Thank you!!!!

I would first like to Thank God for giving me this opportunity, and the energy to complete this trip. Without God's Will this would have never happened.

Second, I would like to thank my Dad. He is the one who funded this entire trip for my mom and I. Words can not describe the appreciation I have for my Dad for giving us the proper funding to make this trip happen. My Dad has never said "No" to any vacation or anything we have asked in Life. Thank you very much Dad not only for this vacation but also for everything you do and provide for us daily. We can never ask for a better Father. We will Never Forget!! We Love You Very Much!

Thank you to my second cousin Uncle Bashir Jaan, and his family in Denver, Colorado for your hospitality! We had a wonderful time in Denver!!

Thank you to my cousins and family in NY- Wana, Hissa, Aunt Mary, Uncle Farooq, Samir, Shabnam and Samid. I had a BLAST in NY!! Your hospitality is Unmatched!!!!! If I had the choice to do it all over, and if I had to choose the people to share the experience with, it would be with all of you!!! Remember, WHITE CASTLE FOR LIFE!!

Thank you to my cousins in Maryland for your hospitality. Masood Jaan and Sadaf Jaan thank you very much!! I'm glad the tornado missed us! I have no words that can describe your hospitality. We enjoyed our stay with you. Your sincerity will never be forgotten!

Thank you to my Uncle Shaweab and my cousins in Phoenix, Arizona. We appreciate your hospitality and we had a great time! Your entire family made our trip to Phoenix more insightful. Swimming and the Grand Canyon was awesome!!To my cousin Pajhman- stay cool cousin! Don't let the summer coolness get to you!

Thank you to my friends in Minnesota for making time for dinner even though it was last minute. You are awesome!! It was absolutely great seeing you.

Thank you for your hospitality Mustafa Jaan in Tennessee, even though we didn't get a chance to see the state because of our schedule, your words of sincerity will never be forgotten. I will try to come out next time to see you.

San Diego to San Francisco Bay Area

Today is Day 35, and it is our last day of our journey. We are heading back to San Francisco Bay Area. You can see our actual route by clicking here You can see our actual route by clicking here http://www.pathtracks.com/users/27788/paths/119187 (Click on hybrid to get a better view) The ride took about 7 hours that included our stops. It feels good to be home, but I missed my journey because I had such a great time. This was by far the best vacation I have taken. No vacation has even come close to this one. I am very glad I took this opportunity. I learned so much during this entire trip. The reason I created this blog is to always remember, and reflect on my trip. Never forgetting is the key to understanding, and appreciating what we have in life. Don’t forget to please click on the thank you blog page

The following is a break down on how much a trip like this could cost along with key breakdowns. If you decide to take a Cross Country Trip here is an idea of how much it cost us, this will help you determine what to expect:



Miles Per Gallon I get on My Honda Crv: 25MPG on average
Total Miles for this trip: 8,000
Total Hours of driving: 133
Total Cost for Gas: $1,060
Total Cost for Hotel: $2,340
Total Cost for Food: $1,600
Total Cost for Parking:$160
Total Cost for Stadium Parking:$110
Total Cost for Toll:$130
Transportation (subway+bus):$30
Tour Cost:$505
Museum Cost:$124
Souvenirs+Shopping:$2,400


Total Cost Of Trip:$8,459
Total Cost without Souvenirs+Shopping:$6,059

San Diego

Today is Day 34, and we woke up early, and saw the beautiful city of San Diego. The weather was absolutely perfect. The temperature was about 73 degrees. Finally a relief from the hot and humid weather that we have endured for the majority of this trip. We also went to Petco Field, which is home to the San Diego Padres. The game was very entertaining. Speaking of rivalry, the Dodgers were in town, and it was a great game to watch. Petco Field is an average stadium. The fact that it was in the heart of downtown made it very pleasant to enjoy. I'm glad we visited San Diego. I really enjoyed downtown San Diego; it was very nice. San Diego reminds me of Santa Barbara but bigger. I really enjoyed our stay in San Diego.

Downtown San Diego

View from Petco Field

Petco Field

Kids get to play baseball at a small field at Petco Field

Phoenix to San Diego

Today is Day 33, and it is getting really close to the end of our Cross Country Trip. After San Diego we head back to San Francisco Bay Area. San Diego is our last city to visit. The reason I chose San Diego is because I never really had the chance to really visit the city. We left Phoenix at 9 a.m. The route we took was a beautiful one. We drove through many mountains and hills. To see what route we took please click here http://pathtracks.com/users/27788/paths/119106 Click on the hybrid to get a better view. The drive to San Diego was nearly to 6 hours that is with our stops. The ride was very nice and short!

Phoenix-Arizona Diamondbacks

Today is Day 32, and I slept well despite the hot weather thanks to a genius invention called an air conditioner! It is quite hard to live in Phoenix without one. Six months out of the year the A/C is on 24/7 according to family members. Despite the hot weather, Phoenix and Scottsdale is definitely a must see! I really liked both cities. The night hours of Phoenix is very pleasant. Swimming during the day might be too hot but during the late evening and early night hours is definitely a must! We went to a shopping mall in Scottsdale, that I really liked. Those of you who have been to Scottsdale, the location is off Camelback Rd. I don't recall the name but it is the newest mall there. Highly recommend visiting this mall! Today I decided to watch the Arizona Diamondbacks play the San Francisco Giants. Even though the weather is hot I am determined to check out the stadium and go to the game. My cousin and I went to the game, and we were very lucky because it was so hot that the umpires decided to close in the roof. The roof is a dome like shape so they can keep the A/C on. Thank God for that!! The name of the stadium is called Chase Field. In my opinion the only thing I liked about this stadium was the retractable dome; it definitely serves it’s purpose for the day time

Other key places to visit are the Heard Museum, Commemorative Air Force Arizona Aircraft Museum, Meteor Crater, and Wells Fargo History Museum


Chase Field Home of the Arizona Diamondbacks

Other key places to visit are the Heard Museum,Commemorative air force Arizona Aircraft Museum, Metor Crater and Wells Fargo History Museum

Chase field was average. Besides the retractable roof there was nothing else that stood out.

Retractable Roof
Today is Day 32, I slept well despite the hot weather thanks to something called an air conditioner. It is quite hard to live in Phoenix without one. Six months out of the year the A/C is on 24/7 according to family members. Despite the hot weather, Phoenix and Scottsdale is definitely a must see! I really liked both cities. The night hours of Phoenix is very pleasant. Swimming during the day might be too hot but during the late evening and early night hours is definitely a must! We went to Shopping mall in Scottsdale which I really liked it was off of Camelback Road. I don't recall the name but it is the newest mall there. Highly Recommend visiting this mall! Today I decided to watch the Arizona Diamondbacks play the San Francisco Giants. Even though the weather is hot I am determined to check out the stadium and go to the game. Me and my cousin went to the game and we were very lucky because it was so hot that the umpires decided to close in the roof which is a dome like shape so they can keep the A/C on. Thank God for that!! The name of the Stadium is called Chase Field. The only thing I really liked about this stadium was the retractable Dome. This was a reliever during the hot day.

Arizona-Grand Canyon

Today is Day 31, and we left Phoenix to head towards Grand Canyon. It took us about 3.5 hours to get to the Grand Canyon. Click herehttp://pathtracks.com/users/27788/paths/118973 to see the actual route. Click hybrid to get a better view. It rained on the way periodically. The ride to the Grand Canyon was breathtaking; it was beautiful. When we arrived to the Grand Canyon they had a $25 charge per vehicle at the front gate. It is definitely worth it. When we arrived to our first stop I was lost for words to describe this beautiful canyon. You have to see it to believe it. This definitely is one of the most beautiful places on earth. The weather at the Grand Canyon was about 84 degrees, it felt pleasant. However in Phoenix it was about 109 degrees today. It was very hot. At 8 p.m. it was 100 degrees!


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Inside the watch tower

Below are two Videos of the Grand Canyon
Video of Grand Canyon with narration (appx 2 minutes)



Video of Grand Canyon (appx 1 minute)