We made it!

Sorry I've been MIA for the past few days...we made it to my parents' place and I've just been enjoying my freedom from the car! We arrived on Friday afternoon and my soul rejoiced when we pulled up at our final destination. It had been a long haul and I was definitely ready to unwind. I'm trying to remember details from the last 2 days of the trip but it seriously seems like ages ago now...so here's a quick rundown.

The drive from NM to AZ was pretty easy. We stopped for gyros in Tucson (delish) then saw Biosphere 2. We were melting and anxious to get to our next stop, meeting up with Roy's friend Stacy. We hung out for a good while at this funky coffee shop called Conspire in downtown Phoenix. I hadn't met her before (my brother has more friends than anyone I know) but we had a great time together and she has one of the best car accident stories I've ever heard. (think bright red smoothie spilling all over her before she got out of the mangled car...)We stayed with some family friends that night and it was such a treat to have a home cooked meal and spend our last night in a real home, not a highway hotel! The Johnsons are good friends of my parents who are actually responsible for matchmaking the Indian and the Filipino forever ago. So thanks, Johnson family, for the meat and potatoes, the roof over our heads, and giving us life! :)

Friday we rolled into CA and of course had lunch at In-N-Out, Roy's favorite place! They make my favorite burgers in the whole wide world and that is saying a lot, coming from a founding member of the Meat Club (est. 2003, Richmond chapter). There's a secret menu that's not listed so those in the know can make special orders. My brother ordered his burger and fries 'animal style' which isn't the prettiest thing to look at but tasty for sure.

Then, hallelujah, we arrived at my parents. It was great to finally see them after the long journey and of course my Mom had a table full of our favorite Filipino dishes waiting for us. She's the best. I think I might double in size before reaching Boston because all I've been doing (as you've read) is eating my face off. I figure that I need to take advantage of this overabundance of food while I can...soon, I'll be living on loans and won't be able to afford the luxury of eating 3 meals a day.

Anyhow, road trip is over and my homicidal tendencies towards my brother are gone. Hooray!

Road trip by the numbers:

Miles travelled: 3617
States seen in license plate game: 45 (Rhode Island, Montana, Wyoming, Hawaii, and Wisconsin)
8 states in 8 days

Special thanks to: hyundai, super 8, Garmin gps, whoever invented cruise control, the US Border Patrol for not confiscating our peaches (or denying our 35 cent admission back into Texas), iPod, BK mix CD's, pepperidge farm goldfish pretzels, welch's fruit snacks, air conditioning, Let's Go-Roadtripping USA guide, crackberry, dairy queen, sonic cherry limeades, and my little bro for not killing his whiny older sister.

Oh, and I changed my travel plans and opted not to go to SF or Portland so I can hang with my family. That means my next stop is BOSTON! Wicked crazy (or something like that).