Saturday, February 24, 2007
Our first snow!
It started snowing about two hours ago- here's some photos of me and Rob enjoying our first snow :o)
Freezing Rain? Isn't that what snow is??
Or hail or something? Just moving to the midwest, I am learning a TON about all the different kinds of winter precipitation there is out here. Back home in California, there was some rain, a little bit of hail and the very rare snow. But yesterday and today, they kept forecasting "freezing rain" and I had no idea what they were talking about. So here is a little lesson for all my California readers who may not have known about this either. It seems it comes down as rain, but then when it hits the ground (or cars, buildings, landscaping or anything stationary) it turns to ice right on that object. It's actually very pretty on trees (sorry I can't seem to get the first picture turned the right way)...
But not so pretty on the sidewalk that you have to walk on!
Thankfully, there was some hail yesterday that froze in there too so you can at least get a little traction. Rob and I aren't planning on going out much today though. We'll just take it easy and enjoy the new warm apartment and later, the yummy roast that is cooking in our crockpot.
But not so pretty on the sidewalk that you have to walk on!
Thankfully, there was some hail yesterday that froze in there too so you can at least get a little traction. Rob and I aren't planning on going out much today though. We'll just take it easy and enjoy the new warm apartment and later, the yummy roast that is cooking in our crockpot.
Friday, February 23, 2007
My Sugar Daddy
So far, Rob is the only one of us to start working- that is a photo of him on the university campus where he works. We both got jobs here in the town we live in but his start date was Monday of this week- the day after we got to town. I set mine up so that I would start two weeks later so I could have some time to organize the apartment and do all the name changing things that go along with getting married. It's been kind of fun playing housewife and setting up our first home but it is starting to get a little old. The apartment is in fairly good order. At least everything except for Rob's clothes which he has been too busy to get too. The weather is looking pretty crazy right now so I think we'll be spending lots of time indoors this weekend so he'll have plenty of time to get his stuff all set up. Right now, it's hailing and there is thunder and lightning. Welcome to the midwest.
I've been to Target and the Hy-Vee (the local grocery store) several times and even managed to get the kitchen in order enough to cook our first dinner here last night. Nothing outstanding but it was nice to eat a homecooked meal. I'm pretty sure it was the first one we've had in about a month. I've done lots of laundry - we hadn't done any since before we got married. Although I've enjoyed the housewife time, I'm looking forward to starting my job.
The storm is getting a little nasty and I think I better post this while I still can just in case the electricity goes out!
On the road
This is what I looked at for 2,054 miles across the United States- a little bit of scenery and the back end of a Penske moving truck. I think I took this somewhere in New Mexico although I really can't remember.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
The Big Move - Part II
So then it was on to Amarillo, Texas. The red rocks and hills of Arizona and New Mexico are beautiful and the driving through there was really pretty easy. Unfortunately, the moving truck that Rob was driving had a governor on it and could not go any faster than 70 mph. I had to follow behind him and it was pretty slow going, which is hard for me to do. I found it was difficult at times to focus on what I was doing since I didn't have to think about driving, just about following him. Anyhow, we stopped for lunch in Albuquerque and realized we were much better off stopping in little towns and truck stops since it was very hard to keep the two of us together and get the moving truck through all the traffic in town. As the sun went down and we got closer to Texas, it started getting very windy and hard to drive. We decided to stop in Amarillo although we had wanted to go farther. We ate dinner at Red Robin and found a nice place to park the truck and get a room for the night.
The next morning, Saturday, February 17th, we headed out for Kansas City. There's not too much to say about the drive through Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. It's all very flat and prairie-like and pretty in its own way. It's just that after 600 miles of looking at it, it tends to get a little old. Once we got past Emporia, KS there was snow on the ground everywhere and it was like that all the way to Iowa. Rob wanted to stay at Harrah's Casino on the river in Kansas City but we realized that since it was a Saturday night over a holiday weekend that was right after Valentine's Day, that probably wasn't going to happen. We were right- they were all booked and had no rooms available. So we went just past Kansas City to Liberty, Missouri and found a nice hotel to stay in for the night. Driving through a few parking lots in Liberty was my first chance to ever drive in the snow. It was not snowing, there was just snow on the ground. I was terrified of this (driving in the snow) but it turned out to be no big deal. The XTerra handled great and with its four-wheel drive and anti-lock brakes, I felt very safe. Of all the things going on with moving to a new place 2,000 miles from home, that was the one thing that scared me the most and I conquered it with no problems. I'm still concerned about icy roads but feel much more confident now.
Sunday morning we rolled into our new hometown in Iowa after a short drive from Liberty. The first three days had been about 600 miles each day and so the Sunday morning drive that was only 250 miles went by fast. We made it in time to get some lunch and get into our hotel room so that Rob could watch the Daytona 500. We even drove through town and looked at some open houses and went to Target to get some supplies. That night turned out to be rather exciting when Rob had an allergic reaction to something in his dinner which caused him to have a lot of trouble breathing. He doesn't know of any food allergies so we're not sure what caused it. But I called my doctor on the phone and she said to get him some Benadryl and if that didn't work, to take him to the hospital. Fortunately, we got to a supermarket quickly and found some Benadryl quick-dissolve strips. I ripped that package open right there in the aisle and gave him one and, thankfully, it worked. In about one minute, he was able to breathe much easier and it wasn't long until he was back to normal. I was very scared (he probably was too) but it all turned out okay.
I promise to get some pictures up soon but the battery to my camera is dead and I can not find the charger in this messy apartment! Soon though :o)
The next morning, Saturday, February 17th, we headed out for Kansas City. There's not too much to say about the drive through Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. It's all very flat and prairie-like and pretty in its own way. It's just that after 600 miles of looking at it, it tends to get a little old. Once we got past Emporia, KS there was snow on the ground everywhere and it was like that all the way to Iowa. Rob wanted to stay at Harrah's Casino on the river in Kansas City but we realized that since it was a Saturday night over a holiday weekend that was right after Valentine's Day, that probably wasn't going to happen. We were right- they were all booked and had no rooms available. So we went just past Kansas City to Liberty, Missouri and found a nice hotel to stay in for the night. Driving through a few parking lots in Liberty was my first chance to ever drive in the snow. It was not snowing, there was just snow on the ground. I was terrified of this (driving in the snow) but it turned out to be no big deal. The XTerra handled great and with its four-wheel drive and anti-lock brakes, I felt very safe. Of all the things going on with moving to a new place 2,000 miles from home, that was the one thing that scared me the most and I conquered it with no problems. I'm still concerned about icy roads but feel much more confident now.
Sunday morning we rolled into our new hometown in Iowa after a short drive from Liberty. The first three days had been about 600 miles each day and so the Sunday morning drive that was only 250 miles went by fast. We made it in time to get some lunch and get into our hotel room so that Rob could watch the Daytona 500. We even drove through town and looked at some open houses and went to Target to get some supplies. That night turned out to be rather exciting when Rob had an allergic reaction to something in his dinner which caused him to have a lot of trouble breathing. He doesn't know of any food allergies so we're not sure what caused it. But I called my doctor on the phone and she said to get him some Benadryl and if that didn't work, to take him to the hospital. Fortunately, we got to a supermarket quickly and found some Benadryl quick-dissolve strips. I ripped that package open right there in the aisle and gave him one and, thankfully, it worked. In about one minute, he was able to breathe much easier and it wasn't long until he was back to normal. I was very scared (he probably was too) but it all turned out okay.
I promise to get some pictures up soon but the battery to my camera is dead and I can not find the charger in this messy apartment! Soon though :o)
Monday, February 19, 2007
The Big Move - Part I
Welcome to Rob and Shelby's blog! We are a newly married couple who in 17 days have gotten married, traveled to Aruba and back for our honeymoon, packed up all our possessions and drove from Fresno, California to a smallish-town in Iowa where we now live. Here we are in warmer times on our honeymoon in Aruba.
The name of the blog was inspired by the total distance we drove during our move from California to Iowa. Although Rob will be a contributor and post occassionally, the blog will be written mainly by Shelby. So now, that you know a little what we're about and how this will work, let me get on to our first story...
After packing up the moving truck and my car and having one last dinner with Rob's family, Rob and I left Fresno, CA on Wednesday night, February 14th. We made it all the way to Visalia where we stayed the night with my family- that's only about an hour's drive but our bed was packed so we had to stay somewhere! We left early the next morning and made it to Flagstaff, Arizona by Thursday night. Thursday's drive went pretty good but we learned a valuable lesson that cost us an hour's worth of driving time. Here's the lesson: When driving through the middle of nowhere, it is a good idea to stop and get diesel wherever you can because the next gas station may not have any. We had to double back and drive an extra 55 miles or so to fill up the moving truck with diesel. Flagstaff was beautiful- there was snow on the ground and it was a little cold, but very pretty. The next day we hit the road for Amarillo, Texas which I will post more about later.
The name of the blog was inspired by the total distance we drove during our move from California to Iowa. Although Rob will be a contributor and post occassionally, the blog will be written mainly by Shelby. So now, that you know a little what we're about and how this will work, let me get on to our first story...
After packing up the moving truck and my car and having one last dinner with Rob's family, Rob and I left Fresno, CA on Wednesday night, February 14th. We made it all the way to Visalia where we stayed the night with my family- that's only about an hour's drive but our bed was packed so we had to stay somewhere! We left early the next morning and made it to Flagstaff, Arizona by Thursday night. Thursday's drive went pretty good but we learned a valuable lesson that cost us an hour's worth of driving time. Here's the lesson: When driving through the middle of nowhere, it is a good idea to stop and get diesel wherever you can because the next gas station may not have any. We had to double back and drive an extra 55 miles or so to fill up the moving truck with diesel. Flagstaff was beautiful- there was snow on the ground and it was a little cold, but very pretty. The next day we hit the road for Amarillo, Texas which I will post more about later.
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