We made it to Boston!

So I let the blog go: sorry.

It was getting too stressful trying to upload pictures and a find places with wi-fi, etc. But we made it! And now I have use of my brother's fancy new computer so the pictures are getting uploaded to Facebook. You can view the three albums that comprise the trip! The first one documents our trip from our first stop in Ojai, CA through a drunken night in Vegas. The second one has the pictures from the Hoover Dam through Nashville, which includes the Grand Canyon, Sedona, AZ, Austin, TX, New Orleans, Graceland, and a few scenic views in between. The third one shows our adventures at the Jellystone Campground in Mammoth Caves, KY to Chesterton<>

Josh took this video at the Fiddle and Steel Guitar Bar in Nashville, TN. He also took a LOT of cool sign photos so we'll compile those all together and make a blog that's actually about signs, coming soon. That's it for our travels for a while. Now it's back to real life, if a totally different one than what we've been used to. Stay tuned for the cross country sign blog though.

New Orleans!!!

It's official. This computer will not allow me to upload photos without a WHOLE lot of time and trouble, so you'll all have to just come over for the slide show. ;)
So we're in New Orleans in a Holiday Inn just off Bourbon St: A HUGE step up from the Motel 6 in Lafayette, LA where we stayed last night. I think someone may have been murdered in our room at some point in the past. What I do know has not happened there is any cleaning of the toilet recently. We were planning on staying at a KOA, as we had a fantastic experience at one in Kerrville, TX just before Austin, but it was TOO HOT and we were too tired so we sprung for a crappy motel.
Speaking of Austin: WOW. When we arrived it was about 100 degrees and nothing was open on 6th St so we (for some reason) decided to walk up to the capital. Pretty. And pretty boring, so we bar hopped, ending up at Lovejoy's where we met a very friendly local named Kevin who told us about Barton Springs, a public pool fed by natural spring water. What an oasis! We cooled off, went to a rockabilly club on South Congress and slept (barely) in oppressive heat in the van before we promptly drove back to Barton Springs in the am, ate a snow cone and headed to Lousiana.
We arrived in New Orleans around 5:00 this evening and walked around Bourbon St drinking extremely touristy Hand Grenades and ducking into bars to pee. We decided to walk to Jackson Sq to check out some historical buildings and on the way back to the hotel we ran into my old friend from the beginning days of Whole Foods (2002), Josh. What a CRAZY coincidence! I'm still blown away! He's moving his friend, Nija, to Chicago and it looks like we'll be there around the same time too! What a small world! Okay, so I'm pretty drunk on 2 hand grenades and a few Abitas (a local brew) so I'll end this rant now. More to come!
I got SOME of our photos up on Facebook, from Ojai through Vegas. You can see them here if you have a Facebook account.

El Paso, TX

Apparently you're allowed to park in Walmart parking lots all night long and sleep there. They even provide free security. That's where we woke up this morning in El Paso, after driving about 8 hours from Sedona, AZ. Yesterday was a big day in Arizona. After leaving Williams, we drove up to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon where the fog was rising from the depths. Maybe not the best day for visibility but still really cool.

We arrived in Sedona at sunset and it was breathtaking. Josh took a lot of pictures of hand painted signs. (Remember, that's what this bog is supposed to be about.) Here's one example.

Today, we're trying to make our way all across Texas to Austin, although we'll probably have to stop somewhere and camp tonight before we make it. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to post pictures. I'm thinking maybe Facebook, but I'll let you know. We got some good ones! Next stop, Austin, TX!

Williams, AZ

We're in an internet cafe in picturesque Williams, AZ on Route 66, just west of Flagstaff. It's pouring rain. We arrived here around 10:30 last night, hungover from Vegas and unbearably hot. We decided to just eat a can of beans and sleep in the van and it was pretty comfy. We woke up this morning to the sound of rain beating on the roof of the van and a train honking and then passing right by our windows. This place is so cute! There's a thrift store I want to check out before we head out.
There's no pictures because the battery died on the camera and with everything that we possess packed into the van and trailer, I couldn't find the charger. We have to work on our organizational skills. Also, my computer is from the 1900's (no joke) and I can't handle how long it takes to upload photos. We'll just upload them all when we get to Indiana at Josh's mom's house so until then you'll have to just read what I say and take my word for it.
We're headed up to the Grand Canyon today, then back down to Flagstaff and maybe Sedona tomorrow before we set up camp in the Petrified Forest. At least, that's the plan.

Road Trip Blog #1

I wrote the following post on Tuesday, August 3^rd but the place where we were staying had no internet or phone service so I’m only posting it now. We’re in Vegas at the moment, staying at the Excalibur (I’ve never actually been a Ren-fair nerd but I sooo could have been). We’re about to head down to the casinos and start drinking, then we’ll lounge by the pool tomorrow morning before we head off to the Grand Canyon via the Hoover Dam. It looks like the internet situation (combined with the severely shitty condition of my really old and SLOW laptop) is kind of spotty so I’ll try to post as much as I can, but it may be only once every few days. Stay tuned though. The real road trip (no more friends to stay with or Vegas hotels) is about to launch!

8-3-10

So the fun begins!

Last week was one of the craziest I may have ever experienced: so many errands, so much packing and purging and selling and trashing. So many going away parties! Last Tuesday we shipped our cat to Boston as cargo on United Airlines. It was the saddest thing I’ve ever had to do. But now she thinks that we’ve abandoned her and is slowly adjusting to her new life with my brother, Greg (who was kind enough to take her in the first place but also to post this U-tube video of her playing so we would know she I feeling at home).

On Thursday, we flew to Seattle for our friends’, Steve and Julia’s, wedding on the Virginia V, an old steamship docked at Lake Union near downtown Seattle. The wedding was on Friday evening so during the day on Friday, Josh and I walked around Pike’s Place and spent a lot of time at the magic shop taking pictures of old carnival posters.

We flew back on Saturday night and after some minor setbacks (we had to get the headlight fixed on the van again) and a day’s delay, we finally made it late last night to our friends’, Nick and Fanny’s place in Ojai, CA, just north of LA. We were a little afraid that the van and trailer might not make it down the dirt road that they live on, but Josh is a pro at maneuvering that monster and here we are! Nick and Fanny live in a HUGE warehouse space with a merry-go-round and an outdoor bathtub, just a short hike from a river and a swimming hole where we’re headed later on today. I can’t even describe how amazing their place is. Hopefully the pictures do it some justice. At the moment, Josh is still sleeping, Nick is at work, Fanny is downstairs making breakfast for us, and Cherokee and Bandit are fighting over a torn up bandana on the bed, looking cute as little dog-shaped buttons!

We’re staying here until Wednesday, when we head to LA to spend the night with Josh’s friend Neil and then we’re off to Vegas! See you on the road!

-J&M

You can view some of our pictures here; more to come! I'm still figuring out the best way to post them. Enjoy!