Had my last check-up with Stanford (well, not last last) in early December and finally got the OK to go home. Monica and I arrived back in Albuquerque exactly one week ago tonight. So far, so good, although it’s taking a little longer than anticipated to get re-acclimated to the altitude. And the dog. He remembered how to ring a bell to let us know he has to go outside, which is awesome, but he also figured out that he can ring it every time he wants to go bark his fool head off at a leaf.
Anyway, here’s some pictures of our return trip.
The sign outside the pool at our apartment complex in Sunnyvale. As my cousin pointed out, that is a VERY specific sign, and I was thankful every day that I was not there for the epidemic that warranted such a sign be created in the first place.
The California coastline via the 1, just south of Big Sur. Yeah, I don’t get what the big deal is either.
I know it’s kind of hard to see, but those lazy lumps littering the beach are elephant seals. There were probably hundreds of them hanging out and they are fucking HUGE.
Turkey vultures! There were a shitload of them hanging out over the elephant seals, presumably because it’s hard to determine if they’re dead or sleeping.
This was somewhere in Southern California and it went on for miles.
We stopped in Las Vegas halfway through and stayed at the Excalibur. Since it was a Sunday, the room was, like, $30. Bonus: I only had security called on me (because I was walking around a casino in a mask) once!
Santa Claus, Arizona. One of many, many abandoned rest stop/tourist attractions in Arizona. You can find out more about it here. Fun fact: Right after I took this photo, a state trooper pulled a car over into the dirt lot ten feet from us. He didn’t seem to care that we were there, but we didn’t feel like pushing our luck and didn’t get to poke around any further.
A sign at the rest stop on the Arizona/New Mexico border. I missed the desert so much.
So, that’s that. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got presents to wrap, a ham to remember how to cook, and a dog to let out. Again.