We Made It

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while but naturally, we've been pretty busy.  

Our cross country road trip was pretty amazing!  We hit every destination as planned, and we stayed with amazing friends and family along the way.  It took us 6 FULL days of driving but only 1 REALLY long day.  Most days we drove about 7-10 hours... our longest day was from San Antonio, Texas to Tucson, Arizona.  It took us just over 15 hours.  That was a little rough.  Of course I had my roadside companion along for the trip... 

Overall, our trip went extremely well.  Fortunately we didn't have any car troubles, and we really didn't hit much traffic at all.  I love car trips because you get to see the gradual change between states.  There were so many breathtaking views on desolate highways that we NEVER would have seen if not for this trip.  Just seeing the sun coming up every morning, and setting in the evenings was amazing.  

We drove through the French Quarter in New Orleans; a place I have always wanted to visit.  We didn't spend much time here because we were tired and it was very crowded.  Maybe one day we will be able to spend a little more time there.  The architecture and design of the old buildings was beautiful and I couldn't help but think about how much was probably damaged during Katrina.  Parking was an issue since Mike was pulling the trailer which meant we couldn't park in a garage/parking deck so, we just drove around.  

We were able to check off another place on my "list of places to visit in my lifetime": THE GRAND CANYON!  We weren't really sure that we needed to drive almost an 2 hours out of the way to see it, and we knew we wouldn't have much time to spend there, but I think we are both SO glad we went.  We just stood in awe of it.  It is truly grand.  I think we actually would like to go back again some day and maybe do some hiking or possibly see the North Rim which we were told has absolutely stunning views.  

Desert Christmas tree???

This was taken with the "dramatic" setting on our camera.  Very dramatic indeed. 

Next big stop: LAS VEGAS!  One drive down the Vegas strip and I totally understood why people come here.  It's mesmerizing with all the lights and action.  It seems like there is always something to do here.  I imagine it is like Disneyland for adults.  It was definitely worth seeing.  

Shortly outside of Vegas, the landscape became mountainous and snowy.  A sure sign that we were getting closer to Lake Tahoe.  

And finally... after 6 long days in the car... we made it to our house... where 8-10 inches of snow was waiting to be shoveled.  Fortunately, we already met an amazing neighbor, Gordon, who has a snow blower and who graciously helped us clear our parking pad.  

I am so grateful that we have had nothing but sunny weather since we have been here.  We have been so busy setting up our house and running errands (getting snow tires for my car... trying to get furniture for the house, etc).  The house is great.  I think it will meet our needs perfectly.  I wish I could say it was "move-in ready" when we got here but sadly, it was filthy.  We spent as much time cleaning as we did unpacking.  It's finally getting to a point where we are starting to feel "at home."  I will post pictures of the house later.  We still have a lot left to do.  Stay tuned.