So I'll admit it- I've been very fortunate in my travels so far. other than a couple nights here and there I've always had a friend (or family)'s house to stay at for a few days. Now I'm getting ready to spend 5 nights straight in my car. My plans for Tuscan, AZ have changed which originally was going to be my next stop. Unfortunately I cant afford to get to Austin till on Wednesday as money is always extremely tight. I havent received any donations yet either. Not for the cause of for the travels. This is a bit discouraging as well. (I admit it, at least) but no one said the trip would be easy. No one even said others would really care what i am doing. I've been fortunate to have friends (and family) that have provided meals and hot showers in my journey. Very grateful for this.
I admit that I was hoping a bit to stay in southern california. I must say that if any place reminds me of where I feel most at home (Virginia Beach) it would be Los Angeles area. People are surprisingly pleasant. and not all star struck or anything like that... it's actually pretty chill.
I'm sad to report that I will not be going to the Price is Right this afternoon. I did a quick calculation on gas and money (I'm in Santa Ana) and I just can not afford the gas and parking to get there, I'd be stuck in the area till wednesday- not that I'd complain about that but if I'm going to be living in my car till wednesday I'd rather not be sitting in a parking lot with nothing new going on. I currently have enough money to make it about 1,000 miles. (that would be phoenix, az or Tuscan, AZ pending on how often I stop and how many mountains there are)
I'm hoping things will be fine. I will find truck stops here and there that have showers. I havent seen any of those on the west coast yet or even between the east and west coast but I know that they are on the east coast so I assume they have to be on the west coast as well some where.
I am looking forward to getting the photos in between cali and arizona. Luckily I have lots of waters in the car and a few bags of chips and poptarts (I know, not the healthiest of meals but this is actually what I eat when I'm on these days cause eating out is more expensive and this was cheaper than PB&J sandwiches). If you remember the idea is for me to spend as little money as possible and try to stay under $100 a week. Unfortunately the under $100 a week has not worked out so well since gas is so expensive. I've been paying on average about $3.31 a gallon. I have a 16 gallon tank which my car gets 25 miles to the gallon (Average) so I'm spending about $53 every time I fill up which only gets me 400 miles- that's pretty pricey. It means for every mile that I drive I'm spending 15 cents. That adds up. Not to mention when I need oil changes or new tires or something else happening to my car. Woah, i shouldnt have started thinking about that now cause that means this really hasnt been to beneficial in raising awareness for Autism and has just costed me a whole lot of money that I could have been using for things like christmas or paying some bills. WOW. Okay, I'm done thinking and typing aloud cause that topic scares me.
anyways, back to positive things... I start my journey east tomorrow. I'm a bit excited and nervous at the same time. It gets lonely in the car with just my dog. i've found myself having real conversations with him and using his facial expressions and head tilts as answers. LOL I've definitely learned a lot about myself but havent exactly found my direction yet. As you know I have been applying to jobs as I've gone along in the adventure. I finally got a few bites in L.A. and had a phone interview with Red Bull. That was very exciting. I'd love to work for that company. But, alas, I was supposed to hear from them yesterday if I got a second interview, well, you know I'm leavin the west coast tomorrow so that should tell you that sadly I did not get a second interview. I guess that means that L.A. is not my destiny. (saddened by this since I've grown to really like L.A.) It's on to applying to jobs in Phoenix, Tuscan, and Austin. Keeping my head up, keeping positive, and keeping my hopes alive.
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