DAY 26

Discovering the Multitude of Beauty

"At the foot of the mountain, the park ended and suddenly all was squalor again. I was once more struck by this strange compartmentalization that goes on in America -- a belief that no commercial activities must be allowed inside the park, but permitting unrestrained development outside, even though the landscape there may be just as outstanding. America has never quite grasped that you can live in a place without making it ugly, that beauty doesn't have to be confined behind fences, as if a national park were a sort of zoo for nature."

— Bill Bryson

As our adventures come to a close, I have realized something that I did not fully understand while on the road: the variety of beauty we experienced, from inside the gates of national parks in Colorado and Utah, to the loneliness and scarcity of the highways cutting through Nebraska, to the vibrant colors and culture in Albuquerque and Nashville.

Where we slept and what we saw was also an assortment: from the comfort of our families homes in Colorado, to sketchy Motel 6's for $30 a pop, to the simplicity and peace found in our tent. From the Bill Clinton Museum in Arkansas to the National Smithsonian in DC, the red rocks and dust of Utah to the snow capped mountains in Colorado. Every day we woke up and drove somewhere completely new, completely naive as to what was in store 500 miles down the road.

The only thing that remained a constant was the oatmeal, which also turned out to be a motif in this blog. Woops.

In any case, I think Mr. Bryson makes a good point. The natural beauty of the United States does not have to be confined to its parks, and as Nicole and I experienced first hand, it most certainly isn't. Still, I cannot disregard that some of the most beautiful scenery I witnessed was in the Rockies, Moab, and Canyonlands. All in all, I think our combination of parks and cities, small towns and suburbs, was what gave us a balanced view of America's splendor.

When I skyped Nicole last night--who's now an odd 300 miles away-- we were talking about this blog, and how we'd feel more sad today than we did driving back over the bridge and on to Long Island nearly three months ago. Sometimes in the moment you don't realize how lucky you are to be where you are, and the reality of what you're experiencing and its termination doesn't really hit you until months later.

Together, we reminisce about our adventures, and daydream about where and when we can get back on the road.

In due time.

DAY 25

Final Days: the last picture of us not taken in New York...

I am hesitant to write this blog post, since I know it is one of our last. It will also be about our last adventure on the road, since the final day consisted mainly of driving home through shitty turnpike traffic. I'll probably just spill my heart out about how much I love Nicole, road trips, freedom, frugality, dirt, and tents anyway.

In any case, here we go. Even with our 700 miles of driving the day before (which I think was actually our longest stint), we still had a full day of various adventures. Mine started a little earlier than Nicole's. Somehow, Danielle has this magical power to convince me to run with her-- I woke up at 7:30 to bang out a "comfortable" six miles (she ran seven, I refused to go on). I was pretty surprised at how I felt; normally six miles isn't too terrible for me, but I hadn't ran in about a month, changing up my routine exercise from running to a mix of hiking, scrambling up rocks, and sitting in cars. Still, my legs felt good and my body wasn't in shell-shock. Hooooray.

After showering and breakfast (I had oatmeal, why the hell not), Nicole, Danielle and I hopped on the metro and headed into DC. Sadly, Nic and I were actually splitting up: she was meeting a friend to check out some art galleries, and Danielle and I were going to the zoo! I aint gonna lie, it was weird leaving Nicole. This was the second time that I really missed her on the trip--the first being when I was bleaching Happy's pool in Arizona while she was inside making raw-vegan oatmeal.

Nonetheless, Danielle and I had a wonderful time at the zooooo. We made some animal friends, of course.

After a fun afternoon with lions, crabs, monkeys and butterflies, we headed to the grocery store to pick up some food for a small BBQ back at home. We got some burgers, hotdogs, veggie burgs, assorted veggies, and beans....along with a decent amount of beer. We reconvened with Nicole and started cooking away! Danielle had a few friends over, and we enjoyed our food out on the back porch. Evening turned into the night, and the beers took over as the main guest. I think that these past few weeks hit Nic and I at that very moment, and I must say that intoxication mixed with exhaustion is an...odd feeling. We mustered up what energy we had to go to the bars, and while it was fun for a bit, we did not last long.

Here was the final sip I took with Danielle before deciding I could not stay awake any longer.

We stopped on our way home to eat some drunken fried ravioli (yum?) and then enjoyed a nice 30 minute stroll through campus to get back to the house. We passed out soon after, in a bed, together, for the last time.

DAY 24

Entering the Eastern Time Zone: Feels Too Close to Home

We woke up around 7 am our second morning in Nashville- a good four hours earlier than the previous day. We knew we had a loooong day of driving ahead of us, and wanted to make it to one of our final destinations before dark.

Well, even with the early wakeup, the sunset still beat us to Washington DC. This picture was taken somewhere in Virginia, towards the end of our 700 mile driving stint.

I am trying to remember back to what this day of driving was like, and one of the memories that sticks out most clearly is how I felt when we crossed into the Eastern Time Zone. This happened somewhere in Eastern Tennessee, which is obviously a good distance from home. Still, just the fact that we were technically back in the "East" made me feel like I was steps away from the GW bridge, one giant leap from guidos and japs and really good cream cheese.

I couldn't believe it was only a week ago that Nic and I climbed up the boulders that enclosed Happy Oasis Farm in Arizona, gazing out at miles and miles of desert- feeling so far away from anything.

Now were were at a one-star restaurant somewhere in Virginia, splitting a veggie wrap and chocolate brownie sundae and taking turns walking around the premises to stretch our legs. We were a mere two hours from DC, yet were reluctant to keep driving east. It felt too soon, too rushed. That being said, we had a bed to sleep in two hours east, and I was eager to see my best friend Danielle--whose house we were staying at.

We got to Danielle's just before 10pm, and I think we were asleep by 11.

DAY 23

The Loveless Cafe: Certainly Not Devoid of Love

Since we had such a late night, Nic and I did not find ourselves eager to get out of bed with the sunrise. Plus, there were no mountains to climb in Nashville, so we let ourselves sleep in and let our appetites do the climbing instead. By around 11am, we were ready to indulge in southern comfort food, so we browsed the interwebs for some of Nashville's best kept secrets.

We stumbled upon this place online: The Loveless Cafe. It wasn't until I saw Loveless featured on the Travel Channel two months later did I realize how famous it was; still, whether featured on television or not, it only took one meal for Nic and I to realize this restaurant was the real deal. Just humor me and check out the menu. And then drool along with me. MENU!

We had a breakfast feast that included homemade biscuits with jam and butter, french toast, eggs, grits, and mimosas. The biscuits were absolutely incredible, and I must say I am grit's newest fan. If I go back--when I go back--I definitely need to try some fried chicken.

After we ate, we went into the cafe store, Hams and Jams. We perused the aisles, checking out an assortment of books (see above), some bacon-scented air fresheners, and biscuit mixes.

After our lovely brunch, we headed back into the heart of Nashville. We soon learned how expensive cowboy boots could be, and that people are out drinking whiskey and playing live music no matter what time of the day. We also encountered a fair amount of Elvis paraphernalia, seeing as Memphis is only two hours west.

After walking around for a few hours to digest all those damn biscuits, we got back into the car and went searching for the Grand Ol Opry. We finally found it, but due to the harsh flooding that occurred about a month back, the venue was still closed. We drove back to check out the Country Music Hall of Fame instead, but it was unfortunately closing soon for the day. We loitered in the museum store for thirty minutes, and decided to call it a day.

DAY 22

A Splendid Coincidence

After our stomachs were filled with Sonic fast-food, we said goodbye to both Little Rock and Knipper and got back in the car. Where to next? 400 miles east to Nashville, Tennessee!

Nicole's good friend Devin and a few other Stonehill kids were also driving around the US; they rented an RV and were going on tour to promote a new CD. Nic decided to call Devin to ask him if he had passed through Nashville yet, and if so, to recommend some places to check out. Turns out they were ALSO headed to Nashville, and had two shows that evening! We were really excited to see some familiar faces, hear good music, and explore a new city with friends (that were under the age of 40, might I add).

The first bar we went to had an open-mic; four performers would sit on stage and then they'd go down the line and back, singing their little country hearts our and strummin on their guitars. I soon learned that people are TALENTED in Nashville, and while country music may not be my thing, I did appreciate their musicality. Also, almost all of them had a little story to tell before their song, which always went something like this: "hey ya'll, I'm from a small town in Alabama (or Tennessee, Mississippi, or Arkansas), and this here song is bout tryin to make it in the big city." Most songs also had to do with love, God, southern food, or county fairs.

After Devin and his friends performed, we went to another bar that lured a younger crowd-looots of southern sweet hearts with cowboy hats, really tight jeans, and really big butts. We listened to more live music, marveled at the fact you can smoke cigarettes inside, and slowly fell in love with this unique city.

We drove home at around 3am (way past our bedtime) and I got pulled over for the first time EVER right on Broadway downtown. I forgot to put my lights on...my bad. What can I say, the city lights were just so bright! During the whole ordeal, Nic was pretty inebriated in the passengers seat, so she was laughing and gladly offering to pay for the ticket. Which I didn't even get. Hooza!

More about our following day in Nashville soon, which included biscuits and grits, whiskey saloons, and the grand ol opry.

DAY 21 cont.

Hillary, Knipper, Sonic, and the inhabitants of Little Rock

We met a lot of important people in Little Rock. I'll begin with who I mentioned last: the locals. We didn't really meet a majority of them, but there is a good chance they met us. Within 30 minutes of us arriving and walking around the city, we were stopped by camera crews and asked a few questions for a sports edition of their local news. Actually, we had to do the asking, and then our tape was played and questions answered live on the news by some Arkansas sports "expert." Nicole asked who they thought would win the world cup, and I asked what their favorite NY sports team was.

After signing millions of autographs and putting our hands in wet cement, we went to the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum. It was AWESOME. Hillary happened to be there, hangin' out in the glass, so we took a pic. Here are some more:

This is just a letter Mister Roger wrote to the Clinton's. (You can click on the photo to enlarge/read it). RIP. ps) nice letter head.

After our filled afternoon of grilled shrimp, news interviews, and bonding with the former Prez, we drove to our friend Knipper's new apartment. We both met Knipper our freshman year at Stonehill, and while her and Nic were able to continually hang throughout college, I hadn't seen Knipper since 2007 when I transferred! So crazy. It was great to all be together again; she let us take showers, do laundry, and drink wine in her lovely abode before we headed back into the city for dinner and drinks.

(eating fried pickles....which turned out not to be so wonderful. I prefer my pickles cold and crispy, not warm and greasy).

Lastly, our final stop in Little Rock the following morning was to be introduced to our friend Sonic. And by friend, I mean fast-food joint that is constantly advertised in NY yet the majority of their locations are in the south. We had never been...but the commercials are so alluring. So we went. Now, the coolest part about Sonic is that they try to emulate the whole 50's diner thing, so your food is delivered by waitresses on roller blades. Unfortunately, our waitress was "server-in-training," so was in sneakers. Bummer.

DAY 21

One great day in Bill's hometown

Yes. We had to stop in Little Rock. Why? Well, why not? At one point we thought of heading farther south, hitting up places like Austin and NOLA. But our thought-process was this: we have our whole lives to see cities like New Orleans, places that we can take advantage of when we're not on a budget and living out of a tent.

Example scenario I: Nic and Laura enter Bourbon Street in dirty clothes and teva's. Nic and Laura have a drink. No one talks to Nic and Laura because they haven't showered in...four days. Then it hits 9pm and Nic and Laura start yawning. They drive back to their tent 20 minutes away and go to sleep.

Now, when would we ever really decide to go to Little Rock in our future lives? Example scenario II: "Hello wonderful husband, hi adorable children. Where should we go on vacation this summer? Our options are San Francisco, Paris, Costa Rica, or Little Rock! Let's count hands.....Oh? Little Rock? Okay, sounds great! I'll book the flight tonight!"

So, with Little Rock conveniently only six hours east on I40, and with a good friend from college living there for the summer, we thought why not? We also love Bill Clinton, and wanted to see his museum. And find THE Little Rock (which didn't happen). And get on the local news (which did).

Until I muster up the energy to tell you all about it, you can look at my lunch I had that afternoon:

DAY 20

Mostly Driving, but at least it included Texas...

After our exciting late-afternoon filled with margaritas and tortilla chips, Nic and I left Old Town and headed to downtown Albuquerque; we were planning on having a few drinks and checking out some local bands that were playing at a nearby venue. Alas, it only took a few sips of whisky to realize that 9pm was way past our bedtime, so we decided to called it a night. We did have a good eight hours of driving ahead of us anyhow..

We may have skipped out on a night on the town,but we did enter a hotel and crash a wedding before bed (if only for the free food).

That was fun.

We woke up the next morning geared for a long day of driving. Our plan was to make it to Little Rock, AK in two days to stay with our friend Knipper. Oklahoma City is about halfway between Albuquerque and Little Rock, so we decided to drive there and spend the night.

So, in order to get to Oklahoma from New Mexico, you have to drive through Texas. We only got out in TX once, and it was in Bushland, of all places. Even better, Bushland has the largest cross in the Western Hemisphere, pictured below. (The cross is actually quite large, despite how it may appear in the photo).

We made it to Oklahoma City by the evening, and camped at Thunderbird state park, which is about 20 miles southeast of the capital. We luckily made it to OK a few days after several tornados plowed through, but the damage was still visible:

At least our campsite was pretty (and unharmed):

With that in mind, I must say that the bathroom on site was awful, and this is coming from a girl who can deal with most things disgusting. We walked in and it was like A Bug's Life suddenly turned on. Out of nowhere several little bugs crawled out of who knows where, buzzing and flying into light bulbs and doing whatever else bugs do. I tried to wash my face but the soap fell into the sink and two seconds later was covered with centipedes. The bathrooms even had showers--usually a gold mine for us--but I swear if you took one you'd end up dirtier than before. I even peed right outside the bathroom. If that is not a paradox I do not know what is.

But I mean, we didn't pay to stay at Thunderbird (we couldn't find the box to put our money in...woops). And we were only there for 12 hours. Early to bed, early to rise, and off to the hometown of President Bill Clinton...

Interlude 3

Old and New

So, I am sitting in my new home, in my new "room," trying to write a new blog post. I need to tell you more about Albuquerque: how the university is surrounded by ivy-league school named streets (doesn't that bother the students?), what a sopapilla is and why you should rush to New Mexico to try one, and how there are exercise machines in the the middle of their street parks. I need to tell you what town we stopped at in Texas, what our campsite looked like in Oklahoma, and especially what we encountered when we used the park's bathroom.

Perhaps I am unmotivated. Or tired. Or creativity-deficient. I am staring at a bunch of Ghanaian fabric I have thrown over a rope that is acting like the a door to my room. I am thinking about how I need to tack another sheet to the ceiling so I can really get some privacy.

I am also missing Nicole, who is starting a new chapter in her life as well, having just moved to Manhattan to get her Masters at Columbia. She wants me to live with her, but my new room has a fireplace.

So for now, I am going to tackle this door situation. For your viewing pleasure, below are some pictures my cousin Rich sent me. The first is in response to one of my previous posts, where I mentioned how Nic and I did not make it to the Colorado Sand Dunes. He happily sent me an email with the subject line "here is what you missed." It's a picture of him and his son. And the second-a photo he edited of our hike together to Horsetooth. You can see how the summit resembles a horsetooth, hence its name.

Oh, and here is a link about sopapillas incase I never get around to it!

DAY 19

Albuquerque loves us...

...and thanks to green chiles, tequila, and gifts/blessings from God, we love Albuquerque too.

Let's get right to it. Albuquerque is AWESOME. Since we woke up at like..6 am, we were fed and washed and dressed and packed away by 8. We got to the city just as the small shop owners were opening their stores; we were there to witness the town waking up and blooming with the sun.

We drove to Old Town, which is a historic district of Albuquerque, founded by the Spanish is 1706. There are a TON of local art shops, traditional New Mexican cuisine cafes, and welcoming Albuquerquians who love to engage in conversation and give you God's greatest blessing.

Check out the bracelets above. You may think they were a gift from a lady who was randomly holding up a sign in the town center saying "TELL ME A STORY!" But in reality folks, she was just a messenger from God...who had picked out these bracelets for Nicole and I specifically...and told said woman to deliver them to us. How lucky! (Nic's is green because she's gonna be an environmentalist...and mine says i am LOVED. Hoooray!)

After our gifts from the G-man, we danced in the plaza circle to some banjo-esque music, while numerous people took photos/video of us. That was kinda cool. We continued to shop, buying souvenirs for our families, getting blessed by more store clerks, and trying out some New Mexican food. Apparently the green chile is an Albuquerque staple, so we had to try some.

After we ate, we continued to walk around and talk to people, before it was a reasonable hour to declare... happy hour! After exploring, we ended up back where we had lunch. We sat outside (the temperature had cooled to a modest 90 degrees), ordered some margaritas, and took out our map, figuring out where life would take us tomorrow.

you're so beautiful! (i miss you).

One last thing worth mentioning! While the green chile is known for being baked, fried, stirred, and sprinkled on everything, the red chile is known for being hung on doorways, in order to be dried and turned into a rista. This is both an efficient way to preserve a chili, and has also turned into a symbol of welcoming and good fortune. We saw red chili's hanging everywhere, really giving "The Land of Enchantment" a unique decorative style.

DAY 18

North or East?

When we woke up in Sedona, we got into the car and started driving. We had approximately 20 miles until we'd come to a junction and have to decide whether we wanted to go north or east. If we went north, we would head back into Utah and make our way along Southern Colorado. Now, why Utah again? Well, remember our 30something-year-old friends we made in Flagstaff? Turns out they all work at a Resort in Lake Powell. One is a bartender, another a server at a sushi restaurant, and the last an employer for the fancy tour boats that cruise along the lake everyday. They invited us to spend the night there; we would get a free room, free sushi, free drinks, and a free boat ride. The next day, we would cross back into Colorado, visiting Mesa Verde National Park and the Colorado Sand Dunes.

Here is a picture of Lake Powell, and another of the Sand Dunes:

Our other option? Drive eight hours east, half through reservations in Arizona, the other half through reservations in New Mexico. End up in Albuquerque by the evening, set up camp, and figure out what the hell one possibly does in Albuquerque. Then, we'd be in prime location for an exploration of the South, an arms reach from such invigorating cities like Oklahoma City and Little Rock. Be nice and close to Texas. Feet away from fried-everything.

So which did we choose? The latter option, of course. We set up camp in a strange KOA campsite a few exits east of downtown Albuquerque. We met a couple from Amsterdam; they were a few gravel pits down from us and were cooking a steak in butter and drinking wine while we were boiling pasta and cutting peppers. We ate our dinner and then relaxed in the hot tub on the grounds, talking to a woman from Georgia who has been camping with her family for two years around the world while homeschooling her kids. We drank whiskey with two guys next to us, one who was driving to Las Vegas to begin Teach for America, and another who was helping his friend settle in before flying to Mali for the PeaceCorps. We wondered why there was barbed wire surrounding the campsite, and why there was a mysterious punch-code to get in the bathrooms. We also wondered what the next day would bring, what Albuquerque would offer us for another 24 hours..

Surprisingly, we fell in love with the city.

Until then, here is our picturesque tent in Albuquerque. Who needs free sushi and boat rides?...