Posted June 12th, 2008 by Graham
Wow. I honestly do not know how I’m going to top this one. While at a Barenaked Ladies Concert being held near our apartment, a surprise guest walked up on stage to help them out with a more Polka-y version of “If I Had a Million Dollars.”
They first announced him as “Awkward Al,” jokingly, and I didn’t get it at first, but when I saw a lanky guy jump on stage with an accordion I made a b-line for the stage, it was Wierd Al!
After the concert was over Mr. Yankovic was very nice and patient with everyone, he took pictures, signed autographs and met with the throng of fans off the side of the stage who were excited to see him there.
Anyways, I always hate bugging celebrities for pictures because it’s usually an empty gesture — “Hey, can I have a picture with you, because my friends will be SO jealous!” Most celebrites know exactly where these pics are going: Facebook, MySpace, etc.
I figured I’d make an exception for Weird Al, though. I’ve been a fan for ages. He was very nice and patient with everyone. What a great guy!
Posted June 6th, 2008 by Graham
I’m well aware that my travel blog stopped short after we arrived at Flagstaff. Things got pretty busy after that. So I’ll try to pick up where I left off.
We left Flagstaff around noon. We had to stop for more fuel before getting completely out of town, so I stopped and filled up my X-terra with some $3.99-a-gallon gas, which as you will read later was just the beginning of my fuel-price woes for this leg of the trip.
This travel day was easily the most uneventful of the three. It was basically the same drive as the day before except this time we were really, truly, in the middle of nowhere, and my cell phone reception confirmed this.
We drove through Albuquerque, which is a city that has always been sort of a childhood dream of mine to visit — partly due to that awesome ‘Wierd Al’ song. But interestingly enough, as ‘Al,’ has so eloquently put forward in his music: There isn’t much to see or do in Albuquerque, so we moved on.
Now this is where it gets almost disturbingly boring. It was another 300 miles or so through nothing but desert. Eventually we crossed over into California, which was justifiably awesome, but only for a moment–we were still about 200 miles away from L.A.
We eventually stopped in Barstow, CA to fill up once again and say goodbye to our old friend, Interstate 40 West. I was running on fumes so I stopped at the nearest gas station I could find and was greeted with an apocalyptic sight: $4.47 gal. No, I’m not naive enough to think that gas wasn’t going to be grossly overpriced in California. I was anticipating to pay quite a bit, but that didn’t soften the blow.
It was only after getting back on the road that I realized I’d been had. The gas stations at the next exit were touting their “$3.98″ gas. Now, how in the name of all that is holy and just, is it that two reputable gas stations separated by the meager distance of less than one mile could have almost a $0.50 difference in their price for gas? I have your proof of price gouging right here, America!
I gathered what was left of my self-confidence and moved forward with the trip. We were less than an hour from Los Angeles! This is when the driving began to finally get interesting. About an hour outside of LA, Interstate 15 South turns into a six-lane super highway that winds its way through a series of mountains all the way into the hills of Los Angeles. It was basically a crash course in getting used to the way folks drive out here.
We made it to our final hotel and checked in, and it was only about 5:00pm. We were staying in Pasadena which is a small suburb about 28 miles northeast of Los Angeles. My sister, Carrie and I both drove into town to find something to do during our first night in Los Angeles, and — you guessed it — we both found movies to go see.
Welcome to Los Angeles, eh?
Posted June 1st, 2008 by Graham
Four states, twelve hours, two time zones, and 860 miles.
That was today’s trip.
The longest leg of our trip is finally behind us. We’re currently in Flagstaff, Arizona, ready to get some much needed sleep after today’s marathon driving session. We drove through Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona today. That is hands-down the longest distance I’ve ever driven in a single session.
I saw lots of stuff on the road that I’ve never seen in person before: A huge wind farm in Oklahoma, the ‘Largest Cross in the Western Hemisphere’ in Texas, and an RV fully engulfed in flames in New Mexico. (Everyone was okay.)
All of those things were a welcome reprieve from what was basically a mind-numbing drag across America’s heartland and into the desert. There were a few touristy things like the Arizona ‘Meteor Crater’ that I wish we would have had time to stop and look at, but I’ll jot those down and remember to check them out on the way back.
Tomorrow’s trip is only about 5-6 hours. We’re taking the opportunity tomorrow morning to sleep in a bit. We’re staying one more night in a hotel in Pasadena, CA (Which is basically Los Angeles), but I’m keeping in mind that if we wait too long, we’ll arrive in Pasadena around rush hour and that’s no good. So we’ll probably leave at around 10:30-11:00 a.m. in the morning and try to be in Pasadena before 5:00.
Thanks again for following our travels! Keep checking out my twitter for updates as we finish our trip tomorrow. California here we come!
