After our 12 hour commute on day 3, Britni and I decided to break up the last 12 hours into two days so we could enjoy our surroundings, and that is exactly what we did. The first thing that caught our eye on the drive was a huge billboard for “Bearizona,” a drive through wildlife exhibit. So obviously we pulled in.
There were donkeys, sheep, big black bears, little cuddly baby bears and playful toddler bears, but probably the most exciting part was when the wolves attacked my car.
We kept locking the doors as if that would keep the wolves from mugging us or something. It was awesome. Oh, and in that top left picture the wolves are chomping down on some mammal’s leg with fur and all. It was disgusting and fascinating at the same time.
The next stop was the Grand Canyon.
Isn’t she just a little supermodel?
The canyon was absolutely breathtaking. I would looove to go back one day and try the “difficult” hike. They had cartoon depictions of hikers puking and passing out to emphasize the need for water and hiking experience before trying that trail. Umm.. Challenge accepted. I could definitely see myself spending some quality time in Arizona. That place just appealed to me so much. Have I mentioned how excited I am to explore the West coast? I guess 23 years on the East coast has that effect on a gal.
The next thing we knew we were crossing the California line and singing this at the top of our lungs. We stayed in Barstow, CA that night where there was an indoor pool and hot tub (and unfortunately a creeper old guy who just sat there watching while we swam..). The next day, a short six hours later, we arrived at my new home in Pleasanton, CA where we were told by my cousin and new roommate that there was wine (Muscato!) and liquor in the fridge.
It was about 80 degrees and beautiful blue skies, and in our excitement to get there we forgot to eat anything after the continental breakfast at the hotel, so by the time we went for sushi (obviously the first meal we ate here was sushi..) and started drinking sake, we knew it was going to be an eventful night. Let’s just say I finished one of those wine bottles by myself and Rose came out in full force with unexplained scratches and bruises the next morning and everything. A perfect welcome to California. In fact, when I told my new bffs (Rose becomes bffs with everyone at bars) that I had just driven from Florida, they created a “Cali Tunnel” with their arms for me to run through. It was pretty epic.
Basically I love it here. I already have stories to share and there is so much to do here! I feel very, very lucky.
Love all of your pictures!! I wish I could go there!
I'm super intrigued by Bearizona now. I live in Arizona and we have so many cool places to check out.
FYI – my middle name is rose.
and also – we should probably start planning your trip to the WI.
Ahh the fur baby at the grand canyon! What a good shot!!
This sounds like so much fun! You will definitely have lots of awesome California adventures. 🙂