Holy scmoley its snowing....APRIL 23RD........

hMMM.... Why is it snowing the entire day today I ask myself... I was just on a picnic with my new friend Jake a mere two days ago, as I was looking out the window today at the flurry madness I recalled the picnic by the stream right under the Rockies, we took our socks and shoes off and I was just so happy to be outside in the sun again. I can't believe this weather. Although tomorrow who knows it might be 70 again. Super dupah crayze. The past three months since I landed in this mountainous wonderland have been filled with ups and downs, mostly ups, as all I have to do when having a bad day is look out at the glorious mountains and I immediately feel better. The job situation could be better, thinking of starting my own housekeeping buisness, as I'm just not cuttin in the money/potential arena. The people I've met here are kinda like Maui transients, lots of flaky non-committal, "finding my journey" peeps up in here. Which is fine, but come on, I guess thats what I get for keep living in resort towns, no? I'm thinking of outdoor concerts, whitewater rafting, and roadtrip camping in Moab, summer pleaseeee hurry!!!!

Snow Bunny Heaven

I made it! Left last Friday at 4:30am with everything I own packed up like a sardine in Big Blue. Drove 14 hours the first day and spent 2 wonderful relaxing nites at one of my friends from high schools house in St.Louis,MO...The drive was outstanding, there were warnings of a huge snow storm going right through my drive path, but I didn't let that stop me, I was raring to go...The first couple hours were not notable, but then things started to get exciting, Atlanta had a 28 car pileup on an exit I passed and just after I heard that on the news, I saw a huge Silverado teetering on a guardrail over a cliff. About 6 guys standing around trying to figure out how the hell to get the truck back on the highway. Passing through Chatanooga then Nashville, I was taken aback by the beauty of the terrain, huge rolling hills and valleys, Tennessee is beautiful country, there were crazy gigantic icicle formation on the cliffs on the side of the freeway that I fear will do major damage when it starts to thaw out...Then on to Kentucky which looked exactly like Wisconsin, I texted a friend of mine from KY that it looks the same and he said that side of the state is all farm land, I passed Elizabethtown ( a great movie) and entered into Illinois just around 5pm when the weather turned nasty. Welcome home to the midwest! Snow, brrrr freezin temps, and grey skies greeted me. Ugh. Made it through the storm and safely to Stacey's house where a nice warm shower and bed awaited. After a day 1/2 rest up hopped back in Blue and proceeded to conquer the most boring terrain ever imaginable. 700 miles on the same highway through the entire state of Kansas. Great Plain country is beyond boring driving and at this point my music selection was dwindling fast. The prairie surprised me in that it wasn't completely flat, instead it has huge mound-looking things that weren't hills, but were very strange looking. I really kept thinking of Little House on the Prairie and why anyone in their right mind would want to live out here, although I guess if you were born and raised here and were used to it, the vast amount of land would appeal to some. I bet I could get 20 acres with a house on it out here for the cost of my condo in HI! It was 7 degrees and everytime I got out to get gas I wondered to myself what in the h I was thinking doing this by myself, to have a sidekick would've been so much more fun, so I learned the lesson of no more cross country road trips by myself. Kansas definetely had the funniest road signs- "Come see the Largest Prairie Dog in the World", and "Joe Bob's Flower Farm", and my favorite, "Come pet a 36 in.Live Donkey"...My friend Sonia made me laugh by sending me a text saying, "hurry up and get out of Kansas so I can say, Jen-yer not in Kansas anymore" (I don't know why I still think that is so funny....Finally entered Colorado around 4pm and wasn't seeing any mountains, uh oh??? Apparently the Rockies don't start until a while into the state and at long last my 25th hour of driving (out of 28hr) I caught my first glimpse. My breath caught and I may have had a tear or two... It just felt like the culmination of all the hard struggles of this past year was going to be behind me and everything was going to be all right. I felt and still feel that I am in exactly the spot that God wants me to be in right now and no matter how long I live here, I will never forget that first sight of the Rockies. It.Was.EPIC...
Driving through Denver and starting the 8,000 ft.above sea level trek in Blue was a bit tough, Blue did not like the high climbing and I had to take it real slow. I finally arrived at Georgeann's and was greated by the Maui girls. What a wonderful feeling to be around my friends who have known me for the last 9 years and to be able to experience this next chapter of the journey of our lives-together.
The next morning I opened my window and gasped, a huge mountain and beautiful river were sitting right outside my bedroom! I had my final interview at the Westin and was happy to see that it was right across the street. No need for driving to work. A gorgeous Westin and grounds awaited me and I got the job! With that out of the way, we had a little celebrating to do...Vail Village that night and too many fun bars to count not to mention the most ridiculously good looking men on the planet and I kinda felt like I died and went to some snow bunny heaven... To be continued........... ;)

On da road again

So. Here I go. No word from Indianapolis Hilton or Westin Vail, so I am taking the bull (otherwise known as Big Blue) by the horns and hip hip hippity hoppin on outa SC... I have been interviewing since beginning Dec. and I can't wait anymore. Before you know it, the season will be over in Vail, so here I go. Plans for Santa Barbara are on hold whilst I go play in the snow with my best girls from Maui in Vail........ I am scared I won't find work, but since moving to the mainland 8 months ago, that seems to be my overall theme and I can't let that stop me. It seems to be pretty tricky trying to convince people that I am serious about coming there when I'm all the way over in SC, so I pretty much decided that showing up is gonna be the best thing to do. Things always have a way of working themselves out and I have never been one of those people who is scared of the "what if's"- so even if it means waiting tables for a lil while longer, so be it. A new adventure awaits and I can't wait to get on the road. Lily my trusty GPS shall guide the way to glittery snow, majestic peaks, hot cocoa by the fire, and catching up with my girls. 10 days and counting...

Daffy Blue Hairs

Oh Boy, Big Blue has a broken arm. I went into Fresh Market today to do some healthy time shopping and come out and see a huge piece of my truck broken off and laying under it. WHA?? I'm standing there with a look of disbelief and Mr.Good Samaritan comes over and says, I know who did that. Says, this gold car parks next to me for a second, backs into me, and goes and parks at a different spot across the lot. Said it made a huge crash. HMMmmm. So I sit and wait for gold car owner with the broken piece of Big Blue in my hands, how do you do this? Hit and not leave your info? Wrong. Then Beaufort County PD just happens to drive by. We got an ambush set up for gold car owner when they come out! HA. My blood is pumping, I'm fuming, doesn't this person know about karma? Out of the store comes the cutest little granny, think Betty White. She is clearly daffy and on some alternate universe, says she didn't even know she hit me, hmmm, there is blue paint all over her gold car, but then I realize she probably couldn't even hear the crash cause her headspace is definetely not on the same zone as me and the PD. Oh boy, I can't even get mad at gramma, I simply shake my head, file a report, and drive off. Little does she know that my vehicles are a huge source of pride for me and I take extreme care of them. AHHHHHhhhhhh!
I've got to move to a place where the median age is not 70, Big Blue is angry and wants to move to Santa Barbara immediately.to be continued...

On Da Road Again...

So as much as I've enjoyed my time here in Hilton Head again... I gotta be gettin on....... My "stopover" is coming to an end. After a brief vaca in Boston next month I'm on to Santa Barbara......Its so ridiculous that I really have no idea where I'm supposed to be in this great big wide USA and I'm pretty much trying one state at at time, but at the same time, its pretty fun and exciting. With Big Blue I can just drive whereves and the freedom is amazing. I miss Maui every day, but I have no regrets and as challenging as this has been and still is, I am enjoying the hell out of the journey and the people I'm meeting along the way...

Chooo Choooo

I applied with Global Volunteer Network to teach kids English in the Amazonian Rainforest. OMG. I hope I get accepted. This cho cho train needs to pull outa the mainland station, I got the travel bug, BADDDDDD!!!!!

To Backpack or not to Backpack??

I have mornings off, which means I laze around the pool alot letting random wanderings of my mind prevail and have starting leaning towards possibilities not normally existent in my head- I might just say screw it to the conventional way of living and being and go travel around the world. Who says you have to have "the career", the 2.5kids, the minivan all by a certain age? Society. Screw it. Turning 33 next month, the pressure of all the "when are you gonna settle down?" questions, my own thoughts of untapped potential in the business world, and getting screwed over/cheated on/heartbroken by same man-different name, I'm starting to think on a new playing field. Maybe my life isn't supposed to ever have a set structure and thats what makes it "my life"...Hmmmm all this time on my hands and I may end up in Indo if I don't watch out (xoxo shout out to my new pal).......As much as I long to settle down, have a steady job, meet the man, the pull of adventure Jen has been fierce as of late. Stay tuned. Costa Rica here I come...