California and the drive home

First off, never drive from Flagstaff to San Diego. Its a longer drive than I thought and there aren't many places to stop along the way. If I had known that, I probably would have eaten something at that dairy queen in the middle of nowhere.

I got to San Diego in the end of a holiday weekend, so most of the other tourists and vacationers were checking out. The first night I wasn't sure what to do. I was a block away from the gas lamp quarter, but I was really tired from driving all day, so I decided to stay at the hotel bar. When I got there, it was early and there were already a few couples sitting for a drink. Unfortunately, everyone who was sitting at the bar was waiting for a table at the nearby and were gone in a few minutes and I was sitting at the bar alone (as an aside, I may have set a record for most time spent alone at a bar on this trip). The bartender seemed to be happy about it though. I think he said something along the lines of 'If you're here alone, we can have this bar packed in an hour, no problem.' He was right, because before long there was a random dude drinking beer and this group of 5 vacationers from LA. I don't remember any of their names at this point - which sounds bad, but they only told me once and I forgot in 5 minutes, really it's not bad at all. Plus, they were drinking tequila and probably don't remember my name either. After they had several tequila shots and tequila and sprite mixes they decided that they were going to the gas lamp quarter and that I was required to attend. We went to 3 or 4 bars, but pretty much everything was closing early. We had plenty to drink and the LA kids were going home in the morning, so we called it a night.

I was up surprisingly early the next day (plus a 3 hour time difference), so I headed over to Pacific Beach. (...And now for my favorite part of California...) My room mate told me that I was going to love San Diego and probably want to move there. At first, I thought she was wrong (I loved it there, but maybe not enough to move) but that was before I got to the beach and saw the fire department running PT drills on the beach. Still, I probably won't move there, but yeah, I wouldn't mind watching that every day.

I spent a few hours on the beach before my skin started to burn and I decided to go for a walk (keep in mind that I, like everyone else, was walking around in my bikini and a pair of shorts). I was checking out the local stores and trying to decide what to have for dinner (which ended up being the firehouse restaurant, shocking yes, I know). I guess I wandered too far from the beach, because I ended up in an area where it was apparently not appropriate to walk around in your bikini anymore - of course, I didn't know it until some little girl said 'Daddy, why is her naked?' I (not realizing that I was the her that she was referring to) looked around for some naked girl running around, only to learn (by the irritated look on the girl's father's face) that I was still in my bikini and everyone else was fully clothed. oops. So I grabbed my shirt and headed back to the beach for dinner.

The next day, I was back in my car on the way to Tucson. I was supposed to meet up with my cousin that night, but he was late coming back from a funeral in CA so I had dinner at the hotel bar (alone, again). For some reason, the bartender had tennis or something on at the bar, and MLB on in the restaurant, so I kept turning around to watch baseball... I guess the guy sitting near the TV that I was watching thought I was watching him. He approached me (covered in dirt) and explained that he was an electrician working on a very dangerous job inside of a nearby mine, but that he was very skilled in laying pipe and asked if I wanted to meet him at a nearby La Quinta Inn. I think I turned about 10 different shades of red before politely refusing his offer and returning to my hotel room.

I spent some time with my cousin in the morning and had a kick ass burrito, then got in the car to start the drive home. I was headed to Pecos, TX for the night, then I got lost in El Paso, then I got pulled over just out side of El Paso. I was written a warning, and later found out that they can't give tickets to out of state drivers. I guess it was my lucky day.

After that, the remaining drive was incident free. I spend two more nights on the road (Dallas, TX and Nashville, TN) and I made it home in the evening on 6/5.

My journey is complete and the photos have been uploaded - They took forever to upload, so everyone better check them out.

UPDATE! - Arizona is still my favorite state

I guess I haven't posted in a few days... Sorry about that - here's an update. From Santa Fe, NM I went on to Flagstaff, AZ. I stayed in Flag for a few days so I could go to some parks nearby - actually, I wanted to camp in the Grand Canyon, but due to the holiday all the campsites were full (with the exception of one that required a horse - yeah, REQUIRED.) ... Just another reason why having a holiday in the middle of vacation was unfortunate (even more to come regarding the poorly placed holiday).

Between Santa Fe and Flag, I stopped at Petrified Forest / Painted Desert National Park (see photos!) The park is pretty nice, a detour that is definitely worth the entry fee and extra time in the car. Mom wanted me to take some of the wood, which I was planning on doing, until I figured out that it was illegal - anyways if everyone took a piece home there wouldn't be any left (so I got some at the gift shop 3/$5 is better than jail and/or a $350 fee).

I checked into the hotel on Route 66 in Flagstaff - which seemed like a good idea, except that it was the WORST hotel that I've stayed in the entire time. Seriously, I wanted to shower - after showering. On top of that, it was Route 66 and it was Memorial Day weekend, which apparently means that Harleys will be going both directions at all hours of the night. I have since decided that I only like Harleys during the daylight.

Flag Day 1:

The next day I drove to Monument Valley, UT which is definitely one of my favorite places that I've been so far. It is not a national park, because it is on Navajo land, but it is treated the same as a national park by the US and by the Navajo (and we don't have to worry about disrespecting their lands or their culture at all, because they make the rules and they run the show). I really wanted to do a horseback tour of the park, but they were all sold out, so I took a Jeep tour. I still want to do the horseback tour next time, but the Jeep tour was really cool. In a Jeep, they can take you farther into the restricted areas in less time (so you get to see more cool stuff). On top of that, they only take 3 or 4 people at a time, so you get a more private and custom tour. I went with these two German guys (who have probably seen more of the US than I have). They were interesting, one spoke English better than the other, but they were both cool. The tour guide was a Navajo named Nathan. He lives in Utah and can't imagine living anywhere else. I can understand that, Monument Valley was amazing. Nathan showed us the vegetation (yes, there's vegetation), buttes, petroglyphs and arches then sang some Navajo songs. Towards the middle/end of the tour the wind was really strong and our group got stuck in a sand storm. The storm didn't last long, but it did cover us all in red dirt. I don't think I would like that every day, but I do think that at least once a week it would be nice it would be nice to be covered head to toe in red dirt.

Flag day 2: The Grand Canyon

Next time, I won't go to the Grand Canyon alone - it is something I would have had more fun exploring in a large group. (No Mom, not Girl Scout style). I got tons of pictures (which I'll upload someday, but apparently not today, because it is taking FOREVER to upload the MV UT pics), a couple of t-shirts and most importantly a snickers ice cream bar. I only went to the south rim and stayed on the main roads (mostly), but the canyon was pretty amazing... Actually, it didn't look real - it looked like one of those old movies where the actors are walking down a path in front of a painting that is supposed to be the landscape behind them (I think The Sound of Music and Gone with the Wind have scenes like that, but I could be wrong). It was surprisingly cold in the park, in the 60's for most of the day. Nobody was dressed appropriately (except one couple, but the were strange and I'm guessing they probably dressed like that all the time - You know what I mean, with handkerchiefs tied around their necks and the most comfortable looking socks/sandals combination that you've ever seen). Aside from the odd couple and their standard tourist attire, everyone was dressed for heat and was disappointed. The thermostat only hit 70 as I was leaving the park. I was okay with the cool weather though, I think I was just happy that my ice cream didn't melt.

That's all for tonight - Time to sleep.

What day is it? - Santa Fe

G'day...

I spent yesterday afternoon in Santa Fe, NM. Its a beautiful city, as you probably already know, but I bet you didn't know that the San Francisco Street bar and grill has amazing enchiladas. Dad told me to have Santa Fe chicken while I was in the city, and that was as close as I could find. No regrets though, they were delicious.

Before dinner, I walked around down town. I wanted to go to a few museums, but for some reason they were all closed - irritating... I spoke to one of the shop owners about it, and she said that she they were probably closed so that they could be open on the holiday. I have since decided that having a holiday in the middle of my vacation is not cool (even though its the only day that I get paid for while I'm gone). More on the topic of holidays in the middle of vacation later...

For now, I will be reading my map and planning the next few days :-)

G'night.

Fast forward...

Sorry, I wasn't able to post anything for the last few days - I promise I was keeping busy.

I spent some time in Laredo and met tons of new friends. I also rode a mechanical bull (yes, there's video, but I don't have it yet). I should probably have stopped drinking when someone said 'WE HAVE TO GO TO THE COUNTRY BAR SO MANDY CAN RIDE THE BULL.' I guess That would have been a good call. It wasn't too bad though, I had fun, and apparently there's a great video. I'll be sure to post it when I get it. Everyone told me that I would hate Laredo - I don't know, maybe I just had great company, but I liked it there. I'll go back anytime.

From Laredo, I worked my way north to New Mexico. Unfortunately, I had to stop on the way in Fort Stockton (TX) for the night. I'm not sure why there's a settlement there, because there are no residents (or at least I didn't see any). Further bad news was that there was a tornado just outside of town. I (thankfully) didn't see it, but I did get a really nice lightning show (video to be posted on the photo site later).

When I got to New Mexico, I met up with my friend Jose and went into Roswell for dinner and sightseeing. (Yes, Rachelle - I have an alien for you!) The following day, we went to Ruidoso (west of Roswell). I will definitely be going to Ruidoso again, it is probably one of the best kept secrets that I've come across yet (at least I think so, because I've never heard of it). The place is amazing, its up in the mountains and it is beautiful. We drove up the mountain to Ski Apache, which was closed, but we still got some great pictures. I looked at their website, and they say that the mountain is 12,000 feet, but I don't think that we were that high (probably 11,000 though). On our way back into town, we decided to stop by the Inn of the Mountain Gods (resort and casino run by the Mescalero). I might have to stay there when I go back. Aside from it being a beautiful and well placed facility, it is lucky. Jose and I went into the casino he said he was going to gamble $20 and that I was not to let him go near any ATM machines. In less than 5 minutes on the slot machine, he turned $20 into $130 - so we cashed out and went home. On the way back we heard warnings for (another) tornado. And again, I got lucky - another great lightning show - I'll be sure to post this video too. :-)

And for now, that is all.

Day 5&6

I know I already wrote about day 5, but I didn't say it all...

I got on the road slightly later than I planned, but I wasn't concerned - Until my tire exploded (see photos). Then I was concerned. Actually I panicked for about 5 seconds before getting the spare out. Another guy was pulled over on the side of the road, and offered to change the tire for me, which was great, because I couldn't figure out how to assemble the jack. I stopped in Corpus Christi to get a new tire at a place called Alamo tire - If you ever get a flat in that area, I definitely recommend them.

When I finally got to South Padre, I met up with a friend and his family for dinner, then went out for drinks with his daughter, Amanda. We went out to three different bars, but I don't remember what they were called. I guess it was Amanda's cousin's birthday, but he was surprisingly well behaved - Unfortunately, it was not the same story for his friend who poured ice all over himself after finishing a drink, tried to dance on a table (which would have been hilarious, but the table was not going to support his weight) and since that didn't work out, he decided to try to 'hook up' with the table - enough said.

Moving on to day 6... The beach.

I can't imagine how hung over everyone else was, because they were all out partying much later than I was. I was just fine though - up by 7 and went for a walk. I grabbed a few bottles of water at CVS and went to the pool. AT this point, it is important to note that I WAS wearing sunblock.

I read for a few minutes at the pool, then went to the beach with Amanda and friends. After the beach, Amanda and I went back to her house for dinner. But by the time dinner was over, I started to notice something uncomfortable on my legs and back (by legs and back, I really mean my ass)... sunburn. Very nice... By the morning the sunburn was pretty much gone though - Thank god :-)

Day 5 - Houston

I arrived safely in Houston and noticed something I hadn't seen in days - The Sun. Unfortunately, just as my luck has been, by the time I got to the pool the sun was back behind storm clouds. Actually, the weird guy wearing a baseball cap in the pool said it best when he said 'Its fix'n ta rain.' So, rather than sit outside in the rain, I went out for burgers with with the weird guy (His name is Derek).

The following morning, I decided that it would be a good idea to swing by NASA and take a tour before driving 6 hours to my next destination. As it turns out, that was a poor choice - I paid the $5 parking fee, followed by the $25 entry fee, only to find out that all the tours for the morning were booked... DAMN, hate it when that happens... and so, I was on the road again.

Days 3&4 - New Orleans

So, I decided (poorly, you'd understand if you were here - the weather was terrible) to start the day off early today and head down town around 0800. When I called for a cab, I had no idea that I was stepping directly into the middle of an all out cab driver war zone. Right after I called for a cab, a different cab showed up at my hotel to drop off some other guests. I mentioned to the driver that I had called a cab - her response was GET IN. Out of a mix of curiosity, intimidation and wanting to get downtown quickly, I got in and the cab driver proceeded to explain to me that the evil other cab company has been listening in on her company's radio and taking their calls. Apparently, they'd taken four of their calls already this morning. And so we continued into the city...

I had the cab driver drop me off at Jackson Brewery, just in time for the skies to open up and pour rain, thunder and lightning. I was hoping to get tickets to a swamp tour and be on a boat by 1000hrs, but nothing was open yet, since it was early on a Sunday morning and STORMING LIKE CRAZY. Thankfully the brewery serves breakfast - I had a shrimp omelet :-)

After the rain and storms started to slow down, I was finally able to begin wandering the city. I took a million pictures (already on the photo site). I was in the French Quarter for most of the day people watching and window shopping. In the afternoon I took a swamp tour. That was definitely worth the drive and the tour fees. I posted a really cool picture of me holding a baby gator (I look terrible in the picture, but the gator is really cool). All I could think of was: I wonder if Rachelle would let me keep him as a pet, I think I'll name him Jack to keep up the alcohol themed pet names...

Last night I had some fun in the hotel bar with complete strangers (see photos and hilarious video). I'll definitely be back to NOLA sometime soon, but for now it's bedtime.