OOOOk-lahoma.....

......where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain,
And the wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet, When the wind comes right behind the rain
OOOOk-lahoma, Ev'ry night my honey lamb and I, Sit alone and talk and watch a hawk makin' lazy circles in the sky.

We know we belong to the land (yo-ho)
And the land we belong to is grand!
And when we say 
Yeeow! Aye-yip-aye-yo-ee-ay!
We're only sayin'
You're doin' fine, Oklahoma!Oklahoma O.K.!. 


"And the land we belong to is grand!"....never have those words had more meaning to me then in the last few days. 

Yes, I am currently in Alaska...3,872 miles from this home to our home in Moore, OK. A home we still own. A home we have countless memories in.

Rich is in Oklahoma. He has been for over a month and there is still no time frame for his return. He is safe.  Thank God he is safe. 

I will never forget Monday's events. The feeling of being absolutely helpless. Fear. Anger. Anxiousness. So many emotions flooding me from so far away from The Twister. 

I received a text from Rich: "Tornado sirens going off. I am good right now. In a shelter"

WHAT?!? I had just finished my normal morning routine, 12:13 Alaska time. I shot him a quick response and then did the WORST thing I could have ever done. I turned on my computer and watched the live coverage from KFOR. 

I would NEVER wish those mins on anyone. To sit in Alaska and watch as an F5 tornado is reeking havoc on a place you call home and where many of our friends still reside is heart wrenching. To sit and watch as it passes places I use to visit with my husband and our friends. To sit and watch as I hear Jon Welsh (chopper 4 pilot) call out the area the tornado is ripping through and knowing it is going over my friend's house at that moment is devastating. All I could do was sit and pray from miles away. 

Then I waited. I sat staring at my computer and phone waiting for texts or phone calls that Rich was ok. That Mike was ok. That all would be ok. I stared at the phone trying to will it do something. 

Finally I received word from Rich....he was safe. He then sent me word on Mike. He was safe with his wife and all of the dogs but his house is gone. I just sat and cried. I had spent many days, hours, dinners in that home. I considered it my "other Oklahoma house". Now it looks like a pile of toothpicks. 

It's amazing how powerful Mother Nature is. 

I am grateful for Rich's safety and the nice family that let him into their shelter. I am grateful for Mike,Cate, and the dogs' safety and that he had a shelter in his home. I can't imagine, I don't want to imagine, what could have been. 

Oklahoma has been through a lot. Everyday it grows stronger and stronger. I know this will not slow them down. In the days to come, and the years to come, Moore, Oklahoma will be bigger and better then ever. 

I hope to lucky enough to return to Oklahoma during Rich's military career. (a move we are almost guaranteed really) 

Home is where the Air Force sends us...and where we leave our hearts. 

What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.
Helen Keller

I see Russia!

*Delays in this blog were due to the following story. (aka, prepping our house...)

Last day of travel!!!

The road to our new home....pardon the gross bug filled window!

 After 18 days of travel, 3,000+ miles, Disneyland, the Redwood Forests, crazy hotels, and many MANY laughs....WE MADE IT!!!

WE MADE IT!!!

Many people have asked us if we would do this drive again and without skipping a beat I've always said "YES!". I have seen more of this country in 18 days then I have in my whole life. Rich's work schedule has always been so crazy and with him tackling his MBA, we rarely spent more then an hour together. This trip helped us grow together like no other. Did he get on my nerves?....absolutely. (I can only take so much Car-eoke) Did I ever get on his? NOPE. :)  The one factor I was always worried about was Rocky. He handled it all like the champion dog that he is.

After creating our own tour of the new base, we were welcomed with open arms at our friends' house for some food and catching up. (lucky me, my good friend Carla and her family were making the move to Alaska as well!) As we sat, ate, and laughed we had our first Alaskan "moment". I was getting tired which was weird to me as the sun was still shining bright and I wasn't sitting in a car. Then I realized. It was 10pm...those sunny summer nights are going to throw me for a loop.

I'll bare you the details of the next few weeks and just say: my first ever house hunting experience wasn't fun. We probably walked into a few dozen houses, all with the hopes that this was "the one". No such luck. We put offers in on 3 houses. All with the same outcome, it wasn't meant to be. I thought we were going to be living in a hotel FOREVER!

Rich convinced me to revisit one of the houses we thought was overpriced originally and that just had a price reduction. I won't lie, I wasn't thrilled with the house. I thought it needed a lot of work. Rich loved it. (well....at least the 3 car garage) After much discussion and seeing my husband's "vision" of the house, I agreed to put an offer in. FINALLY....we had a home.

I will NOT miss walking the dog in the rain at 10pm at night. I realize how much I love having a yard...with a fence. I'm sure Rocky will miss "The Penthouse". (our hotel was FAR from a penthouse.)

"I LOVE this place! I can sit on the furniture here!"

"Hello friend!"

"What floor did you need ma'am?"

Some more adventures before the much anticipated move:

Humpy's! YUM!!! Our 1st restaurant experience in Anchorage.

If you ever find yourself in Anchorage....this is a great place to grab some food and a beer.

Salmon Fingers (Rich LOVED them)

Salmon Cakes 

YES! 

Jeff Dunham Concert on base. AWESOME!

Peanut!

Jeff-fa-fa DUNHAM- dot-com! 

I think I am going to need to learn to like fish more here....and cook it. ugh

I CAN SEE RUSSIA!!! (sorry, couldn't resist!)

Alaska or Bust!

I forgot to add that not only did I drive the crazy road through the Redwoods but I also got stuck driving more crazy narrow roads through Canada.  I have no clue how I became so lucky! I think one of the worst driving moments for me in Canada came while I was driving downhill.  Of course the road was close to a cliff and it made some of the sharpest turns I've ever seen. To top it off, as I am white-knuckling the steering wheel, I have to make a sharp turn while gravity is racing my vehicle downhill near the cliff and what do I see in my lane?!? A bison!!!! Really World?!? It wasn't bad enough that I was nervous about driving off of the cliff you have to throw in a bison in the road? Luckily I was able to pull into the oncoming lane and snapped this picture.

I don't even want to think about the damage he could have caused!

I also remembered one of my funnier stories from the road.  As you travel further North, it is harder and harder to find places to grab food and gas.  Luckily we stopped in Washington and grabbed some "essentials". (PB, jelly, bread, chips, water, candy, etc)
We are in the middle of nowhere, we haven't seen another vehicle in at least 2 hours and there were no signs of stopping.  Rich's stomach was growling so I did what any wonderful wife would do. I climbed into the back of the Acadia and I made a PB&J sandwich.  Have you ever tried to make one in a car before? Its not easy.  Now add the "dips" that occured while heading North. By "dips", as the Canadians like to call them with brightly colored labels on the side of the road, they are more like roller coaster drops! Yes, it was funny the first time we hit a "dip" and I nailed my head on the roof of the car....but the 5 or 6 times after that...not as funny. Rich is lucky that sandwich didn't end up in his face with all the laughing he was doing up front.  I was starting to feel as though he was speeding over these "dips" on purpose.

After thousands of miles driven and countless hours sitting in a car we had made it to the border! Back to good old US of A!

Oh don't worry...this was no ordinary trip across the border...Nope! I had to do it the hard way and almost cost us a trip to jail!
I'll tell you my version....Rich saw what happened in a slightly different light.

We did the whole touristy thing and took some great photos of us at the border of Canada and Alaska. Even Rocky got in on some of the shots. Then it we needed to climb back into the car, Rich driving and myself in the passenger seat, and travel 20 some feet to the Border Patrol "hut".

Rocky's happy to be back in the USA!

I don't know how to even describe what we saw. I really wish I would have snapped a photo but I knew that was not allowed! (see..I do think about these things!)
In front of us was the "hut".  It looked like a toll both really. There were 2 lanes in front of us both with red and green lights above them. Obviously we know what those mean. Red=stop Green=Go. Both lanes had their RED lights lit up.  So, we looked and saw a third lane that takes you to another "hut" which didn't have any lights aglow. We both thought that was were we needed to go to. Next thing we know there is a Patrol Officer running toward our car shouting for us to stop.  Ooops. Mistake #1.
He showed us where to go and we followed his orders. While we were sitting at his "drive thru window" we explained why we were headed for the wrong lane. He laughed and said it was a common mistake. (maybe they should look into fixing that then!) He then proceeded to ask us the typical border questions....and this is when I almost get us tossed in the slammer.

*handing over our passports
Border Patrol: "Do you guys have VALID passports? These are no good."
Us: "WHAT?!? What do you mean??? They don't expire for 8 more years!"
Border Patrol: "You two never validating them by signing them. Here's a pen."

Seriously!?! Mistake #2

Border Patrol: "What is your reason for traveling thru Canada and into the US?"
Rich: "We are moving to Anchorage."
B.P: "What is your job that you moving for? Military?"
Rich: "Yes, I'm in the military"
BP: "Thats great. You are going to love Alaska. Do you have any firearms on you?"
Rich: "No. No firearms."
BP: "Well, you're going to need some living in Alaska."
*I'd like to point out that at this point the BP Agent was very friendly and relaxed. We asked him if he needed to see Rocky's papers proving he was purchased in the US and had his vaccines (yes, some will ask for all of that) He very jokingly said "no I see he's a well loved dog. No need for all of that." I, being the idiot I can be sometimes, felt that the BP Agent had a sense of humor. Mistake #3.

BP:"Are you transporting any Canadians across the border?"
Rich: "No" with a chuckle.
Annie: "I don't think we have any room in here for anybody else."

BP:(with a smile I might add after my comment) "Do you have any fruit that you are carrying with you?"
Rich: "Nope."

BP: "Do you have cash on you totaling more then $10,000?"
Rich: "Ummmm No!"
Annie: "I wish!"
(slight chuckle from BP...not too bad)

BP: "Are you sure you don't have anyone stashed away in your luggage case on top of your car?"
Rich: "No Sir. No one up there."
Annie: "Oh Yea! At least 4 Canadians are sweating out up there!"
(insert foot!) The final Mistake.

Instantly Rich turns and glares at me....the Border Patrol Agent looks at me.  Turns to Rich. Looks at the back of the car. Then laughs. PHEW!
I now know that what should have happened was our car should have been seized and inspected and we should have been held for questioning.  Oooops.

After some awkward silence in the car, we were en route to our next stop: Tok, Alaska.

We heard there weren't many places to stay in Tok and decided to stay in the one that we heard most people used, Caribou Cabins. If you ever find yourself traveling through this area (yea right) and need a place to stay, we highly recommend these cabins.  The grounds are located away from the "major" roads. It is so quiet and peaceful you could hear a pin drop. Or an animal!

Our cozy cabin. (yes, its the handicap unit...insert joke here)

Enjoying having a bed all to himself!

Some light shopping in the bustling Tok shopping center. (ok, so it was just 1 store and we were the only ones there!)

I was on the phone with my parents to let them know we safely arrived in Tok when all of a sudden I heard this deep wailing noise. It sounded very close and large. After my dad telling me to "get off the phone, get the dog, and get inside!" we found out it was a heard of caribou. (hence Caribou Cabins)

It took some adjusting to get to sleep with the bright sunlight beaming down on us at 11pm. We managed to get some sleep until the beaming sunlight waking me up at 5am.
I also needed to adjust to looking out the window/door before taking the dog for a morning stroll.  You never know what animals are hanging out.

We were FINALLY on our last day of travel!!!! WooHoo!

Canada....eh?!

Location(s): Canada.

"Look. I think I can see Canada!"

Canada. The big hurdle before our final destination.  Piece of cake. We've got this. Others have traveled this road countless times before us.

And there I was, feet from the border, bawling uncontrollably. "Oh my God. Are you crying? Why the hell are you crying?" were the kind words being shouted whispered to me by my loving husband. I LOST it. I was a mess. (thankfully we have no photo evidence of my misery)

"I can't believe you're crying."

I had been so involved in planning the trip down to the last details and making sure all the essentials (passports, insurance, medical records, etc) were where they needed to be, I never stopped to grasp the idea of traveling through Canada.  We were about to travel roads in a foreign country (I know...its only Canada, but still!) and in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE!!!! It hit me....HARD. What the hell were we about to do? What if something goes wrong..who is going to find us?  We can do this...right?!?

Pulling up to the border we handed over our passports.  I don't know what I was expecting.  Maybe a giant rubber stamp with "CANADA" in big bold letters being used to brand my passport. That didn't happen.  What did happen were lots of questions being directed toward us.  I now wonder if the nice border patrol man saw my red puffy eyes and felt something was up. Maybe I was being held captive in....I'm sure the giant slanket on my lap with "Annie Bannie" sewn onto it looked pretty threatening. (don't ask about the Bannie)

I'm pretty sure I wasn't suppose to take any of these photos. 

When it says "Stop" they mean it....I'll explain on our reentry into the US

After what seemed to be minutes we were allowed to continue on. I had finally calmed down.

I don't know what else to say about Canada. I guess I'll just list what I learned about it. 

1. They spray some weird looking brown water on their crops. I'll let you decide what it is. (I know what I think it is!)

2. Canada has some "creative" names for their roads. ;)

3. A lot of the "towns" were drove through were the SMALLEST towns. One had a population of 8! I wonder if they are related?

4. They love their animal crossing signs!

5. They love the use of a Pilot Car! We were stopped at least 5 times...in the middle of nowhere...to wait to be escorted on. 

6. The fashion sense and cleanliness of the "hotels" (we'll use that term loosely) just got better and better as we climbed North. 

7. When stopped at a wonderful Pilot Car waiting spot, if you step out into the middle of NOWHERE to let your dog out....be careful. Your husband will be too busy playing a game on his phone to notice if a bear is about to attack. Thanks Rich. (no worries...there were no bears within viewing distance...but still!)

8. Roads suck. One minute your driving on pavement, then it turns into giant potholes and then gravel.  

9. Canucks will place a battery operated stoplight in the middle of the wilderness....for no apparent reason.  

10. The posted speed limit is 100km...but you're free to go as fast as you'd like.  However watch out for bears and buffalo in the road. I think I still have a bruise on my arm from "someone" slamming on the brakes as we almost killed a deer. 

Canada was an experience for us.  From the metric system to "hotels" that I'm pretty sure had police tape around them at one point or another....we conquered it!

Don't get me wrong. Canada can be a beautiful place but I am thankful to live in the US.

We Took the Long Way (Part ??? out of Many)

Location(s): More California, Oregon, and Washington

Our vacation within our road trip to our new home was over. We had an amazing time and are already talking about heading back soon....maybe a quick late winter trip to beat the snow days here?!?

We picked up my beloved dog (who had RAVE reviews from the kennel)and hit the road. Next stop Monterey, California! I had done little to no research on Monterey...I was consumed with Disneyland! Talking to my friend Cari before we even left Oklahoma I told her of our stop and she told me all I need to know...."You are going to LOVE it! I would move there in a heart beat." That was all I needed to know.

The drive to Monterey was breathless....the blue sky, the mountains, the wineries....it was amazing.

My biggest regret...not stopping at any of the wineries or fruit picking stands. I LOVE the smell of fresh oranges.

After some unexpected sight seeing of town (Ranch got 'confused' on the directions again) we finally found our hotel. After checking in and praying the car with the topper cleared the underground garage opening (barely) we dragged our stuff to our room. Rich once again had to work on his masters assignment so Rocky and I were on our own for the night.  Before the sun started to set Rocks and I took a stroll into town and stumbled upon Ranch's idea of Heaven.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory...YUM!

Then Rocky found his little slice of Heaven. He just wanted to run and chase all of the seagulls.

While strolling around, Rocky and I found a quick place to grab some pizza for dinner. After all 3 of us ate it was time to hit the books once again for Ranch.(AKA Annie's boring time!)

I started to notice on this trip that I had the worst time sleeping! However, the early morning wake ups do come with some advantages...Rocky and I found seals and pelicans! LOTS of them!

I don't think this guy is going to make it!

We hit the road once again making our last stop in California.  When I we made the trip itinerary we knew we wanted to see the famous Redwoods. Mapping out our route we decided that Eureka, CA was going to be a perfect spot to stop. We didn't realize we'd have to sleep with 1 eye open and that we were lucky to have 2 towels in our room! (there was a line of people at the check in complaining about only have a washcloth in their room)

In Disneyland, our excellent waiter at Napa Rose told us of a great brewery to try in Eureka. I am grateful we listened! The beer helped us settle our nerves for the night!

After getting a restful night of NO sleep! We discovered our car and the carrier still in the same spot we'd left it the day before! Success! My goal for the day....find the largest redwood!!!

Taking in the landscape: priceless. One of the most AMAZING views I have ever seen.  I am so happy that I was able to see the redwoods.

Look how close the tree is to the road! And they just get closer!

Driving through the redwoods: SCARY!!!!! Somehow I got stuck making the drive through the winding roads.  I don't even know where to begin on describing these roads.  I felt like I could reach out and hit either the oncoming traffic or a giant redwood. There were actual parts of the road that ran through parts of redwoods! I've never been so nervous to drive before! THEN you have these downward slopes that speed you along and as you are cruising (doing the speed limit of course) all of sudden out of nowhere is a bunch of twists and turns! Then you have cars behind you riding the tail of your car and you have NO WHERE to pull over to let them pass you.  When you do find a some plot of land to pull off into your husband then freaks that you are driving him off a cliff! (which we did see by the way!) My wonderful husband took video and pictures of my white knuckling the steering wheel...I just can't seem to find them right now.
Overall, I'd love to see the redwoods again. Heck I'd even camp there. I wouldn't however want to drive through the redwoods.

Oregon!

As we set off for Salem, Oregon NOTHING exciting happened. Oregon is a very pretty state. Lots of trees, beautiful colors, and luckily for us, clear skies.  But....nothing exciting happened on this leg of the trip.
Wait, I was reminded of my "near death experience".  While out walking the dog behind the hotel I struck up a conversation with a fellow dog owner.  As we chatted about our beloved animals he began to snack on berries growing on a string of bushes behind him. I didn't want to look like a "tourist" and ask what type of berry it was.  (or I'd look like someone who doesn't eat fruit!) So I waited until him and his four legged friend left and then I grabbed a few.  I didn't eat them right away. I showed them to Ranch and told him of my encounter.  He laughed and me and then said "you're not really going to eat those right?!?" as I tossed them back! They were delicious! Rich then proceeded to locate the nearest ER...just in case. (we later found out they were boysenberries)

OH...how could I forget our stop at VooDoo Donuts!?! We printed out directions for this hour detour!

Look how excited this guy is!

If you haven't heard of VooDoo Donuts, climb out from under the rock you've been living under!!! It is a slice of donut heaven just down the street from a "men's establishment"...don't believe me?!?

Looks like one of their regulars!

Don't worry....they are!

VooDoo Donuts makes these unbelievable donut creations using anything and everything.  Here are the 4 we picked up. (we really wanted to get a dozen and try them all but that would have been a bit much...says Rich!)

"Old Dirty Bastard" Oreos and peanut butter...YUM!

"VooDoo Doll" Raspberry filled with chocolate frosting and pretzels

"The Loop" Vanilla frosting with Fruit Loops

"Bacon Maple Bar" Maple frosting with Bacon (Bacon makes everything better!)

It really was worth the hour detour! I wish they mailed them to Alaska.


Washington!

Our last stay in the Lower 48! I really wanted to see if I could trick convince Ranch to stay in Forks (Twi-hards will understand) but I knew I'd be pushing my luck. Plus, I've always wanted to see Seattle...and wear my Thunder shirt! Hahahaha (I know. I'm a rebel!)

Every time Seattle was the setting for a movie/book/whatever it always appeared gloomy and rainy. So I found it very odd that the sun was shinning the day we arrived.

We googled Food Network reviewed restaurants for dinner and found a fun bar called Brave Horse Tavern.  We HIGHLY recommend it if you ever find yourself in downtown Seattle. Food was great, they had numerous beers on tap, and the atmosphere was very cool.  Plus, the bartender picked up our drink tab for us once he heard we were driving all the way to Alaska. I knew I should have ordered one more drink!

I think I would enjoy living in Seattle. The bar downstairs from Brave Horse has an outdoor bocce ball court! I thought I'd died and gone to Heaven...bocce ball, beer, and bacon cheeseburgers! Seattle is doing it right!

Bocce Ball Genius

We walked around downtown and saw the Space Needle before it was time to head back and prepare for Canada.

The day had come. Time to leave the Lower 48. We had a few errands to run before we crossed into "The True North". After being drenched from the downpour, thanks Seattle for living up to my ideas of you, we headed out to find a grocery store.
Rumor was we needed to stock up on a few items since you don't know when you will NOT find food. (great!)

We soaked up the scene around us as we quickly approached the border.

Next up: Canada or Bust....Annie why are you hysterically crying?