Here we are!

Well, here we are. We now find ourselves in San Angelo, TX. It's been a great yet very strange move. It doesn't feel real even though we are here. I think it is because Dan's work arranged to have movers come in pack our things up and transport and deliver them to our new apartment all without us hardly lifting a finger. We just had to pack some of our more precious items in our cars and have a pleasant and all paid for drive from Florida to Texas. It has been strange because exactly one week ago we were totally living in our Florida apartment with NOTHING packed and now we are almost entirely unpacked and living in a totally new apartment. Is anyone understanding my point? It's been weird. Sometimes I open the window expecting to see my view in Florida and find myself surprised. The other day Dan started to suggest we go to the beach and we both realized we are hours from the coast now. Hopefully it will sink in soon.

We had a blast on our trip. We enjoyed driving through the bayous and swamps of Louisianna, we passed the NASA station, and I got to enjoy our 3 month free XM radio stations - I especially enjoyed the Radio Classics station with all the old radio shows that used to play - such as Sherlock holms and other suspence and mystery shows from the 40's and 50's.

We stayed the first night in Baton Rouge, Loisianna and went to a Cajun Restauraunt. It was so fun. They had a live cajun band and people got up in the center and danced. I think I had a misconception of just what cajun was until this place. I didn't realize the accordian was a bit part of the culture. We decided we wanted to try something VERY different. So, Dan ordered the fried alligator and I the grilled frogs legs. I know - weird, and kind of creepy, but surprisingly yummy! I don't think I'd go jumping to eat frog legs again (I just realized I wrote jumping and frog in the same sentence - it was not intentional, but kind of funny - helps to make my point). There is just something mentally unsettling about it - I don't know why, I eat chicken drumsticks. Dan says its all mental. Anyway, it was good and tasted like a mix of chicken with a slight fish texture. That may sound gross, but it was good. (excuse the phone camera quality - you get the idea)
The next day we drove into Texas and w welcomed by a torrential rainstorm. It was raining so hard you couldn't see 15 feet ahead. The entire 70 mph highway came to almost a complete stop. I thought the rain was going to actually break my windshield. It only took minutes and the median and highway exits were already flooded with almost a foot of water - CRAZY and scary. But the craziest part of it all was driving out of it to blue skys about 30 minutes later.

That night we spent a great night at a very nice hotel (thanks to Dan's work - but we still got a great bargain from priceline.com) in San Antonio. We ate at another very fun restauraunt. It was a mexican restauraunt that from the outside looked like a castle and inside like a little old mexican village - a stary night sky and all.

So, here we are. We stayed one night on the base at an inn and moved into our apartment the next morning. Texas is a very interesting place so far. I've never spent anytime outside of an airport here and I'm beginning to understand the phrase "rugged beauty". I wouldn't say Texas is beautiful and yet it isn't ugly. But I really shouldn't sum up all of Texas with what I've seen since Texas is HUGE and has all sorts of terrain. ANYWAY, the best part has been the sunsets. INCREDIBLE! I don't know what it is about the sky here but it looks and feels different.

San Angelo itself is quite a decent sized town. It has a population just under 90,000 people. There is a small mall and a University so there is plenty of stores, restauraunts, and such - but if you stray from town there is NOTHING but tiny towns, farms, and tumbleweeds for hours! It is a strange feeling to be in this sort of bubble.

Well, we are excited for the next 7 months here and all it holds. We'll update you on jobs and such as they come. I'll also video the apartment (MUCH BIGGER than the last one) and post for those you care to see it.