Highway Ends 1/4 Mile

"It's a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no telling where you might be swept off to"

At the beginning of this summer I listened to Susan as she told me all about the trip she and her girlfriends were taking out West, the stops they were making, and the sights they were seeing. It made me upset to know I wasn't experiencing the same things, or going to get the chance to do something similar. As I spoke later with a friend about the trip, driving across this country is one of those romantic, Americana experiences, one of the ones everyone longs to do and dreams of how great it will be. Well, I wanted the chance. After talking with my family and Susan about it, we came up with how I could get my trip. My dad volunteered himself for a gruling 4 day trek across, and Susan offered to drive home with me, knowing how much I wanted to.

After four full days on the road and behind the wheel, we reached our destination. The trip out West wasn't nearly as bad as everyone told me it would be, perhaps because I was at this point expecting something similar to hell contained within a 4-door sedan setting.

We went each day in California like it was the first and last, never setting an agenda and doing whatever we pleased. We'd wake up to a beautiful sky and only want to enjoy the entire day on the beach. The most perfect part about it way, 90% of the time, that's exactly what we did. I couldn't have asked for anything more from a vacation than 3 weeks or relaxation on the beach with my friends.

We went to Disney, surfed, swam, played paddle ball, and ate more tacos over the course of three weeks than I've had in the past 6 months. We kayaked around La Jolla Cove, walked along sandy shores, went to a world famous zoo, and ate some of the greasiest and most delicious food I've had in a while.

San Diego was so different from being on Long Island, or even in New York. If you're on the sidewalk and even begin leaning into the street, cars come to a halt there. They only stop here if it's a certainty they will hit you, and even then they may keep their foot on the gas. Everything happens at a slower pace. People are less uptight, more relaxed and have a "just go with the flow" sort of attitude. It was the perfect place to kick back, enjoy the sun, and forget the fact I was coming back to unemployment.

But Sept. 1 the SoCal experience came to a close, and the adventure of traveling cross country began. The trip was everything I dreamed it would be, and more. Susan was a great travel-buddy, not only because she is my girlfriend, but because she was always open to refining our plan, doing something different, or going somewhere that made totally no sense geographically. Her attitude rubbed off on me over the course of our time in San Diego, so by the time we hit the road I was not going crazy when we didn't have a completed itinerary or chose to roll up to hotels without a reservation almost every night.

For the longest time, I have begged my parents to take me to California, not only because it is a fun place, but because I really wanted to go see the Redwoods. Susan really wanted to drive up the coast and when she brought the idea up, I really wanted to do it to as well. As we planned the trip, I said, "This makes no sense! We are crazy! We are going 8 hours North and then coming back South only two days later. It's not worth it, it's just crazy."

Her only response was, "So what?"

Well thank goodness for her. After driving through the winding, hairpin turns of Big Sur with heart-stopping views of the Pacific Ocean and getting to stand amongst some of the tallest trees in the world, I can't imagine doing the trip any differently. Those two stops were definitely in my top favorites.

Outside of those two stops, I'd have to say my other favorite was the Grand Canyon. I'm not sure if it's on the same level or higher that the other two. It is extremely close and a pretty impressive list of top things seen on a trip if you ask me.

We had a few major things we wanted to do on this trip: 1) Go to the Grand Canyon, 2) Stop in Atlanta, 3) Go to Cedar Point (too soon!). We accomplished the first two and decided the rest with a flip of a coin or a passing glance at a map and a "What can we do there..?" question.

In the past 41 days I have traveled a whopping 8,930 estimated miles. On our 16 day Odyssey-like trip home, Susan and I covered a minimum of 5,043 miles and at an average speed of 70 mph, that's 72 hours spent together just in the car. I've been through or stopped in 22 different states (13 Westbound, 9 Eastbound).

Susan always referred to this summer as her "transition period" between college and joining the work force. I never thought of it that way really, but looking back I think that's exactly what this trip was to me. I came out of college restless, unhappy to be back home, working every day, and wanting freedom a bit longer. I would be lying if I said I no longer desire to have that freedom and independence, but I feel more at ease with myself. I have taken a journey of a lifetime and one years from now I will recall in conversations with friends and family.

What I've seen and where I've been over the past month plus has truly been incredible, a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, and something I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. I would be remiss if I did not thank my incredible parents, who had no qualms with me going and tried to help me in anyway, and my amazing girl, Susan, for always being patient with me, encouraging me, and putting up with my craziness. Without you three, this trip would have never been possible.

I hope you all have enjoyed reading my posts, following the trip, supporting me, and taking part in the experience with me. I have enjoyed sharing my thoughts with you all. From here I begin the much more arduous task of trying to find a job (since I haven't figured out a way to continue traveling and getting paid for it), but I am going to try to keep the blog going since I like the writing it lets me do. It'll hopefully become more topical and probably less frequent, perhaps only once a week.

Thanks everybody!

The Last March of the Ents

I am sorry to report my epic adventure is almost at an end. I write to you tonight from my bed in the guestroom of Susan's house in Cresskill, NJ. According to Google Maps, that puts me less than 40 miles from my final destination.

It's a scary realization knowing where we started, but like I said, I'll save reflection for the final trip post. Expect it tomorrow night, or most likely, Friday.

Today we explored the Old City district of Philadelphia for the better part of the afternoon. We saw the Liberty Bell, toured Independence Hall, stood next to the final resting place of Benjamin Franklin, and took a self guided tour of the U.S. Coin Mint.

It was a pretty busy, exhausting afternoon with a lot of walking. By the end we were pretty tired. I think the mileage and lack of sleep are finally catching up to us. But it was cool to walk around the place where it could be argued this country was born. Before visiting, I can't say I was fully aware of the city's extensive history or role it played in the first years of the United States. It was inside Independence Hall the Declaration of Independence was first conceived and brought to fruition, as well as the creation of the Constitution of the United States of America as a replacement for the Articles of Confederation.

I will admit it made me feel quite patriotic, stepping through the same building which played host to Ban Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams among others. Susan described it as powerful history and awe-inspiring that we were even standing in the same place as the founding fathers of this country. On the tour we saw a chair, which the tour guide informed us they are sure is an original and there since the 1770s and had been sat in by George Washington himself. That's a pretty incredible thing, to stand before a simple piece of furniture, yet know it has been there over since America was born.

I knew the Liberty Bell was in Philly, but I never really understood what the big deal about it was or why people really cared about it. I can't say seeing it in person has changed my perspective completely, but I do believe I have a new take on it. We walked through a building dedicated to it, full of history on the bell and how the crack running through it came to be. It was basically because the bell was made of a metal mixture and was rather fragile, like other bells of the time. There was a small crack in it which the city tried to repair several times over the years. In the early 1900s, one of these attempts actually made it worse, thus creating the fissure running through it today.

There were videos and texts discussing the powerful symbol of liberty in the bell, the American spirit, and how the bell has been adopted world wide for the same purpose. After getting a chance to look at it, I thing I may finally begin to see where this fascination and iconic status comes from. The break is huge, running the entire length, yet the bell still stands as one, together. I see it more as a testament to the resiliency and toughness of America than anything else.

It would have been a sin to be in Philly and not get some authentic cheese steaks for a meal, so we decided to grab a couple as dinner after our walk around before packing into Lucille. I will admit, they were much better than any ones I've had at home or anywhere else. The bread was soft, and the sandwich was hearty. The steak was almost like real steak, it wasn't chopped into a million little pieces like the ones you get on the island and the cheese was in good balance, not lazily laid over the top of it. It was delicious and writing about it kind of makes me want another one.

I think that's a pretty good summary of our final stop on the long road home and my thoughts on a pretty historic place.

Don't worry though, I still have more thoughts and photos to come.

Ok. No real update tonight because the hotel we are in...check that...motel 6 charges for internet! Those thieves. But because tonight it my second to last night on the road and i know you all want to see what we are up to, im up at 1 am writing a crazy long text message from my phone for the blog.

We drove a long way today, stopping in Hershey, PA on our way to Philadelphia. It was a fun stop, but a relatively quick one. We went on a short tour, got free chocolate, and then went a little crazy in the candy store. But we did have fun, and the smell of chocolate in that place was completely overwhelming and made me want to eat a lot of candy. After, we grabbed some food in town and hit the road.

Now we are about 20 miles outside Philly and plan on seeing some of the historic sites downtown. Im pretty excited about it and the plan is to meet up with a friend from high school for lunch.

Unfortunately, tomorrow is our last day on the road and tmrw night we will be at Susans house for the night, just about bringing our trip to a close. Ill have more reflections on everything from a real computer.

Hope this text thing works!

Just call me Santa Claus

Because I'm in a giving modd.

I put up photos from Atlanta, including World of Coca-Cola, Georgia Aquarium, and the few from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I also added some commentary to one of the photos from the Grand Canyon so you can get a sense of where me and Susan were standing when we were on the ledge taking the photos. It'll be obvious which photo is the new one. Plus, there are some others of the same area from different angles, so look for them so you can get a real feel for just how far we went and what was around us!

Damn You, Cedar Point (Cleveland Rock)

So after posting my blog last night, I decided to check the time Cedar Point opened today... And wouldn't you believe it, it's CLOSED. Apparently starting today it is only open on weekends. To say I was upset last night is a bit of an understatement. After about an hour-plus of anger management control issues, somehow I got myself to sleep.

This morning I woke up just as angry as I fell asleep and didn't start the day too well. In an attempt to salvage our dash North, we headed into Cleveland a day early (the original plan was Cedar Point today, Cleveland tomorrow) and went to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. We ended up spending about 4.5 hours walking around the place. There is just so much to see in there. We spent almost two hours just on the bottom floor looking at the exhibits. Fortunately, it is shaped like the pyramid it is in and the exhibits became smaller as we went upward.

I only have a few pictures from the place because they don't allow photos inside the museum. We had a nice afternoon there though, and the day wasn't quite as bad as it started. After the museum, we met up with a friend of mine who lives in Cleveland. He is nice enough to let us crash at his place for the night, and even treated us to a nice, delicious dinner in the city.

Since everything got moved up a day for the Cleveland area, Susan and I began thinking about ways to fill in the extra day on our way home (obviously we are trying to milk each day we have left on the road). After a suggestion from my friend, we decided on heading to Hershey, PA and then stopping in Philly for the night. Both of us love chocolate, so that wasn't an issue, and we thought it might be fun to see some of the sights in Philly.

So that about does it for me tonight. Hope the update suffices and you're enjoying the photos. I'll try to get the rest of what I have up tonight or tomorrow.

Battery about to d-

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Hey everyone. It's late Sunday night and we've been on the road all afternoon. I know I sucked this past weekend with the blog updates on what we were up to down in Atlanta, so as a way of saying sorry I posted a bunch more pictures. The new additions cover the North and South Rim of the Grand Canyon, the drive afterward, and our stop at the Cadillac Ranch. I took a bunch of pics in Atlanta, but alas I forgot the camera in the car.

Hotlanta was a real nice stop for us and let us catch our breath a little bit before going into the back stretch. We finally got to sleep late, had a comfortable place to stay (compliments of my uncle), and saw some family. While down in Georgia, I got to see two of my cousins as well. We went to Jill's (cousin #1 and older sister) house one night for dinner, and met up with Molly (cousin #2 and the younger sis) the next afternoon for lunch. We ended up going to the resturant she works at for dinner as well, which was a nice way to cap our time in the city before shoving off today.

The rest of the two days was spent relaxing, taking it easy, and seeing some sights in the city.

Friday we went to Coca-Cola World downtown. I had no idea Coke was invented in Atlanta. Did you? Anyway, they have this big beautiful building where you can see the history of Coke and see how incredible and ridiculously good they are at marketing and getting the brand placed just about anywhere. They also own a ton of brands. Even more than I was expecting. If you are unsure who owns a soft drink, there's a pretty good chance it's Coke.

We got to take meet the 7-foot-tall Coke bear everyone is familiar with. He tried to kick me out of the photo and steal Susan away from me. We also got to see the whole bottling process of the soda and at the end they give each person a Coca-Cola in the classic glass bottle. The coolest part was getting to try as many as 62 different Coke products. Upstairs they had 5 areas, one for each continent Coke is on, and at each station you could try different soda drinks sold in those areas. The absolute worst was Beverly, sold in Italy. You wanted to spit it out the minute you tasted it. There were some other funky ones too, as well as some pretty delicious ones. We capped it off with North America so we could end with some good tastes in our mouths.

Saturday we went to the Georgia Aquarium, the largest aquarium in the country. Susan and I both agree, it did not disappoint. We were really impressed as soon as we walked in, from the main lobby to the individual exhibits and halls. They had touch pools in a certain area where you could touch the stingrays and baby sharks as they swam by. They had some really cool stuff, including tanks on the ceilings so you would be looking up as you walked through and were looking at the bottom of the fish. They had sea Totters, which were a lot of fun to see running around and swimming. It's pretty incredible how fast they go under water. There was a beluga whale exhibit and that's something I don't remember seeing at any other aquarium. They were playful, swimming around the tank, getting up close the glass, and were generally cool to see.

The most incredible part of the place was the huge tank which had 4 whale sharks (which grow to about 30 feet), two manarays (which they expect to grow to between 20-25 feet), a hammerhead shark, some smaller sharks, rays, and a boatload of fish. It was just a stunning sight to see, the really awesome. The glass alone is about as thick as my forearm is long. The exhibit contains 6.3 million gallons of water! We just sat there in awe for a while, trying to take everything in watching all the fish swin on the other side. I got some good photos of it, so I'll be sure to post them soon.

Hotlanta

After nine days of driving, spending nights in hotels, getting up by 8:30 to ensure time for continental breakfast, and changing time zones we have finally reached Eastern Time and a bed to sleep in for more than one night.

Let me tell you...It is sweet.

We made it through Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama the last two days and are now settled in Atlanta for the weekend at my uncle's place. I'll highlight for you a couple of the major things on our road here.

Before leaving Texas, we turned around and headed back West so we could go see the Cadillac Ranch just outside the city. I don't know if you all have heard of it, but its a public art display in the middle of a piece of farm land with 10 old Caddys burried hood first into the ground. It is open to the public and strongly encouraged to bring spray paint or paint and write something of your own on the cars. Every now and again the cars will be repainted in different colors so as to give a "clean canvas".

Luckily, it looks like we arrived there not too soon after a fresh coat had been applied, because there was plenty of open space on the cars. We didn't buy spray paint to bring, but while wandering around and looking at the cars, we found half-full cans left by others we could use. Walking around and taking pictures with the cars was alright, but after we started spraypainting, it was a lot of fun and a really good stop. I got some photos of some of our masterpieces, so be sure to check them out.

Next, we decided to head to Oklahoma City because there was a place from the Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives list in OKC which was supposed to have some really good BBQ. Yes, that is really how we made our decision, I wasn't lying in my last post! So we drove the 3+ hours there, all the while trying to stave off hunger and keep our appitite. We arrived at Leo's Bar-B-Que about 3:30, starving, and ready to eat. Well this place was a perfect canidate for Triple D, but the food was pretty good. Susan and I agreed it wasn't the best BBQ either of us had ever had, but it was very good. What was even better was their bananna-strawberry cake for desert.

From there we headed to Little Rock, AR and stayed in about the dankest, crappiest place I've ever had the misfortune of spending a night in. If every other building withing 500 miles was burned to the ground and I had to find shelter or else risk dying, I probably still wouldn't set foot back inside this hotel. The side doors to the place didn't even have locks. Neither one of us was daring enough to try the shower, or for that matter not sleep fully clothed. As in, I stayed in all my clothes I drove in that day...Yeah. Well, the next morning my alarm went off and we were happy to be able to open our eyes on another day. We left about as quickly as possible and hit the road. The best part of the morning, besides still being alive, was stopping at Waffle House for breakfast.

Another hard day of driving and we made it to Atlanta and some home comforts for a couple days. It looks like there is a lot to do here in the city and we are looking forward to getting out and exploring. As I write this though, I see that my uncle only has wireless and he has no idea what the password is...So I probably won't be able to use my computer and upload photos.

Oh, and for kicks last night, Susan mapped out our journey so far and the distance we've traveled. From San Diego to Atlanta, it looks like we've gone at least 3,784 highway miles, along with a couple driving around the cities we've been in, and we still got more to go!

Albuq...Ah, forget it.

After another rather bleak continental breakfast this morning and a fresh waffle, Susan and I headed off for Albuquerque to spend some time.

The city wasn't a very far drive, only about two hours from Gallup. After looking up potential things to do the night before, we decided to try the local aquarium and botanical gardens. Both played out exactly as I figured they would, but lets just say I wouldn't go again to either if I had the chance. The good news is admission was only $7 for each of us and it got you into both places.

The aquarium was lacking when it came to information on the fish in the tanks, and placards in general to describe things. Most of the time we were left guessing on which fish where which and how they lived, which generally opened the door to me just making things up as we went along. Don't get me wrong, it all sounded pretty good, but I have no idea if I was remotely close to the target.

The bright spot of the visit to the aquarium was happening to catch feeding time in the shark tank by sheer luck. Unfortunately the sharks were fed earlier in the day, but we saw huge sting rays with wing spans as long as my own, sea turtles, and some big fish all going crazy when the divers entered the tank and going crazy for some fish and squid.

Afterward we headed to the botanical garden for a quick glimpse of things. We came across a butterfly enclosure we could walk in and around which was pretty cool. The place was filled with about a dozen different butterflies all fluttering about, sitting on plants, and trying to find places to land. Next we walked around some of the gardens, including a cactus garden. This time though, Susan steered clear of the plants and we left that part rather quickly.

By the time that was all done, we were hungry and wanted to grab some food before hitting the road. We walked around old town Albuquerque, which is filled with plenty of touristy shops, jewelry, hats, and cowboy attire but didn't find anything we liked. We wandered around a little bit more, gave up and started to make our way back to the car. By chance, we stumbled across a small restaurant on the way back and Susan decided we should eat there because she was getting "good vibes."

Whatever it was, she made a good call.

The place was in an adobe style building, with the support beams and ceiling beams visible, giving the place an authentic feel and an old suntanned women whom I was afraid might keel over while showing us to our table. The food was really good, and big portions as well. We shared one dish, steak fajitas between us, and it was plenty. We also tried some traditional Mexican desert, which was essentially triangle-shaped fried dough resembling turnovers. You then drizzle honey on top of it and eat it (which instantly made me enjoy it due to my unquenchable love for honey).

Overall we had a really enjoyable experience there and were glad we took a chance instead of grabbing Subway as to our original plan.

On the way to Texas we hit some major storms, as has become the norm for our drives. The best part about it was leading up driving into the cloud, the sun behind us and the rain in front of us created massive rainbows in the sky. At first they were faint, but as we continued to drive, more became present until we could see the entire semi circle. The colors were vibrant and spectacular. It was pretty special to look at.

Now we are set up in Amarillo, Texas for the night, crossing into central time and inching closer to New York/New Jersey. Tomorrow we plan to stop at the Cadillac Ranch and then either head south through Dallas or due East through Oklahoma City and Little Rock. Part of our decision making process lies in recommended places to eat from food.com...Seriously...

But it all starts tomorrow with what the woman at the front desk calls a "big" breakfast tomorrow. I quickly became interested due to the lack of options the past couple mornings and I'm ready for something other than waffles.

We've only been in the state a couple hours, but from what the woman said, it sounds like it's already evident that everything is bigger in Texas.

Big Hole in the Ground: Part II

So after going to bed with another chance of rain in the forecast, we awoke in Flagstaff to another beautiful day and no rain until night. We decided to take full advantage of the weather and headed back north to the Grand Canyon for another day, but this time on the South Rim.

To put it simply, it was another spectacular day in one of the most stunning places in the country, if not the world. We got to the park at about 11:30, and it was already more crowded than the North Rim was for the entire day. (We did read that only 10% of Grand Canyon visitors go to the North Rim, so it's pretty special we discovered both in two days.

Today we saw more of the typical Grand Canyon sights, the stuff people imagine when you mention the place to them. Long sight lines, expansive views, and plenty of breathtaking looks into the canyon. After riding mules through the North Kaibab Trail yesterday, we decided to try our luck on foot on the South Kaibab Trail. The two are connected by a suspension bridge over the Colorado River, but it's easily a 4 hour hike down to the bridge, so we didn't do it due to time restrictions.

Instead, we settled for Cedar Ridge, a 1.5 mile hike into the canyon that descends just over 1,000 feet. We unpacked our snacks and rested on the edge of a rock outcrop that overlooked a vast area of the canyon and had about a 40 foot drop to the rocks below. I took some pictures from far away so you all can see the place I'm talking about. Sitting on the ledge, eating our food, we were simply amazed by where we were. Hiking back up was much tougher than going down, obviously, but we powered through it and did it in only an hour (our hike down took an hour as well, so we made good time going up).

Being in the canyon the past two days, I had to continuously remind myself where I was. Susan and I agreed it didn't seem quite real that we were hiking around the Grand Canyon, in the middle of Arizona. Looking around us on the trail or at rest points, nothing looks quite real. We kept saying it looked like backdrops out of movies. The sky is the bluest I've ever seen, and the air cool and refreshing.

One of the other things which surprised me about the Canyon was just how much plant life there is there. I'm not sure about all of you, but when I think of the Grand Canyon, I imagine a desert leading up to huge cliffs and a mile of sheer rockface to the bottom. Boy, was I wrong. The North Rim is covered in trees, including a lot of evergreens. The South Rim trees were smaller, but there were still plenty of them and a lot of smaller shrubs covering the top and the cliff sides.

In addition, I prepared myself for a tough, hot, arid climate. I expected 90+ both days.

Wrong again.

Both days the thermometer only read about 75 at mid day, and there was a rather constant, cool breeze blowing through the canyon which helped keep us cool and dry during our hikes. In other words, it was almost perfect.

Hiking in the canyon today, Susan and I reflected on our experience of riding the mules down the North Rim and back. We enjoyed it a lot, and after doing the hike on foot today we appreciated how hard the mules work going up and down those steep cliffs. My mount, Big Mac, was pretty good. He didn't give me too much trouble and only stopped to try and eat a couple times. A quick pull on the reigns and we kept moving. On the way back up from the bottom, he impressed me, moving quicker than he had on the way down.

Susan's ride on the other hand, Woodrow, was a bit of a pain and Susan had some difficulty getting him to listen to her. Woodrow constantly liked to walk near the edge of the trails, either putting Susan right on the edge of a cliff overlooking everything or right up against the rocks. He also loved to eat, stopping several times and even sneaking in a few bites while still walking. His favorite placed to snack seemed to be on the cliff side, bending over so Susan was forced to lean forward and get a real good view of what laid below her at the bottom of the cliff. Thankfully, on the way up he was much better, but he moved as slow as molasses. Woodrow just kind of took his time, holding up about half of us since we were in line behind them and the guide pulled up to wait for us several times.

Today, it was a lot funnier looking back on it, and as we walked back up 1,000 feet of canyon we said, "man, I wish I can a mule here to ride us back up to the top."

Tonight we are in Gallup, New Mexico. Tomorrow we might head to Santa Fe for the day and explore the city a little bit. On the way here tonight, we watched an incredible lightening storm for about 80 miles. Clouds were on both sides of the highway and the lightening bolts seemed thick, sticking the same place multiple times in each flash. At times, it seemed like the whole sky became illuminated with the lightening strikes. It was just awesome to watch, topping the storm we saw while driving in Colorado easy.

Sorry for the extended post, but had a lot to say about the Grand Canyon experience. Lot of photos from the past two days, I'll sort through them and try to post soon.

The Big Hole In the Ground

We got up early this morning and set out for the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. We were supposed to go on a mule ride down the canyon trail and were supposed to be there no later than 12 PM. On our way there I checked the time on my phone, only to find it said it was 12 PM and we were still about 30 miles away. Meanwhile, we had thought we were now on Mountain time and had changed my car clock to it, so it read 11 AM. And then we had my watch, still on West Coast which read 10 AM. We were effectively in three different time zones, and had no inkling to what time it really was.

We pulled into the parking lot by the visitors center at 11:50. Susan ran off to the lodge to sign us up, and I packed my bag for the day. I asked four people what time it was while she was gone. Two said Noon, and two said 11 AM so that didn't even help, and my phone was still tweaking out. Turns out it was only 11, as Arizona is on West Coast time for the moment. I have no idea, but we were an hour early, so we got to relax and eat before setting out on our trek.

Riding the mules down was pretty intense. They told us how to make the mules go, stop, and steer. I'm pretty sure none of it matters though, as the mules pretty much go at the pace they want. On the way up the canyon, I don't think I pulled on the reigns more than half a dozen times (the ride is about an hour plus each way). It was impressive how well they are trained though, navigating tight turns and steep climbs or descents with rather large verticals on the cliff side and rocks on the other. Of course, I took plenty of photos so I'll try to get those up soon.

By the end of the journey my legs and back were killing me from being up in the saddle for about 2.5 hours but it was fun and definitely an experience. Unfortunately, you don't get to see the Colorado River from the North Rim, so our plan for tomorrow is to head to the South Rim. We did drive over the river on our way down to Flagstaff for the night, and stopped on the bridge for a couple minutes to snap photos, but it's not quite the same.

So tomorrow the plan is to go to the South Rim, and then head into New Mexico, with our final destination as Albuquerque if we aren't too wiped out. The original plan was to head to New Orleans and hang out with a friend from school for a couple days, but it doesn't look like that is happening anymore and instead we'll look to make from big progress getting back East. The next couple days look like the following:

Monday - South Rim of Grand Canyon and New Mexico
Tuesday - Driving through New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma
Wednesday - Driving through Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, and reaching Atlanta, GA

Oh! I forgot to mention. It didn't rain on us today in the park, so thanks to everyone who helped out and did a little boogie for us. I appreciate it!

I'm feeling ambitious, so I'll post so new photos now. They'll cover stops in Napa Valley, Lake Tahoe, Vegas, and Zion National Park. Enjoy!

I was informed by one reader to keep my posts shorter, since that's what readers prefer. Don't know how much shorter this is, but hey, I tried.

Why Yes, I Am Still Alive

Hey everyone. Sorry for no update recently. Apparently in Tahoe the hotel didn't believe in having power outlets with ground plugs, and Vegas charges for wireless internet. Yeah.

Anyway, I'm sitting in a hotel in St. George, Utah now. It's late, has been a long day, and tomorrow is going to be just as long, so I'll give you all the cliff note version of what we've been up to.

Thursday:

We left Sunnyvale and headed north to wine country. Susan found a vineyard with some big castle, lots of wines, and we decided since we were already up that way, why not. We spent the first half of the day there, taking a tour and doing wine tastings. It turned out to be a lot of fun and we were both glad we decided to do it.

After that, we piled back into our car and finally headed in an eastward direction toward Lake Tahoe. We got there late, ate some dinner, and passed out.

Friday:

We got up, ate some breakfast, and took a walk around the lake a bit. We decided to stay an extra couple hours and went out kayaking on the lake for a bit. After driving all that way, it would have been a waste to skip town so quickly. Kayaking was fun, the weather was pretty nice, but the wind was in our faces on the way back to the dock and it was rather challenging.

After finishing there, hitting the atm, and getting some lunch, we turned south for Las Vegas. Patty (my GPS), took us on some ridiculous roads. We wound up and down through the Sierra Nevadas, going as high has 8,000 feet, drove through nothingness for miles upon miles, and wound through a part of the Nevada desert where I couldn't go over 40 and I felt for sure I was about to live out the movie "The Hills Has Eyes."

Luckily, that didn't happen and we made it to Sin City A-OK. After that, it went downhill. We stayed at the Stratosphere and the guy who checked us in was apparently incompetent. He checked us into one room, but gave me key cards which worked for a different room..twice. Yeah. After that I got killed on the black jack tables.

Saturday:

We got up early at headed to Zion National Park 2.5 hours away and just in Utah. I had heard a lot of hype about the park so I was pretty excited to go. It was a beautiful day and walking around the canyon was pretty surreal. Driving to Vegas, we saw a huge storm and Susan pointed out that it was moments like that which made her feel we are pretty insignificant in the bigger picture. Hiking through the canyon, staring up at stone walls a couple hundred feet high that were cut into over the course of thousands of years, I felt pretty insignificant.

It was a pretty hot day when we parked in the town right outside the park, but as soon as we got into the canyon the temperature dropped dramatically and I think I barely broke a sweat. I had been worried about sun tan lotion, but the sun hardly crept into the whole canyon. As we walked along waterfalls and the river, you could feel the sudden change in temperature as you got closer and further away from the water source. Watching the sun move through the canyon was awesome as we saw a few select peaks highlighted as the sun settled in the West.

Tonight we are in St. George and the plan for tomorrow is to get up and head to the Grand Canyon for the day. We are planning on taking a mule trip for 3 hours around the canyon, but there is a chance of rain so keep your fingers crossed for us!

I haven't put up the pictures from the past couple days, but I'm banking of the massive amount I put online the other day holding you all over for a little longer. Hopefully tomorrow night, so check back then.

And don't forget your (non) rain dance!

Red-What? Redwood!

Day two we headed to Big Basin State Park, which we heard was a pretty good place to see some Redwood trees.

The drive up to the park was a lot of fun as I navigated Lucille around tight turns and narrow bends climbing up the mountain. It was pretty intense, but I enjoyed it. Heading back down the mountain in the afternoon was easier after having been on the road a bit already and I barely had to press the gas; Lucille was picked up speed around every bend.

But back to the forest. I've always wanted to see the famous tree stands and it certainly didn't disappoint. As we climbed the mountain, we started seeing the trees, and even the parking lot had huge Redwoods hanging over it. We took a short easy hike which let us see some of the biggest trees in the park, including "Mother of the Forest," which stands an eye-popping 329. We also got to see "Father of the Forest," which was the widest tree in the park (16 ft, 10 in diameter and 66 ft, 9 in circumference!).

After we were done with that, Susan and I went off on a 2 mile hike in the park. It was a pretty challenging hike for the two of us, even though it was the second easiest in the park, only to the one we had already done. Keep in mind I was in corduroy shorts, while Susan was in jeans and converse. Anyway, we got explore the park a little more, see some more Redwoods, and see them scattered throughout a forest with other trees. By the end we were wiped out, but we were happy we had gone on the hikes and see all the trees.

After we got back to the park HQ, Susan went to the car to take off her sneakers and let her feet relax a little bit while I wandered around and went to the bathroom.Unfortunately, she got so relaxed that after winding down the mountain and making the drive home, Susan realized she had taken off her kicks and left them outside the car. This put them currently sitting in the park on top of a mountain an hour away at 4:50. The ranger station in the park closed at 5...So yeah, we didn't get to go back for them.

Thankfully, Susan's aunt (who we've been spending the past day-plus with) took us to the mall so she could get some new sneakers for the rest of the trip. She also was nice enough to treat us to a super market visit so we could load up on more snacks and drinks for our adventure home.

After many discussions and some research, we've decided to bypass Yosemite tomorrow, and instead, are going to Napa to spend some time at a winery. We figure we are going to at least Zion and Grand Canyon, so we got the national park thing covered, and while we are up here so close to wine country, why not, right? From there, we'll head to Lake Tahoe for the night before heading to Vegas.

Anyway, there is a quick update on the journey, and I've put up a bunch of new pictures for you all to look at. Plenty of stuff to look at: Surfing, wiping out, beach wackiness, San Diego Zoo, Disney, La Jolla*, Big Sur*, and Big Basin*. Apparently I've exceeded the number of photos allowable in one album, so I've made a new one with the * next to them to look at. So both albums have new photos to look at. Enjoy!

I made sure to take plenty of pictures today of Redwoods, since Derek specifically asked for them. You better look at all of them.

And So It Begins

So It's Tuesday night and Susan and I are in Sunnyvale, CA. For those of you keeping track at home, that's about an hour south of San Francisco. So we've gone from an hour south of L.A. to an hour south of San Fran.

Yesterday we spent the afternoon cleaning the house after receiving some unexpected visitors...mainly the woman who live there and her children. We weren't expecting them till today, until there was a knock at the door at 12:30. So we spent the next 2.5 hours cleaning the house, packing up our lives, and throwing it into my car.

Maryann came up big again for us and let us crash in Carlsbad for the night. So after hurrying out of San Diego, we relaxed in Carlsbad, went food shopping, and got a gift for Maryann to thank her for all her help on this trip.

Today started early when the alarm went off at 7:15 and we crawled out of bed at about 7:30. Our estimated time of departure was 8 AM, but we really rolled onto the highway at 8:30. It could have been worse. The day was spectacular, even though we spent about 12 hours on the road. Winding along on Highway 1 in Big Sur was just incredible. We ended up taking about 5 hours to get through all of Big Sur since we were were driving slow so we could get to see everything in addition to constantly stopping to admire the sights and take pictures.

It was awesome, and we were so happy we took the drive. Susan had been talking about going to Big Sur all summer long, and when we planned the drive home it was a top destination. She made a great selection, and we really had a great time.

There were a few things we forgot to check out along the way, but we take solace in the fact we took plenty of time going through and enjoyed our time. Taking the twisting turns through the mountains, Susan and I realized just how amazing what we were doing was. We were literally as far west within the contential United States as you could go. 50 feet more West and you'd be in the Pacific Ocean. We were making our way to Northern California on a road cut into the side of a mountain on the edge of the continent. When you stop to think about it, it's pretty cool.

We took a lot of great pictures, but unfortunately my computer is being tempermental so I'll try again tomorrow. The craziness the past two days is also why I haven't put up photos yet like I promised. So no, it's not that I've forgotten or been lazy. As soon as I'm able to, rest assured, they'll be up.