http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Ashley-and-Paggi/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Ashley and Paggi en-us Thu, 31 Dec 2009 11:33:13 +0000 Thu, 31 Dec 2009 11:33:13 +0000 Seattle was a blast. It felt so good to be back on the west coast. We felt at ease and everything seemed familiar again. We had a great time catching up with Paul Marya and Maren my cousin and her family and Ashley's old childhood friends from Sun Valley Idaho. We didn't see too many tourist attractions because we had both been there before. We also met up with my old boss Matt and our old Ch http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/blog-322938.html After waking up in Cody we noticed we had another flat tire We had now officially blown all four tires. It was Labor Day and the only thing open in town was the Walmart Supercenter. They replaced it and then we were off to Yellowstone National Park. The drive was gorgeous and the views were breathtaking. Driving through the park was like a North American animal safari. We saw hundreds of buffalo http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/South-Dakota/blog-322222.html After Chicago we booked it through Wisconsin Minnesota and South Dakota. We stopped at the world famous Corn Palace in Mitchell and Wall Drug in Wall SD. We also got a flat tire in the middle of nowhere in South Dakota. That was our third on the trip. Next we stopped at Badlands National Park and saw amazing rock formations. We also got lucky and saw a family of mountain goats on the side of th http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/South-Dakota/blog-319831.html Chicago was fantastic Landon only had 2 days before he continued elsewhere with his travels so we pulled in and instantly hit the town. We took the train downtown and got great tickets to the Joanna Newsome concert at the Chicago Opera house. The concert was great and then we made our way back to John and Elizabeth's Apartment. John and Elizabeth were in Boston for Elizabeth's graduation so we st http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Illinois/Chicago/blog-319815.html We left Montreal and drove two hours west to Ottawa Canada's capital. It was nice to see road signs in English again and we parked and walked around the Parliament building. The architecture was amazing and looked like London. It was quite cold in Ottawa and we only stayed a few hours before heading to Toronto. Toronto had an impressive skyline and is Canada's financial capital. We walked around http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/blog-318444.html We arrived to Montreal and instantly picked our friend Landon up from the airport. Within a week he had decided to meet us in Montreal and drive with us through Canada to Chicago. We meet our friend Janis and stayed with her for a few days visiting old Montreal downtown and Mount Royal Park. This was probably our favorite stop in Montreal because the park was the only mountain in the region. It http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Quebec/Montreal/blog-318104.html Quebec City was truly amazing. It is the only walled city in North America and was celebrating it's 400th anniversary this summer. Ninetyfive percent of it's inhabitants speak French as their first language and it seemed as though half spoke English too. Getting around was challenging because all the signs were in French. We stayed in a great Youth Hostel and walked everywhere. Inside the walled http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Quebec/Quebec-City/blog-318093.html After leaving New York we ventured farther northeast and camped a night in rural Connecticut. That night there was a massive storm and our tent got drenched inside. The next morning we arrived in Providence Rhode Island where we cleaned up at a local YMCA and explored the historic downtown and Brown University. We then continued through New Bedford Massachusetts to Cap Cod. We drove over the Ca http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Massachusetts/Boston/blog-317809.html From Philly we drove to Ramsey New Jersey to meet up with our friend from San Francisco Matt Shiel. He showed us around the area and took us hiking in New York only about 10 miles from his parents house. Matt also turned out to be a great resource for our trip to New York City because he grew up in the area. We got on the train with Matt's help and wandered into NYC with out a clue where we http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/New-York/Manhattan/blog-311219.html After visiting Washington DC and taking a short break in Baltimore we entered Philadelphia. We booked a room at a neat old French mansion located in Fairmont Park called Chamounix Mansion. The building was originally built in 1799 and was furnished with pieces from the period. We explored the historic downtown and loved the narrow cobblestone streets and old brick houses. This was one of the mo http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Pennsylvania/Philadelphia/blog-311215.html We drove through the entire state of Virginia and arrived to Arlington. We instantly went to it's famous cemetery and saw JFK's grave and the tomb of the unknown soldier. The cemetery was massive and very touching to visit. Then we drove into DC and walked up and down the mall countless times. We saw nearly all the memorials Washington Lincoln WW II Korean War Vietnam . . . and the White Hou http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/District-of-Columbia/Washington/blog-311204.html After leaving Asheville we tried going to the Biltmore Mansion largest home in America but it was 47 per person. No thanks. Instead we opted to hike for free in the nearby Great Smoky Mountains. The views were hazy but the air felt fresh and it was nice to get outdoors again. We reentered Tennessee and the first thing we saw was Dollywood. The whole area was one ridiculous theme park complet http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Virginia/blog-311092.html We left Savannah and hit a major thunderstorm on our way to Charleston SC. This was the most severe weather we have encountered so far on the trip. At one point a bolt of lightning struck a tree 20 feet from the car and sounded like a bomb explosion. A large smoking portion of the tree was flung into the air. When we finally arrived to Charleston we stayed at a really cool hostel downtown. We ma http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/North-Carolina/Asheville/blog-308413.html Georgia was great. First we went to Valdosta to visit my cousin Dylan. He showed us a great time and cooked us an amazing meal. Then we went to Brunswick to meet back up with the Kennedy's this is the couple we met in Vegas at the beginning of our journey. They invited us to stay with them in their beautiful home and took us out to a great seafood restaurant for dinner. From Brunswick we drove t http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Georgia/blog-307867.html From Nah lens we drove through Mobile Alabama Pensacola FL Fort Walton Beach FL Destin FL and Panama City FL. The beaches here are so beautiful. The sand looks like sugar and the water looks like blue Otterpops remember those. We spent Paggi's 25th birthday camping at Grayton Beach. It was beautiful but very hot with large bugs and alligator warnings. And because of the hurricane that swept http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Florida/Destin/blog-307835.html We left Hot Springs and drove all day through forests farmland and swamps and finally arrived in New Orleans at midnight. The next day we walked around the French Quarter sampling the local food and drinks. In the evening we ate fried alligator and went to the Spotted Cat to hear some great live music. The next morning we woke to the smell of 400000 gallons of oil in the Mississippi river. Ou http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Louisiana/New-Orleans/blog-303850.html We just spent about 6 days with my Ashley dad Nancy stepmom and Hunter halfbrother in Arkansas. It was a great time. We got to go boating swimming tubing and fishing on Bull Shoals Lake. The lake was about 4050 feet above it's normal water level kind of a shock since California is on the verge of a drought. Staying in Mountain Home was a great way to pause our trip for a little while http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arkansas/Hot-Springs/blog-303820.html We drove from St. Louis to Nashville. The weather was the wildest we have seen so far. Lightening wind and thunder surrounded our car. We drove through 4 states this day...Missouri Illinois Kentucky and Tennessee. Nashville was great. Country music EVERYWHERE We went to the Country Music Hall of Fame and saw numerous musical groups perform downtown. We also took a tour of RCA's Studio B. This http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Tennessee/blog-303280.html The drive from Colorado through Kansas to St. Louis Missouri was better than we expected...a bit boring but not as boring as driving down I5 in California. Kansas was very green and the corn fields are actually quite beautiful. We made a little stop in Topeka KS at a the Brown Vs. The Board of Education historic site. It was very interesting and sort of gave us a feel for what the south felt li http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Missouri/St-Louis/blog-303210.html Colorado was great. I Ashley got to visit with my half sisters nieces and nephew and see all of the sights that I loved when I was little. We stayed in Colorado Springs for two nights with Liz and in Denver with Amy for two nights. Liz took us to the top of Pikes Peak to Cascade to Manitoe Springs Green Mountain Falls and to Garden of the Gods all in one day. At Amy's we went to my niece http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/blog-298391.html