Little Rock - an unexpected 2 nite stay

Well the Vagabonding book said not to over plan and have a schedule while traveling for months b/c u won't be able to stick to it :) It's funny how "plans" gives us an illusion of control. And so here I am in Little Rock, AR for 2 nights. Not a scheduled stop on the trip.

Yesterday, we were driving from Memphis to Oklahoma City, made a pit stop in Little Rock to pick up some groceries and there goes the tire. The11 yr old jeep is heavy and while making a hard turn in the rain, the tire came off and the axle broke hitting a median thingy.

Luckily, we were fine and hit nothing/no one else. We have AAA and I got on to couchsurfing website to post an emergency host request. Kyle, a 24 yr Air force pilot, had the day off and picked us up at the shop and put us up for 2 nights. He has a sweet black 12 yr old lab, Ruddy. We went to an Irish pub with some of Kyle's friends and then parties some more at his house. Nite two, Kyle took me to a skeptic at the pub event with the Arkansas Society of Free Thinkers. Nice people, mostly science type peeps. My first event like this, glad i went. When we got home, we helped Kyle bottle his homemade wine. Other first, who knew AR offered so much! Click here for pix.

So lesson learned on week 2 of this trip - take it easy :) We are making the best of this event. People are really nice here and I am thankful things worked out as it could have been worse.

Crawling in Caves in KY

Sat, we arrived at Mamonth Cave around 1pm. Did a few easy, kinda boring, trails by the visiting center. We did our first camping and it was a nice clear night to see some stars and the moon. The next day, we were ready to start a 6.5 hr cave tour, which entailed some rock canyoning, crawling and hands and feet, and laying on our tummies to drag our bodies through some tight spots and holes. I'm so glad I am little as it was a little nerve wrecking. Greg said I did well as a spider monkey. We saw two tiny bats, the length of my index finger. They were sleeping. Apparently not all bats stay in colonies.

This cave is the longest in the world with 392 miles, not in a straight shot of course, and spread amoung levels. We crawled/hike 5.5 miles. We saw some minerals and crystals, but nothing amazing. There were some 150 ft high domes that were cool to see from below. We also turned our headlights off and stayed quiet twice, which was neat to experience in a cave.

Showered quickly, left by 5pm and arrived in Memphis by 10pm and surfed with a new friend, Johnathan. Stayed up for a few hrs catching up on computer work and chatted about food health, consumerism, etc.  Did not get to check out Memphis as we head to CO by 3/17. Click here for cave pix.

Nashville - Music, Pork, BBQ & Sun

I did not mention this last time but while I was in Asheville on Wed, Greg drove home to Greenville, SC for a scheduled ear surgery as other treatments were not working. A few weeks ago, he was told he has a cyst in his ear causing hearing problems. The cat scan showed that the cyst is located on a bone that requires a specialist to remove. So hopefully we can find a specialist next week while we are in CO.

Thurs afternoon, we were able to drive through the middle of Smoky NP, so I got to see it technically. It was rainy, snowy, and cold; no hiking or camping for us. Got to Nashville in the evening (5ish hr drive) and was hosted by a new friend, Todd, via couchsurfing.org. It was a last minute plan to stay in Nashville and Todd was nice enough to host us for 2 nights. Todd has a cute loft cottage on the east side. And he is pet sitting, Cosmo, a 5 week old pup! I fell in love instantly.

Greg is sick now so it's been mellow nights. Fri, we had our first sunny day and walked all over city for about 6 hrs. Took random fun city pix. And I can't believe how many churches we saw in one block, many Baptists churches and Christian billboards, signs, ads, stores, etc. Jebus, it is strange. We made it out to a bar with a foosball table, of course I played well, but too smokey to stay long. Have not been in a smokey bar in years. I guess another new thing to get use to.

Today, we are off to KY to hike some trails at Mammoth Cave NP, KY. Sun we booked a 6.5 hr cave tour!  And, today marks me being on the road for one full week and I still have no clue what I am doing :) Click here for Smoky NP and Nashville, TN pix.

South We Go: VA & NC

Nice sunny but long drive (7.5 hr) from VA to Boone, NC to see one of my best mates, Kelly. I met Kelly in Italy on a HS trip when we were 16 and we've been pen pals ever since On the way we saw the Foamhenge. This is my first time in NC. Blue ridge drive was nice, but Shenadoah NP was closed due to snow :(

Got to spend 2 nites in one place finally. But learning that organizing photos, making captions and blogging takes a few hours. I feel terrible that I don't get to chill with my friends in this short time we have.

We did a nice 4 mile hike and take some great Mt shots. Also got to see some Confederate flags, random huge crosses posted in hills. Kelly made a great chicken parm dinner with veggies and quinoa. At dinner, I learned that only 5 yrs ago NC allowed lottery gambling. I also learned that tattoos were illegal in SC till recently. Oh and that one can get insurance for body parts such as actresses doing so for the butts or models for their legs. So much I did not know :)

Wed 3/9 headed to Asheville. Got to stay with a girl I met over 3 years ago who stayed with me in PDX. She is a free spirited. It was a rainy day so we chilled with some of her friends talking about road trips. Due to weather, today, we decided to go to Nashville, TN for 2 nights and skip over Smokey Mts :( To view VA & NC pix, click here.

First 2 Days on the road: Learning the Ropes

Left NYC last Sat to DC. Only got to stay in DC for 1 night and a day. Have not been here since i was 17 and wanted to get a feel for the city. But it was a rainy day so we hit the National Gallery and National Air and Space Museum; most of which are free! The images taken in space of other planets were so amazing. I could not believe those were true images. So amazed, I did not take a photo of it :( I did experience that getting in, around, and out of DC is a nightmare via car. We stayed with my Kelly's friend Tiffany who I have not see since we met in FL 4 yrs ago. Was great to see her and appreciated her showing us around. Wish we had more time to stay but need to be in CO by 3.17 to meet up with some friends.

We took a nap in the jeep and tested out Greg's platform that he made. It works, just very crapped. Drove to Fredericksburg, VA (1 hr S. Of DC) to crash with college friend Tamika, who is in the air force and moved here from NJ 3 months ago. A quick visit, but good to see friends. Click here for DC pix.

Farewell NYC - hello Road Trip

Spent a full day in AC w/ dad (kind of a tradition) and my college friend Todd came with. Left at 6am, was back by midnight. Dad did well w/ roulette; even I walked away w/ $150 which is rare. Todd & I enjoyed some sun and cold wind on the boardwalk; had a nice conversation w/ an older kinda bum-like guy about how we waste food and should have a homeless food recycling program. There's also a cat project on the beach to spay/neuter strays..

I didn't mention this before but on my 2nd day in NYC, my dad's car was hit in NJ while he was at a stop sign. Dad walked away just fine, but totaled his Cadillac, which he got a good deal so he was not happy about this. So it was nice for him to have a good day in AC.

After AC, we drove to Philly as it is kind of on the way, to see my brother's house in progress. He's been fixing his first home for 2 yrs and it is a huge project. We went to a nice seafood/steak place called Captiol Grill. Awesome lobster bisque. We played Wii bowling while dad napped. Wish we could have stayed in Philly longer.

This week, I feel like i am all over the place juggling so many schedules; this will be a new lifestyle to adjust to. I got on my family's cell phone plan to save $$$, but miss the iphone and internet :( Greg, my travel partner, arrived on Mon from SC. We have not seen each other since Thanksgiving. We  discussed travel plans and tour around the cold, windy, sunny city.

My old job, AGPA, happened to have their huge conference this week here so not only did I see my former supervisors but a few members as well. I've been walking a few miles a day it seems taking pix of bldgs and even bldgs we use to live in. So many memories have been coming back, so much I have lived for 27 yrs here. But it's been sad seeing all the garbage blowing on the sidewalks. I've also noticed so many shopping stores. It's all we do here, such a high consumption city. But is that really keeping people happy?

Friday night was my farewelll party with all sorts of friends in attendance starting in midtown at my parent's apt. Was awesome seeing people coming from PA, VA, CT, etc. Sat morning we went to DC/VA area for 2 nights then continue to NC to see Kelly (friend from HS) in Boone and Spyce in Asheville. Click here for pix, Greg took some good ones from the party that I need to grab.

nyc week 1- I'm a tourist :)

First full week in NYC, the longest time I've been home since I moved in July 2006. Honey did great on her first flight in the cabin by my feet. She didn't need any downers and her bag was mess-free! Some things have not changed in NYC like people not waiting for u to exit the train as they push u back in, trains changing routes while on it, crowds everywhere at all times. It's been nice seeing a variety of old friends even some from grade school. Now I get to visit their children too. I still love walking around the city seeing random things to photograph; did a nice 3.5 walk with a friend that was randomly visiting from LA.

I'm having a hard time eating healthy as i want to eat my old favs like chinese food, pizza, mozzi sticks, and cannolis. It's also been hard being green here and seeing all the waste that goes on from rubbish on the floors that probably will end up in our drinking water and oceans, people not recycling and not having any options on the sidewalks to people not using reusable bags or cups. But I had some educational chats with friends (probably too much as I can't stop). Hopfully people's actions will slowly change and spread. We really need Malcolm Gladwell to write a book on this sociological and environmental issue :)

Just spent the weekend in PA, where my parents have a house. My brother (Pete) and his gf, Tiffany, met us there. It's been 3.5 yrs since my parents, bro, & myself have been together. Got to see stars from the outdoor hot tub. It was strange and fun seeing my stuff sprinkled throughout the house. I couldn't believe how much stuff I accumulated when I left PDX and now even more amazed in how much stuff I have.

More to come as week 2 in NYC begins shortly! Clear here for some city pix.