Driving Across the Country...

to

When I typed my starting destination (Arlington, VA) and ending destination (Fullerton, CA) into google maps, reality started to set in. 39 hours of driving did not sound like a very pleasant way to spend... well, 39 hours. And to do it alone, seemed like somewhat of a daunting and actually pretty dangerous undertaking- considering I'm prone to extreme drowsiness while driving. In any case, I had to do it, because it was the only way I was going to get a bunch of my stuff and my car to the west coast. I knew I could do it too.. I've actually I've done the cross-country driving thing out to the east coast (though I did have a little special someone at the time, to help with the drive- also, the pit stops were a lot more exciting rather than strictly taking care of business.)

So, I started the drive early Thursday morning (a day and a half later than originally planned) with the intention to be home in California by Saturday so that I could attend the BYU vs. UCLA football game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. It's actually a really pretty drive going into the west and southern parts of Virginia and Tennessee.

Country roads, somewhere in northwest Virginia

On Thursday I made it to Nashville where I stopped to hang out with a good friend.

some little pub on music row in Nashville

Here's me thinking about the 29 hours I have left to drive...

one more pic before getting back on the road

After hanging in Nashville for a few hours, I got back on the road and made it only a couple hours before I was too tired to drive anymore.. So I stopped at some random little hotel about an hour outside of Memphis to get some sleep. It's an understatement to say the hotel was not the nicest hotel I've every stayed at... I'm talking like, my sheets were dirty! I seriously thought about finding a new hotel, but it was too late and I was too tired, so I got some clean sheets (at least I hope) and went to sleep.

Thursday around noon, I rolled into the Birthplace of Rock 'N' Roll,

Also, home of "The King"

This is Martin. He's a writer, and a pretty friendly guy. He was the first to welcome me to Memphis.


I'm not sure who the stubborn one was here.. but it had to be whoever painted their storefront second. I mean, if my neighbor's store was red, I don't think I'd go with hot pink for mine. And if I moved in next to a place painted hot pink, I think I'd try to pick a color that clashes less, though not many colors would go with hot pink very well. Probably just looking for a little attention... I don't know, but I have to say, I kind of like it.


I guess Memphis is pretty laid back. Here are a bunch of cops hanging out in the street, drinking. I thought this picture was pretty classic actually.. take a close look at the cop's cup. I didn't ask.

Back on the road...

Once I crossed the Mississippi, I had one goal in mind.. and that was to get home as fast as possible.

After stopping in Memphis, I drove for about the next 24 hours straight with stops only for gas or food, or a good photo-op. I had about 29 hours of driving left and about 26 hours till the BYU-UCLA game... so I didn't have time for sleeping or any other nonsense...



The storm is brewing


As I was driving through Oklahoma, I witnessed one of the most amazing thunder and lightning and hail storms I've ever seen. The sky would go from pitch dark, to being almost as bright as day, almost as if the whole world was lit up by a huge camera flash. And, the hail was coming down like millions of buckets of tic-tacs being poured from the sky. It was pretty cool.


This is a pretty good representation of my vision at about 4AM... still trucking. At this point, it was too early to talk with any friends on the east coast, and too late to talk with any friends on the west coast.. So instead, I stopped for a 20 oz Code Red and some sunflower seeds to help me stay awake. I may have had my video camera out as well, to film myself singing Coldplay songs, but I haven't played the video back yet, so I'm not too sure. Anything to stay awake...


My first indication that I made it through the night.. as the sun breaks the morning darkness



Here is the sunrise around 5:30am... somewhere in New Mexico, near the Arizona border


Also somewhere near the New Mexico/Arizona border... I thought these were extinct.. but they seemed alive and well to me

somewhere near Flagstaff, Arizona


Apparently, someone else was trying to pull an all-nighter as well.. luckily it looked like everyone was okay.. except for the trucks.





Approaching Death Valley


And finally, after 38 hours of driving,
home sweet home