Today's journal is written to you from the Acela Express Amtrak train from DC to NYC. This is the first time that I have ever been on an Amtrak train and so far I am enjoying the ride. Much faster to get on and off than a plane, none of that special groping that you get at the security checkpoints that the airport, TONS more room and there's even a cafe car to eat at.

Patrick and I have completed our Adventure Tour of the Southeast without much trouble. While we were driving through Arkansas or Tennessee or something we decided that would change the name of the tour to the State Capitals Tour since we had passed through 4 or 5 by the time the trip was over. That and the fact that we changed our route a bit and we weren’t really going SOUTHeast anymore, just east. The Adventure stayed true to its name though once we reached West Virginia and I thought it would be fun to take the scenic route. As the best navigators should know, it’s always wise to check the weather before starting out on a trip… this step completely escaped me. We got caught driving through the Appalachian Mountains during a freakin blizzard. At one point, we were driving on this narrow, twisty road and a gust of wind came, knocked over the snow on some trees which then caused this mini avalanche of snow to come down on the car and the whole windshield went completely white and couldn’t see for several seconds. Pretty scary Sheetz (did you know that the actual name of a gas station chain here in the east?) Anyway… Patrick, the wonderful driver that he is, got us to our final destination in one piece.

Signed the lease on the new apartment this morning and “moved” in. When I say “moved”, I don’t actually mean getting stuff moved in… Patrick called the moving company and they said that the truck will not arrive until NEXT SUNDAY. What kind of crappy service are those people running over there? That will make the total time from pickup to drop off 12 days. Oh well. I guess I shouldn’t complain cause I am not the one having to sleep on an air mattress for over a week. I’m sorry honey. =(

I really LOVE the apartment and the area and I am really excited about getting to move down there. I applied for a job w/ Discovery channel last week, so cross your fingers for me.