everyday observations of regular people the journal of john ratcliffe-lee.

we’re parked in the malibu beach rv park right now, and i’m listening to the pacific crash below. i came into this trip with the mindset not to get enamored with california (and i wasn’t, at first), but i’m starting to realize why my parents lived out here and why i’m really on this trip to begin with.
no pictures tonight.

my eyes are starting to burn. if i was back home, in new jersey, it’d be 3:30am. however, i’m in whatever time zone kingman, arizona calls it’s own. the only reason i’m not waiting until daybreak is to get the most out of the $4.95/day i paid to a truck stop for wireless internet access.

let’s review, shall we? home for good (or, at least until i decide to move out), i’ve accepted a position at an established interactive marketing agency in new york city. starting on july 13th of this year, i will officially be known as a “content specialist.” more to come about what i do when, well, i actually start doing it. why, then, am i writing from a parked RV in arizona? this is where the fun begins…

my father’s cousin, chris lum, is getting married on july 1st. with my entire family invited to the wedding, a little over a month ago, my parents began making serious plans on how to get five people (betsy can’t come because of her job at pricewaterhousecoopers) to san fransisco, california. initially, we were to fly both ways. i’m not too entirely sure what, when, or where caused the change of heart, but next thing i know is “family wedding” has quickly turned into “cross-country road trip in an RV to get to family wedding and then fly back.”

anxious about everything that could go wrong, and excited about finally seeing the country the way it should be seen, i was sure that this trip would be one of the more interesting experiences in my lifetime. this past friday morning, as i drove with my parents down to el monte rv in linden, nj, those glorious hopes were dashed quicker than i would’ve liked. ever the intelligent consumers, my parents were on to el monte’s bait and switch deal fairly early. not much can be said for their facilities or service, but neither of us expected to be given an rv that looked like it could barely get back on the turnpike, let alone across the country. back home, slightly discouraged, our family re-grouped and found “plan b.” the next morning, i was ready to leave for JFK airport at 6am for our 9:30am flight to las vegas.

waking up to rain when you have to fly has never meant that anything will go smoothly. we were making fairly good time towards the airport until a jack-knifed tractor trailer spilled gas and forced traffic to grind to a halt. having to still unload, park, check-in, and make it to the gate by 8:50, i was anticipating a home alone-like dash through the airport when we pulled up to jetBlue’s terminal at 8:30. thankfully, we made it an enjoyed an uneventful flight to las vegas. inundated with gambling and entertainment the minute we stepped out of the jetway, my family claimed our bags and my parents picked-up a rental car to take to the place where we rented a class c, 31-foot motorhome.

after finding an RV park and hooking everything up, my parents set off to buy food for the rest of the week. this, my friends, is when i got a taste of my very first las vegas casino…sam’s town! haha, i’m sure your reaction was the same as mine. regardless, there i was with my sister katie, brother alex, his cast, and crutches in the middle of a western-themed casino about as far away from the strip i hope to ever be. by the time we were able to head back to the RV, good ‘ol sam held a special place in my heart. not wanting to corrupt my siblings with my horrible gambling skills, we walked around and checked out the more family-oriented activities. sam’s town was the first casino/hotel i’ve been in that has it’s own bowling alley, 18-screen movie theatre, and “indoor park.” before seeing nacho libre (hilarious, by the way), we watched the sunset stampede chronicles; described as a “Western pioneer experience with music, lights and animation.” more like a poor man’s epcot laser show, i was glad i didn’t have to pay for it.

finally, that brings us up-to-date. before leaving vegas, headed towards the gran canyon, i took some pictures at the bellagio (we decided to stop there after driving up and down/checking out the entire strip):

so there it is, the very first picture i took on this entire trip so far is of a model train made to look like a ladybug. yes kate, you owe me for that one. in the lobby of the bellagio, there is this huge model village with trains (LGB, specifically) going all around and i took a picture of that one because i thought you’d like it.

alex doin’ his thing.

the fountains in action.

alex expressing his approval.

from vegas (which i left without gambling in even once), we had every intention of making it to the grand canyon this evening. however, we didn’t anticipate the bad weather and losing an hour. realizing making it to an RV park closer to the canyon before they closed wasn’t possible, we’ve landed in kingman, az. tomorrow is the canyon, then LA/hollywood, and san fransisco by wednesday night. from what i saw, i’d only want to go back to vegas to visit bill and make proper use of the entertainment it offers. soon, hopefully. although, i much prefer vegas to atlantic city. i suppose i should, right? oh well. in terms of writing and picture-taking skills, maybe a little rough around the edges, hence the “rusty” (today was also the first time i’ve used my d70 in a while). but, not too shabby for my first entry in three months, i think. this is my first effort back into a more frequent blogging schedule. along with personal narratives like this one, i’ll be sure to keep posting photos and maybe even writing about stuff you’d normally find in my newsvine column. time will tell, we shall see, and all that good stuff. i hope to keep updating on our way to san fran, but i don’t know when i’ll have west coast internet access next. i’ll leave you with a photo i took after dinner (grilled steak, by the way). happy trails.