Moving to California. Let’s see how this goes.

Last week, Adam and I embarked on our first “out-West” road trip, covering a lot of new ground. Since we’re still pretty new to California, and hadn’t seen most of the state, it was nice to do it by car because we got to enjoy the drive and see a lot more than if we had flown. We made a lot of memories in the short 5 days. Below are my favorites, in no particular order.

A seemingly unkept monastery in the middle of the desert? Creepy!

Photo Adam took at the abandoned Rock-A-Hoola Waterpark. The No Trespassing and Beware of Dogs signs kept up restricted to the perimeter of the park. This single Yelp review was further reason not to enter.

The “Lil’ Doggy” with the miniature horse saddle at Calico Ghost Town! Adorable, sweet, photogenic dog.

Vacant buildings. Every inner photographer has that curiosity and desire to explore abandoned buildings for the perfect shot. This, admittedly, was taken from the car. A brand new car parked in front of an abandoned building, alongside a busy highway, is likely to draw attention.

A car of aliens parked in the Alien Jerky parking lot. The backseat even had two child seats with aliens babies.

Whalebone in Las Vegas! Adam was so excited. I wouldn’t let him throw it away, but now that we’ve brought it home, I’m not sure what to do with it. It’s found a home between the wall and the refrigerator.

Louie Anderson comedy skit in Las Vegas. Yes, it may have been 7 p.m., next to the buffet and targeted towards a “slightly” older demographic, but it was good clean fun.

Daytime photo walk / drive. As Adam drove down the Las Vegas strip, I enjoyed the challenge of snapping the perfect shots out the side window.

The room with the “city view” at the New York New York, Las Vegas. But it was worth it to have a jacuzzi in our hotel room!

Breakfast at Cafe 101, Los Angeles. Great food! As the tour guide said, “very Hollywood.” We may have seen a celebrity or two having breakfast, but Adam and I wouldn’t recognize most people off-screen.

The chocolate-vanilla twist with a chocolate shell—only the best ice cream from everyone’s childhood! And a lot to eat.

Meeting Minnie at Disneyland! We happened to catch her before the line to have your photo taken got too long. It was fun because I never met the Disney characters as a kid.

A photo of honey by the hunny, Disneyland! Too good.

Lunch at Cafe Orleans, Disneyland. French Mardi Gras theme. Outdoor seating. Great food. Adorable rat.

Dunes Inn, LA—our “high class” motel. Not exactly a great photo, but a memory. Spontaneity means not booking a hotel, so we were lucky (and relieved) to find this modest little gem (and laugh about it later).

Of course, The Lincoln! Once we figured out all the controls and how to program the GPS, it was a pretty sweet ride! At the end of our trip, “GPS lady” was our friend. We couldn’t have done it without her. Sometimes we’d detour from the route just to hear her repeatedly say, “In 300 ft., make a legal u-turn.”

Last, but certainly not least, visiting our great friend, Liana (@fittorrent on Twitter). I don’t have a photo for this one, but certainly a special part of our trip.

All in all, it was great, and I looking forward to further adventures!