A little slice of Americana

From rickshaws on the back roads of Northern California to Mount Rushmore craziness, here are a few things we do not want to forget about our cross country circle....

1. The most amazing sight had to have been the rickshaw in the windiest, most mountainous portion of highway 1 in Northern California. Where he was going, we have no idea... but he wasn't getting anywhere fast. (Well, maybe on the downhill portion!)

2. While we have seen road signs galore, we were surprised to find the most obnoxious religious road sign early on in Ohio...."If you were to die tomorrow, where would you spend eternity" on one sign followed by "Hell is REAL" on the next. We spent the rest of the trip looking for one to top that, but honestly, it wins the prize.

3. The only thing more sure than religious road signs is those advertising gaming. Turns out, you can gamble anywhere.

4. You can get great non-chain Mexican food all the way up through central Oregon.

5. You can also get great fish and chips (with Chinese as the other option on the menu) from a shack overlooking the ocean in California if you can stand the strong vinegar mixed with almost rancid oil smell.

6. The chowder house in coastal central Oregon does in fact have the best chowder... if you can wait forever for it! At first we thought it was because they were trying to follow some sense of polite behavior by letting Justin finish his soup first (since it was an appetizer) but it turns out they are just slow. Maybe that explains why the decor was right out of 1982.

7. By stopping to eat in Umatilla Oregon (On the Columbia river in the most eastern part of the state...pretty remote), you may be able to strike up a conversation with the most interesting man who upon hearing you are a professor at OSU (after asking where in Ohio you are from due to your plates) replies "the dismal science, hey?" and the goes on to ask if you are a Keynesian! How great is that, someone actually remembers Keynes!

8. Buckeye fans are everywhere.

9. The average age of a person attending a national park after Labor day is about 68... with us there bringing down the average.

10. Just south of the Badlands there are a group of dwellings that I wouldn't even consider a town... but they still have a one room "City Jail" painted bright green. It still looks to be used on occasion.

11. Mount Rushmore might be the most ironic national monument in the national park system. On sacred Native American land that was taken away for a second time after gold was found in the Black Hills (this prompted a renig on a treaty allowing the Black Hills as a reservation), as a "Shrine to Democracy" you get four presidents who I doubt would have been thrilled to see a beautiful mountain marred and a HUGE obnoxious parking structure that might be bigger than the monument itself. The whole place is commercialized with the town down the street, Keystone, the biggest tourist trap you can imagine. (Justin kept saying "it is like Niagara Falls!" over and over again.) The Black Hills are in fact quite beautiful.

12. The state park system is great for camping, but it seems that the north central plains do not believe in showers. In addition, you may want to check out not only the relationship of the campsite to the highway, but to possible railroad lines.


I may be adding to this list as I remember more things, but for now, this will have to do.

Portland Spot Holder

Portland and Oregon in general are everything everyone says and more! Let's just say that when we crossed into Oregon about 20 miles and stopped at our campsite to find we were encircled with blackberries, I knew I was going to love it! We enjoyed exploring Portland together and I have lots to post about.... but will have to get back to it in a little bit.

Blogging under the Redwoods

Right now, we are connected to the internet, blogging under the redwoods of Samuel P Taylor State Park, about an hour north of the Bay. It is a lovely day, filled with sunshine. Right now there is a slight breeze as we sit in sunlight filtering through these huge trees.

Earlier today we took the ferry back from Angel Island, got lunch in San Rafael (the best mexican food we have had in a long time!) and headed over here. Tomorrow, we move up the coast and enter Oregon. We are having a great time, but Nicole is anxious to see Portland. Anyhow, our camp site is adorable... a grove of big redwoods up against a creek. A couple of pictures for your enjoyment and then I need to run as the computer is running out of battery and our food won't cook itself!

Angel Island

One of the things we were looking forward to the most was camping on Angel Island in the middle of SF Bay. This island is near Alcatrez island, but is much much bigger. You take the ferry from Tiburon and then you can hike or bike in. Then at about 3:30 everyone else has to go home and you have the island to yourself. We took our bikes which we nearly decided was a mistake. However, once we got there, it was very worth it... such a surreal feeling to be so isolated yet to be able to see panoramic views of the Bay area. We hiked to the top, saw several deer, Justin saw a big buck, lots of pretty birds and lots of great views.

Anyhow, Justin says this is a MUST DO in the bay area. Even if you do not want to camp over night, you should go for the day views of the area.

And for your enjoyment, 2 pictures of Justin and I loaded down with our gear wih the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.

Hello from Half Moon Bay

After considerable trouble understanding AT&T, I sitting on a picnic table downloading pictures and blogging while Justin takes down the tent in Half Moon Bay. Yesterday we took the Pacific Coast Hwy up from LA, stopping at Herst Castle.



Today, we took a ride down the bike path to the place we married nearly 5 years ago... didn't have a camera on me, but I'll post one of the bay for your enjoyment. Then we were watching the sea otters play just down from the bluff where our tent was set up. Perfect day thus far!

El Morro

From last week, in New Mexico, a few picture from El Morro National Monument. There are all types of writtings on the wall from people passing through






and Anasazi Ruins.





Very much worth the small detour if you are already on I-40 in the western portion of New Mexico.

Hello from Oklahoma City

We've stopped in Oklahmoa City to eat lunch and take a look at the Memorial. I'm writting from a table inside a Mexican resturant in their "Bricktown."


On Petit Jean Point... Arkansas River behind us. (There were spectacular views, however quite a bit of pollution even in the morning? There was a big plant of sorts, maybe coal electric generation that could be seen in the distance).



The memorial in OK City was very taseteful and touching... I imagine it brings as much peace to the families of the victims as one could after a tradegy like this. The reflecting pool is where the street used to be.




The survival tree... a great old Elm that survived the blast.



And the reason for the memorial... on the site of the building, each chair represents someone who lost their lives, including the half size chairs for the children. Simple, sweet, and approrpiate.

Columbus to Las Vegas

The first leg of the trip will be Columbus to Las Vegas. We are not taking the most direct route for that would not allow J to check off 3 of his 4 remaining lower 48 states. Instead, we will drive to Memphis and then take I-40 across to Flagstaff and then jog up to Las Vegas. This allows him to justify hitting Mississippi, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. The fourth is Oregon. Obviously he will be able to check that one off.

August 16th: We spent the day packing and taking care of a few last minute things here in Columbus


August 17th: Columbus to Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas. Approximate mileage ~ 800 (Due to the fact we need to go through Memphis, TN so we can dip into Mississippi).


August 18th: Petit Jean State Park to Santa Rosa State Park in New Mexico. Approximate mileage ~ 700.


August 19th: Drive to Flagstaff. Approximate Mileage ~ 450 (although we may detour to see El Mapas and El Moro National Monuments) Meet with friends who recently moved to AZ for their first post-law school job. Camp with them.


August 20th: Drive from Flagstaff to Las Vegas. Mileage=? (Takes about 3-4 hours, depending on the traffic over Hoover (or Boulder as some people call it) Dam)




Now, if I had a lot of time, I would find nice links for all of those places and draw some sort of map of our route. But, I don't.... at least not if I want to make it onto the road tomorrow morning by 8am.

Welcome

We are off and running on our cross country journey... Tomorrow marks 5 beautiful weeks before school and long-distant relationship life starts in earnest.

Many people have asked us to keep in touch and send pictures along the way; this blog will be an attempt at accommodating such requests. Tomorrow, I'll try and get an itinerary posted. After that it will probably be more pictures than text.

As I've mentioned, we are camping a great deal of the way, so the updates may be sporadic at best. (Although many California State Parks have WiFi!!!) But, keep checking back... you never know what we will find along the way!