Savannah

This morning we journeyed back into Savannah for a little more touring around. We parked near Forsyth Park, 10 acres that was dedicated as parkland back in the 1850's. There are so many green spaces in Savannah - it is beautiful. In the park and all over the city are these massive oak trees with limbs sprawling all over. There are also some of the biggest magnolia trees I've ever seen. We have magnolias in Texas that I thought were big, but some of the ones in Savannah were as big as oaks! Walking through the historic neghborhoods in the city, we saw some beautiful architecture. I'm not sure what the style is called, but there is a lot of brick with big windows and a lot of iron gates, railings, and huge scroll brackets that held up balconies. Many of the houses had courtyards, which I loved. I decided that I'm doing one at the house we build someday:). My grandmother used to have a courtyard at her house and it was so peaceful. It is an area that had either brick or concrete floors, planted areas on the sides, or potted plants sitting around, and many times a fountain. many have little garden spaces in the middle that are divided up by boxwood hedges. Some have little statues too. As you can tell, I'm in love with courtyards:) Check with me in 10 years to see if I have one:)

After walking down many streets and through many parks, we went back to the car to make our way to the Georgia-Florida border. On our way down, we got gas and stopped at an outlet mall. I was down to two pairs of jeans for the trip, and then got a hole in a conspicuous place, so it was Gap time. I found a great pair for $20, can't beat that. From there, we stopped at the Visitor's center for Brunswick and Cumberland Island - the area we were headed. I was really interested to get some information on the Cumberland Island, because they have wild horses there and I've always wanted to see wild horses:)

Charleston and Savannah

Tim again.  This morning we awoke in Myrtle Beach to a cool but otherwise beautiful morning.  The view from our hotel was really nice (especially for the price!), and we got a late start to get on the road by 10 or so.  I don't know what it is about being on the road, but I can't seem to want to get an early start unless we're camping.  I'll definitely have to get back in a more normal sleeping routine soon.  I remember being up really early all the time on my previous trip, but maybe that was due to it being summer, with a really early sunrise, and temperatures rising quickly.  Plus, Paul (who I went with on the trip, for those not familiar) used to get all cuddly in the mornings and it creeped me out.  Just kidding, Paul!

Anyways, we really didn't stop in Myrtle Beach for anything site or souvenir-wise.  I suppose the place must appeal to some people, and probably is a good family destination, but I think I'd rather spend my vacations away from large groups of unfamiliar people.  That could be the introvert in me showing.

So, after a relatively short 100 miles on the road, we came to Charleston.  Using the Road Food book given to us by Nathan as a guide, we decided to stop at Jestine's Kitchen for lunch.  It was really quite good, probably some of the best food of the trip.  I had a fried oyster po boy (a sub for those from the north), and Kat had the fried chicken, along with the "table wine", which is really just sweet tea.  Believe it or not, it was my first sweet tea of the trip and I made up for lost time by drinking like 3 glasses of it.  After walking around town a bit and looking at all the fancy stores we couldn't afford to go into, we hopped in the car and headed towards Savannah.  Along the way, we stopped at a roadside shop and picked up some sweet potato butter (like apple butter), as well as some kinda praline mustardy glaze, and a praline for good measure.  I don't know that I've ever had a praline before, but I think I'll be having more of them in the future because it was really good.  I've actually started a list of some foods I've had or heard of along the trip to try making them when we finish the trip.  The south really has a lot of delicious food.

Upon arriving in Savannah we followed our normal "first time in a new city" routine.  First, we look for the first signs of any sort of visitor's center and attempt to stop there.  Then, we get frustrated when we get lost or can't find parking or encounter a lot of traffic (it never fails).  Finally, once we get our bearings we calm down and start to enjoy the place.  Kat and I were talking today and saying that we don't really like touring around cities.  I told her that I thought it was mostly due to the stress of working your way around an unfamiliar place, that we liked Rochester once we knew where we were going, and she agreed.  Still, even if the stress of unfamiliarity weren't an issue, I think I'd choose touring around a National Park over seeing a major metropolitan area.

Once we got ourselves situated and parked in Savannah, we spent some time just walking around, taking in the waterfront and a lot of the area around the capitol, as well as few trendy shopping type areas.  I've heard that the homes and the architecture around Savannah are really beautiful so I'm looking forward to seeing that.  I think tomorrow we'll do a sort of self-guided walking tour of some of the homes and such around town then hit the road to end up somewhere in southern Georgia, or maybe Florida.  Who knows.

Part of what I like about the trip is that we're constantly not really knowing where we'll lay our heads down at night, where we'll be exploring the next day, who we might meet, and what situation we might run into.  I've stated to some that I think my first road trip around the country with Paul was one of the best things I've ever done.  I don't think it was just the experience of seeing all of those sites or being on a 5 week vacation.  I'm beginning to become more convinced that it was the fact that we were going around the country and really had no idea what would face us on a day to day basis.  Things were unknown and new and sometimes a bit scary and it was all ok.  We made it through just fine.  I think it gave me the confidence to step out a bit more, to be adventurous.

Perhaps more on this later, but for now, it's time to hit the sack.

Driving across NC

Well, Oakboro was a bust. I'm beginning to think that guy was having fun with a couple of tourists. It was a no stoplight town without even an interesting main street. Oh well. We quickly hopped back on main roads, then highways, and sped our way across North Carolina, headed for the coast. The highlight of the day and an extra programmed destination of the day was lunch at Sonic. We saw our first Sonic somewhere in Virginia, but weren't able to stop until our uneventful day-o-commuting. Man, was it heaven. I got a bacon cheeseburger, cheese tator tots, and a cherry lime slush. If I were on death row, that just might have to be my last meal. Well, maybe not, but there is something very comforting about Sonic food. As we sat there and waited for the car hop to come out, I told Tim of the many weekends of my childhood that I spent at the farm, and how most involved a trip to Sonic. Back then my favorites were a corn dog and grape slush - I have matured to better things now such as tots with cheese.
Anyways, as you can see, our day was pretty uneventful. I did notice that as we neared the coast, the land became flatter and pines were much more prevalent. It reminded me very much of driving through Texas. It's neat how as I get closer to home, things are becoming more familiar to me. I'm not typically one for nostalgia, because so many times it's just an inconvenience, but with no agenda and tons of time, I am soaking it all up.

Tim might say the highlight of his day was stopping at a place called Mackey's Ferry Peanuts. It was a place in the middle of nowhere, but with big signs advertising boiled peanuts. Well, neither of us have ever had boiled peanuts, but by these signs, we assumed it was a local delight, and we pulled over. Tim went up to the counter and ordered some like they're his favorite. The guys asked, hot or cold? Tim said hot, like he knew it was the best. Well sir, they were hot, fresh out of the boiler, I believe. They were interesting. They were hot and a little mushy. They still had the flavor of typical peanuts, but just took on a hot and mushy form. We still have them today, so now they are cold and mushy. I'm glad we tried them, but I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. You just get your hands messy.

From the peanut store, we made our way to our campsite for the night. It was a place called Pettigrew State Park, situated on a lake and a wildlife reserve. We were really just looking to get to sleep and get started on our next day, so we didn't bother with the wildlife reserve. That also could have to do with the ranger telling us there had been a mother bear and two cubs spotted recently. We did check out the lake though. It was a huge lake - 16,000 acres. It was a crystal clear evening and very pretty as the sun was setting over the lake. From here, we went back to our tent and found we had some neighbors in the site across the way. It was a couple of guys with a boat who we found out were expecting some other guys later at night. Well, by later at night, we thought, 8, 9, 10... something like that. Well, they got in at 4:30 this morning. Apparently they drove in from West Virginia.. and instead of wanting to sleep like normal people, they got their buddies up and proceeded to talk loudly, build a fire, make breakfast, and every other noisy thing you can think of. While in the bathroom, one of the guys asked Tim if he heard them come in. Tim said yes, and they guy kinda shrugged it off. Tim said he wanted to yell at the guy. Oh well, we were up and on the road by 8:30.. never to see those yahoos again.

The Outer Banks

We arrived at the Outer Banks by 10 and made our way toward Kitty Hawk, where Tim had bought stunt kites as a kid. We passed a couple of kite shops on the way, but Tim assured me that the best one was all the way in Kitty Hawk. Well, Kitty Hawk came and went and we found ourselves all the way in Duck, NC before we knew it. Using Lori, the faithful GPS, we got ourselves turned around on backroads for a good while, then Kitty Hawk bound once again. Well, as it turns out, the awesome kite store was one of the shops we had seen on our way. We parked and went into this store, that I think may have been pink on the outside with every kind of kite or windsock flying from the building. The store had TONS of stuff from clothing, to kites, to toys.. but we (I mean Tim) were only interested in kites. Tim got to talking with a kite lady and soon had his prized kite picked out. These kites are hand sewn and can do many tricks like spinning and flying low. I'm sure there are other things.. and Tim got a CD to learn them.

From the kite shop, we headed south to Nags Head for some lunch. We found a place recommended by the NC visitor guide - Sam and Omie's. We got a very interesting lady as a waitress. I'd say she was drunk, but it was 11 in the morning, so I'm thinking she's just a nutty local. She recommended the grilled fish cake sandwich, which we both got. It was very tasty and the fries were to die for. For dessert, we had homemade banana pudding. Neither of us had ever had homemade banana pudding before, and let me tell you, it was amazing. I can tell the difference in the boxed pudding. This stuff had a nicely whipped texture, vanilla wafers at the bottom, and chunks of banana throughout. After this scrumptious meal, we hit the road again.

Our next stop was the Bodie (pronounced body) Island Lighthouse. There are many beautiful lighthouses on the Outer Banks. We stood in the sun awhile and looked at it, toured the visitor's center, and picked up a couple of patches for Tim's patch collection. From the lighthouse, we went to the grocery store, picked up a few groceries, and hit the beach. We got there around 3 and set up our beach towels. There were fishermen spread along the beach, but the whole time I sat there, I didn't see one of them catch a fish. Tim pulled out his new kite and took it for it's inaugural flight with much success. No major crashes, and lots of loopty-loops. I finished the book I had been reading, The Ultimate Gift - a great book, I highly recommend it. We made PBJ's for dinner, enjoyed a drink as the sun set, and overall just relaxed while enjoying the waves and sun. Then we packed it all up and headed to our campsite.

We stayed at a place called Camp Woods, which is a RV park with a few tent sites. The woman there set us up with an awesome site right on the edge of a pond. I took full advantage of the nice bath house, then settled into the tent for some reading before bed. We had settled down into our sleeping bags, were talking, when we heard something lightly hitting the tent. Tim said, is that rain? I said, no way, it was a perfect day, not a cloud in the sky. Not 10 seconds later, the skies parted and it poured! I'm not talking a light rain, even a heavy rain, it was a HUGE rain with 35 mph winds. We quickly zipped up the tarp cover and bunkered down for the storm. We didn't make it half an hour before water was coming in the tent on Tim's side. He scootched over to my side a little more to avoid any dripping. We lay there as the winds ripped at the tent and the rain poured. We could heard loud things outside the tent, but had no idea what they were. Soon after, we had a branch come down on the tent. Luckily it wasn't big, but it scared us enough to run out of the tent into the car. Now, we're in the Fit, so sleeping in the car is out of the option. After not much deliberation, I started calling motels for late night rates. On the second try, I found a place for $50 and we left our tent to the storm.

Lexington

This morning while soaking up the last of the free cable at the Knight's Inn, we heard that there was a Barbeque Festival in Lexington, NC, a city which was on the general route of where we were headed. (Actually, we didn't know where we were headed) So we set out bright and early, barbeque on the brain. (We treated ourself to Mexican the night before, so it was time for my next fix of Texas favorites). We arrived a the Walmart parking lot for the shuttle around 10:00. Once on the shuttle, we struck up a conversation with a local guy who was extremely friendly. He was excited to hear we were down all the way from NY. He said this was the best barbeque in the country. I told him I wasn't sure, I was from Texas after all. He said this stuff is different from Texas barbeque, it's vinegar based. Hey, I'm open-minded, I definitely wanted to try this stuff. (Especially after all the junk we've been cooking up on the road). Oh, and lastly, we asked his opinion of where to go in NC since we were passing through. He said definitely go to Oakboro. Stay tuned for what that was like.

We entered the Barbeque Festival at the north end of what I think was Main Street. They blocked off traffic for about five or ten blocks down and all along each side were food booths, exhibits, and crafts. The first exhibit we came across was the Lumberjack Competition. Now, I had seen these things many times on TV and always thought it was amusing how throwing an axe or chopping a piece of wood had become a talent to perfect, worthy of a medal and the worship of many men and women. Well, I went up front and center to get a piece of the action. Not only were there burly looking lumberjack men, there were young guys fighting for the honor of best axe throw. I've never thrown an axe myself, so I guess I shouldn't knock it - I'm sure those things are heavy. We saw some talent out there I believe. Looking around at the crowd, I didn't see anyone about to pee themselves over a bullseye with an axe.. so now I'm almost wondering if it's like an exclusive club.. kinda like a Dungeons and Dragons club. Maybe it's enough to these guys to be cool to each other. OK, so that wasn't all of the festival.

We walked a block further and encountered a sand sculpture about 29 feet tall. It was a large birthday cake with pigs all over it, eating it mostly. And of course there was a pig in a wig popping out the top. This was the 25th anniversary of the festival, so they did it up big. The pigs are the mascot of the festival because barbecue in North Carolina is pork based, for the most part. We did make it down to a booth and both got barbecue sandwiches, Tim's with cole slaw, mine without. It was tasty and we both enjoyed it. Is it as good as Texas barbecue..? Even if it was, would I say so? Probably not:). Darn that Southern pride.

There were also many craft booths with birdhouses, pottery, clothes, jewelry, etc. One of the first booths we came to were selling these hand-sewn bags made from fabric scraps. There were adorable, and I got one for myself. After milling from booth to booth, we stopped by to see the Budweiser clydesdales. They are huge and beautiful animals. I've seen them before, but am blown away by their size and muscles every time I see them. They really look like gentle giants (that's not to say I'd go walking behind one of them!). From here, we went on to one of the many stages set up around the event. The featured entertainer of the evening was Leanne Womack. I don't know that I'm wild about her music, but she really does have a beautiful voice, somewhat like Alison Krauss. The best part of the concert was listening to one of her sideliners that she switched off singing songs with. His name is Jamey Johnson, and he is a pretty funny guy. I'm not saying I agree with everything he sings about, but he is pretty straightforward and hilarious at times. For an example, check out his song "Women." Well, after half dozen songs, I was pooped. We headed back to Walmart, bought the Jamey Johnson CD (yeah, we're bad), and hit the road for our campsite that would put us closer to Oakboro, North Carolina's pride and joy.

Camping was pretty good. We went on a Saturday night before Halloween, which apparently is a big deal in these parts, because there was trick or treating and a "decorate your campsite" competition. We were supposed to vote for the best one, but were having such a fit with our campfire that we never got around to it. We bought a bundle of wood for $3, which we thought was a pretty good deal. Well, little did we know, this was wet wood on a very humid night. We fought with that fire for hours... but the flame would never keep. Well, Tim said it did eventually, but I had long since gone to bed, and when I looked in the morning, there was more wood left than there was burnt. I will give my man credit for fanning the crap out of that wood for hours.. I'm surprised he's not sore today. Oh well. We're not fooling with fires tonight, that's all I know.

(No, it was not as good as Texas barbecue)

Blue Ridge Parkway

I've kept silent so far and I can be silent no more.  Katherine's been doing all of the posting so far so I thought I'd give it a go.

Today we woke up in Staunton (pronounced Stan-ton), VA to clouds and really cool weather.  It felt like a late fall day in Rochester and seems out of place at this time of year and this far south.  Still, it is almost the end of October.  This must be somewhat unusual for this time of year, as some leaves were still green and stubbornly clung to their branches.

Kat and I grabbed a bite to eat at the free continental breakfast at our motel (yea, we were too wussy to camp in 30 degree weather) and got a last-minute internet fix before hitting the road.  We decided today to start on the Blue Ridge Parkway and even though it was cloudy it was well worth the drive.  It reminded me a bit of driving on route 1 down the California coastline in that it was sometimes hard to go the posted speed limit due to all the curves and switchbacks as we proceeded up one mountain and down the next.  The leaves here seem to be at about 70% or so and the views from the tops of the mountains down into the valleys were great, mostly dotted with farms and big tracts of land.  Unfortunately Kat doesn't have any pics from today and I'm being lazy so we'll have to save those for later.  All in all I'd say the views from the Blue Ridge Parkway were just as good as those from Skyline Drive (and cheaper too since you pay admission to Shenandoah National Park for Skyline Drive).

We ate lunch along the parkway at a pretty little picnic area.  Kat was asking to just stop at the restaurant for a cup of soup (because of the cold), but I was feeling like we needed to eat cheap so we pulled out our little camping stove and grilled up a few hotdogs along with a can of chicken rice soup.  Yum.  By the time I had the stove off, Katherine was in the car attempting to recover from the chill of the weather.  She and I have very different tolerances for cold.  I'll be interested to see how I hold up in the Texas heat.

Tonight we're staying in Galax, VA in a Knights Inn to avoid the rainstorm that's been pounding through.  My car was needing another rinsing so I guess this is it!

On a personal note I've been thinking a good bit about something we talked about in Sunday school this past weekend.  Being on the road for several hours each day certainly provides ample time for thinking (or just daydreaming).  Anyways, in Sunday school were discussing the twelve disciples and the qualities that make up a good leader.  The 3 qualities mentioned were involvement, initiative, and iniquisitive.  I don't know that these qualities wholly sum up a good leader, but I do think they are integral.  Perhaps another way to sum up these qualities is in a single word: engage.  A leader must be engaged in order to lead effectively, they cannot be distant.  I think my initial tendency with others is to be a bit distant, to hold back a little (or a lot).  This tendency increases if the situation is new or difficult.  Yet I know the truth; I know I need to push on through; I know I need to engage with family, friends, and coworkers.  Why is that sometimes so difficult?  Thoughts are welcome.

Where we're headed tomorrow, I do not know.  The old thought was to head to the Smokey Mountains but heading to the coast is tempting as well.  Yea, gosh, what a tough decision.

PS - We'll be at Disney from November 1-5 if anyone would care to see us

PPS - On another personal note, my aunt Judy is currently undergoing treatment for cancer.  I would certainly appreciate any prayers on her behalf.  You can learn a bit more about her and her progress at a web site they've setup.

Distance to Texas: 1,142 miles

Best mileage of the trip: 42.6mpg

A girl named Cricket.

Well, we have officially entered the South. We stopped at a visitor's center as we entered Virginia and got all the literature we needed to get through the state. The lady helping us was Jean and she had an awesome southern accent. I swear, the closer I get to Texas, the more I'm loving all of these little south-isms I've lived without for the past four years.

We took back roads all the way to Port Royal where we got on Skyline Drive through the Shenandoah National Park. It got mountainous pretty quickly and we wound our way up to about 3,600 feet. There are a ton of scenic overlooks along the drive, so we got lots of nice pictures. The leaves haven't changed here yet, which is surprising, because it was in the 40's all day with lows in the 30's tonight. I'm guessing they'll be changing soon. Overall, a very beautiful park with outstanding views.

We borrowed a book from Tim's brother Nathan - one that he used on his road trip. It is called Road Food. It is a book of all of the best food across the country, no matter how big or small the place. We went to Mrs. Rowe's Family Restaurant, a mom and pop place with some good country cooking (also the place with the girl named Cricket). Tim got pork chops, lima beans, and sauerkraut. I got fried chicken, lima beans, and mashed potatoes. Everything was very tasty (though my mom makes better friend chicken:)). I think we'd like to keep trying unique little places along the way, but we're trying to save money and eat cheaply most of the time. That's ok, we like hot dogs and PB&J too:)

Tonight we're staying at the Days Inn instead of camping in 29 degrees. I think we'll be staying inside until things are in the 40's.. which I'm thinking should be soon. Tomorrow we're headed further down the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Distance to Texas: 1,258 miles

The day at our nation's capitol.

Tim and I had grand plans for today to be out the door early, catch the Metro, and hit at least two museums or more. We were doing good, headed out the door at 8, went to the car... or where the car was. Oh yes, we got towed. There is not very much parking at our friends' condo community, but we parked in what appeared to be a very legal spot. We were there after 7 and would be out before 9:30. You read the sign. You tell me where we went wrong. After much waiting for the tow company's manager, I hear from the man that you must have a permit to park there and that we should have gotten one from the community, or Dan and Amanda should have known we couldn't park there. Well, Dan nearly flipped when he heard that, as apparently they have inquired into the permit situation before with no concrete answers ever given. Dan was so kind to drive us to get our car and bail us out with the promise that, in the end, this will not come from his pocketbook. I believe he already has the wheels in motion on this one after a stern email he sent today.

Well, this situation was a minor setback, but we were still bound and determined to see the sights. We parked at the Metro lot in Vienna and hopped aboard for a short ride into town. We got off and made our way to the Holocaust Museum. When I was in 8th grade, my class went to Washington D.C. for a field trip. I distinctly remember the Holocaust Museum and how sobering the experience was. I think it is good to revisit the event every now and then to remember what people are capable of and so we don't ever get fooled into thinking that all is well in the world. I guess that sounds depressing, but I don't want to neglect injustice in the world, and something like the Holocaust should certainly never be forgotten or ignored. Tim had never been before and we both felt it was a lot to take in all at once. We are both glad to have gone though.

From the museum, we walked around a bit, and I gave my old college roommate Rachel a call. She is living in DC right now completing her masters in physical therapy. Rachel is always a smiling face I love to see and is a great conversationalist and listener. She picked us up and took us over to the Eastern Market. We ate across the street at a place called Marvelous Market. It was a quaint little cafe with ready-made sandwiches and salads. I was feeling brave, so we sat outside. It was a very windy day with weather in the 60's. Had it not been for the wind, I think I would have made a good choice to sit outside - oh well. We had a great time catching up, eating our sandwiches and salads, and drinking our root beers. Rachel then gave us a mini driving tour of the DC sites, then dropped us off near the Smithsonian museums. We walked through this beautiful garden at the Castle. I decided I'm going to have a garden like it at my next house:).

After the garden, we made our way back to the Metro and then back to Dan and Amanda's. Amanda had bought a turkey recently because it was a good deal and then offered to cook it up for us tonight. Well let me tell you... it was wonderful! I only get turkey twice a year, so this was a real treat. A turkey dinner is truly my favorite. We enjoyed the meal and then had some pumpkin bread from Trader Joe's and some very tasty port to accompany it. After dessert, we retired to the TV room where we watched an episode of Raising the Bar, a show they are hooked on and really is pretty good. And it stars good ol' Zach Morris - can't beat that:). An Extreme Home Makeover and The Office episode later, we have journeyed back to bed. Tomorrow we hit the road for Shenandoah National Park.

Distance to Texas: 1,410 miles

DC bound.

We began this day in Philly, visiting Bre, then going back to see Allison. After breakfast and a morning pick me up at Starbucks, we were back to Allison's house for more packing! We got a lot done, so hopefully my dad won't pass out when he arrives:). Around 2, we hit the road for DC so we could miss the rush hour traffic we so commonly hit in these big cities. We pulled in to our friends Dan and Amanda's place at 5 just as Dan was getting home. They are a cute newlywed couple and have a beautiful new home with the cutest little kitty, Boots McCoy.

When Amanda got home, we all went out to this trendy town center in their neighborhood. We ate dinner at Busara, a Thai food restaurant. It was soooo good. We haven't had Thai food since Rochester! After many laughs, we walked down to Ice Berry, a frozen yogurt store. I got the plain yogurt with raspberries... so good. Tim got a plain yogurt/melon yogurt swirl with mini rice cakes. It was a new treat to us and something I hope they have in Houston. We ended our evening out with a drive through some beautiful town homes in the area. We saw Dan and Amanda's dream home:)

Back home, Dan helped us figure out our route for going into DC tomorrow. We've got a couple of places in mind, so check in tomorrow to see where we wound up. Nite!

Pennsylvania.

The past few days have been spent in good ol' PA with the Clymer family. On Sunday we went to church at Mt. Gilead UMC in Shermans Dale. After church, Tim and I rearranged the car because things in the back were starting to look like one big suitcase. We improved things quite a bit after we decided to ditch the large cooler. We traded it with Tim's parents for a tiny one. Now we have total visability out the back window:). Next we went with Tim's mom and picked Grammy up for lunch at Panera... and after that, a slurpee for the road. Yum. The afternoon was spent visiting more with family and then we were put to bed by the Red Sox's loss. Oh, and I enjoyed the Clymer kitty, Oscar - held here by Tim's sister Ellen. I sure miss my Maddie and Chester!

This morning we packed it all up again and hit the road for Mechanicsburg. After a free car wash and some more family time, we headed back to Philly to help Allison with packing. We got most of her clothes, most of the kitchen, and most of the pictures packed. We also managed to run to Starbucks:) Around 5, Nathan came over to pick up Allison's 60 gallon aquarium. Tim helped drain it... I will post a picture of that soon. Tim and I went with Nathan to his place, set it up, and watched a few episodes of The Office - can't beat that. And tonight we sleep under the watchful gaze of the deer mounted on Nathan's wall.

Turn left, then turn left, then ahead, turn left.

After a quick white mocha at the local coffee shop, we headed out to the beaches on the Cape. We first stopped at Fort Hill and hiked down to the marshes. From there, we went on to Nauset Beach. It was a windy day, but still very clear and beautiful. From the beaches, we stopped by Chatham, a little town recommended to us by Molly and Phil. We went to The Squire, a local eatery and got "steamers," which are steamed clams and apparently a local favorite. They were tasty, but definitely a different feel in my mouth! I ordered fish and chips - always a favorite.

We quickly hit the road after lunch because it was going to be a 7 hour drive to Tim's grandparents' house in Quakertown, PA. The drive was pretty good as far as scenery, traffic, and company... until we hit NYC. We had already called ahead to Ellen, Tim's sister, to get the lowdown on the best route from Boston to Philly. She said to go straight through the city. Well, we thought we knew better and mapped a route around the city. Around mid-Connecticut, things started slowing significantly. We still kept spirits high, jamming to Brooks and Dunn, our "kick traffic's butt" music. Well, by the time we reached our "short cut," things slowed down to a snail's pace. I think our attempt to outsmart NYC was a total failure, because in reality, we had decided to drive to the suburbs of NYC... where everyone was headed. Needless to say, we were trying to calm down to Coldplay, our "traffic kicked our butt" music. I didn't think driving in or around NYC could compare to Boston, but boy was I wrong. Well, a drive that should have taken maybe one hour took two, but I am thinking now there will be nothing worse traffic-wise. Although who knows... DC is still coming up... we will see.

So we did eventually make it in to PA. We cooked up a couple of yummy grilled cheese with pepperoni sandwiches and sat down with Tim's grandparents and aunts and uncles. We didn't know everyone was coming over, but it was a pleasant surprise. We got to share all of our stories and pictures with everyone. After everyone left, I crashed on the couch and eventually made it to bed.

This morning we had a nice breakfast and walked around the yard with Pop Pop. It was really a beautiful, brisk fall day. Tim's grandfather raises Japanese maples and has tons of them planted all over his yard. We walked through the groves he has planted and looked at all of the varieties- some dwarf, some tall, some green and others red. He has people that stop by throughout the year to buy trees for their personal yards or for local nurseries. Before we left, he gave us four small trees to plant at our new house in Texas. It means a lot of have the trees that he raised, and this may be the only time we can bring them down with us. I imagine taking trees on an airplane might be hard:). I'll have to post a picture of our crammed car sometime. It is a little nuts. I think I'm going to rearrange things this weekend.

From Quakertown, we hit the road for Media, PA where Allison works at Starbucks. We made it there just as she finished and we got some tasty drinks. I got the Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. The first drink was super salty, but overall it was really good. I don't even want to know the nutritional information. After Starbucks, we headed to her apartment where she is in the middle of packing to move back to Texas too. Things were a little chaotic at the house, so we jumped right into packing. In a little over an hour, we had the office 95% done. There is still a bit to be done so we're coming back on Monday to pack more. From the apartment we went to Allison's friends Becca and Scott's house warming party. We ate some delicious vegetarian cuisine- never thought I'd say that:). From there, we hit the road for Shermans Dale - Tim's parents' house.

We got in around 8:30, drank some wine, and ate some cheese with Tim's mom as we caught up on life. It is always great visiting with her. We're now sitting here watching SNL. We wanted to catch the Palin skit with my buddy Sarah. The first skit was pretty funny, but I thought the weekend update was awesome. I'm gonna have to catch that one on YouTube tomorrow. Wish I could say more for the other skits!

Distance to Texas: 1,453 miles

Oh Boston.

Today began with a tasty breakfast at a mom and pop restaurant near Cindy and Benny's house. Tim got eggs, hash browns and toast, and I got a short stack with a side of bacon. We had a nice time visiting with Cindy and Benny and then hit the road for Boston. Tim and I have never been to Boston and I wanted to see it to check it off my list. Well, that list has been checked, and probably checked for good.

We probably should have talked to Tim's sister Ellen, a former Bostonian for some tips on getting around the city. Our drive down was nice and effortless, but once we were in the city, the nightmare ensued. The GPS (that we loving dub Lori, because that is her voice name) took us right into the middle of the city through various underground highways from the Big Dig. This would have been fine, but once we are underground, Lori loses service, and she can't tell us where to go. Which wouldn't be a problem in say, a typical tunnel, but these are exactly like highways, and you can change lanes underground and take different exits underground. Well, we missed our exit and headed off toward the airport instead. Lori quickly came to once we were above ground, and she told us to turn around. Well, she was sending us back to the Big Dig via a tollway that about four streets fed into. We couldn't get over far enough to get to the coin lanes, so made two attempts before retreating into the bowels of Little Italy, it looked like. We finally made it around to a better entrance, paid our $3.50 toll and were underground again for the one exit we needed. We parked the car (Tim did all the driving, really.. and I am so thankful) and headed into the city on foot to explore.

We walked through some of the old meeting halls that had been converted into shopping. It's pretty neat how they have kept everything in tact and people really enjoy visiting these historic places. Look, even Sarah Palin likes to visit here! From the shopping area, we headed towards the aquarium. In the end, we decided to go on an old trolley tour instead of to the aquarium. We weren't sure what to see in Boston, so we saw it all. We got off at the U.S.S. Constitution. The ship is still maintained and run by active duty sailors. We got to hear a little about why it is called "Old Ironsides" and took a few silly pictures.

From there, we saw various other historic places like where Paul Revere began his ride, where JFK proposed, etc, etc. We definitely stopped for lunch at the original Cheers while we were there. When we got back on, we still had about 10 stops to go. It was an interesting tour, but nothing left me pining to return. Around 5:30 we made it back to our car, paid $33 to get it out of the parking lot, and were on our way. Through some good luck, we made it out of the city on our first try. That's not to say the traffic wasn't horrible, but still, one less frustration on the road.

We then journeyed out to the Cape to stay with our friends, The Wrights. Molly was my babysitter when I was a kid and our families have always stayed in touch through the years. It was nice to meet her husband Phil and to reminisce on how hard it was to get me out of bed when I was a kid... oh good times. Tim and Molly were relating to each other too well I think:). The next morning, we met their cute kids Anna and Ben. We even got to walk Anna to the bus stop. They are a very nice family and it was very nice to stay at their home and so close to the Cape for our drive this morning.

We're sitting here at the Hot Chocolate Sparrow about to embark on our next journey... with our end destination of Quakertown, PA. We've got a long drive ahead of us!

It's all south from here...

Well, we've covered quite a bit of ground the past two days. After our trek from Vermont to the New Hampshire coast and a restful night at the Motel 6, we were on our way to Maine. We began the morning with a walk around Portsmouth, the home of my hopefully future sister-in-law Bre. It was absolutely adorable! There were so many wonderful old buildings converted into quaint little shops and restaurants. During our walk we scoped out the real estate for our future weekend home (yeah right), and settled on a nice one for $897,000. Hopefully we'll hit the lottery sometime soon:).

After our walk, we hit the road, only to drive around aimlessly for a half hour as we tried to move northward. Once on the right road, we were instantly in Maine and driving through some very beautiful coastal towns. I think I decided in the first half hour that we have to come back to Maine to vacation sometime. We continued up the coast until Kinnebunkport, then hit the main highway to fasttrack it to Acadia National Park. On the road, Tim called around to find us a place to stay. While many hotels were in our range, we hadn't ruled out camping yet and Tim found a place the was open to tent campers for two more nights. He actually stayed at this campground when we was a kid on vacation with his family. Before booking there, I put a call into my dad and Allison to check the weather online... I didn't want to be stuck outside all night in ~30 degree weather. Well, the verdict came back with a low of 49 degrees, so we strolled into the campground, staked our spot, and hit the road to Acadia.

We made a short drive through Acadia to get the lay of the land before our real trek through the next morning. After the drive, we headed into Bar Harbor for some grub. We made a quick jaunt around town picking up a birthday present for Tim's brother Nathan and a patch for Tim's endless patch collection. From there, we ended up at Chowdah's per the campsite lady's recommendation. It was my first time in Maine, and by golly, we needed a lobster dinner! We ordered a large lobster dinner and two cups of chowder. Everything was very good and I enjoyed my first lobster very much.

From there we cranked the heat so I could soak it all up before camping in the frigid air.. I know, I'm a wuss. Camping went well. I was definitely warm enough in my two pairs of sweatpants and sweatshirt and coat:). We got up bright and early the next morning and were on the road at 7:15!

Acadia was absolutely beautiful. We took the Park Loop Road around the island, stopping at the roadside pull-offs to peer over cliffs and down trails. We also stopped at Jordan Lake and walked three miles around it. Everything was very beautiful with the reds, oranges and yellows of the leaves blanketing every turn. We ended our trip to the park with pepperoni and cheese sandwiches... bleh.

The rest of the day was spent driving to Andover. NH where we are spending the night with our friends Cindy and Benny Benson, Allison's house parents from her boarding school. They cooked us a fabulous dinner of grilled chicken, potato salad, green salad, and fresh bread. And to end the meal... ice cream with Cindy's famous hot fudge sauce! Needless to say, we're stuffed and feeling very content. The evening was further enhanced by Cindy's granddaughter Clara, who is absolutely adorable. She set the table, cleared it, and overall was very entertaining all night. The rest of the evening has been spent chatting and listening to the debate.

And for tomorrow... we're off to Boston, Cape Cod, and then to spend the night in Rhode Island! Oh, and the highlight of the day? Passing Sarah Palin and the Straight Talk Express on the highway in New Hampshire:)

Who knew Whirled Peace could be so sweet?

OK, so we've been a little out of range lately. For some reason I wasn't picking up wifi in the tent last night:)

Well, we headed to the Adirondacks yesterday morning after church with the Lawrences. It was four hours of beautiful leaves as we climbed the mountains into the Adirondacks. We stopped by the Adirondacks Museum for a patch to add to Tim's collection, a bathroom break, and to sit on this enormous chair! At first there were many tourist trap towns on the way, but after Old Forge, we passed through many quaint towns bordering little lakes. It is amazing that people can live out in the woods, where there really weren't many things I consider staples in everyday life.. like grocery stores and gas stations. It did make me think of a simpler way of life though, which is always appealing. I'm not sure I could be a mountain woman though:).

We were planning on staying in Lake Placid for the night, but all the campgrounds I called were booked or never answered. I was definitely getting a little worried as the sun began to set, but we found a KOA on the GPS and began to head that way. About an mile before we got there, we found a small state campground called Wilmington Notch and pulled off there. A nice park ranger checked us in and gave us a site close to the bathroom. It had been awhile since I'd camped, and I wondered if my skills would come back.. and they did! We quickly pitched the tent and Tim built a very nice fire. We fried up a bag of wontons that we'd be saving a bit too long, but they still tasted pretty good, remarkably. I think we've just about used up the weird food from the house:)

This morning, we woke up early.. probably partly due to not having the best night's sleep. We packed things up and by 8:15 we were on the road. We drove through many more quaint towns as we made our way to Vermont. Once in Vermont, it was an immediate change of scenery. Farms started popping up everywhere. The stereotype of Vermont as a dairy state was validated.. at least until we hit the mountains. We made our way through the Green Mountains and made a stop in Ripton, the home of Robert Frost. I had remembered there being a park devoted to him last time I drove through Vermont with Allison. It has always been on my mind to stop, so we purposely put Ripton on our stop. Ripton is a tiny town, but is said to have given Frost much of the inspiration for his poetry. Ever since I wrote my junior research paper on Frost, I have had a special admiration for his poetry. Sooo.. we found the park and stopped. We read about the park and started down the one mile loop. I'm not sure if it's just the time of year.. but the land chosen for the park was not very picturesque. I felt a little bad not being able to give vision to the poems posted along the trail, but still enjoyed reading his work again. The real disappointment was that 3/4 of the trail was closed due to flooding. I did get to read my favorite poem though, "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening," so I was happy.

From the park, we journeyed on to possibly the highlight of the day, the Ben & Jerry's Factory! We took a tour through the factory and saw the famous ice cream being made. We even got to sample "Chocolate Therapy" which was amazing. After our free samples, we waited in line for about a half hour more to get more ice cream. This time, we got Imagine Whirled Peace, a combination of vanilla ice cream, chocolate peace signs, and a toffee swirl. Kinda cheesy, but really good!

From Ben & Jerry's, we hit up the Cabot Cheese store and the Apple Cider Factory. So basically we ate our way through Vermont:). We hopped on the highway towards Maine.. but auto-programmed the GPS, which took a different way than we wanted, and by the time we found out, we were too far off track. Sooo... we are in Portsmouth, NH tonight. We're camping out at the Motel 6, which is pretty nice. Tomorrow morning, we will cover both the New Hampshire and Maine coasts, to spend tomorrow night in Acadia National Park. Stay tuned to see if that's what we actually end up doing:)

Beers, lamps, and locks... oh, and a castle.

Well, today has been all over the board as far as things we've seen. We had a leisurely morning with the Lawrences with some wonderful breakfast. We then made our way to Utica to the Matt Brewing Company, which brews Saranac beer. The brewery building itself was very neat.. with all of the original architecture and decor. The tour was very informative. One highlight was a stop by the the "Prohibition Room" which had a very thick door and a peephole requiring a password to enter. Little known fact.. Matt Brewing Company was the first brewery to get their alcohol permit after Prohibition was repealed.. actually just 60 minutes after it was repealed! And imagine this, they had beer that afternoon... a process that requires 90 days! Amazing how fast you can brew that beer when it's legal, right?:)
The end of our tour left us at the tavern where we had coupons for beverages. Matt, Calin, and Tim enjoyed various stouts and ales, while I enjoyed the root beer and shirley temple beverages which were very good. Hey, I'm a sport for a beer tour, but in the end, I'm happier with soda:) Now if it was a wine cooler tour... Here is a picture of us and some of our overzealous tour compatriots in the tavern.
After the brewery tour, we journeyed on to a Tiffany lamp store. Matt's parents have some beautiful Tiffany style lamps in their home and I wanted to check them out... possibly to make a purchase for our new home. While they were very beautiful, I had to hold onto my wallet... looks like I'll be saving for some time for one of those babies!
From the lamp store, we drove on to Herkimer to a tourist information center and shop.. quite a bit of stuff there and some wonderful local jellies and sauces for the sampling. From Herkimer we went on to Little Falls where we walked out onto an island that had been formed by the creation of a lock on the Erie Canal. I didn't know what a lock was, but quickly came to understand it, especially when we got to see a boat go through. A lock exists to take a boat from a high part of the canal to a lower part and vice versa. The lock we saw, Lock 17, existed to bypass a waterfall, which boats could not pass by otherwise. The lock itself was like a huge trough that a boat can pull into, then a big door lowers behind the boat, closing it into the big trough. Then some underwater pipes open up from the higher part of the canal and water is pumped in, gradually bringing the boat all the way up to the surface. When the water level is the same as the higher part of the canal, another door opens and the boat motors on through. It's pretty interesting. I'm not sure if it's the most efficient way of doing things, but this method has been around a long time, and it is pretty neat that they can still do it. Seeing the pictures might make it a little easier to understand.
To end our evening, we went out to dinner at Beardslee Castle, where Matt and Calin had their wedding reception three years ago. The original castle was built in 1781, but it has burned a few times. It is now a restaurant and event facility. We dined in a nice open room with stone arches everywhere and big windows surrounding us as well. The food was excellent - Tim getting shrimp and scallions and me getting the prime rib. We definitely left satisfied. I go to bed a full and tired woman tonight:)

It's just us and the old people.

We've noticed on our travels that we are largely outnumbered by, we'll say "more mature" people. I guess this has to do with taking our trip after school has started for most younger people, or people with responsibility:) We can't complain though, these "mature" people are probably more fun to talk to than our younger counterparts.

I made the "old people" comment as we began our day at Watkins Glen State Park. This was Tim and my third time to go to Watkins Glen together, and I never get tired of the view. It is almost mystical the way the rocks have been carved out by the water. It is especially beautiful with the orange leaves everywhere. We hiked from the bottom to the top and back, which is about 1.5 miles, I believe. It's a good hike, except for the last 100 steps, which are straight up.. what a killer! This was nothing we soon came to find out though.
Our next stop was Robert H. Treman Park outside of Utica. It was such a beautiful drive there, winding up and down through the red, orange, and yellow hills. We couldn' tell much from the park when we pulled in, we just knew we'd see a big waterfall at some point. Well, this hike wastes no time breaking you in... they start with the intense, straight up climbing right from the parking lot. It makes the rest of the hike seem not as bad, I guess. I have come to realize that my physical shape has digressed much from my high school years... sigh. I'm hoping this trip will get me back into shape. My only solace along this hike was the mile markers every quarter or half mile. I kept hoping they would say we'd walked a whole mile, but no. We did eventually reach the falls, and it was very pretty. It was called Lucifer Falls.. which began to make sense. We finished the rest of the hike up and then tried to book it back, with Tim even starting to get sore (it's not just me!). All in all we walked 7 miles today!

After our hike, we hit the road again, taking Hwy 13 and then Hwy 20 through many small towns on our way to Ilion, just outside of Utica. We got in to Ilion around 8:00 and met up with our friends Matt and Calin from Rochester. Matt is from Ilion and his family is graciously hosting us for two nights. Matt and Calin are also graciously sleeping on the pull-out bed - what friends! Today, we will be doing a tour at the Saranac Brewery, should be fun!

Glass making and wine tasting.

Well, second day of freedom... and we couldn't sleep past 8, is that sad or what?? We did lounge a bit and by 10 were on the road to The Corning Museum of Glass. The museum was so much bigger than I had expected. The city of Corning is a huge glass maker in the country.. i.e. Corningware. We got to watch glass blowing, glass breaking, and flameworking. The glass blowers made a bowl and a vase. It is crazy how hot the glass is that they work with.. over 1000 degrees! And they don't even wear gloves!
Glass breaking was interesting as there are several different types of glass. The kind in our car windshield is actually two sheets of glass with a thin layer of plastic in between which holds the glass together if it breaks. The glass on the side windows is tempered glass, which isgla ss cooled quickly, therefore under a lot of stress. When that glass breaks, it totally shatters.. so if you have to escape from your car, it is easier. Pretty smart, huh?
Lastly, we saw a flameworker who basically sat behind a blowtorch and molded two tubes of glass into a simple bird, and then a very intricate moose. Muy impressivo!
There are a so many types of glass and so many neat processes that they have gone through over the years. I definitely have a greater appreciation for the glass I use every day!
After our time at the museum, we journeyed on to nearby Keuka Lake. We missed our turn, but took another route along the shore, which was beautiful. After driving up a steep, gravel at times, "seasonal" road, we made our way to the Winery of Dr. Konstantin Frank. This man was a European immigrant, a doctor of viticulture, and pioneered the introduction to European grapes to the Northeastern US. All this is to say.. this man knew what he was doing and his wine was great:). He also knew where to build his place. How about that view?:)
To end our evening, we retired to our humble abode, Glenora:) We pulled out our camping stove and made steaks on the porch... can't beat that!

Wendy's twice in one day

Yep. You know it's not going to be a great day when lunch and dinner are at Wendy's. Well, today we packed it all up and shipped it to Texas. From 7 to 3:30 we taped up the final boxes and cleaned rooms as they were vacated so we could send the vacuum cleaner on with the movers. From 3:30 to 5 we finished the cleaning, and from 5 to 6 we turned in the cable box, dropped off stuff at Goodwill, and replaced our final light bulb. From 6-7 we said goodbye to neighbors. At 7 we dropped my car off at the airport for my mom and her friend Gayle to drive back to Texas for us (thanks guys!), and at 7:30 we found ourselves back at Wendy's. Yum.
After an hour and a half on the road, we have arrived at our first road trip destination - The Inn at Glenora. We are in the room on the far left in the picture, and the room shot is an exact mirror of ours - wow luxury:) A big thank you goes out to Tim's aunts, uncles, and cousins for their gift certificate that made this possible. We just booked the room last week and all they had left was the nicest suite.. darn! We were greeted with glasses of champagne as we checked in to our huge room complete with fireplace, jacuzzi and bottle of wine. I only wish there was... oh wait, this is perfect:).
Tomorrow we are headed off to Corning to check out the Museum of Glass. Hopefully I'll have some pictures to add to our daily blog. Tim and I were so exhausted after this crazy week.. and it is almost surreal being finally on the road. I'm sure the excitement will take hold tomorrow:)