I haven't been writing much because in reality not much has been going on. Since we last spoke, I found a job working at the Woodward Cage at Copper Mountain. Copper is literally the next exit over from Frisco, so it's extremely convenient, and they have a great little village so there's tons of stuff to do when I'm on break or before or after work.
I'm just a register jockey, and as of now the job has been mostly totally boring. It's incredible how easy it is to do this job, I pretty much just sit around all day and talk to the occasional customer. It's fun, I get to play whatever music I want in the store (as long as my coworkers agree, which they generally do) and it's a relaxed atmosphere. A welcome break from my 9-5 office job, although that was a fairly relaxed place too as far as it goes.
Included in my pay I also get a free ski pass which is good for Copper, Winter Park, Steamboat Springs, Loveland, and possibly a few others. I hope to hit them all throughout the season, and I'm sure I'll thoroughly inspect Copper as it's sort of my home base mountain. I'm really excited to get skiing, but since I just got my pass last Tuesday and I've worked almost every day since, I haven't had a chance yet. I'm pretty sure I'll get a chance to go tomorrow though, while Lisa is taking her first ski lesson! I think she's really excited about it, and I'm excited for her to learn! We went and bought her the necessary gear (she'll still be renting skis and boots...) so she's all ready for her lesson tomorrow!
We've been trying to check out the local night life a bit, but neither of us is really a party person so it's usually just a few beers here or there. The Brewery in Frisco is really cool, and has great food. The Moose Jaw is a fun local bar with awesome burgers and cheap PBR. In nearby Breckenridge we checked out the Gold Pan Saloon, which was pretty cool. More cheap PBR here...is this the state beer or something? We see it everywhere, which is fine by me 'cause I love it!
Christmas was fairly uneventful for us. We came down to Copper on Christmas Eve; they had fireworks, a torch parade down the mountain, and we grabbed dinner. We didn't do gifts for each other because we're both a little tight on money, but on the 26th a big package from my parents arrived. The postal service couldn't quite make it on time, but no big deal. It was really sweet and it really made our Christmas. I had to work on Christmas day so that definitely didn't help, but overall I think it went pretty well. The picture below was our Christmas tree, which we think looks a little Dr. Suess-esque due to its slight tilt and blue and red ornaments.
Overall things have been really great. I'm getting into the swing of things at work, Lisa is still on the hunt and finding things, and we're both going to start skiing tomorrow! Also to look forward to, my parents are coming out to visit from the 30th to the 2nd. That should be great, and if he's feeling well they're going to bring Rigby the kitty out with them!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Home Sweet Frisco
Well we finally settled on an apartment, a studio with no kitchen unfortunately, but at least we have a microwave and a fridge. It's in the town of Frisco, which claims to have the "Main Street Of The Rockies." It's a cute little town with plenty to do, and it's only a few miles from Breckenridge, as well as being only 20 minutes or so from Vail, one of my favorite mountains.
We spent yesterday moving in, and today we're still unpacking. We're still waiting for a few pieces of furniture from the guy we're renting from, so there's still plenty of bags around, but really it's starting to feel like home. After almost 2 weeks on the road and in motels, it feels nice to have a place to call home. Even though it sort of looks like a hotel room, with all our stuff scattered all over it feels like ours. I'm also really glad to be able to see out the back of my car, plus it can actually make it up a minor hill without downshifting twice now!
The rest of today is pretty much just for unpacking, maybe some errands, and more job searching. Finding a job has been more difficult than I thought it would be, but I'm not out of hope. Incidentally if anyone in the Summit County area needs tech support, I charge $40/hr and I'm very knowledgeable!
We spent yesterday moving in, and today we're still unpacking. We're still waiting for a few pieces of furniture from the guy we're renting from, so there's still plenty of bags around, but really it's starting to feel like home. After almost 2 weeks on the road and in motels, it feels nice to have a place to call home. Even though it sort of looks like a hotel room, with all our stuff scattered all over it feels like ours. I'm also really glad to be able to see out the back of my car, plus it can actually make it up a minor hill without downshifting twice now!
The rest of today is pretty much just for unpacking, maybe some errands, and more job searching. Finding a job has been more difficult than I thought it would be, but I'm not out of hope. Incidentally if anyone in the Summit County area needs tech support, I charge $40/hr and I'm very knowledgeable!
Saturday, December 13, 2008
John Denver Is NOT Full Of Shit
After driving all day on Saturday through Kansas (and crashing a mere 25 miles from the border) we woke up Sunday with a fresh resolve. We were finally going to make it to the mountains today.
We rolled into Denver around 10am on a Sunday morning, definitely not the most interesting time to visit a city. We walked around for a few hours but didn't really see much. It's a very clean city, and there seems to be a lot of cool stuff to do, but again, it was Sunday morning, and the place was basically dead. Rather than stay and wait for something to happen, we hopped back in the saddle and continued west on I-70, into the mountains.
We drove through several towns and passed about 6 million ski areas, checking out the gorgeous Rocky Mountains and finally seeing some significant amounts of snow. Sunday afternoon, after checking out a few of the smaller towns in the area, we stopped in a town called Frisco. We found a cheap motel, dropped off our stuff and went back out to explore.
Almost all of the small towns up here look more or less the same, with a single main street that looks almost exactly like what you'd expect the main street in a Western town to look like, only modernized. Some are larger or smaller, and some are more or less focused on the actual skiing side of things. Frisco, for example, had a lot of small ski chalets, but not as many Western storefronts.
For a real mining/cowboy town experience, check out Idaho Springs or Georgetown. These are much smaller towns that look like they really haven't changed much since the gold rush (which is celebrating its 150th anniversary next year).
We had originally planned to drive on to Wyoming and possibly Montana before settling down, but the proximity of dozens of great ski mountains, the larger towns that would provide jobs, and our own exhaustion with the road led us to decide to stay here in Colorado. I'm writing this now on Saturday, and we've spent the entire week looking around for jobs and apartments. We're currently waiting to hear from one apartment in Frisco, or else we will head back down the mountain to an inn in Idaho Springs where they've offered to let us pay by the month.
As far as the job search goes, it's looking like I might end up as a pizza delivery guy, or, with luck, a rental shop salesman. I'd love to work in a ski shop or something, just to hang out with like-minded people (and get Lisa some discounts on equipment!). Lisa and I have been talking about how we'd really be willing to do just about anything, and probably have fun doing it. All of the stores around here are locally owned, so it's a much more laid back experience. Of course, if we run out of options, there's always Target!
That's it for now. We've seen a lot of different apartments and applied for a bunch of different jobs, and maybe later I'll relay some of the more interesting experiences we had. For now we're just kind of in a holding pattern, waiting to see if we can afford to live here and what not.
More updates as events warrant. I think once we get settled this may turn into a ski mountain review blog, so be forewarned.
We rolled into Denver around 10am on a Sunday morning, definitely not the most interesting time to visit a city. We walked around for a few hours but didn't really see much. It's a very clean city, and there seems to be a lot of cool stuff to do, but again, it was Sunday morning, and the place was basically dead. Rather than stay and wait for something to happen, we hopped back in the saddle and continued west on I-70, into the mountains.
We drove through several towns and passed about 6 million ski areas, checking out the gorgeous Rocky Mountains and finally seeing some significant amounts of snow. Sunday afternoon, after checking out a few of the smaller towns in the area, we stopped in a town called Frisco. We found a cheap motel, dropped off our stuff and went back out to explore.
Almost all of the small towns up here look more or less the same, with a single main street that looks almost exactly like what you'd expect the main street in a Western town to look like, only modernized. Some are larger or smaller, and some are more or less focused on the actual skiing side of things. Frisco, for example, had a lot of small ski chalets, but not as many Western storefronts.
For a real mining/cowboy town experience, check out Idaho Springs or Georgetown. These are much smaller towns that look like they really haven't changed much since the gold rush (which is celebrating its 150th anniversary next year).
We had originally planned to drive on to Wyoming and possibly Montana before settling down, but the proximity of dozens of great ski mountains, the larger towns that would provide jobs, and our own exhaustion with the road led us to decide to stay here in Colorado. I'm writing this now on Saturday, and we've spent the entire week looking around for jobs and apartments. We're currently waiting to hear from one apartment in Frisco, or else we will head back down the mountain to an inn in Idaho Springs where they've offered to let us pay by the month.
As far as the job search goes, it's looking like I might end up as a pizza delivery guy, or, with luck, a rental shop salesman. I'd love to work in a ski shop or something, just to hang out with like-minded people (and get Lisa some discounts on equipment!). Lisa and I have been talking about how we'd really be willing to do just about anything, and probably have fun doing it. All of the stores around here are locally owned, so it's a much more laid back experience. Of course, if we run out of options, there's always Target!
That's it for now. We've seen a lot of different apartments and applied for a bunch of different jobs, and maybe later I'll relay some of the more interesting experiences we had. For now we're just kind of in a holding pattern, waiting to see if we can afford to live here and what not.
More updates as events warrant. I think once we get settled this may turn into a ski mountain review blog, so be forewarned.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Day 4 - Cozy Dogs, St. Louis Weirdness, Open Plains
Today was the first day that the road started to drag on us a bit. We've been having a lot of fun, and I'm certainly glad we started this journey, but spending all this time in the car is starting to take it's toll. I think we were both a little grumpy this morning, and throughout the day I've just felt a bit more tired and uncomfortable. That being said, today was extremely fun, mostly thanks to the oddness that is St. Louis.
We woke up a little late, and got on the road about 11. We decided to skip breakfast again, because Lisa had spotted a classic Rt. 66 stop just an hour or so away that promised delicious hot dogs at the Cozy Drive In. It wasn't actually a drive in, and the hot dogs were actually corn dogs, but it was every bit as classic as we hoped. We had picked up Rt. 66 last night, and continued on it today. It's a lot more fun driving on the smaller roads, as they stop in each small town and you can take a quick look around to see if there's anything worth checking out. We ate two corn dogs each and a basket of fries, and I had my usual morning (at noon) coffee, before hopping back on the road to St. Louis.
On the way, we stopped at two more roadside attractions, both in Collinsville, Il. The first was the world's largest bottle of Catsup (which made me wonder if there was possibly a larger bottle of Ketchup somewhere, brought to you by Heinz). It's 170' tall, and pretty impressive. I'm not sure what else can be said about a giant bottle of catsup.
The second was, in my opinion, far more fascinating. In Collinsville there was an old Indian settlement called Cahokia. At this settlement is a huge field filled with these giant mounds of earth. Apparently they're totally man made, and as yet, no one knows how. They suspect they were built to hold up important structures in town, and also to cover the bodies of important members of society. When I say big, the largest one looked more like an Aztec temple than a small hill. We climbed up the biggest one, which was said to house the home of the leader of the tribe. From the top we got a great view of St. Louis, including the arch.
Man made wonders like this never cease to amaze me. Like the Pyramids or the giant Aztec temples in South America, the mounds defy belief. How could a tribe of Indians from thousands of years ago create such beautiful, impressive structures using only their hands and maybe some basic tools. Nowadays a project like this would cost a city millions of dollars and require cranes, huge trucks, and who knows what else. I'm always humbled by things like this, and the Cahokia Mounds were no different. I'm glad Lisa is playing tour guide because I never would have found the mounds on my own.
After our roadside fun we finally rolled into St. Louis around 2. We drove around for a while, trying to get a good picture of the Arch, checking out America's Center (which was actually just some kind of convention center) and St. Louis Center (which was actually a mall). Finally we drove to some random corner of town and found the City Museum, by far the oddest thing we've seen so far and possibly the oddest thing we'll see all trip.
The Museum is difficult to describe, and I'm not sure what, if anything, you're supposed to learn from it. It's basically this giant indoor playplace that's big enough for adults, and it seems to be made of old factory parts and machines. There are stairs up and down inside the building, and an odd network of caves, metal tubes, and metal frameworks. We wondered several times if children were allowed in unattended, because we saw at least half a dozen seperate spots where a child could fall, get stuck, or possibly impaled. We climbed all the way up about 8 flights of spiral stairs, before sliding back down a big metal slide. I have to admit I was a bit scared of the slide, mainly because I thought it was going to be a lot faster than it actually was. It did get quite dark, which wasn't exactly fun, but overall it was a great experience.
Attached to the outside of the building is another network of tubes and stairs and metal, this one holding up two half-destroyed airplanes. Lisa is small enough that she was able to fit through most of the metal tubes and lattice climbing areas, and I followed her around using more spiral stairs. I'm sure I'm doing a terrible job of describing this, maybe if you google it you can make more sense of it. Just imagine the biggest McDonald's Playplace you've ever seen, multiply it in size by 5, and make the whole thing out of sharp, cold metal. There you go. Also, there's weird music playing and a giant hamster wheel.
We spun out of the city around 5:30, only to discover there's basically no rush hour in St. Louis. Also, we found studio apartments starting at 525. Hmm...maybe we'll have to come back here some day! St. Louis was awesome.
We left St. Louis and tried to make tracks across Missouri, and into Kansas. We stopped once or twice for food and gas (nothing exciting, just Taco Bell) and finally ended up in Junction City, KS, around midnight where we quickly fell asleep. Tomorrow: The Great Boring Plains.
We woke up a little late, and got on the road about 11. We decided to skip breakfast again, because Lisa had spotted a classic Rt. 66 stop just an hour or so away that promised delicious hot dogs at the Cozy Drive In. It wasn't actually a drive in, and the hot dogs were actually corn dogs, but it was every bit as classic as we hoped. We had picked up Rt. 66 last night, and continued on it today. It's a lot more fun driving on the smaller roads, as they stop in each small town and you can take a quick look around to see if there's anything worth checking out. We ate two corn dogs each and a basket of fries, and I had my usual morning (at noon) coffee, before hopping back on the road to St. Louis.
On the way, we stopped at two more roadside attractions, both in Collinsville, Il. The first was the world's largest bottle of Catsup (which made me wonder if there was possibly a larger bottle of Ketchup somewhere, brought to you by Heinz). It's 170' tall, and pretty impressive. I'm not sure what else can be said about a giant bottle of catsup.
The second was, in my opinion, far more fascinating. In Collinsville there was an old Indian settlement called Cahokia. At this settlement is a huge field filled with these giant mounds of earth. Apparently they're totally man made, and as yet, no one knows how. They suspect they were built to hold up important structures in town, and also to cover the bodies of important members of society. When I say big, the largest one looked more like an Aztec temple than a small hill. We climbed up the biggest one, which was said to house the home of the leader of the tribe. From the top we got a great view of St. Louis, including the arch.
Man made wonders like this never cease to amaze me. Like the Pyramids or the giant Aztec temples in South America, the mounds defy belief. How could a tribe of Indians from thousands of years ago create such beautiful, impressive structures using only their hands and maybe some basic tools. Nowadays a project like this would cost a city millions of dollars and require cranes, huge trucks, and who knows what else. I'm always humbled by things like this, and the Cahokia Mounds were no different. I'm glad Lisa is playing tour guide because I never would have found the mounds on my own.
After our roadside fun we finally rolled into St. Louis around 2. We drove around for a while, trying to get a good picture of the Arch, checking out America's Center (which was actually just some kind of convention center) and St. Louis Center (which was actually a mall). Finally we drove to some random corner of town and found the City Museum, by far the oddest thing we've seen so far and possibly the oddest thing we'll see all trip.
The Museum is difficult to describe, and I'm not sure what, if anything, you're supposed to learn from it. It's basically this giant indoor playplace that's big enough for adults, and it seems to be made of old factory parts and machines. There are stairs up and down inside the building, and an odd network of caves, metal tubes, and metal frameworks. We wondered several times if children were allowed in unattended, because we saw at least half a dozen seperate spots where a child could fall, get stuck, or possibly impaled. We climbed all the way up about 8 flights of spiral stairs, before sliding back down a big metal slide. I have to admit I was a bit scared of the slide, mainly because I thought it was going to be a lot faster than it actually was. It did get quite dark, which wasn't exactly fun, but overall it was a great experience.
Attached to the outside of the building is another network of tubes and stairs and metal, this one holding up two half-destroyed airplanes. Lisa is small enough that she was able to fit through most of the metal tubes and lattice climbing areas, and I followed her around using more spiral stairs. I'm sure I'm doing a terrible job of describing this, maybe if you google it you can make more sense of it. Just imagine the biggest McDonald's Playplace you've ever seen, multiply it in size by 5, and make the whole thing out of sharp, cold metal. There you go. Also, there's weird music playing and a giant hamster wheel.
We spun out of the city around 5:30, only to discover there's basically no rush hour in St. Louis. Also, we found studio apartments starting at 525. Hmm...maybe we'll have to come back here some day! St. Louis was awesome.
We left St. Louis and tried to make tracks across Missouri, and into Kansas. We stopped once or twice for food and gas (nothing exciting, just Taco Bell) and finally ended up in Junction City, KS, around midnight where we quickly fell asleep. Tomorrow: The Great Boring Plains.
Day 3 - Indiana, Chicago, Bloomington
We started the day from our motel near Fremont, Ohio. We got a little bit of a late start, and neither of us was in the mood for a real sit-down breakfast, so we stopped quickly at Burger King, gassed up, and got on the road.
As we drove through Ohio we tried to read the license plate slogan for the state. Originally, Lisa thought it read "Birthplace of America." A quick google search revealed that although Ohio is the birthplace of the most American Presidents, it does not hold or deserve this title. The real slogan is, "Birthplace of Aviation," which, in my opinion, it does not deserve either. According to wikipedia, the Wright Brothers apparently built their airplane in Dayton, Ohio, and then brought it to Kittyhawk for the famous first flight. Ohio had been fighting for nearly a century to take the title back from North Carolina, and in 2003 Congress voted to give Ohio its due. As far as I'm concerned though, Kittyhawk, NC is still the birthplace of Aviation, because that's where the wheels finally left the ground for the first time. I guess Congress disagrees, but what do they know?
Driving through Indiana was boring. I don't really know what else to say about this. I'm pretty sure we listened to some Something Corporate and The Smiths. There's really nothing else exciting about Indiana, except that everyone drives like they're at the Indianapolis Speedway. I would normally appreciate this, but the Jeep really can't keep up with speed demons like this.
We got through Indiana and arrived in Chicago. I had heard many wonderful things about the city, and although we only spent a few hours there, it did not disappoint. On the recommendation of Pete and Andy (two douchbags I used to work with), we stopped at Jimmy John's for sandwiches and then swung over to Streeter's Pub for a drink. Apparently, Pete used to live upstairs in this building. The sandwiches were delicious, and the beer at Streeter's is nice and cold. We didn't stop to play ping pong, mainly because Lisa was afraid I'd beat her too badly.
We originally intended to park the car and walk around for a bit, but it was cold and windy. Instead we took a driving tour of the city, checking out the unique and awesome architecture and getting a picture of the giant reflecting lima bean in Grant Park. We decided to get back on the road, to escape the pricey downtown hotels in favor of our standard backcountry motels.
We drove south towards St. Louis, finally stopping in a small town called Bloomington, IL, which is the home of Illinois State University. It's also right next to a town called Normal, and on the highway the two are listed at Bloomington-Normal, which made us giggle (to steal a line from Lee). We stopped in a college bar for a burger, found a motel, and quickly fell asleep. Tomorrow promised to be a big day, as we were going to try to drive through St. Louis and part of Kansas, in order to put Denver only one more day out of reach.
As we drove through Ohio we tried to read the license plate slogan for the state. Originally, Lisa thought it read "Birthplace of America." A quick google search revealed that although Ohio is the birthplace of the most American Presidents, it does not hold or deserve this title. The real slogan is, "Birthplace of Aviation," which, in my opinion, it does not deserve either. According to wikipedia, the Wright Brothers apparently built their airplane in Dayton, Ohio, and then brought it to Kittyhawk for the famous first flight. Ohio had been fighting for nearly a century to take the title back from North Carolina, and in 2003 Congress voted to give Ohio its due. As far as I'm concerned though, Kittyhawk, NC is still the birthplace of Aviation, because that's where the wheels finally left the ground for the first time. I guess Congress disagrees, but what do they know?
Driving through Indiana was boring. I don't really know what else to say about this. I'm pretty sure we listened to some Something Corporate and The Smiths. There's really nothing else exciting about Indiana, except that everyone drives like they're at the Indianapolis Speedway. I would normally appreciate this, but the Jeep really can't keep up with speed demons like this.
We got through Indiana and arrived in Chicago. I had heard many wonderful things about the city, and although we only spent a few hours there, it did not disappoint. On the recommendation of Pete and Andy (two douchbags I used to work with), we stopped at Jimmy John's for sandwiches and then swung over to Streeter's Pub for a drink. Apparently, Pete used to live upstairs in this building. The sandwiches were delicious, and the beer at Streeter's is nice and cold. We didn't stop to play ping pong, mainly because Lisa was afraid I'd beat her too badly.
We originally intended to park the car and walk around for a bit, but it was cold and windy. Instead we took a driving tour of the city, checking out the unique and awesome architecture and getting a picture of the giant reflecting lima bean in Grant Park. We decided to get back on the road, to escape the pricey downtown hotels in favor of our standard backcountry motels.
We drove south towards St. Louis, finally stopping in a small town called Bloomington, IL, which is the home of Illinois State University. It's also right next to a town called Normal, and on the highway the two are listed at Bloomington-Normal, which made us giggle (to steal a line from Lee). We stopped in a college bar for a burger, found a motel, and quickly fell asleep. Tomorrow promised to be a big day, as we were going to try to drive through St. Louis and part of Kansas, in order to put Denver only one more day out of reach.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Day 2 - Niagara Falls, Witches, Ohio
Today started at a more reasonable 10am, when we left Graziano's (World Famous) Inn and drove into the center of Canastota for some breakfast at the Sunrise Cafe. Here I ordered Corned Beef Hash and Eggs, and Lisa got pancakes. The Hash was the best I've ever had. I should mention, however, that I've only ever had it at two other places. Zoe's, in Cambridge, and Johnny D's, in Somerville. The Sunrise Cafe's version was crispy, and as Lisa put it, "It just seems like all the flavors fit together perfect." They really nailed the spices, and we appreciate the effort. Also, I experienced what it might be like to have a drug pusher doing his thing to you, as the waitress kept asking me if I wanted coffee, about every 3-5 minutes. I felt like I wasn't keeping up to her standards, so everytime she asked I felt compelled to take a huge gulp of coffee, and usually ended up burning myself.
We left town and continued West, the destination: Niagara Falls. As we drove, I noticed a sign for Buffalo which said, "Buffalo: An All American City." This contrasted with the sign I had seen earlier in Albany, which read "An All-America City." Any thoughts on what the difference might be? I really had no clue.
As we drove we listened to some CCR. I always forget how incredible this band is. John Fogherty is most likely my favorite guitarist of all time, and if you don't believe he's got the chops, check out some of his crazy slide sounds in the third act of Suzie Q. That sound makes me fall in love with this band all over again, every time. We also started the audiobook for Chuck Klosterman's Killing Yourself To Live: 85% Of A True Story. I have heard it before, but it's been a while, and Lisa had never heard it. It's a perfect book to be listening to on our trip, as it's basically about a cross-country road trip to visit all the sites of major rock stars' deaths. Listening to it again made me realize I probably take a lot of my writing style cues from him, so if you like this blog you would probably do well to check him out.
Arriving in Niagara Falls I remembered all the things I don't like about these typical tourist attractions. The parking garages, the gross pavilions, and, normally, the crowds. Today, however, there were absolutely no people anywhere to be found. I guess after Labor Day people stop wanting to stand outside in the cold and watch water fall off a cliff. It was great for us though, because we got to wander around unhindered by people, and we got to go to the Observation Tower without paying.
While we were eating lunch inside the pavilion, one of the workers came in with a dead bird, and asked us if we were still hungry. I asked him if he could throw it on the grill first, and he said yes (before throwing it in the trash). He came back and told us he only made that joke because we, "Looked like we could handle it." Yay! I can handle dead bird jokes! Although I was able to joke back and forth with him, a dead bird always makes me sad. I always think that if we just hadn't built these stupid windows, that bird would have just been flying through clear skies and wouldn't be casually tossed into a trash can. Oh well, circle of life and all that.
The falls themselves were breathtaking. I hadn't seen them as a kid, and I forgot just how powerful they seem. The water is really moving along, and the spray from the splashing is intense. We took a bunch of pictures, as you can see I posted one. We also saw a rainbow at the "Bridal Veil Falls," which was cool (and apparently rare nowadays). The larger Horseshoe Falls were difficult to see, and I recall that they're better viewed from the Canadian side. Lisa didn't have her passport though, and also this is an American road trip, so after checking out the American Falls and the Bridal Veil, we decided to get back on the road.
Passing through Buffalo, we finally hit new territory for Lisa. She used to live in Upstate NY so most of those stops were at least vaguely familiar to her. I had been in uncharted waters since avoiding the exit for Montreal, that being the furthest out I had driven on I-90. Except of course for when I went to the Falls as a kid, but I can barely remember that so I guess it doesn't count.
After about an hour and a half of driving we found ourselves nearing the small town of Lily Dale, NY. According to Evan, this town is supposedly full of Psychics. Driving around, however, we realized the place was basically closed down for the night. The town is a closed community (with a gate and everything) and we drove in without paying (there's an admission fee during the days, except on Sunday mornings where they open up the town for church-goers. All the houses seemed closed, but we definitly got a distinct creepy feeling from the place. There were weird lights and chimes on a lot of the houses, and the small streets and closed community just seemed strange. We left town without getting a reading, and went to find some food.
We stopped in the town next to Lily Dale, called Cassadaga. We went to a bar called May's Place, where we recieved a warm, small town welcome from a bunch of drunken locals. They advised us to sit down, join them, and get ready for some "craziness" which I never really saw. Since the kitchen was closed, they told us to buy sandwiches from nearby Norty's, and bring them back to the bar, which we did. They were delicious, and the beer was cold. We said goodbye to our local friends, who were impressed with our cross country drive. One of them, a country John Goodman lookalike, said, "That's so fucking cool." As we left. Lisa and are fucking cool! Yay!
After dinner, I decided to make some tracks, and after another 3 or 4 hours of driving I finally gave up near Fremont, Ohio. We pulled off into one of these gross, strip mall laden truck stop areas, found a cheap inn which name I can't recall, and settled in for the night. No matter how much fun I have with the driving and the sights to see, nothing makes me feel more relaxed or at ease like finally getting home with Lisa, and laying with her watching some TV. I could never have done this trip without her, and I know you all probably weren't expecting much sap, but I love her totally. We are having a great time and it's mainly because of her upbeat outlook and penchant for finding the strangest part of anything.
For those of you readers out there who want to say something back, I've opened up the comments for anonymous users. Just be aware that my parents and many family members are reading this, so please feel free to be a vulgar and inappropriate as possible.
Tomorrow (which I'll hopefully write later today): Indiana, Chicago, The Road To St. Louis.
We left town and continued West, the destination: Niagara Falls. As we drove, I noticed a sign for Buffalo which said, "Buffalo: An All American City." This contrasted with the sign I had seen earlier in Albany, which read "An All-America City." Any thoughts on what the difference might be? I really had no clue.
As we drove we listened to some CCR. I always forget how incredible this band is. John Fogherty is most likely my favorite guitarist of all time, and if you don't believe he's got the chops, check out some of his crazy slide sounds in the third act of Suzie Q. That sound makes me fall in love with this band all over again, every time. We also started the audiobook for Chuck Klosterman's Killing Yourself To Live: 85% Of A True Story. I have heard it before, but it's been a while, and Lisa had never heard it. It's a perfect book to be listening to on our trip, as it's basically about a cross-country road trip to visit all the sites of major rock stars' deaths. Listening to it again made me realize I probably take a lot of my writing style cues from him, so if you like this blog you would probably do well to check him out.
Arriving in Niagara Falls I remembered all the things I don't like about these typical tourist attractions. The parking garages, the gross pavilions, and, normally, the crowds. Today, however, there were absolutely no people anywhere to be found. I guess after Labor Day people stop wanting to stand outside in the cold and watch water fall off a cliff. It was great for us though, because we got to wander around unhindered by people, and we got to go to the Observation Tower without paying.
While we were eating lunch inside the pavilion, one of the workers came in with a dead bird, and asked us if we were still hungry. I asked him if he could throw it on the grill first, and he said yes (before throwing it in the trash). He came back and told us he only made that joke because we, "Looked like we could handle it." Yay! I can handle dead bird jokes! Although I was able to joke back and forth with him, a dead bird always makes me sad. I always think that if we just hadn't built these stupid windows, that bird would have just been flying through clear skies and wouldn't be casually tossed into a trash can. Oh well, circle of life and all that.
The falls themselves were breathtaking. I hadn't seen them as a kid, and I forgot just how powerful they seem. The water is really moving along, and the spray from the splashing is intense. We took a bunch of pictures, as you can see I posted one. We also saw a rainbow at the "Bridal Veil Falls," which was cool (and apparently rare nowadays). The larger Horseshoe Falls were difficult to see, and I recall that they're better viewed from the Canadian side. Lisa didn't have her passport though, and also this is an American road trip, so after checking out the American Falls and the Bridal Veil, we decided to get back on the road.
Passing through Buffalo, we finally hit new territory for Lisa. She used to live in Upstate NY so most of those stops were at least vaguely familiar to her. I had been in uncharted waters since avoiding the exit for Montreal, that being the furthest out I had driven on I-90. Except of course for when I went to the Falls as a kid, but I can barely remember that so I guess it doesn't count.
After about an hour and a half of driving we found ourselves nearing the small town of Lily Dale, NY. According to Evan, this town is supposedly full of Psychics. Driving around, however, we realized the place was basically closed down for the night. The town is a closed community (with a gate and everything) and we drove in without paying (there's an admission fee during the days, except on Sunday mornings where they open up the town for church-goers. All the houses seemed closed, but we definitly got a distinct creepy feeling from the place. There were weird lights and chimes on a lot of the houses, and the small streets and closed community just seemed strange. We left town without getting a reading, and went to find some food.
We stopped in the town next to Lily Dale, called Cassadaga. We went to a bar called May's Place, where we recieved a warm, small town welcome from a bunch of drunken locals. They advised us to sit down, join them, and get ready for some "craziness" which I never really saw. Since the kitchen was closed, they told us to buy sandwiches from nearby Norty's, and bring them back to the bar, which we did. They were delicious, and the beer was cold. We said goodbye to our local friends, who were impressed with our cross country drive. One of them, a country John Goodman lookalike, said, "That's so fucking cool." As we left. Lisa and are fucking cool! Yay!
After dinner, I decided to make some tracks, and after another 3 or 4 hours of driving I finally gave up near Fremont, Ohio. We pulled off into one of these gross, strip mall laden truck stop areas, found a cheap inn which name I can't recall, and settled in for the night. No matter how much fun I have with the driving and the sights to see, nothing makes me feel more relaxed or at ease like finally getting home with Lisa, and laying with her watching some TV. I could never have done this trip without her, and I know you all probably weren't expecting much sap, but I love her totally. We are having a great time and it's mainly because of her upbeat outlook and penchant for finding the strangest part of anything.
For those of you readers out there who want to say something back, I've opened up the comments for anonymous users. Just be aware that my parents and many family members are reading this, so please feel free to be a vulgar and inappropriate as possible.
Tomorrow (which I'll hopefully write later today): Indiana, Chicago, The Road To St. Louis.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Departures, Caverns, Canastota
I hardly slept a wink last night. This is standard behavior for me before any trip, and this one promised to be the biggest of my life. We woke early (early for me is 7), packed the car, and took off. The first leg of the trip would be a familiar one: the road to my home in CT. We listened to some new music, and began to lay out some ground rules for new music discovery. We decided that any new band would require at least 3 tracks per album, with "a few" skips allowed. If anyone feels like recommending new driving music (torrent links appreciated!) we'll promise to listen to at least 3 tracks, and maybe even let you know how it was.
Leaving Boston, I tried to take a mental snapshot, partly to compare as we traveled, and partly because it's one of my favorite places, and I know I'll miss it. Coming into Suffield, I felt at home, although dropping off Rigby (the kitty) was a sad moment. We'll miss him for the driving portion of the trip, and I have no doubt he'll miss us (though my parents and siblings are cat lovers and I know he's in good hands). We had a quick lunch with my parents, adjusted the packing job, and spun off for uncharted waters, which for me, started after turning West onto the Mass Pike from Springfield.
It's difficult to tell when or how the landscape started looking different from the places I've been. It's not a sudden, stunning change, but more gradual. The hills start growing a little higher, the distance between settlements growing longer. We enter New York, and I lose the ability to understand the exit signs. B21-64? What the heck is that supposed to mean?!
I'm confronted suddenly by the openness of our trip. Although our stated goal is to make it to the Rocky Mountains, there's nothing stopping us from finding a quiet corner of upstate New York, taking down a "Help Wanted" sign, and settling in. Of course we won't, but the sheer immensity of our possibilites leaves me a little breathless.
Our first stop is Howe Caverns, in Howes Cave, NY. We pull into the compound and enter a large, hotel-like building that houses the ticket office, the museum, a gift shop, and a small cafe. We buy our tickets for the last tour of the day (it ends up being a private one) and, after a short wait (involving a christmas tree), head down to the caverns with our tour guide. Walking through these massive underground caverns is extremely awe-inspiring, and the natural formations are beautiful. Our favorite scene is where, during the last ice age, a huge house-sized chunk of the cavern wall and ceiling collapsed, leaving a pile of boulders they call the Rocky Mountains. (Hey! We made it!) The rocks look like they fell down only months earlier, not thousands of years. Very cool. We also go on a small boat ride in the underground river, and experience total darkness when the tour guide offers to turn out the lights. The thick black makes me think of House Of Leaves (by Mark Z. Danielwski).
Leaving the Caverns, we decide to grab a quick bite at Fernando's, a local pub in the nearby town center. The food is decent, and Lisa orders her first Long Island Iced Tea. She's decided to compare them as we drive. The waitress reminds me of a cross between Honey Bunny (Pulp Fiction) and the drug-addled mother in Gone Baby Gone, but nicer than either. Small town people are friendly! I've taken on the similar task of ordering Hash & Eggs at every diner between here and the West Coast. It's now dark, and I'm stunned by the sight of the stars. Everytime I get out of the city at night, the stars blow me away. Tonight, looking across the rolling hills of New York, they're dazzlingly bright and too numerous to fathom.
After dinner we drive on for another hour or two, finally arriving in the town of Canastota, where I'm currently typing this in Graziano's World Famous Inn. Lisa's already fast asleep, and after a full and exciting first day, I'm about ready to join her. I'm not sure yet if we're finding what we're looking for, or even what exactly it is we're searching for, but so far we're having fun. Tomorrow: Niagara Falls, Buffalo, and Psychics...
Leaving Boston, I tried to take a mental snapshot, partly to compare as we traveled, and partly because it's one of my favorite places, and I know I'll miss it. Coming into Suffield, I felt at home, although dropping off Rigby (the kitty) was a sad moment. We'll miss him for the driving portion of the trip, and I have no doubt he'll miss us (though my parents and siblings are cat lovers and I know he's in good hands). We had a quick lunch with my parents, adjusted the packing job, and spun off for uncharted waters, which for me, started after turning West onto the Mass Pike from Springfield.
It's difficult to tell when or how the landscape started looking different from the places I've been. It's not a sudden, stunning change, but more gradual. The hills start growing a little higher, the distance between settlements growing longer. We enter New York, and I lose the ability to understand the exit signs. B21-64? What the heck is that supposed to mean?!
I'm confronted suddenly by the openness of our trip. Although our stated goal is to make it to the Rocky Mountains, there's nothing stopping us from finding a quiet corner of upstate New York, taking down a "Help Wanted" sign, and settling in. Of course we won't, but the sheer immensity of our possibilites leaves me a little breathless.
Our first stop is Howe Caverns, in Howes Cave, NY. We pull into the compound and enter a large, hotel-like building that houses the ticket office, the museum, a gift shop, and a small cafe. We buy our tickets for the last tour of the day (it ends up being a private one) and, after a short wait (involving a christmas tree), head down to the caverns with our tour guide. Walking through these massive underground caverns is extremely awe-inspiring, and the natural formations are beautiful. Our favorite scene is where, during the last ice age, a huge house-sized chunk of the cavern wall and ceiling collapsed, leaving a pile of boulders they call the Rocky Mountains. (Hey! We made it!) The rocks look like they fell down only months earlier, not thousands of years. Very cool. We also go on a small boat ride in the underground river, and experience total darkness when the tour guide offers to turn out the lights. The thick black makes me think of House Of Leaves (by Mark Z. Danielwski).
Leaving the Caverns, we decide to grab a quick bite at Fernando's, a local pub in the nearby town center. The food is decent, and Lisa orders her first Long Island Iced Tea. She's decided to compare them as we drive. The waitress reminds me of a cross between Honey Bunny (Pulp Fiction) and the drug-addled mother in Gone Baby Gone, but nicer than either. Small town people are friendly! I've taken on the similar task of ordering Hash & Eggs at every diner between here and the West Coast. It's now dark, and I'm stunned by the sight of the stars. Everytime I get out of the city at night, the stars blow me away. Tonight, looking across the rolling hills of New York, they're dazzlingly bright and too numerous to fathom.
After dinner we drive on for another hour or two, finally arriving in the town of Canastota, where I'm currently typing this in Graziano's World Famous Inn. Lisa's already fast asleep, and after a full and exciting first day, I'm about ready to join her. I'm not sure yet if we're finding what we're looking for, or even what exactly it is we're searching for, but so far we're having fun. Tomorrow: Niagara Falls, Buffalo, and Psychics...
Episode IV - A New Beginning?
I suppose it's obligatory for all blogs to have this awkward starting post where I tell you what I might talk about, only to later completely veer from this path. Ostensibly, this is going to be about a trip cross country, and a few months spent at one of the many great ski mountains in the Western US. It's also probably going to be about me, my thoughts and general ramblings, as well as Lisa, my girlfriend and faithful co-pilot. It's possible she'll post here. It's also possible she won't. She is keeping a notebook of totally random thoughts which pop up as we drive, and it's certain I'll be referencing that as we go along.
For those of you who don't know me, or don't know what's going on, the story so far:
Since college I've had the itch to drive cross country and spend a winter working and living near a ski resort, while getting in as many powder days as humanly possible. Since I went directly to work after school, it seemed like I may have missed my chance. Eventually I decided to leave my job, for various reasons. Simultaneously, I have spent the past few months dating Lisa, who has always wanted just get up and leave. So I had a travel partner, and no real obligations. I sub-let my apartment, packed up the car, and off we drove. We have several mountains in mind, but no final destination yet.
I'm 23, driving from Boston into the great American West, and I couldn't be more excited. Those of you who know me know this blog will probably be fully of completely random and generally long-winded descriptions of events that may or may not make any sense. Those of you who don't, just expect a travel log from a lost and bored 20-something and his girlfriend. And eventually a cat.
For those of you who don't know me, or don't know what's going on, the story so far:
Since college I've had the itch to drive cross country and spend a winter working and living near a ski resort, while getting in as many powder days as humanly possible. Since I went directly to work after school, it seemed like I may have missed my chance. Eventually I decided to leave my job, for various reasons. Simultaneously, I have spent the past few months dating Lisa, who has always wanted just get up and leave. So I had a travel partner, and no real obligations. I sub-let my apartment, packed up the car, and off we drove. We have several mountains in mind, but no final destination yet.
I'm 23, driving from Boston into the great American West, and I couldn't be more excited. Those of you who know me know this blog will probably be fully of completely random and generally long-winded descriptions of events that may or may not make any sense. Those of you who don't, just expect a travel log from a lost and bored 20-something and his girlfriend. And eventually a cat.
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