The long road home...

Making it to Albuquerque after the Grand Canyon, was a long car ride. I couldn't wait to hop into bed and get some sleep. The first thing I saw was the humongous city skyline filled with lights. It was beautiful. Even more so than San Francisco's lights at night. I kept finding myself enjoying the little things like that, more and more.


But first I stopped at Sadie's mexican restaurant, at the suggestion of my friend and co-worker Susie. I sat at my table for about 10 minutes before my waitress finally came over to my table to ask me if I needed anything. I nearly made the decision to leave right before she came over. I was not in a good mood after that. I mean, I was sitting at the table by myself with one menu and one set of silverware. It wasn't hard to see that I was eating alone. So when she said "So, are you flying solo tonight?" I nearly jumped out of my seat and strangled her. DUH! Thanks for letting me sit there with everyone in the restaurant looking at me weird, for 10 MINUTES! I was already unhappy and I hadn't even gotten my food yet. The salsa was way too hot for me and about 5 minutes through waiting for my waitress I finally figured out that the "sauce" bottle on the table was filled with honey. I put a lot of honey in that salsa and it was still making my nose run. I finally got my food and a strawberry margarita. Food was okay. Margarita was delicious. I finished my meal as quickly as I could, and waited for my awkward waitress to bring me my bill. I left unsatisfied with the meal, tipsy from my one margarita and with two jars of hot sauce for Susie.

I found a hotel and crashed. But not until after the hotel clerk talked my head off about the city, not liking Sadie's himself and how I should stick around to explore Albuquerque and the media job market. Yeah, whatever dude. I just wanted to sleep.


The next day I spent traveling through the rest of New Mexico, (luckily) the smallest part of Texas and Oklahoma.




Basically the only part of Texas that I saw (or remember) was Amarillo. I stopped to take pictures of the graffiti covered cars at the Cadillac Ranch that was literally just along the highway. There were other people there with spray paint cans in hand, adding to the mess that was already on the cars. Had I known that you could spray something of your own, I may have stopped to get my own can or two. But I really wouldn't have known what to put, and someone else would have just come along in an hour or so and covered it up anyway. So I took my pictures and stretched my legs.

At this point, I really didn't care what else there was to see. I just wanted to get home. And I wanted to get there quickly. I was starting to get a sore throat and I definitely didn't want to be sick and still traveling.

So I made it to the Oklahoma border before dark and only drove about an hour or so more before I stopped for the night at Elk City. Since I just wanted to get home, I ate Arby's for dinner and crossed the street for a room at the Days Inn.

That was the worst night of sleep I had, on the entire trip (including the night I camped in the cold Redwoods). My sore throat progressed into a full fledged fever, chills, sweats and hard sleep through sickness. I even turned on the heat, which I never do! I took some cold medicine and Advil, but that wasn't enough to knock me out for the night. I kept hearing people walking around, talking loudly outside and I tossed and turned all night. I woke up feeling more tired than I did before I went to sleep.

But I had no more time left, I had to make it home. And I figured that even if I caught the flu or a cold or something worse, I was going to soldier through it and make it home that night.

That was my goal and that was what I did.

I made it to the (now former) "largest McDonalds" over the highway in Vinita, Oklahoma. Of course that's where I stopped. I needed to fill the gas tank again and I figured I should take a bathroom break as well. That was an adventure. The first bathroom was being cleaned, so I walked down the hall to the other bathroom just as what appeared to be a large bus load of people came up the stairs and filed into the bathrooms. The line was out the door. And I waited almost 20 minutes to freaking pee. I still had to get gas too.


But none of that mattered, because since I was at THAT McDonalds it meant that I only had a few more hours left before I arrived home.


The next thing I screamed about was the "Welcome to Missouri" sign. Of course I got out and took pictures at the welcome center. Posted my picture to let everyone know I was almost there and continued driving with a little more pep than before.


The second I pulled into my mom's driveway I honked my horn a million times in excitement! I just completed a drive of over 6,000 miles. My little brothers were the first to run out the door and say "hi Amanda!" I jumped out and nearly cried I was so happy to be home. I hugged everyone: my mom, little brothers Benjamin and Garrett, stepdad Fred, and even my older brother Jesse. I didn't care if he wanted a hug or not, he got one.

That was the happiest I had been in a long time. I truly missed home.


I was also very happy to tell them all about the trip. But I didn't know where to even start, so I just answered questions and talked about what came to my mind first.

I finally went to my apartment to start unloading my stuff and it instantly felt awkward. It didn't feel like my place. It didn't feel like I lived there. Which, I hadn't technically lived there for a month. So I guess that feeling was fitting. So instead of staying there, I went to surprise my roommate Guji at her work. We both smiled and squealed and ran to hug each other. It was a great reunion. I nearly lost my voice talking to her after she got off work. It was due to having a sore throat and all the talking, I'm sure.

To this day (a week later) when I see people I haven't seen since before I left....I get that feeling again. That happiness. That feeling of accomplishment. That excitement of telling my story.

And now that I'm over being sick, it's a lot easier to tell my story. Literally.

Grand Canyon

It was about a 4 hour drive to the canyon from Phoenix/Gilbert, so I decided to leave early in the morning so that I'd have enough time to stop and enjoy it before I had to get back in the Jeep and drive to Albuquerque.

I got to the park entrance and got my map from the ranger. I instantly got a feeling inside me that made me wish I was back at Yellowstone or the Redwoods. So it's a good thing I got a year pass to all the parks, because I'll be making a few more visits to help cure the heartache of missing the wild animals at Yellowstone and the smell of the Redwoods.

I drove for what seemed an eternity to the South Rim. But once I saw all the cars lining the sides of the streets and parking lots, I knew that I had finally made it to the Grand Canyon. I parked as quickly as I could but I didn't take into account how much walking (or climbing) there would be and strutted off without grabbing my tennis shoes.


The first sight of the canyon I saw was led by stairs out to a section of rock that had railings all around it. Not so scary. I could handle that. Even though I had to take my time walking to the edge to look out and down. I'm glad that this was the first look I got, because from then on there were no more rails to hold on to.

I walked the path, along the edge of the canyon. I was amazed at how large it was and more so how much it didn't even look real. The canyon actually looked like a backdrop. It looked fake. That is, until you looked down over the edge. That wasn't so fake.

I started down the path stopping to take in the view and find places to set up my camera for self-timer pictures. But it seemed like everywhere you stopped to look, other people were there too. I took pictures for people and then they took some for me. The funny thing is, I liked a lot of my self-timer pictures more than the ones other people took.





I hung my legs over the edge one time, for a picture. This rock stuck out over the canyon and I didn't even look down to see what was underneath me. I just slowly sat down, put my hands behind myself to hold on as best I could...then jumped up and away from edge the second my picture had been taken. Don't ask me how I was able to do that. I just know that I had to have a lot of adrenaline zipping through my body at the time, in order to NOT freak out when my feet were dangling. Standing next to the edge was nothing, after that. And I have a lot of pictures of myself standing at the edge.



I stayed to gawk at the canyon for about an hour and a half. And really, that was plenty of time to spend walking next to the edge for me. Pretty much everywhere I stopped to take a picture looked the same. So besides being in awe at the massive size of the canyon, I had seen enough.

Another life goal was crossed off my list.

Phoenix

I didn't want to leave the beach, but I knew I had to continue on.

Right before I hit the road, I stopped by the grocery store down the street and purchased a few things for my breakfast and a parting gift for my nice Burbank friends. It was definitely a conversation starter and the cashier showed great interest in my story after I explained why I was buying beer at 9 in the morning. Every step of the way, I was more than happy to tell someone new about my trip and it didn't hurt when their face lit up with excitement once they heard the story. She wished me luck on the rest of my journey and I left with a smile.

Even though my friends were still sound asleep when I got back with my present, I had a great energy about me. I left them a quick thank you note, cleaned up the mess in their living room (put away the pull out couch and moved furniture back to where it belonged) and snuck out the door as quietly as I could. I didn't want to wake them just to say goodbye. Plus it would be more of a surprise when they saw their clean living room and the present in the fridge.

At this point I had realized how thankful I was for having a GPS system telling me where to go. I never would have made it through this trip without it. However happy I was to have that GPS, I didn't take into account the fact that where I was staying with friends was such a new neighborhood that the GPS didn't even recognize the street they lived on. Until I was lost, that is. So I called Sheena to rescue me and she was finally able to talk me through getting to her house.


I was worn out when I got to Phoenix/Gilbert, but I was very happy to see my friends and their new house. Being a few days off schedule, I was definitely afraid of being an inconvenience to Sheena and Chad. I knew that they both had to work, so I contemplated leaving right away as to not be a pain. But then I also thought that since it took me so long to get there, that I might as well spend as much time with them as I possibly could.


So I stayed a few days at their lovely new house. I got to see the pups too! I missed them and couldn't believe how much bigger they were. When they lived just down the street and would walk the puppies over to see me, they could fit in your hand! Now they were big enough to jump on you and nearly knock you over. I was happy to see that they could roam around the house freely and they seemed much happier than when I last saw them (when they weren't allowed in the house).

The house was MUCH bigger than I had first imagined. Even with all the pictures I had seen, it was still quite a shock to me. I got to stay in the guest bedroom. This was the first time along my trip that I had my own room that wasn't a hotel. They made me feel very comfortable, and actually I felt too comfortable. I may have just been completely worn out at this point, but all I wanted to do was sleep in and hang out at the house.

However, I did force myself to go out and explore. I went shopping. But that was cut short when the mall was overrun by kids and teenagers. It wasn't just Columbus Day, apparently school was out for Fall Break as well. And I didn't want to hang out with a bunch of kids, so I went to lunch at Joe's Real BBQ and then drove around looking for more shopping possibilities.



We played Wii sports that night, cooked dinner and stayed in for the night. And I had a blast (I even beat Chad a few times). I now want to buy my own Wii system because it was so fun. I went to a book club meeting with Sheena, April and their work friends. I thought it was such a great idea (that I know has been done a million times before, this was just the first actual book club I had ever been to). I took the book home with me after Kendra offered to let me read it for myself. I hope I can get to that soon....

Let's see...I'm so late in writing this, that I hope I don't forget anything!

They were so kind to let me do laundry while I was there. I was able to wash everything, so when I got home I only had a few days worth of dirty laundry plus some sheets and blankets.

I attempted to watch a movie a few different times and I finally succeeded in seeing Zombieland by myself. I thought it was hilarious and I still want to see it again. I once was terrified of going to the theater to see movies by myself. Maybe because of the roadtrip, I'm more comfortable in my own skin as it is. But I can't wait to go see more movies in theaters by myself. I am afterall, a great date.

We spent some quality time out for dinner a few times, since I mostly got to see them after they got off work. We ate Italian food a lot while I was there. We had pizza multiple times, calzones, etc.

We explored and joked around in Dick's Sporting Goods. Sheena and I found a cool park to walk around at. Sheena, April and I went to the Farmer's Market in downtown Phoenix as well.




Overall, I had a nice relaxing time in Phoenix/Gilbert. And there was just enough of what I like to call "touristy stuff" mixed in. I promised Sheena that I would be in a better mood for this visit (compared to my July 4th visit...) and I was. But I think I was worn out from all the traveling and her and Chad were worn out from moving and life in general.


I just hope I didn't wear out my welcome, because I'm hoping to visit them a lot more now that they have their own house.

The rest of California...

I made it to San Francisco and crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. That was a major goal of mine for this trip. I wanted to be able to say that I drove across the bridge.



I stayed to see sunset and the bridge lit up at night. I got some great photos of the bridge and one of my favorite self-timer photos of the entire trip.


Then I searched for hotels and dinner. And the cheapest hotels I found in San Francisco were triple what I had been paying. So I scrapped the idea of staying there and headed South to Santa Cruz. I hated to leave San Fran, but at the time I was out of options. Santa Cruz was the closest place with a cheap place to stay.

Santa Cruz appeared to be an old gambling city with worn down hotels. Not somewhere I would ever recommend anyone visiting or staying. In fact, I highly recommend that you avoid that whole area if possible.

But I got a cheap place to stay for the night and headed to bed, since the wireless Internet didn't seem to work there either. Something that seemed to be a common frustration on my trip.

I left quickly in the morning to head to Los Angeles. When I asked my friend Maggie if her couch was available for the night, she said 'of course!'

I got to the LA area around 5 o'clock, which I thought would get me stuck in traffic forever. But I was able to make it to the Hollywood area with ease. I set out for the Walk of Fame and the Mann's Theatre, to complete another goal of my trip. Other than that, I was sorely unimpressed.




I felt very comfortable staying with Maggie and her roommates. Their place in Burbank was great. I loved hanging out with them and their friends. It took me back to my early college years (not that that was too terribly long ago). We had a great time going to this little bar called The Snug. It was their hangout, so it was guaranteed to be a fun night from the start.

My plan was to only stay that one night...

The next day I went back to the Hollywood area to scout out a good location to get a shot of the Hollywood sign, since I forgot that part the day before. Once I got my photos, it was time for the beach.


I had all intentions of hitting the beach at Santa Monica and then taking off down the Pacific Coast Highway, South to San Diego. But I spent a little more time at the Santa Monica beach than I planned.

But at the time, that's all I wanted: to sit at the beach. After all, the beach is one of my favorite places to be. It's always so relaxing. I just got caught up in it all.


After that I attempted to drive down the coast, but I only got a few beaches South before I pulled over to get some IN-N-OUT for dinner. I ended up by the LAX airport and it was sort of calming to sit outside watching the planes come and go.


Then I learned that my friends were making their way to Santa Monica beach, and I weighed my options. Either head South as far as I could get before dark or head back to meet them at the beach. I chose to meet back up with them of course, and I stayed another night in LA/Burbank.

Getting to chat with them about moving out to LA and going to school or getting jobs, I realized that it was actually possible. I had pretty much written LA off of my list of moving possibilities before I really gave it the chance it deserved. Even though I'd been there 2 or 3 times in the past. But seeing that they were able to do it, made it seem reachable again. Now that I feel it is possible to make it out there myself, it's back on my list. It also didn't hurt that I had such a great time with them, either.

Media jobs are competitive and hard to find, anywhere. Hell, it's difficult to find any job these days. I know that.

But I feel so motivated now after my visit to LA, that I'm certain that I should at least give LA a fair chance. I'll just see what happens after doing some research and scouting out the job and living situation.

And of course, LA is on the list to re-visit.

Redwoods

Once I got to Northern California, I was ready to be amazed driving down the 101.

I saw some redwoods but it of course started to get dark quicker than I wanted, so I had to make a quick decision. Should I camp in the Redwoods or drive further to get a hotel?



I decided to attempt camping. I drove into a few different spots hoping for campsites, but it took me longer to actually find a spot. Finally I found open campsites in the Patrick's Point State Park.

When I got to my spot I was considering just sleeping inside my car. But the camp host and my brother convinced me that it wouldn't get too cold and I might as well camp in my tent while I had the chance. So I began setting up my tent IN THE DARK. I think it took me an hour or more to set it all up by myself. I even got my air mattress blown up. But that took more work than originally planned. The pump stopped working halfway through, so I had to continue blowing it up by mouth. That was a challenge, to say the least. But after that I just added the sheets, blankets and pillows and my bed was ready. I was ready for bed too.

I was a little concerned with safety, since I was by myself in a tent. So I had a huge maglite flashlight, a hammer and mace within my reach. I also had a camping chair full of heavy books blocking the tent door. And then, in case all that didn't sound crazy enough...I also tied my tent doors shut from the inside. There was no getting in my tent without cutting it open. And there was no messing with me, without getting physically hurt.

I ran to the camping bathrooms before climbing underneath my five blankets and sleeping bag.

But it got down to 47 degrees and I never was able to really warm up through the night. I tossed and turned. I didn't get much sleep. But I can say that I camped in the Redwood forest. At 7am I got up and started packing up the wet and dew covered tent.


I took a nap in the Jeep in between all the packing. And even though there were showers in the bathrooms up the hill, I decided it was too cold to walk around with wet hair. So I took off to San Francisco, without a shower.

Little did I realize, that I hadn't even seen the bulk of the Redwoods along the 101 yet.

What I saw next, was truly amazing.

And I was able to still see all the fun little touristy stops too. I drove down part of the Avenue of Giants, I saw the humongous Grandfather Tree, I drove through the Chandelier Drive Thru Tree. And most of all, I was humbled by the gigantic trees I was among. It was truly a magical experience that I will never forget.



I also perfected taking my self-timer photos that I'll have for forever.

I'm so grateful to have had the chance to drive through the Redwoods and see them in person.

Portland

I arrived in Portland around the time of sunset. So I had a short amount of time to explore in the daylight that was left.


I stopped at one of the Peninsula Park Rose Garden and was amazed by the size of it. I walked around the relaxing area that was overwhelmed with the smell of roses. It was very calming after a long drive.



After that, I head to Powell's bookstore. And I was in LOVE. Roderick had recommended that I see this bookstore. I couldn't believe how big the store really was, with room after room of books and more books! I grabbed a few books and maps and went to the coffee shop area and perused my goods. My maps started another conversation with a fellow Powell's lover. And I found him and another guy to be very helpful and willing to offer advice when I asked for it (I was asking them about the OR coast and what to see).


Portland seemed like a great city, that I wanted to explore more. But I felt rushed with being so behind, that I made a decision to leave the next morning. So I had to add Portland to my list of cities I wanted to revisit later, with intentions of spending at least a weekend to explore.

Forks

Since I was so close already, I decided I might as well stop by Forks and check out all the Twilight hysteria.


I knew before going that there were places in town marked as the 'Cullen home' or the 'Swan home' and so on. I also knew that there was a store filled with Twilight gear.

The people of the town that I spoke with in the stores and so on, were all fans of the books and movie themselves. So they loved talking to the other fans that stopped in to visit. They were all very helpful too.

I didn't know, however, that there were two 'Dazzled by Twilight' stores and a lounge. I also didn't know that they had a bus tour. But since I got there after the school semester had started back up, or as they called it 'the slow season,' I was told that they stopped doing tours on Mondays and Tuesdays. So if I wanted to take a tour, I couldn't.

It's a good thing I didn't really care about the tour. I had picked up a visitor's guide in Port Angeles and luckily it had a map of Forks and plotted the Twilight houses, police department, hospital, high school and welcome signs for me. So I went on my own self-guided tour of the small city.




However, I got turned around and frustrated more than once and ended up spending way too much time in Forks. Especially for just taking photos of all the Twilight spots.

So again, I was running behind on schedule even more...