So I did it! I applied to one university in California and I got in! I hurriedly bought a flight for my mother and I that weekend to head to San Diego to view the school and location that I would be moving to.
A month and a half passed and I packed my trunk with everything I needed, packed my best friend’s travel stuff, and headed west bound. Right as my best friend and I were leaving our hometown, it was a very profound moment for me in terms of traveling because it was such a newfound freedom. I have traveled before to exotic beaches and hotspots in Europe but this was a new feeling that I had never felt before. Leaving home for the first time, I had the understanding that this was not just a vacation in which I’m used to returning to the place where I grew up. This time, I was leaving, and I was not coming back. Sure to visit family and friends but I made up my mind that New Jersey is not a place I wanted to live forever. I knew right then, that I was entering the new chapter of my life in which I had to leave familiarity behind.
The route was I-70 west bound which took us nearly all the way from New Jersey to San Diego, California. Our plan was to drive straight west of Jersey through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, stop in Colorado, drive through the four corners, stop in Arizona, and then arrive in San Diego. Surprisingly with just a minimal plan, the itinerary turned out to be a success!
Stopping in Colorado was such a gem. We explored parts of the city in Denver, inevitably stopping at a recreational marijuana dispensary for the first time, and finding some cool, local, nature walks. Then we discovered a love for the mountains in Vail, booking a few nights at a ski lodge in colder weather that we weren’t adequately prepared for. But it was enjoyable to go from a hot summer back home in New Jersey to mountains blanketed in snow in the mountains. The constant change of scenery was thrilling. It was as if everything you were seeing was through a new lens or new pair of eyes. Next, we stopped at Pagosa Springs, which was a pretty mediocre experience in comparison to the beautiful sights we had seen across the country thus far. However, I’ll never forget our memories there for how peculiar our night was. We booked a hotel, after reading the details of the accommodations and reviewing people’s comments and seeing the photos. We felt it was a good spot to stop before we head to the springs the next day. The evening we arrived, we realized that the place we chose to stay actually was nothing like it was advertised and we had been on alert and creeped out all night by any noises we heard outside. The complex was just built around the springs in a very unnatural way so we were a bit confused and disappointed. In light of the experience, we were just grateful we had a place to stay for the night. But our excitement didn’t stop there.
We headed to the four corners to knock out a few other states off of our list and check out the monument there. Of all the people we spoke to on our travels, (which there were many people, and maybe sometimes that’s not the smartest to do) I’ll never forget the natives who have their crafts and artwork for sale near the monument. I was in awe having a deep, spiritual conversation with one of the men selling jewelry and artwork. He was explaining to me the symbolism of the repetition of the number 4 throughout his artwork. It was so beautiful hearing about the connection of the unity between states and cultures and broader the coming together of people across different points of our nation. Conversations and passerbys like this are what always kept us going and motivated us to explore more and see what else our land has to offer. To this day, the human connection is what truly moves me and gratifies me throughout my travels. Lastly, we hit the Grand Canyon in a funky attempt to arrive super early in the morning so it wouldn’t throw us entirely off of our schedule. Luckily, we made it and I’m so grateful that with such little sleep, I had a good travel partner with me who was on the same page. There was no way we could both be within a couple hours away and not see one of the country’s best land formations. The last and most magical of the stops was in Sedona, Arizona. The most chilling encounter was with a woman working at a jewelry shop around the main streets of Sedona. She invited us in and through conversation had found to our shock that she had roots from our hometown and she followed a similar life path to the journey I was experiencing with my best friend at the time. It was pretty mindblowing the words we exchanged and found such a connection so far away from home. The details of that memory are imprinted in my mind forever. We felt rejuvenated leaving the little town and headed for the red rocks. We went hiking in the middle of nowhere that led us to a small spring at the end. We were hiking back during sunset and running back to the car, and in that moment I realized I never could breathe better in my life. The views were awe-inspiring, nothing like I had ever seen before in any of the states up and down the east coast.We were melancholy to leave Sedona, but I was getting very excited to arrive at my final destination, San Diego, California.
We successfully made it with time to spare as my transfer orientation was exactly one week from the day we hit the road. Along my travels with my best friend, we experienced so many synchronicities and insightful guidance that aided us along our journey. I’ll never forget the memories that we shared as two young girls, traveling by themselves across the country for the first time. It was so exhilarating to have that much responsibility and take care of our needs while car camping and hotel hopping, and planning for sightseeing stops along the way. Since we wanted to create so many memories, we brought a journal with us along the path and everywhere we stopped and had the chance to have a human to human connection, we jumped at it. We grabbed the notebook and asked people to write ANYTHING. Something about their life, something about their encounter with us, well wishes, just simply anything. Reading those messages along the way of the trip was so fulfilling. We wanted to have something to keep forever, and to keep the memories alive of these experiences.
This was the start of my inspiration to continue to document my travels. I love any innovative ways of creating memories through written word and this road trip ONLY grew my love for traveling and my desire to journal and record my adventures even more…