It has been such a long and tiring week, but somehow it flew by. I have to go back to work tomorrow -- BLEK! I logged into my work email Friday night and luckily only had about 550 unread emails. It took about an hour, but I got it down to about 80 that I have to actually re-read tomorrow morning.
I know you've all been dying to know how the journey went, so here's a re-cap.
Tuesday: Met Brittany and her husband, Scott, for breakfast at Blue Plate (gonna miss that place) and then Brittany and I went on our way...
We drove through Wyoming (where our cashier @ Hastings was missing all 4 of her bottom teeth) and then down to Denver. We arrived in Denver after dark and we were super tired. Too tired to eat, in fact, so we didn't go out to eat. Instead, we decided to find a grocery store and grab some juice and yogurt. The nearest store was a WalMart, which, after hanging out with Brooke and Scott for so many years, I don't have any aversion to. Well, not most WalMarts.. This one was a different story -- we weren't in the best part of town and we got a little bit nervous more than once. In the end, we survived.
Wednesday: Woke up bright and early and begun our awesome drive to Wichita. All I can really say is this had to be one of the most boring days of my life. Anyone and everyone who has ever said "avoid driving through Kansas" really knows what they are talking about. The only thing that kept us going was wondering which "historical site" we'd see next. I'm telling you, every sign on the side of the road indicated something to stop and see at the next exit. One of the areas had signs about a five-legged steer. We were tempted, but we steered clear (hehe). There were also signs for "authentic Scandanavian shops." In the middle of freaking Kansas. I never knew Kansas was such a hot spot for foreigners!
Thursday: Woke up even earlier than the day before and headed on our path to Memphis. As soon as we left the Kansas border, things got much better. Oklahoma and Arkansas were both relatively pretty and we listened to an MP3 book by Chelsea Handler (who can be a bit crass, but is HILARIOUS). We rolled into Memphis at around 3:30 and got to Graceland just after 4. We took a tour of Graceland, some of Elvis and Priscilla's planes and cars, and then a couple of other exhibits. We also stayed at the Heartbreak Hotel. It seems a lot bigger from the outside. I might recommend going to check it out, but I don't think I'd ever tell anyone to stay there. I was never huge on Elvis, but holy moly, I have a new respect for the guy. I really had no idea that he did so much. Of course, the tours are only going to talk about the good things, but I was still pretty amazed. Plus, he was pretty cute. I wouldn't mind finding a young-Elvis look alike to be my baby daddy!
After our Elivis tours, Brittany and I decided that we were in need of a massage, so we found a Massage Envy in the area. You know the commercials that talk about the Utah College of Massage Therapy being one of the best massage schools? I think it must be true, because Britt and I both had nothing very good to say about our massages. I guess I found another thing I'll miss about Utah -- I never had a bad massage at the Sugarhouse location. Hopefully, they'll be better out here.
Friday: We left Memphis extremely early. The drive through Mississippi and Alabama was beautiful. We passed through Talledega (as in the best movie ever!) and didn't stop too many times. We got into Georgia earlier than expected, so I called my apartment complex to see if I could move in a day early. My car was SO heavy from everything I brought with me -- we both needed to lighten the load ("we" being me and my car). After unpacking at my apartment, we checked into the last hotel on our journey, then went to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D. I really enjoyed the movie. The art and cinematography were amazing!
Saturday: We slept in. It was awesome. We didn't have anywhere to be (other than out of the hotel by 11), so we took every minute possible. We went to breakfast and to my apartment to drop off the rest of our stuff, and then we went to play tourist. We went into Atlanta where the World of Coke and the Georgia Aquarium are. They have a pass where you can do both for $36 instead of paying full price for each. The World of Coke was a lot of fun. I had only gone to the exhibit in Vegas once and I always wanted to go back to taste all of the soda flavors from around the world. I ended up leaving a little bit sick to my stomach though. Too much sugar! The aquarium was pretty cool, too, but we went on a BAD day. I would like to go back sometime when it's not so busy -- maybe on a Wednesday afternoon at 11? Lol. So, if any of you feel like coming to GA to see the largest aquarium in the world, let me know. You can sleep on my couches (when they finally arrive).
I will post pictures of my new apartment when I have all of my stuff back. I don't think that pictures of an empty space will really do it justice. Here are a couple to tide you over.
These are my scary stairs to my upstairs (bedroom, bathroom, closet). I think that I'll get used to them eventually, but I see a broken arm or leg in the near future.
This is a view from the top of my stairs/loft. The Chattahoochee River is in my backyard (between the trees and the house in the background). The whole area is pretty killer. I just hope there are no killers in the area!
