The Roadtrip and Sunday with Ann

The Roadtrip:
Saturday: Left at 10pm and drove to Champaign, IL.  Not sure how I am alive because I was sooo tired.  Arrived at 4:45 am because I had to stop and nap 3 times (usually is a 5.5 hr drive).  Fell asleep around 5:30 and had to wake up at 7am to have breakfast with my grandmother and then hit the road again.

Sunday: Jaimie drove the morning shift while I slept a little bit.  Then around 11:30pm I drove the rest of the way to Oklahoma City.  Missouri and Oklahoma were weird because they had sections of winter wonderland.  Why was there so much snow so far south?  Made it to Jaimie's cousin's house around 7:30pm.  Her other cousins came too and we all had a big pizza party.  One of her cousins had 3 boys who were all adorable and very precocious. 

Monday: Left at 9 or 10 am and drove to Gallup, NM.  Texas was boring!  Gallup wasn't that special either, except that it was called Gallup.  Stayed in a nice Best Western though, and had some good Mexican food.

Tuesday: Had a good free breakfast at the Best Western and then started driving to Las Vegas.  Stopped along the way to see some Indian Crafts and petrified wood.  Jaimie has the pictures I think, but here is a website you can see it at:  http://www.arizonaskiesmeteorites.com/Petrified_Wood/Petrified_Wood_Slabs/

Made it to Vegas at 4pm, but traffic was bad so it took a while to get to my hotel, the "Palace Station."  Then I went to check it, and I had booked the wrong night on Expedia.  So frustrating.  I had to book another room after talking to customer service forever because the girl was really really not good at math and was just illogical.  So finally checked into my room around 6:30pm or so.  Then I drove Jaimie down "The Strip" and I went to park at the Bellagio and missed the entrance and ended up at the Rio, so we just went there because we were hungry.  I gave Jaimie $5 so she could gamble for the first time in her life.  She had some good streaks playing the electronic poker games and slots but ultimately lost $3, but it was fun anyway.  Then I had to take her to the airport, so I drove her down the strip one more time now that it was dark out and left her at the airport around 8:30pm.  Then I drove to Bally and did park, and walked around the strip and saw Paris, Cesar's Palace and the Bellagio inside.  I'm not much of a gambler, so I only bet a few dollars on slots and broke even.  But the hotels and casinos were gorgeous, and I loved people watching, especially the guys gambling higher stake tables that either were having a great time or were just very serious looking. 

Wednesday:  Slept in and took my time getting on the road.  Then drove to Santa Barbara.  It was nice driving through the mountains, but I realize how much I need trees, because most of Nevada and that part of California is all scrub brush.  Finally made it to northern LA, and then drove up the coast to SB, which was lovely as the sun set.

Thursday: Woke up in my apartment.  Unpacked my van.  Drove to campus, said hello to my adviser.  Did some work and went home and fell asleep.

Friday: Bought a bed, yay!  Nice queen size with frame.

Finished unpacking Saturday, my friend came in Saturday night from DC.

Sunday: Showed her the area.  We went to a farmers market and bought oranges and stuff for fish tacos, and a strawberry rhubarb pie which we ate on the spot.  Then we went to downtown Santa Barbara and had lunch, and these girls were handing out free drinks and drink coupons so that was great.  The place we ate was a brewery on State, and it was good.  I would go back. 
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Santa-Barbara-CA/Santa-Barbara-Brewing-Company/83266603049

Soaked up the sun and had a great day, but got tired and took a nap for most of the late afternoon/early evening.


Now: at my office on campus.  Need to do work but wanted to write this up!