West coast shenanigans

(more photos here)

Driving into California from Arizona was fun; you can really tell the difference between the two states' policies and priorities... California had an agriculture checkpoint for all cars, and I passed through an area of Route 10 that had thousands of windmills spinning away. The mountains were really breathtaking as well, all different, fading shades of grey-blue in the distance.

I arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday to stay with my cousin, Annemarie, and her sister Alex came in on Friday. I got the super fun task of driving to pick her up and drop her off at the airport, my first experience driving on LA's freeways in the middle of the day when all of humanity is out en masse. It was well worth it though, since all us ladies had lots of fun this past weekend cavorting with the LA crowd... let the imagination run wild with that one. :)

LA is definitely one of those places that I'm really glad to have people to visit, but I know I could never put up with the city for any extended period of time. But I've finally gotten to see some of the places us East Coasters have always heard about but (at least I) have had some crazy TV-begotten notions about: Hollywood Boulevard, Bel Air, the Pacific Coast Highway, Santa Monica, Malibu, etc... It's a really pretty place to be, minus the smog that can be seen whenever you're looking down on one of the valleys.

Up next is Colombia! I leave super early Wednesday (more like Tuesday night) from LA to Bogota via Mexico City. I haven't even begun to pack, but I have all day tomorrow to get that done. I keep reassuring myself that being totally unprepared is no predicament, these things usually work themselves out.

Sorry this is a rather bland entry, my mind seems to be elsewhere at the moment. Also apologies to all those people that I meant to call before leaving the country, but because of the time difference between the coasts I never found an appropriate time to get in touch!
The next entry will likely be from Colombia, where I'll be for a week to celebrate Peter and Mony's nuptials within a week of exploring Bogota and the surrounding areas. Until then...