We're finally on MV!

We finally made it to Martha's Vineyard. The whirlwind 2 month cross country trip has come to its conclusion as I write this blog from my sister's house on a little island off the coast of Massachusetts.

We've been here for about a week now. It's been a great time to reconnect with my sister and her family - especially my 2 year old nephew, Parker. He runs into our room every morning and asks us what we're doing. He usually climbs into our bed and starts asking what is that and what is this, as all toddlers do at his age. He has a particular knack of running into our room when we're changing and screams out, "you're naked." He's so cute that we don't really seem bothered by it.

We're heading up to Hartford tomorrow to look for apartments. As some of you might know, we had our hearts set on moving to Boston, but God had other plans. I received a great job offer from a company based out of Hartford and that's where we're going. We're excited about the new adventures ahead of us. Next stop, Hartford, CT.

Our kings and queens

The English have their kings and queens. Some would say that we have the Kennedys. I'd prefer to go farther back in time, granted not much farther back, and argue for the Vanderbilts and the Rockefellers as our nobility. And one of their gifts to us commoners are their beach side bungalows in Newport, Rhode Island. To us they're mansions, but one man's mansion is another man's bungalow.

It was a pretty short drive from CT, so we got into Newport early in the afternoon and had the rest of the day to explore. The previous couple of days had been rainy and just downright dreary. Then there are some September days that just won't give up on Summer and push back on the impending Fall chill, and this was one of those days. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. We enjoyed everything about the day, especially driving around Ocean Drive, walking along the Cliff Walk, and viewing the Mansions.

The highlight of the Mansion tour was our visit to the Breakers, a 70 room summer house built by the Vanderbilt family. The house was absolutely stunning and built with so many details. There were intricate acorn and oak leaf patterns (the symbol for the family indicating long life) in marble, wood, and rugs throughout the mansion. Marble was shipped from Africa. And two full rooms were designed in France, broken down, and shipped to Newport to be reassembled. Oh, and all the gold leaf detailing - and there were many - were 22 carat gold.

We've decided that we're going to spend many more long weekends here. So we'll have more posts about Newport in the future. Incidentally, Newport and the mansions are suppose to be beautiful during Christmas with all the lights up. We can't wait.

We're back in the Northeast!

We finally made it back to the Northeast! We had a quick stopover in Washington DC to pick up our dear friend, Dorothy, and stopped in NYC to drop her off and to have some refreshing roadside ice cream. And now we're in Connecticut visiting with our other dear friends, Doug and Daphne. It's been really relaxing, and we're loving it. When we feel adventurous, we'd drive around some of the cute towns in the area. Next stop, Newport, RI.

OBX - Outer Banks Extreme?

We were very sad to leave Savannah, but as they say in show business, the show (road trip) must go on. Our next stop was the Outer Banks of North Carolina, or otherwise known as OBX. I'm not quite sure where the "X" came from. Maybe to give the place and eXtreme edge, or maybe they spell it Outer Banxs. I'd love to know, so if anybody has any clues, please send back a comment.

In hindsight, it's fitting that there was an "X" at the end of OBX because our plans for the two days in NC were pretty extreme - at least time wise. First, it took us a full day to drive up from Savannah to Morehead City, NC (on the Southern edge of the OBX). We went straight to our hotel and rested up for the big day ahead of us. We had to catch 2 ferries, with total ferry commute time of around 3 hours, the next day for us to get to our hotel at the Northern end of the OBX with the in between highlight being our visit to Ocracoke Island - with beaches that were just rated #1 in the US.

We got up bright and early to drive an hour to Cedar Island to catch the 9:30AM ferry. When we arrived at 9AM, the ferry attendant informed us that one of their ferries had broken down and the next ferry over to Ocracoke would not be until 12 noon. This was a serious blow to our time table, but what could we do. Se we waited. We finally got on the ferry and arrived on the island two and a half hours later. (They don't call it the Outer Banks for nothing).

The town itself was quite small, but awfully cute. We saw kids riding their bikes down the middle of the street, and everybody seemed like they were on their way to the beach. We took that as a cue for us to also head to the much hyped beaches. Our first impression was awe at the quantity of sand on the beach. It was a big beach. When then took a step onto the beach, and marveled at the softness of the sand. We moved on to testing the temperature of the water. Oh, it was like bath water - super warm. We then understood, firsthand, why this beach was ranked #1.

After what seemed like too short of a time, we left to catch our final ferry to Hatteras Village and drive two hours up the heart of the Outer Banks to Kill Devil Hills, NC. Upon our arrival at the hotel, that was right on the beach, we had a choice of upgrading to an ocean view room. We took it. We thoroughly enjoyed our beach front view and the soothing sound of waves crashing that rocked us to sleep.

Savannah on our mind

We absolutely love Savannah. Our road trip guidebook says that it’s a great walking city. It was spot on. There are 21 ½ (we never found the ½) lovely tree filled squares in the downtown historic area where we were staying, all within a square mile of each other. Each square had its own unique personality. It was a joy to walk around, and take in the nuances of each square.

It was pretty hot walking around. So after battling the heat for a day, we decided to enlist the help of a couple of horses and went on a carriage ride through the downtown area. It was a perfect setting as we clip clopped down red brick streets with plantation era mansions and live oak trees covered in moss all around us. For some parts of the tour, it almost felt like we were transported to the 1800s and all we needed to do was to be dressed for the period.

For one particular lunch, it did feel like we were back in the old South – at least to our stomach. We stopped at Mrs. Wilkes, a restaurant famous for its traditional southern cooking. We had classics such as fried chicken, BBQ pork, collard greens, po-beans, black eyed peas, and many more side dishes. We washed it all down with delicious sweet ice tea. Everything was outstanding, and we would highly recommend this restaurant.

More pictures from the aquarium

The first picture is the underwater walkway that I was talking about. Krista really liked the beluga whales in the second picture. I think it was because they're white. Two of them were actually trying to mate while we were watching them! And finally, a picture of a couple of saw sharks that I thought were pretty cool.

Really big fish

We originally planned to stay in Atlanta for one night as a quick stop over, but given that we missed the Monterey aquarium, we extended our stay over the past weekend for us to visit Atlanta's newest attraction and the world's largest fish tank. In hindsight, it was a great decision.

The aquarium was amazing! The building was actually in a shape of a fish. The highlight is the world's largest fish tank that holds a bunch of fish and four large whale sharks from Taiwan, of all places. We got to see the fish from underneath the tank through a underwater walkway (which was really cool) and from the side through large glass windows. It's hard to see the size of the whale sharks through the picture above, but they're big - trust me. We also found some fish that we really liked, the giant grouper. A couple of them even came straight towards the glass and looked at us like we were looking at them. It was like they were staring us down. As intimidating as they were, I didn't back down.

We also had two great meals in Atlanta, both at the same restaurant - Ted's Montana Grill. It was started by Ted Turner and its signature dish is bison burgers. The bison meat is supposed to be leaner and healthier than cow meat. Now, as a rule, I try not to eat at a restaurant more than once if I'm visiting a new city. So, this was that good.

Lastly, our overall thoughts on Atlanta were lukewarm at best. The downtown city area, where we were staying, was a bit rough. And while Buckhead was nice, it wasn't the charming little suburb we were hoping for.

We're not big fans

I'm happy to report that New Orleans is back. The French Quarter (FQ) is alive and kicking, and Southern hospitality is the real deal. (The people we met on the street and in our hotel were by far the friendliest people we have met on our trip.) The jazz music was outstanding with pretty much every street corner band soundings soulful and deep. To top it all off, our second wedding anniversary dinner was at a very romantic restaurant in the FQ that served amazing contemporary cuisine with Southern influence.

We really did enjoy our time in New Orleans, but the city was not our cup of tea. It centered around Bourbon Street where smut and alcohol were heavily advertised and abused. It was downright obscene. I felt dirty walking down the street. I really couldn't imagine any city promoting or at the very least condoning this type of behavior, but this is exactly what New Orleans is doing. I hope as the city continues to rebuild that the people look to focus on more positive aspects of their culture like the jazz, the food, and the history.

Plantation owners??

We're back on the road, and this time we're heading to the Big Easy - New Orleans. On our way to the Mardi Gras capital of the US, we took a slight detour down plantation alley. The was the road next to the Mississippi river that large plantation owners in the 1800s built their massive estates. I felt a bit like Fletch in the movie "Fletch Lives" - coming down to New Orleans to check on our inheritance?

Our plantation visit took us to the Houmas House - the crown jewel of Louisiana's River Road. I was pleasantly surprised at how well maintained the private owners kept the house and grounds. We took a stroll around the estate and even had a mint julep in a bar that use to be a small separate house for bachelors. As the house tour began, we sipped on our mint juleps and pretended the tour guide was giving us a tour of our new house. We were very impressed with all the details - beautiful crown moldings and lavish silver banquet pieces. This is what Southern living is all about.

As we drove down plantation alley, we did see some smaller plantation estates for sale. Maybe it was possible to be plantation owners? I just have to somehow get use to the mosquitoes. Hmmm, maybe not.

A wonderful family dinner

For one of our last nights in Dallas, we got together with family for a great sit down dinner. No, it wasn't a Chinese restaurant - surprisingly. We went to a Cajun seafood restaurant. I'm not quite sure what the family's connection to this restaurant is, if any, but the food was very good. What made the dinner even better was the wonderful company.

I have to admit that I haven't been very good at keeping up relations with my dad's side of the family. The usual excuses being time and distance. Though during dinner, none of that mattered. Everybody just focused on catching up with each other, and enjoying each other's company. It felt like old times, with no one missing a beat. I think that's how it should be with family or with friends. If only every day was this easy and enjoyable.

Big D

We're in Dallas visiting my dad and step mom for a couple of days - taking a break from being tourists for a little while. Dallas is funny, everything is big. You've got big cars, big roads, big malls, and even big people. It's no joke when Texans say they do it big in Texas. Large does have its drawbacks, like driving an hour just to go for dinner. That's considered normal in Texas.

Taking a step back for a minute, I wanted to thank our Aunt Georgia and Uncle Gary in Oklahoma City (OKC) for their wonderful hospitality and conversation as we, too quickly, passed through their area a couple of days ago. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting extended family members, and was pleasantly surprised with all that Oklahoma had to offer.

Last but not least, let's not forget Thunder-querque. On our marathon 18 hour - 2 day drive from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to OKC, we stopped in Albuquerque for the night and witnessed an amazing thunder and lightning storm. Some of the bolts of lightning lit up the sky in a sea of deep purple - a color we had never seen before in lightning. I tried to take some pictures of the lightning, but it was pretty difficult to catch lightning in a bottle, uh, camera.

Wondrous Grand Canyon

After exploring Zion for most of the day, our heads were filled with such great natural beauty, I didn’t know what to expect upon our arrival at the Grand Canyon lodge. All I knew was that I was very excited to see the Great Big Ditch (no not the Boston Tunnel Project). I practically ran through the lodge to the sun room that looks out over the Grand Canyon.

It’s hard to describe the Grand Canyon in words that does it justice. Krista said it was like describing the Pacific Ocean. It’s just so darn big and overpowering that it’s hard to get your mind around something that impressive. Upon further research, I did find a passage in the newspaper that we got as we entered the park did an excellent job explaining why it’s grand.

It is the ensemble of stunning dimensions – the melding of depth, width, and length – that sets the Grand Canyon apart. Nowhere else is such a dazzling variety of colorful rock layers, impressive buttes, and shadowed side canyons revealed in such a dramatic chasm. Grand Canyon is the canyon by which all other canyons want to be measured.

The view did not disappoint even with my high expectations. I’ve never seen anything in nature that beautiful, and I watch a lot of Discovery Channel.

We then hiked along a very narrow ridge to Bright Angel Point to view the sunset. This busy trail is only 4 feet wide, and for most of the way, the sides of the trail fall straight down for 100s of feet. I must say that I was really scared at times. Even with impending danger at every corner, the view at the end was worth it. We were dangled on the very tip on a rocky outcropping that offered almost 360 degree views of the Grand Canyon. This was one of the best days of our trip.

Amazing Zion

Zion as an afterthought? I decided only at the last minute to squeeze Zion in before our stay at the Grand Canyon. In hindsight, I wished we would have stayed at Zion a bit longer. We were both very impressed with the natural beauty of Zion AND with the efficient public transportation system that got us around the park.

Our trip into the park from the Eastern side – supposedly the best way to enter the park – was perfect. The set up was a wind sculptured landscape of rocks that looked like cake batter whipped into smooth waves or checkerboard at times. Up next, a mile long tunnel through hard rock that only added to the suspense. The designers had blasted a couple of viewing holes in the tunnel that offered quick glimpses of what was in store for us. As we exited the tunnel, the full majesty of Zion exploded in front of us. We were in the middle of a huge multi-colored canyon with a host of smooth and jagged peaks accentuating indomitable stone walls. It was breath-taking.

We parked at the tourist center and rode the shuttle that takes visitors to various stops along the scenic drive that we hadn’t even seen yet! We saw rock formations that could have been national monuments in themselves with names like The Three Patriarchs, Angels Landing, The Great White Throne, and Temple of Sinawava. We also went on a hike to see an emerald pool, which were nice though not as spectacular as the canyon walls. We reluctantly left Zion, as we still needed to drive to the Grand Canyon that day, knowing that we only sampled some of its wonders.

Sweet Sedona

One of the great things about road trips is the unplanned surprises that we stumble upon. Zooming up US-89 toward the North side of the Grand Canyon, we had the option of stopping in Sedona or just continuing with our route. We decided to stop, and we were not disappointed.

Sedona lies in the middle of Red Rock country – towering buttes and spires of red rocks that are unbelievably deep in their color. It made from a dramatic background for the town. The town itself was very cute, maybe a bit touristy with all those tour shops and time share stands. In truth, we didn’t spend much time looking at the town. Our gaze was squarely set on the beautiful scenery and thinking how lucky we were. We would definitely come back to Sedona and maybe enjoy some of the world-class spas in the area.

Hottsdale and Dr. Death

Hell-o from Hottsdale, oh, Scottsdale. It's hot, really hot, here. We woke up at 7AM to go for a morning walk. Our host, Jon, informed me that it was 90 degrees outside (at 7AM!) and asked if it was too hot for me. I decided to go outside to get a feel of the heat. I was closing the door behind me and almost burned myself on the metal door knob. The door had been in the sun, but it was still pretty hot. Needless to say, we decided to stay indoors.

To backtrack a bit, I want to share a little bit of our trip from Buellton to Scottsdale. After leaving the LA area on Rte 10 the scenery quickly turns into miles and miles of desert with 100 degree plus heat. I was running low on gas and decided to stop at what I thought was a good sounding name of a town, Desert Center. From what I could see after exiting the highway, the town consisted of a couple of boarded up buildings and a rundown gas station that was charging $3.99 a gallon.

I reluctantly drove to the gas station where I met Dr. Death. He was downright scary. My first impression was that he seemed mad. (I think it was due to a combination of 120 degree heat and his choice of clothing - jeans and a flannel long sleeve!) Krista commented that if he wore black gloves, he would be a shoe-in for an axe murder. I didn't want to test out her theory. We got some gas and quickly made our way back to the highway.

Back in Scottsdale, we've been pretty lazy. No long days driving around sightseeing. Just relaxing indoors with plenty of air conditioning and doing laundry. We're really enjoying the break from doing touristy things. Next stop, the Grand Enchilada (Canyon)!

We've been busy

It may sound silly to say that we need to take a break from our travels in search of a little R&R; but, nonetheless, a little relaxation is exactly what we need. Since we left San Francisco this past Tuesday, we have been busy little travelers - trying to squeeze in every fun California thing to do. We headed south to the seaside playgrounds of Monterey, Pacific Grove, and Carmel. We took the 17 mile drive around the peninsula, stopped in for leisurely noontime cocktails at the gorgeous Lodge at Pebble Beach, and wandered the nooks and crannies of posh Carmel (which incidentally reminded us of the atmosphere in Greenwich, Connecticut).

The following day we drove down Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) headed for the Santa Barbara area. The "Today Show" described the PCH earlier this week - "every turn seems more breathtaking than the next and you continually feel as if you need to take a picture". And, if the drive itself wasn't spectacular enough, we traveled along with some type of antique road show. Hundreds of all types of vintage cars accompanied us along our journey down the coast. They were fantastic!

Eventually, we arrived in San Simeon to pay a visit to the second largest tourist attraction in the state; the Hearst Castle. Flowery words just cannot describe this estate. With 150ish rooms in the main house alone and the beautiful Spanish architecture, Italian art, etc. etc., it is a must see. Visually stunning - of course; yet what really made an impression on me were two things......

1. How much more can be accomplished with a good team (even a team of two) than as one person working alone.

2. Amazing wealth and good fortune mean all but nothing if you can't share it with others.

If you haven't visited, it’s something to put on your list. The story is inspiring.

As we continued our travel down PCH, we visited Morro Bay just to the south of San Simeon. It's claim to fame is a huge boulder on the side of the bay that’s a mini Rock of Gibraltar or a larger Haystack Rock. It’s quite impressive. But, more notably, the last place where I dipped my feet into the Pacific Ocean. The beach is very big and a fun place to run around and stretch your legs!

We stayed in Buellton for a couple of days to do the “Sideways” tour. The Santa Ynez Valley is an up-and-coming wine region that gained increased notoriety through the movie. We took the same tour as Miles and Jack; through the barrel room at Firestone Vineyard. The valley is quite breathtaking with acres of manicured vineyards. We really enjoyed our time at several of these winerys; very informative, some interesting varietals, and not too many people! Buellton’s other "claim to fame" is their famous split pea soup! Who knew? I love split pea, and it’s actually worth a try.

We had a short afternoon in Santa Barbara – the supposed American Riviera – that we wished was longer. We drove down State Street towards the pier that once was used for fishing and is now a tourist trap just like most of the other piers in coastal California towns. It was a gorgeous sunny afternoon and a long promenade along the ocean was calling us. A walk would have been nice, but we kicked it up a notch and rented a two man bicycle. It was a classic California moment – biking with other tanned Californians along the promenade with palm trees on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other.

As much as we have enjoyed every fun-filled day in the golden state of California, at some point we should head east or we might just find ourselves in Mexico. It that spirit, today we say adios to California and hello Arizona!

Good friends and good times

What if a genie came up to you one day and asked you for three wishes. What would they be? I would hope that I wouldn't get lost in the moment and ask for something trivial like a brand new Ferrari. What I hope I would say is continued good health, solid relationships with my family members, and great friends. On this last long weekend trip into San Francisco, I enjoyed the latter two. It was a whirlwind couple of days that left us exhausted, but happy to say that we'll be back.

We started off the weekend with a happy hour get-together at the Redwood Room. It's a great intimate bar inside the swank Clift hotel. It's a must see if you're near Union Square. It's hip and happening even after all these years. We had a great time reconnecting with old friends. Even though we haven't seen or talked to some of them in a while, time and space did little to break the initial bonds of friendship. We chatted into the night with only fatigue from a long week getting in our way.

For the rest of the long weekend, we spent more time with family and friends and indulging our passion for good wine. Our trip to Napa was wonderful though it didn't meet our high expectations. The area is down-right beautiful with manicured vineyards in the forefront and rolling hills in the background. With this beauty comes a price - in this case that price would be the hoards of tourists. With yearly numbers exceeding Disneyland; they invade the one-lane roads and quaint tasting rooms. On our next trip, it's tastings on the weekdays and appointments on the weekends.

We would be remiss to not thank our wonderful host and friend, Mehdi and his beautiful family. He is truly one of the good guys. Thank you Mehdi and Luciane for all of your hospitality. We also want to thank Mike for cooking us one of the best meals, at home or in a restaurant, that we've had in a long time. The meal started with homemade mushroom soup, the main course was cinnamon curry lamb with stir-fry sugar snaps and corn, and we finally ended things with caramel drizzled chocolate cake and ice cream. The meal, beautiful wine, and great company we shall not soon forget. And many thanks to all of our friends that made extra special time to hang out with us in the city. We had such a great time with each and every one of you!

Mendocino

As we drive south toward San Francisco today, we are sad to leave the quaint, little town of Mendocino, California. We arrived in Mendocino on Thursday after another breathtaking drive along the northern California coastline. Pictures really can’t do it justice. The coastal bluffs, jagged cliffs, driftwood strewn beaches, rolling green hills, meadows and wildflowers were spectacular! We stopped to watch a family of Billy goats along the side of the road.
As we drove into Mendocino we stopped to take in the striking coastal views. The small town is perched high on a cliff above the blue Pacific; the coastline decorated by the huge, black rocks dotting the landscape. We checked in to our hotel in the middle of Main Street; The Mendocino Hotel. The hotel first opened in 1878 and still retains it’s historical ambiance and character. It was extremely comfortable and absolutely charming. After a delicious dinner at the hotel restaurant, we decided to take a walk along the ocean bluffs and watch the sunset. We were able to walk all along the edge of the sea cliffs to watch the huge ocean waves pounding the rocks below us. As we were watching the sun sink lower and lower in the sky, we were in for a real surprise. Far out in the ocean, we could see about 15 huge whales leaping all the way out of the water. It was an amazing sight. They are such beautiful animals, and we have never seen so many of them before. As we went to sleep we listened to the sounds of the ocean waves pounding the rocks and the low, monotone moan of the foghorn.

The Bull

Yvonne, here's the picture of the bull that we encountered. It's a bit fuzzy as I was try to be quick about taking the picture. I guess I was nervous. The bull did take a couple of steps towards the center of the road as we approached, and then we make eye contact. He won the stare down. We quickly left his turf.

Billy goat climbs

When I was young, I use to love to climb trees. The taller the better. Weak branches, impossible hand holds, bring it on. I’m not quite sure when my attitude toward height and danger began to change. What I do know is that it has changed, and I’m not the crazy kid I was before.

Our day started with a leisurely walk around Founder’s Trail off the Avenue of the Giants. The park ranger told us that this trail is rated an “88”, which means that it is wheel chair accessible and elderly people can walk along the trail. We had a great time admiring the redwoods and just communing with nature. It’s our second day with the redwoods, and I’m still amazed by them. It’s hard to describe how impressive they are. I can give out facts and figures about their size and circumference – the largest around 380 feet tall and 60 feet around - but that only goes so far. Big is one thing, but to be noble and awe-inspiring is another. And these redwoods have all of that and more. They are well worth a visit.

We then started what we thought was our second leisurely activity of the day – a drive to Shelter Cove. It was only about 21 miles away, and the brochure (marketing devils) said such nice things about it. Our drive started with a few windy roads and quickly turned into a Billy goat climb. I’m talking about ascents that felt as if the car would not make it. After our final monstrous climb up what should have been a mountain, we began our descent through switch back hell. This was all punctuated by sheer drop-offs that were only a few feet away from the car, and obviously no guard rails.

An hour and a half later, we arrived at Shelter Cove. I knew that this drive was pretty special because the smell of burning rubber was in the air. In other words, I had ridden the brakes for so long that they were getting hot and starting to burn up. I wouldn’t recommend this drive, and Shelter Cove has little going for it besides the Black Sand beach. I wish we would have continued our walk along Founder’s Trail – crazy kids.