Whew, after a very long 2 weeks (or so) I am FINALLY connected to the internet again. Actually, I'm typing right now on my brand new laptop, which is sitting on my new coffee table in the middle of my new living room without being plugged into anything because our house is completely wireless. Is that hot or what!
But I'm getting ahead of myself. First, I must address "the drive."
Day 1/Dana Point to Las Vegas/5am-10am: Not much to say here. The drive was short, Vegas was hot (and not in a good way), but that was to be expected. I was with my parents so basically we just toured the newer hotels and acted like big tourists.
Day 2/Vegas to Denver/4:30am-7:30pm: Driving in the desert so early in the morning was gorgeous. This is the first time in my life that I've ever understood people like Jason who try to preach the aesthetic virtues of sand and cacti. the horizon was this beautiful lavender color. And I was awed by the types of wildlife that seem to thrive in the middle of nowhere. For future reference, Bjork's Vespertine is the perfect album to listen to in this environment. That said, Bjork can only get you so far. By 10:30, when the sun had been up for a few hours, I was ready to let Jason and Edward Abbey have their freaking desert. The rest of the day sucked big hairy balls (sorry Sean). Utah has to be one of the most pointless states in the nation on so many levels. Don’t get me wrong. A few parts were pretty for about 2.5 seconds. But the fact that I was passing out from heat exhaustion overruled the burnt sienna bluffs.
Day 3/Denver on the 4th of July: On the 4th we stayed with my uncle Jerry and his long-term girlfriend/domestic partner Pilar. The visit was nice for the most part. But really, the most important part is that they have this AMAZING view. I sat up on their roof with Pilar (which was actually unnecessary for the view, but was fun nonetheless). We could see about 9 different fireworks displays from our vantage point. It was kickass.
Day 4/Denver to Des Moines/6:30am-7pm: Once we left Denver, humidity entered into the mix of summer fun. So, in addition to passing out from heat, I was also suffocating due to the fact that the air was too damn thick to breath. But, the scenery certainly picked up. Nebraska and Iowa are actually quite pretty. I waved to Alicia’s parents as I drive through Omaha.
Day 5/Des Moines and Iowa City: My mom and I decided to spend a day in Iowa to visit family and friends. We also went to the cemetery and brought flowers to my grandmother, great grandmother, and great grandfather.
Day 6/Iowa City to Maryland/4am-9pm: Here’s a quick tip… NEVER DRIVE THROUGH INDIANA, ILLINOIS, OR OHIO UNLESS YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO. This was probably the most boring, depressing, and expensive portion of the trip. All of the highways have tolls, so it cost my mom and I about $30 without counting gas just to get out of the Midwest. Pretty lame.
We finally arrived in Maryland on Monday night. My mom and I were exhausted, but we stayed up until 2am talking to my housemate Dan. I have a lot to say about Maryland, but I’ve typed enough for now. More posts to come that are more entertaining and less complaining about heat and driving. Also, I have tons of pictures… but my new comp has windows XP, and apparently the camera I snagged from my father doesn’t like XP. So there are kinks to be worked out. Hope everyone is well. I miss everyone dearly.