March 12-25: Bittersweet

I recently went on a two week road trip with a friend visiting from Australia. It was sort of planned, but mostly a 'fly by the seat of our pants' kinda trip. 2,985 miles, 14 days, 4 states, 4 national parks, 3 hangovers (my first, second, and third hangovers EVER!), and 1 speeding ticket later, I'm home and really wishing I wasn't! Not that home sucks. My life really isn't as bad as I sometimes make it out to be, but I'm slowly, yet surely coming to the realization that my feet were meant for wandering...and while I'm generally a happy person, I'm at my high when I'm seeing/experiencing something new.

Anyway, here are a few choice pics with captions to go along. Thanks to the many who let Carmen and I crash/offered to put us up and joined us for a day or two.
Day #1: Carm checking out her new cell in Alcatraz.

"Broadway."

Old building and spring flowers on the rock.

Taking a trolley to Union Square.

Alcatraz from the trolley on a SF hillside.

Tip #1: Canada geese are mean! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

Sunset at Mono Lake.

Hangover #1 Day #3: Hiking around and almost sliding to our deaths into an ice-covered Convict Lake. Tip #2: Don't do this. It's mostly not fun. (Ok, it was fun. But not the hangover part.)

Convict Lake.

Levitating in Death Valley where the temperature on this winter's day reached a refreshing 101. AYEE!

Peace, yo.

Carm and Mir.

Righteous babes.

Still hangover #1 on day #3 where we decided free climbing a canyon to catch a sunset was a good idea. Tip #3: Free climbing a canyon is NOT a good idea.

Halfway up the climb. (We started at that parking lot. Can you see Mir?)

The view from our stopping point (aka "we're gonna tumble to our deaths and die if we go any further" point.)

Saltflats. Badwater, Death Valley. 282ft BELOW sea level. Lowest point in the Western Hemisphere.

The arrow is pointing to a sign. It says, "sea level" which makes us below sea level. :o)

"Milk. It does a body good."

"I'll be back."

Carmen was abducted by aliens between Death Valley and Vegas. We made friends and they let her go. Now we have friends to visit on Mars.

Grand Canyon or bust. (Not long before my first run-in with Arizona Hwy Patrol. I LOVE speeding tickets!)

Canyon at dusk. New moon evening, so Venus is the brightest object in the sky.

Grand Canyon has never cease to amaze me. This time, I felt like I was looking at a giant backdrop.

The beginning of St. Patty's day. We had been camping the past two nights, so truced on the pinching until we had showers...

Yep. That's about how I felt.

Goofing off at Hoover dam/Lake Mead.

Blue steel pics before hitting the strip on St. Patty's Day.

Hangover #2 Day #6: Tip #4: Mamosas are not a good cure for hangovers.

Vegas, baby.

Chris and his big-ass drink, aka Big Kahuna. It will be defeated...eventually...

Celebratory birthday 'beeyas'

Day #8: Hanging with Kristi and Morgan in San Diego. Carmen's birthday celebrations and night before hangover #3.

Tijuana. Yeah, not much to see there. But the walk around and "fresh air" helped me get over the night before. Tip# 5: Pretend you don't know English in TJ. If you speak Spanish, pretend you don't know that either.

The line back to USA. We walked.

Michele, me, and Carm catching the sunset at Santa Monica

Classic.

The pier and palm trees.

I'm a celebrity in Japan. I had my picture taken for a Japanese fashion magazine while window shopping on Rodeo Drive. No joke.

Guess where we are...

LA.

A house in Cambria completely made out of recycled materials that took 51 years to build. It is now a California historical building. Tip #6: If you're going to build a house like this, make sure you live long enough to enjoy it!

Hummingbird in Big Sur.

Carm posing for her wedding (insert man here) portrait.

A lazy California sea lion.

Whale watching. See the gray whale's tail? Tip #7: Make sure you have a good friend or a nice stranger without halitosis sitting in front of you towards the bow of the boat to block the wind and seaspray when whale watching.