6 years ago.......

It was a Monday....November 19th....just like today...except not.

It was 2001. At 6-o'clock in the morning, I started out in my little green 1996 Honda Civic with my two cats, two suitcases or clothes and anything else I might need for the next week. It was the road trip of all road trips. I was leaving the east coast and headed west to California.

I had given up my apartment, my job, left my friends behind and headed to the land of dreams....or so I thought.

It took three nights and four days of driving before we arrived at a newly leased apartment in Oxnard, California. We arrived just before the office closed for the evening so we were able to get keys, put some blankets down on the floor and call it a night. It would be another 5 days before the furniture would arrive and another 5 days before I would start a new job. It was however, thanksgiving and we didn't even have a pan or turkey enough to make a sandwich.

I have thought back fondly on that road trip several times in the past 6 years. I enjoyed the solitude, the time with my cats (both of whom have now passed away). I wish I would have had XM Radio in my car...that would have made the trip more enjoyable. I do remember the billboard in New Mexico in the middle of absolutely nowhere saying "Don't you wish you had XM Radio?" -- YEAH, I did.

My little Honda didn't have the comforts of the car I drive now. No navigation, no cruise control, no leather seats. It was about as bare-bones as one can get. It was dependable though....It carried everything I needed....safely.

I'd love to drive across the country again someday. Mina would be hysterically funny....and maybe a bit too hyper. :)

I find myself nostalgic today. Its been 6 years since I left the east coast for California. I plan to stay at least another 6.