. . . Because He Said So: The Adventures of BeckBeck and JoJo

Four years ago yesterday, it was finally time for me to move from Nashville to Vermont (where my family had already been living for 9 months.) My sister Jody flew to Nashville to make the drive with me, and it was pretty much my favorite road trip ever (or at least so far). My Dad wanted to "follow" us as we traveled, so rather than have him worry and call us every 20 minutes, we talked him into joining twitter and promised to post frequent updates so that he could see we were safe and sound and making progress. Surprisingly, he readily agreed.

And without any other context than that, here is our chronological twitter diary of the adventure, much of which will likely make no sense at all to you, but it makes me giggle A LOT, and maybe it will at least amuse you. We'll see. . . ;-)

April 26th:

Dear TN, KY, OH, PA, NY and VT--my sister Jody and I will be road tripping through you this weekend. I apologize in advance.

April 30th:

12:41pm: Got our Vibrams and our Giddy-up hats--READY TO RIDE!!!

3:11pm: My first pair of Vibrams. I might be in love.

3:20pm: Full disclosure: I would totally make fun of anyone else for acting the way we have thus far today.

3:25pm: Jody: "I feel like I'm carrying a Kung Pao baby."

4:02pm: We do not feel welcome in Kentucky, for there is no sign telling us we are so.

4:21pm: Traveling tunes. Yes.

4:38pm: This. Yes.

6:02pm: Just hung out with a bunch of bats in a very cold cave on purpose. Don't ask. (But also: it was pretty awesome.)

6:58pm: This is happening. Don't judge us.

7:25pm: Jo dropped shades in field, then page of directions flew out the window. Leaving a Hansel and Gretel trail but not sure which way to go. ;-)

7:44pm: Hey, someone tell us where a Bucee's is along the way. Anyone?

7:55pm: 'Cause you gotta have a little Don Williams in the mix.

9:11pm: Not sure if Ohio welcomed us or not, 'cause it's dark. Also: I don't really get the point of Ohio.

9:14pm: Oh, wait. Here we go. Thanks, Ohio.

9:15pm: Jo says she's pretty sure the 24oz. coffee she just drank will help her give birth to her Kung Pao baby (in case anyone was worried.)

9:28pm: I'm pretty sure we're going to Columbus, IN. Our GPS doesn't get the point of Ohio either.

9:37pm: Muscatatuck? Seriously? This is a real place?

9:41pm: Jody: "I'm tellin' you right now if we break down by corn, I'm out."

May 1st:

1:06am: Dad would be so proud. We're listening to all the songs (on our iPod) that he used to listen to (on 8-tracks).

1:42am: Jody: "I'm just gonna say, 'Sir, I didn't know how to make a left there. Your road system is very confusing.'"

2:06am: Goodnight. And thank you Hampton for the Cloud 9 bedding.

10:34am: She rides again.

10:57am: Really? Still?

11:49am: Stalking the PDGA tourney:

12:22pm: Courtesy of Rachel McRae. Southern girls represent!

12:28pm: Dear Taurus, the role of owner of the road has already been filled. Scoot over.

1:46pm: Ashamed that this is officially the first Journey song we've listened to on our journey. That is wrong. I apologize.

1:52pm: Jo says Mama needs some cheese. I hope they have some here. (I know this picture is terrible, but it says "Cheese Barn" in ginormous letters on top of the roof. This is "Grandpa's Cheese Barn.")

2:26pm: Grandpa. Awesome.

2:48pm: Pretty sure we just bought 32 pounds of cheese and 18 pounds of candy.

2:51pm: Jody: "Zagnut, get in my mouth!"

3:10pm: Shamone. (Originally attached to this tweet was a video of Jody singing Michael Jackson while driving, but I could not retrieve it. I can assure you, however, that it was immensely entertaining.)

3:23pm: Stopping here for lunch. www.luckyscafe.com (featured on Triple D)

4:04pm: Too late for lunch at Lucky's. Turns out most of the people in Cleveland eat lunch at the same time as the rest of America rather than at 4pm.

4:12pm: Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. Yes.

6:51pm: It's entirely possible we're currently driving (our car) on a golf cart path. Long story.

8:19pm: Niagara Falls, here we come! See you tomorrow!

8:42pm: Thanks, Pennsylvania! That's our biggest one yet!

May 2nd:

10:14am: FYI--I am censoring Jody's comments for the faint of heart. You're welcome.

3:43pm: Niagara Falls is a fascinating place.

4:27pm: Don't even act like y'all aren't jealous of the salted caramel truffle that has been sitting on our console since we left Grandpa's.

4:28pm: It's so rich, we can only take one little nibble at a time. Hence, it has lasted 2 days so far.

6:42pm: Just say no to crack, y'all. Especially the plumber kind. No.

10:14pm: Lady in hotel lobby gave us a once over in our ridiculous hats and Vibrams and wanted to know where we came from.

10:15pm: Without a moment's hesitation, Jody responded: "Space. We came from space."

May 3rd:

9:18am: I just realized this is the first time I've been unemployed since I was 16 years old. I'm not mad about it. :-)

11:02am: Y'all. Upstate New York is all kinds of gorgeous.

1:53pm: Makin' friends with the NY DJs. (Again, I couldn't retrieve the video. Jody and I called in to some radio show in upstate NY and talked to the DJ on the air for about 10 minutes. It was pretty funny, but kind of sad that we were the most interesting thing that he had to offer his audience. :-D)

***Shortly after this, I learned of the terrible flooding that was taking place in Nashville and discontinued tweeting to try to follow up with some of my friends there.

May 4th:

10:44am: It's good to be home.