Journal

January 27 – January 30, 2023: The Great Journey

Today I left for North Carolina. I woke up around 6 and me and my dad were good to go around 6:30. Winnie was being a little brat because she saw some of her toys in a grocery bag and so she was just whining about that as I was saying goodbye. I am kinda glad she was that way though, because it made it a lot easier to say goodbye, if she had been really sad like she usually is when I leave I probably would have cried, which would have been pretty embarrassing. After a quick stop at the Shepherd Lane Maverick we were on out way, and we didn’t stop until we reached Price, where we stopped for some McDonalds and a Maverick run. After Price we kept driving until we reached Monticello. In Monticello we stopped by the temple briefly and looked at some other locations. We then stopped in Blanding and ate at a super good burger place called Patio Burger. We saw a lot of Native Americans there, which was pretty cool, not many of them up north. After some driving we reached the Four Corners and got the cliché pictures and looked at some stuff the Native Americans there were selling. The Four Corners was in Navajo country and it was interesting driving through it and seeing the small settlements. We drove through the four states a little bit afterward and were able to get pictures by all the state signs. While driving through New Mexico we saw a super cool rock formations, which we found out was called Ship Rock. It was huge and just jutted out of the earth in the middle of nowhere.

The first place we stopped at was Farmington, New Mexico, All we did there was stop at a Walmart and get some snacks and new wipers for the car, then we drove straight to Albuquerque. We stayed in a Hampton there, and it was pretty nice. We ate at this Italian place called M-Tucci’s, which was so good. I had this amazing mushroom pasta and some great bread with garlic butter. Out server Diego was super nice and attentive. And it was nice having such a good dinner after driving all day. I hope I can make it there again sometime in the future. That night was pretty rough though, my dad was so loud with his snoring and I ended up getting very little sleep. The next day after a  delicious continental breakfast we made our way to all the big Breaking Bad sites, which was awesome. We made it to the Crystal Palace, Jessie’s place, Chuck’s place, Los Pollos Hermanos, Jesse’s apartment, Walts’s house, and Hank’s house. I never knew you could be starstruck by a building, but that definitely happened. We also saw the bronze statues of Walt and Jessie, which were really cool. We got cussed out at Walts place by the owner, even though we literally didn’t do anything, I definitely would have given her a piece of my mind if my dad wasn’t there, she was a very cranky old bitch. Los Pollos Hermanos is actually a burrito place called Twisters and we got some churros there and saw a cool little “shrine” to breaking bad they had in a corner. As we left town we stopped by a Smiths and lastly the temple and ate our churros. We then stopped by Santa Fe, which was surprisingly small, and stopped by the capital. We were able to walk around it a bit, but there was not much to see, but it was cool nonetheless. We then beelined to Texas until we reached Amarillo, and on the way we saw a ton a windmills along the freeway, which was super cool.

While in Amarillo we stopped by Tacos Garcia and got some good Tex-Mex, I got a beef stew build your own taco dish and some Dr. Pepper, which was created in Texas. By nightfall we reached Oklahoma City and while there we stopped by the Oklahoma City Bombing monument, which was a somber and interesting visit. We also stopped by the capitol building and got some quick pictures. We then continued our sprint across Oklahoma and made it to Van Buren, Arkansas, which is just outside of Forth Smith, and we again stayed at an Hampton Inn. It was a super nice room because there was only one bed and a couch bed, meaning I was able to sleep a good distance from where my dad did, which gave me a nice break from the snoring and I could actually get some sleep. We then made our way for Little Rock, Arkansas, where we checked out the capitol building. It was actually a really cool tour, with a lot of historic information exhibits and monuments to soldiers scattered across grounds. Definitely my favorite capitol building we visited during our trip. Out next stop was Memphis, which was honestly pretty underwhelming. We wanted to visit the Martin Luther King Jr. monument, but there had been a police brutality incident a day or two earlier, so we assumed there would likely be protests of some kind in the area and thought it best to avoid the area. We stopped by Graceland, which was in a really bad part of town. We didn't end up taking the tour however, because it was very expensive and likely would have delayed our arrival by quite a lot. We ended up getting lunch as a Zaxby's chicken in Southaven, which was just across the border in Mississippi. The chicken and coleslaw was super good there, and we continued out trip straight from there, not stopping till we arrived at Nashville at dark. Nashville was super cool, we drove through the downtown area which was full of multi-storied restaurants with bands rocking out on each floor. The sidewalks were full of people and it just seemed like a super cool place to visit, and even live. We made quick stop at the capitol building and got some pictures, and also saw the grave of James K Polk. After leaving Nashville me and my dad got into a bit of a fight when I played Forever, which featured Drake, Lil Wayne, Kanye, and Eminem. He freaked out because of the cussing, which was honestly minimal and I had skipped 90% of my music so he wouldn't have to hear swears. I felt a little bad but honestly I was pretty pissed that he freaked out so bad and hadn't even asked calmly that I skip that or any other song with swears, I thought he could handle a couple of cuss words at his age, I guess not. Later we stopped in Crossville and visited a Buckey's gas station. It was amazing, the bathroom was huge and super clean and literally everything you could ever need was being sold there. I bought a Buckey's mug, hat, and shot glass, which were all pretty cheap, as well as a super cool metal water bottle filled with water that cost as much as a plastic water bottle. We spent the night in Knoxville at a Hampton Inn, which was pretty miserable cause I literally got no sleep that night as a result of my dad's snoring. That next morning we went around as saw some sights in the area. We visited a plaque commemorating the creation of Mountain Dew in the city, saw the Sunsphere, and drove around the University of Tennessee stadium. I was able to get some Mountain Dew and drink it, which was pretty cool considering it was in the city it was created in and while in the car we also listened to a ton of Kings of Leon, because it was in Knoxville they formed and the members grew up. As we approached the border we passed through the Great Smokey Mountains, which were beautiful. They were so much different than the mountains in Utah, they were obviously much shorter but they were so green and the mist dotted the mountains just made the whole drive so picturesque. While driving through my dad introduced me to Smokey Mountain Rain, by Ronnie Milsap. I didn't love it at first, but after we arrived in North Carolina and my dad left back for Utah, it took on a special place in my heart, and whenever it plays it reminds me of our road trip and the love he has for me. While driving through the Smokey Mountains we were able to stop by a North Carolina visitors center, where I was able to get a picture by the welcome sign, as well as pictures of the surrounding landscape. The only stop me made prior to arriving at Greensboro was in Ashville. It was a cool little town, and it had a cool mansion called the Biltmore, which is the largest private residence in the United States and formerly was the home of George Washington Vanderbilt. We didn't go on a tour however, as it was quite expensive. We did stop by a Chick-Fil-A and got some food but then we were on our way again. Arriving in Greensboro we had to run a lot of errands. First, I had to visit the city's water department to get water flowing to my apartment, then we had to run all over the place to try and get some money for my deposit and first month's rent at LiveGreen Gardens. We had to run to a bank where I pulled over like $800 in cash, which I combined with some of my own cash to get me to over $1000, which I then ran over to Walmart to change into a money order. The Walmart was pretty sketchy if I am being honest, don't now how representative of the area. Finally we arrived at LiveGreen Gardens, and the front desk guy was super nice, I think his name was Darrell, and the apartment looked just like it did in the pictures so that was nice. We then ran back to the Walmart at got some things for the apartment. We also were able to get my new bed set up, as I had arranged for it all to arrive the same day we did, so luckily I was able to sleep on a real mattress that night. We also went to a Cookout that night and ate it at the apartment.

January 31, 2023

We woke up in the morning and got ready to head out so I could take my dad to Charlotte to make his flight. On the way we stopped by an Ikea, the first time in like 15 years for me, and got some furniture. Afterwards we drove around the city a bit, got some pictures of the Panther's stadium and the Hornet's arena. It was pretty hard saying goodbye for my dad and it was the same for him too. He looked like he was about the cry as I hugged him goodbye and his said he was so proud of me. It was really sweet. On the way back I listened to some Smokey Mountain Rain and got a bit teary eyed myself. I then spend the majority of my day putting together all the furniture, which destroyed my back and knees.

June 8, 2023