Day 53: Peterborough, Ontario

I made it! So since Jackson Mississippi, I made good time and headed 600km east to Atlanta Georgia, It has started to get more and more like fall everyday! Very beautiful and all the leaves have turned colours (first time since washington!) The nights are starting to get near freezing, and it smells like winter is coming! I then headed South on saturday and made it to Myrtle Beach, in South Carolina! The sun was setting on the ocean and there was a fog rolling in! extremely damp and wet when i woke up on sunday! the air was very heavy and salty! i never really experienced anything like that on the west coast, and the sand/shells/sun was much different i noticed. I woke up early monday morning as I was ready to head north, but had a stroll down the beach before I left and collected a few shells and watched as an amazing display of colours occompanied the sunrise over the ocean (thats the difference of East coast to West - East has the sunrise, West is the sunset! so i got to see both..)

I drove a huge distance monday... 987km..... 11 hours of driving! haha almost rolled the trip odometer! then i slept behind an outlet mall where i found the first recycle bin for public recycling since the grand canyon! so it was good to empty my large supply of recyclables from the last week and a half...   then i went to bed...

2:00am.... SMASH SMASH SMASH... and more spotlights in my face.. scared the crap out of me again, and yes it was another police officer... and this time she didnt feel like giving me a break so she kicked me out  of the parking lot and said I wasnt allowed to sleep in private parking lots... so i left and then came back and parked 2 buildings down, she didnt come back...

Tuesday morning was super cold, my windows were frozen and i didnt sleep too much after my rude awakening lol but had a tea and checked my route and headed from Washington, DC up through Pensylvania, to New York, and then on the 401 to peterborough by 6:00pm... 844 km lol im extremely happy not to have to drive for a few days... i told my dad that I would be home friday, but suprised him on tuesday night and showed up at his work, (2 hours earlier i told him i was in virginia)... good suprise and good to him! (its been 1 year almost)

So now I am home! it seems really wierd after being away so long. Its good to be back , i have missed a lot of things, but there are many things i miss in BC for sure, mostly all the people out there! Im sure i will be back soon for a visit! thanks for following my Blog through my trip, hope it was somewhat fun to follow, and thanks for all the support!

So i made a little tally:

• 18 states
• 53 days
• 4 police incidents
• 1 tarantula, 1 snake, 3 bunnies, 6 lizards
• canada boarder to Mexico boarder
• pacific ocean to altantic ocean
• 30-35 different starbucks across US
• 3 sleeps in a bed, 7 in a tent, 43 sleeps in my car!
  
• 14 300km = $740 in gas
  
• 1 Computer stolen
• 292 pictures
  
• countless memories
  
  

Miss everyone!
Adam

Day 42-50: Las Vegas to Hoover Dam - Grand Canyon - Jackson Missi.

So I havent really been keeping up my blog lately, since my my car started to have problems in Arizona. I had to replace my brakes all round, and then found out that one of my cylinders was leaking oil so now i have to add oil every time i get gas. So i have been try to make good time and heading east.

I drove over the hoover dam, its massive and lots of concrete - takes away from the scenery of lake mead and the desert mountains - the weather was super warm though and lots of sun
Then i headed to williams Arizona after crossing the mountain time zone, then drove from 3000 ft to 7000ft up to the edge of the Crand canyon! It was amazing! the largest, most vast land form i have ever seen - it is literally an inverted mountain range! that night was -3 for the first time since Washington that it had been that cold. I hiked 6 hours into the canyon, and saw the colorado canyon from "skeleton point" its amazing how large the canyon is and how small you feel walking inside it.

Then I headed to Pheonix and finally saw those big old green cactus with the big arms - charlie got a little too close...

Then headed east to Tucsan, and El Paso Texas, to Dallas - by far the most religious place i have ever been, and through Luissianna yesterday, over the Mississippi river last night and stayed in Jackson Mississippi - today I plan to drive through Alabama, and into Atlanta Georgia - over the last time zone. Tomorrow i am going to try and make it to the East coast to Mertyle  beach in south carolina. Then north probably by next friday! I really hope that it doesnt freeze or snow in ontario since i dont have very good tires on the front of my car- they are a little worn...

Adam

Day 37- 41:San Diego, Cal to Las Vegas, Nevada

wow a lot has happening in this week - havent really been up to writing what has been going on, a little busy. I am having so much fun out here in the desert! Theres so much more to it than heat and sand and rocks! I have seen more types of vegetation, plants and animals in Joshua tree than in Washington or California! -Antelope squirrel, Yucca night lizard, Desert Iguana, Kangaroo rat, Tarantula, a snake... and one of those hawks (red tail?) that makes that loud high pitch squeel that you see in the movies when something is about to get eaten... and all the types of shrubs and trees is awesome, still havent seen one of those big cacti with the arms yet... maybe in Arizona.



So since i last wrote, I went south from laguna, to San Diego - 1.3 million people but way nicer than LA! would def go back there, said goodbye to the Pacific and set off East to the Desert. Drove down highway 10 east until I got to the Salton Sea! drove allong the western shore through a large citrus grove of Lemons and large Date Palms! the scenary there is beatiful - I really did feel like I was in a different world - no green grass lawns, rocky sand earth, dry and hot, no large trees for shade... i love it.

Stayed in Mecca, then north to Indio, and then East to the Joshua Tree National Park! I stayed in cottonwood camp, and went on the "Lost Oasis Palms" trail 8 miles into the desert sun (super burnt!) climbed down into a 200ft canyon and was amongst the parks largest family of California Fan Palms - there was a fissure in the desert crust where the water seeps up to support large trees this size - then hiked back up to the Mastadon Mine at the top of one large rock pile - old mine shaft and 10X10 posts supporting the enterence! old rail cart tracks. Not sure what they mined there though...

Then Tuesday I drove north through the park (2 hours) and then west from "29 palms" and north to historic route 66  -then arrive late in Boulder City, Nevada. Just outside Las Vegas - last night went up to Henderson (6 miles from Las Vegas Boulevard) and visited Whole foods for supplies, and the Green Valley Ranch Casino - HUGE lol today im heading to the gym in Las Vegas, then the the Boulevard to see the strip and visit Belagio or MGM grande.

Last night i slept on a perch over Las Vegas (in Henderson) with a lookout over the big city, the lights were amazing! so pretty and yet so much electricity... the weather here is a crisp 28-30 degrees, had to put on a long sleeve shirt and shorts last night! haha just kidding  - i know its getting cold in canada ...

Adam

Day 36: Laguna Beach to San Diego

So tomorrow is Halloween! thats exciting, I tried to book a campsite for tonight, but like usual everything here on the south coast is booked fridays and Sat. I think I will head downtown San Diego and visit the "Vegan Zone" for din - then stroll around the big city - I have decided that I am going to head East towards Joshua Tree national Park either sat. night or sunday night - then spend a day or 2 camping there. I spent the last 2 days up in OC and Laguna beach - amazing! no wonder there is a show based there, and so many rich people flock there! the beach and tide pools are some of the nicest i have seen on the coast so far! the red tiled roofs and while stucco walls and spanish decor is getting very annoying lol as you drive south towards Ocean Side, Cal, there are thousands of cookie cutter homes all look exactly the same, cluttering the coast. The landscape is at an all time high for being baron and dead - little veg. except shrubs and yellow grass. The weather is still warm down here - a lot of locals i hear complaining that at night it gets to 10 degrees! It hasnt rained in 2 weeks and sunny/warm  - I dont think i could ask for better weather! Hung out with a "Bob" at starbucks last night - does custom fine carpentry in Laguna - one of his clients invented the compact disk and lives there in "The Hills" in Laguna

So hung out on Laguna beach today and read some into the wild, been working on my tan - cant come home and still be pasty... not too much exciting stuff- just been putting around looking at the scenery and taking it easy.. lol

a

OC lookout "Inspiration Point"

Palm Tree

Laguna Beach

Day 33: Malibu, Cal- Cactus and Lizards

So I havent posted since last Thursday I see - Havent really had internet that much here in Malibu. I got here on thursday night after going to the gym and lunch. Its amazing here! all the massive houses perched out the side of mountain cliffs, and the millions of dollars in cars - BMW, Rolls Royce, a ford GTX, Mercedes... the landscape is nice, as last night and tonight I am camping at Leo Carrillo state park on the Ocean. The camp site is pressed between foot hills of "santa monica mountain range" So theres a trail that climbs some of these hills so I went on  a 3 hour hike this morning and found some amazing views - My cell phone camera does not do the pictures any justice, as the view from the peak lookout was one of the most amazing things I have seen - Mansions perched all through the hills of Malibu - Tennis courts, swimming pools, 4 car garages... there are also some nice mountains that are hidden until you reach the top, and reminded me of what it would look like in Arizona. I found many little lizzards running around the trails and for the first time heading south I found WILD cactus all along the trails edge  - much more exciting than the decoration type i have had from home depot.. The heat here is starting to get rediculous, as this is becoming the longest summer I have ever been through - It is as hot as canada in August right now, and the sun is even worse - I have been wearing shorts since Fresno and night time is no longer cold, but I usually sleep outside my sleeping bad lol definately does not feel like fall here!

Im not sure where to head to tomorrow, I think that maybe I might venture up Highway 2 and see hollywood and Beverly hills - then head back to highway 1 and down the coast to someplace outside LA - too many people here and everything is expensive! Looking forward to San Diego - As far south as I think that I will be heading!

  - Santa Monica Boulevard

lizard-guy...!

Day 29: Santa Barbara Cal - Beautiful coast!

I am here in Santa Barbara, getting ready to go to the Gym, and then find this vegan Bistro downtown. Super warm here! Spent tuesday and Wednesday on the Beach a super Awesome town called Pismo Beach - walked for miles and miles down a beach, dense enough for cars/rvs to drive down. Many kite surfers, kite boarders, atvs and dune bugeys, lots going on! I camped at the Pismo Beach state park for the night on Tuesday, where I walked to "Oceano" and visited some tattoo parlors. I am looking into a tattoo and getting a piercing but talked to the piercer at one of the places and went from a lip ring (super high maintenace for cleaning with antibacterial soap inside mouth/outside after anything you eat/drink... so I opted for second choice of a nose ring - It didnt hurt as bad as I thought, and after 12 hours I didnt even notice it.

I headed inland on the 101 to Santa Maria, I was awed by the amount of produce that covers the land.... barely any trees over miles, except to block wind around plot perimeters, but radishes, kale, every type of romaine, and lettuce you could imagine, strawberries, and grapes galore! its crazy how much food we could make if you didnt have to grow so much lame corn, hay and wheat for cattle. I think I am going to find a nice campsite on the Ocean tonight and tomorrow as I wont be heading to LA for saturdays UFC becuase there are only 11 tickets left on the floor, at $658 each haha, but I think I will head to a pub to watch possibly if im in town sat. night.

wow its almost been a month since I first set off. The drastic changes from Vancouver, to WA, to OR, then California, and east to Nevada have been amazing! Everywhere I go there is one thing in common.... the Ocean to my right, and the mountains to my left. Back and forth it has been hard to choose which one to explore each week. I feel grateful that I was able to save up this amount of money, and finally quite my job and do this. I mean planning this for 6 months and dreaming about driving down the west coast, soaking in the sun, feeling the mist and spray of the warm salty waves...hmmm good time. I wont be able to spend the whole 6 months that I had planned to stay, as my pre-trip budgeting skills didn't take for account all the extra costs of high camping prices, cost of showers, parking, tea/internet, and extras - Im not sure how many have done this trip, but if you get the chance there is soo much to see just along this coast that (sorry but im in Santa Barbara and "Sawyer" from Lost just walked into starbucks! yea its crazy to see someone that you have watched their series for 5 seasons....) but anyways I think this trip has done for me what many should experience, and that there is so much out there to be seen and experienced, and I havent even left this continent! I would advise anyone to take the 101 south to highway 1 and see for yourself the abundance of beauty and adventure!

Adam