Ready Set Go
On July 5th I reluctantly packed my bag with the essentials that I needed for the weekend road trip and stay in Utah, all the while trying to come up with any plausible excuse to get out of going. Let me explain to you why: My mother, being the caring yet authoritative figure of this household, forced me (que my drama queen attitude) to say yes to the invitation of helping my cousin move the last of his things to to Utah. Her rational explanation for this was that according to her I hardly get out of the house and I needed to spend some quality time outside during the weekend instead of watching my beloved Bravo for hours at end. Why someone would deny the opportunity to watch marathons of The Real Housewives is beyond understandable but at las there I was come Friday evening getting ready to depart. With my obvious clear sense of direction and time I believed the trip would only take a mere six hours, don't ask why I just did. Needless to say it came as a shock when my dad clarified it for me leaving me expressionless after giving me the real time of twelve hours on the road. Just before I was about to leave, failing miserably to come up with a satisfactory excuse that pleased my mother, my brother came home from practiced and whined about not being invited. I knew this was my only opportunity to make this trip somewhat bearable by bringing the only person that would be willing take endless pictures at my command. After consulting with my cousin that there was ample room in the mini van (no, she's not a soccer mom) he packed his bag and we were ready for the adventure (I use this word loosely at this point ) that we were about to embark on. We got picked up at around 6 pm pacific time and the six of us were off.
Our first stop was at an In & Out in Glendale. We stopped to grab a bite for dinner and nothing exciting happened except for the fact that it wast the biggest In& Out I had ever seen, complete with a parking structure where you could enter the building from the back. Headed back to the 210 freeway we saw what I can only describe as a drive thru for cigarettes, basically a very small structure with a man sitting inside where cars pulled to the side window paid the guy for a pack(s) of cigarettes and proceeded to drive off. I am still perplexed as to why this even exists but hey who am I to judge. The next memorable stop was at gas station in the middle of Barstow and Las Vegas. Picture an episode of CSI or Bones where they find the remains of a body in the middle of the desert with endless miles of nothingness except for a gas station and you wonder how many more bodies are buried there. That's exactly how I felt when we exited Interstate 15 and pulled up to the sign that read 87℉ (I was flabbergasted since it was 11 pm) and all I saw was miles of pitch black and the flickering lights of the cars passing by as if waving goodbye for the last time. From our brief stop at this eerie gas station we found two fascinating things: the first being the Interstate 15 sign that was all covered with various stickers that looked like a pin board filled with an amalgam of creative directions while the second being a waterfall urinal that the boys found extremely fascinating and raved about continuously throughout the trip. . Gladly saying goodbye to the murder scene-esque pit stop we proceeded to our next destination….VEGAS!!! |
| Interstate 15 exit sign at the gas station |
I've never been to Vegas but I've definitely heard stories from friends and have seen the glamorized pictures, movies and TV shows portraying Sin City so understandably I was so excited to finally get a chance to see it all for my self. From the casinos to the night life to the endless buffets I was ready to use my legs after six hours and explore with my cousins who had never been there before either. Darkness engulfed us for a couple more minutes, getting our hopes up whenever we spotted lights up ahead, when at last we saw the glimmering city resembling Atlantis in the Little Mermaid but secluded in the middle of the dessert. I knew this was not going to be anything like I imagined it as soon as we got closer because chaos instantly ensued. The exit signs read like an episode of Looney Tunes, multiple signs pointing us to different directions none of them making any sense and getting us more distressed. Couldn't there just be a sign with "Las Vegas Strip exit here"?!?! Finally we took a random exit that led us perpendicular to the strip (next to MGM Grand) with bumper to bumper traffic. There's nothing else that I hate more in the world than traffic only made worst by the scorching heat and humidity that enguflged us inside the mini van roasting us like a chicken in an oven. I was ready to make a run for it but instead we circled the strip and attempted to find somewhere to park amidst the drunken party goers and a random man standing in the corner preaching through a megaphone that it was not too late for salvation. After half an hour of staring out of our windows with the preconceived illusions of Vegas leaving our naive minds, our search led us nowhere and the six of us gladly left what was once a paradise awaiting our arrival.
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| Just as it was becoming morning in Utah (before sunrise) |
At this point I had lost count of how many hours we had been on the road and tiredness was starting to slowly creep up on us and trust me not even the triple shot of espresso in my vanilla latte was going to block this from happening. We had been driving for a couple more hours (or at least that's what it seemed like in my head) when I realized the we were driving in an empty two lane road with no cars in sight with the mini van headlights providing the only light like a flashlight in a dark room. Without even realizing it I blurted out my genius idea (this is how bored we were) of having each of us sit down in the middle of the road and have our picture taken. I mean when would you get the chance of sitting on an empty road again? Well unfortunately I didn't get any takers as stated by their lack of response and we proceeded to speed down the road until we had to stop to let one of the boys have a pee break. I knew this was my opportunity to get my once in a lifetime picture so I jumped out of the van, handed my phone to one of cousins and sat Indian style in the middle of road. Snap. Snap. Snap. A couple pictures taken and I bolted out of the road just in time to avoid a car coming up ahead. It seemed like I started a trend because as soon as the road was clear once again everyone jumped back in middle of the road (even my brother who was initially too scared) and the flash went off multiple times as if we were some kind of celebrities walking the red carpet at a premier. I'd have to say that the best part was the adrenaline you got when you saw cars nearing you and you stayed seated until the last possible moment only to sprint away in order to avoid getting hit. Needless to say it was a moment that provided up with a boost of energy and got rid of the lethargy that had set upon us.
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| Sunrise at our last stop before arriving in Ogden |
We continued on with the blanket of darkness over us, crossing Nevada then Arizona until we finally entered Utah. Being at the most southwestern end of Utah we had to make our way to the most northeastern point of Utah so with the hours taking longer and longer to pass we all fell in an out of sleep shifting to make ourselves more comfortable. Soon we we were all awake just in time to see the sun rise in the horizon. As it was becoming clearer enough to make sense of our surroundings we began to take in the luscious green scenery engulfing us on both sides. We pulled over for one of our bathroom breaks and I was finally able to fill my lungs with the fresh air, much different than the smog filled air in LA. For the first time this trip a sense of peace fell upon me for the smallest of seconds. It was a moment that I've only experience one other time: being able to stand there by myself, breathing in the morning air, enjoying the sun rise without a sense of distraction and have my mind completely blank being one with nature. I know a picture says a thousand words but nothing could capture my happiness right then and there. All of us jumped in the car and we were on the road again. With no more rest stops, after about fours hours with sleep deprivation written all over our faces we finally arrived to Ogden, greeted by my aunt and uncle welcoming us to their new home. We had arrived around 9:30 am, nearly 15 hours after being on the road.
