Trekas

2184 miles, 37 hours, 14 states, 4 days...I finally made it to San Antonio!  Every morning I would get in the car, be full of energy and ready to go.  When I reached the south I found these bible stations that became really addicting, these hosts really got into their sermons and by the end of the hour I was singing praise Jesus with them.  But all the enthusiasm soon wore off by the 3rd hour on the road and I constantly was asking myself why the hell did I decide to 1. Drive 2. Do this alone.  I would actually love when I had to stop and get gas because it was something to do.  My phone was my saving grace, and I would count down the hours till friends and family got out of work so they could help fill the time.  Towards the end of my drives usually 9 hours I would be so frustrated with anything and everything that had to do with my car.  The AC was too cold or hot, my seat belt would drive me nuts, and I swear if I heard "Roar" or "Blurred Lines" one more time I was going to lose it.    I never really got to process what exactly I was doing up until I got in the car.  I was way to busy working from home, wedding meetings, seeing family and friends, and unpacking/packing  to understand what I was really about to do.  So I was able to wrap my head around the fact that I was moving to Texas.  All in all I was really glad I  the drive, I was able to see parts of the country that I have never seen and most importantly I was able to visit with family! And despite the haters and skeptics my MINI MADE IT!!!!


The NH roads are really hard to beat, especially with Fall (my favorite season) approaching.

                


RICHMOND

11 hours in the car still semi hungover from the Wright wedding, The drive between NYC and DC was still my favorite, I cant really explain why but the roads and bridges were awesome.





My route took me on highways that aloud me to see the cities as well.

I was so excited to crawl into bed and call it a day.  4 years ago Craig and I stayed in a Double Tree in NYC and I have been obsessed ever since.  I mean you walk in and they hand you a warm chocoloate chip cookie...SOLD!  Their beds are heavenly and I am adamant about finding what they use for our wedding registry.  I really wanted to meet up with the Hann's who reside in Williamsburg but I was just way to beat to even move as soon as I hit that bed.   I decided just to order room service which was incredible. 


Had my morning first round of coffee on their roof deck!  If you ever find yourself in downtown Richmond, the Double Tree is the place to stay!




HOTLANTA

My friend Emily (doodla) let me borrow her Diners,  Drive Ins, and Dives road trip book, which I put to use in Charlotte, NC stopping in at the Penguin.  I was the only one there which was strange, but my pull pork sandwich was AMAZING! Thanks Doodla!





The whole reason I deicded to take this route was to see the Pasquariello's.  I hadent seen my two cousins and aunt in 15 years!  Ya waaaaay to long, it is my fault since I was always in Colorado skiing during Thanksgiving when they would visit.  It was so so so great to see them and catch up, and their house is gigantic and BEAUTIFUL.  Of course I had to ask if they lived next to any of the RHOA, and apparently Kordell sans Porsha lives in their neighborhood. There back yard made me feel like I was back in NH



My Aunt Susan is amazing!  She has been into organic/clean eating, yoga, and spirituality way before it has became a trend.  It's a lifestyle for her, and for someone who is trying to live healthier through food and the things we put in our body it was impressive and encouraging to see.  She is one of those people you can sit down and talk to forever, and is absolutely hilarious!

I also go to see my two cousins (Devon was missing because she now lives in Indianapolis with her husband).  I took alot of vacations with these two and it was like 15 years never passed, except they are about 3 feet taller now, in college, and extremely handsome!

My Uncle Ralph has put his own touches on the house, including a huge tribute to football and a couple man caves.  My mom's side of the family is a true american football family.  My grandfather played professionally for the Rams and Cardinals, my uncle Ralph played at Villanova, Uncle Steven at UNH, Cousin Alex at Wagner, and my brother at St. Anselm.  It was awesome to see all the memorabilia.   Interesting fact, my Uncle Ralph became great friends with Howie Long from college, and my Uncle Steven roomed with infamous UNH Chip Kelly, who is now the head coach for the Eagles. 

My Uncle has continued his love for football, by coaching for the local highscool!  They are such a beautiful family inside and out.  I already miss them but will being seeing them again on the way home.


NEW ORLEANS

I knew this drive was going too smoothly.  I am sorry for anyone that lives in Alabama, but from what I saw I was not a fan.  First off the bugs were horrible, for a second there I thought it was raining.  

When I stopped to get gas, I was swarmed by these bugs.  I walked in and asked the lady what the hell they were and she said "they are love bugs, dont worry they dont bite."  They were everywhere I mean I could basically breathe them in.  I never have felt unsafe stopping, but I really tried not to stop in this state.  I knowwwww I probably didnt see the best it has to offer, but it was by far my least favorite.

I did get to see the Bayou


The weirdest I mean weirdest thing happened to me when I arrive in New Orleans.  I was driving following my GPS, and I found myself on this tiny road 10 miles an hour and barely big enough for 1 car. I came  around a turn and down a small hill and BAM I am on a loading dock.  Literally no time to stop or think.



I was like holy $%^& mother (&^%$ what the hell is happening right now.   And then I was on a boat.  As soon as my back wheels hit the boat the horn sounded and we were off.



When we were unloading I noticed the the cars lined up to get on all had tickets in hand.  I never paid anything, not sure really how this whole thing really happened.  Still confused about the whole thing.  The best part is that I had typed in the wrong address and didnt even need to take the ferry and actually had to take the bridge back to downtown. 


So I finally arrive after my brief boating excursion to downtown New Orleans.  I did some research and picked my hotel in the French Quarter which was right off of

Again I really lucked out on my hotel, they had a great valet service, it was quite, and a short walk from everything.

Obviously like everyone you know about Bourbon Street and how the party never stops, but nothing really can prepare you for the chaos that that one street can bring.  I went out to dinner at Desire ( a rec from my Uncle) and was on a mission to try crawfish.  The crawfish gumbo was out of this world.

I was dead tired, alone, and not drinking so I was kind of an outcast but the energy of the street is so contagious I just had to walk around and take it all in.  I have done the Vegas thing a million times, Miami Beach, NYC, downtown Durham...but nothing compares to this place.  I mean people were HAMMERED HAMMMMMMERED at 8 pm at night.  Everyone was having an amazing time.  It was out of this world.

mom, dad, and casey this ones for you

I am not a huge jazz or blues fan but the music was insane.  I was walking back to the hotel and heard a brick house/shake ya ass remix and I just had to stop in.  This beauty was owning the stage.

There were strippers outside the clubs trying to get people to come in, and I even saw my first prostitute.

On my way back to the hotel a group of young men did try to pick pocket me (it was not smooth at all), which was a little unfortunate and thank God, unsuccessful.  I definitely want to come back, and I am putting it on my bucketlist.  I also saw the super dome (which reminded me of craigs head) thing is MASSIVE.



TEXAS

I hit Houston at exactly 5 o'clock, horrible timing.  The traffic set me back 2 hours and the only thing that got me through was knowing I was almost there.

I arrive to San Antonio around 10pm and had to get to work the next day so I litterally met my landlord dragged my mattress in and passed out.  I felt like a complete tard my first day at work.  I had to fill out a bunch of forms for HR and I kept messing them up and forgetting simple info like my birth date.  I was just out of it.  The institute is massive, with another campus about 2 miles away.  Everyone seemed really nice, and the women dress like Jessica from Suits.  I am going to have to seriously step up my work attire.  I have an incredible amount of work to do until I leave so I am hoping it will help the time pass by. 

 One thing I have always struggled with is the use of animals for research.  Trust me when I say there is NO OTHER WAY of testing vaccines then to use animal models.  Well there is another way and that is to use humans, which has been done in prisons back on the day. Anyways as an animal lover for lack of a better word it sucks.  For the past 3 years we have received animal blood/organs from other research centers never actually seeing the animals.  Here the primate center is right on campus.  It was really really tough to see, I mean usually you see these types of animals in ZOOs not in research centers.  This is definitely going to be the hardest part working here.  I just have to keep thinking about how many babies/people lives are being saved for the research done on them.  PS I dont use/condone animal testing on beauty products just research if that makes it any better.  

So what did I do my first weekend.  I slept my face off.  I felt physically sick from the drive.  I have never been so exhausted.  I also ate shit for the past 4 days (besides the snacks my Aunt packed for me) which my body isnt use to.  You know when you see an obese person and you think how can you do that to yourselves?  Well I figured it out, the more crap you eat the more you feel like shit, the less you want to work out, the more you eat. Its like a cycle I was stuck in for 5 days.  Eat sit in the car, eat, tired, eat, sit, and sleep. 

And I am not even like a workout/eat clean freak and it drove me nuts.  So to get back to normal I decided to join a gym (plus my wedding dress(s) fitting is on Dec 6th).  And I joined THE GYM.  This place is nutsssss.  3 outdoor pools, 2 indoor, hot tubs, saunas, steam rooms, spinning, I mean everything.  It has every class from hot yoga/insantity to pool aerobics.   3 years of walking 4 miles to work I never joined a gym so this is my first time in a while, and I am fully prepared to become a gym rat.  There is also a spa (already have my first massage tonight).  The best part is I dont have a kitchen in my apt WHAAAAAAT?!?! But they have a full cafe there which has meals with  all organic/cage free ingredients and meat and everything is portioned out so when I say ill be living there I literally will be living there. 

 They kind of convince you to do a physical test which includes BMI etc plus drawing blood which I am not to thrilled about, but will be good to know.  They weigh you and set goals, its pretty intense.  Reminded me of the days when Chappy would scream out your weight on the first day of dryland at UNH, its good to know but you realllyyy dont want to know.   Not saying I need to lose weight but I mean ladies you know cant hide much in a white dress doesnt matter how good of spanx you have.  So, I have 60 days to get bridal ready, let the count down begin!

MY APARTMENT

They say everything is bigger in Texas, but my apartment is definitely not included in that saying.  I had a tough time finding a place.  At first I was looking at these complexes with pools but I had to sign a 6 month lease.  There was corporate housing, but I didnt like living in a hotel for 2 months, I thought about getting a roommate and then I saw the ad for my apt.  I called the guy and wired the money within the hour.  It's an in law apartment with one room and microwave and mini fridge.  Its clean, quite, and safe.  I wont be spending much time here but its perfect for the time being.  I did really well with packing too only bringing this:

Just kidding I only brought one bag, a twin mattress, and some bedding.  I have yet to buy a winter/fall wardrobe except for a new bag which was my TX reward to myself, I figured Ill get anything I didnt bring here. I have learned my packing lessons from Innsbruck.  I had to get creative and use the purse bag on the left as a laundry bag, but it will do.

I have moved away from home twice by myself.  First time was living in Alaska for a summer, second was Salt Lake.  SLC I became a workaholic, and in Alaska I really enjoyed myself.  So I am hoping I do the same here, explore and try new things.  I have made a list of things I really want to do:

-Seaworld

-Sixflags

-riverwalk taxi

-alamo

-ocean

-dallas

-austin

-houston

-football games at any or all cities

-Corpus Christi 

-Maybe Mexico 

-line dancing

-rodeo

Happy Monday 

ps I miss you Isla (and everyone else)!