Touchdown DC!

I really love car rides but that was a little more then I'm accustom to.

Day 1 - 6-7 hours from Pleasant Hill to Santa Barbara, we missed traffic for the most part but it was still a really long day in the car after finishing up cleaning the PH house (well, it was long for the roomies).  The hotel was nice, right across the street from the water although we were all so tired that we didn't really see much...just went for a long walk on the beach one night.  Then the roomies had take out Thai Food and the sis and I enjoyed some RnR on the bed (they said since we paid a "pet deposit" we should be fine!) and enjoyed the GU game!

While they ate Thai, we watched the GU game!

Santa Barbara, to the left is the beach....I really wanted to get out of the car!

Day 2 - again.....7 hours, CA to Phoenix AZ.  Drove through LA and heard the roomies mention something about being really glad we didn't live there b/c its was only 11am and traffic was at a stand still.  I wasn't sure what that meant, but I was getting pretty annoyed by seeing all these cars just sitting w/people in them I couldn't go say hi to....so I guess maybe "traffic" is not being able to go say hi?.....


Day 3 - long long long!  Phoenix - Odessa TX!  We were in the car for over 13 hours in what looked to be the middle of NOWHERE for over half of it.  For several hours at a time we'd be the only car on the road and all you could see for miles and miles was land.....lots and lots of flat land.  We did see on the side of the road what looked to be someone filming a rock video which was interesting, but roomie 2 was driving too fast for roomie 1 to snap a picture.  O and Texas smells funny.  I saw all these big metal things w/fire coming out of the top and heard the roomies mention "oil" and "natural gas".  I don't know what that meant....but it was fields of fire towers that smelt funny and we were the only car on the road for miles and the cell phone didn't get service so we were all a little creeped out.  We almost hit a bunch of deer crossing the road too, so that was a little scary!  Thank goodness roomie 2 did all that driving training for his job or we'd be goners for sure b/c those deer came out of no where!

Fancy New Mexico rest stop fountain (I was told not to drink from it which was a bummer b/c I was thirsty)

Can't wait to give these to everyone for Christmas this year!  Everyone needs a snake head belt right?

Talladega Raceway! Go Ricky Bobby!

Day 4 - long long long AGAIN!  TX - Mississippi!  Can't say much other then that it was a really long day and made me want to get out of the car often b/c my bottom was starting to hurt from sitting so much!

We started seeing these purple flowers in Mississippi and all the way through North Carolina.  Aren't they pretty?

Day 5/6/7 - Mississippi - Charleston!  We had so much fun here!  The roomies ate tons of crab and said the crab cakes were amazing and they had the best fried chicken ever!  Lunch one day was at a place called Poogan's Porch which they thought was funny b/c they call me Pooters (sort of like Poogan) now and then and the restaurant was dedicated to a doggie that looked a lot like me!  So I guess you could say they ate at my porch and had shrimp & grits and fried chicken salad and sipped on sweet tea!  It was really hot here!  Really hot!  The roomies had to go get shorts and lighter weight shirts b/c it was 85 one day and 95 another and all they had was jeans and long sleeve shirts (this exact same think happened to them when they moved from WA to CA, you'd think they'd learn to check the weather reports)

Downtown Charleston

House I'm hoping they will buy me b/c it's right near a park and the beach and w/all that porch space, I'm pretty sure it's meant to be mine :)

Beach I didn't get to run on, but I was napping so that's OK I guess

Yummiest fried chicken on the planet!

Day 7 - Charleston - DC!  Finally we are at our new home, for the next 2 months at least, and we can get settled(ish).  They went and purchased new beds for me and the sis and I'm really enjoying them!  Our old beds showed up today w/more of their stuff, but I pref the new ones b/c they are big blankets that I can fluff and hide my head in which is great b/c it's easier to sleep when I can block out the light!  Also, it's cold here.  It actually snowed yesterday, not a ton...but still....colder then Charleston hugh?!  They tried to take us for a walk on our first full day here but they got really cold and so did the sis and I so we turned back and came home to warm up....later that day is when they showed up w/the cozy new beds, I was so happy!

Here I am in our living room

That's our kitchen and dining room

OK....I'm going to go take a nap now on my new bed while roomie 1 fills out a billion job applications.  She has an interview tomorrow and Wednesday, one for a office manager at a medical office and one for a floral job so hopefully she's off to a good start (although she did mention she was kind of looking forward to a little time off and I have to admit I really like having her around).

Love JD

Where's all our stuff?

Roomie 1 went to work today and I was so excited to see that roomie 2 was staying home with us because I sure do love to cuddle all day with him whenever I can but.......my day did NOT go as planned!

This morning I was tricked and locked their bedroom with my sis and moments later I heard the voices of people I didn't know and was certain I should come out to meet. Then all day long I could hear the sound of feet walking, boxes being opened/filled/taped shut and chatter about "do you want this left out", "should we pack this" (what are they talking about?). Then....... later that day I came out of my quarantine only to find a maze of boxes all over the house! I could still smell our stuff, so I knew it was ours in the boxes....but it looked like all our stuff was gone and I was totally freaking out! Where's my kong? Where's my bed? Where's all the plates the roomies eat off of? I can smell all of it, but can’t get to it and the maze is really annoying because all of the boxes are totally in my way. How am I supposed to play in the house with all these boxes? Where am I supposed to sleep now that my bed is gone?  This is really stressing me out.

Poor Roomie 1, she was stuck at work all day and came home to a house that was no longer a home. She was really sad so I made sure to give her extra cuddle time (especially since I was a little mad at roomie 2 for tricking me and locking me up in the bedroom all day!). Although I do feel bad for roomie 2 also, all of this seems to be pretty stressful for both of them. So I guess maybe I’ll cuddle with him later, I mean it is my job to cheer them up right?

I’ll do some investigating to see if I can find any photos, because you’ve gotta see this!

Love Penny

I'll miss the pretty red car!

Mustang in WA storage unit

I found this photo....so sad, no more pretty red car for a while but at least it's safe (well, hopefully I guess)

love JD

Stress!!!

What does this word mean, "Stress", that I keep hearing the roomies talk about a lot lately? From what I can tell it makes the roomies crazy, so I'm not sure I like it. I get stressed when I can't find my Kong....but what can they be stressed about? If stress is us finding out a couple of weeks ago that we are moving to DC 3 weeks sooner then we thought leaving us basically less then 1 month to plan (and say our goodbyes to the squirrels in the yard!)…..then I think I know what it is.  I heard something about the Tacoma house being vacant again in April and them almost having to evict someone again....could that be it? Roomie 1 is trying to find a job and home for us w/in 2 months and has only had 1 interview (and one person stand her up for a phone interview after she waited 30 mins for the call....not nice!)...could that be it? Roomie 2 had to drive the pretty red car in the garage to WA and had 2 days to do it in (and first had to take it to a shop to see if it could make the trip) and I heard something about him finding out w/3 days notice he needed to do this....could that be it? (btw...does that mean they have a car and a house in WA they pay for but don't use? Maybe that's stress?) I keep hearing something about how broke they are after doing something called taxes this year making the job hunt for roomie 1 even more important....could that be it?

I mean all of this happened in the last month which explains I guess the decrease in our walks since they seem to be pretty busy, and I keep hearing roomie one mention that all of this timing is awful.....is that why she's been so crazy lately and is eating her body weight in Doritos weekly? Is that what "stress" is? I don't know what stress is....but they sure don't seem to like it so I'm looking forward to stress going away b/c I really want to go play! I cuddle with them as much as possible b/c stress sure seems to have them down and I know I make them smile. Good thing they have each other (and JD and me!) b/c this stress stuff sure seems like no fun.

Well gotta go cuddle w/roomie 2 b/c he's busy grooming me and the sis to get us ready for our car ride across the USA!


Love Penny

While we were napping....they played!

We just found these!  While we were protecting the house.....our roomies were off having tons of fun!  NOT COOL!

La Casa De CA!

Kate's 1st trip to Napa




Who's got 2 thumbs and is the future Mrs. Stubbs?.....this gal!

 


Fresh air break from all the crazy rides they went on!



Ad Hoc! What???  You went without me?

Well....I guess since the pregnant lady couldn't enjoy the tasting in Napa.....

Go Giants!



Harvey's House!



Chicago misses you and so will we!



Did someone say Buena Vista?  Yes please......



Deep Thoughts......



That's right...a little rain never hurt a good PNW gals spirits!  That's how we roll!

We sure hope in DC they plan on taking us to all the fun spots b/c it sure looks like they had a great time in CA!

Love JD & Penny

What?! No more B&B in CA?

What do you mean we are moving?  Who's gonna live in the Adobe now?  Who's going to keep all our friends & family company when they visit?  Who will be the welcome wagon in CA when I'm gone?

What about when Brian & Brianne have the baby?  Who's gonna take them to Napa?  I mean Kate went....shouldn't her sibling?  Sonya & Rodrigo need to spend their anniversary in CA again......where will they stay that Rodrigo can get great olive oil at again?  And Ana was here in her mommies tummy, but she didn't see our great yard!  Tom & Cheryl enjoyed the farmers market....who will take them now?  What about when they go see aunt Chick again......who's going to take them to SF on their way to SLO?  Dave & Pam!  Who will they go to a Giants game with?!  The Worley's and Fassbenders.....who's going to take them to The Buena Vista now?!  What about next February when Josh & Beth want to visit Monterey?  Where will they stay?  Amy and Mark.....I hear they are getting married, aren't we suppose to take them to Napa to get wine for the wedding?  Chris!  She kept us company when our roomie left for 2 months.....now what?  What's Trevor going to do for the 4th of July?  Does Grant know we won't be here when he comes to visit his grandma?  Will we see Brendan & Tracy next January and meet the baby before?  Mina let me cuddle with her and I heard she drove in Napa....don't you owe her something for that?!  And come on!  Jeff fixed the toilet......who's gonna fix it next time it leaks?  I thought going indoor skydiving w/Amy and Nick was going to be an annual thing every September, do they have that in DC?  Where's Drew going to stay when he's in town for work?  Who are Cara & Trav going to visit when they are in CA again...we had so much fun w/Gabby...shouldn't Izzy also get to play in our great back yard too?  I cuddled w/everyone and protected the house from the evil squirrels while you were all seeing the sights, who's going to cuddle w/them now when they come to CA and who's gonna protect them from wild life.....those squirrels are big!  It's gonna take a pro like me?! 

Will they all visit us in DC?  I better start finding fun things to do so everyone knows how totally great DC is going to be and how we hope they all come to visit us there soon!

Love JD

What do you mean no more back yard and squirrels?

So today I found out that we are moving.....away from the sun, away from the ocean and away from my wonderful back yard.....to DC!  When?  Soon....  Why?  "work stuff".  Things I'll miss; running in the ocean at Carmel Bay, lazy Sunday's when my roomies enjoy wine and cheese w/our new friends Will & Ina, getting some solid weekend nap time in while my roomies go to Cha Cha Cha's (I'm pretty sure I need to try this Chicken Pillard and Sangria some day), riding in the car across Golden Gate Bridge, walking around the Palace of Fine Arts, and all our fun visitors.  DC will be fun, we'll be there for a presidential election (better get out my ball gown) and the 4th should be great (hear the view from the Lincoln Memorial is the best!) and our friends Alison & Jamie are already there scoping out fun places to visit (does VA have a wine country?).  I'll miss the weather but the new adventure is going to be great.  I'm told we are driving across country and hitting up Santa Barbara and Charleston on our way to DC!  Can't wait.  When we get to DC I'll have one roomie around for a bit to go for long walks w/daily until she finds a job and I'm told at first we'll live in a tiny studio apartment but we are going to try to find a home in "the city" this time.....not sure how I feel about not having a huge yard to chase all the evil squirrels from, but looking forward to walks....lots and lots of walks! 

Well for now, I'm off to take another nap b/c I need to save my energy for when the roomies get home b/c they are stuck watching a tiny TV b/c the “good one” broke 2 days ago…I’m pretty sure they’d rather walk me then squint at the tiny TV anyways!

Love Penny