It's nearing on 24 hours till we take off and here I am sorting out our blog page?? kinda skewed priorities... maybe I should be working on our route a little more seeing as how it pretty much looks like this right now...

and I'm not really sure that section in the Bahamas is going to work out...

Anyways I'm really excited and really nervous.. The van, "Bunter" (whom I will post more information on later), is pretty much ready to roll out our first stop which is Vegas..

Wish us luck and, not to be too much of a hippy, send us good vibes.. I want to thank everyone who has helped us get to this point. All of our now combined families and friends have been insanely supportive and helpful. Shawn Taylor (who Serena and I call Tay-Tay but never to his face) who helped us buy our van has been a great wealth of knowledge and answered all of my random text messages... thanks brother! Everyone on thesamba.com who read and or replied to one of my random posts.. thanks guys, if you see a 91 blue multivan with Cali plates in your area honk! Everyone in my office (and by that I pretty much mean Jeremy and Steve) who has listened to the last 6 months of wedding/honeymoon plans... sorry and thanks!

I'm sure there's more but we've got to get going.. Let's Do This!

Pretty much at the beginning of every school year I would set out to be the best student in the world. I would pack my backpack every night perfectly set or plan out what clothes I was going to wear and also take really good looking notes. Invariably that would fall apart by the following tuesday of that school year... I'm going to do my damndest to make sure my blog doesn't suffer the same fate but who knows.

We're sitting in a lightly airconditioned Starbucks in Flagstaff AZ currently. We're planning on moving on in a bit but are tripping out on how familiar this place feels. We just had a dinner of salads and I had an Anchor Steam? Are we in Los Gatos?

Anyways things have been moving along well.. Serena's synopsis of yesterday is spot on. Vegas is a weird place. Here is a photo of Bunter in the parking lot of the Bellagio (not a lot of other Westy's here)

Great for people watching and seeing the crazy spectacles but after 1:15 minutes I was pretty much over all that.. The most insane thing was seeing my ex-girlfriend Sharon walking around the Paris themed Casino. It was super awesome to see her as she was equally tripped out by being in Vegas. After all the surreality of the strip Johnny and Kimmie hooked us up with a radical dinner and a trip to fremont st. thanks guys!

Today we cruised over the Hoover Damn and into AZ... The mountains of AZ blew our minds.. totally beautiful hills that remind me of the Sierra, Idaho and what Colorado looks like in my mind all rolled into one. Super nice. The only thing that marred this section of the trip was a 1 stop on the road while crews clean up what I believe used to be a pick up truck that flipped over. Our best thoughts to those involved...

We continued on into Flagstaff which is also gorgeous... trees and high altitude usually is though. I could definitely see coming back here. We're going to try to keep going on a little bit and maybe hit up a campground or motel. Looking forward to tomorrow!

extra
2 really good music moments occurred so far...
1.) Listening to Kool and the Gang's "Get Down On It" at a stoplight on the outskirts of Bakersfield at 9:00 a.m.
2.) Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins "Rise Up With Fists"

in the foothils of AZ just when it started getting really pretty.... but hell when doesn't that song sound good..

So I don't think that I mentioned it already but we have a GPS navigator thingy for this trip that we borrowed from the wonderful John & Juleen @ Artisans. This means I have a little computer screen in the corner of my peripheral vision telling me where I'm going. It's a lot like playing Grand Theft Auto.. except without shooting hookers and hi-jacking cars. We're calling him Parker (I'm not even going to explain) and while he's led us astray a couple of times he may in fact be responsible for us not getting divorced outside of Bakersfield.

Anyways after my last post we continued across AZ and camped out in a lovely rest stop right near the New Mexico border. There we finally saw a fellow Westfalia so we felt at home!


Serena's New Mexico description is right on. We had some good food and fun tourist times... We kept on rolling which brings me to the second half of my post...

An Open Letter To Texas
First off it's not you it's me. I tried so hard to go into this whole thing with a 100% open mind and I think I failed. I kept hearing that the section of TX that we were taking on was kind of brutal, not so tolerant and fairly boring.

Maybe it was the sign that said "Proud Home Of President George W. Bush", maybe it was the pick up with a shovel and boots that revved it's engine at the stoplight near us or maybe it was the state trooper that followed us side by side for 3 minutes and then completely disappeared (no seriously disappeared!)... anyways we weren't feeling Texas last night. So what do you do at times like these but put on a mix made by your friend (ironically named) Tex and drive on through the night. Here is the exact point when Iron Maiden's "Run For The Hills" came on...

Tex we owe you and your friend Sky a huge thanks for getting us to Oklahoma border where we slept in a Loves® truck stop parking lot... nothing but romance on this honeymoon..

Today we were comforted by Target and raced across Oklahoma.. we did stop off and pay tribute to Carrie Underwood of course..

Now we're in Arkansas enjoying all that the Holiday Inn Express has to offer us...

music moments
1. Leaving Tucumcari after getting gas in the early evening listening to The Avalanches "Since I Left You"...

*caution if you've never seen this video watch out because it will blow your mind

2. Fleeing Texas listening to Kanye West... thanks again Tex!

This ones just going to be a quick photo update to prove we are still alive.. we're currently outside of Knoxville, TN in a Best Western.. this morning and the day before were spent in Memphis.. peep some photos!!

Cedric this ones for you.. Elvis had a dragon jumpsuit!!

Here is Bunter in the Meeman Shelby State Park campground.. nice place!

watching "The Office" in Bunter... I swear I'm wearing pants... it was humid!
Campground breakfast!

Me about to begin my record career...

Well we got pushed forward another hour today so technically it's past 12 and we're supposed to hit the road early.. Tomorrow we're off to DC for a bit of a breather and maybe to check out some of their amazing happy hours.. We should have internet up the wazoo there and serena will tell you all about the crazy good food we ate!

oh yea.. yesterday I saw a billboard for Oklahoma wines saying "Just Like California But Not As Fruity"...

before I go to bed here was the music moment of the last 2 days..
100 miles from Memphis with New Edition's "Candy Girl"...

Knoxville to DC.. long haul and required a nap in a parking lot outside of a Starbucks and an iced mocha in Salem. We powered through and got thouroughly turned around trying to get to Adams Morgan but made it eventually. Beers and food at a local bar with Jesse, Erin and Georgia and it was bedtime...

Not really sure why but I really love Washington DC.. I could never live there but it really intrigues me. People my age wearing dress clothes everyday, crazy huge monuments and getting to see both Prince's guitar and Ben Franklins walking stick in one place. It's funny because in Santa Cruz you'll find a lot of people our age who don't necessarily do a whole lot. Maybe they'll have a plan to start up an organic t-shirt line made from hemp and recycled hobo knapsack rags but they never really find the time to get it off the ground. In DC everyone is doing something and wearing fancy clothes while doing it... while some of it may be of equal importance to said t-shirt line they're doing it and they're doing it from 9-5 Monday through Friday. It's incredible to be around!

Here we are on the mall having some sandwiches..

Next up we went to some museums and ran into these guys.

They wanted to make sure I said hi to Teo and Elias!

We also checked out a bunch of rocks and gems which were cool, but I was way more into the steampunk looking pin lights that lit the individual stones...


Leaving DC seemed fine at first but soon we hit construction induced traffic. Signs suggested that we change our route slightly into another traffic nightmare. It was at this time that we discovered our faithful GPS was not charging for some reason.. stoked! So here we are getting off our major highway onto a country road somewhere in Maryland and not really knowing where we are going.. After some in car/traffic troubleshooting I determined that the fuse in the cigarette lighter charger had blown causing the GPS not to charge... Luckily I've watched a lot of MacGyver

and bypassed the fuse with some electrical tape and tin-foil in a gas station parking lot.



We then got back en route sans traffic and continued on 2 hours behind schedule...

Now I was in road warrior mode. So determined to get to Long Island that nothing short of a robot uprising would stop me. Back when we where planning on stopping in NYC I kept saying that there was no way that I would drive Bunter in Manhattan.. Sometimes the GPS is hard to read and I ended up on Canal St. with cabs and vendors on all sides... killer! I think people were so confused as to what a vanagon was doing in there that the held back their honking... We negotiated our way out of there and finally made it to Rocky Point Long Island 3 hours behind schedule.

The Long Island family are all awesome and fed us and gave us beer which made me forget all about our long day. Like a lot of places on this trip Long Island is not like I expected it but I don't even really know what I was expecting. Roads seem to go in every direction and houses range from big to little. The speed limit seems to be more of a bare minimum than a maximum and of course the accent is all around. I love it!

The second day we met the rest of the Serena's family that was around and ate more insanely good food and Uncle Tom's wife Janet made Pomegranate Mojitos that you never wanted to stop drinking.. oh and 3 kinds of cake and pie for dessert? These guys know how to party...


Leaving Long Island early in the morning we got on a ferry to take us to Connecticut. Not having to drive was a welcome relief.




Meeting Serena's grandma Lois in her retirement-place/most-awesome-place ever was fun. She knew pretty much everyone on a first name basis and told us all kinds of stories from her incredible life.

Tonight we're staying in Ginny and Earl's house in Connecticut which is totally amazing...


I'm having a hard time keeping track of what day it is and what state we're in and I think that is a good thing!

the music section
Modest Mouse "Missed The Boat" on the radio in Aunt Sue's house..

Gangstarr "Full Clip" entering Connecticut.

I admit I thought that we were going to mess something up. The plan was this.

Wake up in Connecticut
Drive to Natick Massachusetts
Drop Bunter off at the VW place were I had scheduled a check up

Get on the commuter rail to Boston

Get on the Red Line to Porter Square
Walk to Serena's Aunt Alice's House

Lot's of room for wrong directions, mistakes and muggings right? Well we totally nailed it! Arriving on Alice's porch at 12:43 right on schedule..

Now let me explain a bit about Alice's house. Pretty much ever since we started dating Serena told me about how great her Aunt Alices house is in Cambridge. I admit that I was a little worried that she had built it up so much that I was going to be disappointed when I finally saw it. Turns out no. It is the type of place that I would see in a modern living magazine (a la ReadyMade) and think "wow I would totally live there if I was more organized and not so messy". The house is on 5 levels that are joined by a spiral staircase.. pretty much a kids dream come true and a parents nightmare. (Wouldn't it be cool/make sense if I had a picture to illustrate this right now? I'll see what I can do) Serena and I have the basement room to ourselves and couldn't be more stoked. Here is a picture that I took that doesn't look set up or fake at all


Anyways I'll let Serena tell more about what we did when we first got to Cambridge.. you like how I just shift responsibility onto her? me too!

In the morning of the next day we went to a cemetery who's name escapes me right now... it was amazing.. It had a tower


where you could go up and see this


Some areas looked like this

While some of the gravestones had full on big angel statues so it looked like walking through a Joy Division album cover shoot.. like this

I'd like to say that I don't have an actual picture out of respect but it was really because I blew it...

later on in the day we went to another cemetery and it was more Edward Gory looking.. like this


one of my other favorite things that we saw today was that Beacon Hill still has gas powered street lamps

any one who has ever worked with a Coleman lantern can appreciate that!

Tomorrow we start heading toward Chicago not really knowing where we'll stay the night (Cleveland?).. the East Coast has treated us well it's just time to start coming home.

Getting back to Bunter felt like coming home. We'd had an amazing time in Boston but we missed Bunter's smell of Simple Green and Pine Tree car freshener... We were so happy that we decided to drive all the way to Cleveland! 12 hours later we were there...

Why Cleveland? Well it's close(r) to Chicago where my best friend was about to be married and there is the Rock and Roll hall of fame. We woke up in our Hotel Express, hit the gym (total yuppies) and headed out to the Hall of Fame.

The rock and Roll hall of fame is pretty neat. I can't tell if I was ashamed or amazed that one of the things that I was most impressed with was the big neon "Gwen" and "Moby" signs from the music video for "Southside"..

Other notable things that stoked me out were John Lennon's Sgt. Pepper outfit and Paul Simonon's bass from the "London Calling" album cover


We bailed out of Cleveland just before noon because we needed to get to Chicago. The drive was super windy and therefore I hated it. Nothing like driving a big box down a windy highway with trucks flying by and creating pockets of wind/no wind... not feeling it!


Chicago though? Feelin' It! We got to our awesome hotel met up with Jesse and Erin as well as their respective families.. They went off to dinner and we set off for a destination that I've been really excited about going to.

Serena introduced me to "This American Life" and now I'm obsessive about it.. We've listened to hours of it on this trip thanks to their podcast. Anyways I listened to a particular episode one afternoon lying on the couch at home. It was called "24 Hours at the Golden Apple".. The Golden Apple is a 24 hour restaurant in Chicago and This American Life spent 24 full hours there interviewing people and getting their stories.. It's my favorite episode I've ever heard and so I really wanted to go.. I had a hot meat loaf sandwich and strawberry milkshake


I woke up this morning and went on a pre-marriage run with Jesse, Eric and Graham... I'd been stressing about running with such athletes but luckily I had bought a headband in New Mexico to help me out.. It was nice running on the waterfront. Eric took some sweet shots and I'll try to post some up soon..

Jesse and Erin's wedding was awesome! It was at the cultural center and was totally beautiful in every respect. Several other couples were being married in the same place and it just made for a crazy rad time! It was a blast getting to know Erin's family as well as getting to hang out with all the Gelwicks who I've known since I was a kid... really good times..






We've been eating a ridiculous amount of food and having a ton of fun. Chicago.. what can I say, a hell of a time.. here's a picture


Now I'm back in our hotel room. tipsy, full and happy. Erin and Jesse, you guys are awesome... we're on our way home and it feels good. Still a lot of adventure to be had. Let's go!

Great Moments in Music
1. Jim's Java in Nattick Mass. waiting for Greg to finish up with our alignment... Chumbawumba's "Tubthumping"...

here's how amped serena was..


2. Six Minutes from Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse NY.. Motion City Soundtrack "Everything Is Alright"

total guilty pleasure.. what are you going to do about it?

So we're in Driggs Idaho right now with my Aunt. My sister one time referred to it as the "middle of nowhere". It's funny to bring it up evertime my Aunt is visiting because you get to make fun of both my aunt and sister at once. kind of a two-fer!

Anyways we've been having a blast today hanging out with Gauge the dog. He's pretty much the best.

I've been driving a lot lately so I decided to let him take the wheel for awhile...


Let me back up a bit pre-Idaho.. We've been hauling westward but started to slow down once we hit some forests.. Big Horn Forest was insane! We started out a hill and it looked like this..

then all of the sudden we were in this...

it was kind of like the ending part in the Neverending story where they were totally surrounded by misty/cloudyness and Atreyu is talking to the princess lady... I haven't seen that move in forever so I could be totally wrong about all that part. That is the movie with the flying dragon dog thing right? So confused right now...

Anyways Yellowstone was awesome.. here's me trying to feed serena a candy bar that she bought me in Chicago

we went to sleep surrounded by humongous RV rigs but when we woke up we saw this!

Westy's unite!
here's a picture of Bison that reminds me of a U2 shirt that I used to have..

the U2 shirt had buffalo on it and these are bison... they can apparently run 30 mph! I ran 8.5 on the treadmill the other day for awhile and then I started to feel not so good.. true story! speaking of running here is a chicago run photo that eric kindly sent me!

(i'm the fast looking one!)

Serena wants me off the computer now so we can see the rest of the metropolis that is Driggs.. but first some music moments
1. about 6:00 am in Minnesota listening to Jay-Z featuring the Notorious B.I.G. "Brooklyn's Finest"


2. leaving Yellowstone with the Murder City Devils and "Idle Hands"


3. after we finished up the Murder City Devils album serena put on the Pipettes album... she's a crazy DJ just like me! here's "You're Kisses Are Wasted On Me"

*sigh* that video never gets old... wait up! I'm a married man!!

4. who doesn't love entering Jackson Wyoming whilst listening to Joy Division... "Love Will Tear Us Apart"

Wow... I really need to end this thing but a big part of me doesn't want to. It's like I feel that publishing my final blog will force me to go back to normality... even though I went back to an 8 hour workday today..


Our final trek across Idaho/Nevada/California went according to plan in some senses and not so much in others... We ate breakfast/lunch (oh wait don't they call that brunch?) in Twin Falls Idaho and went to an awesome antique store..


Up until Wells Nevada things were going pretty smooth. At a normal gas station re-fill an attendant remarked to me that our tires looked like they were wearing on the inside a bit.. Worried that I was going to fall victim to the city-boy-tire-scam I was skeptical. Until he pulled out a new tire and showed me exactly what had worn away.. He then looked at the rear tires and said "these tires aren't even rated for this van!"... he then asks "how far are you going?".. in my mind I'm thinking it's not so much how far we are going but more how far we've gone on incorrect tires. Long story short we have 4 new tires and hung out in Wells for about an hour and a half..

It's at this point where we decide we're going home. No stopping in Sparks or Reno like we'd planned.. Bunter's new tires were getting us home tonight (well at this point we knew it would be the next morning)

Back in the van we start the second leg of our powerdrive. We stopped in Winnemucca and the GPS failed to find us our first restaurant so we tried a placed simply based on the fact that it was on a street called Malarky! It was Basque (sp?) food and it saved our lives... best soup ever!


Back in the van... at a rest stop the GPS freezes. We can't turn it off or make it do anything. Whatever... we're on Interstate 80.. I know my way around here (kind of).. sparks/reno/truckee/donner pass... we keep going. When I see Sacramento I get excited. Feels like we're almost home. At this point we're constantly rolling the windows down to let cool air in to wake us up. During one of these window roll downs Serena's doesn't go back up... killer! Especially since it's starting to rain a bit.

We pull over in Davis (fun fact: i went to college there) to get gas and inspect the window. I am fairly well versed in the working of the power windows having torn them apart before so while serena pumps gas I work on the windows (true Nascar Pit Crew Style!)... some parking lot weirdness ensues. A dude asks for a dollar for gas (seriously a dollar worth of gas? that's like a tablespoon...) while some frat boys loiter around.. I'm not even paying attention to any of it as I rewire the windows into an operational state.


Back in the van we begin the final stretch.. this area is all familiar to me and I know we're not far.. it's like 2 in the morning on saturday and we're jetting home. Now I hate highway 17 (well maybe I don't hate it but I really don't like driving it) but I was so happy to see it.. when it dropped us back off on ocean st. in santa cruz I couldn't believe it. Driving up the hill to our house felt like a dream... by 4:30 I was in bed... my bed (well actually I co-own it with my wife).

This brings me back to the problem that I was having at the beginning of this entry... I still don't know how (or really want) to end this thing. A lot of things still haven't really sunk in.

Meeting Serena's long island family and seeing where she spent summers. Finally seeing Aunt Alice's Cambridge house. Visiting Grandma Lois and seeing Ginny and Earl's place in Connecticut. Watching my best friend and his awesome lady get married in Chicago. Hanging out in my favorite rural Idaho town with my favorite Aunt and Uncle... then there were the touristy things and restaurants and grocery stores that we visited. The beer coozies that we collected and the late night truck stop shopping sprees. Getting excited every time we saw another Westfalia. Chats with waitresses and bartenders, grunts from Tollway collectors... right now I miss it all but at the same time I am so overwhelmingly happy to be home.

I didn't really know what I'd discover on this trip* and I'd prepared myself to discover nothing. Interestingly enough I learned the same thing that I did from our wedding. And that is how important our friends, family and community are to us...

Whenever I would start to get burnt out or worried about our trip I would think about all the people we had rooting for us.. From people on thesamba.com message board to my parents. From friends who we go out drinking every friday with to Aunt Alice's neighbors... Family friends, co-workers and lifelong friends of my Aunt. You guys all cheered us on.. Thank you to everyone who read any one of our posts on here. Thank you for the comments, emails, text messages and phone calls along the way.

Lastly I want to thank my wife Serena. Thanks for sharing the same dream of a cross country trip, thanks for allowing me to obsess about vanagons for the last 5 months, thanks for calming me down when I got stressed, thanks for reading facts out of the almanac while speeding through the desert and thank you for helping me to focus on what was/is important.. If we did this we can do anything! I love you...

Well I need to wrap it up now but I am going to need to do one more set of music moments section.. so here we go.
1. 7:30 in the morning outside of Rexburg Idaho with the sun rising in my rear view mirror with Modest Mouse's "Dashboard"


2. Donner Pass about 1 AM thank you again Tex... it's like you told our iPod when we needed it most... Iron Maiden's "Run For The Hills**"


*This American Life did a good piece on roadtrips.. listen to it!
** the only song to get 2 music mentions in this blog!!

Thank you all for reading... Until next time!

THE END

I'd like to start out by pointing out that Larson is a liar. We aren't going to the Bahamas. Nor will we double back at any point in Texas, if we can help it.

We really are going to Las Vegas. I appreciate any suggestions about what to see, although I am already most excited to visit "Venice." I may even shell out serious cash to ride in a "gondola." (Don't worry, we'll win all the money back playing slots!)

Well, the next post will be from somewhere outside of California, so wish us luck. Thanks to everyone who has helped us so far, and thanks in advance to everyone who will let us sleep on their floor, feed us, read these posts, and -of course- admire Bunter.

Onward and upward!

This, apparently, is the slogan of the great city of Bakersfield. It was but one of the many cities through which we drove today. We left Santa Cruz at our customary 4:30 in the morning and were well on our way by the time the sun was rising.

All in all it was a darn good first day of driving. Bunter performed beautifully. I purchased our very first Honeymoon Coozie

in Baker, home of the world's tallest thermometer. The desert that is South-Eastern California and Nevada is just stunning, even from the freeway

I thought we would see more development, a la the sprawl that is Bakersfield, but not at all.

Las "I-may-be-paved-and-air-conditioned-but-I'm-still-the-desert" Vegas was (figuratively) mind blowing, as I suspected it would be. We started at the Bellagio

(that's the Murano glass ceiling in the lobby, che magnifico!) then moved on to Paris, Las Vegas. If you haven't yet had a look around this establishment, please do so next time you're here. The whole idea is that you are wandering around a quaint version of Paris- outside. Here is the "skyline"

Is there a giant replica of the Effiel Tower? But of course! Does the unlimited buffet feature charcuterie? Oui! Other highlights include slots with the sign "Parlez vous Poker," a huge fake tree outside of Le Cafe with a security camera sprouting gracefully amongst it's branches, and, wait for it.... more that a few real French people! (Tourists, not employees.) It was like life imitating art imitating life.

Suffice to say, we only lasted a few hours. The juxtaposition of illusion (you're in Paris! Italy! New York! A pirate cove! A castle!) and reality (people around you are hemorrhaging money and smoking inside) twinned with the equally jarring temperature fluctuations, air conditioned casinos that empty into 106 degree streets is frazzling and disorienting, in a fun way.

We left the strip to get dinner with Johnny (thanks for showing us around and letting us stay at your house!) and his girlfriend Kimmie. They took us to a restaurant called Pho So 1, and please, please go there next time you're in Las Vegas. We got the bbq wraps (or something to that effect): a big plate of raw beef, shrimp, and squid that you cook at your own table on your very own open flame. Then you make tasty little wraps, choosing from a plate of shizo, vietnamese cilantro, carrots, jicama, and lettuce. And there are two dipping sauces, one of which is brown and fermented and super good. Johnny and Kimmie said that since I like it, I'm genuine Vietnamese. Awesome.

I also learned that there are sort of two Las Vegases (well, there are way more, but that discussion could take up a dissertation and/or an attractive coffee table book): the Boulevard/ strip and Freemont Street. This is where you can find all the famous neon

and is more like a county fair, but with gambling, sex, and way more drinking. We went there after dinner and wandered around, and gaped. Freemont Street is skeezy, but in a genial sort of way, like a dive bar that used to be super posh. Also, it has a big spherical cage that features not one or two but three (three!) guys on motorcycles zooming around



Well, that's all for Vegas. I'm glad we got to do the tourist wandering, and also that we had a "local" to take us away from the strip. Our next official stop is Memphis, so I'm not sure where we'll be before that. Maybe Arizona or New Mexico? As usual, your suggestions are appreciated.

I'm writing tonight from the humid, but welcoming, town of Fort Smith, Arkansas. It's been a great couple of days, a lot of time in the car, but still fun.

As Larson said, we drove over across the Hoover Dam on Saturday morning on our way out of Las Vegas. I had no idea that the massive Dam (completed in 1935) is resplendent with Art Deco design. We didn't stop, so I don't have very good pictures, but here is one of an elevator that is built into the rock


Then into Arizona (fun Arizona fact: they don't take part in Daylight Savings, so it's the same time as it is California right now, but next month it won't be). We were both surprised by the state, which looks in some parts just as you might expect the South West would be- great desert/scrub expanses


but also really resembles northern California or southern Oregon. Flagstaff in particular, which I previously believed to be a desert out post, reminded me a large version of Ashland, Oregon


Arizona also has the raddest state flag


and rest stop signs


Sunday marked not only our entrance into New Mexico, but also our first meal at a restaurant suggested by Road Food (thanks Jesse, Erin, and Eric!). If you like road tripping or traveling around the U.S. or eating, purchase this book. We ate at The Frontier, in Albuquerque, the first of several meals that revolved around some combination of eggs/tortillas/chile/salsa, and it ruled. Just like the book said!

Next it was on to "Old Town," featuring a beautiful old church and town square, and endless touristy gift shops. Rain wasn't kidding, there are many bull whips and Dia de los Muertos items for sale. Also, so so so so much Kokopelli. Sadly, no Kokopelli coozies, but we did find (special love to Kari) a Kokopelli jam band on an oven mitt (note placemat and mug as well)


After New Mexico it was on to Texas, which is extremely flat


For more on our time in Texas, please refer to Larson's side.

Today we went to a Target in Oklahoma City, oddly comforting! I purchased a jump rope.
Then we ate at Road Food spot number two, the Classen Grill. How they make their food so very delicious I do not know, but it is and the waitress called us sweetie. All in all, a pleasing experience.

So here we are in Arkansas. Everyone in the South is incredibly polite (thanks again to the gentleman at the Oklahoma truck stop who opened the door for me even though he had been walking behind me), and says y'all. Tomorrow more South: Memphis! Hopefully we get to see some sights, and I get to fulfill a dream- going to a Piggly Wiggly!

The last time I wrote we were getting to know Arkansas, and here we are in Washington, D.C. Here are some things we have done and places we have seen between then and now:

Memphis. I actually fell a little bit in love with this city, humidity and all. First stop was A & R BBQ, suggested by Road Food, and Jesse and Eric. I love you A & R. We both got chopped pork sandwiches, which come with coleslaw on top. They look like this:

I chose fried okra as my side. Perfect. Here is a picture of perfection:

Then on to Graceland! I agree with Anna that Graceland could be a waste of your money, except that we went after Labor Day, where there were about 50 other people spread out across the property instead of 50 people crammed into every room. With fewer people the price is worth the ogling time. Graceland is fabulously tacky and well preserved. The biggest bummer is that you can't take pictures with flash, so it's difficult to find words to describe the '70's Southern grandeur. But here goes:
The TV room has a ceramic monkey, three TV, and amazing bar, and is painted blue, yellow, and white:

I also learned about Elvis's personal logo and slogan, the letters TCB with a lightening bolt (meaning Taking Care of Business in a Flash). It's on his grave

And on everything else in all three (three!) Graceland gift shops. I am currently working on my own slogan.
Also, there is this painting

many spangled jumpsuits ($3,500 reproductions available in gift shop), a fifteen foot long white couch, horses, Cadillacs, and other wonders.

After that, onto Sun Records, which is much cheaper than Graceland, and in many ways, cooler. After all, in Graceland you can look at the places where Elvis sat, but at Sun, you can actually stand in his footsteps

It's pretty amazing to stand in the exact same place that Elvis, Johnny Cash, BB King, and U2 (during Bono's awkward hat phase) recorded their music. It's also tiny, and was briefly a scuba shop. Fun Sun fact- Sam Phillips, who founded Sun in the 1950's left the label ten years after he started it. He then invested money in the Holiday Inn chain and made more money off the motel company than he ever did from Sun.

We spent the night in a gorgeous camp ground in Meeman Shelby state park. It wasn't so much raining as dense bits of humidity were falling from the sky, but it was also lush and there were little frogs creeping around near the bathrooms.

We set up camp in Bunter, and ate dinner listening to jazz and the sound of the Tennessee forest.

The next morning we went to the Stax Museum of American Soul. It rounded out our museum trips in Memphis, but I'll let Larson write more about it. I'll just say that it was also inexpensive, it features Issac Hayes's gold and peacock Cadillac, and looks at mid-20th century American history through the lens of music. So very worth it.

Then we drove to Nashville for the express purpose of eating at Monell's. If you are anywhere near Nashville, go to Monell's. If you are far away from Nashville, go there and eat at Monell's. The food is served family style, and I won't describe it because you should just go and eat there. Here, however, is a picture of the menu the night we went

The salads were coleslaw, broccoli with raisins and walnuts and some kind of mayo dressing, and macaroni salad. The dessert was strawberry shortcake that looked like someone had dropped it, then scooped all the pieces into a bowl. We were happy.

And we went to a Piggly Wiggly. There were pickled eggs, there were packages of pork fat next to the greens in the produce section, there was pickled okra. Again, so happy.

Yesterday we set off for Washington DC, and I discovered that Virginia is breathtaking. The mountains, the fields, the sunrise. (The smoking in restaurants- at eight in the morning- less so, but we all have our shortcomings, right?)

We got to DC in the afternoon and I still kind of can't believe I'm here. I will write more about it when we load pictures, but for now I'll just say it's been a great time. From the bars to the monuments, the people watching to the artifact displays, it's unlike any city I've ever been in. It also has 87% humidity, but everyone still dresses formally. Wowee.

Next post will be from the North!

Before I get started, here is a picture of Virginia


So pretty!

Larson is right on about DC, it's different from any place I've ever been, and I'd like to go back some time. All in all we had a lovely time, we got to see my sister Georgia (twice in one month, pretty much a record unbroken since high school), as well as Jesse and Erin. I enjoyed the museums

and was taken by surprise at how moving the monuments and memorials are. Well, not this one

The Lincoln memorial, however, moved me to tears. This sign helped

but the place itself seems to embody what our country is supposed to be. It sounds cheese ball, especially considering I've seen probably hundreds of pictures of it throughout my life. I don't know really, I was just so surprised at my emotion.

It should go without saying, seeing as we were staying with Jesse and Erin, that the eating in DC was fantastic. Everyone says you can't get good Mexican food on the East Coast, but Casa Oaxaca (I think I have the right name) proves them wrong. Three kinds of mole, lamb tacos, micheladas.... We also had a fantastic breakfast, and during our meal discovered that we were sitting next to the blogger who is outing hypocritical gay republicans- political celebrities and killer homefries, only in DC!

Then it was on to Long Island. A word on driving from DC to Long Island: don't. Or call someone and get a sneakier route. Or, go for it, and you too can watch as ten lanes of traffic become two in the Holland Tunnel!

Another piece of advice: when you're getting on the New Jersey Turnpike and you see this sign

don't panic. You just go right up to the little booth and it spits a ticket out at you, and you pay later. You East Coasters may laugh, but we have no Turnpikes where I come from, and your signs don't help the uninitiated.

The trip wasn't so terrible though, just long. And I found Larson's spiritual New Jersey home!


I'm sorry we didn't have time for New York City (aside from our adventure on Canal Street), but that's probably another trip (senza Bunter). But, Long Island was so much fun. Larson finally got to meet my grandparents

and more of my mom's family, and we both got to meet Janet, as well as Dave and my second cousin Andy (who is six months old and beyond cute).

Whilst in Rocky Point, we also visited two regional grocery stores (often a better cultural experience than a museum, and free to enter!), one of which is called

Besides a wide variety of sausages, steaks, and other animal products, Giuntas Meat Farms also sells cannoli shells and filling, as well as exotic fruits like lychee and star fruit. There is much more and varied Italian food in the average supermarket here, as well as German imports, and "Goya Foods," which we don't have too much of out in California. Ah, we are intrepid cultural anthropologists, are we not?

Then the ferry to Connecticut. This is a picture of me having the second-weakest cup of coffee in the world (the first prize going to a place in Connecticut that I won't name because the people who run it are very nice)


Getting to see my grandmother Lois was great, and also pretty amazing. We ate in a three star restaurant, heard a little about her life, and met her little dog Candy, the Retired Professional Bitch (yes there is a story)

Also, all the people who live around her are writers or fencers or pianists or something else amazing, and she knows everyone.

We spent the night at my aunt Ginny and uncle Earl's beautiful home. Although we didn't get to see Ginny, we had a nice time talking to Earl, and loved the land around their house. And the animals! This is a house near theirs

we also saw a wild turkey stalking along the road as we left this morning.

Although it might seem a little odd, seeing as how we're on our honeymoon, I am thrilled that we're getting to spend time with my family. Also, visiting all of these places where I used to spend my summers is like coming home, and I'm so happy Larson is with me. (Except when I showed him the place where my cousin Will taught me how to ride a bike, and he told me that he still doesn't believe I can ride a bike. I can, for the record.)

Now we're in Boston staying with my aunt Alice, but I'll save that for another time Dear Reader, for now you must exhausted by the epic nature of this blog.

I will end as I began, with a random picture. If you ever want an idea of the character of a foreign country and you happen to be in DC, take a look at it's embassy. This is Turkey's

The above quote came from the mouth of the most magnificent cab driver ever to navigate a city street. But more on that later.

As Larson said, we rocked some public transportation into Cambridge, the upshot of which was that we didn't have to do ANY driving in the Boston area. This probably saved many things, including our lives and our marriage.

Alice's home is marvelous. It was fun to have our own little studio, but the most fun is standing at the top of the spiral staircase. Here is the view

Photo credit actually goes to Larson, because I like to keep at least one, if not two, hands on the railing. Here we are in front of the house, which I have always loved, in part because, although it's beautiful, you can't tell how exceptional it is inside.


Yesterday we toured Cambridge and Boston. The cemetery that Larson already mentioned is called Mount Auburn, and if you like trees, birds, graves, or monuments you should visit. Alice was a great guide because she loves trees, so she dropped the arboreal knowledge as we went along. It's hard to know where to look at Mount Auburn- the trees and graves are both stunning. That circular monument that the Husband posted a picture of is actually the grave of Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science. It's quite large

especially considering that it was erected in memory of a person who was both a woman and a founder of a sect. The giant chess piece is actually a monument dedicated to George Washington.

Then to Boston. Alice knew of our desires to sample the regional fare of this New England city, so we hailed a cab to bring us to lunch. Here I would like to take a moment to thank our cab driver: you, sir, made our day. He was super nice, and super chatty, and spoke with my new favorite regional accent. Think Matt Damon in The Departed, but instead of killing people, he debated the merits and prices of the various lobster rolls around the city.

Which brings me to the lobster roll. We ate at The Barking Crab (where the wait staff wear shirts that say "everyone should have crabs"), and my first ever crustacean sandwich was tasty and fresh! It even came in a little plastic basket

with fries and coleslaw. I also had my first ever "steamers," which involved eating with my hands and drawn butter. Yes please!


Boston is pretty small, so we were able to walk through a lot of it, from the water front through the North End (nonostante il gentrification, ci sono molto paesano!), along the Freedom Trail, into the Edward Gorey-esque burying ground (he was copying them, I suppose, as some of those stones are 300 years old), and around Beacon Hill.

I would love to come back and spend more time in Boston, and all of New England. The old, graceful buildings, the grand trees, the shameless honking. It's all great fun.

Tonight we're in Cleveland, Ohio. Hopefully tomorrow we will get to stop at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame before we head on to Chicago for nuptials, sight seeing, and several hours of listening to This American Life podcasts on the way. (Note to Tex, we just tried watching The Suite Life of Zach and Cody, to see what Dan Savage was talking about, but it was too terrible.) I so wish we could see an Oprah taping, but now I guess we'll just have to make another trip.

Yep, Chicago ruled. For starters, there was a pleasant nip of fall in the air, and we got to wear things like sweatshirts and jeans.

Our mini-pilgrimage to The Golden Apple was great fun. We didn't see Ira Glass, but there was a pleasant walk from the hotel, a vast menu to choose from

and friendly people. Not in Road Food, but I recommend it anyways.

Erin and Jesse's wedding was beautiful. The location, the lovely couple

and the celebration afterwards. Seeing the Gelwicks was wonderful, as always, as was getting to know Erin's family, and her best friend Lauren, and Lauren's fiancee Ken. Everyone in the group loved eating and talking, so I was in my happy place for the entire weekend. It was all pretty darn glorious, and I'm so happy we got to be a part of it.

Sunday, after an epic breakfast and a walk around the neighborhood, we set out for the great plains. We spent today (Monday) in the great state of South Dakota, and I am impressed. Breakfast was at Bob's

and the amazing pancakes came with an autograph in our copy of Road Food, and sight seeing advice from Ben-Bob.

The terrain is breathtaking (believe it or not): miles of prairie that give way to the Badlands, then rise into the Black Hill Mountains. The pictures I took in Badlands National Park show just a tiny part of the otherworldly landscape


and it's worth a trip if you should happen to be in South Dakota. There are also Prairie Dogs for miles, and they seem indifferent to people, so you can ogle your heart out. Oh they are chubby and squeaky and difficult to photograph


After the stark beauty of the Badlands, we were off to Wall Drug, a shamelessly tacky tourist stop! You can buy little stuffed Jackalopes, mesh hats, chaps for kids and grown-ups, and garden gnomes, among other items. There are also endless photo opportunities

and coffee that costs 5 cents.

We ended our South Dakota adventures at Mount Rushmore, which was... curious. Unlike the memorials in DC which exist in context with their surroundings, Rushmore (and the plaza, gift shop, and amphitheatre that face it) springs from the gorgeous Black hills, stunning or disturbing, or just incongruous

To me, the most fascinating part of Mount Rushmore isn't the carvings or the plaza, but a little spot to the left of the path that leads to the main viewing area. It was like the government said to the Lakota, "Hey, remember when we decided that we wanted land that you owned and that you considered sacred, and broke the Treaty of Fort Laramie, because we wanted a tourist attraction in South Dakota? Don't worry dudes, because guess what?! You won't be forgotten, no sir! We'll throw in a random tepee somewhere to totally honor you!" And you know what? That's one promise the white people kept!


Tonight we're in at the nicest little HoJo, and tomorrow, Wyoming.

A final note on Larson's side: the Tubthumping was on the radio in Natick. My Britpop loves are pure!

We were ready to come home, and so was Bunter. So, after a somewhat ridiculous and very long time spent driving, we are back in Santa Cruz. But wait! There's so much to do and see between the Black Hills and home, and here is a little about that.

Yellowstone was gorgeous and freezing (literally). We did an excellent job of packing for the heat and humidity, but not so much for 7,000 feet and the possibility of snow. Luckily, we're plucky young folks and Bunter is pretty well insulated, so we put on many layers, hid beneath the comforter, and watched The Life Aquatic.

Wednesday morning was crisp and beautiful, and there was that other Westy, things looked good. We had breakfast

then checked out Old Faithful and the hot springs and geysers that surround it. The land is smelly and resplendent, at once magnificent and hostile. It's hard to believe, even standing just above them, that pools that look like this

are churning with boiling water. Then there are the Bacterial Mats

so you can see all kinds of life in Yellowstone, from these microscopic wonderlands all the way up to herds of Bison.

We left Yellowstone and drove through Teton National Park, where the leaves of the Birch trees were just beginning to turn

and looked incredible contrasted with the green of the conifers that grew along side them.
We made it over Teton Pass, and into Driggs to stay with Larson's Aunt Janet and Uncle Steve.

Driggs was great fun, we pretended we had a dog for the day

and took a walk and saw cows

who were as populous and indifferent to cars as the Bison in Yellowstone. We ate lots of good food and got to spend time with Janet and Steve, and were happy that Idaho was the last stop on our trip.

We left Driggs around 7 in the morning on Friday, and were safe in Santa Cruz at 4 am on Saturday. It's so good to be home, and in some ways it doesn't feel like we've spent the last three weeks driving 7,000 or so miles.

But we did, and it was amazing! Taking this trip made me feel incredibly lucky- it was our honeymoon, but we couldn't have done it without help from so many people. Thank you to everyone who took time to read this blog, or leave comments, or give suggestions. Thank you to our families and friends for letting us stay over, for feeding us, for driving so we (okay, Larson) didn't have have to. Thank you Jesse and Erin for getting married and letting us come. Thanks to Greg in Natick, MA for keeping Bunter happy. Thanks to the BBC for Mystery! And to all the people who we didn't get to see in North Carolina, New York City, and Portland, we miss you! And we will probably come stay with you at some point, so keep a couch open.

Road trips are awesome, and I can't believe we got to see everything from Las Vegas to Yellowstone, eat so much good food, and enjoy endless photo opportunities

Maybe some day we'll do it all again, but for now I'm excited to be home.