3500.1 miles later...

...I've driven across the country.  Holy crap. 

Thank you Google Images...not my exact route but good reference!

Tomorrow, I start my new contract.  The night before starting a new contract is eerily similar to the night before the first day of school.  I experience this feeling every 13 or so weeks and still hate it!  No worries...my outfit is picked out, nails are done, and I've got scrubs packed too just in case they want me to treat for an hour tomorrow.  Pre.  Pared.

I figured now is a great time for another entry as well as a great way to reflect upon the past INCREDIBLE 10 days of my life. I'm going to utilize bullet points to highlight my cross-country adventure.  Here it goes:

• Day 1: Boston,MA > Bethlehem, PA- We stayed with my cousin and his family.  Let me tell you, he's set the bar high.  He's the first one to get married, start a family, and become a legit homeowner.  Not only does he have a beautiful family...but his house is definitely impressive.  Helps that his wife has impeccable taste.  This drive was wimpy but the visit was worth it.
• Day 2: Bethlehem, PA > Prospect, KY- 10 hours- Another family visit!  LZAK and I were able to visit with my aunt, uncle, and 2 other cousins.  Again...another impressive home (we were spoiled the first 2 nights of our trip).  It was SO great to spend the night here.  We were entertained with old family videos (hard evidence of my family's insanity), delicious food, drink, and laughter.  
• Day 3: Prospect, KY > Oklahoma City, OK: UP EARLY for a nice 11.5 hour drive through corn fields and straight highways.  We learned that the world's largest rocking chair can be found in Missouri AND that the shopping cart was invented in Oklahoma!  Who knew?!  We arrived at the hotel, who lost our reservation, and hightailed it to the restaurant.  After a few Corona's, enchiladas, and cowboy sightings, we watched an episode of "FRIENDS" and went to sleep.  
• Day 4: Oklahoma City, OK > Flagstaff, AZ: 12.5 hours- Oh, hello route 40.  More fields, rolling hills, and SNOW.  We arrived late night in Flagstaff and nearly froze our butts off.  19 degrees and snow on the ground.  We were highly delirious from the long day of driving and the girl at the front desk found us less than amusing when she asked if I had brought any animals with me and I pointed at my sister.  I thought it was funny.  Oh...this is also the night where I learned that I LOVE room service.  

Day 5: Flagstaff, AZ > Grand Canyon > Hoover Dam > Las Vegas, NV:  In theory only 5 hours...but we took 8.  If you haven't been to the GC and would like to go...I will go back with you!  I've never been more overwhelmed and skeptical of something I'm looking at than when I saw the Grand Canyon for the first time.  First, I didn't know where to rest my eyes. They kept darting around trying to decipher the different depths, colors, and directions.  The view is spectacular and so unreal. I had a hard time believing that it was real which is why I'd like to go back and spend a few days absorbing it.   From there, we headed into Vegas with a pit stop at the Hoover Dam where we were thoroughly entertained by jumping back and forth from the Central to the Pacific time zones and saying "hello" and "goodbye" to Arizona and Nevada as we did so.  Huge.  Geeks.  The Hoover Dam was cool, though, and provided great entertainment for me.  My sister hates bridges and I dragged her out onto what is possibly the highest bridge I've ever walked across...she spazzed a little :)  VEGAS was so much more wonderful than I ever imagined!  I loved it!  Too bad we only had approx 15 hours to enjoy it...so we must go back!  We stayed at the Vdara in a beautiful suite, enjoyed an amazing dinner, gambled a bit, and divulged in a few adult beverages with the money my sister won on the slot machines!  The lights, water show, and energy were completely invigorating.  If you'd like to go to Vegas...let me know...I'll go there again too.

LZAK on the bridge :)  

Water show at the Bellagio

Le Sigh...Paris

• Day 6: Las Vegas, NV > San Francisco, CA: (after a morning of room service...I really do love it) 11 hours...California is HUGE.  Seriously.  Living in New England my whole life has completely skewed my perception on how big the rest of our country really is.  Also...driving from NV > CA sucks.  I thought the Midwest was boring.  There's really nothing to see...unless you really love dirt...I don't love dirt.   We did arrive safe and sound, at my new home, on Treasure Island.  

If you're a pirate, like me, you're instantly attracted to the name of my new island.  Island's, in general, are attractive.  This one, however, is not.  I can't ignore the fact that I haven't found a more spectacular view of San Francisco than the one down the street from my house, but, I live in old navy barracks.  Very sterile, uniformed way of living.  I've been spoiled by the beautiful architecture found in New England (the concierge in Oklahoma said he loves "This Old House" because it's often filmed in New England...no lie).  The positives, which I will be focusing on, are:

1. rent is wicked cheap
2. location is amazing
3. my roommates are awesome (from Iceland, Italy, and the US)
4. we have a dog.  done.  
5. oh...the view is seriously unreal:

Bay Bridge/SF from TI (you can also see Alcatraz and the Golden Gate from the island)

right?  

All in all...I couldn't be happier with my new city.  I've already explored Muir Woods, Sonoma Valley, and a small portion of San Francisco!  The people here are incredibly welcoming and I'm loving the 60 degree "rainy" season.  I've only experienced 3 "almost" panic attacks (once I finally admitted that I had driven across the country, woke up the first morning and looked out my window, and dropped my sister off at the airport to fly home) and have recovered nicely.  

As much as I miss my friends and family (seriously...a lot), I'm excited for what I'm about to experience.  There are so many amazing sights, museums, vineyards, and restaurants to experience...a whole new culture to appreciate and learn from!  I cannot wait to have friends and family visit me and help make this city more personal.  This weekend starts the first of many visits from friends I deeply love.  We're exploring wine country and SF (via go-cart!).  It's going to be great :)

I cannot wait to share further experiences with you!  

With love, from Treasure Island :)