we're heeeee-rrrrreeeee

we arrived in the atl sunday night and were welcomed with open arms by mama black. despite being exhausted (we're still trying to catch up on our sleep), we're very excited about what lies ahead. stay tuned for more updates, please.

we love and miss y'all very much!

our final day in the big easy

the new orleans school of cooking class was super cool. be prepared, all ye friends, for us to try the gumbo recipe when you visit us in atlanta. besides gumbo, the chef cooked jambalaya, bread pudding and pralines, but the gumbo was our favorite. we also learned interesting stuff about the history of cajun and creole food.

more wandering about the french quarter and people-watching occurred today, as well as eating another round of beignets from cafe du monde. (again with the food)

we're gonna miss new orleans, but we know we'll be back as often as we're able to visit. tomorrow we're bound for mama black's house where we'll begin the next chapter in our lives. it's an exciting time, and we're ready for it!

as always, we're sending lots of love and hugs across the miles...the girlz

our final stop before it's back to reality

we left abilene bound for dublin, texas the birthplace of one of lucky's favorite beverages, dr. pepper. this pit stop was definitely a high point after experiencing abilene for one night. the tour of the bottle washing, filling, capping and inspecting operations was fascinating. after browsing the gift shop, we got back on the road.

our time in austin, texas was short, but fun. we enjoyed spending time with mn's childhood friend and experiencing the quirkiness that is austin, including shopping at a store called room service vintage and having ice cream from marble slab creamery. mmmmmm, ice cream.

yesterday we hit the road and headed toward new orleans, along with thousands of hurrican ike's evacuees. traffic was stop-and-go for a good portion of the day, especially in houston, lake charles and baton rouge, but we kept our spirits up by singing along to bad 80s radio. watch out karaoke bars!

today was spent exploring the beautiful french quarter and hitting some of our favorite restaurants including cafe du monde for beignets, pat o'briens for a hurricane and central grocery for a muffaletta sandwich. YUM!

(have you noticed how much of our trip has been influenced by our stomachs? we seem to write a lot about food. perhaps one of us (or both) will become a food critic.)

despite the weather effects from hurricane ike (strong winds and occasional rain), we're having a fabulous time in new orleans, one of our favorite cities to visit. more adventures await tomorrow including taking a class at the new orleans cooking school.

as always, we're sending lots of love and hugs across the miles...the girlz

a snapshot into conversations on our drive

since we have time, we decided to offer some thoughts and ponderings of our trip thus far.

1. there is a LOT of wide open space in this part of the country. in fact, this morning we saw a sign for 20 acres of land for $15,000. what a bargain!

2. unfortunately, inconsiderate people stay in hotels and make lots of noise at all hours of the night.

3. water in the desert tastes yucky.

4. lovely, friendly people work at luby's cafeteria in el paso, texas.

5. don't eat diesel fried chicken.

6. a hotel in las vegas can make you feel almost as small as the vast, open landscapes in the desert southwest.

7. a LOT of people like to gamble. we're not members of that group.

8. all-you-can-eat buffets bring out people's animalistic, hoarding tendencies.

9. there's always room for dessert.

10. every day is a new beginning.

11. live in the present moment. it's all we've got.

12. texas is enormous. don't mess with it.

13. jogging is a great way to see the city from a different perspective.

14. a good night's sleep is priceless.

15. sometimes we wish we could drive 300 miles per hour.

16. we're all the same on the inside, and we basically want the same things: happiness, truth, kindness, hope, love. try to remember that the next time you're feeling angry or upset at someone else.

so there you have it: words of wisdom from two girls in love driving from one coast to the other and lovin' every second of it!

as always, we're sending lots of love and hugs across the miles...the girlz

sailboats, sunshine and red snapper

said one boy to another as they walked on coronado beach, “if a bird ever poops on me in my life, i hope it happens now because i can just run into the ocean to wash it off.”

as we drive through arizona pondering the absurdity of the border patrol, we reflect on our spectacular time in san diego. we drove to encinitas to visit the self-realization fellowship center. sitting in their beautiful gardens, we watched surfers attempt to catch the perfect wave.

then it was off to la jolla, a beautiful, quaint coastal town where we’d love to live if we won the lottery. adults and kids alike frolicked in the ocean waters as snorkelers viewed the underwater preservation park and kayakers enjoyed the sea lions soaking up the sun’s rays.

following our journey up the coast, we spent time wandering the streets and shops in the hillcrest neighborhood and the gaslamp quarter of san diego.

yesterday we took a morning run (yes, run – you know, for exercise) through gorgeous balboa park before heading to old town for lunch at a lovely little mexican restaurant. then it was off to coronado beach for the afternoon. what a beautiful peninsula coronado is! and the beach was enormous! it was the perfect place to get married…so we did! well, we’re not technically married because at the present time the federal government refuses to recognize our relationship (which is totally crazy and stupid, but we won’t go into that now).

we have wanted to exchange rings for awhile and this trip seemed like the perfect time to make it happen. we plan to have a formal commitment ceremony among friends and family sometime in the future, but this was just between the two of us. it was beautiful, memorable and brilliant, just as we had hoped.

our reception dinner took place at a restaurant called the fish market, where we enjoyed wonderfully fresh seafood as we watched the sailboats meandering back to their ports in san diego bay, and our last cupcake from sprinkles bakery was our yummy wedding cake.

so here weare, continuing our honeymoon through the desert southwest en route to our new home in atlanta. it’s an exciting time.

as always, we’re sending lots of love and hugs across the miles…the “just married” girlz

goodbye vegas, hello beach!

this morning we said our farewells to sin city and headed toward sunny san diego, california. our travels took us into los angeles for a stop at sprinkles cupcake bakery because we figured, why not? neither of us had ever been to the city of angels, so we braved the insanity of highway driving to check out what all the fuss was about…and what we discovered was crazy drivers and lots of smog (neither of which was a surprise to us, but it’s different to actually experience it in person). we managed to arrive unscathed at sprinkles on santa monica boulevard, and it was SO worth it! the cupcakes are YUMMY! see the picture? they’re cute AND they’re tasty -- the perfect combination.



we'll be in san diego until monday morning - we’re excited to explore the city and its surrounding areas. tomorrow we’re heading up to lajolla and encinitas and sunday we’ll be spending time in balboa park and coronado beach. more adventures await!

here are some pictures from our last day in vegas and today's travels.













as always, we’re sending lots of love and hugs across the miles…the girlz

the chosen ones and the forgotten ones

since our last post, several days and many adventures have occurred.

after our night in boise, we headed south toward salt lake city with a stop along the way in roy, utah, at the burger bar, a utah institution, which we learned about while watching “diners, dives and drive-ins” on the food network. the food was well worth the hype. we shared an elk burger (tasted like chicken…er, i mean beef), french fries and a chocolate shake. yum!



we encountered more beautiful scenery along the way. miles and miles of uninhabited prairies and mountains, and endless blue skies have been our entertainment during our route. here are some of our best shots.















arriving in salt lake city on Monday night, we took the opportunity to explore the city, including mormon temple square.


las vegas welcomed us with open arms on tuesday night, and we’re in the midst of discovering all sin city has to offer.

















as always, we’re sending lots of love and hugs across the miles…the girlz