Return trip to Cali: St. Louis

Ok... so I haven't posted every day since we started driving. That is probably due to the fact that I have been having a literal nervous breakdown. I'm mostly better now... but it was at the cost of visiting my family in Chattanooga "on the way." Yeah, it wasn't on the way, but it would have been nice to see them. Instead, I spent a day in bed in a hotel room in Columbus, Ohio. So not fun.

But... I woke up this morning and felt better, so we jumped at the chance and hit the road. I managed today with no random bursts of tears or panic attacks.

The animals have been great, completely chill (as much as cats can be chill in a car). Tag is so good... surviving and doing his best to share space with Jack and Gill. Bangs spends all his time in the back of the car, even though he started in the front. It's rough, but we're managing.

Tomorrow we're headed to Omaha, and I will hopefully have dinner with someone I haven't seen in ... is it possible it's been 15 years? Crazy.

Cross-country: Reblogged (Chicago to Cleveland)

We're moving back to CA on Saturday. Yay!!! So in preparation for that event, I'm reposting the journey from CA to CT that took place 3+ years ago. Here's hoping that this trip goes a little more smoothly. We certainly learned a few tricks in the process! Next posts will be from the road.

May 31, 2010

We're outside Cleveland tonight... everyone is snuggled up on the bed together. I think they're pretty tired. I know I am. Tomorrow we drive from Cleveland to Stamford where we'll be staying in a hotel for a few more nights. Our stuff doesn't arrive until likely June 7... which, incidentally is Noah's first day at the new job.

We're ready to be done driving. It's been a long journey and we are glad to be getting to the end of it.

Tonight we're watching Bones re-runs and a thunderstorm that is rolling past the window.

I'll leave you with a few random pictures of the Midwest.

*Updated: I forgot to mention I ate at Cracker Barrel twice in 2 days... sigh. Love CB!

Cross-Country: Reblogged (Omaha to Chicago)

We're moving back to CA in 1 week. Yay!!! So in preparation for that event, I'm reposting the journey from CA to CT that took place 3+ years ago. Here's hoping that this trip goes a little more smoothly. We certainly learned a few tricks in the process!

May 30, 2010:

Today was a big day! We drove across Iowa



and across the Mississippi river



to Illinois.

Iowa, by the way, has tons of windmills generating large amounts of renewable energy. Way to go Iowa!



Around the 4th hour of the journey today, Bangs woke up from his drugged slumber... this is never a good sign. He began trying to escape his spot in the lap of the front seat passenger (me)... and even meowed a couple times (a sign he's stressed). We pulled off at the next exit, poured litter in the litter box, and shoved him inside. After a shocked second of sniffing, he pooed in the box, looking quite relieved. Sorry I don't have any photos to share with you :)

At the same exit, what should we find but a Culvers!



We are both, sadly, vegetarian, so no butter burgers for us, but we did have yummy krinkle fries and Noah got a chocolate shake (their chocolate custard was coming out in liquid form so we couldn't have any of that). Happy memories of times shared with our Madison, WI, friends :)

After arriving at the La Quinta in Tinley Park, IL, just south of Chicago, we decided to take Tag out for a walk/run about, so we checked on-line and found a wilderness-ish park area nearby. We hopped in the car and drove over.





Our enjoyment of this outdoor adventure lasted all of 20 minutes. About then 2 things happened. First Tag stepped on my shoe and I walked out of it. As I was retrieving my shoe, Noah began flapping me wildly with his hands because I was covered... yes, covered... in ticks. Immediately I thought "O my god, the dog..." Indeed, he and Noah were also covered in ticks.

Now, in normal circumstances, this might not be so horrifying, but... lest we forget, I have a collie... a long haired collie... I have no flea/tick shampoo with me in Illinois, and I have 4 cats back at the hotel that could also pick up ticks from the dog... I panicked mildly.

We nearly ran back to the car, grabbed Tag's brush, flipped him over, and started searching him for ticks. I've never seen so many!

We then proceeded to a PetSmart where we purchased flea and tick applications for the dog and the cats.

5 angry animals (they hate flea/tick medicine), one shower and 2 loads of laundry later, I think we can relax a little now.

Tomorrow, Cleveland!

Cross-Country: Reblogged (Denver to Omaha)

We're moving back to CA in 2(ish) weeks. Yay!!! So in preparation for that event, I'm reposting the journey from CA to CT that took place 3+ years ago. Here's hoping that this trip goes a little more smoothly. We certainly learned a few tricks in the process! (thankfully, the crying kitty from this video has found a new home and will NOT be travelling with us this time)

May 29, 2010

This is a quick video of what our drive was like today.



NNK had to stay in her crate today. She was too noisy and unpredictable... at least in the crate we knew where she was the whole time. :)

Cross-country: Reblogged (Salt Lake to Denver)

We're moving back to CA in 2(ish) weeks. Yay!!! So in preparation for that event, I'm reposting the journey from CA to CT that took place 3+ years ago. Here's hoping that this trip goes a little more smoothly. We certainly learned a few tricks in the process!

We had a better day today. Nobody pooped in their crates. There was no hail... in fact it was sunny and warm the whole day of driving.

We are safe in Denver now, with a free upgrade to a suite... lovin' La Quinta!

Let me tell you a little bit about what it takes to get 4 cats and a dog into and out of a hotel every day. I'll start with packing the car...

Back of Subaruby: Bottom layer, a baby gate and a fold-able soft crate. Next suitcases and cat litters. 2 crates with cats on top of that, then litter boxes, food bowls, and a scratch post crammed in last.

Back seat: The Ark (food bin with supplies for all the pets), lock box, lap top, blankets, dog bed, dog.

Front seat: miscellaneous essentials... passenger, driver...





When we get to the hotel, we unload the crate and gate, the Ark, litter boxes, litter, scratch post, food bowls, crates with cats, and dog bed onto a hotel cart, and bring the dog with us up to the room. While Noah is unloading the cart, I put up the gate in the bathroom door and set up the litter boxes. We release the cats in the bathroom with the litter box to make sure they know where it is... they can explore from there... we use a gate so that Tag doesn't go digging for buried treasure.

While the cats are exploring, one of us goes back for the rest of our stuff (suitcases/laptop, etc.) and the other begins doling out pet food. Once everyone has eaten, Tag gets a walk and we start thinking about dinner.

In the morning, we do the whole thing in reverse, loading the cats last to make the torture as short as possible.

Today we tried something different. NNK spent the first hour or so wailing in the crate. I think she was protesting being put back in the same crate as Mr. Poopy (Bangs).

After a little while of this, we decided to pull over and let the cats loose from their crates. Bangs was still pretty drugged, so we put him in Noah's lap.



NNK needed to be re-drugged after a while before she calmed down... but then she was out like a light.



The kittens spent a while looking around and then crashed out on the back seat with Tag and we had the calmest, quietest day of travel yet.









Tomorrow we're off to the Iowa side of Omaha... another long day but without the mountains. I'll leave you with some pictures of the drive today.

Cross-country: Reblogged (Reno to Salt Lake)

We're moving back to CA in 2(ish) weeks. Yay!!! So in preparation for that event, I'm reposting the journey from CA to CT that took place 3+ years ago. Here's hoping that this trip goes a little more smoothly. We certainly learned a few tricks in the process!

May 27, 2010:

Everything started out well today. I woke up just before the alarm went off and got up to begin preparing to depart for Salt Lake City.

I fed everyone and took Tag for a walk... then Noah and I had breakfast. La Quinta is awesome by the way. SO pet friendly and free continental breakfast all for less than $100 a night!

When packing up the cats, Bangs was more grouchy than he has been the past couple days. He growled at NNK a lot and was pulling on the crate door trying to get out. I was hoping that wouldn't be a sign of things to come.

We got on the road a little past 7. Today we drove around 8 and a half hours to get from Reno to Salt Lake. Until further notice, our in-drive entertainment will be "The Silmarillion" complete and unabridged, written by J.R.R. Tolkein and read by Martin Shaw. Tag chose to sleep through it all.



Bangs and NNK received their tranquilizers as planned. I don't think the 1/4 tab has any effect on NNK, by the way... so we may not use it at all tomorrow and see how that goes... although we may use it anyhow.

About 2 hours into the trip, we were coming along a broad valley in Nevada. It was rainy off and on all morning. We could see a storm coming up a few miles away. Noah saw lightning a couple times. I was looking back at animals in the car both times and missed it. Oh well.

A few minutes passed and it started raining VERY hard. Noah turned on the wipers and we continued on. Just as we were passing a big rig cab that was hauling 3 other big rig cabs, things took a turn for the worse. The rain became hail that was piling up like snow on the road and we began to hydroplane. My life flashed before my eyes. The cats lives flashed before my eyes... Noah handled the whole thing very expertly and thank god we didn't slide off the road or careen into the big rig cab driving next to us. A minute after we regained control we drove out of the weather and the roads cleared up. Needless to say, we were a little shaken up by the whole event.

Around 4 hours I took over driving and Noah took some pictures.







I'd been driving about an hour when Bangs started rattling his cage and getting testy. We pulled over and I re-administered tranquilizers. Before we reached the next exit, Bangs had pooed all over himself and NNK. She did NOT appreciate this.

(side note: last time we moved across country we had the exact same issue with Bangs on the first day of driving)

We pulled off at the next exit and cleaned up on the side of the road.

Finally we were back in business. Bangs's tranquilizer kicked in and he slept the rest of the way there. And there was hardly a peep from NNK, who was not too keen on getting shoved back into the crate with Mr. Poopy.

The Great Salt Lake Desert is pretty interesting. It was pretty intensely dusty and my allergies kicked in even with medicine!







It's hot here in Salt Lake. And hazy. And dry. I don't really like it. But we're getting the hotel living routine down now... and we found a park to take Tag out to run around in.

We had greek food for dinner. And we're all relaxing.









It's another long day tomorrow... hopefully we're done with drama for this trip!

California dreams

I've been in Nor Cal for over a week now and it's wonderful. I miss it here so very much! I miss the sun and the birds and hanging out at the horse barn with my friends... it's enough to make a girl very homesick... which is a funny feeling when my husband and my beloved pets are all the way across the country. Sigh. One day I hope we get to move back here.

Things are just more... random and amazing out here. Like this for example:

I promise, window washing is random and amazing...

The other morning I was doing my NaNo writing at my father-in-law's house in San Francisco and I could hear opera... like... a really good baritone voice singing an Italian opera. I thought perhaps it was one of the neighbors. It's a classy neighborhood, after all. But no... no... it was this window washer!!! Seriously. Incredible.

Watson eating breakfast

I also have had three rides on Watson since I came to visit... and I kept myself together, no panicking or anxiety... just enjoyed the riding and relaxed. It's been a long time since I've done that. It felt nice to be back in the saddle until the next morning, of course. Wow was I sore! I really need to work on strength and flexibility more!! Sheesh!

Mallowmar the chatty kitty

Eva the beautiful

These are the two sweet kitties who sleep with me at night while I'm here and chat with me while I'm powering through my NaNo writing each day. I honestly thought I'd be so far behind on writing due to the trip. But thanks to some pre-planning and Write or Die, I am right on track! I even wrote extra on a couple of days so that I could take a day or two off in the middle. It's incredible and I'm actually excited about this NaNo lark of a novel. Things that I didn't expect have cropped up (like Clones!) and I'm just enjoying making it an outlandish story. 

I think one of my problems with writing is that I try to take myself too seriously. And I'm not really a serious person. Now that I'm just having fun with my novel, it's really become something I enjoy and I look forward to each day. I suppose it will be that way until it isn't one day... but I'm taking advantage of the good energy for now.

Aye me....

Checking in

Remember, remember, the 5th of November

The Gunpowder Treason and plot;

I see of no reason why Gunpowder Treason

Should ever be forgot.

The power is back on at home after 4 days... which was not a long time, relatively speaking... but was also an eternity. Thank gods for a public library with power for charging communication devices. And thank gods for heat and running water, two things that the power unexpectedly steals away when it goes, and that I'm very happy to have back. I finish two books and read two others while the power was out. I'm nowhere near caught up on my reading list, but I feel like I made a significant contribution.

I'm sitting in a Peets Coffee in Davis, California, today. I have missed California so very much since we moved to the East Coast two years ago. I'm so happy to be back! 

I'm so happy to be writing while I'm here, too. NaNo is going pretty well for me while I'm travelling which is... unexpected. I figured I'd be floundering and way behind, but my friends here are very supportive and I've been able (with Write or Die to help me manage my time) to keep my word count rising pretty consistently. Woot!

The plot is coming along mostly as expected, as well. I haven't had too many surprises yet, but I'm prepared for them because I'm coming to the end of what I'd planned to... minus the ending. I'm still not entirely sure what genre I'm writing in... I mean, fantasy fiction with shape shifters... but I don't know if it's an adventure or a romance or YA or what! It's sort of a mystery to me. But definitely NOT a mystery.

I love NaNo! So frenetic and muddled and adventurous.

How is everyone else doing so far? If you're not doing NaNo, what other projects are you working on?

Do what you love

I spent the day editing today. I can't even tell you how good that feels. It's someone else's manuscript, of course. But oh, the absolute joy to be working on something that I enjoy and for someone who values my input and advice.

Seriously, y'all. If you can find a way to make a living doing what you love, do it! Let me rephrase. Find a way to do what you love for a living. It's worth scraping by for this. I promise.

I'm off to help N figure out what he loves to do now.

Acadia last month

Big Island Dolphin Swimming

Not writing or YA related, but this is the vid of the totally awesome dolphin swim we did last month in HI. It was... incredible. I'm the one in the red shirt, and Noah's wearing a bright yellow shirt... we're easy to spot. Look how amazingly close they came to us!!! I swear, I could do that every day for the rest of my life and not get tired of it.

A few tropical flowers...