America, HECK YEAH!

Seattle - Round 2

2011-10-03T16:49:00.000-07:00

I scored a job in Seattle this week. Clearly I already have plans to get together with Gabbage Patch, but Seattle already had some plans in store for me.

Walking to get some lunch, I was commandeered by one of those Children's International peeps. Not being in NYC, I didn't have my usual blinders up, so I was totally suckered in. He managed to get me to sign up even though I averted my attention I blame the recent global diversity events I've worked for making my sensitivity level abnormally high. I figured the monthly fee will get me that much closer to getting diamond status on Delta. On my tax write-off receipt, he jotted down the name of 2 of the bands he's in (yup): Chimes & Banners and Ghost Ship (double yup).

After a conference calls and a couple hours of email, there's a knock on the door of my hotel room. It's a hotel guy delivering a gift...

... from the hotel's convention services manager. Now, most of you do not grasp the relationship between the hotel team and the A/V team, but we are pretty much treated like the red headed step child. The CSM may think I am on the client's team, which I kind of am part of, and now I don't know how to act when I see her. Do I thank her for the generous mistake? What do I do when she realizes that I'm with the A/V team? Is she just a very welcoming hospitable person?? I'll think it over as I enjoy the '08 Cabernet and chocolate covered strawberries.

Replacing Daphne

2011-08-21T19:44:00.000-07:00

So, as many of you already know, Steph and I have successfully finished our trek across the U.S. which started in Brooklyn, got steamy in Savannah, New Orleans, St. Louis, and Memphis, nostalgic in Chicago, historic and expansive in South Dakota, open and earthy in Wyoming, manly in Missoula and surprising in Wallace, Idaho.

When we arrived in Seattle (just one short week ago), we were both very tired from the days drive which, in the beginning, was not as plush and green as we had imagined. The majority of the drive through Washington reminded me of the Wyoming landscape just with more exits. My mom and her very energetic lap dogs welcomed us to Lower Queen Anne as we unloaded some of my cars contents and attempted to settle in. The next day, we were slow on the uptake, beginning our day for the first time with no real game plan. Seattle was the first big city we had been to since Chicago, so with our limited time frame we decided to just let it happen naturally.

The majority of the pictures I took along the way were shot on my 35mm Minolta film camera, so my hope was to find a decent spot in the city to regularly fulfill my developing needs. I came across Capitol Hill 60 Min. photo via Yelp and this directed our afternoon. We set out on public transport to the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle where sub-culture tends to find it's place. After quoting some prices and checking out the surrounding area, we stopped at Mia's for some delicious tofu sandwiches. Then we decided to stroll through the streets until we got to Puget Sound, but we started off in the wrong direction (thanks to my rusty inner compass) and ended up at Lake Union instead. Not that Lake Union isn't a beautiful body of water in it's own respect.

A few blocks and a couple of brief stops later, we were in the heart of Seattle Tourism casually walking down Elliot Avenue where we stopped to read some papers in the Olympic Sculpture park, dropped into a couple novelty shops to peruse the postcard section, and scope out some restaurants featured on Man vs. Food (a show that highlights some really amazing spots for food, even if the host is a shameless glutton). We made our way down 1st avenue back towards LQA and had a small brainstorming sesh regarding happy hours and eating now or later. We chose later in the name of resting, showering, and giving ourselves time to develop a proper appetite. Steph suggested this crab shack that apparently globs shellfish on your table and you just have at it, but we settled for sushi and sake before meeting up my friend, Bobby and his friend Blake at Unicorn. This place was pretty amazing. Visit the website to check out the digs. The jukebox was on point and then Steph made it even better by pumping in another couple bucks. Steph had an early flight so we kept it professional and took it in around midnight.

As with a lot of things involving cars, people in the state of Washington haven't quite grasped onto the idea that other drivers exist, so the airport drop off was hectic and not nearly as emotional as I had imagined.

Seattle's interesting. I'm still adjusting to the "west coast vibe" and the fact that I only know a handful of people, the majority of whom I met through my mother... There are a ton of things to do every night which is much different than the slim-pickings in Hartford. I'm looking forward to having to pick between several awesome things on any given occasion.

Steph suggested that I do a spin-off blog chronicling my time here in Seattle, but that's what Facebook and Twitter are for...

WELP. I'm not sure how to sign off on this blog so thanks for reading, hope you had as much fun reading this as we did living it, and stephanie... this one's for you:

What in the World, Wallace?!

2011-08-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

Our last drive of the adventure took us from Montana, through Idaho and then into Washington. As we neared Idaho, the scenery turned into a luscious dark green mountain landscape.

We planned on stopping in Idaho for some french fries in Coeur d'Alene, but we got into some horrible traffic and opted to pull off into Wallace. Wow. We are soooooo glad we did.

Wallace, the original Largest Little City in the US, is a historic town in the middle of the mountains that claims they are the Center of the Universe, probably because this is where they filmed Dante's Peak

We immediately fell in love when we parked in front of the Cobblestone antique shop. The owner, Mark was parked in front eating a watermelon in an old dentist chair. He gave us a little tour of some of his best treasures, including the banner put up in town when Teddy Roosevelt came to visit, a knight suit from the 20's and a neon advertisement clock also from the 20's.

It was the Annual Historic Wallace Accordian Festival...

Not a clear picture, but this is Mark. He kept commanding us to "come on."

After strolling through some more stores and window gazing at taxidermy collections...

We were going to eat at this place we found on Yelp

but..

We grabbed a bite at The Smokehouse. They have a smoker outside, so of course we had to try their pulled pork and brisket sandwiches.

They didn't have french fries, but we did get our Idaho potato fix with potato salad.

On our way out of town, we dropped into this interesting joint for some coffee and landed in another antique museum of treasures.

The clock on the bottom has 1 - 4, and then "who gives a shit"

Madness in Missoula

2011-08-14T11:40:00.000-07:00

The drive to Missoula was pretty short. We got in around 2pm and had lunch at Iron Horse Brew Pub. We enjoyed their delicious dressings (avocado orange vinaigrette. Yum) and washed down our meal with a tasty and award winning local brew, Kettlehouse Cold Smoke Scotch Ale. Gabbie's friend, Auggy, used to live to Missoula and gave us a long list of hot spots. We scoped some out while resting up for the night, and we discovered that there was a G'n'R cover band, Appetite for Deception, that was playing at one of the recommended hangouts. Cool. We had a game plan ready.

We started out at The Rhino where I had another delicious local brew, Big Sky's Summer Honey Ale. Yum! Gabbie had an organic lager that was also tasty, but looked like a milkshake.

We moved over to The Missoula Club where reviews warned us of Eco-jocks and UM alumni. We found both there.
But the "Mo Club" was great!

Gabbie's friend praised their burgers and called it "a religious experience." Their "kitchen" exhaust dumped into the beer garden of The Rhino, where we were, and they smelled amaaaazzing.

At the Club we met some guys who work for Big Sky Brewing. Coincidence? Fate? We got some drinks from them- thanks, guys! Your beer is awesome!

It was about time for the show, so we jammed out to The Palace where the cover band was playing. While waiting for the band to go on (the website said 9, but they didn't go on until 11. We had a lot of time to kill) we entertained ourselves with...

Apples to Apples

Buck Hunter

and Jenga

Which turned into a photoshoot.

The band finally came on, and they were pretty good. Until they stopped playing G'n'S songs so "Axl" could change his wardrobe. We were definitely deceived by Appetite for Deception.

Then we lost interest and saddled up to the bar. Some guy who works for the band noticed me singing along and gave me a pen. We put it to good use...

We left to head back to the Mo Club, but got sidetracked by a dance floor. Gabbie and I both realized that there are more dudes than gals in Missoula, so we had no problem making friends...

Gabbie tore up the dance floor

And got a lesson in breakdancing.

These dads.

We called it a night around 1am and were moving pretty slow the next morning. Haha, thanks Missoula!

Jokes

2011-08-13T14:02:00.001-07:00

I can't leave Missoula until I get my toast.

Boy George in South Dakota.

Montana, Where the Buffalo Roam

2011-08-13T12:16:00.001-07:00

We just got the stink eye from a herd of buffalo. Gabbie and I are very pleased to have finally seen some real wildlife! Notice the big one laying down on the pic below... we think that's the dad of the pack.

It's hard to see in this picture, but the dad is glaring at us. The whole pack freezed, and Gabbie and I slowly stepped back toward the car.

See ya!

Sorry Buffalo population

2011-08-12T21:04:00.001-07:00

After seeing a million trillion cattle grazing along the open plains of the north, Gabbie and I needed to get a burger, like grass fed organic super natural beef burger. We found Lone Peak Brewery in Big

- timeout, is Jim Carry in the Dead Pool? Wait is that Liam Nelson?! -

OK... focus... so we're at Lone Peak Brewery and while they do have beef burger, their specialty are bison burgers. Now on our way into Montana there was a billboard about how Yellowstone kills hundreds of buffalo every year due to them crossing the migration line (??) and spreading a bogus disease to the cattle. So of course Gabbie and I didn't want to add to that body count, but we did. And it was good. We washed down our bison burger with the Brewski Rack, a sample of allllll the beers they have on tap. Yup. When we got back to the hotel, we hit up the hot tub. We are now finishing the night with a selection from the lodge's VHS collection, The Dead Pool starring Jim Carry, Liam Nelson and Dirty Harry.

Good Night mon frere.

Where's the Wildlife at, Yellowstone?

2011-08-12T11:12:00.001-07:00

We are currently driving through Yellowstone. It is a majestic 62 degrees out. We haven't seen any animals; however, tree trunks keep siking me out. Birds and ducks don't count, Gabbie.

Yellowstone Lake

Asians practicing their ninja skillz.

Hippies practicing their meditation skillz.

Gabbie practicing her catalogue model skillz

RV's were everywhere (obviously). We passed one where this little white yapper dog was sitting on the dashboard in the window barking and clawing at passing motorcycles. It was hilarious.

Cascades.

Old Faithful. It took a while for this guy to blow. While waiting people were getting restless and there was almost a rumble in the jungle due to a science professor's umbrella blocking the view of a couple bikers.

We heard a tour while waiting, and the tour guide stated some really obvious sights. For example, "and if you look behind us, you can see the Old Faithful Lodge. There people can get ice cream, lunch or coffee, and watch Old Faithful erupt. So if there's bad weather, you can be inside and still enjoy the show." Wow.

FINALLY!

Behind Old Faithful was a boardwalk that looped around all the other geysers and hot springs.

They went off more often.

The minerals and heat caused some crazy colors.

When we left Old Faithful, we passed more hot springs.

Elk.

A coyote.

That's it.

Wyoming, what if you lived there?

2011-08-12T08:29:00.000-07:00

Our first stop getting into Wyoming was the Devil's Tower, the first declared US National Monument.

Wyoming was interestingly flat. You could see FOREVER.

oh Hey little guy! Sooo many dogs in truck beds, and they always came in set of 2.

Cowboy Saloon where we pulled into for the Tiebreaker.

More biker friends, Mike and Anna. They were at Ruby House and took pictures with the Pasties Lady (only some will know that reference), too. They claim to only be best friends, but we know what's really going on.

After we had our safer route planned, we drove past this truck that was on fire.

This was the beginning of Gabbie's Big Horn Panic Attack.

Fast Forward past Big Horn mountain....

Kind of. So, yeah. I had a panic attack, because not only have I had to face my fear of driving over bridges on this trip, I've also learned that driving down steep, windy hills at a speed faster than 30 mph "ain't my thang."I had my head buried in TIME magazine (though I couldnt concentrate on actually reading anything) and Steph kept saying "oh my god. gabbie. it's so amazing." I had to look up. I realized that my heart rate wasn't as high if I looked through the back window. SO, I got a few shots of Big Horn.

During our drive through Wyoming, we entertained ourselves by pointing to random little shacks (clearly in the middle of nowhere) and asking, "what if you lived THERE?" Neither of us could grasp the concept of residing in the middle of an open field that required an hour drive to anything. People must really plan ahead out here.

And the towns where you would pick up supplies and groceries were pretty scarce themselves.

But driving into the sunset was beautiful.

Free Beer in Deadwood

2011-08-12T07:01:00.000-07:00

After Keystone, we stopped here,

Because we saw this giant chair and we're uber-tourists by now.

Biker Carnival? That ferris wheel was dangerously close to that building, no one was riding it. I wonder why...

Our last stop in the Black Hills of South Dakota was Deadwood.

This is the town where Wild Bill and Calamity Jane killed it and ultimately were killed.

Bikers don't look so tough deboarding a tour bus.

Because of the biker rally, tons of places were offering free beer.

People getting married. Gabbie was the flower girl.

Fake hussies in the window.

Miss Kitty's Chinatown Cafe. We ate there. It was surprisingly decent!

It was also the top floor of a casino

Thank goodness, cause we spotted this guy from our rooftop perspective. Dumbledore's badass twin

Pump House coffee & deli. This garage turned cafe was awesome.

These guys were playing hits from the 90's including Ben Folds and Cracker (on the piano).

bikers. babes. bad decisions.

2011-08-11T23:14:00.000-07:00

We bought this champagne way back at Wegmans (remember that?) thinking we were going to want to pop champagne and eat pizza our first night, but our relatively PG road trip thus far kept this sucker corked until now.

K bar S Lodge. Campfire. Girl talk. Sparklers.

PIZZA PARTY

During our trek through South Dakota, Sturgis is having their 71st biker rally. We are in a whirlwind of motorcycles and leather. The constant roar of engines was our soundtrack for 48 hours. Our goal heading into "downtown" Keystone was to make friends and hopefully get a free ride.

We were the only non-bikers at this burlesque saloon bar, Ruby House. Yes, it was intimidating, but I knew most of the words to the songs they played. I figured my knowledge of rock'n'roll was appropriate cred for this joint. Plus Gabbie wore cowboy boots, so we fit in just fine.

New boots via Wisconsin.

Cover band at Ruby House. This is a preview of 10.31.11

We can't remember his name. We think it's Pete. He bought us drinks and loved to chit chat. He recently bought a new motorcycle purley for the stereo. He played Cream - "That Smell" for me. We had a sing-a-long.

Another gem in the rough.

The next morning we drove over to Mount Rushmore -which we could see from our lodge- before heading to Deadwood. We weren't sure if we wanted to pay for parking/to get into the park, but the road we were on ended at the gates. As I tried to pull to the side to decide, the angry traffic director aggressively waved his neon stick and gestured for us to get into the park. Naturally I crumbled under intense authority in my indecisive state, but the teen collecting payment was well familiar of our situation and told us how to scoot out without paying. Thanks girl. Good luck with your college applications!

Just joining us? Click here to start at the beginning.

Woah, South Dakota

2011-08-11T22:55:00.000-07:00

We were already smitten with the landscape of the northern midwest, and we fell harder in love as we drove through South Dakota.

Blind Melon - No Rain

There were tons of signs for crazy tourist hangouts off the highway. Like this sculpture...

Which was outside of 1880 Town. Gabbie and I both thought it was 1800-TOWN. Until we pulled off to get gas and saw that it was a town preserved from 1880 or something like that.

We were hungry so we got some snacks first in the train car diner.

Signing the guestbook... or so I think...

We were going to tour the actual 1880 Town, but the admission fee was high so we bought some postcards and asked this guy for directions.

There was an interesting little storm going on next to us.

Gabbie asked what that was, to which I answered, "that's what rain looks like, Gabbie" as if she was a little 6 year old kid.

Badlands

We collectively have enough photographs of the badlands to fill the Wadsworth Athenum, We've only chosen a select few to share, honestly, none of them do this breathtaking sight justice. Feel free to schedule an appointment with one of us to view all of the photos. (parents need not apply)

We kept trailing behind this Asian persuasion as they had tasteless photo shoots on every boulder of the badlands. Instinctively we concocted their life story: all three matriculate at Pratt. The one in the pink gauchos and doc martins - photo major. The one in the blue - fashion merchandising. The other - social media major. We're convinced that is a major by now. She is also creating a road trip blog, but it's her final thesis. Our story became real life when they hopped into a red Scion, with Jersey plates.

Reflecting on life in the Badlands.

THERE.

"Wait, is that sound cicadas or rattlesnakes??"

I was taking a picture of Gabbie, these Aussie bikers (in town for Sturgis, of course) noticed my photoshoot...

Tarpatch, Aussie Aussie Oi! Oi! Oi!, and Blackbush

WALL DRUG

If anyone is unfamiliar with this place, it's like the South of the Border of the North. A huge, kitschy old west town where you can buy lots of tchotchkes, get food'n'drinks and spend the entire day people watching.

We both had a craving for ice cream sodas. Gabbie ordered hers as I was still deciding on a flavor. When I turned to the lady behind the counter and ordered, I was stunned when she asked "Hard or soft?" in a thick Turkish accent. I didn't know how to handle it because I was immediately thrown into a time warp. Wait, am I in NYC? Where am I?? Are there Turkish people in South Dakota??? Do I want hard or soft?!!? As these questions ran through my head (and as I stared at her like a deer in headlights), Jasmine (what I'll name her) then described the difference between hard and soft, something I feel like I should've been explaining to her. This experience gave us plenty of material as we slurped down own treats.

Gabbie sitting under the ORIGINAL founding fathers. Sir, mind your own business.

After we exhausted the Turks behind the counter, we found this malt shop puppy love. Which then fueled another round of jokes, including an R'n'B song.

Gabbie loves wood art.

A restaurant with more wood and animal art.

Yeah. We'd come back.

When we finally arrived in Keystone, this stop light foreshadowed the two-wheeled explosion that was to come.

Blogging is hard work

2011-08-11T22:42:00.001-07:00

As I'm getting under the covers, Gabbie is still working hard to keep our lovely friends and family informed and entertained of our travels.

Sioux Falls and the Banshees

2011-08-11T21:31:00.000-07:00

We just got to our cabin right outside of Yellowstone in Wyoming. Today has been a LONG day. We finished our trek through South Dakota and powered through most of Wyoming. There were panic attacks (mostly from me) but also some really, really great moments. But, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. Let's catch up on South Dakota.

We'll start with Sioux Falls, self proclaimed "heart of america" and the cultural center of South Dakota. We stayed with Steph's cousin, Jennifer who took us to the city's namesake.

We passed this museum on our way there...

"Did you hear that story about the guy who put his foot in Sioux Falls..."

Then, we strolled through the streets of downtown Sioux Falls, home of the sculpture walk, where a new sculpture is commissioned and added each year. This one is titled "All in the same boat"

It may not be clear here, but New York (#1) and New Haven (#2) are on this best grilled cheese list.

AAF is still touring. STILL.

Steph's cousin had pounds of material on the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore, so we cut the visit short and high-tailed it to the other side of South Dakota.

The tiebreaker

2011-08-11T16:06:00.001-07:00

We are currently traveling thru Wyoming and had to stop off in Buffalo (represent!) to get a local's opinion on whether to take rt 16 or 14 to Yellowstone. Our initial trip was via 14 but then I saw a sign that said rt 16 is the "safest" so naturally I began to second guess everything. We rolled into the Cowboy Saloon (yup. True story), and the lovely bartender strongly suggested we take rt 16 aka the safest route aka the route our moms would want us to take. We'll see ya soon rt 16 after we finish this delicious round of Alaska Amber.

Our shenanigans in South Dakota will be posted soon! While we had a run with the law, we are still free citizens.

Say Cheese

2011-08-10T12:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we drove through Wisconsin and Minnesota on our way to Sioux Falls. We left Chicago around 9 a.m. knowing we were going to make a lot of stops. There is very little to say about the drive. The flat lands created storybook scenery. The clouds were so fluffy, the grass was so green, the Mississippi was so blue. AND unlike Missouri the highway wasn't littered with irrelevant billboards.

Oh, wait wait wait. before we get into the majesty of Wisconsin, let's reflect on our first stop for gas and the restroom. We stopped of at Loves, which is probably the middle american version of Cumberland Farms, where we discovered these relaxation potions in a bottle. To give it credit, the ingredients actually weren't that scary, I almost bought one, but it was my turn to drive.

And this dream boat. This woman made my morning. It's unclear if it's Loves' policy to use the word "love" as often as possible, but it's definitely this woman's policy. First she announced, "Good morning Loves customers, we got Pepsi Cola in the HOUSE!" to the entire gas station via microphone after the delivery man wheeled in his shipment. Then, the woman ahead of me wasn't sure which number her pump was. No worries, our chipper attendant proclaims, "One of those cars? At one of those pumps? No problem! Love that car! I sure do."

Duh, we got cheese. So much cheese.

'Merica, HECK YEAH

Enjoy these scenic shots

Before Minnesota, we got hungry and stopped in this teeny town called St. Charles for some sandwiches. Super cute. The woman who waited on us had a heart of gold and the best "don't cha know" accent EVER.

We also caught sight of a Goodwill. I've been looking for a pair of cowboy boots since December. What better place than Wisconsin to make that happen?

A little reminder of home

Minnesota

The Mississippi River. It's amazing that we've practically driven our way from the bottom to the top.

Colorgasm

Memory Lane

2011-08-08T10:42:00.001-07:00

Grabbing lunch w Gabbie at Handlebar, a vegetarian hipster joint in Bucktown, my old neighborhood. Sufjan is playing in the background. On our way in yesterday, I drove us pass my old apartment. I feel like it's 2008.

Not Today Chicago

2011-08-08T08:47:00.000-07:00

Sunny skies all the way through Missouri and the majority of Illinois, until we hit just south of Chicago. It wasn't anything too crazy, no thunder or lighting, just big ole rain drops and ominous cloud coverage.

We hit unavoidable traffic for a brief period getting into and through the city, but it worked out well, we were able to snap some pics of the skyline, or at least its shadow.

Miraculously it cleared up just as we got into the center.

We stayed with Steph's sister, Maryn and her husband, Nelson. They were awesome hosts and had the CUTEST dog, Canela - Spanish for "cinnamon." This is her acting as Chicago TSA, going through our luggage for illegal contraband or treats. Sorry, Canela, just dirty clothes and the scent of several hotels.

So, Chicago, hometown of current President, Barack Obama - aka B$ -also known for this permanent public art sculpture known to most as "The Bean," but properly named "Cloud Gate." It's all about perspective, reflection, yada yada. Here are Steph and I and a babillion other tourists reveling in our own reflections.

This photo may not do it justice, but the most intriguing part of The Bean is the center; you stand underneath the entire structure and it reflects images in numerous directions. Science is pretty cool. As Jillian once said, on a magical trip to Upstate New York, "Space (or in this case, science) retards me."

Just past The Bean is another part of Millennium Park. These huge towers shed water while tiles simultaneously flip to produce the image of different people.

Kids obviously LOVE this because kids love anything that involves water and splashing.

This guy. Probably looking for inspiration for the new album he and his reggae band are "working on."

So, after staring at this moving image of a face for a while, the mouth begins to move and form a fountain like shape. You can't see it here, but every kid went running towards this makeshift waterfall.

HA. OK. Wow. This picture means so much. Heading back from downtown, making our way to Wrigleyville, we passed this American Apparel. Both Stephanie and I were freaked out when what we thought was a human model in the window turned out to just be the window designer. After making a few 5-7-9 jokes (remember when they used to make their employees stand around the store like mannequins?), we both wanted to take a picture, naturally. Well, what should have been a fairly easy, if creepy task, turned out to be this huge operation requiring a lot of discussion and planning between Steph and myself. The girl noticed we were up to no good and refused to allow us to snap a pic of her. Unfortunately, she was trapped in her glass enclosure and only had a prop handbag to save her.

Both Stephanie and I would like to say "Sorry, American Apparel employee. Sorry you caught us doing what anyone with a sense of humor would have done. Sorry you thought that handbag would save you from two creeps on a mission. Sorry you were caught "hipster in her natural habitat -wide eyed, angsty, affected, and annoyed." Sorry you're so misunderstood. We get you. We understand.

No description necessary

Wrigleyville: Home of Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs, and the Chicago Dog

And good local beer. We stopped atGoose Island Pub. Both Stephanie and I agree that the Honkers Ale was the winner of these four: not too hoppy, not too light, good after taste.

We moseyed our way out of Wrigleyville towards Lakeview, we stopped at Strange Cargo to escape the rain, use up Stephanie's gift card, and have some team tee-shirts made.

Stephanie pretending to be Kris Kardashian pretending to be a good mother.

After seven hours of walking/commuting through the streets of Chicago, we happily embraced the deep dish lethargy a la Giordano's (apparently Chicago's 2nd best deep dish joint -only the best for the best I guess). Basically, we ate two pounds of chesse with a light coating of dough. It was delicious.

Public transportation memoirs: on the wet, bloated bus ride back to Steph's sister's place, our sassy bus lady shut the doors on a crazy woman and proclaimed, "Uh uh, NOT today!" Then, proceeded to explain to a curious passenger that the woman she had just refused service to enjoys her fair share of bus rides around the city. Enjoys them in that she gets on, sits down, and begins screaming non-stop. I believe her, because when she closed the doors on this iron-lunged crazy mess, the woman began to give us a little sample of what she had planned to do if her efforts hadn't been thwarted.

Oh, some of the train stations are in the middle of the highway.

On our train ride out that night, a smelly washed up wannabe musician parked himself right next to Steph. He started talking at us by merely asking what direction the train is going in. And then he proceeded to discuss how many piercings and tattoos he has/going to get to maintain a good balance to his rocker image. If he didn't get off as quickly as he did, we were going to have to make moves.

My good friend Jourdan met us out in Wicker Park at this place called Estelles. Some one spent all their money on the jukebox to make sure every NKOTB and Debbie Gibson song got airtime.

Then, we moved on to Crocodile where this dance party sandwich happened.

Enjoying another mid-west brew- Old Style- and the end of a great Chi-Town hang sesh.

Holy Dragonflies, Batman!

2011-08-07T16:20:00.000-07:00

The drive up to Chicago was sunny and filled with dragonflies. Gabbie caught one with her windshield wiper.

We drove through Arkansas for a hot second.

But, Missouri was where it was at! Not only was there an influx of dragonflies, which I -gabbie- thought were miniature birds a la Alfred Hitchock, but there were so many Pro-Life Billboards, I almost switched sides. (kidding!) It wasn't even the quantity of billboards that got to me, really. It was the relentless copy they used to display the messages attacking the vulnerability of women who are already in a delicate state. Whatever, Missouri, keep your flat roads, cornfields, dragonflies, and opinions to yourselves.

we stopped off at Boomland...

where they had all sorts of pickled vegetables and ham.

We decided to have cream cheese bagels a la Franks instead. As Stephanie was globbing on the Franks, she realized it might start to drip onto my legs while I was driving, creating dangerous driving conditions and compromising the integrity of the Franks spread. So, as to not lose one drop of Franks, she created these beautiful levees for proper Franks irrigation.

We got into St. Louis and were greeted by the massive Gateway Arch. The Arch, which stands on Missouri's west bank as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States and serves as the largest man-made monument in the US, also served as the gateway to the half-way point on our adventure. It's strange, we've only been on the road for 6 days, but honestly, it only feels like two. I can't believe there is only a week left.

We stopped at the Riverfront Cafe across the street for a quick stretch.

right before we got back in the car, this guy tugged by, appropriately named "Tom Sawyer" -a reminder that we were back up north

Gabbie found a keychain with her name on it. (I never find Gabrielle keychains! it's always Gabriella or Gabriel... so this was kind of a big deal)

Once we got into Illinois, it was all cornfields.

There are a lot of weirdos in Memphis

2011-08-07T09:24:00.001-07:00

First things first - barbecue. Yes, Gabbie and I went to Rendezvous, the touristy BBQ joint in an alley.

I -Gabbie- like to pretend to be a foodie, so I've tried to make it a point to grab a local beer in each of the cities we've been in. I ordered this local Memphis brew, Ghost River- Golden. It was light, airy, and tasted like honey. For all your wacky-ness, Memphis, you get a big thumbs up for this one.

After waiting what seemed like forever in the huge 2 floor waiting hall, we finally got seated and were served a plate of mouthwatering meat. We decided on sharing a combo plate (so everybody wins) of pork ribs and brisket.

It was a great decision. The brisket was the star of the meal. Yes, I don't eat meat, so when I do it tends to be mind-blowingly delicious, but the taste of the brisket gave me visions of hot summer nights and smokey campfires. I was in heaven.

After the delicious meal, we headed to Beale St., the Bourbon St. of Memphis. On our way we passed a plethora of Cindarella carriages. Apparently dogs help sell the carriage rides. There was a guy who put in half the effort with a stuffed dog (sorry for not having a pic). He wasn't getting much business.

There was a security line to get onto Beale St. Yup. TSA style security with metal detectors.

During our journey through the South we've noticed that people are very friendly and have no problem approaching strangers. So all the weirdos who usually keep to themselves in NYC will go up to people and touch them in the South. We had to make a bigger attempt not to make eye contact here. We couldn't imagine getting tipsy here and dealing with drunk, grabby creepers.

The bars and clubs along Beale St. had people on loudspeakers trying to coax drinkers into their establishments. We heard "ladies get in for free" from this one spot that looked like an old theatre, and we had to use the facilities, so we decided to check it out. It was the Daisy. THE venue all the hits played at back in the day. There were black and white pictures and rock'n'roll memorabilia all over the wall, but I couldn't get into it because of the awful dance music and neon lights on truss towers distracting me. I was shocked and appalled that someone turned this historical landmark into d-bag central. Wow Memphis.

Along the bars and clubs is an old timey general store. They had a bunch of goods from back in the day on the upper level, their "museum."

Super creepy stuffed animal

On the first floor, they have current goods for sale including Perfect Pets...

There were other stores like Tater Red's...

where you can buy a cat-in-a-can

On our walk back to the hotel there was a lady slumped against the side of a building hysterically crying. She was a horrible actor. Memphis had a weird vibe.

Nah.

Facing Fears in Louisiana

2011-08-06T15:06:00.000-07:00

Gabbie has a strong fear of driving over bridges. On our way into New Orleans there is a long causeway that I warned her about. I continuously asked her if she is OK with driving over it, which she believed she was... until she turned and said "I don't think I can do this" as we just got on it.

Of course it was raining, and there was construction.

Gabbie handled like a champ. She drove us out of New Orleans the next afternoon (it was a late night), where she faced more bridges. The marshlands lasted for a good 2 hours until we got into Mississippi.

We stopped off at a truck stop for gas and some snacks. There was also a casino there. It was as dark and depressing as you can imagine.

Naturally when I got behind the driver's seat, the skies were blue and the roads were wide open.

New Orleans, Nola, Nawlins whatever

2011-08-06T12:17:00.000-07:00

Wow. New Orleans was definitely an experience. Not really sure what I expected from New Orleans really. I guess a combination of the live blues band scene similar to Austin, TX mixed with a lot of matronly women calling me "baby" and "precious" alongside older men with personalities the size of Louisiana itself laughing and telling jokes to strangers. Instead, the vibe I got from New Orleans was Southern opulence smashed with extreme tourism. I felt like I was in Las Vegas at times and there was a lot of Voodoo inspired commerce.

This "house" was massive.

We met up with Steph's friend for some po boys in the Garden District at a local spot called Parasols. Dreams came true here. The po boys were awesome - we split a combo one (fried oysters and shrimp), which was plenty.

I was knighted by the town drunk, Chico. I left my umbrella.. I mean my sword there.

Afterwards we made our way to Bourbon St. We stopped off at a convenience store to grab drinks for our walk around the French Quarter where our friend was approached by some teens straight off the Martha's Vineyard ferry to buy them alcohol. In the spirit of spring break he did.

Walking down Bourbon street nearly gave me a panic attack because it was pretty crowded, but definitely nothing compared to Mardi Gras I'm sure, although people were still throwing beads from balconies.

SO many bachelorette parties.

This place was awesome and HUGE. We walked in on Bourbon street and exited on a completely different street. There was one room where two pianos sat back to back while two players faced off in the ultimate piano duel. Then, this room, with beer steins hanging from the ceiling.

We got hurricanes because it's the thing to do. They were ridiculously sweet and hard to drink at first, but after a couple sips these guys went down like water.

The woman's bathroom was inside what I'm assuming used to be someone's home just after this grandeur dual velvet staircase where Deborah, the sassiest bathroom attendant was busy doing her thing.

We got our tarot cards and palms read outside of Jackson Square. Steph was really hoping this one reader, Jennifer, would be there to tell us our fortunes and fate, but we found out she was a gypsy and moved earlier in the year. :(

During the lackluster readings, our friend was giving "guy advice" to yet another bachelorette party.

We were sauntering through the French Quarter over to Frenchman St, the locals version of Bourbon St, peering in to different bars and trying to find one that suited our mood, when we were serenaded by the sounds of the Lagniappe Brass Band playing at the Balcony Music Club. They killed it! I can't try to put into words how amazing this part of the night was, but it definitely left me with a solid appreciation for NOLA.

After the band took a break, they played outside to lure passersby into the club. They didn't gain any more patrons, but they succeeded in picking up a few more brass members.

After killing it on the dance floor, we made our way to Cafe Du Monde for coffee and beingets to end the night.

But not without leaving our mark... Steph attempted to blow the excess powder sugar on me, but I diverted her efforts with a forceful wave of my hand sending beingets, powder sugar and water across the table. All landing on our friend.

Sorry Stephen, you were a great host.

Florida, more like BORE-ida

2011-08-05T10:43:00.001-07:00

Super boring ride across the top of Florida. At least the drivers in the left lane get over as soon as the see Cecilia coming up behind them.

Gabbie did a beautiful job spreading cream cheese on the bagel I got with my coffee this morning from Gallery Espresso in Savannah. She showed those hipsters her Dunkin Donuts skillz.

Part of Florida is east coast, and the other part is central. Weeeeird.

My eyes are sweating

2011-08-05T06:28:00.001-07:00

We started our day in Savannah with a stroll through the various squares all over the city. The Spanish moss/ oak tree combination offers a shady escape from the blazing heat.

The Spanish moss created this southern jungle effect that put us both in a lazy summer vibe. It hung like tinsel on a tree and we both wanted to touch it. Forutnately, before we did, we found out that it houses chiggers and other insects! Apparently, Spanish moss used to serve as bed padding before mattress came along and coined the phrase "don't let the bed bugs bite!"

There are statues and monuments in each of the squares commemorating various moments in either the Revolutionary or Civil wars, including this canon.

Att the top of Forsyth Park.

This guy called Gabbie "a nut" because of her arm ink. Really, sir?

Coffee at Sentient Bean, an organic fair-trade all-vegetarian (only one in Savannah) cafe at the south end of Forsyth Park. Gabbie and I had a really great brainstorming session. Solution sistahz.

Afterward, we walked up Abercorn towards Telfair Museum. I was able to snap a couple shots of the Bird Girl statue (Midnight in the garden of Good and Evil). There was a guard lingering around the statue to prevent photography, so Gabbie and I had a plan to distract her, but she was meandering through a different room when we walked up to the statue. No need for our covert operation.

We continued our exploration towards the City Market, a little area with shops, restaurants and this guy, Universe Imports.

Where they had remakes of an already bad remake of the Bird Girl statue. (sorry about the alignment, our androids and blogger don't seem to get along)

Then, we made our way to River St in search of a park that has a spot known to locals as "Echo Park." Legend is if you stand on the X, your voice will echo.

We passed this little guy, who was completely dead to the world with his lifelike chew toy.

While taking a picture of the dog, Gabbie made friends with a guy drinking a pitcher of beer by himself...
Guy: "Do have a dog?"
Gabbie: "No."
Guy: "Do you want one?"
Gabbie: "Yea, but I can't afford one"
Guy: "I'll buy you a dog."

Cool. Thanks!

We struggled to make our way down to Colonial Cemetery. The heat was so intense that we walked into every store for a moment of cool A/C.

Colonial Cemetery is small and the mausoleums are buried (and no one knows why). Apparently, soldiers during the Civil War slept in the cemetery and changed dates and names on the gravestones for kicks. So people would die before they were even born, a husband would be 50 years younger than a wife, and women would have 50 children. I can see the humor in that.

Soliders also took the gravestones out of the ground to make room for themselves and to prevent their horses from tripping.

For dinner we headed to Sol Fusion, a latin joint that was a little too far for us to walk on our tired feet. Our cab driver was interesting; check out his fork collection.

Ceviche and tacos. yummm.

Alexis joined us and introduced us to all this yummy food!

Shrimp and Crab Ceviche.... yum!

Gabbie and I split the jerk seitan taco

We took the scenic route back up to the historic district with pit stops at a friend's old residence and $1 drinks at the American Legion. We also stopped off at Pinkie Masters. They had Shark Week on and the program was about this guy who takes people on shark adventures. He tried to kiss a nurse shark, but it bit him instead. Good.

We ended our night with a hearse tour. The driver noticed we showed up with drinks (yup - completely legal and encouraged to walk around with drinks), so he stopped off at a bar during the tour so we could refill. Thanks, Brett!

Here is the Pirate House, where Pirate Flint inspired books like Treasure Island.

Cheersing Pirate Flint.

The tour took us all around Savannah, and dropped us off back at the hotel around midnight. It's hard to party in the heat, so we called it a night.

We got up early and were back on the open road by 8am.

It's getting hot in here

2011-08-04T06:35:00.000-07:00

Just woke up in Savannah, Georgia!

The weather forecasts high 99 degrees with isolated thunderstorms. YIKES!

We got in last night around 10:30PM and ordered pizza from Vinnie Van Go Go's to bring back to the hotel, which boasts New York Style Pizza, but has obviously never eaten a NY Style pizza.

We made plans to go out and see the city but, after 15 hours on the road, we had to keep it real and go to bed.

Today, thanks to Andrew who was so kind as to put together a Google map of his favorite spots here in Savannah, we're going to walk to The Sentient Bean for coffee and walking food.

Then, I think we're gonna walk around, find a cemetery, look at art, blah blah blah. The most exciting part of the day for me (besides inhaling fried green tomatoes) is The Hearse Ghost Tour tonight!

Sunset in the south

2011-08-03T16:56:00.001-07:00

Gasing up in Sumter county. The bugs are taking it to eleven, and I'm waiting to run into someone from True Blood (Beel!). I wish I could've gotten a picture of the driver of the blue car. Have to wait for Gabbie to develop her stakeout shots.

South of the Border

2011-08-03T15:57:00.001-07:00

Wow.

None of the shops or restaurants are worth going into, but the outside is something else.

I did pick up sparklers. I followed Gabbie out of the fireworks store, where she lead me back into the fireworks store thinking it was Pedro's Pantry. The store clerks laughed and told us people do that all the time. I blame the heat. There are busted truck tires all over the road.

Zebulon, NC

2011-08-03T13:03:00.001-07:00

Where Dutch country meets the future and drivers in ford escapes play jokes on other drivers.

Wegmans

2011-08-03T08:50:00.001-07:00

Stephanie has introduced me to my first Wegmans experience. This place is solid gold! A cross between a Whole Foods and a Stew Leonards, Wegmans is a "food museum." (Thanks Alice)
As we indulge in our first official meal of the day, I present you with words of wisdom from my Honest Tea bottle cap. (Moroccan Mint Green Tea, hands down best flavor, in my opinion)
Thank you Gord Sellar, for solidifying the purpose and necessity of this trip.

SPOTTED!

2011-08-03T08:09:00.001-07:00

Prince William? Why does he get a park in the US?
Update:
So, the park isn't named after hunky heir to the british throne, the young Prince William. Looks like it dates back to 1730 and is named after King George's son. Which is strange because in 1776, it seems the first group of Minutemen were supplied weapons to fight against that same King.
Either way this place looks awesome!

Welcome to Maryland

2011-08-03T06:22:00.001-07:00

Just ran into our first patch of traffic here in Maryland, but it's ok because we're behind this guy.

Oh, and there are a babillion cops on the prowl.

Cecilia doesn't have cruise control

2011-08-03T05:21:00.001-07:00

We got on the road around 6:45am. No traffic out of Brooklyn nor Staten Island. So far 95 south has been good to us.

The Road Ahead

2011-08-02T22:00:00.001-07:00

The longest leg of the trip will be tomorrow as we head south to Savannah, GA. It's OK, I've already located 2 Wegmans along 95 just outside of DC.