Five years ago this May, I took my most memorable road trip to California. The trip came about unexpectedly when my boyfriend Nick had learned that his race motor was not going to be shipped to Washington and that it needed to be picked up. We decided that we would make the eighteen hour drive without stopping to Los Angles since we didn’t get much time off from work. In order to do that, we would need another driver just in case we got too tired; we recruited our best friend Rob, and he was of course excited to go. The three of us headed out on a Saturday afternoon in our 1994 GMC Yukon. We could only hope that it would make the drive due the fact the mileage read well over one hundred thousand. Taking my seat in the back with an abundance of luggage and snacks, as I anxiously awaited to arrive in California. We had only been traveling a mere hour, when my cell phone rang; it was my Dad worried of course, since this was my first time away from home without him. He was already calling to check in
on me and little did I know that this was only the first of fifteen phone calls I would receive that night. All the calls asking the same questions, “Where are you now?” and “Are the boys driving safely?” and I would reply with, “Yes, Dad everything is fine.”
Washington seemed to take the longest to travel through with the jammed freeway lanes and with the never ending road construction. The afternoon started turning into a dark, chilly night as we headed through the mountain passes of Oregon. My job on this trip was to keep Nick and Rob awake when it was their turn to drive. This meant that I was not to sleep until we arrived in California. Keeping Nick awake was a breeze, but as for Rob, he would drive with his eyes so tightly squinted and fixated on the road, it was hard for me to tell if he was awake. The only thing I could come up with was reading him every road sign I could see, and he would respond to me with an “Ok” after each one. Sometime towards the end of Oregon, I could feel my eyelids grow heavy, and my mind start to slip into some sort of delusional trance. I fought it for as long as I could, but I eventually fell asleep.
Sprawled across the backseat tightly wrapped in a fleece blanket, my forehead started to sweat and I could hear the sounds of cars roaring their engines and horns honking with out cause. I thought to myself, “Where am I, How long was I asleep for?”Without even realizing a quick nap had turned into four hours of sleep. With the hot sun beaming down on me, I sat up and to my surprise I was in California. We immediately picked up the race motor from a little shop right outside Los Angles. Rob and I waited in the car, while Nick ran in to get it; when he returned, he looked at us with exhaustion and said, “Since, we have come this far, we might as well go to Disneyland instead of just heading home.” An instant rush of excitement came over me and made me forget just how tired I was. Anaheim, the city where Disneyland is located, was not far at all, and we were able to get a hotel right across the street.
The hotel room was perfect to unwind in with its two queen beds and swimming pool; we spent the rest of the day in relaxation. Morning came fast and I could hardly wait to enter the giant gates leading into the wondrous theme park that I had not seen since I was a kid. It was warm enough for summer clothes and the right time a year not to have to wait in lines for the rides. I started my Disneyland adventure out with some Mickey Mouse shaped waffles drenched in sweet maple syrup. “Eat fast,” I yelled to Nick and Rob “I can’t wait to ride Space Mountain.” After breakfast we rushed off to the rides. The problem of having three people is that somebody had to ride the rides alone, but Rob didn’t seem to mine. The trip was nothing short of comical entertainment. I think it gave us enough inside jokes to last a life time; for instance, while on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. This obnoxious boy about twelve years of age continued to shout out in a high pitched voice, “C’mon Amaya, we were suppose to ride together;” this lasted throughout the entire ride, and to this day, when one of us is taking too long ,we yell out mimicking that annoying voice, “C’mon Amaya.”
During one of our breaks, Nick and I had wandered over to a churro cart for a quick snack, leaving Rob to rest on a nearby bench. Suddenly out of nowhere a crow landed on Rob’s shoulder. I pointed it out to Nick, and we began to laugh hysterically as Rob proceeded to try and get the bird away from him. For some reason it was not working, and Rob ran frantically over to us not knowing what to do; as he ran it startled the bird and it flew off, leaving Rob convinced that it was an artificial bird made by Disneyland sent out to get him. After a day of enjoying the rides, food, and shopping, it
was time to drive home.
The drive home seemed a lot faster; everyone had settled down and remained quiet throughout the night. It felt good to be back at home, but I knew that this was the trip I would never forget and it would always be my favorite.
on me and little did I know that this was only the first of fifteen phone calls I would receive that night. All the calls asking the same questions, “Where are you now?” and “Are the boys driving safely?” and I would reply with, “Yes, Dad everything is fine.”
Washington seemed to take the longest to travel through with the jammed freeway lanes and with the never ending road construction. The afternoon started turning into a dark, chilly night as we headed through the mountain passes of Oregon. My job on this trip was to keep Nick and Rob awake when it was their turn to drive. This meant that I was not to sleep until we arrived in California. Keeping Nick awake was a breeze, but as for Rob, he would drive with his eyes so tightly squinted and fixated on the road, it was hard for me to tell if he was awake. The only thing I could come up with was reading him every road sign I could see, and he would respond to me with an “Ok” after each one. Sometime towards the end of Oregon, I could feel my eyelids grow heavy, and my mind start to slip into some sort of delusional trance. I fought it for as long as I could, but I eventually fell asleep.
Sprawled across the backseat tightly wrapped in a fleece blanket, my forehead started to sweat and I could hear the sounds of cars roaring their engines and horns honking with out cause. I thought to myself, “Where am I, How long was I asleep for?”Without even realizing a quick nap had turned into four hours of sleep. With the hot sun beaming down on me, I sat up and to my surprise I was in California. We immediately picked up the race motor from a little shop right outside Los Angles. Rob and I waited in the car, while Nick ran in to get it; when he returned, he looked at us with exhaustion and said, “Since, we have come this far, we might as well go to Disneyland instead of just heading home.” An instant rush of excitement came over me and made me forget just how tired I was. Anaheim, the city where Disneyland is located, was not far at all, and we were able to get a hotel right across the street.
The hotel room was perfect to unwind in with its two queen beds and swimming pool; we spent the rest of the day in relaxation. Morning came fast and I could hardly wait to enter the giant gates leading into the wondrous theme park that I had not seen since I was a kid. It was warm enough for summer clothes and the right time a year not to have to wait in lines for the rides. I started my Disneyland adventure out with some Mickey Mouse shaped waffles drenched in sweet maple syrup. “Eat fast,” I yelled to Nick and Rob “I can’t wait to ride Space Mountain.” After breakfast we rushed off to the rides. The problem of having three people is that somebody had to ride the rides alone, but Rob didn’t seem to mine. The trip was nothing short of comical entertainment. I think it gave us enough inside jokes to last a life time; for instance, while on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. This obnoxious boy about twelve years of age continued to shout out in a high pitched voice, “C’mon Amaya, we were suppose to ride together;” this lasted throughout the entire ride, and to this day, when one of us is taking too long ,we yell out mimicking that annoying voice, “C’mon Amaya.”
During one of our breaks, Nick and I had wandered over to a churro cart for a quick snack, leaving Rob to rest on a nearby bench. Suddenly out of nowhere a crow landed on Rob’s shoulder. I pointed it out to Nick, and we began to laugh hysterically as Rob proceeded to try and get the bird away from him. For some reason it was not working, and Rob ran frantically over to us not knowing what to do; as he ran it startled the bird and it flew off, leaving Rob convinced that it was an artificial bird made by Disneyland sent out to get him. After a day of enjoying the rides, food, and shopping, it
was time to drive home.
The drive home seemed a lot faster; everyone had settled down and remained quiet throughout the night. It felt good to be back at home, but I knew that this was the trip I would never forget and it would always be my favorite.
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