Texas Trip 2011 - Journey There

Since moving to California, Shaun and I have driven back to East Texas once a year. It's about 1800 miles one way and takes about 26-28 hours to drive going straight through. It's a rough trip, but I don't really mind knowing that I will get to see my friends and family back east, and spending the extra one-on-one time with my bff isn't too bad either. :) We had a great time seeing everyone, but it feels good to be home too. Since returning yesterday afternoon, I still have yet to get out of my pajamas.

I gave myself a nice little break on this trip and used my camera 0 times. Instead, I documented everything with my cell phone, using the same camera app, and filter. As crazy as it may sound, I love all of the discoloration, out of focus shots, and pressure that is taken off using a cell phone camera. I'll be splitting the entire trip up into 3 posts. This first post is of the journey there. Enjoy!

Oh, and Happy New Year! :)

The start... didn't leave too early. Stopped for coffee and Noah's Bagel's on the way.

Driving over the Grapevine, then through sunny LA. (Even though we went through all types of climates, we were really blessed with great weather and clear roads the entire trip.)

The fun part of road trips is seeing the sunrise each morning... something I never take the time to see at home. These were taken after a long night of driving. We drove until we couldn't take it anymore, so we stopped at a rest stop somewhere in New Mexico where we slept for 2 hours. When we woke up, it was 17 degrees outside! There was snow covering everything but the roads.

More coffee and the inside of my straw. The amount of things to do in a car run out after a while...

We saw this huge cross and decided on a whim to stop and check it out. There were life-size, sculpted statues of Jesus before he was put on the cross around the bottom. You start with Jesus standing before Pilate and walk in a big circle looking at the stages building up to his death. I think my favorite part was coming around the corner of the 3 crosses and seeing this rock area where the stone was rolled away from the tomb.

For whatever reason, California has yet to put in a really good sandwich place, so when I go back home, I eat it up like crazy. Here's to Jimmy John's... and a pretty sunset.

We arrived in Arlington on Saturday night and stayed with my cousin. After church on Sunday we had a little time to kill, so we drove over to Highland Park in Dallas and saw a bunch of ridiculous Christmas decorations.

Dallas - my old stomping grounds. Taken on the way to do a little shopping Monday afternoon.

Hands down... best cookies and sandwiches around. I eat at Potbelly every chance I get.

Final stop before heading to the house, Jamba Juice... and finally, we arrive! I'm not lying when I say I'm from the country. My parents seriously live on a dirt road. When it rains, someone just comes through with a tractor and evens out the dirt...