The Sexauer US Invasion 2007

Thank You

2007-09-02T13:18:00.001-07:00

We would like to thank the following people. Without them our trip would not have been possible:

Dick and Jeanne Davis
Pete and Mary Margaret Sexauer
Wally
The Fitzs
Kevin Walker
Aaron Nesbitt
The Boston Red Sox
The good people at the Residence Inn, Cleveland OH
The Cleveland Indians
Bertha Balthaser
Jesus

Pat Easterling
The Cincinnati Reds
Parrish, the Gino's East waiter
The Chicago White Sox
The good people at the Sheraton Towers, Seattle WA
The Seattle Mariners
Rich and Chris Fisher
In-N-Out Burger
John E and B-Man
Route 66
Sonic Drive In
Steak
Kitsch
Elvis
Interstate Bar-B-Que
The good people at Comfort Suites, Nashville TN
The good people at Comfort Inn, Arlington VA
The following outstanding support staff at Virginia Hospital Center:
Wanda
Dabo
Lamonica
Boston Nurse Lynn
Dr. Leonard

The following KOA franchises:
Kankakee, IL
Sioux Falls, SD
Rapid City, SD
Cody, WY
West Yelllowstone, MT
Spokane, WA
Astoria, OR
Grants Pass, OR
Manchester, CA
Petaluma, CA
Williams, NM
Albuquerque, AZ
Oklahoma City, OK

And finally YOU, our loyal readers.

Thank you.

In Summary & In Conclusion

2007-09-02T11:25:00.000-07:00

After we were discharged from the good services of the Virginia Hospital Center of Arlington, Virginia at around 2:00 in the afternoon, we high-tailed it out of there and made our way home, regardless of what time we would pull in. And during our journey home through familiar territory we had time to reminisce, contemplate and ponder that which our course had taken us through.

In summary:

America; there is alot of it.

A lot of it is flat. A lot of it is bumpy and pointy.

By and large, most Americans are not attractive. Even in California.

"Creature Features" which we hope to see on our trips to Maine, be it a deer or a porcupine or even moose, have now been trumped by anything we've seen in the wild and won't be as impressive. Unless we see a porcupine riding a moose.

Nice people are nice. And alot of Americans are nice. We like nice Americans.

New England does have the worst drivers, followed closely by Arkansas and Tennessee.

In-N-Out is really what a hamburger is all about. White Castle isn't.

Red Sox Nation may be touted as the most obnoxious fans in major league sports in other places, but they make for exciting baseball.

KOA is the place to stay and hit the hay.

Life begs simplicity. You don't really need that much.

All you need is love. Love is all you need.

It's not worth trying to diet on a trip like that. Save it for home.

BY THE NUMBERS

0 - The number of times we ate at McDonald's
1 - Number of Massachusetts license plates we saw between New York state and Arlington, VA
7 - Number of Major Leage Baseball games we took in
9 - Number of different Major Leage ballclubs we saw play (Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals)
27 - Number of different states we traveled through (New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnessota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia, (D.C.), Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, & Connecticut).
$2.59 - The cheapest price of gas per gallon we paid on our trip (Front Royal, VA & Jessup, MD)
$3.99 - The highest price of gas per gallon we paid on our trip (Westport, CA)
258.37 - Total number of gallons of gasoline purchased
$749.69 - Total spent on gasoline
9,764 - Total miles traveling

Please click here to see a detailed log of our cross country gasoline intake!

SOUNDTRACK FOR A ROAD TRIP

Many of you may have wondered "What are Matt and Kate listening to on their trip?" Well, we took care of that on a daily basis by nominating a song of the day for each major leg of our trip. Most of these can be found on iTunes if you're at all curious. For your consideration:

Maynard, Massachusetts > Brockport, New York
"Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)", as recorded by Todd Snider

Brockport, New York > Cleveland, OH
"Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)", as recorded by Todd Snider

Cleveland, OH > Middleton, OH
"Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)", as recorded by Todd Snider

Middletown, OH > Chicago, Illinois
"Conservative Christian Right Wing Republican Straight White American Male", Todd Snider

Chicago, Illinois > Sioux Falls, SD
"My Kind of Town", Frank Sinatra

Sioiux Fallls, SD > Rapid City, SD
Theme from "Dances with Wolves", John Barry

Rapid City, SD > Cody, WY
"Rocky Raccoon", The Beatles

Cody, WY > West Yellowstone, MT
"Hoedown", Aaron Copland, as recorded by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones

West Yellowstone, MT > Spokane, WA
"Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)", as recorded by Todd Snider

Spokane, WA > Seattle, WA
"Talking Seattle Grunge Blues", Todd Snider
"The Day I Tried to Live", Soundgarden
"Even Flow", Pearl Jam
"Come As You Are", Nirvana
"Up From the Skies", Jimi Hendrix

Seattle, WA > Astoria, OR
"18 Wheels on a Big Rig", Trout Fishing in America

Astoria, OR > Central Point, OR
"Seaside Rendezvous", Queen

Central Point, OR > Manchester, CA
"Going to California", Led Zeppelin

Manchester, CA > Petaluma, CA
"Lumberjack Song". Monty Python

Petaluma, CA > Riverside, CA
"Surfbound", Wave Invasion

Riverside day trip to Hollywood, CA
"Celluloid Heroes", The Kinks

Riverside, CA > Las Vegas, NV
"Viva Las Vegas", Elvis Presley

Las Vegas, NV> Williams, AZ
"Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)", as recorded by Todd Snider

Williams, AZ > Albuquerque, NM
"Take It Easy", The Eagles

Albuquerque, NM > Oklahoma City, OK
"I'm So Tired", The Beatles

Oklahoma City, OK > Nashville, TN
"Nashville", Todd Snider

Nashville, TN > Arlington, VA
"Truckin'", Grateful Dead

Arlington, VA > Maynard, MA
"Big Bottom", Spinal Tap
"Home At Last", Soundtrack from the motion picture "Labyrinth"
"Home At Last", Steely Dan
"Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)", as recorded by Todd Snider

In conclusion:

As I type this we have been home for a week. I have been busy at marching band camp and Kate has been busy recouperating. Every now and then we'll mention to each other "hey remember __________" and our minds will start reeling as to the myriad of things we've seen over the past five weeks. It was truly the trip of a lifetime.

We certainly hope if you ever take a trip across this great nation of ours that you perhaps use this blog as a guide, inspiration or even a warning of things to come along your travels. But there is alot out there and it could easily change your life.

...and that's the view from Maynard, Massachusetts.

Elvis and Kate's Spinal Fluid Have Left the Building!

2007-08-26T09:25:00.000-07:00

Oklahome City is the world headquarters for Sonic Drive-In restaurants. Kate loves Sonic.

We departed Oklahoma City after one night and made our way towards Tennessee. We were ready for an easy day of driving until we forgot that Arkansas stood in our way. So that added an unexpected 3 hours of driving time. Leave it to Arkansas....

Here we are at the Arkansas state border. Kate is yawning because Arkansas is boring. I am giving the "Bill Clinton Talking Thumb".

This was the only time we set foot in Arkansas.

Following Arkansas, crossing the Mississippi River you immediately enter Memphis. Home of Elivs and the ancient Greeks.

Graceland. Elvis' shrine, home, and final resting place. You walk through it using the self guided audio tour which is very well produced and tells alot of interesting information using interviews of Elvis and his family members. All of his Grammys, gold records, military uniforms, jump suits and personal affects can be found there as well as the dozens of rooms that he would entertain people in, including a TV room with three running TVs, a billiard room and a jungle themed room.

The tour rounds out at Elvis' gravesite. He's buried alongside his parents, grandmother and a memorial marker for his twin brother who died at childbirth.

After the Graceland tour we did what any other cross country tripper would do while in Memphis. Eat ribs. Greatest ribs I've ever eaten. Hands down. Interstate Bar-B-Que has been touted as the greatest of Memphis barbecue joints. And we agree.

After that we drove another 2 1/2 hours to Nashville for the night.

The next day our plan was to drive all the way to Washington, D.C. That's a long hike indeed, but if you're going to do it, you just have to put your head down and gun for it; which is what we did. We arrived in Arlington, VA at around 12:00 midnight.

Now, ever since Vegas Kate had been feeling like a sinus infection was coming on, but she also had these sharp headache pains on the right side of her head. As we approached D.C. the pains became more and more intense. She decided to sleep it off that night but the next day it was unbearable. So off to the Emergency Room we went. They gave her a CAT scan and found no major problems, although they did find a small benign pocket of space in her cranium which classifies her as a medically diagnosed air head.

So they released her with a prescription for Zithromax and Afrin for the siunusitis and Oxycodone for the headaches. Even before she had time to take these medications she was overtaken by dizzy spells and sweating, or what we'll call a vertigo attack. We returned to the hotel room and Kate went back to bed, occasionally experiencing these dizzy spells again a few more times. Not wanting me to be cooped up at her expense she urged me to go out and find something to do. Turns out the U.S. Marine Band was playing at the west steps of the Capitol Building, so I took that in. Great band, great performance. I have the performance bug again.

When I returned to the hotel, her vertigo attacks hadn't subsided despite her nap. So we thought maybe some dinner would help but on the way to a restaurant she experienced a very intense attack. So we decided to rush her to the Emergency Room once more.

By this time it was around 11:00 at night and we were taken in around 12:30. The ER was jumpin' that night. The doctor eventually came in and gave Kate some basic neurological tests to make sure her motor skills weren't affected. It was suggested then that they give her a lumbar puncture, better known as a spinal tap. This was suggested earlier in the day for her first ER visit, but she opted out of it. This time it seemed necessary.

WARNING For the squeamish : skip this next paragraph.

A spinal tap procedure is probably the coolest thing I have ever seen done to someone. First off, may I say that I could never endure this procedure personally and I have the utmost respect for my wife and I now truly see how strong of a woman she is. The doctor marked a spot on her lower back using a pen and then inserted a needle to inject lidocane or some sort of numbing agent. Then the spinal tap needle is placed in and cerebospinal fluid begins pouring out. The doctor collects it in vials for testing.

Kate's fluid came out very clear which is a good sign. Any discoloration would suggest cerebral hemmoraging or infection in the brain. So that could be ruled out immediately. The doctor also said that the symptoms sounded like meningitis, but had it been bacterial meningitis she probably wouldn't have made it to the hospital alive by that point. So he ruled that out as well. His best guess would have been what he called a "benign positional vertigo" which means she can experience vertigo in any position; standing, lying down, on her head, whatever. So for this they gave her something called alavert. But I thought that was an over the counter seasonal allergy deterrent. But I'm not a doctor. I just play one on TV.

Initial test results came back to the surprise of the attending ER doctor: viral meningitis. So this meant that they had to keep the sample and have it cultured for certain attributes. This would take, at the very leas,t 24 hours. We were in the comfort and care of the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington VA for 60 hours. Two nights, three days, 8 bags of intravenous antibiotics later and all test results came back negative. The only thing Kate can now do is wait it out. No cure for viral meningitis, but she's not contageous. Plus she's had so much antibiotics running through her body that I'll be surprised if she ever gets a sinus infection again.

While we were in Arlington I took advantage of being near the Arlington National Cemetery. Here I made sure to check out the Arlington House, home of General Robert E. Lee, the Kennedy gravesite and the tomb of the unknown soldier including the changing of the guard.

Don't Freak Out

2007-08-25T07:42:00.000-07:00

Sure, we haven't blogged in a while. Well, that's because we've been held up in Arlington, Virginia for a few days. Kate's been admitted to the hospital with some pesky viral meningitis she picked up somewhere along the way. But don't freak out. She will be just fine.

Well, to be honest with you, our funds have been becoming increasingly slim since Vegas and we were tired of having to pay for meals, hotel rooms, camping sites and intravenous antibiotics. So we said; "Hell with it! Let Harvard Pilgrim Health Plan pay for it!"

We will make sure that you all get caught up with our trip from Oklahoma through our travel home.

Don't freak out.

There Once Was A Man From Two Guns, AZ...

2007-08-19T19:11:00.000-07:00

After our stay in Las Vegas for two days
We had to change our west and south route ways
It will sure be a beast
As we start our trip east
Now it’s time for our “Route 40” phase.

Now I would be quite the approver
For the Colorado River water mover
It’s tall and it’s grey
The largest in the world, they say
Yes, I speak of the dam they call Hoover

If you go there, use much sunscreen please
From your forehead and down past your knees
It’s the best advice I’ve got
‘Cause it can get wicked hot
It boiled up to 126 degrees.

Into Arizona we carried our load
Switching from freeway to a two-laner mode
They say “you’ll get your kicks
On Route sixty-six”
It’s the stretch they call the “Mother Road”.

On this road about which I’ve just spoken
You could take your time peering and pokin’
But it’s cool just to see
Most things here are kitschy
Even though it’s all run down and broken.

Give the Colorado River a hand
For the job it’s done changing the land
Not through powerful explosion
But long time erosion
And making the Grand Canyon grand

So we traveled out there on a whim
And we walked all along the South Rim
Your footing you must keep
For it can be a mile deep
And a slip off the edge would be grim

For these next couple nights we would stay
At the Williams, Arizona KOA
No hotel rooms with keys
Or luxurious amenities
It’s tent camping when we hit the hay

For dinner that night; Steak and Brews
So many restaurants in Williams to chose
Outside all the hotels and bars
Lined up old vintage cars
For the Route 66 Saturday Night Cruise

So from here we decided to go
To a town in A-Z called Winslow
It was kitchiness gold
And we did what we were told
By The Eagles song you might already know (Take it Easy)

Down Route 40 our car was flyin’
While the Arizona sun was fryin’
We pulled over our ride
To a Route 66 roadside
That advertised live Mountain Lions

For the traveling Mr. or Ms.
66 is the place for old-timey biz
If you’re searching for that or this
It is quite hard to miss
The big jackrabbit sign “Here it Is”

Now dear reader, did you ever know
That in the U.S. there’s a new Mexico?
Though it wouldn’t be right
To drive through the night
Albuquerque is as far as we’d go

It was quite late when we got in there
Tired, hungry, and worse for the wear
So we went in half way
To the Church Street Café
And ate the best of their Mexican fare

Be you a seasoned traveler or not
There is one thing we both forgot
It was a rough night we spent
Lying there in the tent
New Mexico really gets hot

We woke up at this morning’s dawn’s crack
We packed up the car and we made tracks
To a sight really great
In the old Lone Star State
To see Technicolor Cadillacs

So on any long trip headed east
Where just could anyone feast?
Where one person could take
A 72 ounce steak?
The Big Texan Steak Ranch, not in the least!

Now our car ride is taking a while
As we’re going down mile after mile
There’s just one thing I say
To make traveling okay
And that’s update your blog limerick style

Backlogue: Wagons East!

2007-08-16T20:55:00.004-07:00

We left SoCal Tuesday morning, having taken in most of the Golden State's fruits and nuts. Our next destination was to Las Vegas, Nevada to take in their wonderful offerings of volumes and volumes of books in their numerous libraries. Then we would awake early to go to church and then help the less fortunate and volunteer to walk three-legged dogs being saved from euthenasia. It would go on to be a truly soul-cleansing experience.

In order to get there we had to take route 15 from California across the Nevada border. And although 15 doesn't claim to be the mecca of kitsch that, say, route 66 can be it does have its share of attractions, such as:

The world's largest thermometer.

107! Wow! Good thing we were in the middle of the desert, or that reading would be something to be concerned about!

And Zzyzx Road!

What a name! Zzyzx! It's a road that takes you to the Mojave Desert Natural Preserve.

It was simply a 4 hour drive, quite refreshing after the numerous 9 or more hour days of driving we've had in the past.

So long, California!

Viva Las Vegas

2007-08-16T10:17:00.001-07:00

Two nights ago we checked into a hotel in Las Vegas.

The rest, they say, stays in Las Vegas.

Southern California in Two Acts

2007-08-15T00:11:00.000-07:00

Act 1: San Diego

Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it Sahn Diahgo. Here they established an animal sanctuary, better known as the San Diego Zoo. Many animals can be found here, but even more prevalent than animals are hills.
If you travel to the city named for Saint Diego then please be prepared to trek over many hills. At least in the area designated for animal viewing.

And to speak of the animal viewing! If you can possibly think of an animal that can be viewed at this astounding menagerie then it can be found. That is, unless you're thinking of the tiger. Evidentally it was the tiger's day off.

The day began late as our night prior was a late one as well, succumbing to the allure of "the mouse". Plus, in the morning we had to make a ritualistic sacrifice to the god Kenmore, ruler of all things laundry.

We (Rich, Chris, Kate & Matt) drove down a "the" highway and arrived in the southernmost San city the Golden State could muster. And the Zoo was spectacular! We saw birds, reptiles, fish, and mammals.
We elbowed with elephants, regaled with rhinos
, kibbutzed with koalas
and pandered to pandas.
Every alliterative allegory you could think of, except any regarding the tiger. No tigers.

We walked up hills and down hills, amongst the bears, birds, monkeys, marsupials, and all other flora and fauna.

We concluded the animal viewing day with the only way Southern Californians know how.

Dinner at In-N-Out Burger. The fast food burger industry put up its dukes and asked "you think you can do better than this?" In-N-Out Burger replied with a resounding "Hell yes."

Act Two: Los Angeles

Remember, folks: You can't spell "lame" without L.A.

Wow! Who invited the jerk? Yes, I know, that seems harsh, but we were less than impressed with Hollywood. I'm sure L.A. has more excitement to offer, but all we took in was Hollywood. Not what we were expecting.
Tinseltown intself just didn't seem as glitzy or simply as clean as we'd anticipated. Nevertheless, we drove down Hollywood Boulevard and parked at a meter in front of Aaron Spelling, Gene Autry and Harrison Ford. From there we walked about 3 blocks to the Kodak Theater, home of the Oscars. Outside of here one may be greeted by celebrity of character impersonators. We saw Tigger and the Cat in the Hat, later to be joined by Shrek, Flash Gordon and Darth Vader - all of whom appeared and performed unconvincingly. We found out that we could park under the Kodak Theater and it was no more than $10 for the whole day. So it's cheaper than Boston. That's one point for Hollywood. Enjoy it.
Sure, it was neat to walk down Hollywood Boulevard and see the walk of fame and all the stars. You'll see some that you recognize, some that you've hardly even heard of. Except the night before Rich told us that the stars aren't awarded to anyone by a governing body of judges, they're purchased by the so-named star holders for an outrageous price. So if you've got money, you too could be on the Hollywood walk of fame. So that made it just a bit more disingenuous. Although this didn't stop Kate from having her picture taken with the Bee Gees.

We decided to take a bus tour, and Starline Tours (apparently Hollywood's oldest bus tourline) was our choice. This one offers a hop on-hop off policy, so you can take one bus, get off somewhere, and catch the next one that comes along. Tickets were purchased next to Graumman's Chinese Theater. That was kind of neat, where you can find actors' handprints and footprints plus a message written in the concrete slabs outside of the theater. John Wayne didn't put his hands in it, he punched his fist in. He had small feet.

So we rode around for a bit, looking at this building where River Phoenix died, down the street from where John Belushi died, and further down where Eddie Murphy's career died. We drove down and viewed the pretentiousness of Rodeo Drive and decided to stop off at the Hollywood Farmer's Market. We were hoping for something akin to our experience in Seattle. It was a bit less stuffy and plastic than the rest of what we'd seen on the tour. Still nothing great though. So we ate something and looked at stuff and then caught the next bus. From here until the end of the tour route we caught a glimpse of the Hollywood sign, Forest Lawn cemetery, and a bunch of other buildings where famouse people USED to live. As we arrived back to the Kodak Theater where we started there was a movie premeire taking place at the Chinese Theater. We took some pictures of this guy in aviator sunglasses being asked questions from other people. I assume he was famous. We were just ready to get out of there.

So now we can say we've seen Hollywood.

A-ba-dee a-ba-dee a-ba-dee a-ba-dee a-ba-dee That's all, folks!

The 2nd Happiest Place on Earth

2007-08-13T22:03:00.000-07:00

Disneyland pales in comparison to DisneyWorld, but it still proves to be a good time. If you can make your way around all of the double-wide babystrollers and slow moving electric wheelchairs. But it was still fun!

Upon entering the gates eagerly anticipating the "Magical Day" all the staff had wished us on our way in, we made a bee-line (or rather, I did) for Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. For all of you Disney enthusiasts, you know that DisneyWorld mistakingly got rid of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and replaced it with Winnie the Pooh. How sad.
Having not been on this ride in over twenty years, I was very excited to go on. And it was just like I remembered. At the end of the ride you get hit by a train, and go to hell. Maybe that's why DisneyWorld replaced it with Pooh?

We had purchased park hopper tickets so that we could also go the Disneyland's sister park, California Adventure. It's kind of like all of the best parts of MGM Studios and Epcot Center thrown into one smaller park. Disneyland was way crowded, so we decided to go next door and see if the lines for the rides were any shorter, and they were. We were psyched to find that our favorite ride, The Tower of Terror, was also in California. The line was only twenty minutes long. Sweet.
This is probably the only ride that Matt and I could go on and on and on and on and NEVER get tired of. Every time you ride it, it is different. The basic plot of the ride is that you are checking into The Hollywood Tower Hotel, and it only has one workable service elevator. However, this hotel is in another dimension, or the twilight zone. So, when you go up the elevator it breaks, it falls, it shoots back up, it falls again, and so on. You never know what it's going to do. It's the best!

We made it back into Disney for dinner, and rode on Big Thunder Mountain, The Matterhorn Bobsleds,
and Pirates of the Caribbean. They have changed the Pirates ride to accommodate the movies that have come out, so now there is a Johnny Depp "Captain Jack Sparrow" animatronic pirate who lurks around the ride. I wasn't too impressed with it, but Matt enjoyed it.

Oh, how could I forget? Our last ride of the night was Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, another one of our favorite rides. While we were in Florida for our honeymoon, Matt and I went on certain rides multiple times so we could anticipate when the 'hidden cameras' would capture us on film enjoying the ride, but we would pose for the pictures. My favorite was when we 'fell asleep' on the ride. I completely forgot about this out here in CA (it must be all of the sun), and my heart was set on killing the Evil Zurg. Matt was apparently intent on reading the park map for our next destination.

If everybody had an ocean...

2007-08-12T21:43:00.000-07:00

The first full day in Southern California was a full day of Southern California nothing. And it was awesome. We lived the lives of Southern Californians to the fullest, which isn't that full at all - but that's the point. Life here is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo laid back.

We (Matt, Kate, Rich & Chris) headed out to see cousin John - son of Rich and Chris, heretofore known as JohnE. JohnE is an accountant for a hotel in the area. That's his job. His life is surfing. He's the stereotypical Californian surfer dude. But he was at work when we arrived. So we stashed our stuff at his Newport Beach apartment and headed down to the boardwalk along the beach. And how do Californians get to the beach and travel around? On bikes. The four of us were riding bikes. I felt 12 again. It was so fantastically laid back.

So we drove along until we made it to the Fun Zone, where there are dozens of shops, quick eats, and amusement rides. We had pizza for lunch, stuck our heads in some shops, and biked back up to the apartment to suit up for the beach.

This time we walked to the beach where we sat out on the sand, waded in the surf, and cooked ourselves in the southern Cali sun. They tell you to apply sunscreen, I stress to you to RE-apply...

After a while JohnE got off work and met up with us as the beach before heading back to his place and returning with his board. When he arrived back with his board the lifeguard stations still had the "black ball" flag out on their stations. A yellow background flag with a big black circle on it. The worst sight for a surfer. This means no surfing - too many people in the water. But the flags eventually came down as the number of swimmers decreased. As we and JohnE were in mid-sentence he was quick to make a bee-line for the surf
and was on his board in no time. His roommate Brian (B-Man) met up with us soon after and joined JohnE in the water.

The four of us (M, K, R & C) went back up to the apartment, showered and changed and met up with JohnE and BMan to head on back down to the Big Belly Deli, a local deli and watering hole. Dinner and cold ones. Good times. Kate, JohnE, BMan and I rode bikes back down. And we imbibed, and rode bikes back up.

Such is life in southern California.

13 Hours to LA

2007-08-11T09:40:00.000-07:00

Thursday was our longest driving day yet, clocking in at over 13 hours. We didn't realize this until we counted it up when we got there. Previously our longest day was driving from Rapid City, SD to Cody, WY. And that was about 9 hours. Oddly this 13 hour trip wasn't so grueling due to the fact that we didn't actually THINK about how much we had driven.

Our plan was to drive down the Pacific Coast Highway and cut across to Santa Barbara where we would shoot straight down into Riverside. However, the road that we wanted to use to get to Santa Barbara was closed due to a brush fire that had been burning for a month or two. So we had to double back and eat up about an hour of driving time.

This put us on the 101. By the way, that's the thing around here. At home we say "Take 495 to route 2 all the way to 128". Here they say "Take the 91 to the 101 and stay on that until you hit the PCH". We're in "the" territory. In fact, it seems like the entire country, save New England is "the" territory.

As we were driving along "the" 101 further south we saw more of the cliffside vistas and would occasionally get out and take some pictures. This one stop we made we heard
the most peculiar sound from below and realized that there were seals parked out on the rocks below. And flying around us at eye level was a California Condor. Wicked cool.

We drove along for a while until we saw a huge throng of people parked aside the road and taking pictures on the beach. I looked ahead and saw that they were photographing seals. But these seals seemed too big to be seen from far away. It turned out they were elephant seals. Never thought we'd see those in the wild.

The 101 drives right through Hollywood. We were driving on it at about 10:00 at night, and the traffic nightmares we'd heard of were not to be seen. Not much of Hollywood was not to be seen either, because it was dark. But inevitably my car was hit by Lindsey Lohan. Paris Hilton and Britney Spears were in the car too. Phil Spector denied it ever happened.

A little while later we were there, in Riverside, home of Uncle Rich and Aunt Chris. We talked for about a half hour and then crashed. Rightly so.

Hello, Frisco!

2007-08-08T23:26:00.000-07:00

Today we slept in and left the Manchester, CA KOA around 10:30 to drive further south on CA route 1, hugging the coastline at 200 feet above jagged rocks and breaking surf. We drove until we reached 101, then south for a jaunt until we reached our next KOA 2 1/2 hours later. Extremely odd for us to be checking in to our tent site when it's a) daylight and b) just minutes after your earliest available check-in time.
The plan was to check in early and then find a way into San Francisco. We figured there would be public transportation from a local suburb that would be easy enough to follow, just like our trip into Chicago.
It turns out that there isn't a local commuter rail line. Most people when commuting via public transport use the ferry system. The ferry system in San Francisco wasn't going to cooperate with our plans. We asked at the KOA front desk for any ideas. The girl said that we could take a bus from a nearby town. That would take 2 hours. So I said to myself that I've driven all this way across the entire country, driving into San Francisco wouldn't be terribly difficult.
So with the blessing of a former San Franciscan named Cutter, we drove in.
We drove across the Golden Gate Bridge, which was exciting. Couldn't see much though because of the fog. We drove up to route 1 and parked in the Haight-Ashbury section.

Five years ago Kate and I were fortunate to spend some time in the city by the Bay. We were flying back from Osaka, Japan where I suffered an acute sinus infection and had to "decompress" for a day - EMT's orders. So we made the most of it while we were here in 2002. Although we didn't have time to see the Haight-Ashbury section, which was disappointing to me because of my affinity for the Grateful Dead and the counterculture movement. I was promised then that we would come back and see it. So today we did.

Mark Twain once said "The coldest winter I ever saw was the summer I spent in San Francisco." From what I understand, today in Boston saw nearly 100 degree temperatures and 5 tornadoes touched down in New York City. San Francisco was a blustery 57 degrees. As we walked up and down Haight Street we were lamenting the fact that we had dressed for a summer's day in California.....on a summer's day in California.

We had a late lunch near the corner of Haight and Ashbury streets at the
Magnolia Brewpub. We had a few of their brews and an entree. After that we browsed the shops of Haight and then walked back to the car so we could drive across town to make it in time for....

...ANOTHER baseball game! This time we walked right up to the box office of AT&T Park (formerly SBC Park, formerly Pacific Bell Park) and bought two tickets. 24 hours earlier you couldn't sell your soul for a ticket, but since Barry Bonds* had hit that home run the night before, no one cared enough to go tonight. And we confirmed a few facts we were speculating earlier. For example, National League games are boring. We look around and no one is invested in the game. This guy is reading, that guy is browsing on his laptop (the stadium provided free WiFi). No energy, unless Bonds* got up. And in case you didn't know, he hit home run #756 yesterday. And if you didn't hear the first time they reminded you, they took care of that every 2 minutes. But despite all that falderal, the Giants are in last place. So we also realized that there would be no baseball in October because they experience October in August. It's so cold.

California Roll

2007-08-08T08:26:00.000-07:00

We've made it.

It almost seemed that once we crossed the border from Oregon to California, the weather immediately got better. Our first stop was in Jedidiah Smith State Park, home of the Redwoods. This is the area (although technically it was truly Crescent City) where they filmed the Endor scenes for Return of the Jedi.
Thick forest landscapes with the most gigantic trees you've ever seen. In fact, they are the tallest trees on earth. You couldn't help but feel dwarved by standing next to or even in them. Some of the trees have been hollowed out by fire, but their exoskeleton shells remain.
We kept looking for Ewoks or Stormtroopers on speeders. No luck with that. We did find, however, some of the best tourist traps northern California could offer, such as Trees of Mystery and Confusion Woods. Kitsch at its best.

The further south we traveled, the more forest we saw, more redwood behemoths. We even took a ride down a road parallel to US 101 called "The Avenue of the Giants" which were lined with miles and miles of redwoods on either side.

We continued southward until we reached California's Route 1. This is the road we've been waiting for! We couldn't wait to see the Pacific Ocean from atop rocky cliffs, the road snaking and hugging the edge. But that would be the COASTAL highway. We had to get there first.
CA route 1 should come with motion sickness pills and a medical disclaimer. Sure, I can feel nauesous if I'm a passenger, but never when I'm in control of the wheel. CA 1 fixed that, alright! So we had to stop. Had to. Not only for our health but we were running out of gas.
We found a tiny little community store with a single gas pump dispensing only 89 grade gasoline. Are you sitting down? We paid $3.99 a gallon. But I'd rather pay that ridiculous price than be stuck on a highway in the middle of nowhere. And don't be too alarmed. That price was about 60 cents more expensive than anywhere else in this state.

But we were finally there, on the coastal highway. Exactly what we thought it would be, and we enjoyed our first sunset over the Pacific.

We made it to our tent site after dark and set up with headlamps on. I fired up the grill and Kate made (Jenn, are YOU sitting down?) guacamole with fresh organic California ingredients. She's outdone herself once again. Now I'm the luckiest guy.

The Leave It To Beaver State

2007-08-06T20:42:00.000-07:00

It's official. There's no more "West" to our trip.

It's only South and East from here.

Our route took us down the west coast of Oregon today. We were hoping to see the highway wind its way down along the shoreline, displaying Oregon's rocky coastline below 90 foot cliffs where the road lies.

Nope.

We agreed today that you could take Boothbay Harbor, ME, Hampton Beach, NH, and most of route 1 from Massachusetts to Maine and stretch it out on the west coast, you'd get Oregon.

This realization came to us after our stop at Cannon Beach, OR though. Here is the home of Haystack Rock. It may look familiar to you as it was used in the movies The Goonies, Kindergarten Cop, and 1941.

Fire On The Mountain

2007-08-05T22:16:00.000-07:00

Today we took a self guided tour of Washington state's active volcanoes.

First stop: Mount Rainier. From any distance to the untrained eye, Rainier would just appear to be your run-of-the-mill mountain. But it has its own amazing distinctive features. First, it holds the largest glacier in the lower 48 states. It is called the Emmonds Glacier and the ice reflects blue in most spots.
Secondly, it is an active volcano. If you'll notice at the summit of the mountain there are spots where you can see dark rock in lieu of glacial ice. That is because the top is too warm for ice to stay. Volcano!

Indigenous to the area are a type of cherry called Rainier cherry. Here is a picture of Kate eating a Rainier cherry at Mt. Rainier.

Second stop (and most famously): Mt. St. Helens. MSH blew her top on May 18, 1980. We were two. Where were you?

Well, technically it wasn't her top, it was her side. Most volcanologists had predicted that she would explode right out the top like most volcanoes. However, there was one volcanologist by the name of Johnston who, on the contrary, had predicted a lateral explosion. For whatever reason he was in the blast zone that morning and made a radio transmission to a base up north announcing the events. "Vancouver, this is it! This is it!" were the last words he spoke just before the eruption. Three seconds later he was swept away by the blast. Kind of chilling, isn't it?
We viewed Mt. St. Helens from an area called Johnston Ridge, named for the famed volcanologist.
There is also a story about a man who lived in a cabin at the base of the mountain. Geologists had warned him about the impending doom but he refused to leave. He's now a permanent fixture.
It may also be interesting to note that when she exploded, a cubic mile of ash and mountain bits spewed into the air. That's a lot.

We arrived at the ridge concerned about the clouds that were blocking our view of the crater. It turns out that they weren't clouds, but actual smoke and steam rising from the volcano's lava domes.
She could still go at any point. Inside the visitor center they had an actual seismograph calculating earthquake activity on the mountain. It was moving. Quite a bit, too. A bit unnerving as it was a 5.2 earthquake that started the chain reaction of the explosion in the first place.

Nevertheless, we made it out of there safely.

So now we sit here blogging at a KOA in Astoria, Oregon. It is a lovely port city where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. John Astor founded this town as a fur trading post for the northwest. A few years prior to that Lewis & Clark spent the winter of 1805-1806 making moccasins, writing in their journals and waiting for a ship to take them back east (which never came). I find that the WiFi signal at this KOA to be particularly stronger than WiFi signals of KOAs past. I wonder if Lewis & Clark had the same signal when they were blogging....

It also turns out that this town is where Goonies was based on and also filmed.

Seattle By Night, Seattle By Day, Seattle By Night

2007-08-04T23:27:00.000-07:00

Last night we took in a baseball game between the Red Sox and the Mariners. It was a great game, a real back and forth duel until the Mariners opened it up and took the win. Despite the Red Sox setback, we were quite pleased with the experience we had. For starters, we sat in the "Hit It Here Cafe", the Seattle version of the right field roof seats at Fenway, complete with table service and a section-specific menu. Kate got the tortellini, I got the seared salmon.

In addition to this, the Seattle fans are very pleasant. Sure, they boo us when we start a rousing "Let's Go Red Sox" cheer, but which home team wouldn't when their seats are filled with a majority of visiting fans?
The Hit It Here Cafe was stocked with Sox fans. However, sitting to our right were the lovely couple of Frank and Stacey. They live in Washington state about 3 1/2 hours away. I couldn't imagine living that far from Fenway, but they manage to make it out to a game once a season. This season, they got to sit next to the Sexauers.

After the game we took a cab back to the hotel and slept in, quite deservedly.

Today we got out of here around 11. We headed back to Pike's Market and had lunch at Lowell's. Kate had a Tillimook Cheeseburger and I was reminded that I don't like crabmeat and that it isn't anything like lobster.

How I miss lobster.

Afterwards we headed back to the hotel after buying some Rainier cherries and the best peaches I've ever had. The guy selling it to us gave us a taste and said "I've ruined peaches for you." He has. They'll never be this good.

We lounged out today in the hotel for a while, recharging our batteries and just slowing things down.

After that we walked to the Experience Music Project, located just below the Space Needle. It showcases the music scene from Seattle. Exhibits showed off Seattle music memorabilia such as the Kingsmen, the Ventures, Heart, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Nirvana, and of course, Jimi Hendrix. Cameras weren't allowed in, so you won't see any pictures.
Coupled with the EMP is the Science Fiction Hall of Fame and museum, where they displayed items from TV shows and movies from the world of science fiction. Alot of Star Trek, Star Wars, Dune, Aliens, and any other sci-fi media you can think of, from print to film and television. Again, no cameras. So no pictures.

Following that we went BACK to the hotel to gear up for....

....another Sox/Mariners game. This time in the upper deck on the third base side. Seattle's Japanese population came out of the woodwork for this one because Dice-K was pitching.

Now anyone who knows Kate will tell you she loves two things in the world of food: french fries and garlic. Well, SafeCo field concessions have figured out a way to combine both. You can order garlic fries, and it's literally a serving of fries seasoned with freshly minced garlic.

The jury is still out on which smells worse, the Dragon's Mouth mud pot at Yellowstone....or us.

Sox win. The Mariners' evil rule of home field tyranny is over.

Washington....state, that is

2007-08-03T15:46:00.000-07:00

We had one last marathon drive to get to one of our pinnacle destinations, Seattle, Washington. It didn't have to be a marathon drive, however.

Wednesday morning we left Cody, Wyoming bright and early for a marathon drive to Spokane, Washington. We had no idea how long this would take, but wanted to leave extra time so we wouldn't have to set up a tent in the dark! About ten minutes into our trip we found ourselves at the Idaho border, so naturally we stopped to take a picture:

Behind us pulled up a car with a father and son duo from Southern California. We chatted for a while and the father gave us some pointers for our west coast tour, and he suggested we take Route 20 through Washington to drive throught the North Cascade National Park.

So, we did.

We drove past Lake Diablo, and the scenery was probably the most breathtaking I have ever seen. It was a comfortable 80 degrees, with a strong mountain wind blowing through. The pictures don't do the turquoise color of the water any justice...and the peaks of the mountains are so impressive in person. It was everything I had imagined Washington state would be.

Last night we arrived in Seattle around 8:00pm, Pacific Time. We're three hours behind all y'all back home! We crashed last night.

This morning we woke up when we wanted to, had no tent to pack, and had the luxury of our own bathroom. Don't get me wrong, I love the tenting, but sleeping in a bed after a long drive is the best!

We walked down five blocks to the Pike's Place Market which is right on the Puget Sound.
After a breakfast of "piroshkies", a Russian pastry, mine filled with apples and cinnamon, Matt's with Rosemary chicken, mushrooms and rice, we ended up at the first ever Starbucks. Also, the first chain restaurant we have visited that we can also go to at home. This is legal, because it is the original!

Mmmmmm, venti iced cafe mocha!

Pike's Place Market is a great time. Walking down a brick road, you are flanked by flower vendors on one side, and fish markets on the other. The aroma is a mixture of sweet smelling flowers, salmon steaks and Dungeoness Crab. Very Seattle.

Among the flowers, seafood, and craft vendors, we also saw a one Dustin Pedroia walking along with his parents. I wanted to say hi and get a picture with him, but Matt wouldn't let me. Ladies, he is much cuter in person than on the jumbotron!

Of course, the next Seattle experience has to be viewing the city from the top of the Space Needle. So, following the throngs of Red Sox fans much like ourselves, we end up looking over the Puget Sound 520 feet up.

Tonight, we go to Safeco Field (or as I like to call it, "Sa-Fee-co") to watch our beloved Sox play the Mariners. Hopefully the Sox can pull through and finally win a game here! Look for us in the "Hit it Here Cafe" in right field.

Creature Feature: Wildlife Jam for the Olfactory Nerves

2007-07-31T20:29:00.000-07:00

Yellowstone National Park. In an earlier post I described Wyoming as the kind of place perhaps God either threw together at the last minute, or took to the drawing board with a "what if we tried..." attitude. Yellowstone does nothing to refute that theory.

Where else in the world will you find giant Bison, Elk, Black & Brown Bears roaming freely amongst geysers, bubbling mud pots and sulphur springs?

These are exactly the things we saw. While driving from Cody, WY to Yellowstone we saw a black bear on the side of the road. And if it weren't for Kate's keen eyes we would have missed it. It's not unusual for one to pass cars parked on the side of the road nearly anywhere, but there was something that caught Kate's attention. And off to the side of the road and down a 40 foot ravine was a black bear foraging along side a small river.

Yellowstone is home to Bison

Elk

as well as geysers

a canyon

sulphur springs, which smell pretty bad

and other geothermal curiosities.

Wyoming: The Only State That Is Also a Verb

2007-07-30T22:07:00.000-07:00

What are we doing here?

We're Wyom-ing.

Cody, Wyoming, to be precise. Named for it's founder and Kate's distant relative Buffalo Bill Cody. We're still conferring with the judges on that. Ask Dick.

When we look at Wyoming we consider what God was going through when he designed America. New England would have rocky shores and lots of hills and maple and evergreen trees. The Southwest would be arid and flat with cacti. Wyoming, being alphabetically last was treated as such. And God had a whole tray of leftovers. So he stuck them all here, not really sure of what kind of landscape personality he wanted to give it.

Even right now, I'm trying to find a way to explain what I saw today. My brain hurts. Just Google it if you don't know.

But tonight we stay in Cody. Cody is the Rodeo Capital of the World. After a trecherous day of driving through God's Chinese Buffet of an environment we were both pretty wiped out. Upon check-in at tonight's KOA we learned that the campsite offered a shuttle to the Cody Rodeo Nite. And we debated the issue of going or not but only had about an hour and a half to decide whether or not to take the bait. We were so tired that we couldn't foresee ourselves going.

At 7:00, we were on a bus to the rodeo.

It may be the greatest decision we've made this entire trip. If you ever get a chance to see a rodeo, GO. Drink it all in, including the cheap beer. Interact with the natives. Be American.

We both have experienced something like this before, where about a year and a half ago we went to see a Monster Truck Rally in Worcester. A rodeo in Wyoming makes a monster truck rally in Worcester look like a tea party with all of your stuffed animals. And the tea is fake.

There is nothing really I can say about being at a rodeo other than it's exactly what you think it would be like. It's probably the most American thing I've done in a long time.

And to think, we almost didn't go.

Crazy Horse Rips Off America

2007-07-30T21:46:00.000-07:00

General George Armstrong Custer should have finished the job.

There...I said it.

This morning we took a lovely drive through the Black Hills of South Dakota and found ourselves on the path past the Crazy Horse National Memorial. Our guide book states that, although the memorial is incomplete, the face alone stands at 9 stories tall, and when complete will be the largest sculpture in the world. What a sight to see!

We take the left hand turn onto the road that leads up the memorial when something seems terribly wrong. The road leading up to the entrance gate is a one lane road which is decorated with a sign that reads:

NO U TURNS

We immediately had that feeling that your family dog gets when he is promised a playful car ride to the park but suddenly realizes that the trip to the park is really a trip to the vet's office. And there's nothing he can do...

We had no intention of spending a lot of money OR spending a lot of time. We paid $20 for a wrong turn.

Twenty dollars!

And moreover you had to pay MORE money in order to take a bus that will get you closer to the UNFINISHED memorial than the parking lot does.

This is ridiculous! Any other National Memorial wouldn't charge so much for so little! Lincoln Memorial, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse.....well, maybe not Crazy Horse. I can still see the Black Hills are still full of jerks.

We stayed long enough to take one picture. Then we got the hell out of there.

Enjoy.

Badlands: A Misleading Name

2007-07-29T21:42:00.001-07:00

Unlike the clientele at the Kankakee KOA, the guests of the Sioux Falls, SD KOA were quite pleasant and respectful of those trying to get some rest. These KOA experiences just keep getting better and better. The facilities keep improving the further west we travel. Odds are the trend will come to a halt at some point, but as for now, it's fantastic. The one thing I feel awkward about is free Wi-Fi. This is how I'm able to blog during the trip, and it's at a campground. I never grew up camping but I always viewed it as an experience "roughing it". The first time I truly camped was when I hiked Mt. Washington with Kate and her dad about 5 years ago. She'd been doing that practically all her life so to her it was almost second nature. I have this notion that if you sleep in a tent you're meant to cook your own food, carry out what you carry in, and ultimately shut yourself off from the outside world for a few days, weeks, whatever. But here I sit, typing away, checking the out of town scores, making sure it won't rain tomorrow in Cody, Wyoming or even this coming weekend in Seattle, walking 50 yards to take a hot shower, use a toilet, or even play pinball.

At this point, "roughing it" feels like it should be defined as having to write a rough draft of your blog in Word before you get to your campsite where you can connect to the internet.

But I'm not complaining. And after having the opportunity to shower on a daily basis, neither is Kate or anyone else west of the Mississippi.

Today I truly felt like I arrived in the West. I'm pretty sure it's not a feeling most people get when hanging out in Illinois, Wisconsin or most of Minnesota. But it didn't take long for it to hit me while driving through South Dakota. I can't say I've ever seen rolling landscapes stretch all the way to the horizon. During parts of our drive I could probably go for an hour and count the number of trees that I saw on one hand. It's really astounding to me the amount of "nothing" out here. And I really shouldn't say "nothing". There isn't "nothing" out here. There's alot out here. And there's alot of it. What truly amazes me is the amount of wide open space there is. So much space to put nothing.

Yesterday was the first time I'd traveled over the Mississippi River. I've flown over it before, but I feel like this time it really counts. It's also the first time that I traveled back over the Mississippi River heading East. It's also the first time that I traveled over the Mississippi River heading West twice in one day.

We took a southbound route to get our picture with the "Welcome to Minnesota" sign and had to double back to head in the right direction. Unfortunately that was only one of a few guidance miscues Kate had yesterday. She's a fantastic traveling companion and I love her to death, but the next opportunity I have, we need to take her down to a Verizon store and get her GPS checked out...

Minnesota is long on Route 90. And boring. It's like driving down 495 but there are more trees. As soon as we hit South Dakota, the outlook changed. Driving today was visually stimulating with the different colors of land on either side of the road, not to mention the speed limit is 75 out here. It's almost as if the Mississippi River was intended to be a visual and cultural divider.

Billboards for Rush Hour 3 and the new Gillette Sensor razor have been traded for Casey's Cafe, home of the Perfect Cheeseburger and reminders that abortion kills and that Jesus died for my sins. Town names no longer sound "eastern" in nature, but are now called Pipestone or Deadwood. Radio and television call letters now begin with a "K" instead of a "W". We're definitely not in Massachusetts anymore.

We also traversed another time zone line today, or what Kate and I like to refer as "time travel". A car ride that would normally take 6 hours only takes 5, as far as the clock is concerned. That makes life easier, it gives us time to relax or take in some more sights.

Today we stopped off in Mitchell, SD. Mitchell's claim to fame is the Corn Palace, a building in the center of town of which the outside is constructed from different colors of corn creating a mosaic. Each year features a new mosaic with a special theme chosen for that year. There are also mosaics inside made from corn which depict typical South Dakota scenes.

We continued through South Dakota where it was all flat and unassuming until we reached the crest of a hill on I-90, where we were greeted with what I consider the most outstanding view I've seen this trip yet. It was the valley of the Missouri River in Chamberlain, SD. The river was wider than I could conceive and the cloudless blue sky reflected perfectly like a giant mirror, bisected by speedboat joyriders. The land across the river as we drove was a stark difference from the rolling fields from before. Now there were short little mounds that stretched on, silhouettes of mountains in the distance. We continued onward until we reached the "240 Loop", which takes you through the Badlands of South Dakota.

South Dakota provides the complete opposite of a hayfield which expands to the horizon in the Badlands. And to the contrary, they're quite great.

After our trip through the Badlands, the 240 loop drops you off right in Wall, SD; home of Wall Drug - a tourist oasis which dates back to the Great Depression. They still offer free ice water and 5¢ coffee as they did back in the 1930's. But only one word describes Wall Drug: kitsch. And I loved every minute of it. Only in America...

Oh! The Places You'll Go (Midwest Edition)!

2007-07-28T23:53:00.000-07:00

So Wednesday we woke up and we took our leave
From Northeast Ohio, from the Land of Cleve
The Red Sox had just taken the first two out of four
But the Indians were hoping to settle the score
I could tell you about Beckett, Tavarez and more
But that’s not what this internet blog site is for…

Down Route 71 our rubber did burn
But after Columbus we took a left turn
On purpose! Don’t worry! Now don’t get irate,
It’s a town called Lancaster in this four-lettered state.

Right into this town, our tires were squealing
Where we drove up to a house on a street called East Wheeling
We made a short visit with Bertha, my aunt
But other business was ahead, so read on if you want.

My great-grandfather was once the mayor of this town

So to city hall Kate and I headed right down
To see what kind of weight my last name could throw ‘round
We were greeted quite welcomely, without a frown.

My grandfather and uncles, way back in the day
Had graffiti’ed the walls in an old fashioned way
So we went to take pictures up in the bell tower
Of the names of Paul, Ralph, and Frederick Sexauer.

As fun as that was, we had much more to go
On the western half side of O-H-I-O.
Across the south route, our engine did hum
To Middletown, Ohio, where my mom’s side is from.

Cousin Pat was our hostess, and few things does she lack,
She’s as quick as a pistol and sharp as a tack.
She treated us to dinner (O’Charley’s was the fare)
Like a Ground Round, but ain’t found near Boston anywhere.

We visited Pat’s friend, Mary, before our day was done,
I hadn’t seen her since nineteen ninety one.
After this much travel normal people would retire to their beds,
But Kate and I went to see the Brewers play the Reds.

Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark is quite a sight to see,
Though it will always be Riverfront Stadium to me.
But it pains me to say this, their fans are so boring,
The guy sitting next to us was practically snoring.
There was no excitement, they cheer when they’re told,
Those goofy foul ball sound effects began to get old.
Despite all of this, it was free bobble-head night!
Free Frank Robinson bobble? I’ll take it, alright!

The Reds won and that’s because we thought we’d share
Some good luck, ‘cause there were two Red Sox fans there.
We went back to Pat’s, only to wake up in the morn,
So we could drive to Chicago through the Hoosier State corn.

We stopped at Tim Horton’s for Kate’s coffee craze,
Then proceeded to drive HOURS through long rows of maize.
If you’ve never driven through this country’s section,
It’s all soybeans and cornstalks in either direction.

At long last we made it at the end of the day,
To our stop for two nights, good ol’ camp KOA.
There’s no finer place to stay, be you girl or a boy,
Then the KOA camp in Kankakee, Illinois.

We woke up Friday morning, it started to rain,
But no matter! We drove ourselves out to the train.
So read on, our dear readers, for we’re about to tell
Our tale of how we did Chicago, I-L.

Can Chicago be done in one day? It might not be pretty,
But the Sexauer’s handled one day in the Windy City.
So with no real agenda we followed our ears,
To ascend a well-known tower, the people call “Sears”.

From 103 floors you can see quite a lot,
Most of it’s pretty, some of it’s not.

We had quite enough so we headed back down,
Where we traveled on foot to the east side of town.

We traveled by foot to a one “Gino’s East”,
To the home of the original deep dish pizza feast.
Couple beers, no beers, and a piece of Chicago’s pie,
Kate’s one lucky girl, Matt’s one lucky guy!

To Wrigley Field Kate and I both took a ride,
On the “L” to Addison Street, on Chicago’s north side.
Such a great piece of history, a fantastic landmark,
A very old stadium, second to Fenway Park.

Back on the “L” where we rode for a while,
And we got off and walked the “Magnificent Mile”.
It’s like New York’s Fifth Avenue and it’s not real hard,
To spend and spend, maxing out your credit card.

Just one more thing to do to round out our day,
Go down to the south side to see the White Sox play.
“Four games in five days!” Is that what you say?
It’s cheaper than Fenway, and that makes it okay!

U.S. Cellular Field is just kind of “blah”,
But the fans are better than the Reds fans we saw.
The two of us stayed until the seventh inning,
And that’s fine because the White Sox ended up winning.

At the end of the game, fireworks filled the air,
Again, ‘cause there were two Red Sox fans there.

Chicago’s a wicked cool town, I must say,
I wish we had a little bit more time to stay.
From Jake, Elwood, Ditka, and the late Harry Caray,
And to think it almost burned down by a provider of dairy.

Well Wisconsin, Minnesota, there’s not much to see,
There’s just one thing to do, to save your sanity,
Just one thing to do, for passing the time,
And that’s update your weblog, by making it rhyme.

Cleveland....rocks?

2007-07-24T20:18:00.000-07:00

Today was a very special day. July 24th holds a dear place in our hearts. Especially that day back in 2004.

It's also the day that Kate and I were married. What a day.

So today we got up and walked the 15 minute walk to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And what before our eyes but the world's largest rubber stamp! Saints be praised! And on July 24th of all days. Kate really is the luckiest girl in the world.

And from there we walked past Cleveland Browns Stadium to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It has alot of guitars in it. Alot of guitars and alot of costumes. Red Sox fans too. The place was packed and my patience was tried. The museum was fun but there were only so many jump suits, polyester vests, and cracked acoustic guitars I could handle.
Cameras weren't allowed beyond a point (which was most of the hall, except for my third example) but there were three things that really impressed me. One was the Michael Jackson wardrobe collection. The sparkly glove, the Billie Jean video outfit, even the Grammy Award show sequined military jacket. The second was their Beatles collection, including George Harrison's Rickenbacker, John Lennon's Sgt. Pepper Jacket and hand written lyrics to Lucy in the Sky and In My Life. And the third, for me of course, were the 1994 New Years Eve props used at the Boston Garden by Phish.

Okay, I've seen enough.

Act Two: Game Time!

We showed up at 4:30 for batting practice. Couple beers, no beers, and DOLLAR HOT DOG NIGHT!!! What a way to spend a wedding anniversary. Before the game you could text message the Cleveland Indians and have your message displayed on the giant scoreboard. Our front row seats behind the Sox dugout were fantastic, plus Daisuke, Okajima and Papelbon pitched a 4-hit 1-0 shut out gem (but WHY can't Daisuke ever get decent run support??!!).
Jacobs Field is a beautiful park and reminds me alot of Camden Yards. Cleveland is also a lovely city and everyone is very friendly. Go, if you ever have the chance.

Also, Tina Cervasio smiled and waved at me.

Does anyone know the fastest way out of Erie, PA?

2007-07-24T13:07:00.000-07:00

As part of our "Road Trip Guidelines", Matt and I have decided not to visit any chain restaurants that are available to us in New England. Another guideline we have is that we will try, if time permits, to travel on those roads less traveled: those two lane roads through Americana.

Yesterday after our brief stop in Buffalo (and yes Denise, it does sound like this trip is all about food, doesn't it?) we ventured off "the 90" and traveled on the lesser route 20 through Pennsylavania. It began as a nice drive with slower speed limits through wine country, and we were surrounded by grapevines. Occassionally we would pass through those small towns that have a downtown mainly consisiting of a post office, American Legion or other towny bar, consignment shop and some sort of car repair garage. It was quite nice to take our time on our way to Cleveland, and we enjoyed the scenery and conversation.

That is, until we hit Erie, Pennsylvania.

We traveled in silence for a while, because I get sick of the iPod and like to have quiet for a while. I looked at Matt after about an hour into Erie and said, "You know what? I'm not scared, but Erie is kind of a dump". And Matt agreed. It was like driving through Lawrence, or the trashy sections of Lowell. Nothing to look at except old run down houses, Dollar General Stores, and consignment shops. Plus, it was the beginning of rush hour, so it kind of took forever. Ugh. We finally were out of there around 3:30. I hope you never have to travel through Erie, ever.

So, with the help of "phone", or our gps which totally kicks ass, we make it to our hotel in Cleveland by around five-ish.

Now, we had no idea what to do once we got here. So, we decided to walk the two blocks to Jacob's Field and see if there were any seats open to the Sox vs. Indians game. We thought that it would be sold out; so when we walked up to the ticket window and asked for tickets, the woman said "well, let me see what is open"....I then said, "we'll take the cheapest seats available", and she said "we have plenty of those!" So we had $7 seats for last night's game with John Lester pitching his first game since last summer...and he kicked ass. I love being a Red Sox fan! It was a beautiful evening! Matt will tell you about our happy anniversary which was today! But I'll let you know that Cleveland fans are awesome, and they let you text stuff on their jumbo-tron during the game....you don't have to pay a hundred bucks to wish someone a happy birthday or anniversary like you do at Fenway!

In these parts, they just call them "wings"

2007-07-24T11:13:00.000-07:00

Not only would we be remiss, but there are many people out there who would be very disappointed had we driven through Buffalo, NY and not stopped for Buffalo Wings.

So we did.

The original Buffalo wing can be found at the Anchor Bar. As the story goes, they were invented on a whim back in 1964 and they've been making them the same way ever since.

The Anchor Bar upon entering looks like an Applebee's on crack, as if a garage sale exploded and landed on the walls. But the further you venture inside you'll find autographed glossy photos of celebrities and other well-to-do'ers; from Willie Nelson to Buddy Rich, Didi Conn to Paul Harvey.

The wings were ordered as a "double" (20 wings) at a medium level spicyness - as they were originally intended.

And they tasted just like Buffalo wings should. Just as you should expect them to do at the home of the original.

...In Which Matt & Kate Bend the Rules

2007-07-22T18:42:00.000-07:00

Today started with a trip to Tim Horton's. If you don't know what Tim Horton's is, it's this area's answer to Dunkin' Donuts. People here swear by it's offerings like any New Englander would for DD's. I'm not a coffee drinker but I enjoyed what I had. Kudos, Mr. Horton, to you and your product.
Afterwards we returned to the InstaFriends house and prepared to go out. Kate and Jess' plans were to go out for a pedicure. They ended up going to a couple of country stores and walked along the Erie Canal area of Brockport. Derek and I drove out to Rochester to buy him guitar strings for his newly acquired guitar. The four of us met up at Jimmy Z's for Garbage Plates (see the previous post).
From there we returned home and cleaned up a bit before going out again. This time we headed out to see Lake Ontario, the second smallest Great Lake.
I wanted to put my feet in, but there is a tidal pull on the lake which exposed a 10-yard gap between the beach and water that consisted of this sick smelling sludge. So, forget that. Thanks, Ontario. I'll bet Erie or Mchigan wouldn't pull that.

From there we drove out to a mall in Victor, NY which housed a P. F. Chang's restaurant. We met up with Justin and Lindsay whom are apparently Kate and my New York versions. Great people and great food.

Now wait just a minute. I am well aware that there is are TWO P.F. Chang's in Boston that I could easily go to. But Derek and Jess were paying and Kate and I had never been there before. The opposing team's manager never came out of the dugout to argue, so there really is no issue. We didn't break the rules, but we may have bent them. Oh well.

Tomorrow, we continue westward.

Rochester's Contribution to the World of Food

2007-07-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

This is a Garbage Plate.

What is a Garbage Plate?

A Garbage Plate is the culinary contribution of New York state's Monroe County. Clam Chowder is to Boston what Garbage Plates are to Rochester.

What is in a Garbage Plate?

A Garbage Plate consists of your choice of two of the following:
Macaroni Salad
Home Fries
French Fries
Baked Beans

All on top of one choice of the following:
2 Hamburgers
2 Cheeseburgers
2 Red Hots (hot dogs)
2 White Hots (a local variant on hot dogs which include powdered milk in the ingredients)
Chicken Fingers
Italian Sausage
3 Fried Eggs

You may also opt for mustard, onions, or a special spicy meat sauce.

The picture above was an order of two cheeseburgers with french fries and baked beans with the spicy meat sauce.

Where can you get a Garbage Plate?

The original Garbage Plates came from a restaurant in Rochester called Nick Tahou's. It seems you can get a Garbage Plate almost anywhere in town. We got ours from Jimmy Z's.

It's not a very clean or appetizing looking dish, but it's great at 2:00 in the morning after the bars let out, or when your stomach needs some next-day-settling.

Lake Ontario: Great Lake or Greatest Lake?

2007-07-22T18:09:00.000-07:00

Answer: Great Lake.

TransAmericanSexauerpaloozafestathonalamadingdong: Tired, Gassy & Exhuasted 2007

2007-07-22T08:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome to this blog. For the next five weeks we, the Sexauers (Matt & Kate), will be documenting our travels across this great country of ours and hopefully updating on a daily basis. If we go a day or two (or three) between posts, don't panic.

Enough useless introduction. Here is our story:

We began the day one half hour behind schedule. As far as Sexauer Vacations go that is historically ahead of time. Our trip started at 8:30 with something we would do for the last time for five weeks. Our first stop at Dunkin' Donuts would be our last. A big rule of ours for this trip is NO CHAIN RESTAURANTS. Well, not exactly. We will avoid, at all costs, any chain restaurants that we could easily go to in the greater New England area. That is, unless, it's an unusual occasion; for example the original franchise or something really extraordinary like Chicago's "Rock N' Roll McDonalds" if we feel so inclined.

As soon as we hit the highway I decided to change two lifestyle habits. Recently I've found that my gum chewing practices needed some alterations. "Louder and smackier" is the way it goes now. I've also been contemplating improving my humming skills. My falsetto range is in need of practice in particular. In order to maximize my efficiency I decided to do both at the same time.

It didn't last long. Apparently Kate didn't appreciate my initiative.

With a 2003 Toyota Corolla as our chariot, Route 90 was our pathway. We took that all the way to the New York Thruway to Rte. 88 to Oneonta NY, home of Hartwick College - Kate's alma mater of one year prior to a transfer to UMass. Lunch was at the Neptune Diner, one of Kate's old haunts. Afterwards we headed to the Hartwick campus. We took a breif nostalgic trip past her old dorm, dining hall and fine arts building. A quick picture with a giant metal gorilla and we were back on our way.

We've got the help of GPS on Kate's new cell phone which guided us South (or West) on 88 to 79 North to 81 North to Rte. 20
West. We took that through Skaneateles until we got to Route 90 (again).

Kate typed in "Simplest Route" instead of "Quickest Route" to get us to our destination in Brockport, NY. That took us off the highway in Rochester and right through it. We even passed a button factory. We met a guy named Joe, he had a house, three kids and one spouse. He was ridiculously busy.

We arrived at the home of Derek, Jess and the newly arrived Mikayla Mellenthine. Otherwise known at the InstaFriends of Maynard MA. Why InstaFriends? Just add beer...

Natives of the western NY area and alums of SUNY Brockport they knew the area very well. We walked into town to Barber's Grill where we dined on Barber's Balboa sandwiches and imbibed Labatt Blue Light from Mason jars. Downtown Brockport is on the banks of the Erie Canal. So we headed out of Barber's and headed for The Smokehouse. This is where we enjoyed drinks right on the banks of the Erie Canal. 10 feet down, 79190 feet to go. I will get my 15 miles out of the Erie Canal soon enough. There is no mule named Sal but Derek and Jess have a Jack Russell Terrier named Cal. He'll have to do.

450 miles, a couple of Balboas, and a few beers later, the air mattress never looked more comfortable.

Kate and I are still both alive and happily married. This trip is going to be just fine.