THE EAST COAST IS WILD.

The east coast is so wild. In the past two days I've been in 10 states with hardly any driving! Maine. New Hampshire. Connecticut. Massachusetts. New York. New Jersey. Pennsylvania. Delaware. Maryland. Virginia.

I've also paid waaay too much in tolls to get across all those states! $19 in total yesterday and $24 in total today. I don't understand the point of toll roads. Isn't that what taxes are for? 

Anyway, it seems nuts that in just a few hours of driving you can be in so many different states! 

Goodnight from Virginia Beach! 

DAY 1: DEVIL'S TOWER

Day 1 of my trip started off so great! I went to Devil's Tower, Wyoming which is truly kind of spectacular! 

I walked around the entire rock formation, which really isn't that far of a distance but it seems like it will take such a long time to walk around when you're initially looking at the size of it! It's misleading, I suppose. I asked a cute couple at the beginning of the trail how long it took and the husband said "Oh about 15-20 minutes!" It definitely did NOT take me 15-20 minutes but I also did stop a lot for photos and videos. It probably took me closer to an hour and 20 minutes to get around it after all my side exploring off the main trail. Homeboy either lied, or that cute old couple just booked it around the tower!

It was such a beautiful walk, and so incredibly quiet in the trees. I love those purely peaceful moments when it feels like it's just you and the trees. There's just some particular moments in life that stick out as being truly peaceful and completely content with life. This walk was one of those moments for me.

I bought some little souvenir treasures from the gift shop, and then continued on to Deadwood, South Dakota and then Rapid City, South Dakota. Deadwood is a really cool old gold mining town in the mountains. Maybe it's because I was raised going to all the gold mining towns in the California foothills, but I've always really loved gold mining towns! They will always have a sentimental place in my heart, and this one was no different! Deadwood is cute! 

Deadwood, South Dakota

My grandparents (Schultz side) are both from Rapid City so it was kind of lovely to see where they grew up and met. I drove by the house my dad lived in for the first few months of his life before they moved to California. 

I went to Dinosaur Park which has a really fun view over the city! Not to mention some cool dinosaurs! ;)

On this trip, I sleep most nights in my car but if a place is particularly cold that night I get a hotel. In Rapid City, I got a hotel and met 3 girls in the lobby who were about my age from Australia doing the same thing as me! They flew into the east coast and were road tripping across the United States until they got to San Francisco. It's just really fun to meet others doing the same sort of thing! 

Even when you're alone on the road, there's always familiar feeling people to share moments with, and I think that's beautiful.

I'M ON MY U.S. ROAD TRIP!

I'm currently on my cross country U.S. road trip! I'm finally doing it and it's so beautiful! I couldn't have picked a better time of year to do this trip. The autumn colors have been so incredible everywhere I've been! I'm really in love with this season. 

I left on Monday, October 15th so it's been about 2 and a half weeks that I've been out on the road and it feels a lot shorter than that while simultaneously feeling so much longer! 
I've had a blast so far and this trip is exactly what my heart and soul needed. I needed to be wild, to explore new places, to get out of my comfort zone, to experience new things, to truly live my life. And I've been doing all of that!

So far, I've essentially done the whole northern half on the United States and a little bit of Canada too! I want to do separate blog posts to go into more depth about each beautiful place I've explored so those will be coming soon! 

I'm just overwhelmingly happy. It's hard for me to put into words, but it truly just feels so freeing for my soul. There's something so therapeutic about traveling down little unknown roads in states I've never been. About meeting new people who are also on the road by themselves with the sheer intention to just explore. About seeing other walks of life. About approaching kind strangers every step of the way to ask them to take a photo of me. About learning to be truly content with myself.

This trip is something I knew I wanted to do for a long time, but I guess I didn't realize just how much I needed it. 

Until next time. 
Goodnight from Portland, Maine!

LAKE DAY!

I went down to Nephi with Jeremy to visit his family and have a lake/boating day at Mona Reservoir! 

Our boating trip got off to a silly start because after we had just launched out into the reservoir, we noticed there was water at the bottom of the boat. After his dad reassured us he had just checked and made sure he put the plug back in before we took off, we noticed the water was rising. We drove back to the shore and pulled the boat back on to the trailer, and sure enough, the boat didn't have the plug in it! We were essentially sinking in the middle of the reservoir but telling ourselves we weren't! It was funny.

I just laid out and relaxed in the front of the boat, but the others rode on the wake board, and water skis and things. I just felt like being lazy. :)

We had a picnic back on shore of sandwiches, cantaloupe, chips, and oreos (which I don't really care for normally, but they were soooo good that day!)

It was such a fun, relaxing day on the water under the sun. I love a good boat day!

I just love summer. :)

MY NEW DREAM FOR 2018!

Okay, I know I'm always changing my dreams, and plans, and life goals, so to continue on in that tradition, I have a new dream that I want to do in 2018!

Hear me out on this. Pitch in ideas if you have them. Tell me your experience if you've done something similar.

I want to take a few months next Spring/Summer to pack up what I'll need and travel around to see the U.S! I went down all the different traveling avenues in my mind: the van life converted into a little camper, an actual camper, a SUV to just sleep in the back of, and I've realized that for me, the best way to go is an SUV. I've been researching different SUVs and I'm really leaning towards a Honda CR-V. The new 2017 model's back seats lay flat so I can stretch a little bed out in the back at night! I still need to walk my little bum over to the Honda dealership to see if they truly lay flat though. It looks like they do from all the photos but I think I'll only truly know when I actually lie down in the back of a few. (At work, I've been putting back seats down and laying in the back of sooo many SUVs lately to test them out! haha)

I honestly think that as long as I buy a car that I can actually lie flat in I'll be okay on the road! I'm mainly a stomach sleeper so not being bent like a banana every night is a big priority! I'm no stranger to sleeping in my car and if I can fit comfortably in my little Toyota now, imagine how much space an SUV will offer to sprawl out like the little star fish I am! haha

Looking like a crazy lady, sleeping in my car in a McDonald's parking lot in Las Vegas.

I just think it would be so fun, and there's so much of the United States that I've never seen!  I have enough saved up that I could afford to just take some months off from work, and I feel like there's no better time than now! (Well, now as in next Spring when the weather is pleasant to travel.) 

Places I'm really excited to see:

• New York City
• Seattle
• New Orleans 
• The whole north east (Maine, New Hampshire, New York countryside)
• Boston
• Niagara Falls 
• Florida 
• Disneyworld!
• Chicago 
• The Carolinas
• The Great Lakes! (Is that what they're called? You know, all those Michigan lakes that are practically oceans!) 
• Mount Rushmore
• Toronto

So that's what I've been daydreaming about lately at work! Selling my current car. Buying a new/used CR-V. Getting rid of so much stuff I don't need. Hitting the road to see new places. Visit my family all over the U.S. Take photos. 

I just really want to go on this adventure for a few months!

MY FIRST TRIP TO PORTLAND!

I have always wanted to go to Portland. I've only ever been as far as the Portland airport which doesn't count. Lately I've decided that I rather save up my money and spend it on experiences and trips rather than just things. So slowly but surely, that's what I'll do! 

I'll go to places I've never been. See things I've never seen. Travel as much as I can while I'm still young and can enjoy it. I think all too often people buy into this idea that they will have more time to travel once they get older and have more steady incomes, but I want to travel while I'm young and can truly enjoy it!  

Our trip was so lovely and I loved Oregon so much! We stayed a couple nights in downtown Portland at The Society Hotel and a night in Lincoln City right on the beach! It was the most peaceful thing to hear the ocean right outside our window as we slept. The whole trip we kept waking up naturally every morning no later than 6:30am. I think it was a mix of being on Utah time still and being excited for each day's adventures!

 

We went to: 

Voodoo Doughnuts. Multnomah Falls. Lincoln City Beach. Upper Left Roasters. Tea Bar. The Japanese Gardens. The Saturday Market along the river. Chipotle (this has weirdly become our travel food which we secretly love!) Powells (only because a million people told me I just HAD to go there.) The town of Tillamook, but not the factory. A yummy Mexican restaurant in Lincoln City with some of the worst service I've had. A yummy pizza/pub place across the street from our hotel for a little late night pepperoni pizza run. The prettiest waterfall near Multnomah Falls which I honestly liked better! You could walk right up to where the water hits and there were far fewer people there.

 

 

 Trip Highlights:

• Japanese Gardens.
• Falling asleep in Lincoln City to the sounds of waves crashing on the shore.
• The Froot Loop donut from Voodoo Doughnut! (and getting there when there was no line at all. Go Friday morning at 9:00am- ish!)
• Strolling through the Saturday Market near the river.
• The vanilla steamer that Jeremy got from Tea Bar that I drank way too much of.
• Watching the sun set from the rooftop garden of our hotel.
• Driving along the old highway instead of the freeway on the way back from Multnomah Falls! That old highway is so much prettier and reminds me of all the gold mining towns I love so much in the Sierra Nevada.
• Our last morning spent on the beach looking for whole sand dollars. 
• Sitting on a bench in the Rose Garden surrounded by pretty things and just being at complete peace for those 20 minutes or so.

FIRST WEEKEND OF OCTOBER

This past weekend Jeremy and I went down to Nephi for the weekend. We were supposed to leave Saturday morning, but we got a really late start leaving because to be completely honest, I wasn't too excited to go to Nephi so I was being way too lazy about packing and getting going. We ended up making breakfast, watching a few episodes of The Office, and went to a coffee shop before Jeremy reeeaaally encouraged me to pack and get ready. :)

Despite not initially wanting to go to Nephi, I'm so glad we went! It was such a fun trip and we were finally able to take a little drive through Nebo Loop. Jeremy has told me about Nebo Loop for a while now but we just haven't found the time to go. It really is such a beautiful drive and area! They even have a "Mini Bryce Canyon" in the middle of all the trees and greenery.

It was a fun weekend! We saw pretty sights, played addicting card games with his family, and ate yummy food. October is off to a lovely start!

OUR VACATION TO LOS ANGELES!

Last Wednesday Jeremy and I took a little vacation out to Los Angeles! We've been talking about going on a little trip for a while (well, not a while, we've only actually known each other 4 months) and decided on Southern California.

DAY ONE: MAGIC MOUNTAIN. MEXICAN FOOD. BEACH DAY.

On our first day there we went to Magic Mountain! Jeremy has never been on a real rollercoaster before so it was fun to see him experience an actual amusement park for the first time. (Sorry, Lagoon, you don't really count.) 

After Magic Mountain, we went to get Mexican food at this really yummy whole in the wall Mexican place my family stumbled upon last September in Santa Clarita. It was so good and the perfect little welcome back to California meal! 

Above: Nice Jeremy being cute for my photo.

Below: How he actually felt on the inside. Poor guy. Superman kind of tore his stomach up, and I made him go get Mexican food with me way too soon after that ride.

On our way to my aunt's house, there are a ton of nurserys and fruit stands along that highway to the coast. Jeremy saw a cactus nursery that he wanted to stop at so we went and I'm so glad we did! It was one of the cooler ones I've been to lately.

My touristy photo. :)

We made our way to the beach that evening and it was such a nice little moment to slow down and just play and relax.

Just look at this little dreamboat! :)

DAY 2: MALIBU. PRIMO PASSO COFFEE. LAGUNA BEACH. SANTA MONICA PIER.

A little coffee shop Jeremy discovered in Santa Monica that he wanted to try out. I'm not a coffee drinker, but I do like coffee shop atmospheres. And chai lattes. I could always go for a good chai latte!

Jeremy's first time driving in LA! And I was kind of mean and really threw him out to the wolves. Stop and go traffic on the 405 for two and half hours each way. Ooof! Sorry, dood. You did great though! ;)

We met up with his friend in Laguna Beach to visit and walk around the beach and shops.

Anyone who knows me well knows I'm a sucker for clam chowder bread bowls! It's probably in my top 5 meals actually. Jeremy had never tried clam chowder before so we got one on the Santa Monica Pier and it was so good! 

DAY 3: VENICE BEACH. SANTA MONICA PIER. BEACH DAY.

I had a lot of trouble with that dang ice cream cone. It was seriously so good but oh boy did it melt so fast. 

We had a nice beach day in Santa Monica where we just left our cameras and phones and everything important in the car so we could be in the ocean without constantly having to look back and check on our stuff. Getting a non-electronic car key made is one of my better decisions in life lately. It seriously makes it so easy to go to waterparks, and oceans, and rivers now. I just safety pin it inside of my swimsuit and I'm golden! It's just nice to not have to worry about that. Don't judge me but in the past when we would float the river, I used to just leave my key up under the wheel well and just hope no one would think anyone was that dumb to leave the key near the car and go snooping around for one. Haha.

DAY 4: BEVERLY HILLS. EIGHTFOLD COFFEE SHOP. POOL DAY.

Jeremy loves cars and besides the fact that I'm already not really interested in cars to begin with, I tried to explain to him that I'm a little desensitized to nice cars because there's just a lot of them in California. Take a drive around Los Angeles, Malibu, or San Francisco and you just end up seeing a lot of them. With all that being said, the car show on Rodeo Drive was actually pretty cool! And it was fun to see Jeremy be so excited.

We got the yummiest espresso milkshake from Nespresso in Beverly Hills. It was the best treat after walking around in 95 degree heat in the sun. Oh that sun really beat us up after spending nice breezy days on the coast.

A cute, over-priced candy shop near Rodeo Drive. I loved their packaging but oh boy was it pricey. It was nice to look around and eat their free samples. :)

DAY FIVE: DRIVE HOME. JEREMY'S SIGN. DINNER IN NEPHI.

We passed this sign on the way to California, but Jeremy was sleeping and I didn't want to wake him up just to take a photo so I made sure to remember where it was so we could stop at it on the way back. Do you know how hard it is to find any little visuals to help you remember where something is in the middle of a desert? It truly was in the middle of nowhere, but luckily it's somewhat near this old abandoned waterpark down the freeway a bit so that helped.

Our first trip together was fun! We laughed a lot. We danced in the car. We rapped along to dumb songs. We psyched each other out before rollercoasters. We swam. We argued. We fought. We made up. We ate the yummiest Mexican food. We kissed. We loved.