cross country road trip.

finally to the west coast :))

our road trip was awesome. i mean, i was definitely looking forward to the trek out west, but it seriously exceeded expectations. our route was pretty much unplanned. we knew we wanted to check out the mountains, but also knew it was a giant risk leaving in the dead of an already bad winter. we left from ohio for our first stop in chicago to enjoy our last weekend in chicago and to ring in the new year. had a blast. it was bittersweet to be reunited with old friends and a place we loved to have to leave it again. we knew we had great times ahead though so we kept pushing forward. we left for the long journey on monday, the 3rd, and started it off with a long trip through illinois, iowa, and some of nebraska landing us in lincoln, nebraska for the night. pretty low key day. saw lots of pretty skies and flatland. had a nice stay in our hotel and got an early start the next day to head into colorado. i was super excited to see denver and was pleasantly surprised by the laid back and trendy feel of the place i had imagined. we stayed with one of pao's old work friends, had a nice home cooked meal, and watched ohio state play in the sugar bowl with a bunch of ohio people. got a good night of sleep to wake up early to head to breckenridge to ski. neither of us had skied in years, but we hit the slopes like old pros. neither of us went down, which was a shear miracle. i definitely lost control a few times but kept it cool. real cool. it was freeeeezing. the top of the mountain was -15 degrees and with our below average ski attire we threw together last minute, a few hours were all we needed. we wanted to see some more of colorado so we headed up to boulder for the night. super cute town that instantly reminded me of athens which obviously made me love it. college town feel with lots of nice, laid back people. pao and i rolled to the bar in our ski gear, having not showered in days, and fit right in. we had some dinner and delicious brews at mountain sun pub, checked out the town, then headed in a little early. we didn't know then but had a 13 hour day of driving ahead. i drove the first 7 hours down colorado and through new mexico. the gorgeous horizons,  wide open spaces, animals, and desert land were plenty to keep us entertained. we made it to santa fe for an early dinner. really cute town that looks exactly how i'd imagined. pao took over and drove the night through arizona landing us in flagstaff for the night. i would consider this the only low point of the trip. our hotel was horrible. we were beyond exhausted when pulling into town and didn't have the time or patience to find a decent hotel. luckily we were so tired that we fell asleep (on towels) instantly and didn't move til we woke up and got the hell out of there. had to check the town out first though. got breakfast downtown flagstaff at a cute little place, macy's, where we had one of the best meals of the trip. on to the grand canyon. drove through beautiful natural forests the whole way there. we made it and boy was it grand. the thing is huge. and unbelievable. took in the sights, snapped a few pics, and moved on to head to vegas. oooo vegas. had a ball. met up with some poland kids who were randomly in town and had a table at our favorite club, xs. how convenient. rocked out all night then hit the road early to head south to san diego. supposed to have been on the home stretch to la but our movers were running behind schedule and we needed to buy some time. went down to visit angelo and friends and had a great time. to finally be in california and get a taste of our new life was the best part of it all. we did a pb pub crawl that night and had delicious greasy goodness for lunch oceanside the next day. our belongings were still delayed so we headed a little north to stay one last night at a friends in newport. this was the perfect wind down night as we finally got a shower, a good meal, and a good relaxation night on the couch with our shows. the perfect way to end our week long roadtrip. the next morning we drove up to west hollywood with butterflies of finally seeing the place we were going to call home. we arrived and were once again pleasantly surprised. it is perfect. we toured around it and just looked at each other with relief and excitement. we made it. 

all in all, the trip was a blast. there is so much our country has to offer that i had no idea about. 
above are some pictures of the journey. they honestly don't do any of the sights justice. drive cross country. the views are truly unbelievable and it is amazing to see how each state has its own look and personality.