So it begins...

Hello there! Welcome to my blog about the uprooting of two Southern folks and the experience of getting planted on the West Coast. I will try to update as much as I can with funny anecdotes and crazy tales. Because that's all that goes on in California, right??

I'm only joking, of course. But before I begin you're going to need some background information such as how the heck we got here. So glad you asked. Well, here goes:

Day 1

We left Memphis on a dreary Tuesday morning and set our sights on Kansas. The sun was just beginning to rise as we pulled away from the gas station. This was the first time in weeks I had seen the sun hugging the horizon! That probably means I'm a lazy person..hmm.. Anywho, we hit the interstate just as morning traffic was starting to build a solid fortress. As we neared the Arkansas border, the traffic eased but the miserable drizzle and the grey deck of clouds did not.

The drizzling rain and chilly temperatures continued all throughout the state of Arkansas. I know I am supposed to be excited to drive through Arkansas since it is the state of my birth but I couldn't help but want to get through it as quickly as possible. Don't worry, I still love my Natural State (holla!) As we drove westward,the clouds began to thin and the sun made its required appearance. Driving into Oklahoma, I couldn't help but burst into the showtune "Oklahoma", (you know: "Oooooooooooklahoma!) which is how I learned to spell the state. Joe took his eyes from the road for a split second to look at me like I had just escaped from a musical aboard an alien podship.

Are you singing it in your head right now? (O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A!)

After a bit of driving we needed gas. Joe asked my opinion on which gas station we should stop to fill up. I observed that there was a place called the Cherokee Travel Plaza. Because I am 1/32 Cherokee ( just in case you couldn't already tell by looking at me) I suggested we stop there as it is in support of my people. Another skeptical look ensued but this time Joe informed me that he was of Apache descent and his people used to beat up my people. Too bad there wasn't an Apache Travel Plaza. Score one for the Cherokees.




Once the Beemer was all gassed up we continued to head north to Kansas. So. much. flat. land! I was not used to the absence of trees. It was wheat and cows, wheat and cows, cows and wheat for miles. Not much different from Mississippi save for the arborary presence.

After much exciting countryside, we finally stopped in Wichita for the night. I would go into detail about our drive from Oklahoma to Kansas but really, it was all the same. As we navigated off the interstate toward our exit, we suddenly realized how tired and hungry we were. Joe and I wanted to sample some local cuisine but as we turned the corner we saw a Buffalo Wild Wings. Same thing right?