Oregon Trail 2.0

The Last Day on the Road...

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 00:16:00 +0000

When we awoke in the morning and headed on our way we found ourselves in tourist country. This was very disheartening because every place we stopped that was supposed to have giant trees was a tourist trap. They all charged way too much money (and we were pretty broke, this being the end of out trip). There were giant figures of Paul Bunion and Babe the Blue Ox everywhere, but we had been seeing those since Minnesota so we were used to them by that point. We did see something that we didn't see at any other Paul/Babe site, and that was a little kid punching Babe's balls. That was weird on a lot of levels, the least of which was that I always thought Babe was a girl, but I guess I don't know much about American lore.

In order to escape the tourist attractions and to actually see some big trees we took to pulling over on the side of the road whenever we came across a grove that had trees we thought were big enough. This turned our to be a good strategy. We saw trees wider around than any we had ever seen before. They were wide and shot straight up into the air. So high. We had fun exploring the forests on the side of the road, but we knew there were bigger trees out there some where and we got back to searching.

The GPS stopped working in this area because the trees were so tall they blocked the signal. This means that we had to use regular old maps to try and find the national parks. As it turns out we all suck at that because we kept missing them. We were all starting to get stressed by mid-day because we were afraid we had missed all of the legendary giant trees. I reached my breaking point when Sophie pooped on my pillow. We HAD to pull over for a de-stress session. We picked the best spot for that because Molly found these beautiful giant four leaf clovers that were a brilliant purple on the underside. They were amazing! I think Molly got pictures, so hopefully she'll post those soon. Once we all chilled out we made a plan to stop at the next national park.

The park we pulled into was breath taking. We drove for several miles on a dirt road until we found a little parking lot. The dogs had to stay in the car, but we got out and made our way down the trail. This is where we saw the giant trees we had been searching for.

That's Jared and Matt:

Molly loves trees:

It was an accidental blue day:

Banana slug! I think a sign said that the banana slug was the only bug that could eat the sequoia leaves. Also, the only things that can grow on the ground are ferns and other sequoia buds. It turns out that was what the giant clovers were!

The bark of the fallen trees was like marble, both in pattern and in smoothness.

They tried really hard to get around that tree, and that was one of the smaller ones.

We tried several times to take this picture by ourselves and it failed to hard. We were balancing the camera on a post and using the timer function. Jared, Molly, and I were waiting at the tree and Matt set the timer and than ran to get to us before the timer went off. The first few times his missed it. Then the fell as the timer was going off. See if you can find him! -Also check out Molly's face, she's laughing pretty hard...

We finally got a stranger to get the good photo:

All and all, the Red Woods were amazing. Seeing them on the last day of our journey was the perfect way to end. For the rest of the ride to Portland I was in a daze as my mind tried to make sense of the magnificent things I had seen.

We arrived at our new home after dark. It had been a surreal day and I don't think any of us were prepared to enter real life again after a month on the road. We unpacked the cars and got into cozy PJs. This is what the living room looked like:

Matt and I had been carting around a champagne bottle since PA, courtesy of Matt's pretend sister Abby (thanks Abby!), and it was time to break it open.

Cheers to our new beginning!

San Fransisco to the Red Woods

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:03:00 +0000

After another too short stay with Bob and Fabianne, we continued up the coast. Our goal was to camp in the red wood forest that night, so in the interest of time we left the PCH and got on route 101, with the intention of getting back on it to cross the Golden Gate Bridge. San Fransisco was much closer to Moss Landing than I had thought, and before I knew it the Golden Gate was comming out of the fog.

There was a little tourist pull off, so naturally we took it and busted out our cameras.

That's Alcatraz.

Charley was so scared!

There's a rainbow at the end of the bridge:

We stopped to eat at a restaurant by the water and then we continued on towards the Red Woods. We were taking out time more than we wanted to, but every time we stopped we met some crazy character that delayed us. Willits, CA was FULL of interesting people. We stopped at a gas station to fill up and get some camping supplies around dinner time. A man was selling huge flats of strawberries that looked as if they had been picked that morning. I wanted to buy a little carton, but he would only sell them by the flat. Molly and I decided to split one, so we got way more strawberries than we could eat for $10. While Molly and I were buying the strawberries, Jared and Matt were learning the life story of this guy named Mike. Apparently he saw Molly's Vermont plate and the website written on the backs of our cars (we used glass paint to advertise the blog) and wanted to know what we were doing. We told him about the trip and our plans to move to Portland. He laughed and said "We call that getting 'Oregonized,' it starts right about here!" Mike was a pretty cool guy. He owns a metal shop right next to the gas station where he makes all kinds of pieces for everything from cars to jewelry. His shop was a mess, but he said that its a no waste business. He recycled everything. After about 40 minutes talking to this guy we decided to head out back on the road -we still needed to make it to the Red Woods before dark, which was fast approaching. He wished us good luck and we were back in out cars. We needed to get food for the camping trip so we stopped at a grocery store. Molly and I went in to get the food and the boys stayed in the cars. While we were getting dinner, Jared got sucked into a conversation with an obviously crazy man on his bike (Jared never got out of his car, the guy just rode up and started talking. People are WAY more outgoing on this coast). Jared said he was a crazy, possibly drunk, racist veteran from Vermont. The Vet said if we ever get into trouble we should call his friend and say he sent us. It was weird. I think Jared wrote down the whole conversation, and I'm sure he'll write about it in a later post.

It was getting dark and we were on the edge of the Red Woods. We found a camp site that had Red Wood trees, but just not the giant ones, and set up for the night. I was a little nervous because I had never gone "real camping" before, but I was relieved when the site had a bathroom and running water. We ate a delicious dinner of soup, bread, cheese, and strawberries and chocolate for desert. It was great! We settled into our tents for the night and it was beautiful! The tent that Matt had bought is all mesh so its completley see through. We layed on our backs and stared at the stars until we drifted off to sleep. Here's us the next morning:

I bet none of you would have ever thought you would see me in a tent!

That morning we were all excited to see the giant trees, so we got an early start, but that story will have to wait for another post.

xoxo,
Christie

Up the Coast

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 15:43:00 +0000

Appologies to Jared and Molly. I wanted to wait until they had caught up to LA before I made this post, but I'm sorry guys, I can't wait any longer! So here is my post about driving up the coast. Dear readers, please check back often to make sure you catch up with J & M's crazy adventures camping from Colorado to California.

We set out up the coast for Portland later than we had wanted to. "The reason?" you ask dear readers; In-N-Out Burger doesn't open until 10:30 AM. Those of you who know me, know I don't eat fast food, but Matt was the only one of us who had eaten In-N-Out Burger and he had gotten Jared excited about the "Secret Menu." Matt wouldn't tell Jared what "Animal Style" meant, but he kept promising him that he would love it. All of this promotion of In-N-Out Burger meant that we had to eat it for breakfast. I'm pretty sure both Molly and Matt got a double-double with a neopolitian shake off the secret menu, I got a "grilled cheese" also off the secret menu (I put it in quotes because it was a burger bun with cheese, pretty much a burger, just with out the meat.) Jared got a double-double animal style. The man behind the counter was very nice and very encouraging of Jared to try the secret burger. Jared asked him what it meant, and with out any prompting from Matt, the man refused to tell him, he only reassured Jared that he would love it. I hate to admit it, but I was slightly impressed with In-N-Out Burger. Molly and I talked about it and we agreed that we were impressed only because our standards for fast food were so low.

After our unusual breakfast we left LA. It was a misty day, and pretty much the whole day we drove next to mountains which the mist clung to.

We wanted to take the famous Pacific Coast Highway all the way up to Grant's Pass in Oregon. We thought the PCH was Highway 1, but it turns out we were wrong. Highway 1 runs as the PCH for a good way up the coast, but it turns out the PCH, at least in southern California, is mostly small town roads that hug the coast. So from LA until San Luis Obispo, we were inland.

When we got to the ocean, it was still misty and gray out, but we had to get into the water. Charley really didn't want to:

Sophie didn't want to either, and since Matt stayed in the car, I didn't make her. It was all for the best though because dry she was the same color as the sand!

And besides if she was wet, Matt would be giving me a very different look here:

We knew that we could never make it up the entire California coast in one day enjoyably, so we were headed for Moss Landing to spend the night with Uncle Bob and Fabianne. I called Bob to let him know we were on our way and he told me about all the cool things that we had to see up the coast. I'm sorry to say I couldn't remember everything he told me once I hung up the phone, but I remembered that somewhere there was a beach with seals, around the seal beach would be the Hurst castle, which Xanadu was modled after in "Citizen Kane," and there was a delicious restaurant in Salinas. Needless to say we had to keep our eyes open for road signs to help us along the way.

We were nearing Salinas when I saw a sign for the Hearst Castle. We turned right (because a left would be into the ocean) and began to drive up a mountain that was covered in fog. We couldn't see very far ahead of us so we had to drive slow. We passed signs for parking and followed them. Then out of the mist a building appeared. I got very excited, I wanted to see the zebra herds and the other oddities of the castle! We drove closer and it became painfully clear that we had come to a visitors' center. Apparently you couldn't just drive up to the castle, you had to park, pay, get on a shuttle, pay, and then probably pay again before you could walk through the place. We decided that we didn't have the time or the money for that garbage and we turned around and got back on highway 1. I was severely dissappointed.

Right after we got back on the highway we saw signs for the seal beach. We pulled off and in the parking lot we saw a group of squirrels who were no in the least bit afraid of humans.

This is Matt's hand feeding one:

After feeding the squirrels we walked towards the edge of the parking lot. In the distance I saw a colony of elephant seals. They were far away, but I was amazed to see wild seals that close.

Then I looked down and I saw that there was another group right below where I was standing. It was incredible!

Then, two male seals came out of the water. The one on the right was trying to get away from the one on the left. The one on the left was being a major jerk and he kept trying to attack the other one. It was an awesome thing to witness, these two 2,000 lb animals blubbering around on the beach, howling (or what ever it is they do) at each other in a slow, awkward pursuit. I was hoping to see a real fight, but the one getting attacked got out of reach. I guess it takes a lot of energy for these animals to drag themselves over the sand, and this fight wasn't worth the expense.

Look at how angry that guy is! He was definitely looking for a fight.

The aggressive seal kept following the other one around when they got to the group. I wonder why he was so mad at the other one. The more docile seal looked really sad about it.

He also had this crazy wound on him. I wonder if the mean seal took a chunk out of him...

Look, more fighting!

The beach had some amazing wildlife on it. I'm pretty sure these are pelicans:

And I think these are sea gulls.

There was also this tiny adorable rabbit. I felt so bad for him, his ears are all chewed up!

When we got back on the road, the coast quickly turned into what I heard it would be, hairpin turns and cliffs along the sea. I drove first, and it was harder than I expected, not because the road was twisty and windy, but because I just wanted to look at how beautiful it all was, and not the road.

Look! Black sand!

The whole drive was unreal. Truly breath taking. I am so in awe of how beautiful our entire country is. It baffles me to think that we, as a collective nation, aren't doing all we can to preserve and protect our land.

We got into Moss Landing just as it was getting dark. It was wonderful to see Bob and Fabianne again. We went out to dinner at this place down the road called "The Whole Enchilada." The owner was a character, but I'll let Molly and Jared tell you all about that, they have the pictures. Until next time, with love...
-Christie

Colorado Highs

noreply@blogger.com (Molly) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 20:49:00 +0000

So on our way to Colorado, we were excited about the mountains. We knew about the skiing, about the year-round snow, about the mile-high city, and as we've already covered, the mountains were stunning to encounter. But that ain't nothing!

After a sad departure from Jeff's, we headed south, Pike's Peak looming ahead of us, to visit Jared's Aunt, Uncle and Cousins.

A short jaunt later, which included a stop for gassing up and staring at the snow-capped peaks, simultaneously, we arrived in the hilly, tree-lined 'burbs of Colorado Springs. Chris and Veronica were immediately welcoming despite the fact that Charley was overly interested in their sweetie-pie, not quite dog-socialized black lab, and matching tiny black kitten.

After a couple growls and cat-paws to the face, the pets were best buds, and we were relaxing on a back deck looking over the neighborhood and the mountains. The air was clear and bright, and having been in Colorado long enough to be over our altitude-adjustment phase (JARED), we just basked.

I just have to say that Seanon and Rainie may be the sweetest kids I've ever encountered. As a part of my own sometimes explosive brother-sister pair, I can say from experience that the playful banter and cooperation we witnessed was nothing short of phenomenal. Plus they're adorable.

Highly recommended: Bite the Bag, for which Chris and Veronica get full credit.

If that is nonsensical to you, read on. Bite the Bag is played with any group of people - kids, college kids, those older, less-young kids, y'know, anybody. Fair warning, if you have a friend who is a former ballet dancer or contortionist, for instance, you may want to consider involving substances that compromise balance. Just to even the playing field.

The group of players stands around a paper grocery bag, and everyone has to prove that they can pick it up in their teeth using only their teeth and with only the soles of their feet on the ground. That's it! After each round, a 3ish inch strip is cut off the bag, until it is flat. If you fall, you're out. If you touch the ground with anything but the soles of your feet, you're out. Let the hilarity ensue.

And just to prove that the game is great (you wouldn't be normal if you weren't slightly skeptical beforehand), Christie, Matt, Jared and I took to the new side-yard to play only a few evenings back. Half-way into the game, a group of Portlanders walked by the yard. We exchanged greetings, and in a moment of generosity, Matt invited them to join. Several games and a few pulled hamstrings later, we had officially made our first new friends! So go grab a bag, take off your shoes, and try it out!

With a slightly flexible schedule, we were able to squeeze in a ridiculously amazing stop in Loveland with Lyse and Rich, family friends who I hadn't seen in probably ten years. Because the drive was short, we were at their house by mid-afternoon, and at 12,000 feet by 7pm. Not even kidding. We all crowded into the car (including Charley and Happen, their adorable springer spaniel), and poor Lyse tried to coordinate appointments and work via phone while we whizzed around town for local chips and salsa verde (amazing), and coffees and pupp-a-chinos, before hitting the Rocky Mountain National Park Apline Summit access road.

Wait a minute, I need to step back. Witness pupp-a-chinos:

Apparently available at all Starbucks' with a sense of humor. Clearly, a life-changing event for Charley.

I can't even describe the natural beauty that is the Rocky Mountain National Park, so here are some photos that I hope will suffice:

The four of us bounced around the kitchen on our return while Lyse delegated perogie-making responsibilities, and we feasted as a thunderstorm blew in. During dessert, we realized that the thunder was literally rolling -- banks of thunder cracked so constantly that we couldn't tell them apart. We sat on the porch as the rain poured and the lighting blinked incessantly like some neon display. Lyse said it best: "If the world were going to end, this is how the end would start." All-in-all, an incredible day in Loveland.

Now that the shock has worn off...

noreply@blogger.com (Molly) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 20:42:00 +0000

Hello from Portland!!! After scrambling to get Matt and Christie's house together, exploring the town, and securing a job (whoo!), I can finally pause to reflect on the whirlwind last days of our journey.

First and foremost, a photo from Wall, SD that is long overdue. It took this last month to come to terms with it (excessive therapy was necessary, mostly to grapple with how naturally Jared and Matt took on their roles), and now I think we're ready to share it with the world.

Enjoy, folks!

Los Angeles

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:11:00 +0000

Except for the fleas, our stay in LA was a blast thanks our amazingly accommodating hosts. Lauren was unbelievably understanding about the fleas, and she didn't even let the incident ruin any of our fun, and Zach and his roommates were a lot of fun to hang out with and also really cool about our puppies taking over their back yard. We did a lot of relaxing in LA during the day because all of our friends work, but at night we got to see them. Unfortunately by the time Matt and I got to LA, we were really burnt out on picture taking, so I don't think we have any pictures of our friends. I'm really bummed about this and I hope at least Jared and Molly took some.

LA is a wierd place for me. I spent a summer living and working in LA while in college, and I never seemed to fit right with it. Every time I go back to visit I have a great time with the friends I see, but the city has a strange effect on me. I don't like its vastness or its traffic, or its smog, and something I can't articulate about the city makes me edgy. I love the people, but not the place. Matt and I spent about 5 days there, which I think is my threshold.

The first night there, Matt and I went over to Meagen Minnaugh's house and played rock band with her and Jocelyn Hanc. It was great to see them both, but that was the only time I got to see Meagen. I wish I could have seen her more. Every night after that while staying with Lauren was a fun girl's night for me since Matt was in Joshua Tree with Molly, Jared, and Zach. When the four of them got back, Zach and his girlfriend Lindsay Varquez took us out to their favorite spots in LA. One night they took us out to eat Filipino, which was really tasty, but Matt and I were really late to arrive, which was really lame of us. The next day Zach and Lindsay took us to have a pic-nic at the Getty Museum. None of us had ever been there before and it was beautiful. We only spent time in the gardens, and it was a beautiful day. After that all six of us went to the beach to meet up with Lauren, Sarah Casolaro, Jocelyn, Kristen Baker, and Santi Vernetti. The beach is one of my favorite places and the ocean was bliss. The water was just cold enough, it wasn't too salty, the current -while very much making its presence known- wasn't too strong. It was a prefect day on the beach and I didn't want to get out of the water when it was time to go.

Our last night in LA turned into an impromptu party thanks to Jackie Paul. She stopped by Zach's to have dinner with us, and when she found out about Jared and Molly's engagement, she insisted on getting several bottles of champagne ontop of the several bottles of wine and beer she had just bought. The rest of the night was spent eating good food, drinking good drinks, and having a blast with our friends. I couldn't think of a better way to say good bye to LA.

Still Alive!

noreply@blogger.com (Molly) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:18:00 +0000

This is just a holdover to confirm that we have indeed successfully made it to Portland!! Amid the ridiculousness of camping for days on end, racing around L.A., and booking it up the Cali coast to make it in time for interviews, we haven't had a second to breathe. Matt and Christie are mostly moved in to an adorable little bungalow in the Northern neighborhood of Portland, and Jared and I are trying to secure jobs/bikes/apartments while safeguarding our remaining savings. The mileage total for us was almost 6,500, from Brooklyn to Portland, while Christie and Pern might have slightly more, given their detour through Oregon to get to L.A.

Dogs are safe and happy, bunnies and kitty have been retrieved from boarding house, and rats are groovy as ever.

Internet will be OURS in two days (currently I am parked outside of a coffee shop bogarting the wireless so I don't have to spend money on food), and there will be more pictures/stories/shout-outs than you can handle. We've got a lot to cover. Get ready!! See you here on July 7th!

Much love from the Northwest!

High Mountains and Low Points

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 23:40:00 +0000

As Matt and I climbed up the steep inclines of the Wyoming Rockies, our spirits were high. We were bolstered by the idea that by the same time the next morning, we would be in Portland. We were all set to go for our all-nighter of driving; we stocked up on water, snacks, fruits, trail mix, hummus, OJ, everything we could think of to keep up going through the night. I took the first shift. The Rockies were very slow going. The combination of gravity and a nasty head wind proved to be hell on our gas mileage. The scenery was gorgeous though, if not quite a bit alienating. We would go miles with out seeing another car, or even a road sign. We passed a few towns that actually boasted a population of "1." We could feel how high up and how far from everything we were. It was isolating to say the least.

When the ground leveled out before our big descent, we passed this oil refinery that claimed to be the most "modern" refinery in the west. We had a feeling they were lying.

The wind up there was tremendous, and consequently we saw even more expansive wind farms than we had up to that point. We also saw whole sections of the farm in the process of being assembled. They are even bigger on the ground. Look at how those propellers dwarf that 18 wheeler:

As we approached Utah it grew dark, and consequently there are no pictures for Utah or Idaho. I have no idea what they look like.

I was sleeping when we entered Oregon for the first time, but I awoke a little before 4 AM when we needed to gas up. What happened when we stopped almost broke my heart. I should preface this story with a little information. Ripley was mad at me. She had been in the car for about 18 hours and was not happy about it, in fact she was flipping out. She was stir crazy and wouldn't stop roaming the car for an exit. She found it when Sophie caused one of us to leave a door open a second to long. Once she was out of the car she started cautiously running, trying to find a safe place. There were a few guys our age in the gas station and all 4 of us started to surround her. Thats when she bolted. She ran around the building into an alley-like corner. I dove for her and tried to pin her down, but all I got was her hind legs, and that wasn't enough to hold her down. She ran back towards the pumps and then around to the other side of the building. Matt was in full chase of her at this point. We couldn't loose sight of her for a second otherwise we'd never find Ripley, my very black cat, in the just barely braking dusk light. She found a fenced in yard and ran through the bars. The fence was metal. It was comprised of vertical bars about 5 inches apart and 6 feet tall. It had two vertical bars, one 6 inches from the top, and one 6 inches from the bottom. There we were, Ripley at the other side of the yard, pressed up against the building, us on the other side of the fence, and my panic growing bigger by the second. Matt and I tried to figure out what to do. We decided that he would help me over the fence and I would get Ripley. I got to the top but I froze with fear. What if I couldn't get her? What if she ran away so fast I never saw her again? Why did she want to get away from me so bad? If she took off and we couldn't get her back would it be my fault? I started chocking on my panic and it tok all of Matt's encouragement to get me to drop down to the other side. Before I could get close enough to grab her she bolted towards the fence. She dodged past Matt and took off again towards the gas pumps, with Matt in close pursuit. They ran away from me and I was left panicking behind a locked fence. I was of no use trapped and I was scared to death of loosing Ripley. I don't know how, but I hopped that fence and ran with all I had in the direction Ripley took off in. Before I rounded the corner Matt yelled the most amazing and beautiful sentence he had ever said to me; "I got her!" I came around the corner to see Matt clutching Ripley in his arms and walking towards the car. I have never felt a wave of relief as thorough and debilitating as this one. We got into the car and I cried and sobbed as though I had actually lost her. My panic came rushing out of me in a torrent of tears. We sat in the car for a while, Matt trying to calm me down, and me sobbing so hard I could barely breathe. Its truly a miracle that Matt caught her. I know two people who have lost cats on road trips before and this was way closer than I ever wanted to get to loosing my cat.

The drive in to Portland is hazy. We were running on very little sleep combined with the emotional exhaustion we had just been through. We had been traveling with the bunnies Sadie and Ursa so we could drop them off at a boarding place and Matt and I decided to leave Ripley there as well. It was obvious that she couldn't travel any more and I never wanted to go through that again.

After dropping Ripley off and unloading the U-Haul, we made our way with Fern and Charlotte (our rats) to KC Englander and Karen Dapice's house. The two of them graciously agreed to let us crash for the night and to take the rats for us while we were in California. Fortunately for us their other roommates Nate Cann and Mary Yajko fell in love with the rats, and it seemed as though Karen fell pretty hard for Sophie:

We couldn't stay and sleep though because we had appointments to look at houses. The first one we looked at was perfect, but we decided to look at the others anyway. That was a waste of time and we decided on the first house. We put in our application that day and we got accepted yesterday! I don't have pictures, but when we get to Portland for good, I'll post some.

Karen and KC took us out for dinner and that was great. It was a bit of a walk to the restaurant, but on the way they told us as many things about Portland as they could think of. Thanks for the crash course guys!

The next day we headed out for California. We saw this cool mountain, I'm not sure what it is called, but it reminded me of Mt. Fuji -which I have never seen in person. It looks like its blowing a smoke ring!

We saw these weird little hills that looked like sand dunes. They also had these weird little trees that only grew on one side of them:

Then there were oil derricks as far as we could see. After seeing miles and miles of clean energy wind farms, seeing the huge expanse of oil fields made me feel a little queasy, especially since I was in the middle of driving all over the country.

At 11:00 PM we made it to Uncle Bob's house. We chatted with U Bob for awhile and he gave us a tour. We loved his "compound" as his Matt's sister Maria described it. We even got to sleep in a camper! It was definitely way bigger and nicer than Rocinante and it gave us some ideas for when we fix our camper up.

So to now catch everyone up on our extreme ups and downs of this last leg of our journey, here I am, in North Hollywood, LA, exhausted after a long day of defleaing my friend Lauren Kurnit's apartment. This morning I found a few fleas on Sophie. I have no idea how she got them, but she got them alright! Those of you who know me, dear readers, know that I have an extreme fear of parasites -I'd even go as far to say a phobia. It was awful. Matt was late for camping in Joshua Tree with Jared, Molly, and Zach Sheehan, and I had to miss watching a taping of "Weeds," but together I think we killed all the fleas on Sophie and in Lauren's apartment. It took a day of cleaning and trying to not cry every 5 minutes thinking about it but we got through it. Tomorrow will be a better day. Have sweet dreams everyone!

XOXO,
Christie

Supplements

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:36:00 +0000

Molly has done a very good job documenting our trip from Minnesota to Colorado, so I'd like to just offer my supplements.

The first pics I'd like to show you dear readers comes from the surprisingly quirky Minneapolis. This is a diorama we passed on the street:

One of the "over 10,000 lakes"

Notes from Mr. Little Guy:

Sake bombs at Chino-Latino. We got head bands! Like Ninjas!

Mine was a sprite with an OJ shot because I was the designated driver. It was called "the Shocker" and it was called so because I was so shocked that a 1/2 glass of sprite and a shot of OJ could cost more than ordering full glasses of each.

Jared has a mermaid in his head band:

South Dakota is breathtaking:

The haze on the Rockies makes them look like see-through paper layered together:

Western Expansion

noreply@blogger.com (Molly) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:39:00 +0000

The spectacular Black Hills (and their weird, branch-stripped trees) gave way to Wyoming with a vengeance. Here we were, our little caravan, Element first (containing Molly, Jared, Charley, Sadie and Ursa), then the Forester with the U-Haul (containing Matt, Christie, Sophie, Ripley, Fern and Charlotte), puffing around hairpin curves and clinging to the side of hills that were remarkably like those in the Connecticut River Valley. We accidentally cut over to Wyoming early, so the "Welcome" sign was both alarming and paired with an abrupt flattening of the terrain. By the time we were established on our Wyoming highway, the little rise on either side of the road and jutting buttes in the distance were the only elevation changes around. The new green prairie grass, apparently juiced-up with exorbitant spring rains, was blooming with tiny yellow flowers. The dirt had turned red, and we saw a real live (or dormant, I suppose) tumbleweed drift across the road.

A stop at a rest area confirmed the paradigm shift. We were officially out of "water-tower-land" and in "we-don't-have-any-water-and-we-just-deal-with-it-like-real-cowboys-land." The rest area had only one water fountain, all the toilets were of the composting genre, and next to the dribbling automatic faucets was an option we are now familiar with in Western public bathrooms - hand sanitizer. No water, no towels, no electric dryers. Just plain ol' sanitizer. Other than a mile-wide stink, the rest area was commendable for its sustainable nature.

We were in Wyoming for hours, traveling due South, but I could have continued driving for days. 3000 acre ranches, noted by dirt-road turn-offs and an iron die-cut sign, cropped up every 20 or so miles. I remember thinking the Ohio sky was big. Wyoming sky is infinite. Also, the characters we found at a local gas station were priceless.

And we crossed our namesake and inspiration:

The Rockies appeared as tiny, hazy points in the distance as we crossed into Colorado. But despite our excitement, North-eastern Colorado is a rude awakening to a wagon train that just crossed the vast emptiness of Wyoming. Housing developments with identical colors and styles spread as far as the eye could see.

By the time we descended into Denver, the sunset over the mountains replaced suburban claustrophobia with an eye-numbing display.

Jeff (Jeffy), college roomie of Matt and Jared welcomed us with wider-than-open arms. He whisked us to a late night Mexican restaurant when Matt decided he needed a margarita, picked up some party supplies and settled in for a long night of boyness. Christie and I conked out early, and in the morning, it was clear that college days had been relived. A long day of silly movies and naps ensued, until we jetted up to the mountains to see Jeff's boyhood home and barbeque with his family (including Mom and Dad, both brothers, a cousin, 3 dogs (additional to our 2), and a few friends who popped in for a moment each. Hours later, we were sitting with stuffed tummies, listening to Mom talk about Jeff's amazing childhood feats, including getting kicked out of a hippie day school for making the guidance counselor cry. You'll have to ask him for the rest of the story, I promise that he's the nicest guy on Earth and his antics were no more than a well-penned petition (with approximately 26 signatures) expressing his concern that the school had replaced math with team-building exercises. He was 10 years old.

And then, the inevitable happened. In order for Christie and Matt to return the U-Haul, they had to haul on to Portland in one fell swoop. Jared and I had more stops to make in Colorado before venturing Southwest to reunite the caravan in Los Angeles. So sad goodbyes were commenced, and Matt and Christie, complete with six animals (they took on the bunnies so that they could board in Portland and be spared the desert heat), took off.

From what I hear, their trip was long and eventful, but I'll leave those stories to the two who lived them. For now I will just pine until we see each other again.

The coolest picture I've taken so far...

noreply@blogger.com (Jared) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:06:00 +0000

'nuff said

-Jared

The most beautiful state so far....

noreply@blogger.com (Jared) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:40:00 +0000

So I'm going to overlap Molly's post just a tad. I wanted to add a couple more pics from our first stop in South Dakota, just to emphasize how incredible that state really is. We pulled off at a simple rest stop to take in the weather. This is the same stop as the picture of Pern attacking Christie in front of a humungous thunder cloud. It was breathtaking. Even the dogs were in awe of the fields of grass, cactus and cattle that stretched further than we could comprehend.

And as the clouds rolled in we realized that we would be chased out of the rest stop by acorn-sized drops of rain.

(Find Perna!)

The next morning, after a ridiculous visit to Wall Drug we literally stumbled upon the most breathtaking sight of this entire trip so far. The Badlands are an unbelievable reminder that human kind is quite inconsequential from the perspective of our Mother Earth. She's been working on these immeasurable works of art for many millennia and all we can do is pull our car to the side of the road and look at it. It was a humbling experience, to say the least.

(check out how pensive I am)

But don't think that we didn't have a great time, regardless of how insignificant we felt! We explored a bit.

(Find Perna again!)

And posed for some photo ops.

And we were so excited we had a hard time containing ourselves.

And one of the most amazing aspects of the Badlands is that it rises up from the plains.

We found this long boardwalk that took us closer to the middle of one of the plains just up the road from those beautiful mountains.

That night we discovered the Black Hills. It's amazing that South Dakota contains so many landscapes. The Black Hills were surreal. They reminded us of Vermont and New Hampshire, particularly the Franconia region.

The hills were smaller and cozy and covered in pine trees. There are actually no deciduous trees, so lush green grass is able to grow in between the tall pines because they aren't being smothered by rotting fallen leaves (that's Molly's observation...I really picked a smart one!). Very strange to see so much grass in a forest. Eventually we wound our way up to parts of the forest that seemed to be victim of a fire or maybe even clear cutting. There were entire hills of trees like this. I don't really know why they looked that way. Strange.

That night we stayed in Lead, SD, a sleepy little gold mining town built right into the hills.

This is our hotel. Classy, huh?

And here is President Obama. Pern and I read about him in the paper the day before in Wall, SD. He was on his way to some sort of Presidential Statue garden. (He really does have big ears!) We were so excited to actually see him in person!

And here we are at dinner that night.

We had a lovely time with veggie nachos and awesome pulled pork (not as awesome as Uncle Chris's pulled pork though, more on that later).

So South Dakota wins so far. Such a beautiful state with so much variety. Absolutely worth a visit.

Next is Wyoming and Colorado. Those beauties need some digestion time in my head though so there will be lots on them later. Till then, dear readers, sweetest dreams. -Jared

Officially Out of Our Element (Well, not literally)

noreply@blogger.com (Molly) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:31:00 +0000

I have an admission to make that you, dear reader, may have noticed: we have not been updating as quickly as we did while back East. I believe this is due to two primary factors: 1, By the time we leave a new town, we are reeling for days with the sensory experiences we've had, and it isn't until a few days later that we can find the words to share. And 2, by the time we have the verbiage, there is no wi-fi to be found.

So we trucked on West after Minneapolis, by this time getting a little bored with corn and soybean fields, despite the fact that they were miles wide and as far as the eye could see and generally still a foreign concept. Jared and I have been perfecting a tradition of blasting The Beatles' "Let It Be" first thing on the road. Generally, Jared drums his heart out on the steering wheel and I attempt to subtly harmonize the entire album. Don't worry, you will never be exposed to a public performance, so you can take your thumbs out of your ears. With no turns in the foreseeable future heading west on I-90, we shouted out the windows, "WHISPER WOOOOORDS OF WHIIIIZDOM, LET IT BEEE-EEEE-HEEEEE!" We settled into our little routine and kicked back to some podcasts of "Stuff You Should Know," possibly the most informative and interesting free podcast out there.

And then we reached the crest of the Eastern bank of the Missouri River in South Dakota. Our jaws dropped (we may have even drooled), as we descended into a perfect little river valley with 500 lb. gopher sized lumpy hills on the opposite bank. A storm was roiling in the distance and the dark gray sky made the lush green grasslands explode forward, polka-dotted occasionally with jet-black angus cows.

When we stopped to take some photos of the approaching storm, Howard Hines ("The name is Hines, Howard.") pulled over to see if our "engines had pooped out." After swapping bitter insults about the East coast (when in Rome, I guess), we were on our way.

As the sun started to set and the storm drew closer, we pulled off to take in the scenery. And what a landscape it was...I'm still stunned.

After that, it was vista after vista until Wall, SD, home of the stupidest drug store on the planet. Literally, it was frightening, much like the Niagra Falls welcome center - old broken antique statues of random circus participants, an animatronic dinosaur, and a Jackelope.

We stayed the night in Wall in order to explore the Badlands in the morning (they will have their own post soon), and by 10pm the entire town had shut down. We were almost to terms with the fact that we wouldn't be eating when we found that the drive-thru of a Dairy Queen was still open. A couple jumps on the automobile drive-through trigger later, we were waiting for our food by the window when a black suburban pulled up behind us, and a middle-aged man, clearly entertained by our blatant dismissal of societal norms (i.e. driving through a drive-in), began chatting about our trip. We explained our situation, which, coupled with (I think) our nerve to wait on foot for drive-through food, prompted him to say, "GOOD for you! Don't get stuck in a rut, like I did." His wife, sitting silently in the passenger's seat, averted her eyes.

We were served our food, took a photo with the drive-thru waitress (hey, despite appearances, we don't do this kind of thing ALL the time!), and took our seats at an outdoor picnic table in the dark across the street. We giggled our way through dinner, and I looked up to see that the man and his sombre wife had parked at a nearby table, and were sitting quietly under the South Dakota night sky, eating their dinner.

It's Official: We Love the Midwest

noreply@blogger.com (Molly) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:12:00 +0000

So yes, we backtracked a little - instead of continuing on I-80W, we hopped onto I-80E after our visit with Amanda and busted butt up the border of Iowa, across the southern foot of Minnesota, and into Meira's darling little hamlet of Edina, MN. We raided her kitchen to make an excellent seitan and quinoa stir fry (a welcome detour from 8,000,000 ingredient road food we'd been eating) and slept in her unicorn bed, which, I'm not sure if Jared mentioned, she painted herself in middle school (a little insight into the brilliant world of Meira :)).

Our day in Edina and Minneapolis, despite the rain, proved wonderful. Again, our how-can-there-be-anything-to-do-in-the-midwest? attitudes were dashed as Meira took us on a walk around one of the 10,000 lakes to a miniature door in a tree. Your eyes are not playing tricks - there exists in Edina, Minnesota, the home of "Mr. Little Guy," who lives in a tree and answers any question that may be left for him on tiny sparkly paper in a tiny font. Not even kidding.

And the best part is that everyone in town participates. We city kids were stunned that it hadn't been vandalized beyond the point of no return - it's been there for years! While Meira was grumbling good-naturedly that we had forgotten a pen and paper, a lady biked up on a trick bike, dreads to her buttocks, a tattoo spiraling down her leg from beneath her short-shorts, and excitedly bent down, dug through the sparkly mini-letters, and jumped up and down with a 5-year-old's excitement when she found her letter addressed to "Laura Who Gave Me Candy." "I searched all over town," she said, "Until I found mini candy hamburgers. I wanted to offer something he would be able to enjoy." She biked off just as a pouring rain started, grinning hugely.

Despite the pouring rain, we ate incredible ice cream in a famous parlor, car-toured Minneapolis, adventured around the new, stunning Guthrie Theater, which has neon plexiglass windows in alternating colors depending on the floor you're on. We snuck onto the 9th floor only to find a bunch of caterer-looking elderly women in cummerbunds singing classic harmonies in the green neon glow of the windows.

And then we went to what may be the best idea (although possibly also non-pc) for a restaurant ever. Chino Latino's had both ahi tuna and tacos, sushi and fajitas, margaritas and sake. AMAZING. After a brilliant round of food, we sake-bombed, which apparently comes with appropriate ninja headbands at this particular establishment. (Christie's got some awesome pics - look for them when she gets a chance to post.) For the 800th time, we talked to someone who had only wonderful things to say about Portland. He recommended two restaurants, Isabel's and Mother's, which I am documenting here so I don't forget.

All in all, an amazing stop along the way, complete with advice from the well-traveled-with-dog Deb, Meira's awesome mom. My only regret is that we were enjoying ourselves so much that we forgot to take pictures. Simply wonderful.

More later about our mind-blowing trip through South Dakota.

Less concerning actual places and events...

noreply@blogger.com (Pern) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:59:00 +0000

Hello again dear readers! First allow me to apologize for the general lack of regular updates to the blog, especially coming from the tapping of my little fingers on a keyboard. The regular lack of a consistent internet combined with the superior posting skills of my companions has left little room for my own writing to sneak it's way onto the page. That said they've all given me a fair amount of shit about it, so I'd better put down something good...

As has been mentioned numerous times already, one of our spiritual companions on this trek has been one Mr. John Steinbeck. I have found myself on this trip constantly putting our journey next to his and marking both the great similarities and differences. However there is one thing in particular that stands out to me that which makes our journey so vastly different.

In his travels to discover (or rather re-discover) America Steinbeck chooses to go the road alone, to sleep in strange places and to interact with people with whom he has had no previous contact. Our journey stands in complete opposition to this. It began with visiting our most immediate families and has continued with us staying with friends and family alike. The entire trip has been designed around who we have wanted to see, the order in which we will be able to see them, and how much time we are able to give over to certain individuals. Hell, we even convinced at least one person to commemorate the occasion permanently on their body! If it seems as though I'm complaining be assured that I am not, this trip so far has been a blessing.

In it's own way really it has been a journey of discovery (as well as re-discovery) as I had not previously imagined that it would be. To be certain the physical sites and landscape are beyond anything that I had previously remembered or could have even imagined. Just seeing where people live I feel as though I have a much better idea about the mindset of the many who reside in these parts of the world. The land and sky are compelling to say the very least. But more importantly this journey has provided at least myself (if not also the rest of this motley crew) the opportunity to rediscover relationships strained by time and distance.

Leaving the East Coast was difficult mostly because it meant leaving people behind. We do not have the luxury of a round trip, and while our one-way move is not something we can in no way reverse, we still will not be returning to the same homes when all is said and done. Each stop however has had the benefit of refreshing us on both body and spirit and realigning us in ways not anticipated.

In Ithaca is where I could feel this process begun most noticeably in myself. Being in a place where I'd met so many of the people we'll be seeing was the first indication of what was to come. Staying with Kelly and CJ was a treat, and I am grateful to both of them for their love and company. I had never really gotten the opportunity to spend time with just them without other family around and I feel a much greater personal connection to both now.

On the shores of Lake Erie, for the one evening that we were there, Molly had the opportunity to see old family photographs and document a part of her own history that I was unfamiliar with, and it seemed that she was more than happy to connect with. After pouring over old family albums and her grandparents baby books she had a look of great contentment and wonder all at once.

The last time I visited Jeff and Cindy in Ohio was under strangely similar circumstances, towing a U-Haul behind my car traveling to the West Coast, which made the whole situation a little uncanny, but in no way less enjoyable. We were given such unforgettable hospitality, and by two people we know entirely through being the parents of a great friend. But through that relationship their generousness alone that it feels to me now that I am a member of that family. Their home is one of those places were I would feel no hesitation walking through the door unannounced, saying "hello" and sitting down without sense of awkwardness or unwelcomeness. I would expect Jeff to pass me a beer and to give Cindy one of those big hugs I know she loves so well.

By the same token I feel now like a member of the Bumgarner clan. Rarely have a come across an entire group of people so generous to the world at large and so concerned for one another all at the same time. Sure they may have their share of troublemakers *coughKevincough* and they may be as they say, just a bunch of hillbillies, but as far as I'm concerned they're fantastic people and I felt honored to be in their home.

So much thus far has been espoused about Amanda Boone there is little that I could add that would make any difference. Amanda knows how much I love her and that should be all that need be said.

It's been reuniting and rediscovering these friends and family, as well as where we fit into the crazy worlds they all inhabit that has thus far been the most rewarding part of this journey. Already our little wagon train has been plotting to capture our friends and family away from their current homes and times zones to transport them closer to us when our travels are finally over. I hope one day we'll succeed in bringing most, if not all, of these folks to within easy reach. That includes everyone we've seen so far, apologies if you haven't been mentioned by name, but there are just so many of you...

As for now there is little else for me to say, so until next time dear readers, Smithy out.

Nebraska... Words Fail Me...

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:15:00 +0000

SPOILER ALERT! IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE PREVIOUS POST, SCROLL DOWN AND DO IT NOW! YOU"LL THANK ME FOR THE WARNING...

Nebraska with Amanda Boone was magical. Words fail me to describe how surreal and wonderful our weekend in Lincoln was. I think Matt said it best as were leaving that it felt as though we were "coming out of a dream." Our stay with Amanda was like a dream, so much so that I can't remember the order of things. I only have this euphoric, adrenalin-rush, misty feeling thinking back on it. Amanda, you are ridiculous and incredible and I can't thank you enough for being an awesome friend.

The first day is easier to piece together. We went to the farmers market and had a blast getting bombarded by little kids and adults alike trying to pet our puppies. Here we are at the historic train tracks sitting on some kind of wooden little car thing:

Next on our tour of Lincoln, we stopped at a few stores to replenish our traveling supplies and we found some weird things. Do yourselves a favor dear readers and click on the photos to make them bigger so you can read all the bizarre fine print. Also, I apologize for the poor quality of some of the images, they were taken on my cell phone.

When we returned to Amanda's apartment, we spent the afternoon with all of us cuddled on the pullout couch and watched movies. This chill time was much needed after the whirlwind of excitement that has been our trip thus far. After a while we made a delicious dinner and spent the rest of the evening eating, drinking, and decompressing. It was exactly what we all needed to recharge our batteries.

The next day is where it gets hazy for me. Not because we were under any kind of influence, but because it was such a surreal bonding experience for the five of us. As you will know because you've read Jared's post already, we all got tattoos! I don't know how exactly it all came about. In fact I have no idea what we did that morning. I do know that this was the moment for us to get tatts. This place and time and experience with each other needed to be memorialized. Jared and Molly got the tattoo that they've been wanting to get for a long time. Their wrists now read "Let It Be." I could go into detail about how much this means to them, but I'll let them do it. They'll do a better job of it anyway.

Matt, Amanda, and I all got tattoos from the "Oregon Trail" video game that we all played as children. You know, like the banner for this blog. Jared and Molly are also going to get Oregon Trail tattoos, but that won't happen until LA when their current tattoos have healed. These tattoos are not just about a video game we've all played in the third grade. They are also about our physical journey across the country and about the personal and emotional journey we are taking together -Amanda included as you can see from the fort on her ankle.

Our devotion to each other is present in all of the tattoos that we got, and I think that's pretty special, even if my parents are going to kill me for it.

IL to NE to MN.....Oh My!

noreply@blogger.com (Jared) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:07:00 +0000

So the girls covered Illinois pretty well, but I just want to throw in a quick two cents about the place....it is my family after all! First of all, I have to admit to everyone that I was completely nervous about the visit as we inched our way to Peru on I-80. I rarely see this side of the family, so I just didn't know what to expect. But of course we had the greatest time at Aunt Kim and Uncle Mark's place! They fretted over our surprise engagement party and treated us to free hygiene products courtesy of Kim's unyielding attention to register reward plans and internet coupon tips. Since I regrettably only get to visit Illinois every three years or so, I always seem to forget how amazing my dad's side of the family is. There are so many members of that side of the family and each one of them is completely devoted to supporting the rest. That devotion has even trickled down to us Easterners. Aunt Kim has been tracking our every move since birth. She even remembered "that cute red head I used to date" (that was Inger and we 'dated' in 5th grade!) And Molly was also blown away by the generosity of everybody. She was especially excited about everything that came out of my grandmother's mouth. Her favorite was when Uncle Mark was giving Gram a hard time about something and Gram warned him: "You better be nice to me or I'll haunt you when I'm dead!" That one almost put Molly on the floor in tears. I love Gram!
Anyway, Illinois was a blast and I can't wait to visit again as soon as I can! Thanks so so so much to everyone there for hosting me, my friends, and the many animals we have traveling with us! It's so nice to know that we have a safe place to run in the middle of the country if we ever need it...

Okay, what did we see next....?
Windmills!!!! They are awesome. Truly mind-bending. Here's a short video that can't even begin to capture how incredible they were...

And what was next....?

Nebraska is awesome!!!!!!!! Well, Lincoln's pretty sweet anyway. I actually could do without all the anti-abortion billboards that dotted the highway after Omaha, but whatever.
We stayed with our beautiful friend Amanda in her cute little apartment across from Nebraska's capitol building. It was so nice to just relax for a day and watch movies and recoup, but I think all the lazing around we did on day 1 really gave us the jitters.....so much so that the next day we not only all got tattoos, we felt the need to go play beach volleyball right afterward!
Tattoos....yeah, that's right....we did it! And here's the proof:

Well I guess that only proves that Christie did it, but she's going to post some pics of the actual tats later. That guy's name is Ryan, he was pretty cool, but he was so exhausted cause he just finished a huge cobra on another dude's arm. Such a sport for doing us at the end of a long day! Right after we got em Amanda carted us over to this crazy sports bar that has a dozen outdoor beach volleyball courts and just as many indoor courts for the winter. Pern and I subbed in for a couple of their teammates who couldn't make it. Even though we are terrible at beach volleyball and our best game was lost 3-15, it was awesome! Nothing is better than drinking a pitcher of beer and playing volleyball in the sand in the middle of Nebraska right after getting sweet tattoos with all your travel buddies and your host....it was a surreal day to say the least!

And this is Pern flying through the air to miss the ball (he had trouble staying on his feet)

So the stay with Amanda was awesome and if anyone is ever passing through, you should all check out Lincoln, it's a sweet town with lots to do. The only problem is that they have a strict one-gorilla-per-apartment-parking lot policy....I think Amanda's parking lot would have been more inviting if there were a pair of giant gorillas, but whatever....

Post-Lincoln, we found ourselves once again trapped in our vehicles creeping toward Minnesota. Here is a taste of what it's like to spend a day with Molly and I in the Element:

If you're lucky, you'll see some amazing views like this one...it reminds me of the set from that crazy Telletubbies kids show!

Then maybe you could appreciate Molly's sweet new tattoo...

Or you could always stare longingly into the mirror to make sure the Subaru/U-haul that's ever present is still following...

Then you should probably check on the animals to make sure everyone is still happy/breathing...

Then I would probably try to take in more of the completely foreign landscape...

And I don't mind if you nap while I drive, but I reserve the right to spread pictures of you all over the internet if you do!

And eventually you will end up in some tired little town like Sheldon, MN where convenience store counters aren't manned and Christie can just leave her soda money on the already sizable pile of cash that's been left near the dusty register....

That's a normal day in the Element. Thanks for enjoying it with me!

On our way to Meira's in MN Pern spotted a highway sign advertising a "60 foot Jolly Green Giant Statue!" You can't convince me that you wouldn't stop for that!

If you squint really hard you can see all four of us standing under him!

And here are some sweet pics of us and the Giant's naughty bits....

It was a worth while pit stop! Especially since the locals were so nice to Christie!

So that catches me up with the trip I think. Right now we are all relaxing at Meira's place just south of Minneapolis. I'm writing this from her extremely comfortable bed where a splendid unicorn allowed me to sleep like a baby last night....this trip has been awesome!

Sweet dreams dear readers....XOXO Jared

Rolling Hills and Wind Farms

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:44:00 +0000

Iowa was enchanting.

After the suffocating flatness of Ohio through Illinois, I was elated to see the beautiful rolling hills of Iowa.

Once were spellbound by the hills, Iowa played tricks on us; bringing is back to Brooklyn...

...and confusing us with why someone would do this:

After a while the sky grew ominous, as it always does when we drive, and it began to rain...

...Then out of the mist the wind farms appeared. Wind mills as far as you could see. They were overwhelming and breath taking.

Illinois

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:11:00 +0000

The Bumgarners are an awesome group of people to have a party with. We spent the day in the sun (as soon as it decided to come out...) and just hung out with some really fun people. Here are some pics:

This is Jared with Aunt Kim:

Here is all of us with Grandma Bumgarner, who said the most incredible things all day:

Here are some group shots of about half the people at the party, just to give you an idea of how big of a family the Bumgarners are:

Illinois is full of surprises; engagement party surprises, and Carolyn Wiley surprises:

Look! They match!

We played lawn darts -which is illegal but awesome! Aunt Kim kicked all of our butts. In this pic you can see her red dart mid air, probably about to land dead center in the ring:

The next day Aunt Kim packed us a lunch and we sadly said good bye. When we stopped to picnic for Molly's interview, we found special napkin notes that Kim had written for us. Kim, we can't thank you enough for your kindness and gernerosity.

We got back on the road and came to the mighty Mississippi River:

We pulled off to check it out. From the bridge it looked inviting, but once we got to the bank we saw garbage, and swarms of really nasty bugs that clung to Jared's pants, and the brown color of the river. This may be the first body of water that I've come across that I haven't immediately wanted to stick my feet into. I didn't, but these two did:

The opposite bank was filled with large industrial buildings with smokestacks and power lines, but we took this idyllic shot for mythology's sake, and then we continued on through Iowa.

When They Say "Flat," They Really Do Mean FLAT

noreply@blogger.com (Molly) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 18:33:00 +0000

The long day of driving from Ohio to Illinois was punctuated by a sudden flat, open plain, and dead-stopped traffic just outside of Chicago.

Documentation of the stunning landscape:

Documentation of the crawling traffic:

Yep, that's Christie and Matt on the walkie, with their car stereo synced to ours, singing "Killing Me Softly." I must credit Matt with the idea - it passed the time brilliantly until we decided to exit and take an interstate bypass through the Illinois cornfields.

The rest of the ride was thankfully uneventful, just some pensiveness and cute self-taken shots.

Our arrival at Jared's Aunt Kim's was amazing - hugs all around, and by this time we had dealt with the animals often enough that we had a smooth system for minimal host alarm.

I am still grappling with the fact that Jared's family was the most generous, hospitable group of people I've come across. Aunt Kim fed us Tenderloins - the mid-Illinois specialty of pounded pork (appx. 8 inches in diameter) on a bun (4 inches in diameter), and explained her incredible, genius coupon clipping system. After an ominous rainstorm, Aunt Kari cooked up a storm of deliciousness for our "surprise" engagement party (which had an incredible turnout, to Kim's credit). The dogs tangled their leashes all day in the soppy backyard, but by sundown the sky was clear and everyone was enjoying themselves.

We posed for lots of photos, and Jared decided to puff his chest with his hand on his hip. Then I pointed it out to him and he stopped, unfortunately. Next time I'll keep the observation to myself for posterity's sake.

It was a fantastic party - we were sad to say goodbye to such wonderful people. Below, Jared with his Grandma Bumgarner and Aunts, Kim and Kari.

We hit the road on Friday and then stopped so I could take a phone interview for a research position in Portland (fingers crossed).

Then we got back in the car, settled into the ride, and I realized I had forgotten to pee in my interview excitement, so we stopped again. Then we stopped for some caffeine to snap out of the wow-this-terrain-is-flat daze. But then Iowa was brilliant in a hazy, misty, rolling hills sort of way. Then we stopped again to wake up from the rain-on-the-windshield-daze. But in the last stretch, just as the rain was letting up, we came upon miles and miles of windmills. I'm not talking cute little windmills on the horizon, I'm talking mammoth, gorgeous, virtually silent propellers elevated like Redwood branches into the clouds. I'm offering a photo that Jared took, but he's going to add a video that puts even the photo to shame.

The clouds cleared to reveal a celestial sky, fitting as we descended on Amanda Boone's Lincoln, NE. And here we are, in a coffee shop in hip Lincoln, after a brilliantly relaxing day of movies, touring the city and luscious dinner yesterday.

I'm enjoying the midwest so much more than I ever thought possible! Between the incredible flat vistas, neat coffee shops and farmers markets, I'm seriously considering a future in the flatlands.

Over and out for now.

Ohio to Illinois...

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 18:22:00 +0000

Visiting the Sheehans in Ohio was a treat to say the least. Jeff and Cindy are always a blast to hang out with, but this was the first time I had ever spent time with them in their own home as opposed to in Ithaca visiting Zach, or in LA visiting Zach. They were so generous to completely open their home to all four of us and all seven of our pets. They fully encouraged us to raid the fridge and any other supply we might need. On top of all of that they made us a home cooked meal, with home brewed beer, and homemade apple pie for desert. It was amazing! After our delicious dinner we sat around the living room talking and watching the puppies play with the Sheehans' dog Vera, who was at least 5 times the size of Sophie and Charley. It was very entertaining:

Sophie, however, got so excited she peed on the floor right under Jeff's seat.

The next day we raided the fridge for lunch and headed out to Illinois. The ground became flat and the dense clusters of forest gave way to farm land. I became overwhelmed with the notion that we were realy on our way, and past the point of no return. I've only driven through the Mid-West once before, and the flat land, the huge sky, and the days of road noise made me break down into hysterics in a gas station in Nebraska. I'm not going to lie... the Mid-West makes me nervous. The people are friendly, but I can't escape the feeling that the sky is going to fall in on me, or the land is going to swallow me up. On top of all that I'm terrified of tornadoes. I've never been any where near one before, and I'd like to keep it that way. Aunt Kim, who's home we were on route to, called us earlier that day to tell us of all the tornado sightings near her, and to tell us to be careful. The sky was dark and I was not happy about it:

I was thrilled when we arrived at Aunt Kim's and there were actual rolling hills in her neighborhood and the sun was shining. I have to sort through more pictures, but when I do, I'll post about the amazing time we had with the Bumgarner clan in Peru, Illinois.

From Waterfalls to Anthills

noreply@blogger.com (Molly) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:30:00 +0000

My goodness, I don't even know where to start! Not much time this morning, so I'll outline the basics:

After a brilliant time with Grandma Bowman, we hit the road to Ohio on Tuesday. Jared, in his infinite passenger seat boredom, has decided to count two things across the country: Honda Elements and herons.

Not sure which flying birds are herons and which are cranes, so they're both going into the count. All I know is when I'm sitting jump, with a dog scrambling around in my lap, frantically flipping through an atlas while the navigator is announcing turns that we don't really want to take on a 2 second rotation ("Tuhn leyft, then take the motahwehy," "En two-huhndreyd yahds, tuhn leyft." - the British accent of our TomTom does sometimes take the edge off), Jared inevitably spots an Element or heron, and I have to drop everything and find a pen to mark it or he'll get bouncy and start alternating announcements with the TomTom. "ELEMENT! Just saw an Element! Are you going to mark it? Quick before you forget! [Points animatedly to the notebook paper taped to the dashboard] Don't forget to mark it! [Forgets to tuhn leyft at intersection] Mark the Element! Quick! [Walkie talkie beeps as Matt and Christie wonder if we should have tuhned leyft back there]. ANOTHER ELEMENT! Mark it!"

It's gonna be a fun one.

Our short jaunt to Niagra was wonderful (despite my too-obvious disgust with being corralled into a $10 parking space and then routed through a gift shop and information center before being able to see the darn cliff - sorry compadres, I really did enjoy myself).

As a small example of why I was a little testy, here is some of the nonsense we were virtually required to encounter before seeing the natural wonder:

And then Christie found an industrial fan. These souvenir shops are not bashful about their lack of air conditioning.

And then, as though the above shots are not frightening enough, there was a building that people entered as they were, and exited having been turned blue.

The harrowing journey through blatant commercial scamming was worth it, despite my skepticism. Niagra is stunning. And we collected some great shots for posterity.

Puppies were not allowed at the lookout point, so we had to take turns with the pups to keep them out of trouble (and the ticket lady felt so bad that she let the whole gang cycle through the lookout for $2 instead of $4. No laughing at our $2 savings - Aunt Kim would be proud). Sophie had fun waiting.

As we headed further West, we East-coasters were fairly amazed by the way the land just sunk into miles-wide plains. By the time we hit Garrettsville for a fantastically relaxing and jovial stay with the Sheehans, we were in a foreign flat-land.

But MAN! Was the food and drink AMAZING! (Jared's pouring the genius, famous homemade Amber Wheat, and Cindy's cutting the fabulous homemade Apple Pie in the photos below).

And yes, I broke my toe, like an idiot, when I sprinted to stop Charley's barking (which, as I've learned, is mostly a lost cause even when you don't break your toe on the way to stop him.) But it's feeling better three days out, and turning some fun colors as the bruise heals (positive thinking, okay?). More later on our fantastic stay with Aunt Kim in Illinois!

Niagara Falls!

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:19:00 +0000

On Monday Matt and I finally reunited with Jared, Molly, and Charley in Angola, NY on Lake Erie. We drove north from Ithaca along Cayuga Lake. We passed some beautiful fields and forest:

I loved passing through all the towns on the town roads as opposed to the high way where, as Steinbeck put it, "you never see anything," but Ripley hated it:

It did however start to rain. We will never escape the rain on this trip, I just know it:

I was glad to get to Angola before dark. I had never seen any of the great lakes before and this was a sight to see! It looked like a fresh water ocean! You couldn't see the other side! I had to put my feet in it of course. I wanted to go swimming, but it was icy!

The next day we had one last meal with Wilma and back tracked east an hour to see Niagara Falls. This is a picture of the Niagara River taken from Buffalo, NY. If you click on it, the picture will enlarge in a new window and you will be able to see a Canadian flag on the other side! We were afraid we might accidentally go into Canada with invalid passports and un-vaccinated dogs.

Niagara was quite a tourist attraction, complete with junk you don't need and weird mannequins to pose with. This is the only picture I have a Jared with a mannequin, but believe me, there are more to come once Molly gets on the 'net.

I loved how simultaneously beautiful, kitschy, and iconic Niagara falls was, but I know that opinion was not shared by all. I think it is a testament to how literally awesome the falls were that they could maintain their splendor despite how ferociously the state of New York tried to turn it into a massive tourist trap. Look at the fun that was had!

Here are some Canadians!

And here are some rapids that people used to go over in barrels... back before people and the state cared about "safety."

Niagara Falls has always had this romantic mythology in my mind. I've heard that it is the most romantic place in America. My mother's parents got engaged at Niagara Falls. I'm not about to get engaged, but the falls were the perfect backdrop to a romantic picture...

Any way I'm a sucker for rainbows...

Ithaca, My Ithaca...

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:52:00 +0000

After Matt and I sorted out all the drama with the camper on Saturday, we packed up the U-Haul and then decided to take the night off instead of driving to Ithaca, NY like we had originally planned. Dom and Nadine (Matt’s dad and his girl friend), and Matt and I went out to dinner and then we saw Up in 3D. All of you dear readers must see it, but be forewarned, it’s heartbreaking.In the morning we left over an hour later than I wanted to and made our way up to Ithaca (finally). We stayed with my favorite sister Kelly and her boyfriend who is a brother to me, CJ. Ithaca is one of my favorite places in the world, and after the stress of the camper not working out I was relieved to stop in such a familiar and comforting place. We went to Taste of Thai, one of my favs, and then we made a Wegman’s run. I don’t know if any of you have ever tried to go grocery shipping in NYC, but the selection is abysmal unless you want to pay a lot and/or travel far. After a very bleak food shopping year, Wegman’s was like an oasis in a desert. The four of us picked out our favorite beers and went back to Kelly and CJ’s to watch Jurassic Park. Kelly Surprised us with my favorite kind of cup cakes (chocolate with vanilla frosting):

As we all chose letters to eat, we scrambled the remaining letters to spell other things. This was my favorite:

Here are some more pictures from our very fun and relaxing night:

Sophie made a face like she was dead:

The next morning we took the puppy for a walk to College Town Bagels on the Commons for breakfast and we ran into Billy! This was a wonderful surprise because I had thought Billy had already taken my spot in my old Brooklyn apartment, but there he was running towards us on State St. It was good to see you Billy!

Matt and I left later that day. Being in and leaving Ithaca is always bittersweet. Ithaca holds so many dear, intimate, memories –being there I get hit in the face with nostalgia. Not the hazy, romantic, bastardization of the word, but the literal painful return to the past. Ithaca once held so many amazing people, opportunities, experiences, and feelings for me, but since I’ve graduated, being back only reinforces that those things are no longer there for me. My time (at least for the present) in Ithaca has past. I’m however, very glad that we got to see it again before moving to Portland.

Oh Molly...

noreply@blogger.com (Jared) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:21:00 +0000

So just as I was about to write an entry about us staying with the Sheehans in Garrettsville, OH, Molly decided to sprint into the kitchen and break her toe along the way. The Sheehans have a raised kitchen floor and poor Mol forgot to step all the way up. Don't worry Susan, she's okay. We're icing it and it's all taped up and I'm going to drive all the way to Portland so she can keep it elevated on the dashboard.
Other than that, our stay in Ohio has been great! Jeff and Cindy orchestrated a big kabob dinner last night with all of us manning the assembly line. Cindy made 2 apple pies for dessert and all night we sipped on Jeff's home-brewed amber wheat. It was lovely!
Before making it to Ohio we took a little detour to Niagara Falls, but I'll leave that for someone else to describe. Peace out cub scouts - Jared