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Current Update and Day in Albuquerque. 

Another status update: my stuff reportedly left NJ today! Yesss! Today, I got a library card, ran errands, and saw a movie at 1pm on a Monday. I was literally the only person under 50. It was awesome. Now I'm in Starbucks on their wi-fi. It's not a bad life.

So, Day 4. We left Laura's, located a Starbucks despite a rain storm (thanks, iPhone), and headed through Kansas City. GPS/maps/driver/navigators got a bit confused on the highway spaghetti, but we survived.

 

Just chillin'.

After leaving Missouri, we hit, of course, Kansas. We listened to the Wicked soundtrack. We saw wheat, corn, farms... "Yay, another new state!!" soon turned into, "Oh my...the scenery sure doesn't change much out here...we have HOW MANY MORE MILES TO GO?"

Seeing signs for Aunt Jan's birthplace was fun.

Something happened in Kansas at some point.

Kansas had helicopters, though--that was new!

Also, windmills.

Around lunch time, we started looking for food. There are super long stretches of highway in Kansas without even gas stations. Eventually, we saw a Quizno's sign! Pulling off, congratulating ourselves on finding non-McDonald's, needing to use the facilities, we arrived at the gas station/pizza joint/Quizno's only to see a tiny note on the door: RESTROOMS CLOSED. Inside: a dark and empty Quizno's counter. Well, phooey.

Only seven-ish miles down the road, however, we found an open Subway with open restrooms. Score. Faraday requested a walk by almost leaping out of Dad's arms and through the half-open window. I "walked" him for a few minutes, until he got tired of sniffing dusty pavement.

We're still in Kansas, Muffin.

Eventually (and I do mean eventually--it was probably seven or eight hours) we weren't in Kansas anymore. Helloooo Colorado!

Faraday enjoyed the breeze.

It turns out that, for a while, Colorado looks like Kansas, too. But at least we were in the last state of the day!

Denver Airport says hey. Also, Dad was born in Denver!

We ended up in Greeley, CO, at the lovely home of my dad's older cousin, Judy! She lives in a huge house, in which Dad and Mom got their own room and bathroom and SO DID FARADAY AND I. It was glorious! Faraday pretty immediately fell in love with the stairs--he'd ZOOM up the first flight, scitter and slide through the turn on the hardwood floor, then ZOOM up the second flight.

Judy fed us delicious sloppy joes and salad, then regaled us with tales of her genealogy research. I am so impressed with her skills! We briefly discussed the two of us taking a trip to Germany for further research--she has the research skills, I have the language skills. Perhaps we'll actually do it someday.

The next morning, we did not get into the car. What?! For reals! We spent two nights at Judy's! After sleeping in, we went on a little Greeley walk. Usually, we could see the Rockies from town--but with the fires near Fort Collins, they were covered by haze. So sad.

 Mom, Dad, and Cousin Judy:

I left them before lunch to drive down to Boulder to meet up with good friends from college! The Rockies were glorious. Their home is beautiful. The last time I saw them was in Oxford several years ago, so this was great!

I saw NIST. Hello, NIST!

Our lunch cafe gave us free tiny cupcakes!

After lunch, we dropped Jeff back off at work and Mayumi and I headed to Pearl Street for some window shopping and catching up. What a lovely town!

Why yes, I DO love western mountains!

 

Swinging Lady

Eventually, I had to say goodbye and drive back to Greeley. But not before saying goodbye to Mayumi's doggie!

 Such a sweet dog. The Queen would approve.

Judy fed us more deliciousness that night and we had more rousing family history discussions. She really is fabulous and I hope to see more of her, and Jeff and Mayumi, now that I'm only one state away!

States visited: Missouri, Kansas, Colorado.

Happy Father's Day! And life update.

Due to lack of internet and full-size keyboard (but hellooo great 4G in my house!), we're pausing The Move series.

Basically, I'm living in my awesome townhouse in Los Alamos and just dropped Mom and Dad off at the Albuquerque Sunport (aka airport).  Our seventeen days together FLEW by! Faraday and I miss them already.

My new place is fantastic! My first floor is bigger than my entire NJ studio. I'll do a proper new-home tour once my stuff arrives and I unpack. "Oh, your stuff hasn't arrived?" you ask. No. No it's still in New Jersey. I hear now that this is normal for summer moves, but the company didn't tell me that until I arrived. My parents and I made a huge trek to Santa Fe and purchased air mattresses, towels, lawn chairs, bowls, and bedding, mostly on clearance, so we could move out of the hotel. I also picked up a few work shirts just in case my other clothes don't arrive before I start work on the 25th. I'll survive...at least I have a fridge, broiler pan, and per diem (until my kitchen stuff arrives).

So, my parents left today, after a lovely day in Albuquerque. It was a fitting Father's Day activity: Dad lived there for three years at the end of junior high and beginning of high school. We stopped at a museum (more on that in another post) near Kirtland AFB, which was Sandia Army Base when he lived on it.  He took us by the childhood homes of some of his best ABQ buddies. Finally, we had lunch in Old Town at La Placita, where he used to eat with his parents. He got to eat sopaipillas with honey--a dessert he's raved about my whole life.

Love you, Dad! (And Mom, too!)

The Move, day 3: Friends and Fireflies

The first big city we drove through on Day 3 was Nashville! The CMAs filled up hotels within a 15-20 mile radius, pushing us farther out of town than we planned. From the highway, it looks fairly nice:

 

We were all super excited to drive into Kentucky! Our little hour-long stint in the state was my first visit. I can report that it has a very nice Welcome Center rest stop, brilliant green fields, cows, and horses.

And apparently, Princeton.

 One side effect of driving 2000 miles with my cat that I did not fully appreciate beforehand was The Shedding. My car has NEVER needed such a good vacuuming.

The major tourist stop of our day was Cahokia Mounds State Park in Collinsville, Illinois. Cahokia was home to a pre-Columbian city of native peoples that was larger than London at the time. It boasts many large, man-made mounds of dirt, upon which rulers lived and lorded over the people. While Mom and Dad climbed the largest--Monks Mound--Faraday and I chilled on a bench with his water and litter box.

The dirt, trees, people, and strong winds freaked the dear out. When Mom and Dad returned, Farad LEAPED from the bench to Dad's shoulder, clinging to him and meowing! We quickly retreated to the car. Dad was touched that his grand-cat showed such affection for and trust in him!

Another site in Cahokia is Woodhenge. It is similar to Stonehenge, only wooden. Yes.

Leaving Illinois, we crossed into another new state for me, Missouri! The Arch is quite impressive from the road. Due to cat restrictions, we opted not to stop, but I'd like to visit it in the future!

 Finally, after leaving the fast highway for slower, windier, farmland-ier roads, we arrived in Warrensburg, MO, at the home of my best, oldest friend, Laura.

 

Last time I visited, they were in NC and she and her husband, Dustin, only had two kids. NOW THERE ARE THREE!

Hannah, Luke, and Mary Anna are just adorable. Hannah immediately showed me her new room, which is quite swanky, and the quieter Luke warmed up to me soon and gave me the tour as well.

Mary was the real test. After momentary shyness, she came to me! I got to hold her for so long! This baby whom I've gotten to know via her frequent appearance on my Facebook feed liked (or tolerated) me! Yay!

Faraday, now, has never really met children. Small, hyper people are apparently not his thing. The kids were sooo eager to be his friend, though. Maybe I can find children in NM with whom to socialize him.

Laura is such a wonderful hostess. She fed us a delicious dinner and set us up with such comfortable accommodations. Dustin and Laura seem like great parents, too--it's fun to watch friends with kids!


After dinner, Mom, Dad, Hannah, and Luke hunted for fireflies. Mom's never really seen them, so it was a treat. They caught the glowing bugs, Laura put them into a water bottle, and Mary chewed on the bottle.

 

Finally, we all went off to bed, got up early, said goodbye to our friends, and hit the road again!

States Visited: Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri

The Move, day 2: Country Roads

Day 2 of the Major Move began with a lovely trip down Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park. The drive was absolutely gorgeous! We paused at overlooks to take pictures, but mostly just enjoyed it from the car. Many adventurous bikers were riding the hilly road as well. We were impressed.

 A family road trip staple is singing. Lots and lots of singing. Inspired by the location, we sang this countless times:



Faraday tried to enjoy the view, but his sea legs hadn't kicked in, so he kept flopping over at each winding turn. Finally, he settled on Mom's lap:

...and then the back windowsill.

Leaving Skyline near New Market, we cut over to I-81 and began our Starbucks hunt. Realizing that we were leaving civilization for a while and REALLY NEEDED COFFEE, we settled on McDonald's. Their plain ol' coffees will do in a pinch.

Muffin got restless eventually, meowing and scratching at the floor mats, so we pulled off at a rest stop. I took him out to the pet area and plopped him down (leashed). At first, he was intrigued by all of the smells on the wind, but then a semi drove by. Then two dogs showed up. Then a third dog. Terrified, he tried to dart under a car. We put him back in the car, and he was extremely content to stay there until we arrived at the hotel that night. PERSPECTIVE, MUFFIN.

My favorite Virginia town of the day was Wytheville. It had a Starbucks.

 A girl accosted me in line: "YOU HAVE JERSEY PLATES. WHERE ARE YOU FROM???"

"Princeton!"

"I WORKED AT A&B FOR YEARS!!! I MISS IT!!"

"Awww, I'm moving to NM, and I will miss it, too. :)"

Eventually, we arrived in Tennessee!

In Oak Ridge, TN, we visited the American Museum of Science and Energy very briefly in the 15 minutes before it closed. It had a good summary of Oak Ridge National Lab's fusion and fission endeavors. I liked this map that showed various related labs, including my new workplace:

 Next, we stopped at the home of an alumna of my graduate program. Steffi and her husband have three adorable little dogs. We only got to stay for a glass of lemonade and some quick puppy time, but it was so fun to see them all!

Our last push was to Lebanon, TN. Singing to the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, we pulled off at a Cracker Barrel. I'd only been once before and my parents NEVER HAD. Naturally, we couldn't sit down inside due to our fluffy friend, and it was too hot to leave him in the car. So, we got food to go and ate it in the parking lot. We make do. Everyone loved the heavy southern food, though we were amused and disturbed by their list of "country vegetables," which included 1. Steak Fries, 2. Mac and Cheese, and 3. Fried Apples (I got those--it literally tasted like my apple pie filling). So good.

 Faraday drove the final leg:

 

Kidding. 

Or am I?

Our hotel in Lebanon, TN, was nothing special, but it was clean and roomy. Mom and I, in a fit of energy, did squats, plies, planks, and leg lifts. I topped it off with a very short run on the treadmill. We felt SO GOOD.

Finally, it was time to sleep. :)

States Visited: Virginia, Tennessee

The Move, day 1: Faraday's Odyssey

Hello from Lebanon, Tennessee! We've made it to Day 2 of my move from New Jersey to New Mexico. All three adults, the cat, and the Corolla are happy, if a wee bit covered in cat fur. Here's a quick run-down of yesterday, Day 1. 

Dad, Mom, Faraday, and I checked out of our hotel in Princeton, NJ. Faraday and I followed the parents to the Philly airport to drop off their rental car. For this leg of the journey, Faraday was caged in his carrier. He meowed most of the hour-long trip. It was fairly grating on the nerves.

Parentals:

 

Thankfully, once Mom and Dad joined us in the Corolla and we let him out to roam freely (harnessed, leashed, limited to the back seat), he calmed down and seemed to enjoy the view from the window and sleeping at Dad's feet. 

Once we reached Jessup, Maryland, however--he had to leave the sanctuary of the car, meet a very small dachshund and a very large German shepherd, and be locked in a stranger's office while James took us out to Starbucks. We had a blast reminiscing about our nine years of adventures in the town in which neither of us lives any longer. We returned to rescue Faraday from the dogs and James' sister, and snapped one sadly very blurry photo before jetting off to our next stop.

 Zipping around the Beltway, we hit up Springfield, VA, for a late lunch with Mandy and Bob!  Mandy and I have known each other since I was five, and we moved to the east coast around the same time.  Wouldn't you know? They're packing up to move to AZ--yeah Southwestern buddies!

 My turn in the backseat! Mom's drivin'!

Next stop: Memory Lane. Dad lived in Mosby Woods, near Fairfax, VA, for three years around elementary school. After explaining to a neighbor that he lived there in the '60s, we spent an almost-awkward amount of time taking pictures of his former home, then walking down to his creek. Rather, we found a new park where a dead-end used to be, but his old paths to the creek itself were overgrown and impassable with a large cat in arms. (It was way too hot to leave the dear in the car. As a ten-year-old kid, Little Jimmy never thought that he'd one day show Mosby Woods to his grandcat.) We also checked out Shiloh hill, where Dad got his concussion when a neighbor "friend" swerved a sled into him, knocking him onto the icy road.

 Back on the road:

Final stop before hotel: the Dulles Airport branch of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum! We've been here before, but they've acquired a really important addition...

Do you see?

It's not Dad or the SR-71, though they are pretty cool...

YES! It's the Space Shuttle Discovery!

Before, they had a shuttle that never flew in orbit. I knew I had to stop as soon as I saw the pictures of the shuttle being flown around DC.

It's massive. So impressive in person.

I particularly liked staring at the tiles of the heat shield--look at that damage! But they're fine!

The engines were pretty sweet.

Well hey there, Discovery!

We said hello again to the real Enola Gay, some planes my grandpa may have flown, and a personalized couch made of a cast of John Glenn's body for centrifuge zero-G training. Awesome.

 Eventually, we pulled into tiny Front Royal, VA, where Mom and I found McDonald's (yeah road trip food), Faraday finally fully relaxed, and we had a great night's sleep. 

States Visited: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia. (+ Washington, DC)