Best of 2009 Challenge

What a whirlwind 2009 has been for me, beginning with a cross country road trip into the virtually unknown, followed by eleven months of soul searching and defining my life and goals, and ending with a very tortured decision to move back home.

Despite everything- the good and the bad, and everything in between, I have no doubt that I would do it all again if given a chance. There is nothing in the world that money can buy that can replace all the learning experiences I have had the last year.

So, that being said, I decided to participate in 20sb (2o-something-blogger) Best of 2009 Challenge, where each day I'm prompted to reflect on something that happened in my life this year. I think this is a great opportunity to document one of the most life-changing years I've had in this quintessential 20-something mid-life crisis.

Today's prompt: What was your best trip in 2009?

My biggest trip, most definitely, was the drive to California--and due to budgetary limitations, there weren't too many other trips. San Diego a few times, Anaheim for a baseball game, and a camping adventure to Sequoia.

But the best trip? Hands down, Vegas, baby!!! Of course, it's probably cliche to claim Vegas as the cream of the crop, after all it's Sin City, but my trip was an offhand comment at dinner turned into a random weeknight road trip.So, let's explain.

My roommate and I have a running joke that our favorite sushi restaurant, fondly referred to as "Boats," always leads to the most entertaining evenings- ranging from pub crawls, to sold out rock shows, to frozen yogurt binges. Partly because it was our favorite place, partly because they have an awesome deal during the week, and mostly because I was moving back to Ohio and am convinced the sushi here is rotten- the roommates and I decided to eat there one last time.

As with most conversations during my last few days in California, there was a lot of incredulous discussions about how I could possibly leave such a beautiful place, which in turn led to how I was planning my grand return and crashing a work conference in San Francisco next year. (And by crashing, I mean being a tourist all day and partying at night, clearly). This particular conference also is held in Vegas.

I can't believe you've lived in LA all this time, and have never been to Vegas, says one of my roommates.

Pause. An exchange of looks.

Let's go to Vegas!!!!!

And that is how I ended up on a random road trip to Vegas on a Monday night, three days before I was scheduled to fly back to Ohio. The road trip was complete with chugged cans of Red Bulls, plenty of car dance parties, and tons of laughter. The four hours spent in a fog of chain smokers and alcoholics, was the funnest four hours I had had in a really long time.

Sometimes, a little spontaneity is all you need to make lasting memories.