Photos are up!

Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151284781730955.525786.668515954&type=1&l=30851a0258

It should work for non-Facebook users, too. Send me an e-mail if it doesn't (lauren2401@gmail.com).

The End

We made it!! 7 miles to Swansboro. I'll do another post in a few days with a link to a photo album of pictures we took on this trip. Other than that it's my last post. Hope you enjoyed reading my blog!

Still Day 13

We're in North Carolina! Not on the coast yet, about 2.5-3 hours away. This has definitely felt like the longest leg of our trip. Nothing left to look at, just a destination to reach.

It took us until this afternoon to remember its been exactly 1 year since we met. That late late night/early early morning in Vegas, him and his friends said they'd take my friend and I to the 24 hr IHOP (romantic, I know). They never took us, and since then I've joked about how he owes me IHOP. By complete coincidence this morning he finally took me to IHOP. It's been a successful anniversary.

Day 13

We drove for a few hours last night and stayed in a random town outside Atlanta called Newnan. Today is our last day of driving! We've got 8 and a half more hours on the road and we'll be in Swansboro. Right now we're at an IHOP filling up for the road and then we're off. Last night we were talking about how lucky we feel to see so much on just one road trip. It's been a long one full of unexpected twists but absolutely worth it.

Day 11 and 12

We're finally getting the feeling that this trip is actually going to end some day soon. No offense to you desert rats, but Eric and I just aren't the biggest fans of the desert. The big skies and open spaces are great, but as soon as we started seeing trees there was an obvious sense of relief in the truck. Now I'm just waiting for my Washington-raised skin to rehydrate. I haven't blogged much the past few days so I'm going to do a bit of catching up.

We had a good Thanksgiving with Jason in El Paso. We watched 2 somewhat unsatisfying movies that day- one about origami on Netflix (weird) and that new movie Lincoln at the theater on base (boring) but had some good laughs about them, especially the origami movie. The best part of the day was definitely our delicious dinner. We had an early dinner at a place out of the city called Cattlemans which is its own ranch/private zoo. As we drove in we saw deer, coyote, and a very patient horse whose job was standing in the parking lot. The place was surprisingly busy considering it's remote location. We needed to try their famous steak but it was Thanksgiving so we settled on just ordering a feast- 3 of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner platters with pumpkin pie for dessert and a steak that weighed more than a pound and came with 3 sides. We left that place stuffed so I'd say we had a very successful Thanksgiving.

After 2 evenings in El Paso we spent a night in Austin. I'm pretty sure Eric and I both fell in love with the city immediately. This might sound like some hippie dippy B.S. to some of you, but the place had good vibes that I could feel as we drove into it. We ate at a pretty trendy (some may call it hipster) Mexican place that offered guacamole and salsa tasting, street corn, margaritas with good alcohol, and a bunch of those dishes where you read them and don't understand what half of the description means but you order it anyways. We spent the rest of our evening wandering around with the college crowd on 6th street. There was live music in a good portion of the bars which was what originally attracted us, but we had more fun after realizing the place was completely catered to bar hoppers- no cover in most places and they even block cars from the road every Friday and Saturday night so people can freely walk back and forth across the street (there wouldn't be enough room for all the people on the sidewalks anyways). Austin feels more like San Francisco than any other city in Texas but ultimately it just feels completely unique.

After a late night we got up early and made the long drive to New Orleans. I had been to New Orleans a few years ago on a volunteer service trip through my college and had been dying to go back to Bourbon Street since I turned 21. We were told by hotels that there was a big college football game at the Superdome, but nothing could have prepared us for what we experienced. All car access to the French Quarter was blocked so we figured it was fairly busy. We started with dinner at a Cajun/Creole restaurant where we had crab legs, fried rabbit, and jambalaya. After dinner we headed straight for Bourbon Street. On the 2 minute walk we witnessed one girl get arrested and try to escape from the cops and another girl vomiting, so we started getting a better idea of where our night was headed. I don't really know how to describe the rest of our night to you but I'll try. When we first got to Bourbon (around 10pm) there were so many people we could hardly move, and almost everyone had a drink in their hand (New Orleans has very lenient open container laws). It was pretty obvious that the party had started early in the afternoon and we needed to hurry up and get a drink. We walked into a random bar, ordered margaritas in plastic cups, and joined the party, just walking back and forth down Bourbon street and taking it all in. It didn't take Eric and I long to figure out that our skin color was a minority which was, to that scale, new to both of us. Not an issue, just a different feeling from what we're used to. I think it's safe to say that 95% or more of the people there were black. We had a few laughs when we walked into a bar called Bourbon Cowboy and almost everyone was white. Eric had the idea of getting a six-pack of local beer to share as we walked around the madness. The rest of the night was spent popping bottles open on windowsill ledges in front of cops on horses, striking up short conversations with strangers, people watching, silly dancing...definitely one of the most fun nights we've spent together.

I think I'm all caught up now. Right now we're in Montgomery, Alabama at a low-key sports bar so Eric can watch the Ravens game. Our plan tonight is to make it to the Atlanta area and drive the rest of the way to Swansboro tomorrow. We've seen such a variety of things on this road trip which we both absolutely love, but we're ready to settle down in one place for a little while.

Day 10

Made it to Austin! More to come tomorrow :)

Day 9

Happy Thanksgiving from El Paso, Texas!

Day 7 and 8

I tried to post a quick one yesterday just saying we were in Tucson and I'd explain later, but it never posted. Yesterday in the early afternoon we got a call saying the truck was good to go. Nothing could have wiped the smiles off our faces as we rushed to pack everything up and never look back at that hotel room. They showed us the old turbo which had a fan/wheel thing on it that was totally unattached. That explained the rattling noise. It was an expensive repair but they said we could have easily needed a new motor with what happened so we should consider ourselves lucky. Our farewell to Wickenburg came in the form of sandwiches at an awkwardly empty diner with an awkwardly mediocre live performance from a local cowboy.

Getting on the road felt awesome...a feeling I truly did not expect to have on such a long road trip. We made it to Tucson but not without killing a bird with our windshield first. We went for a long walk through the University of Arizona campus, had giant sandwiches for dinner, and spent the rest of the night relaxing.

Now we're on the road again (listening and singing to Queen) headed to El Paso. It's a bit of a drive but a simple one since there was a sign for El Paso as soon as we got on the interstate in Tucson. Pretty sure we're driving 300 miles on the same road today. We're both looking forward to seeing Eric's brother tonight and having a turkey and steak Thanksgiving dinner with him tomorrow night. Until then we'll just be enjoying scenery that's new to both of us.

Day 6

Just another relaxing day in Wickenburg today. Went out for breakfast at the Mexican restaurant, explored a Native gift shop and an antique store, and went out for lunch. The most exciting news is that Eric got a call from the auto shop today. They said it was a turbo issue and they should have it taken care of by tomorrow night, so it looks like we'll finally be out of Wickenburg by either tomorrow night or Wednesday morning! That means we'll be resuming the trip as planned, with stops in El Paso, Austin, and New Orleans. Luckily we'll be spending Thanksgiving in El Paso with Eric's brother Jason instead of on the road. Sounds like we'll end up in North Carolina the night of the 26th, which is the day that marks 1 year since Eric and I met on the Vegas Strip. Funny how things never quite work out how you expect them to.

Day 5

This is definitely not the place we expected to be on day 5...but we're having new experiences nonetheless. We were supposed to attend a big event in Austin tonight with Ghostland Observatory, The Wailers, and a few other bands. We're definitely bummed we have to miss it, but there's nothing we can do so we're both not hung up on it. StubHub was nice enough to give us 25% of the ticket cost back in the form of credit on their website.

Today was spent "the Wickenburg way". We went to a local (4 doors away from the hotel) greasy spoon type restaurant for breakfast. The small place was packed, mostly with folks decked out in Harley Davidson gear, so the 80-something year old waitress seated us at a table with one of the biker couples. They told us the history of the cafe, pointed out the owners (one was the 80-something) and informed us they had the best biscuits and gravy in the nation. After that Eric endured seemingly endless Navy talk. When it came time to order we added on biscuits and gravy, just a 1/2 order. Then the waitress told us the 1/2 was 12 oz of gravy and the full was 32oz. Both our jaws dropped before we went with the 1/4. Other than breakfast all we really did was walk across a huge bridge to the non-historic side of Wickenburg (Taco Bell, McDonalds, Ford dealership...nothing exciting) and relax in the hotel room where Eric watched the Ravens beat the Steelers and I spent hours playing with my new phone (don't make fun, its my first smartphone).

Oh yeah, Grand Canyon West security found my missing bag! They said it's not damaged and I don't have to pay for shipping so this trip is feeling a little less like National Lampoon.

All we have planned for tomorrow is a little swimming in the hotel pool, a little sitting out in the sun (getting a tan in November?!), and a little philosophy schoolwork (poor Eric).

Here's a few photos of Wickenburg.

Day 4

I left out a few details about yesterday I wanted to mention. We noticed there was a weird rattling noise while we were driving (about 2 or 3 hours from Grand Canyon West) which gradually sounded worse and worse and there was a lot of white smoke coming out the exhaust. We pulled over, called some people to pick their brains about it, and decided to drive to an auto repair shop familiar with diesel, which was in Wickenburg. Before long there was thick white smoke billowing out of the exhaust pipe and we lost power. It took Eric a lot of effort to steer us over to the side of the road. Towing was our only option and being 50 miles away from the tow company and the auto shop (and having a 12 ft U Haul trailer) made it an expensive tow job. The whole ride down we heard horrifying story after horrifying story of the worst accidents the tow truck driver had ever witnessed. We arrived in Wickenburg to realize everyone here knows each other. The tow truck driver said his friend at the Ford dealership had rentals available and the lady at the auto shop said the Best Western down the street had rooms available. We grabbed our necessities, walked to the hotel, and then headed straight to the Mexican restaurant for margaritas and lunch. The rest of the day was spent in the hotel room and at the bar/steak house.

Unfortunately I don't have any kind of updates on what happened to the truck or when it'll be fixed. We went to the auto shop today and they said they are slammed with work right now so they don't even have a diagnosis but on our walk back from lunch today we saw the hood open so that's a good sign. Today is a half day for them and they're probably not open tomorrow so we're just being patient and relaxing in this cute little Western style tourist town. There's not much to do here (the movie theater has 1 screen with 1 showing a day if that's any indication) so we're just trying to enjoy these slow paced days.

The pictures on here are of where we ate lunch today (so adorable) and what my duffel bag looks like after the trailer/bumpy road incident.

Day 3

So the adventure has come to a standstill. The truck broke down in the middle of nowhere (literally next to a place called Nothing on Google maps). We called a tow truck, chilled for an hour, and now here we are in a small town called Wickenburg, Arizona. The auto shop says parts may not get here until Monday so we're just waiting. No game plan yet, just taking it step by step.

Day 2

<p>Let me start this off by saying it's really hard to type on this phone in the car so I'm going to make this as efficient as possible. Yesterday was crazy. Here's some stuff that happened:

-Woke up early and set off from Barstow

-Waved hello to the Las Vegas Strip and the Hoover Dam from the road

-Arrived at Grand Canyon Ranch where we were greeted by Cowboy Dave who was awfully invasive but ultimately entertaining

-Drove on a bumpy dirt road up to Grand Canyon West

-Arrived on the Hualapai Reservation and immediately found out that I had latched the trailer incorrectly which caused 3 bags and a box to fly out the back. A nice man collected 2 out of 4- my bag full of all the clothes I have for the next month and Eric's bag of shoes and belts, both of which were pretty banged up. The box was unimportant so the real loss was my moms big 1990 Diane Von Furstenberg that was mostly empty but I'm pretty sure it had my favorite postcards from those that I've collected on my travels through the US and Europe. I'm really really sorry Mom. We filed a missing item report and there's only one road there so there's a good chance it'll turn up. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Deep breath. Moving on...

-We chose Grand Canyon West instead of the regular national park because of the skywalk (Google it) but it turned out this side of the canyon is a huge tourist trap. To see the canyon we had to buy bus tickets. $45/person. To walk on the skywalk was extra. $30/person. Want a picture? $30. So we forked over money for the bus and skipped the skywalk. We were disappointed until we saw the 2 beautiful points of the canyon they took us to. Breathtaking.

-At that point the only place to eat was the Hualapai Ranch which was $15/person for dinner on a styrofoam plate. We were so hungry it was totally fine with us. We had some laughs about the setting: very few people eating, an intrusive magician, a country singer.

-Back to the ranch. Did I mention our cabin was surrounded by ponies, teepees, and covered wagons? There was a cowboy singing by a campfire but we just hunkered down in our cabin and read the entire fascinating ranch brochure. The amount of sarcastic commentary coming out of our mouths was a pretty good indicator that this place was not marketed to us.

Now we're somewhere in the middle of Arizona headed for El Paso. Arizona is beautiful with its wide open spaces and majestic mountains. Today is our longest drive- about 12 hours- so there may not be much to report tomorrow.

P.S. Mom...again I'm really sorry about your suitcase. I know it was a gift from Dad. Let's hope the security officers who drive the road daily find it.

Day 1

We're on the road! Today has been a whirlwind of packing and moving loads of stuff. Up at 6am, 2 trips to storage, hours of creative stacking and packing techniques, lunch with roomies, driving aimlessly in search of a truck scale... we're ready to get to a hotel, relax, and eat our last ever Toppers chipotle carnitas pizza. Not totally sure where we'll end up but we're aiming for Barstow so we can spend more time at the grand canyon and less time on the road tomorrow.

Today was Eric's last day spent in a Navy uniform but unfortunately he gets to celebrate by spending his evening driving his huge truck with a huge trailer attached. I'm sure we'll get some celebration time throughout the week, though.

I'm going to enjoy some of the new music we downloaded and stare at the road now. Bye Oxnard!

Day 0

Tomorrow afternoon Eric and I leave for our west coast to east coast road trip. We'll be moving out of the beach condo in Southern California to spend some time with his parents on the coast of North Carolina just in time for Thanksgiving. First stop is the Grand Canyon, then El Paso to spend time with Eric's brother Jason. After that we'll be headed to Austin, a city Eric has been wanting to see, for a big music event. The next night will be a bit more relaxed- a bed and breakfast close to Bourbon Street in New Orleans. The rest of the trip is unplanned aside from getting to NC in time for Thanksgiving.

We've got almost everything packed up and the biggest items in the storage unit. The guys moved the sectional downstairs by lifting it up and over a railing and lowering it down onto Eric's shoulders. Meanwhile I paced around and hoped my boyfriend wouldn't get crushed by our couch.

I spent some quality time at the beach today, Eric checked out with more people on base, and we both mentally prepared for our upcoming adventure.