Road trip...Success

As most of you know I was on a 13 day road trip, suffice it to say it was a success. I say this because I am still friends with my travel companion(we weren't going to let 13 days ruin 16 years), still in charge of my mental capacities(err, maybe I never was), Cori(the chevy corsica, I lovingly drive) is still owning the pavement, and I have seen things that I haven't seen and lastly I still want to see more. But, no blog would be complete without the telling of the misfortunes that find me(or rather I get myself into), so here's how the story goes...

For starters, day one to be exact, I lose my credit card in Wyoming at a truck stop, only to realize it when we get to Twin Falls, ID. Excellent....how am I going to pay for this trip now....thankfully it worked out. In between losing my credit card and realizing it we got desperately close to running out of gas...thankfully God plopped a small town 8 miles off I-80 with a 24 hr gas station...picture the Hillz have Eyes at 10:30 pm, good thing my "Kung Fu is strong". As modern women with college educations and street smarts we are survivors and we trucked along to drive along the Columbia river to a fun, but apparently "weird" city(many a bummer sticker said to 'Keep Portland Weird'). We only crashed in Portland for once night but I am confident that I would like to go again. After a most delightful and deep sleep we woke to get going to the coast and drive through some of the Olympic National Park....but wait...Cori was trying to tell me something, she needed new spark plugs, she told me by randomly jerking as we increased speed. So, Janette and I decided that it would be good to get things under the hood checked out, after a drive around Portland with a mechanic we decided it was something that we could get fixed on the road a little later. Once we realized we weren't going to blow up mid-drive, we headed on route to Port Angeles, WA.

The next four or five days went on without any snaffoos, we arrived in Canada without a hiccup, that is a lie, we did get stopped at the border. I don't consider it a hiccup only because it didn't delay any of our plans and was quite hilarious...we only wanted to get our passports stamped (they didn't seem too excited to oblige, but they did it after we batted our eyelashes). Once in Canada, we roamed the streets taking in the sights and the beauty. We spent one day in Victoria, three days in Vancouver and one day in Whistler....ahhhh, the freshness was crisp and good for us. We made a quick stop off in Squamish...where I got raped by the Canadian Tire people....$350 for spark plugs...you have got to be kidding me...but here is where the story get awesome...My bank won't allow me to use my debit card....they think that someone stole it and was going on a rampage in Canada, so I had to jump through those hoops, boo!!! The weird thing, I had been in Canada for three days, got to love the quickness of the American Banking system. Moving on, we headed for America...Yellowstone, Tetons, Jackson Hole, etc.

Once we were back in the states we spent two days getting to Yellowstone, oh Yellowstone!

Suffice it to say, as beautiful as Yellowstone can be, the crowds and rangers make it less appealing. We got pulled over for speeding....duh, when the speed limit is 45, if you factor in the amount of time I spent going 0 mph, I think our average mph was 45. With that behind us we moved at a gingerly pace as not to provoke the wildlife(rangers). A little less than two hours after receiving our ticket(which requires a mandatory court appearance, awesome) we stumble on what I will lovingly call the Clusterfuck of Yellowstone.

The Clusterfuck of Yellowstone can only be described as a ridiculous series of events that has led me to think that Park Rangers suck. As we slowly(45 mph) arrive to another dead stop on the federal highway(illegal to stop, btw), we are continually asked to keep moving along...but of course we want to know what the back up is for....GRIZZLY bear! Awesome...only it turned out to suck, we got caught behind a family that refused to move along and park on the side of street(the park ranger, only doing her job, reprimanded them thrice), so in our infinite driving wisdom we tap the horn once and pass them so we could get the party rolling along....THEN, we get cut off by another park ranger who starts to berate us over the loud speaker in front of the entire cluster of people looking for that damn grizzly. The following is this jerk's epic speech to us..."Please be patient, there is a reason people are stopped, there are people running in the road. You need to be patient....Everyone look at the people who are being impatient". Are you serious homeboy....talk to the lady who kept telling us to move along, get your facts straight. We were done after that point, screw the grizzly and Yellowstone. Aaargh, even writing about it gets me in a huff. Thankfully we were on out way to Jackson Hole and the Tetons.

Jackson Hole the last and final stop on our way home was a good place to wrap up our travels. Snuggled against the Tetons with perfect weather Jackson Hole offered us time to decompress and remind ourselves why we took this trip in the first place. We spent one day walking around eating good food, looking at beautiful jewelry and reading in the park...perfection for this tail end of the trip. To top off the day we went and had drinks at the Oldest Hotel in Jackson, The Wort and at The Tavern. Both places I got to dance and get twirled by some local hotness...I love to get twirled. We ended the night with some brothers whom we enjoyed thoroughly...dances, drinks, and then a drive back to our hostel. This was to be our last night in a foreign bed, as we eased into bed I prepared myself for our homecoming.

We arrived in Denver on thursday, July 29th at 8:00pm, we grabbed some Wahoo's and headed to the casa. HOME, SWEET, HOME!

Those are the misadventures of me, for more details call me, I would love to hear from you.

Till the next misadventure, stay safe

APKilla

Getting Fancy with the pics while Janette drives along, in, and through the Olympic National Park.

Well team, today has brought new scenery and a new country. Yippeee!!! We landed in Victoria, British Columbia today, we got searched by the border control, apparently we looked like drug smugglers...good thing she didn't check body cavities(j/k). It was funny, two very law abiding citizens and a beat up Corsica getting sifted through like were carrying kilos of coke...memories. Suffice it to say today was a great day, stumbled upon a huge car show, had excellent Japanese lunch, checked out some loverly shops...and now we are off to the Pink Bicycle to get some grub, it looks like a specialty burger joint. If we are lucky drink are going to be part of the night and the international shady lady might appear, keep those eyes peeled. Next stop Vancouver for three days then Whistler for one...if you are lucky we might decide to head home, but not without some camping in Montana and Wyoming. There are a few stops in between, hopefully getting to see some fun people.

Loving every minute,

APKilla

This is where I was today! It was beautiful!
Ferries and International travel awaits me tomorrow.
G'night
APKilla

Day 2 of Epic Adventure

Welp, team, as most of you know I have embarked on a 15 day road trip with my dear friend Janette to Vancouver and back. It is the end of Day 2 and let me tell you it kinda feels like day 3 or four. To start I lost my credit card in Wyoming...and I had to do some finaggling to get some funds for this trip(let it be known that I did not do much saving for this trip, so money might become an issue). I really try to present myself as a calm, cool and collected individual, but truth be told, I really wanted to cry about the situation, but I rallied and got my game face on. Next we were off to Portland, OR...I think that if i spent more time here I could really grow to like it and maybe live in it...note to self, visit Portland longer than a day. Whilst in Portland, we landed at the Thrift Lodge, which abucks a noisy concert venue(btw the bands sucked), then we headed to Chipotle, only because I had a coupon(at this point all dollar bills saved are good), then we walked back to figure out our plan of attack for the next couple days....It is going to be a doozy. Tomorrow we will drive along the coast in hopes of great scenery and beautiful weather, our destination is hazy...camping in the Olympic National Forest(space permitting), Ferry to Victoria and get a motel, motel in Port Angeles or sleeping in car(sorry ma) are all options...my vote is camping. I have to get up early and get the oil changed in good ole "Cori" and then we are off on another adventure. So g'night and we will see you on the flip.

Peace out,

APKilla

A day in the life...

Hey there party people...

Nothing too exciting to talk about, just wanted to tell about my misadventures of the day. To start off the day I should tell that I hit snooze on my stupid blackberry(I say stupid, because it is broken and I keeping losing missed calls and texts) for two hours....why? Well, I always have these grand plans of waking up early so that I can workout, read, eat a good breakfast and be a productive human being. But as habit would have it, I slept a little bit longer than desired...the end result was that I had to drive barefoot to meet my friend for "FRO-YO" because I had no time to put my shoes on, plus they were already in my car.

I have recovered nicely, and I am currently on pace with my plans for the day. I have to buy AAA so that when I break down on my road trip I am not stranded in the middle of Montana. Then I have to go get ready for Jenny's Bachelorette party...I have plans of bringing the ruckus. Every now and again I resolve that I am going to take a backseat and just let the party happen...but that truly goes against my nature. My nature: GET THE PARTY STARTED! I love drawing in the wallflower and getting them to dance. So, tonight I plan to roll with it and do what I do. I am sure that I will pee my pants from laughter or cause Jenny to pee her pants(she has a weak bladder), better bring an extra pair of undies. And lastly, I have to go to the liquor store to get the ingredients for the best sangria in the world...I am pretty that is an exaggeration but it will surely get someone sloppy tonight(prolly me).

As for right now, I am going to facebook and look up places to go on my roadtrip.

Peace, love and ruckus,

APKilla

Four Boys, 3 weeks with BFF, 2 months in Denver and a girl as happy as could be!

Let's start this story off right....I just moved into the most amazing house with four boys, I have never lived with boys so it poses some interesting situations. First being, what does one wear from the bathroom to bedroom after a shower when I have to cross through the living room while they play halo or watch The Wire: solution....walk around naked and tell them they are crazy and that I have been wearing a towel the whole time, actual solution: nice pink robe. Second interesting situation(has nothing to do with my roommates but plenty with being naked), I have no curtains on my window and we have neighbors....what should one do: get curtains. What does Ashley do: she gets dressed regardless, scandalous I know, but I am only going to live there for two months and there is no way I am going to invest in curtains. Besides, I am sure no one has caught me yet. Those are the only interesting situations to date, but be sure there will be more and they will most likely involve nakedness. Now, more important news....ROAD TRIP 2010!!!

Vancouver/Pacific NW/ N. Cali or BUST!

On Monday, my long time friend Janette flies into DIA to spend three weeks with me, two of which will be spent on the road figuring out our futures, flirting with truckers and experiencing all that America has to offer us. We have no plans other than we are heading towards Vancouver, if we make it, the future is still unclear. People of the NW brace yourselves for the Ashnette hurricane. I am excited for the adventure that lays ahead...I just hope my little Chevy Corsica can handle the open road as well as she rocks the streets of Denver. And when we return to Denver, that leaves me with one month of time with family and friends before I start another chapter in life.

Adventure SLO!

San Luis Obispo...nestled in the heart of the Central Coast of California. Somehow, I have become this girl that craves adventure, something new and fullness of life. So, with that said I have decided to move to California with my epic friend Kahle..."do you have a teaching job out there?" has been the most commonly asked question, to which I reply, "Nope". In my logical mind this next step to move seems a little crazy and the anxiety that I sometimes feel confirms that notion. But then I am reminded, so poignantly by a close friend, that my job is not to pursue a career but to pursue my life. I have no misgivings that this might be really hard and lonely, but then I think of my safety net...my loving friends and family who are supportive of my step into lunacy. So I throw caution to the wind and say..."Life, here I come, get ready, its time to play"

I am still in process about this adventure, but what better time to do it, I am free as a bird and the world is my oyster. If anything, I will become a more interesting(I know, hard to believe it can better than this) person with more to offer the ones I love.

Suffice it to say I am a lucky duck with sunshine at my back, adventure in my veins, joy in my heart and a smile on my lips. I expect big things. Tune in to see how the adventure unfolds, or to see the breakdown begin.

FULL,

APKilla