Proposal for my road trip

Road Trip to Explore California
Experiencing the beauty and nature of our world is crucial to helping us get away from the worries and stress of everyday life. The feeling of the breeze and the sound it makes as it passes through the trees, the sound of birds chirping in the early morning, the ripples in the water of a lake and the crashing waves of an ocean all create a sense of happiness within me. A road trip helps free my mind of everything going on in my life. Exploring new cities and doing new activities in unknown places is just the way to create fun adventures and memories. A road trip to me is adventure and excitement, the vehicle to show the beautiful nature in California, and is about exploring new cities and places. The best road trip that would exemplify these characteristics for me is from Austin, Texas to San Francisco, California.
My friend Katy Bekken and I will embark on this adventure together starting from Austin, Texas and traveling through New Mexico and Arizona. Most of these states will be desert, cacti and mountains of large rocks along the side of the road. We do not expect rural Texas, New Mexico or Arizona to be the most “fun” part of the road trip but it will be interesting to see the desolate sights we don’t have in Austin. The trip is specifically designed to see the most beautiful things Katy and I treasure, the coast of California. Once we reach the southern most tip of California, Katy and I want to take Pacific Coast Highway all the way up to San Francisco. Pacific Coast Highway is known for its views of the immaculate coastlines and seaside towns. I imagine miles of crystal blue ocean, the sight of the blue sky meeting the even bluer ocean as far as I can see, the white sand along the beach, bright healthy-looking green trees, and my favorite flower, the bird of paradise, everywhere. Even the thought of these adventures and different sights tune me out from everything going on around me. The best thing about this road trip is there are no set schedules, no responsibilities and the opportunity to do and experience whatever Katy and I choose to. That is the true meaning of a road trip, to be able to take time off from “real life” and just go be spontaneous and adventurous. We will get to enjoy the beautiful views while on the road, and also get to stop in different cities and experience the things they have to offer. This road trip is the perfect opportunity to explore the beauty that California has to offer, and do things in different cities that we don’t get to enjoy very often.
This trip through Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona and up the coast of California is about 1,901 miles (Google Maps). That is roughly one day and eight hours of driving Katy’s silver jeep liberty that we will definitely not be able to do without stopping. The first day of driving will be about 16 hours and we can stop in Phoenix, Arizona at midnight if we leave at about 7:00 a.m. because we will be making a few gas and food stops that will account for an hour (Google Maps). Katy and I just want to sleep in Arizona because we want to get to California as soon as we can! That night we will probably stay in a Marriot because our families have Marriot points that we can use on the hotel room to save up some money. The next morning we will have to get up at 7:00 a.m. again and start driving again because Dana Point, where Pacific Coast Highway starts, is 6 hours away from Phoenix (Google Maps). Once we get to Dana Point, California, the mesmerizing beauty of the ocean will capture both of our attention and the true journey will begin.
We must not forget the price of this trip and the planning we have to do in advance. Gas will be a major expense for our trip and considering it is the sole factor that will keep our road trip going, it is quite important. The average price for gas in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona is 3.00 per gallon, and in California is 3.30 per gallon (Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas Gas Prices). The jeep liberty holds about 19.5 gallons of gas so we can expect gas to be around $58.50 each time we fill up the car in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona (WikiAnswers). Katy usually has to fill up her car about every 4-5 hours so all the way to Dana point gas should cost about $286. We can expect in California for the cost to fill each time to be about $64.35 so from Dana Point to San Francisco gas should be about $128.70. The total for gas will be expensive, but $414.70 is worth the road trip we will get to experience. Since our hotel the first night in Phoenix will be free (thanks to our parents) we will get to splurge a little bit on food each day. We will eat probably $30 - $40 each a day worth of food. I know that we will both want some extra spending money for shopping and fun activities along the way, so I expect that this trip will cost about $2,500 for Katy. After a few days in San Francisco, I will be flying home to Austin and Katy will be staying in San Francisco. For me, the trip will probably cost about $2,900 because flights will be around $300-$400 if I book a little bit in advance.
Once in California, everything will be way more expensive; the hotels, food, gas, and even shopping. Since Katy and I want to stay in a nice hotel in Los Angeles, the Omni Los Angeles at California Plaza, the price for that stop will be about $149.00 (Omni Los Angeles Plaza). For our second stop, San Louis Obispo, we will stay at the Ocean Breeze Inn in the heart of Pismo Beach, which will be about $80.00 for that night (Ocean Breeze Inn). Our last stop will be in San Francisco! Katy has some family in San Fran so we will stay with them for a few nights and then for 2 nights we want to stay at The Stanford Court Renaissance San Francisco Hotel which is $149.00 a night. This total will be $298.00 and the rest will be free staying with Katy's Family. Once in San Francisco, there is no set plan or idea of what we will do. That is up to the trip to decide. We will be able to pay for this road trip through babysitting and work money saved up throughout the year, and help from our parents right after graduation.
Katie and I will stop in Los Angeles, California for our first major exploration of the road trip. Here we can go to Malibu Beach, which is kind of secluded and away from the busy city. The waves crash against the high rocks and make this sound that you can never forget. The beauty and peace of Malibu will help us fully take advantage of the escape that this road trip provides. While Malibu will provide us a relaxing experience, deep in the city of Los Angeles we will get to take advantage of a different type of experience. Shopping on Melrose and Rodeo Drive will be exciting and show us two popular places to have fun and take advantage of the happy and freeing feeling that shopping can make one feel. We must get Pink Berry frozen yogurt and explore the streets of Hollywood while in Los Angeles. Katy and I have set aside a day to go to Disneyland. We definitely want to visit this great magical park. We don’t want to completely schedule out every second of the day, however, because a road trip is not necessarily about structure and time limits. On a road trip you want to experience different things spontaneously and not know what is coming your way all the time. We can explore the city and see whatever we desire at that time, right now I cannot say exactly what else we will want to do.
The second stop we will make is in San Louis Obispo and this is where we will be able to get outside and truly experience nature firsthand. We have so many options from biking and hiking to kayaking, snorkeling, surfing, camping and sailing. We can enjoy the wildlife, the beautiful beaches and even experience the sunset culinary tour. This stop from the road in San Louis Obispo will allow us to see the dolphins, birds and sea animals we normally don’t get to enjoy, spend time bonding with each other. We will even get to fully enjoy whatever our taste buds desire along with enjoying the beauty of the sunset. This stop, opposed to Los Angeles will be a more relaxing and easy going one. We will be in a smaller beach town where we can explore the quirky things in this town between big cities.
Our final destination is San Francisco, California! Since we have never visited this great city, we want to explore everything it has to offer. Before I leave, I really want to visit Alcatraz Island. I have watched that movie with my dad so many times that it would be so neat to see where it all actually happened. Katy and I have heard that you can’t visit San Francisco without visiting the extremely touristy Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39 and Ghirardelli Square. We will see the Golden Gate Bridge from afar, but I want to see it up close and get to walk across part of it and see the beautiful views it has. The “moving landmark” cable cars would be really neat to experience. They remind me of the streetcars at home in New Orleans. San Francisco will provide great adventure and excitement because Katy and I will have so much to do and see here. I have a feeling we will just stumble upon cool things to see and do in this city!
This road trip from Austin to San Francisco will be an exciting, adventurous and spontaneous one. It is a road trip ultimately to a city we have never visited. There is so much excitement and mystery in driving on the road and never knowing what to expect. Each stop we make along the road is a place we can explore and get away from life in general. We will have no time limits, no responsibilities and nowhere we must or must not go. We can have fun, relax and enjoy everything the cities have to offer while using the drive from each destination to the next as the way to take in the smells, sights and feelings of nature. This road trip in the end, will allow us to get away from our normal lives and step out of our comfort zones. We will be able to see things we don’t usually get to and appreciate the world we have been put on. We will experience adventure, excitement and through each spontaneous event that we encounter, we will bond together, and learn more about ourselves.