An Update, FINALLY!

Hi friends,

Sorry it's been so log since the last post. Things were up in the air for a while, and I didn't want to jinx anything by talking about it on my blog, so I just didn't post.

At the beginning of December, I started working at the Trish McEvoy counter at Nordstrom in Montgomery Mall. I really like it. I've met some really interesting people and I'm learning a lot about makeup and skincare. I'm also learning a lot about business and sales. Ultimately, I want to start my own business as an independent makeup artist, and this seems like a good first step.

Next week I start my other part time job working for End to End Solutions. They provide special education support to schools in the area. I worked with them when I was at DC Prep and E.L. Haynes. They're definitely top-notch, and I'm really looking forward to it. I think I'm going to be working with a couple of elementary schools in Anacostia, doing mostly compliance support, but also possibly some instruction. I'll give you more details when I have them.

I hope everyone is doing well.

Lots of love,

Danielle

What I Want

• to be financially secure
• to be healthy and fit
• to have a job that allows me to capitalize on my strengths, challenges me, and leaves me enough time and energy to live the life I want
• to have truly amazing friends and family members who I get to spend time with regularly
• to live in the moment
• to have fun
• to travel
• to always keep learning

The Experiment

This blog started as a way for me to keep in touch with friends and document my two month cross country road trip. I've been back from my trip for three weeks and have been asked repeatedly, "What's going to happen to The Best Blog in America?" I've been thinking a lot about the answer to that question. In keeping this blog, I discovered that I really enjoy writing. I'm trying to fill my life with things that I enjoy, so the blog will continue. Since I'm not traveling anymore, the premise of the blog obviously has to change. So here's what I'm thinking:

I was recently introduced to the book, The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne. The book is all about the law of attraction, the idea that everything in your life is there because you attracted it through your thoughts and actions. Essentially, you create your life.

I have to admit that I'm a little skeptical about the law of attraction, but rather than simply dismissing it, I'm going to test it. I plan to use this blog as a way to document my thoughts and actions and what happens as a result of them.

Let the experiment begin.

Day 58: Highlands Ranch, CO to Kansas City, KS

I did a lot of driving today. I woke up around 8:00, packed up, and headed to a bookstore by my Uncle's place, called Tattered Cover Book Store. It was one of the best book stores I've ever been to. It was big and spacious, the employees were really nice, they have tons of comfortable seating (I mean TONS, not just a few comfy chairs like at Barnes and Noble), and they have a great selection of books and related items. I treated myself to a few things- Green for Life (a book about raw food that Robbe recommended), a cute Miguel Ruis notebook (they're the best notebooks in the world) with a picture of a mouse driving a race car on it, and The 5 Minute Face, by Carmindy. I also got a few other things, but I can't say what they are because they're gifts for other people. Here are a couple of photos that I took in the store:

The crafts section looks very crafty

The Psychology section has a couch like Freud's. Haha!

And here are a couple of photos of my uncle and Patch that I took before I left:

Uncle Bruce with his Grumpy hat, Grumpy t-shirt, and grumpy face

Uncle Bruce is never grumpy around Patch (or Pooh-licious, as my uncle refers to her)

The drive was relatively uneventful. Eastern Colorado and Kansas are incredibly flat and boring, so I had to stop at McDonald's twice for Mochas . I learned my lesson last time when I got a medium Mocha. This time I went with a small. Much smarter decision.

Once I got into Kansas, I started seeing lots of Jesus signs.

Here's one, for example

And corn fields.

The ubiquitous Kansas corn field

And these other things; I think they might be irrigation systems, but they also look a little like oil rigs. There aren't any in the DC Metropolitan Area, so I don't know what they are. Maybe someone can tell me. Here are some not-so-great photos:

I also drove through Russell, Kansas, the hometown of former Presidential Candidate and Senator Bob Dole and Senator Arlen Specter. Here's how I know:

And here's what Russell, Kansas looks like:

My goal was to get to Kansas City tonight, and I did it. I just stayed at the first, somewhat reasonably priced, mid-grade hotel I could find, so I'm staying at the Comfort Inn, right off the highway. The employees are very accommodating, it's clean, they have free breakfast (with a belgian waffle maker!!), and the beds are comfy. When I was checking in, I checked to make sure they had wireless internet and that my room was nowhere near smoking rooms or the indoor pool. I've learned to find these things out right away.

Shortly after I got to my room, the guests in the room above me started being REALLY loud. There were at least four different very loud voices, there were repeated stomps (it sounded like a herd of elephants) and various other sounds coming from their floor/my ceiling. I called the front desk right away to tell them about the problem. It took a couple of calls to finally get them to be quiet. Once they were quiet, a noise started that sounded like a vacuum or a jet engine or something. The noise was so loud that when I called the front desk, they could hear it through the phone. That also took a couple of calls, but it finally stopped. At least for now. I just knocked on some wood.

Time for bed. I have another long day of driving ahead of me tomorrow.

ttyl

Day 57: Boulder, CO/Nederland, CO/Highlands Ranch, CO

For some reason I woke up really early yesterday (I mean like around 6:30), probably because I had a lot to do. I updated my blog and then went to Maiberry for breakfast. I had a waffle with bananas and maple syrup. Yum!

Then I went to McGuckin's Hardware, where Sara and my Uncle Bruce told be I needed to go. It's a pretty awesome hardware store. They also sell art supplies and housewares and some toys. They even sell several varieties of bead curtains - the cheap kind that look like long strings of mardi gras beads. I wish I had taken a photo, but I forgot my camera at home.

After McGuckin's, I went back to Sara's. As soon as I walked in the door, Monica called. She came over and hung out with me and downloaded music while I packed. Kristin came home and joined us for the last 20 minutes or so. Then Monica and I went to lunch at The Walnut Cafe. It was 70 degrees and sunny, so we ate outside. Of course it had to get sunny as I was leaving.

After lunch, Monica was telling me about a town just north of Boulder, called Nederland. It sounds like a kid who can't pronounce "th" and "s" is trying to say "Netherlands". It was the first day I could actually see the mountains, and they're something you want to see while in Colorado - Sara kept wanting to take me to see the scenery, but I told her that I didn't want to look at scenery that I couldn't see. Monica and I decided to drive to Nederland. Of course by the time we got to Nederland, it was cloudy, cold, and rainy, but it was still a cute town and the drive up there was really beautiful.

First we went to a little store called Blue Owl Books. They have a kitty who lives in the store. So cute! They also have the best hot chocolate in America. I didn't get one, but I tasted Monica's and it was incredible. They melt real chocolate into it. Mmm... We visited a few more shops in Nederland and then made our way back to Boulder.

Totally unrelated: Sara has a theory that people in Boulder are more physically fit because the thin air at high altitudes requires you to exert more effort to move or do anything. Sara totally made this up. It's not based on anything, although I suppose it is possibly true. Does anyone know? Has anyone ever researched this? Hmm... Another thing - everyone's car I was in in Colorado had a cracked windshield - my uncle, Sara, Kristin, and Monica. What's up with that? Maybe that has something to do with the altitude. I think its probably more likely that it's just a coincidence. I'm sure glad that Ruby's window didn't get cracked while we were there!

Once we were back in Boulder, I got my car and after stopping my Sara's work to say goodbye, I headed to my Uncle's house in Highlands Ranch. I got there around 5:00ish. This time I got to meet Erin, my Uncle's girlfriend's daughter. Erin's 14. She's a freshman in high school. She's really cute and fun. I didn't get to meet her the previous week because she was sick and staying at her dad's house. She's all better now.

The four of us - my Uncle Bruce, me, Erin, and Cindy (Erin's mom) - went to Jason's Deli for dinner. It was so delicious! Jason's Deli was the first place I went out to eat in Houston and I returned many times after that. They don't have them on the east coast, so I hadn't been to one for at least 5 years. Unlike Sweet Tomatoes, Jason's Deli was better than I remembered.

After dinner, we went home and I watched my new favorite show, Glee. When it was finished I was completely exhausted. After all, I didn't have my afternoon nap!

Day 56: Boulder, CO

Yesterday was the nicest day (weather-wise) since I arrived in Boulder. It was around 50 degrees and mostly sunny. In the morning, I updated my blog, did laundry, and caught up on some NPR podcasts. Then I went to Jiffy Lube to get Ruby's oil changed. FYI - if you don't like waiting forever, you shouldn't go to Jiffy Lube at lunchtime. I probably could've figured that out if I'd thought about it, but I didn't. After that, I went for a bike ride and went into downtown Boulder. I browsed the shops again, but I didn't buy anything. Boulder has some really cute stores - Boulder Book Store, Blue Skies, Peppercorn, Paper Doll, Momentum, and Bliss are some of my favorites.

I took a break from shopping and had some lunch/frozen yogurt at Maiberry. It was awesome. As far as the yogurt is concerned, I still prefer Pinkberry and Tangysweet, but I'd say Maiberry is tied with Yogurt Harmony in Berkeley for third best frozen yogurt in America. Besides frozen yogurt, they also have crepes and belgian waffles and even more exciting - they have 100% pure Grade A Vermont Maple Syrup. And they don't even charge extra for it!

I stopped by the alterations place to pick up my jeans, but they were too short! They're making them longer and I'm going back to pick them up today. I really hope they're the correct length.

Sara, Kristin, and I had dinner at Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery. It's yummy and priced for hippies and college kids. My kind of place. Then we went for a walk. We stopped by the yogurt place that Sara found, ceFiore, and I sampled the yogurt, but it wasn't up to par. Then we went home and I was in bed by 10:00, probably because I didn't get a nap yesterday.

Today I'm going to get some breakfast at Maiberry, my new favorite place, then I want to visit this hardware store that Sara and my Uncle Bruce both recommended. Apparently they sell everything there. Sara thought it would be a good stationary/office supply/art supply store for me. We'll see. After that, I'm going to take a drive around the CU** campus. Then I'm having lunch with Monica downtown. After that, I'm going back to Sara's to pack, stopping by her office to say goodbye, and heading back to my Uncle's house in Highlands Ranch.

** Why is CU the abbreviation for University of Colorado? Shouldn't it be UC?

Day 55: Boulder, CO

Yesterday was another relaxing day in Boulder. I slept in, updated my blog, and then I went out to lunch with Kristin at Foolish Craig's. Yum. In the afternoon, I searched for (and finally found) a tailor who would do alterations in one day. I can't wait to pick up my new jeans today! After that, I went to Whole Foods to buy stuff for dinner. I went home, took my afternoon nap, and then Sara came home from work. She worked on her hat while I made dinner. Later we had an impromtu party. Here are some photos:

Sara working on her hat

Joey, Sarah, Bill, Sara

Monica

Kristin and Tracey

Sara, Joey, Sarah, and Bill

Sorren and Kristin

Sara finished her hat!!

Days 52, 53, and 54: Boulder, CO

I had a fantastic weekend in Boulder, despite the snow and cold.

Ruby's first snow of the season

Friday was sunny and not too cold in the sun. I biked to downtown Boulder and explored the shops. Downtown Boulder looks remarkably similar downtown Burlington, Vermont. There were so many toy stores. It was awesome! Do you know what else there are so many of in Boulder? White people. It's crazy. I've never seen so many white people in my life. And they're all filthy rich and drive SUVs. But they're really nice. And that counts for a lot.

I had a late lunch at Snarf's, a sandwich shop that was recommended to me by my friend Lizzie, who went to college here. It was delicious. Thanks for the recommendation, Lizzie.

After my regularly scheduled afternoon nap, Sara came home and then more people came over to hang out before the Hot Buttered Rum show. We had fun.

The show was awesome! The opening act was Mountain Standard Time. They were really good too. Here are some photos:

And here are some photos of Hot Buttered Rum. I'll give you two guesses why I have so many photos of the flutist/banjo player/player of whatever that weird guitar looking thing is called.

One thing that made it kind of difficult to take pictures was the thick cloud of smoke in the air. Check this out:

No, smoking is not allowed in bars in Colorado. Well, smoking cigarettes isn't allowed. I was pretty shocked by the blatant pot-smoking at the show. Everyone around us was smoking pot. At one point during the show, I felt someone's warm, moist breath on the back of my neck. When I turned my head to identify the source of the unwelcomed sensation, a thick wall of pot smoke hit me in the face.

Here are some photos we took during/after the show.

me, Sara

me, Sara

Kristin and Monica in their matching hats

me, Sara

The next morning, Sara and I, and all of Sara's friends, went to brunch at Brasserie Ten Ten, where Sara's housemate, Kristin, works. I had the french toast. Kristin made sure they didn't put a huge scoop of butter on it. Thanks, Kristin. Here are a couple photos I took while we were waiting for a table.

Monica, me, Sara

Monica, Tracy, Sara

Brunch ended up taking most of the day. It was so nice. We decided to reconvene at Sara's place in the evening to make dinner and have a music sharing party.

Then Sara and I went back to her place, I took my regularly scheduled nap, and we went to the grocery store. We made homemade pizzas. Yum. Monica and Kristin sang and played guitar, several people knitted. We all burned CDs for each other. There are awesome photos from Saturday night, but Crystal took all of them, so I have to wait for her to post them on Facebook before I can add them to my blog.

Yesterday, Sara and I went to brunch with her sister, Rachel, who also lives here. We went to The Walnut Cafe, a Boulder favorite, and I had the french toast. With 100% pure maple syrup! I hadn't seen Rachel in many years, so it was great to see her. This time brunch didn't last all day. After brunch, we went shopping. It was a hugely successful shopping trip. Great finds and great prices.

Last night, Sara, Kristin, and I just hung out at their place. Sara made dinner and we watched trashy television. And we watched Knocked Up. Twice. It was on TV and they aired it twice, so we really had no choice. That movie is hilarious.

Right now I'm trying to avoid the inevitable - getting out of this warm bed. I have to run some errands today. I need to get my oil changed, go to the tailor to get my new jeans hemmed, do laundry, etc. I think I'm going to have lunch with Kristin. We'll see.

Six more days.

Day 51: Boulder, CO

Hi friends,

My computer is working again (for now), so I can update the blog. Woohoo! Yesterday was day 51. I can't believe I've been gone for that long. Looking back at my blog entries, however, I can't believe I haven't been gone longer.

I woke up yesterday morning around 9:00ish and the first order of business was cleaning out my trunk. On Tuesday night, when I arrived at my Uncle's place outside of Denver, a bag fell out of my trunk. It sounded like something broke, but I knew that there wasn't any glass inside the bag, so I figured it was nothing. Yesterday, when I went to get something out of my trunk, I found everything covered in laundry detergent. I forgot - plastic can break too. At least laundry detergent smells good, right? My initial approach to dealing with the mess was to ignore it and see if it would just go away. That works better with bees and whiny children than it does with laundry detergent spills, FYI. Fortunately my Uncle has a wet vac, so I got to work cleaning up the spill. It actually didn't take too long.

After that, I had to repack all of my clothes because of the significant drop in temperature. The flip flops had to be put away and the boots, sweatshirts, scarves, and puffy jacket had to come out. It was very sad. The whole time I was repacking, I was thinking about just turning around and going back to Southern California, where everything is sunny and perfect.

Once I was all packed, I took a couple photos of Patch, my Uncle's adorable, sweet dog. She was a very cooperative model too. Here are the photos:

Patch and I really bonded while I was there. We had similar struggles this year. She had a tumor in her nose and had to have surgery and radiation to get rid of it. She's okay now. Patch is extremely affectionate and quite spoiled, so we also have those things in common.

Then my Uncle Bruce and I went to lunch at The Egg & I right by his house in Highland Ranch. I couldn't decide between the Huevos Rancheros and the French Toast, so I just got the Huevos Rancheros, didn't eat the potatoes, and ordered a single piece of French Toast. The Huevos Rancheros was SO good. The best I've ever had, no doubt. But then the waitress came out with my french toast and it had a massive scoop of butter on it. Gross! There was absolutely no indication on the menu that there it was going to be covered in butter, so I didn't feel bad asking the waitress if I could have a new piece of french toast. The problem is that she came back with the same piece of french toast with the scoop of butter removed, but the butter had been on there long enough that it completely saturated the area of toast under it, so it had a huge, flat, soggy, nasty, buttery crater in the middle. She obviously tried to hide it by covering it with powdered sugar, but she wasn't fooling me. I was really not happy about this. I ate around the butter crater and left the soggy mess on the plate to let her know she didn't fool me. My Uncle shook his head in disapproval as I made a big fuss over something trivial. I know it's trivial, but it's a problem that could be solved easily, so it seems worthwhile to make a fuss over it. I'm not going to make a fuss about real problems that require complex solutions, like the ailing economy, or the war, or political corruption, because that'll just make me upset. I think that people sometimes have to make a big deal of little things just so they don't have to think about the real problems in the world.

That story was supposed to be funny, not depressing. What happened?

Anyway, after lunch I headed to Boulder. I had an appointment at the Genius Bar at the Apple store on 29th Street in Boulder at 3:45 to figure out what the heck is wrong with my computer. I spent an hour on the phone with Apple yesterday trying to fix the problem, but had no luck. They didn't have any luck at the store either, but my computer is working right now, so I'll just deal with the problem later.

When I arrived in Boulder, it was full-on snowing. Not like a couple flakes here and there - legitimate snow. Then I went to Sara's work to hang out while she finished her stuff. She sells tight ropes. Sort of. She works for a company called Gibbon, that sells slacklines and jiblines. They're basically tight ropes for climbers. Sara is my best friend from college. We've been BFF for twelve years now. Sara moved out to Boulder in January and loves it here. She's trying to convince me to move out here. We'll see. I love her and I miss her a lot.

Sara and I met on the first day of freshman orientation in college. I was moving my stuff into my room and Sara came by to introduce herself and said she liked my Grateful Dead poster. She lived in the study next door. Studies were large rooms that were meant to be used as places to study - that's where they came up with the creative name - but there weren't enough rooms for all of the students, so the college turned the studies into four person rooms. Studies were crazy. I'm SO glad I didn't live in one. Since twice as many people lived in them and they were twice as big as regular dorm rooms, they attracted about ten times as many visitors as regular dorm rooms. It was really just a constant party.

Sara and I became roommates our sophomore year. We had the funnest dorm room in America, in the funnest hall in America, at the funnest college in America. We lived apart for the first half of junior year, but were reunited for the second half.

Before my arrival, Sara had already researched yogurt shops in the area. How cute is that?! There are no Pinkberries or Red Mangoes, but there's some sort of tart yogurt shop that we'll probably go to on Tuesday, when it's not freezing.

We had a pretty laid back night last night. I was not up for anything festive because I hardly got any sleep the night before. I never thought I'd complain about too little humidity, but I have to do it. The air here is SO dry! I woke up in the middle of the night and could barely breathe because the air was too dry and then I couldn't fall back asleep. Ugh.

After she finished at work, we had dinner at Pei Wei (my favorite!), went back to her house, baked chocolate chip cookies (mmm...), and watched Jim and Pam's wedding on The Office.

While it's freezing today, it's also beautiful and sunny, so I think I'm going to go for a bike ride. Not a miserable uphill bike ride, a nice leisurely one. Tonight we're going to see a bluegrass band, Hot Buttered Rum, with some of Sara's friends.

ttyl

Day 48: Las Vegas, NV to Green River, UT

The most significant thing about this day was the change in temperature. When I left Vegas it was in the 80s and when I arrived in Green River it was in the 30s! Unacceptable. I kinda want to turn around.

I had big plans to wake up early, hit the road, and get all the way to Denver tonight, but that didn't so much happen. I went back to sleep after Robbe left for work and didn't wake up til 11:00. Oops.

I drove for 9 hours today. Ugh. Fortunately it was beautiful (in Utah, at least). When I decided I was done for the day, I looked up a hotel room on the Kayak app on my iPhone. I made reservations at a place and was trying to figure out how to get there. I was having trouble with my GPS and maps, so I just called the hotel to get directions. It turns out that Kayak had the wrong GPS location for me and the hotel I booked was an hour and a half away in the wrong direction. Fortunately the costumer service rep was very nice and helpful and refunded my money.

So then I just drove to a hotel at the next exit and checked in. I asked the guy at the front desk if I needed a password to get online and he notified me that they didn't have Wi-fi. Refund number two.

Finally I went to a third place, checked to make sure they had Wi-fi, and booked room number three. When I got to my room, I immediately noticed that it reeked of smoke. Although it was a non-smoking room, it was next to and across the hall from smoking rooms. I didn't want another experience like the one at Buffalo Bill's Antlers Inn, so I called the front desk and had them change my room. The new room was next to the laundry room, so it smelled great!

Days 46 & 47: Las Vegas, NV

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

This saying becomes problematic when you're blogging about your travels. If I just left it at that, I'd probably have to change the name of my blog to The Worst Blog in America. I don't like that name, so I guess I'll tell you what happened in Vegas.


First I'll tell you about Robbe's apartment. His complex reminds me of the ones in Houston. It's big, new, has lots of parking, a pool, balconies, etc. Here's a photo from Robbe's balcony:



The apartment belongs to someone at Zappos, so nothing in it, except the fancy blender and George Foreman grill, belongs to Robbe. The art is my favorite part. I think there are a total of three pieces in the whole apartment - one in the dining room, one in the living room, and one in the hallway. The one in the dining room is the best. It's a painting of two bottles of wine. It's not a good painting. And it's crooked. I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of it! Just trust me, it's bad. On Friday night, after the show, Robbe and I made another piece of art for his apartment. Check it out:





The furniture in the house is really weird too. The living room has four microsuede lazy-boys and a glass coffee table that I think looks like a spaceship. It looks like a total bachelor pad. Then the bedrooms have this ugly country style furniture. I think I would go crazy living in that place.


Robbe made breakfast on Saturday morning. It was delish. I was a little skeptical when he handed me a tall glass of thick, opaque, green liquid, but it turned out to be really yummy. It was a veggie shake that Robbe makes every morning with his fancy blender. He also made eggs and toast. I asked him if he wanted to come live with me and make me breakfast every morning, but I don't think he took me seriously.


In the afternoon, we went for a bike ride at Red Rock Canyon. Before I arrived in Las Vegas I told Robbe that I wanted to go for a bike ride. I explicitly said that I was not a serious cyclist and that I have a whimpy bike, but he obviously wasn't listening because when his friend Neelu came to meet us at the bike store where we went to rent a bike for Robbe, she took one look at my bike and said, "This is a fifteen mile loop, the first five of which are all uphill; Is your bike equipped for that? Are you a serious rider?" I thought we were going on a nice, leisurely bike ride. I'd even made plans to meet my friend Allison afterwards for drinks at 6:00. It wasn't leisurely and I didn't make it to drinks.

Robbe trying on his helmet

I told them I was going to die if I tried to ride my bike uphill for five straight miles, but they encouraged me to try it, so I did. We even started two miles before the normal starting point so that we could get warmed up on some flat ground. The flat part was great. The uphill part was torture. The 100 mph winds and high altitude only made things worse. It also didn't help that I was completely dehydrated. I drank my entire Nalgene within the first mile of uphill riding and felt like I was going to throw up. After two miles uphill, I could barely breathe, so that was the end of that. Even though it was downhill on the way back, the winds were so strong that coasting wasn't an option. I wanted to kill Robbe.

Robbe and me at Red Rocks Canyon

Our plans for Saturday night were to go out on the strip, so we went home, got ready, Robbe made dinner, and then we headed out to Ghostbar at around 9:00. Ghostbar is the place where the cast of The Real World, Season 12 hung out. It's on the top floor of The Palms Hotel. The view from up there is nothing short of spectacular. Here are some photos from that night:

Me and Neelu at Ghostbar

Evidence that I was actually in Vegas. Try to ignore the hair in my face.

Me and Neelu again

The ubiquitous crowd shot

Me and Robbe

We slept in on Sunday morning and then Robbe made another yummy breakfast - veggie shakes, Southwestern eggs, and black beans. We watched Away We Go, a really cute and funny movie starring Maya Rudolph (LOVE her!) and John Krasinski. It starts out kinda slow, so if you see it, hang in there.


In the evening, we went to Red Mango. This was a highly anticipated trip. Red Mango is the original tart yogurt establishment. Pinkberry copied them. The yogurt was pretty good. My only objection is that it has an initial aftertaste that tastes a bit like spoiled milk. If you have another spoonful right away, you can avoid the spoiled milk taste, but it's inevitable given that eventually you won't have another spoonful of yogurt to eat.


Ooh - one thing I forgot to talk about is these crazy sleep masks/devices that Robbe wears. He has three of them. They all involve some sort of band that goes around your head and they monitor how much REM sleep you get, or something. The worst of the three looks like a jumbo sized sleep mask - it's really cumbersome. But that's the least of it. This device somehow figures out when you're dreaming and then flashes a bright red light into your eyes to momentarily wake you up and signal to you that you're dreaming so that while you're in your dream, you know it's a dream. So that's kind of cool, but I tried it on, and it was really unpleasant having a bright red light flash into my eyes. I have absolutely no desire to try one of these things while I'm sleeping.


Overall, the weekend was great. It was wonderful to see Robbe again and we had lots of fun. We agreed not to let another two years pass before we hang out again.

Day 45: San Diego to Las Vegas

Friday was a remarkably productive day. I woke up early, unpacked my car, took it to the car wash, folded my laundry, and repacked my car all before 11:00 AM. Then I went to Laura's school, High Tech High. She gave me a tour of three of the six schools at their Pt. Loma location: Explorer Elementary, High Tech Middle, and High Tech High. They were the most phenomenal schools I've ever visited. Here are some photos:

Laura and me outside of High Tech High

Art projects from High Tech Middle School

A student reading in a teachers office. All of the teachers get offices like this one in addition to their classrooms. Wow.

7th graders in humanities class doing a peer critique

The art room

The art room

Students painting on easels. They're also listening to Led Zeppelin.

Art class again

Students made calculus into art

Students in Wireless Engineering (a required class for all students) making plans for remote control airplanes. Their teacher used to design phones for Nokia. Not bad.

Physics/Art

Kindergarten

The book nook. All K-2nd grade classrooms have one.

After visiting the schools, I made one last run to In-And-Out Burger, and headed North and East to Vegas. It feels really unnatural to drive east after driving west for more than six weeks straight. I have an attachment to the West Coast that I can't really explain. Maybe it's because I was born there, or because I identify with their more laid-back approach to life. Or maybe it's because I only visit during the summer, when it's beautiful and sunny, even in Portland and Seattle. Whatever the reason, I love it.

My drive was pretty uneventful. I hit some traffic around Riverside and again when I was approaching the Nevada border. I ended up arriving in Vegas a little before 7:00.

I'm staying with my friend Robbe, who lives in Henderson, Nevada. Robbe and I have known each other for two years now. Sort of. We met two years ago at a halloween party at the Affinity Lab, a small-business incubator/one of my favorite hangout spots on 18th Street in Adam's Morgan, that Robbe and a few others founded several years ago.

I went to the party with my friend Tom, who was a lab member at the time. He was dressed up as a Dictator. I won't go into too much detail about his costume, but let's just say it involved a potato hanging in his pelvic area. Actually it was a yam, because that's what he had at his house. I was dressed up as static cling, and Robbe was dressed up as his friend Charles, who I didn't know at the time, so I didn't really get the costume. Now Charles is my friend too and I get it.

At the time of the party, Robbe had already moved back to LA, where he's from, and was just in town for the weekend. He and I kept in touch, and now we're hanging out for the second time, two years later, in Las Vegas. He moved to Vegas from LA almost a year ago (I think) because he's working for Zappos. I love Zappos. I love it even more that Robbe sometimes sends me coupons for Zappos.

Robbe and I had to get moving right away because we had tickets for the 9:30 performance of Love, a Cirque du Soleil show celebrating the Beatles. First we grabbed a quick dinner at the Carnegie Deli. Mmm... They're known for their enormous sandwiches, and when I say enormous, I mean you order a grilled chicken sandwich and you get eight grilled chicken breasts between two pieces of bread. Neither Robbe nor I attempted to tackle one. I think it was a wise choice. I got the blintzes and they were AMAZING! Probably the best blintzes I've ever had.

Love was fantastic! I highly recommend going to see it.