Monday, July 27, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009 – The sad goodbyes
We stayed with Rob and Marti R. last night in their beautiful home....such a great time! They were wonderful to be with! It’s the day for departures. Martha flies out at 11:30 to visit relatives in eastern Canada. LeAnne flies home at 6:45 pm and Char drives to Dorothy to spend time with relatives. It’s been fun having all you fans along for the ride. Hope you enjoyed our trip as much as we have! We’ll see you all next time! Ciao!
Saturday, July 25, 2009 – Washington, DC
On the road again for our final city of this collective road trip! We are so happy to be on the final driving leg - except for poor Char who will have to drive by herself tomorrow all the way to Dorothy, NJ. Arriving in DC at around 2 pm, we quickly decided that if we hoped to be able to see any of the fabulous capitol city sights, our best option would be to get a hop on and hop off tour pass. Due to a minor mishap, Martha’s feet were not working quite as designed. More specifically, her big toe had met with disaster and she was hobbling around fairly slowly. So we bought tour passes. We managed to find a dirt cheap parking garage at only $10 a day. This was enough to almost make our morning after shelling out approximately $25 of LeAnne’s cold hard cash (seeing as the other girls somehow managed to not have any) all to cross a couple of silly New York bridges and other toll road/money grubbing devices. Did we happen to ever mention that we don’t like toll roads, Mr. Obama? You are reading this, are you not?
On to the beautiful US capitol! Our tour’s starting point was Union Station, conveniently for us and Martha’s big toe, located almost directly across from our parking garage. First on our list of places to jump off at, was the Washington Monument. It’s tall. And we took pictures. Next up was the Holocaust Museum. With our traditionally great timing, the museum was scheduled to close in 20 minutes so we quickly dashed in to have a fast look. We didn’t get to see any exhibits but it was still pretty cool and something we would like to see more of if we get a chance someday. The Jefferson Memorial was up after that. It is beautiful and we saw several wedding parties having photos done in front of the building. We had the great idea of taking some more pictures. So we did. The Lincoln Memorial was pretty cool and easily the most crowded stop. We took a quick snapshot and managed to rush back to catch the next bus. We saw the White House, the US Capitol building, Ford’s Theatre and some other random buildings from the roof of our bus. Unfortunately we didn’t have as much time as we would have liked on our tour but it is a 24 hour pass so LeAnne and Char are hoping to check out a few more places tomorrow after meeting.
On to the beautiful US capitol! Our tour’s starting point was Union Station, conveniently for us and Martha’s big toe, located almost directly across from our parking garage. First on our list of places to jump off at, was the Washington Monument. It’s tall. And we took pictures. Next up was the Holocaust Museum. With our traditionally great timing, the museum was scheduled to close in 20 minutes so we quickly dashed in to have a fast look. We didn’t get to see any exhibits but it was still pretty cool and something we would like to see more of if we get a chance someday. The Jefferson Memorial was up after that. It is beautiful and we saw several wedding parties having photos done in front of the building. We had the great idea of taking some more pictures. So we did. The Lincoln Memorial was pretty cool and easily the most crowded stop. We took a quick snapshot and managed to rush back to catch the next bus. We saw the White House, the US Capitol building, Ford’s Theatre and some other random buildings from the roof of our bus. Unfortunately we didn’t have as much time as we would have liked on our tour but it is a 24 hour pass so LeAnne and Char are hoping to check out a few more places tomorrow after meeting.
Thursday and Friday, July 23-24, 2009 – New York City
New York, New York! To feel like real New Yorkers, we bought subway passes to get around. Not to sound like complete idiots, but the metro system is a little confusing at first, we think we sort of have it figured out now but we definitely rode the wrong direction several times and were helped out by friendly locals. Whoever says New York people are rude is wrong. First stop: Times Square and the half price ticket booth. We bought tickets to see two Broadway musicals – The Little Mermaid and Mary Poppins. The Little Mermaid was by far the better show, it was so cool to see how they did all the sets with the underwater scenes. We definitely recommend it! If you plan to use the half price ticket booth, be prepared to spend an hour or more in line. A great deal of Times Square was seen while spent standing in a queue. Rockefeller Center was somewhat of a disappointment as apparently they don’t keep the Christmas trees and ice rink going in July. Perhaps we’ll have to come back in December. We saw Battery Park and glimpsed the Statue of Liberty across the water. It would have been cool to take the ferry over to Ellis Island but we are rather broke at this point. The World Trade Center Ground Zero area was a giant building site with cranes everywhere so there wasn’t much to see. We missed getting into the visitor centre by 10 minutes. On our way down to Battery Park, we walked through the financial district but somehow failed to see Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange stuff. Oh well. The Empire State Building was sighted on our way back to Times Square from somewhere. Our most visited spots were Starbucks, Times Square and Anthropologie. At least one place is native to New York.
Unfortunately on the first day in the city, it poured rain. We bought cheapo umbrellas and Martha’s leaked. She wasn’t as thrilled as we thought she should be. The second day was full of glorious sunshine but we still haven’t gotten that tan we are in search of.
After one night at the hostel, a decision was made to see if any other alternative lodgings could be found. A hotel in Queens was located and at a decent price so we returned to the hostel to pack up. This is when we discovered that our hostel was not as secure as we would have liked. Char had left a bag of clothing beside the door with a pair of sandals next to it and now it was suddenly missing. We checked with the front desk person to see if it could have been picked up as trash although it was very unlikely. She made a quick check but didn’t turn up anything so we concluded that Char’s clothes were gone forever. There was sadness in our hearts as we have never had any problems at any other hostels. The cure for our depression was to go back to the stores and rebuy Char’s clothes. Problem solved!
All things taken into account, we very much like New York City.
Unfortunately on the first day in the city, it poured rain. We bought cheapo umbrellas and Martha’s leaked. She wasn’t as thrilled as we thought she should be. The second day was full of glorious sunshine but we still haven’t gotten that tan we are in search of.
After one night at the hostel, a decision was made to see if any other alternative lodgings could be found. A hotel in Queens was located and at a decent price so we returned to the hostel to pack up. This is when we discovered that our hostel was not as secure as we would have liked. Char had left a bag of clothing beside the door with a pair of sandals next to it and now it was suddenly missing. We checked with the front desk person to see if it could have been picked up as trash although it was very unlikely. She made a quick check but didn’t turn up anything so we concluded that Char’s clothes were gone forever. There was sadness in our hearts as we have never had any problems at any other hostels. The cure for our depression was to go back to the stores and rebuy Char’s clothes. Problem solved!
All things taken into account, we very much like New York City.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009 – Chicago – New York City
It was decided that we would sleep in for once and we took our sweet time leaving Char’s aunt’s house. She made us a delicious breakfast and we were entertained by Paul, Char’s little cousin, while we waited for the food to be ready. Thank you so much for your generous hospitality and internet access.
The drive to New York was estimated at around 12 hours. In Girls In America time, that’s probably closer to 15 hours! We were travelling on the I80 and in the eastern part of the US this is mainly a toll road. We hate toll roads. You have to take a ticket when you get on the road and then you can’t get off unless you pay money!!!!!!! We felt trapped and stuck and claustrophobic. To further enhance the stuck feeling, there are little service areas at the side of the road. They are basically glorified rest stops and we do kind of like them except for the fact that they are your only choice unless you want to pay. At one of these stops, we struck upon the glorious news that we would be passing practically right through Amish country! This was exciting and we set off in search of horses and buggies! Our trusty GPS found a little Amish town called Shipshewana somewhere in Indiana and it was full of Amishness and tourists. We felt a little sorry for the Amish people because it seemed like they were part of some weird zoo or something. There were tons and tons of tourists taking pictures and buying homemade stuff. The only pictures we took were of the horses and buggies so we wouldn’t invade their privacy.
Did you know that driving to New York City from Chicago you can go through seven different states? Yeah that’s seven [SEVEN, 7, seven] - Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. Admittedly Michigan was a two minute detour, but if you were that close wouldn’t you want to take a picture of the state sign on self timer from the hood of your car? Yes we thought so too.
New York City beckoned us from the horizon but the toll booth was the first thing to call out to us. Paying $9 to cross a stupid bridge is ridiculous, New York mayor, whoever you are! Too bad I can’t swim carrying a suitcase. We found our hostel without too many delays and went to bed around 2 am.
The drive to New York was estimated at around 12 hours. In Girls In America time, that’s probably closer to 15 hours! We were travelling on the I80 and in the eastern part of the US this is mainly a toll road. We hate toll roads. You have to take a ticket when you get on the road and then you can’t get off unless you pay money!!!!!!! We felt trapped and stuck and claustrophobic. To further enhance the stuck feeling, there are little service areas at the side of the road. They are basically glorified rest stops and we do kind of like them except for the fact that they are your only choice unless you want to pay. At one of these stops, we struck upon the glorious news that we would be passing practically right through Amish country! This was exciting and we set off in search of horses and buggies! Our trusty GPS found a little Amish town called Shipshewana somewhere in Indiana and it was full of Amishness and tourists. We felt a little sorry for the Amish people because it seemed like they were part of some weird zoo or something. There were tons and tons of tourists taking pictures and buying homemade stuff. The only pictures we took were of the horses and buggies so we wouldn’t invade their privacy.
Did you know that driving to New York City from Chicago you can go through seven different states? Yeah that’s seven [SEVEN, 7, seven] - Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. Admittedly Michigan was a two minute detour, but if you were that close wouldn’t you want to take a picture of the state sign on self timer from the hood of your car? Yes we thought so too.
New York City beckoned us from the horizon but the toll booth was the first thing to call out to us. Paying $9 to cross a stupid bridge is ridiculous, New York mayor, whoever you are! Too bad I can’t swim carrying a suitcase. We found our hostel without too many delays and went to bed around 2 am.
Tuesday, July 21: Chicago
Our goal was to leave the Short’s by 7 am but of course it wasn’t until after 8 that we managed to drag ourselves away. First we had to coerce a photo out of the family much to their dismay. Thanks for letting us stay with you! We had a great time!
Our drive to Chicago was about 5.5. hours, which Martha is now considering to be quite a short drive. In England, driving for 2 hours is considered a major road trip, you have to stay at the place for a week to make it worth the drive. We made it into the Windy City without too many mishaps and viewed the Mississippi River on the way. Unfortunatley we missed both the Iowa and Illinois states signs but we really were there! Upon arriving into the city we parked at what was probably the most expensive parking garage and walked over to the Willis (used to be Sears) Tower. After that we drove over to Millenium Park and paid for parking again. The park was fabulous! They had a symphony rehearsal of some sort that included violins and guitars going on so we watched that for a while. Also checked out the huge, silver “Bean” that shows off the skyline nicely and took multiple photos of screwed up reflections. The fountains were on as well, these are two large rectangle’s that face each other with the entire surface being a screen. Each screen has a face on it which blinks and smiles in slow motion and then purses it’s lips and water comes shooting out at all the kids. Very fun. The last touristy thing we had time to see before dinner was the Navy Pier where we took a ferris wheel ride, even Martha was game for this! It was a cloudy, misty day so couldn’t see very far but it was nice to look out on the water and boats. We had heard that Gino’s East Pizza was the place to get real pizza so we wandered in. This place will let you write on the walls and these walls were COVERED with people’s names, memories, dates, etc. The waitress informed us that deep dish pizza would take about an hour and since we had to be at the Addison meeting in an hour we settled on Thin crust. Char and LeAnne decided to order salads and steal pieces of Martha’s pizza when she wasn’t looking and it was delicious. While waiting for the pizza, Char entertained Martha and LeAnne by sticking straws on her teeth, vampire-like, and talking in a weird voice. She also offered to check for lice with her new straw teeth. They left soon after to use the bathroom, at least that’s what they said, and didn’t come back until the pizza was delivered to the table. We rushed off to the meeting only getting there 15 minutes late. Afterwards, the local YP announced they would like to hang out with us at Culver’s so Megan G. decided she would hop in with us so we wouldn’t get lost on the way. Culver’s is about 2 minutes away from the meeting room. We did a giant loop through some industrial complexes, went past some road construction and found ourselves at a dead end. At this point, Megan admitted she has no sense of direction and then proceeded to tell us multiple stories of her getting other visitors lost and late for wherever they were supposed to be. NOW you tell us. After a quick phone call we were back on our way and what should have taken only 2 minutes, took us about 15 which in Megan time, is actually pretty good. J According to Megan, no Chicago experience is complete without Megan getting you lost at least once. So if you ever visit this city….look her up! We had a good time at Culver’s the YP and then followed our trusty GPS to Char’s relatives, Stephen and Rene R. We stayed up and chatted with them for a bit before heading off to the computer’s to catch up on email. Martha has decided that this is the next city she would like to live in…watch out Chicago!!!
Our drive to Chicago was about 5.5. hours, which Martha is now considering to be quite a short drive. In England, driving for 2 hours is considered a major road trip, you have to stay at the place for a week to make it worth the drive. We made it into the Windy City without too many mishaps and viewed the Mississippi River on the way. Unfortunatley we missed both the Iowa and Illinois states signs but we really were there! Upon arriving into the city we parked at what was probably the most expensive parking garage and walked over to the Willis (used to be Sears) Tower. After that we drove over to Millenium Park and paid for parking again. The park was fabulous! They had a symphony rehearsal of some sort that included violins and guitars going on so we watched that for a while. Also checked out the huge, silver “Bean” that shows off the skyline nicely and took multiple photos of screwed up reflections. The fountains were on as well, these are two large rectangle’s that face each other with the entire surface being a screen. Each screen has a face on it which blinks and smiles in slow motion and then purses it’s lips and water comes shooting out at all the kids. Very fun. The last touristy thing we had time to see before dinner was the Navy Pier where we took a ferris wheel ride, even Martha was game for this! It was a cloudy, misty day so couldn’t see very far but it was nice to look out on the water and boats. We had heard that Gino’s East Pizza was the place to get real pizza so we wandered in. This place will let you write on the walls and these walls were COVERED with people’s names, memories, dates, etc. The waitress informed us that deep dish pizza would take about an hour and since we had to be at the Addison meeting in an hour we settled on Thin crust. Char and LeAnne decided to order salads and steal pieces of Martha’s pizza when she wasn’t looking and it was delicious. While waiting for the pizza, Char entertained Martha and LeAnne by sticking straws on her teeth, vampire-like, and talking in a weird voice. She also offered to check for lice with her new straw teeth. They left soon after to use the bathroom, at least that’s what they said, and didn’t come back until the pizza was delivered to the table. We rushed off to the meeting only getting there 15 minutes late. Afterwards, the local YP announced they would like to hang out with us at Culver’s so Megan G. decided she would hop in with us so we wouldn’t get lost on the way. Culver’s is about 2 minutes away from the meeting room. We did a giant loop through some industrial complexes, went past some road construction and found ourselves at a dead end. At this point, Megan admitted she has no sense of direction and then proceeded to tell us multiple stories of her getting other visitors lost and late for wherever they were supposed to be. NOW you tell us. After a quick phone call we were back on our way and what should have taken only 2 minutes, took us about 15 which in Megan time, is actually pretty good. J According to Megan, no Chicago experience is complete without Megan getting you lost at least once. So if you ever visit this city….look her up! We had a good time at Culver’s the YP and then followed our trusty GPS to Char’s relatives, Stephen and Rene R. We stayed up and chatted with them for a bit before heading off to the computer’s to catch up on email. Martha has decided that this is the next city she would like to live in…watch out Chicago!!!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Monday, July 20 2009: Colorado – Iowa
Today we drove and drove and drove and drove some more. A minor victory dance was performed in the front seat as we saw a hill mid afternoon, and only two minutes into Nebraska we saw our first corn-stack. No cliches at all.....
One stop we did make, was in Burlington where Char stopped to say 'Hi' to her ex co-workers. She also showed us her haunted house. We were disappointed not to see any ghosts ourselves as we passed.
As always, we stopped at the state signs as we passed whenever possible. At the Kansas border we happened to arrive at the same time as a large family group of about 10 people. They very kindly took our picture and we took theirs. This saved us the usual balancing act that the camera has to do on the car roof as we run to get into the frame before the timer is up.
We arrived in Des Moines late and spent the night with Bob and Debbie Short. Thank you so much for your hospitality.
As always, we stopped at the state signs as we passed whenever possible. At the Kansas border we happened to arrive at the same time as a large family group of about 10 people. They very kindly took our picture and we took theirs. This saved us the usual balancing act that the camera has to do on the car roof as we run to get into the frame before the timer is up.
We arrived in Des Moines late and spent the night with Bob and Debbie Short. Thank you so much for your hospitality.
Sunday, July 19: Denver, CO
Had the most fabulous shut-eye time we’ve had so far on the comfort of the Huff’s wonderful mattresses. Spent the morning with the folks there in Englewood, CO then headed back to the Huff’s for a special treat that the Huff’s knew Char was in love with. They have a special sauce they make for red meat that is to die for. We travelers were stuffing ourselves silly and Char tried to sneak the rest of the sauce into her water bottle but got caught. Anyhow, it was DELICIOUS.
The rest of the day was spent shopping and hanging out with Cam T. until the meeting that night. After meeting we headed out with all the local YP for a place called “Casa Bonita.” Apparently this is a must-see restaurant in Denver and we were promised live diving shows with spectacular food. Promises are not always kept…
Afterwards we went to a coffee shop called ‘Stellas’ for some witty and sparkling conversation. Char amused herself by reading the dictionary and then attempted to teach Martha to speak ‘American’. Her report card states that although she is still having trouble with a few words, she is making progress and her teachers are very proud.
The rest of the day was spent shopping and hanging out with Cam T. until the meeting that night. After meeting we headed out with all the local YP for a place called “Casa Bonita.” Apparently this is a must-see restaurant in Denver and we were promised live diving shows with spectacular food. Promises are not always kept…
Afterwards we went to a coffee shop called ‘Stellas’ for some witty and sparkling conversation. Char amused herself by reading the dictionary and then attempted to teach Martha to speak ‘American’. Her report card states that although she is still having trouble with a few words, she is making progress and her teachers are very proud.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009 Grand Canyon 2
Guess what we did today!!!!!!!!!!!!
After very little sleep in our crowded Target tent we woke to the sound of the phone alarm. Martha, who slept in the middle, woke up traumatized by the multiple arms and legs of LeAnne and Char that had kicked and pushed her around during the restless, cold, night. The tent and sleeping mats were crankily packed up and we drove off to the airport.
Today was the day we would finally see the Grand Canyon! And we wouldn’t see it just from the side of the road either! We had booked a helicopter tour!!!!!!!!
After checking in and watching a riveting, emotionally charged how-to video on the proper procedure for buckling a seat belt, we were called outside to our waiting helicopter. Let it be said that we had a very handsome pilot with a dashing Australian accent. They didn’t trust LeAnne to be without supervision so she was asked to sit up front next to the pilot where he could keep an eye on her. Char sat in a seat facing backwards with Martha right across from her. The pilot put on “Chariots of Fire” as we took off. We all have some words to say about the canyon.
LeAnne: Words cannot describe the amazing, jaw-dropping, awe-inducing grandeur and splendor.
Martha: I particularly enjoyed the Star Wars theme tune being played through our headsets as we flew over the canyon. Oh, and the Canyon was amazing too...
Char: LeAnne took all the good words so just read her’s again. However, I was amazed at how much the scenery changed within the canyon, on one side it was dry with layers of red rock and another side with shrubs and other greenery. Around the next corner could be even dryer and all gray with craggy surfaces. It was beautiful.
Upon getting back into the trusty 4Runner, we drove into the park itself. We were all excited that we just happened to be there on the free weekend and would not have to pay the $25 entrance fee. Since every dollar is becoming precious, we wanted to be sure no one would pull the wool over our eyes. Here is the conversation between Char and the entrance guy.
Guy: Hello! Where are you folks from?
Char: Washington, Canada (I know, you can’t tell LeAnne actually is from there!) and England. We heard the park was free today!
Guy: Really?! Where did you hear that?
Char: At the Grand Canyon visitor center!
Guy: (frowning) Oh…they lie all the time.
Char: What??!!!
Guy: (Laughing) just kidding, have a great time!
We drove up to the edge of the canyon where Char almost caused LeAnne to have a heart attack as she pretended to jump in.
After taking some more pics we got back on the road and realized we would be going right through Four Corners. We were all very happy about this as we had previously thought it would have to be cut out of our trip. While on the road to this landmark, we decided to follow the advice given to us by our dear friend Francis, whom we look up to tremendously. Char was driving and once LeAnne fell asleep, slammed on the brakes and screamed a blood-curling shriek while Martha snapped the camera. Unfortunately, LeAnne only popped her head up with very wide eyes slightly resembling a deer caught in headlights. She did not make a sound, much to the dismay of Char and Martha but it was still very funny. Once at Four Corners we stood in line along with all the other tourists to have our picture taken.
Then it was back into the car for us, no rest for the weary. Life is so hard – camping, time off work, helicopter rides…you get the picture. Miles have been driven along small little highways, usually trapped behind little old ladies doing 15 under the speed limit and with nowhere to pass. Out of the corner of our eye, we suddenly spotted a little Italian restaurant and thought it would be a fabulous plan to stop there for dinner. We had a most charming bus boy.
Char: How big are the portion sizes?
Bus boy: Oh they’re pretty big. *motions with hands*
Char: Is it ok if we split two?
Bus boy: *shrugs* Well I don’t know. I’m not your waiter
A few minutes later…
Char: Could you please light our candle?
Bus boy: Light it yourself. You should have come prepared.
Then we asked if we looked like smokers, he grudgingly admitted that we didn’t smell like smoke and whipped out his barbeque lighter from his pocket to light our candle.
As we were paying for our meal, which by the way was delicious, our waitress commented that our bus boy felt kind of bad for giving us such a hard time. We decided that we had a little message for him about the proper way to flirt and asked the waitress to tell him we wanted to talk to him. She managed to literally drag him over and he made a short apology while we laughed in amusement and thanked him for livening up our boring drive. And now we are back in the car for the hour and a half drive into Denver. Almost there!
After very little sleep in our crowded Target tent we woke to the sound of the phone alarm. Martha, who slept in the middle, woke up traumatized by the multiple arms and legs of LeAnne and Char that had kicked and pushed her around during the restless, cold, night. The tent and sleeping mats were crankily packed up and we drove off to the airport.
Today was the day we would finally see the Grand Canyon! And we wouldn’t see it just from the side of the road either! We had booked a helicopter tour!!!!!!!!
After checking in and watching a riveting, emotionally charged how-to video on the proper procedure for buckling a seat belt, we were called outside to our waiting helicopter. Let it be said that we had a very handsome pilot with a dashing Australian accent. They didn’t trust LeAnne to be without supervision so she was asked to sit up front next to the pilot where he could keep an eye on her. Char sat in a seat facing backwards with Martha right across from her. The pilot put on “Chariots of Fire” as we took off. We all have some words to say about the canyon.
LeAnne: Words cannot describe the amazing, jaw-dropping, awe-inducing grandeur and splendor.
Martha: I particularly enjoyed the Star Wars theme tune being played through our headsets as we flew over the canyon. Oh, and the Canyon was amazing too...
Char: LeAnne took all the good words so just read her’s again. However, I was amazed at how much the scenery changed within the canyon, on one side it was dry with layers of red rock and another side with shrubs and other greenery. Around the next corner could be even dryer and all gray with craggy surfaces. It was beautiful.
Upon getting back into the trusty 4Runner, we drove into the park itself. We were all excited that we just happened to be there on the free weekend and would not have to pay the $25 entrance fee. Since every dollar is becoming precious, we wanted to be sure no one would pull the wool over our eyes. Here is the conversation between Char and the entrance guy.
Guy: Hello! Where are you folks from?
Char: Washington, Canada (I know, you can’t tell LeAnne actually is from there!) and England. We heard the park was free today!
Guy: Really?! Where did you hear that?
Char: At the Grand Canyon visitor center!
Guy: (frowning) Oh…they lie all the time.
Char: What??!!!
Guy: (Laughing) just kidding, have a great time!
We drove up to the edge of the canyon where Char almost caused LeAnne to have a heart attack as she pretended to jump in.
After taking some more pics we got back on the road and realized we would be going right through Four Corners. We were all very happy about this as we had previously thought it would have to be cut out of our trip. While on the road to this landmark, we decided to follow the advice given to us by our dear friend Francis, whom we look up to tremendously. Char was driving and once LeAnne fell asleep, slammed on the brakes and screamed a blood-curling shriek while Martha snapped the camera. Unfortunately, LeAnne only popped her head up with very wide eyes slightly resembling a deer caught in headlights. She did not make a sound, much to the dismay of Char and Martha but it was still very funny. Once at Four Corners we stood in line along with all the other tourists to have our picture taken.
Then it was back into the car for us, no rest for the weary. Life is so hard – camping, time off work, helicopter rides…you get the picture. Miles have been driven along small little highways, usually trapped behind little old ladies doing 15 under the speed limit and with nowhere to pass. Out of the corner of our eye, we suddenly spotted a little Italian restaurant and thought it would be a fabulous plan to stop there for dinner. We had a most charming bus boy.
Char: How big are the portion sizes?
Bus boy: Oh they’re pretty big. *motions with hands*
Char: Is it ok if we split two?
Bus boy: *shrugs* Well I don’t know. I’m not your waiter
A few minutes later…
Char: Could you please light our candle?
Bus boy: Light it yourself. You should have come prepared.
Then we asked if we looked like smokers, he grudgingly admitted that we didn’t smell like smoke and whipped out his barbeque lighter from his pocket to light our candle.
As we were paying for our meal, which by the way was delicious, our waitress commented that our bus boy felt kind of bad for giving us such a hard time. We decided that we had a little message for him about the proper way to flirt and asked the waitress to tell him we wanted to talk to him. She managed to literally drag him over and he made a short apology while we laughed in amusement and thanked him for livening up our boring drive. And now we are back in the car for the hour and a half drive into Denver. Almost there!
Friday, July 17, 2009: Grand Canyon
We left Las Vegas without riding any of the rides in our hotel. There was great joy and rejoicing of heart on Martha’s behalf at this and great dismay and heartbreak on Char and Leanne’s part. After a quick breakfast stop at the local Starbucks, it was back in the car for us. Yay! More driving! We paused briefly for a photo op at the Hoover Dam and the Welcome to Arizona sign and then driving again.
We had heard many great and wonderful things about the Grand Canyon Skybridge on the west end of the canyon so after finding out that it was a manageable $29 to walk on, we drove off in that direction. We drove for miles and miles on dirt roads at barely crawling speed. Yes you read that right. Dirt roads. In the 21st century. On the way to a major attraction. Arizona people, get with the times, please, for the good of us all.
Upon arriving at our destination, we walked inside the ticket place and discovered that they wanted $75 to walk on a bridge - even though their website says $29. We had previously called ahead to be sure that we wouldn’t have to pay anything other than the $29 and they had assured us we would not. When we kindly asked the lady to please break down the price for us, she looked at us like idiots and said:
Lady: $29.99 + $10 fuel charge + $5 tax + $29.99 bridge walk
Us: What’s the first $29.99 for?
Lady: Look, it’s broken up right here!
Us: Yeah, but what is the first $29.99 for?
Lady: I told you! Fuel charge and tax!
Us: Yes, but those are separate. What’s the first $29.99 for?
Lady: (sighs) IT’S RIGHT HERE!
Us: That’s ridiculous. We’ll think about it.
So we used their bathrooms and turned around and left without even seeing the Grand Canyon. We planned to camp near the east end of the canyon since that is the larger and more popular side, so we took off in that direction.
Arriving into the town just before the national park, we discovered that we had the best luck in the whole entire world! Once a year they have free national park entrance passes for a full weekend. It just so happened that this was the free weekend! We also learned that since it’s a national park, you don’t have to pay to camp anywhere! This was happy so we stopped by McDonalds for some garbage food. Mickey D’s was pretty much the only place open after 9 pm and it was packed with tourists. I believe we were the only English speaking people in the building, except for the cashier and even then she was suspect. The poor janitor was waiting around for us to finish brushing our teeth so he could clean but finally gave up and just cleaned around us. We weren’t planning to leave until we were good and ready.
We found a nice spot off the side of the road and pitched the tent. After telling some ax murderer stories to sufficiently scare ourselves, we sausaged ourselves into the tent and tried to fall asleep.
Not happening. Char and LeAnne entertained themselves by texting Nate and each other from either side of Martha, while Martha tried to pretend she couldn’t hear the clicking keys. Poor Nate was subjected to many random texts and was grilled mercilessly. Rutabagas and other vegetables were also discussed in some depth. This put us in a rather sleepy mood and we settled in for the night listening for ax murderers, in much squishy-ness and with rocks in our backs. Martha would like to comment that the stars peeking out between the trees were absolutely beautiful.
We had heard many great and wonderful things about the Grand Canyon Skybridge on the west end of the canyon so after finding out that it was a manageable $29 to walk on, we drove off in that direction. We drove for miles and miles on dirt roads at barely crawling speed. Yes you read that right. Dirt roads. In the 21st century. On the way to a major attraction. Arizona people, get with the times, please, for the good of us all.
Upon arriving at our destination, we walked inside the ticket place and discovered that they wanted $75 to walk on a bridge - even though their website says $29. We had previously called ahead to be sure that we wouldn’t have to pay anything other than the $29 and they had assured us we would not. When we kindly asked the lady to please break down the price for us, she looked at us like idiots and said:
Lady: $29.99 + $10 fuel charge + $5 tax + $29.99 bridge walk
Us: What’s the first $29.99 for?
Lady: Look, it’s broken up right here!
Us: Yeah, but what is the first $29.99 for?
Lady: I told you! Fuel charge and tax!
Us: Yes, but those are separate. What’s the first $29.99 for?
Lady: (sighs) IT’S RIGHT HERE!
Us: That’s ridiculous. We’ll think about it.
So we used their bathrooms and turned around and left without even seeing the Grand Canyon. We planned to camp near the east end of the canyon since that is the larger and more popular side, so we took off in that direction.
Arriving into the town just before the national park, we discovered that we had the best luck in the whole entire world! Once a year they have free national park entrance passes for a full weekend. It just so happened that this was the free weekend! We also learned that since it’s a national park, you don’t have to pay to camp anywhere! This was happy so we stopped by McDonalds for some garbage food. Mickey D’s was pretty much the only place open after 9 pm and it was packed with tourists. I believe we were the only English speaking people in the building, except for the cashier and even then she was suspect. The poor janitor was waiting around for us to finish brushing our teeth so he could clean but finally gave up and just cleaned around us. We weren’t planning to leave until we were good and ready.
We found a nice spot off the side of the road and pitched the tent. After telling some ax murderer stories to sufficiently scare ourselves, we sausaged ourselves into the tent and tried to fall asleep.
Not happening. Char and LeAnne entertained themselves by texting Nate and each other from either side of Martha, while Martha tried to pretend she couldn’t hear the clicking keys. Poor Nate was subjected to many random texts and was grilled mercilessly. Rutabagas and other vegetables were also discussed in some depth. This put us in a rather sleepy mood and we settled in for the night listening for ax murderers, in much squishy-ness and with rocks in our backs. Martha would like to comment that the stars peeking out between the trees were absolutely beautiful.
Thursday, July 16, 2009: Las Vegas
VEGAS BABY!!!
Martha would like everyone to note that now not only does she have to put up with the infamous Texas camping chair in the backseat of the car but now she has rose stems poking into her ribs.After our late brunch we set off to catch the Deuce bus. The Deuce is a double decker bus that runs up and down the strip and stops at all the hotels and casinos. Best of all it is AIR-CONDITIONED, which is something we are quickly growing to appreciate. The plan was to see if we could find tickets to a Cirque de Soleil show for that night. We headed for the Mirage and found a couple tickets left. We grabbed the last 3 seats together in the building! At least that’s what they told us…they may or may not have said the exact same thing to the person in line behind us!
Next up: shopping!!! Unfortunately very, very quickly we realized that if we hoped to have any gas money left at the end of the trip, the most we could do here was look. Some of the hotels were amazing! Caesar’s Palace was all done up with imitation statues and fountains from Rome and was all very Coliseum-y.
The Venetian had canals with little gondolas like a mini Venice. And there were many more spectacular displays and hotels. Go see for yourself, Las Vegas is cheap.
We stopped for supper at the Cheesecake Factory and ate a lot. While waiting for our bus to go back to our hotel to clean up for our show, we met a professional gambler who was wondering if any of us had won it big. We were a disappointment to him as I’m sure he was hoping he could win our winnings back off of us. After a quick stop at our hotel, we caught the bus back to the Mirage for our show!! We managed to be a little late – story of our lives – and missed the first song. The rest of the show was phenomenal though! We saw Love by Cirque de Soleil featuring the Beatles music. It was crazy awesome! Some of the performers are so acrobatic and the different sets were very imaginative! (Amanda, definitely check it out!) Martha felt right at home in the English-themed show which included red telephone boxes and the Queen. Unfortunately, they did not allow us to take photos.
After the show, it had mildly cooled down outside to around 100 degrees so we walked down the strip and checked out the hotels that we had missed earlier in the day. There are so many things to see here! It took us close to two hours and we only covered half of the strip! The Bellagio has a beautiful fountain and music show every ten minutes and we watched a couple of songs.
After making it almost to the end of the strip, we turned and caught the bus back to our hotel. I think almost everyone had the same idea as us and we were stuck in traffic for close to an hour it seemed. We had a group of people entertaining us on the bus though so we weren’t too bored. The bus driver would freak out on people if they even looked at going down the stairwell when the bus was not at a specified bus stop and this group took turns going down the stairwell. Finally the driver said he would stop the bus and kick them off if they kept it up. Amusing, yes. We made it back to our hotel at an early (for Vegas) hour and went straight to sleep.
Upon checking into our hotel, we immediately dropped off our bags in our room and set off to explore! Char and Martha debated whether or not we should try to lose money in the penny slot machines. LeAnne made the executive decision that we should go buy dinner instead of losing $2 in less then 28 seconds. One thing that no one ever warns you about Las Vegas is that it is super hot. Like death HOT. We walked down the strip and it was stillllllll over 100 degrees at midnight. It was insane so we went to our lovely $24 air conditioned room and went to sleep.
The next morning we slept in until 10 am and it was fabulous. We hung around our hotel room for hours! LeAnne was starving and the other girls refused to allow her to leave and get breakfast. Apparently we were expecting a delivery. Finally we got fed up and left to find a buffet. We had pizza for breakfast. And it was happy. We made a quick stop back up in our room and were shocked to find a fabulous bouquet of flowers sitting on our table! Suddenly it became clear to LeAnne exactly what all the procrastinating was about early that morning and put her in quite a happy mood for the rest of the day.
The next morning we slept in until 10 am and it was fabulous. We hung around our hotel room for hours! LeAnne was starving and the other girls refused to allow her to leave and get breakfast. Apparently we were expecting a delivery. Finally we got fed up and left to find a buffet. We had pizza for breakfast. And it was happy. We made a quick stop back up in our room and were shocked to find a fabulous bouquet of flowers sitting on our table! Suddenly it became clear to LeAnne exactly what all the procrastinating was about early that morning and put her in quite a happy mood for the rest of the day.
Martha would like everyone to note that now not only does she have to put up with the infamous Texas camping chair in the backseat of the car but now she has rose stems poking into her ribs.After our late brunch we set off to catch the Deuce bus. The Deuce is a double decker bus that runs up and down the strip and stops at all the hotels and casinos. Best of all it is AIR-CONDITIONED, which is something we are quickly growing to appreciate. The plan was to see if we could find tickets to a Cirque de Soleil show for that night. We headed for the Mirage and found a couple tickets left. We grabbed the last 3 seats together in the building! At least that’s what they told us…they may or may not have said the exact same thing to the person in line behind us!
Next up: shopping!!! Unfortunately very, very quickly we realized that if we hoped to have any gas money left at the end of the trip, the most we could do here was look. Some of the hotels were amazing! Caesar’s Palace was all done up with imitation statues and fountains from Rome and was all very Coliseum-y.
The Venetian had canals with little gondolas like a mini Venice. And there were many more spectacular displays and hotels. Go see for yourself, Las Vegas is cheap.
We stopped for supper at the Cheesecake Factory and ate a lot. While waiting for our bus to go back to our hotel to clean up for our show, we met a professional gambler who was wondering if any of us had won it big. We were a disappointment to him as I’m sure he was hoping he could win our winnings back off of us. After a quick stop at our hotel, we caught the bus back to the Mirage for our show!! We managed to be a little late – story of our lives – and missed the first song. The rest of the show was phenomenal though! We saw Love by Cirque de Soleil featuring the Beatles music. It was crazy awesome! Some of the performers are so acrobatic and the different sets were very imaginative! (Amanda, definitely check it out!) Martha felt right at home in the English-themed show which included red telephone boxes and the Queen. Unfortunately, they did not allow us to take photos.
After the show, it had mildly cooled down outside to around 100 degrees so we walked down the strip and checked out the hotels that we had missed earlier in the day. There are so many things to see here! It took us close to two hours and we only covered half of the strip! The Bellagio has a beautiful fountain and music show every ten minutes and we watched a couple of songs.
After making it almost to the end of the strip, we turned and caught the bus back to our hotel. I think almost everyone had the same idea as us and we were stuck in traffic for close to an hour it seemed. We had a group of people entertaining us on the bus though so we weren’t too bored. The bus driver would freak out on people if they even looked at going down the stairwell when the bus was not at a specified bus stop and this group took turns going down the stairwell. Finally the driver said he would stop the bus and kick them off if they kept it up. Amusing, yes. We made it back to our hotel at an early (for Vegas) hour and went straight to sleep.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wednesday, July 15 2009: California - Nevada
After saying many tearful goodbyes, we were on the road again. First stop, In-N-Out Burger for the quintessential California lunch. Mmmmm!
Next, on to Hollywood Boulevard, L.A. We wanted to see Michael Jackson's star, but as we did not feel like walking miles, we drove up and down the street and looked for famous people. We did however see this fabulous limo. We plan to hire it for our next road trip.
We glimpsed the famous Hollywood sign in high in the hills as we left the city and drove out to Tehachepi for a quick visit with Al and Desiree Whatmough. We had a pleasant time with them and enjoyed the brief respite from the sauna-like temperatures of the desert.
Between here and the Nevada state line there is nothing but dust and shrubs. And heat. At 10pm it was still over 100 degrees outside. We love air-conditioning!
We are fairly certain that our 'friend' Francis has placed hidden cameras and sound bugs in our car. Why? Because every single timereceivetion his name we recieve a text, on the exact subject under discussion. Hmmm........
As we travelled along we began to see a glow in the sky. Vegas was calling us.
Our hotel is at the farthest end of the strip. It looks like a giant Space Needle. But not quite. It has awesome rides at the top which may have to be experienced, by some of us.
Next, on to Hollywood Boulevard, L.A. We wanted to see Michael Jackson's star, but as we did not feel like walking miles, we drove up and down the street and looked for famous people. We did however see this fabulous limo. We plan to hire it for our next road trip.
We glimpsed the famous Hollywood sign in high in the hills as we left the city and drove out to Tehachepi for a quick visit with Al and Desiree Whatmough. We had a pleasant time with them and enjoyed the brief respite from the sauna-like temperatures of the desert.
Between here and the Nevada state line there is nothing but dust and shrubs. And heat. At 10pm it was still over 100 degrees outside. We love air-conditioning!
We are fairly certain that our 'friend' Francis has placed hidden cameras and sound bugs in our car. Why? Because every single timereceivetion his name we recieve a text, on the exact subject under discussion. Hmmm........
As we travelled along we began to see a glow in the sky. Vegas was calling us.
Our hotel is at the farthest end of the strip. It looks like a giant Space Needle. But not quite. It has awesome rides at the top which may have to be experienced, by some of us.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009: San Diego
After sleeping soundly like pigs in blankets on our lovely 1/1000 of an inch thick REI camping mattresses, we woke up early in order to leave by 6 am. We fought with our sleeping bags and camping mats…and camping chair…nothing folds up as small as it is supposed to and it’s even harder to manage at 6 am.
The plan was to make it to Nat and Maddy’s new store for their first day. So we met up with Amanda and Aubrey and all walked in together to surprise Nat and Maddy, who didn’t know the other girls were coming. The store is called Maisonette and it is the cutest store you have ever seen! Seriously everyone should check it out!
Since it is strictly forbidden to come to the San Diego area without stopping by The Fish House, we went there to celebrate the first day of the store! The Fish House has the most amazing sushi you will ever eat. Even if you’re not a sushi fan, this place will convert you. Guaranteed.
We met up with some meeting people at the beach after supper and hung around to watch the sunset. Oceanside is such a cute place and we love the beach there. On the way back to the Warr’s, we made a quick stop for frozen yogurt and felt our lives were now complete.
Then we started driving to LA to meet up with Amanda and Aubrey. We drove like zombies for hours without talking. Char thought her tires looked low so we stopped to fill them. We have a surefire, never fail method of pumping up tires – park your car next to the air pump and look helpless. Works every single time! Some helpful gentleman soon came over to check them for us and told us to head directly to a car place because they were dangerously low and the air pump at the gas station wouldn’t work properly. Thanks to our helpful GPS, without which we would be lost, we found Toyota dealer who made us wait around for awhile and then told us they were fine. So we got back on the highway.
The plan was to make it to Nat and Maddy’s new store for their first day. So we met up with Amanda and Aubrey and all walked in together to surprise Nat and Maddy, who didn’t know the other girls were coming. The store is called Maisonette and it is the cutest store you have ever seen! Seriously everyone should check it out!
Since it is strictly forbidden to come to the San Diego area without stopping by The Fish House, we went there to celebrate the first day of the store! The Fish House has the most amazing sushi you will ever eat. Even if you’re not a sushi fan, this place will convert you. Guaranteed.
We met up with some meeting people at the beach after supper and hung around to watch the sunset. Oceanside is such a cute place and we love the beach there. On the way back to the Warr’s, we made a quick stop for frozen yogurt and felt our lives were now complete.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009: San Francisco
We woke up way to early and left our beautiful scummy motel at 7 am. The plan was to meet Francis for coffee so we drove to Davis and followed his very specific directions to find him. See for yourself. This is a direct quote from text messages:
“Go through to lights. Make a left at the stop onto a small street follow it all the way to the end.”
C’mon…’to lights’? Is that two lights or go to the first light? And a small street? What the?! We found Francis without too many troubles thanks to our spectacular translating, but a couple of phones calls were necessary. We managed to squish him into our overcrowded truck; somehow he got the front seat…and drove to an amazing crepe and coffee place. The crepes more than made up for the lack of directions!
Next up was San Francisco! We drove in over the Bay Bridge and through the city and over the Golden Gate Bridge. We stopped and took some pictures at the crowdedest vista point ever and then drove back into the city.
Amazingly we found a parking spot close to Lombard Street so we stopped and walked up and down the crazy crooked street. It was beautiful with all the flowers out and good fun watching all the tourists trying not to wear out their brakes driving down!
We decided to drive a little closer to the Fisherman’s Wharf because we thought that would be a good spot to eat clam chowder in bread bowls for dinner. We picked what had to be the most expensive parking garage in the city and then set off to find bathrooms. Everyone knows that hotels have nice bathrooms so we headed into the closest hotel. This place was pretty smart and made hotel guests use their room keys to get into the lobby bathrooms. We were smarter and loitered near the door until a guest came and then just followed her right in. Brilliant you think? So do we.
Ghirardelli Square seemed like a good place to check out, seeing as we are all chocolate fans. It was a fantastic idea and we even got free chocolate! You will be proud to know that we all resisted buying any, mostly due to the fact it would melt in our car before we could eat any of it. But just think of the calories we are saving, not only ourselves but also you fans out there which could have been recipients of the chocolate. You can thank us anytime or just send monetary thanks…
After grabbing some frozen yogurt, we wandered down to Pier 39 and listened to some awesome, crazy piano guy playing live jazz. The Aquarium was calling out to us so we bought tickets and went in to check out the fishies. You actually take an elevator down to this tunnel under the bay to see the fish so it’s pretty cool!
We got in touch with Francis and Rachel who were planning to meet us downtown for supper. Many texts were sent to Francis about how we didn’t want Chinese food and thought that clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls would be a good local thing to try out. He asked us to meet them at Union Square so we hopped on a bus to get there and looked around at all the shops that we couldn’t even afford to breathe in – Chanel, Prada, Louis Viuton and others. We also discovered that Union Square is very close to Chinatown and very far away from the Fisherman’s Wharf and clam chowder…How convenient for Francis!
Char was starving hungry so we texted Francis about 20 times to see what was taking them so long. Finally met up with Francis and Rachel and stopped to buy Char a snack so she wouldn’t go crazy while we walked to a chowder or Italian restaurant. We walked around Chinatown and somehow ended up smack in front of the Chinese place that Francis had been telling us about all day long. We were so hungry at that point that it was fairly easy to talk us into eating there. Francis sweet talked the hostess into giving us a window table with a fabulous view of the city!
The meal was delicious; we ordered several fabulous things and shared them around. The conversation was witty and stimulating as we talked about road kill and serial killers on the loose in San Francisco campgrounds… Unfortunately Rachel couldn’t be talked into hoping in the car with us for the remainder of the trip. She may have been scared off by stories of the falling Texas beach chair. Martha has many scars and bruises to show for her battles with said chair. And Francis kindly and generously paid for our meal so we forgave him for making us eat Chinese food. Although we are still dreaming about clam chowder and bread bowls.
To work off all that food, we walked all the way back to Ghirardelli Square where Char and Martha had a small water fight in the fountains in which Char won. On our way to our campsite, we gave Francis and Rachel a ride back to their BART stop, Francis kindly drove so we wouldn’t get lost.
Our campsite turned out to be a small strip of grass next to the RV parking lot. The night security guard barely spoke English even though he was also in charge of night check ins. “Office closed. No receipt. No change. Internet if you are lucky to get a signal. No bathrooms unless you find me to unlock them.” He then proceeded to quote us the RV price not the tent price and wouldn’t give us the cash discount because the office was closed. I bet he pocketed the extra cash… After minimal efforts we set up our $30 Target tent and squished into it and slept like little sausages.
“Go through to lights. Make a left at the stop onto a small street follow it all the way to the end.”
C’mon…’to lights’? Is that two lights or go to the first light? And a small street? What the?! We found Francis without too many troubles thanks to our spectacular translating, but a couple of phones calls were necessary. We managed to squish him into our overcrowded truck; somehow he got the front seat…and drove to an amazing crepe and coffee place. The crepes more than made up for the lack of directions!
Next up was San Francisco! We drove in over the Bay Bridge and through the city and over the Golden Gate Bridge. We stopped and took some pictures at the crowdedest vista point ever and then drove back into the city.
Amazingly we found a parking spot close to Lombard Street so we stopped and walked up and down the crazy crooked street. It was beautiful with all the flowers out and good fun watching all the tourists trying not to wear out their brakes driving down!
We decided to drive a little closer to the Fisherman’s Wharf because we thought that would be a good spot to eat clam chowder in bread bowls for dinner. We picked what had to be the most expensive parking garage in the city and then set off to find bathrooms. Everyone knows that hotels have nice bathrooms so we headed into the closest hotel. This place was pretty smart and made hotel guests use their room keys to get into the lobby bathrooms. We were smarter and loitered near the door until a guest came and then just followed her right in. Brilliant you think? So do we.
Ghirardelli Square seemed like a good place to check out, seeing as we are all chocolate fans. It was a fantastic idea and we even got free chocolate! You will be proud to know that we all resisted buying any, mostly due to the fact it would melt in our car before we could eat any of it. But just think of the calories we are saving, not only ourselves but also you fans out there which could have been recipients of the chocolate. You can thank us anytime or just send monetary thanks…
After grabbing some frozen yogurt, we wandered down to Pier 39 and listened to some awesome, crazy piano guy playing live jazz. The Aquarium was calling out to us so we bought tickets and went in to check out the fishies. You actually take an elevator down to this tunnel under the bay to see the fish so it’s pretty cool!
We got in touch with Francis and Rachel who were planning to meet us downtown for supper. Many texts were sent to Francis about how we didn’t want Chinese food and thought that clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls would be a good local thing to try out. He asked us to meet them at Union Square so we hopped on a bus to get there and looked around at all the shops that we couldn’t even afford to breathe in – Chanel, Prada, Louis Viuton and others. We also discovered that Union Square is very close to Chinatown and very far away from the Fisherman’s Wharf and clam chowder…How convenient for Francis!
Char was starving hungry so we texted Francis about 20 times to see what was taking them so long. Finally met up with Francis and Rachel and stopped to buy Char a snack so she wouldn’t go crazy while we walked to a chowder or Italian restaurant. We walked around Chinatown and somehow ended up smack in front of the Chinese place that Francis had been telling us about all day long. We were so hungry at that point that it was fairly easy to talk us into eating there. Francis sweet talked the hostess into giving us a window table with a fabulous view of the city!
The meal was delicious; we ordered several fabulous things and shared them around. The conversation was witty and stimulating as we talked about road kill and serial killers on the loose in San Francisco campgrounds… Unfortunately Rachel couldn’t be talked into hoping in the car with us for the remainder of the trip. She may have been scared off by stories of the falling Texas beach chair. Martha has many scars and bruises to show for her battles with said chair. And Francis kindly and generously paid for our meal so we forgave him for making us eat Chinese food. Although we are still dreaming about clam chowder and bread bowls.
To work off all that food, we walked all the way back to Ghirardelli Square where Char and Martha had a small water fight in the fountains in which Char won. On our way to our campsite, we gave Francis and Rachel a ride back to their BART stop, Francis kindly drove so we wouldn’t get lost.
Our campsite turned out to be a small strip of grass next to the RV parking lot. The night security guard barely spoke English even though he was also in charge of night check ins. “Office closed. No receipt. No change. Internet if you are lucky to get a signal. No bathrooms unless you find me to unlock them.” He then proceeded to quote us the RV price not the tent price and wouldn’t give us the cash discount because the office was closed. I bet he pocketed the extra cash… After minimal efforts we set up our $30 Target tent and squished into it and slept like little sausages.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Sunday July 12 2009: Seattle - California
We left Seattle right after meeting, planning to get a good start on our 13 hour drive to San Francisco, CA. After grabbing some lunch, for some reason, it was decided that we needed to find a place with internet services and Starbucks was the logical choice. Have you ever tried to use Starbucks internet? It’s very complicated. We figured it out right away of course, being the extremely smart travellers that we are. Well ok it took us a few minutes too, don’t feel bad. After about an hour’s delay at Starbucks we set out again.
A horrible thunderstorm soon slowed progress down to a crawl. Snacks were dug out and passed around. Martha even took a brief turn at the wheel. We would like to point out at this juncture that she did amazingly well and will not be getting off easy on this road trip!
The plan was to make it to our reserved campsite in San Francisco by around 1 am. We quickly realized that was optimism at it’s most optimistic and called the campgrounds to see if there was any way we could cancel our reservation without any fees. The lovely gentleman assured us it was no problem at all and we planned to aim for Redding, CA for the night. Redding has about 40 hotels and motels, who knew? We went to the cheapo section of town and drove around in circles vacillating between the Motel 6 and the Value Inn ( a $4 difference). We picked the cheaper one obviously and got what we paid for. We’re all wearing flip flops as we walk around the carpeted floor. Good times, I tell you!
A horrible thunderstorm soon slowed progress down to a crawl. Snacks were dug out and passed around. Martha even took a brief turn at the wheel. We would like to point out at this juncture that she did amazingly well and will not be getting off easy on this road trip!
The plan was to make it to our reserved campsite in San Francisco by around 1 am. We quickly realized that was optimism at it’s most optimistic and called the campgrounds to see if there was any way we could cancel our reservation without any fees. The lovely gentleman assured us it was no problem at all and we planned to aim for Redding, CA for the night. Redding has about 40 hotels and motels, who knew? We went to the cheapo section of town and drove around in circles vacillating between the Motel 6 and the Value Inn ( a $4 difference). We picked the cheaper one obviously and got what we paid for. We’re all wearing flip flops as we walk around the carpeted floor. Good times, I tell you!
Day 1 photos
Eating dinner in the Fred Meyer parking lot, we all felt sick afterward.
OREGON!
LeAnne with the usual fixtures.
Char...lost as usual.
Martha with a headache from falling objects
Getting ready to head out
CALI!!
CALI!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
