Welcome to Colorado

So the road to Colorado through Kansas is long, windy and very boring.

I'm sure that isn't news to anyone. But driving that road, really gets that point across.

I was so happy to see the CO border and I decided to stop and fill up my gas tank before I got too much further.

This little town that I stopped at was what I thought at the time, going to be a short stop. Just get gas, stretch my legs and continue on.

Not the case.

With me, traveling is an adventure. And if you don't see it like that, you might have a hard time traveling with me. Stratton, Colorado turned out to be more of an adventure than I had bargained for.

I somehow locked my car doors and threw my keys in my seat and then SHUT THE DOOR.

But since I had my card in hand, I filled up my tank of gas and waited for the receipt. Then turned around to open my car door and leave...

And that's when I realized that I locked my keys in the car. BOTH SETS OF KEYS. And my phone, GPS, laptop, AAA card, EVERYTHING.

So, I walked into the gas station and asked to use their phone and phone book. They looked at me puzzled, because I'm sure I looked dumbfounded by what I just did. I told them what happened and they laughed. I'm sure they tried to hold it in, but they giggled the second I let them know what happened.

LUCKILY they knew that there was a car at the gas station across the street, that belonged to a man who could OPEN MY DOOR!

I hurried across the street, feeling more and more stupid with every step. And I found the owner of the little gray car. He said he could help me, but that he had to go get his tools and he'd meet me back at my car.

I waited a few minutes inside the first gas station after telling the women inside, that I was able to get help. I could feel everyone in the store staring at me and shaking their heads, trying to hold in the laughter. And then I decided to wait outside, because I still felt stupid AGAIN.

Bernie came back with his tools and it took him about 5 minutes and I was rescued. I very gladly paid him the $20, shook his hand and got in my car and drove off.

I was so EMBARRASSED.

And nobody I know, had even found out yet. But there was no point in keeping it a secret. I called my mom and told her right away. Then I posted updates to let everyone else know how eventful my "short" stop happened to be.

But looking back on this little adventure, I realized how LUCKY it was that there happened to be someone across the street that could help me. And I didn't have to wait hours for AAA to rescue me.

I also thought AFTER I pulled away, that it would have been a great photo-op to have Bernie pose with my "travel buddy." But I was way too embarrassed to turn back.

Travel Buddy

I think I should explain a little bit about my "travel buddy" so you'll understand who/what I'm talking about.

Piglet is the name of my little "travel buddy" and he is actually an orange bunny rabbit that has a blue and white striped "shirt." His name is Piglet because he reminds me of exactly that, you know Piglet from Winnie the Pooh?



It's a short story, really, about how I obtained this little "travel buddy" of mine.

When I visiting my friends out in San Diego last August, he was pulled out of the claw machine game. And from then on, he was mine. Understand though, I wasn't the one to pull him out. No, I'm terrible at that game. April is the master of that game. But nobody else would claim him, and I took pity on him.

When I left San Diego, I forgot Piglet. Surprise, surprise. So then, April moved to Phoenix and took Piglet with her. I later visited my friends in Phoenix for the July 4th weekend and was reunited with Piglet. Piglet got to fly back home with me, thus starting our traveling adventures together.

So, once the roadtrip was finalized and I still didn't have anyone to travel along with me I had a brilliant idea to bring Piglet along with me.

I thought it would be a cute idea to take pictures with him along the trip.

And that's the story about my "travel buddy."

Kansas City

I got so busy after I left KC that I didn't have time to update any more about my time there.

So this is a re-cap of what happened after the last update:

I found a spider in my blankets the first morning at grandma's house. I screamed and danced around until she took care of it for me.

Went to the casino with grandma and great grandma. I ended up tripling my money, while both of them lost money. Maybe that's when my streak of luck started...




I visited with my grandmas and chit-chatted with my great aunts. It was good to catch up. And it's fun to sit and have girl-talk.

Grandma had me look through her scarfs and I found a couple that she insisted I take with me. She also found some funky sunglasses that came in quite handy too.

So that's about it, I think I was so worn out from my hectic life that my body took total advantage of being lazy for a few days.

I almost forgot to take pictures, that's how lazy I got.

I left KC (with my travel buddy in hand) very early in the morning on Sunday the 27th and began the long journey to Colorado.

Quick update

I'm in KC, staying with my grandmother. Love her to death. Love visiting with her and my great grandmother too. I'll try to visit other family while I'm here as well. But my time here is not being rushed. I feel like I'm on vacation or something...weird.

I had one request before leaving home, and that was to bring with me "real" cashew chicken. Also known as Springfield cashew chicken. I still laugh about that. Grandma loved it though, so that made me happy.

We didn't set an alarm this morning, we just woke up when we wanted to. I love, love, love this! We stayed up talking late last night and it was so nice to sleep in. With no time schedule to follow we've just spent our day talking and relaxing. I know the rest of the trip might not be so peaceful and relaxing, so I'm taking it all in while I still can.

I forgot quite a few things at home, which I realized within an hour of arriving in KC. I forgot my furry boots, my season 3 Grey's Anatomy DVDs and a few other things. I'm shopping today for some shampoo, body wash and shaving cream. But I don't know how those will fit into my already stuffed bag of hygiene products.

Since I was unable to find a large package of tic-tacs before leaving, I arrived with only 2 individual packs. However, I got to talking to my grandmother about them and she just so happens to get them from Sams. She just handed me a brand new 24-pack of tic-tacs. I have a feeling that I won't run out of them anytime soon.

This is home away from home. And I'm so happy that this was my first stop.

Preparations

I finished the itinerary a few days ago. I'm mostly taking it along as a "guide" more than a plan. It is something to keep me on track. Still, there are so many ways that I could cut out something along the way or add something I hadn't originally planned.

The final count will be 20 days of traveling: from the day I leave, until the day I return.

The first part of the trip is pretty much planned for me, with a reservation at Yellowstone I'd rather not miss, I'll stay on track for the first 6 or 7 days. But once I get to Seattle, Victoria and Portland the plan is simply to enjoy the drive.

This is a road trip, after all.

I have alerted family and friends along the route, to when I'll arrive in their neck of the woods. Started making plans with people, or started making plans to make plans.

Hopefully this little blog with let everyone know what I'm up to, and that I'm fine. It's the people that keep telling me that they are worried about this little adventure of mine, that makes me second guess it and worry too.

I've gotten tons of CDs burned, still have a bit left. I didn't want to lose any of my originals, you see.

My laptop is getting all kinds of geek love today. Upgraded the memory and the software system. So hopefully it will work for me while on the road. I've got all the gadgets I could ask for, to keep me entertained.

However, I know I'll have plenty of alone time on this trip so I'm trying to decide what books to bring along and how many of them. The travel guides are a must, of course. But there is a bookshelf full of material I need to get through, so I can indulge at the bookstore once again.

Packing the vehicle will commence soon. I should finish that packing list I started, so I don't forget anything.

One thing I absolutely cannot forget: tic-tacs.

I'm easily distracted...

I've at least set up the page for the blog. So that's a start. I get points for that. Right?

I also have a first entry to said blog. So I can now cross a few more things off of my to-do list...

I have an itinerary that is half finished, which was supposed to have been finished already.

But here I am, accomplishing something else instead.

As most of you already know, I'm leaving in a few days (six to be exact) to head off on my big adventure, that I thought up all by myself. Yep. All by myself. That seems to be a running theme with this trip...

I've gone through many different emotional states about this. One minute, I'm thrilled to answer questions about the trip when someone new gets word about what I'm planning to do. The next minute, I'm having a slight panic attack while thinking about all the things I still need to do or all the people I should visit before takeoff. I get excited about seeing friends and family along the way, meeting new people, visiting the beach for my birthday, and mostly having 19 days to explore. I've even had thoughts about backing out on the whole trip, but I've come so far with the plans and involved so many people already that I feel obligated (at least to myself) to go through with it. I wouldn't want to disappoint anyone along the way, who is looking forward to my visit. But I especially don't want to look back and regret not doing this, either.

I'll be visiting the Rocky Mountains, Old Faithful, the Space Needle, the Redwoods, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Grand Canyon and many, many more.

"Blah, blah, blah."

I honestly feel like people should be tired of hearing about this. But the good news for those people is that I'm leaving soon! And hopefully that means I can actually relax and enjoy the trip I've been planning for months.

Sure I'll be exploring the land, but I've always seen this as my big chance for some much needed self-exploration. I want to find myself, find something I love, and hopefully find something that will change my life. I don't expect everyone to understand what I mean, when I say that. But it isn't necessarily about finding a place that I'll fall in love with, drop everything for, and move my life there. That would be great, though, don't get me wrong. I'm looking for motivation, a spark, a revelation, an idea, an understanding, something...anything really. At times, I don't even know what I'm looking for.

I don't want to be a college graduate that has no idea what to do with their life. I know that there's plenty of time to figure that out, but this trip will hopefully get me started in some kind of direction.

I will try to keep posts a little more focused from here on out, but you saw the title of this post. So you have been forewarned.

That reminds me! I’ve just started a journal of the funny and/or weird things that friends and I have said, so I need to go write a few more entries in that before I forget them.

Then I’ll finish the itinerary...maybe.