Home Stretch

Ok, so, where were we- right, New Mexico! We woke up in the morning to a beautiful blanket of snow.

This was also the joyous occasion of 'Amy's first snow brushing experience' :-p

Also, the back window was especially cranky about pushing its way up against all the stuff shoved in the back in the cold that morning. 

From there, we headed into Texas. Now, I am very ready to believe that it is probably unfair to judge a state solely by what you see by the interstate. Goodness knows if anyone only saw California by I-5, they would walk away with a pretty miserable opinion of the place. Alls I'm gonna say is, we have never in our lives seen so many abandoned structures and vehicles as littered the sides of 40 going through that place. 

I think somewhere in there we stopped in Oklahoma for some Subway and a bottle of champagne, this being New Years Eve (more on that later). Which brings up an important aspect of this trip;

Food- Now, it's pretty bad when for three days, your 'healthy' option for food has been Subway. I don't think either of us ever wants to eat there again as long as we live. I think I also had more McDonald's hashbrowns over this trip than in the last year. All supplemented by apples, cup noodles and pb&j; basically all the highlights of a second grader's bag lunch menu.

Yum....?

When we finally got back late on the following day, drained of all energy, and finished unloading the car, we still somehow still found the energy to go out and get some vegetables for a goddamn salad. It was the most delicious thing I have ever tasted in my life. 

New Year's Eve evening found us in Missouri. It took us awhile to realize that we were in Missouri, because it turns out Missouri doesn't want you to know. Seriously. Every other state has a huge welcome sign. "Arizona welcomes YOU!" "Welcome to Texas, have a gun!" etc. I think Oklahoma's was a little run down, but it was still there, and gosh darn it, I appreciated the sentiment!  Not Missouri. We only finally realized we were there when we looked down and saw the mile markers had started over. There isn't actually a visitors center until you are literally about halfway through the state. It also took us forever to even find a motel, but eventually we did find yet another offbrand cheap awesome place in a mega truckstop-type town. 

And there my beloved and I settled in to ring in the New Year together. With this

It was labeled 'Fine California Sparkling Wine', and cost like a dollar less than Korbel. So very many lessons were learned that night, like, who knew 'champagne' could be that color? Or have that taste? Most important lesson of all, when in doubt, JUST GET THE DAMN KORBEL.

Other New Year's Eve highlights included....

We found this emergency plan especially amusing since this was the first floor, and the door just opened out onto the parking lot. ie, 'Open this door and leave. Done'.

This is a painting and ship's wheel Maggie left with me two years ago. Theoretically I was going to ship them to her, but I was always a little worried about doing it safely and within budget. Finally found another solution :-) 

They came in with us to decorate the room on New Year's. 

It was a lovely New Year's, spent with my amazing, beloved partner and companion. It certainly wasn't part of The Plan, but I wouldn't have wanted to ring in 2013 any other way.

The next day, we packed up, drove through Illinois and Indiana, and finally, at long last, on into Kentucky, to our lovely new home. Pictures to follow as soon as we can get it mildly presentable. For now, think of it kind of like this

(No, not with the kids!  we've only been gone for like three weeks ;-) )