And we're off!

Yesterday Brian, Vida and I left the Atlanta area around 10 in the morning. We had a wonderful breakfast with Brian's parents and took our leisurely time getting ready! Finally, it was time to go...we said our good-byes, loaded the dog in the car, and slowly drove away. It was kind of a shock as we drove away and the reality set in that we were really on our way! Ahead of us, we had about 500 miles of driving to do! Don't worry though, we were completely prepared - we packed 4 books on tape...I wasn't sure how that was going to go but we figured we might as well be kind of productive and read instead of just staring at the road for 8-10 hours a day!

Anyway, we drove through Alabama without a hitch. While driving through Alabama, I realized what a pretty city Birmingham was. Although, we didn't get to see the pretty parts because we trustingly followed our GPS, instead of using a map, and ended up in the ghetto!! This won't be the last time we end up in the ghetto on our journey I'm sure!

Next, we made our way through Mississippi...a state that I personally have never visited but Brian has many times. We made a few stops in Mississippi including visiting the birth place of Elvis Presley and a rest stop to let the dog run around! We also made a pit stop at Brian's grandmother's house - we visited with her for about an hour and a half and then continued our journey to Little Rock, Arkansas.

After spending some quality time with Brian's grandmother, we drove through Memphis, and again, our GPS, aka Bitchin' Betty, took us through the ghetto! We're 2 for 2! We drove over the Mississippi River - another first for me and continued on into Arkansas. Finally we were in our destination state for the day! Once we crossed over the Mississippi River (which is huge by the way), we started to notice all flat land and crops around us! Eventually, after about 12 hours of traveling, we finally made it to Little Rock - another city that neither of us has visited. Little Rock surprised me! There is a gorgeous river here, the Arkansas River, and there are beautiful mountains/rolling hills that surround the city...who knew Little Rock was so pretty! The sunset was unbelievable last night...I'll post pictures as soon as I can! Don't be fooled though...we found the ghetto here last night as we tried to find a park to walk the dog. Needless to say, that didn't happen!

Although we spent about 12 hours traveling yesterday, it really didn't seem like it was that long! Brian drove the whole way...that's his personal goal for the trip - to single handedly drive the car across the country, and I, shockingly, stayed awake the entire time. We listened to a book on tape, which I full heartedly recommend to anyone who is taking a long trip. We listened to "Tuesday's With Morrie," and we both loved it! Everyone should read this book! We also amused ourselves by looking at all our surroundings. We saw two hilarious billboards along the way...I wish I was quicker with my camera but I couldn't get it out in time so I'll quickly explain and then be done with this post for the day:)

The first one said: "Where's the Birth Certificate?"

The second one said: "Our kids can't read!" and then it spelled the word Mississippi but all of the "s" letters and "p" letters were written backwards. Looks like they can't write either!

Anyway, we're getting ready to journey to Amarillo, TX! I'll update this tonight with pictures! Have a wonderful day!

Sunset in Little Rock over the Arkansas River

Brian and his Grandmother

Elvis Presley's childhood home

Vida's ready to go!!

So much for packing lightly!