Arrival

Greetings from Pasadena, CA!  What a week it's been. Time really does fly when you're not living in the Tundra :)

The second day of travel was thankfully uneventful.  Our weather/road conditions were truly perfect and it was just the sheer longevity that exhausted us. Sheba was beyond angry at me for the first 30 minutes of Day 2-- so much so that she injured her right paw (slightly) in a fit of 'get-me-the-heck-out-of-this-cage' RAGE as we were leaving the motel on the second day. Luckily (for all of us), that initial burst of energy took everything out of her and she resigned herself to quietly sitting in her bed, in the cage, in the dark, for the 13.5 hour day.  My poor baby. Sigh.

Sheba enjoys her new temporary Arizona surroundings

Beauty of the Palm Springs area

Mom and Dad had everything ready for our arrival in Mesa, AZ.  Phoebe stayed in the second bedroom and Sheba and I had the pull-out in the office.
Total trip time = 26.5 hours.
Total mileage (from Belle Plaine to Mesa) was around 1715.  I tried to make a date with a friend who lives in Arizona for drinks on Sunday night but was so tired I couldn't even wait for his text response before passing out! (Sorry again P.)

Saturday, Sunday and Monday were spent trying to get things organized and making Sheba feel comfortable.  Lots of sleeping, eating and napping (and yes, napping is different than sleeping.... obviously ;))

Tuesday afternoon I set off by myself for California. The six hour drive from Mesa to Aliso Viejo, CA seemed like nothing compared to my previous two day's journey. It was almost two years ago to the date when I drove I-10 West through Palm Springs into the "OC" for the first time and decided there was no place on earth I would rather live.  And this second trip didn't disappoint.

In-N-Out Burger. Yummy.

I arrived in the OC around 5:30pm and hit my new favorite California fast-food joint: In-N-Out Burger.  Yummy.  After catching up with a couple of California girlfriends via phone, I took a quick trip to my favorite SoCal guy's house and spent a few hours with him and his kids getting properly caught up.

Finally it was time to head north for the final leg (less than an hour on Hwy 5 to Pasadena).  The rain had really started coming down and I was anxious to check in to the Travelodge.

After a good night's sleep I was up and navigating Pasadena for a meeting at the Temp Agency this afternoon.  Paperwork, W-2's, online tests, confidentiality agreements etc. had to be done.  The BEST news is that supposedly my first pay check will be available for pick-up on March 1st ;)  Crazy how that works (hopefully. knocking on wood).



The rest of today has been spent on Westsiderentals.com searching for some-what-affordable apartments and rooms in the Pasadena area.  As most of you know directions/maps/navigation isn't my strong suit. The internet helps but it's still overwhelming for me. I was able to find and set up about six different meetings over the next two days for units that are immediately available for rent.  Fingers crossed I can find something (the sooner I can find something, the sooner my stuff can be shipped from Minnesota and the sooner Sheba and I can be reunited in our new HOME!).

The next time you "hear" from me I will be a California employee (sort of). Happy Oscars weekend!

My home for the next 10 days: Pasadena Travelodge!