Adventures with Liz

Made up my mind to make a new start, going to California with an aching in my heart

Road trip day 7: Grand Canyon, AZ to San Deigo, CA.

I once again spent 320 miles on 40 W. That's a lot of miles on one road. Arizona is pretty boring once you get past the Grand Canyon, although 40 W does line up with the Santa Fe railway between the Grand Canyon and the California state line, so I had a little entertainment watching the trains come and go. 40 W dumps you into the Mohave Desert when you cross the state line, which is a massive yellow sandy expanse of land polka dotted with scruffy shrubs and grasses and fragmented by something akin to mounts, but really more like giant, jagged mounds of crumbling, dirty rock spotted by the same forlorn little shrubs carpeting the desert floor. In the sunshine, I could put down the windows, open the sunroof, and just enjoy cruising in the mild dry heat. I soon encountered rain, however, which made the whole landscape thoroughly depressing.

Also, my mother warned me about California drivers in the rain, and I have to say... it's all true. It's crazy! You'd think it was snowing or something. The worst was up in the mountains, where at one point we came to a complete standstill, which completely irritated me until I came around the bend at the top of the mountain and drove straight into a raincloud. Not fog, not torrential rain, but an actual raincloud, with madly swirling water washing over my car and every available air space filled with a thick, gray watery substance. It was awful.

I made it to San Deigo, however, where I'm staying with Kym, one of my fraternity sisters from UD who has a music therapy internship out here. We decided to take it easy tonight, and we'll spend tomorrow seeing the city. She also decided to join me for my drive up the coast on Sunday, so now I'll have some company for the 10 hour drive!

The best part of the day was about 30 miles into California, when it suddenly hit me that I had finally realized a major dream I've had since I was old enough to understand that I was born in California and that my parents would probably never take me back for a visit. It was both calming and overwhelming to know that I had finally made it, that I was finally here. I won't be spending any time near L.A., although I will drive by it, but it's just nice to know that I'm getting to do something I've wanted and waited for.

Sorry there's no pictures today; there wasn't much to take, just desert and rain and traffic. Maybe more tomorrow!

posted by Liz @ 1:22 AM