The Long Drive

Even with the help of family, we were packing and getting things ready till the last minute. Unfortunately, I got sick the last night we were in Provo and couldn't be much help at all. I had a fever and felt like I got hit by a truck. It was horrible. But Aunt Cathy helped us till so late. She was such a lifesaver. Before I got really sick, Blaine and I hurried to the Cocoa Bean Cafe one last time. We love that place. 

We ended up staying at Aunt Cathy and Uncle Dave's for the night since our place was completely packed and we were too tired to head out on the road that night. It was also nice to have Aunt Cathy around nursing me back to health. By the time I woke up, I was feeling much better. My flu was gone in 2 days. For those of you who know me, that is a record. When I get sick, it lasts for weeks! 

The next morning we headed out. I was pretty sad to be leaving Provo for good. After saying goodbye to Nina and Luna, I was a wreck! I cried for a while on the road.  Blaine was a trooper and just kept comforting me and let me sleep for as long as I wanted. Our car was packed as much as possible. We were pretty cramped in there. Rue did fine the whole way and just slept a ton. We stopped in Albuquerque the first night. On our way to Houston, we passed by a little restaurant called Circle H BBQ that Blaine went to when he visited Stace & Chris when they used to live in Wichita Falls. It was so good! And it was so nice to not eat fast food. 

That was the front seat where I sat!

Circle H - so good!

Then we stopped in Houston at Brad and Katie's for the night. I wish we had more time to hang out with them! But it was nice to hang out with them even if it was just for a little bit.

Tieg, Blaine & Rue hanging out

And of course, we had to stop at Whataburger
for breakfast while we were in Texas.

Our next stop was Orlando. I had to convince Blaine to stop since we were so close to Miami, but we were both really tired and were in no need to hurry. So the Hoffmann's were kind enough to let us crash at their place at 3 AM! We're lucky to have them as friends. In the morning, Blaine and I went to Wawa. They expanded into Orlando! We stocked up on all of our favorites. Blaine was one happy guy. Wish they expanded into South Florida!

I am so happy that Blaine was so patient with me this trip. He usually hates stopping if he hasn't driven for more than 20 hours straight! I think he finally got the idea that stopping frequently is safer :) The fact that I was sick helped my case. I needed to sleep on an actual bed at night! The longest we drove was 14 hours - not bad!

Dont' mind my hideous looking self...but this is how we were the whole trip.

So we finally made it to Miami on Friday. It was a long drive, but we made it safely with no complications at all. That night, we went to a party that my new job hosted for the grand opening of one of their therapy locations. We were exhausted, but I really wanted to get to know my new co-workers! We were only there for an hour or so and headed back home to get some rest!