I made it!

I have officially been a Denver resident for just over 2 days now. And I LOVE it!!

The apartment is fantastic. The neighborhood is fantastic. The location is fantastic. The roommates are fantastic. The puppy is fantastic. And, of course, the boyfriend is fantastic.

Sean and I decided to buckle down and do the drive in 2 days: NJ to Chicago (13 hours) then Chicago to Denver (16 hours). Neither of us had a camera to document our trip (work took my blackberry back when I left...sad), but I will share a few things I learned on the journey:

Sean is a very good driver and can go 8 hour stretches at a time without stopping. (If it weren't for my multiple bathroom stops.)

The GPS is a wonderful invention. Thank you mom!

You will be fined $10,000 and could serve up to 2 years of jail time for hitting a road-side worker.

Corn does not get any more exciting at hour 12 than it was at hour 1.

Sean does not have the same appreciation for show tunes that I do. But come on, you'd sing too if you saw about 20 signs for Gary, Indiana (Not Louisiana, Paris, France New York or Rome...).

Natural Rice Crackers with Wasabi Peas is a great traveling snack. Also good for clearing the sinuses.

The South Skunk River levee in Iowa broke last Wed leaving many square miles completely flooded. Saturated, rotting corn fields smell terrible.

New favorite road sign: Buckle up the next million miles.

The World's Largest Truck Stop is in Walcott, IA and it has it's own website (and catalog).

Sharing the road with hundreds of semis and large trucks is NOT fun.

Bug juice cannot be removed with a simple spritz and swipe of the wipers.

The Amish use rest stops too. How they got there, I am not sure.

Good friends can be found all over the country, even if you've only met them twice. Thank you, Gretchen, for your hospitality.

When stuck behind a truck transporting cows, keep your distance.