Blogs from West Virginia, United States, North America - page 13

Well, The time has arrived for me to return home. I was told by my accountant (wife ) that if I didnt't return by 8pm Monday night, my credit cards would be reported stolen, "Yeah Right!!!!" As I sit here at home writing this entry, I would like to thank all of my family and friends who came along on the trip. I appreciated all of the great comments and e-mails along the way. Now to answer the burning question. I traveled 5017 miles and my total Gasoline cost totaled:$788.00 The following images were the few that I was able to capture before I had to put the pedal to the metal and get home while I still could. Thanks Again!!! Joe... read more

My summer break in the U.S. has come and gone already, and it is now back to the suffocating heat and humidity of Japan. During the other seasons or when I am away from Japan I always think the summer can’t possibly be as miserably hot as I remember it. But, every time the summer rolls around here, I’m unfortunately proven wrong. But, instead of complaining about the weather here, let’s relive the memories of my relatively cool summer in the U.S. The trip began with a surprise at Narita International Airport in Tokyo. I had eaten breakfast that morning at 6am right before I left my apartment to make my first flight from Hiroshima to Tokyo. In Tokyo I had to catch an hour-long bus from the domestic airport to the international one. So, by ... read more

Unfortunately, we were off to a late start from Pennsylvania. When we got to our hotel the night before, my trunk refused to open. I had forgotten to tell R that my car key doesn't open the trunk door and that she needed to pop the trunk instead. When she tried to use the key, something got stuck and my trunk door wouldn't open (with our suitcases inside!). Luckily, my back seats pull forward and we were able to retrieve our suitcases -- although not without some difficulty since I had packed every nook and crevice of the trunk. And my largest suitcase was super-heavy, since, ummm, it's actually, literally, filled with stones. Okay, small rocks that I've collected here and there. Some from Alaska from when I went fishing at every body of water ... read more

Hello everyone out there in blog land... So sorry we haven't been keeping this site up to date, but it's often hard to find internet on the road, and to spend time on the computer when there's so much else to see and do. For everyone who hasn't heard yet, we've actually stopped traveling. We made it to Morgantown, West Virginia, and decided we didn't want to leave. So we rented a house with our friend Ed and have been working on the whole getting-a-job thing. Wes got hired last week as a cook at the West Virginia Brewing Company, and I am starting my new job today as a bartender at Hibachi, a great Japanese restaurant. We got a dog yesterday, named Mouse (a pound mutt, she's super small and sweet), and we've been meeting ... read more

I decided to take a little drive from Western MD where I was staying last night for dinner. I jumped the border into West Virginia, mostly becasue I had the time, but also due to the fact that I have never been there before. I drove for about an hour and came to this little roadhouse called "The Brass Ring" there seemed to be quite a few cars out front so it must have been popular. Well I walked in and it was a roadhouse bar and grill. It had the typical pool table, dart boards, and locals puffing away at cigs and drinking pitchers of beer. Now remember I was still in my suit (I had ditched the tie in the car) and looked a bit over dressed, but I walked up to the ... read more