What I found today...

a consignment clothes shop with a mailbox right out front…Scooore! This may not sound like a big discovery but when you’re in a new state, each day can be like a treasure hunt. I remember some of my first days after moving to Phoenix in August of ’07; it was 118 degrees outside which neither myself or my car had encountered before. One day I was determined to drive the loop all the way around the city just to prove to myself that it was no big deal. So, off I went with my city map, a fully charged cell phone and a small cooler of water. About half way around, I found the main shopping area of Scottsdale and a quaint place to have lunch next to the local Wal-Mart. Without any major mishaps, I conquered my fear of venturing out alone in a strange city. But now, I can take on Lexington, and surrounding areas, with my trusty GPS and if you read in an earlier post, whom my husband and I call Betty. Another thing I discovered this past weekend is to always have some Dramamine on hand for driving outside of town around the horse farms. These areas are some of what gives Kentucky it's incredible beauty with endless miles of green pastures and rolling hills. And I do mean rolling, twisting and turning rolling around every corner. Sort of like being on a roller coaster with great scenery.

This moving stuff really is no big deal, except for the lack of friends, family, familiarity, a job, the awesome ski slopes of Colorado but really…no big deal once you get the hang of it.

Bourbon vs. Beer

Colorado has the Coors Brewery in Golden. Kentucky has the Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles. Sadly to say; I've never taken the time to visit the Coors Brewery, which is only about a 30 minute drive from where I spent a major part of my life.

One of the many things that I've noticed from our moving around the past few years is that sometimes it takes out-of-town visitors to motivate you to visit some of your surrounding areas that make your home state unique. Coors is one of the few that I seemed to have missed in Colorado. Although, I did make it to the Celestial Seasons factory in Boulder last Spring.

"All Bourbon is Whiskey but not all Whiskey is Bourbon." - the first thing that we learned about Woodford Reserve Bourbon this past Saturday. Did you know that Bourbon isn't Bourbon unless it meets certain criteria one being that it must be produced in the United States? If interested in the others, visit http://www.woodfordreserve.com/ (could make for some great trivia questions!) Even if you're not one to partake in an occasional drink, I think most would find the process of interest. It really seems to be more of an art in addition to a process. A final bottle of Bourbon, at Woodford (not sure about other distilleries), is aged no less than 7 years and has a wonderful color and smell. After being rewarded with a 1-ounce sample along with a chocolate Bourbon ball, my husband made his way to the gift shop to purchase some of this rich history.

Just a few of the other great Kentucky sites on my list to visit:

• Shaker Village
• a horse farm - I grew up w/horses but these farms are unlike what I'm used to in the west
• a race at Keeneland Race Track

Any other suggestions??

First two weeks

Well, by the end of our first week in our new city, I've managed to find a grocery store, Super Wal-Mart, Petsmart and an Ulta Cosmetics; these contain just about everything I could need, at least for a few weeks. The city is crazy for a new-comer to navigate around as it's set up on a wheel system with spokes rather than a grid system but with my trusty GPS, I'm confident venturing out on my own. Although, there is one intersection by our apartment that even throws Betty (what my husband and I call the GPS) for a loop. It seems to be a merger of an old road and a new road that flow into one of the cities main arteries. So, there are times when we just have to ignore her insistent yet pleasant pleas to turn around an go left.

I knew that emotionally I'd be much better prepared for this move then our adventure to Phoenix 2 years ago. When we embarked on that "trip", it was my first out-of-state move since moving to Colorado when I was 4. I left a house that I had been in for 8 years, a job that I loved and several good friends. This time was different as our lives when we returned to Denver a year later we not the same. The economy was in the toilet leading up to the election, my house had tenants in it and we lived with various friends for a year as both of us had trouble finding work-something we hadn't expected.

So, here I am; two weeks in and haven't found myself crying on the couch in a depressive state from the shock of all the changes. Kudos to me!

Our cats have been through this before but not too thrilled about another long car trip. Here, JR is sitting on Blackie. They really are very good travelers; been through 2 countries and over a half a dozen states.

Colorado behind us...

Our first stop of the trip just over the border of Kansas. At this point, it just really seems like we're on vacation. Other than the fact that we have both cars, our cats and a lot of our worldly possessions in a U-Haul, it was just like starting a long vacation. Seems to me, I started this "vacation" in August of 2007 and this is really just another leg.