"Real" Vacation Day 1

Even though I intended to start my summer homework, my sister and I fell asleep within the first thirty minutes.  Road trips make us sleepy.  At least I was awake for part of the trip to Paso Robles though.  This little sucker just slept right on through.

 I call this 'The Entrance to a Ghostland". That little strip of green you see there is the only non-brown color you see on land for miles and miles on end.  So different from my home stretch up in Stockton where you have trees every few feet.  Especially the new neighborhood I'm in-- green lawns and everything.  I'm almost a little homesick, but it hasn't even been a full day yet, and really-- who the hell wants to go back to Stockton?

"The Entrance to a Ghostland" was taken about halfway to Paso Robles.  We stopped for a bathroom break at In n Out Burger.  As I waited for my mom, I noticed that the deeper I got in SoCal, the more Chris Chu-type characters I saw.  You know, thin-framed, college age-ish, boys wearing glasses and long-sleeved shirts.  There's probably a better word to describe them (modern hipsters, perhaps?), but I love to reference Chris Chu whenever I can.

On the radio, there was a talkshow where people called in to report their economic miseries, a result of this "recession" (depression). I realized that my own life hasn't really been affected, since my dad still makes relatively the same amount at his job he's had for ongoing twenty years and my naturally frugal mother is gifted in balancing household finances.  The biggest differences I see is that 1) I no longer find wads of twenty dollar bills in my mom's purse or my dad's pants and 2) we lost my childhood house (although I hear that's the fault of my uncle, who acted as the banker of that failed investment).  Besides that, I'm still living a pretty luxurious life.  We have four running computers in my house with wireless internet, my parents drive their own cars, and right now I'm going on this super expensive road trip (in a rented car) between SoCal and Las Vegas for the next five days (despite the high way robbery that is gasoline prices).  I guess I'm just riding this economic slump out.  Hopefully future recessions in my life don't hit me harder.

I saw this and thought of a  few lines from Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.
"I like to think how nice it's gonna be, maybe, in California.  Never cold. An' fruit ever' place, an' people just bein' in the nicest places, little white houses in among the orange trees."
I think it looks green there in the picture, but BELIEVE me.  There was no greener whatsoever. Just a dry desert.

First (not really) glimpse of the ocean

At about 1:30 PM, we arrived in Paso Robles.  I saw some 12 year old girl walking into Starbucks like she was straight from the 80s.  Yes, you're seeing that right.  Pink and orange fairy skirt, crazy light blue tank top with a flower print, and a side pony tail.  Not to mention a deep orange tan. It was the coolest thing ever.

There are a LOT of white people here in Paso Robles.  Many long-haired blondes wearing short shorts on their wire thin legs and either pink or white tank tops.  They lather chapstick on their so not chapped pink lips.  And their gorgeous blue eyed long blond haired brothers!

I imagine their names are Stephanie & Stacey. And his name is Josh.

Okay, it's four-something in the morning, so I'm going to wait until later to post the pictures that are actually at Hearst castle.  And believe me, I took a lot.  The camera's memory chip was empty in the morning and by the end of the day I took 146 pictures.  For those of you who are my FB friends or Twitter Followers, you've already seen a few pictures.  And you've already heard of Mr. Korean. >/////<

Okay, toodles everyone! I'm going to sleep now ♥