Pushing Westward To "The Land of Weeds and Seeds"

Drive time: 7 hours from Columbus to St Louis
Weather: sunny and in the mid 70's

We spent the weekend with our friends Emily and Matt who reside in a swanky downtown loft in St. Louis. Friday we went to the Drunken Fish for sushi in the Central West End of town. It was delicious!

Saturday we woke up to an amazing brunch and headed to the Missouri Botanical Garden. We toured the gardens and expansive green houses and took a lot of pictures (fun for the ladies but quite annoying for the gents).

 Next we drove through Forest Park - the Central Park of St Louis and headed to the famous Arch. We spent the rest of the afternoon picnicing and people watching under the arch. It was a perfect day and so wonderful to stretch out under the sun (and the gateway to the west) with good friends and good food.

This morning we got up bright and early, slipped on flip flops cupping warm mugs of coffee and headed to the street. The Rock n' Roll 1/2 and full marathon went right by Emily and Matt's building and we dubbed ourselves the cheer squad of Washington ave. I feel like I got more of a workout than some of the runners! Ok maybe not but we were so enthusiastic some people thought we were drunk - most loved our spirit! We went to church and than Ted Drewes for world famous custard.

We are currently about 200 miles from Kansas City (there was a horrible accident on I-70 which caused a bit of a delay). Pictures and a post from guest blogger Emily to come!

~ Roberta

Packing and Day One

Drive Time: 7 hours 35 minutes
Weather: Overcast and rainy, highs in the low 60's

It's friday morning and Roberta and I are in German Village in Columbus OH. Our first day of travel went smooth driving from Hummelstown PA to Columbus OH with a stop in Pittsburgh PA (actually Monroeville) to visit Roberta's PSU friend Tricia and her baby Easton. We were hoping to be part of the hunt for exotic animals in the area but alas they were all killed or detained prior to our arrival. Simon was quite disappointed when I broke the news, he had spent the previous day researching the fighting styles of Bengal Tigers.

We spent the first night with my cousins Lauren, Randy and baby Lincoln. Had an awesome dinner and it was a lot of fun hanging out with them.

Packing went surprisingly smooth we fit everything we own( even my surfboard) into a 2 door civic. We arranged it so things we need are easily accessible and things for SD ate packed away tightly.

Today we push on to St Louis with a probable stop in Indianapolis. We already saw Hienz Field and we will be sure to drive by Lucas Oil. I was hoping to see NFL hall of fame too but itts in northern OH and not on the way. Roberta did a good job of pretending to be disappointed when we discovered this.


-Mikey

Hired.

Good news! Yesterday I found out I will be working as a school based therapist in one of the largest school districts in California. What a HUGE relief to know that I have a job once we get to San Diego. Peter Pan no longer!

Ithaca, NY is one of my favorite places to visit. It's where the splendor of nature meets the spice and flavor of a multitude of cultures. This small city at the southern most point of Lake Cayuga (in the finger lakes region of NY) brings my family a lot of peace and joy. The past few days I spent hiking, wine tasting, and exploring the town and surrounding gorges with my parents. We were blessed with incredible weather and had a great time.

Here are some photos from our hike...

Ithaca Farmer's Market...

~ Roberta 

The Route.

After lots of researching and discussion we have landed on the unofficial road trip route.  Here is  the rundown:

October 20th: We depart from Hershey bright and early after hopefully an easy day of packing and with a car that isn't so weighed down the tailpipe drags.  We make a stop in Hollidaysburg, PA to visit Roberta's grandfather Papa Murray.  From there we push on to Columbus, OH to visit my cousins Lauren and Randy and their baby Lincoln and the rest of the Ohio Schroepfers for the night.

October 21st: After a night in Columbus we are off to St. Louis to see Roberta's friend Emily and her husband Matt.  We have two nights in St Louis and intend to do all the things the best tourist do, including of course climbing the arch and getting mugged. Standard St Louis.  I was hoping for the days to match up to see a World Series game (barring the Cardinals take the Brewers like I predict) but unfortunately they don't so unless the plans change we won't be seeing a game at Busch Stadium.  

October 22nd:  The exploration of St. Louis continues.

October 23rd:  So we were hoping to drive the trip from St. Louis to Denver CO on this day but we wanted to go to church, starting the 13 hour 30 minute drive late in the afternoon seems a little much so we are stopping halfway in no other than the famous Plainville Kansas and staying at the fabulous Evergreen Inn and RV Park.  Never heard of the Evergreen? It's only THE number one motel for transient workers in the greater Planville area. I had a rough time balancing the budget to afford such a fine establishment but life is just too short.

October 24th: After our luxurious stay we go to Denver, CO for a night exploring the city.  Lots of breweries in this town and I intend to visit them all.  With places like Flying Dog, Wyknoop, Strange Brewing and more I'd like to do a tour and have a Pabst at all of them.  

October 25th: A much appreciated short 40 minute drive to Boulder is next.  Our itinerary here is open and looking at where we want to explore ideas include Garden of the Gods, Pike's Peak, and Rocky Mt National Park.

October 26th: Arches National Park for some camping and hiking.  Certainly excited for this.  City's are fun but I'd rather explore the wild any day.

October 27th- Another hiking day at Zion National Park or Bryce Canyon.  More camping although the night lows are 29 degrees which may lead us to try and find a cabin or a hotel.  I'd rather have a character building night but we'll see how that fares.  It's the regrettable decisions that make for good stories right (see my Costa Rica adventure).

October 28th-  Off to the Grand Canyon (hopefully).  We are supposed to just make a pit stop here but can you really do that?  Seems like you need a few days to get all it's worth but will be something to see just to say we did. After that Sedona, AZ for the night.

October 29th- From Sedona we go to Phoenix for our last night of the trip.  Hopefully at this point we can say our amazing adventure is winding down rather than I hate this person next to me and can't wait to have a day out of the car but stay tuned to the blog for what happens!

October 30th. San Diego. We made it.  Time to surf.

October 31st. Well now we are just living there and I find it creepy you are wanting to keep reading about minute details of our lives.

Mikey

Soaking It Up

What an amazing fall day! This is how I want to remember the Outer Banks... perfect barrel waves dotted with surfers reveling in the hurricane swell; ocean spray that extends to the sky in a brilliant rainbow; and the sound of gulls chattering unaffected by the powerful walls of water colliding with the shore. 

Bundled up from head to toe I lean back into the warm sunshine, soaking all the vitamin D and warmth my bronzed cheeks and toes can handle. I breath in deeply allowing the cleansing salty air to fill my lungs. Days like this remind me of the magnificence of the ocean; its' unmatched beauty and power. As I make my way up and down the beach I take mental snapshots (and a few actual photos too) attempting to hold onto the images forever. I have a week left in the Outer Banks and less than a month until we hit the road, I will miss this...

~ Roberta