Winn-Dixie Goes Out Californie Way

Friday, December 17th 2010:

Carlos, Radar, and I arrived in the Las Vegas airport, picked up our GMC Terrain, and drove to Planet Hollywood to pick up Jamie who was currently receiving a very special package.  After getting lost and finding a cheap buffet, we called OnStar to get directions to our next destination. OnStar, however, could not help us without a zipcode, though I was informed that I ran 2 redlights in the meantime.  Our first stop: Death Valley National Park.  I only have 1 picture here that turned out, it was either too foggy or too dark to get a good picture.

 After seeing one overlook, we drove to the visitors center and stopped at a local bar for some drinks.  Afterwards we drove 90 mph through the park to a town I  don't remember the name of to get some much needed rest.

Saturday, December 18th 2010:
This was the only day that felt like winter to us. We wanted to go up to Sequoia National Park to hug General Sherman and to take in the views in wintertime. At the gate we were informed that we needed RainChains to continue. There was a place a mile back that rented them so we drove back to get a pair. Unfortunately they cost $80 to rent, so we said Fuck it drove back to the gate, lied to the ranger, and continued up that long windy road without them (if you've been there you know which one).  Being that we're from PA and know how to drive in the snow we were fine.  When we got to the top we waded through 2 feet of snow and water (literally a pool of water under the snow) to hug General Sherman. I took a group picture quickly in front of the great tree but it didn't turn out the way I  wanted it to, and there was no way I was going to stay there and try again. We ran back to the car and headed on the road.

 Our original plan was to go to Yosemite next, but we were tired of the snow and drove to Monterey for some fortys, soco 100, karaoke, and santa whores. This was the start of our heavy drinking throughout the trip, and would set pace for some serious partying.

Sunday, December 19th 2010:
From Monterey we drove south on route 1 along the Big Sur coastline, which is probably one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world.

 This next picture is of a very sweet beach that you can't get to without a deathwish where there is a waterfall on the beach.

 Along the way we spotted a beach filled with Elephant Seals, so I promptly clubbed them all to death, including the babies, and stacked them in a neat pile!

 I didn't really do that, they just appeared dead, even when we walked out on the beach until they moved it was hard to tell. If you've never heard the sound an elephant seal makes or seen how they fight, I reccomend you do so at your earliest convenience.

 At the end of the day we had some sweet Mexican food and continued our journey.

Monday, December 20 2010:
We departed our hotel in Palm Springs and ventured into Joshua Tree National Park, my favorite stop of this trip.  This park was unique in the fact that you could just pull over at any stop and have a great time climbing the boulders, there was no need to hike out of the way to get to the sites.

 Also it was home to Joshua Trees, which look like they came out of a Dr. Suess book.

 Beard Buddies

 That was the last we saw of Carlos.

 Giant Rock or Giant Herhey's Kiss? You decide.

 Mark ate a mushroom and got real big.

Skull rock.

 Chollo (pronounced Choya) gardens was our last stop out of the park to find a cache and to throw spiny chollo balls at Radar's head while he screams: "IT'S IN MY HEEEEEAAAAAAAAD!!" We finished off the night by driving to Phoenix, Az the same night that the Pittsburgh Penguins destroyed the Phoenix Coyotes. After haggling with the worst negotiator ever, we stayed in a nice downtown hotel with a high speed refridgerator. If you don't know what that is, you haven't lived.

Tuesday, December 21st 2010:
I  don't have any pictures from this day, but we played some disc at a disc course in the suburbs of Phoenix then cached in South Mountain park, where Carlos and I  almost got Rocked like a Hurricane by the same rock.  This was the most rediculous hike, or should I say vertical climb, to get to a cache. Radar was with us on this, Jamie was not.  We split up to eat, Carlos and I to a nice chinese place, Radar and Jamie to KFC, then bought a sweet DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince cd at a pawn shop for $1.  Afterwards we jetted down to Tucson, Az to meet up with Corie and Brandon for a few drinks. I will tell you the whole story in person if you want, but basically the night was filled with broken beer bottles, bouncers removing us from bars, police, Waffle House, fistfights, and crackheads.  Hands down one of the craziest nights I've ever had. The next morning was going to be rough, although not for me somehow...

Wednesday, December 22nd 2010:
Carlos and I decided to experience Saguaro National Park while Jamie recovered and Radar hid from the sprinkling rain.  We split up in the desert.  Now let me say, at first I did not give Saguaro a fair chance. I immediately judged it and said it was lame when we first got there, but after splitting off from the group and getting a little lost in the desert seeing a coyote and multiple roadrunners along the way, I really like this park. Afterwards we drove to Las vegas for 2 nights of partying.

 Thursday, December 23rd 2010:
And when I say partying, I  mean partying with this guy:

"That's what I love about high school girls, I keep getting older but they stay the same age"

This is another night I'd like to share with you in person, but let's say it involves Stillers, Pawn Stars, alcohol, adultery, threesomes, winning a lot of money, and positive thinking.

Friday December 24th through Saturday December 25th 2010:

We drove to the airport, flew out to Atlanta (Radar took a different flight to Texas) and arrived only to be given the Christmas Present of a cancelled flight by Delta. Not cancelled by weather, but because their flight attendant decided they didn't want to work Christmas.  We rented a car "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" style and drove 12 hours through blizzards to arrive back in PA. 

I would like to close this story with a little game I like to call: "The desert will fuck you up!"

And the winner is...

Jamie Feather

P.S. Here's a video I  made of the trip.

I'm only here for the beaches.

Tuesday October 26th-Wednesday October 27th:

I arrived at work to find out that there was a lead in Ulysses, Pa, which is east of Bradford. Wednesday looked light so I determined it was a good time for an adventure. I packed my bags, drove to Ulysses, sold a $7800 window job, then decided to drive in a random direction.  I stopped in Bradford for some roast beef, medium rare. After refueling, the decision was made to drive out a random country road to see what I'd come across. After many random turns, I arrived in the town of Jamestown, Ny. Unfortunately, I did not think to take pictures of this day, for I did not know my camera was in the spaceship (blue minivan for those who don't know).  Sunset had already passed over an hour ago, so after a quick bite, my compass pointed me to Cleveland, Oh.  Shortly after arriving in Ohio, I started to fall asleep, so I made the decision to turn around and spend the night in Erie.  After some gambling (up $110), I retired to the room to get some much needed rest.

The next morning I toyed around the idea to continue my quest to Cleveland, Oh to confirm whether or not it rocks, but overall the desire to be on Presque Isle overcame me.  My mission:

To hike the entire Presque Isle peninsula on the beach side. It was a grueling walk but I saw a few interesting things on the way.

 Lonely guy comtemplating life.

 Lighthouse.

I don't know what the fuck this is.

I also saw some people doing the Hankey Pankey but that picture can only be seen on http://www.hankeypankey.com/ (not sure if this is an actual site).  After the long grueling journey, I decided to reward myself with a swim in the nice, cool, October waters of Lake Erie, as I  swam out to the rock pile things.

Afterwards I drove south to quaint little town of Pittsburgh to visit Penelope. Andy and Emily were there as well. After Andy selfishly drank 4 out of the 6 beers I brought, it was time to retire home.

The Journey to Washington, Part 4:

Thursday September 30th continued:

After arriving at my car and saying goodbye to my 2 new friends, I drove back making one stop to see...

Another waterfall.

After eating under the bridge again (the troll in me couldn't resist), riding the ferry, and driving the whole way around the peninsula, I arrived just in time to see the Hoh rainforest...

...find the cache with a sweet gift inside, and set up camp on the beach just in time to see the sun set over the pacific ocean right next to an island. This was the perfect evening. Oh and I opted to take a bear bin filled with ice and 3 local beers instead of food. Best decision I ever made.

Friday October 1st:
Woken up early by a huge storm blowing into the beach. Winds were powerful but the rain had not come yet, so I packed up my stuff and started booking it back the 3 mile hike to the car. Most of this trail is on a boardwalk that is made up of now very slimy wet wood from previous week of rain. I had not slipped the previous day so I was very confident I could walk briskly to avoid getting wet again, for I did not have fond memories of the last time I was caught in the rain. Part of the way through the hike, I hit a slippery spot, slid, spun, tried to recover, but my 40 lb pack gave me so much momentum that I flew off of the boardwalk, rolled down a very long, very steep hill, launched myself off an 8 foot cliff, and landed on a fallen tree. Here is a picture of the aftermath:

I have never felt so much pain in my life. After laying there motionless for I don't know how long, I reached for my spot to press the assistance button, but I left it at the car. My right shoulder was in immense pain, as were my ribs. I thought they were both broken especially since I couldn't move my arm and I could barely breathe. There was nobody at the beach and it was extremely early in the morning, so I had to get myself up, and hike around and up the hill, and back to the car while wearing my pack on my shoulder. I drove to the nearest hospital and after some xray's and examination, they found that my shoulder was dislocated and my ribs were severely bruised, but thankfully not broken. After setting my shoulder back into place, letting the anesthetic wear off, outfitting me with a sling, giving me explicit instructions to take it easy for a while, and giving me a prescription for pain pills (for which I still haven't filled), I was on my way out of there. My original plans were to head to Cape Flattery, the NW most point in the Lower 48, and supposedly the most dramatic coastal area in Washington. However I was exhauted and in terrible, terrible pain...so I stopped for some food first. Here are a few pictures of the coast.

After that hike I drove 3 hours to the capitol of Washington, Olympia. I stopped to vomit multiple times along the way, maybe that hike was a bad idea. I ordered a pizza, took a much needed shower, and then blacked out, not sleep, blacked out. I was in the middle of town when I came to at some art festival. I went back to my hotel, fuzzy in the head, had a conversation (if you can call it that) which led to me being told to "go to sleep". Another black out and I was in a bar filled with hipsters talking to a biker. Then I decided that I should either walk to a hospital or the hotel, I decided on the hotel since I  had no idea where the hospital was. After getting some sleep I woke up at around 10 am, still exhausted, in more pain than the previous day, and relieved my stomach some more. Not the most glamorous part of my trip. Today I was supposed to go to Seattle to see the sites and eat some good food, but the weather said clear skies in Mount Rainier, so of course I did the smart thing and drove back out to Paradise to see the views. It took me 4 hours to do a hike that should have taken an hour with the time for photos and taking in the view. Here are said photos:

And after that I drove straight to the airport stopping only for gas and dinner. The flights home were uneventful, except that my luggage decided that it wanted to see detroit instead of Pittsburgh. Everyone should go to the Pacific Northwest someday, it truly is one of the most beautiful places on earth.