I just turned 27. My best friend Anthony works for AirBnB, doing social media stuff. Part of his photography job is to take pictures of sick AirBnB’s. So he invited me to come along with him to keep him company.
It was a very last minute arrangement, but I got a last minute flight from NYC to LAX and we jumped in the car. First, spending a night under the stars on a hill at Joshua Tree (pictured below), and second, spending a day in Yosemite.
When I landed in LA, my friend was at work so I ubered to Venice beach and proceeded to get day drunk (so glamorous.) In the bar, I met a fellow nerd and we talked about World of Warcraft and Skyrim. Hilariously enough, the bar tenders joined in and we had a rousing nerd conversation.
The next day, we drove out to J Tree. I was made anxious by the desert (PTSD from living in Southern Arizona without an A/C), but by the time I got to our AirBnB I was ecstatic. We took pictures of abandoned houses and walked through the rattlesnake infested fields. Joshua Tree does feel extremely peaceful, and it feels as though you can reach out and grab the horizon.
We drank a bottle of wine on the rocks under the stars and talked about our lives, as we are prone to do.
The next day we were off to Yosemite. It was a grueling drive through typical central Californian boredom. But when we arrived at the foothills of the Sierras we were once again lightened. The rolling green hills looked like something out of “Oh, The Places You’ll Go.” A completely surreal landscape, winding higher and higher into the mountains.
We listened to “Say Hi To Your Mom” as we ascended the mountains at sunset. It was my first time listening to that band, and I was completely taken aback by the combination of “basic-ness” and smooth-as-butter melodies. I’m glad I found a new band to listen to. Here’s probably the most catchy song on the album:
We took pictures of the AirBnB for work, and headed to Yosemite Valley where we spent the day winding through trails and seeking boulders to barefoot climb. The granite in Yosemite is extremely unforgiving compared to the boulders of New York.
That was my birthday. I was out of cell phone reception, so I was unable to receive calls from friends and family, but I received an overwhelming amount of facebook attention and it touched my heart as always.
I can’t say the experience this week has been wholly positive. I am exhausted from the heat and the desert. I was planning on spending summer in LA but now I am thinking twice. My friend had to leave early due to a family emergency which is definitely bringing down the mood and making me think twice.
I am sitting in his apartment in LA, waiting for tomorrow, when I will fly back to NYC by midnight. When I get home I just want to close my heavy blinds, watch netflix, and sleep for 24 hours, but I have work on Monday morning.
That’s okay – I know the exhaustion will pass.
I get exhausted easily. It makes me second guess living a nomadic lifestyle – but I know I am fine as long as I am slow traveling and not racing around the country, having 12 hour flight days multiple times per week. In fact, I find that kind of jet setting to be the epitome of anxiety for myself.
The reason I made the last minute flight was simply because I wanted to experience something amazing. And I did. But now I am tired.
There’s so much to this story that I was unable to recount here.
~ Good night from Culver City.
Nick is Dead 