Just a little over a month ago, I was having lunch and chatting with my cousin Jacob (who had just moved back to CO from LA). I was looking through photo after gorgeous photo from his numerous journey's he's made driving to and from LA over the last several years. I exclaimed that, as many times as I've been to California, I've always flown but I would just LOVE to make a drive and see everything there along the way! Well a week later I was out to lunch with my friend, Kenny, and he was telling me that he had just been to LA for a job interview, and they offered him a great position but he was unsure if he would accept. He explained that it wasn't the most pleasant experience making the move from Northern CA to CO the first time, and he wasn't looking forward to doing it again. I suggested we take all the bad experiences from the first time, and turn it around into a fun road-trip! I'm fortunate enough to have a pretty flexible job schedule, and let's face it, I'm ALWAYS up for something fun & new, and after-all, wasn't I just saying that this was exactly what I wanted to do?? A few days later after thinking it through, Kenny accepted the job and asked me if my offer still stood. We were going to LA!
Wednesday, June 12 was Kenny's last day at work. We were hoping to leave Denver early afternoon, but there were a few minor *ahem* packing setbacks... ((side note: To any friends planning on moving, recruit me to help you pack! After 8 moves in 7 years, I consider myself to be a master at effectively and efficiently packing.)) We were finally on the road at 4:30p.
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| Loaded up and ready to roll. |
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| See ya later, smokey Denver. |
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| The windmills of Wyoming |
First stop: Salt Lake City!
Once we got out of the Denver city traffic, it was smooth sailing to Laramie, WY. We stopped for a bite to eat and a driver swich. Kenny had been up and at work since 4am, so I drove from Laramie to SLC. At almost 400miles, I think that might have been the longest drive I'd ever made! I loved the beautiful scenery and sunsets that WY had to offer us, but I was so happy to have reached SLC where the promise of sleep awaited.
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| Thank you for the beautiful Sunset, WY |
Thursday we met up with one of Kenny's HS friends for lunch and coffee. We stayed downtown for some SLC sightseeing and shenanigans: checked out the capitol & the mormon temple, but didn't stay too long. It was off to Reno that day!
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| The Mormon Temple |
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| Utah State Capitol Building |
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| Just clownin around. |
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| Pretty sure there's a sign that says "Please keep off Buffalo" |
It was back on the road for another long day of driving. After we passed the Great Salt Lake and the Salt Flats, there really wasn't much in the way of scenery.... So we made our own fun with endless jokes and jammin out to fun music. I learned so much and was introduced to quite a bit of new stuff on the road with Kenny! My music file of knowledge has exponentially grown to include, but not limited to, hard core rap.
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| The Great Salt Lake |
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| The Salt Lake Flats |
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| Staying entertained in the car is easy with this guy. #duckface |
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| Almost to Nevada! |
As soon as we crossed over the Nevada border we were greeted by a big
casino in the middle of no where! ((it's quite fascinating, casinos at
the gas stations, grocery stores.....everywhere!!!)) We did a little
quick gambling ((and I may or may not have had the free drinks that
came...)) and it was back on the road. We reached Reno about 9pm that
night, just in time for sunset. I was really pleasantly surprised with how pretty Reno is! It's
not the desert I imagined it to be, like a mini vegas. It was cool,
woody, and mountainous. I really liked it there.
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| You didn't have to clean up for us, NV |
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| Casino 1: Kenny 0 |
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| Big Winner. |
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| We Made it to Reno! |
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| The World's Biggest Little City |
Friday,
we got up early, found a great little coffee shop, and felt like actual
humans that day. "Some people just aren't cut out for life on the road." It also helped that Kenny's mom was so sweet to lend
us her awesome new BMW convertible for the day!! We ran a few
errands around town, and then headed up to Lake Tahoe for the day! Tahoe
is definitely one of my new favorite places. It was absolutely
beautiful. A huge lake surrounded by mountains??? My cup of tea for
sure! We layed around in the sand for a while, and then cruised back to
town with the top down and the sun shining on us. That evening we had
dinner and drinks with the rest of Kenny's family, where I got to meet
and hang out with his brother, Ryan and future sister-in-law, Meredith.
It was such a great day.
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| Weeeeeeeeeeeeee! |
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| The Glorious Lake Tahoe |
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| Breathtaking |
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| Cheese :) |
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| Enjoying the day |
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| Tourist!! |
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| My new friend, Meredith :) |
Saturday, Kenny and Ryan were in a wedding
for one of his best friends from High School. Meredith and I got ready
together and met up with the guys at the wedding. We danced, ate, drank
waaaay too much, and stayed out late. This vacation couldn't have been
better, haha.
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| We're so cool. |
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| Wedding fun! |
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| ohhhh, boy. |
Needless to say, it was not early-to-rise
the next morning... But we finally got up and around, and were back on
the road for the final leg of the trip. We made a quick stop in Stockton, CA to visit Kenny's dad. He's a funny guy. He had no problem asking me how much I
weighed... ummm, awkward. haha.
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| Welcome to California! |
We cruised on down I-5 and made the
obligatory stop at In-N-Out. I was super tempted to have one of their
delicious burgers, but I had the grilled cheese....It was the best
meatless cheeseburger I'd ever had!
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| In-N-Out Love. |
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| First time in my life I've ever had a not-hamburger. |
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| Almost there!! |
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| I think we're delirious by this point.... |
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| first California Sunset |
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| we made it to la la land!! |
After 1500 miles, and what seemed like an eternity, we FINALLY made it to LA!! It's been a couple years since I'd been to LA, and I forgot how much I liked it! We stayed in Studio City, and hung out on Ventura Blvd and Santa Monica Pier. Monday night we drove down to Hermosa Beach & had dinner with my Uncle Marce and Aunt Birgit. It was such a joy to get to see them!!! Sadly I was only in LA less than 48 hours before I had to fly home so I didn't get to see all my family there, or do everything I hoped, but I sure tried to make the most of it!
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| Ventura Blvd. Studio City, CA |
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| Santa Monica Pier |
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| Santa Monica Beach |
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| Dinner with my Uncle Marce and Birgit |
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| Hermosa Beach Pier |
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| Fun night on the pier after din with my family |
Tuesday was Kenny's first day at work, so I got some shopping time
and best of all got to meet up with a long lost friend for lunch in
Hollywood! It was so good to see Ashton ((it had to be about 12 or 13 years since the last time I saw him!)), and it was a nice way to end such a wonderful week away from home.
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| Ashton Likes!! |
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| Fun afternoon in Hollywood, CA |
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| Have I mentioned how obsessed I am with Palm Trees??? |
That night Kenny drove me to
the airport, but I wasn't ready to go home. It seemed like I had just gotten to LA and had to come
home too soon. It was a sad goodbye as it sunk in that my friend wasn't
coming back to Denver. It was such a fun trip but all things must
come to an end. Five states, 1500 miles, 7 days. It was a whirlwind of
adventure and life that I wish could have been a bit longer. Oh well.
California will always be there, and I'll be back again one day. And
that's the wonderful thing about life and meeting new people and making
friendships with people that live far away! You always have a place to
visit :)
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| "Airports are always so sad..." "Except for when they're happy!" |
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| Something to be said about a California sunset. |
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| So long, LA. |
