Phew!

We are home. Our travels were splendid, fun, awesome, and a tad tiring. We have a busy weekend of unloading Fred and unpacking, but we are so glad that we aren't travelling anymore, it doesn't seem like a chore.

I think I just made a rhyme. You be the judge.

Happy Halloween!

Scrumptious Autumn

A and I are driving 95 in CT and appreciating the beautiful fall colors of New England. We are on our way from Eastham, MA on Cape Cod to the District of Columbia. We've been on the move since October 8th.

After a quick stop to get our new apartment in Oakland we headed down to Los Angeles for a few days. The traffic there hasn't changed. The freeways are still massive and filled with plenty of people. I think some double decker highways are in order down there.

We lived the So Cal life in Long Beach for a few days. Sis and A had fun while I was working and we all enjoyed dinner with Grandma, a tour of the St. Mary, and a trip to Universal Studios. The new Simpsons ride was GREAT! The absence of a crowd meant we could re-live the wonderful days of childhood where we ran from the exit of a rollercoaster right back around to the entrance over and over again. We'll always be kids at heart. The Jurassic Park ride soaked us many times. We screamed and laughed a lot! That's the American dream, right? Churros, screams, roller coasters, and bad jokes. We had a blast and were scrumptiously entertained. I was particularly impressed with the larger than life Whoopi Goldberg cut out welcoming us to the tram ride. Instead of a lion or mouse, Universal has an Oscar Winning Whoopi as their mascot.

From Universal Studios we said "see you later" to Sis at the airport and took a red eye to Boston. Didn't we just leave there? Amazingly, it felt great to be back, even though we weren't really. A recognized the landmarks of the region from the airplane as we approached in the morning sun. The fall colors were abundant and gleefully gorgeous.

We hopped in a bright blue 2010 VW Beetle at the Rental Car lot and headed for Cape Cod. We joined up with A's family in a super relaxing house in Eastham and attended a beautiful wedding at the Orleans Inn. The bride and groom had their names printed on Hershey's chocolate bars! It poured rain during the whole wedding, but we hardly noticed. It was a sunny day inside.

We worked hard to finish the 1000 piece puzzle that was started before we arrived and went for a lovely walk on the Cape Cod Rail Trail. It was the most relaxing two days I've had since .... hmmm... I don't remember.

Today is beautiful and sunny. I understand we missed some snow in New England while we were gone. We are grateful for the good weather for our glorious drive in the blue beetle to DC.

Home Sweet Home

After a wonderful night in A's childhood 'hood, we have a signed lease and have a new apartment. Waaaaaa Whooooo!!!!

Sis came up to be our first visitor. We enjoyed lunch at Bocanova in Jack London Square, unloaded our car, and are off on more travels via airplane. HeShe (the car) is glad to have a rest!

First destination: LAX.
A and Sis are coming on the trip to have some So Cal fun while I do business.

It certainly feels great to be back in the Bay Area. Our new home has amenities that our old home did not: washer/dryer in the unit, hot tub, pool, Jack London Square, walking path along the bay, and much more! The four flights of stairs will help us get in shape, or encourage us to have groceries delivered to the house. We'll see.

Our road to heaven

Today is our last full day on the road. This trip has gone by fast. Neither of us are tired of being in the car. We are still enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Pacific Northwest as we travel south from Eugene, OR.

The hills are covered in a foggy mist which makes for scrumptious views. Heading up one long uphill road into the clouds A said it was "our road to heaven". We are on our way to the heavenly state of CA.

Oregon's fall colors, sheep, and cows are entertaining us along the way. We had a great time with Andrew and Lynn despite the pooring rain in Eugene. Andrew's giant TV (seriously, movie theaters might make an offer to buy this thing) inspired us to buy a Wii now rather than later.

We bought a Wii!
We have a Wii!
We named it Wiible.

Last night there were many boxing, bowling, basketball, frisbee, and more competitions. My Mii wears pink. She is sooo cute.

Road Trip Stats:
Miles from Longmeadow: 3,420.
Number of States entered: 13 (including Ontario)

Apples to Apples

We hummed and hawed over the option to go to the Haunted Corn Maze and the boys decided to play a video game featuring barfing zombies. This was less scary than humans lurking in dark corn fields with chainsaws. The video zombies were only interim entertainment until the Apples to Apples connection arrived.

Apples to Apples is the best game ever! It's one that anyone can play and is perfect for more than four people, unlike Candyland. A and I find Apples to Apples is a great game to play with groups of people we don't know well. He is really good at it! If you haven't played Apples to Apples give it a try! AND feel free to invite us to play!

Hello Oregon

The drive from Seattle was rainy and slow. There are many more people on I-5 than in North Dakota and Montana combined.

We're in the hospitality of A's brother in Eugene for the next day. Apparently the haunted corn maze here is pretty fun.... We'll see if we are brave enough to enter.

Our lucky day

Amber has shown us a fabulous time in Seattle this evening. We visited the fish throwing public market, strolled the Chittenden Locks, and dined a scrumptious seafood dinner at Ray's Boathouse. All of the fun culminated in 6 cupcakes for the price of 3! Cupcake Royale in the Ballard neighborhood should be added to all Seattle future cupcakerie tours.

Cascades

We're driving through the Cascade Range at Snoqualmie Pass. We had gorgeous views of Glacier Peak covered in snow rising above everything, including the clouds. Mt. Rainier seems to be hiding in the clouds.

The drive across WA has been breathtaking. This state has it all, farmland, gorgeous gorge, mountains, ocean, and Amber! What more can we ask for?

The Gorge

Somewhere in central WA.

Leaving Idaho

Coeur d'Alene is even more beautiful in the daylight! We're on the road to Seattle. See you in a few hours, Amber!

Coeur d'Alene

If you haven't been to Coeur d'Alene, ID I highly recommend it. We are about 40 miles outside of Spokane, WA. Coeur d'Alene has a very fun little downtown area on the lake. We strolled the boardwalk which goes out on the lake in a horseshoe shaped path.

The weather is wonderful. It's cool but not cold and the air has the fresh smell which follows the rain.

One thing to note is that restaurants close early. It was tough to find an open establishment serving dinner at 8 30PM. We thought it would be fun to try the Coeur d'Alene Brewery but they closed their kitchen at 8PM due to the lack of demand. The Mexican Restaurant across the street, Toro Viejo was surprisingly delicious! The chips and salsa were scrumptiously crunchy and salsa-y. A is a qualified Mexican food connoisseur, so you can trust is when we tell you the Mexican food we had in Idaho is worth going back for.

That's the word from the 11th state of the trip.

Welcome to Idaho!

Idaho's welcome sign was a rectangle, not shaped like the state. We are in the Pacific Time Zone now, but Pearl is still on east coast time.

It's dark and rainy in this state. We're headed to Coeur d'Alene for the night.

Misty West Montana

We stopped for gas and Lemonheads in Butte, MT. We're getting into the mountains.

More signs for the list:
Life.... A beautiful choice.
Pure Wool. No Bull.
Without the bread of life, you're toast.
Crazy Mountains

We've come 2,440 miles since Longmeadow. Montana is the 10th state for this trip. Gertrude says we'll be in Seattle at midnight. We haven't crossed into the Pacific Time Zone yet and probably will stop to sleep before we reach Seattle.

We passed through some serious rain clouds and their accompanying rain, but the temperature at 60 degrees relieves our worries about ice. It's sunny again. We're chasing the sun towards the West Coast.

Lunching in Billings

A and I see dining at one of our favorite establishments across the U.S. : Cracker Barrel.
Signs we've seen in Montana include:

C'mon Inn
Howdy Hotel
Lewis and Clark Trail
Welcome to Beef Country

P.S. Last night we saw the Home on the Range sign in North Dakota. There were no services at that exit, so I hope the folks at Home on the Range have what they need.

Go ahead, sing. Home, Home on the Range....

Jimmy Buffet also proves to be great road trip music.

Good Morning Montana!

When we crossed the border last night everything was dark. It was pitch dark after we traveled back in time to 7PM. There was a sign posted when we entered mountain time! I had been worried that we wouldn't know what time zone we were in. There are signs welcoming is to new states, but time zone signs are less common, I feel.

We had a very restful sleep and woke up to the beautiful frost tipped plains of eastern Montana. The terrain has become more rugged (less rolling) and interesting but is not yet mountainous. There seem to be plenty of cows and farms in this state as well as the previous states we drove through.

We are 230 miles from Bullings, MT and listening to Neil Gaiman's novel "Stardust".

Hunkered Down

We are hunkered down at the only Inn in Wibaux, MT. It's starting to snow outside... Hopefully it will be done in the morning.

New Salem Sue

And.... We just waved to New Salem Sue, the world's largest cow statue.

Bismarck, ND

We just stopped in Bismarck, ND for Taco Tuesday at Taco Johns and we are back on the road. We're naming all of the farm animals we see from the road. Many of the cows share the name Bessy and many of the sheep share the name Fred.

Fargo!

We just walked Fargo's Walk of Fame! When Hollywood is under water, the U.S. will always have Fargo's stamped hands and footprints in concrete. Weird Al, Bert and Ernie, Def Leopard, Barney, Bill Gates, Barney, The Monkeys, and more! They had to relocate it from downtown to the visitor center off the highway. That made for a convenient road stop. Of course, then I wanted to drive thru downtown Fargo, which we did. It looks like a nice, very agricultural, place.

The billboards encourage folks to R.A.P (report all poachers).

We're back on 94 now with a speed limit of 75. Waaaaawhooooo!

I was informing A of the "World's Largest" features along 94. These include the largest Buffalo, Sand Hill Crane, and Holstein named Sue. When I clarified that they are statues and not real animals, he said "At least the ball of twine was real and not just a statue of a ball of twine."

We've come 1,640 miles since Longmeadow. Gertrude says we'll get to Seattle at 9 am, but we might stop to sleep a couple times before we get there.

Roadside America

The website with directions to fun roadstops is called Roadside America. That's how we found the giant ball of twine. It was pretty darn big eh. There was not much else happening in Darwin, MN. One other couple had stopped while we were oogling. One of them had even been there before!

We are on I-94 headed to Fargo, ND.

It's a beautiful sunny day and fun to see the farms covered in snow. It's a good thing the ball of twine has a glass gazebo to protect it from weather and birds. Imagine how many nests could be made with all that twine!

Minneapolis Fun!

We had a BLAST with Sam and Jason in their new home and tasting cupcakes in Minneapolis. I felt like we moved in since we were there when the movers arrived. We had a real bed to sleep in once the movers brought it. Our shampoo was in the shower. A helped set up the TV and the Wii. It felt like home. Armando tried to stay by hiding behind a box. He doesn't realize that he would be very unhappy in a Minnesota winter. Photos are on Picasa. One event not captured on camera was Date Night at the local Italian restaurant. Dinner for two includes one appetizer, two entrees, a dessert, and a bottle of wine for $40. Sam and Jason have already befriended the waitstaff. They are really going to enjoy life in Eden Prairie.


This morning we are driving through rural Minnesota a bit to see the World's Largest Ball of Twine rolled by one person. It's wonderful scenery along the road. Farms, barns, silos, fields of corn, fields of dry grass, fall colored trees, and remnants from yesterday's snow storm. I love snow. Yesterday was winter and today we are back in fall. I love Mother Nature's adventures.

Good Morning Minneapolis!

I wasn't ready to get up, but A laughed so hard when he looked out the window, I just had to see.
It is beautiful! I love snow. Happy "Winter comes before Halloween around here" Day.

Welcome to Minnesota!

We'll be here for two nights.

Larger than life animal statues

Speaking of giant buffalo statues.... It appears that folks in middle America also enjoy making larger than life animal statues.

We have seen a giant rooster, a super large apple (or tomato), many giant mice climbing up to or sitting on enormous hunks of cheese, and two super sized orange moose. The mice and moose were sighted in Wisconsin. There are A LOT of cheese stores in that state! There were not one, but TWO (which is one more than one) orange moose outside of the Orange Moose Bar and Grill. There we're even arches over each moose to frame it appropriately for a Kodak moment. It was dark and late when we drove by, otherwise I would've climbed up for a photo op.

We are 45 minutes from Sam and Jason's place. We have traveled 1,288 miles since Longmeadow, MA and are almost in the eighth state of the trip: Minnesota! The state tally includes Ontario Canada.

On a side note: We are sad for the Red Sox and the Twins who are BOTH out of the running now. Our cheers move to the Rockies.

We just passed a sign for Bobbleheads Sports Bar and Grill. I wonder if they have as many bobbleheads as Jason has Pez dispensers.

Welcome to Wisconsin!

The coolest welcome sign I've seen... We passed under a bridge which had stonework that said Welcome to Wisconsin. I was unable to catch it on camera, but Armando saw it too.

Road Musings

We are skirting around Chicago on 294. We just stopped for gas, gummy bears, an energy drink, and to use the restrooms.
Today we have entertained ourselves by watching the scenic farms of Michigan. Why did red become the chosen color for barns? I like it, just wondering who picked it and why?

We caught up on the MLB happenings through Pearl.

We've been listening to various music and short stories by Neil Gaiman. I have a hard time telling when one story ends and the next begins. I wish there were chimes between them. Sometimes, we pause and discuss the story because I often have questions.

We made a secret stop to buy something to share at Sam and Jason's tonight. I'll tell you about it later. They read these updates and we won't be there for another six hours.

Armando keeps asking if we are there yet. Adrian just told me I have beautiful eyes. He wants you to know that the buffalo statue outside of Joel's Frontyard Steakhouse was much bigger than lifesize. Please consider this a correction to my previous post.

Lunch

What more could one need from a road stop than tractor supplies and a Steak 'n Shake? Cracker Barrel had too long of a wait, but is also very appropriate road food. This is our first time at Steak 'n Shake. It's kind of an upscale In 'n Out with Johnny Rockets atmosphere and table service. We are sharing a Butterfinger milkshake and awaiting our steakburgers.

The waitress says we are in Grand Ledge, MI.

Welcome to Michigan!

We are back in the U.S. As A said "It's amazing how stressful crossing the border is." Armando was able to cross without a passport. The check into the U.S. was much more thorough than entering Canada. He poked through our trunk and backseat loaded with stuff. I think he was trying to decide whether he needed a new computer. I guess green stickers just aren't his style because he left my laptop for us. He didn't even want the apple or guacamole we have in the cooler.

We're on the road to Flint, MI now. HeShe (the car, we don't know if it's a he or a she) is driving great. We have traveled 600 miles since Longmeadow....

We just saw Elk for sale. Overall, animal sightings have been plentiful. Hawks, herons, gulls, cows, Canadian cows, geese, brown squirrels, black squirrels, a vulture, tweet tweet birds, and lots of used to be animals along the road.

a Suite for my Sweet

We are staying at a Quality Suites outside of London, Ontario tonight. Canada in the dark looks just like any other place in the dark. We're heading west towards Sarnia, Ontario where we'll cross back into the U.S. arriving in Minneapolis, MN tomorrow night. Go Twins!!!

(We thought we'd have time to explore Michigan's Upper Peninsula, but our country is so darn big...we're saving that for another time. London to Minneapolis is a 12 hour drive according to Google.)

Walking around Niagara Falls was beautiful! The massive amount of water and mist among fall colored trees back-lit by a setting sun was absolutely scrumptious. I'll upload pics to picasa momentarily.

We're on the Rainbow Bridge waiting to enter Canada.

This sign is outside the ticket booth for tours down to the bottom and behind the falls. I'm not sure damp is the right word. Wet or DRENCHED might be more appropriate.

a cellular pic of Horseshoe Falls.

Made it to Niagara Falls!

Lunch stop outside of Oneida, NY: Joel's Front Yard Stakehouse.

How can you pass up a restaurant with a lifesize buffalo statue? They are all decked out for Halloween. It feels like being in a haunted house. There are ghosts hanging from the carousel. Yes, there is a carousel in here. We are sitting next to a warm fire.

Haunted eats!

Now entering New York State.

The autumn leaves along the turnpike are breathtaking.

Time Check

We're on the move. Entering the Massachusetts Turnpike from I-91 and heading west!

Meet Armando

Armando was given to Adrian by his mom long before I entered into A's life. Actually, Armando and I got off to a rocky start. I walked into his home (a blue plant stand) and his pot (holding him) crashed into pieces. A and I picked out a new pot (the one in the picture) and re-planted him with care. I think he has forgiven me, but I'm not sure. He's a pretty quiet plant of a guy. Armando adventured across the country with us in 2005 and is looking forward to seeing the country in reverse. Here's a picture of Armando from today's photo shoot:
We spent today in Longmeadow, MA (Thank you western MA Hobarts!) storing the motorcycle and doing laundry. Armando found some time to play in the leaves. Autumn in New England is a real treasure.

Tonight we root for the Red Sox. Tomorrow we head west (for real). The first bathroom break is scheduled for Niagara Falls.

Note: the photo link on the left now leads to pictures of our road trip. Starring..... Armando! There may be some guest appearances by C-bart and A. (We'll try to get the rest of the Asian Adventure pictures up once we are a bit settled.)

Earthquake preparedness

www.shakeout.org

If you're in CA you should definitely participate!

October 15 2009

Nomads

We drove away from our apartment. It's locked and the keys are inside. We are nomads cruising down the Massachusetts Turnpike.

It was a weird and somewhat solemn feeling pulling away from our home....

See You Later Boston Part 2

It seems like people know that it is my last day in Beantown (for a while).  On my way to work I was asked directions to the aquarium. I told him to follow the path along the water. Then, I was asked if there were any good pastry shops around. Boy, do I know pastry shops!! I gave him directions to Flour. Yum. He is going to love me for it and never know how to thank me.

 

As for me, I'm enjoying a large chai latte with skim milk from the Boston Common Coffee Co. They make the best chai lattes I've ever had. The milk is nice and fluffily steamed. AND They put cinnamon on top. Yum.

 

 

Jaywaking in Boston

Guess how much the fine is for getting caught jaywalking in Boston?   $1.

Guess how much the Mayor wants it to be?  $20.

Guess how much jaywalking I do on a daily basis getting to work in Boston?  priceless.

See You Later Boston

Tomorrow we say "See you later" to Boston. I'll miss our East Coast friends and family. I'll miss New England in the fall. I'll miss making snow angels in the front yard. I'll miss the annual cupcakerie tour! I'll miss the Red Sox. I'll miss running along the Charles River. I'll miss long walks through the City in the Spring. I'll miss the Make Way for Ducklings ducks in the Public Garden. I'll be back!!!

Fred has all of our stuff. Safe and sound, with two locks on his door. We'll see him again on October 30th. We've been cleaning the apartment and purging our remaining goods over the last few days. Our co-workers have hosted "see you later" lunches for us. We're set to go. Tomorrow night we leave for Stop #1: Uncle Alan's in Longmeadow, MA.

If you've ever wanted to visualize a packed Portable On Demand Storage unit there are a few pics on our picasa site in the album named Fred. It's an organized chaos. Trust me. All of the items were packed strategically by a licensed engineer.

A wrote this and I think it sums up our situation pretty well.  I, now, have the cold but A is feeling better!

 

"So we are packed, what a weekend…  The cold (illness) and the rain (from the sky) didn't help but we did it.  Our POD (Fred) is loaded and on its way to CA…  Now we have to clean up and wait to leave."

Time check

The PODS unit is packed. We call him "pod" as in "Whassup Pod!". The air mattress is inflated and we are crawling into insta bed.

Pod is scheduled to be picked up between 7 30 and 10 30 tomorrow am.

A New Beginning

With the start of fall, A and I are embarking on our next adventure. Our Adventure of October 2009 officially began today with the arrival of our portable storage unit.
My husband continues to amaze me. He is recovering from a cold. It was raining all day. Yet, he tirelessly carried box after box out to the storage unit and packed everything with care. I was busy boxing our remaining items and stayed pretty dry. I am truly amazed at the progress we made today. I am proud of ourselves for beginning the packing and purging process over a month ago. We have one more day of packing and loading and then we'll be nomads with only the clothes on our back.

Our October itinerary is packed with action so check back often to read the story of the day.

For those who like to read the last page of the book first. We'll be unpacking our PODS unit on Halloween. Not because it takes that long for the PODS unit to get to Oakland, but because we have adventures planned until then!