Thursday, June 18, 2009

LA - day one

Provo to LA 

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I never realized just how much i loved road trips until i took this trip. i love driving, i love listening to music and singing along so loud, and i love going places. my favorite thing in the whole world is to be on a train, a bus, an airplane, a boat, car, camel, donkey, or anything really, and just moving. i love it so much. especially when i'm alone with my thoughts and my ipod. i can't think of anything that makes me happier. i love watching the world go by. this was how i got to spend eleven hours about a week ago. 

when i'm so incredibly happy, i tend to take a picture. either of myself, or of what i'm looking at, just to remind myself of that moment. usually no one knows when looking at a picture of mine just how meaningful it is to me. i took a few pictures of myself on the road, and i'm not ashamed. it's a little awkward sometimes to take a picture of yourself and then show other people, but these pictures, to me, are like secrets. only i know the lovely thoughts that were dancing through my mind at the time.



at the beginning, my hair was straight. when i stopped in st. george for gas, i put my hair up in twists. by the time i stopped again, i had curls. 

fun how that happens.


i loved stopping in nevada. it was hot and it was windy. i'm absolutely in love with wind, especially when it's warm. the place i stopped was like a little ghost town. i can't remember what it's called. it had this old diner called jenny rose. i wanted to eat there but it was closed. maybe for good. 


something else i love is being completely alone. it sounds weird, i know, but i truly love it. i think that's why i loved this stop in this empty town. i felt like i was in the middle of nowhere with no one but myself and my thoughts. 

it's kind of an eerie feeling, but i thrive on it. 

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 the feeling that came over me as i approached downtown was completely indescribable. i was so excited about the smallest things: pigeons, graffiti, spanish on signs, twisting overpasses, ferraris all over the place, and horrible traffic. 

the memories i have walking between those building are so awesome. we didn't work there as missionaries, but we were close. we often had dinner with members who lived there. my memories are mainly funny cause my companion and i were usually running through the horribly lit streets, arm in arm, cell phone in hand with 911 dialed, but not called, trying to avoid stepping on sleeping homeless people, and fearing that we were seconds from robbery or murder. those were frightful times. but i loved it. 



my favorite thing about going back to LA to visit my mission, is the fact that i lived right behind the los angeles temple for a year of my time there. for me, for one whole year, going home meant going to the temple basically. i think for the rest of my life, the first place i'll go when i return to LA is the temple. 

as one takes the I-10 going west toward santa monica, and takes the overland exit and heads north, this is what they see as soon as the get off of the freeway:

 
way down at the end of the street is the temple itself. it's so fun to drive all the way down overland with the temple looming over you. this is where i feel truly at home. 

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3 comments:

  1. oooh, i can't wait to hear about the rest of the trip. i love your curly hair picture. your face/jaw looks so good.

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  2. ah, the overland exit. hands down that was my favourite part of coming home at night of the I-10.

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  3. Love your blog little miss talent!

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