When we travel from place to place it is always an adventure. We left the great state of Iowa on Saturday after finishing up packing and cleaning. We headed to Illinois where we spent the night and had a very nice Mexican dinner. I love it when we stay someplace and we can walk to get dinner. Once we get out of the car we don’t like to have to drive again. Our first day is usually a nice short drive so we can ease ourselves into travel again. After Illinois our next stop was Kentucky, where we stayed at a hotel a little out of town so we had to unload my car a bit more than usual so we could drive and get some dinner. Richmond KY was a cute town at night and we found a little bar where they were playing trivia. Since we got there after it started we played along without actually playing along. The food was good and it was nice to relax. The next day we were onto Durham NC where we would spend time with people I love very much, Brian and Carolyne. It was a bit longer drive than the other two days and we were pretty done by the time we got to their house. Since we drive in separate cars Jesse is the lead and I follow and yell out the directions over the CB radio, he has nicknamed me tail gunner since I am the one that moves over lanes and makes room for him. The only problem is that while we drove through much of TN and NC mountains I could not use my cruise control! Either I would get to close or too far away. We have this endless debate about which car has the screwed up cruise control. And I could not find a radio station to save my life, so I was going a bit stir crazy and when we got to Durham I was very excited to not have to drive for a few days. We got the dog settled and had a wonderful dinner with friends. I felt bad because we showed up empty handed and hungry but that is why I love these people, they welcome us anyway.
Tuesday was a much needed rest day where we just lounged around. We had a nice night out and on Wednesday we headed to Virginia Beach to spend time with my parents, Jesse’s mom and Jesse’s brother. It was nice being in the same car for this part of the trip! This has been a Thanksgiving tradition of the McDuffie family and I was happy to share it with the Zacharys. My mom found a hotel right on the Boardwalk and we ate at a giant Thanksgiving day buffet in the Tradewinds restaurant. Mary and Pat seemed to enjoy it and we left there full and happy. Then on Friday we headed to the Christmas Market at the Virginia Beach convention center to shop. It is a fun time and we did it for several years before I became a traveler. I was happy to be able to see my parents and spend some time with them. I was able to watch the Thanksgiving day parade and I also managed to finish a bunch of stuff for my Florida assignment as well. We ate a ton of wonderful food at Mahi Mah’s and Catch 31; two of our favorite restaurants in Va beach.
We headed back to Durham on Saturday where we had Thanksgiving again! We really need to get back on the fitness train after this transition is over. The food and company were fabulous as usual. We enjoyed another rest day on Sunday where we managed to squeeze in a hike. While in NC we also picked up my Dyson from the storage unit. I have really missed that vacuum. On Monday we packed up the cars, trailer and dog to head to Georgia. We left really early to try and beat the horrible Raleigh traffic and we succeeded!
My wonderful mother-in-law let us stay with her until our place in Florida was ready. Somewhere in between Iowa and NC I was notified that my pre-employment blood work got screwed up and I needed to have my blood drawn again. That is one downside of travelling, you have to find a way to get all this done no matter where you are in the US. Thankfully my agency found a place in Macon, GA which also happens to be where my brother-in-law lives! Jesse and I headed to the clinic where we patiently waited to have my blood drawn, then we headed to Pat’s very nice apartment for the tour of the town. Since we were starving we started with a really good lunch at Rookery, a restaurant Pat goes to often. He showed us a wonderful park and we rode around town for a bit before heading to Bass Pro Shops for some shopping. That place is insane but I found some fun socks!
I received several phone calls and emails while we were at lunch. I found out that we had a place to live and we could move in on Friday! But that also meant we had to head back to Mary’s place so I could do some paperwork. Pat was going to come into Eatonton the next day so at least we could see him again before we headed to Florida. Jesse and I enjoyed our time in GA very much and made time to see family and do some exploring. There is a park not too far from Mary’s that is called Rock Hawk Effigy that had some trails that we could run. It was near Lake Oconee and we enjoyed ourselves quite a bit even though we got a bit turned around so our run was longer than we had previously anticipated. Thursday we had one last dinner with Mary at her favorite place, the Bone Island Grillhouse. Their food is awesome and she knows everyone there so it was a fun time.
Friday, our last day of travel, we woke up early, loaded up the cars and headed to Florida where we are lucky enough to spend the winter. Unfortunately on Friday I also received news that the middle man company did not finish all my paperwork so I could not start work on Monday. So I guess it was a three day weekend for me, not quite what I wanted though. I miss work and want to get back to a schedule. Thankfully, it was an uneventful drive where most of it was on I-75 and I was able to use my cruise control! The roads lined with palm trees and moss covered trees made the drive very pleasant. We found our house (we have the A part of a duplex) and picked up the keys. It is a beautiful, new place with lots of space and high ceilings. Jesse even has a gas stove to cook on. It is on a quiet cul-de-sac with a small pond in the back yard. I think we will be very happy here. After some exploring we found the grocery store, the hospital I will be working in and a great park to run in called Ravine Gardens State Park.
After a journey of 1,966 miles (2,362 miles for the Jeep) from Mason City, IA to Palatka, FL, Jesse and I have settled in nicely and I am looking forward to starting work. I think we will have a wonderful winter.
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