Road Trip Day 1: Salty snacks and Salt Lake City

Hello friends,

Here we are. I am sitting upright in a comfy bed in the comfy Comfort Inn in Salt Lake City Utah. It's 7:55pm and I'm ready for bed. I'm wearing my Def Lepard t-shirt and a towel around my head. I'm so tired that this blog might be the worst idea of 2012. But I'm soldiering on, just like the pioneers did. My mission must be completed! And I promised to blog everyday of my trip bak east to Boston from LA. So here is a re-cap of Day 1, despite my delirious state and the fact that the screen is blurry because my tired eyes can no longer focus.

My travel buddy, Drea, and I got up at 4:40am. Stuffed the already packed to the gills car with even more stuff, hit up a gas station, and hit the road. I was first driver. It should be noted that I did not sleep AT ALL last night. I was too excited and sad and happy. (I had an amazing last day in LA with my very best pals who came and kept me company as I unloaded crap and packed crap. Seriously, do I deserve this much love!)

So the first couple hours of the trip are a blur. We managed to skirt all LA morning traffic with elation as I fondly tipped my cap to the worst interstate intersection in history (101/110/10/5), "So long, suckers!" I shouted inwardly to the commuters of my daily past. ... It felt good to get out of LA.

We took the 15 north towards Vegas and made a pit stop/grub injection at my favorite kitschy diner in the world, Peggy Sue's 50's Diner. This place inspired one of my favorite melancholy road trip songs, which can be heard here. It warms my heart in every way and we stuffed our face with delicious eggs, toast and hasbrowns. I was reinvigorated for the next leg!

Favorite moment between Nevada and Utah: Singing "Home" from the wiz and trying not to wake Drea up...I cried a little.

GRUB
Road trip tip #1: Eat greasy, protein packed food and wash it down with coffee. You will be able to go for hours!

We did just that. We drove for a grand total of, trumpets please!, 12 hours today! Thank God I have Drea with me, and we traded off driving halfway. I got to take a little nap. We noticed that the further we got from LA, the cheaper the gas was and the more Walmarts we saw. I think I counted 6 in about 2 hours.

Road trip tip #2: Road snacks. Salty & Sweet. Never one or the other.

We finally made it to our destination stopping point, Salt Lake City. I don't know what we were expecting, but it definitely surprised us. The city looks like one big convention center with a huge temple in the center. It's just hotel after hotel after hotel - in the middle of freaking nowhere. We tried to play spot the Mormon, but that game got old when we realized EVERYONE was a Mormon. Except for maybe the homeless druggies on the street downtown. I wondered if they were Mormon castoffs who lost their way and were shunned by their families. :(

Road trip tip #3: ALWAYS sing "Sisters are Doin' it for Themselves" at the top of your lungs with your girlfriend.

Whipped Cream mountain topper

We finally found a hotel room. It was surprisingly hard to find a place in a city entirely made of hotels. The lady at the counter of the Comfort Inn was so nice, she could only be from here. I found a brochure on the table for Temple Square - which is in the center of town. I unfolded it and said quite loudly to Drea, "It's like Mormon Disneyworld!" Then I realized I was most likely in the presence of a Mormon,  I am a complete asshole, and that I cannot meet the sweet lady's eyes for the rest of the transaction.

Mormon Disneyworld

I'm sorry, Salt Lake City! I don't mean to demean your religion. I just need some friggin SLEEP!!!!! Utah is huge and full of mountains and plains! Thank God I don't drink anymore, because I would put money on the fact that it's impossible to get a stiff one around here.



Anyway, my hair is drying. My heartbeat is slowing. It's obviously time to rest for next leg tomorrow. Even the pioneers had to pitch camp for the night! I'm really looking forward to tomorrow because we will be driving less and spending time in the GREAT OUTDOORS!

Yellowstone, here we come!!!!!!!!!!!

Road trip 2012.

On the wall at Peggy Sue's :)