We are here! Arrived about 7pm last night. We are both still recovering from the trip - we are exhausted!
The condo is beautiful, we are well and the chocolate stout and hoppy beers are flowing!
Will write more later!
Monday, January 5, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Redding - one night to go!!!
Kate and I pulled into Redding, CA around 9pm this evening. We have checked into our final hotel!! Kate is calling it "The Bates Motel" - it is clean, but rather spartan and very campy!
We took off from Bakersfield this morning - it was an awesome morning because we stopped for Starbucks on the way out! woohoo! As a girl that is used to at least daily servings of Starbucks, I was really wanting one after 5 days without seeing one on the road.
We got caught up in a traffic jam for about 45 minutes while on Route 99. It was tedious, but we both decided that it was much better to wait it out than to be in it. Kind of a reminder of how fortunate we have been on our travels.
The bonus for today was getting to visit my cousin Leanna and her husband, Jairo, in Sacramento! We got to see their way cute house and drink some great coffee. Plus, Leanna made us a yummy apple cake, which was delicious! We caught up on family gossip (sadly, nothing too juicy going on...) and made plans to have some West coast family outings. Yes, Andy - you are included on that!
After our visit, we got back on the road to Redding. I stopped to get gas and realized that it may be the last time in a very long time that I will pump my own gas! For those of you that don't know, Oregon is a full service state - you aren't allowed to pump it yourself! So, Kate took a few pics of me pumping my last tank in what I believe will be quite a while!
And tomorrow we hit Portland!!!! I just can't believe that we are almost there. Kate says that she loves everything about driving across country...except the driving. We have had some real luck with weather and roads. California has been a bit of a challenge - the drivers here are very aggressive. I like to consider myself a pretty seasoned DC Beltway driver and even I'm a bit intimidated by the speed and aggression of the California drivers! It feels like everyone is in such a hurry and they aren't really considering anyone else on the road. Kate and I are calling California the "me" state - "Californ-me".
We will check in again tomorrow night - from PORTLAND, OREGON!!!!!!!! woohoo!!!!!!! rock!
We took off from Bakersfield this morning - it was an awesome morning because we stopped for Starbucks on the way out! woohoo! As a girl that is used to at least daily servings of Starbucks, I was really wanting one after 5 days without seeing one on the road.
We got caught up in a traffic jam for about 45 minutes while on Route 99. It was tedious, but we both decided that it was much better to wait it out than to be in it. Kind of a reminder of how fortunate we have been on our travels.
The bonus for today was getting to visit my cousin Leanna and her husband, Jairo, in Sacramento! We got to see their way cute house and drink some great coffee. Plus, Leanna made us a yummy apple cake, which was delicious! We caught up on family gossip (sadly, nothing too juicy going on...) and made plans to have some West coast family outings. Yes, Andy - you are included on that!
After our visit, we got back on the road to Redding. I stopped to get gas and realized that it may be the last time in a very long time that I will pump my own gas! For those of you that don't know, Oregon is a full service state - you aren't allowed to pump it yourself! So, Kate took a few pics of me pumping my last tank in what I believe will be quite a while!
And tomorrow we hit Portland!!!! I just can't believe that we are almost there. Kate says that she loves everything about driving across country...except the driving. We have had some real luck with weather and roads. California has been a bit of a challenge - the drivers here are very aggressive. I like to consider myself a pretty seasoned DC Beltway driver and even I'm a bit intimidated by the speed and aggression of the California drivers! It feels like everyone is in such a hurry and they aren't really considering anyone else on the road. Kate and I are calling California the "me" state - "Californ-me".
We will check in again tomorrow night - from PORTLAND, OREGON!!!!!!!! woohoo!!!!!!! rock!
Friday, January 2, 2009
The GRAND CANYON and...Bakersfield?
Kate and Tracey yesterday at the Continental Divide in New Mexico. Forgive Tracey's sad road hair!
The snowy path leading to the Grand Canyon lookout point
Me and Alex at the Grand Canyon!
Kate conquering her fear of heights at the Canyon!
and...it speaks for itself...whew. we are EXHAUSTED! Today was pretty brutal as far as driving goes. It appears that each county in each state maintains their section of I-40. So, some counties tend to do a better job than others. I'm sure that when this trip is over, I will need some new tires and a serious alignment.
BUT, we got to see the freaking Grand Canyon today! It was pretty amazing. We only had about an hour, but we did get to take a few peeks. We wound up parking the car and, with Alex in tow, walked the 1/4 mile over the snow packed path to a scenic viewpoint. It was slippery (Kate and Alex fared better than yours truly...) but completly worth it. I assume that in the summer, the trails are packed with people jockeying for photo op position. But we had the little trail all to ourselves. We were able to take a moment, take a deep breath, and take it all in.
After the Grand Canyon, we headed out through the rest of Arizona and into California. This portion of the trip was not what either of us expected. We thought we would get out into flat desert and see nothing but miles and miles of the big cactus and sand. But, since neither of us apparently listened during our American geography classes, we encountered very different landscape. There are huge mountains, with rather steep inclines and twists and turns. The driving is interesting, but rather tiring after many miles. And we went for 50 mile stretches without any service stations or rest stops - just nothing for miles and miles. And, to Kates HUGE disappointment, we did not see the big fork-like cactus. We firmly believe they only exist in Bugs Bunny cartoons.
We made it into Bakersfield a little before 8pm and were met by Jeff and Kevin! They drove 2.5 hours from LA to have dinner with us. We went to a yummy buffet, which made Kate and I giggle. We were talking today about how it has really only been the two of us for almost a week, and we are probably like cowboys out in the wild now. We joked that we have lost all sense of civilized manners, and the only place Kevin and Jeff could take us to dinner was the Golden Corral. So, when we pulled up to the buffet, we could only laugh that maybe Jeff and Kevin were on to our lack of manners...
We had a good dinner and lots of fun conversations and laughs. Jeff commented that 2 years ago today, he and I were probably sitting together at work, lamenting our latest tasker or life rut. We never would have guessed that two years later we would be meeting in Bakersfield for dinner - he from LA, me going to Portland. Its amazing to think where just 730 days can take you.
Tomorrow we are heading up to Sacramento and meeting my cousin Leanna and her husband, Jairo, for lunch. Then we are spending the night in Redding, CA. On Sunday, we pack up the car and are off to PORTLAND!!!!!!
oh - and one final word about Bakersfield. Everyone said that Bakersfield would be terrible. But we have gone over 5 days without a Starbucks, and there is one 3 blocks away from our hotel. I'm declaring Bakersfield a WIN!
We will check in soon!!!!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
The Grand Canyon!
Hello to everyone out there reading our little blog. We keep hearing that a lot of people we know are reading it, which is making us feel super supported! Thanks!!!
SO, it is a New Year!!!! Kate and I went into downtown Albuquerque for a quick drink last night. We managed to find one of the few bars that was not charging a cover (they ranged from $20.00 to $150.00!!!) - it was called the Blackbird Buvette (Kate found out that "buvette" is french for a small food stand). Turns out it was the hipsterist of hipster bars in New Mexico! We were having a few beers and noticed that they were loading in live music...RIGHT behind us. The speaker was four feet away from us. But, we are seasoned bar flies - we could handle a little live music, right? and then the DJ shows up...turns out it wasn't a live acoustic cover band like we are pretty used to in Baltimore. Nope - it was a full on DJ! The music started out kind of soft (as techno / house music is apt to do) and then BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM! The bass kicked in - and it was so loud it made our pantlegs vibrate! We actually got used to it, but decided to leave the downtown area prior to midnight.
We flagged a cab and persuaded our cab driver to take us to a liquor store so we could buy champagne for midnight. I made the mad dash into the grocery store while Kate held the cab. I ran in, asked the first bagger I saw where they kept the beer. My expression and haste must have frightened him because he just gave me a wide eyed look and pointed toward the beer room. I grabbed the first bottle of Korbel I found and booked it to the check out. The checker was super friendly. And, as super friendly people often are, was super slow! He wanted to chat about my maryland ID (yes, contrary to popular belief, i DO still get ID'd!) and what I was doing there. I was on a cab meter, so I tried to move him along as best I could. Finally, I emerged triumphant from the store, champagne in hand, and jumped back in the cab. We got back to the hotel and had a nice little Happy New Year, watching Dick Clark on a 2 hour repeat.
This morning we got up and got on the road again. We traveled through the rest of New Mexico and into Arizona. The landscape is really amazing out here. We stopped at the Continental Divide and took a few pictures, which will be posted here very soon! We had Subway for lunch - again. Honestly - the one chain that is constant at almost every stop is Subway. That is my New Years tip for you - buy stock in Subway! But, we were able to have a little car picnic, sitting in the shade with the doors open, enjoying the light breeze. It was in the mid 50s today. We have had unbelievable weather this trip - we feel very lucky!
Oh - and one tip for all you kids out there that might want to take a trip like this someday - bring your own Cottonelle! The truck stop / rest area / budget hotel toilet paper leaves a bit to be desired...
We made it up to our Grand Canyon hotel this evening around 6pm. Our room is very nice - clean and nicely furnished. Kate pointed out that the big difference between this hotel and the others is that this is actually a destination for people, so the budget hotels have to try a little harder. Not that everyone isn't coming from around the world to visit Kodak, Oklahoma or the Memphis Airport, but I think the Grand Canyon is slightly more popular.
Tomorrow we head to the Grand Canyon for a few quick photo ops and then hit the road for Bakersfield, California!!!! It is a little hard to believe that we are about to cross into our next to last state. Yesterday we passed the point where it would take us longer to go back than it would to keep going to Portland. That was a bit of a moment for me when I realized that - I am actually moving. wow.
We will try to check in tomorrow night. We are meeting my friends Jeff and Kevin for dinner, which should be freaking awesome!
love to everyone!
p.s. for all of you that have asked, Alex is being a total trooper on this trip! We have affectionately named him "Road Dog", because he is rolling with the punches. He is in his crate most of the time, but sometimes while Kate drives, I hold him on my lap. He stretches out on the pillow, under the blanket of course, and takes a nice nap. He loves new hotel rooms. His favorite trick is to jump from bed to bed - the little acrobat. He appreciates all the good thoughts coming his way! Pray for him in the Portland rain!!!!
SO, it is a New Year!!!! Kate and I went into downtown Albuquerque for a quick drink last night. We managed to find one of the few bars that was not charging a cover (they ranged from $20.00 to $150.00!!!) - it was called the Blackbird Buvette (Kate found out that "buvette" is french for a small food stand). Turns out it was the hipsterist of hipster bars in New Mexico! We were having a few beers and noticed that they were loading in live music...RIGHT behind us. The speaker was four feet away from us. But, we are seasoned bar flies - we could handle a little live music, right? and then the DJ shows up...turns out it wasn't a live acoustic cover band like we are pretty used to in Baltimore. Nope - it was a full on DJ! The music started out kind of soft (as techno / house music is apt to do) and then BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM! The bass kicked in - and it was so loud it made our pantlegs vibrate! We actually got used to it, but decided to leave the downtown area prior to midnight.
We flagged a cab and persuaded our cab driver to take us to a liquor store so we could buy champagne for midnight. I made the mad dash into the grocery store while Kate held the cab. I ran in, asked the first bagger I saw where they kept the beer. My expression and haste must have frightened him because he just gave me a wide eyed look and pointed toward the beer room. I grabbed the first bottle of Korbel I found and booked it to the check out. The checker was super friendly. And, as super friendly people often are, was super slow! He wanted to chat about my maryland ID (yes, contrary to popular belief, i DO still get ID'd!) and what I was doing there. I was on a cab meter, so I tried to move him along as best I could. Finally, I emerged triumphant from the store, champagne in hand, and jumped back in the cab. We got back to the hotel and had a nice little Happy New Year, watching Dick Clark on a 2 hour repeat.
This morning we got up and got on the road again. We traveled through the rest of New Mexico and into Arizona. The landscape is really amazing out here. We stopped at the Continental Divide and took a few pictures, which will be posted here very soon! We had Subway for lunch - again. Honestly - the one chain that is constant at almost every stop is Subway. That is my New Years tip for you - buy stock in Subway! But, we were able to have a little car picnic, sitting in the shade with the doors open, enjoying the light breeze. It was in the mid 50s today. We have had unbelievable weather this trip - we feel very lucky!
Oh - and one tip for all you kids out there that might want to take a trip like this someday - bring your own Cottonelle! The truck stop / rest area / budget hotel toilet paper leaves a bit to be desired...
We made it up to our Grand Canyon hotel this evening around 6pm. Our room is very nice - clean and nicely furnished. Kate pointed out that the big difference between this hotel and the others is that this is actually a destination for people, so the budget hotels have to try a little harder. Not that everyone isn't coming from around the world to visit Kodak, Oklahoma or the Memphis Airport, but I think the Grand Canyon is slightly more popular.
Tomorrow we head to the Grand Canyon for a few quick photo ops and then hit the road for Bakersfield, California!!!! It is a little hard to believe that we are about to cross into our next to last state. Yesterday we passed the point where it would take us longer to go back than it would to keep going to Portland. That was a bit of a moment for me when I realized that - I am actually moving. wow.
We will try to check in tomorrow night. We are meeting my friends Jeff and Kevin for dinner, which should be freaking awesome!
love to everyone!
p.s. for all of you that have asked, Alex is being a total trooper on this trip! We have affectionately named him "Road Dog", because he is rolling with the punches. He is in his crate most of the time, but sometimes while Kate drives, I hold him on my lap. He stretches out on the pillow, under the blanket of course, and takes a nice nap. He loves new hotel rooms. His favorite trick is to jump from bed to bed - the little acrobat. He appreciates all the good thoughts coming his way! Pray for him in the Portland rain!!!!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
New Mexico, New Year!
The road stretching out before us...the mountains ahead are part of the Rockies!
I just thought this was funny!
The shadowy figure is me...can you guess where?
We saw a few wind farms and snapped a few pics - these are really beautiful - they looking like living origami!Hi everyone! We are officially in Albuquerque!!!! We really hauled today and made it here by about 5pm. We are super tired, but are trying to build up the energy to explore downtown!
But, i will take a quick second to say that New Mexico is absolutely beautiful. We were in Texas, in the plains, and then crested a hill and were all of a sudden in the desert! It felt like we opened a door and walked into another room. So amazing. We came through the desert and saw the mountains in the distance.
Along the way, Kate and I were talking about how unfairly the Americans Indians were treated. And, how not right it is that we have given them Casinos and trading posts to sustain themselves. I told Kate that my American Indian history is not very good. She replied: "I will cut the story short for you - the got screwed".
i thought that summed it up!
ok - really bad internet connection - will post more tomorrow! happy new year!!!!
But, i will take a quick second to say that New Mexico is absolutely beautiful. We were in Texas, in the plains, and then crested a hill and were all of a sudden in the desert! It felt like we opened a door and walked into another room. So amazing. We came through the desert and saw the mountains in the distance.
Along the way, Kate and I were talking about how unfairly the Americans Indians were treated. And, how not right it is that we have given them Casinos and trading posts to sustain themselves. I told Kate that my American Indian history is not very good. She replied: "I will cut the story short for you - the got screwed".
i thought that summed it up!
ok - really bad internet connection - will post more tomorrow! happy new year!!!!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
the driving marathon continues...
Kate leaving "T&K POB" (Portland or Bust!) on the wall of Graceland!
Tracey, Kate and a little bit of Alex in front of Graceland!
If you look really carefully, you can see John Stamos!!!!
Beale Street in Memphis!
Our dinner at BB Kings...Before
...and after... yum!So many apologies for not updating the blog last night! we are doing great - no need to worry about us! we just wound up getting in so late last night that we decided to continue the blog today.
Memphis: We left Knoxville and traveled to Memphis. The trip was quite pretty - poor Kate had to take most of the hills. We arrived at our swank airport Comfort Suites around 7pm. oh, did i say "swank"? i meant to say "stank"...not the best place - really needed a good scrub down. but, we made do. We wound up scoring a sweet deal on a ride to downtown Memphis, Beale Street, from Gary, the hotel handyman. We went to BB Kings Barbeque and had ribs, baked beans and hush puppies! There was a band playing - blues of course - and about half way through, the singer announced that her new friend, Mr. John Stamos, was in the house. And then, freaking John Stamos - yes - UNCLE JESSE!!! - jumps up on the stage! He sat in on the drums through Mustang Sally and Rocking Robin! It was the most random awesome moment! After getting over our celebrity sighting, we wandered over to The Taproom Juke Joint. The band was pretty good, but were making some heavy demands for tips. The singer announced at one point that they were about to play their number one most requested song...the title was "Tip the Band". Kate and I suspect that is not necessarily most requested from the audience, but likely the band's fave song...
We got back to the hotel around midnight and decided to hit the sack to prep for our long day of driving ahead.
Arkansas - the state that never ends!: We got up and out fairly early - around 9:30 this morning. We decided to stop by Graceland for a quick photo op. We were both pretty surprised by the neighborhood surrounding the joint. It was a bunch of strip malls on a dingy, busy street. And then, all of a sudden, you happen upon the Elvis Presley Mecca. They have built up quite an infrastructure around the entire place - parking lots, shops, special museums. We pulled up next to the actual mansion, which seemed completely out of place for the area. It was a beautiful home set on rolling grounds. We took a few photos and then headed back on to I-40. We crossed the Mississippi River, which made us feel like we were really heading west.
Then we got to Arkansas. For all you kids out there that had dreams of moving to the fabulous state of Arkansas, you may want to reconsider. From what we saw from I-40, no one actually lives in Arkansas. You may want to argue that people actually live there, but we did not see them. It was just mile after mile of rough road and empty fields. Kate did most of the Arkansas driving. At one point, we drove up a hill with a rather steep drop off. This apparently made Kate freak out a bit, while I, the faithful co-pilot, missed the entire incident, as Alex and I fell asleep in the front seat. We finally crossed over into Oklahoma and were completely grateful to be out of that place!
Oklahoma: So, we drove pretty much the rest of the day through Oklahoma. Pretty uneventful, except for the fabulous big sky sunset. We saw the sun set and the sky turn about a million different colors from the dusk. We pulled into our hotel (much, much nicer this time!) and collapsed. Tonight we are regrouping, getting laundry done, eating pizza and watching South Park reruns.
We are planning on heading out early to get to Albuquerque before dark tomorrow. We will go into the downtown area for the New Years festivities. We are both really excited about New Mexico because neither of us has been there before. And the down town area looks pretty awesome!
Please don't be dismayed if we don't blog tomorrow night - we have to get our New Years on! We promise to give you an update on Thursday! Until then, everyone have a great new years!!!!
Memphis: We left Knoxville and traveled to Memphis. The trip was quite pretty - poor Kate had to take most of the hills. We arrived at our swank airport Comfort Suites around 7pm. oh, did i say "swank"? i meant to say "stank"...not the best place - really needed a good scrub down. but, we made do. We wound up scoring a sweet deal on a ride to downtown Memphis, Beale Street, from Gary, the hotel handyman. We went to BB Kings Barbeque and had ribs, baked beans and hush puppies! There was a band playing - blues of course - and about half way through, the singer announced that her new friend, Mr. John Stamos, was in the house. And then, freaking John Stamos - yes - UNCLE JESSE!!! - jumps up on the stage! He sat in on the drums through Mustang Sally and Rocking Robin! It was the most random awesome moment! After getting over our celebrity sighting, we wandered over to The Taproom Juke Joint. The band was pretty good, but were making some heavy demands for tips. The singer announced at one point that they were about to play their number one most requested song...the title was "Tip the Band". Kate and I suspect that is not necessarily most requested from the audience, but likely the band's fave song...
We got back to the hotel around midnight and decided to hit the sack to prep for our long day of driving ahead.
Arkansas - the state that never ends!: We got up and out fairly early - around 9:30 this morning. We decided to stop by Graceland for a quick photo op. We were both pretty surprised by the neighborhood surrounding the joint. It was a bunch of strip malls on a dingy, busy street. And then, all of a sudden, you happen upon the Elvis Presley Mecca. They have built up quite an infrastructure around the entire place - parking lots, shops, special museums. We pulled up next to the actual mansion, which seemed completely out of place for the area. It was a beautiful home set on rolling grounds. We took a few photos and then headed back on to I-40. We crossed the Mississippi River, which made us feel like we were really heading west.
Then we got to Arkansas. For all you kids out there that had dreams of moving to the fabulous state of Arkansas, you may want to reconsider. From what we saw from I-40, no one actually lives in Arkansas. You may want to argue that people actually live there, but we did not see them. It was just mile after mile of rough road and empty fields. Kate did most of the Arkansas driving. At one point, we drove up a hill with a rather steep drop off. This apparently made Kate freak out a bit, while I, the faithful co-pilot, missed the entire incident, as Alex and I fell asleep in the front seat. We finally crossed over into Oklahoma and were completely grateful to be out of that place!
Oklahoma: So, we drove pretty much the rest of the day through Oklahoma. Pretty uneventful, except for the fabulous big sky sunset. We saw the sun set and the sky turn about a million different colors from the dusk. We pulled into our hotel (much, much nicer this time!) and collapsed. Tonight we are regrouping, getting laundry done, eating pizza and watching South Park reruns.
We are planning on heading out early to get to Albuquerque before dark tomorrow. We will go into the downtown area for the New Years festivities. We are both really excited about New Mexico because neither of us has been there before. And the down town area looks pretty awesome!
Please don't be dismayed if we don't blog tomorrow night - we have to get our New Years on! We promise to give you an update on Thursday! Until then, everyone have a great new years!!!!
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