3,800 Miles Part 1

One week.

3,800 miles.

6 states.

That's been my life for the last 168 hours.

And I think it has cured me of wanting to go on any more road trips until July.

I've always been a road trip person. I can't help myself. I just love sitting in the passenger seat, looking out the window. It really does make me happy.

I get the "dreamer" gene from my mother. We're day dreamers, and we love to sit quietly and reflect on the passing miles.

My brother and I were tasked with the important job of transferring my sister-in-law's furniture from the Bay area to our small town in Northeast Oklahoma.

So...we got on a plane for 7 hours. Yes. The same plane. For 7 HOURS.

We had two stops. One in Dallas and one in Albuquerque.

We never exited the plane.

Never moved from our seats.

And I got motion sickness 3 hours into our journey.

By the end of the plane ride, I could have kissed the ground at the Oakland airport. I had never been more happy to walk out of an airport and hail a cab.

OK. I didn't hail it. I stood in a line and got into a Ford Escape driven by a man with a thick accent.

Sadly, we still had 10 hours of travel ahead of us. So, we got into our cab and headed to a small, shady mechanic shop to pick up a Penske truck.

Riding in the Penske truck to the storage unit in Oakland.

We arrived. We got into the truck. Then we headed to my sister-in-law's storage unit.

The truck all loaded up!

We packed up and then headed to Taco Bell for dinner. I almost had a heart attack when I realized they didn't have Dr. Pepper. I've clearly become an Oklahoman. I expect every fast food restaurant to have Dr. Pepper whether Coke products are carried or not. It's an Oklahoma thing. We love our Dr. Pepper.

Finally, we were on the road and headed 8 hours south to San Diego, to see our Dad.

On the road.

I had only been to Northern California once before when I was younger. I was amazed at how green everything was. They had just had rain and the grass was so green it was almost blinding.

I was pleasantly surprised to see miles and miles of mountain farm land. I chuckled every time I saw a cow on a hillside eating grass. 

Beautiful, green mountains!

Wind turbine farm in the distance.

California sunset :)

Eventually, we made it through LA without any traffic and arrived at my dad's house at 11:30 pm. We visited with him for a few minutes, then went to bed. Somehow, a husky found his way to my bed before I turned out the light. When I woke the next morning, he was still curled up beside me!

Such a sweet face!

 When I walked downstairs in the morning, I found my brother on the couch with a dog, too!

Zach and Milo

That day, we planned on having breakfast with my dad and then playing disc golf at my old college. 

Look at this view! Sometimes, I miss just walking through campus admiring the mountains.

Oklahoma is my home, but this place is my home, too. Where every good quality was forged and perfected. Where I was tested, broken, and then found again. This is the place that I come from, will always reflect on and will always return to.

Zach and his childhood best friends.

It was really nice to see my dad. I hadn't seen him in 2 1/2 years. I am very thankful for technology. I'm thankful we are able to video chat and see each other. But it's always better in person :)

My brother, my dad and me :)

After a short visit, we left that day and headed to Arizona to see our grandparents. Another 8 hours in the Penske truck filled with Christmas music and desert plains. Yes please!

We watched the sun set from the California-Arizona border on day 2.

We got to Grandma and Grandpa's at 11:30 pm, ate some of Grandma's peanut butter cookies (MY FAVORITE COOKIES) and then headed to bed.

When we woke up the next morning, Grandma already had her Keurig and Starbucks coffee ready! Honestly, there is NO BETTER place than my grandmother's. Just like her mother's (my great-grandmother's) house, my grandmother's is filled with unconditional love, delicious meals, lots of laughter and comfort. It is also the place where my grandfather has spent hours training, sharing and offering heart-felt advice on life, fiances and love. When God gave me grandparents, he gave me the best!

Arizona sunset.

My brother and grandfather went golfing while my grandmother, great aunt and great uncle took me to Tubac for a little shopping and lunch. We had a nice time just relaxing and talking. That's what I love most about my grandmother's family: they love to talk. I know it's where I get my love of deep conversations, funny stories, and grand hand gestures. The Italian blood runs deep in my veins. 

My dog aunt. She's too cute!

After a nice dinner, we headed to bed and set our alarm clocks for 3 am to head home to Oklahoma. An 18-hour drive.

 We left Arizona at 4 am and started out in the dark. I slept for an hour while my brother drove.

We spent the majority of our day in New Mexico. We drove around a mountain range, sang along to lots of country songs (the only stations between Arizona and Texas) and played the ABC word game. We spent 4 hours searching for a Z word to end our match. While driving through Amarillo, my brother screamed out "Zachary!", which was written on a side of the building. We laughed so hard.

New Mexico

I finally found some Dr. Pepper in Albuquerque. I had never been more happy to see that Dr. Pepper logo!

Texas is always an interesting place to travel through. We see a lot of cows. I mean, A LOT. At least in northern Texas. And the smell is oh, so wonderful! NOT! But despite the smell, driving through Texas is always my favorite part because it means I am almost home!

There a smell that Oklahoma has. It smells like hay and wet grass. We were 10 miles from the border and I rolled down my window. Even though it was 58 degrees! I love the smell of home. And I was so close to home!

The flat Texas plains.

Texas sunset.

Texas-Oklahoma border.

We drove through OKC and spotted this beauty over the bridge!

We pulled in at 11:45 pm and I was happy to finally be home!

After a few days rest, we headed out to Missouri for a family vacation. Check out part 2 tomorrow for the rest of my crazy week!