LA to SJ

Wow, i forgot what it's like to go on a road trip. It's been a while. And it's been even longer since I went up the coast of California - how beautiful. I also forgot about the road with the zig-zagging highway lines. I can only hope they painted them in the dead of night when there was no traffic and they kept falling asleep. Do they still have those trucks with the little platforms where the guy sits on the grated platform and glues the little reflectors down? I saw one of those in Minnesota once upon a time and it made me realize I never wanted to work for the highway department.

Anyway, it was a beautiful drive. With a few stops, it took us a little over seven hours. Here are a few pictures from along the way. I didn't take as many as I would have liked, but daylight was quickly slipping away.






Goodbye to Rodeo Drive and to Hollywood Hills.
















*sigh* It's going to be a strange adventure, but aren't they supposed to be?









We stopped at a little scenic overlook. It was definitely scenic, wasn't it?





Isn't it amazing how little space your life can take up when you pack it in a car? Okay, I guess not. Most people have accumulated so much stuff by the time they move all they can think is, "How can I have this much crap?" I threw out my crap. Well, not really threw it out. I sold everything I could sell, then took the rest to Goodwill. All I had left were three boxes of clothes, linens, kitchen stuff, and a Rubbermaid tote with snacks, cat food, bowls and brushes.




I knew I'd be making a serious WalMart run upon arrival. The only other things I have are my laptop, a sleeping bag, and a couch my friends are going to give me for the apartment, which until last night I hadn't seen. That was another adventure. But since I have no furniture and I knew it came with a refrigerator, washer and dryer, I wasn't too worried.



It was dark when we got to San Jose so I didn't get to see much. I'm planning on going exploring later on today when I go to get my light rail/bus pass and my school stuff - notebooks, pens, and of course my books from the university bookstore. I'll have to be careful and watch the time because I know I'll get caught up in exploring and forget to make it to the bookstore before it closes. Classes start on Thursday and I still have my mini-orientation to do also.




I won't drag this out much longer, I'll just throw up some pictures I took of my new apartment from last night.



Here's my front door beside the kitchen down on the bottom, my laundry room door (that's hanging open, ignore the junk on the kitchen counter and the shoes in the floor - I was just starting to unpack). The kitchen opens up into a living room with a staircase along the side that goes up to a loft bedroom.










This is looking from the kitchen into the living room where I have a HUGE floor to ceiling window with a little railed mini-patio porchy thing that I can't think of the name of.










The other side of the living room with the staircase that goes to the loft.




And my kitchen, which won't be so bare soon.