Cannonball Run 2010: Day 4: "Get the fuck outta the left lane!"

Day 4: Oklahoma City, OK to Nashville, TN: 677 miles

Today's route was also reasonably basic. 40 E the whooolllleee way.


Let me just start by saying, Ben and I got into Nashville tonight around 6:30 CST and we had the best god damned two beers of our lives!! I sent this to my mom:


The morning started early-ish in OK city with rain. Rain is double bad for this trip because my tires are gosh darn bald, but I'm gosh darn poor, so, here we have road trip on bald tires. Not my best idea, but, we can manage.

My customer service experiences in OK looked up. Ben and I stopped in a pretty darn shady gas station in eastern Oklahoma. The woman asked me where we were going and I told her from San Francisco to Philadelphia. She asked us how we were finding OK. I said hot and humid. She said "Oh, it wasn't always humid. The old timers say that it only got humid when they put in the lakes." I looked over in the corner, and there sat one of the "old timers", who nodded. I was perplexed, as I personally didn't know anyone who "put in" lakes, other then large glaciers. Hmmm. I'm in the process of researching, but, old timers are generally right, somehow.

Onto Arkansas. What a funny place! We didn't stop, except at a Walmart in Clarksville. I thought this was going to be especially climactic because Walmart originated in Arkansas. Not so much. Except for the occasional cowboy, it was much the same.

I knew we were nearing "the east" when the scenery started to look like this:


Lush green....everywhere! And lots of trucks.

I rode most of the day today while Ben drove, and I cannot appropriately capture the sunburn on my right arm. My college friends would call it "a lobster claw". Ouch.

Ben and I decided on the title for this entry due to the high number of fucking idiots who were driving slow in the left lane. At least some of them were moderately humorous...


I know I'm officially in the east now because we crossed the mighty Mississippi today.



Cool thought...I crossed the Mississip in Minnesota on the way out West and in TN on the way back. What a giant force this river is. No doubt!

We are, however, most definitely in the south. I'm having a hard time understanding people if they speak rapidly. The ratio of billboards that are Jesus related have increased 10 fold. If you're into Jesus, that's all cool, but, I'm not so much, and I don't appreciate the shouting! Thankfully, I don't live here.



I borrowed this one:



Heck yea he does! God loves all music, right? ;-)

Got a call from Wente today, I felt my heart sink a little. Just missin' y'all! And the California weather, even if it was raining. !!!

We're a bit ahead of schedule, so we'll be going to Lexington, VA tomorrow. Shortish day, followed by a shorter day so I can get Ben to BWI on time, and then get to Frederick to see my bestest! Then on to K Square the next day. I'm starting to have moderate anxiety about my increased responsibility level the closer I get to Philadelphia. Oh boy, what an adventure!

Time for bed. Beer is making me sleepy!

Back on the road tomorrow. For those of you who think this would be a nice vacation or that I am on vacation, don't. This is really hard work...driving and running around. For real! This is business, baby! I am making the best of it and seeing cool things (who wouldn't!), but I am traveling out of necessity for a job.

Anyway, signing off.

Day 3: Hauling Ass

Day 3: Winslow, AZ to Oklahoma City, OK: 809 miles

The route was pretty darn basic today. But long. Ben and I did this route in about 13.5 hours with a lunch stop. And several Diet Coke breaks!



I didn't take many pictures because it appears I have friend my camera, in addition to the battery AND two fuses in my car. Thanks for that charger, Walmart, it was swell. Mmmmm, now accepting donations for a new digital camera.

The morning started out in AZ and it was COLD!! The debit function was out at the gas station in Winslow, so I had the pleasure of going in to the inside of the gas station and listening to an old cowboy recount his heroic tale of "saving some Yank" in the wind storm last evening. I was not the "Yank", btw.

We headed on 40 E toward Albuquerque, where I decided I could never live because I am unable to spell it without referencing something. It was nice to see all of the red mesas all the way across on 40 E, but I can tell you, the southwest is not for me. I was completely dried out.

And here's another reason the southwest is not for me....



Come on. I'm no Obama junkie, but...anyway.

After a lunch of burritos and homemade tortillas, we soldiered on. (I'm going to MISS good mexican food!)

We crossed the border into the Texas panhandle, which could have been messy. My favorite part about driving in Texas was this sign:



Other than that, it looked a lot like New Mexico and Arizona. About 50 miles in, it started to flatten out. And when it flattened out...this meant the wind picked up. I was pushing the gas pedal down with the intention of going 80 mph, but the car was only going 72 mph. And I was burning gas 33% faster. Thanks, wind. My mother was relieved though.

On to Oklahoma, where I've never been. I must have something on my face because I was seriously wrong about the southern hospitality coming to the plains here! The two interactions that I've had with the sales clerk and the hotel registration gentlemen were both very odd. They were both kinda mean! Maybe it's my turquoise shirt. Also, I'm feeling some pressure from the extremely frequent signage about Native crafts and clothing. Like, if I don't buy Cherokee jewelry, all will perish. Sheesh!

Another interesting note, 4o runs alongside route 66! Gettin' my kicks! J/k. I did drive on Route 66 very briefly today when I got off of the highway in search of petrol. It was narrow, and vaguely pink. I had guessed that they had used some of the surrounding soil, which was beautifully ferrous red!

Here's a pic of route 66 (from the blackberry, in motion=not ideal):



And here is a pic of that beautiful Oklahoma soil. Lucky I'm in soil science now, so hopefully I'll know all about it soon! :-) Passed a winery on the way through all of this soil, so...anything is possible!




Oh, and did I mention that as soon as we started to "flatten out" in Texas...it got FRIGGIN' HUMID. I was warned about humid. I grew up in humid. But I was not ready for humid. Yuck. I felt like I was swimming through the air. Awesome move, Catrina, moving to PA!

I was hit with a seriously bad case of cold feet/regret/I-miss-California today, but, I know I made the right decision. I'm way like cheesy right now, so, I had to think of this (probably bastardized) quote: “You never really leave a place or person you love, part of them you take with you, leaving a part of yourself behind.” I'm going to a good place...I hope. Change is SCARY!

On a brighter note, we're clocking miles to Nashville tomorrow. I'm pumped! I've never been.

Catch you kids on the flipside!

Canonball Run 2010, Day 1 and 2

Hey All!

As promised, I'm blogging from the road. The first night was a bit hectic, so, don't shoot me for not writing!

Day 1, Livermore, CA, to Yosemite NP, to Las Vegas, NV.

The plan: 580 E to 120 E through Yosemite NP, south to Vegas on 395.

So here's what ACTUALLY happened on day one:


Here's my sweet ride, all packed! Ben and I kicked off around 10:30 am.




So, we get to Yosemite after a beautiful drive, and they're like...oh yea, 120 E is closed because there is 5' feet of snow over the pass. And....so is every other road going through the park that way....annndddd it was snowing at the visitors center. And, there I am in my flip flops!



I'm not the best granola in all, I was just passing through after all!

So, we had to exit on route 140 and go back out to Merced, CA and down 99 S. Awesome. And 4 hours out of the way.

On a happy note, "Running Down Dream" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, was playing on the stereo as I crossed the state line into Nevada. How appropriate!

Anyway, We didn't get in to Vegas until about 11:30, so it was not ideal, but we ended up walking around and staying out until four am anyhow. It's freakin' Vegas!


My comments on Vegas are this: I really dug the atmosphere and the attitude. Dude, they have buildings that they designed to lean because THEY COULD. They made Venice...BECAUSE THEY COULD. Vegas was populated by bootleggin' gangsters and it's held up today. It is one big NEW adult playground. I did NOT dig the slutty looking girls all around and the SMOKING. Everywhere. Cigarette smoke literally gives me a headache (sad, I know I'm a wimp), and this was just not good. Yuck. My camera took a poo (battery) when we got to Vegas, so I have 0 pictures. Boo.

Day 2. Las Vegas, NV to Winslow, AZ via the Hoover Dam

This day started off slowly because Ben and I were out until 4:30, hence, I said, let's aim to leave Vegas by noon.



Short Day, this day. The original plan was to loop up and see the Grand Canyon, but it was just not in the plan today!

We did drive by Lake Mead in NV/AZ, which actually ended up taking us an hour because of the traffic build up at the Hoover Dam security entrance.

Here's Lake Mead



Which was followed by the Hoover Dam. We just drove through and I narrowly escaped with reasonable blood pressure. I can't imagine having to drive that road all the way to work everyday with all of the "dam" tourists (Yes, HA!).

Security was tight at the entrance too. The guy made us pull off to the side so he could search my car because Ben and I look like we're actually the Griswald's. And he removed my tarp which I had worked very hard to get down and NOT be flapping in the wind, and he almost made me take my bike rack off the back (would have take like 20 min to get back on) to look inside the back hatch. Ben nicely asked him to look through the window, and he obliged. He was looking for firearms, so he said!

Ben and I tried to remedy my dead camera battery with a somewhat unsuitable charger and ended up blowing a fuse in my car. The fuse controls the cigarette lighter...so can you guess what other essential piece of equipment chews on this power supply? Yep! The GPS. Uh-oh. Thank GOD I have Ben with me...he was able to change out my fuse with relative ease. What a guy! And, he even got me prepared for driving through the desert.



I am SO thankful I am not driving alone.

So, beside the snow and the fuses, it was really ridiculously windy the whole way across AZ. Since I am driving an extra heavy car with a trillion things tied on top, this is challenging!

Ben and I decided to push through a ways tonight and go to Winslow, AZ. ("Standin' on the corner in Winslow, Arizona, such a fine sight to see...) Well, we cleared Flagstaff, AZ, and on our way out of the city we saw a sign that say "Road closed 34 miles ahead due to severe dust storm." We're New Yorkers and have lived through snow storms, so, soldier on we did.

Well, turns out they weren't kidding. Traffic was stopped for miles in both directions and we sat there among hundreds of semi-trucks for hours. NOT that fun, let me tell you! We were 36 miles from Winslow and saddle sore. Ben has developed a bit of a cold this week, and he needs his rest, so I was trying to get him there as fast as possible. No dice at 3 mph. the storm had "blown" over and we were moving, albeit slowly!

I will try to give you an idea of the magnitude of this stop. I saw the AZ State Police starting the line of traffic moving in the western direction (opposite of me) after the storm had passed through. I saw this start to happen about 34 miles from our exit in Winslow. When I exited at Winslow, I was still watching the line of dense traffic move along. Holy cow!

More tomorrow! On the road! Trying to put the gaping hole in my heart at ease at leaving everyone behind in California. It's a strange feeling to feel the earth going on spinning and the people you care about still all being together in one place, but you have to hope that they throw you a thought every once in a while and miss you a bit!

Miles to be covered tomorrow. Keep on rockin'! See you soon, Oklahoma!

My Favorite Things...

I couldn't win a game of chance if I stacked the odds 100:1 in my favor. I will never win the lotto, I'll never gamble in Vegas and win big. But I have won big, and I am the luckiest girl.

How am I lucky, you ask? I'm lucky in the people that I manage to surround myself with. I'm lucky because I meet these generous, loving, beautiful people who fill my heart to the brim.

Where I'm from, well, it's amazing. My family starts there with the many wonderful people I've come from and come to know. Then, Gettysburg. My family continues with the people I'm priveldged to cherish from there. Onto my international family, and my Washington family, who are few, but strong.

Then, enter new cast. Enter biological family who care for me as no others and who are incredibly generous and who truly have allowed me to enjoy the lifestyle that I do enjoy in California today. People who had no obligation to take care of me, but did so without hesitation. Gratitude beyond measure.







My California family. How can I express what I'm feeling right now. I'm leaving. I'm leaving them all behind. I feel a mixed of excitement and the shredding of my heart muscle. A feeling a dread that I won't be able and see these people who I love so much on Monday or Friday or the next Monday, but I'll be headed elsewhere, into uncharted waters.

But I can't stop this overwhelming feeling that I am absolutely the luckiest woman in the world. The people I love are truly my wealth. And I couldn't ask for anything more.

Shortly before I wrote my last blog entry in March, I spoke with a gentlemen in Kennett Square PA who wanted me to come out and make his wine. Long story short, I'm leaving California on Saturday on a cross country road trip to terminate in Kennett Square, PA. More details to follow for you all, but, before I depart, all me to take you through my favorite things about California.

























I'll have you know, California family, I have a philosophy. As well as taking you all with me in my heart, I take you with me in physical manifestation.

With the help of Jesse Tuesday in Ocean Beach, I'm taking you all with me in memento form as your state's flower, the California poppy. And yes, it is poppy orange, but my blackberry just doesn't do it justice!



This way, I can surely carry you with me everywhere and you can bet you'll never stray far from my heart.


Love to you all. All of the pieces of my heart. <3

Peanut Butter Jelly Time

It'ssss peanut butter jelly time...



Hahaha, justttt kidding.

Anyway, this is a RANT. A rant about serving size, caloric density, and deceptive packaging. RANT. So, think what you wish.

I rarely go without having peanut butter 1-3 times per week. It is so delicious that I will willingly "trade-off" more food quantity for some PB, because PB is high fat and calorie. So, I traveled these past two weekend and part of this travel was a long-ish drive. I made some of Sarah's breakfast cookies and took them with me because...well, gas station snacks are less than ideal! As per her suggestion of adding a nut butter to the top, I went with it. To more easily transport peanut butter, I went after some single serving containers. I found these things called Jif to Go.


This homegirl is down with portable peanut butter. Holla (if only it came in crunchy?:-P)

So, I snapped a photo for you using my blackberry so you can see , next to my sharpie marker, exactly how big these cups are.



Looks reasonable, right? The packaging reads "6 single cups" as part of the hook. So, what would most normal people think? They give it to me in these cute little cups that are "great for dipping" (per the package), so I must be able to consume the entire cup and be cool with that! Pre-op, I would have been happily dipping my carrots away, consuming the whole cup, and saying pppssshhhhawww to the cookies I was passing on.

Now, I, of course, flipped the package over to look at the nutrition facts. There were two separate columns. Suffice it to say, I was shocked when I read the column for one serving (which I assumed based on the packaging was one whole cup) said 195 calories and 16g of fat (standard for a serving PB, this is why I was cautioned at its caloric density). The serving size was listed in ounces (who really thinks of peanut butter in anything other than tablespoons?!) and it was convolutedly referring to half of the cup. Why not just write 1/2 of "single cup"? I am envisioning consumer confusion and apathy abounding! I think this packaging leads people to believe that the cup is a serving...it seems really misleading there...even though the packaging doesn't say "single SERVING cup".

So, you go through and dip your carrots, pretzels, or apples in this whole peanut butter cup. You will have consumed 390 cal and 32g of fat. My eyes just about popped out of my skull. I'm not a calorie counter, but I AM very careful with things like nuts and cheeses...don't want to get too crazy! I myself could easily consume this amount of peanut butter (might make me uncomfortable...all of the fat) and I have a 6-8 oz. stomach. I can imagine busy moms and dads dropping these into their kids lunches as a "healthy" snack. How would the child know not to consume the whole creamy and delicious pack?

They say that low-fat diets aren't going to lead to any significant weight loss, which I agree with, but consuming 400 cal worth of peanut butter in one sitting...for an average person...is a bit much. If you're eating it with pretzels or an apple, tack on at least 100 additional cal, carrots 50. A "snack" at 500 cal? NOT ideal.

You had to be on your game and NOT a passive food consumer to notice this. That's what made me mad! Everyone around me is in such a hurry all of the time they may fail to notice that these are NOT single SERVING cups, rather a means to package 200% serving sizes into portable packages.

So, WTF, Jif? Why couldn't you just put it in a g*d d*mned single serving container and actually HELP the American public with our serving size issues instead of further exacerbating the problem on a particularly calorie laden food?

Party in The USA

“Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus

I seem to excel at writing blog entries on my flights to and from Seattle, so here we go.

I have the BEST seatmate next to me on the airplane right now. I mean. He is superb. He’s not passing judgement on me, he’s friendly, he’s selfless, he’s a cuddly teddy bear…and he loves carrots. He has big feet. And he’s canine. He is a seeing eye dog. His name is Cooper and he looks a little like Deb and Ed’s dog Heidi, except he’s tri-colored. It is thoroughly outstanding that the only food I happen to have in my bag right now is carrots, which are his “treats”. We may be soul mates. ☺ The guy across the isle should take note, he’s pretty darn surly and has a staring problem!


Not his best pic, but I had to take it on my blackberry.

I was in Seattle/WA this past weekend for enology camp for my WSU learnin’. I was in Seattle/WA the weekend before for grape camp for my additional WSU learnin’. I’m tired of traveling, but have had a series of outstanding weekends. This past weekend I got to see a few of the people I really liked from the enology class and got to know a few more…wine people are (for the most part) hella cool. We’re winemakers, or wannabes, for a reason. Winemaking attracts an eclectic bunch, and that is very cool for me. Mostly passionate, confident, driven people. The week before was viticulture camp, and this is all an amazing fantastic world to me. I know comparatively little about viticulture, but I am certainly enjoying learning. Bring on the vineyards! I can’t envision being a winemaker and not knowing anything about farming. I equate not knowing viticulture to picking up a book halfway through and expecting to have a thorough understanding of what is going on. It just won’t happen. I like farmers, anyway.

I have been undergoing a bit of a….food revolution lately. A food revolution, you say? I underwent a food revolution last May in a big way (yes, I still miss big tasty ciabatta rolls and ice cream) but now I’m fine tuning things. I am reading a fine hunk o' book called “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan. It is science dense and fantastic and I highly recommend it.



But, it has made me reconsider the foods that I eat where they come from. So, I’m setting off on a sort of quest to do my best at eating real food, grass fed meats, and un-processed as much as possible on a limited budget. I think that could be a blog in itself. I’m considering switching gears a bit here as this is consuming a considerable amount of my brain space and thinking time. Should I become a food blogger? Explore the world of being conscious about where my food comes from, how it is processed, and what that might mean for balance in many ways: environmental, nutritional, financial….balance. How can I try not to get bogged down in the buzzwords that are now corporate and government sponsored: “organic” or “sustainable”, etc? Do free range chickens REALLY free range? Can a woman like me wade through all of that crap…in addition to having limited financial means and no land to grow anything on and actually eat real food?

I don’t know. I’ll work on it. We’ll see. I’m working on a number of things at the moment…running a 5k next weekend (the 20th!). I’m pretty psyched. I will keep you all posted on how that goes.

Looks like we’ve started our descent into Oakland, so, I have to run!

Yes, I am listening to Miley Cyrus. I’m not too cool to admit it, I freakin’ love this song. “Got my hands up they’re playing my song, I know I’m gonna be okay…” Miley, you’re a little bit shady, but I sure do love this little pop-tart of a song! (And yes, I still have my Achy Breaky Heart CD, don’t hate.)