Ok so I think I’m in hell…or something like it. I left LA this morning at 8:00AM in the hopes to beat the traffic as well as the heat…however they both seem to have caught up to me. I flew down the LA freeways in no time flat. It seems no one drives on them on Sundays that early in the morning, but of course once I reached San Bernadino there was a long line of sitting….and waiting….and sitting some more. A huge 3 car accident closed down the freeway and 5 lanes of traffic had to merge into one and get off the freeway and back on. So an hour later I was back on track. I continued down the many freeways it takes to get to Prescott all while looking at the amazing scenery Southern California and Northern Arizona has to offer. Oh wait…there isn’t any!! It’s just flat, dirty, brown, hot desert! Pretty. So as I’m traveling down the freeway(s) the temperature reaches 103. I felt like I was packed into a hot sardine can…surrounded by boxes of clothes, shoes, and kitchen items. Good times.
Around the third hour of driving I needed coffee to wake myself up. Where to find a Starbucks?! I was like a lost baby bird looking for its mother in order to get the nutrition it needs. Finally I found one! I have no idea where I was, it was in the desert somewhere, that’s all I know. Even after the caffeine break and stretching my legs I was still getting a little rummy. Maybe it was the hot weather frying my brain, either way I was ready for this road trip to be over. But onward I must go!
As I drive into Arizona I realize it looks a lot like South East California…desert only this time I see cactus! Wooooo. I made my way up the mountains and finally found myself in Prescott. I followed the directions to my hotel and when I finally showed up I found that it wasn’t a hotel but a motel….just switch the h for an m and you get much different place to stay. Not only was it a motel but a motel 6. Yeah, exactly. Ok, I’m really trying to think positive, hoping for the best, trying to make this work but I’m having a hard time as I walk into the front desk area only to see bullet proof glass in front of the check in counter. Freakin A! Are you serious?! Ok, I’m not high maintenance, I can go with the flow, I don’t need the Hilton…however bullet proof glass is a little much. Fine, whatever. I get my key and am told my room is on the second floor “just follow the stairs and your room is right across the hall”….great, no elevator which means I get to carry every box from my car one by one up the stairs in the heat. This just gets better doesn’t it?
So I get into my room only to see it’s pretty much what I expected. A big room with really old, creepy furniture. If I only had to stay here a few nights I could chill with it, however 16 days in this creepy, dark, depressing hole….think not. I’ll make the best of it and call my company in the morning to figure out where else they can put me until I get to move into the condo. Until then, time to unpack my car. So one box at a time I go…getting hotter and more tired as the trips back and forth go on. It gets even better when I realize one of the boxes in my back seat has been in the heat so long that the glue holding the sides together has melted…thus making the box fall apart. Luckily I had packaging tape and was able to tape it up in my back seat and preventing it to spill all over. Granted it’s not a Macgyver move but it worked. Finally I get all my stuff up to the room and venture out to find a grocery store to get some dinner. I have a microwave and a fridge in my room…so I really have to figure out what will work as far as “cooking” goes. So I opt for a sandwich and decide that’s enough fun for one day so back to my motel for some rest.
The day has been a long one and so I think to myself “I’ll get online and email everyone and update my blog”. So online I go and while I’m emailing and watching TV I see a “tornado and thunder storm warning”…as I’m reading this all of a sudden a huge lightning strike and thunder rolls through shocking my computer and making the fire alarms go off in the motel. AHHHHH! I shut down my computer and unplug it and wait for the alarms to go off. Things seem to have settled down however the alarms continue to go off every ½ hour or so…classy place. I’m really really really really really really hoping once I start work on Tuesday I find that I LOVE my job and things will get a bit easier and better. I truly do miss San Jose, but I will try to make the best of this. For now I am just going to relax in my pad (hehehe) and hopefully wake up to some good news that I can change to a hotel…not a motel.
Good night…and good luck to me!
Road Trip low down:
# of CDs played while on the road: 6 which include Snow patrol (twice), Coldplay, Kelly Clarkson (guilty pleasure, let’s just leave it at that), The Fray, Ben Harper, Pearl Jam (I am from Seattle…and damn airfare is so expensive I can’t fly back to go to the concert this weekend as previously planned…airfare from hell is pricey this time of year).
# of times I saw my name on signs while driving: 5
# of traffic jams: just one!! That’s pretty good!
# of times I stopped for rest and gas: only 2, that’s pretty good!
# of phone calls made while driving in the middle of nowhere: I lost count at 11
# of times stopped at Starbucks: Only once…would have been more if Starbucks knew how to tap into the desert market
# of forest fires around the area I was in: one…and one too many!
# of WAY right wing billboards: 3
# of times I lost cell service: I lost count
# of cowboy hats seen: STILL counting
The best 2 signs/billboards/store names I saw along the way (I don’t know which is better so you can vote and decide) “State prison next exit-do NOT pick up hitchhikers” damn! I could have used a travel buddy. And the next one that I think may take the cake “Brand new dead things store”. Swear to God! Don’t worry, I will get everyone’s souvenirs from there!
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