Satruday Sept 18, 2010

Day 92, Sept 10 2010 (Fri)

Our time in Vegas came to an end, and we indulged in a big buffet breakfast to help us for the big day of driving we had in store (280 miles in desert heat with no air conditioning – ouch). To reflect on our time in Sin City, we particularly enjoyed the experience at the Shooting Range (we packed heat!), and had a fabulous time lying by the pool and reading, and also loved the Rat Pack is Back dinner and show (where we were seated next to a lovely four-some from Canada, and an especially gorgeous elderly Texan pair). The Grand Canyon was indeed Grand and Canyon-y, but we left feeling a little underwhelmed, especially after all the other amazing national park things we’ve seen on the trip! We are definitely glad that we saw it though, as we know we would’ve regretted it if we missed it.

We stayed in Palm Springs this night. Palm Springs is quite a pretty town, and historically was a really popular resort retreat for celebrities and the like. Even the budget Quality Inn that we stayed at had a decent pool as part of its facilities!

Day 93, Sept 11 2010 (Sat)

A leisurely driving day, we arrived into San Diego in the early afternoon and settled in with a good shower and some clean clothes (after another hot driving day!) We went for a walk through the historic Gaslamp District, to the sea front, then landed at the Hyatt Rooftop Bar for some drinks – where we met-up with Michelle and her Mum, Lorraine. It was so fabulous to catch-up, and we spent the evening together having drinks, dinner (Tapas at “Confidential”… shhh…) and a great, long, overdue catch-up!

Day 94, Sept 12 2010 (Sun)

Today was a fairly dedicated Baseball game. We went to see the San Diego Padres vs San Francisco Giants (Giants won very convincingly). There was a massive army troop (recruits, I think) there watching the game too, and it was quite a spectacle watching them file in, and answer orders from their Sergeant. The game atmosphere was quite similar to what we enjoyed on the East Coast, but the addition of Mexican food to the menu was a welcome one. We enjoyed a few happy hour drinks at a local bar before hitting the hay that night.

Day 95, Sept 13 2010 (Mon)

Our final day in San Diego consisted of a visit to the world famous San Diego Zoo – and it was definitely the best Zoo experience we’ve ever had. The facilities for the animals were spectacular, and we did a free guided bus tour of the zoo to start the day and help us get oriented. Here are some other highlights:

> Overall, the animals were quite active and easy to find, which really enhanced the spectacle of it all

> A panda returned to its enclosure to find a big bunch of bamboo had been left for it, and we were there to watch her rip into the bamboo trunks for lunch!

> Two brother gorillas (5 years difference in age) were playing (quite rampantly) with each other – flinging dirt at one another, biting each other – we stayed for ages watching them at their game!

> Keepers had put 2 live fish into the pond of the Lion/Lioness enclosure (something they do only once a month to help “entertain” the animals), and we were there at just the right time to watch them playing with the fish and trying to catch it (something they weren’t particularly good at – but they did manage to catch them in the end!)

> Sea Lion show (run of the mill, with waves and splashes, but always fun to see!)

> The 2 hippos were cool too – there was a hose constantly spraying into their pool, and one of the hippos kept opening and closing his mouth to catch the water (we imagine it was massaging his head/mouth too) – their jaws are incredible, and their teeth horrible!

> Seeing an elephant getting a pedicure! (you should’ve seen the size of the nail file!)

After spending most of the day at the zoo, we went for a lovely drive in the sun through Old Town (very touristy) and Cordoba. We kind of lost our way on Cordoba and found ourselves driving into the guarded Naval Base! Fortunately, the soldiers were quite understanding (must happen often!), and they held onto Tim’s ID while we did a U-Turn, and then they gave it back to us as we exited! Whoops. After that hiccup, we continued to Hotel Del Cordoba (an old school hotel on the beach) and enjoyed a cocktail in the sun. It was lovely!

Day 96, Sept 14 2010 (Tues)

Beach day in La Jolla (said La Hoya) and Carlsbad (no pronunciation guide necessary). Sun, surf, sand. Perfect. We also ceremoniously watched the season finale of the LOST series, which we began watching in NYC in May! (That’s right – 6 long seasons, in 4 months! Boom!)

Day 97, Sept 15 2010 (Wed)

Arrived into La La Land, ready to tour celebrity hangouts and lift our game. Proceeded immediately to Rodeo Drive (Beverly Hills Baby!) and walked through the shops (like we even had a chance of patronizing them!) We were pleasantly surprised by how easy the traffic situation was, and how cheap the parking was ($1/hr meter parking – unbelievable). The houses here are incredible – they know how to live, that’s for sure. And we took a drive up to view the Hollywood sign (just like it is in the pictures, but was great to be near there in person… we actually didn’t hike-up to the sign itself, just drove to a viewing point. As far as we’re concerned, you can’t see the sign when you’re right next to it anyway, so why waste the extra effort?!) Then we proceeded to our economy-lodging, and searched for a nearby Indian restaurant to satisfy Stacey’s craving (our diet hasn’t been particularly exotic of late).

Day 98, Sept 16 2010 (Thurs)

More LA sightseeing. This time, consisting of a 5 mile walk from Santa Monica Pier along the Venice Beach Oceanfront Walk, and back again. The people are definitely eccentric. And there are a few doctors’ practices soliciting business from the sidewalk, trying to coax people in for a marijuana check-up (i.e., to see if you qualify for medicinal marijuana!) One of the practices even had a billboard out the front advertising symptoms that you may be experiencing which will help you qualify for a prescription! Legit. Disappointingly, we’d been hoping for sunny weather at the beach for some more reading in the sun, but alas it was overcast and cool again. But good walking weather, I suppose! After, we met-up with Courtney (an old co-worker of Tim’s who recently moved here) for a spot of lunch at a nearby mall, then bought a Pandora charm to memorialize the road trip as we went to pick-up the Duke from the pier (again, parking ON Santa Monica Pier, and only $8 for the day. Bargain. Why do people complain so much about LA? This place is pretty awesome, and much better than we were expecting. I guess that says a lot for setting one’s expectations low, really….) We detoured via the Hollywood Hills (Mulholland Drive) to do some more house-perving on our way back to our classy EconoLodge.

More exotic food for dinner… Japanese this time!

Day 99, Sept 17 2010 (Fri)

Our last full day in America (sob). We took the Duke for a full detailing (a necessary extravagance to ensure he clears customs/quarantine in Australia… apparently they frown upon foreign dirt entering the country). Sadly, we also dropped him off to the shipping yard, where he will sit for a couple months before being loaded onto a boat and brought home to us. We collected a hire car from LAX (the bliss of power steering and air conditioning), and managed to fit in a final tourist activity – a visit to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Mann Grauman’s Chinese Theater. We went to a wine bar over the road (“Lou’s”) to toast the end to the road trip with some bubbles, and a classy cheese/meats plate. Lou’s was a really lovely place, situated in the middle of a really crappy strip-mall type area – but it was super popular, and was well reviewed in GQ too, so it appears that we’re all over the hip LA scene.

An LA observation: We’re surprised at how easy it is to buy knock-off designer sunnies here. Tim picked-up a nice pair along Venice Beach, and they were even on-sale in the office at the place where we got Duke cleaned. Its like Chinatown in every neighbourhood!

Another LA observation: The nice-to-look-at neighbourhoods (with pretty houses and tree-lined streets) are separated by less-nice-to-look-at, ghetto-type areas, so we’ve found it a little difficult to pinpoint the picturesque areas (with the exception of Beverly Hills and Mulholland Drive, of course!)

Day 100, Sept 18 2010 (Sat)

Our bags are packed, and we are ready to bid farewell to the USA. It has been a sensational, once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we will forever cherish these memories – and will count our blessings for being able to indulge in such an extravagant experience. We are prepared for the horrific flight schedule that will take us to Cusco, Peru, where we will embark upon the Inca Trail to visit Machu Picchu, and hopefully some Mayan Gods out there protect us from altitude sickness. We are so looking forward to this enriching experience, and dare say we’ll be at a loss for words to explain it.

Monday September 6, 2010

Day 82 - Aug 31, 2010 (Tues) San Francisco Part 1
> Left St Helena bright and early to get as much time in at the new destination as possible (was sad to say goodbye, but we were ready after our month long break from the road). Found a note on our car from our neighbours – Alex and her son Roman wishing us safe travelling and wanting to stay in touch so they can send us a Christmas card!
> Had lunch with Martha at the Ferry Building (lovely to catch-up of course and hear all her news... and share all ours too!) And on our way we had a random and surprising encounter with Ash and Nell (Tim and Ash met through Macquarie). Small world!
> Spent the afternoon doing a bus tour and ticking off sites such as the Painted Ladies (also known as the Six Sisters), Golden Gate Bridge (incredible how the fog creeps through it, and then disappears moments later), and Japanese Tea Garden (it was a little steep at $7ea for entry, but we got some great photos so was probably worth it)!
> Walked up some very steep hills (San Franciscans must be very fit!) and arrived at Lombard St, the “crookedest” street is what its known as. It was actually really lovely, and we tend to believe it was built for tourism purposes (surely a street like that couldn’t exist for any other reason).
> Had dinner in Chinatown – very tasty Chinese greens, seafood fried rice and roast duck! (sadly, we were actually inspired to have duck after seeing one in the Japanese Tea Gardens – ha!)
> Checked-in to our Oakland motel and had an early night – we were exhausted from a day full of activities! (Duke even got a prime street park right at the motel entrance)!

Day 83 - Sept 1, 2010 (Wed) - San Francisco Part 2
> Woke bright and early as we had booked ourselves on the first Alcatraz Tour of the day… and we were so pleased when it was a warm and sunny day (85F/27C, which is unbelievable for SF – lucky us)!
> Joined the masses on Alcatraz (the boat cruise out there was really lovely), and did the audio tour through the cell block. We both thoroughly enjoyed it, and managed to spend a few hours wandering the halls and reading every bit of information the National Park Service was kind enough to provide for us.
> Hopped back onto the bus for day 2 on our ticket. It was just lovely to be sitting out in the sun, cruising the streets of San Fran! We escaped for a late lunch on Chestnut Street (a lovely Main St near The Marina area), wandered to Ghiradelli Square, then hopped into The Duke and headed down US1 to our next destination… Santa Cruz.

Day 84 - Sept 2, 2010 (Thurs)
> Santa Cruz: Went to the popular Boardwalk area (quite similar to Coney Island in NYC). We were walking along the Boardwalk and thought we heard seals… so we went to investigate and sure enough there were dozens of seals lounging and playing underneath the pier! We stayed there for a while to watch them – and they were so close, we could have touched them!
> Soaked in the sun for a couple hours, grabbed some lunch and hit the road for Monterey (only an hour away)
> Dinner at the Monterey Fisherman’s Wharf, followed by a walk along a local seaside trail (it really cools down at night, so fortunately we got back to the car soon after sundown!)

Day 85 - Sept 3, 2010 (Fri)
> Day 2 in Monterey. Did the 17-mile drive (privately owned by Pebble Beach Company) – mainly we saw lots of Cypress Trees (including the Lone Cypress – the image of which is owned by Pebble Beach and copyrighted!), then did more US1 driving down to Big Sur for lunch. Monterey to Big Sur on US1 is much more picturesque than Santa Cruz to Monterey, which was much more like a freeway/motorway. We were constantly stopping to take photos, despite how foggy and overcast it was!
> On our way back to Monterey, we took a very windy and narrow road down to Pebble Beach. It was spectacular – we walked the entire length of it (probably only 1.5miles or so), and the warm sand in our toes was very welcome against the cold wind coming off the water. There were a number of people there with dogs, books, lunch, Frisbees, buckets for fishing etc. We stopped for an hour or so and did some reading, then got on our way. It was a fabulous detour!
> We had dinner at Denny’s that night (a chain American diner). It was as good as could be expected. At least we can say we’ve done it now.

Day 86 - Sept 4, 2010 (Sat)
> Left Monterey, and went to Carmel to visit the Mission there. The Mission had a very interesting history, and has been very well restored, has gorgeous gardens, and the primary school that is situated on the Mission’s grounds is gorgeous.
> Back on Highway 1, we continued to encounter beautiful views, although very foggy which added to the drama of it all! All the “pitstops” were few and far between, which meant that everywhere that was a lunch/toilet stop was very busy, and overpriced… but I guess that is what you have to deal with when driving so close to the coast.
> Our hotel in San Simeon was along a motel strip – the “town” consisted of about a dozen different motels, with 2 mini-marts and a video store, and that was all! Accommodating tourists is a hard job!

Day 87 - Sept 5, 2010 (Sun)
> Tour of Hearst Castle (built by media mogul William Hearst) which was much more interesting that we originally hoped… and incredibly popular too. His “castle” (which we learned was actually his ranch) was opulent and ostentatious , but it turns out he just loved European artifacts and went overboard with it all (nearing bankruptcy in the great depression… but who didn’t, right?)!!
> More US1 driving to get to Buellton, CA. We arrived too early to check-in, so we diverted to do a wine tour. By chance, the winery we chose (LaFond) on the Santa Rosa Road was only $5ea for a tasting (including the take-home glass), and we met the husband of our lovely host (Kathy and Mike), and Mike happened to invent the rubber-flooring used in playgrounds and also lives on the ranch next to “Jim and Suzie Cameron” (i.e., James Cameron, movie director, Titanic and Avatar!) …. Small world! ;)

Day 88 - Sept 6, 2010 (Mon)
> Driving from Buellton to Barstow. Barstow is nothing spectacular, and was only chosen as a half way stop between the California coast and Las Vegas!
> We found it really intriguing how the weather changes so dramatically the further we get from the coast – we’re in California desert now, and it looks like Ranch County USA (i.e., we imagine cowboys roaming around tending their herds, and whatever else they do). The temperature where we were on the coast was about 60F/15C, and here in Barstow it is 105F/40C – Crazy!

Days 89-92 , Sept 7-10 2010
Looking into the future in this post! We’ll be in Vegas, and are mostly planned, so can talk about what’s on the cards for our days in Sin City!
> On our way into Vegas, we’re going to stop in at The Gun Store to try our hand at shooting a hand gun/rifle/machine gun! The laws on shooting ranges are very lax here, and The Gun Store offers a “Ladies Special” on Tuesdays, so it seems perfect! (Oh my goodness.)
> We’ve booked a South Rim Tour of Las Vegas (flying in/over the Grand Canyon, doing a bus tour along the rim for some photo opps, then flying back to Vegas)… am sure more will come on this!
> Have booked a Rat Pack dinner and show for Thurs night! Enough said... but should be fun!
> Planning on doing a club night (provided the lines aren’t too unruly! Its just been the Labor Day Weekend here, so hopefully that means the crowds are slightly smaller.)
> Plenty of pool and magazine action to be had too, of course (we’re staying at the Bellagio, and are very excited about it!)

Saturday July 31, 2010

Willits, CA to Santa Rosa, CA - Tues 27/7 (Day 47)
Quick note about the overnight stay in Willits: The hotel we stayed at in Willits was themed! It was an Old West Inn and we stayed in the Post Office (we were disappointed not to be in the Barber room which was next door because we were cutting Tim's hair that night!

To to get to Santa Rosa we detoured to US1 which runs along the Californian coast - it offered some gorgeous views of the shoreline, and got us excited for the rest of our time in the state (assuming the weather gets warmer!)

Santa Rosa to Las Vegas - Wed 28/7 (Day 48)
We had received some exciting news earlier in the month... Stacey's cousin Nick recently proposed to his fab girlfriend Loz and he and a few mates (including Stacey's brother, Anthony) were going to Vegas for a bucks show/boys getaway for a few nights. This obviously meant that they would be a lot more geographically convenient than they usually are, so we blew in and out for a night to see them, and it was so fun to be around them!

But of course, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas... (but pool time and drinks go without saying...)

We arrived mid-afternoon on the Wed (and stayed with Anthony in his fab room at the new Aria hotel) and...

Las Vegas to Sacramento - Thurs 29/7 (Day 49)
... returned to Santa Rosa late-arvo on the Thurs (we'll be returning to Vegas in Sept and can likely share more tales then!)

We were both feeling a little sore and sorry for ourselves, so we picked-up the Duke from overnight parking and headed straight for our hotel in Sacramento (it was in an awesome location, right near Capital Park). We got some take away and had an early night so we'd feel refreshed for the next day of activities.

Sacramento to Modesto, CA via California State Fair - Fri 30/7 (Day 50)
Our main objective for going to Sacramento was to visit the California State Fair (although we got a good vibe from the city and it probably would've Been a good place to spend more time). The Fair was just like an Easter show wi rides, sidshows, livestock, carnie food etc, but didn't have any show bags, which was very disappointing, and quite sad really.... Think of the children! We enjoyed the Fair like a couple of adults. Here's a recap of our activities:
- didn't do any rides (the monorail probably doesn't count), although we did pay $1ea to see the World's Smallest Horse (although we saw some pretty tiny horses doing tricks later in the arvo at the Cavalcade of Horses)
- thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at the livestock areas (we even saw a piglet being born, which was awesome and gross all at the same time... There were 13 in the litter, and we only stayed for one!)
- did a Yellow Brick Road-esque activity rough the fruit and vegetable exhibition (collecting stamps at each station so we could get our free piece of fruit and single serve of nuts)
- toured through all of the exhibitions, which included school student art work (interior design, woodwork, photography etc), Bicycles Through The Ages and Digital Animation
- watched the Motocross show (and endured a woman behind us losing her mind over how awesome they were, while her fiancée sat next to her)
- saw a Horseback Gymanstics exhibit, and felt uncomfortable when the two 10y.o. boys did a joint-performance while "Bad Boys" played in the background

After we'd had our fill of Fair fun, we headed off to Modesto, CA which we were using as a base to get to Yosemite National Park. The first hotel we checked into had bed bugs (yes, our skin crawled too) so we promptly packed up and found a new, clean place!

Yosemite National Park - Sat 31/7 (Day 51)
We got up bright and early as we had a bit of a drive to get to Yosemite from Modesto, and we wanted to make sure we saw evereything that the park had to offer... Giant Sequoias, Waterfalls, Domes, Meadows, Lakes.

The night before, we'd planned to do a hike to Cathedral Lakes, the trailhead for which is at Tuolomne Meadows, and it took us 3hrs to drive there (partly because we were staying a while away, but partly because there were so many people at the Park itself - it has definitely been the busiest National Park, which probably has something to do with it's vicinity to major cities like Sacramento and San Fran). The hike we did was quite challenging - about 8miles return with an elevation increase of 1500feet, but like anything, the reward was well worth the effort. We went to lower cathedral lake, and the colour contrast between the granite mountains (with snow sitting in it's lower depressions), and the trees and the blue lake, with the marshy grass surroundings was all really beautiful. We stayed for a while to eat lunch, and wandered over to check out the snow (and throw the obligatory snowball), then headed back to the Duke. Our next stop were the Giant Sequoias which were really massive (so we can confirm that they are appropriately named), but weren't altogether surprising in their size as we'd only seen the Redwoods a few days before, and this was much busier than Redwood NP was (which also meant it was difficult to get the up-close look like we had at the Redwoods). Finally, we went for a drive through Yosemite Valley to check out some water falls and Half Dome. It was a rushed tour, but we managed to tick all the boxes!

As we drove back to the motel, it was magical feeling the warm breeze around us as we drove out of yosemite valley, and smelling the clean piney air - such a happy feeling that we will want to try and remember always. If only we could photograph a feeling like that! And we followed the winding path of the Merced River to the park entrance and beyond, and the mini-falls that were created along the way reminded us of water features that people try and install in their yards - although it's hard to believe that the natural beauty can be recreated.

We returned to Modesto around 9:45pm and were exhausted! We collected In-N-Out Burger for dinner, and it was incredible! No wonder every American boasts about how delicious it is (hopefully it's taste and how much we savoured it wasn't only a reflection on how tired and hungry we were!) 

Saturday July 10, 2010

Wall, SD - Mon 5/7 (Day 25)
Wall was our destination because it is reputedly the gateway to the Black Hills of South Dakota, and our plan was to get to Mt Rushmore. Thankfully, the journey west goes through the Badlands National Park, and this was a real pleasure for both of us. Firstly, as we approached the park, we stopped by a little tourist trap where we could "feed" the Prairie Dogs (kind of like America's answer to meerkats). While it's obvious they don't enjoy peanuts (the food of choice they make you buy), we did manage to get pretty close and enjoy how cute they are! The entry to the National Park was mere miles from the P.Dogs, and we ventured onto the recommended scenic byway - the landscape was so breathtaking and raw. The Badlands resemble vast grassy plains that plummet into stark mountainous caverns and ravines which are very dry and quite like what you'd expect in a desert. It takes a while of driving through to get a sense of how it comes together because the vista is a little different, depending on which Park entrance you take. While there, we pulled out our hiking boots and made our way through some of the easier tracks (and our ears were always on guard for a tell-tale rattle of warning from one of the park's inhabitants). When we finally did make it to Wall, we were relieved to have finally made it after the 300miles of warning signs we had leading up to it (which, it turns out, is actually of historical significance). Wall is famous for their "drug store" (it started as a drug store in early 1930 but has evolved into much more!) We entertained ourselves by taking photos in/with the various props, had some dinner and did some planning at the motel. Good day.

Mount Rushmore, SD and Chadron, NE - Tues 6/7 (Day 26)
While getting the shocks on the car replaced (while still in Wall), we enjoyed lunch and a beer while watching the soccer again! (note about our mechanic: for those Family Guy fans out there, our mechanic avidly pronounced the "h" in words like "while" and "white", and would presumably do the same in "cool whip", but this didn't come up in conversation, unfortunately). In the early afternoon we made our way to Mount Rushmore, which was initially a little underwhelming. But we did the scenic walk-loop (maybe called the President's Trail?) and got a closer look which was definitely worth it. Mt Rushmore is in the Black Hills, which are very beautiful too (and a smaller scale of what we imagine we'll see in Colorado for the Rockies). Chadron was just a place to sleep on our way to Colorado. Today's town name of note: Wounded Knee, South Dakota.

Cheyenne, WY - Wed 7/7 (Day 27)
On our way to Cheyenne, we were intrigued to find coffee/espresso shots on sale at the gas station in Nebraska, and sale of these shots were limited to 18 year olds. We also tried to stop in at a Roadfood reco, but apparently the 91 year old propietor had "retired" and it was out of operation (we said a little prayer at her so-called untimely "retirement" at her prime of 91). We arrived into Cheyenne a little excited because it is meant to be a frontier town, and we were in a cowboy state of mind. Unfortunately, the weather was cold, we were about 2 weeks too early for the Frontier Days fair, and apparently not much else happens in Cheyenne apart from said fair. We went to check out the Museum, but decided it wasn't worth the $7 admission, so we briskly wandered around the botanic gardens, then headed to the motel. The one piece of excitement happened at the local liquor store, where they sold alcoholic freezies, available in everything from 12oz to a gallon! What an awesome idea! Fortunately we didn't partake in the freezies as we had a long night of locking in accommodation for the next part couple weeks of the trip (man, accommodation can get a bit pricey in summer, especially in hot spots like Yellowstone!)

Boulder, CO - Thurs 8/7 (Day 28)
We left Cheyenne bright and early as we'd planned to do a hike in Boulder before settling into the accommodation. The hike had been listed as "strenuous", and as we are not seasoned hikers, we had no idea what we were in store for (but figured our reasonable fitness level would get us through!) The hike went along Homestead and Shadow Canyon trails, to the ultimate destination of South Boulder. It was incredible, and probably one of the most rewarding experiences of our lives. The hike was very steep up into the mountains, and we had no idea how close we were to our goal, but we kept persevering until we got to our peak - and what an incredible view! It was quite foggy on the day we climbed (thankfully, as it was quite a cool day to do it - we may not have lasted on a warm day!), but the view and euphoric feeling were not muted at all by the weather conditions. We were both very determined to get to the top, and it was good training for Machu Picchu in Sept (and fairly similar conditions, we think - but the altitude of the peak is a little off!) We were exhausted afterwards (it was about 6.3 miles all up - a 3000 foot vertical climb - and took about 4 hours), so we were happy to have a relaxing spa at the motel afterwards. Later we went to a micro-brewery in Downtown Boulder for dinner, and wandered along Pearl St mall where we found a fantastic candy shop to browse through! Not surprisingly, we slept really well that night!

Boulder, CO - Fri 9/7 (Day 29)
A more relaxing day compared to our first day in Boulder! We went for a drive up to Flagstaff Hill to one of the local lookouts. The people here are so fitness conscious - we saw lots of hikers, runners and bike riders out and about (and determined to make it to the top of the hill!) The skies were much clearer today, so we got a more sweeping view across the Rockies and Boulder. After, we headed into Downtown Boulder to listen to a lunchtime concert series the council organizes (they were playing instrumental surf music, so we left after about 30mins, but it was good!), and grabbed some Tapas and Sangria at The Med (thanks to Sherri for the reco!) Walked along Boulder Creek and considered tubing down it (but the water was a bit too chilly!), then did some journal writing back at the motel. That night, we headed to Rockin' The Garden, a free concert series put on by the Millenium Hotel, and there were so many people there (with dogs too), and boy, did they love to dance!! We watched and listened for a while, then headed to a Star Gazing night with a local Ranger, which he organizes on behalf of the Parks Dept. It was really cool to look through his telescope at Venus, Saturn, another star that I cant remember the name of, and a Star Cluster (which was actually another galaxy!), and at one stage we thought we saw a shooting star, but it actually turned out to be a satellite! Our guide, Dave, loved astronomy SO much, and it was really cool to be around his enthusiasm and passion for what he does. A surprising number of people showed up for it (probably around 20 or so), so I think that got a bit difficult for him to manage, but overall it was really good (except this one woman who kept repeating everything the guide said, and pretending to know all about it too).

Boulder, CO to Salida, CO - Sat 10/7 (Day 30)
We went for a run along Boulder Creek to get going for the morning, and wandered around the farmer's markets to see if we could grab something for lunch (unfortunately, it was all a bit too impractical for a pair of travelers with no kitchen!) Hit the road for Salida, and drove through the Rockies which was gorgeous (up until today, we had only been driving alongside them). When we arrived in Salida we discovered there was a beer tasting festival going on down town, so we thought we would check it out. At $25 though, it was a little steep (especially as it was only "on" for one more hour when we arrived), but it gave us a good chance to check out downtown. A beautiful little town with mountains all around, and the Arkansas (Ar-ken-saw for the Aussies) River flowing through it. We did find a little bar with a great beer garden though, and some live music playing which helped us fill the afternoon. For dinner we went to the great American drive in, Sonic, and had dinner brought to us in the duke (although the waitress walked rather than rollerskating, which was disappointing). A quiet night after that preparing for our ziplining the next morning. 

Monday July 5, 2010

6 Flags Theme Park (while hungover) = 5 Flags

Entire time in Chicago (with Meg and Lauren) = 6 Flags
Bridges of Madison County = 3 Flags (flags deducted for unpaved roads)
North Sioux City, South Dakota = 2 Flags (flags added for the time we spent seeing Toy Story 3 in 3D)
What Cheer, Iowa = 6 Flags (best town name)
*note for the Aussies: 6 Flags is an amusement park in the US, and their ad campaign used "6 Flags" as a rating system for how fun/awesome something is, check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPL6IIi5HeU&feature=related

Arrived into Chicago, IL - Mon June 28 (Day 18)
To get to Chicago we drove through Indiana, which is apparently the home of wind farms - we saw windmills for miles upon miles - it was kinda reminiscent of a scene from War of the Worlds, except our lives didn't feel threatened by the sleek propellor objects!

We picked-up our fabulous hostess (friend first, hostess second) Meg at about 1pm and she escorted us back to her awesome apartment in Lake View, where we were greeted by Tino (her shitzu). We settled the Duke into a park for the day/night, collected an iced latte from Intelligentsia (the best coffee we've had in weeks!) and headed in to Taste of Chicago for lunch (Meg had to go back to work - boo). Taste was indeed tasty and very well organized, and we sampled many different types of fare (the highlight being a vanilla and sherbet yoghurt - very refreshing!) We spent the rest of the arvo at Meg's (including preparing welcome home cosmos for the worker) and got ready for a fancy dinner at Graham Elliott's (of Top Chef fame). It was a really lovely evening, and the food was very clever!

Chicago - Tues June 29 (Day 19)
We unexpectedly woke up feeling a little seedy, which was bad news as we'd planned to spend the day at 6 Flags. We pulled ourselves together with the help of our mate Berocca and hit the road for a day of high-speed, upside down exhilaration! We did a few rides, and one in particular, the "Raging Bull" left us quite disoriented and in need of some recuperation time! That night we met up with the lovely Lauren at her very grown-up Lake Bluff apartment, and she took us to a local neighborhood called Lake Forest which was very Desperate Housewives/Wisteria Lane. We wandered around with coffees for a bit, then had a big bowl of pasta at the local Italian (very good hangover cure!) We then dragged ourselves back to Meg's where we had the pleasure of meeting Rob (probably not the best first impression we've ever made, unfortunately!), and we collapsed into bed around 11.

Chicago - Wed June 30 (Day 20)
Had to start the day very early as the Duke needed to go to the mechancic (he was veery rattly). Had a Chicago bagel for breakky which was more like toast compared to NY bagels! We snuck in a run along the Lake Michigan shore, and then went to the Museum of Science and Industry (courtesy of Rob's parents and their annual passes!)... for those Adelaideans out there, this museum is very similar to the Investigator Science Centre, but just a lot bigger! They had a great steam engine/train exhibit, and we made a tornado and a tidal wave. We also saw some robots stretching to play soccer, and practicing their kicking technique. On our way back to Meg's, we casually stopped in at Bloomie's where Stacey picked-up a lovely pair of shoes courtesy of a birthday gift voucher, and Tim got his watch fixed. That night we enjoyed some Mexican (maybe too many pre-dinner tortilla chips and salsa!) at Uncle Julios (yummy frozen Swirls - half sangria, half margarita!), then raced out to see the Navy Pier fireworks display.... Although only caught the last explosion! We headed to Howl at the Moon and enjoyed some mighty fine piano duelling! Meg was very pleased when they played her request, "Cecilia", and we Aussies even got a shout out after Meg tipped them off to our presence! Tim's "Underground" request was unfortunately snubbed.... Maybe they would've played something more cliché Aussie, like "Land Down Under".

Chicago IL to Muscatine IA - Thurs July 1 (Day 21)
We had a farewell breakkie with Meg and Rob at Ann Sather's, which is known for their sublime (and moreish) Cinnamon Rolls (you get 2 as a side dish! Ridiculous!) Was sad to do goodbyes and go back to pack-up, but a belly full of Cinnamon Rolls helps! We guilted ourselves into a casual run later in the morning, then hit the road toward Muscatine (stopover on the way to Madison County) in the early afternoon.

The only thing we need to report on about Muscatine is the basement pub in our medievil themed-motel.. It was called Lord Canterbury's. We felt very uncomfortable, but stayed for one beer to be polite, but couldn't hear each other over the very loud, straight-out-of-a-porno music. Never have we so distinctly felt the "we don't belong here" vibe.

Madison County and Des Moines - Fri July 2 (Day 22)
We are noticing that the countryside in Iowa is really beautiful. Rolling hills full of crops, and when the wind plays across the fields, the grass moves like waves in an ocean of green (aaahhh.... a happy place for those reading from work).

Our first destination out of Muscatine was Winterset, the heart of Madison County, where we were headed to check out some covered bridges. But of course, Duke needed some work done first. We had to get 2 new tires, and bought front and rear shocks to be replaced at a later date. Oh the joys of driving cross-country in an old car (but we love him for it). We did manage to see 3 of the 6 remaining covered bridges (which was more than enough to get the idea anyway, as they all look the same and were built between 1870 and 1890). We drove along the only bridge that allows car traffic, the Cedar Bridge, and we were shocked by the amount of vandalism on the bridges we saw. We even caught some punk kids in the act when we arrived at Cedar Bridge (pretty gutsy in broad daylight!) Duke was filthy after the covered bridges tour as they're only accessible via unpaved roads, so we gave him a thorough wash when we got to the motel.

Coincidentally, there was a classic car show in Des Moines at the same time as we were there, so we got a lot of questions from people about whether that was why we were in town. We were happy to have a clean Duke to park at the motel too, as there were a number of immaculate classic hot rods parked there, waiting to be taken home after the show.

North Sioux City, South Dakota - Sat July 3 (Day 23)
Just a stopover on our way to Mount Rushmore. We thought we were staying in Iowa, but regular old Sioux City is in Iowa and NORTH Sioux City is in South Dakota. We should've paid more attention to that, cos Sioux City seemed OK (we went there at night for some pizza and beer, and to see Toy Story 3, which was a bit of fun)... But we were amazed at the difference in people and demographics just north of the border! They even have casinos in gas stations. I think we'll be happy to move on from South Dakota in a couple of days and get to Colorado!

Chamberlain, SD - Sun July 4 (Day 24)
Independence Day. The last 3 of these we've celebrated in NYC so we were excited to see how it was done in "outback USA". We started off in the bar of our hotel (much nicer than the previous Lord Canterbury's!) and had a chat with the bartender (and her family, when they came to say "hi" and have a drink with her!) We headed into town for some dinner, and then went to sit with the locals on the Missouri River while waiting for the main event (the $12k fireworks show funded by the local Chamber of Commerce) to begin at 10:20pm. Everyone had their own fireworks which they were firing off into the River as we all waited for the show - it was incredible how the extra bangs and whizzes going off all around us added to the atmosphere and excitement of it all! We had a ball!!

Wall, SD - Mon July 5 (Day 25)

Heading here today (will be going to the famous Wall Drug store.... we've been seeing billboards for it over the last 200 miles!), and we may end-up at Mt Rushmore, depending on how efficient our travelling is today! More to come later...

A bit of mushy reflective stuff to start this entry... We're both noticing that the days are quickly blurring into one, so it has been very helpful to recap everything in this blog as it will be invaluable to us in the coming weeks and months! OK, back to business:

Arrived into Knoxville,TN - Tues June 22 (Day 12)
This ended-up being one of our longer driving days but was largely due to a lot of scenic by-way adventures. We left Wytheville early to avoid the hottest part of the day, and we ended-up taking a lot of scenic tours through North Carolina and Tennessee back country. We wound our way along a river and maneuvered many narrow winding roads through the hills, which was at times nerve-wrecking after all of the wide highway driving but was 100% worth it for the views. We decided to get to the motel via the Great Smokey Mountains. To get there, we wound our way through the Cherokee Indian Reserve (thank god Tim left his cowboy hat at home), but our fears were laid to rest when we saw how touristy the town of Cherokee is.... No wartime Indians, just photo-opp Indians dressed-up with feather headdresses asking for tips. Within borders of the National Park we did a podcast-tour from the south to the north, which took us through the highest point of the main highway through the Smokies, Newfound Gap (which straddles North Carolina and Tennessee).

Day 2 Knoxville - Wed June 23 (Day 13)
We went to investigate the markets in downtown Knoxville, but it was so hot we kept taking respite in nearby stores. By 11:30am we were convincing ourselves that it wasn't too early to go to the nearest bar and get some lunch, but we persevered and went for a walk to the town hall, past the local UT (Uni of Tennessee) campus, and out onto a bridge overlooking the Tennessee River. By 12:30 we decided it was very reasonable to head to that pub which looked so inviting an hour earlier, and we watched Part 2 of the insane Isner vs Mahut game (5th set) and then settled in to watch Aus vs Serbia (good effort Socceroos!)... Fortunately for us, both Socceroos games we've wanted to watch have coincided with us being in university towns (Burlington first, Knoxville second), so there was no shortage of pubs showing the games! At night, we went to a Minor League baseball game (TN Smokies vs NC Mudcats) and it was a real highlight! Here we learned that Americans are as good at entertaining crowds at smaller games vs higher profile games... If not better! We had read about one crowd-participation game that we thought would be particularly entertaining - the Chicken Run. The write-up sounded like they'd let a chicken loose on the field and children would need to chase it and catch it (i.e., the catcher would be the winner), which sounded hilarious! Unfortunately, it ended-up being a man dressed up in a chicken suit running across the field (entering from left field, exiting at right field) with 20 children running behind him in an orderly line. Disappointing. However, this was more than made up for by the other 6 games that were played (the balloon game especially, where 3 pairs of young boys raced against the clock to burst balloons by squeezing them between themselves.... Even if this meant rolling around on the field on top of each other!). There was a very exciting win at the end of the game by the Smokies - the Mudcat's batter hit a fly ball to left field where he was caught out, and the fielder threw the ball straight to home plate where the catcher held his place and got the third and final out to win the game! What a fantastic night!

Takeaway from this day: There's not a whole lot to do in Knoxville, but minor league baseball is awesome!

Knoxville, TN to Chattanooga, TN - Thurs June 24 (Day 14)
Our primary purpose for going to Chattanooga was to visit Ruby Falls, and it did not disappoint! We went on the standard tour which lasted about an hour, walking through the caves leading to the falls which are set in the middle of Lookout Mountain. The caves were exquisite with lots of nooks and crannies, and stalagmites and stalactites galore! The falls themselves were incredible, and the lighting they have installed to play off the caves made it sparkle even more. And the fact that it was about 25F cooler in the caves was a relief too! After the tour, we went to the top of the observation deck, but let us tell you now... Chattanooga is not pretty, just highly industrial.

Went to an old fashioned BBQ joint for lunch - the Rib and Loin - and enjoyed our first southern sweetened iced tea! It was really refreshing (maybe a little on the sweet side) but felt very authentic! We got a typical super-sized portion and the leftovers managed to feed us for dinner too!

In the afternoon, Duke got his first bath of the journey.

Knoxville, TN to Nashville, TN - Fri June 25 (Day 15)
We were planning on driving straight to Nashville, but were distracted by a Jack Daniel's Distillery sign, so we drove the additional 25miles and were so happy we did! Rather than just being a regular tour where some random dude just talks at you for an hour, we were properly walked through the entire facility and got some great insight into the Tennessee Whiskey making process (and saw the whiskey actually being made... We even smelled some of the 140 proof product-whoa!) and of course we got a look into Mr Jack's history too. It was a real highlight of the trip so far (which was quite surprising), and they no longer charge a fee for the tour either which capped it off nicely!

Scenically, one thing we are really enjoying is that farm owners typically have kept century-old barns standing on their properties - they really add a lot of charm and personality to the landscape.

We literally chilled out in our room during the uber hot part of the day, and did a podcast-guided walking tour of the home of country music - Nashville - at night (it helped us navigate around downtown Nashville, but we each enjoyed the Country Music highlights of it all to varying degrees... Let's just say Tim took more away from it than Stacey!) We enjoyed a drink or two at one of the Honky Tonks and soaked in the music (even recognizing a cover or two that must've been mainstream at some point!)

Day 16 and Day 17 (June 26 and 27) have both been heavy travel days on our way to Chicago (to see Meg and Lauren!), so we randomly chose two stop-offs in the middle:

1. Evansville, IN: Just outside Evansville (while still in Kentucky) we enjoyed some authentic Fried Chicken at the Bon-Ton Mini Mart (thank you Roadfood for the reco), and it was SO tasty! Crisp skin, spicy to the middle, and so juicy and tender on the inside (we non-Yanks tend to assume fried chicken would be really bad for us - think KFC - and while the fried skin might be so, the oil doesn't penetrate the moist meat on the inside!) Before checking-in we visited an area called Angels Mound which was once a Native American township, and learned a bit about their civilization (they apparently lived there in 1000 to 1500AD).

2. Danville, IL: There is nothing to do here. At all. Even the pool at the motel is closed cos some hick broke a glass in it last night. So we bought lunch (rotisserie chicken and deli salads) and had a carpet picnic, and plan on drinking beer and watching soccer and movies and HBO all day.

Chicago, here we come...!

Day 8 (Fri June 18) to Day 12 (Tues June 22)

Clarion, PA to Harrisburg, PA:

We were particularly excited to head to the Harrisburg area because it is a neighbour to the town of Hershey (i.e., the chocolate), civil war stuff, and Amish folk (whose activity hub is in a town called Intercourse... Tee hee). Here's how this day breaks down: As we were entering Hershey, all the streets were lined with faux streetlamps, which were actually decorations - black iron poles with Hershey Kisses hanging off the end. We had some lunch at Red Robin (preferably never again) and then went to Hershey Chocolate World. Basically just a big chocolate store where mass amounts of chocolate are sold really cheap. People were checking out with pounds of the stuff - we just bought a Peanut Butter Cup twin set and split it! The woman at the counter thought it was pretty bizarre. We also did a "ride" through the factory to see how chocolate was made, and got a sample at the end. Next stop was the *new* Hershey Museum where we learned all about Mr Hershey, and did a chocolate tasting/learned about cocoa beans etc. We also "made" chocolate, i.e., poured melted chocolate into moulds and added "flavours" to it (cinnamon, chilli flakes or "nibs").

On our next day in Harrisburg, we were quite domestic - fixed the Duke (an oil change that lead to a rear U-joint replacement) and did some washing (or "laundry" for the Americans out there). Went to the Civil War Museum in the afternoon - saw people dressed-up in old timely fashion and in character to boot (including a piper)! They did some musket firing demonstrations, and had the Generals giving a rundown of their history etc. Besides that we generally wandered through the museum and read about stuff. That night, we spent a few hours at a micro-brewery across the road - had some beers (Tim did the sampler!) and had some bar food (onion rings and the like)... It was Sat night after all, and we had to splash out!

Harrisburg, PA to Knoxville, TN, via Amish Country (and Harrisonburg/Wytheville, VA):
We left Harrisburg on a Sunday, so the Amish weren't out working but they were getting around in their buggies! Every physical stereotype of the Amish that you can think of is true... The clothes, the hats, the beards, the transportation - it was very cool to see in person. We were a bit disappointed it was Sunday and we couldn't get a feel for how they go about a regular day (i.e., couldn't see them out working the fields etc) but was good to be amongst it when we'd carefully pass them on the road (our pony Duke goes a bit faster than their horses). Quite a tourist industry has been built up around the Amish too as we saw a few faux Amish villages (one even had an authentic Amish "3D experience"... We didn't do this, but we imagined robots of some kind!), and there were bus tours around the county with guides too. And one hilarious pamphlet quoted a happy customer as claiming how good the tour was because it really "humanized the Amish and made them relatable as real people"!! We did get in on this a little and do a buggy ride (although it wasn't Amish authentic - just some random hillbilly set-up), but he did take us out for 30mins down some back roads and talked to us a bit about the area which we think was good... at least the bits we could understand through his 6 teeth.

We arrived into Harrisonburg, VA quite late, and were hot and exhausted. Had a swim in our classy highway-side pool, then wandered out to find some takeaway (landed on Quiznos). We had to travel through West Virginia to make it to Harrisonburg, and it was 45 of the scariest minutes of our lives. It was a little touch and go when we stopped for gas and encountered our attendant called "Skeletor", but we managed to escape before needing to call upon the services of Heman. And fortunately, the one pitchfork that managed to make contact narrowly missed the fuel tank.

Next stopover - Wytheville, VA (pronounced With-Ville). We left Harrisonburg early, and went straight to the visitors centre upon arriving in Wytheville. The nice old lady who helped us was so full of southern hospitality that we felt very welcome - and it came out that she was 81 - what a trooper!! We had a lovely lunch per her reco ("left at the third set of stop lights"), and then went to the Shot Tower (where they made bullets during and pre- civil war). Settled into the hotel then went to the Chautaqua festival (an outdoor festival), where we had dinner while listening to some local bands (rock and acoustic) - mainly doing covers (Sweet Home Alabama was clearly the highlight). And of course, Little Miss 81 sent us to the festival, and as she said, it was "good for watchin' the people".

A final tidbit for this entry.... a new phrase we're starting to notice is a key piece of Southern lexicon: "I appreciate you." ... we guess in place of "thank you"!

More on TN/KY to come in the next entry!

Day 2 (Sat June 12) to Day 7 (Thurs June 17)

Number of conversations with bikers re Duke and his vintage: 5 (and about 10 other chats with men at petrol stations, car parking lots etc etc)
Number of mighty duck V formations (performed by geese) witnessed: 1
Number of hours the Duke was driven by Stacey: 2.5
Number of snake sightings: 1

Saratoga Springs, NY to Burlington, VT:
- woke-up to a very rainy day, which helped us assess the effectiveness of the Duke's weather seals. Happy to report, 98.5% of water stayed out of the car, which is very satisfactory.
- took advantage of our Roadfood book for our lunch stop in Glens Falls, NY, where we tried out New Way Lunch, who are famous for their mini hot dog served with mustard, onion and beef sauce, and for only $1.35 a dog, it was very reasonable and tasty to boot!

Burlington, VT:
- beautiful, lush, green, college town on Lake Champlain.
- went for a 20 mile bike ride on the edge of the lake (you can look it up if you're interested, it's called the Waterway Bike Tour or something like that), then we recovered with a beer and some lunch while watching the Aus vs Germany World Cup game.... We sneaked out at half time (thankfully - it was a tough game to watch) and headed for the Ben and Jerry's factory. We paid our $3ea and went on the tour (pretty lame really, but didn't break the bank) and then had a couple small ice creams for our trouble. We visited the Flavour Graveyard which was deeply emotional, then pulled ourselves together to head back to our motel.
- shared a bowl of noodle soup for dinner from this fabulous little Vietnamese place we found around the corner from our motel - full of veggies and super tasty, we actually ate there on both nights we were in Burlington!

Burlington, VT to Seneca Falls, NY:
- to get to our next destination, we thought we'd try out Duke's sea legs, so we caught the ferry from Charlotte, VT across Lake Champlain to Essex, NY. Tim photographically captured some great moments in ornithological history while on the ferry (see flying v mention, above).
- stopped for lunch in chestertown and shared our first road trip pie! It was caramel apple and pecan pie served a la mode (that means with ice cream) and it was delicious! I would love to know how to make pastry like that... (if only I was patient enough).
- stayed at fairly crappy Microtel lodging in Seneca, and we got a Smoking Room which wasn't too bad at the time (kinda smelled like "nanna's house" or old school family vacations), but it was pretty awful a couple days later when we realized our clothes stank from it.
- had dinner at a crappy Chinese buffet on the other side of the highway (which happened to be one of those strip mall Chinese restaurants), but it filled the hole for not a whole lotta money. All part of the "experience".

Seneca Falls, NY:
- did a short hike to start wearing in our new boots, and took along a picnic which we enjoyed on a small patch of grass next to an old mill and a waterfall - how civilized of us.
- went for a drive around Seneca Lake and admired the beautiful views across some wineries out onto the lake; stopped off in a lakeside park for a rest and a read; picked up a quart of strawberries from a roadside farmer's stall ($4 = bargain!) then headed back to the microtel.
- on our last night in Seneca Falls we lived it up old school style and went to the drive-in movies (it was just like out of Grease, minus Danny and Sandy). We saw Robin Hood (the new one with Cate Blanchett and Russell Crowe - critics say "not bad"). We attempted to watch the movie topless (i.e., with the roof off) but were overrun by bugs, and after the sun went down, the spectacle the fireflies put on was rather distracting! While there was a Refreshment stand there, we packed our own BBQ chicken and some wraps for our pre-movie dinner, and shared a 24oz can of beer using our paper Microtel cups (classy). For dessert we finished off our strawberries and cleaned up the remains of a small bag of Haigh's speckles that we were smart enough to bring on the road!

Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada:
- took advantage of our first Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives recommendation on our way from Seneca Falls to Niagara Falls - it was called Grover's (just outside Buffalo), and it was sensational. We shared a burger (spiced with Cajun seasoning) with blue cheese and all the trimmings (tomato, lettuce etc) and a small serve of buffalo wings (medium was spicy enough for us!) and then rolled out of there to be on our way to Niagara. Note for non-american readers: Buffalo (the city where we were at this time) is the home of "buffalo wings", meaning they were super-authentic!
- arrived Niagara around 3pm to beautiful weather, so we took advantage of this by heading straight down to check out the view - whoa! We headed for the Maid in the Mist tour which was the definite highlight as it was incredible to see the Falls so close, and we even got a freshwater bath when the boat took us up close into the Niagara Falls (the ponchos do nothing!)
- not much else to do in Niagara (unless you're into Ripley's or Guinness World Records or Haunted Houses) so we ended-up at Hard Rock for a few Captain Morgan's Spiced and Beers, washed down with some pizza at Boston Pizza, then a DQ Blizzard back at the room.
- went to see the Falls at night, which was nothing spectacular, definitely not necessary to do while there.
- only stayed one night in Niagara, so pre-checkout we had an administrative morning of booking accommodation for the next town (Puxsatawney, PA - on our way to Hersheyville!), and worked out in the fitness centre, which had a view of the Falls (how inspirational, except that the soccer was on and kind of distracting) followed by a quick dip in the pool.

Now, a note to you - our dedicated reader - is there anything else you guys want to hear about from us? And a more specific question we would like help with as we prepare for a few weeks of driving across middle America... Does anyone know what we should do in the event of seeing a tornado as we're driving across the middle of nowhere?

Day One (June 11, 2010)

Number of fights with Victor the super: 1
Number of parts flying off the car at high speed: 1
Number of AAA Roadside Emergency Calls: 1

Town name of the day: Coxsackie, NY

Well, we started the road trip today. Movers came, packed and went, and we were out of the apartment by 4pm (sniff) and turning the ignition key at 4:03pm. Appropriately, we switched on Jay-Z's Empire State of Mind to carry us up the West Side Highway. We made it successfully across the GW Bridge, and that's when the trouble started... Goodbye hubcap! Not wanting to pullover in high speed traffic, we responsibly left it behind, and then put-put-put, we discover the fuel gauge was broken... Hello AAA man with the jerrycan of fuel! Poor Duke's showing his age today.

Bring on Day 2.... Maybe we should start with some stretches...