Northern California Travels

(written Friday, 5/20)

Hey Bloggers!

I just got back last night from a fast 2-day road trip up to Monterey! It was an amazing trip. I cannot believe how much of the state I saw within 48 hours. Time feels like a blur, and it definitely seems like we went through a week’s trip in just two days.

My boyfriend and I aimed to leave at 4:15, just 15 minutes after my Disney interview, to drive the 5 hour trip up to Monterey. We didn’t decide until 6:30pm whether or not we were still leaving, so we chose to leave in the AM.

We woke up at 4:30am, and left at 5:15 and headed north into and past the mountains of the Valley. I love road trips, but when we leave that early, I never stay awake. Surprisingly, I did for this trip. Just even driving 30 minutes outside of the valley takes you into amazing views along the desert hills.

For the first 2 or so hours, we drove from the 5-North through the hills into the San Fernando Valley, which is comprised of flat farmland and wineries. Driving through this part of California, although nice, is also boring, like driving through the flat stretch of Texas’ Panhandle.

Three hours, and several cookies later, we finally made it to a small town called Carmel-by-the-Sea. We got in around 10:15am, and checked into our hotel room. The hotel itself was the gorgeous regal red, 1900’s décor.

The first item of our agenda was, about 10 or 15 minutes north… Monterey. Of course we made it to the aquarium! We watched some fish feedings, looked at the Sea Horses and just enjoyed strolling around with no time limit, easily spending about 3 hours there.

We then strolled through downtown, Cannery Row, and eventually, to the wharfs where we had a really simple lunch at the Sandbar and Grill. This restaurant was located actually under the dock just above the water looking out onto all the boats. It was really nice and relaxing.

Once we walked the 2 mile trip back to the aquarium, we drove back to Carmel and got ready for our picnic at the beach. With a bottle of champagne and our camera, we headed to the beach and watched the last hour of the sunset. It was spectacular!

The sky was trying to decide if it wanted to rain or stay sunny. The clouds literally came off the water and turned grey just off shore and got darker as the clouds rolled into the mountains. It was really a beautiful sight. We would watch the clouds grow from wispy strings into thick and dark rain clouds.

After the sun set we walked back and around town for dinner. We never actually made it to dinner because we ended up talking and looking at the art gallery windows. This town was so quaint at night. It reminded me a lot of my neighboring home town, Summit. Instead, we found ourselves at the local bar around 10:15pm and we were later told the kitchen closed in ten minutes! A bar closing before 10:30? No way! That ended our night early, but then again we had almost a 24 hour day!

On Thursday, the next day, after a nice night’s rest, we got up and walked around Carmel some more. We walked through the touristy shops looking for a hoodie sweater, which ended up incomplete because they had small sizes only. Oh, how this world is not really meant for tall people!

As we walked around, we found ourselves stopping in about 3 different art galleries. Although they were neighboring stores, they all had completely different types of art for sale. The first was a gallery specifically dedicated to one artist who designed The Grammy Event posters. His pieces sell for over $400,000 a piece! We talked to the art gallery owner and he was from NJ, so we had a nice coversation about home and moved on to the next gallery.

Mary Titus’ art gallery is one of contemporary pieces that mix color in some abstract yet mystical way. I am not much of an art follower, but these were really nice. There was one piece the looked like an angel flying towards the moon. So pretty!

As we walked around, the gallery supervisor, Tony, talked to us about art. He was from Big Sur, the next stop we were going to visit after Carmel. Good thing we met with him because he told us a new way to get home since The PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) was closed at a certain point. His roads were the most amazing scenery… I’ll explain later.

After meeting Tony, we walked through a photo gallery with some Ansel Adams artwork. Some of his pieces were spectacular. No wonder they were selling for 40-75,000 dollars a shot!

Our last gallery we visited was of the artist, Boban Bursac. He was from Serbia and moved to the US some 25 years ago and never left. He was a nice older man with a thick accent, but loved to talk. He explained all of his pieces to us from their origination to the copy. My favorite portrait was of the back of a blonde girl in a fancy 1700s red dress. He had it splotted with beautifully painted spots and it looked like something from an old book. It was so gorgeous; I wanted it, but not at the price of 20 grand.

Finally, our time at Carmel had finished and we left to head towards Big Sur. Only about 20 minutes south on the 1 from Carmel, Big Sur is famous for its blue watered beaches. Rocky and surrounded by tough terrain, this small, hippy town is definitely a sight worth seeing.

We stopped and had a local beer at Nepthenthe, a famous bar visited by many celebrities over the years. The view was beautiful. Over looking the cliff, you could see the Blue Pacific, gold sun, and green mountains. Picturesque for sure.

Our next and final stop was the Big Sur library, but it was not much of a library at all. It was a little hole-in-the wall, wooden room with some books on sale. Suddenly, we were kicked out because the community was putting on a local fashion show. The theme: Back to the Future. The catch? Make the clothes out of anything BUT fabric. We didn’t stay for the show, but just looking at the décor was enough. Strange and eccentric.

So we headed our way back to LA. This time, we took the path Tony, from the gallery, had suggested. It was a tough and windy road that took you from the Coast up and over the mountains. We got so high we were actually above the clouds and couldn’t see the ground! The cloudy hills soon turned into magnificent forest land. About an hour later we were enough inland that we hit flat land.

This flat land was by far my favorite scenery! It was near the military base of Hunter-Liggett. The high prarie-like tan grass was seen for miles and miles. Massive, thick trees were spread throughout the land. It looked like what I assumed Africa to be on a safari. I was seriously expecting a lion to come out at some point! The land was so beautiful. I could look at it for hours.

Soon enough our roads connected to the highway we took up, so we were in familiar territory. A few short hours later, we were back in the Valley before 11pm. It was definitely a wirl-wind of a trip. It felt we had been gone for a week and seen so much, but we were gone for not even 48 hours!

It was a trip well spent! I hope to go back up there to see more of Northern California. I definitely like it much more than Southern Cal. It reminded me more of the East Coast with its greenery, windy roads, and community. I think my next trip will be near the San Fran and Napa Valley area.

Well… now I have to go pack because I leave for NJ in less than 12 hours!!!! HOME!!! Here I come. Until then… goodnight!

Goodbye Orlando, Hello LA, See you Tomorrow, Conan!

Hey Bloggers!

I am typing this entry on my flight as I head to Phoenix and leaving Orlando. : ( It is amazing how quickly time flies when it is the least convenient to you. I cannot believe 8 days have passed already. It seems I just got here. Oh well, I know I will back soon, not sure when, but it will happen.

Looking back over the week, it went really well. It was much for chill and relaxing than I had anticipated, but it also definitely had its stresses at some points. One stress point was finding all my rides to and from places. Thank you to those who helped! I really appreciate it. I only got stranded once, and I will go into that in a moment.

I had some great homemade meals, living room entertainment, and a nice night at Food and Wine that ended with sitting in the show booth at the American Pavilion to watch a concert from Starship. I also worked out and did some back exercise every day, (although my back has been acting up this trip a bit), as well as visited some old friends at the Great Movie Ride.

There were some things that did not get accomplished such as: Harry Potter World, Main Street Electrical Parade, TANGLED characters, Cowboys bar, and a Halloween party, but I still had a great trip. I will do all those next time.

My meetings with the executives did go well overall, and all three have offered the upmost support to help me get to where I want to be with the company. I was not expecting that type of reception. Was it because Orlandians are generally nicer, or is it due to being at WDW, or have I just gotten used to the demeanor of those in LA? Either way, they were all really kind to me. I am truly thankful for the chance to meeting with them all.

One of the biggest stressors was the day I had two meet and greets within two hours of each other, and my plan on how to get there fell through completely, and I was basically stranded for a bit. I had a rental car reservation that fell through and I could not get a car within 45 minutes, nor would the companies pick me up off of Disney Resort Property. I called a taxi, but had to stop at an ATM for cash to pay him. What I thought would be a quick ride, was a long ride and ended up costing me all my cash. I could not afford a way back to the next M&G unless it was free (HA!)

My meeting was all the way behind Magic Kingdom in the middle of nowhere because this location was meant to be hard to find. I had to walk around a security gate, which I got interrogated by an officer after I broke the security policy, and I had no car. I couldn’t afford a cab, and I had no time with Disney Transportation; plus, I would have to make my way backstage, and I did not know where I was going. Luckily, a good friend of mine came to my rescue. I could not have been more grateful! Oh, and btw, it was about 100 degrees at this time.

The weather tied the record for hottest days ever everyday this week, including this one. It was soooo hot this week! I cannot believe it is Oct/almost Nov. It was definitely June/July weather.

Anyway, I made it through the week, but one shift short of seasonal. I had two shift exchanges that were denied, so I hope to talk to manager to let it slide and keep my status. I would suck if all this effort was for nothing. I hope to stay seasonal, especially since it seems I will be leaving the Studios in Burbank for some time.

That brings me to Conan. I cannot believe I start tomorrow! YAYAYA! I really hope this is a beginning of a great opportunity and the beginning of a new career path. I am really nervous and excited all at the same time, even if it is for an internship. I know I am going to be thrown right in it, so I hope I will do well. I feel like this is the right move for me, and that feels great to say.

The only challenge is to find a job to sustain me the rest of my time. I will work M-Th, so I need a small job to work nights and weekends to survive. That is my goal for this week. Hopefully it will be successful. I just need to survive for a few months. SURVIVE! I also hope the jet lag won’t bother me. It usually sucks flying East to West for me, and it takes me most of the week to adjust to the time. I know I will be tired tonight, and I have a big day tomorrow to prepare for.

I will let you know how it all goes! Hopefully this is the beginning of a new chapter! However, if I did not have Conan to return too tomorrow, I think I would have stayed in Orlando a few more days. I just can’t let it go, although I noticed how bored I got this trip. I forget that the night life is not as good as LA, so for that, and I cannot believe I am admitting this, I miss LA.

Someone asked me this trip if I am happy. I haven’t thought of it like that in a while. I said, “I am becoming content.” I realize now, I have made friends, I have connections, and I have a direction, the only thing I need is a job. I need the thing I came out here for to really seal the deal I think. Then I will be happier. Maybe not Happy, but HappIER.

Okay, well, I am going to try and sleep, but doubtful. Thanks to my friends who helped me out this week!! I know this was the last week of relaxing for quite a while since I will buckle down and focus for the next few months. I had such a good week, and I hate to be leaving, but life has me going in another direction. So until next time…Goodbye Orlando, Goodbye Employment Boredom, Hello LA, and See you tomorrow, Conan!

Horoscope correctness...again!

“Sagittarius- “Some people have a hard time letting the wind carry them where it will. That’s not your challenge. It’s way harder for you to stay in one place for any duration. You’re in luck. You’ll be asked (and maybe paid) to wander.”

Wow. This was dead on yet again. Instead of telling me of my current situation, it gives me a bit of hope about my future. I have no problem following the wind as it says. In fact, I love the idea of not knowing where I will be in the next few years, yet alone next week. I love to travel. I think that goes back to my childhood.

As a kid, I moved around about 8 times before settling in New Jersey. However, my activities left me anything but still. I was on a travel Volleyball team that led me everywhere from Seattle to Tampa. Then in college, I was in Boston, Orlando, New Zealand, Los Angeles and New Jersey to name a few places. I accept I may never officially settle in one place. It's just been who I am. It doesn't mean I like it, because I do like the idea of having a stable place in life.

However, staying in one place for a long time does tend to cause great angst in me. I am bitten with the travel bug. I want to see the world and all it has to offer. I cannot relate to those who do not feel the same. I know that I get antsy after a few months in one spot. Even being home now, which has only been 5 weeks, I am dying for a change. A change in location, scenery, and weather. My trip to Orlando this week was a great break.

Now for the future part. It gives me hope saying that i will get asked to wander. It would be ideal for me to find a job that lets me travel and see places. I really hope that is the "paid" part of this horoscope. I just know that a change is coming soon...a new location, a new job, a new purpose. yay!