Home Sweet Home
Well, loyal fans, you'll be happy to know that I have made it home safely, after being stranded one extra night in Indiana due to the intense thunderstorms I encountered on the road. I calculated my total miles for the trip: 7,004.9 door-to-door. That was a lot of miles! It more than doubled the miles on my car. I'd say it was a successful trip--I've been "enlightened," as Annie puts it, I've bonded with my new car, and I have a fabulous experience with lots of great stories that I can tell the kids I'm not having someday. ;-) Persephone says she's also been enlightened... she is one well-traveled penguin!
Thanks for reading! Hope it's been interesting!
Learnin' How to Smile
Road trip day 13: Mount Rushmore, SD to Fort Dodge, IA.
There's really not much that sleep, coffee, and sunshine can't cure. My hatred for the Black Hills dissipated this morning asI drove back to Mount Rushmore in the sun. Mount Rushmore was ok... it was smaller than I thought... all the pictures make it look really big, but it wasn't as big as I expected. Still, it's cool to think that someone carved it out of a mountain and was able to figure out the proportions and make it look so realistic.
I had a long drive to Fort Dodge, Iowa today. South Dakota and I are still not friends, because they decided it would be a great idea to have almost their entire stretch of I-90 under construction at the same time, which made the drive slower and less tolerable. I made some fun stops along the way, recommended by my mother, such as Wall Drug, which is an extravaganza of "Americana," whatever that is... mostly it means it's full of junk and a giant plastic Jackalope. Oh yes, I said Jackalope. I also stopped at the Mitchell Corn Palace, which is exactly what sounds like.
Tonight, I'm ha
nging out in the lovely Fort Dodge, IA with Jackie and her mom. A fun and easygoing way to spend the last night of my trip. I'm kind of glad to be done, because I'm getting sick of driving and I'm looking forward to my bed and sleeping and my mom making me real food for dinner. But at the same time, I'm not looking forward to being thrown back into the real world and all the work I have to do to get ready to move. Hopefully I can take what I've learned on this trip and apply it to my new life to make my transitions a little easier. Talk about a life changing summer, huh. Trip, moving, new school... oy. Well, for now I'm just going to enjoy my last night.
And Now, a Word from the President
Road trip days 11 & 12: Salt Lake City, UT to Pueblo, CO and Pueblo, CO to Mount Rushmore, SD.
Yesterday I was abducted by the Mormons. Since I was in Salt Lake City, my mom insisted I must go see Temple Square, and since I probably won't be back there for a long time and I didn't want to regret not going, I got up early and headed into downtown SLC. The city is beautiful; it busy but peaceful and sits at the base of a mountain range. I found Temple Square, grabbed my camera, and headed into quickly check it out and take a few pictures. I was immediate stopped, however, by the nicest young Mormon missionary from China. She told me about a free 30 minute tour starti
ng soon, and I figured I had half an hour, and it might be nice to have a guide to know what I was looking at, and she was so enthusiastic, I just couldn't say no. Two hours later, I was rushing out of the city toward Colorado. My 30 minute tour of the grounds turned into almost an hour, followed by a tour of the gardens on top of the convention center that lasted another hour. It was totally worth it though. My tour guides were so nice and so passionate, as was EVERYONE we encountered on the walk (someone even told me that "blue was such a pretty color on me!" in reference to the shirt I was wearing), and the tour was very informative and interesting. I got to see the tabernacle where the Mormon Tabernacle choir practiced, and view the Temple from the outside (there was a wedding going on!), and see a few rooms in the convention center, along with a bunch of original, one-of-a-kind paintings. So it was a well spent two hours, despite the fact that it got my journey off to a VERY late start.
The state of Utah, beyond the desert, is really pretty, and the drive was lovely. Wyoming was just ok... I feel it's sort of at a disadvantag
e following Utah, and even more so coming after everything else I have seen. I'm sure it's pretty in it's own right, I'm just biased now. There were a bunch of wind farms, which made things more exciting.
Colorado was a huge disappointment. Denver is lame, not at all like I pictured it... it's just another city. And the path I took was extremely populated, with lots of traffic and construction and suburbs. After being out in the wild west for so long, with it's rolling hills, majestic mountains, and 75mph open freeways, civilization was somewhat of a shock. Anyway, I was still managing to make good time despite my late start when suddenly, traffic came to a dead standstill in Colorado Springs. As in, people were walking around on the freeway outside their cars, because we were parked there, not moving. After about 15 minutes, the guy next to me got out of his car to stretch. I rolled down my window a
nd asked if he could see what had happened, since I had heard police sirens. He said no, but he had just talked to his wife, who had turned on the news to see what was going on. Do you want to know why we were sitting on the freeway for 30 minutes? The President of the United States of America, Mr. George W. Bush himself, was landing at Peterson Air Force Base, and in order to transport him to wherever it was he was going, they decided to shut down the interstate. So... the president messed up my road trip. Mom says it's payback for that time I drunk e-mailed the White House. Oh, GW, how I will miss you.
I finally made it to Beth's and we spent the night catching up and talking about all the amazing things we have accomplished (Beth climbed a real mountain... over 12,000 feet!). We woke up this morning and enjoyed a breakfast of typical Pueblo Mexican food... meaning everything covered in green chili. Yes, for breakfast. Apparently everything is better covered in g
reen chili. Kind of like melted cheese (ha ha, Emily. Oh, if you're reading this... I saw a sign for Taco Time in Wyoming!)
Heading toward Mount Rushmore, I drove back through Colorado, which is actually not so bad in the sunlight after a good night's sleep and without good ol' George mucking up traffic. Wyoming was also lovely, all green and open in the sunlight. South Dakota was not impressive. The Black Hills are awful. Unlike the sunny mountains of the southwest, all these inland northern mountains do are attract a thick oppressive gray fog, which I drove in the entire way to Mount Rushmore. It was to foggy to even see the monument, so I wandered around the area looking for a place to stay. Hopefully tomorrow I can see it before I head to Iowa.
Home in 2 days!
Cruisin' Down the 101 and Other Tales
Road trip Days 9 & 10: California Coast and San Francisco, CA to Salt Lake City, UT.
So... I did it. I realized my 6 year old dream. Hurray!
Kym and I left early yesterday morning and jumped on the 101 where it begins in San Diego. The highway runs through several small coastal towns, each a little different, but all with that same beachy feel. We had to get on interstate 5 for a little while, which was less than exciting, but we joined back up with the 101 in LA, my original
hometown. I guess I see why we moved... it's basically dirty, traffic-ridden, fairly unimpressive city. Hollywood is the same way. I did get to see the big Hollywood sign up on the hill, but only for a few brief seconds. Driving the 101 in this area was like driving through a Tom Petty song: Reseda, Mulholland, Ventura Blvd. The magic of "Free Fallin' " quickly wore off, however, when we hit standstill traffic. Apparently it was necessary to close a whole section of the freeway. So we got off and bravely tried to navigate the detour. The directions weren't too difficult, but traffic kept moving more and more slowly. When we finally made it to the next freeway entrance, we had to turn around, because the entrance was blocked off by Ca
ution tape and surrounded by the LA bomb squad. Only in LA.
Anyway, we finally made it back to the 101, out of the city, and back towards the coast. Google Maps, however, decided the coast wasn't a sufficient route, and so sent us off onto a smaller highway that wound us into the mountains. The drive was pretty and the view breathtaking, but I soon realized that I was getting low on gas and civilization was nowhere in sight. The first true test of the new vehicle! After several harrowing, nerve wracking miles of wondering whether or not we might be stuck forever in the mountains, we rolled into an incredibly tiny town and refilled the tank.
Good to go again, we wound our way back to the 101, which we followed through golden hills covered in cows and vineyards (though not generally at the same time...). The
101 meets California Highway 1 back out by the coast. On our way up CA-1, we stopped to see an elephant seal colony. Finally, we started the uphill decent into the mountains on the coast. The drive from there was amazing. Words and pictures can't do it justice. There's really now way to accurately describe what it's like winding your way around hairpin turns on a road carved into the mountain side, with nothing but solid rock on one side and ocean on the other. Kym and I stopped at several "Vistas," as the California highway calls them, to take pictures. The drive was everything I hoped it would be. The sun was out, the weather was warm, and the scenery was breathtaking (yeah, yeah, there's a lot of that lately, I know).
Once out of the mountains, we completed our drive back on the 101 to San Francisco, where we ate dinner at Pier 39 (NOT Pier 19... there's nothing there... don't go there... it's scary!) and saw Fisherman's Wharf. We got to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge (and then through a tunnel!) on our way to our lodgings for the night.
This morning I took Kym to the Sacramento airport, and then started my long journey back east. Almost 700 miles on I-80. Gross. The first part was super exciting. I-80 goes into the mountains in northeast California. But these aren't gently sloping mountains like on the California coast, or low, crumbly hills like in the Mojave, or
graceful peaks like in New Mexico. No. These are Mountains of Death. My poor car whined in protest at the quickly increasing elevation. I ended up at the top of the mountain unable to see anything except fog and the tips of formidable pine trees on the sides of the mountain sharply sloping away. It started pouring rain, and the road curved almost as sharply as CA-1. I survived, though, and made it into Nevada, which is quite lovely, and then into Utah. I'm in Salt Lake City tonight. Hopefully I will get to see the Temple tomorrow, and then head off to see Beth!
San Diego and Seals
Road trip day 8: San Diego, CA.
Today was a day off from driving. Hurray! It was lovely to sleep in a little and spend a relaxing morning reading in bed instead of waking up to an alarm and instantly leaping from shower to car to highway.
Kym took me around for an overview of all there is to do in San Diego. We went to the beach first. After being land locked for so long, it was refreshing to see the ocean and smell the salty air. I love the water. I've decided it's probably a good thing I like to move every 5 years, because every place I go I want to live for awhile! The mountains, the beach, the city... I pretty much love it all. Next we headed to La Jolla, a classic ritzy coastal town full of expensive shops, independent art galleries, and condos and apartments that most of us will probably never be able to afford. To be fair, it was a very pretty area, and the coolest part was walking out to see the seal colony. The seals just swim up to sun themselves on the shore. We got to see several babies, and all of them were adorable and full of personality. We had lunch in Old Town at an outdoor Mexican restaurant with great food, awesom
e margaritas, and a fabulous atmosphere, complete with a mariachi band. We walked around the area after lunch, and then went to a wine tasting at a local winery. We ended the day with a quick drive downtown, mostly just so I could say I've seen it.
Tonight we're just taking it easy and getting to bed early, to rest up for our big coastal adventure tomorrow! Thanks for reading, and thanks for your comments!
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!
Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona
Road trip day 6: Santa Fe, NM to Grand Canyon, AZ.
First things first... a few pictures I couldn't upload yesterday: the palisades, Eagles Nest Lake, and me in front of the Rio Grande (I took
that one myself... aren't you impressed?).
Today was a lot of driving. I think I was on 40 West forever. Arizona is not quite as pretty as New Mexico, but maybe I'm just biased. It was interesting though, that everything was reddish orange, even the roads! I also drove in all sorts of weather, including rain, snow, and hail. I stopped just outside Albuquerque to see Acoma Sky City, which is one of the oldest settlements in the U.S. I didn't have time to take a tour or anything, but I managed to get one
picture of it sitting up on the hill. And I drove by Winslow, Arizona, as made famous by the Eagles, which was really exciting for me, since they're my favorite band. There was really nothing in Winslow, it was just cool to drive through it.
The main event of today was visiting the Grand Canyon. It was really frustrating and confusing at first... it's hard to figure out where you're supposed to go, and the park only sells 7-day passes, so it cost me $25 to spend 2 hours there, but oh well. When I first arrived, it was incredibly foggy and cloudy, and I couldn't see anything. I found, though, that the clouds were constantly moving and shifting through the canyon, so the view changed every few minutes. And I got to see some pretty spectacular views. Once again, I had the feeling of being very small. The canyon is really something you have to see in person to
fully appreciate, I think. There's no way I can fully describe it, and pictures just don't do it justice.
I also found during my visit that they're not kidding when they say it's a small world. I met a couple from Indianapolis that had a nephew that
attended UD, and a man who used to live in Dayton, and his parents still lived there. Apparently everyone knows someone from Dayton.
I'm staying in a little town just off 40 tonight, since I get to get back on 40 in the morning for even more driving. It's still kind of lonely on my own, but Persephone is actually great to talk to... she listens to everything I have to say and never gives me attitude or criticizes me. ;-) The new car and I are also bonding well, so that's a good thing. Tomorrow it's on to California!
