One week in, I've made it about as far
West as the roads of the contiguous United States will take me: San
Francisco. I'll be staying here until Thursday, which finally
provides me some time to catch my breath, after sprinting across the
Southwest and up the California Coast. Up until now, I had only once
stayed somewhere for more than 24 hours – Los Angeles, for about 36
– and my average driving time each day was 7 hours.
While running a race, it is often
helpful to get splits for specific intervals. While this trip is by
no means competitive, I figured I'd record some statistics for the
first half of the driving, though I consider it the first third of
the trip.
Days on the road: 6
Total miles driven: 2642
Longest Drive: Madison to Oklahoma
City. 837 miles, 12 hours
Shortest Drive: Los Angeles to Santa
Barbara. 85 miles, 90 minutes
New Beers tried: 8 - Firestone
California Pale Ale, Double Barrel Ale (California); La Cumbre
Elevated IPA, South Peak Pilsner (New Mexico); Flying Dog Raging
Bitch Belgian IPA (Maryland); Westmalle Trappist Dubbel (Belgium);
Anderson Valley Boont ESB (California); Victoria Modelo (Mexico)
In N Out beef patties consumed: 4
Number of head-turning girls in
Southern California: too many to count
Cameras in my possession: 3 – my
DSLR, iPhone, and a Canon point and shoot given to me by my
Godparents (technically 4, since the iPhone has two)
Times I've thought to myself, “I
should just stay here and never leave”: 4 - Los Angeles, Santa
Barbara, Big Sur, San Francisco.
Discs of books on tape gone through: 12
(Proust and the Squid, part of The Genome War)
Best meal: Sushi at Izakaya Hachi, Los Angeles
Honorary mention best single menu item: Chicharrones breakfast burrito smothered with Chimayo red chile sauce, Cecilia's Cafe, Albuquerque
Worst meal: yogurt covered raisins and beef jerky, my car, thankfully only once
Hitchhikers picked up: 0
Phone numbers picked up: 1, from a Kazakh girl in LA.
Phone numbers accidentally dialed the next day, hung up, then immediately called back by a girl you'll never see again followed by a conversation awkward enough that even the E-factor comments on it: 1
