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Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘n’ Roll Google Classroom Code: vmuuokt

Use this code to access the Google Classroom. You should receive an email at your Delta email address (@deltaschool.org) with an invitation. If not, log into your Google account and go to the square of dots in the top right of the page. Click on it, then scroll down and click on "Classroom". Then, click on the plus sign at the top right of the new page to join the Google Classroom. You will be prompted to enter the code above there. If you have any trouble, email Jamie at jcutter@deltaschool.org

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Summer Road Trip 2019: Home Sweet Home

After 8,353.5 miles of driving (averaging 40.5 mpg!) I am back in Santa Cruz. Grateful to live in a place with an ocean, moderate temperatures, and no giant bugs. Back to work full time at my summer jobs at UCSC and the Queer Youth Task Force for the next five weeks, then back to Delta. Can't wait to do it again next summer!

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Summer Road Trip 2019, The Last Hurrah: Forever Warped 2019

The last part of the road trip was going to the last weekend of Warped Tour 2019. Got to hang out with Celine, saw all my favorite bands, got the Tsunami Bomb set list, an excellent way to end summer.

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Summer Road Trip 2019, The Final Trek: Wyoming, Utah, Nevada

The final few days of the road trip are always bittersweet. I try to stay mindful and present in the moment because there is still adventure to be had, but I know I'll be back to work in a few days.

I drove through Wyoming and stopped at the Matthew Shepard Memorial Bench in Laramie, Wyoming. If you don't know who Matthew Shepard was, definitely look up his story. His death had a strong impact on me when I was a kid and it was surreal to visit this small town in the middle of nowhere and see this bench with flowers and cards from people all over the country.

If you've never taken a cross-country road trip, you might be surprised at how many dinosaur statues there are in this great land of ours. This one is in Sinclair, Wyoming. You gotta stop and take a picture when you see a dinosaur.

Driving through the desert of Utah you suddenly find yourself in the alien landscape that is the Bonneville Salt Flats. Hunter S. Thompson visited and wrote about this place. It's pretty amazing, and you can pull right off the interstate and walk or drive around on the flats.

My last stop before California was a little cowboy town in Nevada where I camped at a Walmart with beautiful snow-topped mountain views. I got coffee in the morning at a little shop that had this gem of a cowgirl poem in the window.

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Summer Road Trip 2019: Colorado

Colorado was the best! I was visiting one of my best friends, Mike, who lives in Boulder, a a super LGBTQ friendly town and even had rainbow sidewalks downtown. Lots of Subarus, kombucha, and vegan food.

One of the highlights of the entire road trip was visiting Rocky Mountain National Park. We hiked up some epic mountains and got to play in the snow. It was 90 degrees in Boulder, and there was still several feet of snow at the top of the mountain! SO of course I had to make maple syrup snow cones and snow angels. We also saw lots of elk and even a mama and baby moose. It was pretty magical and one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.

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Summer Road Trip 2019: Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska

My next actual destination is Colorado, but there are some states I have to drive through first. LOTS of corn fields. LOTS of cows. Not a lot else. I did find the World's Largest Truck Stop in Iowa, and a vegan coffee shop in Omaha, Nebraska called Amateur COffee that was one of the best coffee stops on the trip. I sat here for a few hours and wrote out a bunch more post cards for ya'll. Otherwise, a pretty boring two days of driving. At least the speed limit was 80 so it went pretty fast.

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Summer Road Trip 2019: Chicago

So I did the most touristy thing you can do in Chicago which is go to the top of Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) and walk out on this glass deck. It's the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, and you can see the curvature of the Earth from the top. It was humbling. Also saw a little spider on the glass outside chilling, completely unafraid. We should all be more like that spider.

I also went to Millenium Park, ate A LOT of deep dish pizza, and went to the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge, which if you've taken my poetry classes, you may remember as the birthplace of the first Poetry Slam in America.

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Summer Road Trip 2019: Niagara Falls!

This was my first trip to Niagara Falls, and it was just as magical as people said it would be. I camped in my car that night and was the first person at the park in the morning and there was a rainbow over Horseshoe Falls with the sunrise. I went down into the Cave of the Winds and got gleefully soaked. A very cool experience. Next year I want to try it from the Canada side!

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Summer Road Trip 2019: Lakes Region, New Hampshire

Stayed here for a week with my dad enjoying Lake Winnepesaukee and the various rivers and forests. Also took a trip to Portland, Maine to visit the International Cryptozoology Museum. I also sent out a huge batch of postcards to those of you that gave me your addresses.

Not pictured: The long drive through the many states between Tennessee and New Hampshire, including a stop in Boston, MA where I stayed with a fellow sex educator friend from high school, the amazing Sukriti, for an alternative Pride event I didn't take any pictures at (sometimes you're too busy living life to document it!)

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Summer Road Trip 2019: New Orleans and Nashville.

So I was too busy adventuring to take many pictures, but I stayed in New Orleans for a few days then stopped in Nashville, TN as I made my way northeast. Hot and humid! In the 90s and raining on and off. Here's some lovers' locks I found along the Mississippi in New Orleans. I ate a stupid amount of beignets and poboys in NOLA and then spent six hours at my favoirte coffee shop in Nashville: Bongo Java.

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Summer Road Trip 2019: Texas!

Stopped in Austin to go to the Texas Chili Parlour, where one of my favorite movies, Deathproof, was filmed. Also got a Texas-sized milkshake at The Yard with my friend Holly, (who I've known since first grade!) and her kids, (yes, that's a milkshake! So many toppings! And that's a size small!!). Also check out the awesome gender inclusive bathrooms I found in New Braunfels, Tx!

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Summer Road Trip 2019, First stop: Arizona

Drove ten hours this first day to see my bestie Michelle! Been best friends for twenty years. We hiked in Prescott and visited Sedona and had a BBQ and just good clean fun. She is always my first stop on any road trip.

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Springtime puppy

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Use as a current event for extra credit.