I'm baaaaack. I'm currently sitting in Portland Int'l Airport waiting for my flight to take off. It got delayed an hour, so I have even more time to do nothing!
So I believe our last point of leaving off was the final push we were making westward. Well we arrived to Oregon and Beki's apartment without a hitch. Cool thing: You're not allowed to pump your own gas in Oregon. Not only that, but usually the people who pump the gas for you clean off your windshield as well. And to make it even BETTER, you don't have to tip them! I might just say forget this whole Spanish thing, let's go and pump gas in Oregon.
The first day we basically just waited on Beki's landlord giant to let her in. After that we made a run to Wal-Mart where she picked up a desk that I assembled. Now, I don't want to brag, but it might be the finest piece of furniture (Is a desk considered furniture?) ever assembled in the state of Oregon. I give it my personal 99-year guarantee. I don't like to brag, but I've been called the Picasso of my generation with a screwdriver and a hammer. Later on in the week, I put together a bookshelf as well. I don't guarantee that one for 99-years. I'll give it 45.
At some point we made another trip out to Sonic. I just have to sing it's praises. It is without question the greatest fast food chain in all of North America. Half priced drinks from 2-4 every day and they had a buy one get one free Milkshake deal going on. ALSO, milkshakes in Oregon were drinkable. Must just be a midwestern thing where they like to eat their milkshakes. Also, Sonic has Corndogs. Awesome. The last time I had a Corndog I think I was like, 7.
Most of Wednesday during the day was spent again working on the desk and reading (Now working on Tales of the South Pacific - Another fabulous read) and watching movies (Stranger Than Fiction - Loved It, A Mighty Wind - Super Loved it and For Your Consideration - Not Awful). Basically Wednesday was a just relax and do nothing day except unpack and show what wonderful skills I have with a screwdriver and hammer.
On Thursday we drove out to the Ocean and Coos Bay (Home of Steve Prefontaine). I've now seen both oceans, which is pretty cool. There are lots of pictures, but they're not going to come until Monday when Beki gets internet, most likely. Coos Bay wasn't much - we basically just drove through it. We made a few stops here and there to take pictures of things, most notably an interestingly named State Park.
Friday was spent working on the bookcase and packing myself up. We were going to stop at Powell's book store which is supposed to be a massive one located near the airport, but Maggie (Our Magellan GPS) brought us to some bakery. Stupid Maggie. So instead I got the Airport a little earlier than anticipated and got to wait in the Airport.
A few random Oregonian Observations:
They don't mess around about logging. They are very serious about their trees and their ability to carve it up. In fact, I saw at least 2 different Chainsaw Carving competition signs on the way to Coos Bay.
In New York you may see lots of trucks carrying covered loads. In Oregon, all those Big Rigs are carrying cut down giant tree logs. The trees in Oregon are quite bizarre as it is. I think that there will be some pictures coming anyway to prove my point.
T.A.D.A. - Teens Against Drug Abuse (I Think) Anyways, it's their equivalent of DARE I think. TADA vs. DARE? Come on, we all know DARE is way cooler.
So for now, I'm gonna finish reading South Pacific and get ready for my trip back to the future. I might add some things in here and there as I am able to remember things from the few days when I was unable to post, but this is probably my last major post with words, as the next few will probably be mainly of pictures.
So, I dare not say goodbye forever because who knows when I will be traveling again. So, instead of saying goodbye, Hasta Luego.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Dueling Banjos
So today started our serious westward push into the new frontiers of Washington and Oregon. Spent basically the whole day in the car, so there wasn't much to really go out and do.
We started the day in Montana and breakfast in itself was rather interesting. The accents in Montana are priceless. We listened to one lady on the radio who must have never set foot outside of Montana, her accent was so strong. They hold their a's out real long. She said something at one point like, "I hoop yew awll haave a nice dee" (I hope you all have a nice day - don't worry for those of you who needed that translated, I almost needed one to listen to that as well.)
After our time in Montana, we set for the road. We went through that really skinny part of Idaho in the northern section. I'm not gonna lie, I thought it was going to be all potato farms or something like that. But there wasn't hardly any farmland at all. It was actually really mountainous and a bunch of streams running through. It was quite pretty, but this time instead of reminding me of "Misery", it reminded much more of "Deliverance". Needless to say, I wasn't too upset when we left Idaho.
Also, for those of you concerned about our License plate game have no fear - we just got New Mexico! We're almost there!
We arrived through Washington and Oregon and both states kind of blended together. Driving through Washington kind of made me think of what I would picture Arizona as - all the grass was crab grass and it looked really dry and dusty. Maybe the area is just going through a drought or something but I thought it would be much more green than that.
Speaking of being green - Oregon's fine for littering is $6,250. In NYS, what is it, like $500 or $300? I guess Oregon cares quite a bit about their environment. Also I was excited to get to Washington and Oregon because I thought the speed limit would be 80, but instead it dropped back down to 65. Come on Northwest, pick it up a notch!
Other than that, I can't say much because everything I have to say is basically in pictures, so I'll have to wait until I get those uploaded and then you can all see what I've been talking about.
Not sure when I'm gonna update again because tomorrow I'll be staying at Beki's apartment and I don't think there is any internet there yet. But hopefully I'll be able to upload those photos tomorrow.
Until then, be good, America.
We started the day in Montana and breakfast in itself was rather interesting. The accents in Montana are priceless. We listened to one lady on the radio who must have never set foot outside of Montana, her accent was so strong. They hold their a's out real long. She said something at one point like, "I hoop yew awll haave a nice dee" (I hope you all have a nice day - don't worry for those of you who needed that translated, I almost needed one to listen to that as well.)
After our time in Montana, we set for the road. We went through that really skinny part of Idaho in the northern section. I'm not gonna lie, I thought it was going to be all potato farms or something like that. But there wasn't hardly any farmland at all. It was actually really mountainous and a bunch of streams running through. It was quite pretty, but this time instead of reminding me of "Misery", it reminded much more of "Deliverance". Needless to say, I wasn't too upset when we left Idaho.
Also, for those of you concerned about our License plate game have no fear - we just got New Mexico! We're almost there!
We arrived through Washington and Oregon and both states kind of blended together. Driving through Washington kind of made me think of what I would picture Arizona as - all the grass was crab grass and it looked really dry and dusty. Maybe the area is just going through a drought or something but I thought it would be much more green than that.
Speaking of being green - Oregon's fine for littering is $6,250. In NYS, what is it, like $500 or $300? I guess Oregon cares quite a bit about their environment. Also I was excited to get to Washington and Oregon because I thought the speed limit would be 80, but instead it dropped back down to 65. Come on Northwest, pick it up a notch!
Other than that, I can't say much because everything I have to say is basically in pictures, so I'll have to wait until I get those uploaded and then you can all see what I've been talking about.
Not sure when I'm gonna update again because tomorrow I'll be staying at Beki's apartment and I don't think there is any internet there yet. But hopefully I'll be able to upload those photos tomorrow.
Until then, be good, America.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Into the great wide open
So the day started with us being a few hours outside of the Yellowstone Park entrance. We were slated to arrive at Yellowstone at about noon or so as told to us by our GPS.
Well, on our trek out we had to climb a giant, winding mountain. The whole time up these twisting and turning roads I kept thinking to myself "Boy this reminds me an awful lot like the movie Misery. Good thing it's not snowing out." After about 45 minutes or so of taking our time climbing up this giant mountain, and also stopping at various points along the way to take pictures of the snow-topped peaks and streams that were running through the valleys, we reached the top of the mountain. It wasn't an easy trip up there and needless to say we were glad we had finally reached the peak.
We were glad, that is, until we saw the sign saying "ROAD CLOSED". There were no other options for us. We had to turn around, and go all the way back down the giant mountain of doom. I guess it wasn't ALL bad - we did get to see the sights all over again!
But, with all that, our arrival to Yellowstone was seriously delayed. I believe we ended up arriving around 3 or so? We saw some serious sights though. Lots of Bison/Buffalo (is there a difference between the two) and sheep/elk/deer along the way. We didn't get to see any bears though so that was a kind of a bummer. We got out at a few scenic points and took some pictures, but for the most part we just kind of drove around. I think car fatigue was setting in at that point, and despite all the beautiful scenery, we couldn't muster the energy to go on any hikes or the likes of it. Going back to Yellowstone would be something I'd be interested in doing again. You can't really do Yellowstone in under 2 days though I feel like. It's such a massive park with so many different sights to see and walks to take.
This post really can't do much justice to this leg of the trip because pictures are needed. I would upload those pictures here, however Beki lost her camera upload cord, so that is going to have to wait.
One of the things that has been entertaining us on this trip has been, of course, the license plate game! So far, we have 45/50 states. Hawaii, Alaska, New Mexico, Delaware and Alabama are the ones we're missing. Delaware and Alabama are gonna be tough ones to come by. I think the other three can be found, however. If we're going to find an Hawaii license plate anywhere, I think it's gonna be in Oregon or in the Pacific Northwest. Like Kevin Garnett said, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!!!
Other than that, these next couple of blogs might be a little, uh, lacking in substance. Gonna be spent mostly on the road. I guess I'll try to make as many observations as possible.
Tip of the day - Read "Our Man in Havana". Good book.
Until then, don't ruin the future for me, East Coasters!!!
Well, on our trek out we had to climb a giant, winding mountain. The whole time up these twisting and turning roads I kept thinking to myself "Boy this reminds me an awful lot like the movie Misery. Good thing it's not snowing out." After about 45 minutes or so of taking our time climbing up this giant mountain, and also stopping at various points along the way to take pictures of the snow-topped peaks and streams that were running through the valleys, we reached the top of the mountain. It wasn't an easy trip up there and needless to say we were glad we had finally reached the peak.
We were glad, that is, until we saw the sign saying "ROAD CLOSED". There were no other options for us. We had to turn around, and go all the way back down the giant mountain of doom. I guess it wasn't ALL bad - we did get to see the sights all over again!
But, with all that, our arrival to Yellowstone was seriously delayed. I believe we ended up arriving around 3 or so? We saw some serious sights though. Lots of Bison/Buffalo (is there a difference between the two) and sheep/elk/deer along the way. We didn't get to see any bears though so that was a kind of a bummer. We got out at a few scenic points and took some pictures, but for the most part we just kind of drove around. I think car fatigue was setting in at that point, and despite all the beautiful scenery, we couldn't muster the energy to go on any hikes or the likes of it. Going back to Yellowstone would be something I'd be interested in doing again. You can't really do Yellowstone in under 2 days though I feel like. It's such a massive park with so many different sights to see and walks to take.
This post really can't do much justice to this leg of the trip because pictures are needed. I would upload those pictures here, however Beki lost her camera upload cord, so that is going to have to wait.
One of the things that has been entertaining us on this trip has been, of course, the license plate game! So far, we have 45/50 states. Hawaii, Alaska, New Mexico, Delaware and Alabama are the ones we're missing. Delaware and Alabama are gonna be tough ones to come by. I think the other three can be found, however. If we're going to find an Hawaii license plate anywhere, I think it's gonna be in Oregon or in the Pacific Northwest. Like Kevin Garnett said, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!!!
Other than that, these next couple of blogs might be a little, uh, lacking in substance. Gonna be spent mostly on the road. I guess I'll try to make as many observations as possible.
Tip of the day - Read "Our Man in Havana". Good book.
Until then, don't ruin the future for me, East Coasters!!!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Badlands
Being the innovative genius that I am, I discovered that instead of waiting until getting to hotel to write up the blog when I am dead tired, I could just write it and save it to a Microsoft word document and then copy and paste it. (Cue up real men of genius song here)
So today’s journey brought us to Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota and to Mt. Rushmore in Rushmore, South Dakota. I had never really heard of Wall Drug before and didn’t know exactly what to expect. It was basically a giant drug store that had just expanded into a bunch of different souvenir shops and a café and the likes. It was kind of neat walking around – it had a real old feel to it. It was also cool because one of the things about Wall Drug is that it advertises all over the world and lists how far that particular location is from Wall Drug in South Dakota. For example, there were pictures sent in from people in Russia, the North and South Poles and from random famous people at different locations in the world and USA. Patrick Ewing was in one of the pictures and a bunch of different politicians as well.
At Wall Drug we stopped at a café across the street called “The Badlands Bar” or something to that extent. There, I sampled a Buffalo burger. I wasn’t too impressed – the burger was cooked too much for my palate. But then again, maybe that was because that’s how you have to cook a Buffalo burger or else you get Buffalo flu or something like that. It did taste a little bit different than a regular hamburger, although it’s kind of hard to explain. I think I would like to sample another Buffalo burger from an actual restaurant sometime.
On the topic of food, since being in this Wisconsin/Iowa/South Dakota/Missouri area, I have sampled a couple of different milkshakes. I am a milkshake aficionado – by far my favorite desert. Apparently here in the Midwest, they don’t believe in being able to drink their milkshakes. I’ve had to eat both of them with a spoon. Now, I’m not going to complain just because the ice cream itself was so delicious. However, I prefer my milkshakes drinkable. They should develop a new kind of drinkable dessert. Since Congress likes to get involved in everything else from the MLB to College Football, maybe we could spare a couple of the lower ranking Senators to form the milkshake Committee. I would support my tax dollars going to this committee to provide these good Midwesterners with a tasty, ice-creamy, drinkable treat.
Mt. Rushmore was the next stop and I was a little under whelmed at first, to be honest. I kind of just assumed that it was going to be bigger and we would be able to walk really close and be nearly face level to it. Alas, I was mistaken. Don’t get me wrong – it is still an incredibly majestic sight to behold, but I just wanted to be closer and get to pet George, Tommy, Teddy and Abe. We stayed there for maybe an hour or so, walked a trail they had and watched a mini-video about the sculpting of the monument.
We are currently en route to find a place to stay for the night near Yellowstone Park. It was kind of interesting to note the differences between South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana. South Dakota was all into the whole Sturgis scene and wearing leather and being the “Badlands” people. There were lots of Harley-Davidson memorabilia around us. The land along the road also seemed a bit more farmland and in use in some sort of agricultural way.
Wyoming is definitely more of a cowboy state. Just looking at the land through Wyoming, it seemed like it was all ranches with animals roaming the hillsides. I could just picture cowboys on horses with their 10-gallon hats and lassos. I never really got to notice the people though so I couldn’t compare them with the Bikers of South Dakota.
Montana is just a bunch of open grass and nothingness. It’s very beautiful, but not a whole lot out here. The sun setting on the hills was really gorgeous, although the clouds were obscuring it for the most part, but I used my imagination and saw a great sunset. I could still see the different shades of pink that were emanating from the sun’s rays so I guess that was enough.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Wake up in the morning feeling like going back to bed....
So the day started with us being in Hannibal, Missouri proudly displaying our Hannibal Warrior's football t-shirts. Hannibal is a kind of nice town and very artsy-fartsy antiquey down in the section that focuses on Mark Twain. We went on the cave tour that Twain used as his inspiration for writing Tom Sawyer. The cave was pretty cool I guess, but if you want to see a really cool cave you gotta check out Howe's Caverns. That was pretty sweet.
After that we kind of walked around downtown Hannibal just to see what it was like and if we could find anything Hannibal High School related. We stopped in one store that was all antiques and stuff and had free samples. I sampled some of their world famous Sweet Potato Butter on a Tostito's Scoops chip. I must say, I reckon that it is world famous cause it was the best darn Sweet Potato Butter that this blogger has ever tasted. I give it my highest rating ever given out on this blog to a Sweet Potato Butter which is a thrilling 6 thumbs up! The guy then asked us where we were from, and when we said Hannibal NEW YORK, he didn't seem very impressed, even going so far as to say Hamilton instead of Hannibal. Oh well...why isn't anyone we met impressed we are from Hannibal?
An important part of keeping ourselves sane on this trip has been the music selection. Whenever it is my turn to play my Ipod, I put it on random shuffle. Two songs almost always come up in the random shuffle of the nearly 1800 songs- and those songs are "Be A Man" and "A Girl Worth Fighting For" from the Disney movie Mulan. I'm not complaining though - far from it. We belt it out each time it comes on with honor and dignity, and even going so far as to roll down the windows when the time seems right.
One of our better ideas, however, came when we were driving through Iowa. We were about halfway through the state when we realized we had the soundtrack that defined the great Hawkeye state - The Music Man. Being the thespian and Musical star that I was (not to brag - but I was rated as the sixth best Salesman #5 and second best town person #3 in all of Oswego County the year we performed it)I was able to really blast some songs. I think Iowa appreciated our appreciating their rich culture and tradition by rolling down our windows and singing it.
Speaking of driving though, the further west/north we get, the higher the speed limit gets. Currently, the speed limit is 75 mph. Who knows where this craziness will stop. Maybe it's 80 in North Dakota. That would be a real doozy!
Speaking of driving though, Beki tells me I have a real road-rage problem. It's not about a lot of stuff though - just one thing in particular. That thing is passing on the right. If I see some smart-alec trying to pass a bunch of people on the right, I connect telepathically with the other cars around me and we do our best to box that guy in. That's the one thing that really grinds my gears. Don't worry mom, other than that I'm driving really safe.
South Dakota is a really gorgeous state. Driving through their during the twilight hours and when the sun is setting on all that grass is really a sight to behold. There weren't as many farms in SD as in Iowa, so there was a lot more plush, greenery in the area. However, with that being said there was a serious problem. We did pass a group of farms at some point and I am pretty sure they weren't using Animal Manure, but Human Manure. It was real bad. I'm talking like someone taking a port-o-potty and flipping it upside down and just spreading it everywhere. Luckily Beki had some perfume or some jount in the car that she sprayed and made the bad smell go away. So please, people, if you get any agricultural products from SD, drop it right now and throw it away. You don't know how that thing was fertilized.
Alright so I am dead tired now. It's about Midnight:15 and I think it's time for bed. I'm growing a very masculine beard, kind of like hockey players grow their playoff beards, for this trip. I've already been stopped a few times by people asking me if I was the Bounty man. Easy mistake to make I guess.
On the agenda for tomorrow is Wall Drug (I still don't get what the big deal is about that place - I guess we'll find out tomorrow) and Mt. Rushmore (whatever that is!) After that, it's gonna kick into high gear on the westward movement. Be sure to send me lots of text messages and/or phone calls to keep me entertained.
Until then, stay classy east coast.
After that we kind of walked around downtown Hannibal just to see what it was like and if we could find anything Hannibal High School related. We stopped in one store that was all antiques and stuff and had free samples. I sampled some of their world famous Sweet Potato Butter on a Tostito's Scoops chip. I must say, I reckon that it is world famous cause it was the best darn Sweet Potato Butter that this blogger has ever tasted. I give it my highest rating ever given out on this blog to a Sweet Potato Butter which is a thrilling 6 thumbs up! The guy then asked us where we were from, and when we said Hannibal NEW YORK, he didn't seem very impressed, even going so far as to say Hamilton instead of Hannibal. Oh well...why isn't anyone we met impressed we are from Hannibal?
An important part of keeping ourselves sane on this trip has been the music selection. Whenever it is my turn to play my Ipod, I put it on random shuffle. Two songs almost always come up in the random shuffle of the nearly 1800 songs- and those songs are "Be A Man" and "A Girl Worth Fighting For" from the Disney movie Mulan. I'm not complaining though - far from it. We belt it out each time it comes on with honor and dignity, and even going so far as to roll down the windows when the time seems right.
One of our better ideas, however, came when we were driving through Iowa. We were about halfway through the state when we realized we had the soundtrack that defined the great Hawkeye state - The Music Man. Being the thespian and Musical star that I was (not to brag - but I was rated as the sixth best Salesman #5 and second best town person #3 in all of Oswego County the year we performed it)I was able to really blast some songs. I think Iowa appreciated our appreciating their rich culture and tradition by rolling down our windows and singing it.
Speaking of driving though, the further west/north we get, the higher the speed limit gets. Currently, the speed limit is 75 mph. Who knows where this craziness will stop. Maybe it's 80 in North Dakota. That would be a real doozy!
Speaking of driving though, Beki tells me I have a real road-rage problem. It's not about a lot of stuff though - just one thing in particular. That thing is passing on the right. If I see some smart-alec trying to pass a bunch of people on the right, I connect telepathically with the other cars around me and we do our best to box that guy in. That's the one thing that really grinds my gears. Don't worry mom, other than that I'm driving really safe.
South Dakota is a really gorgeous state. Driving through their during the twilight hours and when the sun is setting on all that grass is really a sight to behold. There weren't as many farms in SD as in Iowa, so there was a lot more plush, greenery in the area. However, with that being said there was a serious problem. We did pass a group of farms at some point and I am pretty sure they weren't using Animal Manure, but Human Manure. It was real bad. I'm talking like someone taking a port-o-potty and flipping it upside down and just spreading it everywhere. Luckily Beki had some perfume or some jount in the car that she sprayed and made the bad smell go away. So please, people, if you get any agricultural products from SD, drop it right now and throw it away. You don't know how that thing was fertilized.
Alright so I am dead tired now. It's about Midnight:15 and I think it's time for bed. I'm growing a very masculine beard, kind of like hockey players grow their playoff beards, for this trip. I've already been stopped a few times by people asking me if I was the Bounty man. Easy mistake to make I guess.
On the agenda for tomorrow is Wall Drug (I still don't get what the big deal is about that place - I guess we'll find out tomorrow) and Mt. Rushmore (whatever that is!) After that, it's gonna kick into high gear on the westward movement. Be sure to send me lots of text messages and/or phone calls to keep me entertained.
Until then, stay classy east coast.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Let's go HOCKEYHAWKS!
HANNIBAL HIGH SCHOOL
FOOTBALL FIELD!
Our Man Bullen....Tight beard man.
Just me hanging out eating some Woolly Mammoth meat with my bff's...those are so my mannerisms!
So Illinois was interesting. Kind of. The roads were not nearly as nice as those in Indiana, but they weren't as bad as the ones in Ohio either. We never officially got greeted into Illinois. We got greeted to Chicago, kind of, but never to Illinois. I guess if I were making greeting signs for the state of Illinois, I would want to emphasize the fact that Chicago is contained within that state's parameters as well.
The one thing I really wanted to do most on this trip was to go to Chicago. I'm not sure why, but that's one city I've always really wanted to visit. I wanted to go to Chicago and get a deep-dish Chicago style pizza. So we got to Chicago and found a place to get a pizza in a really nice restaurant called Giordanos. It was basically a deep-dish stuffed pizza, with the sauce on top and the cheese and everything packed into the middle. It looked really familiar, and I am almost positive if you watch the Travel Channel and the show they have on there all the time about pizzas that you'll see Giordano's. Needless to say, the pizza was sublime. There are some pictures that should probably get uploaded here, but I dont know how. I'll show them to you all somehow. The world needs to see the pizza I ate.
Anywho, during our time in Chicago, the Chicago Hockeyhawks were winning the Stanley cup! luckily, we got out of there before they actually won it but we got a hotel in Northern Illinois somewhere and saw them going crazy in the streets. The same streets that we were walking less than an hour ago. We heard that the parade for them was gonna be on the same street that Giordanos was on. We basically walked the whole parade route we realized while searching for Giordano's, which was pretty cool.
So the next day we went up to Kenosha, Wisconsin, which any good Hannibalonian knows was founded by people from Hannibal. They had a little museum we went through, and they had a book about the founding of Kenosha and talked all about John Bullen Jr., and his story of coming across it, which was pretty interesting.
Basically, Bullen talked a bunch of people into investing in his company in 1835 that was going west. They headed west with a few people, and founded a place called Pike Creek. Well, as they were setting up there, a couple of drifters from Chicago came through and tried setting up land there as well. Bullen and his crew tried to force them out, but the drifters just laughed at him because there was no law enforcement or land rights at that point in Wisconsin. So eventually, one of the drifters went to Chicago to get some supplies. At that point, a bunch of the Hannibalonians came and built a giant fence around his house signifying that that was all the land he was allowed. Well, the drifter came back with about a dozen big guys carrying his material, and it seemed as though a confrontation was going to be inevitable. They came to an agreement though about splitting up the land. The drifters built a saloon, but then left a couple of years later and died a year or so after that. Dude was probably a drunk. Anyways, the company Bullen founded wasn't really profitable, even though just about everybody in Hannibal owned a stake in it. So that's more or less the story of Kenosha. I continued looking through the book, and a page or two later was a picture - clear as day - of downtown Hannibal, NY from 1835 of the post office and that whole block of buildings right there, which is now like the pet shot, and jewelry store or video store or whatever they are now. There were a bunch of horse and buggies outside which was pretty neat to see as well.
So we left Kenosha with our next destination being Hannibal, Missouri. Someone who bleeds purple like us can't NOT stop in a major city named Hannibal! However, the drive was pretty monotonous and boring. I was getting pretty tired until something unbelievable happened...
So we were driving down the thruway and we were following right behind this ambulance. All of a sudden, the ambulance turns on the siren and just starts GUNNING it. We were traveling about 67 or so and staying right with it before it turned on the jets and pulled away from us. It must've gotten up to about 90 or so. However, one of the back doors must have been open or something, because a little ways down the road from us something came out of the back. We were the only cars in sight for quite awhile, and as we approached it, we pulled over to the side of the road. No other cars were in sight so I dashed out into the road, being the good Samaritan that I am and wanting to avoid any accidents, to grab what turned out to be a little cooler. I went to grab it and bring it to the side of the road, figuring it was empty, but I could feel something inside it. Curiosity got the best of me, and I really wish it didnt. I looked inside....and in it was a severed human toe with a bunch of ice. It was all stumpy, and whoever that toe belonged to didn't believe in very good foot hygiene because the nail was all yellowing and cracked and disgusting.
Anyways, I set the cooler down, and you all know who I called don't you?
I called the toe truck of course! HAHA I GOT YOU ALL!! And no, I didn't actually find a toe, it was a joke, just to be clear.
HA. So, we get to Hannibal, Missouri eventually and wanted to do just a bit of looking around. We wound up finding Hannibal High School. They're not the Warriors but are the Pirates. They're also red, not purple. They have a crazy cool football field though. Picture of that to come as well.
So I guess on the Agenda for tomorrow is the Mark Twain cave/museum or something along those lines. We're also gonna look around for some souvenirs or other things that say Hannibal on them. A Hannibal High School shirt would be sick. After that, we're gonna be driving to SD and do the Mt. Rushmore thing.
Just a few closing notes:
Why is there no sonic within 100 miles of Hannibal, NY? It's fantastic and fairly priced. I love it so much. It's everything I was hoping for and then some.
Lawns in Kenosha, Wisc? Fantastic and the grass is extra comfortable.
They don't have a sweet greeting sign when you cross over from Illinois, into Wisconsin.
There is a lake Geneva in Wisconsin.
I enjoy the watercolor painting called Color a giraffe by Janet Mach Dutton. http://floridawatercolor.org/images/gallery/Janet%20Dutton.jpg
So until tomorrow, maybe, hopefully, this has been you're glimpse into what those early American settlers had to go through to fulfill their Manifest Destiny. I'm not asking to be remembered on the same level as those first few heroic explorers who made it all the way west and chartered new territory like Lewis and Clark, but perhaps I could be remembered on like a Vasco da Gama or Amerigo Vespucci level or something.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Don't call it a comeback...
So I thought that I would do the whole Spain blog thing and that would be that. Well how mistaken I was.
For those of you who don't know, I am currently traveling across the continental United States with a starting point of Hannibal, New York and an ending point of somewhere in Oregon I hope. The reason for this is that my sister (to avoid any privacy/patient-doctor confidentiality/lack of expressed written and oral consent of major league baseball privacy problems, we'll refer to her as Doc) is moving to Oregon for her job as a pharmacist and needed a hand setting up her apartment and carrying heavy boxes and what have you. So since I'm kind of a bum and don't have anything better to do, I got roped in to riding across the country. Not a bad deal I guess - I don't have to pay for much and get to see the country. I'll find a way to endure.
Forgive me if I am repeating things that you already know because as I write this, most everybody who reads it will actually be in the future. Apparently at some point in time around Indiana and Illinois we entered a new time zone and I have to say, I much prefered living in the future.
I am currently somewhere in Illinois, most likely somewhere North of Chicago at a Best Western. Last night we stayed somewhere in Cleveland. As you can tell, I'm like a human map. Maybe I should start from the beginning and explain everything thats happened.
We left heading down the thruway and got through New York without incident (and with me driving for the most part). We ended up getting a hotel somewhere in Cleveland around 8 (we left NY right around 2 or so) in an...interesting area. We survived the night, although my back felt like somebody had been using it as a trampoline. Got up around 730 and headed for our first big trip stop: The Rock N Roll Hall of Fame.
I had been to the HOF just a couple of summers ago with my family, so I had seen most of the stuff. It was kinda neat to go back and check out some new exhibits and whatnot. However, on the very top floor of the place they have like a rotating exhibit, meaning they focus on a certain performer for a specific period of time before they change it. The first time I went it was Jim Morrison, and that was pretty neat. This time, it was Bruce Springsteen. I'm gonna come right out and say it - I am not a Bruce Springsteen fan. Sure, I like Born in the USA and Born to Run (probably every song he sings about being born, in fact) but other than that, I could care less about The Boss really. He thinks he's cool cause his lower jaw sticks out. I got news for you Bruce - my lower jaw is way harder than yours.
After the HOF we headed west to continue our pilgrimage to Mecca, or Oregon, or whichever comes first. Let me tell you some interesting facts about the fine state of Indiana.
1. They care about their roads. The roads in Ohio were pretty poor, to put it mildly. However, the second we crossed into Indiana, the roads were all new and freshly paved and nice.
2. The speed limit for cars in Indiana is 70. I really thought that 65 was, like, a national thing. Am I stupid for thinking that? I thought it was a gas saving measure. I mean, I know about route 66 in Arizona or whatever where there is no speed limit but still. 70 is pretty cool.
3. They love their Hardees in Indiana. We passed a couple of plazas and each one was the same - it was a Hardees and a Big Burrito. I can understand the Hardees. That seems kind of middle-American and they make a mean Milkshake. But the Big Burritos seemed a bit odd to me...I just don't equate highway in Indiana with good Mexican food. Maybe that's just me.
4. We passed a Hobart Road. That was kinda cool. Too bad I was too slow with the camera. Maybe I am destined for Indiana...
We saw an interesting bit of road rage while in Indiana as well. There were signs saying that the left lane was closing, but some Enterprise van was ignoring it and banking on someone letting him merge in on the right. Well as he was trying to zoom by, a 16 wheeler swerved a bit into that lane and forced the van over. The van slowed down, and then as the truck moved back to his lane, it tried to pass him again. Again, the trucker pulled out a little more and impeded the van's progress. The van again slowed down. It didn't learn. The Van once again tried to pass the truck and this time the truck cut off the whole lane and forced the van nearly into the lane divider. I was right with the trucker. People like that van driver tick me off. I wouldn't have gone that far, but people need to learn some way I guess. I wanted to give the trucker a thumb's up, but as we passed him, I realized he looked like he had just gotten out of jail and that if he was willing to kill a driver for trying to merge in front of him, that things could get much worse if he somehow perceived my thumb's up to be a different finger...
So, I am pretty exhausted right now, and I'll leave what little I have about Chicago/Illinois for tomorrow morning or so.
Until then, stay classy, East Coast! Also, enjoy the future, I hear it is "like the past, only more informed." ~Erica Best
For those of you who don't know, I am currently traveling across the continental United States with a starting point of Hannibal, New York and an ending point of somewhere in Oregon I hope. The reason for this is that my sister (to avoid any privacy/patient-doctor confidentiality/lack of expressed written and oral consent of major league baseball privacy problems, we'll refer to her as Doc) is moving to Oregon for her job as a pharmacist and needed a hand setting up her apartment and carrying heavy boxes and what have you. So since I'm kind of a bum and don't have anything better to do, I got roped in to riding across the country. Not a bad deal I guess - I don't have to pay for much and get to see the country. I'll find a way to endure.
Forgive me if I am repeating things that you already know because as I write this, most everybody who reads it will actually be in the future. Apparently at some point in time around Indiana and Illinois we entered a new time zone and I have to say, I much prefered living in the future.
I am currently somewhere in Illinois, most likely somewhere North of Chicago at a Best Western. Last night we stayed somewhere in Cleveland. As you can tell, I'm like a human map. Maybe I should start from the beginning and explain everything thats happened.
We left heading down the thruway and got through New York without incident (and with me driving for the most part). We ended up getting a hotel somewhere in Cleveland around 8 (we left NY right around 2 or so) in an...interesting area. We survived the night, although my back felt like somebody had been using it as a trampoline. Got up around 730 and headed for our first big trip stop: The Rock N Roll Hall of Fame.
I had been to the HOF just a couple of summers ago with my family, so I had seen most of the stuff. It was kinda neat to go back and check out some new exhibits and whatnot. However, on the very top floor of the place they have like a rotating exhibit, meaning they focus on a certain performer for a specific period of time before they change it. The first time I went it was Jim Morrison, and that was pretty neat. This time, it was Bruce Springsteen. I'm gonna come right out and say it - I am not a Bruce Springsteen fan. Sure, I like Born in the USA and Born to Run (probably every song he sings about being born, in fact) but other than that, I could care less about The Boss really. He thinks he's cool cause his lower jaw sticks out. I got news for you Bruce - my lower jaw is way harder than yours.
After the HOF we headed west to continue our pilgrimage to Mecca, or Oregon, or whichever comes first. Let me tell you some interesting facts about the fine state of Indiana.
1. They care about their roads. The roads in Ohio were pretty poor, to put it mildly. However, the second we crossed into Indiana, the roads were all new and freshly paved and nice.
2. The speed limit for cars in Indiana is 70. I really thought that 65 was, like, a national thing. Am I stupid for thinking that? I thought it was a gas saving measure. I mean, I know about route 66 in Arizona or whatever where there is no speed limit but still. 70 is pretty cool.
3. They love their Hardees in Indiana. We passed a couple of plazas and each one was the same - it was a Hardees and a Big Burrito. I can understand the Hardees. That seems kind of middle-American and they make a mean Milkshake. But the Big Burritos seemed a bit odd to me...I just don't equate highway in Indiana with good Mexican food. Maybe that's just me.
4. We passed a Hobart Road. That was kinda cool. Too bad I was too slow with the camera. Maybe I am destined for Indiana...
We saw an interesting bit of road rage while in Indiana as well. There were signs saying that the left lane was closing, but some Enterprise van was ignoring it and banking on someone letting him merge in on the right. Well as he was trying to zoom by, a 16 wheeler swerved a bit into that lane and forced the van over. The van slowed down, and then as the truck moved back to his lane, it tried to pass him again. Again, the trucker pulled out a little more and impeded the van's progress. The van again slowed down. It didn't learn. The Van once again tried to pass the truck and this time the truck cut off the whole lane and forced the van nearly into the lane divider. I was right with the trucker. People like that van driver tick me off. I wouldn't have gone that far, but people need to learn some way I guess. I wanted to give the trucker a thumb's up, but as we passed him, I realized he looked like he had just gotten out of jail and that if he was willing to kill a driver for trying to merge in front of him, that things could get much worse if he somehow perceived my thumb's up to be a different finger...
So, I am pretty exhausted right now, and I'll leave what little I have about Chicago/Illinois for tomorrow morning or so.
Until then, stay classy, East Coast! Also, enjoy the future, I hear it is "like the past, only more informed." ~Erica Best
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)