Get up and shake the glitter off your clothes

July 12

We woke up bright and early on the 12^th to take our car to the Honda dealership for an oil change and general check-up to make sure we’re okay for the drive home. (Not that we would complain if we were stranded in SF – it’s the one place so far that each of us can see ourselves living in.) We took the car in to the dealership at 7am and then walked around the corner to a café to get breakfast. We sat there until the car was finished, planning out our meals and shopping list for the next leg of the trip. The car was ready for pick up a lot quicker than we expected, which turned out to be very good since we still had a lot to do before leaving the city. We went to Safeway to pick up our groceries and since we knew we still had a lot to do, we split up our shopping list into three of our major food group sections – breads & cereal, pasta & peanut butter, and dairy, produce & candy. Then, after a “1, 2, 3, break!” in the store’s entryway, we set out on our supermarket sweep. We were all impressed with the large, clean, posh store, and were happy to find all our favorite foods – everything bagels, roasted red pepper hummus, and Swedish fish!

We loaded our groceries in the car and headed back to Nob Hill to organize the food, finish laundry, and repack the car. Thanks to B, who acted as a road block, we were able to park in a space right in front of the apartment. It was on a steep hill but we had plenty of space on either end, so we could easily pull in and out. We loaded the car and set off for the Pacific Highway (Route 1), to take the scenic drive out of SF. We all enjoyed the breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean, but because the road was so windy the speed limit had to be 55mph, and since we were already running late, that wasn’t going to cut it. Besides – we already had lunch on our minds.

We all wanted to eat at an In-N-Out before leaving the West Coast, so we searched for one on our GPS and, though it was a little out of our way, we headed in that direction. “Animal Style” was the only secret-ordering-terminology we knew so we all got our burgers prepared that way – with grilled onions and special sauce. It was unanimously decided that the burgers and “animal style” fries were delicious (In-N-Out will you please come to the East Coast?)

We continued on our drive south – our destination for the night being Las Vegas! At one stop for gas, the extreme heat took us all back when we stepped out of the air-conditioned car. Meteorologist K predicted that it was “about a million degrees.” Lucky for us, there was a farm stand near the gas station selling fresh melon slices (only in Cali)! We bought some honeydew and cantaloupe to snack on in the car and it was the freshest and sweetest we have ever had.

All of us underestimated how long the drive from San Francisco to Las Vegas was – it turned out to be about 10 hours – but we trekked on! We saw more dramatic landscape changes as we drove through the Mojave Desert and snapped lots of pics through the car windows. It was dark by the time we were nearing Nevada, but since NV is the state of neon lights, we had no problems figuring out where we crossed the CA-NV border. We could see the border town of Primm, NV from several miles away, clearly defined as a straight line of light, running directly along the Nevada’s state line.

Anxious to see the bright lights of Vegas, we placed bets on how far away we would be able to see the Vegas glow. C, our judge, declared “Price is Right rules,” and guessed 30 miles while B guessed 45 and K guessed 62 (weirdo). We all agreed we could see the city’s glow from 71 miles away, and announced K the winner. Though nothing serious was at stake (after all, we weren’t in Vegas just yet), K has already taken full advantage of her new bragging rights.

Like true party girls we rolled into Vegas close to midnight. Unlike true party girls, we promptly went to bed. Hey, you try driving across the country for two weeks!

Mileage to date: 4,696

States visited: California

Yellow car count:

C – 130

B – 141

K – 165

Highs and Lows:

Group high – That the car passed the checkup with flying colors

Group low – Being too tired to hit The Strip

C high – Liking the West Cost so much

C low – Saying goodbye to my cousins

B high – Vegas!

B low – Missing out on Vegas nightlife

K high – Winning the Vegas glow bet

K low – Unexpectedly long drive