We've Arrived!

Jonas and I finally made it safely back to the bay area Wednesday evening. I cannot believe we drove my rusty old car all the way from MI to CA. I am also a little overwhelmed by the fact that I actually live in the bay area now.

I began the road trip by driving to Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids to say goodbye to as many people as I could in the short amount of time I had before I left. Then I met up with my dad and we drove through MI, IN, IL, IA, NE, and CO. I met up with Jonas in Denver and my dad flew back to MI. After spending some time in Denver, Jonas and I planned on taking the northern route to the bay area. However, high winds, snowy weather, and closed roads, made going above the rockies or through them less than desirable. So, we ended up going south through NM and AZ to CA. The detour made our trip a little longer, but the scenery itself made it worth the extra mileage.

Below are a few pictures from the trip. The midwestern leg of the trip was a little boring in terms of scenery, but CO, NM, AZ, and CA were pretty breathtaking.


This is a large book outside of Denver Public Library. Of course we visited the library!
















Red Rocks park and amphitheater in Denver. People actually run here as a way to exercise, but Jonas and I were about to pass out just climbing a few stairs.
















Leaving Denver and heading south...
















Jonas celebrated his b-day in Albuquerque, NM. He was a good sport about driving all day on his b-day.





















Riding the tramway to Sandia Peak in NM.

















We were a little out of breath at the top, but the view was totally worth it.
















More driving...
















Jonas taking care of my car.
















This is in Flagstaff, AZ. Which way do we go???
















Still driving through AZ...
















Driving through smelly cow pastures in CA.
















Near Sequioa National Park in CA.

















One last stop to enjoy the scenery before we made it home.

















I hope you don't feel like you just watched a boring vacation slideshow. :)

Finally Moving

I only moved once or twice when I was young, but I have moved 13 times since I was 17. Now my 14th move is a big one, because I am finally moving to CA.

I am very excited, but also scared. California is like a whole new world to me, with so many foreign concepts, like carpool lanes, fresh food, traffic school, earthquakes, smog checks, etc. And I have so many questions, like Do babies count as an extra passenger in the carpool lane?

I will be driving there, and loading my car with most of my stuff and shipping a few things too.

If anyone has ANY suggestions/advice about driving to SF and/or moving cross-country, PLEASE let me know. Because I have moved a lot, but never this far.

Flurry Festival

What do people in Northern Michigan do near the end of a long, cold, icy, snowy winter?

They celebrate by freezing their asses off in creative ways during the annual Flurry Festival.

There were three events during the Flurry Festival today. There was the cardboard sled race (where people race sleds downhill, made of cardboard and duct tape), the polar bear dip (where a hole is cut in the ice and stupid people jump in the lake through the hole), and the outhouse race (where people build outhouses on skis and race them down the street. Very classy.)

My parents and I took some pictures of the first two events, but we were too cold to watch people race outhouses. Maybe next year. :)

This is the cardboard sled race.
Look at them go!











Another pict of sled race.











Two guys about to jump in the water.












They looked a little chilly coming out.











This guy looks like he is drowning, but he is not.
He actually jumped through a hole in the ice *on purpose*!

Long Distance

I realized recently that the last time I shared the same zip code with Jonas was in the end of April 2005. So we have been in a long (very long) distance relationship for 10 months now. And on top of that, we haven't even seen eachother in over two months. For me (and probably for many others in similar situations), it is a miracle that we are still in a happy relationship.

I attempted long distance relationships in the past with three other people. (With the first guy, I relocated for undergrad; with the second guy, he relocated for grad school; and with the third guy, I relocated for grad school. Of course, none of these relationships worked out, because in relationships, flaws and compatibility problems are only magnified with distance.

But I am happy to say that Jonas and I are doing well. My internal clock is permanently on pacific time... but I have always been kind of nocturnal anyway.

I was trying to be optimistic, and I thought of two good things about being in a long distance relationships.

You can save money on razors (and other personal care products), because there is no need to shave your legs (or primp) AND you can build a super strong friendship with your s.o., through long phone conversations and letters.

I just wished I remembered what Jonas looked like. ;)