#OnwardOnstots

Mark this one down as my first post as a California resident.  I still feel like we're on a really long, working vacation. But slowly, I think Fresno is starting to feel like home. Before I elaborate on all of that, let's talk about why we're here in the first place.

Main reason: Evan and I decided not to renew our contracts in Lubbock. Which meant, starting in April, we started the job search. I wrote about the reasons on my professional FB page, but in short -- we decided, as lovely as Lubbock was to us, it was time to see where our careers could take us.  It was now, or never.  

Then Fresno called. Evan had been offered an evening anchor job in market 55 (an 88 market job from Lubbock... not too shabby there, Onstot.)  And they also had a job for me, as morning anchor. It was an opportunity that we couldn't pass up.  Two anchor jobs in one place is pretty unheard of in our business.

The first order of business was to put our beloved home on the market.

The prettiest house I ever did see.

The good news, is that it only took 2 weeks to sell.

 The bad news, we had to leave it.

A little piece of me aches when I see this picture.

Even Bear was a little depressed when the house emptied.

Portrait of sadness.

I started documenting the most pitiful places he would lay.  That was where our bed was.  It was the best he could do, considering we never let him up on the bed. (Okay, maybe I can't say never...)

We had to say goodbye at some point, so the best friends in the world threw us a giant shin-dig at one of our favorite Lubbock joints, The Roof. This is where #OnwardOnstots comes in.  It was the best night, surrounded by our favorite people.  Seriously, thank you to everyone that came. We miss each and every one of you.

LBK BFF 4 Life.

Beautiful sunset with beautiful friends.

Aaaand the most amazing party favor.  "I'm in a glass case of emotion!" (For those that don't get the reference, you need to educate yourself and watch Anchorman. Shame on you for not doing so already.)

On our last day of work, we were treated to some pretty sweet moves. Literally. This cake was delish -- and the theme was just perfect for this anchor duo.

I now know what everyone thinks of our relationship -- straight out of a movie.

My team! Best a girl could ask for, in her first main anchor gig.

The extended team, the one that makes us look good.

Aaaand I don't have any pictures of Evan from his last newscast. Note to self: update blog when you find some.

We had one day after work to soak up the last hours of living in Lubbock. So we did what every good resident should do... go to Chimy's and drink margaritas.

Things don't get much better.

Our neighbors sent us off with a giant front yard BBQ.  This right here is one of the things I miss most. 

Our family away from family.

And then, it was our last night in the house. Obviously, we needed to play dominoes with our very best friends.

Chicken foot!

The photo below sums up these boys' relationship perfectly. I love y'all.

They were singing. You can see how Bear feels about that.

The next morning, we took off.  The drive to California was a long one, but we filled it with several mini-adventures. (I'll save that for another post!) Still, I cried a lot of tears in the days leading up to it, and I'm even feeling a little emotional now as I write this.  Long story short, we left behind some amazing friends in Lubbock -- and that's the worst part. But I know we'll have them for the rest of their lives, we'll just have to take lots of vacations to make up for the distance.

So now, it's time to begin the next chapter.  We are excited to see where this leads!  (And once we buy a new house, Hotel Onstot will be open for business and anxiously awaiting guests.)

xoxo,
The California Onstots

Haley & Hulie take Charleston

It dawned on me, that I never blogged about my long weekend visiting my best long-distance girl, Haley.  Well, allow me to get on that... just a few months late.

Haley moved to Charleston a few years ago, and I like to think she did it just for me. Okay, I had nothing to do with the reason but it's a place I've always wanted to go and what better time to do it, than when your girlfriend is there?

3 plane rides and 8 hours later, Haley and Comet (her dog and BFF) picked me up from the airport and our adventure began.  Our first night, she took me to Husk for a true Southern meal.  I unfortunately took zero pictures, but my memories tell me -- it was amazing.

Sunset over the Ravenel Bridge, a Charleston landmark.

Day two found us at the beach. Just a few minutes drive from Haley's place, and suddenly you're on vacation.  I could get used to this.

Comet is a sun-worshipper.

"Life is good today."

We're the three best friends!

I love this picture so much. A girl and her dog.

We found hats that say it all -- "I'd rather drink a martini than wear a bikini!"

After the beach, we headed to a downtown market for a little shopping.  I loved this little coffee shop!

Charleston happy hour: champagne cocktail and an oyster shot. Why not?

Oysters!

More drinks at a local bar... of course.

Day 2: Brunch on the water, followed by more time on the water!  We ate at Fleet Landing, an old naval building turned into a restaurant.  Great view, huh?

Glamour shots.

After brunch, we headed to the harbor to go sailing on a dolphin tour.  First stop: the grocery store for beer. And matching koozies.

View from the harbor

Cheers!

Dolphin sighting!

Even closer...

Southern moment.

Not my proudest moment, but probably one of Haley's favorites, is this picture below. You see, I was very busy taking all these GREAT shots of dolphins from the boat. But it was bright, so I couldn't really see what I was doing. So...... come to find out, I'd been taking selfies the whole time.  I have about 15 of these beautiful shots of...... myself.

Once I realized what I'd done... Haley couldn't contain herself.

So I'm not the best photographer.  I blame the iPhone.  Anyway, back to better shots of the sailing tour.

View from under the bridge.

Once back on land, we creepily watched this wedding from above.  We were those people, don't judge!

After a small break and quick change, we were off to another part of Charleston: Folly Beach!

I love this picture. And this girl.

We rounded out the trip, with an evening of cocktails on a rooftop bar.

<3

Thanks for the mini-vacation, Haley May! Until the next market move... Love you.