this land is your land...

...so i'd like to say 'thank you' for allowing me to cross it from one glorious coast to another. i just finished my second day of traveling back home to florida, and now that i have free internet access, i'd like to share that journey with you.

i started early monday morning in the beautiful state of oregon. there was a lot of snow, and not a lot of snow driving experience on my part. however, i persevered through the trials and tribulations of driving through a mountain pass in the pacific northwest in the middle of winter. and it looked a little something like this...






as you can see...beautiful, but dangerous. like a lady of the night.

however, once i moved into the golden land of california, everything cleared up nicely.


i made it to los angeles in roughly eleven hours, and stayed overnight with my second cousin. i think she's my second cousin...i never really learned how super extended family works. maybe she's a regular cousin twice removed...or once removed...or nonce removed. who knows? regardless...she gave me a warm bed, a warm heart and a warm belly full of food.

i departed early in the morning hoping to make it into texas by the end of the day. i won't spoil the surprise of whether or not i achieved that goal...but instead will invite you to join me on the journey and discover the answer for yourselves.

here's what the hollywood hills look like at 7:15 in the morning.


and here's the capitol records building at 7:28 in the morning.


california treated me well, and handed me over to arizona, where i spent most of my day. it's also where i encountered one adventure after another. for starters, i came across some really weird, really interesting trees. i'd never seen anything like them. i managed to grab a shot, despite being completely dumbstruck.


a few hours later, i came across some more interesting plant life. a cactus! i wasn't sure if i'd ever seen one before, so i took a photo, just to be safe. it looked exactly like this:


but mostly arizona looks like this:


after enjoying all this scenery for hours...and hours, i began to get a little hungry. before i could even begin to think about where or what to eat, exit 63 provided me an answer. in-n-out burger. the best burger joint in the world. the last time i was fortunate enough to sink my teeth into a slice of heaven was an in-n-out burger five years ago. actually it's more like four years and eight months...but who's counting? i cannot stress enough how amazing this place is. it's so amazing, they even have a SECRET MENU! also, the employees are always really friendly. especially the guys who took my order and made my burger. the picture says it all.


heaven.


after lunch i was back on the road. and before long, i noticed something out of place. this:


what's wrong in that photo you ask? that 'police' truck is actually a border patrol truck. so, why is that a problem? well...the border was hundreds of miles away. AND he was speeding....but not towards the border. come to think of it...he could have been off duty. or it could have been an illegal immigrant with a wonderful sense of irony who stole the car.

after that, i drove through phoenix. it looks like this (though it's far less exciting in person)


the sun began to set, and as it did, i realized i liked arizona. and during a sunset it's beautiful.


i then made it into new mexico. and at the end of the day...i found myself (i guess it's find myself...) in el paso, tx. i had done it! i was in texas and one state closer to home. one ridiculously large state. a state i don't think i can cross in a single day. and now i'm going to bed. more to come over the next couple of days. thanks for joining me on my travels. it was great riding along with you. goodnight.

p.s. this was my attempt to take a shot of the 75mph speed limit sign (which is the greatest invention ever), but for some reason it took a 30 second exposure, providing me with this (a combination of head lights, brake lights and my feet):