California

So last week I went on my first road trip...unsupervised. I know, I know. Is the world really ready for Katherine to be unattended to?? It better! It was one of the best experiences I've had so far. I'm glad I took the time to go.

It was just me and my friend Dixie and we drove to Los Angeles. I know at first my mom was really scared of me going because she's heard about things in LA, but I finally convinced her that I would be okay...even though I know she probably was still worried (Mothers...always worrying, I think it is a part of the job description). It was about a 10 hour drive.

Our first day we went to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and I met Yoda, Flash, and Freddy. Jason was too busy being a creeper in the corner staring menacingly at everyone. We walked around to all of the different places to shop around there and then we left and went to the Santa Monica beach. One of the reasons I choose to go on a road trip to California was because of the beach. I LOVE the beach. I fell in love with it last year in the Philippines and I really wish that I lived by a beach, but I guess the scenic mountain views will have to do for now. :)

The next day, we went to Universal Studios. It was better than I expected it to be. We got to go on all of the rides! I didn't think that we would be able to. I thought we would have to wait for at least 30 minutes for every ride, but I guess we came at a good time because it's not summertime yet. My favorite rides were the Mummy and Jurassic park. We also went on the tour ride of the studios they give. It was really awesome to see the sets of Psycho, Jaws, and Desperate Housewives.

The next day we went to Knott's Berry farm. It was so exciting. There were not huge lines. Actually the lines were even shorter than Lagoon. I was really surprised. Their rides were so intense. You go backwards, forwards, upside down...everywhere! I enjoyed it. I kind of got nauseous which is something that I usually don't get at amusement parks, but it was still a great experience.

Our last day, we met up with Dixie's cousins and drove to Oxnard to go shopping and eat crabs. Man those crabs were tasty! The restaurant is right next to a dock and they really have the freshest seafood. The crabs were alive. You go and pick whichever crab you want to eat and they cook it for you. My crab was only $9. Can't get that at the Red Lobster here! It was delicious and met every expectation. It was definitely one of the highlights from the trip.

One thing that I noticed (how could I not?) was the way Californians drive. Aggressive. I mean you have to be or you will never get anywhere. If you want to change lanes, you have to cut the person off. You force them to let you in, otherwise you will miss your exit! Also, with Utah there are basically set gridlock hours like 7am-9am and 5pm-6pm. In LA, there is traffic all of the time! I guess except at night around 9pm-6am. It seemed that anytime we drove during the day, the roads were always congested at some point. If I have one piece of advice (it's kind of a common sense piece of advice, but I will give it anyway) DO NOT drive on the LA freeways at 5pm. Don't do it!! We did it (of course). When we were finished with Knott's, it was about 5 and we weren't really thinking, so we drove back to our hotel. It literally took us 2 hours. 2! And I was the unlucky one that had to drive. It was horrible. Being back in Utah, I am eternally grateful for the relatively empty roads. The traffic here really isn't that bad. There might be a 10 minute delay, but it's better than an hour and a half delay. Now when I'm stuck in traffic, I'll think back to LA and just keep my lips shut.

I enjoyed California and hope to go back soon, but I'm also glad to be back home with everyone I love, the Utah traffic, and even the Wasatch Mountains. So I guess it's back to the drawing board to plan my next road trip! Where will I go next?

There are also more pictures on my Facebook if you want to check em out