I had the opportunity to take a road
trip with Nickey, Nick and Shannon so I decided I would take it while it was in
front of me. I’ve always wanted to go on
a road trip with a few of my good friends.
I just wish we would have had more time and more people.
Since I have been there, I have came to a three conclusions about California, one...people drive insane down here, we saw some one rear end someone else while we were there, two...there is a liquor store on every corner and three...at least one out of every five people here has at least one dent in their car and I saw many. Why would anyone want to live there?
Since I have been there, I have came to a three conclusions about California, one...people drive insane down here, we saw some one rear end someone else while we were there, two...there is a liquor store on every corner and three...at least one out of every five people here has at least one dent in their car and I saw many. Why would anyone want to live there?
Saturday
March 10
The
trip down…
I got up and crammed the car with the stuff I would be bringing with me. I told Nickey through text message (for some reason she doesn’t like to call people) and told her what exit to get off of and to tell me when they got to Dupont, I figured it would give us enough time to drive to be picked up. Dad and I got into the car and drove to park and ride in Grand Mound near the I-5 freeway. Perfect timing. We got there as soon as Nickey, Shannon and Nick pulled in. My dad helped me put my stuff in Nickey’s car, we said our goodbyes and dad told me to have fun. We crossed the Columbia River Bridge sending us over the border into Oregon. “Now entering Portland” as we drove passed the sign. Me and Portland have never seen eye to eye, I always manage to get myself in to traffic whenever I am down there. Not this time, we breezed right through; it was unusual not to stop for stupid drivers. It was a around 9ish and Shannon and I were starving. We stopped at the Tigard Burger King and ordered it to go. After we were done eating, Shannon and I passed out in the back for an hour or so. We woke up when we stopped in a town north of Eugene to get gas. Nickey had her window cracked open and failed to remember that in Oregon the gas station pumps the gas for us while she tried to get out of the car. So the guy came out and Nickey says very loudly “Oh yeah, we don’t service ourselves in Oregon!” We all died laughing. The guy had heard us too. After our little stop, Nick and Shannon and I passed out again until twenty miles before the California border. Once we got into California, the sights were amazing! The first thing I saw was the majestic Mount Shasta, mountain towns and huge lakes. We still had a long drive ahead of us to get to Burbank.
We got to Yreka, California and decided it was time to pee and change into something more summer-like. We stopped at a rest stop and changed. Nick cut himself on his razor trying to dig for shorts in his bag. Blood got everywhere. Nickey was told by her mom that the first In and Out was in Redding, CA. We did not find it. We would have to eat lunch else where. We got further down California when it was time for food. We stopped in Red Bluff, California, got gas and then went to the Wendy’s across the street. We got a few more hours on the road in before we stopped at a little dumpy gas station to go pee. It was in the San Joaquin Valley somewhere I forget what town we were in. Nickey and I went in there and one of the toilets overflowed and got all over the floor. We hurried as fast as we could to get out of there. We still had a drive a head of us. Some of us took naps here and there when we got bored. Nickey and Nick traded off driving duties every now and then. I felt bad that I could not help them with the driving responsibilities because Nickey’s car was a manual and I don’t trust myself with a manual transmission. It started getting dark as we drove through the valley and it was time to get gas again. The gas gauge read empty. We were getting worried. Nickey assured us that we would not run out of gas and if we did she had access to AAA. We made it to Junction 46 and yes…a gas station. We filled up and were really thankful that a gas station was there for us. We continued driving and I could tell we were getting closer because I started seeing more lights. We finally got into Burbank at around 10 p.m. We got to Shannon’s house and her mom and her friends were waiting for us. We unpacked the car and visited for a while before we decided we were hungry. We went to In and Out, I haven’t been there in three years. We came home and went to bed. Shannon slept with her mom, I got the couch and Nickey and Nick got Shannon’s room. That was a long trip.
Sunday March 11
I woke up around 10ish along with Shannon. We decided we were hungry and she made us eggs and toast. We ate it outside on the patio because it was a nice day and I haven’t sat in the sun since September. It was nice to thaw out from being in frozen weather for five months. We laid out in the sun until Nick and Nickey woke up at about 12:30. We got dressed and drove around Hollywood since Nick has never been there.
We drove around Burbank and saw a lot of the studios Shannon grew up around. It was cool to think that I know someone who grew up in this area. It was a very different experience than I had as a kid who grew up in a small rural community. Shannon grew up around the entertainment capital of the world that I grew up watching on TV. Shannon and her friends wanted to go to the beach, so we got the surf boards ready and drove down to Zuma Beach near Pepperdine University.
We stayed there for a few hours, backed up and went home. Shannon’s mom took us to BJ’s, a pizza brewery place. They had excellent pizza. Lynette bought the over 21 year olds the sampler. Lynette and I shared one and Nick and Nickey shared one. Lynette and I drank ours the fastest and won. We came home and played Quipt and Balderdash then went to bed.
I got up and crammed the car with the stuff I would be bringing with me. I told Nickey through text message (for some reason she doesn’t like to call people) and told her what exit to get off of and to tell me when they got to Dupont, I figured it would give us enough time to drive to be picked up. Dad and I got into the car and drove to park and ride in Grand Mound near the I-5 freeway. Perfect timing. We got there as soon as Nickey, Shannon and Nick pulled in. My dad helped me put my stuff in Nickey’s car, we said our goodbyes and dad told me to have fun. We crossed the Columbia River Bridge sending us over the border into Oregon. “Now entering Portland” as we drove passed the sign. Me and Portland have never seen eye to eye, I always manage to get myself in to traffic whenever I am down there. Not this time, we breezed right through; it was unusual not to stop for stupid drivers. It was a around 9ish and Shannon and I were starving. We stopped at the Tigard Burger King and ordered it to go. After we were done eating, Shannon and I passed out in the back for an hour or so. We woke up when we stopped in a town north of Eugene to get gas. Nickey had her window cracked open and failed to remember that in Oregon the gas station pumps the gas for us while she tried to get out of the car. So the guy came out and Nickey says very loudly “Oh yeah, we don’t service ourselves in Oregon!” We all died laughing. The guy had heard us too. After our little stop, Nick and Shannon and I passed out again until twenty miles before the California border. Once we got into California, the sights were amazing! The first thing I saw was the majestic Mount Shasta, mountain towns and huge lakes. We still had a long drive ahead of us to get to Burbank.
We got to Yreka, California and decided it was time to pee and change into something more summer-like. We stopped at a rest stop and changed. Nick cut himself on his razor trying to dig for shorts in his bag. Blood got everywhere. Nickey was told by her mom that the first In and Out was in Redding, CA. We did not find it. We would have to eat lunch else where. We got further down California when it was time for food. We stopped in Red Bluff, California, got gas and then went to the Wendy’s across the street. We got a few more hours on the road in before we stopped at a little dumpy gas station to go pee. It was in the San Joaquin Valley somewhere I forget what town we were in. Nickey and I went in there and one of the toilets overflowed and got all over the floor. We hurried as fast as we could to get out of there. We still had a drive a head of us. Some of us took naps here and there when we got bored. Nickey and Nick traded off driving duties every now and then. I felt bad that I could not help them with the driving responsibilities because Nickey’s car was a manual and I don’t trust myself with a manual transmission. It started getting dark as we drove through the valley and it was time to get gas again. The gas gauge read empty. We were getting worried. Nickey assured us that we would not run out of gas and if we did she had access to AAA. We made it to Junction 46 and yes…a gas station. We filled up and were really thankful that a gas station was there for us. We continued driving and I could tell we were getting closer because I started seeing more lights. We finally got into Burbank at around 10 p.m. We got to Shannon’s house and her mom and her friends were waiting for us. We unpacked the car and visited for a while before we decided we were hungry. We went to In and Out, I haven’t been there in three years. We came home and went to bed. Shannon slept with her mom, I got the couch and Nickey and Nick got Shannon’s room. That was a long trip.
Sunday March 11
I woke up around 10ish along with Shannon. We decided we were hungry and she made us eggs and toast. We ate it outside on the patio because it was a nice day and I haven’t sat in the sun since September. It was nice to thaw out from being in frozen weather for five months. We laid out in the sun until Nick and Nickey woke up at about 12:30. We got dressed and drove around Hollywood since Nick has never been there.
We drove around Burbank and saw a lot of the studios Shannon grew up around. It was cool to think that I know someone who grew up in this area. It was a very different experience than I had as a kid who grew up in a small rural community. Shannon grew up around the entertainment capital of the world that I grew up watching on TV. Shannon and her friends wanted to go to the beach, so we got the surf boards ready and drove down to Zuma Beach near Pepperdine University.
We stayed there for a few hours, backed up and went home. Shannon’s mom took us to BJ’s, a pizza brewery place. They had excellent pizza. Lynette bought the over 21 year olds the sampler. Lynette and I shared one and Nick and Nickey shared one. Lynette and I drank ours the fastest and won. We came home and played Quipt and Balderdash then went to bed.
Monday
March 12
I got up and went and laid outside in the sun.
Shannon came out a few minutes later. I got hot so I went in the swimming pool. We waited until Nick and Nickey got up. We went to In and Out for lunch. Drove to Hollywood and parked the car for a few hours while we walked around. We went into several gift shops, we looked around, walked the Hollywood Walk of Fame and found out that Sandra Bullock finally had a star (in 2003 she didn’t when I was last there), saw the Chinese Theater, took some pictures of the hand and foot prints in the cement.
We contemplated going into the wax museum but no one wanted to spend money. Walked back to the car and drove the Sunset Strip, went into Beverly Hills and then went back to Burbank. Got the car tour of Warner Brothers studios, drove past Nickelodeon studios and Shannon showed us where she went to high school. When we got home Lynette wanted to play video games with us, so we played Mort’s Mini Golf (part of the Madagascar video game). Found out I suck at mini golf in real life and in video games. Shannon wanted steak and potatoes on the BBQ so we had to go buy it. I went with her to the store. I was told that the grocery store we were going to was filmed in an episode of CSI. I was so excited. Since I was old enough, I bought beer for Nickey and Nick. We got home and the steak and potatoes were thrown on the grill. I sat with Lynette in the front while we waited. We talked about a lot of things. I like getting to know my friend’s parents; it helps me understand where my friend’s grew up, where they come from and who their family is. Shannon’s friends came over and we played a little ping pong. The food was finally done and it was amazing. We got into drinking beer, mixed drinks and made the mistake of sitting in the hot tub for too long.
It was about 3:30-4:00 in the morning when we decided that doughnuts sounded really good. Shannon mentioned to us that there is a doughnut shop a few blocks down the road from Shannon’s house and that it opened at 2:30 a.m.
We got so exhausted and decided we were done and went to bed.
I got up and went and laid outside in the sun.
Shannon came out a few minutes later. I got hot so I went in the swimming pool. We waited until Nick and Nickey got up. We went to In and Out for lunch. Drove to Hollywood and parked the car for a few hours while we walked around. We went into several gift shops, we looked around, walked the Hollywood Walk of Fame and found out that Sandra Bullock finally had a star (in 2003 she didn’t when I was last there), saw the Chinese Theater, took some pictures of the hand and foot prints in the cement.
We contemplated going into the wax museum but no one wanted to spend money. Walked back to the car and drove the Sunset Strip, went into Beverly Hills and then went back to Burbank. Got the car tour of Warner Brothers studios, drove past Nickelodeon studios and Shannon showed us where she went to high school. When we got home Lynette wanted to play video games with us, so we played Mort’s Mini Golf (part of the Madagascar video game). Found out I suck at mini golf in real life and in video games. Shannon wanted steak and potatoes on the BBQ so we had to go buy it. I went with her to the store. I was told that the grocery store we were going to was filmed in an episode of CSI. I was so excited. Since I was old enough, I bought beer for Nickey and Nick. We got home and the steak and potatoes were thrown on the grill. I sat with Lynette in the front while we waited. We talked about a lot of things. I like getting to know my friend’s parents; it helps me understand where my friend’s grew up, where they come from and who their family is. Shannon’s friends came over and we played a little ping pong. The food was finally done and it was amazing. We got into drinking beer, mixed drinks and made the mistake of sitting in the hot tub for too long.
It was about 3:30-4:00 in the morning when we decided that doughnuts sounded really good. Shannon mentioned to us that there is a doughnut shop a few blocks down the road from Shannon’s house and that it opened at 2:30 a.m.
We got so exhausted and decided we were done and went to bed.
Tuesday
March 13
We got up around eight and Shannon did not feel well. I think she got too dehydrated from the hot tub and alcohol. We hurried and got into the car and started driving to Culver City, where Deal or No Deal was being taped.
We got onto highway 101 and got stuck in traffic. We were not going to make the taping so we turned around and went back to Shannon’s house and slept. Nickey and Nick decided that they would walk down to the NBC studio and take the tour. I got up and started getting ready to go to San Francisco before Nickey and Nick got back. We got all of our stuff together and packed it in the car. But before we left Southern California we had to go to In and Out one more time. We stopped at a 7-11 got gas and slurpies before we started on our journey north.
During that segment of the trip, Nickey’s car went 5,000 miles since her dad bought it on August 20th. We got closer to Castro Valley when it was time to stop and get food again so we stopped at the Taco Bell. We finally got to Katie’s house and unpacked the car. We all took showers because we were still nasty from the night before and being in the car all day long. Nickey, Katie and her friends were ready for a night out on the town. Nick and I on the other hand, wanted a quiet night in, so we decided to stay at Katie’s. We hung out, talked and watched Employee of the Month. The whole time Nick worried about Nickey being all up on other guys at the clubs. They came home after a while, got ready for bed and went to sleep. I got up that night and went into the living room on the couch because Nick snored way to loud.
Wednesday March 14
We got up and took a drive through Oakland and to San Francisco, a place I have always wanted to visit. We started out with Fisherman’s Warf. We walked around and Nick got hustled out of some money by a guy out on the street. It was time for lunch and we went and ate sandwiches at Boudin’s, a very well known sourdough sandwich place. Nickey and Katie were very excited to go there. After lunch, we walked around all of the shops on Pier 39. We spent a huge chunk of the day there. We looked at the sea lions and admired Alcatraz.
After a while we went down to the park near the Golden Gate Bridge. I was in awe. I did not think I would ever make it here to see this.
We took some pictures and walked around. We then drove over to the other side of the harbor to AT&T Park, where the San Francisco Giants played. We walked around the stadium, took some pictures and contemplated a way to sneak in, we never got that far. There were a lot of signs and banners around the park about the All-star game. It was going to be played at AT&T Park this summer. It was about dinner time and we spent a while driving all over San Francisco looking for Buca di Beppo, a family Italian restaurant. I even had a chance to drive down Lombard Street, famed for its twists and turns. We drove over the Bay Area toll bridge, the one that was destroyed in the 1989 earthquake, to go back to Castro Valley. We got home and played 90’s trivial pursuit, watched The Guardian and went to bed. I found myself sleeping on the couch again.
Thursday March 15
The next morning we got up, packed a picnic lunch and Katie made us breakfast burritos. She made them out of a spicy Mexican sausage called chorizo. I wish I would have known before I ate it. Apparently certain people’s digestive tracks can handle it and others can not. I was fine until we got to San Francisco. I tried to keep it in until we parked and I just couldn’t, it was coming out whether I wanted it to or not. “We need to pull over!” Katie found an area to pull over and drop me off at. I ran as fast as I could to the nearby restaurant. It was the restaurant near the Ghirardelli’s chocolate store. I asked one of the hosts where the bathroom was, downstairs and to the left. I ran as fast as I could without making a distraction. I got in there and was relieved no one was in there to hear me. I sat down and died. I literally lost a set of guts. I was in there for a while and Nickey got concerned and sent me a text message asking me if I was alright. I said yeah, I’m alright. A few minutes I took care of things and left the building looking for the car. I guess Katie got out and went to the bathroom too. I got into the car and Nickey asked why I was gone for so long. I told her and felt embarrassed. She told me that sometimes Katie has to go after eating that particular sausage too, so I shouldn’t feel bad. That was a relief. We drove back to the park near the Golden Gate Bridge and walked up to it.
I had no idea people can walk, jog and ride their bikes across it. I thought only cars could drive on it. We started across it when some stranger saw my shirt and yelled Go Cougs to us. We had beaten Oral Roberts that day in the NCAA basketball tournament. *Insert Full House theme song here* We walked about a mile into it when we made it to the first arch; there we met up with one of the workers. We asked him a few questions. The bridge is constantly being painted everyday, if you were to jump off of the bridge you would die from the impact, on average every fifteen days someone tries to commit suicide (we were there on the fifteenth day, no one jumped), the workers decided on the rust color for the bridge because the color went well with the surroundings and the worker gave us one of the bolts/rivets that holds the bridge together. It was the coolest thing ever.
We got up around eight and Shannon did not feel well. I think she got too dehydrated from the hot tub and alcohol. We hurried and got into the car and started driving to Culver City, where Deal or No Deal was being taped.
We got onto highway 101 and got stuck in traffic. We were not going to make the taping so we turned around and went back to Shannon’s house and slept. Nickey and Nick decided that they would walk down to the NBC studio and take the tour. I got up and started getting ready to go to San Francisco before Nickey and Nick got back. We got all of our stuff together and packed it in the car. But before we left Southern California we had to go to In and Out one more time. We stopped at a 7-11 got gas and slurpies before we started on our journey north.
During that segment of the trip, Nickey’s car went 5,000 miles since her dad bought it on August 20th. We got closer to Castro Valley when it was time to stop and get food again so we stopped at the Taco Bell. We finally got to Katie’s house and unpacked the car. We all took showers because we were still nasty from the night before and being in the car all day long. Nickey, Katie and her friends were ready for a night out on the town. Nick and I on the other hand, wanted a quiet night in, so we decided to stay at Katie’s. We hung out, talked and watched Employee of the Month. The whole time Nick worried about Nickey being all up on other guys at the clubs. They came home after a while, got ready for bed and went to sleep. I got up that night and went into the living room on the couch because Nick snored way to loud.
Wednesday March 14
We got up and took a drive through Oakland and to San Francisco, a place I have always wanted to visit. We started out with Fisherman’s Warf. We walked around and Nick got hustled out of some money by a guy out on the street. It was time for lunch and we went and ate sandwiches at Boudin’s, a very well known sourdough sandwich place. Nickey and Katie were very excited to go there. After lunch, we walked around all of the shops on Pier 39. We spent a huge chunk of the day there. We looked at the sea lions and admired Alcatraz.
After a while we went down to the park near the Golden Gate Bridge. I was in awe. I did not think I would ever make it here to see this.
We took some pictures and walked around. We then drove over to the other side of the harbor to AT&T Park, where the San Francisco Giants played. We walked around the stadium, took some pictures and contemplated a way to sneak in, we never got that far. There were a lot of signs and banners around the park about the All-star game. It was going to be played at AT&T Park this summer. It was about dinner time and we spent a while driving all over San Francisco looking for Buca di Beppo, a family Italian restaurant. I even had a chance to drive down Lombard Street, famed for its twists and turns. We drove over the Bay Area toll bridge, the one that was destroyed in the 1989 earthquake, to go back to Castro Valley. We got home and played 90’s trivial pursuit, watched The Guardian and went to bed. I found myself sleeping on the couch again.
Thursday March 15
The next morning we got up, packed a picnic lunch and Katie made us breakfast burritos. She made them out of a spicy Mexican sausage called chorizo. I wish I would have known before I ate it. Apparently certain people’s digestive tracks can handle it and others can not. I was fine until we got to San Francisco. I tried to keep it in until we parked and I just couldn’t, it was coming out whether I wanted it to or not. “We need to pull over!” Katie found an area to pull over and drop me off at. I ran as fast as I could to the nearby restaurant. It was the restaurant near the Ghirardelli’s chocolate store. I asked one of the hosts where the bathroom was, downstairs and to the left. I ran as fast as I could without making a distraction. I got in there and was relieved no one was in there to hear me. I sat down and died. I literally lost a set of guts. I was in there for a while and Nickey got concerned and sent me a text message asking me if I was alright. I said yeah, I’m alright. A few minutes I took care of things and left the building looking for the car. I guess Katie got out and went to the bathroom too. I got into the car and Nickey asked why I was gone for so long. I told her and felt embarrassed. She told me that sometimes Katie has to go after eating that particular sausage too, so I shouldn’t feel bad. That was a relief. We drove back to the park near the Golden Gate Bridge and walked up to it.
I had no idea people can walk, jog and ride their bikes across it. I thought only cars could drive on it. We started across it when some stranger saw my shirt and yelled Go Cougs to us. We had beaten Oral Roberts that day in the NCAA basketball tournament. *Insert Full House theme song here* We walked about a mile into it when we made it to the first arch; there we met up with one of the workers. We asked him a few questions. The bridge is constantly being painted everyday, if you were to jump off of the bridge you would die from the impact, on average every fifteen days someone tries to commit suicide (we were there on the fifteenth day, no one jumped), the workers decided on the rust color for the bridge because the color went well with the surroundings and the worker gave us one of the bolts/rivets that holds the bridge together. It was the coolest thing ever.
We walked back and went down to the
picnic area and ate our lunch. We were
almost done when Nick pointed out “Look
there’s Comet!” (The Full House family
dog, for the people who did not watch the show). We laughed.
After we drove around San Francisco to
look for gas and then got lost trying to find the freeway to San Jose.
While lost we drove through the Gay district and Castro Street, saw some
really really cool houses (all of the houses seemed to be build the same way)
and found out how steep some of the hills were.
We eventually found our way out by asking direction from a lady in a
van. We drove past Monster
Park, where the San
Francisco 49ers play and the Bay Area Airport.
We got into San Jose
and made it to the costume shop that Nickey and Katie’s grandmother owns called
Natasha’s Attic. We spent a while
hanging out in there and decided to go across the street to the bar to watch
basketball. A while later we went back
to the costume shop and went to dinner at the Outback, my second time ever
there and met some more of their family.
On the way back to their aunt’s house, their grandma was talking about
some of the interesting people that come into the shop. Somehow homosexuals got into the conversation
and I was mentioned because of the way I dress.
“What about your friend Nickey?”
I said no and Nickey backed it up by telling her grandma that I was not
a part of that lifestyle. We got to the
house and just kind of hung out until their grandma and aunt showed up. I sat there with Nick and watched Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader? Dumb show.
We were getting tired and drove back to Katie’s apartment.
Friday
March 16
Katie went to work and the rest of us slept in. I got up before Nickey and Nick and watched a little bit of March Madness. Katie called and told us to get ready. We were going to go pick up In and Out for lunch and watch her two schools she attended battle it out in softball.
We went and watched the softball game at the campus of Cal-State Eastbay. Cal-State beat Patton. We went back to Katie’s apartment and got ready to go to the Golden State Warrior’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. We rode the BART (Bay Area Rail Transportation) to the coliseum. While we waited for the BART we admired that we were in the middle of the freeway, we took some pictures and talked to some guy who was also waiting for the BART. We got off in Oakland and got to see where the Oakland Raiders and the Oakland A’s play their games. We got to the Coliseum and found out seats. About forty-five minutes into the game Nickey and I went and got our food with our vouchers.
We came back and ate and watched more of the game. We didn’t stay until the very end; instead we left and hitched a ride with Katie’s roommate, who took us back to the apartment. The Golden State Warriors did defeat the Timberwolves. We watched a movie and went to bed.
Saturday March 17
For St. Patrick’s Day, we got up and Katie took us on a hike to this place in the hills. It was foggy. On a clear day you can see San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose all in one view. We stayed up there for about a half hour and went back into the city. Everyone wanted to play mini golf, so we went.
I lost. I am very bad at golf. But we had fun anyway. We went to a batting cage where Katie’s roommate worked and hit a bucket of balls. After that we wanted to see if the Cougars were playing on TV so we drove to Dublin, ate at a Mexican restaurant and watched the remainder of the game. We lost to Vanderbilt and we should have won it. Bad passes and really bad communication. We then went to Target and Katie bought a board game, Loaded Questions, and went to Cold Stone and then home for game night. We laughed our heads off; it was a very entertaining game to say the least. Got our stuff packed and went to bed.
Sunday March 18
Katie went to work and the rest of us slept in. I got up before Nickey and Nick and watched a little bit of March Madness. Katie called and told us to get ready. We were going to go pick up In and Out for lunch and watch her two schools she attended battle it out in softball.
We went and watched the softball game at the campus of Cal-State Eastbay. Cal-State beat Patton. We went back to Katie’s apartment and got ready to go to the Golden State Warrior’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. We rode the BART (Bay Area Rail Transportation) to the coliseum. While we waited for the BART we admired that we were in the middle of the freeway, we took some pictures and talked to some guy who was also waiting for the BART. We got off in Oakland and got to see where the Oakland Raiders and the Oakland A’s play their games. We got to the Coliseum and found out seats. About forty-five minutes into the game Nickey and I went and got our food with our vouchers.
We came back and ate and watched more of the game. We didn’t stay until the very end; instead we left and hitched a ride with Katie’s roommate, who took us back to the apartment. The Golden State Warriors did defeat the Timberwolves. We watched a movie and went to bed.
Saturday March 17
For St. Patrick’s Day, we got up and Katie took us on a hike to this place in the hills. It was foggy. On a clear day you can see San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose all in one view. We stayed up there for about a half hour and went back into the city. Everyone wanted to play mini golf, so we went.
I lost. I am very bad at golf. But we had fun anyway. We went to a batting cage where Katie’s roommate worked and hit a bucket of balls. After that we wanted to see if the Cougars were playing on TV so we drove to Dublin, ate at a Mexican restaurant and watched the remainder of the game. We lost to Vanderbilt and we should have won it. Bad passes and really bad communication. We then went to Target and Katie bought a board game, Loaded Questions, and went to Cold Stone and then home for game night. We laughed our heads off; it was a very entertaining game to say the least. Got our stuff packed and went to bed.
Sunday March 18
The
trip back…
We got up around 5 a.m. and packed the car. Shannon made it up and was dropped off, Nickey had to go pick her up from a neutral location. Found out later that her and her friends had car troubles on the way up. Flat tire issues and dumb repair guys. We stopped a couple times to get gas, pee and to get food. We got onto I-5 and got off in Weed, California on US 97. We went up 97 to Bend, Oregon where we stopped and got food. We fell asleep a few times and we stopped again in Grass Valley, Oregon (the middle of nowhere), there wasn’t anything there except for a gas station and a few sad looking buildings. The lady at the gas station was nice. We drove up to I-84 and then to the Tri-Cities where we got on to US 395 all the way up to Hwy 26 and then the final stretch to Pullman. We got back around 8 p.m. The trip was definitely worth it.
To California from Seattle (I-5) = 1,069.78 miles (16 hours 31 minutes)
From Los Angeles to San Francisco = 372.36 miles
From San Francisco to Pullman = 876.47 miles
From California to Pullman = 1,248.83 miles
Total miles traveled = 2,318.61 miles
