Chris's Wrap-Up

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