I have re-emerged into the Internet world!!! Sorry for the long absence, kids, but it has been a long, busy day. I finally caved and bought wi-fi in the Atlanta airport to tackle my emails (legitimately had 32) and catch up on life. Oh and waste time because we may be here for a long time.
Where to begin? Oh yes, breakfast at the hotel after sleeping in. Continental breakfast again… Sadly they only had the world’s fakest yogurt (Light n Fit) but I was desperate and ate it anyways. I also finally found a banana after the picture and added it to the mix.
Grapefruit, peach yogurt, Raisin Bran (& a banana added later)
Then it was off to my favorite apartment, fingers crossed and nerves shot. I really, really wanted this apartment. And guess what? We got it!!! My future roommate and I could not be happier, this place is great and has a very even layout so each roommate gets an equal space in the apartment. Signing a lease is the most grown up thing I’ve done, probably ever. I felt so empowered and like such a big girl. It is scary to know that I’m definitely moving so far away and am actually doing this. This is a big step, I’ve never, ever lived outside of Virginia and where I live now is only 3 hours away from my mom, 30 minutes from the town I grew up in. Austin is so far, it seems! But I am really excited things worked out. I feel really lucky 
After dealing with the lease, obtaining a cashier’s check for our application fee (deposit waived whoo hoo!!), and taking numerous pictures, we celebrated by going to Mecca (also known as the Whole Foods flagship store in Austin). Whole Foods was started in this very spot! If Muslims make a pilgrimage to Mecca to pray at the Kaaba, then healthy living bloggers to go the flagship store in Austin. This was my pilgrimage and I gave thanks to the natural foods gods for all my good fortunate as of late.
Cannot wait to come here all the time!
I was fortunate enough to have a new Whole Foods built in Richmond right about the time I decided to get my shit together and start living healthier, but now that I live in Va Beach there isn’t one! HOW?? Trader Joe’s is awesome, don’t get me wrong. But there is something about Whole Foods that I miss dearly. At this one, there were a ton of people who had apparently just run the paths along the river and had come here to pick up lunch. I can actually run there from my apartment, so this may become a fun thing to do! We had to park underground in the multi-level parking deck, it was packed!!!! But we grabbed food and took it outside to enjoy the last of the Austin sun before we got onto an airplane.
Kale salad (amazing), citrus quinoa salad, zucchini, steamed broccoli, and balsamic (no oil) tofu
All natural Zevia Ginger Root Beer & sliced mango
I know the salad bar/hot food at Whole Foods can be expensive, but I didn’t do too badly. My salad bar purchase was about $4, or a half pound ($7.99/lb). The Zevia was on sale for $0.63 and I’d always wanted to try it so I figured why not? A celebratory soda! And the mango was a splurge ($1.90 — not terrible) but I had just signed a lease and wanted to celebrate! I also left with a souvenir. Seriously, who goes to Whole Foods and looks for a souvenir? I need help.
In my defense, I needed a new water bottle... and it has TX on it!
After that, we didn’t have anything else to do and not enough time to do anything meaningful, so we headed to the airport early. And thank the Whole Foods gods we did!!! We learned our original flight was already delayed 3 hours so they rebooked us on the earlier flight which was delayed to leave at the same time as our original flight was supposed to have, had it been on time. At the gate, I had an apple, a handful of dry cereal, and a bite of my grandma’s 85% dark chocolate.
On the plane, it was so rough. The roughest flight I’ve ever been on. The woman next to me was literally clutching my arm the whole time and I was meditating/breathing deeply because I get severely motion sick and I was about to toss my proverbial cookies. During the landing, the woman and I actually held hands for moral support. It was awful. There is a horrible storm brewing and it was not pleasant to land in. We made it and had 3 hours to kill before our final leg so we went to TGIFriday’s for dinner.
This restaurant literally has 1 vegetarian item (aside from side salad and french fries/mashed potatoes): spinach artichoke grease/dip. I ended up getting the Santa Fe chicken salad sans chicken and I’m glad I did because it at least had some cheese and beans for protein. Dressing on the side for dipping…
Santa Fe salad sans chicken
I was pretty hungry and this satisfied me and is sitting well with my upset tummy. But this was an interesting lesson in vegetarian traveling, since I’m new to all this. They didn’t even have a Boca burger substitution like most restaurants do these days! I was smart enough to pack snacks with me that were healthy for the flight and we were lucky enough to be in a city that seems to be fairly health conscious and vegetarian friendly. And I was savvy enough to seek places out that would have options for me, but you really have to work hard sometimes!! I’m traveling to Arizona in less than 2 weeks, so this was a good trial run. As my family is not always as adventurous as my amazing grandmother is, I think we’ll have to make a lot compromises. But now I’m prepared and will bring some good snacks!
Now we’re sitting at the airport, watching the weather get progressively worse and wait to see if our flight is delayed or cancelled. Who knows you may see my next post from a hotel in Atlanta?!
Off to find some fro-yo, methinks…
This time tomorrow we’ll hopefully be somewhere near Memphis, TN! So I shall start this quote off with a quote that I adore.
