Leg 3 - Los Angeles

March 21, 2012

The first night in Los Angeles. I spent at a Panera Bread trying to figure out where to sleep and what to do the one and only full day in Los Angeles. Upon a previous discussion with a friend from UD, Sam K., I decided to go hike the Hollywood Sign Trail, head to Santa Monica Beach, hike the Escondido Falls Trail, and return to Santa Monica Beach for Sunset. Needless to say, it was going to be a long and exhausting day with the need to move with haste from location to location to get it all in. I was out the door by 6:30am and ready to find the Hollywood Sign Trail. Disappointingly, L.A. traffic was already bad at this time. I tried going an alternate route, but my GPS still took me around to the main highway of I-10 West. I made it out there after battling the crazies on the California highway. I got out and prepared myself for the hike.

It wasn't too bad. Just a dirt road on a pretty decent incline that turns into a road and leads all the way up above and behind the Hollywood Sign. The view is pretty nice, 360 degree view of downtown and other cities in the area. I don't really know what the other cities are. One photo I took is below. Pretty nice, eh?

O and look! It is the HOOVER DAM!!!! It is a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be. O well. On the way down, I ventured off the road to a beaten path. I walked a bit on it and got bored so just turned around and headed back to the car.

Onward to Santa Monica Beach!. It was a pretty easy drive to get there, traffic wasn't too bad, and I was able to find a parking spot pretty easy along the beach. I walked around a little bit. Stuck my feet in the Pacific Ocean, which was really freaking cold! I walked around on the pier and people-watched for a bit. After watching so many people running up and down the boardwalk, I had the urge to go run myself. I laced up my running shoes, grabbed my iPod, and my headband. I ran up and down the boardwalk. It was a blast, though my running wasn't very fast, and I don't think I made it very far. Actually, it looks like I ran (also walked a bit too) 5 miles in a time I do not wish to disclose.

Afterward, I trekked out to Malibu to go on the hike to Escondido Falls. It was in a fancy neighborhood. I had to park my car at the entrance of the side street and walk back to where the trail began. It was a confusing trail with no signs and multiple paths. I luckily made all the right turns and made it to the base of the Falls. It was pretty cool. The water runs over moss and gives it an interesting look. After taking a couple of pictures, I saw a couple come down from the right side of the Falls. It looked like it was off the beaten path. I asked them if it was worth the trouble. They both said yes, so I got ready and headed up the path. It was boulder climbing with some loose gravel. You definitely had to watch your step. The grade of the incline was pretty high but not scary. It was also pretty easy to figure where to put hands and feet. After awhile, it got worse. It was a lot of work and I didn't know where to stop or where it was really going, so I just kept going up and up. As I was climbing, I saw a fence at the top with a piece of paper attached to it. I was not able to read it, and I had not seen any other hiker during the climb. I stopped many times to take a break and catch my breath. It was a real work out after the hike and run earlier in the day. It was also a decently warm/hot day. Very sunny out. Climbed to the top, which was like a 150 feet. Found out the sign says do not trespass. Trespassers could be bitten by guard dogs. And I had no idea where the actual fall began and there was not a path anywhere to be seen, so I had to go back down the way I came. This truly sucked. As

I was going down, I had to plan out every step and the path I was going to take. It is much harder to go down than it was to go up and it was very hard to go up. Multiple times I found myself starting to go down the wrong way and had to back track to find a way back down. The whole time I was thinking, how did I go wrong and where did the couple that I met actually went. A couple of times I slipped in the loose gravel and wavered a little on the decent. If I had missed a step or my footing became loose or lost my grip, I would have fallen very far before being able to stop myself or for a place to even stop my fall. Clearly, I could have died trying to descend. After reaching most of the way down, I saw the initial path to my left and another path to my right. It was like 10 feet from the bottom of the fall. I went to the right and found exactly what the couple was talking about. I was so upset that I wasted all that time and energy climbing all the way up to no where, when all I had to do was go 10 feet. I took some pictures and heard some voices above me. I looked up and there were people just above the fall. I saw another path that lead of the mountain. I decided against going up that because I don't think I would have had the strength to go up and back down. On my way back, I got lost because of all the many different paths and not remembering which way I came. Chose a path I thought was the write one, but I was wrong and ended on top of a hill on an ATV path in someone's backyard. I was just o so happy at this point. I was able to walk to a back gate and make it to the road and back to my car. Finally, the adventure was over. It was now like 5:00/5:30. Worst time of day to travel any where in Los Angeles, so I decided to drive along the Malibu Beach and stop along the way to take pictures and relax a little. There was no point in trying to get back to the house I was staying because I probably would have gotten pretty pissed sitting in L.A. traffic. I had a good time with this. I took some pretty good pictures. I was able to reach Santa Monica Beach right before sunset, so I stopped there and took a number of pictures as the sun set over the Pacific Ocean. I messed around with a couple of settings.

As I was taking pictures and waiting for the sun to set, I was people watching. I noticed a girl walking on the boardwalk talking on her iPhone. After I took pictures and returned to my car, I was searching for places to grab some dinner. She jumped in the car two behind me. She drove off and happened to have an Ohio license plate. First thought was, what are the odds of seeing another Ohian driving their car in Los Angeles at the Santa Monica Beach at sunset at the exact same time I was there. I had to find out who she was and where she was from, so I followed her hoping to pull up next to her and have a quick convo at a redlight. Long story short, it didn't work out. I lost her and never had the chance.

So, I found a place close by the guy I was staying with. It was a hole in the wall Italian/pizzeria that one probably wouldn't normally stop and eat. However, I was feeling bold and was really feeling pizza. It was delicious. I got a small pizza and a salad. I was only able to eat half of the small pizza because it was so big. It was a bit doughy (as in too much bread), but it was still quite good. The place is Pompeii in La Puente, CA.

After eating, I returned to shower and pass out. Also, I decided to look up the Escondido Falls trail info on www.localhikes.com to see what they have to say about the trail. This is what I found: "Attempts to climb beyond the base of the upper falls could result in serious injury!" I wish I had read this before. O well. Tomorrow, I would venture to the Grand Canyon the next morning to be "Awe" 'ed.

Go Big or Go Home

Photos of the Trip:

Leg 2 - Journey Out

March 18, 2012 - March 20, 2012

My journey out to Los Angeles essentially begins in Cleveland on Sunday. Luckily, I had a friend I was able to crash in Chicago on Sunday to really begin my trip early Monday morning out onto I-80 West. I arrived in Chicago in the evening just in time for the Xavier game. Whiteny and I headed to a bar to grab dinner and watch the game. Sadly, they were not showing the game on a television so I was not able to actually watch the game. Very disappointing but luckily they won. We got back watched the remainder of the Kansas game, and I was so tired that I just called it a night. A very uneventful evening after such a crazy weekend. Just what the doctor called for before the long drive.

Got up the next morning and left at 6:15 and headed out on my way. I'll just skip all the boring stuff. Drove to Iowa, then Nebraska, then Colorado, and night fell as I entered into the state of Colorado. I had been driving for 14 hours or so and felt pretty good actually. There were no problems along the way and my Check Service Engine light actually went off after filling up in Iowa.

Quick notes, Iowa is a pretty cool state to drive through with rolling hills, wind farms, and it was cloudy so it made the scenery that much nicer. I like the dreary look. Nebraska is a horrible state to drive through and was the worst part of the drive. Just flatness every where and no cities to drive through. Just plain emptiness. The beginning of Colorado was nice, but then it got dark and cold. I was just wearing shorts and a light weight jacket because I left my sweatshirt in Cleveland.

Got to Denver and started up the mountains. Then I got tired and was not in the mood to drive through mountains at night as it started to ice up. So, I debated on trying to find a hotel or just sleeping in a rest area. Finally, I chose a rest area. I crawled up in the back of my car with my blanket and pillow. Slept for maybe an hour. I was awaken by some idiots being loud next to me. I couldn't fall back asleep, so I decided to continue to drive a little more. After a couple of hours, I pulled over, used the restroom, and went back to sleep. A couple of hours later, I did the same the same thing. Finally, I made it to Utah. Found a Scenic View stop and slept there until morning, which was like 4-5 hours. Below is what I woke up to in front of me. Man, what a view to wake up to.

So I brushed my teeth and headed on my out through Utah. I stopped a number of times at different Scenic Views along the way. It was a very beautiful drive. However, driving up and down the mountains were quite annoying and a little nerve wrecking. On the border of Utah and Nevada, I stopped for gas and a maintenance guy at the gas station said I needed new rear tires because the inside tread on my current ones were wearing away. I agreed and it turned out the tires were from 1996 and definitely had better days. The bad part was that it costed me time and money. So I waited for an hour because the new tires needed to be delivered by the vendor and then installed.Finally back om the road, I drove through Vegas and headed to California. The mountains never seemed to stop. Continued annoyance followed. Made it to the suburbs of Los Angeles and decided to pull off to eat and find a place to stay. I ended up at a Panera store because I knew they would have free wifi connection. I went onto CouchSurfing.org to find a place to stay. This site allows people to create a profile and either host or surf on couches for free. A great website for frequent travelers. I was lucky enough to find a place to stay in the area I was already in. So I drove there, showered, and planned my only day in Los Angeles. Then, slept like a baby.I had finally made it out to the West Coast.

Go Big Or Go Home

Photos of the trip:

Leg 1 - St. Patrick's Day

Well, I decided to start the trip in Cleveland, OH, more specifically Troy. Troy and I have been friends since our trip to Germany. I literally did not this man until I went on this trip. Met him once before at a paintball venture in Dayton with our mutual friend Timothy R. We have been great friends ever since. Troy and I decided we needed to hang out and what better weekend than St. Patrick's Day. And wouldn't you know it, it fell on a weekend this year. We had hoped to make an epic trip but the cost to benefit ratio was not panning out, so it was decided to have me drive to Cleveland to see him and hang out with his buddies. I saw this coming the minute we started planning for the trip. Thus, began my scheming for the planning of the 5 week trip. Why 5 weeks? Because there are 5 weeks between St. Patrick's Day weekend and Mike P's bachelor party in Pit-In-Bay, OH.

Any who. Within the first hour of driving to Cleveland, OH, my Check Engine Service light came on. (Another flashback. Get used to it. It will happen often. It is how my mind works.) There was a lot of talk on how I would get out to Los Angeles and back. I always joked that I would take my trusty 1998 Nissan Altima and if it dies, it dies and I will go from there. The car has 175,000 miles on it before I left. I took my car in to the shop to get checked out and have an oil change. Also, the same engine light actually came on the Monday before I planned on leaving. Everything checks out. I am betting on why the light came back on was because they never cleared the system after looking at the engine. (Some of the engine's pistons/spark plugs failed to fire was the initial reason.) So I drove up to Cleveland.

Made it Troy's place in good timing. I was able to avoid most of Friday's traffic in Columbus and Cleveland. We decide to go up to his roof to try out the camera and have a couple of brews before heading out for dinner with Dave and his girlfriend Sarah. While enjoying our dinner and each other's company, we couldn't help but notice across the way that a dude was breaking up with his girlfriend after ordering food and before being delivered. We were all shocked as wee all agreed she was quite and attractive girl. Troy and I debated approaching her but she walked out before we finished our debate. I told him he had to go. He had no opening line. Disappointing.

Anyways, after dinner we went out to a bar Troy told me I had to go to. Dave and Sarah were up for it, so off we went. Since Xavier was playing that night and since it was March Madness was on, all I really wanted to do was watch the games. After many approaches by women at the bar, one told me there were televisions upstairs in a room to watch the game, so I didn't have to keep looking at my phone for updates. I was in. I was gone for like an hour and Troy and Dave thought I had been taken and wouldn't be heard from ever again. A long trip ending quite quickly for the big guy. I finally returned and enjoyed the rest of the evening with the gents and lady.

The goal for St. Patrick's Day was to get up by 9:00 and start the festivities. I don't think we got out of bed until 10:00 and then started making a glorious breakfast. Hash browns, tater tots, and eggs with corned beef. It was all delicious. Eric and friends also joined us for morning breakfast and drinks. We all headed to the roof to enjoy the warm morning sun and check out the nice view of downtown Cleveland.



We drew up a game plane and headed downtown. We had two cabs and one decided to go to Blind Pig and the other some bar 10 blocks away. Why? I don't know. I was in the correct cab that went to Blind Pig. Troy, Dave, some guy, and me stayed for a couple of drinks and ventured out to find the other group of people. Then, there was bar hopping throughout the day. At one of ouyr last bars, we saw two fights happen within the first 10 minutes of arriving and actually watched a guy being dragged out on his head out the door. I recommend not doing this in the future as it did not look like much fun. Other than those fights, the bar was pretty cool with two floors and a live band. The live band were truly rocking it. We just sat there and watched them play as we drank our drinks. By 5:00/5:30, we were ready to head back and regroup to prepare for the evening. It was only Troy, Dave, and I who made it back. Everyone else was M.I.A. We chilled for an hour. Troy slept. Dave hung out with his girlfriend. I watched basketball, finally! We all headed to Dewey’s in Lakewood and out to the bars in the Lakewood area. Troy was milking his drink, and soon we were ordering shots back and forth for the rest of the night.

The next morning wasn't too bad. I was mostly just really tired and had no desire of really to start driving out to the West Coast, but I knew I had to get to Chicago by the evening and before the Xavier game started. I left by early afternoon and began my journey outward. O what adventures lay ahead I do not know but was excited and nervous for the journey.

Go Big Or Go Home

For more pictures of St. Patrick's Day, go here:

Pictures out on the town were taken with my wonderful Droid Bionic phone. I didn't want to risk something happening to my brand new camera out there with all the crazy people.

Introduction

Well it is about time I start writing everything down that I have been doing. The question has been asked why I am going on a 5 week vacation trip across the great ole United States of America. Well the answer is simple, because I CAN! Work was not really thinking, I think, when they agreed to let me leave for 5 weeks just as a project was just about to start up. Also, I am going on this trip because I have never seen the Pacific Ocean, haven't been further West than St. Louis, MO, always wanted to see the Grand Canyon and Phoenix, had promised to visit my friend Jim in Houston and buddy Dominic in the South, again, and some chick named Clare down in Orlando (only because she works for Disney World and hopefully she can get me in the park for free!!!).

So the main reason for the trip is to take pictures of anything I find interesting, so it gave me a reason to buy an expensive camera and a good one at that. I bought a Canon Rebel T3i with a bunch of accessories. I didn't get it until the Wednesday before I left (March 14, 2011), so I really don't know what I am doing with it. Though it has a revolving LCD screen, 18mp, and a couple of different lenses and what not. I bought a hiking backpack with it. Obvious choice since I plan/ned to go on hiking trips.

Well, below is the proposed itinerary. It is a lot more involved since I have been on the road for a week now.


Cleveland, OH for St. Patty's Day
Chicago, IL
Los Angeles, CA
Grand Canyon, AZ
Phoenix, AZ
El Paso, TX
Houston, TX
New Orleans, LA (maybe)
Atlanta, GA (maybe)
Orlando, FL (as long as Clare is able to entertain)
Greenville, SC
Washington D.C. (if Orlando falls through might see if there is time to go)
Put-In-Bay, OH
Cincinnati, OH (HOME)

So, yea there is quite a bit of traveling for 5 weeks. It will be fun, stupid, sad, boring, lonely, upsetting, annoying, and of course EPIC!

Enjoy reading and feel free to comment and share with who you like. I will be keeping the rated G as much as possible because I am sure future employers will see this. Also, my family will be reading this I am sure since I will be sharing it with them.

I will sign off on each post of: Go Big Or Go Home.

This has been my life's motto for quite some time. It has gotten the best of me at times, but it has always brought a story and life lessons with it.

(Note: I will not be proofreading most of these posts, so I bet there will be grammar errors. Point them out if you want, and I will try to correct them when I find the time.)

Thanks for reading.

Go Big Or Go Home

Album of whole trip: