Preparation for the journey home

Longer post about our week in Astoria will be coming soon... but for now here is what we are looking at for the ride home. We are probably only taking a week to drive back so there will be longer driving days but it still shouldn't be too bad.

Map & directions

Safe and sound in Astoria!!!!! We made it :)

Long and winding roads...

It's hard to believe it's been ten days since our last post, it doesn't feel like it at all. And yet SO much has happened since then! 

Austin... ok, let me think for a minute.

So we decided to go to Austin at the very last minute, as in... we were at the hostel in New Orleans, and we were packing up the cooler to put it back in the car and some girl was talking to us from Texas. We told her we were on our way to Dallas and she was like WHY would you go to Dallas?? GO TO AUSTIN! She said there's way more to do and see and then some other dude jumped in and was like... Austin? I was just there. Had the time of my life. We figured that we couldn't pass it up after those recommendations, so we rerouted and hit the road. Spent most of the car ride on Taylor's phone trying to get someone to couchsurf with for the night. We got to Austin, ate at this amazing mexican restaurant.. seriously, cheesy rice and a burrito...so good. Stayed with this dude named Paul, who was pretty cool and originally from New York so we had that in common. Got up SUPER  early(that is capitalized because we got up really early and because I used the word super). Went to this place called the Kerby Cafe for breakfast... it's a local chain, open 24/7, think Denny's but instead of denny's food you're eating pancakes that taste like joy and magic. After we got over how freaking good breakfast was, we went to Starbucks for awhile to get some internet and book our camping stuff for the next few days. We had lunch in a park and then went window shopping, got some ice cream, then walked to the bridge to watch the bat migration. Which is basically millions of bats flying out of the bottom of the bridge at twilight into the sky... it was crazy. We took a lot of pictures but it was kinda dark so I don't know how good they came out. Thennn we stayed with this girl Charlie for the night, omg she was really cool, she's travelled all over the world and done all this awesome stuff. And she had a pet snake. And a cute dog. 

Woke up.. drove 11 hours from Austin to Santa Fe (we ended up skipping Wichita as well, don't think we missed much though).  Stayed in our tent for the first time, honestly it is hilarious because the tent is 5x6 ft and we jut barely fit the two of us, I think it's a child's tent really... and it's not waterproof. More on that later. Anyways, woke up early and walked around the town, which was SO cool...everything was like adobe-looking and tan and south-west ish. Lots of turquoise jewelry and native american artwork and stuff. 

We packed up yet again and drove to Colorado... originally we were going to stay in Denver, but our campsite was in Buena Vista (I think that is southwest of Denver). It ended up being way better than staying in the city because we were ten minutes away from the hot springs, so we spent some time there, then went back to camp and hiked around and took pictures of the mountains... it's beautiful. Ahhh.... our pictures just don't do it justice. We tried though! In the morning we got up for our long car ride... 13 hours to the North Rim at the Grand Canyon. Yikes. But it was sooooo worth it.. definitely my favorite day in the car. First we drove through Colorado..which was just amazing.. first the mountains are rocky, then covered in grass, then there's snow, then a waterfall... all the way down this windy road through the hills. We stopped at the four corners, then continued into Arizona. Deserts and rock formations.... honestly the scenery changes every 5 minutes, we couldn't get over it. Getting closer to the Grand Canyon, it kind of looked like prehistoric times which was pretty cool... then all of a sudden, the desert turned into a forest, and there were trees everywhere, and SNOW, and deer. It had been drizzling all day so we were kinda thinking about sleeping in the car because as I mentioned earlier, the tent really can't get wet. But the old guy at the checkout thing told us that it won't rain, hasn't rained in months, even when it does the trees keep the ground from getting wet, etc, we would be fine. It's dark out by now so we set it up real quick and Taylor went to the bathroom (with the car AND THE ONLY FLASHLIGHT).  She was gone for like an hour, I'm sitting in the tent wondering where the hell she was, so I walk out, can't see a damn thing, don't have my glasses on, so I'm walking super (super) slow down the little road, trying to figure out what happened to her. Turns out she recut her finger, only worse, and it was bleeding so much she almost passed out. Oh and did I mention that she had a tick on her neck earlier in the day while we were driving? And that one of her toenails fell completely off and she has no clue as to how or why? Yeah, not a good day to be Taylor.

SOOOO, we finally get to the tent, and basically pass out because we were so tired. But sweet sleep cannot be had, because it rained. all. night. long. And our tent was wet, our sleeping bags were wet, our pillows were wet, oh it sucked. So we decided to make a run for the car and just leave everything out in the rain, we would deal with it tomorrow. It was freezing in the car, but we slept for two hours, then woke up at quarter to five to hike and see the sunrise in the canyon. What we saw of the canyon was gorgeous, but since it was rainy there was a ton of fog and most of it was covered up by clouds. But I climbed to the top of a rock and sat there for awhile, I really liked it. We ended up not staying because it was gonna rain all day and we just needed a shower and some sleep at this point. So we drive six hours south to Phoenix, where we stayed with my cousin Jenelle, we had such, SUCH a good time... I got to see my aunt and meet my cousin's friends and just hang out with her, it was awesome. Plus we go No Doubt tickets for 15 bucks at this place so we went there the second night, they were sooo good. Gwen Stefani is the shit. 

Stayed for two days, then drove to San Diego, saw border patrol, drove through 103 degree weather with the AC OFF, ugh. Got to the zoo just in time for it to close, such good timing. But we walked around Balboa Park for awhile, and then drove to La Jolla Cove to see the sunset (over the ocean!). Still didn't have a place to stay so we drove 3 hours north to Taylor's friend's cousin's apartment in Santa Barbara. Slept in for the first time in two weeks, went to the pier and got fresh crab at a seafood shack place, yummm, and got some salt water taffy. Drove to San Francisco, up route 1..... SO worth it. Not only did we see the coast, and cliffs and awesome scenery.. but we saw elephant seals laying on the beach, they were hilarious..... and... zebras. In a field. In California. WHAT???? It was crazy. Got to San Francisco, at the LAST minute got a call from our friend RJ who lives in Half Moon Bay and he said we could stay at his friend Marshall's house. Had a great night with them, it was nice to see a familiar face after being on the road for so long. Woke up this morning and drove around the city, saw the bridge, Haight St., and the Castro. Lots of hills and super (super) cute apartments. 

Then a few hours north and that brings us to Colusa, California. We are staying with a friend's friend's parents. One thing I have discovered on this trip is how truly generous and giving people are in this world. Night after night when we have needed a place to stay, strangers (and family and friends!!!) have welcomed us in and let us crash for the night... and not only let us crash but let us shower, and make sure we have food, and make us so comfortable, much more comfortable than we thought we would be on the road! We are both so grateful for everyone who has opened up their homes to us so far. And I know we still have a lot of road to cover before we're home but I feel very blessed for being so well taken care of over the past two weeks.

Tomorrow we are driving to see the redwoods on rt 1 and then I think camping in Florence, Oregon, or somewhere near there. Then..... STACY!!!!!!! I can't wait :D And we will definitely have internet there, so pictures will be coming! 

Sorry this was so incredibly lengthy, and probably chock full of unimportant details, but it has definitely been the little things that have made us happiest on the trip, so I'll keep them in. There is a lot more rattling around in my head right now but I think I'll save it for next time. 

If you read all the way to the end of this post, wow, you rock! It's freaking long. Enjoy!!

sisterhood of the travelling mazda

Yes, once again, a nice and cheesy title for the blog post!

Here we are in Austin, TX. I'm at a starbucks right now, free Wi-fi is a fabulous idea. We are having an awesome time! Honestly the views of the sky and land have been beautiful.

SO, if you have been keeping up with us at all, you would notice that we were originally planning on being in Dallas or Wichita, Kansas at this point in time. Yesterday morning at the Hostel in New Orleans we met this couple that said "If you go anywhere in Texas go to Austin!". Following their advice, we re-routed ourselves to Austin, and boy are we glad we did! It is a BEAUTIFUL city, chock-full of fun shops and places to eat. It is a very clean/safe city with a lot to do. I highly recommend it! Very artsy, liberal, and awesome.

Here are a few pictures of things Maria mentioned below, plus some other cool things:
((You can find these and more on my Facebook page))


Me, Maria, Aunt Tracy


Awesome sunset on the way to New Orleans



Maria in the very chill common area of the Hostel!



Ghastly orb!



What can I say? New Orleans is one hell of a party city!
(and the beignets/seafood are fantastic!)



mmmmm, alligator (try the fried gator tail sometime, it's delicious...and better than chicken)


Hope those pictures give you a little taste of the excitement we've been having!


Short Story Time!

hos⋅tel

1.	Also called youth hostel. an inexpensive, supervised lodging place for young people on bicycle trips, hikes, etc.

Courtesy of Dictionary.com

Sunday morning, the 17th of May. BZZZ 6:30 AM, mine and Maria's alarm goes off. Maria and I talk a little bit about the day ahead. She goes to shower, I roll over to nap until she is out. When Maria comes back I whisper "Maria, did you notice that there is a woman sleeping on that bottom bunk?" She says "AH! No!". . . this woman was way over 50 years old and had an oxygen tank/mask on. Maria goes out to finish getting ready, I was packing some things up in my bunk. The woman arises from her bed like frankenstein and SCREAMS "GOOOOODDDD MORNING!!!!!"....scares the bageezus out of me.... I say "uh, good, morning...?"
She shakes her head like a ferocious beast and yells out "HOW ARE YOUUU TODAY!?". I am not able to tell at this point whether or not she is just super friendly, mentally handicapped, still very hungover, or just suuuper sarcastic. Curious to find out which of these she is, I respond "I'm good, how are you?". Her response "TIRED BUT I'M UP NOW, NO USE IN GOING BACK TO SLEEP, I'M ALREADY UP, UP UP UP UP UP!!!!"
She then storms out to use the bathroom. Totally perplexed, I sat there, stunned. I could not move. WHO IS THIS LADY AND WHAT IS SHE DOING IN A HOSTEL???? When she comes back, she stands in the doorway, and glares and me and Maria. I was holding back laughter like the hoover dam holds back water. Maria, attempting to be polite, says "So where are you from?" This peculiar human being says "SOMEWHERE WHERE PEOPLE LIKE TO SLEEP!!" She then grabs her rolling suitcase, oxygen tank, and waddles out of the room. Did I mention she was still wearing her clothes from the night before? Because she was. . .
We talked to the manager at the hostel, he told us that she complained to him about us "being loud", complained about a whole bunch of other things wrong with the place, and requested a single room... the man told her that if she needs quiet sleep to stay in a private hotel room or her car, and kicked her out by 7:00 AM.

I have never met such a creature in my life... so I figured I would share my experiences with you because they were utterly absurd.

WELL, we are off to do and see some of those interesting shops/places in Austin! We will be mostly camping through the west so I do not know the next time I will have internet to post more! Hope all is well until then!

<3 Taylor (&Maria)

Gator Day

So, a quick recap on the last two days:

-Had an amazing night/morning in South Carolina (Thank you, Tracy! You were awesome)
-Taylor cut her finger down to the BONE. It was pretty intense but it's healing now.
-Drove through Georgia & stopped at a peach farm...got some homemade peach icecream oh yes :)
-Drove through Alabama for most of the day. I don't recommend it. The highway is boring and the drivers suck.
-Taylor and I had a contest to see who could smile for the longest... I lasted one hour and 50 minutes...and then I fell asleep. Taylor held out for two hours though, so she won.
-Got to the hostel in New Orleans (eventually)... French Quarter, GATORS!!, haunted ghost tour (Taylor caught an orb on camera?), Cafe du Monde, etc.. tomorrow morning is up early for the drive to Dallas. Wish us luck!

I guess the comments were not working earlier? But they should be now :)

"We All Live in an Ice Blue Mazda 3"

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Beatles. The title of this post is a play on words with "Yellow Submarine". Now that that's clarified, WELCOME TO OUR BLOG :-). This is my (Taylor)'s first post on here. I will be hand writing a blog in a journal while in the car, and then typing it up here whenever we have internet.

Day 2 on the road!
The first day was WAY TOO crazy to have written anything, but here's a quick recap. Actually, let's start with Day negative one. You see, I decided to (against apartment rules) paint one wall in my room lime green in March. SO we needed to re-paint this wall as to not get charged. Justin and I got the first coat on...and ran out of paint. I bought new paint, and while I should have been packing, was painting my room, with a color that did not match. Oh well, then I went to my work to steal some music from my boss, burned 16 CDs of hers onto my computer. Maria and I went and bought things at Walmart, EMS, Barnes & Noble, Wegmans (Groceries), Hollywood Video, I got a tire fixed (found out my treads were bad) and then learned how to change a tire. We then packed everythinggg, loaded our car, and at 2AM went to our campus center to find internet service. (our apartment hasn't had service for a week now) We needed internet because we needed to book the entire trip basically... CAMPUS CENTER WAS CLOSED. So, we decided to wake up early, and get it all done.

the ACTUAL Day 1:
-said a few goodbyes/see you laters to some good friends :-\
-CLEANED the whole apartmen - i'm talking vaccuum, mopping, all dirty dishes, wiping down the shower/sink/toilet, reorganizing everything, i mean the WHOLE bit.
-booked our hostels, campgrounds, and couches
-got on the road to NJ, bought new tires - ate a homecooked meal - picked up a few other things
-got on the road to Towson MD
-stayed with my good buddies Andrew and Matt... a.k.a. MANDREW thanks boysss.

...and now for today!
-up at 6:50 AM
-Got Bagels
-Hit the open road by 7:30 ... or really just hit rush hour traffic
-at 1/4 of a tank we decided to stop and get gas. . . maria went to pay with her, wait, where is it???? Taylor, do you know where my wallet it???
-called 411 for the bagel shop. . .
-BACK to Towson...thank you Einstein Bros. Bagel for being kind honest people and holding Maria's wallet
- Maria receives a text message: "Always double and triple check that you take all your stuff, phone cards, check the bathroom, check everywhere before you leave"
-HIT THE OPEN ROAD... for real this time. (9:30 AM)
- Maryland. . . Virginia. . . North Carolina
- "Take I-95 to Exit 28" . . . Taylor, did that sign just say Exit 20??? ... uhh yeah, it did... aren't we supposed to get off at 28???.... uhhh yup!.... AHHHHH let's turn around ... wait that doesn't make sense, we haven't been on the road 400 miles yet!....(turned around) @ exit 25.... Maria, wait, we're still in North Carolina...we need exit 28 in SOUTH Carolina....ohhhh duhhhh. . .
-Got to South Carolina in one piece, had a yummy meal at my Aunt Tracy's House, she spoiled us :-) .... did you know that frogs actually sound like the say ribbit???

Anywho, that's a whole big chunk of a lot to read. Hope you enjoy keeping updated with us!

Catch ya on the flipside :-P

Itinerary

So I guess if you are going to follow us along on our trip, you may be interested to know where we are planning to drive to. It's not set in stone, as I'm sure we will see things along the way and want to drive off course, but it's our guideline and we've done a pretty good job of sticking to it as far as logistics go. I was going to write it all out... but would a map be easier? I think so.

So that would be....

-Ithaca
-Washington D.C.
-South Carolina
-New Orleans, Louisiana
-Dallas, Texas
-Wichita, Kansas
-Denver, Colorado

-Santa Fe, New Mexico
-Phoenix, Arizona
-California coast
-Astoria!

There is obviously a lot of wiggle room here but now at least you have a general idea of the direction we're headed. It's definitely a southern route... we're planning on driving back home through the northern part of the country, and maybe even going through Canada.

Any suggestions for stops along the way?