Hey Blog Watchers! I've got some sad news and some exciting news. First, sad. I drove Celia to LAX this morning so she could catch a flight back to NYC. Boo. She has to go back to do a workshop of "Saved", the musical she is doing in the spring at Playwrights Horizons. I miss her already. Having her here was like having 100 friends!
Exciting news. I think my wanderlust has gotten the better of me. I am thinking that for my big birthday this weekend I am going to visit my two best friends from high school, John and Jesse, in Portland, OR. I will be stopping on the way in San Francisco to visit my other best friend from high school Jeremy.
Hey Blog Watchers! So, we arrived Tuesday night and have been trying to get settled these last few days. The fires created some incredibly bad smog up in these parts but we are okay. Hopefully others in southern cali will soon have their lives back to normal.
We couldn't ignore the desperate pleas to not stop blogging; so here y'all are! Enjoy!
Check out these photos from the Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon and Route 66. Just click on the photo to see the whole album.
We stayed in a great lodge just off the rim of the Grand Canyon last night. Then this morning we had breakfast at another lodge and then bundled up for our hike. We took the visitor's bus to the South Kaibab trailhead and hiked about 1 mile down the canyon. It was so beautiful! We are getting some free wireless at a hotel in town and we are hoping to find a cheap hotel in Vegas tonight. We will keep you posted!
Sorry the sound is so bad, blog readers. It was really windy, but we wanted y'all to see the view from the top. I got a little emotional as you can see in the video.
We've had some technical advice from Celia's brother, Andrew. Check out his blog at:
Hey Folks! Things are heating up on Roadtrip2007! We left Amarillo yesterday after leaving our mark on Cadillac Ranch. We soldiered on through New Mexico; heading straight for Santa Fe. We booked a "nice" room on priceline for cheap. It wasn't "nice". Thats okay. We got dinner at this great New Mexican restaurant called 'The Shed' in downtown Santa Fe. The food was really tasty and spicy. We headed back to our palace hotel and fell quickly asleep. This morning we did some laundry (see the pics of all my blue shirts!) We also got the oil changed and washed.
We headed to downtown Santa Fe, which is pretty cool. LOTS of turquoise! We had lunch at Tia Sophia's which was really good. Then we walked to the Loretto Chapel to see the Miraculous Staircase (see video). Next we drove about an hour to Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. It was amazing! So beautiful. See the videos.
Now we are sitting in the lap of luxury. We bid on priceline, more successfully, and got a room in the Albuquerque Hyatt Regency for $50! Nice job, Celia. We are going to see a 10:10 showing of 'Into The Wild' tonight. Yay!
The car has already travelled 3000 miles from when I got the oil changed in Cape Cod! Crazy, right?
We camped last night on the bottom of Palo Duro Canyon with my sister Kate, her friend Patty and my two nieces and nephew. It was a lot of fun but FREEZING! And tons of flies. The canyon itself is really beautiful. We woke up freezing cold and took a short hike around with the kids. Then we headed out and made our way to Cadillac Ranch on the outskirts of Amarillo. We left our blog marking. Amazing. On our way to Santa Fe!
Hey blog readers! Finally! We have access to the World Wide Web! I'm so sorry about the delay, blog readers. Celia and I have been getting SO much feedback begging for more frequent posts...WE"RE TRYING!
So, we left Asheville, NC on Tuesday morning and raced through Tennessee. The last 20 miles of the Blueridge in NC was beautiful! The foliage finally started to represent. The Blueridge lead us right into the Great Smoky Mountains. Very impressive. Very beautiful and more crowded than the Blueridge. After leaving the Great Smoky Mountain Park we entered dreary Little Pigeon, TN; the biggest strip mall I've ever seen. We wizzed right by Dollywood; no time to stop. Then we rushed through Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis. We did stop at the pictured Interstate BBQ just outside of Memphis. It was recommended in our Lets Go Roadtripping Book. We got some drive thru there and drove to Village Creek State Park in Arkansas. We had arranged earlier in the day for a 2 BDR cabin in the park. It was the most expensive place we have stayed thus far! $99! It wasn't worth it, unfortunatley. The cabin wasn't nearly as interesting as the one in Virginia. Totally non-descript, a little like being at my best friends house in middle school. Check out the pictures. The BBQ was delicious, however. This morning we got up and drove directly to historic Hot Springs, AK. Hot Springs is famous for their hot spring mineral bath spas. Celia and I got the full service at the oldest one there, open continuously since 1912. It was weird. From there we drove back to Little Rock and got there just in time to visit the William Jefferson Clinton Library. It was amazing! Unfortunately, Bill wasn't there. Where will Hillary have her Library? Can't wait to visit that one. We stopped in Fort Smith, AK for some creole food. Delish. We just arrived in Sallisaw, OK. We are staying at Sallisaw Inn for only $45. I talked down the owner lady from $50. Nice, right?
Check out the photo link and videos!
Take it easy on all the comments, blog readers! I only have two eyes!
Finally! We made it to an area with WiFi today! I'm sorry blog readers. I have been getting so many comments and feedback from everyone on the blog about how badly you want updates quicker. I'll try my best.
Celia and I drove from DC to Meadows of Dan, VA on our first day of driving. We drove all the way down Skyline Drive and then connected to the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway. We stayed at the rustic "Rocky Knob Cabins". See the video for details on everything.
On our second day we drove again down the magnificent Blue Ridge Parkway. We made a stop at Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. It is the highest mountain peak in the Blueridge (5,964 feet!). It was amazing and there was a mile high swinging bridge we crossed after a half mile hike. Really beautiful. Unfortunately, the foliage this season is not as magnificent as usual due to some drought stuff or some such thing. I don't know, look it up.
We continuted on the Blue Ridge to mile 385. We then found our way to Asheville, NC and the cozy (and cheap) ArtHaus Hostel. Its only us and some crazy older lady here tonight. We had dinner at some Jamaican/Mexican restaurant (yum), very filling.
Please check out all the videos and photos. There are some beauties there!
Here are some photos from my 2 days in DC and Shannon and Steve's wedding. Shannon and I grew up together in Bethel and also lived in DC at the same time for our first 2 years of undergrad. Her and Steve have been a couple for 9 years! It was a beautiful wedding and a lot of fun.
I am picking Celia up from Union Station at 1:30 and off we go. We are taking Skyline Drive and the Blueridge Parkway through Virginia until we get to our cabin around midnight. I think I'll be away from posting for the next day or so. I know how upsetting this is to you, my readers. Sorry.
As always, by clicking on some photos you will be linked to the whole album on Picasa. Check it out.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
So, I left for DC at about 1:00 PM Friday afternoon. I drove with my friend Lea. She made a wonderful travel companion. We arrived at the Hotel Helix (amazing and hilarious) a little after 6:30. I tried to find cheap parking in the neighborhood but was unsuccessful. We then went for dinner with Lea's sister, Lacy, who lives in Adams Morgan. Then we went and met up with our friend Shannon, who is getting married, and the rest of her wedding party. They were at The Tombs in Georgetown; the bar that is depicted in the movie St. Elmo's Fire. Crazy.
Well, readers, as promised here are some pics from my last two nights in NYC. It was a really great time and thanks to everyone for coming to say good bye.
Click on the photo to see more photos from that night!
Well, folks. I'm heading out. I want to thank everyone for a great evening last night. I will be posting pictures of the night ASAP. I hate keeping you all waiting. I know how often you all must click on my BLOG hoping and praying for more juicy posts!
I booked a cabin off of the Blue Ridge Parkway for Sunday night. They're called the Rocky Knob Cabins. Looks rustic. Yikes. I hope Celia doesn't mind.
These photos are from my last few days at Crispo. I have worked there for the last three summers. It is a great place to work with delicious food. It is located at 240 W. 14th St. NYC. I recommend it.
The last week there, all us waiters were experimenting with the cross eyed waiter routine. Very fun. Enjoy the pics.
If you are planning on coming to the farewell get-to-gether on Thursday night bring a mix CD Celia and I can listen to on the road trip! Only if you have time, of course.
I am so excited that my Blog has really taken off! So many visitors!
As I mentioned earlier; I am leaving NYC on Friday. I'm hoping to get to see friends here for a farewell gathering at The Gaf on Thursday night. It is a little Irish pub on 48th Street and 9th Ave. (between 9/10). They have darts there, and Big Buck Hunter and I think maybe Photo Hunt too. Come see me off. I should be there around 9:30. Hope to see you all there!
Mike and Shannon tied the knot this weekend on Cape Cod. It was an amazing weekend and really beautiful celebration. Click the picture of Mike and Shannon to view the entire picasa album of my photos.
While in Falmouth I had the oil changed in my new/used 1997 Honda CRV. I bought it from my Yale roommate Charlie. It only has 117,200 miles on it! However, its in great shape.
I'll be packing my belongings up this week and deciding what won't be making the trip to LA. Then Friday I will be leaving for Washington DC to attend my childhood friend Shannon Spillane's wedding in Georgetown. The wedding is on Saturday. Celia, my road trip partner, will be meeting me in DC Sunday afternoon and off we go. We will be travelling down the Blue Ridge Parkway through Virginia. Look for some beautiful photos from that leg of the trip.
It began as a travel blog when my good friend Celia and I drove cross country in 2007. It then documented a 3 week camping/roadtrip with my two friends Charlie and Tommy. Now the possibilities are endless...
