Finally......

Well guys, it's here! June 22. The date I have been looking forward to for months. The day my new chapter in life opens and I start down a new path in life. I am finally moving to Australia.



Getting it all together...



I wanted to get down to one large bag and a carry on, plus my camera bag, but that was impossible. I packed and re packed and packed again, and it just didn't happen. My Grandpa Don provided me with the wonderful army bag to store all of my extra lbs of things. It may be '4' bags... but I'm still proud. (4=One large bag, A duffle (that can fit in the big one, it's just too heavy! Domestic flights only allow 50 lbs... I thought it was 70) My on flight carry on (incase my luggage disappears), and all of my camera crap.
Proud of me? I sure am!



Before that happens, I have to get there. Since leaving Missouri on June 14 I have been to Minnesota to drop my cats off at my friend Anna William's house in Northfield, up to Eagan to spend the night with my Grandma and Grandpa, to Edina to spend an hour with my Grandma Dorothy looking through old photos, to Atlanta to say goodbye to my Mom, sister and Doug, down to Pensacola Florida to check out the oil spill, and finally to LA for a week at the POYi awards ceremony.



Iowa to Minnesota







Minnesota



My grandma has a green thumb. In fact, I think her thumb is lime green. Mine is brown. I'm always amazed by her beautiful gardens! This year her gardens were especially amazing.







Hotlanta



After a lazy morning drinking from my mom's new Bunn coffee maker (nummy!) and reading more news about the oil spill, we decided to check it out ourselves and make a mini road trip to the coast. (My mom has lived her entire life in Minnesota, so the option of driving to a coast as pretty exciting) We packed up the car (no, PACKED it... not just the four of us, but our large golden doodle and little pip squeek dog Moses too! At some point my sister even gave her seat to the dog) and drove the 5 hours down to Pensacola Florida to check it out for ourselves.



Pensacola



We were happy to find that the Pensacola beach was clear and free of oil! (Perhaps only for a few more days...) It was a beautiful beach town, and I hope that the oil doesn't destroy it. The water was clear blue and as warm as a bath. My mom and I even saw a 'herd' of eagle rays swim by! I didn't expect to be swimming in the water, I didn't even bring a suit! The water was so warm and inviting that I jumped in with my clothes on. Oh well! Even though we didn't see the oil spill, I felt impacted by the beauty of the beaches and saddened by how many beaches just like Pensacola are being destroyed every second.


The dogs had never been to the ocean before, and they did a great job paddling around trying to save our lives! Moses (the little guy) even had some fun! We left after sunning and swimming for 2 hours, and drove 5 hours back home. 10 hours in the car, 2 hours on the beach... worth it? I say YES!


*Update*
Pensacola was hit by the oil last night. The beaches are no longer as white as the photos from just a few days ago, instead they are covered by oil and swimmers are no longer allowed in the water. That makes me want to cry. I cannot believe how horrible and devastating the oil spill has become.


I'm not sure how to react to the after photo I just saw on TV. All I can do is show you the picture I made while with my family just last Sunday compared to a screenshot of CNN's coverage of the beach today. The first picture was taken 3 days ago. What can we do? I feel so helpless.

"It's pretty ugly. There's no question about it," Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said. "It does break your heart." -CNN



It does, it really does.





Atlanta to LA


We drove back up to Hotlanta and on Tuesday and I caught a flight to LAX (and slept the entire way!), met the boyfriend and lots of photo friends and got settled in our hotel. We checked out the space that the POYi ceremony is being held, went back to the hotel and decided to spend the evening at the Santa Monica Pier.



Santa Monica Pier



I fell in love with the lights, smells and everybody's sheer joy to be there.


I think I saw more people holding hands in one hour than I have seen the entire year! It was amazing. "All you need is love" kept playing through my head. It actually harmonizes really well with carnival rides!


What was under the pier was even more amazing... the ocean! The boys decided to strip their clothing and jump in, while I decided to play with long exposure and the great muted colors left over from the festivities above.

Santa Monica Pier from Chelsea Sektnan on Vimeo.

A moment on the pier...


LA



Views from The House of Blues


Now...


I am currently sitting in a hotel room in Beverly Hills watching Access Hollywood and drinking coffee. It's strange to watch a show about people and places so close to where I'm sitting! Perhaps I should get out of the hotel and check out the Twihards camping out to see the stars for the Twilight premier! Actually, I'm okay just decompressing for a few hours before getting a move on again. I have to get caught up with email, blog posts and organizing my bags.

At 1245 my new friend Dorine and I are going to a taping of Jay Leno! We have a rental car, a GPS and a reservation to a back lot door... it should be an adventure!

*UPDATE*




I am so excited, and so amazingly lucky to be starting off on this adventure. I'm going to keep blogging as much as possible, please keep checking back for updates!