It has been incredibly fun traveling around with my boo for the sake of some good ole rock 'n' roll shows and some of our favorite bands. This time it was a big one... a long one. California is pretty far, y'all. Ryan and I planned a trip to L.A. this summer for In The Red Record's 25th Anniversary showcase at the Echo/Echoplex and ok kind of for his 21st birthday, too. Our friend Paige tagged along with us which could not have been more fun. This was my first time being out west and a lot of other things. Trip full'a memories and my 35mm.
Gonna save you from the pictures of us eating In N Out in Texas and how bland Texas can be... though it was really cool to be able to peep my eyes right over into Mexico while we were in El Paso.
We had nothing planned for us when we got to L.A. so we extended our route to go through Joshua Tree National Park . We got there during sunset and stayed 'til it got dark. I sang a little bit of U2, but it wasn't very popular.
Joshua Tree National Park, California
Arriving to Joshua Tree is when I really started to feel like I was actually in the West... or at least out of the car to enjoy it! This air was dry and super warm! It felt ah-mazing. Plus, the sunset could not have been a prettier time to be there... or get pictures. We walked around, climbed some rocks and stuff, looked at things, walked around some more...
Waitin' at the bottom of the hill
OK BUT... As the sun was going down... so was the van. This baby was not going to make it out of the desert alive. After having trouble, we decided to let the van cool down and crawled on the roof to look at stars. It eventually made it to the interstate and then was done, so at least we had cell service again.
When towing didn't show up after 2 hours, we rolled over to the next town of Banning, CA where we had to stay overnight. To keep this story short... we had to leave the van to die in Cali and had to rent a UHAUL to get us around the city. Look at the funeral below.
R.I.P. van... taken at the van ceremony in our motel's parking lot
*iphone
Also, I think we all knew the van was going to die but we buried the idea in the back of our mind's before the trip and took it on the road anyway. Whatever.
Our motel in L.A. was in Chinatown and it had the best lighting in the world. I also got my first tattoo of this illustration that I found on the internet years ago and fell in love with. Felt like tiny knives during the process... but worth it.
Alchemy Tattoo on Sunset Blvd. Photo by Ryan
Indio, California *iphone
Leaving L.A. to see the Grand Canyon. Stopped in Sky Valley because Ryan and Kyuss.
Making our way to Flagstaff, AZ.
Yeah, I burned one of my last rolls of film while taking it out... sigh. Driving through Arizona was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip. I drove up and through the mountains and the cutest towns.
Barney's House, Bed Rock City in Arizona
Overheard this giant man say "It ain't that grand." Ok, sir! This thing is massive. I found out that I am still not afraid of heights, but I am definitely afraid of canyons. No matter how stunning this was... I was not even going to crawl to the edge.
Some motel in El Paso.... halfway back home.
PS: If you're wondering where all my photos of the concerts I went to see are... I was way too busy enjoying myself and singing all the words. GOGGS first show? Yes, please. Meatbodies? SO. FUN. In The Red kills it as a label. I'm already ready to do L.A. again.