Moving out
Well the excitement of moving is fading quickly into a mere memory. As I look back I will share some of the visual elements that helped to make the trip from Kalamazoo to Oakland seem like a 2,828 mile drive halfway asleep. We left Kalamazoo with a sign...
"The praying mantis has historically been a popular subject of mythology and folklore. In France, people believed a praying mantis would point a lost child home. In Arabic and Turkish cultures, a mantis was thought to point toward Mecca. In Africa, the mantis was thought to brink good luck to whomever it landed on and even restore life to the dead. In the U.S. they were thought to blind men and kill horses. Europeans believed they were highly worshipful to god since they always seemed to be praying. In China, nothing cured bedwetting better than roasted mantis eggs." -from http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/biology/b103/f02/web1/mdoughty.html
I would have to say that I agree more with the French belief than the U.S.
We looked at this as a good sign, and got things loaded into the truck and headed out.
We drove the first day (and night) and stopped in Memphis, got some good rest then headed west along I40 through the buckle of the Bible belt. Along the way we saw these things:
The Texas welcome station 
The Bug Graveyard
A rare Arizona plastic bag flower
In Bakersfield, CA we came across a gas station that has figured it all out...
Finally we got to Oakland and the camera broke.
