LA to Nashville Road Trip – Part I

I love road trips. I prefer driving to flying, even though I love both, driving is just much more rugged and adventurous. You feel so much more connected to the journey and the reality of just how far you’re going from home has so much more time to set it. Plus, you get to take in all the scenery along the way, and have lots of side adventures.

I did 3 cross-country road trips in 2010, and the one I’m featuring here is the one I did from LA to Nashville in March 2010, at the end of my first visit to Los Angeles (to buy a car and find an apartment) with my friend J. I took the northern route through Colorado, but dipped down a bit to visit the Grand Canyon. The tripped spanned less than 6 days for 2,300 miles. Without further ado, here are the highlights.

Typically when taking road trips you want to leave as early in the day as possible to get a “head start”… I didn’t do that on this trip. I wanted to get to Las Vegas at night. Vegas was meant to be seen at night…

City Center in Vegas

IMG_0361

IMG_0359

IMG_0374

IMG_0383

IMG_0395

IMG_0406

World’s largest chocolate fountain? Yes, please!

Chocolate Fountain!

Flower Parasols @ the Bellagio

Somewhere outside of Vegas the following day…

Hoover Dam Reservoir

IMG_0428

IMG_0436

The (now finished) unfinished hoover dam bypass bridge

IMG_0455

Driving over the Hoover Dam:

Driving over the Hoover Dam

Outside Mos Eisley on Tatooine…

IMG_0474

Dam Choppers

Hoover Dam Choppers

Last stop.

Last Stop.