Posts Tagged ‘road trip’

Road Trip 2010: Las Vegas

Monday, June 28th, 2010

Day one of my journey to Michigan by car began today at 4:30. I miss the rest of my family already and my dog. The first day of our trip ended in Las Vegas Nevada. First thing I am going to say is this: IT WAS 111 DEGREES OUT WHEN WE ENTERED NEVADA!!

I thought it being sunny was brutal but this heat was unbearable. I kept seeing cars on the side of the road overheated and I felt so horrible for those people and grateful at the same time because if we hadn’t gotten the new car that would probably be us on the side of the road. Our trip out was relatively uneventful but fun. I watched the Hangover in the car to prepare myself for staying in Cesar’s Palace.

These hotels on the strip are so amazingly cool in my mind because last time we went to Vegas we spent a majority of the time in an R.V. park. So in comparison it is amazingly nice. Sadly I didn’t feel good at all for the first part of our time in the Hotel. I had to get over feeling bad though because my favorite part of Vegas was coming up. Eating at the Bellagio buffet. Sad I know that I look forward to food so much but this buffet is the best thing in the entire world. My biggest regret last time I was in Vegas was not getting to  try the desserts because they looked amazing.

Naturally I fixed that this year by taking every type of desert they had and taking one bite out of each. It was fun but to say that I was stuffed by the end is a gross understatement. So much fun! We spent some time walking around the Bellagio and checking out there cool gardens which consisted of animal sculptures made from flowers and giant glass flowers.

The frog was my favorite out of the bees, lady bugs and snails. After the Bellagio we went back to Cesar’s to do a little shopping. It has been a long day and tomorrow is going to be a longer one. Stay tuned for more stories about the rest of the trip!

P.S. I will be posting more elaborate stories on the parts of this day in later posts when my schedule isn’t so hectic.

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Travel Update: Michigan Road Trip

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

Tomorrow morning at 4 o’clock my mom and I will be beginning again our yearly road trip to Michigan. This time around we are swinging low down to the blistering southern states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and so on. Everyday I will be updating my blog with details about our trip like Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Monument Valley and more. So stay tuned to see if I survive another road trip up to Michigan. This one is going to be long and hot but hopefully all worth it!

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Confessions of an Evil Driver

Monday, June 14th, 2010

I have a confession to make, about my driving. No I am not admitting that I am a bad driver, because I am not. My confession is this:

I can be an evil driver.

I love road trips, but when you have been driving for hours in the middle of nowhere, you have to find ways to amuse and entertain yourself so you don’t go insane. My remedy? To be EVIL. When there is nothing to look at on the road except for other cars, have fun with the other cars. I am expert, or you could call me an evil genius, at being an evil driver.

You may be wondering, what is it that I do to make me or anyone, an evil driver. There are many ways one could fit the criteria of an evil driver. Here are a few that I do:

  1. Mess with the other drivers. The key to this is to not appear to blatantly be messing with the other drivers. Don’t be obvious, act like you aren’t doing anything or as if this is how you normally drive. One way I do this is with the left lane. Keep in mind this can only be done when several other cars are present (not totally crowded but cars every few minutes or so). When I get really bored I switch into the fast lane and go just fast enough to be passing people, but just slow enough to drive the person behind me crazy. This make it so they have to either pass me in the right lane or just tail gait me and get pissed off and wait until I leave.
  2. Another slight modification of my first point is not letting the person behind you pass when they want. Not just not letting them pass, just not exactly when they want to. This is best to do with those crazy drivers on the road that think everyone will move over when they come speeding up. They are easy to spot, and easy to bother. This can be the most entertaining fun on a long road trip. Again you must have several cars on the road for this to work. Get in the fast lane before these people come up, pass a couple of cars until the road master comes right up behind you. They will probably tail gait you but don’t let it bother you. That is when you slow down just enough to slowly pass the car in the right lane. After you have cleared the car, they will expect ou to immediately get out of their way and into the right lane; don’t. After they figure out you aren’t going into the right lane, even though you should, you know the person behind you, as soon as they clear the car in the right lane, they will switch out of the left lane and try to pass you in the right lane. This is where you act. As you see them start to get into the other lane, speed up just enough so they don’t have enough room to pass you. Then they have to go back behind you in their shame and rage. It is very entertaining to watch them try again and again to pass you. You have to make sure not to make them too angry so after a few times of this actually let them pass. And always, always look at them when they finally pass you. It is pretty funny. Yes, evil I know. Can you blame me? Boredom really is a source of evil.

One thing I am going to point out is that no I do not do this normally. This is not how I drive so don’t worry about it. I only do this on road trips when I am really bored or if a driver is bothering me. The point of being an evil driver is to not push them too far, just enough to get a little reaction but nothing bad. To be a true evil driver you have to understand when the fun has gone to far or where there is room for more mischief. There are always more people on the road to mess with, don’t get attached to a certain car. If you ever go on a road trip with me you can always tell when I start messing with people because I sit there and snicker evilly to myself for no apparent reason.

Don’t be afraid my evil driving, it is very rare, but is very real. Hopefully my evil tips will help save your brain on a long road trip from insanity and boredom. Be evil, but be safe, not stupid.

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Travel Update: Oregon

Friday, April 2nd, 2010

So for the first part of my spring break I am going to be heading up to Portland Oregon for some college visits. My mom and I are road trippin it up and we are going to be having fun along the way.

Top on my list is Reed. I can’t wait to see it, Reed is one of my top choices at this point and I am ready to learn more.

I will also be stopping along the way in Eugene Oregon to stop and see University of Oregon. There is no saying what else I will do, or what I will see. Stay tuned for photos and posts about my trip.

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2009

Thursday, December 31st, 2009

So it has been a long year for me and my family. With good and bad happenings. We went to go see Lance Armstrong race at the AmGen in Sacramento. I got to stand right next to him.

Basically my year was full of trips, our RV trip to Las Vegas being one of the first for my mom’s 50 birthday. It didn’t work quite as well as we wanted but in hindsight was all right. It had its goods and bads. Mojave, Death Valley, and Las Vegas… it was interesting all five of us in an RV. I don’t think I would or could do it again…

I had two cousins go off to war, one in the army and one in the navy. Kayleen and Charlie we are very proud of you both, and wish you well.

My mom and dad went with me to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.

We had some fun hikes and one encounter with a rattle snake. I think for a moment my mother took on the visage of a majestic Springbok to escape it.

My older brother Nick graduated High School.

We did a lot of talking with him over Skype this year because he was off at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

My dad had fun when we went up to the Licht Observatory and visited the awesome telescopes when school got out. With my sophomore year ended I had a lot of fun with my friends and was soon off to Michigan on our road trip. This time it was just my mom and I along with our dog. Together we are the travel buddies!! ( Also this is when I got my new camera, you will notice the improved quality of the photos from here out :D )

We stopped everywhere, Nevada, Utah (Mormon Tabernacle), Idaho (with a flat tire), and most memorable, Yellowstone.

We saw tons of wildlife in Wyoming and South Dakota, the best being the buffalo. Especially when we got charged by a buffalo in Custer State Park. They were all over the place just walking in the road.

Michigan this year was tons of fun. Full of tubing, the creation of creeper photos, and trips to Copper Harbor. It was also the first time I jumped off the pier into Lake Superior. And of course hanging out with all the cousins.

On our road trip back home we stopped in North Dakota, Montana (Glacier National Park), Washington, and Oregon. Glacier National Park was really fun, I swam in a freezing glacier river and saw a bear right up close.

In Oregon we saw the famous Shoe Tree and visited Bend. We loved it and I can’t wait to go back soon.

Back home school soon started with my first year of Full IB. In golf this year I was captain of the team and had amazing amounts of fun.

I had a good friend year, making new friends that I love, and making my existing friendships even better. A somewhat disappointing year in terms of health. Many people I know became seriously ill and that was emotionally taxing on all of us. To everyone with Cancer or some other illness, I wish you good health and happiness.  Visiting Nick for his 19 birthday in Cal Poly was very fun with kayaking in Morro Bay. One of the highlights of my year was my birthday and the trip I took with my mom to Seattle Washington.

This year I also bought my first piece of original artwork by myself from Bruce Telopa. It was a good year for art, I became an IB art student and my Aunt let me have one of her amazing paintings.

The other best of the year was our trip to Hawaii. We had so much fun snorkeling, going to the Volcanoes, and just enjoying 80 degree weather in December.

This year has had its ups and downs. I am excited for the new year to start over. So Happy New Years eeveryone. My biggest wish is for  health and happiness for everyone. My New Years resolution is to see the world with open eyes, I hope everyone can do the same.

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Truck Bed

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

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This photo I took in Salt Lake City is basically famous in my family. Well at least to my mom and me. I don’t really know why, but it is basically the photo that represents our road trips. We love it, so here it is.

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Ferris Wheel

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

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I wish I could go on a ferris wheel right now. Go on a slow ride up to the clouds take a handful and bring it back down to earth with me. Here is my cloud, want some? It tastes like cotton candy.

Anyway.. sorry about that, this is a ferris wheel somewhere off in South Dakota in an abandoned sideshow amusement park. I wish I had stopped to take a ride. I feel like on road trips you need to stop every time you have an inkling to do so because you never know if you will ever see anything like it again. I regret not stopping at some things and I will remember some for the rest of my life for the things I did stop at.

Leave nothing undone.

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