Good grief, I don't even know where to begin when talking about our cross country trip to California! I guess I'll start with WE ARE CRAZY! We actually did it though!

My teeny Scion XB included the following items:  3 BMX bikes, 4 suitcases, 2 helmets, 1 giant cooler, a large camera bag, a small camera bag, a video camera, 4 skateboards, 1 pillow and 1 blanket and to top it ALL off... 3 people! To say we had any room at all was an understatement. 

We knew going into our trip that we had 2 weeks off so we didn't stress out on how much time it was going to take us to reach Los Angeles, which was nice. It gave us time to stop and see some really cool parts of the country and take it all in! 

Our first day literally included the drive to St. Louis Missouri which is the gateway to the West. We totally slacked off and only spent about 12 hours in the car. Day 2 we stopped in Kansas to see the little town that inspired the Disney Movie Cars and it was adorable! Anthony got such a kick out of being able to walk right up to all of the cars and take his own pictures! We only wish the little museum had been open but it wasn't. 

It was very interesting to me that as we drove, the landscape changed throughout the country. I will NEVER, EVER forget as we were driving though Oklahoma my husband said "Wow would you look at the crustacean it's just so beautiful!" I laughed for about 20 minutes while googling what he meant to say about the crust of the earth and showing him pictures of crustacean's !! 

We stopped on day 2 in Amarillo, Texas to stay the night. Texas was full of open fields, cows & windmills which were pretty awesome! We also got another chance to step on out to Rt. 66 and that was pretty neat. There was no one around to bother us. Not a car for miles as they were all on the highway that was literally running right next to the route! Jesse and I were like little kids in a candy shop!

Our third Day of driving included New Mexico & Arizona. The landscape was totally knock your socks off here. I had to stop in the middle of Arizona at one point and jump out because we were surrounded by the most gorgeous mountains ever! A man got out of his car and asked if I was okay and I said... "I"m fine, I just had to get a picture of this beauty!" He said that was why he moved here. To wake up everyday to the view! We stayed overnight in Kingsman, Arizona and then headed out to meet up with our friend.   

On the Fourth day of driving we met up with our friend Erik to eat lunch in California and check out the Joshua Tree National Park. This place is a must FREAKING see! I am so glad we went to check it out! The mountains were formed millions of years ago during volcanic eruptions and are literally boulders on boulders on boulders! It's quite possibly the weirdest thing I have ever seen. From afar you are driving to the mountains and then you get inside the park and its just these giant formations of boulders. Super cool! 

While in California we went to so many cool places! We check out the Griffith Observatory on one of our first days there and spent the whole afternoon there just checking it out! It's also relatively close to the Hollywood sign which was pretty neat to see! We drove down to San Diego for the day and literally hiked up the coast which was knock you damn socks off awesome! The park we went to was Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. While in San Diego we checked out a secret stairwell inside of a store that lead to a cave in the ocean!!! Then we went BMX'ing! 

We hiked up a Mountain to see a lonely tree, I swear I thought I was going to die.. but I made it! We went to Malibu to see the beach off the cliffs and saw dolphins and seals and just about the prettiest view ever! I mean I could go on and on and on... This trip was so phenomenal and I am so glad the hubs and I could give this to our son! I'm quite sure he will never forget this, like EVER! 

On our way back we made one more stop off at the Grand Canyon because DUH! You can't be that close and not go see it. We spent WAY more time than we thought we would but it was so freaking cool! Our trip will forever be in our hearts and memories and it is definitely something you should do once in your life time if you can! 

Thanks for reading along, LIVE.LAUGH.PHOTO. <3 Ariel