.....God is so Great......

Day 3 – Wednesday June 4, 2008

Today was a LONG day! This was our longest driving day of the whole trip…..and not only the longest….but for the most part the most BORING!
Here is the info:

• Started out in Des Moines, Iowa @ 5:34am Central time.
• We had 889 miles to drive in front of us totaling 12hrs and 24mins without stops
• We decided to go ahead and give the cats pills again since the weather forecasted more bad weather. This time it hit Ollie the worst and he was out before we even got him in the car. As always they did GREAT!
• We traveled through only 3 states today; the rest of Iowa, Nebraska, and most of Wyoming. The state mottos are; Iowa-Fields of Opportunity, Nebraska-The good life, and Wyoming-doesn’t have a motto that we could find but in my opinion doesn’t need one…just drive through it…it is BEAUTIFUL.
• It took us 1hr and 59min to get through the rest of Iowa, 7hrs and 1min. to get through Nebraska(by far the longest hrs of my life), and 5hrs to get to our resting point in Rock Springs, Wyoming.
• This next section is for you Texas people….the others won’t understand….
  o We passed over I-35 in Dallas county…..Iowa
  o We also drove through Waco……Nebraska
  o We then drove through Arlington……Wyoming
  

A few interesting facts:

--In Iowa there is free internet access at all the rest stops
--We got to see the site of the first Train Robbery in the West in Adair, Iowa
--We passed by an Iowa Winery but unfortunately we were not able to stop…too early
--Nebraska home of Arbor Day
--Crossed the Missouri River ( boarders Iowa and Nebraska)
--GRANDMA….this is for you….we saw 2 Casinos on the boarder of Iowa and Nebraska
--Omaha also has a Holiday Inn with an Indoor water park
--Nebraska is weird and names its streets with numbers and letters i.e.: 1,2,…50,L,N,Q
--Cracker Barrel is the new Waffle House…there is one on every exit from CT to here
--We drove past the air and space museum in NE
--The speed limit thru NE and WY is 75!!!
--NE has a Kool Aid Museum…how cool is that
--Part of I-80 in NE is made from 47,000 recycled tires
--All the bridges in NE have wind socks on them and warning signs for wind
--WE MADE IT HALF WAY @ 10:18am Central time in Buffalo County, NE
--We got to see and drive under the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument in NE
--We saw an original Pony Express Station in NE
--In Keith County, NE @ 12:15p Central we crossed into the Mountain Time Zone giving us an extra hr and allowing us to stare at 11:00 for the second time. For those in CT we are now 2hrs behind you.
--We saw millions of gofer holes in the field of NE and even saw many many gofers going in and out….pretty cool…I thought
--The Road in NE SUCK!!!! There are ridges the entire way down I-80 every 5 yards….so you can only imagine how that felt the whole way through NE….I know the cats were probably pissed at us
--For you outdoorsy people….we got to see the Cabela’s World Headquarters in Sydney, NE….don’t worry I took a picture
--The best part of NE was that we got to see Llamas out in a field….that’s right….it was AWESOME….that tells you how BORING NE is!
--NE’s gas prices ranged from $3.74-$3.89
--Wyoming’s gas prices ranged from $3.69-$3.96
--WY had several houses shaped like Tee-Pee’s….Weird
--We finally met the storms in WY @ 2:35p Mt. time….and of course I was driving….started to cry b/c it got real bad and I’m terrified of driving in the rain so we pulled over to the side of the road and switched in the car…it was very interesting and humorous
--The storm only lasted 15 min……and once we hit the storm the temp. Immediately dropped 20 degrees!!!! And there was SNOW!!!
--Once the storm was done we turned a curve in the road and it was like HEAVEN…..I have never seen the Rocky Mts before…….and let me tell you…..if you have not seen them….YOU SHOULD! It really made me realize how amazing our God truly is. WOW!
--We drove passed the Lincoln Monument carved in rock in WY
--While driving in WY we passed 2,000 miles of driving! Only a little over 1,000 to go!!!
--In WY we also reached the Continental Divide w/ and elevation of 7,000….passed through the Red Desert….then the Continental Divide at 6,930
--We finally reached Rock Springs, WY at 6:15p Mt. time

Well…that is about all I have for now. We are absolutely exhausted! We are going to try and get some sleep…we are going be getting up early so that we can FINALLY make it to CALIFORNIA tomorrow! We stopped tomorrow night just outside of San Francisco….so that we can pick up Josh’s car early Friday morning and then make our way to MONTEREY! Good night!

Love and Hugs,
Amanda and Josh

....And the Journey Begins.....

The next few days are going to be blogs about our journey across the country…..Starting tonight you can check the blog nightly and I will update it on anything excited we have done, seen, etc. I just want to say first that I am miss my friends in CT like crazy….I cry and laugh each time I think of you or listen to the songs on the CDs you have all made for us. PS that was the BEST idea EVER! I love you all so much….that is all that I can say about that at this time without crying! I just hope that each and every one of you know how much you each individually mean to me. Thank you for all the prayers and the texts and the calls as we have been driving now for 2 days! It has been very emotional…..and thankfully it has gone pretty good.

Here is the adventure so far:

Day 1—Monday June 2, 2008

• Josh and I left CT on our 18mth anniversary to move to California for 18mths…CRAZY! Rachel stop laughing…I know I’m a dork!
• We left CT at 11:00am after saying our goodbyes and getting the car weighed
• We had 550miles to go the first day to reach our first resting point of Newton Falls, Ohio
• The cats got their drugs and it was kinda sad seeing them that way…but they did great…not one peep the whole way
• We went through 5 states the first day and decided at the beginning that we were going to try and figure out what each state that we went throughs moto was without having to look it up online so here goes day one: Connecticut-Constitution State, New York- Empire State, New Jersey- Garden State, Pennsylvania- State of Independence, and finally Ohio- The birth place of aviation.
• It took us 2.5 hrs to get out of CT, 30min to get out of NY, 1.10hrs to get out of NJ, 5 hrs (to the min.) to get out of PA, and we stopped 30min into Ohio.
• This is a 47 hr trip and at the end of day 1 after driving for about 8 hrs we have 39hrs. to go.
• We have paid $1.25 in tolls so far
• Gas is averaging around $3.89 in most states (besides CT)
• The only exciting thing on day one was that a deer ran across the highway 100yards in front of us.
  

Day 2—Tuesday June 3, 2008

• We left Newton Falls, Ohio at 6:17am(Eastern time) with 700 miles ahead of us for day 2 to reach our next resting place of Des Moines, Iowa
• We checked the weather and saw that we were in for a treat….bad storms all across the mid west heading straight toward us…so the cats got more medicine
• It rained through most of Ohio and pretty bad off and on in Indiana and Illinios
• We traveled through 4 states today: Ohio-birth place of aviation, Indiana-Crossroads of America, Illinios-The land of Lincoln, and Iowa-Fields of Opportunity
• It took us 3.45hrs to get through Ohio, 3hrs to get through Indiana, 3hrs to get through Illinios, and2.45hrs through Iowa to Des Moines
• We have paid $16.10 in tolls today
• Gas has been from $3.79 in Iowa to $4.25 in Illinios (and every amt in between)
• We passed into Central time Zone in New Carlisle, Indiana at 11:23am Eastern time = 10:23am Central
• Interesting things we learned/saw today: Avery, Ohio is Thomas Edison’s birthplace; Ohio has a Holiday Inn with an indoor water park; I spotted and took a picture of a giant giraffe(thanks to Rachel I see them everywhere); Indiana had signs every ½ mile on the highway that flash when and animal is near the area; Norte Dame and the College Football hall of Fame are in Indiana and we got to drive by them; Princeton , Illinois is the home town of President Ronald Reagan and his birth place is Peoria, Illinois(both of which we drove through); drove over the Mississippi River; and got to stop at the World’s Largest Truck Stop- the Iowa 80…it has over 800 truck parking spaces….and yes Rachel it was exciting!
• We made it to and past 1,000 miles of driving……we have to make it to a little over 3,000 to be done!
• 20hrs behind us total and only 27hrs to go! Almost half way there! SHOOT ME!
  
  FOR THE RECORD I HAVE BEEN THE BEST PASSANGER EVER! I FEED MY DRIVER AND CATER TO HIS EVERY WISH AND COMMAND….AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT I HAVE NOT COMPLAINED ONCE….JUST ASK JOSH YOURSELF IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE ME!
  PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR US….I HAVE A FEELING THE EASY DAYS ARE BEHIND US AND WE ARE GOING TO START TO GET TIRED AND FRUSTRATED. PLEASE PRAY THAT WE ENJOY EVERY MINUTE OF THIS AMAZING OPPORTUNITY THAT WE HAVE. WE WILL BE TRAVELING THROUGH NEBRASKA AND ½ OF WYOMING TOMORROW. I WILL LET YOU KNOW HOW IT GOES TOMORROW. FEEL FREE TO CALL US OR TEXT US ALONG THE WAY!
  
  LOVE & HUGS
  AMANDA AND JOSH

The Big day....well...not quite

Tomorrow is the big day! The packers are coming to pack up all of our things. I must admit....I'm NERVOUS! I like to look at everything as though the worst thing possible is going to happen....that way I'm not disappointed if something happens because I'm expecting the worst! I know....I know...it is a horrible way to look at things.....but thats the way it is....at least for this situation. I'm not they way with my entire life.....but this moving thing....I am. Josh is not home tonight....he is spending his last day/night on the boat standing duty! It kinda stinks that he couldn't be home for the holiday festivities....but we are super excited that he is DONE! Today I took a break from the cleaning and organizing and packing.....me christie eric val karen rachel kyle kathryn and emily all went out to the beach and had a cook out and then layed out in the sun...in the sand and got a little color....well a little for me but a lot for christie. I forgot my camera in the car so I will have to get pictures from christie....but here are a few funny ones of val and I that I got from her........


Here is an adorable little girl we watched on the beach as she twirled around the pole with a wedgy!
Here is Val and I being silly.......or bored......not sure!


I let you know how the packing goes tomorrow! Happy Memorial Day!

Military Spouse Day

A few weeks ago was Military Spouse Day....I recieved a certificate in the mail from the commanding officer of the Alexandria with this poem on it:

The Military Spouse

I wear no uniforms,

no blues or army greens.

But I am in the military

in the ranks rarely seen.

I have no rank upon my shoulders,

salutes I do not give.

But the military world

is the place where I live.

I'm not in the chain of command,

orders I do not get.

But my spouse is the one who does,

this I cannot forget.

I'm not the one who deploys,

who puts my life on the line.

But my job is just as tough,

I'm the one that's left behind.

My spouse is a patriot,

a brave and loyal soul.

With the call to serve out country

and freedom as our goal.

Behind the lines I see the things

needed to keep this country free.

My spouse makes the sacrifice,

but so do our kids and me.

I love the person I married,

as you can see.

I stand among the silent ranks

a military spouse, that's me.

--Author Unknown

I just thought I would share.....