Blogs from United States, North America - page 5579

Car trouble and what to do. Not sure if its a major problem but may as well get it checked out. about an hour South of Redding we started to hear a definitive clincking sound in the ol' Taurus. We tried to ignore but eventually caved, mostly out of the fact it was getting annoying than of any real fear of danger to us. So here we are in glorious Oroville California. The thing about small Califonia towns (from what I've seen so far) is that they are pretty attractive looking for the most part. Oroville is no exception. It is a pristine little town which seems to boast a plethora of outdoor activities ranging from hiking to wine tasting. Naturally, we chose the wine tasting . Gret Fox Vineyards was our stop of choice, and ... read more

Hey, Here is a personal essay/story that I wrote last eyar and have since doctored up. But... I need help on it. I dont think it flows well and I think this is largely because when I first wrote the story I solely intended to tell the story of Raja. December was my “winter break”; a time to get away from Madurai, to be a normal tourist, to blend in. Five months of living in Madurai, India had tired me out in mind, body and soul. Thus, I decided to take a break from the real India. My escape was the quaint little tourist village of Gokarna, Karnataka, situated on the south-west coast of India. "Lonely Planet", every traveler's bible, describes the place as "a sleepy, charming town with wooden houses on the main street and ... read more

Since my last blog, our roadtrip has taken us through the Grand Canyon (immense), into Utah to visit Zion, Bryce and Arches national parks, across to Denver, Colorado, where we headed to Rocky Mountain national park, and then to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where hispanic, native American and anglo cultures collide. We left Santa Fe yesterday morning, and by the evening we'd arrived at our current location - El Paso, Texas, a city that sits on the US/Mexican border. Said farewell to Marc this morning as he's heading back towards LA, so I'm on my lonesome once again, and carless. In total I spent about two weeks travelling with Marc. We had an awesome time, and had similar ideas about where we wanted to go, and what we wanted to see. Tomorrow, I'm planning on jumping ... read more

I survived, barely that is. That marathon was definately the most difficult physical thing I have ever done in my life. At this point I am over coming my last pain in my torn achilles tendon. I want this puppy to heal so I can start running again and training for my next one. Running that race was like finding a drug Ive been looking for ever since I played my last game for Ohio State. Now I know I kind of called the Thong thing off, but as I was packing my suit case on friday I saw it and through it in with no real intentions of wearing it. I mean how embarrassing would wearing that thing be, I just couldnt bare it. Yeah Right.. So the story goes were at the mall after ... read more

Umstead State Park is an oasis of nature sitting on the edge of Raleigh. It is a large, wooded park that is large enough to host an annual marathon and also a 100 mile race. It has been my running home for the last four years. There are both wide roads covered by a finely crushed rock surface and single-track trails winding through the park. The park itself is great for running, biking, or walking. During the fall the colors are vibrant. There are also helpful trail maps at the ... read more