Here is an account of our trip, taken from another blog I contribute to. Enjoy!
9:43am I am nervous. The apartment is nearly empty, and the pod is still here (it shouldn't be). I'm off to get a check for the washer and dryer I sold.
10:37am I've returned with my check, and am pleasantly surprised to see most of the free stuff I left on the sidewalk is gone. Only the microwave remains. And the pod is still in the driveway.
11:18am All the trash is out of the apartment and Mia is officially being deprived of food. One last trip with 5 bags of clothes to the goodwill drop box!
12:21pm Showered, microwave and pod still present. Carting luggage down to my car. Mia is now officially being deprived of food AND water.
1:02pm The Bilateral Sagittal Split Osteotomy should be about half over by now...wonder how the soon-to-be-Owen Wilson doppelganger is doing?
1:13pm Keyspan does not supply letters of credit, $200 deposit to Austin Electric coming up!! Apartment empty, pod and microwave (you guessed it) still here!
1:32pm Mia is all ready to go, and in true Martinoz fashion, the last thing to get packed is the modem. It strikes me now, I no longer live in Watertown...I don't live in Austin yet...it's confusing. Rhode Island or Bust!
3:11pm If a pod is picked up from a driveway and no one is around to see it, has it really been picked up?! They say that they have my pod...I wonder if the microwave is still there.
3:47pm I've arrived in RI. Day zero, complete. Now off to see the fluffy bunny!
10:07pm Millie has been updated with new software and current maps; hotel confirmations, addresses, phone numbers have been printed; books on CD have been obtained; and lots of kitty cleansing wipes have been stored in the car. I think we're ready for day one!
7/27/07, Day 1. Destination: Washington, D.C.
8:30am And we're off...DC or bust!
9:01am We’ve left our house in RI, all packed in the car, and Mia seems terribly excited! Mileage 15888.
11:07am We’re in NYC, driving through the
4:57pm Blogging from the road, are you catching this? I finally gave my mom a chance to drive...so here's what you've all been waiting for! We're on 81 South in VA, at exit 150B
7:15pm We've arrived in Bristol, Virginia. Now to find dinner...
7:55am I'm up. Mia seemed happy in the hotel all night. We've got a shorter driving day today so we're going to take our time getting out of here!
9:08am A hair-dryer, finally! I haven't used one of these since I packed mine last Sunday night.
10:06am Off for breakfast at the pancake house.
11:25am After breakfast, gas and a trip to Wal-mart we’re off! Mileage 16677.
turn, it was an important one, so I did cut someone off pretty bad. Got the
2:21pm Inside a gift shop at the Smoky Mountain Welcome Center. There is music playing, and the refrain of the current song is "...nothing but the blood of Jesus..." ahhh, the South!
6:43am I'm awake. Today is a bit longer of a day, especially because we want to stop for lunch in Nashville. The rest of TN has a lot to live up to, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, and Townsend have really been a trip.
7:02am Mia's crying, for really the first time the whole trip. Likely she's hungry, but she's just not getting any food. I feed her each night, when we stop, and that's it. I've learned too much food in a kitty's belly is no match for the car.
9:03am Ate breakfast and on our way. Mileage 16866.
10:10am(Eastern)/9:10am (Central) Crossed into Central Time Zone.
11:37am (Central) Arrived in Nashville, tried to find the BBQ restaurant Neely's - but they have no outdoor seating and it's too hot to leave Mia in the car. Headed elsewhere.
12:04pm (Central) Arrive at the Grand Ole Opry House. Mia fights me a bit on her way out of the car, I've got a scratch down my arm, one on my face, I had a paw in my mouth, and I have a few gashs nicely placed elsewhere - I look like I was in a knife fight. I like it.
1:35pm (Central) Leaving Nashville, headed for Memphis.
3:27pm (Central) This ride is semi-uneventful.
4:57pm (Central) Arrived in Memphis.
5:59pm (Central) I've set up phone, cable, and internet for my apartment in Austin. The guy at the cable company was very friendly...maybe he wants to be my friend? He's currently the only one who knows my new phone number - since I diddn't bother to write it down!
6:03pm (Central) Off to see what the heck is on Beale Street.
5:05am Mia is up and lonely. She won't stop crying. CNN seems to help.
7:02am I'm up, and tired. We're off early today - lots of stops.
7:39am We're leaving the hotel, have gotten gas and are on the way to the first very important stop. Mileage 17312.
8:33am We've made the pilgrimage to Graceland. They open early in the morning to view the grave sites, so we walked up to see them. I was surprised by the non-garishness of the exterior of Graceland. We did not go inside, I'm sure that's where the good stuff is.8:45am Welcome to Arkansas. I asked why it was pronounced "arkansaw" but spelled A-R-K-A-N-S-A-S. Apparently the General Assembly agreed (by vote) to pronounce it "arkansaw" - weird.
11:00am Arrived in Little Rock for lunch. We drove on Bill Clinton Avenue, and found River Front Market. Mia sat outside with us, and attracted many comments from passersby. This area of Little Rock seems really cute, and everyone is so friendly - I'm not sure I can handle the Southern Hospitality, sometimes I just want to buy a sandwich without having a full out conversation.
12:19pm Leaving Little Rock on the way to Texarkana. At this point I've begun to tune out Millie's voice and I did not hear her tell me to bear right. I went left - towards Mississippi. But, Millie did not take offense and got us back on track.
2:30pm In Texas.
2:31pm In Arkansas.
2:32pm Texas
2:33pm Arkansas. We are in Texarkana, a town in both Texas and Arkansas, and keep going in and out of the states. We stopped at the "Ace of Clubs House" and also the Post Office, the only US post office that straddles two states.
3:28pm Really in Texas. The sky is bluer.
3:46pm Passing Exit 201 on US 30, for New Boston.
6:15pm 7 more miles. And we've hit rush hour traffic. It is pretty annoying.
6:47pm We've arrived at our hotel, not a minute too soon! Mia seems unaffected, but I am happy to be out of the car.
8:35am After some hotel breakfast we're off - heading to South Fork Ranch in Parker Texas.
9:02am We're the first, and only people here, at the ranch where the show Dallas was taped. Who shot J.R.? I don't know, I'm not sure I ever saw the show
...but whoever shot J.R., shot him here!9:47am I'm corrected. Whoever shot J.R. shot him on a sound stage in California. They were only allowed to shot exterior shots here, nothing inside, and only during the months of June, July and August. We've learned about all the camera tricks (large mirrors and wide angle lenses make their small pool look Olympic-sized; a powdery substance laid on the asphalt driveway makes it look like it's a dusty dirt road!)
11:26am We're back from the ranch, picked up Mia, and away we go. To Austin. Mileage 17821.
2:13pm We've stopped for lunch in Waco, Texas.
3:03pm We've heard from my Dad, he's landed in Austin. We're about an hour out - so even with our 5 day head start, he beat us.
4:15pm We're here. We arrived in Austin and I let out a huge sigh. Mostly because I had to take a leak for the last 20 miles...it was starting to hurt. Mileage 18038.
and for those of you who like visual aids:
And thus concludes my trip to Texas. Thanks for giving me something to do each day.
3 comments:
This all sounds vaguely familiar.
I think this was a great idea 'cause now Chris can read this. You know, since he wasn't allowed to read the Martinoz one as he is not a Martinos employee (or former employee). Wasn't that a rule?
sucks to their rules-mar.
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