Totals and Top 5's

We are wrapping up our trip, over 40 days on the road.  We've seen some amazing stuff, and equally amazingly after 40 days on the road we are still talking to each other!

By the numbers:

42:  Total days on the road
19:  Total states visited (James has now been to 45, Kate has been to 42)
8204:  Total miles driven

In our many, many hours on the road one of our favorite topics was favorites: favorite food, favorite city, etc.  We've decided to put together highlights from the trip in the form of top 5 lists (who doesn't love lists?).  Generally, this will be a consensus between the 2 of us, though sometimes we'll note some differences.  Anywho, here we go.

Top 5 Places to Live

This is just based on what we saw on the trip... and not based on things like whether we could actually find a job there...

5)  Seattle, WA

Funky in a good way, urban enough but not too urban,
mountains and ocean close by.

4)  Los Angeles, CA

Who knew the beaches were so clean?  Benefits of big
city living, but with a laid-backness you don't find
on the east coast.

3)  Santa Barbara, CA

Great weather, manageable size, 'arty', palm trees.
Did we mention the ocean?  (Kate is not sure this is a
plus, because there was a great white advisory there this
summer.)

2)  Portland, OR

Cool vibe, plenty of good restaurants, local wines and
beers abound.  Big enough to be interesting.  

1)  Carlsbad, CA

Beautiful beaches, takes laid back to a whole new level.
Everybody is a surfer.  What's not to love?

Top 5 Meals

We couldn't do 5, because the 5th spot was a multi way tie.

4) Breakfast at Mattie's Pancake and Omelette House in Brookings, Oregon

Best french toast either of us ever had.  Hash
browns were exactly what hash browns should
be.

3) Burrata at Tavola in Vancouver

There's a daily burrata special!  Everything else was amazing,
too.  They also had the best IPA selection of the entire trip.

2) Burnt Ends at Oklahoma Joe's in Kansas City, Kansas

OMG.  We understand why burnt ends are legendary
in the BBQ world.  Kate's favorite ever.

1) Pizza at Bob's Biga in Missoula, Montana

I want to go to there.  James' favorite pizza ever.
Other stuff was great too.

Top 5 Drives

Out of the 8204 miles we drove, these stood out:

5) East across Colorado

Snow capped peaks of the Rockies peeked out
around every corner.

4) Redwoods

Those trees were enormous.

3) California coast

Big Sur lived up to its billing.

2) Grand Canyon to Moab

The spectacular landscape is hard to convey via iPhone photos.

1) Oregon Coast

So cool.

Hotels: Highlights and Lowlights

Best Hotel- The Cody, Cody WY

Sunset at the Cody--from our balcony

Why we liked it:

1. Great mountain view

2. Luxurious rooms

3. Free internet

4. Free Breakfast

5. Walking distance to the rodeo and a couple of restaurants

6. Fresh baked chocolate chip cookies

7. Nice, clean gym

8. Well maintained laundry facilities (a must on a long road trip)

Best Ambiance- The Arctic Club by Double Tree Hilton, Seattle, WA

The bar at the Arctic Club

1. Old gentlemen's club (not in a pornographic way) re-purposed as a hotel

2. James liked the walruses everywhere

3. Well appointed rooms that were modern, but cozy

4. Bold accent colors that added to the room's interest without making it stuffy

5. Nice location in downtown Seattle

6. Bonus points ***The valet directed James where to renew his passport (as we were on our way to Vancouver)

Best View- Best Western Plus, Brookings OR

View from the bed

1. Full frontal unobstructed Pacific Ocean view. It was so loud that the waves crashing woke us up during the night. Need I say more?

Most Nature-y- Grand Canyon Lodge, Grand Canyon National Park

Pretty close to nature

1. It's the only hotel in the park

2. Log cabin 

3. Creepy animal stalking the outside of our cabin while we tried in vain to sleep

4. 2 minute walk to the edge of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon

Best Pool- Amara Hotel and Resort, Sedona AZ

1. Infinity salt water pool

2. View of the red rocks of Sedona

3. Relaxed and attentive pool staff

4. No kids at the pool

Best Chain- Hampton Inn (pretty much everywhere, no pics because they all look the same)

1. Great price

2. Always clean

3. Free breakfast

4. Free internet

5. Always a fitness center

6. Friendly staff

Most Naked- The Sweetwater Inn, Mendocino, CA

There's no door.  No door.  On the toilet.

1. Co-ed clothing optional changing room served as our hotel room's toilet
2.  Naked old gay dudes everywhere

Most like the movie "Vacancy"- America's Best Value, Kadoka SD

Hotel parking lot--shared with gas station

1. A door that didn't completely shut and lock

2. The front desk was staffed with a man who had a stain on his shirt

3. View of trucks in the parking lot from our room

Best Bed and Breakfast- The Orchard House, Leavenworth, WA

Tricky Woo

1. Tricky Woo- the cutest dog we encountered on the trip

2. Fantastic and simple breakfast

3. Comfortable, clean room

4. Evening wine tasting

5. The hostess asked that we did not post anything on trip adviser. She didn't want to have to deal with people calling and trying to stay there. 

Best Night's Sleep- Rocky Springs Inn, Lancaster PA

Grounds aren't beautiful, but the bed was
super comfortable

1.  Just an incredibly refreshing night's sleep.  Don't know why.

And that's it.  Thanks for joining us on this incredible chapter of our lives.  We had some great times, and it was fun sharing them with so many of you.

Until next time,
James and Kate
October 19, 2012

Day 41: Our Last Hurrah

Our friends from Pittsburgh gave us some recommendations on what to do this morning. Since it's the last day of our trip, we go crazy.

First Stop: The National Aviary

James' eyes lit up when Vanessa mentioned this last night. I woke up this morning to James on his computer telling me what time we needed to be at the Aviary.

It's like a small zoo for birds only

Penguins are just plain funny

We were soon herded into a room for a Wetlands feeding. I didn't know what this was, but the staff got very excited. I guess they were feeding the birds?

As soon as we sat on the bleachers, this little guy decided he wanted to sit next to James. He came over and started poking around in James' pocket. He stayed there almost the entire feeding. 

The gave people worms so they could feed the birds. This is James holding worms. I did not participate

That blur is a bird flying down to eat a worm out of James' hand

This one had a mustache

The trainer asked who would like to hold the bird.  While I did not volunteer, he decided I should hold him. At least it didn't poop on me. 

The aviary is definitely worth a visit if you are in Pittsburgh. It's a small, quiet venue (unlike a zoo). You can also opt for additional 'experiences'. James is a big fan of hawks so he wanted to do the 'raptor experience'. I went along for the ride.

This is a falcon. James thought it was super-cool that he got to hold it.

He bonded with the bird.

After the Aviary, we went to the Andy Warhol museum... also recommended by our friends from last night. I'm a fan of pop art and really enjoy Warhol's work. The area around the museum was getting crowded because the Pittsburgh Pirates were playing. Their stadium was just a couple blocks from the museum.

The museum had a pricey entrance fee, but we decided it was worth it. When we walked in to the first gallery- a timeline of Warhol's life- we were greeted by Andy Warhol's nephew. It was great to hear an account of Warhol's life from a family member who knew him. Not only did we get the details you could read in a book, but we also heard memories from the perspective of someone who loved him. It was quite a unique experience.

Sorry, no photography allowed inside the building. 

Time to go! We still have a 4 1/2 hour ride to Lancaster.

It's starting to look like fall. We realized that we haven't seen fall in a while. There aren't a lot of trees where we lived in WI., so we kind of missed it last year. 

The ride went by pretty quick and we were at our bed and breakfast before we knew it.

This is downtown Lancaster. We were staying outside the city at a bed and breakfast, but the town is really cute. 

Our B&B is an old amusement park that shut down in the 70's.  This is the old carousel house. 

The old roller coaster cars. It was actually less creepy than it sounds- no clown pictures

After being greeted by our host, we went back into town for dinner. We found this place on Yelp

The Horse Inn was down a small alley

Inside view

A self portrait of our last night out

I had onion soup as an appetizer. It was very good, but there wasn't a whole lot of soup involved. It was 80% bread

I had a salad for dinner. I think I am tired of eating all this food.

James had the burger. It was also very good. It tasted like it had been cooked on a charcoal grill. 

And that was the end to our night. We went back to our room at the Rocky Springs Bed and Breakfast. It is one of the most comfortable rooms/ beds we have had on the trip. It was a nice final evening for our road trip.

While we are still going to be traveling (as we are technically homeless), we will be staying with family and friends on the East coast. I am sure that would make for interesting reading, but that's a whole other blog. There will be one final post that we'll have by the end of the week with highlights. Stay tuned...

Day 40: Pittsburgh PA

After hitting the gym and enjoying the complimentary hotel breakfast, we leave Columbus and set out for Pittsburgh PA. Neither one of us have ever been and we heard it's a pretty cool city.

Mile 7694: Leave Columbus

The roads were packed with trucks... I'm not sure if it is better or worse than campers. Both can be frustrating road partners.

Mile 7745- Zanesville, OH

We stopped for lunch. James did some research while I was driving and found a place that looked interesting.

Here is where we stopped- Muddy Misers 

Inside decor

We sat outside for the ambiance of the Muskingum River

Here I am deciding what to eat.

I had the blackened chicken sandwich. It wasn't really blackened, but it was ok

James had the Walleye Reuben sandwich. It sounded gross to me, but he loved it

After a nice lunch, we get back on the road. Just 2 more hours until Pittsburgh. We encounter more trucks.

This is the arm of a windmill. We just thought the scale was interesting. You don't realize how massive these are when you see a windmill. We saw quite a few of these on our road trip. 

Pretty soon after, we hit West Virginia. West Virginia is the oddest shaped state. We only passed through for about 10 miles.

Great sign

Not long after...

Pennsylvania... the state I was born in... the trip is starting to feel like it is drawing to a close

Just another 30 miles and we are in Pittsburgh.

The Pittsburgh skyline

A street in the Lawrenceville neighborhood

Primani Bros is famous for their sandwiches. We got to Pittsburgh too late for lunch, but maybe we will try one tomorrow

This is the Strip District. It reminded us of the Italian Market in Philly (without the trash can fires)

We do have friends here and are meeting for dinner when everyone is done work. After much deliberation, we wound up eating at a great place called Piccolo Forno. They don't take reservations, and the wait is often long, so our friends had only been there once before. We were lucky that they had availability when we walked by. It was BYOB, so the boys set out to find wine while we ordered appetizers.

Polpete Toscane- not what I was expecting, but they were tasty. They were baked beef and pork meatballs with pesto sauce.

James, John and Vanessa- Everyone is so happy because the men finally came back with wine. They went to a local liquor store, but it had closed. They then went to a local bar that would sell them wine, but insisted the bottle be opened and each drink a glass before they left the bar. Yes, the story does sound suspicious. 

We had another appetizer of antipasti, but I can't seem to find the picture.

For the main course, we shared a couple of pizzas and a pasta.

Quattro Formaggi

This is me and the Herman-ator digging into the pizza

Stracotto di Cingiale con Fetticini- i.e. pasta with boar and vegetables

Mascarpone and Speck- Yum. The pizza was nice. 

After dinner, John and Vanessa offer to show us a beautiful view of Pittsburgh.

John and Vanessa

Me and James- The view was beautiful. 

That was the end of our night. Tomorrow: More Pittsburgh and Lancaster PA