http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/hminion1219/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from hminion1219 en-us Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:40:33 +0000 Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:40:33 +0000 Today was the last day of our journey around the country. We left Arlington at 745 am in order to account for traffic through DC and Baltimore. Strangely enough however we encountered no traffic. Very few cars were in downtown on Memorial Bridge on the BaltimoreWashington Parkway in the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel or even the New Jersey Turnpike. It was an extremely weird situation.We arrived http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-Jersey/Lake-Hopatcong/blog-403446.html Today was another one of the big driving days but didn't feel that bad because of the several stops along the way. We left the first Atown Atlanta early in the morning and drove through Greenville South Carolina where we met up with Megan's uncle who is a chiropractor there. We looked around his office and then left to continue up I85. The next stop was in Durham where we met up with her fri http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Virginia/Arlington/blog-403160.html We left Montgomery nice and early because 1 we wanted to see Atlanta before heading to Jenny's house and 2 we would do our last time zone switch of the trip thank goodness. The drive wasn't bad at all in fact there was very little traffic which may have been due to the fact that there is no such thing as rush hour in Montgomery and we got into Atlanta around noon.Atlanta is a cool city. W http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Georgia/Woodstock/blog-403159.html We left Baton Rouge early this morning in order to get a good start on the day. We drove the hour to New Orleans and decided to look around the le Quartier Francais. First however we stopped at the information center so that we wouldn't be too lost as we ambled the streets. The guy was EXTREMELY nice and helpful our first taste of true Southern hospitality although maybe it actually began in http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alabama/Montgomery/blog-402469.html An editing note ldquoHakuna umemerdquo translates from Kiswahili to English as ldquoThere is no electricity.rdquo Part 1 happened in Tanzania with Kayli and Sara and resulted in a plethora of ridiculous photos.We went to see the Alamo this morning. It is so strange to see it sitting there in the middle of downtown San Antonio. Obviously it is old. But also the history surrounding the bu http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Louisiana/Baton-Rouge/blog-402465.html We started the morning in Albuquerque and on the drive out actually witnessed several hot air balloons in the sky. I know itrsquos what the city is known for but I never thought that I would see the balloons. On the other hand I guess it makes sense given that it is Memorial Day Sunday the day when many of these festivals kick off. It was fun to watch in any respect.After two hundred miles of http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Texas/San-Antonio/blog-402143.html We left dreary Flagstaff and drove across the rest of northern Arizona towards the Four Corners. In doing so we drove through the Navajo and Hopi Nations ... and our phones kept changing times every time we pulled a signal from somewhere else. It was moderately annoying. Buy by the time we approached the Four Corners we were firmly in Navajo Territory and therefore officially in the Mountain Dayli http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-Mexico/Albuquerque/blog-401574.html We left Las Vegas early in the morning. Between my alarm going off and us leaving the room all four of the people in the room got up a little and looked before going straight back to sleep. And apparently they don't really remember us leaving.The drive wasn't that bad. The clouds and early hour kept the temperature relatively low although still at an uncomfortable level. We drove into Arizona f http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Flagstaff/blog-401349.html We left the campground in Chula Vista early in the morning so that we could avoid most of the desert heat as we drove towards Las Vegas. We failed kind of. It was still stifling but a little more doable. It was very frustrating to see the signs that read Avoid Overheating. Shut off your AC next 20 miles. There was no good way around that heat. Eventually we made it into Nevada not that we ho http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Nevada/Las-Vegas/blog-401343.html Uncle Ronnie.He made me do that. I forgot to mention that I was staying with him and Uncle Larry in Studio City last night. So this morning we woke up and went to breakfast at Dupars a really good restaurant that has absolutely amazing pancakes. The only problem was that they were too big and many to finish even as a short stack. But it was delicious and really got us going for the day.Back at http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/San-Diego/blog-400661.html We left Stanford rather early and drove down to Hearst Castle. We were going to take the coastal route but the sickening aspect of the day before meant we drove down a straighter road and then cut to the coast for castle. However it's hard to see the castle because it's far away on a hill and requires a guided tour. So we just saw it from afar.Then we continued down the coast towards Los Angele http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Los-Angeles/blog-400424.html Today's drive was nauseating. California 1 Shoreline Highway is a nearly 100 mile stretch of curves and hills that is beautiful but sickening. The one positive was that it wasn't hot or really that sunny. Fog was coming in off the ocean and created this mystical looking haze on the trees over us but sparing the road from visibility issues. It was actually pretty sweet.But the drive was long. And http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Stanford/blog-400147.html Camping in the middle of a city finally revealed its drawbacks. During the night we heard endless trains going by. And obviously they all needed to blast their horns at 2am. To get rid of all the cars that were CLEARLY on the road....So when we finally woke up around 7am or so we decided to just get on with the day. We drove to Crater Lake this time with gas and entered the park. The par http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Arcata/blog-399830.html We left Nampa a little early and headed out towards Crater Lake and Klamath Falls. From the first moment Oregon eluded us. We nearly missed the sign welcoming us to Oregon but did get a picture thankfully and AAA gave us faulty directions coming off the exit that sent us in the wrong direction for about 5 minutes before we realized that things just didn't look right. Thankfully Karen the GPS http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Oregon/Klamath/blog-399795.html We began the morning in Gardiner Montana woke up early and drove into Yellowstone. The park is definitely much much bigger than I thought it took us over an hour to get to Old Faithful. Of course it is nowhere near ready to burst when we arrive so we walked around it a little bit and saw many small bubbling pools. The water was not only crystal clear and beautifully tinted but the heat co http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Idaho/Boise/blog-399307.html We woke up this morning and after eating breakfast went back to Mt. Rushmore. It is really cool during the daylight easier to make out the features on all of the faces. Lincoln's eyes struck me because of the detail. Amazing.Then we drove through rural southwestern South Dakota and eastern Wyoming. Now I was fully expecting to hate this part of the drive but I was pleasantly surprised. We sa http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Montana/Gardiner/blog-399028.html Today was supposed to just be a driving day but that changed quickly as we got closer to our target of western South Dakota. The first third of the state was boring it reminded me a lot of rural southern Minnesota which itself looks like most of Iowa western Illinois Indiana Ohio.... You get the point. But then the scenery changed rapidly. We were transported to a new world where the farms http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/South-Dakota/Keystone/blog-399024.html We spent the morning and early afternoon in Chicago being real tourists. We started off on the L and then went straight to Buckingham Fountain. It's really impressive and reminded me of the grand European capitals because the area was full of large boulevards and lots of green trees and grass. From the fountain we walked up through Grant Park and into Millennium Park. We saw the Bean and the refle http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Iowa/Cedar-Falls/blog-398548.html The first day of driving went pretty well. We left at 6am and drove nearly straight through. It took just about 12 hours. I like how so many people asked us if we flew to Chicago but we didn't. We went along with traffic the entire time.Pennsylvania is REALLY boring for 309 miles as are all 232 miles of Ohio. Indiana surprisingly showed signs of life. That was a nice change after 8 hours of fa http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Illinois/Chicago/blog-398223.html So tomorrow morning Megan and I leave for 19 days as we drive around the United States. I want to thank first and foremost Megan for 1 suggesting this trip 2 being my partner in crime and 3 planning with me this amazing route. I'd also like to thank those who are nice enough to host us for a night Wendy Emily Ilana Larry Kayli Jenny and Maija. We appreciate your company and look fo http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-Jersey/Lake-Hopatcong/blog-397745.html