California Day 7 (driving and Las Vegas)

I was sad to leave Los Angeles yesterday, but I love road trips and I was so excited to get to see a part of the country that I've never seen before! The drive has been amazing so far. Huge sky, and incredible mountains.

A lot of times when I have a long driving day I catch up on phone calls, listen to music I've been meaning to download, and listen to audio books.

When my eyes start to get a little droopy, I'll take out my sneakers and go for a quick jog.

I wasn't tired at all yesterday, so when I got to Las Vegas I decided that a really great way to see the main strip would be to run on it!

One thing I though was odd...

Casinos apparently like you to believe that you're somewhere other than Las Vegas. Perhaps Paris or New York, for example.

A few other things I noticed-

The entire city has music playing out of the bushes, and it's very loud.

Parking is free.

There are a lot of billboards for divorce lawyers.

After my run, I decided I needed to at least play one slot machine, and decided that Caesar's Palace was clearly the place for me.

I don't mean to be a jerk, but I wasn't really that into it. People were smoking around me, the lights and noise were making me feel a little crazy, and to be honest it was smaller than if expected.

But, not all was lost.

I put in $1 at the penny slots, and yep- cashed out with $1.04.

I don't know what I'll do with my winnings yet, but I'm thinking about some kind of investment.

I'll keep you posted.

Off to Denver today! Kristen

Ps...maybe now that I'm a few states away, I should stop referring to this purely as a California trip?

California Day 6 (Butterfly Beach and Los Angeles)

Yesterday was another beautiful sunny day out here in California. A friend of mine lives in Santa Barbara and offered to tour me around and walk the beach with me, which of course, I couldn't pass up since I'd been wanting to get my toes and dreads in the Pacific Ocean!

We walked the beach, I took photos of the beautiful spot, and before jumping in quickly (it was a little chilly) we saw a baby seal chillin on the beach! He was so so sooo cute, and pretty clumsy.

I then drove down to Los Angeles. I checked out Warner Brothers Studio (no, I didn't see Ellen this time- but I did see the building!), a beautiful observatory that looks over Los Angeles including the Hollywood sign, and then I spent the rest of the day wandering Hollywood Boulevard.

People are very smiley here and said hello even when I didn't know them, and I got tons of compliments on my hair (which was still drying out after the beach). Those are my Hollywood Blvd observations.

I graciously and humbly accepted my award for person of the year- I won't let this change me.

Last night I played at Pig 'n Whistle, had a great time, connected with a bunch of new people and got to catch up with friends!

One of my friends came that I haven't seen since high school! It was a blast to catch up, and it was pretty cool that the last time she heard me sing, it was my version of Tina Turner for the school variety show.

#onlyexistsonVHS

Today I start the drive to Denver. I'll be stopping along the way whenever I see something interesting, and I'll be sure to keep you posted on my whereabouts!

Have a great day, Kristen

California Day 5 (Ojai)

I arrived in Ojai on Sunday night, so I couldn't exactly see my surroundings very well. When I woke up yesterday morning I was blown away by the mountains. What a beautiful city!

I had the day to catch up on some work, but I also wanted to explore a bit. From what I can tell, Ojai is a super cute town with boutique shops and lots of hiking.

My favorite store (and this is why I need to stop buying them) was an outdoor bookstore called Bart's Books. I had so much fun looking through everything. All of the books are used, and from what I understand the store started as a stand that was just run on the honor system, and books cost 35 cents.

It was really cool.

After working and browsing, I found an amazing hiking trail at the foot of the mountains. The only thing that freaked me out was that they had a sign warning me of mountain lions. So I didn't go too far on any one trail.

And this path was just too beautiful to pass up.

I played last night at the Deer Lodge, and a friend from Florida came out to hear me! It's always so cool to see familiar faces in new places! Anyway, the show was fun, the food was great, and on my way home, I passed by this liquor store.

I think liquor stores across the country should adopt this name. It's so brilliant.

Off to the beach and LA today to catch up with a friend from high school!

And FYI, I typed this entire blog on my phone with a cat smushing his face into my hand the entire time. I'm developing some very useful talents on this tour.

Have a great day! Kristen

Ps...here's a picture of the crazy cat...

California Day 4 (Golden Gate, Modesto and lots of driving)

Yesterday morning I got up early (unlikely, I know) to go and see the Golden Gate Bridge before leaving Oakland and San Francisco. It was so worth it! It's pretty windy in this photo, so I actually had to hold my dreads down...

There's a quote, often attributed to Mark Twain, 'the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.' It was chilly and all, but obviously whoever said this never spent a winter in South Dakota.

Anyway, the views were amazing and totally worth suffering through the crazy road blocks thanks to a crazy costumed event called Beta Breakers.

After a three day stay with my friends at Camp Williams, I took off for Modesto. I met wonderful people, and it wasn't as boiling hot as everyone warned it would be!

I'm pretty sure this photo is of me talking about Pete Seeger...

I arrived at my friends' house last night in Ojai where they left me sweet notes because they knew I'd be arriving late and tired! Today we'll be checking out the town and the farm they live on. More adventures to come!

California Day 3 (Redwood Adventure)

I don't know if you've been to California before, but the trees are different. I wanted to check them out a bit, so yesterday my friend, Matt took me on a hike in Redwood park in Oakland. It was amazing!

(We also brought three dogs.)

The trees were amazing and so tall, and I had to remind myself to look down so that I wouldn't trip.

And of course, you all know how I feel about dogs. It was great to have them along.

We were having a blast and it was so gorgeous and then we realized that we hadn't seen one of the dogs in a while. (Ella) We backtracked, and still, nothing.

Long story short- Ella had lost her way and was freaked. A kind hiker took one look at the howling dog and realized she was lost. We got her back and didn't even have to start the show late!

The house show was awesome (I want to move to Oakland now) and I met so many wonderful people. We laughed, shared stories, and sang together.

Even the dogs hung around to listen! (This is Angus- he stayed at my feet for a while.)

I love many things about house shows- the listening environment, the no-electricity vibe, the sing-alongs, I love it all. But I think I love the conversations the most.

I love talking with people and sharing each other's stories, I really think it's the best.

Oakland stole my heart yesterday! Kristen