4th annual road trip out west

by Kaylah Stroup

A few weeks back I was sitting at my desk, drinking coffee and responding to emails, shortly after Jeff had left for work when the feeling hit. That intense urge to travel. I text Jeff and said “I need to go to the desert. We can sleep in the car again!” I figured he’d give me the usual “I know, I miss it too.” Instead, he said, “Look for flights then!” Less than two hours later, without ever speaking of it other than through rushed, excited texts, we had a flight booked. A week later we were on our way to the airport!

Each year since we started dating Jeff and I have taken a trip out west. We fly into whatever city is the cheapest, rent a car, and just spend a week aimlessly driving. Each year has had its highlights, and of course, low moments but I think this year’s trip may have been my favorite so far! Last year was nice because we had booked a hotel for every night in advance so there was always a cozy bed to look forward to but this also meant that were on a schedule. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about taking road trips and how I function on the road, it’s that schedules kill fun. In an effort to not only save money but be free to do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted we slept in the car three of the five nights. It wasn’t the most comfortable but it allowed for us to easily catch sunrise and sunset – the two most magical times of the day, especially somewhere as beautiful as the desert or the ocean.

This year we flew into Los Angeles, drove around in Nevada for a while then headed to the coast. Despite the fact we drove the Pacific Coast Highway back in 2015, we saw completely new things this trip. I feel like we could drive the coast again ten more times and still not see everything there is to see.

We watched the sun rise over giant colorful boulders in the desert, drove the extraterrestrial highway, met all sorts of amazing animals, crept around sunbaked abandoned buildings, searched for ocean life in tidepools, saw all sorts of random roadside attractions, wandered around some of the most interesting cemeteries I’ve ever seen, and fell in love with more than a handful of new places. Lookin’ at you, San Diego!

You’d think after four years of taking the same trip we’d be tired of it but I get the feeling we’d both be fine continuing this little tradition for as long as humanly possible. There is just something so incredibly special about the desert and the time we spend there. The ocean too, I could never tire of it!

mine fire headstone, cemetery, nevada

I have SO many photos to finish going through and organize into posts. I can’t wait to share more!
xoxo

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20 comments

allie May 24, 2017 - 9:38 am

This trip looks like a dream! I definitely need to explore the west more – there’s so much out there I love and it feels so different than the east coast. I’m particularly excited about that cemetery (obv) but looking forward to all of your trip posts!

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Kaylah May 24, 2017 - 9:44 am

Definitely thought of you at these cemeteries, especially the one I didn’t share a photo of in this post. I found THE best headstone. I’m still excited about it.

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Sam May 24, 2017 - 9:51 am

I’d probably try to do the same thing if I lived in the States; I love west coast vibes and there’s so much to explore. San Diego is, by far, one of my favourite travel destinations.
Hope there are more pictures of the extraterrestrial highway because, man, that looks amazing!!!!

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Molly May 24, 2017 - 1:17 pm

GAH! This looks like so much fun. Can’t wait to see more photos!

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Kaylah May 31, 2017 - 8:05 am

😊

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Hannah May 25, 2017 - 11:15 am

So excited for you to share some cool places around my neck of the woods! Isn’t San Diego so perfect?! I mean, their City Hall alone is enough to make me want to stay.

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Kaylah May 31, 2017 - 8:04 am

If for some reason the opportunity appeared, I’d move there in a heartbeat. San Diego is awesome!

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Kristina B May 25, 2017 - 12:44 pm

OMG you saw so many amazing things just from these photos! I LOOOOOVED driving along the 1 when we went to SF. Rob still says it was one of the best times we’ve had together.

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Kaylah May 31, 2017 - 7:34 am

Awww! ❤️

Seriously, the coast is so magical.

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Sarah May 25, 2017 - 5:35 pm

Spontaneous trips are so much fun! I have never been to the desert but I definitely want to make it one of my next trips!

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Kaylah May 31, 2017 - 7:27 am

The desert is seriously one of my favorite places ever. I think everyone should check it out at least once.

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