California Dreamin’ – September 2019

I never expected to fall in love with California. But I did.

At the end of September, I flew to San Diego for TwitchCon. How I was able to afford it, I’m still not sure, but this trip was a big deal for me. It was the first time I traveled alone in 10 years. AND it was also the first time meeting online friends.

But, I can finally say I’ve officially been coast to coast in the United States. Yay!

My only gripe about the whole trip was that I didn’t have enough time to do everything I wanted. I wanted to swim in the ocean, I wanted to go to the San Diego Zoo, and I definitely wanted to go to the cat cafe downtown.

I ultimately decided not to take my good camera with me. I knew that if I took it, I would hate carrying it around, and/or it would get damaged.

The weather was…perfect. It was a nice break to escape the still 90°+ in Phoenix with actual sweatshirt weather. Phoenix has been extremely dry this summer, so it was nice to feel at least a tiny bit of rain while I was there.

This trip meant a lot to me as it was a chance to get away from home stuff. Not that home stuff is particularly bad, but it felt great to be my own person again. To be just…. Sarah.

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All in all, it was probably one of the best vacations I’ve had in a very long time. TwitchCon 2020 is set to be back in San Diego and holy shit, I can’t wait to go back.

Viva Las Vegas – May/June 2019

I’ve visited the City of Sin. And I loved it.

May 31/June 1, I took my first “vacation” in 3 years (when I went to Indy Pop Con in 2016). It was a quick trip, up one day, back the next, but it was worth it. This trip also had me on a plane for the first time since 2004.

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The one thing I noticed about Vegas is there is a lot of people. And I mean a lot.

After getting to Vegas and taking the obligatory Vegas sign selfie, we walked down The Strip. And yes, I did go to the aquarium at Mandalay Bay.

Basically the trip consisted of walking down The Strip and drinking. A bit of gambling. I won $233.00 which was nice. Side note, I’m not much of a gambler.

I didn’t take many pictures with my good camera just because carrying it around with the large crowds was becoming a hassle.

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So now I’m finally caught up with pictures. (FINALLY!)

My next known trip will September for TwitchCon. I’ll be in San Diego. I’m still debating on whether or not I want to take my camera or just take pictures on my phone.

Goodbye West Virginia, Hello Arizona!

The move has come and gone. I’m happy to say we made it to Arizona in one piece, the cats survived, and our marriage still in tact.

We left a day later than originally planned and unfortunately left/threw out more than we had originally wanted. There were times during the packing that we didn’t think we were going to make it, leading stuff up until we were physically sick. But we did it. We left Huntington at noon on June 16.

Our first stop was St Louis, Missouri. My husband, being the expert driver he is, timed it perfectly to drive over the Mississippi River viewing the Gateway Arch at sunset. If it one thing I love, it’s a good sunset picture.

Day 2 had us driving from St Louis, MO to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was a long day of driving and the first time we started getting annoyed with being in a Uhaul of hours on end. It certainly didn’t help when the hotel we booked for the night (which said they were pet friendly), told us they were not CAT friendly (other pets were okay though.) We found a new hotel pretty quickly at least.

Athena

Ophelia

Day 3 had us ending in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We started feeling that desert heat. I got a sunburn for the first time in years.

New Mexico is absolutely beautiful. I wish we would have had more time to stop so I could take more pictures. Honestly I feel that way about a lot of places. But I did get a badass picture of sunset on our way back to hotel after dinner.

Day 4 was our last day on the road. I was beginning to get really exhausted and anxious about sitting in one spot for long hours. It certainly didn’t help that I had a cat carrier on my lap the entire time. We finally made it to Arizona.

The drive down from Flagstaff wasn’t so bad. The drop in elevation is what killed me. We stopped about midway down for bathroom break.

But when I saw the city come into view for the first time, all the exhaustion and anxiety from the last couple days didn’t matter. We had made it to our new home.

The cats have adjusted better than they did the last time we moved. Ophelia and Athena enjoy being Arizonan and honestly, so do we.

And I still haven’t seen an armadillo or a scorpion.