Hello everyone! 8/11/07
Hello everyone!
I am writing this from the back seat of Rena's lovely Subaru, while driving through the desert of Nevada. There's a lizard in a tank sitting next to me, and Sean and Rena are contemplating the benefits of purchasing some billboard space along this stretch of route 80 in Winnemucca. We left from San Francisco this morning, and are steadily making our way towards Salt Lake City tonight. So far, we've seen lots of random stuff, but I have a feeling there is plenty still to come.
After spending two hours of yesterday afternoon lost in San Francisco, Rena met Sean and I at the very last possible minute to get on the boat to Alcatraz. We spent a couple of hours on the rock, and I even got over my hate of audio tours and found it quite interesting. We saw the fake heads that were props in the only successful breakout from the prison and heard first person accounts of what life in the prison was like. It was interesting, and I would say definitely worth the trip.
After hanging out with Allison and Aram last night, we set off this morning at 9 am. After about two hours of driving, we stopped at our first roadside attraction: the museum & statue dedicated to the Donner Party. We all agreed that the museum felt like a neglected wing of the Museum of Natural History, but on a lower budget. We learned a bit about the Donner Party, but Sean and I recently learned that there wasn't actually as much cannibalism going on during the winter of 1847 as previously thought. So we had the odd experience of knowing more about a topic than a museum dedicated to that topic. We also checked out the huge statue dedicated to the Party.
(Me, eating a Party member's face)
After leaving the Cannibal Museum, we continued on to Reno. After a quick lunch, we walked down the main street of Reno. We played a bit of slots (I insisted that we only use the kind that actually have the lever that you pull) and lost, and looked at some old cars that were parked along the main drag. It definitely is not such an impressive city, and we were probably in and out in under two hours. Since we left Reno, we've been driving steadily and we're probably half way to Salt Lake City.
(ok, I stopped writing in the car then, and I picked it up here just now...)
After a few more hours of driving, we made a stop in Elko, Nevada, to see the world's largest Polar Bear, Rena and I thought it was going to be taxidermied. It was instead a huge statue of a polar bear mounted to the side of a casino. We took lots of pictures, mostly of us imitating the ridiculous look on the beast's face.
We just got into a motel outside of Salt Lake City. Apparently rooms are hard to come by, but I negotiated the night manager down to a reasonable rate, and we have free wireless and clean comfy beds. No complaints here, I am sure. We are going to be camping in Aspen tomorrow night, so we won't be able to check in then, but I will write again when I can.
Love,
Em
PS - Bub, please call grandma and tell her I'm alive. My cell phone died and between that and the time difference, it would be cruel to call her now, so if you could give her a ring in the morning, that would be great. MWAH!
Cheyenne, Wyoming - Population: 55,000 8/13/07
That's right. The population of the state capital of Wyoming is significantly smaller than New Rochelle. I think we expereinced all that Cheyenne had to offer tonight, but I will get to that later.
After we woke up in Tooele, Utah on Saturday morning, we raced over to Salt Lake City. I expected this to be the pinnacle of my Mormon Bender, as we were now driving toward Mormon Mecca. I obviously should have known better, since obviously holy rolling tourguides in Temple Square aren't going to actually give up the real info on their religion. So, while we took the 'official' tour of temple square, Sean and I filled Rena in on everything that the guides were glossing over. I also have never really been face to face with people who were so convinced of the legitamacy of their religion. Everyone had placid smiles on their face and were very eager to recruit, which pretty much cemented my feelings on the whole business. Don't worry, we all resisted the temptation to send mormon missionaries to our loved ones houses. We found SLC in general to be completely antiseptic and boring, and so pretty much beat it out of there ASAP and went on to our next destination; Redstone, CO & camping.
But, not to be completely discouraged by the blandness of Salt Lake City and it's mormons, we made a quick stop in Provo, Utah & the campus of Brigham Young University. We basically only stopped to get stickers to add to our quickly growing collection, but now we can say we've been to BYU, and we made it out of there alive, so there's something to be said for that.
one of many stops at a state line
We got to the campgrounds at about 8, to find Mia & Aaron and the three kids already set up. We had hot dogs & played with the kids, and pretty much found it to be a great relaxing night. I was wary of camping, since the last time I did it I was 14 and there was a camp-enforced rule that we weren't allowed to shower for the entire 5 day expereince. No wonder it took me a decade to get back to it. But it was great to be able to look up and see all those stars, and waking up in the morning in a beautiful valley was a great expereince.
When we left the campsite, we took Mia & Aaron's suggestion and went to Denver for lunch. We went to the Denver Art Museum for lunch, and after Sean and I walked around the newly-renovated & beautiful space and Rena hung out in the Denver library across the street. We left Denver after about an hour and a half, and I kind of wished we had more time (Bub - I saw a sign for Union Station and I wanted to see it, but we were already on our way out of town.) But I think I'd like to go back and see more of the city. I think that that's a first, that I felt like I could have stayed and seen more.
Rena loves Sinclair!
After Denver, we drove North to Fort Colllins where there's a Budweiser brewery. This is now my 3rd brewery tour in the last month, and I know that there's at least one more in store for me for this trip. So I think it's pretty safe to say I know a hell of a lot about beer, for somebody who doesn't really drink the stuff. However, all that said, it's quite an impressive setup. They brew an obscene amount of beer every year, and the tour was quite well set up. They also keep at least 8 of those huge clydsedale horses at each of their eight facilities, so we got to check that out, too. At the conclusion of the tour, there was a tasting, so I donated my tastings to Sean and Rena, and drove the last leg of the trip of the day.
It took us about an hour to get to Cheyenne, and found a coupon and got a dirt cheap motel room in a suprisingly nice Motel 8. We went out for dinner in Cheyenne, and it was dead. Like, creepy dead. And I understand that it's a Sunday night in Wyoming, but I think Sean put it well when he asked Rena and I, 'have you ever wondered what it would be like after a nuclear bomb went off?' So that pretty much summed up that expereince. We got back to the motel pretty much right after that and the conceirge told us that Cheyenne can actually be a pretty happening place, and that about a month ago there was a huge rodeo that quadruples the size of the city and attracts all sorts of big name acts. She also revealed that it's another 5 hours to Mount Rushmore, not 1.5, as we had thought. So the last few minutes have been a flurry of figuring out how to allot our time tomorrow, and what exactly it is we're going to do as we drive through Iowa. The current answer seems to be 'absolutely nothing', as that's all there is in Iowa. But, it's unavoidable, and we've all been good at keeping each other entertained, so it could be worse. Nevada was, as you may remember, pretty boring aside from the World's Largest Polar Bear, but we got through it, so it'll be ok. Perhaps in Iowa we will find the world's largest Wooly Mammoth, or some such.
Anyway, Sean and Rena are plotting out the next few days, and I should really go help. I realize this email is like ten years long, but I'm trying to write it all down as often as possible, so nothing gets forgotten. Anyway, I will probably check in again in a couple of days after Mount Rushmore and Milaukee, and will talk to you all soon.
Love,
Em
Hello from the highways of Wisconsin! 8/15/07
I feel like it's been about a year since my last email, even though I know it's only been like two days. Either way, you are now about to read a very long email about our travels over the last couple days. Believe me, they've been action-packed.
We left Cheyenne very early on Monday morning; no time to dawdle, we had to get through the corner of Wyoming, and all of South Dakota. There wasn't much in Wyoming, but the amount of random stuff to be done in South Dakota really can't be understated.
Our first stop in South Dakota was, of course, Mount Rushmore. Here's what they don't tell you about Rushmore; you know how everyone makes a big deal about the Mona Lisa and how everyone knows what it looks like because it's reproduced everywhere and therefore seeing it is really surreal? Mount Rushmore is just like that. It almost feels like you've seen it before because you've seen it so often. So you have to go up this huge mountain to see it, and pay, which is lame, but you can't see it until the very last minute, and it's just sticking out of nowhere. The rock is a different color in the monument than everywhere else, obviously, because it was carved away and no matter how much you look at it, it's still hard to understand that this is the actual monument, not another reproduction. Here's what I didn't know about Mount Rushmore that I know now: it's incomplete. We went down to the sculptor's studio, and they had a scale model of what it was supposed to look like, and all the presidents had overcoats and stuff on, I was sort of blown away. It was odd to see it like that, which sort of adds to the whole surreal thing I was talking about before.
After the Rushmore experience, we went to Wall Drug, which is like 'South of the Border' but in South Dakota. Wall, South Dakota is completely empty, except for this HUGE weird store that's really the only thing in town. There's a soda fountain, and a drug store, and literally acres upon acres of kitsch, and jackelopes, which are this weird phenomenon that basically involves taking a taxidermied rabbit and sticking antelope antlers on it. I feel that this basically summarizes South Dakota – there's nothing there, so people had to invent things to do. As a result, there was so much to do that we barely got across the state on schedule.
Back to the journey, our next stop in South Dakota had very little to do with human intervention; we went on a driving tour of the badlands. It was beautiful, and full of all different sorts of terrain – huge mountains that were striated with color, and amazing prairies, and we even saw some buffalo out in the distance. Oh, and prairie dogs, which somehow manage to be exponentially cuter in South Dakota than in the Bronx Zoo. Go figure. There have been moments throughout the trip where we've all had to consider what it had to be like to come across the country pre-air conditioning, this was definitely one of them. At one point, the thermometer on Rena's car read 110 degrees as we were driving through and the AC pretty much ceased to work anyway. It really was the hottest I've ever been. Rena and I refused to get out of the car, but Sean said he felt like it was more bearable than New York, since there was no humidity. At least there aren't rattlesnakes in New York, just transvestites hanging out (read: peeing) on our stoop. I'm better equipped at dealing with them, I think.
Badlands!
When we got out of the badlands, we tried to stop at a missile silo from the Cold War, but it was closed, so it was a lovely rest stop, and we moved on.
Out of the badlands, and thwarted in our efforts to learn Cold War history, we made a quick stop at the Mitchell Corn Palace, which we thought would be a huge palace made entirely of corn, but was in actuality a basketball stadium that has some ugly murals made of corn on the façade. Do NOT believe the hype on the palace! Dually disappointed, we moved on to Sioux Falls, at the very edge of South Dakota. Finding a room wasn't nearly as difficult as Salt Lake City, but it wasn't quite a cakewalk. Regardless, we got one and then tried to hunt down food. Burger King has never tasted so good. Full and tired, we called it a night.
DO NOT BELIEVE THE HYPE!
We woke up this morning and started again. After about 5 minutes, we crossed into Minnesota. We've been stopping at every state line to take pictures at the "Welcome to ______" signs. I would have to say that Minnesota's was the best yet, by far. Even though it was a complete hike to get to it, I would have to say it was entirely worth it. We stopped at a visitor center and got several suggestions on places to see in the state. Considering that we entered the center just trying to figure out ways to pass the time in the state that we were figuring was just going to be the easiest way to get to our next destination, we found a lot to do. Namely, we stopped to see a 60 foot statue of the Jolly Green Giant, and went to the Spam Museum. The JGG can really only be described in photos, so that will have to wait, but ohh that Spam Museum, it was a sight. I've never had a bite of Spam in my life, but still, I found that museum amazing. In my experience, I have never met anyone who honestly enjoys the stuff, but it apparently has quite the cult following. The museum was a great mix of history and tongue in cheek humor about the stuff, and I must say that I think I left the place actually almost appreciating it. And the parking spots were even labeled with the Spam logo, so really, how can you hate that?
Ho ho ho!
As we drove the rest of the way across Minnesota, we took a scenic byway through the "bluff country". In all honestly, it was mostly cornfields, but there were some beautiful vistas, and since my opinions of the place are still formed by 'Fargo', it was nice to see another perspective on the place. We also passed an old Amish couple in a horse and buggy, which was crazy, of course. I don't think that seeing Amish people can be anything other than that, it's just such a reality check.
Anyway, we got off the scenic byway and headed off into Wisconsin Dells, which is basically an amalgam of Wildwoods, Riverside, Lake George and every shore town ever. As we drove through, we saw a sign for the 'Tommy Bartlett Show' which we quickly learned was a ski show, and therefore a must-see. After a quick dinner, we headed off to the show. The arena was half-empty, and we were definitely witnessing a show that was well past its glory days. Despite this, the tricks were impressive, and there was a paragliding act that was just beautiful, who knew that a night-paragliding act in a tourist trap could almost border on awe-inspiring? Anyway, the water skiing was just the first act, and after the intermission, we were disappointed to figure out that we were only going to be seeing some budget circus acts. After watching an acrobatic couple flirt with death for far too long, and seeing a father and son act that bordered on child abuse and almost guaranteed therapy down the road for the younger participants, we decided to get back on the road. We booked a room outside Milwaukee tonight, so we're on our way now. We tried to get a room in the city itself, but apparently there was a Brewer's game tonight, so we'll be in a Milwaukee suburb. I have a feeling that the suburbs of Milwaukee are going to make New Ro circa 1995 look like a throbbing metropolis.
We've also realized that on the road out of the scenic byway, we crossed the Mississippi River, and therefore we are back in a populated part of the country, and are actually closer to home than not. We're going to check out a couple of sights in Milwaukee tomorrow morning, and then we're off to Chicago. After that, it's definitely the last leg of our journey, and we'll be home before we know it. I'm looking forward to seeing this last bit of our country, as it's definitely close to home, but I've never seen any of it. It'll be good to know what's nearby, in addition to now having first hand knowledge of so much more of our country.
Anyway, thanks for continuing to read our travelogue, and I am sure that I will check in once more before we get home. Talk to you all soon!
Love,
Em
Hello from North of the Border! 8/19/07
Yup, I am coming to you from Canada, where every minute has been an adventure. But I will get to that in a minute, as I have to finish the first American part of our adventure first.
We woke up in Milwaukee on Wednesday morning, with the intention of getting to Chicago after a couple of short stops in the city. Sean and I wanted to check out the Milwaukee art museum, and Rena obliged us, which ended up being way more impressive than I originally thought it would be. They recently renovated the building and added a wing that was designed by Santiago Calatrava. We got there right as it opened, which means that we were there when it opened, since Calatrava’s thing is that all of his buildings have moving parts. So that was very awesome, and the collection was also great, I think I would have enjoyed spending more time there. There was a good contemporary collection, and we also saw an exhibit about style and furniture, which left Rena and I rapt at a video presentation about the creation of Windsor chairs. It was 10 am and lathes are really entrancing, ok? Anyway, it was a great museum, which was a pleasant surprise.
The next stop after the museum was yet another brewery. The third since this voyage began, suffice it to say that I have now had my fill of breweries. This time, it was Miller, and from what I know of their product, the tour was pretty much on par with their beer. The gross majority of the tour focused on their bottling and packaging facilities, which is about as interesting as driving through cornfields in Minnesota. Not to mention that it was raining and when we got to the tasting portion of the tour, the samples were icky and all in all, Miller’s tour was just not worth it. So we set off for Chicago.
Here’s the thing about Chicago; we are big ole New Yorkers and have no interest in whatever it is that the city has to offer. We decided that we all wanted to see this bean thing, and maybe see the Sears tower, but other than that, there wasn’t much in Chicago that we couldn’t see in New York. Now, I know this was probably less than thorough of us, but I am sure we will all get back to it at some point in our lives. Anyway, rather than going to Chicago that afternoon, we hung around in Deerfield for an hour and relaxed. We stayed that night with Rabbi Prass and his family, and pretty much just sat around and talked and played with his adorable daughters and had a good time. I think we were all at the point where we needed to do a whole lot of nothing, so this was really perfect.
The next morning we stopped in Chicago, saw the Bean thing, walked around Millennium Park a bit, and left. Next stop; Toronto. It took us about 4 hours to get to the border of Canada, and we encountered a bit of drama when we arrived. Apparently, three kids with a whole lot of stuff in the car and not much cash on them set off some sort of alarms among the Mounties and we got pulled over into immigration. We were grilled about where we had been, where we were going, and just what we were doing with the lizard in a ten gallon tank in the back seat. They pulled apart the car a bit, and then sent us on to some more Mounties, who asked us more questions about who we were and what we do and where we were going and WHY ARENT YOU ALL CARRYING MORE CASH?!?!?! (apparently, this is a major issue, who knew?) Anyway, we finally got across, and continued on to Toronto. Our hotel there was sketchy, sort of, on the outside, but fine on the inside. Anyway, it was a place to sleep, so it did the trick.
We woke up this morning and went off to play in Toronto. Rena has a love of those duck tours, so Sean and I obliged, and it was actually sort of fun. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to see of Toronto from the water, so that portion was short, but it was fun nonetheless. (Dad, if you make fun of me for getting on one of those boats I will stop talking to you for at least a week). We got a good overview of the city, and an hour and a half later we were on to our next adventure: the CN tower. Which obviously led to many CN/CNN related jokes, which helped to pass the time on the line, which was like an hour long. Anyway, we found ourselves at the top of the world’s second tallest structure (there’s some building in Dubai that just took the title like two months ago), with a great view of the city and Lake Michigan. We got down from the top of the tower and decided to set off for the Shoe Museum. We walked for about half an hour, but by the time we got there, it was about to close, so we decided not to bother. We walked through some more of the City, and then set off to our final destination – Niagara Falls. Our hotel tonight is about 20 miles away from the falls, and is just odd, for lack of a better word.
You can tell that the hotel used to be much nicer – the remnants of nice landscaping are everywhere, and there are parts of the place that are still nice. But we arrived and it was practically empty. I thought the architecture was more than reminiscent of the Bates motel, while Sean felt the interior hallways were more like those in ‘The Shining’. Let me assure you, it’s a charming combination. We asked the concierge, and she assured us that some groups would be arriving later, which we hoped would diminish the horror movie-like aspects of the place. Not really wanting to hang around here for longer than we had to, we set off for dinner. We found a bar and hung for a couple hours. We were without a doubt deep in the middle of nowhere, but it was fun. The people seemed all really nice, and so there were no complaints. After dinner, the bartender struck up a conversation with us. She told us about life up here, and it was actually really entertaining. She made the assertion that she didn’t realize how different life could be until we started talking with her, she felt that even though she had been to the city once (and ridden an elevator with Ricky Martin when he was in Menudo), that she still liked living up here. She also explained a bit of the hotel mystery. Apparently there used to be a HUGE water park right behind it, but it obviously closed at some point in the last ten years. So faded glory wasn’t in our imaginations, it really used to be a much more impressive spot. Anyway, we all had a good laugh, and left the bar ready for tomorrow; our last day of travel. We’re off to Niagara Falls and the Maid of the Mist tomorrow morning, and then we’re starting the long drive back down to New Ro. This hotel doesn’t have internet, so if you get this at some point before late Saturday night, that means we found a rest stop with WiFi and I was able to send this before we got to New Ro. Hope you all have enjoyed the letters, and I am sure I will talk to you all soon!
Love,
Em
PS - I didn’t manage to find any wifi from the road, and now I’m back in the apartment in the city, safe and sound. Niagara falls was beautiful, we rode the maid of the mist early yesterday morning, and then set off on the long drive home. The falls were beautiful, unlike Mount Rushmore, photos don’t really do it justice. They are so much bigger than you’d expect, and it was really the perfect way to end our trip. We got back to New Ro late last night, and after a bit of hanging out, Westchester style, we’re all back to our lives tomorrow. What a trip!
Bundle up!
ooooooooh
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