When I first decided to go to school 2,000+ miles away in California, all I was focused on was how I was going to be ten minutes from the beach and a never-ending summer. One thing I didn’t think about was how hard it is to bring all the things you need, for nine months, on a plane. After struggling my first-year to pack my life into a few suitcases I can fly with, my family and I decided we should drive out this year. It’s a four day road trip that coers seven states. It’s a bit intimidating, but we made the choice and start to prepare.
With the back of my car full of suitcases and bags, we hit the road by noon. Our first destination is Lincoln, Nebraska. My friend goes to school there, and we figured it’d be a good place to stop, as well as hang out with someone from home. However, if you’re not aware, the drive from Minnesota to Nebraska is eight hours of farmland… and only farmland. So we set off, glancing at cornfields and grass as it passes by the windows.
As the hours wear on, my mom and I start to get antsy. Naturally, then, we turn on my mom’s iPod to jam to some 80’s classics. We’ve gone on a lot of road trips together, and this is always one of the highlights. Our ultimate goal is to learn all of the lyrics to “Bennie and the Jets” by Elton John. Through yelling out the lyrics and some major car dancing, we finally make it to Lincoln at around nine at night. We meet up with my friend for some sandwiches, and hit the hay to recharge for tomorrow.
We wake up leisurely the next morning; our next destination is Denver, Colorado, which is a little under seven hours away. Before we can reach the Mile-High City, we have to drive through almost all of Nebraska. Which, you guessed, means more cornfields! Something you should know about my mom is she loves taking scenic routes and stopping at historical markers. At one point, she’s taking an exit, feigning a “bathroom break”. In reality, though, she’s searching for some prairie museum. Luckily for me, it’s too far off the exit and we get back on the freeway. About an hour later, however, we come across something rather peculiar: a large arch stretching over the road, with a big sign boasting the “Great Platte River Road Archway Monument”. Of course, we quickly break off on the exit and follow the signs.
Inside, we find out it’s a museum all about interstates and the history of I-80, in particular. As a way to stretch our legs, we decide it would be a great idea to wander through it. We learn about the gold rush, the Donner Party, the beginning of motels and so much more. In all honesty, it was really cool, especially because it was about a road we had been driving on for days.
Eventually, we cross over the border into Colorado. To my surprise, it is so barren and empty for the first few hours into the state. The landscape is similar to Nebraska, but lacks the cornfields, which makes it seem empty. As we get closer to Denver, I plug the address of the hotel into my phone’s GPS. We pass by the Bronco’s stadium, and start to get further out of the city. My mom is questioning whether we’re going the right way. And with a double check of the address, I find out I added a South to the street name, and alas, we are not heading the right way.
Before we get to our destination, we have to sit through rush hour traffic. Once we lay down in the fresh sheets of the hotel beds, though, it doesn’t even matter. Denver is where my dad joins us; he flew in from a work trip in Seattle. With the three of us rested, we wake up as early as we can to begin our third day: Denver, Colorado to St. George, Utah. This is our longest day, the map telling us it will take almost ten hours. However, I’m looking forward to it because we’re finally out of farmland, and entering the Rocky Mountains. Somewhere in the middle of the Rockies we find a Starbucks, which, let’s face it, is the most important stop of the day. We spend the morning in awe over the scenery: mountains covered in trees and following a gorge where a river used to be. We pass through big ski areas, like Vail and Breckenridge. It’s definitely the most gorgeous part of the trip so far, and it was a cool experience to share with my parents.
We leave the mountains behind us, and enter into Utah. I’m pretty excited because this is the only state on the whole trip which I had never been to before. At first, it’s very barren and boring scenery, which is a bit disappointing. Then all of a sudden we’re in the middle of a mini Grand Canyon. We’re surrounded by deep cliffs, purple mountains, and some of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. I didn’t expect it at all and was blown away. Enthralled by the views, we come across St. George pretty quick, it feels like, and we settle into the condo we’re spending the night in.
As I wake up the next morning, I’m overwhelmed with happiness at the fact that it’s our last day on the road. Today, we journey through a bit more of Utah, some of Arizona, Nevada and California. Right away, we pass into the Virgin River Gorge, the only part of Arizona we will drive through. It’s absolutely breathtaking, curving through long-standing geologic wonders. My dad had been raving about this stretch of highway, and it was well worth the wait. We continue on I-15, passing through Las Vegas and the Mojave Desert. There’s not much to see, considering it’s a desert, but it’s still exciting that we’re in California.
Our destination for the day is Solvang, CA, to stay at a condo with my grandparents. We spend two days there after our drive, recuperating from four days in a car. We celebrate my mom’s birthday at some wineries in the area, and prepare for move-in. Coming over the hill and seeing Pismo Beach on the day of move-in is one of the best sites. It feels so familiar, seeing all the sites I’ve come accustomed to over the last year at school. I’m really glad we decided to drive out. Though it was long and seemingly never-ending, we were able to see a lot of cool sites and make some memories to last a lifetime on that journey to my home of San Luis Obispo.