So...a lot has transpired since my last post!  We spent two weeks living at the Value Inn outside Columbus.  It worked out really well, but we were ready to get into a place of our own.  After incessantly checking Columbus Craigslist everyday - and after viewing lots of houses that were alright, but not available until mid-August or September - I saw a post go up for a cute duplex in Upper Arlington that was available for move-in immediately.  Wholly bananas!!  So we headed out, took one look at the place and new it was right for us. 

We moved in last Tuesday and have been spending every waking moment moving crap, cleaning crap, organizing crap, and just generally doing lots of crap.  All the while...Rob is studying anatomy and I begin teaching lessons for a local academy tomorrow.  It's been nut-zo around here!

However, we happened to have found time to visit a couple Columbus festivals - Columbus Pride and Comfest.  They were both so much fun and we definitely are lovin' the city so far.  It's pretty unique and welcoming.

In other news, I will be starting a voice studio in August teaching lessons out of our home and eventually, I will have some courses online that people can take.  I am very excited about this step in my life.  After all our travels, I have learned that I want to spend my energy and time sharing my gifts with others.  This is me making my dreams come true!!  I'll post more info later as the time gets closer.  :)  

Well, my friends, we have arrived.  Yippy skippers!  We've only been here 5 days, but Columbus has already welcomed us with open arms.  We’ve received several questions from you’s guys, so this post will be sort of a Q&A, okay?  But first, I should officially announce that after India, Sweetums (aka, Amy) has been the main writer of the posts you are reading.  I know this probably takes the fun out of guessing who’s writing what, but in order to spare Sweetpea from any responsibly, it had to be done.  Entonces, on with the answers to your questions!

YG: (you’s guys): What are your first impressions of Columbus?
S: (sweetums): It is beautiful!  It is very green with lots of tress and neat historic neighborhoods.  Even though the city is large, you’re able to get around pretty quickly.  The people have been very friendly, so friendly in fact, that we have to plan extra time for all our errands, because it’s not going to be a quick in-and-out transaction!  The weather has been great – about 89 with medium humidity.

YG: Do you have a place yet?
S: No, crazies!!  Rule #1: Never rent a place that you haven’t actually seen yet!  It may look awesome on craigslist, but then you get there and the whole block has boarded up houses, or none of the door frames have doors (but have hinges, like there used to be doors), or they forgot to mention that it has no appliances – that includes no stove.  Sadly, we saw all of these things at one time or another during our many years of moving and searching out new digs.  Here in Columbus, we’ve gone to a few showings so far and hope to find something fairly soon.  Stay tuned for that!  For now, we are officially living at the cheapest extended stay hotel we could find.  Fancy!  Entonces, on with the questions:

YG:   When does Rob start school?
S: Orientation is on August 6th!

YG: What exactly IS a buckeye?
S: The Ohio Buckeye is their state tree!  OSU’s mascot is Brutus Buckeye, who resembles a Buckeye nut.  We’re the nuts!  Go us!

YG:  Any more interesting or crazy things happen?
S: Well…the car battery died pretty quick once we arrived in town, which wasn’t so bad because at least it didn’t stall at a random rest stop in West Virginia!  We just had to spend a few hours looking through boxes in our storage unit to find the battery warranty – which we found!  Yea!   We also actually semi-enjoyed our time at the Ohio BMV (Bureau of Motor Vehicles) because it was the most diverse crowd we’ve seen (and we’ve been to lot of DMVs!).  There were several Korean young adults, a couple of middle eastern women, two darker-skinned guys speaking French, whites, blacks, hispanics, and a couple Polynesians.  It’s like people from every place we’ve lived all put together in one place!  Columbus is going to be awesome.

So, we are currently in Richmond, Virginia visiting some of our beloved relatives – having a blast and starting to get a little anxious to arrive in Columbus to start our next big adventure – medical school!  In the past two weeks, we’ve gone from Albuquerque to Oklahoma to Alabama to Virginia.  Of course, all of our adventures seem to be fraught with some sort of mishap and our cross-country expedition has been no exception.

Driving from ABQ to OKC was like driving into the flames of hell, well – for me (Amy) anyway.  We started the drive (happily full of coffee, tea, and breakfast burritos) only to find that I started feeling a bit ill.  Things started to get hotter and hotter and hotter.  By the time we finished the 9-hour drive and arrived in OKC, I had a smoldering temperature of 102.5 degrees.  Yay for being sick AGAIN!  I thought I was dying and really was worried that maybe my malaria wasn’t cured after all.  First stop in town?  Urgent care.  Luckily we found a place that was very efficient and we only waited about 15 minutes.  I looked absolutely horrible and the staff kept giving me that puppy dog face and saying, “oh, you poor thing.”  If puppy dog faces were medicine, I’d be cured.  Thankfully, I wasn’t having a malaria relapse, but a throat infection relapse (my 4th in the past ten months!).  I think someone cursed me in India.  Apparently, I haven’t been fully kicking the old infections and it keeps coming back every couple of months.  So, more antibiotics for me! 

Next, as a welcome-back present from the State of Virginia, we received a court summons after being caught in a police roadblock for an expired safety inspection on our vehicle.  We had only been in the state less than 24 hours – now that’s luck!  Fortunately, the officer had some compassion and said to send him our information once our cars are in good standing in Ohio (titled, inspected, and registered) and he’ll attend the court date for us to explain our situation to the judge.  Our court date is at the beginning of July, which means we are even MORE motivated to find a place in Columbus quickly – since you can’t register vehicles until you can prove residency.  If we don’t, we could have a warrant out for our arrest in the state of Virginia.  Awesome!!

On another note, in retrospect I think we would have paid someone $100 to figure out the most stress-free way to move two vehicles and a motorcycle from NM to Ohio and organize it for us, because the way it has unfolded has given Rob a few more gray “wisdom hairs” on his beard.  Trying to add a tow hitch and after-market tow light wiring on a vehicle and renting a motorcycle trailer seems straight forward, but after trying to track down equipment in NM, then have it not show up and then have them try to get it to Virginia, it was a nightmare.  When we finally found one of the parts we needed, the man on the phone told us to pick it up at their “Princess Anne Road” location in Virginia Beach.  No problem!  Actually, yes, it was a bit of a problem because we had forgotten that Princess Anne is one of the longest roads in Virginia Beach and pretty much takes you to North Carolina.   As we faithfully followed the GPS, we found ourselves out in the countryside, driving past strawberry fields in Pungo and ending up about 15 minutes from the North Carolina border.  Well, that was a scenic way to get some car parts!

At this point, things seem to be coming together.  We got the tow hitch and electrical equipment installed.  Got the trailer rented and hooked up.  Got the motorcycle from my uncle’s house.  Got loaded and started heading to Richmond and then, we hear a loud pop and see some debris break off into the wind behind us.  Hmm.  Wonder what that was….  It ended up being the tread from one of the trailer tires, which was quickly separating and about to explode.  We made an emergency roadside stop on I-64.  Of course, we were halfway between exits, were unable to drive above 10 mph on the shredding tire, had empty bellies, and it was 88 degrees.  Rather than risk pulling onto the freeway and driving at 10 mph, we decided to wait for help.  It took about 2 hours for the thing to get fixed, so we got to spend a decent amount of time hanging out on the highway shoulder.  But on the positive side, my handy dandy P-style got another starring role in a roadside pee stop.  Yes, everyone, I peed on the side of I-64, with cars rushing by at 70 mph.  I might have looked like a man, but I’ve never felt like such a superwoman!

Now, we’re off to Roanoke, Virginia tomorrow and should arrive in Columbus early this week.  After we get a place to live, new driver’s licenses, and some Ohio State Buckeye gear, we’ll have to find out what exactly a buckeye is.  Get ready Ohio, here we come!!

Great Expedition Facts

Miles traveled so far: 2,153
States driven through: 9 (NM, TX, OK, AR, TN, MS, AL , KY, VA)
Books listened to:
“Stories I Only Tell My Friends” by Rob Lowe
“Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” by JK Rowling

Roadtrip fights: 1  (incident occurred at an organic food store in Memphis, TN)