New Orleans and Houston
Hi All! Sorry it has taken so long to post here. Once we were in TN, we lost internet for a while and since then, it has been a roller coaster!
After TN, we traveled down to New Orleans stopping by in Birmingham, AL – the central spot where the tornado hit. The entire town lost electricity and we could see houses torn apart. I am sure it will be some time before the area is up and running again.
It took us the entire day to get to New Orleans. We left Thursday around 10 am and didn’t get in until around 12am! And we pretty much drove straight the whole day! As we were searching for a hotel, we noticed that there were so many cars around but once we (finally) found a hotel that wasn’t booked full, we found out why there were so many people. Apparently that weekend was a live jazz festival. Too bad we couldn’t stay 
. Once checked in, Sara and Mike wanted to check out the night life. I was too exhausted to go but they said it was a good experience.
The next morning, we woke up early and was on the road again. We had to get to the apartment by the time the office closed (6pm) but we ended up having plenty of time getting in around 4pm. And wow! When we saw the apartment for the first time, it was amazing! I still can’t believe the amount of space we have. It still feels like we are visiting but once we clear out the boxes and get some new furniture, it will feel like home 
Spinning clouds and the gods
Me,
When I was a little girl, my mom would retell her story of the family TV blowing up from a lightning strike when she was little. She tended to tell this to me when there was a thunder and lightning storm, and so it really didn’t make me feel great. Now as an adult, I don’t like the sound of thunder and I don’t like to be in the lightning. If I could see it from a safe distance, I would.
and Them…
Mike and Moni, however, seemed to have grown up enjoying these storms. So, with heavy rain pounding against our motel room windows, they wanted and still want to watch the whole thing.
The blinds open,
I go the bathroom.
I stay in the bathroom.
I think I have a healthy fear of tornadoes. I don’t feel like dying today, and I don’t want to see a tornado coming toward me. Is it likely that we will be hit? Nope. But my childhood, I’m sure, shaped my angst of such a horrible, natural happenstance.
Religion
Mike and I were talking about the Bible Belt and tornadoes. It kind of makes sense that as this country was being developed, people became more and more into their religion—mainly some flavor of Christianity.
Or, as Mike put it: “The Bible Belt and Tornado Alley are somewhat in the same spot.”
And maybe, just maybe, a hundred or more years ago, with death so prevalent from disease, people had the added fear of death from tornadoes falling from the sky. Maybe people just wanted to make sure they were squared away with God… just in case.
I only stayed in the bathroom for 5 mins, but it was long enough for me to think about how spinning clouds and the gods shaped the culture of this part of the South.
Tornadoes Are Heading Right to Knoxville
So plans just recently changed. We were going to head to Nashville, TN and then Little Rock, AR today but that is where the weather is really bad. Huge storms, hail and tornado warnings are everywhere. We decided to stay another night in Knoxville until the storms passes tonight and then head straight to New Orleans tomorrow.
As we track the storm on the TV, Knoxville is in the storm’s path. The skies just started getting darker and I am starting to hear thunder and lightening. They just issued a tornado warning for our area. Sara is now hiding in the bathroom and Mike and I will join her if it gets really bad.
Earlier, we had breakfast with Jahir but the school told the students not to drive anymore unless you absolutely have to.
Jahir
After traveling through a few waves of thunderstorms with some heavy rain, we got lucky because our last few hours of traveling we had the most amazing weather. We got into Knoxville, TN around 10pm and checked into a nearby hotel. We met up with my brother Jahir who attends the University of Knoxville. It had been such a long time since the last time I saw him. It was great to see him and catch up!
Mike, Sara and I were starving so we all went to Buffalo Wild Wings. Jahir decided to get the hottest wings on the menu! Oh man! After about 2 wings, the waitress gave him 2 more waters and Sara said she could just smell how hot it was from her chair. Mike decided to try one and after a few minutes, his face was red and was dripping with sweat. Poor thing! We all had a great time just lauging and eatting.
Now we are back at the hotel and are going to rest for the night. Tomorrow we plan to have breakfast with my bother and then on the road again to Nashville, TN for some sightseeing and then to Sara’s Aunt’s house in Little Rock, AR. It will be another long day on the road again but we are eager for the fun to be had!
Mike Guest Stars…
Hey everyone, this is Mike talking for once, everyone is telling me to talk about this and talk about that and don’t forget the Taco Hut in VA. It’s Mike’s turn to tell you what’s what and give you the latest scoop on this crazy trip in our rolling box. At the moment we are leaving the Taco Bell/Pizza Hutt in Charlottesville Virginia, I prefer to call it the Taco Hut for simplicity sake since it is the same restaurant. The people there were very nice and they gave Sara extra cinnamon twists because we had to wait an extra 30 seconds for our food which was so much less expensive then the food in NYC by the way. Before going there to eat we stopped at a hamburger place which we couldn’t eat at “because of Cousin Michael” and his allergies to just about everything. So off we went to the Taco Hut where I could eat stuff. Oh and Moni wants me to mention the VA visitor welcome center because we have pictures of it. OOOOOOOO AHHHHHHH.
At this very moment we are heading south into tornado alley and the clouds are starting to get thicker as we pass a truck with a blown out tire and the radio gets a little more country. Uncle John assured us that the tornados are only a mile wide at the most and we had nothing to worry about because there is a lot of land out there. Another first is we hit our first 70mph speed limit sign. So far the trip is good but there is a lot of girly music, talk of happy clouds and Moni’s camera in my face. At some point I might go insane and jump out of the truck; however that wouldn’t be fair to Sara if we happen to hit a cow along the way. Moni says we are starting to get rain, she said I should add that to my post. MY POST!!! Anyway the trip has been great so far and we are having a lot of fun and everyone is so great that has been hosting us, we are all really thankful for having people that care for us and I am really lucky to be doing this road trip with Sara and Moni. Take care all, or should I now say y’all, I think we are far enough south now. Till next time-Mike
On the Lookout for Tornadoes
As we are on the road to Knoxville, TN, I don’t like this weather report for today
“This is a particularly dangerous situation with a risk of large, long-track tornadoes, especially from far northeastern Texas and northwestern Louisiana into Arkansas, northwestern Mississippi, western Tennessee, western Kentucky, far southern Illinois and southern Missouri.”
http://www.accuweather.com/blogs/news/story/48846/tornadoes-breaking-out-again-f.asp
Aunt Nanette’s
From Etters, PA, we arrived in Alexandria, VA around 8pm. We were greeted with welcome arms by Mike’s Aunt Nanette and Uncle John. We sat and talked on the beautiful back screened in porch catching up and played with their cute puppies! Buddy and Pretzel! (I love cute fluffy white dogs!)
Aunt Nanette, Sara, Mike and I ate dinner on the outside patio along side their beautiful garden and pink blossom tree! It was the first time I had falafel and Sara and Mike downed the shrimp. The tso’s chicken was sooo tasty too!
After dinner, Sara had to finish up some school work and Mike, I and Aunt Nanette talked till midnight. It was so great to hear family stories and hear about her adventures in law school.
On the way to bed, I noticed how beautiful her quilts were. There was one hanging on the wall that had a pizza on it… and everyone who knows me knows my favorite food is pizza! Aunt Nanette says it’s yours! Wow!! Now I have a pizza quilt. I hope I don’t crave pizza too much every time I look at it now… but I can’t guarantee it. hahaha thank you aunt Nanette!!!
This morning I woke up a little late and came downstairs after my shower. Mike, Sara, and Uncle John were having breakfast on the back porch and catching up. It was such a beautiful morning! Much cooler than yesterday.
Now we are off to Knoxville, TN where we hear reports of tornadoes and big storms…. We hope to be in Knoxville by 8/8:30pm tonight. It will be about a 7/8 hour drive – our longest time in the car. If the weather gets really bad, we may have to get a hotel early.
Indian Echo Caverns Pics
Indian Echo Caverns
This morning I woke up re-freshed. As I was getting ready for my shower, I was looking for a towel in the bathroom when I saw on the back of the door:
Bunny Signs!! With our names on them telling us where our towels were. So Cute!!! (My towel is on the bottom right hand side). After a well needed shower (haha), I went downstairs and had a yummy breakfast. We talked about what we wanted to do that day. The verdict was: Indian Echo Caverns! Sara mentioned she wanted to go – and they were 20 mins away! What luck.
Luckily Aunt Georgette and Uncle Bil had been there (about 7 or 8 times) but were happy to take us. I am sure they could have given us the tour as well! We went on a 45 minute tour of the caves. My favorite part was the underground lake that was 6 ft deep! In my next post, I will list all the pictures we took! There are tons!
After the caves, we all had nice lunch at Applebees. Mmmmm. After, we went back to the house and got ready to go back on the road. Uncle Bill and Mike had this amazing idea to take the middle console out! And now I have TONS of leg room! As well as more room for the tasty snacks that Aunt Georgette gave us (THANK YOU!!). Wow we had such a great time.
Right now, we are on the road heading to Alexandria, VA to see Mike’s Aunt Nanette.
Aunt Georgette’s
On the way to Aunt Georgette’s we ran into a downpour! Mike took over driving the rest of the way to PA and said at one point, we had to drive 30 MPH with the flashers on…. BUT we made it to Aunt Georgette’s and were welcome with a full Easter Dinner spread! It was amazing!
Aunt Georgette made these cute Easter Bunny Bread and Uncle Bill had his famous carrot casserole. I personally ate so much that I couldn’t fit dessert… but I will save some room for tomorrow morning!
After dinner, we talked and hung out. ANNNDDD Uncle Bill with his “magic hands” fixed the GPS!! We have not idea how it got fixed even after we spent almost an hour looking at it. YaY!
We will be here in PA until around noon tomorrow. Visiting more family, breakfast… then off again… next stop Washington DC!
