Day 12: Portland, OR to Ellensburg, WA
total miles traveled: 447
Today we actually met up with Jeanie and Brian Ceneviva at the Nike headquarters in Portland. Mom called me up and said that Jeanie had just moved out there with Katherine (C or K), so it would be nice if they saw a familiar face. I was concerned about taking more time to get to Seattle because that was Turtle's main place he wanted to go. After about 5 minutes at Nike, my concerns were not needed; Turtle fell in love with the place and found where he wants to work. Brian actually took us on a mini tour of the campus and told us about the different buildings and the different things Nike had going on. We saw an exhibit for Nike's contribution to soccer, which was really interesting. Turtle and Sarah were in love with that room. We stayed at Nike for about an hour and then headed on our way. As we drove through Portland, we realized that it was actually a very clean city. We ran into some traffic along the way, but nothing too serious. We drove on up to Seattle and found the Pike Place Fish Market from our FISH video we watch every fall at job training. We recognized a couple of the guys from the video, which was pretty cool. One of the guys who was standing out front started talking to us and asking us where we were from. We told him that we were from NC, we were doing and epic road trip, and that we watch their video every year. This prompted him to allow us to go behind the counter and get a picture with one of the workers. We stayed and watched them throw fish and even got some video of their antics. I bought a long sleeve t shirt and Jenn bought a sweatshirt, so we supported them without having to buy fish. They gave us free stickers, which they told us they normally give to kids. Turtle wandered off towards the rest of the street market while Sarah, Jenn, and I walked around the block. We were on a mission to find a t shirt for Sarah, and we ended up running into a street grunge band. One guy kept asking if we could spare a dollar so he could buy pot; none of us had cash, so we did not support his drug habit. Jenn ended up going into a little coffee shop and getting a thing of hot tea, which helped her throat which has been hurting. We walked into a couple more stores and tried to find a t shirt that wasn't a) expensive, or b) incredibly cheesey. We headed back into the market area, and as we were passing the fish maket, one of the guys yelled "hey roadtrippers!" It was kinda cool to be recognized when we had just met these guys. On our way back to the car to meet up with Turtle, we actually stopped and tried some homemade pasta at this one booth. The samples they were giving were for chocolate pasta, which was actually really good. You serve it as dessert and can put toppings such as ice cream or whipped cream on top. We headed back to the car, got everyone situated, and then drove over to the canal to try and find the Deadliest Catch boats. We didn't find any of the main ones, but we saw the Retriever and the Alutian Lady which have both been on the show before. We ended up parking in this park and walked up a big hill which gave a beautiful view of Seattle. There was this lady who was placing placcards of astrological signs and planets down on the compass that was set in the concrete. She was discussing how something exciting was going to happen when aries combined with Jupiter 14 minutes from that time. Needless to say, it was at least interesting. We ended up leaving Seattle and all came to the consensus that Seattle is Boone, only 20x bigger. As we were driving along I-90, we saw an ASU Dad bumpersticker on one of the cars that passed us. It made us all pretty happy. We arrived at the hotel pretty late and all just crashed.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
The silhouette of tree tops, they flash by the window
Day 11: Eueraka, CA to Portland, OR
total miles traveled: 130 + the number we didn't record again
Today we woke up and the sun was shining and we knew the day was going to be beautiful. We were driving along hwy 101 and there was actually a place to pull over and see a bunch of elk. Apparently the elk like this one field and stay there often because there were a bunch of people taking pictures. We pulled over onto a side road, but couldn't proceed to where the elk were because the road was flooded by a stream. I feel that Sylvia could have taken it, but I didn't want to risk it since she sits so low to the ground. Turtle, Jenn, and I walked through the marshy grass to the other side of the stream in order to get some good pictures of the elk. Turtle wanted to go up and pet one, but luckily, he spotted the sign that told him that elk are very hostile. We snapped a couple of pictres and went on our way. We were approaching the redwoods when we started looking for signs to the tree you can drive through. We stopped off at a state park ranger station and asked one of the people there who directed us to the only one that was on our way. People apparently get lost trying to find this tree, but we actually found it with relative ease. We got to the tree and paid the $5 to visit the tree. When we got to the top of the hill, we were the only ones, so we got to take a bunch of pictures. We drove through the tree twice, and each of us actually took pictures while standing inside of the tree. I had the idea, being the true Boone kid that I am, to hug one of the trees. I also have seen other pictures of people hugging the redwoods and it just looks cool. We all ended up hugging this one tree. A couple of other people had actually come up to drive through the tree so we went on our way. As we drove along 101, we stopped off at one overlook area. The water was crashing against the rocks that were out in the surf. The view was gorgeous, and we all stopped and were actually able to have a group picture because a nice person took one of us. We drove further north and got off 101 and took hwy 199, which was BEAUTIFUL!! The road was curvey and had beautiful views the entire way. We crossed over the Smith River multiple times, which was amazing. The color of the water was spectacular and we already have plans to come back and kayak. We arrived in Oregon and got some gas. The gas station actually had no self service, which was weird. Apparently in Oregon and New Jersey, it is a state law that you can't pump your own gas; an attendant has to do it. I guess you learn something new everyday. We ended up getting to the hotel just outside of Portland around dinner time. We all walked over to the Wendy's and grabbed some food and then headed back to the hotel. We sat and ate and watched tv. Turtle ended up going to Bally total fitness (we got a free pass with the room stay) and the three girls sat on the bed and ate our frostys. Sarah and I ended up heading down to the hot tub, where we met a very nice man from Atlanta. We chatted with him for a bit. Jenn came down a little later, so we all hung out for another half hour or so. After our fingers were all pruney, we headed back up to the hotel room. Turtle came back from working out and decided that he wanted to dye his hair. He had bought hair dye in New Oreleans, so we finally used it. Turtle is now the proud owner of a very red head of hair. Sarah had actually done her laundry in the hotel tub and proceeded to hang her clothes all around to dry. We all grabbed showers and such and headed to bed.
total miles traveled: 130 + the number we didn't record again
Today we woke up and the sun was shining and we knew the day was going to be beautiful. We were driving along hwy 101 and there was actually a place to pull over and see a bunch of elk. Apparently the elk like this one field and stay there often because there were a bunch of people taking pictures. We pulled over onto a side road, but couldn't proceed to where the elk were because the road was flooded by a stream. I feel that Sylvia could have taken it, but I didn't want to risk it since she sits so low to the ground. Turtle, Jenn, and I walked through the marshy grass to the other side of the stream in order to get some good pictures of the elk. Turtle wanted to go up and pet one, but luckily, he spotted the sign that told him that elk are very hostile. We snapped a couple of pictres and went on our way. We were approaching the redwoods when we started looking for signs to the tree you can drive through. We stopped off at a state park ranger station and asked one of the people there who directed us to the only one that was on our way. People apparently get lost trying to find this tree, but we actually found it with relative ease. We got to the tree and paid the $5 to visit the tree. When we got to the top of the hill, we were the only ones, so we got to take a bunch of pictures. We drove through the tree twice, and each of us actually took pictures while standing inside of the tree. I had the idea, being the true Boone kid that I am, to hug one of the trees. I also have seen other pictures of people hugging the redwoods and it just looks cool. We all ended up hugging this one tree. A couple of other people had actually come up to drive through the tree so we went on our way. As we drove along 101, we stopped off at one overlook area. The water was crashing against the rocks that were out in the surf. The view was gorgeous, and we all stopped and were actually able to have a group picture because a nice person took one of us. We drove further north and got off 101 and took hwy 199, which was BEAUTIFUL!! The road was curvey and had beautiful views the entire way. We crossed over the Smith River multiple times, which was amazing. The color of the water was spectacular and we already have plans to come back and kayak. We arrived in Oregon and got some gas. The gas station actually had no self service, which was weird. Apparently in Oregon and New Jersey, it is a state law that you can't pump your own gas; an attendant has to do it. I guess you learn something new everyday. We ended up getting to the hotel just outside of Portland around dinner time. We all walked over to the Wendy's and grabbed some food and then headed back to the hotel. We sat and ate and watched tv. Turtle ended up going to Bally total fitness (we got a free pass with the room stay) and the three girls sat on the bed and ate our frostys. Sarah and I ended up heading down to the hot tub, where we met a very nice man from Atlanta. We chatted with him for a bit. Jenn came down a little later, so we all hung out for another half hour or so. After our fingers were all pruney, we headed back up to the hotel room. Turtle came back from working out and decided that he wanted to dye his hair. He had bought hair dye in New Oreleans, so we finally used it. Turtle is now the proud owner of a very red head of hair. Sarah had actually done her laundry in the hotel tub and proceeded to hang her clothes all around to dry. We all grabbed showers and such and headed to bed.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Out on an ocean, under a sunset... with magic and move a mountain
Day 10: San Francisco to Eureka
miles traveled: 291 + however many it was after we stopped for gas
Woke up this morning to a little bit of rain. Turtle was already awake and had gone for a 2 mile run and got watched by a sea lion, which freaked him out. Jenn and I said quick silent prayers, and the rain stopped. We all got up and packed up our tents. We found out last night that the showers were going to cost a quarter for 2 minutes. Sarah ended up finding a quarter in her bag and Jenn found one as well. We figured we could all just get in our bathing suits and at least shower off even if we weren't able to take full showers. I found .25, so I asked the people camping next to us if they could give me a quarter if I gave them my .25. The guy was nice enough and gave me two quarters and wouldn't take any of my money. In case you are bad at math, that made 4 quarters. You remember the number of people on this trip? That's right... 4. We each got to take a 2 min shower with hot water, which was lovely. Since you could turn the shower off and save your time, we all took navy showers, but at least we were all clean. After getting out of the shower, Jenn and I saw Sarah and Turtle talking to our neighbors that had given us the quarters. We ended up talking to the couple and their kids for a while, and a guy from the next campsite over came over to talk as well. We found out that he was on a road trip with his friend as well, but they were coming from Toledo, OH. The couple, Chris (Pastor Chris or PC) and his wife Suzanne were angels. They gave Sarah and I coffee, let Sarah, Turtle, and Jenn sit in their chairs around the fire, and even gave us some real fruit bars so that our diet wouldn't be as crappy as it is now. As we were leaving, they told us they would be praying for us. We were truly blessed to be camping next to them. We drove up through San Francisco and made the executive decision to not go into Berkeley because all of the bridges were toll bridges. We got to drive over the Golden Gate, which was pretty cool. We headed up to Napa Valley to Yountville, where we went to Cornerstone for our free wine tasting. Jenn ended up joining their wine club and buying a case, but saved over $200, so it was a bargain. As we were driving out of Napa, we found a couple of vineyards that we recognized the names of, which was kinda cool. Sarah and Jenn were sitting in the back seat and ended up falling asleep while Turtle drove and I rode shotgun. The drive up to Eureka was BEAUTIFUL! We passed a bunch of redwoods and followed along the Eel River for a bit, which was phenomenal. The river was this beautiful aqua color, which we had never seen before with our own eyes. The entire drive was overcast, but it was beautiful with the clouds getting trapped in between the mountains. As we passed a couple of fields where they had cut and rolled the hay, they had covered the hay balls with white sheets. This made them look like giant marshmallows, which Turtle had to comment on. On the drive, we actually passed a town called Leggett, and one of the signs was for south Leggett, but it was abbreviated So Legget. This made Turtle and I laugh because it looked like "so legit." We made it up to Eureka and are staying in a hotel room for the night. We splurged and got Wendy's for dinner, so we are really living large!
miles traveled: 291 + however many it was after we stopped for gas
Woke up this morning to a little bit of rain. Turtle was already awake and had gone for a 2 mile run and got watched by a sea lion, which freaked him out. Jenn and I said quick silent prayers, and the rain stopped. We all got up and packed up our tents. We found out last night that the showers were going to cost a quarter for 2 minutes. Sarah ended up finding a quarter in her bag and Jenn found one as well. We figured we could all just get in our bathing suits and at least shower off even if we weren't able to take full showers. I found .25, so I asked the people camping next to us if they could give me a quarter if I gave them my .25. The guy was nice enough and gave me two quarters and wouldn't take any of my money. In case you are bad at math, that made 4 quarters. You remember the number of people on this trip? That's right... 4. We each got to take a 2 min shower with hot water, which was lovely. Since you could turn the shower off and save your time, we all took navy showers, but at least we were all clean. After getting out of the shower, Jenn and I saw Sarah and Turtle talking to our neighbors that had given us the quarters. We ended up talking to the couple and their kids for a while, and a guy from the next campsite over came over to talk as well. We found out that he was on a road trip with his friend as well, but they were coming from Toledo, OH. The couple, Chris (Pastor Chris or PC) and his wife Suzanne were angels. They gave Sarah and I coffee, let Sarah, Turtle, and Jenn sit in their chairs around the fire, and even gave us some real fruit bars so that our diet wouldn't be as crappy as it is now. As we were leaving, they told us they would be praying for us. We were truly blessed to be camping next to them. We drove up through San Francisco and made the executive decision to not go into Berkeley because all of the bridges were toll bridges. We got to drive over the Golden Gate, which was pretty cool. We headed up to Napa Valley to Yountville, where we went to Cornerstone for our free wine tasting. Jenn ended up joining their wine club and buying a case, but saved over $200, so it was a bargain. As we were driving out of Napa, we found a couple of vineyards that we recognized the names of, which was kinda cool. Sarah and Jenn were sitting in the back seat and ended up falling asleep while Turtle drove and I rode shotgun. The drive up to Eureka was BEAUTIFUL! We passed a bunch of redwoods and followed along the Eel River for a bit, which was phenomenal. The river was this beautiful aqua color, which we had never seen before with our own eyes. The entire drive was overcast, but it was beautiful with the clouds getting trapped in between the mountains. As we passed a couple of fields where they had cut and rolled the hay, they had covered the hay balls with white sheets. This made them look like giant marshmallows, which Turtle had to comment on. On the drive, we actually passed a town called Leggett, and one of the signs was for south Leggett, but it was abbreviated So Legget. This made Turtle and I laugh because it looked like "so legit." We made it up to Eureka and are staying in a hotel room for the night. We splurged and got Wendy's for dinner, so we are really living large!
Headed out to San Francisco for the labor day weekend show
Day 9: El Capitain to San Francisco
miles traveled: 374
Even though we don't have our hush puppies on and were never meant for glitter rock and roll, we made it up to the beautiful city of San Francisco today. Before we left our campsite, Jenn gave the tennis ball I had found in the woods the other day to a couple of dogs that these people were walking. Another lady was walking around and spotted our campsite and complimented us on the fact that it was a pretty baller site. We told her that she could take it since we were heading up north and wouldn't need it again tonight. She thanked us profusely for it and we informed her that we had left some extra firewood for her as well. We encountered our first tunnel on the trip, but it was a pansy short tunnel, so holding our breath was not a problem. While driving along 101 and 1, we saw the people harvesting the strawberry fields, multiple hawks, and a bunch of vineyards. We stopped around 2:30 for gas and lunch, which consisted of summer sausage and triscuits. We traveled through Silicon Valley on our way to San Francisco, which was cool to see. When we got to San Fran, we drove through China Town on our way to the Fisherman's Wharf. We got out and walked along the water front, bought postcards, looked at shop vendors, and Turtle and I went to Boudin and bought two loaves of sourdough. Turtle also bought a sourdough turtle, which was pretty cool. We took pictures of Ghiradelli square and the boats in the harbor. Jenn, Sarah, and I got one glass of wine at a wine tasting store. When we asked the guy where a good place to go in Napa for dry red wine. He gave us a business card and wrote on the back of it for a free tasting, which was super awesome. We got back into the car and headed over towards Lombard St, drove down that, and went to Coit Tower. At the top, we made friends with a guy from Greece, who took our picture. Jenn and I impressed him because we knew the word "thithima" which means twin. I have no idea if I spelled that right, but that is how it is pronounced. We left San Francisco and headed down to Half Moon Bay campground. We walked on the beach which actually had sand!! Jenn, Turtle, and I were walking around and talking on the phone to our people back home while Sarah stayed back up at the campsite. I found another sea lion and tried to take pictures of it, but he was being sneaky and didn't like getting his photo taken. I went back up to the campsite, and Sarah and I headed out of the campground to scavenge for free fire wood. We ended up being sketch at the back of a neighborhood and the edge of a field, but we got enough wood to have a decent fire. Since we couldn't break the logs down because we didn't have leverage, we folded down the seats in Sylvia and brought back 6 ft logs to the campsite. Turtle ninja'd them into smaller pieces and one of them we just burned in the middle. We sat around the fire and chilled before heading to bed.
miles traveled: 374
Even though we don't have our hush puppies on and were never meant for glitter rock and roll, we made it up to the beautiful city of San Francisco today. Before we left our campsite, Jenn gave the tennis ball I had found in the woods the other day to a couple of dogs that these people were walking. Another lady was walking around and spotted our campsite and complimented us on the fact that it was a pretty baller site. We told her that she could take it since we were heading up north and wouldn't need it again tonight. She thanked us profusely for it and we informed her that we had left some extra firewood for her as well. We encountered our first tunnel on the trip, but it was a pansy short tunnel, so holding our breath was not a problem. While driving along 101 and 1, we saw the people harvesting the strawberry fields, multiple hawks, and a bunch of vineyards. We stopped around 2:30 for gas and lunch, which consisted of summer sausage and triscuits. We traveled through Silicon Valley on our way to San Francisco, which was cool to see. When we got to San Fran, we drove through China Town on our way to the Fisherman's Wharf. We got out and walked along the water front, bought postcards, looked at shop vendors, and Turtle and I went to Boudin and bought two loaves of sourdough. Turtle also bought a sourdough turtle, which was pretty cool. We took pictures of Ghiradelli square and the boats in the harbor. Jenn, Sarah, and I got one glass of wine at a wine tasting store. When we asked the guy where a good place to go in Napa for dry red wine. He gave us a business card and wrote on the back of it for a free tasting, which was super awesome. We got back into the car and headed over towards Lombard St, drove down that, and went to Coit Tower. At the top, we made friends with a guy from Greece, who took our picture. Jenn and I impressed him because we knew the word "thithima" which means twin. I have no idea if I spelled that right, but that is how it is pronounced. We left San Francisco and headed down to Half Moon Bay campground. We walked on the beach which actually had sand!! Jenn, Turtle, and I were walking around and talking on the phone to our people back home while Sarah stayed back up at the campsite. I found another sea lion and tried to take pictures of it, but he was being sneaky and didn't like getting his photo taken. I went back up to the campsite, and Sarah and I headed out of the campground to scavenge for free fire wood. We ended up being sketch at the back of a neighborhood and the edge of a field, but we got enough wood to have a decent fire. Since we couldn't break the logs down because we didn't have leverage, we folded down the seats in Sylvia and brought back 6 ft logs to the campsite. Turtle ninja'd them into smaller pieces and one of them we just burned in the middle. We sat around the fire and chilled before heading to bed.
There's a place off Ocean Ave where I used to sit and talk to you...
Day 8: LA to El Capitain
miles traveled: 125
Today was a short day. We had originally planned on spending the entire day in LA and using it as a beach day, but since it was overcast, we decided to roll out. We all woke up to a beautiful view of the Pacific ocean from our campsite, and after showers and packing, we headed into LA. Sarah ended up walking around Rodeo Dr. while Turtle, Jenn, and I went to church at the Good Shepard Church in Beverly Hills. It was a beautiful church and it was Pentecost, so the vestments and such were red. The homily that was given was slightly long, but unlike most long homilies, I really enjoyed it. After church, we called up Sarah, who was already heading back towards the car. After all of us were together, we headed over to Hollywood Blvd. Sarah wanted to find the Hollywood sign, which we sort of did, but we had to get a picture of it from far away. We ended up driving around to see if we could get a better picture of it, and on the way, Jenn spotted an orange tree. She got out and attempted to grab one, but sadly, she was too short. We ended up parking on Hollywood Blvd and walking along the walk of fame. We walked down for about 7 blocks and then crossed the street to walk back towards the car. On our way back, Jenn suggested we stop in at the farmer's market, which was the best decision of the day. We picked up a bunch of carrots (4) and a basket of strawberries for $3 total. We continued to walk around the market and look at the sights and smell the wonderful food that was being cooked up. Turtle actually bought a thing of ice cream from a homemade ice cream stand. We all snagged a few small bites from him; it was delicious. We ended up heading back to the car, continuing to snap pictures of our favorite people along the walk of fame. My favorite was probably James Stewart. We got back into the car, our stomachs wondering what this fresh fruit and vegetables were doing there, and headed towards El Capitain State Beach. We got slightly lost on our way there because we were following signs for the campground. Unfortunately, the signs were for the wrong campground, so we had to turn around. It only took us about 5 minutes out of the way. We arrived in the campground and it was beautiful! We found a spot that had two giant trees with it (we were in a forest) that were perfect for climbing. The girls ended up going into town to a K Mart to get some hot dogs and some cash. When we got back, we found Turtle in a tree, playing with the machete, trying to get firewood. Jenn got a picture of him which should be up on facebook soon. We ended up setting up camp and gathering some more firewood before heading out to the beach... the rocky beach. I walked down the beach a bit and talked to Clayton. The others talked on the phone, journaled, and Turtle made towers with the rocks as prayer requests. We went back to the campsite after about an hour and cooked our hotdogs on the fire. Turtle dropped one into the fire, but ate it anyway, and my first hotdog fell into the fire. Turtle was kind enough to eat that one for me, so I made two more. We didn't have any condiments for them, but after eating peanut butter for a week straight, the hotdogs tasted like heaven! We banked the fire and walked back to the beach to watch the sunset and to journal more. We ended up getting these two very nice people, Jeff and Mark, to take our picture. My favorite quote of the night was Mark saying that he knew we weren't from California because we were too polite. Guess what, mom? You taught us well... We chatted with Jeff and Mark for a bit and after a while, noticed what looked like dolphins in the ocean. Jeff said that they were sea lions, which some of them were, but I still held my ground, thinking that I had seen dolphins. The sea lions were about 100 ft off the shore and there ended up being 2 dolphins swimming parallel to the coast. After the sun went down, we said goodbye to our new friends, and headed back towards camp. I brought a log from the beach back so that we would have something to sit on. We made a fire and sat around and talked and hung out for a bit before getting ready for bed. We went to the bathrooms and were able to charge our phones for a bit, which was nice. Since they charged a quarter to use the showers for 2 min, we all went to bed smelling like smoke, which made me really feel like I was camping.
miles traveled: 125
Today was a short day. We had originally planned on spending the entire day in LA and using it as a beach day, but since it was overcast, we decided to roll out. We all woke up to a beautiful view of the Pacific ocean from our campsite, and after showers and packing, we headed into LA. Sarah ended up walking around Rodeo Dr. while Turtle, Jenn, and I went to church at the Good Shepard Church in Beverly Hills. It was a beautiful church and it was Pentecost, so the vestments and such were red. The homily that was given was slightly long, but unlike most long homilies, I really enjoyed it. After church, we called up Sarah, who was already heading back towards the car. After all of us were together, we headed over to Hollywood Blvd. Sarah wanted to find the Hollywood sign, which we sort of did, but we had to get a picture of it from far away. We ended up driving around to see if we could get a better picture of it, and on the way, Jenn spotted an orange tree. She got out and attempted to grab one, but sadly, she was too short. We ended up parking on Hollywood Blvd and walking along the walk of fame. We walked down for about 7 blocks and then crossed the street to walk back towards the car. On our way back, Jenn suggested we stop in at the farmer's market, which was the best decision of the day. We picked up a bunch of carrots (4) and a basket of strawberries for $3 total. We continued to walk around the market and look at the sights and smell the wonderful food that was being cooked up. Turtle actually bought a thing of ice cream from a homemade ice cream stand. We all snagged a few small bites from him; it was delicious. We ended up heading back to the car, continuing to snap pictures of our favorite people along the walk of fame. My favorite was probably James Stewart. We got back into the car, our stomachs wondering what this fresh fruit and vegetables were doing there, and headed towards El Capitain State Beach. We got slightly lost on our way there because we were following signs for the campground. Unfortunately, the signs were for the wrong campground, so we had to turn around. It only took us about 5 minutes out of the way. We arrived in the campground and it was beautiful! We found a spot that had two giant trees with it (we were in a forest) that were perfect for climbing. The girls ended up going into town to a K Mart to get some hot dogs and some cash. When we got back, we found Turtle in a tree, playing with the machete, trying to get firewood. Jenn got a picture of him which should be up on facebook soon. We ended up setting up camp and gathering some more firewood before heading out to the beach... the rocky beach. I walked down the beach a bit and talked to Clayton. The others talked on the phone, journaled, and Turtle made towers with the rocks as prayer requests. We went back to the campsite after about an hour and cooked our hotdogs on the fire. Turtle dropped one into the fire, but ate it anyway, and my first hotdog fell into the fire. Turtle was kind enough to eat that one for me, so I made two more. We didn't have any condiments for them, but after eating peanut butter for a week straight, the hotdogs tasted like heaven! We banked the fire and walked back to the beach to watch the sunset and to journal more. We ended up getting these two very nice people, Jeff and Mark, to take our picture. My favorite quote of the night was Mark saying that he knew we weren't from California because we were too polite. Guess what, mom? You taught us well... We chatted with Jeff and Mark for a bit and after a while, noticed what looked like dolphins in the ocean. Jeff said that they were sea lions, which some of them were, but I still held my ground, thinking that I had seen dolphins. The sea lions were about 100 ft off the shore and there ended up being 2 dolphins swimming parallel to the coast. After the sun went down, we said goodbye to our new friends, and headed back towards camp. I brought a log from the beach back so that we would have something to sit on. We made a fire and sat around and talked and hung out for a bit before getting ready for bed. We went to the bathrooms and were able to charge our phones for a bit, which was nice. Since they charged a quarter to use the showers for 2 min, we all went to bed smelling like smoke, which made me really feel like I was camping.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
I remember the day when you left for Santa Monica
Day 7: Mesquite to Malibu
miles traveled: 710
Well, we left Mesquite around 11:20 this morning. I slept in because I was the one driving last night and this morning, so I needed a good night's sleep. Anywho, we rearranged the packing of the car to make things a little easier to get to and to free up some extra space in the back seat. We drove back through Vegas, and in a little town called Baker, CA, we switched drivers. Turtle ended up taking over. Fun fact about Baker: they have the world's tallest thermometer. Not sure why that is something to be proud of, but its whatever. Interesting note on California driving: they have individual lanes for trucks on hills. We passed an interesting road called Zzyzx along our route, which was just fun to see. After crossing over the mountains and coming back down the other side, the landscape started to turn green again and there were actual trees. I have never been so happy to see a tree before. We ran into a little bit of traffic outside of LA, but not too much because it wasn't a weekday. Jenn ended up developing a nose bleed for the dry air, but luckily, it didn't last too long, so everything was all good. We officially arrived in LA at 4:55 and proceeded to drive around the city for a bit. Sarah wanted to see the Hollywood sign and get a picture of it, but that didn't happen today. It is in the cards for tomorrow, however. We drove up towards Malibu in search of a campground. The state park that we were planning on staying was up a huge mountain. By the time we got about halfway up, we all decided to just turn around and go back to the campground that was right off of hwy 1. It has a beautiful view of the mountains and the beach, so we are all pretty happy with our surroundings. It is interesting how they do their tent camping, though. We had to park our cars in a parking lot and then tote our stuff to our spots. They had hand carts available, so it wasn't that bad. When we were walking in, Turtle and I found some guys playing beer pong and were invited to join them. Needless to say, we did not, although we seriously considered it! We set up camp, and then Sarah stayed behind to talk to Matt while Jenn, Turtle, and I headed down to the TV room in order to get some internet. Jenn sat inside while Turtle and I talked to people on the phones, and then I got onto the computer to update the blog and such. Turtle and I have been sitting outside talking and blogging for about the last hour, so we are going to say goodnight and good luck...
- Megan
miles traveled: 710
Well, we left Mesquite around 11:20 this morning. I slept in because I was the one driving last night and this morning, so I needed a good night's sleep. Anywho, we rearranged the packing of the car to make things a little easier to get to and to free up some extra space in the back seat. We drove back through Vegas, and in a little town called Baker, CA, we switched drivers. Turtle ended up taking over. Fun fact about Baker: they have the world's tallest thermometer. Not sure why that is something to be proud of, but its whatever. Interesting note on California driving: they have individual lanes for trucks on hills. We passed an interesting road called Zzyzx along our route, which was just fun to see. After crossing over the mountains and coming back down the other side, the landscape started to turn green again and there were actual trees. I have never been so happy to see a tree before. We ran into a little bit of traffic outside of LA, but not too much because it wasn't a weekday. Jenn ended up developing a nose bleed for the dry air, but luckily, it didn't last too long, so everything was all good. We officially arrived in LA at 4:55 and proceeded to drive around the city for a bit. Sarah wanted to see the Hollywood sign and get a picture of it, but that didn't happen today. It is in the cards for tomorrow, however. We drove up towards Malibu in search of a campground. The state park that we were planning on staying was up a huge mountain. By the time we got about halfway up, we all decided to just turn around and go back to the campground that was right off of hwy 1. It has a beautiful view of the mountains and the beach, so we are all pretty happy with our surroundings. It is interesting how they do their tent camping, though. We had to park our cars in a parking lot and then tote our stuff to our spots. They had hand carts available, so it wasn't that bad. When we were walking in, Turtle and I found some guys playing beer pong and were invited to join them. Needless to say, we did not, although we seriously considered it! We set up camp, and then Sarah stayed behind to talk to Matt while Jenn, Turtle, and I headed down to the TV room in order to get some internet. Jenn sat inside while Turtle and I talked to people on the phones, and then I got onto the computer to update the blog and such. Turtle and I have been sitting outside talking and blogging for about the last hour, so we are going to say goodnight and good luck...
- Megan
Viva Las Vegas!!
Day 6: Williams, AZ to VEGAS! (well, Mesquite)
miles traveled: 234
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MAMA SHINNERS!!!!
We left the KOA pretty early (around 8:20 mountain time) and got into the Kaibab National Forest around 9. We drove down this long road for a very long time until we got to the Grand Canyon! We all were amazed by the beauty of the Canyon, which is obvious, but roll with me here... We walked along the southern rim for about 2 hours. Sarah and I were hanging back just a bit and found a squirrel that was very used to humans being around; we named him Lonny. Turtle was getting a little apprehensive at times because of the height thing. It freaked him out a little bit when Jenn, Sarah, and I got closer to the edge than he was comfortable with. Jenn and Sarah found another squirrel while Turtle and I were exploring other parts of the pathway. They called us over, and when we got there, we saw this squirrel perched on very edge of a rock cliff. He sat there as if he was posing, and ended up coming closer to all the humans that were milling about. He, like Lonny, was very used to humans. After getting our pictures and memories of the view, we went to the bookstore and bought some postcards and such and then headed on our way. We got gas before getting back on interstate 40. We hit 3000 miles on the trip tik about an hour before we got to the Hoover dam. There was a police security checkpoint before we crossed over the dam which consisted of one guy glancing in our car and assessing that we weren't terrorists. He waved us on and we got in the seemingly endless line of cars. We got into Pacific time at 4:10/3:10 when we crossed over the dam. After driving over the dam, we switched drivers, and I took over for Turtle. We got into Vegas around 4:00 and headed north to Mesquite which is about an hour north. We stayed in a hotel, so we were all able to get showers and relax on queen size beds before getting ready to head back to Vegas for a night of fun. Sadly, all of us are too poor to have too much fun, but we managed to get a good share of it. We started off towards the Bellagio, but sadly, the light and water show wasn't playing for the rest of the night. Turtle bought a drink that consisted of 3 margaritas and now has a giant glass to take home as a souvenir, Jenn broke even, and I lost $5 at blackjack (the one hand I played). We all walked around and found an amusing sight outside of the New York New York Casino. One incredibly drunk guy was sitting on the ground without his shirt on while his friend was fighting with the bouncers. The drunk guy on the ground had the paramedics called for him, but we weren't sure what his friend was so angry about. The bouncers were trying to restrain him, and the guy ended up spitting in the bouncer's face. That caused the bouncer to push him into a metal fence-like apparatus and say that he was going to get him arrested. The drunk guy then proceeded to shout "7,6,5,4. When I get to zero, I'm gonna sue your ass!" This made all of us chuckle a little. There was a couple standing next to us enjoying the show as well. The guy turned to us and said "I'm just waiting for him to get tased." After the paramedics arrived, we all ended up leaving and let them do their jobs. We arrived back at the car (which we parked for free at Mandalay Bay) and headed over to the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign where we took pictures. We then drove back to the hotel and got there at 3:20. We crashed almost the second we were in the room.
- Megan
miles traveled: 234
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MAMA SHINNERS!!!!
We left the KOA pretty early (around 8:20 mountain time) and got into the Kaibab National Forest around 9. We drove down this long road for a very long time until we got to the Grand Canyon! We all were amazed by the beauty of the Canyon, which is obvious, but roll with me here... We walked along the southern rim for about 2 hours. Sarah and I were hanging back just a bit and found a squirrel that was very used to humans being around; we named him Lonny. Turtle was getting a little apprehensive at times because of the height thing. It freaked him out a little bit when Jenn, Sarah, and I got closer to the edge than he was comfortable with. Jenn and Sarah found another squirrel while Turtle and I were exploring other parts of the pathway. They called us over, and when we got there, we saw this squirrel perched on very edge of a rock cliff. He sat there as if he was posing, and ended up coming closer to all the humans that were milling about. He, like Lonny, was very used to humans. After getting our pictures and memories of the view, we went to the bookstore and bought some postcards and such and then headed on our way. We got gas before getting back on interstate 40. We hit 3000 miles on the trip tik about an hour before we got to the Hoover dam. There was a police security checkpoint before we crossed over the dam which consisted of one guy glancing in our car and assessing that we weren't terrorists. He waved us on and we got in the seemingly endless line of cars. We got into Pacific time at 4:10/3:10 when we crossed over the dam. After driving over the dam, we switched drivers, and I took over for Turtle. We got into Vegas around 4:00 and headed north to Mesquite which is about an hour north. We stayed in a hotel, so we were all able to get showers and relax on queen size beds before getting ready to head back to Vegas for a night of fun. Sadly, all of us are too poor to have too much fun, but we managed to get a good share of it. We started off towards the Bellagio, but sadly, the light and water show wasn't playing for the rest of the night. Turtle bought a drink that consisted of 3 margaritas and now has a giant glass to take home as a souvenir, Jenn broke even, and I lost $5 at blackjack (the one hand I played). We all walked around and found an amusing sight outside of the New York New York Casino. One incredibly drunk guy was sitting on the ground without his shirt on while his friend was fighting with the bouncers. The drunk guy on the ground had the paramedics called for him, but we weren't sure what his friend was so angry about. The bouncers were trying to restrain him, and the guy ended up spitting in the bouncer's face. That caused the bouncer to push him into a metal fence-like apparatus and say that he was going to get him arrested. The drunk guy then proceeded to shout "7,6,5,4. When I get to zero, I'm gonna sue your ass!" This made all of us chuckle a little. There was a couple standing next to us enjoying the show as well. The guy turned to us and said "I'm just waiting for him to get tased." After the paramedics arrived, we all ended up leaving and let them do their jobs. We arrived back at the car (which we parked for free at Mandalay Bay) and headed over to the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign where we took pictures. We then drove back to the hotel and got there at 3:20. We crashed almost the second we were in the room.
- Megan
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