Welcome to Arkansas!

A memorable Arkansas moment…

Nice Cory...nice.

Pepper was afraid because of all of the stories she heard about Arkansas (well, and of Onnie too). She hid out here quite a bit.

St. Gertrude PROTECT PEPPER!!!

We hustled through Arkansas into Tennessee. In hindsight…probably should have stayed in Arkansas and had a few hours of peace before the idiot drivers came into play.

- B -

We celebrated in style at the rest stop, with a self-portrait of course.

Howdy!

We then set off on our road trip side trip to Wakita, OK, where Cory’s mom’s side of the family lives. Wakita is up in the north central part of the state, north of Enid, close to the border with Kansas. It is quite rural. And quite flat.

Rural flatness Exhibit A

Rural flatness Exhibit B

I do not joke about the flatness of the landscape. I have never seen anything so flat. It was rather pretty actually. A little disconcerting too

One fun sidenote. TWISTER was filmed in Wakita.

I couldn't help myself.

We spent two days in Wakita, visiting with Cory’s family, touring the area, eating yummy food (banana pudding, bread, stew…) and just spending time chatting and relaxing. It was a nice midway stop on our cross-country adventure. Our butts surely welcomed the break (as did the cats).

- B -

Took us here…

And rewarded my patience and endurance with this…

Over 1,000 miles thus far, with only one injury, 2 stories that probably shouldn’t be told over dinner, a few creepy moments with locals, lots of laughs and all passengers accounted for.

More to come, and thus more to look forward to.

C

TEXAS!!!

To celebrate, we went to the Big Texas Steak Ranch.

With big beers…

Ziegenbock!!

Big food…

Chicken Fried Steak with mac-n-cheese and fried okra.

and big chairs!

Like Lily Tomlin

Tomorrow…off to Oklahoma!

- B -

Although I wasn’t half bad for the four years I was there. I had some local hangouts, I had many favorite restaurants. I did the touristy things and I also shunned the touristy things. I went to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery Screenings (a few of them actually…including the annual PeeWee’s Big Adventure screening). I went to Griffith Park Observatory for Valentine’s Day. I went to a few Greek festivals. I found two lovely little nooks of a beach in Malibu that never had crowds, but sometimes had Lindsey Lohan. I shopped on Rodeo, I shopped on Melrose, I shopped in the fabric district in downtown LA. I lived in three locations in Los Angeles — Koreatown, Park LaBrea and Santa Monica — and I loved each of them for different reasons. I got lost in not-so-great parts of town. I hiked Topanga Canyon and Runyon Canyon. I went to Disneyland and San Diego and Palm Springs. I went to a Lakers game. I played on a studio lot. And I have met many celebrities and gone to many a party (but that’s a given I work in entertainment publicity).

I actually have enjoyed my 4 years in Los Angeles. I came out here to get a master’s degree and I am leaving with that master’s degree, some quality career experience, really good friends, fun memories and an armload of stories. Ultimately, however, Los Angeles is not my town. I couldn’t make it fit even though I tried. The desert air is lovely, but not full-time. The sunshine is exquisite, but I miss rain and wind and cold and spring and fall and fireflies and buttercups. And I miss that so many people that I love are so many many miles away.

So I head east…at least for now. Hey, I am a girl who has now moved 20 times in her life…I can roll with “for now” in cases of location. This time to conquer a dream I have had since I was little. To live in New York City (yes the City, to differentiate from the State, which is awesome in its own right and is where my roots lie).

So cheers to change.

B

P.S. — Did I mention that I have a partner-in-crime who is coming along with me? You might see his posts here from time to time. My four years in Los Angeles weren’t that wasted…I did find him…

I’m truly exhausted… to the extent that my inaugural day’s assessment will be a simple list: 3 things I’ve learned on the road.

1.) The Verizon map in those “F U AT&T” ads needs a little adjustment. No 3g from Needles, CA until Flagstaff, AZ.

I really shouldn’t complain. Between staring into the mountain caps and having real-life conversations (gasp) with Bec, the digital solitude paid off.

2.) The person who opens a decent barber shop in Kingsman, AZ will become fabulously wealthy. I’ve never seen a town quite so deprived of a single good haircut. If someone gets their inspiration for opening such a business from me, please let me know so that we can work out royalties.

3.) Cats get nervous in cars. And sometimes, that makes them pee. In fact, Bec’s cat did just that.

I suppose that this could lead to a forth lesson: cat pee is one of the worst olfactory experiences one can have inside of a confined space. I had a 90-lb. golden retriever as a child that we took on road trips. That humongous dog farted in the car. That car smelled bad. This car smelled worse.

Good first day. Tomorrow it’s off to Amarillo.

C

Makes a man want to write a carol…

I can’t vouch for the quality of this pic (btw- much of this has been/will be written in-car via wpToGo for Android), but there are mountains, snow, a sunset and the kind of pine scent that scientists haven’t been able to put into a can.

C