D is for Delaware

Delaware

Growing up just a ferry ride away from the First State, you would think I’ve spent loads of time here, but that’s not the case. In fact, my first memory of Delaware was not until 2000, for my cousin’s wedding, other than driving through it en route to somewhere father south.

Sometime in 2004 or 2005, I went to visit my best friend at the University of Delaware for a party. I’m pretty sure we stayed the night, but we also might’ve decided to leave at some ungodly hour. This was the first time I saw people attempt to synch up Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” with the Wizard of Oz. It was underwhelming - I think I just appreciate each of those separately too much.

I also spent a couple of hours in Lewes, Delaware while waiting for a ferry in 2009 when I was on another long road trip (I adore road trips. Can you tell?). A friend of mine was studying for his Master’s Degree in Oceanography or something interesting like that, so we made a pit stop.

In 2016, I took the ferry to Delaware again with a group of friends on bicycles to brewery hop. The day was lovely and I don’t remember how many miles we rode, because, well, there were a lot of breweries involved.

View aboard Cape May-Lewes Ferry

Brewery Bicycle Tour in Delaware

C is for California, Colorado, and Connecticut

California

We headed west for California from Las Vegas with our sights set on seeing some giant trees. It was October 2011 and the tourist season was winding down.

Just as we arrived at Sequoia National Park, the road closed for construction, but would reopen in an hour. Parked up on a hillside, the views of California were not too bad from where we sat.

Finally, the road opened for us to get into the park and we were at the front of the line of cars.

Within a few minutes of driving, a car pulls alongside of us, waving their arms and pointing until we finally understood, “SMOKE!”

My dad looked in his mirror and, sure enough, smoke was billowing out from the RV so we pulled over and popped the hood.

After some investigation, it seemed the transmission was shot! In the middle of Sequoia National Park! In the off season! And the only roads in and out were under construction! Despite all of that hilarious bad luck, another car that had been in the line pulled over to check on us and happened to have a 10-gallon bucket of transmission fluid! No joke!

He offered to drive right behind us, and every time the RV started smoking again, we’d pull over, refill it with transmission fluid, and carry on.

Eventually we got to a parking lot at a locked up Visitor’s Center (remember, it's off season?). Deep in the hills, no one had cell service and we still needed to figure out how we’d get a tow truck through the construction and detours.

A park ranger was able to let us into the Visitor's Center to use the phones. After many attempted calls, transfers, upgrades, disconnections, we were finally told that a tow truck would be coming for us. In a few hours.

When it got dark, the bears emerged from the forest but didn't cause any trouble (although, that would've made for a better story). I still think it's worth mentioning! Seeing bears and being broken down in a National Park!

Once the tow truck arrived after many, many hours, we realized there was only enough room in the cab for two adults. Somehow it was decided that my partner, myself, and the dog, would have to ride in the RV while we were towed for hours to a repair shop.

I remember laying in the bed of the RV and watching the full moon from the window. We were finally being rescued!

We were dropped off somewhere in Visalia, California where we’d have to stay until they opened the shop in the morning. 

So, that is where I slept in California for the first time: in an RV in the parking lot of a repair shop.

The stress of having to wait a few days for the RV to get fixed with your short-tempered parents was trying, to say the least, but no one got killed and we even made it to Yosemite in our rental car. By the end of it, my dad didn't want to see anymore "stupid trees."

I would return to California again in April 2015 when I was exploring the West Coast on my Great Big Adventure. I found a ride with a stranger via CraigsList and we took a couple days to drive down Highway 101.

A few months later, I’d return after on my way back from Hawaii and New Zealand to try In-N-Out Burger and see Lake Tahoe.

Colorado

The first time I ever flew on an airplane, I was 18-years-old. I flew from Atlantic City to Denver in April 2003. When I returned to New Jersey from that trip, I tried convincing my brother to move to Colorado with me. 

Fast forward five and a half years. It was my final semester in college and I was finishing a paper at a cafe with a friend. I looked up from my computer and told him that I just booked a one-way flight to Colorado and I was going to move to Boulder, despite having never been there, right after graduation in a few weeks.

Two days before I was supposed to leave, my dad had a heart attack at my going away party and we didn’t think he was going to survive. It was an intense couple of weeks, but he recovered and told me I needed to resume my plan to move to Colorado. So I did.

My flight arrived on the afternoon of July 9, 2008. As the bus from the airport drove through Boulder, it was much less green and more developed with big, chain stores than I was expecting.

During my first month in the West, I explored different parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and New Mexico! It was so different than everything I had known on the East Coast!

When I returned to Boulder, I got two jobs: a flower shop and a cafe! All I ever wanted! I didn't stay at the flower shop for very long, but I continued working at the cafe for nearly a year where I met some of the coolest people I'm happy to still call friends.

Somehow, my Colorado adventure turned into almost 6 years once I found myself in a relationship with 3 dogs, a cat, and a career. In January of 2014, I drove away from those mountains for a new beginning in New York City.

The thing about Colorado is that I keep coming back. In fact, as I type this right now, here I am, drinking too much water because it's so dry and squinting in the bright sunlight. Still, here I am again.

"Let's go, Rockies!"

A is for Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, and Arkansas

Alabama

If there are no photos, did it even happen?

I realize it’s kind of a letdown that the story of my visit to Alabama doesn’t have any accompanying pictures, but to be honest, my experience in the state is hardly something to write about, and yet, I’m going to anyway, because it happened.

It was July 2009 when I entered Alabama for the first and only time. I was on a 6-week long road trip with my partner-at-the-time. The road trip, initially, was with the intention that I would drive around the United States until I decided to stay somewhere for awhile, but after some negotiations, it transformed into an adventure with a beginning and end to see more of the United States and work on my mission to sleep-in-every-state.

On this particular day, we were en route from his grandparents’ house in Louisiana to his family in Florida. We drove through Mississippi (one of the six states I have left to sleep in as of the date of this writing!) and stopped at a Motel 6 in Mobile, Alabama.

We were traveling with his dog, Aloe, and this is the day we discovered that Motel 6 not only allows pets, but they don’t even have a pet fee. 

I remember the bed had a blue blanket and the floor was tile. The staff was friendly enough and I remember being confused as to why it looked like people were living at the hotel (because people do that). I also remember waking up in the morning to the sound of laughing gulls.

We had breakfast at The Waffle House (the one and only time I have eaten there) and then continued on our way.

Alaska

The first time I visited Alaska was on a cruise ship in late June of 2003. My mom brought me as a graduation-from-high-school gift. It was just the two of us and it was the second time in my life I was ever on an airplane.

We saw whales, glaciers, mountains, and bald eagles. While we were kayaking, a salmon jumped up out of the water next to us and then a huge seal followed right behind! How exciting for two “kids” from New Jersey!

 

Exactly 10 years later, I returned to Alaska, but this time for a work trip, because I am an adult now! I was working as an environmental consultant and my boss offered to send me to Alaska, if I wanted to go!

Um, yes and thank you!

Even though my accommodations would be covered, I think it's much more enjoyable to stay with humans rather than a lonely, hotel, so I reached out to a friend I knew from when I first moved to Colorado in 2008. He was from Alaska and moved back a few years earlier. He told me he was living with his girlfriend and I was welcome to stay with them.

If I remember correctly, my flight arrived around 10pm and the sun was still shining. When I went to sleep this night in Anchorage, I could officially count Alaska as “slept in” for my life-goal records. 

I attempted to walk on some trails to take pretty photos during my visit, but the “Beware of Moose and Bears” signs were enough to keep me close to the car since I could not stop picturing myself being murdered by wildlife.

Both times I visited Alaska were at the end of June/beginning of July so the days were long. I love extreme hours of daylight, but I still long to experience the winters of the far north. That being said, Alaska earns itself a spot near the top of my list for places I’d consider living.

Returning to Alaska ten years later.

Arizona

Traveling in an RV with my partner-at-the-time, my parents, and their dog, we drove to Arizona with the Grand Canyon on our radar. It was October 2011 and we were coming from Utah.

Naturally, we stopped at the state sign for pictures.

The day we arrived, we were greeted with the first snowfall of the season, and the next day, it was hot again.

Somewhat deterred by all of the signs warning of imminent death if we attempted to go hiking into the canyon, my partner and I hiked a few miles, but I could not stop imagining how my body would look after overheating and dehydrating.

The lesson? Every state is trying to kill you in its own way. Prevail, my friends. Prevail!