Winter Roadtrip

Welcome back! Now that we are back home and finally all rested up, I thought you might enjoy hearing about our cross country adventure:

Now, we weighed all our options as far as how to go about getting from Portland, OR to Fort Smith, Arkansas. For just J and I, tickets to fly would be $1200 and that wouldn't include boarding for our pup. It was near impossible to have the pup fly since he doesn't do well in crates and there was no direct flight to the nearest airport. We looked into taking the train, which would be super awesome, but they don't allow pets. In the end, taking the train would take around 4 days and would cost more than flying. If you've seen the John Candy and Steve Martin movie than you know what the next transportation option was: driving! I absolutely love roadtrips, even if there aren't any stops.  We calculated cost of gas, renting a car(since our grandma Subaru would never make it), food, and hotels. In the end, the excitement of the trip was too good to pass up and we were certain we would be saving money as opposed to flying and putting our pup through a ton of unnecessary stress.

For our rental car, our cheapest option was to go through Hertz (age restrictions were waived with J's USAA membership). We opted for a midsize SUV crossing our fingers it wouldn't be red or a jeep. As fate would have it, it was both of those things, as well as not being properly cleaned (let's just say, I have the receipt and all the details of the last person who rented the car). Since we got the car Friday evening and were leaving early Saturday morning, we didn't pay the stains much mind. We spent all of Friday cleaning and packing (I prefer to come home to a deeply cleaned house). I may have gone overboard since J maybe got 4hours of sleep and I maybe got 2. Yikes. Aw to be young - we made it through our first day of driving (12.5hours not including bathroom breaks). We packed up any perishable food for the trip so as to cut down on wasted food and price of food on the road. Day 1's meals were pre-made sandwiches, cheese and crackers, and 2 coffee stops.

coffee break and a selfie; Me driving as we say farewell to rainy Oregon and hello to more-rain-California

We were more than exhausted once we got to our first hotel in Bakersfield, CA. The excitement of the trip was keeping me up so I ended up watching an incredibly interesting show called "Arab Labor". Yes, it is in Hebrew and yes, it is incredibly racist. At the same time, it was like the Israeli version of Everybody Loves Raymond. Finally crashed at 10pm to catch some zzzz's before our 6am wakeup. We stayed at La Quinta's the entire way: they were some of the cheapest hotels, they allowed pets without an additional fee, they had continental breakfast, and it was a hotel we were familiar with. It should be noted that we left at 4am in the morning for our first day of driving which was entirely unnecessary. If we ever make the drive again, will not be getting up so early - 6am would have been just fine.

Day two of driving was possibly our favorite day. I was the first to drive since I had done so little the day before. We passed through some incredibly beautiful rolling fog as we left California and enjoyed the change in scenery as we began making our way into the desert. If you read up on my family's roadtrip from 2 years ago, you know that we followed a similar path. This roadtrip and the previous one finally crossed paths as we entered into Arizona and stopped at In'n'Out. We had stopped in Needles, CA (which is right on the border) just an hour earlier so we didn't feel much need to spend any time stretching - we grabbed some grub and were back on the road.

Our only planned stopped was at the Grand Canyon, which was one of the only things J wanted to drive out and see that my family had seen on our trip. I thought it was spectacular so I had no problem gazing in to the canyon once more.

Oh yeah, and one more thing:
Yup, we got engaged at the Grand Canyon. Jealous yet?! Now, a week before leaving for Arkansas I did a lot of thinking. J and I have been together for a while and no little date is going to be big enough to sum up all that time together. I realized I had been putting way too much pressure on J, even knowing that we both wanted to make that step. Additionally, if you know my story, I have been engaged before. It was a terribly unhealthy relationship and when the other guy proposed, I felt powerless. Even though it was done just how I would have wanted it, I felt very stuck. Even though I wanted to say "yes" to J, I felt that our time together allowed for me to say that I wanted to be apart of the decision. We planned the stop together, I showed him the ring I wanted, and he got to deciding what to say (it still had to be sweet after all). When we got to the Grand Canyon, we were both nervously excited. I'm a bit of a sentimental crier but J's words were just so incredibly wonderful, I surprised myself with tears. The best part? When he got down on one knee (something I had dreamed of since we first started dating in high school), instead of saying the 4 words out loud, he signed them! (as in American Sign Language). I was confused with the first sign since it caught me off guard but when I realized what he was doing... I don't think I have ever smiled so big. I said "yes".

We spent quite a bit of unplanned time walking around the Canyon ridge and didn't make it to our hotel in Albuquerque until close to midnight. The next day was filled with excitement at our new relationship status and that it was finally the day to see my family! Thankfully I-40 is almost completely straight - we had the car on cruise control almost the entire drive. In addition to stopping for gas twice, J requested we get some authentic Texas BBQ food. If you ever pass by a Rudy's you have to stop! It was sooooo so sososo soooo delicious! I got a pulled pork sandwich and J got brisket, both mouth watering good. Plans were made to stop there again on the way back.

Worf enjoying having his own bed; passing out of New Mexico and into Texas; A giant cross in Texas.

Late Monday night, we finally pulled up to my parent's house. Though our trip was entirely mishap free, we both heaved a sigh of relief to at last be with loved ones. J said the entire drive to Arkansas he was both excited to see my family and excited to not have to be so much of an adult (because coming home to a clean house everyday is just too hard - goober). Things I miss most about my family being in Oregon: watching silly Sci-Fy movies, enjoying HGTV and TLC shows with my mom, geeking out with my brothers, having long discussions with my dad, and chatting sewing and fashion with my sister. The small stuff that we looked forward to most we got to do. My parent's have a wonderful dog named Linc and we were also pretty stoked to have him and our Worf become good friends. They had their share of tussles at first but in the end they were besties.

We enjoyed Christmas lights, a movie on Christmas night (Into the Woods), J watched the Jurassic Park movies for the first time, I introduced my youngest brother to the huge graphic novel section, traveled to Eureka Springs to see Thorncrown Chapel, played board games until the ball dropped, and went on a long walk/ hike with my dad. A relaxing and enjoyable trip.

Thorncrown Chapel, Eureka Springs, AR - J and I agreed, if we lived closer, we would want to be married here.

At the top of our hike, looking over Fort Smith (okay, we walked part of the way and drove the rest)

It was a fantastic trip and we were sad to go. The morning that we were getting ready to leave, Worf and Linc played together officially for the first time. It put tears in my eyes to see how far our pup has come and gave us hope that we might be able to enjoy the dog park someday. It also reflected how we felt about the trip - just when we were getting comfy, we had to pack up and head back home. Saying good bye is always the worst part of the trip but I know I'll see them all soon.

The drive back was fairly uneventful, with some snow on the ground in Arizona. I did all of the driving on the 2nd day and most of it on the final day since I was so eager to get home. J was his sweet self and read out loud to me as I set the car on cruise control.

Driving, driving, driving

Snowy Arizona and a sleepy pup as we finally pass into the Pacific Time Zone

Final day of the trip allowed me to press the home button on Waze; Mount Shasta as we near the Oregon border; A trip-tired dog as we enter into our home state

Was the 3-day drive worth it? Yes! In the end, including coffee, gas, food, hotel, rental car, and anything else we spent $1,348. Less money to drive than to fly, a bunch less stress, and seeing parts of the country we had never seen before were definitely worth it. Will we choose to drive again? If we're visiting for 2 or more weeks, probably. Shorter trips (or solo trips when I fly out for my brother's graduation) we'll have to stick to the sky but driving was great. The weather was ridiculously cooperative - the only sliding on ice that happened was when we stopped for some touristy fabric and I completely biffed it in front of the store. I had a small bruise on my right side the remainder of the trip but oh well.

Thanks again for stopping by. Hope you enjoyed my adventure. Join me again Saturday to get part two of my 23 by 24 goal list update. Until then, live long and prosper!

Being an adult

Okay, so its Friday morning and I still haven't written anything on my sixth goal this week: Create something once a week. I did start 2 different projects but some things just take longer than others so at least one of those will probably pop up here next week. With that said, I got a lot done this week including driving 7+ hours of Tuesday for a lunch date with my Grandmother (at Mcmenamins northern most location; another stamp), waiting at DMV for 1.5hours (though it was so worth it in the end), and making a bunch of phone calls yesterday that I have been putting off for too long. That's right, I decided to be a sort-of adult this week and got things done:

Went to the DMV to change 2 different car titles, grocery shopping, took my ring to be cleaned, closed a bank account, added myself to another one, changed doctors and dentists (from our hometown ones to ones closer to where we live now), finished paying off a few things, dehydrated 3 full stacks of apples, bananas, and strawberries for school snacks, leveled my gnome warrior from 17 to 39, got the oil changed, signed myself up for blood donation next week, scheduled 2 dentist appointments and 1 hair cut appointment, made 2 jars of peanut butter, ordered food and medicine for my 4-legged children, and celebrated national yoga month by doing some yoga.

Did I mention I'm going camping today and I already prepped all the meals, packed the car, and cleaned the house, so all we have to do is make the fire and enjoy ourselves. Now you're asking: how would I have accomplished my creative goal? I tried a new recipe - Pear & chocolate chip muffins.

I like to make small muffins for those mornings when J doesn't wake up in enough time and I had this recipe from my mom that I just had to give a try. My mom is a wonderful baker and growing up we always had cookies or muffins or cake or something being made. Since J and I met in middle school, he knows my mom's desserts well and jokes that, though mom and I look like twins, she is a million times better in the kitchen than I am. I have improved over the years (when I first moved out I always overcooked chicken in the microwave and now its my go to meat when I'm feeling lazy).

As Yoda says, I didn't try the recipe, I did it! Its a fairly simple one so I thought I would share it here:

Pear & Chocolate Chip Muffins: yields 18 muffins

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Combine: 1 3/4c. flour, 1c sugar, 2tsp baking powder, 1/4tsp salt
3. Combine: 2 eggs, 1c sour cream (or greek yogurt), 1/4c melted butter, 1tsp vanilla
4. Mix the dry and wet combos together (when mixed, it will be doughy)
5. Add 1 1/2c chopped pears (or apples) and 1 c. mini chocolate chips to mixture
6. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full, using all of mixture
7. Mix 1/4c chopped walnuts, 1/4c sugar, 1Tbsp soft butter
8. Sprinkle walnut mix on top of muffins
9. Bake 18-20 minutes

And there you have it, a delicious snack! I don't have any pictures of the process because it was just that simple that I believe in you. The only picture I did take was what you see to the right - this one is going camping with us for a on the road snack. This camping trip I will be checking off at least 3 different goals on my list: #1: Unplug and turn off for 24hours a month, #3: go camping 5 times, and #23: Read 10 books (I'll be finishing the first of A Song of Ice and Fire series; aka Game of Thrones). I can already see a few posts that will come out of this weekend trip so tune back in next week. Until then, live long, take time for yourself away from technology, and prosper!

Penny pinching

Last year, J & I found ourselves in a less than perfect situation - J had graduated from college and the professional world was not being too kind and I had signed an agreement with my school that I would only work in a work/study position. We had saved the amount of money they had suggested in case of unemployment but that only lasted us so long. For a few months (okay, more than a few), we were almost entirely living off of family (thank you!) and food stamps. Even when I could pick up a few hours at work (I found the one work-study job that allowed more than 10hr/wk - usually averaging 15-20hrs), we were no where near meeting our bills each month. We are in a much better situation now, but continue to live by the helpful tips we picked up while being beyond poor. So, whether you’re already in a bind (I’m sorry) or just wanting to save a little money, here are some great tips to get you started in your penny pinching journey.

Cooking & Cleaning:

• Make a menu, make the grocery list, and only buy what’s on the list. Don't forget the value of couponing, buying stuff on sale, and buying local. It can also be helpful to download the store apps before going shopping for exclusive coupons.
• Make a compromise on brand vs price. We buy store brand canned vegetables, but buy more expensive whole grain pasta or Rotel vs generic tomatoes and green chiles.
• Look at the “per unit/ounce/lb” price rather than what each boxed item costs, a smaller can may cost less than a larger can but when you’re paying double per unit, its more cost efficient to buy one large than 2 little.
• At the same time, you don’t always need to buy in bulk, especially if its something that may go bad before you can use all of it. We almost always buy coffee creamer per ounce (we drink a lot of coffee), but we’ll buy only specific recipe ingredients (heavy cream, green onions, bbq sauce) for the single night instead of having a half used ingredient for months.
• Buy foods that can be used in more than one way. Greek yogurt can be used in so many ways - substitute for milk in recipes (½ yogurt & ½ water), sour cream, whipped cream (seriously! I once ate some lemon curd with it when I made too much and I could’ve sworn it was whipped cream).
• On that note: Decide what you’re going to buy/ do then find the coupons (not the other way around)
• Stop eating out (I'll be honest, I don't understand the difficulty with this one, its just as convenient as a crockpot meal)
• Feeling a bit hungry? Drink some water (not soda or juice - water!; you may not be hungry, just a bit bored). 30 minutes till meal time? Drink some water (don’t eat on an entirely empty stomach). Bored? Drink some water. Its good for you.
• It's okay to have the same thing multiple times in a month, you'll survive - find creative ways to spice up usual recipes, like stirring in an egg with your top ramen.
• Schedule the occasional leftovers meal instead of throwing out perfectly fine food. With just the two of us, we almost always make more than we can eat in one meal so we’ll often also eat it for lunches and leftover dinners throughout the following week.
• Embrace your crockpot and dehydrator - this is the only item that I would say splurge on even if you're in a crunch. It'll save you money in the long wrong. A dehydrator allows you to dry food (herbs, fruits, veggies, etc) that may go bad otherwise and create little snacks that would be more expensive to buy at the store (ex: banana chips = $3.99/lb or bananas in the dehydrator = $.69/ lb)
• Make things homemade (often cheaper and healthier) and DIY (only when saving you money! - make your own swiffer pads from fabric scraps, dryer sheets/ balls vs buying them, rags vs paper towels, handkerchiefs vs tissues)
• Recycle & reuse (cut down on garbage costs and save the environment)
• Only run the washer/dryer and dishwasher when full

Entertainment:

• Cable vs netflix/ amazon prime (free for students)/ hulu plus/WWE Network and share the cost with multiple people
• Internet speed - threaten to cancel to get better deals. You may not see much difference at 20MB/s vs 50MB/s or check if your city has GoogleFiber (1GB/s, that’s 1024MB/s)
• Find fun & free activities near by (walking/busing distance even) to do rather than spending $$ to do the same (discount days, free nights, donation for admittance, etc) or volunteer
• Community events and celebrations. We went to Portland Opera for kids, Rose Festival, and Scandinavian Festival and all were free.
• Shopping therapy - Even from my very first job in high school, I would always go to the store right when I got my pay check and buy myself something really small ($1-$5) - some new sticky notes or a candy bar - and the rest would go into the bank. Just a little something to say, “I earned this!” Even if you don’t have the money for that, do something for yourself - go for a walk, 15min quiet time, etc.
• More on shopping therapy - when we first started in our funk, I would walk around the store and look at all the stuff I couldn’t buy… then it hit me how unhealthy this was because, even without money, I lived a pretty good life. My walks around the store became looking at all the stuff I didn’t need because my life was pretty great as it was and buying that extra little something wasn’t going to make it any better.
• Keep an eye out for free movie screenings (We’re actually just went to one and have tickets to another in 2 weeks) and other free events

School:

• Borrow from the library/ friend vs buying or, if you do buy, sell them back to Amazon to break even (or make a lil $). Amazon has plenty of good classic ebooks for free and check out Project Gutenburg.org for all models of eReader
• If your school employs peer tutors paid by work-study/tuition dollars, utilize the resource. They like money, and you like good grades. You likely paid for them with your tuition anyway.
• Apply for any scholarship or grant you qualify for. Your financial aid department may have some contacts or tips on locating them.
• Check Bigwords.com for comprehensive textbook price comparisons. You can specify rent vs buy, paper vs ebook, and takes Amazon Prime into account on price of shipping.
• Take notes on loose paper rather than in a bound notebook (or on your laptop but really, I think writing it down does better for your memory and you won’t be distracted with the internet) - you get way more paper that you can bind however you want and you won’t end the semester with those awkward empty back pages that you’re not sure if you should recycle or tear out to use at another time.
• I’m putting this under school just because it would only apply to college students but, whether you have your own health insurance or you’re paying through the school, utilize the health and counseling center! It doesn’t cost anything extra and if you are overly stressed, you are more likely to get sick or have a lowered immune system.
• If not in school, you may have free clinics or places aimed toward low SES

Around the house:

• During the day, keep the lights off and windows open - allows airflow and keeps it cooler...unless its super hot, then close the windows and blinds
• Take short showers rather than baths to cut down on water costs
• Turn the faucet off when brushing your teeth
• Put a filled water bottle in the back of the toilet to lower the water level
• Compost: its great for the environment (less garbage) and can be used in a vegetable garden
• Spring doesn’t have to be the only time you go through, clean everything, and send stuff off to the local goodwill. Go through your house and find things you don’t need and either donate them or reuse them (okay, so this doesn’t save you money but it sure does make you feel good)

Saving and earning those extra cents:

• Compare APR/savings at different banks. Seek out Credit Unions, they may have less fees and better rates. Read the fine print of account requirements. Compare to online checking accounts which offer ~1% APY
• Internet surveys, Amazon’s mechanical turk, and freebie samples (FreebieShark, FreeStuffFinder, & Hunt4Freebies). I’ve earned a good amount through the ipsos surveys and MTurk that I was able to apply towards my amazon account and buying school books. Plus, with the surveys and freebies, you’re getting to try out brand new things at no cost to you (I’ve received shampoo, candles, lotions, feminine hygiene items, and even money just for saying that I’d try it out). You can also sign up to test out higher end stuff, though it may take a while for you to be chosen (I signed up with Nike 9 months ago and just heard back that I can try stuff out!)
• Walk, ride your bike, carpool, or take public transportation
• Donate blood (okay, its not actually fun but they sometimes give fun thank yous like free admittance or a fun free snack at a local restaurant and you are helping save people’s lives) or other fluids - plasma, marrow, semen (yup, I said it. Honestly, you’re making a little bit of money and you’re helping someone)
• Find out if your employer has negotiated discounts at local retailers. J's work has everything from hotels to shoes to food
• Groupon when you were planning something, not based on what deals they have (like I said with couponing)
• Utilize eBay’s ‘Best Offer” option on auctions and Buy Now’s

What we didn’t know then but are doing now:

• Use the envelope method - Have some pre-determined amount of savings automatically deposited into a savings account, so that it’s out of sight/out of mind
• Offer to participate in studies (eg we live pretty close to OHSU and they are often needing participants. I didn’t get called back about the study but as an example, researchers were wanting to test out a new type of tooth filling = free dental check up, fillings on your teeth with state of the art methods, and you get paid for your time).
• Seek out local professional schools (Medicine, Dental, etc) for potentially cheaper medical appointments with current doctoral students with certified doctors watching over.
• Adjust your tax withholding so that they are only taking what they need (you don’t get loans interest free so neither should they and its not like a savings account because you are earning interest on it either) and you don’t own any at tax season - ideally, you get $0 back and you pay $0. Having a small tax bill come April is preferable to a small refund.

And there you have it. A lengthy list of easy ways to save money (they really are easy). Just take it a step at a time and don’t stress it. We weren’t able to just change our lifestyle to meet every single one of these, it took a bit of time. In the end though, you feel better about saving money. Remember, its always better to be frugal because you want to not because you have to.

Thanks for reading! As always, you can follow me on Pinterest to see my inspiration, Twitter to see whats new, and Instagram to catch my photo-a-day. Join me next week, same time (roughly), same place. Live long and prosper!

Moving In and leaving

What a crazy few days it's been. Friday morning we woke up and had to run a few errands (including breakfast!) before heading to the new house. For months I wondered how I would react upon entering the house, or even if I would. I feared that I would be paralyzed, overwhelmed by the feeling of relief that we finally made it, happiness that all the stress of buying the house was over, and the sadness that this house was not my home and that there was no [bed]room for me. When we walked in, I tried to busy myself with taking pictures for mom's and my blog, ignoring how the house was just as empty feeling as I was (a little dramatic, I know).

Turning left from the entrance way is the formal living room and formal dining room

Walking straight from the entrance way are french doors going into the family room (entry to breakfast nook/ kitchen on left then door to backyard in center)

Standing in breakfast nook, facing front of house, is the kitchen and, through the door, the formal dining room

Now, when my parents decided on this house my mom informed me that it had an intercom system but that it most likely didn't work. I had never heard of such a thing even existing in a house so I was pretty stoked at how much an intercom system may improve communication and lower the volume in the house (no more yelling up and down the stairs or across the ouse at one another). As we walked through teh family room and into the kitchen, I saw it. I turned the dial and spoke. Next thing we all heard was my voice echoing throughout the house. "Forget about being sad! This thing is awesome!" was the very next thought :)

Then we turned around to be in the breakfast nook, which looks out on the backyard, and saw the sparkling blue pool!

Back of the house and the pool

I reminded myself that though I would be leaving in a few short days, I should make the most out of the time that I had left with them here. I decided that right then and there I was going to change my mood and just have fun with the new house. We ran around looking at the different rooms, unpacked the road trip SUV, and got ready for the pool.

Clarke's room

Blake's room

Clarke playing guitar before pool time

The boys got ready a lot quicker than the rest of us and tried out the hot tub (spying on them from mom and dad's room)

Even with an empty house, we had a lot to do and explore. Around 7pm, with our stomachs growling, dad took us off to one of his favorite restaurants: Boomerang Diner.

He explained that while the food isn't the most amazing, it's the environment and the people that really make it what it is.

So ready to eat and sleep!

I think we look more awake then the boys did

By the end of Friday, we were all exhausted, found comfy spots on the floor (except mom and dad, who had a blow up mattress), and passed out.

The next morning, Saturday, we were all up and ready for the movers to arrive. We quickly learned that you don't realize how much stuff you won until you have to unpack it all. We had a lot of fun finding spots for everything but it was exhausting. Halfway through the day I took a short break to take pictures of our progress.

Figuring out what goes where in the breakfast nook

Kitchen stuff was some of the first off the moving truck

Not too much in the family room yet

Blake was the first to get stuff for his room

We all worked really hard from the time the truck got there at 8am until almost 7pm, stopping only to grab some food and rest our feet. I was really impressed with my siblings who never stopped working, never complained, and were always available to help each other. At the end of the day, even though we were exhausted, we gathered together in the almost complete game room, and watched a movie (Twister!).

Sunday was almost exactly the same. We finally got to sleep in but once up we worked hard all day. At one point while I was walking through to put a box away, I found this.

I don't blame him

He only stayed there for five minutes and then was up and working hard again. Near midday, mom suggested we check out the library to see if they had wifi to update our blogs. We went but, obviously, their internet was not good enough to post anything. We also went to Books A Million (kinda like a amazon store, primarily with books, but also with fun little stuffs) and Walmart to do some grocery shopping. Since I wouldn't be with them for my birthday, mom suggested that I choose the meal as a birthday dinner. I almost always choose corn (on the cob) and fried zucchini. I was lucky that walmart had corn but I had to choose a different main food item - brocolli and chicken casserole. Then for dessert, I chose strawberry cheesecake. It will certainly be one of the things I miss most but perhaps I'll loose a little weight without it - mom's cooking. We ended another day with a swim in the pool, tested the hot tub, and watched my choice of a movie (The Postman with Kevin Costner). It was a fantastic day.

Now today is Monday and I am writing this in the Detroit airport (my connecting flight is delayed so I had enough time to hop on my laptop). Everything seems to be going by so quickly that being gone has fully hit me. Tears were of course shed but I expect many more in the near future. I love my family with my whole being and will miss them dearly. I'll miss seeing my siblings grow up, playing their sports, hanging out with friends, and goofing off. I'll miss having coffee with my mom in the morning. I'll miss the long debates my father and I have (even when they get a little heated). I know that it isn't goodbye forever and we're already making plans for the holidays. It's just goodbye for now; see you soon. I love you family! I always have and I always will. Now, I have to be off onto my flight, headed back to Portland. Until next time, readers, live long and prosper!

Day Eight - Final Stretch

Knowing that today we would only be driving, no one was in a terrible rush to get into the car. Today was also the only day I didn't plan because up until the night before, I didn't know if we would be staying at a hotel somewhere or driving through the night. Somewhat rested and full of hotel breakfast (yum?), we got on the road around 9am and headed east towards the South Dakota/ Minnesota border.

After 5.5hours of driving, we got to get out, stretch our legs along the side of the road, do our cross the border video, and jumped back in the car. Next planned stop was a gas station in South Sioux City, Nebraska (North Sioux City is in Iowa). Now, when I looked up the cheapest gas on my little gasbuddy app, it said nothing about how sketchy the place was. When we pulled up, a fellow customer had his music blaring on some song with N****r as every other word (but he was black, so it wasn't racist, right?). Then, when we went inside to use the facilities, we were greeted with all the hard alcohol and bongs you could ever desire... or not. At this point I wasn't sure if this was a gas station or some sort of undercover drug house. Freaky! Needless to say, we didn't spend much time here. Back on the road again!

Now, it's hard to explain our route today so I decided to do a screen shot of Google maps.

 It is the quickest route from point A to B with the exception of crossing the border into Minnesota. After getting gas, the remainder of the trip was fairly uneventful. At one point in Missouri, my parents pointed out a road sign directing us towards Oregon: "Ariel, did you send us in the wrong direction?" For a split second, I thought I had!

About an hour later, a deer dashed in front of the car. Jaz and Clarke were reading/ playing games, Blake and I were watching a movie together on dad's phone (Jock The Hero Dog... yeah), and mom and dad were intently watching the road and darkening sky. All I saw was... the road. Thankfully dad has a quick reaction time and narrowly missed the suicidal deer. We nervously tried to laugh it off but after that, we were all a bit on edge that another one might appear (mom more than any of us). As the sky darkened, we had the lovely opportunity to drive through the tail end of a storm complete with lots of lightening. Compared to the lightening storms I've experienced and enjoyed in Oregon, I was a bit terrified of this one. The rest of the trip was quiet, though, as Blake and I finished our movie then tried to sleep.

We made our final stop of the day at the new house at 2am. I honestly thought this day would never come... or maybe just hoped that it never would. In the brief time that we were there (mom was the only one who got out to get the mail), I surveyed the house. It was just as I had expected it though it all seemed surreal. In 4 days I leave my family here to go back to Oregon. I'm not really sure what to call home anymore. Newberg is home because my own little family is there and Albany is my hometown because that's where I was born and raised but Arkansas. I don't know if I'll ever call Arkansas home though it will now forever be close to my heart with those most dear to me, living here. Today we actually get to see the house, meet some of the friends that have been taking care of my dad these last few months, and start the process of moving them in. Dear readers, live long and prosper, wherever you call home.

Day Seven - Rushing

Unlike every other morning, mom and I were unable to wake, grab coffee and breakfast, and update our blogs. In fact, we didn't even know the password to the hotel until 30minutes before we left - only enough time to start uploading pictures and typing up my blog. We packed up what we could, woke the boys (who had to stay in another room since each room only had 1 bed), and prepped ourselves for another day of driving. At this point we hadn't heard form the movers so we didn't know if we'd be staying in one more hotel (most likely in Sioux Falls, SD) or driving through the night. Just before leaving the hotel, I left a small note for the housekeeping.

We saw this the night before on the nightstand, so I added to it: "Tip: Don't forget the dirty towels behind the bathroom door again"

Yeah, when we got ready to take showers, we found a dirty towel hanging behind the bathroom door. Yuck! We got a good and tired chuckle out of it and headed out to find some breakfast (since the hotel didn't offer anything more than bland coffee). My yelp suggestions are being turned down more and more often; we ate at McDonalds. As with every meal that requires straws, Clarke and I have attempted to hit each other with the wrappers (by shooting them off with the straw). Most of the time, my water doesn't require a straw so Clarke has been much more successful than me. Since we were eating on the road this time, I attempted to turn around (Clarke has sat behind me the entire trip) and shoot Clarke (I missed). Jaz called my name (also sitting in the back seat) and when I turned around, my right eye was met with a very aggressive straw wrapper. Shot in the eye! Thankfully the scenery outside remained the same for the next few hours or I would've missed how gorgeous Wyoming is.

Driving through sharp curves for the first hour, mom continued reading her book to us and before we arrived at our lunch spot, she had finished. Satisfied with the ending, we sat back and napped, read our own books, and listened to music. As I said earlier, Yelp meals have become no more so lunch was Subway for most and Burger King for the rest. We were hoping to save some time, since we had left late again, by eating on the road but when we got to Subway the line was crazy long and the "sandwich artists" took forever. Oh well, we were Alien mountain bound (also known as Devil's Tower).

Growing up, my family loved watching scifi movies and that includes Close Encounters of the Third Kind. We of course had to stop before making it to the mountain to reenact the beginning of the movie.

The picture is blurry because it is just a freeze frame from the video I took of him shaping his mashed potato mountain

There were some huge dandelions

Since we didn't have as much time as we had wanted, we only had time to do a short hike to the base of the mountain before heading back down for another 2 hour drive (including crossing into South Dakota).

For some reason, I really expected the back side to look different than the front

Nice facial hair!

Finally, we made it to Crazy Horse. Now Crazy Horse is similar to Mount Rushmore in that it is a face carved into the mountain. However, there are some stark differences: Mount Rushmore was federally funded, represents the growth of America, and only took a few years to complete. Crazy Horse on the other hand is funded primarily by admission (not federally, at all), represents the Native American culture, and was started in 1948... still not even close to being done. Eventually, Crazy Horse will not only be the face it is right now but the upper half of the Indian it depicts and the horse he is riding. Current work is being done on the hand holding the horse's mane. Since our "America the Beautiful, National Park Annual Pass" doesn't cover admission to see Crazy Horse, we had to enjoy the mountain from a near by parking lot.

If you look close enough, you can see the profile of the face and, the flat part stretching out from it will eventually be the hand

Only stopping in the parking lot to take a picture saved us the time we needed to get back on track. We made our way to dinner (which I gave up planning meals at this point, assuming everyone else would be too), which ended up being a small pizza place located in a strip mall. On our way, we actually got to see Mount Rushmore from the road and were pleasantly surprised by its size. The kids all thought it to be small but mom and I found it bigger than we expected. More on that later, though.

Backside of Mount Rushmore

At dinner, we found out from the movers that they would be at the new house to unpack on Saturday so decided to that we would stay the night at a hotel. Reservations were made for a nearby Marriott (using dad's points) so we wouldn't have to be driving in the dark at all. Also at dinner, there was a pin board map marking where various people were from. This wasn't the first of these that we had seen from our journey but it was the first that didn't have a pin in Albany (hometown) or Newberg (my current home). Jaz and I made our mark in Keystone, South Dakota.

White pin for Newberg and red for Albany

Our last official stop of the day and, really, the trip - Rushmore!

First look!

Walking along the trail to get a closer look

Well, hello Mr. Washington

Clarke, reading up on his favorite president, Lincoln

Posing like the presidents, though I don't think Roosevelt did the duck face

Sibling selfie!

We had a lot of fun posing around the monument but, as it started to get dark, we decided to head to our hotel (only 30 minutes away). I wanted to stay for the light show but, I'll be honest, it had nothing to do with feeling especially American that day. I'm saddened that at this point, our journey to Arkansas is over and I wanted to just slow down at this last stop and spend just those last few moments with my family. However, I also recognized that everyone, including myself, was extremely tired and ready for bed. I know there's still time to spend with them... like the 15 hours we're about to spend in the car together, but it just doesn't seem like there's enough. Monday night I fly back to Oregon, leaving them in the new home - a day I am most certainly not looking forward to. Well, next time you hear from this family, that's where we'll be: Fort Smith, Arkansas. Until then, friends, live long and prosper!