About time I posted something new

These are just some fun shots taken since we have been in CT. The balloons popping were taken in a photography class.

The Last of Yellowstone

More Yellowstone

There are still more yellowstone pictures coming. The library has once again cut our progress short!! The ones to come are from the most beautiful pool in the whole park!

Yellowstone

More Yellowstone on the way. Sorry the library closed a lot earlier than expected!!

Yellowstone National Park, the worlds first nationally protected area (or so they advertise) with more than 2 million acres of wildlands, surrounded by wildlife refuges, national parks, and protected lands. This is the good stuff, where a 30x40 mile wide super volcano erupted 600,000 years ago, as evidenced by a massive basin and continuous geothermal activity occurring in the forms of geysers, hotsprings, fumaroles and mudpots. A person can easily spend more than a week here, as there’s a lodge and campgrounds throughout, and more than enough angry bison blocking the walkways for disillusioned tourists and their angry families to go around. Wolves howling at night kept us company in the frigid air, and Uncle Tom’s 800 ft. trail dropped us in the middle of the most photographed ridge of the Park. Our legs are still killing us from that descent. Those pesky ground squirrels (which awfully close to chipmunks for me to question their breeding habits) have tried to take over the mighty Starcraft, watching us watch the X-Files on our laptops, but were chased out with gnashing teeth and muttered curses. No bears have been seen, but scat and tree markings were everywhere. These photos were taken by the lovely Melissa Williams, and the geysers and springs have not been airbrushed in any way.


We’re in Montana currently, hammocking it up and heading to Glacier National Park, and not resting until Washington State! Peace to you and yours!

Wyoming, Rockies, and Tetons

Wyoming came next, where in this region we have stayed the longest thus far. The Devil’s Tower, known by the natives as the Bear’s Tipi, was formed by immense pressure, squeezing hexagonally shaped columns of rock upwards. We observed rock climbers and mean spirited tourists with their petty wives and illiterate children everywhere, making this a fine destination for anyone with a sense of humor and love of geology. By the way, Wyoming gets dusty, hot, and full of sage if you plan on driving inside a stuffy van with allergies and cramped conditions, so bring a power inverter, fan, and plenty of water and books. We also stayed near Caspar, where Melissa’s older-younger brother Josh was born. We traveled to her parents’ old house and saw the Dark Knight for the 2nd time. Fun times two!

For my birthday, we headed into Colorado. What a beautiful area this is, with Rocky Mountain National Park the site to spot a 14’er (a fourteen thousand foot peak, or a name of a nice little deli in Estes Park). We went Kayaking at Grand Lake, a kickass little town just outside of the park, with harbourside playing of classic movies (the original Batman from the 60’s!) and the most treasured device Western Civilization has graced this strange world with: The Simpsons Pinball Machine. What a terrific birthday.

ROCKIES

We headed back into Wyoming, into Teton Village, to witness the Melvins and Big Business bring a lot of noise, rock, roll, art, and a combination of the four in wicked helpings. All for ten dollars! We brought earplugs, playing cards, and bad attitudes, and were selflessly rewarded a good time.

Onwards! Into Teton National Park, with a gorgeous Mountain filled skyline, antelope, and quick ride through, into Yellowstone!

South Dakota [Sioux Falls- Badlands- Devils Tower]

TRAVELOGUE # 6hundred6tenths-of-a-6th
9/6th /2008 14:35HRS_Mountain Time

It’s that time again! Roll out the welcomes and keep them bratwursts poppin’, here comes another smattering of… DISPATCHES FROM THE WILD!


So…we drove through Minnesota, crossing the Louisiana River, never stopping in Wisconsin (even though they claim to be the Water Slide Capital of the World!), and traipsed into South Dakota, where we slept alongside the road in the chilly mountain air overlooking a lush valley sandwiched between a range of some sort. We soon came across Mount Rushmore, an amazing HOLY TERROR! Miniature Golf Course (where Mulligan seemed to be uttered every 4th stroke or so…), and the Crazy Horse Memorial. A publicly funded memorial, started from the grassroots level by a sculptor whom worked alongside the original designer of the Mt. Rushmore carving, the Crazy Horse Monument is indeed a labor of love and fine skill. An astonishing tribute to the renowned war chief, this appeared to be a gathering place for those who revere the indigenous American people’s cultures, and wish to silently atone for the immense slaughter that occurred. Quite possibly the most religious place I have ever been to.

This land is full on beautiful, from the wooded Black Hills to the arid Badlands, it bespeaks of isolation, comfort, and survival. We spied our first Bison in the Badlands, and only one prairie dog suffered the awesome might of the Starcraft.


Wyoming came next, where in this region we have stayed the longest thus far. The Devil’s Tower, known by the natives as the Bear’s Tipi, was formed by immense pressure, squeezing hexagonally shaped columns of rock upwards. We observed rock climbers and mean spirited tourists with their petty wives and illiterate children everywhere, making this a fine destination for anyone with a sense of humor and love of geology. By the way, Wyoming gets dusty, hot, and full of sage if you plan on driving inside a stuffy van with allergies and cramped conditions, so bring a power inverter, fan, and plenty of water and books. We also stayed near Caspar, where Melissa’s older-younger brother Josh was born. We traveled to her parents’ old house and saw the Dark Knight for the 2nd time. Fun times two!

BADLANDS, SD

SIOUX FALLS

Detroit ZOO

This came before Chicago. So it is a little out of order. More Coming Soon!!

CANADA- Quebec and Niagara

TRAVELOGUE# 5
7/16/2008_12:05PM CMT

We are driving through Wisconsin, on our way to the South Dakota Badlands and Mammoth Burial Grounds. Exciting, eh? Canada was nice, in a confusing 87 cents to the US Dollar kind of way. Montreal had plenty of art throughout the city, and Poutine was tried by Melissa and I (a Canadian delicacy, consisting of French fries soaked in beef broth gravy and topped with whole cheese curds). The rural areas of Montreal were pretty, and home to long stretches of agriculture and forests. This happened to be a great season for mosquitoes as well, with our Scrabble games being played in our van with the windows rolled shut and fan circulating. Smokers take note: this is the place to eat indoors and fill your lungs full of that sweet. sweet carcinogenic splendour. Mmmm...nicotine and tar.
Getting into Toronto, we met up with Melissa's friend Jon, whom she met on an African/ European trip. He showed us around the less busy district of the city, taking in the local bakery and some great Thai food at a decent enough price! We had to cut our visit somewhat short, due to his body building competition the next day. He proudly displayed his purple-velvet G-String, twirling it around his finger in an incredibly non-intimidating manner. Lake Superior is beautiful! It has a beach!
Moving right along...we trekked on to Niagra Falls, one of the largest falls in the world. We read about the first barrel rider to go over the falls (a widow and schoolteacher. She took a kitten with her and sustained no serious injuries!) and took in the new amusement ride which simulates the long geologic formation of the falls (it's lame, stay well enough away from “The Fury”. A person pays fifteen bucks for what appears to be an informative experience and gets an animated child story and wet clothes). The highlights of the falls included seeing them at night, with the coolest fireworks display anywhere (every Friday, Sunday, and on Holidays!), and the Journey Behind the Falls Tour, where EVERYTHING gets drenched by the immense volume of water of Horseshow Falls (100,000+ gallons per minute!). Walking up river was serene, with many ducks waggling their tails at us, and geese swimming and eating. One other highlight of Ontario: watching Melissa play miniature golf. Frustration and laughs abound as no golf-ball is spared the vicious onslaught of cross fairway walloping.
Onward! Into Detroit, Michigan! Customs took all of eight minutes. Literally. What a relief this was, for us, the customs agent, and our tightly secured van. Driving into Detroit, one thing kept springing into my head: what happened? We quickly set up camp at a local fairground and took in a movie at an IMAX theatre. Next stop: Kalamazoo, where the mosquitoes devoured us yet again, and Melissa took the Scrabble game by a narrow twenty point margin. Suspicions of tiles being hidden up her sleeves have yet to be confirmed, due to a consistent behavior pattern of short sleeve t-shirts being worn. However, I continue my investigations with an optimistic outlook.
We've ventured into Chicago, enjoying the city and its beautiful Millenium Park. Chili dogs here are fantastic, as are the Chicago Works (consisting of tomato, onion, pickle, mustard, spicy peppers and relish on a Polish Sausage or Dog). It's a fairly clean city, and I've always wanted to see the aboveground CTA train, and found out there's a subway as well. Bonus. We procured an audio book copy of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. A fitting masterpiece to soundtrack the scenic splendours just over the next horizon. We stayed with another of Melissa's friends she met on her tran-atlantic excursion: Nate. We were served upside down Chicago style pizza with a few bottles of bitter brew, and were treated to some fine piano work and great conversation. Good times are sad to say goodbye to, but it's rumored that our paths shall cross sometime, somewhere, in the SouthWest. We haven't come across any of the MidWest flooding yet, and are navigating around it (hopefully) on our jaunt across Cheese-Land, USA. More updates from the front lines coming soon.

QUEBEC CITY

NIAGARA FALLS

CHICAGO

Travelogue# Something or Other

TRAVELOGUE #4 (Parts 1-5 and 9-37)

7-10-2008_2:45PM EST

Well, dear readers, Connecticut was nice. Our van was neither broken into nor stolen, which was pleasant for both of us, and the weather fared nicely throughout our 2 week stay. Melissa's brother Joey was a blast to hang out with (he might say otherwise, but that's only because we paid him so) and we hardly went a day without good food or pirated movies from the internet. Ha! Take that, Hollywood! We stayed at an Artist Co-op in the middle of downtown Middleton, where the visual art was rooted in the weird and extraordinary (as it should be). Expensive private school, Wesleyan, is located here and is fairly unremarkable save for the strange mushrooms growing out of their trees and scenic architecture. Joe, Melissa, Carrie, and I hiked up “The Sleeping Giant”, and painfully reminded each other how physically out of “shape” we all are.

       

What a view, though! There is a scenic castle built at the top by the Army Core of Engineers back in the 1970's (maybe) and trees a plenty!  O'Rourke's diner; major shout-out. They have amazing bread that they bring to your table gratis, plenty of blank wall space to throw a mural up on (if you have the time and the chalk skills), and breakfast sandwiches that satisfy. Apparently the place burned down years ago and the entire city came together, pooling their money and resources to rebuild the thing, even granting the diner a gold key to the city! What does it open? Treasure chests? A door to the water treatment plant? Underground tunnels to the Plymouth Rock Geologic Extravaganza?! Only Brian O'Rourke can answer that...and he's not talking.

  

We ventured into Manhattan, taking in the Statue of Liberty from afar, in the fog, and the wealthy galleries of Chelsea.

        

  
  

      

Major highlights: The New York Public Library from Ghostbusters (in all of it's lion statue glory), Alex Grey's Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, Ed Cohen's liquid acrylic bursts of color, and Jeremy Fish's (is that right?) “Seasons of Change” exhibit and  cartoonist style rocked the socks out the dry docks' bagel and lox. For real. Yo. We had to cut the trip a bit short, but made up for it in Scrabble fights. The words ran on into the night, and no entendres were spared! Saying goodbye to the Bro-seph, we lit out to Massachusetts to Melissa's uncle's garden center and house. The most beautiful ponds and waterfalls were on display, with Koi the size of a turkey. Giant, mutant Koi, who will have your arm for lunch rather than be fed your measly fish food kernals from a plastic tub. These Koi attack small dogs on a semi-regular basis. The Terrors of Rowley is what they're known as, in small discrete circles whom whisper quietly.

     

  We biked through Boston, stood on the Boston Massacre, Boston Tea-Party, and Boston Stamp Tax Revolt sites, and had a fun time watching swans and little children go crazy at their big green park in the middle of the city. 

    

We visited Danvers, which was known as Salem Village, a rural area of Salem, in the mid-1600's. 

There we found the old castle of lost souls, or Danvers Institute for the Insane. Built in the 1800's under the most noble of auspices, it quickly denigrated into a place of hydrotherapy, lobotomies, electro-shock and torture. It was completely over crowded and shut down in the 1970's. It has since turned into luxury condominiums, overlooking the city on Hathorn Hill (named so after Johnathan Hathorn, the prominent judge who presided over the Salem Witch Trials and lived in this very spot!). We visited the coolest comic book store in Salem, of all places, and checked out the spooky witches dungeon. The dungeon wasn't spooky because of the witches, of course, but because of the reminder of how fast a town (or nation) can scapegoat an entire collection of people due to the contagious effects of widespread hysteria. The House of Seven Gables was visited as well, where we got to see Nathaniel Hawthorne's birthplace and residence. Much to our surprise, the author of The Scarlett Letter was himself related to Judge Johnathan Hathorn, have changed the spelling of his name to cover and links to the past for which he was so ashamed! Ha! Ha! Hahahahahahahaha!

     

Plymouth, Massachusetts! You are an old city! You have the oldest surviving Anglican Church! Your cemetery is cool! Your Plymouth Rock was really more of  a pebble that we had to grab away from the neighbor kids, as they were throwing it around over cars in the street and hacky-sacking with it! In one of these pictures is the real Plymouth Rock! Can you guess which one it is?

 We drove into Maine on a beautiful 4th of July morning, and stayed on the rock overlooking the coast in York, an old sea town with a gorgeous surf. 

    

  
    

We drove through the hoity-toity Hamptons where Summer Vacation had most assuredly “hit“. It appeared as if a mall had exploded somewhere. Acadia National Park, a pristine location found right on an island, was our next stop.

  
 

   

         

 

We camped for three nights, taking in the multiple views and down time to catch up on reading, painting, and pork chop grilling. Maine was hard to leave, and is easily among the most scenic of our visits thus far. 

 We pulled in through Highway 201 Customs, on the Maine/ Quebec borderline, and were detained for 2+ hours due to our suspicious looking van, American Charms and good looks, and overabundance of pepper spray and tequila. Mark these words: enter through some other access point if you're planning on going into a country whose police will speak nothing but French to you while they take your van apart. It will be a thousand times more “quaint”, I assure you. However, you will be able to hold on to your machete and ax, which are obviously only used for chopping wood. It's just your pepper spray that will be taken from you. That said, Quebec is nice and clean. Did I mention it was French? Here's the funny, interesting thing about Melissa and I: we speak no French. We can say: Bonjour, bonsoi, merci, merci beaucois, bon, oui and no. Isn't that delightful? 

I have been writing from gridlocked traffic, where gasoline is 1.48(Canadian) per liter. You do the math. One more thing! We are on our way into Toronto tonight, and Detroit soon afterwards, where a large aquarium awaits! Peace out!

 

Boston & Uncle Billy's

TRAVELOGUE #3 6/23/2008_4:04 PM EST

Here we can be found, in Connecticut, living the vagrant lifestyle. Making mashed potatoes, watching an unhealthy amount of television dramas, strolling along the old-money college boulevards, and finding the cheapest Indian Restaurant within walking distance. Besides the heart-achingly high cholesterol prices of oil on this, the North-Eastern Seaboard, our attentions have been directed towards the nearby mountains. Hiking the steep grade was a painful reminder of how sore muscles can be made to ache.

The trip to this area started from a departure out of Roanoke, West Virginia (not the infamous first North American Colony Roanoke, North Carolina, like we had first believed). Disappointed we were, to say the least, until we latched on to the free food and WIFI that the local library was offering.
We followed the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway back up through to Shenandoah National Park, hoping to see bear but settling on deer and gopher instead.

Mammoth Caves of Kentucky takes the cake when comparing scenery to Shenandoah.

We headed off to Washington, D.C. afterwards, where parking tickets flow like water, and bureaucrats clog the streets like a corrupted artery filled with cholesterol.
The Museum of Natural History is incredible.

We spent hours in the first floor alone and hadn't seen a minor fraction of what that landmark has to offer. The Capitol Building and Washington Memorial are gigantic, the White House is unobservable from the road, and the rain is very cold and bone penetrating.

We drove on and on through the night, bypassing the 41 dollar a night camping prices of Emittsburg, Maryland, and settled on the “free” community park price in Gettysburg. After waking, we took in breakfast at the Lincoln Diner, where the best pancakes I have yet to eat were served. Melissa and I drove to the nearby Gettysburg Battle Field, where in 1863, three days of Civil War took place.

There were numerous monuments and graves to gaze at, and a nationally erected monument to take pictures with. The spot where Lincoln delivered the oft-cited “Fore score...etcetera, etcetera,” speech was visited as well. Remarkable.

We continued straight on until we arrived in Middletown, Connecticut. Melissa's brother is awesome and so are all of his friends (Nate, Kate, Josh, Kelly, Carrie, Joe, there are too many to name!) thus far. We plan on heading into Hartford and the University of Connecticut a little later on this week, and checking out New York, New York is high on our to-do list. Tonights dinner consists of baked tofu and goat cheese with pears, zucchini, squash and yellow onions alongside a fresh salad and my world famous garlic mashed potatoes. (PS: It went over well.)
-James

And now, some video set to homemade music again.

another day in care-adise

More Blue Ridge Parkway

made with music from the road...

Video of the Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway

From Crossville we headed east into the Blue Ridge Mt. to Asheville, North Carolina. There is not much to say about Asheville other than it is a city surrounded by gorgeous mountains. It could be considered an awesome hippie town if it weren't so terribly trendy and expensive. There is the largest home in America nestled there in the mountains, guess who owns it? The Vanderbilts, that is right the very people who own Vanderbilt University in Nashville decided to establish an elitest Nashville in the sky, hence the name Asheville. We saw a show there at the Orange Peel, venue ok, headliner (Rilo Kiley) not great, yet the surprise opener Gillian Welch phenomenal. We left Asheville a couple days ago and are now heading north along the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is absolutely gorgeous. We have now spent two night in the Appalachains and each night have fallen asleep at overlooks just off the highway. That's right we have gone to sleep and awaken with some of the most incredible views in the area. Our next stop: Shenandoah National Park.

Fall in the Creek Falls

After leaving the incredible Mammoth caves, we drove back into Tennessee and stayed the night with my (Melissa) cousin's in Crossville. I got to see my cousin Amanda's beautiful baby boy, Hunter, for the very first time. We relaxed by the private lake that they live on and cooked some hamburgers. We enjoy several tours around the lake on a pontoon boat before settling in for the night. When we woke in the morning my cousin Stephanie and Joe were nice enough to take us to see Fall Creek Falls State Park before we left. Wow! We were blown away by the swift waters that have ever so meticulously carved out huge valleys into the limestone. We got to see three falls. The first was short and stout. Water rushed over many rocks in every direction before pooling at the bottom. The secound waterfall was tall and skinny. It's claim to fame comes from being the fall Mowglie jumps off of in the non-animated The Jungle Book. It was impressive, especially with it rainbow at the bottom, however it was not the most impressive waterfall in the park. Maybe it was my lack of respect for its magnitude that made me lose my footing on some rocks and nearly take my camera for a swim. However the camera survived and I got a well needed bath. It was the last waterfall that took my breath. As we walked towards the overlook, you could begin to hear the rush of water before it even came into sight. Then there it was, the Tennessee that I always dreamed was out there. We were looking out over a huge valley. To the right, was a giant u-shaped limestone wall smoothed by the great river that once leaped down it. The water pressure had shrunk to a single stream, but if you closed your eyes you could see exactly how the valley was formed. A valley dense with lush green trees and the occasional jagged limestone cliff that the river generously left behind for contrast. Other than the rush of water the valley was silent, and one could not help but be silenced as well. James and I could have sat there in silence all day simply soaking in the beauty.

Kentucky Fried Van Ride

CHAPTER 2: Kentucky, thy Caves are Mammoth!

Mammoth Caves National Park, Kentucky! We saw you, we took pictures of you, we shivered in your 54 degree depths and marveled at your Drapery Room of Stalactites/ mites. We took the New Entrance tour, blown wide open in 1912 or so. With the million dollar (no joke) stainless steel staircase descended and mastered, we trudged through the 250 foot depths. I made squeaky bat noises with my teeth and lips, scaring the old lady in front of me. Every single time, she let out an astonished, “Oh! I hear them!” and, “I think there ARE bats here!”. Well, say what you want, reader, it cracked me up. She thought there was a fossilized frog leg on one the cave walls strata. There wasn't. Ammonite: I might have believed. Troglodyte: I would have thought, “Maybe...”. It looked nothing like a frog leg. She deserved it, is what I'm trying to get across.

We set up camp at a nice little place in the park and made s'mores for a late night snack with fireflies to keep us company. S'mores also made their appearance this morning for breakfast, when we awoke out of the trusty and true Starcraft, in the middle of Cicada mating season. Oh yes. It is glorious. We are in Crossville, Tennessee now, seeing some cousins and an uncle of Melissa's on this palatial lake property, grilling half pound burgers and laughing giddily over root-beers. We are crashing here tonight, then it's off to Asheville, North Carolina for a Rilo Kiley (spelling?) concert, and then? It's up the Appalachians! Northwards, Ho!

Tennessee and Back Again!

TRAVELOGUE# 3.14159etc...

6/10/2008 5:12PM_EST

Nashville: a nice place to see, a great place to return to. Melissa and I spent the following three nights with her friend Kyle, and her close friends, seeing sights and exploring the space. Nashville (or Cashville, as the “hip-gangster-wannabes” refer it as) is the kind of city that has music on every corner block, culture in every shop, and sunburns on every other neck. Green trees everywhere, great microbrews (Blackstone Porter? Can I get an Amen?), and a Parthenon replica that I apparently can't take enough pictures of to pass the afternoon. That last bit was written with sarcasm. Wow, tough, disillusioned crowd. Cheer up.

The foot is healing, slowly, thanks to some wintergreen flavored alcohol (it's green!) and gauze. The next day we waited in a walk-in clinic for 2 mother-loving hours (props to Garth Ennis for the “mother-loving” quote) for a dermatitis diagnosis and nothing to keep us occupied save a “Never Trust A Stranger” daytime movie (documentary? One never knows about these things...) that won the award for Worst Movie Seen on the Road so far. We traipsed across the city like we owned it and finished the night with soup and electronic music making. The next morning we hit a pub and played billiards for a bit, then went to Capital Hill and drank over at the 12^th Avenue Taproom until we passed out (at 1:30 AM, drunkards that we are). Morning #2: Banana French Toast and Kayaking down the Harpeth River, thine name is SALVATION! Yes, we took the kayak out after plastic bagging my wounded foot (it still got wet) and lolled down the river, letting it carry us for a few hours. We got booted out by Forest Rangers an hour and a half before the time allotted for our friends canoe rentals, for whatever reasons. Try talking your way out of coming onto the river bank and going home early to a nice, apologetic Tennessee Forest Ranger whose gun is prominently displayed on his hip, and I'll buy you a beer, for, if you succeed, you surely are a smoother talker than I and my associates. World famous Spaghetti and Italian Sausage, garlic bread, and two episodes of the X-Files and the Simpsons Halloween Special XVII, and it's our last night in Nashville with some cool people. Did I mention the drums/ five string electric bass guitar jam session? I didn't? Oh...you should have been there.

More Savannah

Savannah, GA

TRAVELOGUE#2

6/06/2008 10:57PM_EST

Hey-hey (!) and a well, well, well, also...the 6th day on the road, sitting around in Nashville, Tennessee, and what the heck has happened that's made me relish the lounging and reprieve from the outside? Let's begin.

We left Saint Augustine around noon on Tuesday the 3rd, with all guns blazing, after a great couple of days sight seeing the oldest city in this continent (although the Chamber of Commerce and city signs want me to believe otherwise, however, this area wasn't a nation until the late 1700s!). Bread should be had at the Spanish Bakery for $1.50 (unlike the promised $1.00 per loaf some tour guides will guarantee you to be the correct price) at 10:45AM every morning (also unlike the promised 8:00AM “sharp!” baking of previously mentioned goods). These loaves lasted until Thursday, and tasted mother-loving fantastic with guava butter sold at the sweets store located in one of those many, many historic buildings. The town drips with History's wet presence, crushing the inevitably crashing tide of a Starbucks/ McDonalds weight with a firm “Preservation Ethic and Practice” (Kudos to the National Historic Preservation Act(s) of the 20th Century! Now rich folks get killer views with ancient plumbing!). Seriously, the city's oldest house is beautiful (coquina walls and square architecture) and the Ponce de Leon Hotel (Flagler College now) is vast and filled with spires and brick. The Old Spanish Fort is a prime location to catch swimming dolphin playing around (I started making high-pitched squeaking noises towards them, and they then started jumping higher, offering glimpses of their faces. They love the attention.) and, during the witching hours, a good spot for ghost watching (so saith the Ghost Store proprietor). Other highlight: the vortex of “Ripley's...Believe it or don't believe things you don't want too, because they probably aren't true?!®” was a lit phantasmagoria, however, had we traveled into the tragedy filled parallel dimension out of complete ignorance?

CHAPTER 2: Tragedy Strikes! Signs of a future yet to come? Ripley's® Revenge?!

So we're on the road to Savannah, we sleep in a church parking lot outside of Skidaway Island State Park at 11:30 PM due to exorbitant camping fees, and head out the next morning. Sounds fairly innocuous, right? We head off to the intracoastal waterway, kayak over to CRAB ISLAND, where I promptly and decisively slice my right foot, from ball/ instep up to the space between my large toe and first toe, as I am steering the kayak into the shallow waters to eventually board. My progress was, indeed, halted. First aid occurred, water was purified (thanks to the water purification apparatus from Melissa's Dad, Mike!) and Melissa then succumbed to the tortures of heat exhaustion. She tried to stomach a double quarter pounder, but could only make it through half (Hey, we all have standards, right? There's only so much a person can take in one day. Everyone has their breaking point.) of the terrible “sandwich”. Well, as soon as both parties felt up to the task of continuing onwards, the front right caliper seizes, resulting in another night in the lovely city of Savannah, where a Master Cylinder, rotors (right and left! Hooray!) and brake pads apparently do not come without a steep price tag.

Savannah is a lovely city, with a sweet historic district (check out Tomo Chi-Chi's burial site! Nice park, nice statue.) and it's interesting to watch Chinese freight come in by the mega-ton. It was great to get back on the road, that's all I'm saying. Crossing that Tennessee border into Chattanooga yesterday evening was comforting, cutting through the mountain roads was stunning, and meeting new friends that very night in Nashville has felt destined from the start. More to come in the following nights, weeks, whatever, I'm sure...