Sioux Falls didn't look too shabby. Getting up and out of of there, Matt got in the car and found a gas station for a quick fill up. Today would be a slightly shorter day as we were planning to just stop in Minneapolis and spend the night, CAMPING. Since that was our original intent, we had to do it at least once, and the time was growing ever shorter. Besides that, we needed to grab breakfast/lunch again and we were feeling something a little more healthy than what he had been eating. Therefore: Subway Eat Fresh! Thankfully Bernard knows were subway food stops are (and not undergrounds). The line was long but we made it through and it was back on the road.
Again, there isn't much to say about farmland. There are...well, farms, and cows...and sometimes horses and quaint houses painted white. Eventually, we reached the town of Jordan, about 30 miles outside of Minneapolis. There, we arrived at a KOA campsite....but this wasn't just any campsite...this campsite had an indoor pool. (How this is camping I will never know. Neither will Matt, we both have very rugged views of camping.) The registration area was closed for an hour break of some sorts, but as we walked around, we found the keepers and they told us just to go hang out in the pool. We had a half hour, why not? The pool felt so good. I got to swim laps again and Matt did his own exercises. It was good to relax and stretch and move around after being in a cramped car for a week now. Well, after that, we went back to the registration booth and ordered ourselves a tent site. It was off in the corner...which turned out to our disadvantage as the trees dropped their dew all over our tent. We stayed dry enough though. However, we set up our tent and hung out our swim trunks to dry and made our way to Mall of America; the epicenter of capitalism.
I remember dreaming of going there as a kid with Jessica all the time. Why, I will never know as it isn't THAT much different stores-wise from any other mall I've been too.....miiinus the theme park in the center. Parking on the East side (New York level.) we checked a few license plates. Apparently, only Minnesotans use Mall of America....I wonder where the rest of America is? Poor Economy I'm guessing. Well, we walked in and around the 4th floor. Which happened to be mainly the food courts...and there they had a NOODLES AND COMPANY. I about died of delight and we both resigned ourselves there for dinner. mmmmm. noodles. Continuing on, we stopped in a store that sold flags from countries all over the world and stickers and such...basically, a touristy sort of shop. What did they have, but a whole area dedicated to old license plates you could buy! We wondered if these counted since we weren't technically on the road, but there aren't any rules...just that you need to find the license plates, and that's what we did. Our map was just about finished then (minus a province of Canada which we found later anyway). Other than that, I learned it was Norwegian Independence Day....but from who they gained independence, the clerk wasn't able to tell me as he tried to sell me a flag. I'm still not sure as to the truth value...i personally think he just wanted to sell me a flag. And while i would have bought one...I didn't think being played for a sucker would be cool. I'll just have to pick one up later.
Down past the other food court (this was fast food rather than restaurants) we came to the Amazing Mirror Maze. The concept seemed interesting, and they had a window for peering in. Matt and I looked at eachother and decided this could be well worth 7 bucks and it totally was. We put on our plastic gloves and started down together. What an odd feeling. You couldn't tell where the mirrors were until you were right on top of them and you saw your own reflection. Eventually there was a place that split up and we both took a different way. BAD IDEA. I got lost around a corner and just stopped and watched. From my view, there were an endless number of hallways that stretched on for eternity any way i turned. Not to mention, i could see Matt far off in the distance, cross over one hallway, than cross back much closer, then TWO Matt's crossing different directions! Twilight Zone anyone? I started moving "forward" and was looking for him. He eventually saw me striaght ahead of him and i told him to come here. He didn't believe it was me and sure enough ended up hitting a mirror. I was just around the corner. WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?!? We got stuck in the back as we thought we had reached a dead end...really we had just missed an opening that looked like another mirror. After finding the end of the maze...we back tracked a little bit to have a little more fun with the mirrors. I realized that this place would be exceptionally difficult if there were more people in it. You would NEVER be able to find your way. Coming out at the end, the guy asked us how it was. Simply, it was hysterical. We recieved our "you made it" stickers and came to the end of our loop of floor 4. Time to decend one floor and go around again. About half-way around again, we ended at a Disney store. I really wanted a Stitch plush toy. So we went in. There was a huge Stitch animal, but that was before we saw the rack full of mini ones. Matt found the Bolt plush and gave a resounding "Awwww" of affection. I asked him if he had seen the movie....and he hadn't. WHAT? We are SO watching it. How have you not seen it? We thought the toys were a little expensive and were about to exit when we realized the sign saying they were 2 for 12...which marks each on at 25% off. So....two plush toys from disney store later, we decided to go get noodles. Matt got their Pad tai, which I've never had. He remarked that he likes Jeff's better, (which isn't surprsing to me ;) ) and i got their stroganoff, a safe bet and one i just wanted to have as a delicious reminder of the scrumptious dishes noodles tends to serve. :)
Having seen a Lego bag, we decided to go on a search for the Lego store because quite simply, Lego is awesome. So, at this Legostore they had this new software thing. Quite simply, you chose a boxed set and brought it to this tv screen. Once you showed the box the TV (which acted as a mirror for you and showed yourself holding the box, would build the set on top of the box in 3D. Then you could turn the box every which way and see the Lego set that was inside. It was incredible and sheer genius. After running around the store like kids finding boxes to test, we ended up fooling around with the bricks in the play area. Oh, what happy days. A little tired and run down, we decided to call it a day and head back to camp. It was dark out but that'd be ok.
Returning to the campsite, our tent was still standing, which was impressive considering it was half held up with sticks. Getting out our sleeping bags, i rolled them in while Matt was searching around the car for stuff. First try, I put them in the wrong way....fail. So i switched them around and we both climbed in. From there, we were both so awake that the better part of it made it feel like we were little kids in a blankets and pillow fort. The tent was a modest size...best for two people but rather close quarters. Matt was a bit hyper and couldn't stop laughing either. It was all so highly entertaining, I wasn't sure either of us would get much sleep. But eventually, we both wound down and started to close our eyes. Jessica called as i was settling down and we talked for a bit, but then it was a rather peaceful night in the tent, which was what we intended from the start.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Sunday: The psychotic drive by Crazy Horse and rushed viewing of Mt. Rushmore
(David) Billings Montana. Our wake up call was 10:30, and we were out on the Road by 11. A considerably earlier start than the previous days. (we're trying...trust us.) We stopped at a PIta Pit (in which I wasn't aware there was one outside of Flagstaff, who knew?) and that consisted of breakfast/lunch. The drive through Montana/ Wyoming was.....well, rather uneventful. Unless you count the fact that, with a quarter tank of gas that on average gives about 75 miles, we had just 75 miles to go to the next gas station....(according to Bernard, a BP....you can tell where this is going right?) Well, said Matt, it's time to put this to the test. And we were still going. About 10 miles outside, the gas light came on. Now it was getting exciting. As the gage started to drop past empty, we got to the small town...and while there WAS a gas station...it wasn't a BP (there was a sign that said "Our grandfather: Amoco." I didn't know Amoco had any kids before it's name change. needless to say, Bernard doesn't update with the times too well. It's a struggling economy Bernard, things change, even if you don't want them too.
Reaching South Dakota, it was....well still rather uneventful, that is until you hit the black hills. (they aren't REALLY black as Matt discovered, they just call them that ;) ). We found Crazy Horse and pulled in for a 20 dollar entrance fee. Thats ok, it was worth it to see. It looks kinda small from where you stand, but you had to think it was a few miles away still. And getting that image straight, that monument is HUGE. They said the 4 faces of Rushmore could fit in Crazy horse's head. That made me wonder how big Rushmore was. After checking some license plates (a fruitless effort) we went in to watch a movie about Crazy Horse that was rather informative. There was a picture outside the little theatre that said "Crazy Horse from Space." I was looking at it, and the guy came up and said that's what it looked like. Except there was one photo that was definitely NOT from space and I burst out with "That's not from space!" He kinda looked at me funny and pointed to the other pictures. Why would they title it "from space" if it wasn't all from space? I think he thought i was saying the rocks weren't from space itself or something. After jumping through the museum (and picking up a bit of blasted rock from a pile for guests) we made our way around to Mt. Rushmore. Driving up the very windy road, we came up to the heads. I don't know whether it was because we were a bit far again, or just the fact that I saw crazy Horse first, but Mt. Rushmore seemed lacking in comparison. They were still really cool, but they postcards, and images in books and what not make it seem a LOT bigger and, i don't know, just different. Needless to say, we drove past, turn around, drove past slowly so Matt could get pictures, parked on the profile view of washington, and drove by it once more before heading to Rapid City. (We weren't really up for paying another entrance fee at this point, plus the sun was getting low in the sky.
Taco Bell was delicious, as usual. We made our way through the town and Bernard wasn't being helpful with locating our campsite. So, we pulled into a Mcdonald's that had wifi and sat in the parking lot for a few minutes to get an idea of where it was. Pulling out of the Mcdonald's, The sun was in my eyes and i started to pull forward around what i thought was the median (after driving on so many median highways....not to mention Reno got the worst of us and it's avenues. Quickly realizing that i was heading into a curved curb of driveway for the business across the street, I slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting it. Except the colleged age "lady" behind me drove past and we could clear see her mouth the words, "What the F***!" as she drove past and stopped at the light. I hope she doesn't kiss her mother with that mouth, what an improper thing for a lady to say. We drove up past her to turn right and i waved with a big smile. I don't think she saw, but she may have just been avoiding us. Oh well.
(Matt)It's all about Wall Drug on I-90 near Wall, South Dakota. In case the signs to and from aren't enough, remember Wall Drug can be found off Exit 108.
"Have you dug Wall Drug" - No question mark: It's as if they expect us to like it before we even come by to visit. WHAT THE HECK IS WALL DRUG? HOW IS ONE SUPPOSED TO DIG IT BEFORE THEY'VE EVER STOPPED BY? With all of the annoying and creepy looking signs, why would one want to? What exactly is in a "Western Art Gallery"? Does coffee cost 5 cents or is it free?
After driving by a quarter million signs (more or less), all of our questions were left unanswered as the last sign revealed that wall drug was open from 7am to 7pm. "YOU MADE IT! -WALL DRUG" Yeah... too bad it's around 8:30 pm and you're not open. (David) The sun's even still up. (Matt) Apparently they're not big on tourism despite the fact that they have a museum, a diner, a general store, and probably a small movie theater. The store, covering at least a block and having signs two blocks away indicating the store's location and parking, was completely dark as we drove by. Even though the towns population of a dozen were all noticeably relaxing along the three block downtown strip, the infamous store was retired for the night. What a horrible disappointment! We totally wanted to see it! OUR LIVES ARE NOW OVER! Needless to say, Wall Drug was a worse suspense killer than the fourth twilight book.
(David) Ruth, Matt came up with that all on his own.
(Matt) I wrote it with you in mind, David. I don't truly have that comparison as an opinion. (David) NO, I just think it's anti-climatic, not a suspense killer.
(Matt) Alright.
Anyways, after our lives were completely ruined, we got back on the highway (begun with a reminder of our horrible catastrophe by a few more Wall Drug signs) in search of find the Bad Lands and a camp site. They were very naughty as they seemed to be hiding from us, especially in the dark. They eventually appeared after unhelpful signs like "Exit 117" with no guidance to where the uninformative sign was leading us astray. Whatever it was, it was only a mile ahead... After leaving the highway at Exit 131, we came across another Wall Drug sign ("35 Miles ahead") Way to go Wall Drug. Thanks for stabbing us in the chest, then in the back, and turning the knife on the second attack. After seeing the sketchy entrance of the Bad Lands (the dark distorts everything), we decided to turn around (again), and probably had another rude lady swear at us from a following car. At least the returning presence of Venus and the Moon was there to comfort us through the dark land of tragedy and turmoil.
We later encountered Belvidere. "Belvidere: We name our streets after letters of the alphabet because we're not creative enough to think of other names." And "Belvidere: because we like to post railroad signs just to confuse you when you can't find any tracks." Soon after, we found a rest area that actually had signs of life, and we also learned that camping at rest areas in South Dakota is against the law. Also, after briefly resting considering a nap and checking the map, we got back on the road to find that South Dakota (and probably North Dakota) is divided between Mountain time and Central time. No one make fun of a Dekotian (plural: Dicoten) ever again. Their lives are torturous and confusing while constantly trying to decide what time it should be.
(David) Stopping in Mitchell, i picked up a toothbrush which i found out i had left at the motel or something. and we were intending to stay the night until Matt got in the drivere's seat and said we were making it to Sioux Falls. Fine by me, i like night driving. So another hour or so later into the night, we arrived and would have our last night at Motel 6. We were going to camp tomorrow if it was the last thing we did.
Reaching South Dakota, it was....well still rather uneventful, that is until you hit the black hills. (they aren't REALLY black as Matt discovered, they just call them that ;) ). We found Crazy Horse and pulled in for a 20 dollar entrance fee. Thats ok, it was worth it to see. It looks kinda small from where you stand, but you had to think it was a few miles away still. And getting that image straight, that monument is HUGE. They said the 4 faces of Rushmore could fit in Crazy horse's head. That made me wonder how big Rushmore was. After checking some license plates (a fruitless effort) we went in to watch a movie about Crazy Horse that was rather informative. There was a picture outside the little theatre that said "Crazy Horse from Space." I was looking at it, and the guy came up and said that's what it looked like. Except there was one photo that was definitely NOT from space and I burst out with "That's not from space!" He kinda looked at me funny and pointed to the other pictures. Why would they title it "from space" if it wasn't all from space? I think he thought i was saying the rocks weren't from space itself or something. After jumping through the museum (and picking up a bit of blasted rock from a pile for guests) we made our way around to Mt. Rushmore. Driving up the very windy road, we came up to the heads. I don't know whether it was because we were a bit far again, or just the fact that I saw crazy Horse first, but Mt. Rushmore seemed lacking in comparison. They were still really cool, but they postcards, and images in books and what not make it seem a LOT bigger and, i don't know, just different. Needless to say, we drove past, turn around, drove past slowly so Matt could get pictures, parked on the profile view of washington, and drove by it once more before heading to Rapid City. (We weren't really up for paying another entrance fee at this point, plus the sun was getting low in the sky.
Taco Bell was delicious, as usual. We made our way through the town and Bernard wasn't being helpful with locating our campsite. So, we pulled into a Mcdonald's that had wifi and sat in the parking lot for a few minutes to get an idea of where it was. Pulling out of the Mcdonald's, The sun was in my eyes and i started to pull forward around what i thought was the median (after driving on so many median highways....not to mention Reno got the worst of us and it's avenues. Quickly realizing that i was heading into a curved curb of driveway for the business across the street, I slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting it. Except the colleged age "lady" behind me drove past and we could clear see her mouth the words, "What the F***!" as she drove past and stopped at the light. I hope she doesn't kiss her mother with that mouth, what an improper thing for a lady to say. We drove up past her to turn right and i waved with a big smile. I don't think she saw, but she may have just been avoiding us. Oh well.
(Matt)It's all about Wall Drug on I-90 near Wall, South Dakota. In case the signs to and from aren't enough, remember Wall Drug can be found off Exit 108.
"Have you dug Wall Drug" - No question mark: It's as if they expect us to like it before we even come by to visit. WHAT THE HECK IS WALL DRUG? HOW IS ONE SUPPOSED TO DIG IT BEFORE THEY'VE EVER STOPPED BY? With all of the annoying and creepy looking signs, why would one want to? What exactly is in a "Western Art Gallery"? Does coffee cost 5 cents or is it free?
After driving by a quarter million signs (more or less), all of our questions were left unanswered as the last sign revealed that wall drug was open from 7am to 7pm. "YOU MADE IT! -WALL DRUG" Yeah... too bad it's around 8:30 pm and you're not open. (David) The sun's even still up. (Matt) Apparently they're not big on tourism despite the fact that they have a museum, a diner, a general store, and probably a small movie theater. The store, covering at least a block and having signs two blocks away indicating the store's location and parking, was completely dark as we drove by. Even though the towns population of a dozen were all noticeably relaxing along the three block downtown strip, the infamous store was retired for the night. What a horrible disappointment! We totally wanted to see it! OUR LIVES ARE NOW OVER! Needless to say, Wall Drug was a worse suspense killer than the fourth twilight book.
(David) Ruth, Matt came up with that all on his own.
(Matt) I wrote it with you in mind, David. I don't truly have that comparison as an opinion. (David) NO, I just think it's anti-climatic, not a suspense killer.
(Matt) Alright.
Anyways, after our lives were completely ruined, we got back on the highway (begun with a reminder of our horrible catastrophe by a few more Wall Drug signs) in search of find the Bad Lands and a camp site. They were very naughty as they seemed to be hiding from us, especially in the dark. They eventually appeared after unhelpful signs like "Exit 117" with no guidance to where the uninformative sign was leading us astray. Whatever it was, it was only a mile ahead... After leaving the highway at Exit 131, we came across another Wall Drug sign ("35 Miles ahead") Way to go Wall Drug. Thanks for stabbing us in the chest, then in the back, and turning the knife on the second attack. After seeing the sketchy entrance of the Bad Lands (the dark distorts everything), we decided to turn around (again), and probably had another rude lady swear at us from a following car. At least the returning presence of Venus and the Moon was there to comfort us through the dark land of tragedy and turmoil.
We later encountered Belvidere. "Belvidere: We name our streets after letters of the alphabet because we're not creative enough to think of other names." And "Belvidere: because we like to post railroad signs just to confuse you when you can't find any tracks." Soon after, we found a rest area that actually had signs of life, and we also learned that camping at rest areas in South Dakota is against the law. Also, after briefly resting considering a nap and checking the map, we got back on the road to find that South Dakota (and probably North Dakota) is divided between Mountain time and Central time. No one make fun of a Dekotian (plural: Dicoten) ever again. Their lives are torturous and confusing while constantly trying to decide what time it should be.
(David) Stopping in Mitchell, i picked up a toothbrush which i found out i had left at the motel or something. and we were intending to stay the night until Matt got in the drivere's seat and said we were making it to Sioux Falls. Fine by me, i like night driving. So another hour or so later into the night, we arrived and would have our last night at Motel 6. We were going to camp tomorrow if it was the last thing we did.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Saturday: Yellowstone y Más
Two Posts at one time. Yikes! If you want to go chronologically, you should read Friday first (assuming the last one you read was thursday of course)
(David) 10:30 alarm, a quick shower, and checkout and we were off once again. Today, we hoped to drive through Grand Teton and Yellowstone park and make our way into Montana.
Breakfast was going to wait as we wanted to get a little ahead on the road. Bernard was being a little slow in getting a head on his bearings, so I chose an easterly highway and started going. Bernard finally pulled through and decided we shouldn't take the highway. That's how we ended up in lovely back country, on the Grand Teton Bypass. We passed through a couple of quaint towns, like Victor Idaho ( "a scenic place to rendezvous") and Wilson, WY. Eventually, passing through more mountains, we ended in a slightly bigger city called Jackson. There, we stopped for gas and then looked for food. I wanted BBQ...like a pulled pork Sandwich....mmmm.....and Bernard suggested Teton Barbeque...except it wasn't there. Way to be Bernard.
So, we drove around and ended up at a Chinese Buffet for afternoon meal (since we kinda missed breakfast.) The food was quite tasty for a chinese buffet, and I've been to my fair share of them. Matt was somehow convinced that the chicken was actually cat, but we ate it all the same (Matt: and enjoyed every bite of it). ;) After cracking our fortunes ("Seek first to understand, and then to be understood" and something else that was quickly lost and forgotten; aka Matt's fortune), we left that town burning and continued toward Grand Teton/Yellowstone.
Apparently, to even drive through the park itself (which is the only highway through as going around is another 3 hours extra) the nice ranger told us it cost 25 dollars. What a toll indeed. It had better well be worth it then.
IT WAS. Grand Teton had gorgeous mountains, spiring high and blanketed in snow. Teton Lake was frozen over and it was very large. We stopped to pick up a rock (25 bucks, a rock seemed the least we could take away). We then arrived at Yellowstone: America's First National Park.
Yellowstone is rather easy to navigate, It has one circular highway (that takes a few hours to drive around, and branches to each corner of the earth...or park rather. It had very dense forest in an almost claustrophobic sense. I suppose I wasn't used to it after the wide open expanse that was before. After picking up another rock, we decided to go and see Old Faithful, since it wasn't too much out of the way. The vents were quite spectacular. There were bubbling water holes and smokey geysers (in which David wrongly pronounced them as "Geezers", but should be forgiven due to how old they actually are ;) ). Old Faithful wasn't as faithful as it was old because it didn't erupt, but the other geysers were awesome, some of them spitting and we got one good erupting one. We have a few nature videos for you, no worries. ;)
Walking back, we found a baby's bonnet on the boarded walk (the walk was used to avoid being injured by "Thermal Areas"). After we both starred at it for a good thirty seconds, I decided picked it up in hopes to turn it in to a ranger. (Matt) In those thirty seconds, I thought about picking it up, but I thought we would never see the ranger again, so I didn't see the point. Also, since we couldn't see any babies around, I also considered jogging back on the trail to a hill to see if any babies could be seen from there. My pondering of these complex ideas is what led to David picking it up. This was a good feat as I probably wouldn't have picked it up at all (even after all of the ideas to save the poor baby, with its progressively cooling head). (David) I didn't want the bonnet to blow into one of the geysers, so I picked it up and we continued on. As we were at the end of our little tour through the boardwalks, Ruth texted us and wanted to know if we were still in Yellowstone. She was on a page that gave updated photos of Old and not Faithful every 30 seconds. Well, our quest was to find the camera...which we did, as Ruth gave descriptions of who was walking past it. We snuck up on it, and posed. We heard Ruth's excitement over the phone as she saw us.
Though she could see us, not being able to see her helped us we realized just how far we were from home and started to miss people. We went into the lodge, just to see it. I was upset that they were serving Pulled Pork BBQ sandwiches...oh cruel irony. It was too expensive($5.75 for ONE SANDWICH!), so Matt dragged me out and to the parking lot.
David: It wasn't that bad. A pita from Pita Pit is the same price.
Matt: David... your sandwich was just MEAT-on-a-BUN. That's not worthy $5.75. I don't care how badly you want your fix of slopped meat on a plain white bun.
(David) After going back to the car, we drove through the parking lot and caught a few of our missing license plates (Matt: including most of the provinces of Canada). :) Then it was onward toward Montana out of the east exit. We drove by lake Yellowstone which was ginormous! Also, there was a turnout with more steam vents. One vent actually under a smaller lake, and we could see the crack all the way through the ice where it ran. The sign told us politely that it was still unstable and could blow the lake up at any moment. Thank you for that lovely piece of information. (Matt) We hastened to leave the area and continued. Soon after, we discussed how the plural of "buffalo" is "bison", and that the plural of "bull" should be "bilsi" since "buffalo" diverts from the typical rules of english spelling, and how they are kinda similar in sound (a B, U, and double concenant) and how bison and bilsi are very most certainly related. On another note, is the word buff related to the name buffalo? If so, what does "alo" mean? And why aren't they called "fuffalo" (plural "flison")? That sounds more fun. ;) And, speak of the devil (plural: "difin"), we soon found a fluffy, buff cousin of the bull walking up the middle of the winding mountainous road. After making him or her (David: "...it had balls") feel like the Yellowstone superstar that HE is by looping around HIM four times, we decided to take a brief video instead.
600 pictures later (totally worth 25 bucks), we reached the end of the park and shot out of Wyoming, passing through some towns. We wanted Taco Bell, and Bernard told us there was one in Cole.....which when we arrived, was non-existent. Come on Bernard. Oh but there is another one the next town over in Powell. Wait no, that one ended up being closed....*sigh* third strike and you're out Bernard.
McDonald's would suffice. They even had free wifi which we took advantage of. We ended up closing the store. Matt wanted a sweet tea, and i went into the play area and messed with the spinning match sort of games (like different heads, bodies and legs that you can spin around and mix and match...yeah) Coming out, Matt looked at me with some despair and asked if i had went through the play place without him. :( I laughed and said we were against the rules. Yet, he abruptly went and asked the manager lady as she was locking the doors if we could climb into the play place and get a picture. Reluctantly, she obliged. So we climbed up and then slid down the slide (i went down backwards on my back.) What memories it brought back. It was AWESOME.
Blasting out of the McDonald's, we agreed that Taco Bell would have to be a stop for tomorrow. I found the bonnet in my pocket and threw it in the back. Then, I ended up calling Rachel on the phone since she returned from camp that night. It was great to hear her voice and her laughter again. I missed her. Matt found the bonnet and burst out in laughter, then proceeded to wear it. It actually looked pretty sweet, almost pirateish. (Rachel was broken with laughter at hearing all of this on the phone.) It has since become the blogging bonnet, to be worn while blogging. (i'm wearing it right now actually.) Anyways, Matt wanted to blog and realized my computer wasn't in the car....I had given it to him....and he thought he may have left it on the ground or on top of the car. OH NO! Turning around on a dime, I literally sped back to the McDonalds.....it wasn't in the parking lot. Panicking, i ran across the street and found it in the road in it's case. I brought it back and opened it up to see if it still worked. Everything seemed to be in good working order...Thank you Jesus. Now, however, I have full right to make fun of Matt for the rest of his life. "He probably just left it on top of the car again." ;)
Through pitch black darkness, I couldn't tell if we had arrived in Montana yet. It all felt a little strange and there were no signs that i could see for many miles.
Me: "These highways are weird."
Matt: "Yeah, I know..."
(five minutes pass)
Me:"Are we in Montana?"
Matt: "Mmm... yes...we are."
Me: "I didn't see a sign...lame. I haven't seen any speed limit signs yet either."
New phrase for the day:
"Montana: we don't have signs for anything."
or
"Montana: because street signs are for city folk."
Eventually, there was one flashing sign we found.
(Matt) Montana flashing sign: "Arrive Alive. Don't text and Drive."
Way to go Montana. It's good to see that you have your priorities straight. Thank you for the reminder not to text while driving as I race home after getting wasted at the bar...
(David) We finally arrived in Billings Montana. I had driven the whole day and though it took most of our time to go through Yellowstone, we were in Montana...really just for the sake of being in Montana. Our original intent was to find a speed limit sign that said "Drive safely." but all we saw were posted limits (though no one seemed to follow them) Another Motel 6, another night spent.
P.S. I'm wearing the bloggin bonnet, if you couldn't tell ;)
(David) 10:30 alarm, a quick shower, and checkout and we were off once again. Today, we hoped to drive through Grand Teton and Yellowstone park and make our way into Montana.
Breakfast was going to wait as we wanted to get a little ahead on the road. Bernard was being a little slow in getting a head on his bearings, so I chose an easterly highway and started going. Bernard finally pulled through and decided we shouldn't take the highway. That's how we ended up in lovely back country, on the Grand Teton Bypass. We passed through a couple of quaint towns, like Victor Idaho ( "a scenic place to rendezvous") and Wilson, WY. Eventually, passing through more mountains, we ended in a slightly bigger city called Jackson. There, we stopped for gas and then looked for food. I wanted BBQ...like a pulled pork Sandwich....mmmm.....and Bernard suggested Teton Barbeque...except it wasn't there. Way to be Bernard.
So, we drove around and ended up at a Chinese Buffet for afternoon meal (since we kinda missed breakfast.) The food was quite tasty for a chinese buffet, and I've been to my fair share of them. Matt was somehow convinced that the chicken was actually cat, but we ate it all the same (Matt: and enjoyed every bite of it). ;) After cracking our fortunes ("Seek first to understand, and then to be understood" and something else that was quickly lost and forgotten; aka Matt's fortune), we left that town burning and continued toward Grand Teton/Yellowstone.
Apparently, to even drive through the park itself (which is the only highway through as going around is another 3 hours extra) the nice ranger told us it cost 25 dollars. What a toll indeed. It had better well be worth it then.
IT WAS. Grand Teton had gorgeous mountains, spiring high and blanketed in snow. Teton Lake was frozen over and it was very large. We stopped to pick up a rock (25 bucks, a rock seemed the least we could take away). We then arrived at Yellowstone: America's First National Park.
Yellowstone is rather easy to navigate, It has one circular highway (that takes a few hours to drive around, and branches to each corner of the earth...or park rather. It had very dense forest in an almost claustrophobic sense. I suppose I wasn't used to it after the wide open expanse that was before. After picking up another rock, we decided to go and see Old Faithful, since it wasn't too much out of the way. The vents were quite spectacular. There were bubbling water holes and smokey geysers (in which David wrongly pronounced them as "Geezers", but should be forgiven due to how old they actually are ;) ). Old Faithful wasn't as faithful as it was old because it didn't erupt, but the other geysers were awesome, some of them spitting and we got one good erupting one. We have a few nature videos for you, no worries. ;)
Walking back, we found a baby's bonnet on the boarded walk (the walk was used to avoid being injured by "Thermal Areas"). After we both starred at it for a good thirty seconds, I decided picked it up in hopes to turn it in to a ranger. (Matt) In those thirty seconds, I thought about picking it up, but I thought we would never see the ranger again, so I didn't see the point. Also, since we couldn't see any babies around, I also considered jogging back on the trail to a hill to see if any babies could be seen from there. My pondering of these complex ideas is what led to David picking it up. This was a good feat as I probably wouldn't have picked it up at all (even after all of the ideas to save the poor baby, with its progressively cooling head). (David) I didn't want the bonnet to blow into one of the geysers, so I picked it up and we continued on. As we were at the end of our little tour through the boardwalks, Ruth texted us and wanted to know if we were still in Yellowstone. She was on a page that gave updated photos of Old and not Faithful every 30 seconds. Well, our quest was to find the camera...which we did, as Ruth gave descriptions of who was walking past it. We snuck up on it, and posed. We heard Ruth's excitement over the phone as she saw us.
Though she could see us, not being able to see her helped us we realized just how far we were from home and started to miss people. We went into the lodge, just to see it. I was upset that they were serving Pulled Pork BBQ sandwiches...oh cruel irony. It was too expensive($5.75 for ONE SANDWICH!), so Matt dragged me out and to the parking lot.
David: It wasn't that bad. A pita from Pita Pit is the same price.
Matt: David... your sandwich was just MEAT-on-a-BUN. That's not worthy $5.75. I don't care how badly you want your fix of slopped meat on a plain white bun.
(David) After going back to the car, we drove through the parking lot and caught a few of our missing license plates (Matt: including most of the provinces of Canada). :) Then it was onward toward Montana out of the east exit. We drove by lake Yellowstone which was ginormous! Also, there was a turnout with more steam vents. One vent actually under a smaller lake, and we could see the crack all the way through the ice where it ran. The sign told us politely that it was still unstable and could blow the lake up at any moment. Thank you for that lovely piece of information. (Matt) We hastened to leave the area and continued. Soon after, we discussed how the plural of "buffalo" is "bison", and that the plural of "bull" should be "bilsi" since "buffalo" diverts from the typical rules of english spelling, and how they are kinda similar in sound (a B, U, and double concenant) and how bison and bilsi are very most certainly related. On another note, is the word buff related to the name buffalo? If so, what does "alo" mean? And why aren't they called "fuffalo" (plural "flison")? That sounds more fun. ;) And, speak of the devil (plural: "difin"), we soon found a fluffy, buff cousin of the bull walking up the middle of the winding mountainous road. After making him or her (David: "...it had balls") feel like the Yellowstone superstar that HE is by looping around HIM four times, we decided to take a brief video instead.
600 pictures later (totally worth 25 bucks), we reached the end of the park and shot out of Wyoming, passing through some towns. We wanted Taco Bell, and Bernard told us there was one in Cole.....which when we arrived, was non-existent. Come on Bernard. Oh but there is another one the next town over in Powell. Wait no, that one ended up being closed....*sigh* third strike and you're out Bernard.
McDonald's would suffice. They even had free wifi which we took advantage of. We ended up closing the store. Matt wanted a sweet tea, and i went into the play area and messed with the spinning match sort of games (like different heads, bodies and legs that you can spin around and mix and match...yeah) Coming out, Matt looked at me with some despair and asked if i had went through the play place without him. :( I laughed and said we were against the rules. Yet, he abruptly went and asked the manager lady as she was locking the doors if we could climb into the play place and get a picture. Reluctantly, she obliged. So we climbed up and then slid down the slide (i went down backwards on my back.) What memories it brought back. It was AWESOME.
Blasting out of the McDonald's, we agreed that Taco Bell would have to be a stop for tomorrow. I found the bonnet in my pocket and threw it in the back. Then, I ended up calling Rachel on the phone since she returned from camp that night. It was great to hear her voice and her laughter again. I missed her. Matt found the bonnet and burst out in laughter, then proceeded to wear it. It actually looked pretty sweet, almost pirateish. (Rachel was broken with laughter at hearing all of this on the phone.) It has since become the blogging bonnet, to be worn while blogging. (i'm wearing it right now actually.) Anyways, Matt wanted to blog and realized my computer wasn't in the car....I had given it to him....and he thought he may have left it on the ground or on top of the car. OH NO! Turning around on a dime, I literally sped back to the McDonalds.....it wasn't in the parking lot. Panicking, i ran across the street and found it in the road in it's case. I brought it back and opened it up to see if it still worked. Everything seemed to be in good working order...Thank you Jesus. Now, however, I have full right to make fun of Matt for the rest of his life. "He probably just left it on top of the car again." ;)
Through pitch black darkness, I couldn't tell if we had arrived in Montana yet. It all felt a little strange and there were no signs that i could see for many miles.
Me: "These highways are weird."
Matt: "Yeah, I know..."
(five minutes pass)
Me:"Are we in Montana?"
Matt: "Mmm... yes...we are."
Me: "I didn't see a sign...lame. I haven't seen any speed limit signs yet either."
New phrase for the day:
"Montana: we don't have signs for anything."
or
"Montana: because street signs are for city folk."
Eventually, there was one flashing sign we found.
(Matt) Montana flashing sign: "Arrive Alive. Don't text and Drive."
Way to go Montana. It's good to see that you have your priorities straight. Thank you for the reminder not to text while driving as I race home after getting wasted at the bar...
(David) We finally arrived in Billings Montana. I had driven the whole day and though it took most of our time to go through Yellowstone, we were in Montana...really just for the sake of being in Montana. Our original intent was to find a speed limit sign that said "Drive safely." but all we saw were posted limits (though no one seemed to follow them) Another Motel 6, another night spent.
P.S. I'm wearing the bloggin bonnet, if you couldn't tell ;)
Friday: NEVADA: Never Ever Visit Any Disasterous Areas
or
Never Ever Visit Areas Deemed Arbitrary
(Matt)After having a late night on the road, we got up around noon to eat and find somewhere to print off an updated copy of the insurance policy. In theory, this seems like a simple concept. There was a Triple A (AAA) office in Reno no more than ten minutes from our hotel. After arriving at that office, however, ...
(David): Oooh boy, i was getting annoyed really quickly. Apparently the AAA office we found couldn't help me because my insurance was Illinois and they were a separate branch than that and told me to call a number. So, i went back out to the car (Matt had taken everything out and dumped it in the lot in an attempt to rearrange the back for convenience sake.) I called the insurance rep's office and asked her if she could send me a new copy. Oh, but customer service has to deal with that and here is the number to call. I called the number and after a series of numbers that didn't lead me where I wanted to get, I ended up with some lady who asked for my information and what she could do for me. I told her i needed an updated insurance. Oh, but she was with glass claims, let me transfer you. I get transfered, and another 5 minutes another lady came on and asked for my information...again. Well, I gave it and told her my dilemma.....but wait, no, she couldn't help me either because she was from the MICHIGAN branch.....(We're getting closer!) Another transfer, another waiting time, and finally i get a guy who could help me. (just wait, this gets so much better :P ) He gets all of my information...for the third time and I tell him that i'm stuck and need updated insurance. He brings it up and asks if i could email or fax it. I assumed that the least this office that couldn't help me would be able to receive the fax and so i went in and asked, they obliged and i stayed on the phone while it was faxed over. Once i got the actually papers (finally, right?) i said my thanks and hung up....and went back to the car. Upon reading the document.....i discovered he sent me an already expired copy. How thick can this company get? How could he send me an expired copy of 2 months? Frustrated.....I got back on the phone to talk to another representative. Another wait, another gathering of information and finally, this new guy (named Dave....David's of the world understand each other i feel. ;) ) and he just emailed it to me so I would pull it up myself later rather than go through more AAA hassle.
(Matt)To pull up the policy through email, we stopped at the local Barnes and Noble. In the mean time, Matt decided to look through the books. Since both of us thoroughly enjoy reading, getting out of any book store takes about as long as it would for a young teenage, fashion conscious girl to leave a mall. As such, leaving Barnes and Noble set us back a little further than we had intended. Also, right before leaving Reno, we decided to give one last try on an Office Max to print off the updated version of the insurance card. After finally being successful, we left Reno around 3:30 with three new books, an updated copy of the insurance, and less daylight to travel in.
We set out toward Salt Lake City and stopped for gas soon after when it was needed. After coming out of gas station, we were greeted by a shocked, older Nevadian. He was very curious of why were so far from Illinois. We told him briefly of our road-tripping, and he wished us luck in continuing our journey and remarked that he wished he could go back and have his own youthful adventures again. He also mentioned something about how we should find women to spend the night with, and after we insisted that we had lovely ladies elsewhere (*cough* Melanie and Rachel *cough*), he was still convinced that we should find women in the area. After feeling more than slightly but less than extremely uncomfortable (or perhaps not sure how uncomfortable to be... more or less), we got back on the road in the direction of Elko.
En route to our straight, non-stop trip to Elko, David read a few chapters of Paradise Lost and Matt shamelessly sang out of key on a few different occasions. Conversation was good and scattered, and the California- esque terrain of Nevada (I felt as if I was driving through California) was mountainous, attention capturing, and photo-worthy. We stopped in Elko around 7ish for dinner.
We found a nice restaurant called Pizza Barn, and ordered a medium pepperoni pizza. After fifteen minutes, we were happily enjoying our fluffy crusted pie. (David) Apparently this place was a bit of a hot spot as there were quite a few people eating there with us. We cleaned up our pizza pretty well. No leftovers. :P Afterwards Matt had to stop inside the casino to get a few postcards as the gas station didn't have any. Fun little place.....maybe.
(David still) From there, we headed all the way to the border crossing into Utah. Matt stopped the car off a ramp that led to Ola, Nevada and switched with me.
Utah was....dark. No, really, it was night by this time. Matt had decided to take a power nap, though he didn't miss much since it was all pitch black. By the time we got to Salt Lake City, I woke him up, and we kinda got a glimpse of the reflection off of Salt Lake. The city itself looked pretty with all the lights. But we busted straight through and on to Ogden. By Ogden, we needed gas and I was fading, plus my eyes hurt. So, Matt, who had taken a nap and gotten two cans of NOS, took over again. I rested a bit even though Matt and I pushed through the last leg with good conversation...not to mention running over a skunk. Oops. (Matt) I tried my best to save the poor guy, but determinism plays much to strong of a role in our lives. Roger Skunk didn't have a chance, but I'm guessing it was over before he knew it. (David) I couldn't stop laughing. The image i got was so amusing. Finally, 3 oclock rolled around and we made it to Idaho Falls, which we still couldn't see. We checked into another motel 6 and promptly fell asleep.
Never Ever Visit Areas Deemed Arbitrary
(Matt)After having a late night on the road, we got up around noon to eat and find somewhere to print off an updated copy of the insurance policy. In theory, this seems like a simple concept. There was a Triple A (AAA) office in Reno no more than ten minutes from our hotel. After arriving at that office, however, ...
(David): Oooh boy, i was getting annoyed really quickly. Apparently the AAA office we found couldn't help me because my insurance was Illinois and they were a separate branch than that and told me to call a number. So, i went back out to the car (Matt had taken everything out and dumped it in the lot in an attempt to rearrange the back for convenience sake.) I called the insurance rep's office and asked her if she could send me a new copy. Oh, but customer service has to deal with that and here is the number to call. I called the number and after a series of numbers that didn't lead me where I wanted to get, I ended up with some lady who asked for my information and what she could do for me. I told her i needed an updated insurance. Oh, but she was with glass claims, let me transfer you. I get transfered, and another 5 minutes another lady came on and asked for my information...again. Well, I gave it and told her my dilemma.....but wait, no, she couldn't help me either because she was from the MICHIGAN branch.....(We're getting closer!) Another transfer, another waiting time, and finally i get a guy who could help me. (just wait, this gets so much better :P ) He gets all of my information...for the third time and I tell him that i'm stuck and need updated insurance. He brings it up and asks if i could email or fax it. I assumed that the least this office that couldn't help me would be able to receive the fax and so i went in and asked, they obliged and i stayed on the phone while it was faxed over. Once i got the actually papers (finally, right?) i said my thanks and hung up....and went back to the car. Upon reading the document.....i discovered he sent me an already expired copy. How thick can this company get? How could he send me an expired copy of 2 months? Frustrated.....I got back on the phone to talk to another representative. Another wait, another gathering of information and finally, this new guy (named Dave....David's of the world understand each other i feel. ;) ) and he just emailed it to me so I would pull it up myself later rather than go through more AAA hassle.
(Matt)To pull up the policy through email, we stopped at the local Barnes and Noble. In the mean time, Matt decided to look through the books. Since both of us thoroughly enjoy reading, getting out of any book store takes about as long as it would for a young teenage, fashion conscious girl to leave a mall. As such, leaving Barnes and Noble set us back a little further than we had intended. Also, right before leaving Reno, we decided to give one last try on an Office Max to print off the updated version of the insurance card. After finally being successful, we left Reno around 3:30 with three new books, an updated copy of the insurance, and less daylight to travel in.
We set out toward Salt Lake City and stopped for gas soon after when it was needed. After coming out of gas station, we were greeted by a shocked, older Nevadian. He was very curious of why were so far from Illinois. We told him briefly of our road-tripping, and he wished us luck in continuing our journey and remarked that he wished he could go back and have his own youthful adventures again. He also mentioned something about how we should find women to spend the night with, and after we insisted that we had lovely ladies elsewhere (*cough* Melanie and Rachel *cough*), he was still convinced that we should find women in the area. After feeling more than slightly but less than extremely uncomfortable (or perhaps not sure how uncomfortable to be... more or less), we got back on the road in the direction of Elko.
En route to our straight, non-stop trip to Elko, David read a few chapters of Paradise Lost and Matt shamelessly sang out of key on a few different occasions. Conversation was good and scattered, and the California- esque terrain of Nevada (I felt as if I was driving through California) was mountainous, attention capturing, and photo-worthy. We stopped in Elko around 7ish for dinner.
We found a nice restaurant called Pizza Barn, and ordered a medium pepperoni pizza. After fifteen minutes, we were happily enjoying our fluffy crusted pie. (David) Apparently this place was a bit of a hot spot as there were quite a few people eating there with us. We cleaned up our pizza pretty well. No leftovers. :P Afterwards Matt had to stop inside the casino to get a few postcards as the gas station didn't have any. Fun little place.....maybe.
(David still) From there, we headed all the way to the border crossing into Utah. Matt stopped the car off a ramp that led to Ola, Nevada and switched with me.
Utah was....dark. No, really, it was night by this time. Matt had decided to take a power nap, though he didn't miss much since it was all pitch black. By the time we got to Salt Lake City, I woke him up, and we kinda got a glimpse of the reflection off of Salt Lake. The city itself looked pretty with all the lights. But we busted straight through and on to Ogden. By Ogden, we needed gas and I was fading, plus my eyes hurt. So, Matt, who had taken a nap and gotten two cans of NOS, took over again. I rested a bit even though Matt and I pushed through the last leg with good conversation...not to mention running over a skunk. Oops. (Matt) I tried my best to save the poor guy, but determinism plays much to strong of a role in our lives. Roger Skunk didn't have a chance, but I'm guessing it was over before he knew it. (David) I couldn't stop laughing. The image i got was so amusing. Finally, 3 oclock rolled around and we made it to Idaho Falls, which we still couldn't see. We checked into another motel 6 and promptly fell asleep.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Golden Gate Video
And...the end of the song gets cut off. Once Matt gives me the San Francisco pictures, I'm going to try and fill in the rest with photos of the city. but here is video of the Golden Gate bridge. It was Spectacular!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqzKg99HFeU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqzKg99HFeU
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Thursday: Rice-a-Roni, the San Francisco Treat. :d
7:30 wake up call. That was hard. After a decent night's sleep, we folded up the blankets and sheets, and had a decent breakfast of cereal. Saying goodbye to our wonderful host family, we set off.
: Lake Tahoe via San Francisco via California Route 1. Route 1 is the drive along the coast. It is beautiful. Heading out from Nick's, we got back on the 118 and took that to the 101, driving through all the main cities up that (i.e. Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, etc.). Matt was driving. I was attempting to take pictures....but I"m not a big picture taker. I did take some though however idk how good they are. 
Once we reached San Luis Obespo, we had a choice. on a little more than a quarter tank, could we make the 100 mile trek to Montery or get gas at our current location. We decided to go for it. The drive was spectacular. The hills and heights gave great views of the ocean. The smell of the air was amazing. It was winding around a lot and there were plenty of construction sites (in which matt had a good time practicing his stops and goes on an uphill with a car behind him.) eventually, we got to a point where we needed some gas. So we stopped at this little place, 
gas was FOUR EIGHTY a gallon. So ridiculous. So 10 bucks, 2 gallons later, three dollars worth of postcards, we got back on into Montery. By that time, I had a headache (i think from lack of lunch) and the headache made me feel a bit nauseous. So once we reached Montery, we got a full tank of gas and stopped quickly at McDonalds. I felt much better after some food and caffeine, and then i picked up the drive on the way to San Francisco. That drive was a bit hectic, as it was rush hour. There were some standstills in traffic, but eventually, we made it into the city. Once we got in, the traffic got worse. So i took a random detour off and found a McDonalds to go the bathroom, and once back in, I decided to take a side road up. Bernard (the GPS) wasn't being very helpful and wanted us to return to standstill traffic. But i found what i thought looked like a good street to turn down. Ended up being third street which took us right past the Giant's stadium and into the heart of downtown. Downtown San Fran is Frantastic. Electric buses, old fashioned trollies, shiny mid to semi-high buildings, and streets named in honor of famous athletes are just a few details to summarize the sites of the city. I liked the style of architecture and the feel of the cultural setting. What a lovely city indeed. Eventually, Bernard caught up with us and led us on our way to the Golden Gate Bridge. This took us through the famous hills, in which i took my stick shift car up and over. The stops on the uphills were RIDICULOUS, but I conquered them all the same with no problems. It was quite the incredible adventure. From there, we got on the highway and prepared to cross the bridge. Matt took a good video all the way across which I'm going to upload. It was the sweetest thing ever. There was another bridge afterwards that was longer: Richmond Bridge. That bridge was pretty spectacular as well.
Cutting down the highway to Sacramento, we eventually made it and stopped for some good Taco Bell (we are so healthy for this trip). By this time it was dark and we needed to make our way for another few hours to this camp site we had found online. Taking us through dark forests where we couldn't see a thing, we found out the road we needed to go down was closed. Camp site fail. There were a few others we could have turned into that were paid...but having looked them up, they seemed a bit expensive for camping. 40 bucks? really? Other sites didn't feel right, nor safe. So we passed over those and just decided to keep driving to Carson City. By this time it was past midnight.
By stopping briefly at a stop sign, I let Matt take the wheel as my eyes were tired from my contacts. We continued across the Nevada border and through to Carson City. I drifted off a bit as we approached the city, but was awakened as Matt was turning around to rest for a little while in a parking lot...a hospital parking lot. "(0 v 0)" After stopping and sitting and talking there for a little bit, Matt's paranoia was taking over, so we decided to continue further. We found a Motel, but after ringing the night bell, decided to try elsewhere. A little further, there was a Motel six advertising a room for 30 bucks. (cheaper than the campsites...way to be). but by this time, Matt wasn't tired and was up for the hour more drive to Reno. However, just around the small town we stopped in, a cop didn't like that we were out late apparently, and thought it was odd that we pulled out of our parking spot and to the stop sign without our lights on (all of fifteen feet). After a ten seconds of panic, the cops began to toss around a story of why they pulled us over (confirming that we hadn't done anything wrong). After sitting in the car and waiting for a few minutes, the cops (as there were two of them) returned. Since our records were fine and we clearly consumed alcohol nor obtained rocket-launchers or any non-child friendly substance or object, everything checked out. They did say, however,that since my insurance was out of date, he could have given us a hefty $800 fine and towed the car (yes, for real), but since we were on a road trip and a long way from home, they kindly suggested that we not encounter another cop until we had an updated copy of the insurance policy. We thanked him for letting us off (though we didn't do anything to begin with) and started the rest of the way to Reno. Eventually, we got to a motel, 3 in the morning-ish. and crashed. What a day, both highs and lows. Tomorrow would end up being a quest on which to acquire a new insurance card.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Wednesday: Vacation's All I Ever Wanted.
After an awesome night's sleep (my sleeping bag was the most comfortable i'd ever slept in) we got up at 6:00 and packed up since Uncle Dave had to get to work. So we made our goodbye and drove on over to the nearest Mcdonald's to get breakfast and free wifi. :) I had the hotcakes, egg mcMuffin and orange juice. Matt went with the full breakfast platter, and there we chilled for a couple hours, killing time before meeting up with Nick at 9:45 to go to the beach!
9:15 rolled around, Matt and I stopped in a Pavilions (otherwise known as Safeway, or Dominick's) and grabbed some lunch stuff: Bread, Peanut Butter, a couple apples, and banana chips. Checking out was a process indeed, a nice lady let us cut in front of her, and the check out lady bugged me for a phone number in case a had a rewards (i wasn't positive it was like safeway at this point, though i had good suspicion.) and the number i gave worked, until my card was being stubborn....(actually i just was using the wrong punch code) and we were off to Nick's house.
Nick is a guy that goes to NAU with me, also a physics and astronomy major. We found his house and as soon as we got in, headed out across the street to meet up with his friends, Jared and Mike. We took Jared's van out to the beach, which was a blast. The van itself liked to make this whistling noise, and Jared and Mike were hilarious, joking the entire way there. Once at Malibu beach, we settled down and went to the waters edge. BRRRR it was freezing! and the air was a bit chilly as well. But it was the beach!! and it was wonderful. After standing knee deep in the waves for a bit, I borrowed Nick's boogie board and went out to ride at least one wave. I didn't come all this way not to get in the water, no matter how cold it was.
After a little while, Matt started to dig a hole, and then the hole was moved to make a little kiddie pool down by the water. Except the waves were bombarding it too much, so then NIck started to dig one a little ways back, and a wall was built with a draining system. It worked out pretty well, into one huge wave crashed on it. Then the sun was high and we all relaxed on our blankets. It was so wonderful.
After getting a little burned (you should see Matt's back...oops) we headed out and grabbed some food at Chipotle. I hadn't had chipotle in a few months, so it was delicious. Getting back to the house, we all took showers. Then played some foosball, (Nick kicked each of our butts in turn). We chilled a bit until Nick's mom (who is really nice) made dinner and Jared and Nick came back and we all ate. Eventually we made our way outside, and fooled around with the dogs a bit, then came back in and Nick, Matt, Jared and I played a game of Settlers of Catan while Mike napped on the couch. By the end of the night, we are all pretty beat. So the pillows and blankets were brought out into the living room and a good night's sleep is definitely ahead of us. Tomorrow, drive up to San Francisco and cut over to the border into Nevada. 680 something miles, about 10 or 11 hours. Woohoo!
P.S. I know these are days late. I'm typing them as I go, however, i do need to type up Thursday's day on San Francisco. I even have a video to post. And Pictures wiill come in time. No worries.
9:15 rolled around, Matt and I stopped in a Pavilions (otherwise known as Safeway, or Dominick's) and grabbed some lunch stuff: Bread, Peanut Butter, a couple apples, and banana chips. Checking out was a process indeed, a nice lady let us cut in front of her, and the check out lady bugged me for a phone number in case a had a rewards (i wasn't positive it was like safeway at this point, though i had good suspicion.) and the number i gave worked, until my card was being stubborn....(actually i just was using the wrong punch code) and we were off to Nick's house.
Nick is a guy that goes to NAU with me, also a physics and astronomy major. We found his house and as soon as we got in, headed out across the street to meet up with his friends, Jared and Mike. We took Jared's van out to the beach, which was a blast. The van itself liked to make this whistling noise, and Jared and Mike were hilarious, joking the entire way there. Once at Malibu beach, we settled down and went to the waters edge. BRRRR it was freezing! and the air was a bit chilly as well. But it was the beach!! and it was wonderful. After standing knee deep in the waves for a bit, I borrowed Nick's boogie board and went out to ride at least one wave. I didn't come all this way not to get in the water, no matter how cold it was.
After a little while, Matt started to dig a hole, and then the hole was moved to make a little kiddie pool down by the water. Except the waves were bombarding it too much, so then NIck started to dig one a little ways back, and a wall was built with a draining system. It worked out pretty well, into one huge wave crashed on it. Then the sun was high and we all relaxed on our blankets. It was so wonderful.
After getting a little burned (you should see Matt's back...oops) we headed out and grabbed some food at Chipotle. I hadn't had chipotle in a few months, so it was delicious. Getting back to the house, we all took showers. Then played some foosball, (Nick kicked each of our butts in turn). We chilled a bit until Nick's mom (who is really nice) made dinner and Jared and Nick came back and we all ate. Eventually we made our way outside, and fooled around with the dogs a bit, then came back in and Nick, Matt, Jared and I played a game of Settlers of Catan while Mike napped on the couch. By the end of the night, we are all pretty beat. So the pillows and blankets were brought out into the living room and a good night's sleep is definitely ahead of us. Tomorrow, drive up to San Francisco and cut over to the border into Nevada. 680 something miles, about 10 or 11 hours. Woohoo!
P.S. I know these are days late. I'm typing them as I go, however, i do need to type up Thursday's day on San Francisco. I even have a video to post. And Pictures wiill come in time. No worries.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
"Welcome to California, where we think everyone looks illegal"
Matt: "We'll be driving through New Mexico, right?" *silence* "wait, NO!"
10:00: Flagstaff
Heading out of Flagstaff, we have officially begun! Though there were a few errands to get done around Flag. Packing in the morning wasn't too painful, unless you count Mom making sure we were set for the apocalypse. Food, proper camping gear, cooler, safety instructions by the beach. :) I love you mom.
In Flag, I had to give Richard my key to the apartment as he's taking over my room. Then a quick drop by the school to drop off a signed form and we were off. Oh, and we printed a map to fill in liscence plates. (Though punches are way better ;) )
Now we are on the 40 and Bernard is being a faithful guide thus far, even though he takes awhile to get his bearings straight.
12:55p: California border
Finally, we have crossed the Colorado River. There was a short stop in Kingman for some lunch at Jack in the Box. 3 items for 3 dollars. mmmm, tasty. Got gas at a Mobile somewhere, in which case, the first pump hated me. Everytime i pressed the button, and pulled the pump, it would say thank you and not pump any gas. Kinda weird, yeah. But the other pump worked just fine. After crossing the border, we were "searched," mainly cuz Matt looked illegal. :P jk, apparently they search everyone and didn't really search. The guy asked where we had come from. ("Mexic....i mean, Arizona.). Yep, not too much has changed yet. Scenery still looks the same.
9:39p: Uncle Dave's
280 odd some miles later, We make it to Simi Valley. Let me just say that California driver's are indeed crazy! yeesh. Anyway, got down the 118, the scenery was beautiful. We pulled into a Mobile and filled up again and I called Uncle Dave who told me to get off the next highway exit and pull into the subway's. In which case we grabbed dinner. but not after stopping in a liquor store to grab drinks (matt and I had Dr. Pepper, no worries) and Uncle Dave cussed out the guy behind the counter before he started laughing at him.
Uncle Dave is a riot, as usual. I shall turn it over to Matt to give you a fresh perspective: ;)
(Matt) He certainly has a lot of good stories to tell, some good life lessons to share, and if you miss one the first time, there will certainly be another time to catch it. Don't let his language or flipped around ideas hinder you from understanding him; he truly does care and wants one to turn out well and happy. Phrases to note: "It is what it is." "If you're ok, I'm ok." "It was wild." "The key works every other day but today. Right key? Right key. Wrong Dave? Wrong Dave." "It's three lights down... I haven't been there in twenty five years... alright, it's three more lights down." "Jasper... there ya go, attack mode." "Make yourself at home... or don't, and go wherever you want." "Woop, you caught me on a good day." "No problem; we'll just fix it." "Do what makes you happy."
(David): yep...a riot. I got to drive his truck while he showed us mom and dad's first house out here. Crazy history lesson. Good drive. We got back and looked for a parking spot. Commentary, " too many people...not enough spots. Of course, that's what California is, too many people, not enough spots."Now we are just chilling, and gonna head to bed soon. Day at the beach tomorrow. Booyah. Catch ya later!
P.S. Pictures will have to wait, the internet is being slow in uploading them. But I will hopefully scatter them throughout these posts in time. :)
10:00: Flagstaff
Heading out of Flagstaff, we have officially begun! Though there were a few errands to get done around Flag. Packing in the morning wasn't too painful, unless you count Mom making sure we were set for the apocalypse. Food, proper camping gear, cooler, safety instructions by the beach. :) I love you mom.
In Flag, I had to give Richard my key to the apartment as he's taking over my room. Then a quick drop by the school to drop off a signed form and we were off. Oh, and we printed a map to fill in liscence plates. (Though punches are way better ;) )
Now we are on the 40 and Bernard is being a faithful guide thus far, even though he takes awhile to get his bearings straight.
12:55p: California border
Finally, we have crossed the Colorado River. There was a short stop in Kingman for some lunch at Jack in the Box. 3 items for 3 dollars. mmmm, tasty. Got gas at a Mobile somewhere, in which case, the first pump hated me. Everytime i pressed the button, and pulled the pump, it would say thank you and not pump any gas. Kinda weird, yeah. But the other pump worked just fine. After crossing the border, we were "searched," mainly cuz Matt looked illegal. :P jk, apparently they search everyone and didn't really search. The guy asked where we had come from. ("Mexic....i mean, Arizona.). Yep, not too much has changed yet. Scenery still looks the same.
9:39p: Uncle Dave's
280 odd some miles later, We make it to Simi Valley. Let me just say that California driver's are indeed crazy! yeesh. Anyway, got down the 118, the scenery was beautiful. We pulled into a Mobile and filled up again and I called Uncle Dave who told me to get off the next highway exit and pull into the subway's. In which case we grabbed dinner. but not after stopping in a liquor store to grab drinks (matt and I had Dr. Pepper, no worries) and Uncle Dave cussed out the guy behind the counter before he started laughing at him.
Uncle Dave is a riot, as usual. I shall turn it over to Matt to give you a fresh perspective: ;)
(Matt) He certainly has a lot of good stories to tell, some good life lessons to share, and if you miss one the first time, there will certainly be another time to catch it. Don't let his language or flipped around ideas hinder you from understanding him; he truly does care and wants one to turn out well and happy. Phrases to note: "It is what it is." "If you're ok, I'm ok." "It was wild." "The key works every other day but today. Right key? Right key. Wrong Dave? Wrong Dave." "It's three lights down... I haven't been there in twenty five years... alright, it's three more lights down." "Jasper... there ya go, attack mode." "Make yourself at home... or don't, and go wherever you want." "Woop, you caught me on a good day." "No problem; we'll just fix it." "Do what makes you happy."
(David): yep...a riot. I got to drive his truck while he showed us mom and dad's first house out here. Crazy history lesson. Good drive. We got back and looked for a parking spot. Commentary, " too many people...not enough spots. Of course, that's what California is, too many people, not enough spots."Now we are just chilling, and gonna head to bed soon. Day at the beach tomorrow. Booyah. Catch ya later!
P.S. Pictures will have to wait, the internet is being slow in uploading them. But I will hopefully scatter them throughout these posts in time. :)
Monday, May 10, 2010
The night before.
9:46pm
Well, it's the night before the grand adventure. Everything is (generally) all packed, though not in the car...I mean in bags. We had to take it out today so i could take the car in to get an oil change and the tires rotated. But now, everything is all set and we shall be off tomorrow morning....8 oclock in the morning that is. Driving to Flagstaff from Sedona, we'll have to stop and give Richard my key to the apartment as he is taking over my room for the summer.
I guess I should define "I" and "we" huh? Well for starters, III am David and I shall be the main narrator (though Matt might cut in....just might.) Matt is the other if you couldn't guess forming the "we." Having been at school for the year, it is time to head back to my home of Illinois, and Matt, wonderful friend that he is, has come to join me. The only thing is, we are starting out by heading to California...the complete opposite direction. What a way to begin!
I guess I should mention Bernadette as well. Stylish, she has a dark complexion and really enjoys hilly landscapes and manual labor. She's the lovely car that shall be transporting us through this adventure. Stick shift that she is, Matt had to learn quick and dirty how to drive one, and he's gotten decent. The real test will be the drive home. ooooh.
I suppose that's it for introductions: It is getting late and sleep is important for the 8 hour drive to the coast tomorrow. Hopefully I'll check back in tomorrow and find some free wifi. Good night world, hello America.
Well, it's the night before the grand adventure. Everything is (generally) all packed, though not in the car...I mean in bags. We had to take it out today so i could take the car in to get an oil change and the tires rotated. But now, everything is all set and we shall be off tomorrow morning....8 oclock in the morning that is. Driving to Flagstaff from Sedona, we'll have to stop and give Richard my key to the apartment as he is taking over my room for the summer.
I guess I should define "I" and "we" huh? Well for starters, III am David and I shall be the main narrator (though Matt might cut in....just might.) Matt is the other if you couldn't guess forming the "we." Having been at school for the year, it is time to head back to my home of Illinois, and Matt, wonderful friend that he is, has come to join me. The only thing is, we are starting out by heading to California...the complete opposite direction. What a way to begin!
I guess I should mention Bernadette as well. Stylish, she has a dark complexion and really enjoys hilly landscapes and manual labor. She's the lovely car that shall be transporting us through this adventure. Stick shift that she is, Matt had to learn quick and dirty how to drive one, and he's gotten decent. The real test will be the drive home. ooooh.
I suppose that's it for introductions: It is getting late and sleep is important for the 8 hour drive to the coast tomorrow. Hopefully I'll check back in tomorrow and find some free wifi. Good night world, hello America.
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