Route 66 has been a dream of mine for the longest time. There is something about the open road and the beautiful American landscapes that fascinate me (of course, I was thinking of driving the route in a 1964 Mustang Fastback but ehh you can't do it all)

The whole trip was a spare of the moment spontaneous adventure. I didn't know anything, where I would sleep, how I would get there, and how long the trip would take (it took almost a month). I am an excessive planner, so to go on adventure without planning was a thrill of it's own. 

I loved every minute of this journey. So many sites to see. I am a nature kind of girl, and when it came the landscape I was in complete awe. To see the landscape change from city structures , to farms,  to deserts, to palm trees and calming beaches, it was like a real life computer screen savers. 

The 3000 miles trip started in Chicago , I flew from New York , it was an early flight that was short but by the time we landed in Chi-town I was exhausted. I spent the first day napping.

Chicago is where Route 66 officially starts. I wanted to see the sign, where it states " Route 66 beings here" but there was so much traffic. The day I arrived the city had many events; preparing for a marathon, Kanye West performing and the President was in town. I decided to give it a miss and get on the road. I spent a few hours in the city to see the landmarks and slowly fell in love with it. Aside from the traffic it was somewhat a peaceful city. 

On the road we go.

Since I wanted to see every state, I decide to drive from 10 am to 8 pm spend the night in each state and see it during the next day.

Missouri ,Oklahoma, and Texas were states that I didn't spend much time exploring , just saw the landmarks and carried on. Once my GPS would welcome me to every state I entered , I would search things to do in that state. Literally nothing was planned, all I had was my phone and Google. 

It was in New Mexico I started to slowly see an unfamiliar landscape- deserts! Being from the Garden state and Empire state you can imagine how happy I was to see this. I totally felt like I was in an old western movie. I even got a chance to finally meet Native Americans and learn about their beautiful culture. 

Arizona- I think this might be my favorite state, not because of the Grand Canyon alone but mostly because of the landscape and the weather. It just put me at ease. I literally had to pull over and get into the woods. I felt so disconnected from the modern world and more connected with God and His creation. I just wanted to pitch a tent and stay there, but I couldn't because there was so much more to see.

Las Vagas, Sin City is part of Route 66, it was out of the way but I was close and wanted to see what the hype was about. Yaaaa, I didn't like it one bit. It isn't my cup of tea. It just felt sinful , I guess all the adverts of naked ladies didn't help. I couldn't wait to get out of there and most likely will never return.

Finally California.... Oh Cali, how interesting you were. California is defiantly a state where you just want to retire and be a beach bum.  The end of the route 66 is in Santa Monica. Southern California was nice but again I didn't get what all the hype was about. Los Angels just seemed like any other city. I think growing up in NYC made me a bit bias . 

I didn't know if I was going to drive back or fly back home, but when I finally finished the journey I was exhausted, I just wanted to chill.  I needed to go to Yosemite National Park.  I was obsessed with it, I would google images of national parks and change my background image. It was only 3 hours away so why not!?

I visited my friend in Fresno and realized she only lived an hour from Yosemite so it was perfect. The day I finally got to Yosemite it was raining cats and dogs. I was so bummed . But I was determined to see it. I booked a hotel in Oakhurst which was 15 mins away from the park. Luckily the weather was great the next day.

I have no words to describe this park. If I was forced to describe it in one word I would say 'breathtaking'. Literally I gasped, and inhaled the fresh mountain air. The smell alone was extraordinary.

I didn't want to leave. It was the same feeling I felt in Arizona, times 1000. If Yosemite was a state, that would be my favorite state. I was thinking of moving there, be part of Yosemite village and just forget about the modern world. Sadly I know I couldn't survive without wifi. 

I spent a few days there but I had to go. I wanted to see San Francisco , and in my opinion I prefer Northern California than Southern California. I loved the vibe there. I decided to spend the rest of my adventure there until I flew back.

It was an amazing, visually pleasing, month long journey. I recommand you to try it at least once. And if you can't just travel somewhere new , it doesn't have to be far. Traveling keeps you grounded, I feel it makes you wiser and forces you out of your comfort zone. To travel is to learn. Learn about others, listen to their stories and learn to be one with yourself and most importantly learn how to be one with God. 

Please enjoy this freebie , you can find it in the Karama Krew only section.

One of my favorite Rumi quote, " travel brings power and love back to your life"