Amanda Goes East (and other stories)

Yes! That is Old Faithful exploding out of a mountain at a 90 degree angle! I've only just gotten proficient at posting videos on blogger. I'll worry about flipping it next time. You're just going to have to crane your neck for this one.

If you haven't guessed, I'm home from Tolyatti now. I never quite got around to that "meaningful concluding blog post", and for that I apologize.

So, if I wasn't updating my blog, what have I been doing this whole time?! I left Tolyatti around June 20th, and then I hung out in Moscow until the 31st. Then I was home for a month. I ate lots and lots of food to make up for not eating well in Russia, gained (back) 10 pounds, swam every few days, and enjoyed being back in the USA. Did you know that it's a pretty awesome country? At the end of July Kendra flew down to Tucson and we began our epic month-long road trip. That finished about 2 weeks ago, and since then I've just been a complete bum.

Our route. Not pictured: Alaska (we flew), The Grand Canyon, Phoenix, and back to Sahuarita. Google maps couldn't comprehend my directions once I got back into Arizona.

Since everyone always asks:
Most interesting thing you saw: Elephant seals
Most interesting place: Fort Ross, CA
Most beautiful place: ALASKA OF COURSE
Best thing: Seeing friends
Place I'd least like to live: LA or Idaho
Biggest surprise: There are Russians EVERYWHERE
Most annoying thing Kendra did: Try to make me eat breakfast before lunch
Worst things that happened: Truck wouldn't start once, cleaning nasty starfish and sand dollars, California traffic
Scariest thing that happened: Almost ran over a bear
Lessons learned: Use sunscreen ALWAYS, a GPS with an Australian accent > a GPS with an American accent, double-check addresses before going to the wrong campground, people in American hostels are creepy -- spend more and get a private room, my trucks's speedometer is off by 3 or 4 miles
Best story: Showering in the YMCA, off-roading in Utah