I Only Went on the Wrong Interstate Twice!

THE BEGINNING

Hey party people!

I can't wait to keep you all updated on this travel blog thing! I am suspending my US phone number today, but I will be available on here, whatsapp , and instagram  if you would like to contact me during these next few transition days. I am working on getting an international phone number once I arrive, but these options will probably be best to avoid incurring those vicious international charges. 

I am leaving for New Zealand today at midnight from LAX! I had to repack my bag six different times; the first time it was 90lbs. I finally paired it down to a healthy 62lbs so fingers crossed it's not too heavy! But, I am sure you are wondering... how did you get to LA?? Here's the travel rundown. 

31st of August - Jasmyn and I drove down to Bozeman to take a gander at the great dinos in the Museum of the Rockies! If you get the chance to check out the cool Da Vinci exhibit over there, that guy was an interesting dude (and also very obsessed with John the Baptist). We got to stay at the beautiful Murrey Hotel in Livingston and enjoyed a nice walk in a sleepy town. 14/10.

1st of September - We started with the Bozeman-favorite Jam breakfast and drove back down to Missoula to pick up my very full car! Harley and I then started the long haul journey down the coast to Olympia. We stopped at a delicious Applebees and got some epic photos at the space needle! This photo is totally real and not a greenscreen. 9/10 only because leaving Missoula was HARD.

2nd of September - Today was the day of the beautiful Oregon coast, infamous Tillamook factory and epic pelicans! Eventually landed WAY too late at the world's scariest and memorable air bnb in the middle of Crescent City, California. It was all redeemed with the close proximity to the gorgeous Redwood National Forest the next day. 10.5/10 bonus half point for the resemblance the air bnb had to the most recent insidious movie and the ridiculous fear it caused, the hosts were very sweet though.
3rd of September - THE REDWOODS IS THE COOLEST PLACE ON EARTH! We went on a beautiful hike, saw some slugs and didn't get eaten by mosquitos. We saw so many stellars jays and ran into some barn swallow nests at the visitor center; it was marvelous. We then drove to San Fran and got to see the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge. Everyone there was mean, the roads were crazzyyyy AND I can't stress this enough... we paid $44 for parking. 1/10 for Frisco (one point ONLY because our Uber from din was a Tesla and that was cool), 14/10 Redwoods cuz duh nature and banana slugs. 

4th of September - Brief redemption of San Fran when we went to the Palace of Fine Arts! Such a cool building where Harley got to live out her Barbie dreams. In addition, super nice lady who gave us the best photo shoot of our lives with the palace. From there we moved on to the Boardwalk Theme Park in Santa Cruz which was so fun! They had some great rides and it was right on the beach. Harley got a potato stick and we went on the swings (#lovetheswings). After the theme park, we got back in the car and went to one of my favorite portions of the trip: Pfiffer Rock in Big Sur. A beautiful beach complete with western gulls and perfect purple sand, we got to watch the sun set with crashing waves. Overall, great day and ended with a dirty shirley and fish and chips in Salinas. 13/10

5th of September - Harley and I finally made it to La Mirada on the 5th! We drove from Salinas to the beautiful Hearst Castle and got to learn all about the ins and outs of the Hearsts and the super epic architect Julia Morgan. We ended up getting a private tour because we booked on a Tuesday at noon. After touring Hearst we drove to LA for dinner at a delish Persian restaurant. Then we made it back in the nick of time to surprise Grandpa for his birthday (*see awesome sunglasses photo​*)! 11/10 was so happy to be back in a familiar space. 


These last few days we went to my cousin's school carnival, the beach and got in some good quality family time. I am very excited to land in New Zealand and tour some apartments! Thanks for being a part of this blog and I look forward to keeping in touch! 

Taylor 

















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