On the Road Again

Two days into our trip & we are still alive.

Traveling with cats - not so fun. That big, expensive car cat barrier - worthless. We weren't out of the drive way and they figured out how to get around it, and were flying out of the backseat like popcorn. So now we are driving with clothes shoved in every nook & cranny trying to keep the predators at bay. Lucky is fine. Couldn't care less we are in the car 10 hours a day, staying in strange hotels. He is completely oblivious to this whole process. Just happy to be here. At night the cats pace, Lucky snores, as does Michael. I sleep lightly, worried about how everyone is sleeping, did they eat enough, is someone going to sneak in and kill us....you know, the usual.

Day one we made it from Chicago to Nashville. The weather getting better by the mile, and the terrain the same. Southern Kentucky was beautiful. Grassy rolling hills, the start of the mountains, horse farms everywhere & plantation style homes dotting the hillside - it was all so lovely to see. I thought it was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen, until today.

Today we drove through the Tennessee mountains and it was truly breathtaking. I almost drove off the road several times, just from being awestruck by the beauty. The soaring mountains, covered in fall colored trees, broken up by enormous crystal clear lakes that appear out of nowhere.... Seriously, one of the most gorgeous sites I have ever seen. On par with Carribean sunrises & Florida summer sunsets. I will never forget those vistas, it's as if they were dropped out of a painting just for us to see.

Now we are in Valdosta, Georgia for the night. I would say 'sleepy little town' is overkill. More like 'comatose microscopic spec'. But much safer and quieter than last night. In fact, I think there are only 3 people staying here besides us. And so far, none of them are prostitutes! Last night we stayed at the scuz palace. The extended stay studio something or other on the outskirts of Nashville. Michael was propositioned by the hooker that was working in the room next door....that is the kind of place it was. And you wonder why I sleep lightly? Tonight is not so bad - and we have wi-fi! Yeah, I can update!

Trip tally so far - 7 dead deer, 4 dead coyotes, 3 dead raccoons, 2 dead bales of hay and 1 mutilated ball of insulation. I only keep track of the big & identifiable stuff. And the deer are ahead - by a severed head that is. I gave up counting bloody mush balls on the road - there were so many, it just wasn't fun anymore. I will say the road kill quotient overall dropped drastically when we hit Georgia. I think it is because the wildlife is smarter than the local population. Also noticed that in Tennessee the top billboards are all for hair restoration - i.e. lots of bald guys. And in Georgia - porn shops. There is one at every off ramp and rest stop. It is like their national past time.

Besides that, KY & TN have both kids of music - country & western! Or three different shows discussing Bulldog football and the occasional 80's channel. Not sure what is going on here, but it doesn't seem good. I did find a station playing Holiday tunes already, which I enjoyed. Although it seemed weird to sing "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" when it is 80+ degrees and you have the air on. Guess that is something I have to get used to in our new home.

Tomorrow is our shortest day, only about 4-5 hours of travel, to get us to Sarasota where we spend the night till we can move in to our new home on Monday. I hope it is nice. We have never seen it, we had to do everything on line since we had no time or money to fly down and look in person. My friend Doug lives about a 3/4 mile away. I think that 3/4 of mile is the walking distance between luxury and ghetto. Will let you know. I will also post pics once we get set up. I am having camera issues right now and we won't have Internet access for a while once we arrive. Don't ask, it is a different snails pace world down there and no one is in a rush to do anything. So until then, bye bye! Wish us luck!