FEAR

Well as of yesterday I am a bonafide Pilot employee.  Brann couldn’t wait to get me driving, and then the fear set in… Oh.My.God…. I have to what?
I’d only had 3 weeks of school and of that only about 8 hours of actual road driving! Beads of sweat started forming at every available area of skin and my lunch did its best to show itself. “OK!” I had no control over my words, but mostly I was not about to disappoint Brann.

“Well get on in” Brann was laughing, I was not. 

I climbed into the seat and tried stalling by moving as slowly as I could to readjust the seat and steering wheel. And I played completely dumb when it came to my log book. Brann had enough, “Start the truck,let’s go!” Uuuuuugh!

Here we go, gears grinding, tires rolling. “SHIFT!” What the hell? Suddenly my sweet loving fiance and best friend is a drill sargeant? “I AM” I retaliated. This wonderful banter continued for about 250 miles.

I couldn’t take anymore. Call me a lala if you want, but 80,000 pounds of responsibility was to much at that moment. Steep downhills, sharp corners and cars sliding in front of you without warning. Blah.

We switched seats and I started crying like a baby! What in the? Those who know me know that I don’t really cry. I guess stress got the best of me. I went to the sleeper to decompress and passed out for 8 hours!

The next consecutive days have gotten easier, but it’s still very scary. 

Hope everyone is well out there, and remember, trucking is scary. Give drivers a break once in awhile.

I’ve been everywhere man…..

Hey there! I just sort of disappeared didn’t I? So much adjustment and learning I’ve been focusing on that. Let me give a quick rundown of the last few weeks. We drove from Reno to Vancouver and stayed for a week. We started sailing lessons with my future Father in law, and ultimately decided that living on a sailboat, A lifelong dream for us both, is exactly what we want, and we are now shopping for a 45 footer.

We found a fantastic place to eat in Vancouver called The Brickhouse, the food was to die for and both the employees and the patrons were wonderful. I’ll do a full review next post. We also designed and ordered my engagement ring! It looks strange in the photo because it was a blank and the prongs are very large but once the diamond is placed inside that will be corrected.

We received orders to head to LA and Brann thought it would be fun to stop in Vegas for lunch. We went to the shark reef at Mandalay Bay.

Pretty cool eh? The next week of driving goes something like this: Arizona, broke down in Salt Lake, Wyoming, Nebraska to Michigan. Michigan to Georgia to Tenessee and now back to Michigan. That pretty much sums up the last few weeks. I’m going to make a valant attempt to keep up with this. Wish me luck!

Somewhere only we know……

Well, it’s finally here! I am leaving within the next hour. Is this how Alice felt before she slipped into that dark hole, her curiosity swirling into the unknown depths of a new adventure? It’s much more emotional than I imagined, but luckily Brann is a very patient man. Dare, believe, engage, dream…it’s all there down that stretch of road where life is an endless horizon and love is a highway. I can’t wait to show you guys all of the amazing experiences ahead of us!  I’m out of here, I’ll update soon!!! <3

Tahoe Love

Since Brann has never been to Lake Tahoe, we
decided to go.  We loaded up the tubes and beer (surprised?) and set off for some rest and relaxation.

When we got home, we were starving and there was a mention of burgers. I had recently fallen in love with this recipe on pinterest: burgers stuffed with sharp cheddar cheese and wrapped in bacon, then smothered with sauteed mushrooms. Is it even possible to say no to that? Ah~may~zing!

TGFF.. Thank God For Friends….and Vodka

With all the recent craziness of the past few weeks, it’s high time for a little madness.
Brann is here now… shit’s gettin’ real!

Where to next? Bistro Napa in the Atlantis Casino for happy hour of course.  If you are ever in Reno, you have to try this place. Their happy hour is Monday thru Friday 4pm to 6pm, and everything is 50% off!  So we ordered a dozen oysters,
Kobe beef sliders, tuna tartar lettuce wraps, and calamari. So delish!

To top it all off, they whipped up what can only be called heaven in a chilled glass aka a Cotton Candy Lemondrop. Filling a martini glass with a large delectable chunk of cotton candy, they pour a tart lemondrop right over the top of it. If anything can make your inner child dance with cross-eyed delight, it’s this incredible cocktail!

So whenever you’re in town, kick back with friends and savor a moment like this. You won’t regret it!

Bittersweet Symphony

Nowadays, they have more trouble packing hair dryers than baseball equipment.
Bob Feller

Trying to pack up all my necessities (well at least what I consider necessary) is no easy task.  Not knowing how long before I make it back to Reno is also a problem. So, I’ve narrowed it down to 30 bags. Fine, how about 25? 15?? Okay, okay…3 bags! Ugh I guess that’s enough.

It’s not that I’m high maintenance; I just think that there’s a certain comfort level to having your ‘stuff’ with you. I have my clothes all stuffed into one giant duffle bag, one heaping bathroom bag, and another bag with all of my writing and cartooning books. Maybe I’ll have to break down and get that Kindle after all…

Throwback Wednesday

It’s a bit hectic today, so I threw on ’Throwback Wednesday’. It’s easy to forget how many wonderful forgotten songs are still out there. This one was one of my favs. Just can’t get enough. Enjoy!