Saying goodbye to one fabulous city...

Well, here we go again.  Another random, crazy, jobless move to a city where I hardly know anyone, have no family and have no idea what is going to happen.  Only this time, I’m completely changing coasts.  The drive to California has been an interesting one.  From New York to Nashville, I made the journey solo.  One of my favorite things to do is drive with the windows down and listen to music as loud as possible, so I definitely did my share of that through Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and Tennessee.  I might have fallen asleep once or twice at the wheel, so decided to pull over just past Knoxville for a much needed power nap.  Since my options were Sonic and Super 8, I opted for the hotel parking lot.  After about 30 minutes of some of the best sleep of my life, I woke up to drool, leg cramps and an Indian family of 15 grilling out on their truck tailgate right outside of their room.  Classy.

Dad and I met up in Nash, and have so far made it through Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.  Although long and boring in many places, this trip has been great.  I’ve been able to spend some much needed time with friends, grandparents, adopted grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  I’ve been able to see things like the Oklahoma City memorial and an Amarillo sunset.  We’ve eaten at some pretty fantastic places, including Cattleman’s steakhouse in OKC and some fabulous Mexican place in Tucumcari, New Mexico.  Arizona has been my favorite part of this trip.  Yesterday, we were able to see both the Grand Canyon (Desert View) and Sedona.  If you have to choose between the two, go to Sedona.  The route to get there from Flagstaff is referred to as the “Switchbacks”, and it is about twenty something miles of winding road surrounded by gigantic red rock formations.  The town of Sedona is quaint and adorable, and the scenery was unreal.  After a drive through the Mojave Desert, we should be in Marina del Rey by this afternoon.  So far, I still feel like I’m on vacation…

I remain incredibly grateful for the opportunity to make this move to California, which is a dream I have had for years.  While I initially thought I would be 100% ready for it, like I was to leave Nashville for New York, this has been somewhat bittersweet.  I’m sure this is partially because of how I spent my last week there.  Thursday night was my last small group, and the prayer over my new journey was a great way to start off the finale.  Friday was my last day at Universal Attractions, and I got lots of hugs and well wishes, even an unexpected gift!  What a great experience that place was for me.  On Friday night, 25 of my closest friends and I went on an evening cruise around the city.  It was the most amazing night!  Although a very random group of people, everyone seemed to mesh incredibly well.  There was dancing, laughing, and even a pull up contest at one point.  I wouldn’t have changed anything about it (except maybe for the air conditioning situation), and I definitely felt the love.  Later, I met other groups of friends at this place called Slate, which is basically an upscale pool hall with a dress code.  I was able to see people I haven’t seen in months, and once again, was overwhelmed with the love and support.

On Saturday morning, my small group family once again outdid themselves.  The Barnaches hosted a brunch in my honor, because they know how much I love breakfast food and also good times.  It was the perfect way to spend time with such lovely people.  The afternoon was spent retrieving my car from Connecticut and packing it up, just in time to head to New Jersey for the Coldplay concert.  Which, by the way, was the best show I have ever seen.  They aren’t necessarily my favorite band of all time, but visually their performance was unreal.  The artist/crowd interaction was incredibly creative from the beginning to end.  Arm bands on everyone that lit up during certain songs (it looked like a Christmas tree), balls falling from the ceiling, confetti, glow in the dark stars the size of about five people scattered about, an acoustic set, a set played in the back of the arena, I just couldn’t have asked for more.  Sunday was church of course, lunch with the group, and lots of sweet cards, words and acts of kindness.  So, you see why this has been so hard??? 

I have no idea what is about to happen.  I don’t know if it will be a good or bad experience, if I will find a job, if I will like my living situation, if the people will like me or if I’ll like them.  I just think it’s so awesome that I am getting to find out.  Someone asked me what exactly it was that I was looking for, or hoping to find clear across the country.  The truth is, I have no idea.  I have come to the conclusion that at this point in my life I need experiences that I would not be able to have with a family.  Maybe one day I will want to settle down and be a grown up, but not today.  Today, I will go where the wind takes me!

Since I am no longer in the “Big Apple”, I think it is only appropriate to change the title of my blog, and to base the new title on my new neighborhood.  Therefore, going forward, you can find me at http://thegeorgiapeachatvenicebeach.blogspot.com/.

This blog is dedicated to Leighton.  He knows why.