los angeles to gualala point
It's been awhile since I've written a blog post. It's not that I haven't been writing - I've been journaling a lot actually; it's just that this past year included so many changes and so much movement that I needed to focus on figuring out all the changes and movement before I blogged about everything! Now that I've got a semester of my Masters degree under my belt (and feel like I can *finally* catch my breath), I have a bit of free time to blog about so many things that have happened since my last post (in April!, ahh!!)!
So today I bring you a little insider's view into a hectic period of change in my life: my two-week cross-country road trip. I did not realize just how stressful a cross-country move would be going at it on my own. On my move to Los Angeles, my dad accompanied me on our cross-country road trip on Route 66. For this move, however, I'd be packing up my car full of all my stuff and heading out with just my Archygirl and me. I had tons of help packing from my neighbors Ryan and Pete for whom I will be eternally grateful forever and ever. They'd get me out of the house on little adventures when I'd reach my packing limits, they’d force me to watch movies and eat pizza and drink red wine with them, and they helped me strategically pack and fit everything into my car. They literally kept me sane, and I cannot express just how much appreciation I have for them.
So here it goes. It's been six months since my road trip began, and here's a look at where I was at on June 13th, the previous two weeks included packing, squeezing in as much QT with my friends as possible, running my first half-marathon for MS Research, hurling myself out of an airplane skydiving for the first time, and a great going-away party with people I love and adore. I made the party guests sign a little booklet, too, because I’m very cheesy and can be sentimental sometimes. It was a really nice thing to be able to read while I was driving through areas with no service. I feel very lucky to have such wonderful people in my life.
June 13th, 2018
Los Angeles, CA to Gualala Point, CA:
I made it! It took a little longer than I’d expected, especially since my plan to stop at Costco for gas was immediately thwarted, but I made it!
Pete and Ryan helped me get my surfboard onto my car this morning at 6:30 AM, which, knowing their usual sleep schedule, meant a lot. I hope they realize just how much Archy and I love them. I’m sure they do.
After I finally got gas in Van Nuys at Arco, I started on my way. It took Archy a little bit to adjust to car life and took me a bit to adjust to all her pee and poop breaks, but once we got into a rhythm and established a system, it was smooth sailing.
I got a little bit lost at one point, but it was nice to get lost, driving through some very small towns outside of Southern and Northern California!
When I finally made it to our campsite at Gualala Point, I got the tent all setup so when it came time for sleep we’d be ready to go.
I will miss everyone I love in LA, but I have faith our paths will cross again. I also want to change and grow and explore and feel as though I need to leave LA for right now for that to happen. I can’t wait to go back, though, one day. It’ll probably feel like falling in love all over again.
I met two little girls at my campground tonight after I hiked with Archy to Gualala Point Lookout. They wanted to pet Archy, and I obviously obliged. Puppies are the best, and she can get all the loves and pets she wants! They were sisters - probably three years between them - doing a family camping trip with their parents and dog. I told them briefly about my move from LA to the East Coast. They told me all about the time they went to Las Vegas and how they saw a fake Statue of Liberty and stayed in a fake pink castle. I responded that I like to pretend I am royalty when I’m staying in fake castles and then promptly donned a British accent and pretended to be a guest calling on the waitstaff. The girls giggled and got a kick out of it until the (pretty observant) older sister noticed my bruised toenail in my flip flops. I told them what it was from and then explained what a half-marathon entails. The younger sister excitedly proceeded to tell me all about Mile Mondays at her school, while her older sister explained how it “actually worked” when she had been at that school. They asked me what I was planning on doing once the sun set, and I told them I was planning on knitting, journaling, and going to bed early since I’d had a long day of driving and would have more driving to do tomorrow. They said knitting sounded boring, and I laughed. They asked me where the dog was going to sleep in my one-person tent, and when I told them she’d be sleeping right in the sleeping bag with me, they laughed.
They ended up scurrying away to dinner, so I knit for awhile and am now just finishing up journaling by lantern light, while Archy is balled up next to me in the sleeping bag - both of us in our jackets!
How funny were those two sisters? I couldn't help but laugh inwardly but the older one couldn't help but constantly roll her eyes at everything the younger sister said. In explaining the Mile Mondays thing, the younger sister was so excited to just talk about running, while the older sister was amped on correcting every mistake. It was hilarious and says a lot about sibling relationships. Also, Archy was not a big fan of the hike up to Gualala Point because it involved a lot of stairs and some wind. We also like couldn't find the look-out point at first because I stubbornly believed it would be more difficult to find. So when I say we couldn't find it at first, we actually did but I was like "no, that can't be it... that's too easy!" So we ended up doing a little bit of a longer walk, which was actually nice because it was a beautiful day and we'd been driving so long. But when we looped back and found the bench, Archy was excited to take a rest. It was a great start to the trip.
Click here to read on for day 2: gualala point to gold bluffs beach!