My Drive Across Country

Pictures

janust — Sat, 12 May 2007 12:52:04 +0000

Virginia

Tennessee

Arkansas

Oklahoma

Arizona

Days 4-7

janust — Fri, 11 May 2007 20:09:22 +0000

Day 4 would be our final push in the car until we would be able to enjoy the sun and beaches of California. After a few hours of driving through more desert terrain we finally began to see signs of civilization. Santa Barbara was beautiful: Sunny and 75 in the middle of January. I helped my cousin move in to his apartment and after we got settled he gave me a three-day tour of Los Angeles and the surrounding area. We saw Rodeo Drive, drove through Beverly Hills, made a few celebrity sightings, and spent plenty of time on the beach. With the second semester of school approaching, it was time for me to leave this tropical climate and go home. It took me just under six hours to fly back over the same distance we had just driven for three days straight. All in all it was a great experience, but I think it will be the last time I ever make that drive across the country.

Total Driving Distance: 2,842 miles

Day 2

janust — Fri, 11 May 2007 19:37:33 +0000

We receive our wake-up in call in Nashville at 7:30 AM and eat a quick breakfast in the hotel lobby. Our goal for today was Amarillo, Texas. We were a little nervous as we headed out because the weather forecast in Texas later in the night was ice and snow. Nevertheless, we had to go onward; the driving through Arkansas and Oklahoma was incredibly straight and flat and the scenery was much different than in the northeast. When we arrived at Amarillo, Texas at about 9:30 PM, the weather was not bad at all so we made the decision, one that we would soon regret, to make a push for Albuquerque, New Mexico. We were flying along the interstate in New Mexico at speeds close to 100 mph until we ran into terrible snow and ice. I didn’t think that it ever could snow in such a desert, barren landscape but I was dead wrong. We had to creep along at a pace of no more than 40 mph at one point tailing a sander for over an hour. We made it through these treacherous conditions and finally got to Albuquerque just before 4 AM.

Day 2 Total Driving Distance: 1,221 miles

The beautiful Oklahoma landscape.

Day 1

janust — Fri, 11 May 2007 16:42:30 +0000

We set our alarms for 7:00 AM and we were the road in about an hour. Our goal for this first day was to get all the way to Nashville, Tennessee. This may have seemed a bit ambitious, but with the two of us driving shifts of about four hours while the other napped we knew it could be possible. New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland flew by. Virginia was a long haul, we spanned the entire state on a two lane highway weaving past trucks the entire way. We arrived in Tennessee’s capital city at about 10:30 local time and stayed the night at the Sheraton Nashville Downtown Hotel.

Day 1 Total Driving Distance: 864 miles

Day 3

janust — Fri, 11 May 2007 15:33:54 +0000

We slept in a little bit after getting in so late the previous night. Since we covered over 1,200 miles the previous day, we were finally able to relax. Then there was the big question: do we go straight to our destination of Santa Barbara, CA or do we make a one night pit stop in Las Vegas. It was an easy decision for me; I had always dreamed of seeing Vegas and my cousin did not need much convincing. We passed Arizona and as we made our way through the desert we begin to see a shimmering light in the distance. The bright lights of Las Vegas were in our sights and the approach to the city was a very impressive thing to see. I was in awe as we drove down The Strip and checked into The Aladdin Hotel and Casino. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. We spent the entire night at the blackjack and roulette tables and went to sleep with our wallets a little bit lighter.

Day 3 Total Driving Distance: 573 miles