Friday, August 31, 2007
A first (but not last) time for everything
That's right.I officially ate at In-and-Out Burger for the first time ever today. Here's me, ready to experience one of the best burgers of my life...
*Thanks to T for the gift card!!
Campus!
Today was busy. I don't officially move in to my apartment until tomorrow, so I took dad to the Big School's campus to show him around before he left. It was a gorgeous day, and we enjoyed walking around. Here are a few pictures (with many more anticipated in the next few weeks).
A side view of the buildings that make up the main quad:
Dad standing in front of the Big School's driveway:
Me at my building (my soon-to-be home-away-from-home):
A side view of the buildings that make up the main quad:
Dad standing in front of the Big School's driveway:
Me at my building (my soon-to-be home-away-from-home):
Thursday, August 30, 2007
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!
(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!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Nevada: 2; Me: 0 (day 5)
Just in case anyone was keeping track, the official score is 2-0 in favor of Nevada. I was very excited to both drive into Mountain time zone as well as out of it in the same day today. I mean, how often do you gain 2 hours in your day when driving? Not often. But sadly the small border town of West Wendover, NV changed back to Mountain time (from Pacific) in 1999. So I did not get to fulfill that dream today. And on top of that, the hotel where we are does not have internet!! Thankfully, dad's work computer has Verizon broadband access, but it's slower than regular wireless (and thus not good for watching streaming videos of TV shows...)
Moving on from my current complaints about the state of Nevada, here is a quick run-down of our day today. We started out in Nebraska with about 175 miles to go before entering the state of Wyoming. I got really excited and managed to get this picture of one of the first signs of topography/hills that I saw! I also thought it was funny that someone put a large cut-out of a coyote on top of the hill.
Soon after that, we finally made it to Wyoming. The cowboy on the sign below is the same as the one on their license plate. As you can tell, it was foggy and misty and nasty for the first few hours of the drive this morning.
After we were past Cheyenne, the weather cleared up and the topography kept getting more interesting. There were a lot of really interesting rock formations in Wyoming, like the two below.
With such a wide open space and a now clear, beautiful day, the clouds were incredible. I know that Montana is supposedly "Big Sky Country," but Wyoming would've come in a close 2nd in that contest yesterday.
The wide open spaces also lent themselves to green energy; we passed several large windmill farms like this one.
I'm not sure if you can read the sign in the picture below, but this picture deserves a caption that says something along the lines of "Wait; what?" It says "Evanston 28 miles; Salt Lake 108 miles". Apparently there is an Evanston in Wyoming, too!
Finally, after driving for what seemed like forever, we made it to the great state of Utah! I was surprised to find that the terrain in the first part of Utah (mountainous, near Park City) was more similar to what I expected to find in the western half of Wyoming, where it was a high elevation but not very up-and-down mountainous. I thought going over the Rocky Mountains would be more like a long, extended version of going over Sewanee, but I was definitely wrong.
Utah also had some really cool rock formations.
While in Utah, my odometer hit 90K miles!! Fingers crossed that it makes it to 100K (unlike the Fiero).
Here's a picture of what we were passing when I reached 90K -- the Great Salt Desert (where part of the Great Salt Lake used to be).
Our one touristy thing so far was stopping at the Bonneville Salt Flats, which you can read about here. Sadly, we were not there on a day that they were racing. Here's a picture of dad...
And one of me... (yes, that's all salt)
After many "are we there yet"s from Dad, we finally made it over the state line, into the state of Nevada, where we stopped for the night.
Here's hoping that the drive across the rest of the state (we have a solid 400 more miles to Reno) is a better experience and that the score at least evens up.
Moving on from my current complaints about the state of Nevada, here is a quick run-down of our day today. We started out in Nebraska with about 175 miles to go before entering the state of Wyoming. I got really excited and managed to get this picture of one of the first signs of topography/hills that I saw! I also thought it was funny that someone put a large cut-out of a coyote on top of the hill.
Soon after that, we finally made it to Wyoming. The cowboy on the sign below is the same as the one on their license plate. As you can tell, it was foggy and misty and nasty for the first few hours of the drive this morning.
After we were past Cheyenne, the weather cleared up and the topography kept getting more interesting. There were a lot of really interesting rock formations in Wyoming, like the two below.
With such a wide open space and a now clear, beautiful day, the clouds were incredible. I know that Montana is supposedly "Big Sky Country," but Wyoming would've come in a close 2nd in that contest yesterday.
The wide open spaces also lent themselves to green energy; we passed several large windmill farms like this one.
I'm not sure if you can read the sign in the picture below, but this picture deserves a caption that says something along the lines of "Wait; what?" It says "Evanston 28 miles; Salt Lake 108 miles". Apparently there is an Evanston in Wyoming, too!
Finally, after driving for what seemed like forever, we made it to the great state of Utah! I was surprised to find that the terrain in the first part of Utah (mountainous, near Park City) was more similar to what I expected to find in the western half of Wyoming, where it was a high elevation but not very up-and-down mountainous. I thought going over the Rocky Mountains would be more like a long, extended version of going over Sewanee, but I was definitely wrong.
Utah also had some really cool rock formations.
While in Utah, my odometer hit 90K miles!! Fingers crossed that it makes it to 100K (unlike the Fiero). 
Here's a picture of what we were passing when I reached 90K -- the Great Salt Desert (where part of the Great Salt Lake used to be).
Our one touristy thing so far was stopping at the Bonneville Salt Flats, which you can read about here. Sadly, we were not there on a day that they were racing. Here's a picture of dad...
And one of me... (yes, that's all salt)
After many "are we there yet"s from Dad, we finally made it over the state line, into the state of Nevada, where we stopped for the night.
Here's hoping that the drive across the rest of the state (we have a solid 400 more miles to Reno) is a better experience and that the score at least evens up. 642 miles to go...
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Plains states (day 4)
We left at 6am this morning to drive cross-country to California. I was abnormally awake and ungrumpy, but I think it was only because I knew dad (who was driving) needed my help with directions getting out of the maze of Big City interstates and onto the Super-Long Freeway to head west. We started out with a highly nutritious breakfast of champions:
We also were met by an incredible, gorgeous, awe-inspiring sunrise. I got one good picture from the DD parking lot and one other one while driving (looking out the driver's side window -- from the passenger side!); the colors of the sky seemed especially vibrant this morning.
Once we were out of the city, I slept until we hit Iowa.
I decided that the state of Iowa was a kind, friendly state to road-trippers, mainly because the gas was cheap...
... but also because Sonic was an available food choice that was advertised on the interstate boards. Mmmmm, Cherry Limeade!
Next up was Nebraska... which, by the way, did you know that Nebraska is the official home of Arbor Day? That was news to me.
Nebraska has been an interesting ride so far. We've seen everything from beautiful clouds that seemed to scream "quintessential cross-country road trip picture"...
... to a plane on the side of the road that was the "sign" for the Military Vehicle Museum (it's a pretty good picture for being taken while in a moving vehicle, eh?) ...
... to a crazy storm that had a "window" in between the two huge arms. We made it through the window while just experiencing a small amount of rain -- nothing like what was going on in the actual storm.
What else have we seen? Oh yeah, lots and lots and lots of CORN. Here I am, pointing to an old ear of corn on a stalk in the field that is right behind our hotel -- look how tall the corn is:
We did also see a lot of soybeans, so it wasn't all corn, which was nice.
Overall, we drove 758 miles today, and we have about the same plus 20-40 more miles to go tomorrow to get to the Utah/Nevada border. Today was exhausting, but hopefully a good night's rest (my first in a long time) will help us bounce back and be ready to hit the road hard again early tomorrow morning. Thank goodness dad wakes up easily and is happy to drive the first leg each day! We'll travel all the way through the Mountain time zone tomorrow (we're in Central right now and aim to spend tomorrow night in Pacific), so we'll gain an extra 2 hours of sleep tomorrow night, which will be nice. Off to bed I go now...
We also were met by an incredible, gorgeous, awe-inspiring sunrise. I got one good picture from the DD parking lot and one other one while driving (looking out the driver's side window -- from the passenger side!); the colors of the sky seemed especially vibrant this morning.
Once we were out of the city, I slept until we hit Iowa.
I decided that the state of Iowa was a kind, friendly state to road-trippers, mainly because the gas was cheap...
... but also because Sonic was an available food choice that was advertised on the interstate boards. Mmmmm, Cherry Limeade!
Next up was Nebraska... which, by the way, did you know that Nebraska is the official home of Arbor Day? That was news to me.
Nebraska has been an interesting ride so far. We've seen everything from beautiful clouds that seemed to scream "quintessential cross-country road trip picture"...
... to a plane on the side of the road that was the "sign" for the Military Vehicle Museum (it's a pretty good picture for being taken while in a moving vehicle, eh?) ...
... to a crazy storm that had a "window" in between the two huge arms. We made it through the window while just experiencing a small amount of rain -- nothing like what was going on in the actual storm.
What else have we seen? Oh yeah, lots and lots and lots of CORN. Here I am, pointing to an old ear of corn on a stalk in the field that is right behind our hotel -- look how tall the corn is:
We did also see a lot of soybeans, so it wasn't all corn, which was nice.Overall, we drove 758 miles today, and we have about the same plus 20-40 more miles to go tomorrow to get to the Utah/Nevada border. Today was exhausting, but hopefully a good night's rest (my first in a long time) will help us bounce back and be ready to hit the road hard again early tomorrow morning. Thank goodness dad wakes up easily and is happy to drive the first leg each day! We'll travel all the way through the Mountain time zone tomorrow (we're in Central right now and aim to spend tomorrow night in Pacific), so we'll gain an extra 2 hours of sleep tomorrow night, which will be nice. Off to bed I go now...
Days 2-3.
Sunday and Monday were very full, busy, packed, hectic days. Amidst all of the cleaning, organizing, and putting things in order on Sunday, I went to church with J, had dinner with S, and then picked up T at the airport. I barely managed to have everything ready when the packers showed up at 7:30 on Monday morning, but I did (even if it did require throwing stuff into my large closet that was the "do not pack" zone). The packers were gone by 10am; the movers showed up soon after, and they had the truck all packed up by noon. They did in four and a half hours what would've taken me at least a week. Here's a picture of dad, hard at work while the movers were there:
After the movers left with the loaded-up truck, Dad, T and I went to the Best Pancake Place Ever for lunch. It was yummy as always, and the German pancake was bigger than ever:
After the movers left with the loaded-up truck, Dad, T and I went to the Best Pancake Place Ever for lunch. It was yummy as always, and the German pancake was bigger than ever:
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Day 1.
I've decided that Saturday was the official "Day 1" of the move. That's when Dad showed up to help (thanks!), as well as when the rubber met the road. I had done a pretty good job cleaning out most everything a while ago, but there were definitely still parts of my apartment that required more cleaning out. Which I took care of while sending Dad out on various errands like taking clothes to Salvation Army, taking boxes of books/things that I don't need in California to the post office to be mailed back home, picking up another whole box of garbage sacks at the grocery store, dropping off books to be donated at the library, getting coffee, etc. He likes being useful, and I had a ton of stuff with which he could help! I also sold my bike (I'm going to buy a new one out there), and gave away my long-favorite, well-loved recliner to a couple who's expecting their first baby in 3 weeks. And cleaned. And organized. And cleaned. And organized. All in all, Saturday was very productive. I seriously don't know what I would've done if the electricity had still been out, and I'm glad I didn't have to find out. The funniest part definitely was the look on Dad's face when he first saw the state of my apartment. He apparently had forgotten that the movers were going to PACK my stuff as well as move it -- he thought I'd done nothing! I think he was a little scared; it was funny. He also took a picture of himself on the train ride up here from the airport, which I'll leave you with for now. More to come later about the move, but probably not until Tuesday night when we're on the road.
Dad, the ever-experienced rider, waiting at a stop:
Dad, the ever-experienced rider, waiting at a stop:
Friday, August 24, 2007
Let there be light!
That's right... the power's back on.
For now.
Hopefully this next round of storms (supposedly tonight) is kinder to me.
For now.
Hopefully this next round of storms (supposedly tonight) is kinder to me.
Ugh.
I don't have any electricity, internet, or hot water at home. Due to a huge storm. Not exactly ideal for my last weekend in the Big City when I need to do tons and tons of organizing and cleaning out of my apartment before the movers come first thing Monday morning. Although I guess I'm really thankful that my car didn't get hit by a tree like the one in that picture!
My fingers are crossed that my electricity will be up and running by the time I get home from work today. Otherwise a long weekend will be even longer...
My fingers are crossed that my electricity will be up and running by the time I get home from work today. Otherwise a long weekend will be even longer...
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