So Long West Coast

As most of you already know, I have moved back to Kentucky for the summer. I enjoyed my time in California, but decided it was time to move on to my next adventure. As I mentioned in my previous post, I had a few things left to do before landing at the Louisville airport. I had my yard sale. I moved in with the twins for the month of May. The next step was to sell my car. 

The plan was to sell my car in CA. Well California has stupid strict guidelines for passing the SMOG check, which I had to pass before selling my car. I hate the SMOG checks. They are normally completed in some shady garage with dirty, stained couches in the waiting area. Not my ideal place to hang out. Anyway, my car passed the SMOG check last year because I was able to switch over my registration from KY to CA. So I figured this would be a breeze. I already had appointments with potential buyers for my car. I just had to knock out this silly test and get on with it. Apparently the guy who completed the SMOG check last year, did not do it correctly because this new guy failed me. He told me that the Catalytic Converter was not CA certified. I said, "Are you sure? It passed last year. I mean, the car came from KY so it's not going to be CA certified, but it should still pass." He said, "Well it may pass over in KY, but not here. It has failed. You must repair any issues then retest it." I wanted to say, "We don't do stupid SMOG checks in KY!", but instead, I left, sat in my car and cried. He FAILED my car, which meant I could no longer sell it in the state of CA because a CA Certified Catalytic Converter runs around $1300. I already had my flights purchased. I had no idea what I was going to do. 

I informed my sister about this issue and her husband had the genius idea to drive to Portland, sell my car then fly to Louisville. The SMOG check isn't as strict in Oregon, but you just can't pump your own gas. Which I happened to find out the hard way when the gas attendant yelled at me for attempting to fill up my tank, but that's another story. 

Before I could make the drive to Portland I still had to run the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon, which was June 2nd. But before that was Memorial Day. I happened to work for a few hours that Monday, while I was working I decided that I needed to clean my eyeglasses. Perhaps I just wasn't paying attention or maybe it was just a freak accident, but I somehow managed to poke the stem of my glasses into my ear producing an extremely sharp pain. It didn't last long, so I figured it was fine. Roughly an hour later though, it started bleeding. It continued throughout the night, which I happened to be at a BBQ or cookout as Kentuckians would say. Some random girl who I had just met told me not once, which was embarrassing enough, but twice that blood was running out of my ear. So I figured I should see the Doctor. He told me I had a small tear in my eardrum.  He prescribed an ear drop antibiotic and told me it should heal fine on its own. Well, jump to current day July 1st, and it is still not healed. I still feel slight pain every so often even after five weeks. Google tells me it can take 6-8 weeks to heal. So here's to hoping in the next two weeks, it will be 100%. 

Now going back to the weekend of June 2nd, my first half marathon! The marathon was in San Diego, which is about an hour or so south of where I lived so we drove down Saturday to stay the night. My friend, Leila and her friend, Mel tagged along with me to be my cheerleaders along the course. I made sure to drag them out of bed along with me at 4:30AM on that beautiful Sunday morning, to get ready for the big race. They were real troopers the entire day though. I couldn't have done it without them and am so thankful they were there! They helped ease my nerves and it was great seeing them along the race cheering me on. It was good motivation to keep going. Running the half marathon was so amazing. It has been something I have wanted to accomplish for years. I never thought I would actually be able to complete one and mark it off my bucket list, but I did! Since I  had slacked off on my training the last month, I decided to do a run/walk program. My goal was to finish under three hours, but as long as I finished I would be happy. The first ten miles of the race were a piece of cake! I assumed the last three would be simple. It was only a 5k at that point. I've ran a 5k before without any training. I figured I'd just run the last three miles straight...no stopping. Boy, was I wrong. A majority of the last three miles were downhill and I still couldn't even run it. My knee was hurting at that point and I was just physically and mentally exhausted. Everyone around me was wearing down. We were struggling. But I knew I could do it. I had to do it. So I just kept telling myself that I was almost there and can finish strong. I could run across that finish line knowing I gave it my all. Throughout the entire race I had made sure I was in front of the 2:45 pacer. That was my goal..stay in front of him and I'd be good. Well, when I made a pit stop for the bathroom around mile six, I lost him. I had no idea if he was in front or behind me in the race. It wasn't until around mile 12 that I saw the 2:45 pacer again. Of course, he was in front of me which meant I had to start seriously running. I knew I had to cross that finish line before he did. I just had to. So I picked up my speed and started passing people, one by one until finally that sucker holding the dang 2:45 sign was behind me. Once I passed him, I was on a roll. I even saw my friends, Leila and Mel again right before the finish, which motivated me even more. So I took off running and crossed the finish line with my arms in the air so glad that it was over. I had completed my first half marathon and was so ecstatic. But all I  really wanted to do was lay down and never move again. But the next day I was beginning my solo road trip to Portland, OR over 1000 miles away. 

The next five days were rough. My body was in pain. I could barely walk. My left heel hurt, which I later found out was Plantar Fasciitis. Luckily, it has healed now.

The first leg of my road trip was from Laguna Hills, CA to San Francisco, CA. I was pretty excited because I had never been to northern CA before.  San Francisco was pretty neat. I saw the Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard St. which they say is the "crookedest" street in the world, Giants Stadium, The Painted Ladies at Alamo Square, The Full House house, and walked around Golden Gate National Park and even visited a Japanese Tea Garden. It was a day full of sightseeing, but then I had to continue my road trip. The goal of the second leg of this trip was to make it to the I-5 freeway in Oregon. I took the 101 on the way up, which was a pretty drive. I even visited the "Drive Thru Tree", which I did actually drive thru. It was cool.  The 101 takes you through the Redwood Forest, which was nice at first but got old real fast. The road is winding and goes uphill then downhill. I was literally stuck in this forest for hours. In order to make it to the I-5, I had to take the 199. This road was just like the 101, but turned out to be ten times worse because the sun decided to set while I was driving. I was one of the few cars on the road, there were no lights, no exits, no cell phone service. Every car that passed I thought was a serial killer. Obviously, I've been watching too many crime shows on A&E, but come on, the road was freaky. I stopped in this small town to get gas, which was frightening. This truck pulled up directly behind me, where there was no pump. He sat there for a few before finally driving to an actual gas pump. Everyone there knew him though. They all said, "Hey, Judd!" It was a little too small town for me. The worker walked over which startled me. He said, "Oh, I thought you were someone else. You pay with a card?" I replied, "Yes." He said, "Have a good night." I jumped in my car so fast. I still had 20 miles before hitting the I-5. I finally got cell phone service, so I was able to call my parents so they could look up a nearby hotel. They found a La Quinta Inn right by the I-5, which had excellent reviews. I finally showed up there around 11 or 12, booked a Jacuzzi Suite, and was finally able to relax and feel safe. I left the next day for my final leg of the journey. It took about five hours. I saw some Elk along the way, and I finally made it to my aunt's! It was such a relief, but I still had to sell my car within two days and I didn't even have the Title in my hands. Talk about stress. 

Luckily, as soon as I posted my ad on Craigslist, I got a ton of emails. I set up appointments with only two people though, as I still wanted time to check out the sights in Portland. Both wanted to buy my car, but I went with the second buyer. He was a college kid, who was buying it with his own money. I wanted to help him out, so the next day we met at the bank and made it official. But before that, I had to go to the post office to pick up the Title to my car. The state of CA had never sent me the Title when I switched registration over. I had to apply for a duplicate, which could have taken up to four weeks to receive, but I asked for Rush Processing. Somehow the Title got sent to my old CA address, which I had forwarded to my KY address. Thankfully, my parent's received the Title and overnighted it to me in Portland. I picked it up from the Post Office just hours before meeting the buyer at the bank. It was bittersweet selling my car, but I'm so glad everything worked out. I was finally stress free and could enjoy my last day in Portland before packing up and heading home! 

While in Oregon, we went to Downtown Portland, Multnomah Falls, Cartlandia for Shaved Ice, and the ever famous Voodoo Doughnuts. I now know why they're famous, the doughnuts were absolutely delicious. It was so nice getting to see my aunt again and meet my little cousins for the first time. They were adorable! I had a great time visiting with them and hope to see them again soon! 

Saturday morning we packed up the car and my aunt dropped me off at the airport with my three bags and a carry on. I had a two turned three hour layover in Chicago. Then just a short 45 minute flight to Louisville. I was welcomed by my family and yes, I had my balloons! They even had a cookie cake when I arrived home! It was a full day of traveling, but I still had plenty of friends to see out at 4th Street that night. It was so great to be reunited with everyone. 

Since I've been home I have been to 4th Street, Mussel and Burger Bar, the Zoo, the movies, the Drive-In, Zaxby's twice, tried a S'mores Blizzard and went to Steak-n-Shake. I have babysat and dogsat. I went to dinner with some Kappa Deltas. I went to a bonfire and Turtle Run Winery. I went to the J-Mall and HOLIDAY WORLD! I've been to the Doctor and Orthodontist. I FINALLY made it to Churchill Downs. It has rained more times since I have been back than it did the entire 1.5 years I lived in CA. And I  have been to Walmart more times than I can count. 

My next adventure will begin August 28th, but those tales will be told on a different site as my Californian life has come to an end. Check out Overeightthousandmiles.blogspot.com to keep up with my journey throughout Southeast Asia!