Hey! We are still alive, and we did indeed make it to California. Amazingly, the trip went almost exactly according to plan. If you've ever made a cross-country move- you will recognize how incredible this is. Exactly two things went "wrong"- and really, they were so minor, that I can hardly complain.

Our loading day was Sunday, July 26. Richard had the incredible idea to take Charlie to doggie day care for the day, since he was nervous before we even started loading up the truck. We went to pick up the truck around lunchtime. I can't recommend Penske enough- our truck was clean and new; it had a working AC, radio and CD player. We drove the truck home, and after trying to back the truck with the car carrier attached into the driveway so pathetically, one of our neighbor's dad took pity on us. He backed the truck up, putting both Richard and I to shame with our crap-tastic attempts, and we were ready to start loading! Our gracious neighbor, Scott, helped us load the truck. His wife, Lindsay, brought us drinks from Sonic. Did I mention how much we are already missing our fabulous former neighbors? Scott, Lindsey, Millie, Jennifer, Lindsay, Andrew, Elaine, Matt, and Amy, we miss you!!! It didn't take us long to load up the truck- only a few hours. Then it was back to cleaning our embarrassingly filthy apartment. We got food from Whole Foods for dinner and ate at Scott and Lindsay's table. Afterwards, Jennifer came over with her sister Lindsay and sat on our floor and chatted. They made us awesome brownies for the road- which got me through many a sleepy moment on our drive.

The next morning, we woke up REALLY early- around 4 am! We loaded the car on the car carrier, which was pretty simple once we figured it out, then we hit the road. Richard started in the driver's seat. We switched whenever we started getting tired. We drove to Lubbock. Our amazing friends, Stephani and Jason, live in Lubbock, and they had offered to let us stay with them. They are even more awesome because they had just had their first baby, Alexander, a mere two days earlier! Alexander was cuddly and snuggly, and Stephani and Jason were so much fun to catch up with!

The next morning, we hit the road again bright and early- 6:00 am. We drove and drove and drove. Really, though, we took our time. We had a goal each day- exactly 7 hours each of the three first days and only 3 hours on the last day. So, this day, we stopped in Cibolas National Forrest outside of Grants, NM. This place was incredibly beautiful, peaceful, and quiet. We got there around 3:00 pm, took a nap in our tent, cooked silver turtles for dinner (go boy scouts!), roasted marshmallows, then tucked in early for the night. As it turns out, Charlie, our dog, hates camping. No really, he is such an indoor dog, it's questionable whether he's really a dog. He is afraid of campfires, marshmallows, rain, wind, thunder, and pretty much anything that is outdoors. He wanted to hide under the truck the entire time, and we were so afraid he'd run off, we couldn't let him off the leash.

The next morning, we got up early, made apple oatmeal, and packed up camp. We were on the road by 7:30 am. Our plan was to stop in the Mojave Desert National Preserve (our newest national park). We drove through New Mexico, Arizona, and California. We saw what we THOUGHT was our exit, got off the freeway, and were sent on a 40 mile round trip wild goose chase. We couldn't figure out where we were supposed to go, and the GPS on Rich's phone was malfunctioning, so we decided to get back on the freeway, drive to Barstow, CA, and stay in a hotel for the night instead of camping (since we couldn't find the campground anyway). We figured, we'd be two hours closer to our final destination, Charlie would be more comfortable, and we'd be in better shape to unload the truck in the morning. When we got back on the freeway, we saw the exit we were SUPPOSED to take (the very next exit). We decided to go to Barstow anyway. We got there around 8 pm and checked into the hotel. Charlie did the most pathetic happy dance ever- lunging onto the bed and hurling himself against the pillows. It was truly ridiculous.

We attempted (unsuccessfully) to sleep in the next morning. The apartment office didn't open until 9, so we didn't need to leave until 8. We both were awake by 6 am, and we enjoyed lounging around the hotel room, eating continental breakfast waffles, and watching cable television (a true treat!). We also kept commenting how great an idea it was to stay in a hotel that night. It was finally time to leave, so we got back into the truck and made it to Upland by 9:15. It took us most of the day to unload the truck, and then we unpacked enough to make up the bed and crash.

Longest blog post ever. I'll update later on what we've been up to since we got here! We love our new apartment, and one day, I'll actually post some pics of the apt.