As promised, assorted vacation photos..
Beyond the cut, a few random photos from my awesome trip to California, with some trip details intermingled!
Right at the start, young adventurers trekking through the Rocky Mountains of BC! It was a very long day of driving, that first day, we made it almost to Abbotsford in fact. Crazy.
Next day was through the border and into Washington. Which I have to say looks totally different from BC even though they share the border, it was kinda weird. Took freaking forever to get across. And the kind of questions the border guard asked? Wtf?
Seattle. I don't think people give this city enough credit, it kind of gets lost in all the major cities of the US, but apart from the miserable overcast and shitty weather, it was actually a really beautiful city. I'm being mean, it did get sunny for a period of time in the first afternoon we were there. The next day when we left, it was miserable and rainy, I was so worried that when we got to the beach in Oregon it would be all rainy and cold.
As you can see, it was beautiful and clear out. :D Not that warm to be honest and the water was freezing but it was still very nice out, nice enough that I could walk around in shorts and a tank top.
We actually ended up spending two days at the beach in Oregon instead of just the one. I had a delicious seafood pasta the first night with clams, and just as we were sitting down for breakfast the next morning, getting ready to leave for California, got the tell tale signs of food poisoning. Spent a very long time that day throwing up and being in complete agony. Definitely the low point of the trip.
The US 101 really is a beautiful highway, if you have a little extra time it's definitely a great drive, slower than the I-5 but really picturesque.
Finally made it to California! This was such a horribly long drive, since we lost a day when I was sick but still had to made it from the northern coast of Oregon all the way to San Francisco. In one day.
And of course we had to do the Avenue of the Giants along the way and check out all the massive redwood trees. Which are seriously HUGE. We did actually get to drive through one, though the car almost got stuck, I thought we were gonna lose one of the side mirrors. xD
I wish we could have had some more time in San Francisco, it was an incredible city. I will definitely be back there next year when I go back to California. God, I really cannot wait to move
SoCal.
It was pretty early still in the day when we went to the Golden Gate Bridge so everything was so foggy. It was actually kind of creepy, just like in the photo the bridge just kinda... disappeared. xD We honestly could not see the other side the whole time we were there. I'm glad we didn't have to drive it that day I would have flipped out.
So foggy! Zomg!
And yes, there are whole areas of the city that are the cute little townhouses that you always picture when you think of San Francisco! They are so cute! Unfortunately I looked up prices for them, and the majority are $500k+ or right around that. I don't think I'll be buying a cute painted townhouse in San Francisco at any point soon in my life, sadly. :(
This is the Embarcadero in San Francisco, right down by Fishermans Wharf. This was the point in the day where the fog disappeared and things got beautiful and WARM SO WARM it was amazing.
The view of Nob Hill (I think it's Nob Hill, anyways) from Fishermans Wharf in San Francisco. I looked at prices of those houses out of curiosity, I won't even go into that. It's just too painful to think about. xD
Later that day we were on to Southern California, this is a somewhat aerial view of where we were staying, about an hour south of Los Angeles. Loved it! So much! It was around 37C every day and just beautiful. I sunburned quite badly. But it was still totally awesome.
Of course our first day there we had to go to the beach and laze about all afternoon. This was South Carlsbad State Beach, it was really nice. The water was actually warm unlike in Oregon. I'm sad to say that out of all the days we were in SoCal though, that is the day that I actually tanned/burned the least. What the frack?
Awesome day. :D
Beach was so pretty! I wish we had had more time and could have gone back a second time. Or a third. Maybe a fourth.
The next was Seaworld in San Diego. I didn't really like Seaworld but I did really like San Diego, especially the Mission Bay area. This is the cutest sea lion I have ever seen in my entire life. KAWAII
And the next day, Disneyland! :D Was a lot of fun but I wasn't as enamored with it was Chantelle was, she was in love with it. I spent way too much money here.
Yay Los Angeles! Yay Hollywood! One of my top three places in the world! Love it. :)
Out of Seaworld, Disneyland, and Universal Studios, I think Universal was my favourite. It wasn't even that special, I just really enjoyed it and the studio tour I would recommend to anyone going there, it was fantastic. This was the last picture taken before my camera died. So it pretty much missed out on all of the day because I was retarded and forgot to charge the stupid battery the night before. Derp. We spent a fifth day in California after this day at Universal, but everyone was so exhausted that all we did was sleep in til noon and then skulk around the city for the rest of the day. And of course have In n Out for lunch. Which I am craving at this moment from just thinking about it. So delicious. Why can't Canada have awesome fast food.
Next day we were off into the Nevada desert, to Las Vegas! Incidentally, this is the day that our A/C decided to break. Did I mention this was the day we left to go through the Nevada desert? So miserably hot. I did not like Nevada. Because of the heat, really not a big fan of Vegas either, sorry Vegas.
Though I have to admit, all the lights and people were my cup of tea, but beyond the Vegas Strip there was just nothing there. We got a really great deal on a hotel so we actually got to spend the night on the strip, which was totally fantastic. Las Vegas is all show though, beyond the lights is just a miserably hot dirty city. It's all a facade. Though we did some really great shopping here, the premium outlet mall is something that I wish would catch on in Canada. That would be nice. Coach bags for $100 and Nine West shoes for $25? Hell yes! The only other good thing I have to say about Las Vegas is that they have some really great shows on in the evenings. We actually were able to see the original Cirque du Soleil, and it was really amazing. I did love that part of the day! Sadly, even at midnight it was still miserably hot out. -.-
It was even hotter the next day leaving, like completely miserable, we were all soaked in sweat. We had bought candy at Universal Studios and left it in the cooler in the car, when we took it out at the end of this day it had all melted into a giant candy mass. Gross. That's how hot it was, we could have made our own gummy bears.
Had a brief passing through of Salt Lake City. I thought it would be a larger city but it was actually quite small. To give credit it was still a large city but not as big as I thought it would be based on the amount of hype it gets. Plus Utah is a little crazy. I'm just going to say that and leave it. Crazy.
I don't know what made us decide to camp that night in Idaho. Granted the campsite we stayed at was quite pretty, as you can kind of get a feeling of from the picture I suppose. We didn't get to the campsite until after dark, so we ended up pitching a tent we had never used before in complete darkness. Did pretty good in my opinion. But we are not campers. This night reminded me why. I enjoy being inside with heating and air conditioning way too much. And I really don't like bugs. It just kind of sucked, I'm sorry to say.
Next day was the home stretch, we should have made it home in the one day from Idaho but our car broke down in a random small town just south of Great Falls, Montana. Much hilarity ensued and we lost a lot of time to it. We thought we were good to go after having it looked at a shop in Great Falls, and we made it across the border back into Canada with no problems, but then at about 11pm it again broke down in the darkness just outside High Level. We ended up having to get it towed back to High Level and then spend the night there since there is no mechanics shop open at midnight. It really sucked but thankfully the next day at about noon we were able to get back on the road and head home, a day later than anticipated.
I'm not going to lie, I really did not want to come home. I love my family and my friends very much, but I just loved Southern California so much that I did not want to leave. I am definitely planning on moving there once I finish school, I'm going to use that idea as incentive for me to keep going and finish this hell of a degree. After I get it, I will be free and I can leave for sunny beaches and mild winters.
It is time for sleep now though I think, tomorrow is my sister's birthday so I shall be very busy.
Hollay.
Right at the start, young adventurers trekking through the Rocky Mountains of BC! It was a very long day of driving, that first day, we made it almost to Abbotsford in fact. Crazy.
Next day was through the border and into Washington. Which I have to say looks totally different from BC even though they share the border, it was kinda weird. Took freaking forever to get across. And the kind of questions the border guard asked? Wtf?
Seattle. I don't think people give this city enough credit, it kind of gets lost in all the major cities of the US, but apart from the miserable overcast and shitty weather, it was actually a really beautiful city. I'm being mean, it did get sunny for a period of time in the first afternoon we were there. The next day when we left, it was miserable and rainy, I was so worried that when we got to the beach in Oregon it would be all rainy and cold.
As you can see, it was beautiful and clear out. :D Not that warm to be honest and the water was freezing but it was still very nice out, nice enough that I could walk around in shorts and a tank top.
We actually ended up spending two days at the beach in Oregon instead of just the one. I had a delicious seafood pasta the first night with clams, and just as we were sitting down for breakfast the next morning, getting ready to leave for California, got the tell tale signs of food poisoning. Spent a very long time that day throwing up and being in complete agony. Definitely the low point of the trip.
The US 101 really is a beautiful highway, if you have a little extra time it's definitely a great drive, slower than the I-5 but really picturesque.
Finally made it to California! This was such a horribly long drive, since we lost a day when I was sick but still had to made it from the northern coast of Oregon all the way to San Francisco. In one day.
And of course we had to do the Avenue of the Giants along the way and check out all the massive redwood trees. Which are seriously HUGE. We did actually get to drive through one, though the car almost got stuck, I thought we were gonna lose one of the side mirrors. xD
I wish we could have had some more time in San Francisco, it was an incredible city. I will definitely be back there next year when I go back to California. God, I really cannot wait to move
SoCal.
It was pretty early still in the day when we went to the Golden Gate Bridge so everything was so foggy. It was actually kind of creepy, just like in the photo the bridge just kinda... disappeared. xD We honestly could not see the other side the whole time we were there. I'm glad we didn't have to drive it that day I would have flipped out.
So foggy! Zomg!
And yes, there are whole areas of the city that are the cute little townhouses that you always picture when you think of San Francisco! They are so cute! Unfortunately I looked up prices for them, and the majority are $500k+ or right around that. I don't think I'll be buying a cute painted townhouse in San Francisco at any point soon in my life, sadly. :(
This is the Embarcadero in San Francisco, right down by Fishermans Wharf. This was the point in the day where the fog disappeared and things got beautiful and WARM SO WARM it was amazing.
The view of Nob Hill (I think it's Nob Hill, anyways) from Fishermans Wharf in San Francisco. I looked at prices of those houses out of curiosity, I won't even go into that. It's just too painful to think about. xD
Later that day we were on to Southern California, this is a somewhat aerial view of where we were staying, about an hour south of Los Angeles. Loved it! So much! It was around 37C every day and just beautiful. I sunburned quite badly. But it was still totally awesome.
Of course our first day there we had to go to the beach and laze about all afternoon. This was South Carlsbad State Beach, it was really nice. The water was actually warm unlike in Oregon. I'm sad to say that out of all the days we were in SoCal though, that is the day that I actually tanned/burned the least. What the frack?
Awesome day. :D
Beach was so pretty! I wish we had had more time and could have gone back a second time. Or a third. Maybe a fourth.
The next was Seaworld in San Diego. I didn't really like Seaworld but I did really like San Diego, especially the Mission Bay area. This is the cutest sea lion I have ever seen in my entire life. KAWAII
And the next day, Disneyland! :D Was a lot of fun but I wasn't as enamored with it was Chantelle was, she was in love with it. I spent way too much money here.
Yay Los Angeles! Yay Hollywood! One of my top three places in the world! Love it. :)
Out of Seaworld, Disneyland, and Universal Studios, I think Universal was my favourite. It wasn't even that special, I just really enjoyed it and the studio tour I would recommend to anyone going there, it was fantastic. This was the last picture taken before my camera died. So it pretty much missed out on all of the day because I was retarded and forgot to charge the stupid battery the night before. Derp. We spent a fifth day in California after this day at Universal, but everyone was so exhausted that all we did was sleep in til noon and then skulk around the city for the rest of the day. And of course have In n Out for lunch. Which I am craving at this moment from just thinking about it. So delicious. Why can't Canada have awesome fast food.
Next day we were off into the Nevada desert, to Las Vegas! Incidentally, this is the day that our A/C decided to break. Did I mention this was the day we left to go through the Nevada desert? So miserably hot. I did not like Nevada. Because of the heat, really not a big fan of Vegas either, sorry Vegas.
Though I have to admit, all the lights and people were my cup of tea, but beyond the Vegas Strip there was just nothing there. We got a really great deal on a hotel so we actually got to spend the night on the strip, which was totally fantastic. Las Vegas is all show though, beyond the lights is just a miserably hot dirty city. It's all a facade. Though we did some really great shopping here, the premium outlet mall is something that I wish would catch on in Canada. That would be nice. Coach bags for $100 and Nine West shoes for $25? Hell yes! The only other good thing I have to say about Las Vegas is that they have some really great shows on in the evenings. We actually were able to see the original Cirque du Soleil, and it was really amazing. I did love that part of the day! Sadly, even at midnight it was still miserably hot out. -.-
It was even hotter the next day leaving, like completely miserable, we were all soaked in sweat. We had bought candy at Universal Studios and left it in the cooler in the car, when we took it out at the end of this day it had all melted into a giant candy mass. Gross. That's how hot it was, we could have made our own gummy bears.
Had a brief passing through of Salt Lake City. I thought it would be a larger city but it was actually quite small. To give credit it was still a large city but not as big as I thought it would be based on the amount of hype it gets. Plus Utah is a little crazy. I'm just going to say that and leave it. Crazy.
I don't know what made us decide to camp that night in Idaho. Granted the campsite we stayed at was quite pretty, as you can kind of get a feeling of from the picture I suppose. We didn't get to the campsite until after dark, so we ended up pitching a tent we had never used before in complete darkness. Did pretty good in my opinion. But we are not campers. This night reminded me why. I enjoy being inside with heating and air conditioning way too much. And I really don't like bugs. It just kind of sucked, I'm sorry to say.
Next day was the home stretch, we should have made it home in the one day from Idaho but our car broke down in a random small town just south of Great Falls, Montana. Much hilarity ensued and we lost a lot of time to it. We thought we were good to go after having it looked at a shop in Great Falls, and we made it across the border back into Canada with no problems, but then at about 11pm it again broke down in the darkness just outside High Level. We ended up having to get it towed back to High Level and then spend the night there since there is no mechanics shop open at midnight. It really sucked but thankfully the next day at about noon we were able to get back on the road and head home, a day later than anticipated.
I'm not going to lie, I really did not want to come home. I love my family and my friends very much, but I just loved Southern California so much that I did not want to leave. I am definitely planning on moving there once I finish school, I'm going to use that idea as incentive for me to keep going and finish this hell of a degree. After I get it, I will be free and I can leave for sunny beaches and mild winters.
It is time for sleep now though I think, tomorrow is my sister's birthday so I shall be very busy.
Hollay.