Mom and I decided to fly down to Las Vegas, Nevada so we could meet my sister there - that way we could drive her old car back to Idaho without having to leave another car there. That plane trip went fairly well, apart from my mother's friend who turned out to be a complete a-hole the entire time and made it evident that he was in a bad mood - thanks for dragging me down as well, you miserable bastard.
Anyway, the plane ride went really well and we met up with my sister and her friend in Las Vegas. Then we headed to Ridgecrest, California - the place my sister's husband is stationed right now. It's in the middle of the Mojave Desert, which is located near the Sierra Nevada mountain range. I thought I was leaving the mountains behind when I left Idaho, but golly I sure was wrong. Below are a few photos of what we saw on the drive down there:
Anyway, so we got to Ridgecrest all right and made our way to the Naval Base down there, which is called Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. It was really interesting to see how, even though you were in the middle of the desert, the mountains rose up all around you. It's kind of like how the mountain range here in Pocatello encircles the Portneuf Valley. Really spectacular nonetheless. We got to my sister's place, spent a few minutes playing with their adorable puppies Samantha and Mocha, and then headed out for dinner. Angie and Jake found this amazing Mexican restaurant located just down the road from the entrance to the naval base. Note to self: apparently margaritas are cheaper in California :)
We got back to my sister's place to get some rest, because our second day in California was to be spent exploring the town, seeing how my sister lives, and just meandering about the town. Had breakfast at this wonderful restaurant called Kristy's and, after eating about thirty pounds of pancakes, headed out to explore Ridgecrest and see what it was all about. We did quite a bit of shopping in some of the local places (I got new shoes that didn't pinch my feet) and then headed back to the naval base to visit the museum there. I guess this was Angie's first time seeing the base as well, so it was a new experience for all of us. Below are some of my favorite pictures from the museum itself, but if you want to view all of them, look at the album on my Facebook page. I got a bit trigger-happy with the camera there.
Anyway, it was an amazing time at the museum and I learned a lot. Apparently the Naval Air Weapons Station at China Lake is the largest continental naval base in the United States of America and has a total landmass the size of the state of Delaware. It has testing facilities for a whole different array of military weapons, technologies, and vehicles and was visited by former President John F. Kennedy. The staff at the base also have a tendency to name the weapons they develop after types of local wildlife, hence the "sidewinder" missiles named after the snake of the same species. Overall, it was an amazing experience at the museum and really gave me a lot of information that I had no idea about :)
We headed back to Angie's place and then, after packing up, started our trip south to Los Angeles, CA where we were going to spend a day touring and seeing the sights. The drive down there took longer than I expected, but I think this was due to the traffic, which was crazysauce. The next blog post I make will detail our adventures in LA and Hollywood, as well as a thrilling description of how I survived the journey home in a car with my mother for fifteen hours of driving :)
Stay tuned, friends!
No comments:
Post a Comment