Tiny big city : Little Rock, AR

Before I get to my Little Rock story, I'd like to say "hello" to my followers in Costa Rica, Finland, Germany, Malaysia, Denmark, and Australia...if you get a chance, let me know how you heard of my blog!

The only other non-US viewers are Spaniards and I know they're probably just my crazy family and friends but hola a vosotros tambien!
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Little Rock, Arkansas.  Each place I go, I ask as many people as possible the same questions: "Do you like living here?", "What are you favorite and least favorite aspects of this city?", and, of course, "What should I eat?"  As opposed to most reactions in the other cities, Little Rock respondents all pretty much had the same opinions.

"It's alright.  It's fun for a short while but it is a really tiny, big city."

"Little Rock is a very green place and you can always go hiking, fishing, or swimming within a short distance from the city." / "It's really small and you tend to know everyone."

"Catfish."

Little Rock really is a small, big city.  It's a "big" city compared to most other places in Arkansas but it's "tiny" in that it can't really compare to other cities that we Californians think of.  Upon arriving in the city, I was greeted by my very relaxed, very madrileña host with a big glass of sangria and the smell of tortilla española without me even having to mention it.  I found her on couchsurfing.org and instantly chose her because of her semester abroad in Madrid and love of travel so it didn't seem so strange to pretend we were Spaniards in Arkansas.  Her friend came over and, in deciding what to do, going downtown was never an option.  They thought a local bar would show a more typical crowd and were also aware that they may run in to someone from work if they went downtown.

The two girls work for the AP and NPR and continuously told me about how they run in to state senators and representatives all the time.  At one point, the governor's assistant texted one of the girls to mention Beebe's specific interests in music because they were heading down to Riverfest (the city's "big" music festival full of b-list artists and "Arkansas' finest").  Once I finally made it downtown for a brief moment the next day, there really was not a lot to see and the city itself does not cover much ground.  The only thing I can think to compare it to is to take one part of downtown Sacramento and claim that it is its own city.  Little Rock is a quirky place and definitely has cute bars and eclectic restaurants but it doesn't take long to understand why people get bored with the city quickly.

After my first night of going to Midtown Billiards and having a long, very liberal discussion with the two girls about racism in Arkansas and attempting to have our idea of the greatest social experiment between races (which failed), I woke up late but was ready to see the most interesting and touristy places in the city.  Per my father's suggestion, I walked about 5 blocks to see the governor's mansion "and envision what it must have been like when Clinton was there."  It's located in the middle of a neighborhood and pops out of nowhere so I felt like I was snooping...then I was a little weirded out by the big bust of William Jefferson Clinton in the front yard but I still snapped a picture while they were setting up for an event.

Next stop: Little Rock Central High School.  I drove about a mile to the school and hit the visitor's center first.  Before starting the mini-tour of the mini-museum, I met up with a friend from SMC, Michael Cullen, and his friend, Molly, from the volunteer program that they both belong to (check out City Year).  We spent some time catching up on each other's lives and discussing the civil rights movement.  The center is jam-packed and you could easily spend 20 minutes inside or an hour.

We then walked across the street to the high school.

Unless you skipped every American history class and have been living under a rock, you have seen the iconic images of the Little Rock Nine trying to walk in and out of this school.  It was a Sunday when we visited but that allowed us to walk right up the stairs to the front doors where we shared an interesting discussion with a graduate from '06.  He described to us the enduring racism that is there but also his overflowing pride from having the opportunity to attend such a historically important school.

While walking back to the car, I snapped a photo of the gas station.

This gas station is across from the school and was the reporters' makeshift headquarters during the press frenzy of the Little Rock Nine and everything that involved them.  Thanks to Mike, I found out that it was the only place with a public telephone which obviously made it the perfect location for timely news reporting.

Mike also braved Riverfest crowds and accompanied me to the Clinton Presidential Library.

Yes, it really does live up to its reputation.  It's not a "library" but a museum of everything Clinton accomplished.  I received a discounted ticket (mistakenly, I think) and Mike got in free thanks to City Year and we wandered around for a short hour, watched the movie, and enjoyed everything from the Oval Office replica that is exact in every detail to how Clinton had it during his presidency, to the various gifts from foreign leaders.

We grabbed a beer at a pub downtown and I made my way back to my host's house.  That night I tried catfish for the first time.  Most people who aren't from the south have told me that it's "dirty" and not very tasty.  I actually enjoyed it and probably would not have even realized it was fish if I was 10 years younger.  It's served fried (it looks like chicken strips) and with french fries and hush puppies.  Plus, in a southern place like this, how can you go wrong?

They even had fake flying catfish - FTW.

Trudging back to the car through the throngs of people walking to Riverfest, we decided we all had catfish food comas and we were going straight to bed.  And that's what we did.

Because I didn't hear back from my host in Memphis, I changed my plans quickly to drive to New Orleans instead where I knew I'd be staying with my close friend, Christo, whom I've visited here a few times.  The drive down took me through Arkansas, a small part of Mississippi, and finally through part of Louisiana.  After getting lost multiple times, I finally was on my way, but still felt as if I were taking all the back roads.  My GPS reassured me that I was headed south and making good time so I figured I would just enjoy the view.  I'm not sure why any of you would ever make this trip but if you have to go from Little Rock to New Orleans then I definitely recommend the route I took.  I went through tiny towns, passed hundreds of churches, wove along the Mississippi for awhile, and even stopped for a sandwich, sat outside on their dock, and amused myself by watching the hilarious man sitting next to me toss chips to the turtles and birds below.

I would have taken the drive a bit slower but I have yet to break my promise to my mum about driving from one city to another at night...but I felt like I took enough time as I could.  How can you dislike the drive when you pass places like this?

I also have a video of what it looks like when I'm driving through the tiny towns here in the south but didn't put it up because I don't want to excessively bore you all.  If you'd like to see it then just let me know.  I'm pretty sure I was listening to Jason Mraz when I taped it so at least you can have a musically delicious soundtrack.

So...here I am in New Orleans for the third time.  Christo, as usual, made a lovely Christo concoction of crawfish, noodles, garlic, and butter for dinner and I assisted with the salad.  It's now almost 2pm and I've done exactly nothing.  I'm especially thankful to not have a whole lot of touristy things to do left in this city...it gives me a lot of time to relax, sleep, and just wander around.  Or, like tonight, cook!  When living in Sacramento I tried to avoid cooking since everything my mum makes is delicious but I've missed making some yummy food myself.  Tonight shall be a Spanish feast for me, Christo, and his roommate, Steve.

I'll be here for about a week but will update regularly still.  After that, I'm fairly certain my next stop will be Birmingham (then Memphis and finally Louisville where I pick Kyle up) but feel free to send suggestions of places my way!

OKC, you are good to meeeee

I made a quick, 17-hour stop in Oklahoma City.  After a grueling trek through northeastern New Mexico, northern Texas, and west Oklahoma, I made it to OKC.  If my only advice to you for this entire trip were to include one thing it would be this: do not drive through Texas.  Most people warned me against western Texas which I promptly listened to so instead drove through northern Texas to stay as far away as possible while still making it to Little Rock.  Now...I really don't mind driving obviously but I had a big problem with that dumb part of Texas that sticks out like a Berkeley student at SMC.  There is absolutely nothing there and it is beyond creepy.  Now I can understand where Hitchcock got his ideas...

The only things I saw worth noting in northern Texas was this:

Which I thought was very typical..."Welcome to Texas" and a biker.

In Amarillo I stopped at Cadillac Ranch...

I forgot spray paint but checked them out anyway.

A random cross in the middle of nowhere. You have to love Route 66.

And I finally got to Oklahoma.

It turns out that Oklahoma is actually very green, hilly, and I thought altogether beautiful.  I never would've thought it would be like this but I've had quite a few surprised so far with where I've been.  

The minute I stepped out of the car to fill up my tiny tank I realized that I had finally hit the humidity...

I was staying with a friend of a friend but was escorted around by her fiance as well (which seems to be a trend with me).  I don't think I have to remind you that there is not a lot to do in Oklahoma City.  We went to the Oklahoma City bombing memorial which truly was as beautiful as I was told.  As per Teryn Heckers' suggestion, we went as the sun was going down.  Unfortunately I couldn't catch the sunset well enough in my pictures but here's an idea of what it looked like:

Part of the original fence where people hung whatever they had in remembrance.

There are two large structures that look like that on either end of the reflection pool.  One has "9:01" imprinted on it and the other has "9:03" to symbolize the minute before and after the bombing.  We snuck in on someone giving a very detailed overview of what everything symbolized and an incredible amount of thought went in to all of it with the times indicating moments of calm, the reflection pool symbolizing a blankness and hollowness, etc.

The one "survivor" still at the memorial - The Survivor Tree.

This building has been preserved to appear the way it did directly after the bombing.  The only change is that the windows are blacked out (they were blown out immediately proceeding the blast).

The rows of chairs (big for adults, small for children) for all the people that died.  They are lined up according to what floor they were on when they died.

I was famished by the time we were done walking around here so I was scooted off by Jami and Daniel to find food.  The first question they asked me was: "Do you like cupcakes?" What a stupid question.  So, after we ruined our dinner by eating gourmet cupcakes at a store that seemed more like a club than a candy and cupcake store...

...we went to Bricktown and ate some "italian" food.  Oklahoma City's most beautiful part, in my opinion, is the Riverwalk.  Engineers diverted part of the river to run through this part of the city which used to be full of warehouses.  Nowadays it is a hopping place full of bars and restaurants and even families walking by the water.  The best pictures I could capture of it are these:

By the time we arrived back to the apartment it was close to midnight and I was crashing.  It's exhausting to travel and do this much and I thought I could hold out until New Orleans before I crashed...not possible.  I went to sleep on Jami's couch that seemed like it would eat me and I'd never be found again.  She and Daniel were leaving in the morning so I woke up to say thank you for an amazing time, be told I was being sent off with two bags of fruit, and to compare Oklahoma and California a little bit more.  Jami told me I was welcome to sleep longer if I needed...oh yes.  I fell back asleep for a few more hours and it seemed to be just what I needed.  I woke up way too late and set off for Little Rock even later but it was definitely worth it.

Today I'm in Little Rock, Arkansas...

Land of Entrapment

Albuquerque - the "Land of Enchantment."

Also known as the "Land of Entrapment."  Everyone I seemed to meet here was trapped by whatever fairy dust was keeping them all either pinned on their butts or coming back consistently like a 3-year old after you give him candy.  I met people from the east coast, the south, people who had lived in Tunisia and France...but they all said that they couldn't stay away from Albuquerque once they had been there and experienced it.

Most people I spoke to couldn't believe why I was going to Albuquerque and not Santa Fe.  It turns out that Albuquerque was more than a boring, run-down city like I thought it would be...I'm sorry to any of you that I met in Albuquerque that I thought this (I did warn you, though)!  I had two fabulous hosts, Alex and Muni, that showed me so much to do that by the end I was exhausted but wished I was actually staying longer.  If you're an outdoorsy person then you'd love Albuquerque.  The city itself may not be the most exciting place but the surrounding areas are filled with great hikes that range in difficulty so even if you aren't feeling up for a 4-hour hike you can still do a 2-hour one with equally fantastic views of the haunting landscape that is New Mexico.

The most significant part of my stay besides staying with Alex and Muni and meeting all of their friends (seemingly the entire city's worth of young people), was going on a hike at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument.  To make a long story short, they're just funny shaped rocks in a mini-valley and you hike to the top of this valley/canyon to look down in them.  When you start, you are promptly greeted with this staring you in the face:

I made it through the easy part and then got to wiggle my way through these awesome rocks (if you read National Geographic then you'll recognize this place!):

How did that enormous rock get there??

Once you finally reach the top - which was an interesting trip for me since I'm not used to the elevation - you get views of the tops of the tent rocks like this:

This second one more clearly shows where they got their name.

After arriving back to the apartment in the "student ghetto", I showered, realized I was sunburnt, and then got ready for an evening of barbecuing hot dogs on sticks and seeing Alex's boyfriend, Muni, and his friends play in their band.  They, Le Chat Lunatique, play gypsy-jazz-folk music and are DEFINITELY worth checking out: http://lechatlunatique.com/.  Muni gave me one of their CDs and it may just be worn out by the time I finish this road trip.

I hung out with Alex and her friends while they played so here are some random pictures of them:

Le Chat Lunatique

Darryl, Colleen, Gaylin, Alex

Hannah & Steve

John, Muni, & Alex (my host)

Well, that's Albuquerque for ya.  Throw in some red and green chilies ("Christmas" if you want both) on all of your food and a lot of local Marble Brewery beer and you're good to go.  Here are some random, fun pictures I thought I'd share so you can get a better idea of what I've been seeing while driving lately.

I see a whole LOT of this for most of the trip. Even the bugs.

Stands like this every couple miles.

So far I have a picture of myself passing each "You are now entering..." signs. This was the first New Mexico sign I found that didn't have bullet holes in it.  When I told this to my host, Alex, she said, "Oh yeah...figures."  I didn't ask why.

Chapel in old town when I got a little lost.

Most of Albuquerque looked like this.

That's all, folks!  Today I made the 8.5-hour trek to Oklahoma City for just a quick, overnight stop.  I have some humorous and surprising photos to share tomorrow...

Sedona overview - beginning of New Mexico

Since I got my time all confused in New Mexico and just realized it's almost 1am, here is a quick-ish overview of what I saw and did in Sedona, AZ...

I arrived ready to be as outdoorsy as possible and unfortunately (or fortunately?) could not locate my couchsurfing host.  This is the first time I've couchsurfed in the US AND the first time I've done it by myself so not finding her was a little nerve-wracking, of course.  Luckily, I was greeted by this:

After a quick stop at an information center where I realized that people in Sedona were incredibly gracious and pleasant, I grabbed a great margarita at Javelina's near this:

Probably the most interesting thing I did in (actually "near") Sedona was go to Montezuma Castle.  It's a national monument that are, in short, the ruins of a home/community of native americans.  There are a few interesting facts about them, though.  First of all, this community built their "infrastructure" right into the rock wall.  It's pretty high up and there are some miniature examples of how they built ladders and such to get all the way up.  Secondly, carbon dating and research of leftover artifacts put these people in this area from around 900 or 1000 AD to about 1450 AD.  No one knows why they left and there is a lot of speculation about where they went: drought, they joined with another tribe, a fire burned down most of their community (there are remnants of other "houses"), etc.  Thirdly, it's actually incorrectly called "Montezuma"because that Aztec ruler clearly never made it this far north...unfortunately the settlers didn't realize that at the time.  Lastly, the other "mistake" that seems to have been made by non-Spanish speaking settlers is that they don't know the actual name of the tribe so they gave them the name "Sinagua."  Not only did they make up a name for them but they now pronounce it in a funny way and most people can't seem to explain why they're called that.  It comes from Spanish: "sin" means "without" and "agua" obviously means "water."  Most brochures will even put the incorrect pronunciation claiming it's pronounced "seen-ah-wah."  It's actually pronounced "seen-ahg-wah" but I think the mistake came from the fact that when most native Spanish speakers say "agua" they take out the "g" for a smoother sound.  It's not "correct" but that's how it often sounds.

Anyway, I originally heard about this place when reading a National Geographic magazine (yes, I read the articles) so it certainly influenced my decision to come to Sedona and not Tucson as I'd originally planned.  The ruins were similar to how I'd imagined them...they weren't as big but it's possible that I got the Montezuma ruins confused with similar ones in New Mexico.  I'd love to see the ones in New Mexico but I'm not sure if I have enough time.  Here's the main dwelling at Montezuma, the most famous one:

This same day I went to see the Church of the Holy Cross which is built into the red rock.  It's very small and the lady who envisioned it wanted a modern place for all worshippers to come and feel comfortable.

While the outside of the church was probably the neatest part about it, the views were spectacular:

I also got a panoramic video...this will be the first video I post so I hope it works!

Well...that was pretty much what I did.  I tried to go for a hike but the cheapest place to hike was $9 just to park my car and it was already 3pm so I said forget it.

I arrived in Albuquerque, New Mexico, yesterday to a particularly grand welcoming by my host and her friends who live in their self-proclaimed "student ghetto."  They're great people, very helpful, and jump on the fact that there are very interesting, fun things to do in Albuquerque despite what others say.  Today is my day for exploring so I'll update again tonight or tomorrow morning with what I've been doing!

Change of Time

"I had a dream last night
I dreamt that I was swimming
And the stars up above
Directionless and drifting
Somewhere in the dark
Were the sirens and the thunder
And around me as I swam
The drifters who’d gone under
Time, love
Time, love
Time, love
It’s only a change of time..."

The other day as I was excitedly but reluctantly driving down I-5, Josh Ritter's "Change of Time" came on my perpetually lost iPod nano (which clearly was not lost at that moment - why do they make those so small?).  It was soothing in a strange way that made me anxious to leave the place that is most comfortable for me but also as if a part of my life were dying.  The song came on again today as I was leaving California and I realized that a part of my life really was dying.  I was on my way to search out what the world had to offer me besides a comfy home with my ugly, lovable alien dog, and all of my friends and familiar places in the bay.

I saw the biggest rock piles I've ever seen.  They were as if a giant toddler had relieved his onesie of all the pebbles he had been collecting behind his mother's back.  Obviously they were mountains covered in enormous rocks and stones that could crush my little Versa in an instant but the effect was the same.

Then as the rock pile mountains ended the desert opened up.  I missed my opportunity when I was living in Spain to go to Morocco and take the typical Facebook-profile-picture-worthy photos of myself tumbling down hundred-foot sand dunes in the Sahara so I was stunned at the desert before me.  As I drove I realized that my mother's worst nightmare for my trip could actually come true: I could break down in the middle of nowhere in the desert.  Luckily my car gets great gas mileage...I called Kyle to exclaim "holy shit!" to someone besides myself anyway.

Gas dropped from $4.45 in California to $3.57 about five minutes later in Arizona.  Yuma may be the city backdrop in multiple great movies but it's kind of a dump now.  The drive was long but coming in to Sedona made me want to bother Kyle again and deal with his "...Yes, Kaitlin?" once again just so I could go nuts about how beautiful it is.  I even forgot to take sunset pictures as I meandered my way in but I'll forgive myself.  Life seems to slow to a crawl once you enter into the valley of these immense red rock formations that jut out of the ground.  The only thing I know to compare them to is volcanoes but that does not do them justice.  I promise to upload photos tomorrow after I go on a hike and visit the main tourist-y areas...I keep forgetting the cord I need in the car and frankly I'm too much of a sissy to go out in the utter darkness by myself to retrieve it.  Especially since I was just fully informed about coyotes that roam this area that aren't afraid of humans.  I made sure to tell my calm, meditative couchsurfing host, Mira, that I fall along the lines of "typical California girl." I like to think that I'm not, and I'm fairly tough and rough-going when need be, but I also think I'd squeal if I came upon an enormous version of Zorra that growled and snarled at me.

Now I'm sitting on my "soopa" - a makeshift bed with pillows and blankets - and dreaming awake about sleeping.  I'm nervous and feel my awkwardness which I usually ignore but this will be a fun adventure. After all...it's only a change of time.

Confession

I have a confession to make.  Even though I've traveled many times through different countries, I have never driven further than San Francisco by myself.  I was pretty surprised that I made it to LA yesterday especially after being disgustingly sick for four days.  But, hey, I made it!

My first stop in LA was to meet with my long-lost Uncle Craig.  I'm not lying.  Our family hadn't heard from him in about 10 years so I was clearly surprised when he agreed to get a coffee with me.  In my last year of college, I had to do a project about a rumor or disputed fact within my family.  My mum had been holding on to a cassette tape of the life story of my great-grandpa Alejandro Murga in his own words and she refused to play it for fear of not only what was/wasn't on it but also that she would break the cassette.  Long story short, we listened to it and I had a great historical fiction-type story to present to my final Spanish literature class.  The whole time I did this I felt as if I were missing one piece - my Uncle Craig.  The meeting went well but only lasted about 1 1/2 hours.  I went in with no expectations but afterwards I felt as if I had made a connection that I had missed for a large part of my life.

I went straight from there to my Grandma Dorothy's to visit and have dinner with her and her long-time, great friend Kathy.  Afterwards I rushed over to my Grandma Lee Ann and Grandpa Bill's house because I was summoned with a phone call saying that I was too late and was going to be locked out!  Oh the joys of having a 10pm curfew...

Today I continued my long distance driving skills and arrived in San Diego to spend time being as weird as possible with Miss Josephine Kasper.  Jo and I lived together for our sophomore year of college and have continued to be close ever since...it was inevitable that I would come see her here where she's studying for her MFT at Alliant University.  For as many times as I've been to LA in my life, I've never been to San Diego.  It's perfect weather and, even though I'm here until Monday morning, we already made sure to drink a couple beers on "PB" (New Orleans/Santa Cruz-esque area where all the young people hang out and strut their stuff like peacocks), and sssssSSSSHHHOOOPPPPPP!  Ok, it wasn't as exciting as my font shows but we did pick up a couple outfits for our shenanigans that will occur this weekend.

Sorry for the more boring update but it's hard to be motivated while you're sitting in a bathing suit watching a Bravo show about a millionaire matchmaker...

Pictures to come!

Judgement Day

The correlation between the ridiculously epic, startlingly brilliant, and amazingly confounding billboards around Northern California about "Judgement Day" being on May 21st and my own version of adventure similar to Robert Frost's decision on which road to take is just...well, it's just dandy.  Fitting our stereotype of "those hippy, liberal, young California kids" (and we'll always be kids to anyone older than ourselves - let's take it as a compliment, shall we?) and trying to insert "Judgement Day" jokes wherever possible in a conversation, we have always semi-jokingly asked each other what we would do if the Almighty Lord Jesus Christ Our God were to come down from heaven (or up? Or just "over" as if he were in a neighboring country?), smite all of us sinful heretics, and make our lives kaput.  I tried to take this question seriously the other day and answered, "I'd keep going on my road trip and I'd probably try to have a baby."  But I'm not the Virgin Mary.

I was glad that I could stick with the road trip idea, though.  Unfortunately, I'm still in Lafayette.  Of course I adore seeing the ever calm and highly entertaining Kyle (who will join me for the second half of my trip...stories to come) more than I thought I would, but as I write this I am once again under a pile of blankets sweating out whatever strange disease is running through my veins and organs yelling, "We've got her!  We've got her!  She's stuck!  Keep poking her head so she can't start her road trip!"  Or maybe it's just a warm afternoon and any normal person wouldn't be under a sheet, a comforter, and two oddly-patterned quilts...

Tomorrow is my Judgement Day.  After two days of medication and worrying that all the Ibuprofen I've been taking is burning a hole through my stomach, I think I should be well enough to drive to LA in the morning.  It will certainly be an interesting drive seeing as Kyle told me that when I went to put my head down for a power nap (and I definitely needed a lot of power since mine has gone MIA with whatever little hussy in my body that usually guards my head from migraines) I actually fell asleep almost instantly and did not move for almost an hour.  Until I leave there will be a lot more of that type of sleeping and some more marathon sessions of "Glee" or whatever else doesn't require brainpower.

I have said my goodbyes to San Francisco - the most beautiful and charismatic city I have ever visited.  Yesterday I ventured out in my cutesy little rented Versa, drove to North Beach for some pizza by the slice, then meandered over to the Presidio to watch the joggers pretend they actually live in that area, watch cargo ships pass under the Golden Gate-which-is-actually-red-especially-in-the-fog, and to just enjoy the city for what it is.

Let's go, Judgement Day!  I'm ready for ya!

Day 1 : Urgent Care

Urgent care is not where I intended to be on the morning of the first day of my road trip.  I'm also pretty sure that when inviting over friends for a goodbye get-together one does not expect to spend said get-together in the corner, under a quilt, with a bloated mug of Trader Joe's-brand green tea.

At urgent care I was told that my strep test was negative but that the back of my flaming throat looked "pretty horrible" so now I am drugged up on everything from Ibuprofen to Amoxicillin and am following a strict diet that allows me a plethora of soups, whatever color Otter Pop I want, and various smoothies that I eat with a spoon because straws are not my biggest fans at the moment.  And you don't want to hear about my other symptoms.

Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway - I've always hated that phrase), my LA trip has been pushed back at least one day but I'm still hoping to speed down there with enough time to see all of my grandparents and make it to San Diego by Friday to see the lovely Josephine "Jo" Kasper and fix our bad luck streaks together by dancing as much as possible to horrible pop-music-turned-dance music.

So, unfortunately I do not have anything new and exciting to share for the first full day of my road trip across the country.  Kyle seems to be my substitute mother for the moment while I can't decide if I want one blanket or three quilts (there is a difference).  You'll be sure to hear from me soon!

P.S.  Mom, I won't really speed down I-5.