Day four - NOLA

I have noticed that if I don't write this post before I go to sleep, I forget half of what happened that day. You're all welcome that I'm staying up late just to get all this info to you!

Last night I also talked to some people about fun things to do while I'm here and on the rest of my journey. Got some good ideas on outdoors experiences near El Paso in NM, so I'm excited to have some motivation there! The drives will be long/boring once I make it out that way I've heard.

Today was the first day that I woke up and didn't plan to drive 6-8 hours - and that felt amazing. I got to be a tourist, and it was a blast! I started at the French Quarter around 9:30/10am and went through the whole flea market, and then the food marketplace. Started considering Groupon for some fun things to do in the area - but its not the best for last minute plans. I think tomorrow I'm going to see if I can squeeze on a tour since Mondays will be less busy, hopefully.

string dolls - custom star wars even!

artisan work for sale

I considered a couple of items for purchase, but ultimately got nothing. Which is fine, because I literally just got rid of half my stuff since I have too many things already. My next and most vital stop was at Cafe du Monde (obviously) for some beignets. They were delicious of course, and also pretty quick - which is good when youre me and trying to do as much as you can. I walked all up and down the streets between Jackson Square and the French Quarter, so many shops/bars/restaurants/art galleries to see! Then I went to Jackson Square and explored around there as well. Lots more artists actively painting, and a whole block full of fortune tellers/tarot card readers. I skipped on that opportunity though.

obligatory stop!

this is all the hype!!

Next I stopped in a sports bar on the way back to my car to catch the second half of the Ravens game. We did not win, but we didn't play as terribly as we have - so I'll take it! Then I headed out to check out the Tulane campus/area and pick up some snacks.

masks

beads

boas

Apparently my gracious hosts insisted on making dinner, which was outstanding, and then we all watched some Stranger Things together. Overall a really great day, and I was so happy not to spend the majority of it in the car!

Tomorrow I continue the super touristy stuff... possibly some more planning and updating my itinerary to reflect some recent updates. Should I try to squeeze in the Grand Canyon? some beach time? An extra day in Phoenix?

The beauty of all this is that every day I wake up, I have the world at my fingertips and get to decide what I'm going to do. Its been such an adventure so far, and I have loved it!

Day three + updated itnerary

Woke up in ATL, and quickly got on the road - destination: NOLA! My route was 85 to 65 to 10, it was so easy I didn't use a GPS except when I first mapped my route.

Stopped at a few rest stops, these welcome signs have become my progress markers - so anytime I pass a new one, that's one state closer to LA :)

Luckily almost no traffic, probably because its Saturday - but its not like I really know what day it is anymore. I was trying to avoid rush hour still, haha. When I got close to the FL state line and started seeing signs for Pensacola while it was 82 degrees... I did consider taking a little detour.

First, Alabama rest stops were so terrible - especially after how awesome the ones in Georgia were. Also yes, this is my life now that I am comparing the quality of rest stops from one state to the next... ugh save me, haha. Mississippi was just a blip on my journey, I literally just stopped to take the photo. People have seen me doing this and offering to take it for me - but I have the selfie angle down so I tent to pass on the offer. Even though I clearly look like some crazy millennial taking selfies. Sometimes I just wish I could have a sign on my back that says "my mom asked for this photo" so people understood. But oh well!

At some point during this drive, I crossed time zones - I only realized because I thought I must have been driving so fast to be making such good time! (yes, I was speeding but not THAT fast) Getting to Louisiana was fun, but also sad. I was on the phone with my sister, and literally got off for about 5 mins to take my awkward selfie and run back to the car. I thought as a milestone, it was closer to LA than it actually is. Disappointing temporarily, but quickly got over it because I was really looking forward to getting to New Orleans!!! Luckily for me, I had a cousin of a friend who welcomed me into their home and their plans, so I got to watch the LSU game at a house party in the Garden District and drive down the parade route for Mardi Gras and see all the beads in the trees. Makes me excited to come back for the real thing!

After the house party, we went to a dive bar a few blocks away. Apparently bars in Louisiana don't have a close time (until Baltimore at 1:30am) which seems like a terrible idea to me, because nothing good happens in Baltimore on a night out after 2am! I guess people here are used to it and are good at knowing when to go home. Or they are all well seasoned alcoholics, who knows?









Either way, it was nice to get somewhere on time - and I was absolutely exhausted by the time I fell asleep. I updated my travel plans now that I seem (knock on wood) to be on schedule. Don't hold me to it or anything, but generally here is my plan as of night 3:
 

Day two - hotlanta

yoga time

Today has been so long it feels like 3 days, but I guess that just means I am making the most of this adventure! I let myself sleep in after staying up till 2 am last night trying to figure out what my travel should look like moving forward... finally got out of bed at 8:50 to grab a few bites of the hotel breakfast that was over at 9. Needless to say, it was less than stellar but I really don't care - I just needed some protein so I could get on the road and those watery eggs did the trick.










I set my destination as Atlanta, trying to be realistic even though it was only supposed to be 6.5 hours away. I was hoping to get here before dinner time so that I could find somewhere awesome to eat and make up for the terrible breakfast (not looking for pity here, I clearly do this to myself). After a few hours of driving I left NC, made a quick stop to stretch at a rest area - and just went all out LA and popped my yoga mat on the grass under the shade of a little tree and did a quick flow. The weather was gorgeous and it just seemed right. Not doing yoga/working out for a few days and missing those happy endorphins can really start to mess with your head. I'm sure all the random truckers also at the stop thought I was a weirdo, but since I basically live in my yoga clothes - at least I fit the part.

Quick break for lunch and gas at the next exit I found, but nothing exciting to report there (except I decided to let myself get a chocolate chip cookie). Then I headed through SC but got sleepy shortly after switching states - plus your butt literally starts to hurt after about 3/4 hours of driving. I decided to pull into another rest stop (those are very convenient along 85) and grabbed my yoga mat again but just used it for a little power nap in the shade.

Feeling very refreshed (YES I AM BEING SAFE AND NOT DRIVING WHILE I AM TIRED) I headed for Georgia. Wow - they have such nice rest areas in GA compared to NC/SC!! So clean and fancy, they even have vending machines that just sell "healthy" stuff. I would have killed for an apple or banana, but was too determined to go find a real store to buy those from.

am I good at these welcome sign selfies yet?

I also found and booked a hostel online for tonight (my delayed plans means nothing was/is booked ahead of time). Ended up not being a place I wanted to stay, so I'm at an airbnb instead with the sweetest lady from South Africa. Before I got here I stopped at the ATL International Night Market - that event blew my mind. I have never seen so many different kinds of food in one place before, plus they had performers and live music! The $5 was wayyy worth it. I ended up eating caribbean, thai, and mexican but I could have stayed there trying/eating everything for weeks.

Day one (and again, and again)

Its no secret at this point that I was planned to leave many days ago, and am a little behind schedule. As someone who has never done a major move like this before, there are two things I vastly under estimated:
1. the amount of time/coordination it takes to say goodbye to everyone
2. the possibility that the extra stress on your body will make you physically ill

Trying to get the word out, rally my people, and spend enough individual time with them to feel like it was a "legitimate" goodbye is complex and takes many days and/or interruptions while packing. Even my last night in Baltimore people were still shocked to hear I am moving to LA. I tried to set up small group hangouts, dinners, lunches, random stop-ins, and a big finale party etc so that there were multiple opportunities for everyone texting me "I want to see you before you leave!!" to do so.

Girls night dinner!

Family Reunion

Planning and thinking about the move itself was something I anticipated - finding the time and working out the logistics to say goodbye to everyone is something I did  not.

Amidst finally getting mostly packed and moved out, I made two last minute trips to patient first and ended up with 4 prescriptions that I took/am taking on the road with me. I thought I had magically avoided any physical side effects from stress, but of course it all caught up with me the morning I was originally supposed to leave. Luckily now multiple tests have been run and mostly found negative, and what we can treat is being treated/shouldn't be an issue.

Given these situations, I am still extremely happy to only be 2 days behind schedule (haha, not that I have an actual schedule). Today I spent the day wrapping up/packing what I could fit into my car and left around 4pm. Traffic through Balt/DC/VA was atrocious and set me back about 2 hours. Finally by 9pm my butt hurt so bad I had to pull into a rest stop and stand up for a few minutes. Around 10:30pm: I was getting tired and hungry, so I found a cheap motel with a Dennys nearby to call it a day.

The city I landed it is Henderson, a few hours short of my original destination (Charlotte). The water may have come out brown when I first turned on the shower here, and my server at Denny's was missing a decent amount of teeth, but this is all part of the adventure.

Denny's dinner

Questionable hotel, but comfy bed!

So day one of this cross country road trip has officially come and gone, tomorrow we start with a new "plan" and see where the day takes us... who knows, we might just end up in New Orleans!

Baltimore to LA - the moving chronicles

I literally forget how to do this blogging thing, but in an effort to avoid telling the same stories over and over again, but still wanting my people to know what's going on - here I am digging this blog out of the depths of back when I was in college.

First I think I need to start off by thanking many people...

Most obviously Luke, who was brave enough originally to agree that moving somewhere far away with great weather would be a fun adventure. Thank you for reminding me that the time is now to make the most of life. We never narrowed down to a specific place, but that first inspiration to get the ball rolling on moving made this timeline realistic. I am super grateful to have had many months to consider what this would look like without having to be too spontaneous (we all know how type A that I am).

Juice after yoga in Long Beach

My sister, who was smart enough (I may have made a very strong recommendation) to move there first. She has had me to visit multiple times, peaking my interest and confirming LA as my destination. She was also one of the first people to take me seriously when I mentioned the idea, checking in always and asking "so when are you moving here?" and now I finally have an answer! Thanks for continuing to be the pesky annoyance in my life that I could never live without. I may be vehemently telling people we are not planning to live together, but I know your checking in has encouraged me to continue pursuing this dream and kept me focused on the end goal.

My parents, and specifically my poor mother, who endured the week+ of packing/organizing/unpacking/repacking/cleaning because it takes a saint to deal with type-A me when I am trying to move from a 1,200 sq ft apartment to one small car worth of belongings. I literally could never have done it without the help. For the record, I was not fully successful and I will have to ship about half my stuff - but hey, I tried! I know that having one daughter move slowly across the country for school etc.over a 3-4 year period is much more manageable than the one who is an hour away suddenly announcing at dinner that I will be 3k miles away within the next 2 months. I know you are sad, but thank you for realizing that I am finding the happiest version of me, and valuing that over having me stay physically close to you.

Peace out storage unit!

My closest friends Sierra, Jamie, and Dana who have been there for me in SO many ways recently besides just supporting my move. Thank you for keeping me grounded/sane and even though you might have tried to convince me multiple ways/times that I didn't actually want to move - I know its because you value our friendship so much and that is the biggest compliment. Mentally, I would never be able to make this move without your constant support, you are my #1 cheerleaders.

My new roomies, who have become a second family to me. Taking me in off the streets (aka craigslist) and letting me do things like quasi adopt your dog, plan tacos nights, and buy disco balls for kitchen dance parties. Thank you for unequivocally welcoming me into your home and your lives, sharing not only a living space but also your friends with me. The space you provided was the perfect cocoon in which I could safely rediscover myself after a huge life change and prepare for this big adventure of moving to LA. I could never have imagined how awesome the dynamic is with us, and how much fun we all had together - we made memories I will never forget! (this includes our newest official roommate Rob + Cooper and everyone I met through Stacey and Amanda, y'all seriously rock!!)

My TV watching bestie

My extended family, friends, and coworkers who have just literally LITERALLY overwhelmed me with support, encouragement, and enthusiasm at every turn. Thank you to everyone who believed in me, who believe in chasing your dreams, and that being truly happy is the biggest success you can achieve in life. Also thank you to everyone who doubted me, because you gave me a little extra motivation too!

Celebrating the day I found out I could keep my job/work remotely!

The most common question I get asked when I say I'm moving to LA is "Why?" To which I typically respond, "Why not?". I am not and never will be someone to settle for less when I know I can do/be/find better. Its easy for any of us to make excuses as to why moving to LA (or whatever similar goal) is not possible, but I've never been one to make excuses - and so I leave you with this quote that I chose back in my senior year of college to represent how I felt about getting along in the world...

“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them.”