Road Trip!

Jake and I hit the dusty trail around 1:00pm on July 25th, with his car packed full. He had my two suitcases and two backpacks along with all of his belongings that he was moving to his parents. When all of our things were spread out over my living room floor, I was skeptical that it could all fit. But given that Jake never ceases to amaze me, his crazy packing skills put me in my place. We had just enough space for our lungs to expand...

Our first stop on our trip to Texas was his UCLA roommate Sun's studio in Los Angeles, California. We also wanted to eat some Father's Office burgers and drink some of their microbrews on tap (one of our favorite LA destinations). We met Jake's college buddies there for a bite and a brew, and then headed over to the studio. Once there, Jake played a little on Sun's guitar, and then we passed out. Driving is exhausting.

Jake got up early the next morning and went for one last run on his old stopping grounds. I packed the bags, cleaned up, and then once he got back, we hit the road again. The next leg of the journey was from LA to Grand Canyon National Park, 486 miles. I was surprised how long it took us to exit California. We drove east for roughly four hours before we entered Arizona, and we didn't get to our destination until the sun was starting to set.  Most of it was route was desert, and gas stations were few and far between, but I really enjoyed seeing the large expanses of undeveloped land...

Our plan was to go camping at the Grand Canyon, but since it was dark and raining with thunder and lightening when we got there, we opted to stay in a hotel. Being that it was a Friday night during July in a popular tourist destination, almost all of the hotels were completely booked. In three separate hotels, the very last room was rented to the person directly in front of us in line.  At one point we were behind a group of very large European tourists in line who were debating splitting the last small room with one queen bed.  Unfortunately I think I blew it by announcing that we'd take it if they didn't.  I should have known better, as a psychology major, that by doing so I had inadvertently increased the room's value. Sure enough, they took it.

By the end of the night we found a room in a very nice hotel, and saw some cool things along the way. While driving slowly down one of the dark roads, Jake shouted "Elk!" and what I thought was a tree right next to my window turned out to be a massive elk with huge branched antlers. It took my breath away. I've seen deer all my life, but I never knew how massive and majestic elk were. That silhouette standing with its head held high will forever be burned into my memory.  Once we checked in, we bellied up to the hotel bar, had a couple drinks, basked in each other's company, and then called it a day. I fell asleep counting elk...

The next morning we showered, packed up again, and drove the short distance in to the Grand Canyon National Park. It truly is one of the most spectacular places I've ever been, and I don't think words or pictures could ever do it justice. We watched monsoons roll in and out, and Jake added 3,000 feet to his golf driving record.

From the Grand Canyon, our next stop was Albuquerque, New Mexico, 392 miles. Even though it was the shortest leg of the journey, we made a lot of stops and took so much time exploring that it was our longest travel day by far. But it was a lot of fun, and I saw parts of the country that I probably won't ever see again. Large expanses of land go on as far as the eye can see, and every now and then a little town would pop up made of trailers and shacks with boarded up windows. Jake and I would frequently ask, where do these people shop for groceries? Where do they get water? Do they have jobs? What the heck?? New Mexico was a lot like Mexico Mexico. Stray dogs were everywhere. It was definitely an experience. But despite the unfortunate parts, we couldn't believe some of the landscapes. We pulled over on top of this mesa, got out and explored a little bit. Meanwhile storms and monsoons roll in and out...

We finally got to the big city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, at just after 10pm. My dad put us up in a room at the Hyatt, and it was nicest room yet (thanks Dad!!!). We watched a movie on the hotel's big plasma TV to unwind and relax a little, and then went to bed.  Only one more day of driving to go!!

The last leg of the journey was the longest. Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Jake's parent's house in Keller, Texas, is a whopping 613 miles!! The landscape was more large expanses of nothingness until we got in to Texas, where the scenery turned in to cattle ranches, farms, and more towns. It took us a little over 9 hours, as we didn't make too many stops, and we made it to Jake's parent's house around 9:00pm. Boy was it HOT!!!! People aren't kidding when they say Texas is hot. It was after dark and we were still practically sweating! We unpacked the car, all four of us taking loads in to the house. When that was done, we unpacked our suitcases a little bit and then called it a day. The four day journey was finally complete, and we made it...

Now it's time to spend some time in Texas, y'all!