We've arrived!

It was a long journey but we made it! Day 1 was the worst because we didn't get much sleep the night before (excitement combined with sleeping on an uncomfortable air mattress). Because of this I kept nodding off and we had to stop about every hundred miles...by the time we reached Tulsa, OK (and therefore our hotel and the comfort of a Cracker Barrel) we were both too tired to even speak.

Day 2 was much better, we were well rested and ready to hammer out some long distance driving. We managed to stop only 3 times and drive an average distance of 250 miles between each stop. The second day also provided some really excellent views. We drove all the way across New Mexico and into Arizona on I-40. New Mexico was gorgeous, we managed to snap a few pictures while driving, but they just don't do it justice. I wish I had the words to describe the giant red rocks that seemed as if they were glowing, or the stunning cliffs that were all around us, or suddenly coming upon Acoma Pueblo which is the oldest inhabited city in the U.S. Every time we drove through a new place I thought it was the most amazing place I'd ever seen, until we reached the next city. Night two was spent in Holbrook, AZ about 90 miles east of Flagstaff. It was very chilly the next morning!

Day 3, in addition to being our shortest day of driving by a lot (4hrs vs. 16hrs), was also the most beautiful day of driving. We continued West on I-40 to Flagstaff then took I-17 South to Phoenix. The views driving into Flagstaff were amazing...we could see the mountain peaks from at least 80 miles away. Once we reached Flagstaff and on the descent to Phoenix (we were at an elevation of over 6000 feet) there were mountains everywhere we looked. Coming down from Flagstaff looked surprisingly like Northern Michigan (save the mountains). Dave and I agreed that we should own a villa in Flagstaff someday!

We arrived around noon in Phoenix and were unloaded by 3:30pm. Dan (our roommate and friend) was there already, and Zac and Teresa (our friends from Tucson) met us soon after we arrived to help unload and unpack. We rounded out our evening by having a LOST party. Our first night was a little exciting because we weren't sure the fridge or the oven were working properly and we ended up setting off the smoke alarm while baking our pizza. All in all, we're safe and sound and very excited! Also, I have everything I need to start working, we're just waiting on a medical test to come back and a timeline from my Principal. Dave scored a job waiting tables at a local bar called Voodoo Daddy's and has an interview at SEAR's on Monday (there was a mixup on SEAR's part with the original interview).

Check back soon for pictures of our apartment! (Don't forget, you can click on the pictures to enlarge them!)