Los Angeles to New York.

1. Los Angeles to New York. Stephanie Alvarez Joyce Quintal P. 4 – U.S. History NOV – DEC 2009

2. Los Angeles, California to Phoenix, Arizona374 miles “One of the United States largest cities founded in 1868 near the salt river.” lectured our former president, John F. Kennedy. The four of us were on the way to Arizona in our newly bought, red mustang. John F. Kennedy was basically our tour guide. Guess who else is on the road with us. None other than the guy on the cereal box. No not that crazy Coo Coo puff bird, but our loved Captain, Captain Crunch. Our ride along the road towards Arizona was nothing but cactuses and… well… sand. The heat was unbearable. After 5 hours of horrible karaoke and six lunch bags, the gang reached Phoenix! Was it such a brilliant idea to listen to Mr. Kennedy- I mean how much better is Phoenix than Las Vegas? We finally found a spot to settle in at one of the top hotels in the city, Biltmore Resort and Spa, located in the little town of Scottdale.

3. Phoenix, Arizona to Albuquerque, New Mexico329.30 miles In our trip to Albuquerque, we received information from a couple of people at the diner about a celebrate that is called, “The River of Lights”. Apparently you get to see these wonderful lights displayed at the Rio Grande Botanic Garden. The lights give you the feeling of a river surrounding your body. John F. Kennedy pointed out the route we should take to get to this annual celebration in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Once we reached Rio Grande Botanic Garden, our eyes light up with delight. The warm glow was felt on our faces as we passed thru the river like celebration. The Captain gave us the most wonderful idea… so far. “We should camp out here for the night!” We agreed. The moon was our night light… and the River of Lights slowly dimmed away. The minute morning came, we hit the road again, destination, Amarillo, Texas.

4. Albuquerque, New Mexico to Amarillo, Texas289 miles At our stay at Amarillo, Captain Crunch pointed out a big, steep looking mountain top. Curious as we all were, we drove right to it. John F. Kennedy read to us from the map, “This is Palo Duro Canyon. It’s actually the second largest national park.” “Palo Duro?” Joyce snickered at the name. Typical, she is a bit childish. A ranger stopped our car. “No vehicles allowed at this point. The mountain is too steep, if you’d like, we could rent you a couple of horses to get ya around.” he said. We got out of the car as another ranger parked it. Going to the ranch, the ranger told us, “It’s 20 miles wide, you can say it’s impossible to cover the whole canyon.” 20 miles wide? It could be possible… couldn’t it? The site was amazing! It was definitely a an awe moment. The sun set was perfectly blending in with the colors of the mountains and plains. Stephanie took out her digital camera and took a picture of the scenery. The photo will always be in our memory. Once again the Crunch asked if we could camp. Better than paying money. Heh~

5. Amarillo, Texas to Tulsa, Oklahoma 365 miles Oklahoma, the state with the worst team… the Raiders! Hehe~ “Oil Capital of the World!” said former President John F. Kennedy, “ Back in the 20th century, Tulsa, Oklahoma played a major rule in the oil industry, getting that nickname. Tulsa is also known for playing Western Swing music.” The Captain clapped his hands in joy, “OH! Western Swing, I remember my grandpa listening to Western Swing.” We were all too tired once we reached Tulsa, we decided to check into the Doubletree Hotel. Let us sleep good tonight to continue our adventure tomorrow refreshed.

6. Tulsa, Oklahoma to Folla, Missouri291 miles As soon as we reached Folla, Missouri, we checked into a ranch. This means more time to look around town. We shall go canoeing, rafting, fishing, and more horse back riding. We noticed in a brochure that there was a historic property, water front property, and many auctions in Folla. Getting eerie of the place we headed out to Springfield, Illinois.

7. Folla, Missouri to Springfield, Illinois 207 miles “Some might say that Illinois is a great state, knowing that it was a big place of two African American residence which lead to the bounding of the Naacp.” Kennedy stated, “Springfield is the capitol of the U.S state of Illinois.” As we drove around the city we couldn’t help but notice the Springfield Lincoln Memorial Garden, where we found ourselves at a nature center in which displays to teach about native plants, animals, and their habitats. There are more than 6 miles of trails but are easy to follow as the land is mostly stretched out between the lake and the road.

8. Springfield, Illinois to Columbus, Ohio387 miles A great place for many attractions throughout the greater Columbus, providing fun for everyone. Like the latest and still growing hot spot is the arena district home of fine entertainment, dinning, and sports. Knowing this, our small group decided to check this out. We thought it was a great place for these chilly nights. We all went to go check out Max and Erma’s, which served one of the greatest breakfasts in town. I’d have to say it was one of the best parts out of the road trip. When it became time to crash, we went to the Crowne Plaza Hotel, which had ‘excellent service’ said Captain Crunch.

9. Columbus, Ohio to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 185 miles So from Columbus, Ohio, we drove to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We decided to check out a museum, a very well known museum know as the Carnegie Museum. Pittsburgh most important cultural institution, which has natural history, science center, and art. We all were really astonished from three different categories all into one. Though the museum mostly focused on contemporary art. Our group found it to be very huge in the collection of exhibits. We noticed in the area of science there was many special events. As amazed as we were, we decided to spend the rest of the day at the Hilton.

10. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to New York, New York185 miles • Finally we made it to our destination, but we weren’t done just yet. We required to go see a presidential birth place. We headed over to Theodore Roosevelt’s birthplace, where park rangers guided towards illustrate the life style of the Roosevelt's in the 19th century, and just to let you know not all presidents were born in log cabins. One was actually born in New York City, Brownstone! We decided to spend a night near the Teddy Roosevelt's Home. In which made our legend.

11. PART-AY! • Finally we’re officially done. We made it to the Big Apple! We decided to go and visit a friend, as she helped us plan out this big party. A party for a good ending to a long road trip. We’re done! We high fived Captain Crunch and Mr. Kennedy.