I don't have much to say in this wrap-up.
I had an amazing time. I learned a lot. And I made it home.
Nick and I did an impressive job of not killing each other.
America is gigantic and for the most part, the people are great everywhere you go. They are welcoming, accommodating and eager to show off their cities, towns and homes.
There are places in America where I might be able to live and places where I probably wouldn't want to.
There are numerous places that I will need to visit again and no clear cut best or most enjoyable destination.
I'm going to end my contribution to the blog with a series of top five lists. None of them are in any sort of order nor have they been scientifically chosen.
top 5s
Animal spottings outside of the san diego zoo
Herd of Buffalo in Yellowstone
Elephant seals on the California coast
Thousands of bats flying out from underneath a bridge in Austin
Road Runner In New Mexico
Mountain Goat at the Grand Canyon
Animal Spottings inside the San Diego Zoo
Lion
Panda
Capyberra
Elephant
Rhino
Meals at restaurants
Chicken and Waffles at Rosco's Chicken and Waffles, Los Angeles, California
Tacos at Pico De Gallo, Touscan Arizona
Green Corn Tamales at El Bravo, Phoenix, Arizona
Beef Brisket at Louis Mueller's BBQ in Taylor, Texas
Sandwich at Primanti Brothers, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
Hikes
Into the Grand Canyon
Up to that cliff in Yellowstone where you could see all the geysers
Through the Badlands
Canyon trail in the Grand Tetons
Grouse Grind
Celebrity sightings/encounters
Barack Obama at Health Care Rally in Minneapolis Minnesota
Conan O'Brien on The Tonight Show in Los Angeles California
Chris Tucker at the Stax Museum of Soul Music
Reba McEntire on the Red Carpet for the CMAs in Nashville
Robert Pattinson staring me down on the street in Vancouver
Most Unique Foods Sampled
Beef Tongue Tacos at Pico De Gallo in Touscan Arizona
Chitlins at Mama Dip's in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Fritos Pie at Beans n' Things Amarillo Texas
Broasted Chicken (50's era cobination pressure cooker deep frier) at Bob's in Sioux Falls South Dakota
New Mexican Chili, numerous establishments, best at Peggy's in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Scenic Drives
Highway 1, The California Coast, especially Big Sur
Up, Through and out of the mountains in Whyoming towards Yellowstone
Highways around Sedona, Arizona
Mississippi River Road in Wisconsin and Minneapolis, (River looks like a lake here)
Roads in Yellowstone
Worst Drives
8 hours on I-95 between D.C. and New York on the day before thanksgiving
People who actually drove the Chevy
Nick
Shannon
Courtney
Lindsay
Steve
Most Random hosts
Anthony in Memphis
Those girls in Austin
Oscar in Nashville
Shannon's buddy Chris at Texas tech in Lubbock
Bars
Che's in Touscan Arizona
That Mexican Wrestling themed joint in Seattle Washington
The Maple Leaf, New Orleans, Louisiana
That Place with 50 cent Wells in Lubbock Texas
That Shack in East Austin where you could bring your own booze but not mixer
Ernestine and Hazel's in Mephis, Tennessee
Nights Out
Saturday Night in New Orleans
That night out in Touscan where Courtney handled herself with admirable self-control and dignity.
The Party Bus in Lubbock which contained not an ounce of either self-control or dignity
Freak-Folk Concert and 6th Street Halloween in Austin, Texas
Steve's Mo-vember Kegger in D.C.
Musical Performances
Monsters of Folk, Phoenix, Arizona
That Albino Blues singer and his band the monday night in Austin
Astral Project at Snug Harbor in New Orleans
Dr. Feel Good Potts in Memphis, Tennessee
The Trio in New Orleans
Honourable Mention: The Backstreet Boys on the Tonight Show
National Parks
Yellowstone, Whyoming
The Grand Canyon, Arizona
Saguaro, Arizona
The Badlands, South Dakota
Grand Tetons, Whyoming
Places that looked and felt the most like Endor, home of the Ewoks as depicted in George Lucas's 1983 classic Return of the Jedi
Avenue of the giants in the redwood forest, Northern California
Nick's Basement, Brooklyn, New York
Hiccups Along the way
Flat Tire near Surgess, South Dakota
Lost Bank Card in Chicago, Illinois
Ongoing License Testers strike in Ontario
That time we followed the GPS onto a dirt road and into someone's backyard on the Navajo Reservation, Arizona
Trying to get from D.C. to NY on the day before thanksgiving
Don't keep it too real,
Chris
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Nick and Chris go to Washington
Hello Friends,
Sorry for this large delay between posts. We are safely home now. We got back to NY in time for Thanksgiving dinner, which was as good as expected. However, We both wanted to tie things together with regards to the blog, which I never got around to doing last year. So im going to write this one about our last stop, Washington, DC, then Chris is going to write his final entry whenever he gets around to it, after which I will write my concluding entry. So for those of you who are still with us, stay tuned...
When we were in touch last, we were hanging out with Shaunee in Chapel Hill, NC. From there we went up the dreaded I-95 to Washington DC. DC was one of the places that we had most been looking forward to visiting the whole trip, so we did not relegate it to lame-duck status, road trip wise. We did up DC like we did up the whole rest of the country, Two Guys and a Chevy style.
We stayed with my cousin, and resident guest blogger, Courtney, for the first night, and went out with her and her roomates. While out, we were followed by a very creepy older man with a moustache, who actually turned out to be one of our best friends, Mr. S.P.F. Winstanley. We hadn't seen him since he started law school, and the reunion was quite heartfelt (mostly because he didnt think wed make it that far). It was great to see him, as he should have been the third guy in the Three Guys and a Chevy family. Next time buddy, next time.
The next night we went out to my Aunt Lisa's house for a great dinner and a meeting of the neighborhood homeowners association, which they very graciously always schedule so that I am able to attend. It was great to see her and my Uncle Clay, who had recovered from the hip pointer that he was struggling with last time I saw them. It was just really nice to spend the last couple of stops of the trip with family, a perfect reintroduction back home.
Even in the face of rain, which usually causes me to pack it in and call it a day, Chris and I were determined to see the sights in DC. We spent a day at the American History Smithsonian, which is really incredible, and free, and then spent the next day checking out all the monuments. The highlight was probably the FDR memorial, which I didnt even know existed before we randomly walked right through it on our way to the Jefferson Memorial. It is really moving and quite idylic, out of the way from the bustle of the mall.
The next day I got to go into Courtney's class and speak to her first graders on life and the way things are. She has the greatest group of kids and has done a fantastic job so far. They were incredibly respectful and had great manners. I read them my favorite children's book, The Butter Battle Book by Dr. Suess, and then told them an even more incredible tail, one of great adventure, about two guys and a chevy traversing the good old US of A. When I was about halfway through the story of our trip, talking about the west coast, a first grader wise beyond his years raised his hand and asked quite sagely, "Why didn't you just take a plane?" They really are making them smarter these days.
After class, Courtney, Steve, Chris and I, braved the largest traffic jam of the year, I-95 between DC and NY on the day before Thanksgiving, to finally make it home. Steve, the naive Canadian that he is, had graciously offered to drive the whole way at the beginning of the trip, thinking it would be a nice 4-hour drive. Well, 8 hours later we were finally there, ready to sit on our throne as the Princes of Just About Everywhere.
Before I finish, I want to thank Courtney for dealing with us road weary travellers yet again, she was quite essential to the road trip. Thanks to Steve for putting us up for a night and for making that drive, which the rest of us barely made it through and we werent even driving. And finally, a big shout out to my Aunt Lisa, who cooked us a great home-cooked meal and didn't even make fun of my unkempt hair, which everyone else in the family did when they first saw me. I love all of you very much!
Keep it real,
Nick
Sorry for this large delay between posts. We are safely home now. We got back to NY in time for Thanksgiving dinner, which was as good as expected. However, We both wanted to tie things together with regards to the blog, which I never got around to doing last year. So im going to write this one about our last stop, Washington, DC, then Chris is going to write his final entry whenever he gets around to it, after which I will write my concluding entry. So for those of you who are still with us, stay tuned...
When we were in touch last, we were hanging out with Shaunee in Chapel Hill, NC. From there we went up the dreaded I-95 to Washington DC. DC was one of the places that we had most been looking forward to visiting the whole trip, so we did not relegate it to lame-duck status, road trip wise. We did up DC like we did up the whole rest of the country, Two Guys and a Chevy style.
We stayed with my cousin, and resident guest blogger, Courtney, for the first night, and went out with her and her roomates. While out, we were followed by a very creepy older man with a moustache, who actually turned out to be one of our best friends, Mr. S.P.F. Winstanley. We hadn't seen him since he started law school, and the reunion was quite heartfelt (mostly because he didnt think wed make it that far). It was great to see him, as he should have been the third guy in the Three Guys and a Chevy family. Next time buddy, next time.
The next night we went out to my Aunt Lisa's house for a great dinner and a meeting of the neighborhood homeowners association, which they very graciously always schedule so that I am able to attend. It was great to see her and my Uncle Clay, who had recovered from the hip pointer that he was struggling with last time I saw them. It was just really nice to spend the last couple of stops of the trip with family, a perfect reintroduction back home.
Even in the face of rain, which usually causes me to pack it in and call it a day, Chris and I were determined to see the sights in DC. We spent a day at the American History Smithsonian, which is really incredible, and free, and then spent the next day checking out all the monuments. The highlight was probably the FDR memorial, which I didnt even know existed before we randomly walked right through it on our way to the Jefferson Memorial. It is really moving and quite idylic, out of the way from the bustle of the mall.
The next day I got to go into Courtney's class and speak to her first graders on life and the way things are. She has the greatest group of kids and has done a fantastic job so far. They were incredibly respectful and had great manners. I read them my favorite children's book, The Butter Battle Book by Dr. Suess, and then told them an even more incredible tail, one of great adventure, about two guys and a chevy traversing the good old US of A. When I was about halfway through the story of our trip, talking about the west coast, a first grader wise beyond his years raised his hand and asked quite sagely, "Why didn't you just take a plane?" They really are making them smarter these days.
After class, Courtney, Steve, Chris and I, braved the largest traffic jam of the year, I-95 between DC and NY on the day before Thanksgiving, to finally make it home. Steve, the naive Canadian that he is, had graciously offered to drive the whole way at the beginning of the trip, thinking it would be a nice 4-hour drive. Well, 8 hours later we were finally there, ready to sit on our throne as the Princes of Just About Everywhere.
Before I finish, I want to thank Courtney for dealing with us road weary travellers yet again, she was quite essential to the road trip. Thanks to Steve for putting us up for a night and for making that drive, which the rest of us barely made it through and we werent even driving. And finally, a big shout out to my Aunt Lisa, who cooked us a great home-cooked meal and didn't even make fun of my unkempt hair, which everyone else in the family did when they first saw me. I love all of you very much!
Keep it real,
Nick
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