I put more pictures up on
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2333813&l=665c4&id=910978
just copy and paste the link to go to the page.
We are in Nashville, TN right now and very tired so we are going to make this a quick entry.
We had a lot of fun in Santa Fe, New Mexico. We stayed with Claire and Richard (Thank you!) and had a chance to explore Santa Fe for a day. We went to the Georgia O'Keefe art museum and the Palace of the Governors. We went to Harry's Roadhouse for dinner and met Harry. It was a lot of fun!
We left New Mexico and drove as far as we could through Oklahoma, where we ended up at one of the motels we'd stayed at at the way over. We didnt' even realize it until we pulled in.
The next day we drove to Arkansas, and camped out in the Ozarks that night. It was very beautiful but we were woken up by a flock of hens and a rooster across the street. This morning, we woke up and drove into town for a delicious breakfast at Mama's Country Cafe. It was a very typical southern diner, complete with Mama cooking in the back.
We spent the evening in Nashville, and met up with my friend JJ. She took us to this great pizza place. We expect to be home by Friday.
See you all soon!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Cali deserts and northern Arizona
Hi everyone!
We are in Williams, Arizona right now. It is snowing here! We weren't expecting it, but we drove right into a winter wonderland from the Arizona desert. It was a climate change more abrupt than any we'd ever seen.
We came here from Red Rock Canyon State Park in the Mohave desert in California. We saw one of the most incredible sunsets we've ever seen on the way there, and the stars that night were also an incredible sight. It was a very windy night, however, and we awoke covered in dust and sand. We also happened to be right next to a cub scout retreat, and the kids woke us up pretty early playing games and such. It was a very beautiful area though, and in the morning we were able to climb the rock formations in the park and we even found a small cave-like area in one.
Due to the snow forecast, we are saving the Grand Canyon trip for Tuesday, and going to Sedona tomorrow. We hope the weather doesn't hold us up too much. We will definitely be home for Thanksgiving.
I am putting more pictures up soon.
We are in Williams, Arizona right now. It is snowing here! We weren't expecting it, but we drove right into a winter wonderland from the Arizona desert. It was a climate change more abrupt than any we'd ever seen.
We came here from Red Rock Canyon State Park in the Mohave desert in California. We saw one of the most incredible sunsets we've ever seen on the way there, and the stars that night were also an incredible sight. It was a very windy night, however, and we awoke covered in dust and sand. We also happened to be right next to a cub scout retreat, and the kids woke us up pretty early playing games and such. It was a very beautiful area though, and in the morning we were able to climb the rock formations in the park and we even found a small cave-like area in one.
Due to the snow forecast, we are saving the Grand Canyon trip for Tuesday, and going to Sedona tomorrow. We hope the weather doesn't hold us up too much. We will definitely be home for Thanksgiving.
I am putting more pictures up soon.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Yosemite National Park
We are writing to you from the most beautiful place we've been on this trip: Yosemite National Park. It was very cold here last night, (low 30's), but thanks to my new zero degree sleeping bag (Thanks Linda and Jeff!) I was very cozy. Will was too, and being warm really made camping more fun. We arrived here yesterday, and set up our campsite. There have been over 400 bear sightings here in the past year, and they are very strict about keeping food in the large metal bear boxes they provide. You can't even keep food in the car, because the bears will damage your car. They told us not to leave food more than an arm's length away from us. We haven't seen a bear yet, but we are on the lookout.
We made hot dogs and chilli over the fire last night, and this morning we woke up and hiked to a really beautiful waterfall. Then Will convinced me to climb up the mountain (not on a path), even past the sign that indicated you needed mountain climbing gear. We did get a really amazing view of the mountains though.
Well, we should get going on another hike. We will post again soon!
We made hot dogs and chilli over the fire last night, and this morning we woke up and hiked to a really beautiful waterfall. Then Will convinced me to climb up the mountain (not on a path), even past the sign that indicated you needed mountain climbing gear. We did get a really amazing view of the mountains though.
Well, we should get going on another hike. We will post again soon!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
car trouble in wine country
So we began our drive to northern California on Monday. When we arrived in Napa, it began raining very hard and we decided to keep going to a campground with cabins in Mendocino. We made it all the way to the state park, when the battery light and brake lights lit up and the car started acting strangely. We stopped the car, and sure enough the battery died right there. We were not able to start the car again. It was around 6:30 and already dark, and we couldn't leave the car there overnight, so we called my American Express roadside assistance number. They found us a 24 hour tow/auto service place, and it was only about three miles away.
Luckily, the auto place happened to be next door to an inn and across the street from a Mexican restaurant and a convenience store. We stayed the night and the next day found out from Bob (the mechanic) that we needed a new alternator and he had to order it. He found one and was able to get it in the car by that afternoon. While we were waiting for the car to be fixed we ate at the Mexican restaurant and walked to two wineries for tastings. At one winery they let us walk around the vineyard. Wine country is really beautiful this time of year.
Once we got the car back, we decided not to push our luck going farther north, so we decided to stay one more night in a Napa state park, and then start our journey back to Mass. We want to start off going to Yosemite, then maybe Death Valley, then the Grand Canyon before we go to Santa Fe for a night or two. We might not be able to write for a while. Hope everyone is doing well!
Luckily, the auto place happened to be next door to an inn and across the street from a Mexican restaurant and a convenience store. We stayed the night and the next day found out from Bob (the mechanic) that we needed a new alternator and he had to order it. He found one and was able to get it in the car by that afternoon. While we were waiting for the car to be fixed we ate at the Mexican restaurant and walked to two wineries for tastings. At one winery they let us walk around the vineyard. Wine country is really beautiful this time of year.
Once we got the car back, we decided not to push our luck going farther north, so we decided to stay one more night in a Napa state park, and then start our journey back to Mass. We want to start off going to Yosemite, then maybe Death Valley, then the Grand Canyon before we go to Santa Fe for a night or two. We might not be able to write for a while. Hope everyone is doing well!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
West Coast
Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry!
We meant to write sooner, but we were busy and then Will left the charger to the computer in LA (my aunt is sending it to us though).
A list of things we lost on this trip (so far):
Will's sunglasses
Will's sneakers
my two beach chairs
the charger (being returned)
my beach towel
my book
Not too bad I guess, but hopefully we won't lose any more stuff.
Anyway, we were in San Diego for a total of 10 days. It was a real vacation and we loved it. The house we stayed in was gorgeous and all we did was lay in the sun, swim, kayak, fish, and explore the beaches in the area. We especially liked Dog Beach, and La Jolla shores. We spent a lot of time with Eric and his girlfriend Sarah. We also spent time with Eric's roomate John, whose family owns a restaurant in San Diego called Centifonti's (excellent food and chocolate).
After a relaxing time in San Diego, we went to L.A. We stayed with my great aunt and uncle (Lyn and Clive). We had a lot of fun with them and they were great hosts. We went to Grauman's Chinese theatre and saw the stars footprints and handprints. We drove down Mulholland drive and went to Venice Beach. We had really great Cuban food and also fish tacos.
We left L.A. after two days there and were glad to be leaving the city (too much traffic). We drove up the coast and stopped at Jalama Beach Campground. It was really beautiful there and we stayed right on the beach. We liked listening to the waves crash as we fell asleep. We also had a late night visit from a raccoon who tried to get in the tent until Will scared it off. In the morning we continued our drive up the coast and stopped at Andrew Molera State park in Big Sur. We had to walk 1/4 mile to get to the campsite, but it was worth it. It was located in a meadow, and when we first walked to it we saw three deer in the middle of the campsite. We set up our tent under a tree, and it protected us from the loud wind and rain that night. We met some bikers there who were on a two month long bike trip. We also met a really cool campground host the next morning.
After Big Sur, we drove to San Francisco to stay with some family friends of mine. On the way, we stopped in Carmel and Monterey. We saw elephant seals playing in the water, and we walked around and had lunch on the beach.
San Francisco is a really cool city. The first night we got there we had our first homecooked meal (thanks Linda!). Then Will and I left to go to Oakland to see a Will's friend Colin Jones perform as the lead singer in a Rage Against the Machine cover band. It was also Halloween, so the heavy metal venue brought in some pretty interesting characters. It was raining the next day we were there, so Linda and Jeff took us to the California Academy of Science museum in Golden Gate park which had just opened. They had an aquarium and rainforest biodome there. We saw an albino alligator, bright blue butterflies, and all sorts of interesting fish. We had dinner at this amazing seafood restaurant on the water. The next day Will and I woke up and went to San Jose to visit with my friend Megan. Then we went into the city to see the Golden Gate Bridge up close and walked down to the pier to watch the sea lions.
We leave tomorrow to do some camping/wine tasting in the northern part of the state, and then we are heading back to Mass! We should be home in 2-3 weeks.
I apologize again for not updating this sooner, we hope to be better about it in the next few weeks. We miss everyone and hope you are all doing well!
p.s. I put more pictures up on the website (I couldn't fit all of them but some are up there).
We meant to write sooner, but we were busy and then Will left the charger to the computer in LA (my aunt is sending it to us though).
A list of things we lost on this trip (so far):
Will's sunglasses
Will's sneakers
my two beach chairs
the charger (being returned)
my beach towel
my book
Not too bad I guess, but hopefully we won't lose any more stuff.
Anyway, we were in San Diego for a total of 10 days. It was a real vacation and we loved it. The house we stayed in was gorgeous and all we did was lay in the sun, swim, kayak, fish, and explore the beaches in the area. We especially liked Dog Beach, and La Jolla shores. We spent a lot of time with Eric and his girlfriend Sarah. We also spent time with Eric's roomate John, whose family owns a restaurant in San Diego called Centifonti's (excellent food and chocolate).
After a relaxing time in San Diego, we went to L.A. We stayed with my great aunt and uncle (Lyn and Clive). We had a lot of fun with them and they were great hosts. We went to Grauman's Chinese theatre and saw the stars footprints and handprints. We drove down Mulholland drive and went to Venice Beach. We had really great Cuban food and also fish tacos.
We left L.A. after two days there and were glad to be leaving the city (too much traffic). We drove up the coast and stopped at Jalama Beach Campground. It was really beautiful there and we stayed right on the beach. We liked listening to the waves crash as we fell asleep. We also had a late night visit from a raccoon who tried to get in the tent until Will scared it off. In the morning we continued our drive up the coast and stopped at Andrew Molera State park in Big Sur. We had to walk 1/4 mile to get to the campsite, but it was worth it. It was located in a meadow, and when we first walked to it we saw three deer in the middle of the campsite. We set up our tent under a tree, and it protected us from the loud wind and rain that night. We met some bikers there who were on a two month long bike trip. We also met a really cool campground host the next morning.
After Big Sur, we drove to San Francisco to stay with some family friends of mine. On the way, we stopped in Carmel and Monterey. We saw elephant seals playing in the water, and we walked around and had lunch on the beach.
San Francisco is a really cool city. The first night we got there we had our first homecooked meal (thanks Linda!). Then Will and I left to go to Oakland to see a Will's friend Colin Jones perform as the lead singer in a Rage Against the Machine cover band. It was also Halloween, so the heavy metal venue brought in some pretty interesting characters. It was raining the next day we were there, so Linda and Jeff took us to the California Academy of Science museum in Golden Gate park which had just opened. They had an aquarium and rainforest biodome there. We saw an albino alligator, bright blue butterflies, and all sorts of interesting fish. We had dinner at this amazing seafood restaurant on the water. The next day Will and I woke up and went to San Jose to visit with my friend Megan. Then we went into the city to see the Golden Gate Bridge up close and walked down to the pier to watch the sea lions.
We leave tomorrow to do some camping/wine tasting in the northern part of the state, and then we are heading back to Mass! We should be home in 2-3 weeks.
I apologize again for not updating this sooner, we hope to be better about it in the next few weeks. We miss everyone and hope you are all doing well!
p.s. I put more pictures up on the website (I couldn't fit all of them but some are up there).
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Amarillo, New Mexico, Arizona, Cali
We made it to San Diego! We arrived at Eric's house late last night, after a 12 hour drive from Socorro, New Mexico. I fixed the link for the pictures so it works now.
After we left Oklahoma, we changed our plans a bit. We decided to skip Santa Fe and the Grand Canyon for now, and hit them both on the way back to Mass. We stopped in Amarillo, Texas for lunch, and ate the best burgers we've ever had at this hole-in-the-wall place in the middle of nowhere. I know it seems like all we do is eat, but the only times we really got out of the car were to eat, so that's why. And also we had some amazing food that we want to tell you all about. After Texas, we decided to camp out in New Mexico at a state park. When we arrived at Santa Rosa State park, just off the highway, it was completely empty and the "lake" was more like a large dirty puddle in the middle of the desert. We decided to try a different park, about three hours southwest of that one....but when we got there the gate was already closed and we couldn't get in. We then spent about 2 hours driving around back county roads in the middle of nowhere in the desert, and ended up (thanks to the GPS) at a pretty gross motel in Socorro, New Mexico.
The next day was much better. We woke up and decided to just drive to San Diego, so we typed it into the GPS and got on the road. We took a scenic highway called Route 60 that goes through New Mexico and Arizona. It took us through canyons and mesas, up to 4,000 ft in elevation and back down to sea level a bunch of times. There were many scenic views and we got a few pictures. In New Mexico, it took us through a town called Pie Town, where the only places in the town were two pie shops. We went to the one called Pie-O-Neer, where the owner/baker/server named Kathy made us feel at home. It was the best apple pie we've ever eaten. She told us she was passing through here one time and it was a town called Pie Town with no good pie place, so she settled down there and opened a pie shop. We thought that was pretty cool.
We kept driving, through small towns with no street lights and four buildings in the entire town. Sometimes there would be no civilization for 30 miles in any direction. We drove through one area with only a state detention center in it, and a sign saying "State Detention Center: Do Not Pick Up Hitchhikers." We couldn't believe that people lived out there, in the middle of the desert, with not even a grocery store or gas station for 30 or 40 miles sometimes.
We didn't get to stop very much in Arizona, but we hope to hit up Flagstaff and Sedona on the way back. We did enjoy the scenery there, and stopped in a great little town called Globe, Arizona. We drove to San Diego and were pretty close to the Mexican Border. We were stopped twice by Border Patrol stations, where they asked if we were American citizens and if we had any illegal aliens in the trunk. They even had a dog with them. When we got to Eric's place, Eric said he had a surprise for us. His grandmother, who lives on the beach not too far from here, is going out of town for a week and wanted us to house sit for her. So, we get to live on the beach for a week which is really awesome. Thanks Eric! We will probably stay at Eric's for the weekend and then go there. We are looking forward to taking a break from traveling and relaxing for a while down here. It really is beautiful here, and the weather is excellent. Well, time to get going. Thanks for reading and stay in touch!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Memphis, Hot Springs, Oklahoma
Hello!
We have some pictures up on http://www.flickr.com/photos/31445485@N04/
We really liked Memphis, and it was much smaller than we'd expected. We walked down Beale St. in the morning and got some coffee. Then we were on our way to Hot Springs, Arkansas. We discovered that Welcome Centers have a lot of valuable information about state parks and such. The Arkansas Welcome Center steered us to this great park called Ouchita State Park about twenty minutes from Hot Springs. We stayed right next to the lake, and it was gorgeous. Once we set up our campsite, we drove into downtown Hot Springs. We walked around a little, saw the historic bath houses and signs proclaiming Bill Clinton's hometown. We went into a shop and asked where we could get a great meal. The girls recommended this little German place in the basement of a shopping center. We decided to check it out, and are very glad we did. We went in and ordered two beers, and tried to decipher the menu. While trying to figure out what yager schniztel was, an older gentleman and his wife interrupted us with the definition (breaded pork in a mushroom sauce). We began talking (they were from Tennessee) and they were nice enough to buy us our drinks before they left. We thought that was very nice and unexpected kindness. We did order the yager schniztel (it was excellent) and a platter with some German sausages and such on it. It was a very good meal. Before we left, a waitress came over to tell us that she overheard us talking about going cross country, and wanted us to know that she was going to pray for us at her next bible meeting. Everyone we meet seems both concerned for our safety and a little jealous about our adventure. One waitress told us she'd never left Oklahoma. It is comforting to know that people care, though.
The next morning we woke up and began our drive to Santa Fe, knowing that we would probably only make it to Oklahoma or Texas in one day. We were hungry and stopped off at a cute little diner, decked out in 50's decor, and were waited on by a sweet elderly woman (her husband was the cook). They were a very nice couple. We still can't get over how friendly and concerned people seem about us and our trip. We have yet to meet anyone else traveling from the Northeast, but we have met a lot of travelers from the Southern states.
We drove past Oklahoma City to a place called El Reno. We went to another Road Food destination, Jobes. It was an old school drive-in place (we went inside though). We were starving, and ordered corn dogs, Frito Chilli Pie, tater tots, and milkshakes. It was quite the meal, but definitely not something you could find in Mass. We are staying in El Reno for the night, and waking up early to drive to Santa Fe (about six hours). We might stop in Amarillo, Texas. We plan on camping out in Santa Fe, so we hope the weather holds. Well, we're pretty tired so we are going to bed now. We miss you all! We'll write soon...
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