In 4 months we traveled.... 18,000 + Miles 3 Countries (US, Mexico, and Canada) 35 States 2 Provinces 9 Estados 10 United States National Parks/Monuments 109 Total Days of Traveling 2 Nights in a Hostel 16 Nights Camping 24 Nights in a Hotel 6 Nights in a Time Share graciously provided by Uncle Bob That makes 61 (67 if we include the wonderful Timeshare) nights we stayed with friends and family throughout our trip. We could not have done this amazing adventure without you all. Thank you soooooooooo much for all of your hospitality and care. The sights [View Full Entry]

---

---

As we've been reaching the end of our trip, we've started hearing the phrase, "take it to the limit, one more time", ringing in our heads more and more often. Maybe it is the Eagle's CD locked in the CD player or maybe it is our lack of motivation to start life in the "real world", but for whatever reason, we decided to hang a left and push DJ Tango the VERY dirty Durango to the limit. The easy, and boring, thing would have been to drive south from Salt Lake City, through Vegas, and head straight southwest to Southern California, [View Full Entry]

---

---

We kissed goodbye to Minnesota with 70+ degree weather and clear blue skies. Heading due west, our destination 400 miles away. South Dakota is definitely not known for its mountains, hence I finished a 300 page book in the car while Josh sang along to his Johnny Cash CD(played over 3 or 4 times - we are TOTALLY out of music we haven't heard 10 times already). We also got over 400 miles to the tank!! Just passed the SD state line we saw our first billboard for Wall Drug (thanks Matt G. for the heads up, although not sure we [View Full Entry]

---

---

Hello all. Sorry for the serious lapse of travelblog writing. Since the last entry, we've criss-crossed throughout the upper Midwest, drove through the Dakotas, and worked our way south to the brink of the Southwest. For your sanity and mine, I'll keep focused on the upper Midwest: a land of great friends, stout beer, big cities and small country towns. After crossing the US-Canada border into Detroit, we made our way past 8 mile to about 14 mile where we met up with Pat and Maria in their community of Birmingham. The small village filled with high-end stores and nice pubs [View Full Entry]

---

---

"Nobody spends any amount of time between the northern shores of Lake Superior and the eastern shores of the Atlantic without drinking a Canadian beer (the good and bad), hearing about hockey and noticing how simple life can be" - Lonely Planet Our Canadian border crossing from Maine to Québec was thankfully fairly uneventful. Our Hawaii license plate didn't seem to be of concern to our very French-Canadian border agent. What seemed to be more curious for him was why I (Marisa) was driving and not Josh. Funny...since HIS WIFE was driving, there must have been some sort of arrest or [View Full Entry]

---

---

Aloha! Sorry it has been so long. It turns out there has been just to many things to see and do that easily trumped sitting at a computer. Since we left you last we've traveled through the Northeast, Canada and the upper midwest. This entry will cover the Northeast. Hopefully we will get you the rest before we get back to California. You can't go on the roadtrip to end all roadtrips without hitting up every corner of the USA. The Northeast called our names and we definitely answered that call. We couldn't wait to explore the unofficial capital of everything [View Full Entry]

---

---

Josh and I left the craziness of NYC amidst a greenish looking cloud that eventually ended in a fluffy white snow storm. Snow and crazy traffic was a clear sign that our NYC experience probably should be coming to an end. A hour plus after leaving Long Island, we crossed the bridge that separated us from night and day, otherwise known as NYC and upstate NY. Heading up to Poughkeepsie was absolutely beautiful. The snow subsided and became rain, then drizzle and finally blue skies. Our route took us through a tree lined highway and rolling hills...Josh and I both decided [View Full Entry]

---

---

Yo, yo! Sorry it has been such a long time, it turns out that there is a lot of stuff to do in the Northeast. We will begin this entry in the city of brotherly love, Philidelphia and end it leaving NYC. Needless to say, there is a lot in between. Wish me luck. First of, Philidelphia is AWESOME! Marisa and I both really liked Phili. It is a large enough city to be very metropolitan but still small enough to be extremely managable and walkable. We stayed with our friends Jenn and Sean in their awesome new house. Jenn and [View Full Entry]

---

---

From Savannah, and I will speak for myself, I was exhausted. After 4 nights of camping, a bed and indoor shower sounded wonderful. On our way to Charleston, South Carolina we had booked a room at the "Not So" hostel which our guide book claimed to be one of the best around. For those of you not really sure about hostels in America, I would definitely recommend trying one out especially on the East Coast. After checking in to our family-style hostel, and admiring not one, but 2 beds in our room, AAAANNNND an indoor shower we only had to share [View Full Entry]

---

---

Hello Everyone, nice to be with you again. Hope everyone is doing well. You might be wondering about the title of this blog. I'll explain. I'm not sure we could have had a more contrasting week than the one we just had. Primarily, the contrast came from going from the serenity of the Everglades National Park to the madhouse of 400,000 "Irish for the day", party people in Savannah for St. Patty's day. Nature, being the alligators, birds, and plants. Nurture, being the magnitude of revelers indulging in the second largest St. Patty's Day festivities in the US. So, are you [View Full Entry]

---

---