Day 1 - Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

It was a little sad to say goodbye to New York City and my lovely apartment, but I was so excited to finally begin my adventure. I flew to Denver first, don't think I've ever been to that airport before. It was one of the nicer airports I've been to. On the plane I started feeling antsy , like it was a long flight, but then realized it was only the first of about 22 flights I will be taking along the way. Then it was on to Orange County Airport. Once in the OC I had to make my way to LA. Slight change of plans...was supposed to stay with friends in the OC, but the flu is going around in their house, so came to stay with friends in LA. I was supposed to stay with them Thursday night, so I just extended my stay.

Being the thrifty traveler that I now have to be, I searched out the cheapest mode of transport from the airport to the train station. Couldn't believe it, but I asked the right person and they told me about the little known Irvine shuttle that was FREE to get to the train station. I was planning on tipping the shuttle driver a few bucks, but following the lead of all the OC people that got on and off I didn't. Got to the Metrolink train which is like Metro North and took the train into Union Station in LA. My friend Matt who was picking me up was in dead stop traffic so he advised me to take the subway to the stop near his and Amy's house. Who knew that there was a subway in LA?! It was clean and empty, so unlike the NYC subways. But, of course, when I got to my destination station the escalators were broken and I had to lug all my stuff (Big backpack - 36lbs, small back pack, camera bag, and a bag with three boxes of cookies for my friends in the OC) up the stairs. Needless to say I was a bit out of breath. It sounds like a lot of stuff, but it has actually been easy balancing all the stuff as I move around.

We got back to Matt an Amy's house and Matt cooked us an amazing dinner. We watched some TV (which I will miss dearly when traveling, especially the new RuPaul drag queen reality show) and I went to bed early. All-in-all a fantastic way to start my journey.