GirlChild Press on the Road (The Wrap Up)

Amanda got on a 1:55pm Southwest flight to Baltimore Washington International Airport today. That means our week of laughs and adventures has come to a close.

We had a blast! We had more of a blast the more of L.A. we got to see. I almost thought the child wasn't going to get on the plane the way she was raving about wanting to live here. Between pedicures and Pinkberry I continued to learn tons about my "little sister." She is truly wise beyond her years and a very sweet and kind spirit (I already knew that part).

My mother called as I was dropping her off and inquired how I was going to feel now that my last tie to home was getting on a plane. I told her I would let her know tomorrow. For now - yall can check out the Michelle and Amanda Show wrap up video. Lots of food, giggling and some sweating...lol



Michelle
www.girlchildpress.com

GirlChild Press on the Road (Day 5)

We decided to make another minor detour this morning and head over to see the Grand Canyon. I've actually seen the Canyon before so this trip was for Amanda. Oddly enough I didn't know she was scared of heights. The things you learn on long road trips. So you can imagine what her face looked like when she saw the Grand Canyon. Part awe, part horror. I forgot how spectacular it is. It was great to remember that through Amanda's eyes. Again, we took tons of pictures, so if you are on Facebook you can check them out over there.

NOTE: While watching the video check out the people on the rocks behind our heads. They were actually throwing a football at some point on a ledge with no guard rail. You can only see this kind of stuff if you leave home...lol.

After hanging out at one of the "Wonders of the World," we hit the road around 11:00am our time. It was more of the same. Desert, heat, wind, desert, heat, more wind. We crossed into California around 3:00pm (PST). The Mojave Desert greeted us with 107degrees! As we drove toward Los Angeles it got cooler - 88 degrees by the time we got into L.A. proper.

We arrived in Los Angeles, California at 6:42pm (PST)! I am still sort of in denial that I am here. There has been a lot of planning regarding this relocation, but I don't think I gave much thought to how I would feel once I was actually here. I am both frickin' excited and scared. Now that I am here - what now? I don't mean what now like there is nothing to do. There is plenty to do. I have a script that needs to be finished in the next week. I need to buy a new printer. I need to surrender my sister Debyann's GPS and buy my own. I need to buy a desk for my room. I need to put said room together. I need to send out rejection and acceptance notices for the next anthology. But after all the tasks are done how does one go about living and connecting in a new place like LA?

I'll let you know how I'm doing:)

Check out our latest video. I think we will keep doing them until Amanda leaves on Monday.

GirlChild Press on the Road (Day 4)

We are exactly 382 miles from Los Angeles! We have stopped in Williams, AZ for the night.

We could have made it to our final destination today but we decided to do the tourist thing. Dana recommended that we visit the Acoma Sky City Pueblo in New Mexico. We took tons of pictures (if you are a Facebook friend you can go and check them out) and some footage of the land leading up to site (you are not allowed to take video of the actual space on the mesa.

I am always leery when I sign on to be a tourist, especially when I am in someone else's actual living space. There is always the possibility of someone saying or doing something stupid. The folks on the tour didn't disappointment.

Fred was a our tour guide for the 80 minute excursion. He was basically responsible for entertaining 20 adults and making sure we didn't break any traditional rules or fall off the mesa. I was surprised how many times he had to redirect grown folks. They acted like because they paid twenty bucks they could just trample all over the land and do whatever. By the end of the tour the irony of their behavior was not lost on me.

Any ol' way

The tour was fascinating. The history(the Acoma people were invaded by the Spaniards and made to accept Catholicism in very brutal ways). The ruggedness and beauty of the land (being on top of that mesa made it clear why it was called Sky City). Fred's pride in the accomplishments of his ancestors (the Pueblo Rebellion of 1680).

The minor detour was definitely worth it and driving through the desert of the Southwest is absolutely breathtaking. We ended our night at a restaurant with a singing cowboy (see end of the video) and a juicy steak.

Check out our video for the day.



Michelle
wwww.girlchildpress.com

GirlChild Press on the Road - Day 3

600 more miles closer to L.A.

We are in Albuquerque, NM tonight. The ride didn't feel as brutal today. The landscape continued to get flatter and the temperature hotter, but we wouldn't trade in this experience for anything.

Everyone kept warning us about the drive through Texas, but Oklahoma was the state that just kept on giving. I swear we drove from one end to the other. We just kept saying, "are we still in Oklahoma?" For most of the 600 miles it seemed the answer was YES! We drove through the panhandle of Texas and felt like we were in the state all of five minutes. We did get to see the "biggest cross in North America" while driving through the state. It was quite the sight.

Our day ended with dinner with the lovely Dana in the equally lovely Albuquerque, NM. Dana and I have never met but are Facebook friends. She invited us to dinner when she heard we would be passing through her neck of the woods. This was our first opportunity to sight see on this trip. Albuquerque is a city with a whole lot of personality.

We are actually a day ahead of schedule and we might slow things down a little tomorrow. Dana suggested some places we can check out and we might just hang out in Arizona a little. We'll see how we feel tomorrow.

Here is our video for the day. Don't judge us too harshly on not using sunblock...lol


Michelle
www.girlchildpress.com

GirlChild Press on the Road (Day 2)

We logged in about 600 miles today! Amanda did all the driving so that I could write my blog for Velvet Park and read the remaining short stories for the Woman's Work project (and make final decisions). I was supposed to have rejection letters out tonight but that doesn't look like it is going to happen. It doesn't help that the hotel internet is tre shakey! Hopefully I can send them out tomorrow night.

Interesting note about the submissions this time around.Not as many young writers (21 and under) as before. More speculative fiction. More women of color. More clustering of east coast submissions. More repeat submissions from writers from the previous anthologies. Equally as hard making selections:)

We are bedding down in Tulsa, OK. Another day of flat lands and high temperatures. It is 93 degrees at 10:30pm. I am sure as we continue west it will get hotter and hotter.

Tomorrow we are looking at 1200 miles. No, we will not drive them all! Our goal is to make it to New Mexico. We have a dinner invite so we hope to break bread with cool folks on the third day of our trip. At this rate we might be in California by Thursday, but I still think we are looking at a Friday arrival so we can do some sightseeing.

Thank goodness for unlimited phone and text services because we are getting calls/texts from all over checking in and wanting to chat us up. Too bad you can't put positive energy in the gas tank, 'cause we getting that in abundance.

Note: Amanda keeps referring to Marriott because she works for them and we are using her major employee discount to have a nice place to sleep at the end of these long days!

Check out our video for the day.


Michelle
www.girlchildpress.com

GirlChild Press on the Road (Day 1)

The GirlChild Press Express has pulled into Louisville, KY for the night. We did ten hours today. Actually, I drove ten hours. The kid sister talked and slept (see video below).

We started out a couple hours behind schedule but the road conditions were great so we made good time. We spent most of our day in West Virgina and Kentucky. Nothing interesting to report. Mostly rolling hills and long roads. I'm sure folks from both states will let me know there is tons to see in their respective states. It just wasn't apparent from my vantage point (going 75 miles an hour).

Tomorrow we will hit the road at 8:00am. We will be tackling St. Louis and Oklahoma. More videos and pictures to come.



Michelle
www.girlchildpress.com