The Road (Trip) Less Taken - Part 3.. 965.3 Miles Later!

Last blog for this weekend!  Yesterday was a bit of a tough day, due to the disappointing visits coupled with unproductive overanalytic thinking (which is never good) during long bouts of driving.  However, today's had a happy ending, but more on that later.  

Thanks to another work bestie (I work with great people) Wendy for giving me the suggestion of listening to Audible while driving.  I spent my drive today listening to Big Little Lies, which is a really good book - I finished 30 of 84 chapters, so I have something to listen to on the way to London.  The narrator is Australian, so that makes it extra whimsical :)  I'll have to download other books, so any suggestions are appreciated!

I began with a drive to Sacramento to see a giant Coke cup and was not disappointed.  It was definitely larger than yesterday's artichoke, so it was worth the drive.  (I may hold a grudge for a while.)

Look - how original. I'm holding the giant coke cup in the palm of my hand!

After this, I made the drive to Turlock to see the bulldozer building, which is just a building in the shape of a bulldozer.  

I was filling up and had to take a picture at the gas station.  I hardly ever pay attention to gas prices but I've never seen gas as cheap as $3.49 in LA!

The final stop of the day before I sped home was a good one.  If you know me pretty well, you know I love (or used to love, before my appetite went south) cheese!  So I was thrilled that the Hilmar Cheese Company was a few miles away from the bulldozer building and on my way home.  

They had a pretty cute visitor's center and store with plenty to look at.  In case you ever wanted to know how to milk a cow, below is a handy dandy guide.

As a dairy farmer, milk processing technician, and veterinarian. Plus my free hairnet.  (The helmet says "I am a cheesemaker")

After this, I was excited to finally head home.  Here's some concluding thoughts:

1) I went on this trip to prove to myself that I could, which I definitely accomplished.  I didn't want to go and thought I'd grow to enjoy it, which I did.. kinda, but not as much as I thought I would.

2) I have really wonderful friends who presented awesome suggestions, offered to host me, checked up on me, and were immensely supportive, in regards to this trip, as well as with the upcoming London excursion.  I'm not sure if I can ever adequately express how thankful and lucky I am to have you in my life.  But if you want personal thank yous, contact me and I'll delve out much-deserved adulation :)  (And Ste, I need to come back and go shooting with you.)

3) I kinda dig these offbeat roadside attractions.  I don't have an immediate desire to plan another road trip to see others, but if so, I'm also not sure if I'd do this solo.  If anyone is interested in seeing oddities, maybe you can join me on a hypothetical future trip.  The Roadtrippers website/app was essential in mapping my route, and according to their guide, there's plenty of other giant things I'd be interested in seeing, such as a rocking chair, Campbell's tomato soup can, and Adidas shoes, ball of twine, among many, many others.  (Chcck out the full list here: https://roadtrippers.com/lists-itinerary/larger-than-life/809171)  As I learned from the artichoke debacle, it better be giant for it to be worth my while!

4) California is amazingly diverse and scenic.  I only went up and down the coast but feel like I ventured across other states.

5) One day I saw a dead deer in the freeway median.  It was sad and gross and I've never seen that before.  I just forgot to mention this earlier and thought it was somewhat significant.

6) There's a lot of selfies on this blog but I promise I'm not narcissistic.  I figure a lot of these images you can get via Google but I took selfies to personalize the blog and so you know I actually went to these places.  The proof is in the pictures!  I think I need to get comfortable taking selfies and being in pictures before London.

Anyway, I did promise a happy ending at the beginning of the blog, so here it is:

Ice cream while watching The Simpsons marathon.  But don't tell my gym buddy, as he's already vociferously expressed his disappointment that I followed up my achievement of swimming 100 pool lengths (2500 yards) with more than a week of inactivity.  Sorry, buddy.. don't give up on me!

Until next time, smell ya laters!  (And thanks for reading!)

The Road (Trip) Less Taken - Part 2.. Artichoke and Monopoly

Maybe I miss those ostriches because today was not as fun as yesterday.  My first stop of the day was the World's Largest Artichoke in Castroville.  Full disclosure - the only artichoke I ever eat is from spinach and artichoke dip, so I'm not an artichoke enthusiast.  It was pretty big but for some reason, I expected it to be larger than building size.  Fun fact, a CHP officer pulled in and smirked at me right when I was taking my selfies, so that was embarrassing.  Maybe I'll embrace and master the art of the selfie before London.

Next, I hit up Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz, where I faced a harrowing driving experience.  I pulled into the narrow dirt road entrance and was met with cars in front of me trying to reverse to make room for an RV going the opposite direction, attempting to exit.  It turns out that there was a line of cars entering and exiting and barely enough room on this path.  While I was still trying to make my way in, a friendly woman on her way out told me they were all sold out until 5pm.. so all that was for nothing.

After this, I went to my next destination, Swanton's Strawberry Farm in Davenport.  There wasn't much to see here and reminded me of the farm from Texas Chainsaw Massacre, so I didn't stay long. 

Monopoly in the Park in San Jose was the next destination, which was pretty cool to see.  There weren't any pieces out because I think they only have them when groups book to play the actual games.

The best selfie I've ever taken!

Finally, I made a long trek to Stockton to see one of my two favorite Wong twins.  It was a long drive and almost unbearably hot but my efforts were rewarded with BBQ from The Smoky Shack, where I enjoyed pulled pork, brisket, mac 'n cheese, and black beans.  I can't even name what Michael got - he got what's called "The TKO", so pretty much everything they serve was on his tray (except the salad that's not in the picture).

I think tomorrow's going to be the last day - I don't really want to spend my entire weekend driving and I'm still itchin' (and scratchin', har har) to watch The Simpsons marathon, as well as The Unauthorized Saved By The Bell Movie, the latter of which is almost certainly terrible.

The Road (Trip) Less Taken - Part One.. Welcome to Ostrichland!

It's the beginning of Labor Day weekend and I'm prepping for London (T minus 27 days!) by taking a road trip to northern California.  I wasn't sure if I was actually going to go but I thought it was better than being lazy the whole long weekend.. although it must be said that The Simpsons marathon was a formidable temptation.  (Ironically enough, I just saw an episode where they went to London and there's also an ep where they went to Ostrichland.)

I drive a lot for work but have never covered this much ground before, so this trip is a good exercise in proving to myself that I can do it.  I started this trip really pumped and motivated but that lasted about.. half an hour.  Then I got sleepy, as I often do in the afternoon, and thought about taking a nap in a motel that rents rooms by the hour but decided against putting my face anywhere near that super yuck ambiance.  

I powered through and stopped at Ostrichland in Buellton (near Solvang) - thanks to my work bestie QP for that awesome suggestion.  I paid an extra dollar to feed the ostriches, which was slightly terrifying, since they all came and pecked at my bowl at the same time.  I would've taken a selfie of my experience feeding them, but the sign said I needed to hold the dustpan with two hands and I'm pretty sure I would've  dropped either my phone or the food. And you KNOW those ostriches would've pecked the life out of me if that happened. It was a fun experience, though.  Best $5 ever spent!

I look like I'm two seconds from getting my finger bitten.  Ostriches are surprisingly camera-shy. I tried to take a bunch of selfies and they bobbed their heads down.

See you next time, ostrich friends!

The Beginning - Every day is a new chance to change your life.

Although I've only very casually blogged in the past, (my friend Kristin still mourns the loss of the Xanga account that recapped Andrew Firestone's season of The Bachelor) I decided that this is going to be a serious attempt to chronicle my future, nail-biting adventures (sarcasm with a hint of optimism).  It also has the added (nerdy) bonus of helping me sharpen my writing skills, which I don't have much opportunity to do now that I'm finished with grad school.  This first paragraph wasn't incredibly compelling, but I guess that leaves me with plenty of room for improvement.

What Had Happened (grammar intentional)
Without getting into specific details, the last few months have been much tougher than I have experienced in some time.  I consider myself a generally happy person - I have to admit my life is wonderful - but I've recently been consumed with anxiety, sadness, and worry, among other unsavory emotions.  While pointing fingers and assigning blame is the easy way out, the truth is that each person is responsible for managing his own expectations, actions, and emotions.  In this same vein, when you give someone the power to wholly control your happiness, you run the risk of becoming a prisoner to your sadness.  (Was that prophetic or grammatically incorrect or both?)  Philosophical mumbo jumbo aside, I realized that I lost myself, which is the loneliest feeling to have.  But I pride myself in being a doer so I decided to regain control of my life by making a change.

I actually have this hanging in my apartment.

What Will Happen

I decided to take a solo trip to London! (I got tired from writing the last paragraph so I decided to skip the buildup on this one.)  I realized that there's no better way for me to gain clarity than independently exploring another part of the world.  Plus, doing something I never thought I could has the added benefit of being an empowering feat.  

I've always wanted to go to England but hadn't been able to find any interested travel companions.  But I decided that, like being accountable for my own happiness, I need to take charge of creating positive experiences for myself.

After googling solo traveling, I'm already planning future excursions.  I like doing what I want, when I want, paying how much I want and staying however long I want.  

According to my Final Countdown app, there's 40 days until I leave for London.  Actually, I'll be leaving for Moscow first and then leaving for London, so if you don't hear from me, please check those Russian mail order bride websites.