On The Road... Day 4

Today we drove from North Platte, NE to Ames, IA where Dave grew up. Not surprisingly, the drive along 80 looked a lot like where we left off.

Once we got to Iowa, not much changed...so we took a picture of the side of the road.On the horizon we noticed a giant bridge over the highway & snapped a picture when we got closer. We weren't sure what it was, but after Googling it we learned it is the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument. Beautiful!

Oh, but then it got exciting and we saw a house going down the interstate. That pretty much capped the day's excitement...until...

We passed a giant thing that looked like a plastic whale.

But, it turned out to be a blade from one of those giant wind turbines.

Stopped for gas and couldn't help but admire the grain bins.

Dave was so upset that he missed the "Welcome to Ames" sign...but he managed to snap a picture of a chicken that we think was there to welcome us into town. What hospitality.

We're in Ames for two days to visit with mama Teas and see some old friends. Then, we're off to Illinois for some baseball on Friday. We'll get back to posting more updates on Friday.

Stay tuned...

On The Road... Day 3

This morning we woke up in Rock Springs, WY & started driving east towards Nebraska. The drive started out pretty innocent, but then we saw what looked like rain on the horizon.

As we drove, the storm got closer.

We weren't expecting snow in late April.

After the snow storm, we stopped in Laramie, WY for lunch. A quaint, quiet college town (University of Wyoming). All that snow got Dave a little excited.

The portions are big in Wyoming...

"On the road again... I can't wait to get on the road again..."

Out of nowhere it seemed that the snow was gone, but there was a coyote.

In a matter of minutes (okay, probably hours) the snow was gone, the land was flat, and we were in Nebraska.

And we were still in Nebraska...

Yup... more driving.

Nebraska never ended... so we got a room at the Holiday Inn in North Platte, and we'll make our way to Iowa tomorrow.
We decided to celebrate our third straight day of driving with a special dinner from Wal-Mart, paired with a fantastic Pinot Noir from sister Sarah.

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned...

On The Road... Day 2

Today we drove for about 8 hours from Winnemucca, NV to Rock Springs, WY. The scenery varied. Some stretches were quite boring & desolate. We even saw tumbleweeds rolling across the highway. Others were curvy, mountainous, & beautiful. We stopped for a nice lunch in Salt Lake City at a restaurant called Caffe Molise.
I've decided to sum up this section of our trip in pictures. Check them out:




Yikes... snakes & scorpions!! We actually saw a woman lying in the grass taking a nap.

The Bonneville Salt Flats just before Salt Lake City.









Day 2 was another success. Two more days of long drives before we rest for a few days in Ames, IA. Tomorrow we'll be driving to North Platte, NE.
Stay tuned...

On the Road... Day 1

We are on our way...

Our Honda Civic is packed tight and we began on our driving adventure across the country. Our first stop was North Lake Tahoe, CA. Most of the drive was beautiful. The mountains still had some snow and the scenery was gorgeous.



We stopped at Jason's Beachside Grill for lunch & couldn't have asked for a more beautiful afternoon.



After lunch, we were back on the road and began driving through Nevada. The drive through Nevada was flat, straight, and desolate. Not many cars were on the road & it was a bit eerie. At one point we passed a sign that said "Prison Area. Picking up hitchhikers is prohibited." We could see the prison from the road.
I (Court) drove this leg of the trip. Dave was able to get some CFA studying done in the car, while I listened to an audio book of Dear John. I had no idea that the story takes place in North Carolina, so I am really enjoying it.

We stopped in Winnemucca, NV for the night. It is a small town just off I-80. We walked to dinner from our hotel and felt like we were part of some strange, old movie. The town was pretty dead besides the few older people hanging out in bars or pulling slots at the casino. We did get to see the largest piece of drift wood ever collected. It is 1,477 years old. :)


We ate at the Winnemucca Pizzeria. It was pretty good, but nothing special.


Day 1 was a success! Today we'll be driving about 8 hours to Wyoming. It is time to wake Dave up & get back on the road.

And the adventure begins...

We are all packed up & will be heading out on the road tomorrow.
It seems surreal!
Thanks to everyone who has prayed for us, send us cards, offered words of encouragement, and just been good friends. We greatly appreciate it! We're going to miss our friends and family in the Bay Area, but we are excited for what God has in store for us in North Carolina!

I will try to occasionally post on this blog throughout our journey across the country. We'll be taking 10 days to get to North Carolina.
Stay tuned...

Courtney's Cupcakes & Cookies

I'm thinking about starting a home-based baking business in North Carolina. I love to bake, so why not try to make it into a business? My idea is either cookies or cupcakes. I like "Courtney's Cupcakes". I would deliver locally or have pick-up orders. I'd maybe have a tasting party every so often to let people taste my delicious creations and spread the word. I could also maybe sell my product at local farmer's markets. Or sell them at a church cafe.

North Carolina allows for home kitchens to be licensed for business so I wouldn't even need to rent a commercial kitchen space to be legal. In order to have your home kitchen approved you need to not have any pets, have a municipal water supply, & be subject to occasional inspections. Those who know me will know that I am definitely not a pet person, so no concerns there.

Hmmm...

Right now it's just an idea, but I might start working on cake & icing recipes. Anyone have some good recipes to share? I'll buy some new baking equipment & piping bags... I'm excited already! :)

Even if I don't run with the business idea or if I do and it fails, at least family & friends will get some yummy baked goods out of the idea.

What do you think?