Last Thursday I returned to Ann Arbor after a 16-day road trip across Canada and the Eastern United States. It was a 3,200 mile trip as compared to my trip back from Seattle which was 5,400 miles. In the past 3 months I have been to 27 states, 2 Canadian provinces and the District of Columbia. After all that I have concluded my major domestic travels for this summer.
I wanted to write a few posts as I went along, but since I didn't bring my laptop and I didn't have a whole bunch of free time it ended up all piling up until I got back to Ann Arbor, so this one may be a doozy. Here is a map of my trip. Also, I hope you like selfies, because there is at least two selfies in this post.
I should start with the night before I left. I had won the Charley's Bar Trivia Tournament of Champions and our team's prize was a free party bus to a Tigers game (which they won). We went with most of the Charley's staff and we drank on the way there, during the game, and on the way back. When I woke up the next morning I was quite hungover and I didn't get out of Ann Arbor until a bit later than I had anticipated.
Nevertheless on Wednesday July 31st I crossed into Canada and headed towards Toronto. I had never been to Toronto and drove into town in the late afternoon. I checked out downtown and the pro hockey hall of fame. I made the unfortunate mistake of purchasing a McLobster which is a McDonald's lobster sandwich that is only sold in Canada. It was gross. Overall I really liked Toronto and thought it was a really modern and clean city (except for the guy smoking crack on the street where I parked my car).
I learned that the Rodgers Center in Toronto is actually named after Aaron Rodgers
Toronto was a bit of a contrast to Montreal where I headed next. The drive was pretty miserable in the Canadian rain but I did appreciate the hint of Maple syrup that wafted across the countryside. Montreal seemed a little less modern and a little more disheveled, but I still liked the city. I walked around for a few hours and did some touristy things and learned all about Canadian culture which I found to be almost an exact replica of this.
I really liked the Latin Quarter and trying to figure out where to park my car when all the street signs were in French. The next day I drove back to the USA and down to NYC. Driving through the Adirondacks was pretty neat and I kinda liked upstate New York. I drove onto Manhattan and actually had no trouble finding a parking spot near my sisters place in Gramercy Park.
I ate so many meatballs at The Meatball Shop I sprouted a double chin. Ha!
On Friday night we went out got some dinner and drank at a bar that you could only get to by walking through a Five Guys. We hopped bars a bit with some of the old Box guys who were around. The next day we walked the High Line and took a nap before grabbing some dinner. On Sunday we went over to Brooklyn and were in Williamsburg to watch the hipsters in their natural habitat. We got some beers at Brooklyn Brewery and then ate some really good BBQ. It was a pretty good Sunday.
Not the view from my sisters place
On Monday I left early and drove down to DC. I stopped at Byrd Stadium in College Park Maryland to see the newest Big Ten stadium. Once I got into DC I found a McDonald's and internetted my brains out for awhile. Then I met up with my friend Evan who I was staying with. He had some free tickets to a Nationals game so we went down to the waterfront and drank and watched them lose to the Braves by a run. The next night we played bar trivia where we went from dead last at halftime to having a 1 point lead going into the final round. Unfortunately we lost trivia because we answered that the tallest building in the US was the Freedom Tower in NYC and not the Willis Tower in Chicago. Even though we were right, they gave the prize to the other team. Not that it mattered since neither of us would be able to use a $50 gift card to that bar anyways.
Byrd Stadium in College Park - You can't see it behind me but there's really not much to see.
The Capitol of the USA
At a Nats game. They lost, but Teddy won!
Wednesday morning I had planned to drive to Pittsburgh to see my cousin and his family. On the way I took a wrong turn and ended up going on a road towards Gettysburg and said to myself "why not?" and kept going. Gettysburg was really cool and after having watched the 1993 epic film Gettysburg over 200 times in college it was awesome to stand on Little Round Top when Joshua Chamberlain and the rest of the 20th Maine defended the flank on July 2nd, 1863.
Thomas Jefferson Y'all
Memorial to the 20th Maine
I then drove across US route 30 to Bedford, PA where my father was born and raised. I tried to stop in at my aunt and uncle's house but they were not home. I made it to Pittsburgh and my cousin and I went downtown to catch a Pirates game. We bought some $10 tickets from a scalper but just sat directly behind home plate in some really good seats. So the total cost for the three games I attended over those 8 days was $10, not bad at all.
PNC park in Pittsburgh
Before I left I hadn't really planned on where I would go Thursday. I had three options which were going to visit a friend at UVA, camping in West Virginia or heading to Richmond to see Craig. My buddy wasn't around UVA and I didn't really feel like camping so I decided to drive to Richmond for a convenient DC to Pittsburgh to Richmond leg of my trip. I had a great time in Richmond and got pretty sauced. Like every place I wish I had a little bit more time in each city. I have some family in Richmond that I would have loved to visit but since I was only there for a night I really didn't have enough time.
Mountaineer Field at WVU - What a total dump
After sleeping in on Friday I got up and started the drive out to Blacksburg where I was meeting up with some of my family at my cousin's new house. Both my sisters came into town as well so it was pretty neat. We toured the new house which was really cool, especially because the house had a strong Arts and Crafts influence which is my favorite style for homes. On Saturday we floated the New River which we were lucky to do because it had been closed down do to high water levels the week before. I have never floated a river with rapids, and going over the rapids in a tube was a bit exhilarating. I was also responsible for the beer cooler which made things a bit harder as well.
Scott Stadium at UVA
Sunday I drove down to Atlanta to spend two days with my sister in her new place. She had a bunch of chores for me to do like building all the furniture she bought, hanging some curtain rods and relocating a ceiling fan. But I still found time to visit the Jimmy Carter presidential museum and grab dinner with my friend Kiki and her roommate. Tuesday night was my last night in Atlanta so we went out with some of my sisters friends. There were 8 of us and we ended up getting pretty drunk for a Wednesday night. Everyone else had to work except for me so I hope they weren't as hung over as I was.
Lane Stadium at VT
Howard's Rock at Clemson Memorial Stadium
My next drive was up to Columbus and it was my longest drive of the trip. Took all day, and I got into town just in time to meet Zola for some trivia. After we got 4th in trivia (we would have gotten second if my teammates believed me when I said that the Mona Lisa was painted on wood) I drove over to see my friend Dave where I spent the night.
Commonwealth Stadium at Kentucky
On Thursday I made the drive up to Ann Arbor which was uneventful except for the hitchhiker I picked up who turned out to be a little crazy, but that was more entertaining than anything else. I did arrive in time to grab a CIAYCELB which was great because after 2 weeks of eating out, stuffing your face with pizza is probably the best thing you can do for your body. Then that night I ran it back by ordering a Cottage Inn calzone which made me feel a large amount of shame.
Ohio Stadium AKA the Horseshoe at State University of Ohio
But overall it was a great trip and I would totally take it again. The only cities I had never been to were Toronto and Montreal but I liked both of them. By my count I saw 14 old friends and a whole bunch of the USA. I'm ready to not drive a car for awhile though. There are always more place I want to go and more friends that I want to visit. I tried to do as much as possible without spending all summer on the road.
It's been a few days since my last post. It's much easier to find the time to write when I'm camping and without distractions. Since I left Yellowstone 5 days ago I've gotten all the way to Phoenix, by way of San Francisco. Let's catch up on the last few days.
After leaving Yellowstone Wednesday and driving by the Grand Tetons I drove west from Jackson, WY and across southern Idaho where my Grandfather was born. I then turned south towards Salt Lake City. As I neared SLC I realized that I would not make it to my goal of Elko, Nevada that night. Unfortunately there isn't really any camping between SLC and Elko so I had to get a hotel just over the border of Nevada in Wendover. I got a room in a casino where I watched the Wings get eliminated from the playoffs.
Thursday I woke up and kept heading west on I-80 through Nevada. It was a long drive and the rugged arid mountains were not as entertaining as the lush green mountains from the day before. Eventually I made it to the California border where the landscape again turned into more appealing forms.
Mackay Stadium - Reno
The American West has so many climates and environments that each day of this trip brings a new type of beauty to me. I'm lucky to have this opportunity to experience it all now because the last 1/2 of my trip will be much flatter and less visually appealing.
That evening I arrived in Berkeley and checked in at the hotel where Carly's brother was getting married. It was a few blocks from the campus of Cal, so after hauling my stuff up to the room I set out on a walk around campus. I then spent the evening with Carly's family while waiting on her to fly in from Seattle.
California Memorial Stadium - Berkeley
On Friday I helped Carly's family set up for the rehearsal dinner which we had in a large park. It took most of the morning to get set up, and then most of the afternoon to go to the rehearsal and most of the evening to enjoy the pizza and beer in the park. As simple as pizza and beer in the park sounds, it was about 2 van-fulls of gear that we had to haul there and get set up and it was a really nice rehearsal dinner complete with drinking game Olympics (boccie ball, croquet, beer pong, cornhole).
The day of the wedding Carly had to leave early to be with the bride. I walked around Berkeley and then got ready. The wedding was a full catholic mass but as a reward for all the sitting and standing, the reception had a Manhattan as their signature cocktail which I enjoyed thoroughly. It was ie to meet some of Carly's friends and family including her host parents from when she studied abroad in Denmark. I spent a good deal of time with them and sat with them at the wedding. I think if I make it to Copenhagen this fall I will visit them.
Rose Bowl - Pasadena
On Sunday I had to say goodbye to Carly for the next 4 months which was really hard. Luckily as a man I have mastered my emotions, but it wasn't easy knowing we wouldn't see each other all summer.
I drove south through the California Valley towards LA and then east. I was going to stay in Seqouia national park but I made such good time that I got all the way to Joshua Tree. Which was good because it made it an easy drive today and Joshua Tree was amazing. Desert camping is way different than woodland camping and it was pretty warm all night. I got to sleep without my rain-fly on my tent and stare at the stars. Sunset and nighttime in the desert was awesome. I can totally see why people go there do their drugs.
Today I made a quick 5 hour drive to Phoenix where I spent the afternoon at my Aunt and Uncle's house in Scottsdale. They have a pool, shower, laundry facilities, wi-fi and beer. Talk about hospitality. We are going to go out to dinner and then afterwards I'm going over to my old co-workers Jon's house for the night. Jon was a big inspiration for the trip and I've only seen him once since he moved down here from Seattle last year.
I'm writing this from a bagel shop in Coeur D'Alene, ID that is open on memorial day for some reason. It's been a good journey thus far, but it has only begun.
On Saturday I got all packed up and said goodbye to my roommate of 3 years. It was anticlimactic except for him standing in the driveway watching me drive off into the sunset. I then hopped on the ferry one last time and went into Seattle to stay with my girlfriend. We went out to my favorite sushi place and then meet up with friends for buckets of High Life.
The state park I stayed at last night
Yesterday morning I slept in and then hit the road. I drove over the lush cascades and down into the dryer Yakima valley. As I was driving I began to think about cool things I could do on the trip. I really thought it would be nifty if I had a dashboard camera and could make a video of my drive condensed down to a couple of minutes. But I don't have a dashboard cam. But I did start taking pictures as I drive that I may compile at the end into a video.
Martin Stadium
I also decided to visit as many college football stadiums as possible, which luckily I decided in time to veer off route and head to Pullman, WA (Washington State) and Moscow, ID (U of Idaho). It took me a bit out of my way and I didn't make it to the Coeur D'Alene National Forrest like I planned, so instead I camped at a state park south of Coeur D'Alene.
THE KIBBIE DOME!!!!
Today I'm off to Glacier National Park and hopefully will be making camp beneath the giant ponderosas of the Lewis and Clark National Forrest.
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