This is it.

Spent all day yesterday packing up and watching New Who (HOW MUCH do I love Christopher Eccleston now?). Then off to miriad's, where we ate pizza, she loaned me many books and baked REALLY good cookies, and then showed me the first part of the original Stargate movie (because I WILL end up in some variety of SG fandom. It's become completely inevitable).

Oh my lord, James Spader. James Spader is SO ADORABLE and SO DORKY and SO CUTE and SO SO SO HOT. I just... *flappy hands* No words.

And now- the minute I unhook my computer and load it in the car- I am ROADTRIPPING. Which I have been craving for months now. I have my room at the Grand Canyon all reserved and everything. *excited*

Right now my future is a distinctly hazy and frightening place, and when that happens, I want to TRAVEL so so so badly. Because when you're traveling, future and planning and money and boyfriend- none of it exists. There's just you, traveling. Total freedom, newness, wings under your feet, yadda yadda. What I need right now.

I shall have no internet until Monday earliest. Farewell, sweet flist. Goodbye, cruel world. I don't hate you, I promise *hugs and kisses*

Road trip log day 1

Randomness:

*Starting at the coast and driving NE for three hours is better than any seven chapters of geography textbooks for internalizing the concept of "rainshadow"

*Rest stops in the middle of the desert are WINDY

*Can you imagine covering all this distance on Route 66, at 55 mph with tons of little towns with stop signs and everything?

*They sure don't let you forget about Historic Route 66! now do they?

*Gas station on 66 selling gas at... wait for it... $4.99. Sign by the register:

We have sunk a lot of money into this business. It costs a fortune to operate in the middle of nowhere. You have the choice to purchase from us or not. But please do not complain to our employees about prices. PS. Next gas 50 miles.

Snarky buggers.

Saturday evening, at the grand canyon:

*Colorado plateau very high. I expected it to be hot, without taking that 7000 feet of elevation into account. Huge drifts of snow. Forgot that outside the So-Cal Weather Free Zone, it's still very early spring.

*More forest- I mean, genuine alpine forest- than I expected.

*God, this country is HUGE.

*Reached first observation point just 30 minutes before sunset. Perfect timing- slanting light, glowing pink and gold canyon walls, dusky depths, whole nine yards. Gorgeous.

*Lodge is RIGHT on the rim- just three steps outside my door. Nice.

*Arizona doesn't observe daylight savings time, and so is not one our ahead (except the Navajo reservation, which is). Will not reveal how long I spent trying to figure out why my cell couldn't detect the time zone and I couldn't change it manually. V. Embarrassing. Convinced they do it just to confuse tourists.

*Haven't really seen stars since the summer before I moved out of mom and dad's- not proper ones, anyway. Tonight might just be the best stars I'll ever get. When you travel, you expect the food and accents and geography and such to change- but it startles me a bit to realize I'm far enough away from home for the stars themselves to change. Not a lot- North Star just about 15 degrees or so too low, but enough that it's not where I look for it. Just enough to make you feel small and far from home.