Deserts and mountains and bays...

... oh my!

(To the tune of "lions and tigers and bears...")

That's right, we finally made it today to California! We were excited when we got up this morning, knowing that we were going to be driving about 100 miles less today than any other day and thinking that it would take us less time. We forgot, however, to take into account going over mountains as well as hitting city traffic during rush hour. It took what felt like forever to make it here tonight. But we did, and we are safe.

Dad started out the day how all days in the state of Nevada should begin: at a casino.

... just kidding! The picture sure makes it look like it's true, though. This was just your regular truck stop, with a convenience area, an Arby's, gasoline... oh, and of course, a casino (which we did bypass).

After our early morning gas stop, we finally, finally made it into the Pacific time zone -- hooray! That was a sign that the trip was close to being over.

One thing that I didn't anticipate, too, was how beautiful the state of Nevada is! I thought it would just be very flat with nothing to look at but the road and the sand around it. I was definitely wrong, and I was very excited to realize that Nevada was full of mountains/hills like the ones in the pictures below. The natural beauty and the Starbucks at the random stop in the middle of the state definitely redeemed my opinion of/experience in the state.



We stopped in Reno for lunch and ate at a Qdoba. Not eating at a traditional fast-food restaurant after being in the car for so long was like eating fresh, homemade, warm chocolate chip cookies after eating 3-month old, stale, store-bought cookies for a week. Seriously.

My trusty Honda Accord (Peanut) carried us across the state line into California around 3pm, Pacific time.

At that point, I think dad and I were so delerious from all the time in the car that we mentally prepared ourselves for another 2-3 hours in the car.

It definitely took a solid 5 hours, at which point we were both grumpy albeit happy to be safe. We saw a wreck on the Super-Long Highway yesterday in Wyoming (on the other side of the road) where people were being pulled out of cars; after that, we did not take our continued safety on the road lightly.

Despite our collective grumpiness, we saw some cool sites on the way into town, including another windmill farm (this one probably had at least 1000 windmills -- no joke!) and a view of the Bay from a bridge going west.




Overall, the trip cross-country has been amazing and a ton of fun. Dad and I survived 6 full days in very close quarters, and he heads home on Friday. We saw a fantastic sign in Nevada that I kept just missing with my camera. Next to some of the exit signs that advertise towns, about 5 of the stops had "Prison Area; Hitchhikers Prohibited" signs next to the city names. It was definitely a sign that I have never seen before. Also, does anyone know why the state of CA makes you surrender fruit bought in other states? It was weird; I've never before been stopped at an agriculture inspection station on the interstate. Guess there's a first time for everything!

Now that I'm here, your question is what do I do next? The answer: lots of things. Tomorrow's task is getting my car serviced along with just in general exploring the campus and town after taking dad to the airport. For now, I'm just going to bed!