NY to SD.

Tuesday we hit the road. I started the night with a handful of beers. After a minor set back we were off. We left around 12 at night and got to North Carolina at 7:30 where we would be staying with Randy's grandparents. I was exhausted, i managed to stay awake, eat some breakfast and hold a conversation until about 11. We slept until 5, woke up and shot to the nearest gas station 7 miles away. On our way back we nearly hit a deer. Had some dinner and more conversation about cross country travels and how his grandparents were both old motorcyclists who have made a handful of long distance trips and hate that they are unable to do so anymore. Said our goodbyes because we knew we would be leaving very early, went back to sleep and woke up at 4. Memphis was our next destination. 900 miles. Arrived in Memphis and was greeted by a tornado. Torrential down pours, lightning, and high winds. We didn't actually see a twister but the sirens and general concern of everyone on Beale Street confirmed it. The conditions almost stopped us from going to see the spot where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. After stopping and a tacky gift shop we decided it was a good time to had back to the car. On our way signs and barricades were all blowing down the street, we decided to run. As we ran all the shop owners were demanding we get inside. The car was around the corner and we knew we could make it. We followed the storm for about 15 minutes. After all the excitement we weren't tired and decided to move on. Little Rock Arkansas was only 137 miles away and we thought it was a big enough city to have some sort of nightlife. On our way two 18 wheelers had overturned and caused a huge traffic jam. We sat in traffic for an hour. Little Rock was a ghost town with a shitty motel. No restaurants were serving at 11 so we settled for Taco Bell. We hit the road early again on Friday. The Cadillac Ranch was something I've wanted to visit for a long time. Amarillo was 597 miles from Little Rock and was on the way. It couldn't have worked out better. Arkansas was rainy Oklahoma was flat and Texas was big. We went through the smallest part of Texas and it still felt like we were there for a long time. Texas BBQ was the only thing on my mind for a good 3 hours. Stopped and asked 3 different groups of people for a good BBQ spot and they couldn't give us one but they all claimed that the Mexican joint on the corner was the best place in town. We had Mexican. The food was great the Cadillacs were cool and the next stop was Albuquerque, New Mexico. The road offered little to nothing on our way to New Mexico. Albuquerque on the other hand had the BBQ i'd been jonesin' for and a pretty exciting nightlife. Gang units patrolled the streets and the cheapest beers were in the strip club. At 1 bars and clubs emptied out and there was a huge brawl in the street. I saw one girl with a bloody face and another screaming she'd been mased. We decided to hitch hike back to the hotel. After walking for 2 miles a couple stopped and offered to take us to Carlyle the block our hotel was on. He happened to be a bouncer at one of the bars on the strip. A very nice cool guy, his girl just got out of the Ice Cube show. We thanked them and walked to our place. The Econo Lodge was cheaper nicer and cleaner then the spot we'd stayed in in Little Rock. We slept in on Saturday. Woke up to a continental breakfast of cereal, oj, and coffee. The Grand Canyon was 2 hours out of the way but being this close I insisted on going. The road to the south rim of the canyon was incredible. We thought it wasn't worth it to stop, just save time and go to the best view possible. The top looked promising. We parked and walked to the edge. The canyon was filled with clouds, we couldn't see 200 feet. I was pissed. Heading back to our designated route we ran into our first white out blizzard of the trip. Wavy canyon roads and blinding snow got intense, 4 wheel drive helped. We had all intentions of making it to San Diego on Saturday. After passing through pitch black deserts in Arizona we hit the second snow storm. Crossing over the mountains of southern California never posed a threat until we got there. The snow was worse then before and the drop offs weren't as extreme as the Grand Canyon but still intimidating. Slowly but surely we made it through, arriving in SD at 2:30 Saturday night.