Final Day :(

It was our final day of driving and we both have to say it was somewhat sad. Although it is great to finally get out of the car and not have to think about where we're going tomorrow. As for the drive from Lancaster to NY, we are sorry to say but it was uneventful. Really not too much happened along the way. For the most part we both sat quietly as we drove, taking in all that we have been through and remembering our times in Portland. We would like to thank all our amazing friends that we made on the west coast, we are glad to have spent our time in Portland with you all. We hope to have many vistors and of course we will back there as soon as we can to visit.

This trip also made us realize there is so much more to see and this will not be our last road trip. We plan to explore many areas of the east coast(Maine, Vermont and more of Virginia). We also (although no time soon) want to plan another cross country trip, but this time take a northern route.

As for now we are going to lay low for a few days at my mom's house until we find a place of our own.

Thank you all for joining us through our travels, I hope it was as fun for you to read about them as it was for us experiencing them.

Day 10: Virginia Drive to PA

I have to emphasize again how nice the Black Lantern Inn is. We woke in the morning to Claire the owner making us breakfast. And I'm not talking a bagel and a glass of OJ. I'm talking a mushroom and spinach omelet, banana bread, zucchini bread,blueberries, strawberries, peaches, fresh yellow tomatoes, whole wheat toast, marbled rye toast, croissants, orange juice, and tea. It was a feast, and we sat out on this great covered deck they had built on the 2nd floor. When we were finally stuffed we thanked her repeatedly, packed our bags and drove downtown to check out the Roanoke Farmers market before we got on the road to Pennsylvania.

We were at the market rather early so not everyone was set up. But a large portion of vendors were already there with fine fruits and veggies. Its a beautiful space and on the weekends I've heard it can be quite busy and very crowded. It is the oldest farmers market in Virginia. After purchasing some produce, we hopped in the car and made our way north.

Five hours later we made it to Lancaster. While we have been here a few times before to visit Dave's family we still love the town and look forward to visiting. We were welcomed by Dave's aunt and cousins, and delicious food to sample that was made from vegetables straight from their garden. We then went out in town to a local ice cream shop which was ironically named Oregon Dairy. This shop also had a big playground and a petting zoo with deer and goats. There was a disturbing scene that we witnessed where one deer was urinating and another deer was so thirsty that it decided to drink straight from the source (yuck!!!) We were not able to capture this in action but we will include a picture of these majestic animals. Lancaster has some beautiful buildings in its downtown section and it was fun to drive around and see this. It was also great to hangout with family and we look forward to seeing them again soon now that we will be closer.

Day 9: Tenessesee to Virginia Drive

We left Nashville in the late morning and made our way east then north towards Virginia. Warned by some that VA was an unpleasant place, we found the drive to be extremely pleasant (well most of it, more on that later). There were rolling hills, cows, green trees, and more rolling hills with green trees...for miles in all directions. It was probably the most leisurely drive we've had the whole trip, save for Kansas but that was a dry boring landscape.

The drive was great until it started to rain. Only slightly at first which is when we stopped for gas. At that point Jackie took over and then the downpour began!! It was so bad that at one point we pulled off the road and waited for it to die down. You couldn't see a thing. But Jackie did a great job and I commend her for her excellent rain driving skills. Sometimes I still get nervous with her driving since she's a newbie. But all in all she is a damn fine driver.

The rain finally subsided and we made our way to Roanoke, VA where we will be staying the night. Up to this point anywhere in between relatives and friends houses we had been camping to save money. But a quick look at the weather forecast showed rain all week, and no one likes rain camping. So we decided to stay at a little B&B just outside of town called the Black Lantern Inn. A home from the 1920's that has been renovated into a place to stay by a local couple. The place is amazing on the inside and they've done quite a bit of work to rebuild it.

In the evening we drove to downtown Roanoke. We had dinner at a decent indian restaurant and walked around the old downtown market area. Which of course was closed but looks fantastic and I'm hoping its open tomorrow so I can take pictures. We were going to call it a night but stumbled upon an old Irish pub with live music. In my opinion there is nothing better than an old pub with good beer and irish bands playing, so we stuck around for a drink and not realizing that it was also quiz night listened as the announcer gave the answers to the quiz questions. After some more tunes and sitting outside to watch the rain we decided to pack it in so we could get up early in the morning, have breakfast, check out the market and be on our way.

Day 7/8: Nashville...The Deep South?

We arrived late in Nashville and were welcomed by Dave's Aunt and Uncle who live in the Green Hills area of Nashville. This is an area that is filled with gigantic southern style homes (our room was in the guest wing of the house!). Exhausted from our long drive we went to bed early, eager to explore the next day.

We had lunch at the Loveless Cafe, which is well known for their southern style biscuits. Unfortunately most of their menu was not vegetarian friendly, not even their biscuits! (LARD!!) After lunch we were shown around Nashville. We had a tour of some of its well known mansions and historic buildings, including the Parthenon. Needing fresh air we then strolled around downtown, where we walked into stores selling cowboy boots and western wear.

The highlight of the day was Hatch Show Print. A letter press shop that has designed and printed posters for some of the biggest names in music. We were given a exclusive tour of the shop by Jim Sherraden, who helps run the shop and creates original artwork based on Hatch Show Print's shop archives.

At night we wanted to go out and see some of Nashville's night life. We ate at a great place called Rosepepper Cantina which had delicious margaritas. But then had a difficult time finding a fun venue that played music that was open on a Monday. We ended up at a dive and had a few drinks and then called it a night.

The next day we tried to explore more of Nashville but kept getting lost in its maze of small highways and poorly designed city layout. I mean there was long lines of traffic at every intersection. It was a mix of slow lethargic drivers and short lights. It was our first rainy day on this trip so that didn't help the road either. We struggled to find a good place to eat that had decent vegetarian food. We ended up at a mediocre thai restaurant that had only a few options on their menu for us.

All in all Nashville was a very strange place that we think may need a little more time to figure out. People seem to love it here, and I'm sure once you spend enough time here it could grow on you. But our time only allotted us 2 days. So next time we come we'll find all the great local spots!

Day 6: Saint Louis and Trying To Get To Nashville

We woke up to a damp morning bright and early (6 am) and started our drive towards St
Louis, Mo. When we arrived we strolled through the park on the
riverfront. There were amazing old brick buildings, most which were
vacant. And of course we visited...the arch! Oh the "gateway to the
west", how beautiful you are. We thought about going to the top to
get a better view of the city, but the line was too long. We settled
on walking around the park where the arch was. After a nice walk we
drove around trying to find a place for lunch, but got lost and ended
up in the ghetto (we almost strangled one another).

Finally after eating we got back in the car and started our drive
again towards Nashville. We were both so eager to arrive in Nashville
we didn’t want to stop anywhere else. That was until we saw one
tourist attraction we couldn't refuse or else we would have both
regretted it for years to come. Where is this you ask? Metropolis of
course ... hometown of Superman!!! There were endless opportunities
here for superhero fandom: Superman Museum, Superman collectible shop. But we settled on visiting the gigantic superman statue and taking a few pictures.

Day 5: We're Not In Kansas Anymore-Thank God

Most people think there is nothing to see or do in Kansas.  Well, after driving 6 hours across the state we have discovered that this is absolutely not true.  Here is a list of the many various things you can take your family to see during your stay in the Sunflower State.

1.  Worlds largest prairie dog

2. Museum of OZ

3. Largest Czech painted egg

4. Jesus (there is an ad for him on every other billboards along the interstate)

We were so overwhelmed with all our choices that we skipped all of those and drove straight to Kansas City to camp and spend the night.  

Wait, most of Kansas City isn't even in Kansas!  Oh well, here is a pic from our campsite.

Day 3/4: Denver & Boulder

We finally arrived in Denver around noon. We have been staying with our good friends Elina, her boyfriend Todd, and their 2 Dogs (Katherine & Ray Liotta), and 2 Cats (Stinky & Weasel). Thursday we had a tour of the city, ate at a great vegetarian restaurant, and drank really cheap pitchers of sangria ($10 for two pitchers, INCREDIBLE!!).

In the evening we walked around Broadway where there was loud music of all kinds coming from every open bar. Lots of hipsters and dirt surfers spilling out onto the street. It seemed to us that the cool thing to do was to be outside of the bar on the street than inside with the bands.

We spent the rest of the night at Elina and Todd's friends backyard. Drinking beer and discussing the high quality 80's cartoons we all loved (Jem,Shirttails).

Friday we ventured off to Boulder which had a completely different feel than Denver. Truly a college town. There is even a creek that goes through town where residents can rent tubes and leisurely float their way through the city. We ate at a fantastic Tibetan tea house and ventured into the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art where we saw a great collection of Wet Plate Photographs by Mark Sink.




That final evening was spent back on the hip street of Broadway, we had a birthday Ice Cream Social, and went to a friends house and played Apples to Apples late into the night.