Adventures Across Western American Part I
Made it back late last night. It was a Grand Adventure and while I'm a little sad it's over, I'm also a little glad to be home. My internet was pretty crap after Reno (which I've since learned has fabulous shoes in the Good Will stores due to all the "exotic strippers dancers". Need to return to Vegas or Reno because of this fact. I may never have mentioned, but I LOVE SHOES! Especially serious heels. Downside of that is Brody likes to chew on serious heels. Ha ha.
The picture, my friends, is my new favorite thing. I fell madly in love with this car. It was a 1977 Fiat Spyder, 5-speed, V8 engine, convertible. The car had mad sex appeal. Driving it across all those hundreds of miles wouldn't have been nearly as much fun if not for the sex appeal. People were so nice to us. When we stopped for lunch, gas, and water, so many people commented on what a sweet ride we were in and what a great time we must be having (both were true).
It got incredible gas mileage (probably due to the brand new engine or its size or its ability to fly down hills at a pretty good pace requiring little to no gas). We sailed across the Salt Flats of Utah at high speed. The seriously oppressive heat and mid-day sun kept us from putting the top down until later in the evenings. (Even with the top up, I managed to get a wicked sunburn on my shoulder. We referred to it as 'Satan's Kiss' and it was hilarious.) Putting the top down at night was a brilliant idea (not mine) because the stars sparkled across the sky. The first night -- after we almost collided with a deer going 60mph downhill -- we saw a shooting star. It was epic.
We drove about 10 hours a day without a/c or a radio. It's been one of my opinions that if you really want to find out if a relationship (platonic, amorous, familial) will work in the long run, you go on a long road-trip. Jaimie and I filled up the hours talking about everything and nothing and laughing until I was hoarse. At one point we did share her earbuds to listen to her iPod until it died. That must've been a sight to see: a sexy car cruising down the highway with two girls trying to listen to music on tiny little buds with the windows down and the wind blowing our hair every which way.
And I got to drive it for 20 of the 25 hours it took to get there. Then I got to drive it down to Pacifica and did some serious research. Can you picture the most famous hill in SF, yeah, I drove up that puppy in a stick shift and pwned it. I even drove myself to the airport. If we didn't have snow in winters or I could afford to have two cars, then I'd get myself a little classic car. This is one of my goals for my future!
My partner-in-crime for this trip is an amazing human being (and not just because she let me get my alpha on behind the steering wheel). It only makes sense that her friends are amazing too. They've all lived and love to talk about it. In discussions, Jaimie always asks the most clever questions. You know that she not only hears you, but she's listening to you as well. This is a trait that I highly value in my friends. And she's just as giving of her own experiences and stories. She's an artist/performer and I'm a writer/wannabe artist (to which, Jaimie would ask: 'Why don't you paint then?'). We did a lot of talking about the creative process. We talked about inspiration and riding the wave as long as possible.
Every time I hang out with her, I get very inspired to travel, create, explore, be. She doesn't seem to put limits on anything. The only limits are those that are self-imposed and she makes me look at these impositions and see ways around them. And we're so different that the things we can talk about and the angles in which we see things makes for engaging discussions. There's also a lighter side of it all too.
On the drive I told her about my sharkmaid story. It's not often that I talk about what I write to people outside of my writing circle. It was nice that Jaimie didn't make any number of comments about writing for teens or fantasy novels. However, when we got to Vanessa's house she had a white shark on top of her fridge. We laughed and I told Vanessa about the shark story. She made the comment: "maybe the shark should hump the surfer and then eat him anyway." That made us laugh even harder and became the thing we kept joking about. "Anne's going to the beach to get humped by a shark."
Lastly, I want to talk about the desolate beauty of the American desert. There are flowers and growing things where you expect rock and sand. There are picturesque scenes stretched across the horizon. The sun doesn't go down as quickly because it lacks the Rocky Mountains, so when it sits on the edge of the earth it casts everything in a rusty pink hue. Twilight is magical and alive with so many possibilities. Had I not been driving (perish the thought!), I would've been taking photos and taking notes. Still, I've stored some good things away for future use. The key is to tap into it sooner rather than later.
And so my 2009 Summer Adventure is over. When I drove my car last night, I was amused by the simple comforts of power-steering, radio, and a/c. There's something to be said for a totally manual car. It makes you pay more attention to your driving and less attention to what's playing on the radio station. I already miss the freedom those short five days held. But as Jaimie would so appropriately ask: "Why don't you do the things that make you feel free?"
The picture, my friends, is my new favorite thing. I fell madly in love with this car. It was a 1977 Fiat Spyder, 5-speed, V8 engine, convertible. The car had mad sex appeal. Driving it across all those hundreds of miles wouldn't have been nearly as much fun if not for the sex appeal. People were so nice to us. When we stopped for lunch, gas, and water, so many people commented on what a sweet ride we were in and what a great time we must be having (both were true).
It got incredible gas mileage (probably due to the brand new engine or its size or its ability to fly down hills at a pretty good pace requiring little to no gas). We sailed across the Salt Flats of Utah at high speed. The seriously oppressive heat and mid-day sun kept us from putting the top down until later in the evenings. (Even with the top up, I managed to get a wicked sunburn on my shoulder. We referred to it as 'Satan's Kiss' and it was hilarious.) Putting the top down at night was a brilliant idea (not mine) because the stars sparkled across the sky. The first night -- after we almost collided with a deer going 60mph downhill -- we saw a shooting star. It was epic.
We drove about 10 hours a day without a/c or a radio. It's been one of my opinions that if you really want to find out if a relationship (platonic, amorous, familial) will work in the long run, you go on a long road-trip. Jaimie and I filled up the hours talking about everything and nothing and laughing until I was hoarse. At one point we did share her earbuds to listen to her iPod until it died. That must've been a sight to see: a sexy car cruising down the highway with two girls trying to listen to music on tiny little buds with the windows down and the wind blowing our hair every which way.
And I got to drive it for 20 of the 25 hours it took to get there. Then I got to drive it down to Pacifica and did some serious research. Can you picture the most famous hill in SF, yeah, I drove up that puppy in a stick shift and pwned it. I even drove myself to the airport. If we didn't have snow in winters or I could afford to have two cars, then I'd get myself a little classic car. This is one of my goals for my future!
My partner-in-crime for this trip is an amazing human being (and not just because she let me get my alpha on behind the steering wheel). It only makes sense that her friends are amazing too. They've all lived and love to talk about it. In discussions, Jaimie always asks the most clever questions. You know that she not only hears you, but she's listening to you as well. This is a trait that I highly value in my friends. And she's just as giving of her own experiences and stories. She's an artist/performer and I'm a writer/wannabe artist (to which, Jaimie would ask: 'Why don't you paint then?'). We did a lot of talking about the creative process. We talked about inspiration and riding the wave as long as possible.
Every time I hang out with her, I get very inspired to travel, create, explore, be. She doesn't seem to put limits on anything. The only limits are those that are self-imposed and she makes me look at these impositions and see ways around them. And we're so different that the things we can talk about and the angles in which we see things makes for engaging discussions. There's also a lighter side of it all too.
On the drive I told her about my sharkmaid story. It's not often that I talk about what I write to people outside of my writing circle. It was nice that Jaimie didn't make any number of comments about writing for teens or fantasy novels. However, when we got to Vanessa's house she had a white shark on top of her fridge. We laughed and I told Vanessa about the shark story. She made the comment: "maybe the shark should hump the surfer and then eat him anyway." That made us laugh even harder and became the thing we kept joking about. "Anne's going to the beach to get humped by a shark."
Lastly, I want to talk about the desolate beauty of the American desert. There are flowers and growing things where you expect rock and sand. There are picturesque scenes stretched across the horizon. The sun doesn't go down as quickly because it lacks the Rocky Mountains, so when it sits on the edge of the earth it casts everything in a rusty pink hue. Twilight is magical and alive with so many possibilities. Had I not been driving (perish the thought!), I would've been taking photos and taking notes. Still, I've stored some good things away for future use. The key is to tap into it sooner rather than later.
And so my 2009 Summer Adventure is over. When I drove my car last night, I was amused by the simple comforts of power-steering, radio, and a/c. There's something to be said for a totally manual car. It makes you pay more attention to your driving and less attention to what's playing on the radio station. I already miss the freedom those short five days held. But as Jaimie would so appropriately ask: "Why don't you do the things that make you feel free?"