Traveler's Rest SC to Ashland VA to HOME

 We started the second to last day of our adventure with a trip to our last Roadside Attraction of said adventure: South of the Border. For the uninitiated, South of the Border is a mini city of craziness on the North Carolina / South Carolina border. It looked like they had put a fresh coat of paint on everything since the last time I had been there, but it still gave me a weird feeling. I can't really describe it, the place just gives off an odd feeling and most people wander around baffled.

There is a giant sombrero ride, tacky ' Mexican Shop's ', plastic oddly colored animals, a campground, a motel, food courts, and a variety of other shops and madness. It's an experience. And getting there is also an experience as there are billboards for it like every mile for a long long time coming from either direction.

After a quick mediocre lunch there, we kept going to Raleigh North Carolina where we just missed a friend of mine. We had to keep moving, but someday we'll catch up with her. Eventually we stopped in Ashland Virginia and crashed for the night. We took a swim in the pool, which was okay but not great (a few too many dead bugs for me) and I was able to make a few of these blog entries live.

The next day we drove home to Connecticut and our adventure came to a close.

I'll be updating this blog with more of our adventures, when we have them, but I'm also going to begin work on the book I'd like to write about this adventure. Please keep visiting as I may put some of my more personal thoughts about this adventure up here soon.

Amicalola Falls GA to Savannah GA to South Point SC

The closer we got to Savannah the more the clouds made room for blue skies. Savannah is one of those cities that I really should spend more time in. I've been there three times, but never for more than a couple days -and usually just for a couple hours.

I love the weeping willows lining the streets and the cute little coffee shops and the pirate city by the riverfront complete with hearse ghost tours and real trolleys. A lot of Savannah, though, is business-like and not very touristy. It's a strange place, but I like it.

I took Matt to Moon River Brewery for a late lunch, a place that my friends and I had liked so much last time we ate there more than once over two or three days. The food was delicious as I remembered and we even tried an awesome appetizer featuring sweet potato fries and a vanilla frosting like dip.

We wandered the windy riverfront and ducked into touristy shops galore. There were so many galleries to look in, we kept getting distracted with the art. Some of it was well known and some more local, all of it great to look at and be inspired by. Then met up with my friend Melanie and wandered a little farther into the city. There is a street that reminds me of Quincy Market (only because it is open only to foot traffic) that we wandered down and we passed by Paula Deen's restaurant (and the ridiculous line to get in) as well. Unfortunately, things were starting to close so we headed out and towards the KOA an hour away.

At the KOA we were pleased to find out that our tent wasn't as wet as we thought and that it would definitely dry for the next day. We also had a really successful fire, I think our first of the trip, and it was a good night.

Columbia MO to Dawsonville Georgia

Our morning at the Days Inn started as badly as it had been good the night before. Does that make any sense? I woke from a bad dream, a little later than planned and we went to breakfast. The woman working the room was angry and surly, the rest of the people eating breakfast were quiet and nervous seeming. Everyone else at the hotel was so nice that it was a bizarre way to open the day.

From there the drive was okay, but a bit hectic. We made sure to keep laughing, but I think we were both tired and cranky. We drove through a lot of states to get to Georgia and somehow managed to arrive just around sunset. We camped at Amicalola Falls in the mountains of Georgia where the Appalachian Trail begins.

Matt had trouble building a fire because he only had small and large wood but nothing in between to keep everything balanced. Finally the fire started to get big enough to cook on, and that is when the sprinkling rain began. We had just enough time to cook one hot dog each before the downpour started. We ate in the car in silence and then moved into the tent. Listening to the rain we both started thinking about how we would be packing up a wet tent and just got a little more frustrated.

The rain slowed down and we walked to the bathroom feeling a little hopeful that maybe the rain was done and we would get a nice breeze to air out the tent. When we got back we noticed that the water pump at our site was dripping water. Matt was able to get it to stop, but then he pumped it and a fresh flow of water began.. and didn't seem to want to slow down or stop. We called the lodge and they sent someone to fix the pump and we crashed for the night.

It rained even more as we slept, but was simply foggy when we woke. Breakfast was delicious at the Lodge, but as soon as we had packed everything up (wet tent and all) the rain started again. We were unable to really see the mountains because of fog, so we just drove to our next destination. I think this was the only day I didn't take any photos. Someday we'll go back, I think.

I promise that our next few days were much much better than these past couple. Stay tuned!

Jackson Hole WY to Clearfield Utah

There's a less artistic photo of the Elk Antler arch in Jackson Hole for you. :) In the morning we walked around town, found some postcards to buy and then headed to Utah. On our way out of Jackson Hole, on the side of the highway, we saw a Sheriff and two inmates who, I swear, were wearing orange and white striped jumpsuits and digging a hole or something. It fit in very nicely with the old West feel of the town and definitely made me look twice.

Along our drive we saw some interesting things:

A Liquor Drive Thru at the gas station,

Sheep!

a truck with my name on it. Granted, my name spelled differently but still!

Along the way we also drove through the Rocky Mountains on a path we took the last time we were out that way. Last time it was in April and the mountains were covered in snow. It was raining and foggy and very moody and I loved it. This time everything was green, the sky was blue and there were puffy white clouds. We stopped at a pull out that we had stopped at last time and took the same photos as best we could remember. At some point I'll post the old photos alongside the new ones, but for now:

For a late lunch we finally hit up a Chick-Fil-A. We both love Chick-Fil-A, but there aren't very many in the Northeast and there are NONE in Connecticut, so we always get excited when we find one. It was about 103 degrees outside and one of their employees was in a cow suit outside waving to people, we felt kinda bad for him or her. The food was delicious. 

In Utah, we stayed with my cousin Elizabeth and her husband and three kids. We spent some time chatting with Liz, playing Mad Libs with her daughter Zoe, playing with the cat Cooper and just relaxing. We watched The Three Amigos, which both Liz and Matt were astonished that I'd never seen. :) I liked it.

Missoula MT to Jackson Hole Wyoming

 On Day 14 we explored Yellowstone National Park. We started by driving through a stone archway entrance at the Northern part of the park.

The first section that we stopped at was Mammoth Springs - a series of bubbling geysers that smelled of sulfer and other nasty things. They were really cool to look at though.

 We also saw the "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone", which was formed of beautiful colored rock and a gorgeous green river. Yellowstone is also one of the places that we saw the most animals. Bears, Elk, Bighorn Sheep, Coyote, Bison, all were there causing traffic jams just by going about their business.

I enjoyed Yellowstone, but I didn't connect to it as much as I did to Yosemite. I was a bit uncomfortable being on top of a volcano, which didn't help, and though the views were beautiful - I loved the Grand Tetons in the distance more than the mountains I was on.

 It was a good day though, a hot day. Walking around outside and driving through the beautiful park was fun and we even waited around for Old Faithful to go off.

Driving through Grand Teton National Park to get to Jackson Hole, I couldn't stop staring at the gorgeous mountains across the lake. The sun was setting behind them and they were glowing in the light.

In Jackson Hole, our fun stalled for a bit. We had trouble getting a hotel room as most hotels were full, food also became an issue. We decided to walk and arrived everywhere just as they were closing. We eventually drove to the two fast food joints just outside the cute tourist area. If you are planning a trip to Jackson Hole, WY and it is Summer - CALL AHEAD! This is the lesson we learned.

The town itself is super adorable and a bit upscale. Shops and restaurants are all Old West Cowboy style and their park entrances are marked with arches made of Elk antlers. Elk shed their antlers every year and the local boy scouts go retrieve them from the woods so that these arches can be made every year. Pretty cool.

Yakima WA to Missoula Montana

As we crossed from Washington to Idaho I was surprised to see beautiful mountains. I know, I should have known since we were in the Rockies and all, but it surprised me. When I think of Idaho I think of potatos and I think of farming and I do not think of mountains. So, it was a nice surprise.

Montana was equally beautiful and that was where we camped in our first KOA. This particular KOA was crammed so tight that our neighbors were no more than two or three feet away from us on all sides. But it was okay, it actually felt safe and comfortable for just one night. More than one night and I would probably have wanted a lot more space and privacy though.

We made a campfire and had hot dogs for dinner, using Burger King ketchup packets for condiments. They were delicious. We also bought a packet of s'mores from the campstore and those were equally, if not more, delicious. All in all it was a good night of camping.

Unfortunately,  I can't seem to find any photos from this part of the trip. I think I was driving a lot of it, I'll check with Matt for a photo later!

Arcata California to Yakima Washington

 At Breakfast on Day 12, I sat chatting with an older couple from Southern California. They were on their way to visit their grandchildren in Oregon. The woman had never really been outside of Southern California and was asking me questions about the snow we get in Connecticut. I couldn't imagine living my whole life and never going anywhere outside of my home town.

 While in the Redwoods we drove through another tree.

and we visited Pauly Bunyon and Babe the Big Blue Ox. They were much bigger than they look in this photo, can you see the people near Babe?

After a few overcast days, we were delighted to find blue skies as we moved farther away from the coastline. We followed a beautiful river through the mountains for a while, and were amazed by more beautiful trees and mountains as we finished off California and started into Oregon.

Once in Oregon we immediately started seeing signs of civilization; tiny little towns, herb shops and thrift stores abounded. We thought about driving a little out of the way to see the beach that Goonies was filmed on, but ended up deciding against it. Which was probably for the best since we hit about an hour of traffic once we reached Portland.

Portland, Oregon, for those who don't know (as I didn't) has a sky tram for public transportation! We saw it above the highway and I was fascinated and a little scared. I'm not a fan of heights.

We drove straight through Oregon and into Washington where we encountered a bizarre stretch of land which featured rolling hills on one side of the highway and craggy, rocky hills on the other. We also drove past a series of windmills, which made me smile, and eventually arrived in Yakima.

Why Yakima, you ask? Because one of my very first best friends lives there and I hadn't seen here in probably more than a decade. It was great to see her and meet her fiance and his son. We sat around chatting and just relaxing most of the time, walked around downtown Yakima the next morning. It's a cute town to walk around, though not very big.

I don't have very many photos for this time frame, for some reason. I think part of it is that I was driving and part of it was that we were going longer distances and didn't have as much time to stop places. Around here, also, was when I really started thinking about home and what is going to happen when I get back. I'm hoping that this trip refreshes me and helps me think of new ways to promote myself and also find a job of some kind. I'm excited to go through all the photos I've taken and see what ones I can use, which I can sell and which I just want to print for myself. There are A LOT to go through. It should be an adventure of it's own.

Madera to Manteca California, Yosemite National Park

 Before leaving the Holiday Inn we had a bit of a madcap adventure movie type scenario. I asked Matt if he had the keys (meaning the car keys) and was like "Um no, I thought you did". We spent about 20 minutes searching the room for keys and then realized that he was looking for the room keys which were in my pocket and I was looking for car keys which were in his pocket.

::head desk::

We started the day with a trip to Michaels to return the sharpies that were smudging on our DIY toys. Luckily they had the new Sharpie Painter Pens, water based, which are supposed to work a lot better so we picked up a few of those and some spray paint. We haven't yet used them yet. Then we went to a Best Buy and a Camera store in search of a charger for Matt's camera (the most finicky piece of technology on this trip!). Finally, we headed out to Yosemite National Park.

I really felt a connection to Yosemite. I would like to go back someday and spend a week there being inspired and communing with nature. There were a lodge, campgrounds, a grocery store, an Ansel Adams gallery store and a small museum. You can rent bicycles, which I really wish we had been there long enough to do.

Yosemite is also one of the most beautiful places I think I've been. We went to Glacier Point first and the view was just incredible. Afterwards we went down to the valley below where most of the activity was and the scenery was just as incredible. I can't really describe it, but I absolutely loved being there.

CA-1: Lake Cachuma to Madera California

 The next day we picked up on CA-1 again and drove along the coastline. It was a foggy day, which made the drive a little less spectacular for me. Last time I loved seeing how blue the ocean was and the bright colors. Everything was sort of muted this drive, but it was still fun.

The drive goes up and down mountains directly on the coastline and there is nothing to block your view. Some of the turns are a bit tight and it's best to drive slow and just enjoy the drive. There are also plenty of pull off points to just sit and enjoy.

 One of our first stops of the day was to see the elephant seals that gather on one of the beaches just past Santa Barbara. There were a ton of them just laying on the beach, a couple playing in the water and this guy below throwing sand on his back and napping:

Not long after the elephant seals, we re-discovered a cute seaside town called Cambria. We had stopped there last time we were out west, but just to get gas. This time we walked around and looked in the shops and then went down to the beach. It was actually a bit cold so we didn't stay long, but it's a really cute town to check out if you are driving CA-1.

Another awesome thing to see on CA-1 is the beach cows. These cows just chill by the ocean all day.

The views were just gorgeous despite the clouds.

Our final stop before crashing for the night was Point Lobos. There are a lot of nature trails, cypress trees and gorgeous ocean views at Point Lobos, but we didn't have much time so we just picked a couple trails to take. We were searching for sea otters, who were supposedly hanging out with the seaweed, but I never found them. We did see a lot of sea birds, seals and bunny rabbits though.

This was actually solid rock, not loose sand. It fascinated me. There were also areas with rocks just embedded together in hard sand like the above, it was really really nifty to touch and look at.

There were also a lot of coves and private beaches on along the paths that made me want to go swimming, although the water did look very cold.

Route 66: Barstow to Santa Barbara CA

After the movie in Barstow, I stayed up late trying to blog. The internet was just too slow and it wasn't happening, but I was up late working on it so I didn't get much sleep. The next morning I was a bit groggy and felt nauseous most of the morning. It was not a good start to the day, for all the awesome things we ended up seeing.

We found out via the TV that morning that there would be a huge parade in LA celebrating the Lakers winning the NBA champs - the very city we were supposed to drive through. Luckily it ended up working out fine, but we were a tad worried going in.

Anyway, we picked up Route 66 outside of a town called Rancho Cucamunga (or something like that, seriously) and from there it was suburban town after suburban town. Palm trees lined the streets and cute houses abounded. The hills were also lined with houses in places and our first big cheer came when we passed through San Dimas (high school rules!) and saw a Circle K. There really wasn't too much to stop for until we hit LA proper.

We saw the Hollywood sign, which made us both happy and drove Sunset Blvd. to Santa Monica Blvd. which was interesting. I directed us towards Hollywood and Vine with Matt's iphone and then to Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

We walked around there looking at all of the hand/foot/cigar prints (George Burns for that last one)  taking a ton of photos. Here are the two that we were most excited to see, well maybe not most excited but I can only show so many photos here!

 After walking around for a while we drove the rest of Route 66 to Santa Monica where we parked again.

The Santa Monica Pier was pretty cool to walk down. It had everything from a Trapeze school to a Carnival along with shops and restaurants. It also had the new Unofficial Official End to Route 66.

Yes, that's right, you have to walk to the end of Route 66. It was fun and well worth it. We walked a little more around Santa Monica and decided to find a campground closer to where we were than the one we originally planned on.

 Driving CA-1 along the coastline we saw Malibu, which was actually kinda of a cute beach town. In Santa Barbara we changed course and drove up into the mountains. We camped at at Lake Cachuma that night and it was beautiful.

The Lake was on all sides of us, with mountains beyond. Then we noticed the holes. All around our campsite were this holes in the earth. I was a little nervous about snakes but it turned out there were ground squirrel holes! Super cute ground squirrels were running around all over the place. It was a really fun place to camp and there were only two other small groups of people on that particular peninsula with us so it was also kind of solitary. Once the girls turned down their music.

Route 66: Day 7: The Grand Canyon to Barstow CA

 And on the seventh day... we drove more. Well, actually it was a day that started late (.. forgot to turn my alarm back on after resetting it) and consisted of our shortest driving day yet. Arizona Route 66 is full of dirt roads, blocked roads and advice to stay away. Our guide book suggested taking the highway most of the time, exiting for certain towns. We followed this advice, although didn't stop in as many towns as we had in previous states.

 In Hackberry we stopped by the general store, a treasure trove of great photo ops and a "tastefully" decorated mens room. One great thing about Route 66 is that it's a haven for great cars, both in good shape and bad. Along the way we also saw a giant Tiki head:

and a worn out sign pointing the way to a lot of the towns on Route 66. This was a great 66 detour and I'm really glad we took it, though the open desert scares me so I was cautious at first. But once we saw the Tiki I was excited again and anxious for the next awesome thing.

Around this time we realized that Toy Story 3 was out in theaters and I started researching drive in movie theaters theorizing that if there was anywhere they could thrive it would be California. I was right and we discovered that there would be one in the very town that we were staying in that night!

Crossing the border into California we entered an alien planet. The landscape was so different from what we had been seeing that I just couldn't stop staring. These bizarre hills that looked dark purple or black dotted the landscape and I truly think that there must have been some outer space film shot here that I was remembering because I felt like we were on Mars. It was really hard to photograph though.

 We arrived in Barstow with time to spare. We got a room at the local Days Inn, stopped at a taco place for Matt and went right over to the drive in. We chose our spot, close to the screen, and I went to the snack shop. It was near perfect sitting in the car eating corn dogs and watching the sunset over the desert mountains as we waited for the movie to start. And start it did - with a Bugs Bunny cartoon - "That's Opera Doc" and a slew of trailers for movies we didn't know about but are excited to see.

The short before the movie featured both traditional animation and CG and was very unique and stunning. I loved it but can't really describe it. Toy Story 3 itself was awesome, a great conclusion to the story and a bit of a tear jerker. We both loved every minute and were so glad to be seeing it in a drive in.

All in all it was a wonderful day with a perfect conclusion.