Heyyyyyy Cow!

Up and out by 6:30am and on the road heading to LA. I slept pretty well on my temporpedic mattress (newly donated to the Monterey Hostel). We decided to take the PCH or US-1 all the way down the coast to see all the views that everyone raves about. But before we could start driving Cindy always makes us say a good luck chant. It goes like this..."On the Road Again. Yeah Yeah Yeah. We're the Care Bears." It is something she said with her family growing up when they went on road trips. And honestly, I could use all the luck I can get so I said it right along with her!

Cindy started driving today and said she would be ok on the windy roads if she was in control. Well, control meant 30mph. So after about 2hrs of being on the PCH I was ready to get off and get some speed. I took over driving and ended up getting behind a truck pulling a trailer who was going a whopping 15mph!

PCH

The views were pretty but they weren't fantastic like everyone says so I decided we were getting off of this highway and moving onto one I could speed up! We cut across US-46 to Us-101S. Finally my kind of speed! The PCH put us behind by about 2hrs at this time and I was not a happy camper. The drive was already going to be over 5hrs and now it was over 7hrs! I don't want to be in the car that long!

Lighthouse on PCH

In-N-Out Burger was for lunch because I have been crazing it since I had it in San Fran and we got gas. Gas was only $3.69! I am still shocked California gas prices aren't nearly as bad as I thought they would be! By the time we got to LA it took us almost 9hrs to get there (thank you PCH and traffic!). I was beat and it was time to get settled in tonight's Hostel right on Hollywood Blvd. The place was really nice and once again Cindy and I have roommates. But tonight we only have 4 others instead of 6. We met a girl from Austria, Japan, and Dublin. It is very interesting to meet people from all over the world. Some of the girls are here for up to 3 months!

taken from the Banana Bungalo Hostel, LA

Cindy and I parked the car in the hostel, checked in, made our beds, met the roommates, and set off for the Walk of Fame. You could see the Hollywood sign from the second floor of the Hostel which is really cool and the Walk of Fame was right outside out Hostel as well. Talk about convenient!

Cindy walking with the Stars on Hollywood Blvd.

Today was definitely a stressful day. I didn't realize how long the drive would take us and I did not mentally prepare to be in the car all day. But this hostel we get our own kitchen and bathroom so no waiting in line for showers tonight :) and no tokens!

- LA was 98* today...big difference from San Fran!





Tonight there was free food at 7:30pm so Cindy and I ventured down to see what was going on. They had a live band and the West Hollywood Hostel come over to join us. It's just one big party around here which is so different then the Monterey Hostel which was super quiet. Tomorrow we head to our last CA stop in San Diego. SeaWorld here we come!!!

#1 in the world

I didn't sleep well last night. I was up all night worrying about my car not starting. So when it was time for the alarm to go off I was already up and turning it off before it woke LP up. I wanted to drive even though Cindy said she would because I wanted to be in control if the car was going to act up. I got in the car and said a silent prayer before turning the key. IT TURNED ON! I was so happy! Now let's see how far it goes...

The drive was really easy to get to Monterey. It only took us about 2.5hrs total which was a nice short drive. The aquarium wasn't even open yet when we made it into town so we found parking and stood outside the door waiting for them to let us in. I have the AZA pass so it was free for me to get in :)

Mola Mola

The aquarium was HUGE! It was two floors with floor to ceiling exhibits which were beautiful! They had a huge jelly fish exhibit too like the Shedd Aquarium but they had even more species I had never seen! I was mesmerized by them all. We also went over to see the Great White Shark they had. It is their 6th shark that they have had as part of their research efforts. He is tiny, only about 5ft in length and when it came in 6 weeks ago he was only 45lbs! So it was really awesome to get up close and see him because he was all next to the glass so we could see him. He lived with some Tuna, Scallop Hammerheads, Mahi Mahi, and the Mola Mola (my fav!). The Mola Mola is a giant sunfish and I have seen one in the wild deep sea fishing on the East Coast. They are still always very cool to see though!

Great White

We wandered our way around and we went to a shark presentation about the research they are doing with Great Whites. We also checked out the sea otters, and the Secret Lives of Seahorses exhibit which was one of my favorites. It was so well laid out and had all of these rod iron cut outs in each area... it was the first classy aquarium exhibit I have ever seen...almost like a show room.

@ the Warf in Monterey

After we left the aquarium we headed down to the Warf to find the Sea Lions. They were every where! There were more here then in San Francisco! Cindy was super excited and it was good to cross an item off her trip to-do list. On the way back to the car we stopped in a dive shop to see if I could find a water case for my camera and I actually ran into a girl I worked with at the Jacksonville Zoo. She was there when I was an intern in 2008. It was crazy to see her all the way on the West Coast! She is from here and now works in the area...it was fate to see her again (so bizarre!).

The next step of the day was to find the Hostel. Luckily, it was only about a mile away from where we were and we went and checked in and got 4-1-1. We had a code to get in the front door, a code to get into our room (which held a total of 8 girls), and tokens to take a shower. Each token was worth 4min and we got 3 of them. A 12min shower?! That would be a challenge! But I ended up only using 2 tokens :) and the girls from Germany and France had given me 2 more so I had 3 left over...souvenirs!

The girls are all fantastic. One is from Massachusetts, Nashville, Germany and France. I really like this environment because it is like being back in a college dorm. Everyone really gets along well and it's nice to meet people who are traveling and hear their stories. I actually met the woman from Nashville, Trish, and she is going to let me stay with her for a night when I go to Nashville so that is awesome! I am meeting some incredible people on this trip!

Tomorrow we are heading to LA and staying at another Hostel there. We have a 5.5hr drive tomorrow am so it will be a long morning. I can't believe my time in California is already coming to an end! I just got here!

4 buses later...

LP went to work this morning and I wasn't due to pick Cindy up until after 3pm. So I decided not to do much of anything other then get lunch with Mandy (LP's roommate). Plus the weather is really crappy today so it was a good day to just stay in.

I got a little antsy waiting for Cindy so I left early. I set off in the rain and walked over to the Powell Station downtown. I shouldn't have left early because Cindy said her plane landed at 3pm and I assumed that I should be at the BART station at 3pm. She really got there after 4pm and I sat and watched the homeless man band play for the adoring crowds.

When she did get there we set off for the bridge. I was feeling pretty proud that I found my way to the station without Laura so I continued with my cocky mindset and decided that I knew exactly where we were going. 4 buses and 2hrs later we made it to the bridge (clearly had no idea what I was doing). The bridge was stunning up close even with the crappy weather and I got some pictures before we headed off to get my car. Found the car no problem and set the GPS to Suppenküche for dinner. I wasn't looking forward to an authentic German meal but Cindy seemed pretty into it and we were meeting up with LP, Eileen, and Brittany. But the GPS decided that we should take the Bay Bridge...not at all in the direction we needed.

So once again, lost.

Found it. Had a great dinner (yes, I'm admitting that), and headed back to LP's to park my car for the night. It had been a crazy day but with me the days never seem to just stop being crazy. Cindy drove home because I am TIRED of driving and LP was the navigator. The roads in San Fran definitely freaked Cindy out but I thought it would enrich her San Fran experience :)

And then it happened, my headlights started flickering.

I literally got sick. I couldn't even listen to what they were telling me. I almost had to get out of the car I felt so sick. Luckily, I said to go down the hill and not continue up (super steep hills!) and it came back to life. I told them to go to the parking garage and I would cough up the $25.00 to park overnight. My car was not staying on a hill tonight. Then I looked up at the sky and said, "if there is a god, he will give us a parking space of FLAT ground that I don't have to pay for!" AND HE DID!

Cindy parallel parked it and it stalled. Dead.

Sickness started to overwhelm me once again.

It some how turned on and we finished parking it. And my first thought that ran through my mind was that Yellowstone busted my battery by dropping it and gave me a new one. Ass wipes gave me a BAD BATTERY! But LP said to think happy thoughts and my car just may not like the San Fran hillsides. So please send me all of your happy thoughts tonight and for the rest of my trip because I can only think 'worst case scenario' right now!

If my car ends up in the shop again that's it. I'm going home.

Co-Pilot: in route

Cindy is coming today!!!!!!!

Tourist!

My SUPER Productive Day as a Tourist:

• Pier 39
• Sea Lions
• In and Out Burger
• Italian Pride Parade
• Navy Air Show
• China Town
• Fortune Cookie Factory
• Visited Britt and Eileen in the Deco-Ghetto
• Street Car Ride
• Packers vs. Falcons @ Zekes

Pier 39

Street Car

Fortune Cookie Factory in China Town

THE best burger EVER...and I don't even like burgers.

Alcatraz

Saturday: San Francisco Style

Sleeping in is a beautiful thing. Last night LP and I moved my car again on one of those streets that make me cringe and we left it there for the night. Parking is such a headache around here! But I did get to see Lombard street and all the crazy people who chose to drive down it. It didn't look too bad but I was looking up and had no intention of driving it.

Lombard Street

After our uphill hike to move the car and check for chalk on the tires (that's how they mark the cars that have been there for 2hrs...we were just going to wipe it off) we then headed to O'Reilley's for diner (fantastic) and hit the bars. This city reminds me of a trendy, upscale version of Philly. The streets are alive with people and music but it is clean and non-congested. The people are also super nice and outgoing! We had people talking to us in the bar like they were our best friends.

The vibe in this city is just good. You feel good just to walk around in the city. LP and I also walked to downtown. She lives in North Beach, not downtown so it was cool to go down and see the "times square" of San Fran. I love this city but if I lived here I wouldn't own a car!

This morning LP had to go to work for a bit and then she came to pick me up to move my car for the last time for the next three days. We drove it across town to her work where I could pull it in the driveway and leave it there. That means no more paying for parking, no more moving it 3 times a day, and no more CRaZY streets! All I have to do is jump on the bus to get there which is a much better option to me :)

Fleet week is this week! That means that there are hundreds, if not thousands (10 ships to be exact) from the navy here. So not only is it nice to walk around and enjoy the scenery but it also means that we headed off to the air show to watch the Blue Angels fly! We took the bus down to the water where our back drop was the golden gate bridge and Alcatraz. We got there right around 12:30pm and the Angels weren't until 3pm which meant a fun day in the sun with a great group of people, food, and the pre-shows.

We met up with Nick, Adrianna, Brittany, Eileen (I knew her from college! small world to meet up on the other side of the world), and Adam. We had a great afternoon watching the show and enjoying the San Fran lifestyle. Adam and I both got a bit sun burnt being out so long but whatever. I also was really surprised how cold it was. The news said it would be 72* so I wore a little sundress and that was it. Bad idea! It was super cold! I had to keep adjusting and moving around just to feel my legs.

Blue Angels

When the show was over we headed to the first bar of the day where we stayed for hours. There were a couple of games going on and the boys were playing pool so it was just another chill stop for the day. Dinner was Pizza...San Fran style and I have to say that it was pretty good. But I think anything is good after you have had a few drinks. We then headed off to the next bar which was super crowded. It had two floors so we headed downstairs to the bar and got drinks there. Downstairs is also where all the Navy men were so we were happy as clams.

LP, Andrea, Eileen, and NAVY MEN!

The rest of the night was just a lot of FUN. I <3 Fleet Week! We finally left the bar at close to 2am and walked back to LP's. Eileen stayed the night and we didn't even hit the bed until somewhere around 4am. I actually fell asleep around 7am.

Good people.

Good food.

GREAT CITY!

East Coast Feet

Usually when I have long drives ahead of me I get up at the break of dawn to get on the road. But Greg wanted to make a big breakfast so I got to sleep later then usual. He made omelets and pancakes so I was ok with that :) I was only driving to the Redwoods today so that was a quick 5hr drive. I was originally going to couch surf in Grants Pass, OR for the night but when I had car issues I cancelled her thinking I wasn't going to make it...bad move on my part.

The drive was pretty easy. I had no idea how far away the border to CA was! I used an entire tank of gas just to get there (about 217mi!)! I have got this whole 'mountain driving' thing down by now! I made it to the Redwoods by 1:30pm and that didn't take me too long. The actual park was located in the middle of Crescent City, CA so I had to drive the scenic highway to actually find the trees I was looking for (not that I had to look to hard...not hard to miss). I also found lots of Elk on the road! There were signs all over the place for Elk crossing but I didn't think I would actually see any! But I saw about a dozen along the scenic highway which was really cool. Like another world to be honest. Guess it's normal for people out here, but it's not normal to me! From there I got out and stopped a few times trying to figure out what to do to waste time. I didn't have to be in San Fran until the next night.

But I figured it was only about 2pm so I should just drive to San Fran tonight and get it over with! So that's what I did...I was in the car a total of 12hrs and by the time I got to San Fran I was beat. As I was entering the city I got to cross the Golden Gate Bridge. It was more exciting then I thought it would be! Just like in the movies :)  I also didn't even think about parking! Parking in the city is a nightmare! I drove around for more then 30min before I called LP to ask for advice. She ended up jumping in the car with me and we found one very far away. I guess I should have known it would be interesting to park in a major city. She literally lives downtown so I should have seen this coming. But we walked back to her place and spent the rest of the night catching up.

This morning I woke up early with LP to go move my car. I'm not a resident so it's only 2hr parking! So we moved it into a parking garage for the day so I don't have to worry about it. When LP gets off from work we will move it back onto the street for the night. Tomorrow morning it will go to her work and sit there for the next few days so I don't have to continue to move it twice a day or pay to park it :)

LP works until 5pm so today I am once again enrolling in L.B.U. I am technically not supposed to be here until tonight so I figure I can just chill for the day. I will go and take a walk and take some pictures! This city is beautiful and the streets really are steep! Driving on them last night was pretty scary! You couldn't see the front end of you car on the road when you go down some of these streets. But CA drivers aren't nearly as bad as I have been warned (famous last words). So far so good in San Fran...I'm looking forward to spending the next few days here :)

*East Coast Feet: West Coast people walk too slow! (LP's way of categorizing them)