Update #10

Well, I made it back from NYC. I am now on my way to Pittsburgh. The adventerous part of my trip is pretty much over. I can't help but feel a little sad. It has been a wonderful time. I am also excited about the next few weeks. I am excited to get out west and find a new job, or even a new career path. I also have some fun things planned while I am out there. My updates here probably won't happen as frequently.

I have a few more pics from NYC for you.

So, here are my pland for the next few weeks:

This Saturday - Phil's wedding in Pittsburgh

Sunday - Start driving West

Monday - Hopfully arrive in Cheyenne - spend the rest of the week job hunting.

Next Saturday - Octoberfest party

Following week - Job hunting

Following weekend - Jackson Hole and Grand Tetons National Park

I will update a few more times, but I feel that writing about my job search may be a bit boring for you.

Dom

Update #9 - NYC Pictures

Better internet this morning. Here's a pic from Times Square:

Here are some from the Statue of Liberty:

Update #8

Sometimes the unplanned parts of a trip turn out to be some of the best moments of the trip. I am writing this update from a hotel room in New York City. Let me tell you how I ended up here.

I was on my way to Shenandoah National Park on Tuesday. I had just gone through Richmond, VA and made my turn West to get to the park. About 10 miles after I made the turn Lori called me from the Denver airport. She was headed to NYC for work and wanted some company. I did a little research with Jeff's help. Before I knew it my Suburu was parked at Union Station in Washington DC and I was on a train headed to NYC.

My internet connection is very slow right now. I can't upload any pictures. I'll try to put some pics up Thursday night or Friday.

Dom

Update #7

On the road for 12 hours today. Four more hours to go until Shenandoah National Park. Pedro's South of the Border was as stupid as expected. Therewere some good billboards along the way. I didn't get a picture of the two best ones, one had a picture of a fish with a halo above it. It said "Holy Mackeral!" The other really good one said "Pedro's Fireworks. Does Yours?"

Here are a couple of other billboards.

And here are some pictures from at Pedro's.

Okay, I'm done now. I am tired. Until next time,

Dom

Update #6

I am leaving Florida today. I had a good time down here with Justin and Erin. Now it is time to get away from the freaking heat and humidity.

I went to Daytona Beach on Thursday on my way to Justin's. I was very disappointed in Daytona. It was very dirty. On Friday I went to Clearwater Beach, just West of Tampa. That was a beautiful beach. I stood in the water for awhile and let the huge waves, generated by the hurricane, crash over me. Here are some pictures from Clearwater Beach.

On Friday we went to a nature preserve. The highlight of the preserve is a huge clock tower. Here are some pictures from the preserve.

I am going to attempt to make it all the way up to Virginia today, a 12 hour drive. So, if anyone is bored at work, any phone calls would be welcomed! I do have one stop to make along the way, Pedro's South of the Border truck stop. According to their web site they have "something for every Juan."

Dom

Update #5 - A Tale of Two Cities

I have recently been to Charleston, SC and to Savannah, GA. Most people have told me, "There is no point in going to both, they are almost the same. They are sister cities." Well, if they are sister cities, they sure don't have the same daddy. Yes, they are both old cities in the south that are laid out with their streets in a grid style, and they both have a lot of history and old houses. That is where the similarities end.

When it comes to the history, Charleston wins, hands down. Everywhere I went in Charleston I was reminded something that happened in that particular site during the civil war. In Savannah, I had to search those things out. Plus, Charleston is where the first shots of the civil war were fired.

Let's talk about getting around town. Savannah is much more car friendly. The streets are much wider, and the traffic lights are timed so that cars aren't stopping at every light. The down side is that the cars drive much faster in Savannah than they do in Charleston, and riding a bicycle is scarier in Savannah. Bikes are not allowed on most of the sidewalks in Savannah but they are in Charleston. I also noticed that it took longer to cross the street in Savannah. The traffic light cycle seemed to be much longer than normal. I might be full of crap about that though. To sum it up, Savannah is better for driving, Charleston is better for biking, and we'll call it a tie for walking.

How about all of the city parks? There is really no contest there, Savannah has more parks than any city I have been to, and they are spaced out evenly across the whole city. The parks have massive shade trees, and a lot of them have some sort of water feature, from a small cement pond all the way to extravagant water fountains. The parks all have nice benches to relax on. I took advantage of this and took a short 10 minute nap after sampling the micro brews at a brewery in town.

Lastly, the people. I didn't run across very many locals in Savannah. It was mainly retired people walking slowly and talking nonsense. Here is an excerpt from a conversation I overheard while walking down a cobblestone street. I named the old couple Lester and Poly Ester. Poly: "They should make these stones smoother to walk on." Lester: "I know, it is killing my hip." I wish I could tell you that I made up that conversation. Charleston was completely different. Most of the people that I talked to were locals, and they were all happy to tell me the thins that I had to see and do while I was there. That is how I found out about walking across the bridge for the sunset, and someone told me about a fantastic seafood restaurant that most tourists don't go to. It was some of the best seafood I have ever had and I got full and buzzed for less that twenty bucks.

So, if someone were to ask me which city they should visit, I would have to say both. They were both fun, interesting cities, and both very different from each other and from any other city I have been to.

Sorry for not having any pictures today. I am too lazy to go out to my car to get my camera and usb cord. I will post my Savannah pictures next time I write. By the way, I am writing this from Daytona Beach. I am headed to Justin and Erin's place for the next few nights. They are just outside of Orlando.

Dom

Update #4

Wow, an update two days in a row! After I wrote last night I ended up going out to Asheville Brewing Company. ABC is a micro brewery/restaurant. I went there for some dinner and drinks. I was extremely impressed. I rank ABC in the top 5 of breweries that I have been to. I also learned about an event that I want to try to go to next year, the Brew Grass Festival. It is at the end of September. This year's event has been sold out for over a month.


Tonight is another hotel night. I couldn't bring myself to sleep in tent when the temp is still in the upper 80's at 9:00 at night. I am in Charleston, SC. It is a pretty cool city. I drove around town a bit when I got here. While driving I stumbled across a harbor cruise. I decided to take it. The cruise was nice. It took about an hour and a half and we went all around the harbor. Here are some pics from the cruise.

One of the locals told me about a walking/biking path that is on the side of the bridge in the picture above. After eating a delicious meal at a local seafood place I decided to bike across the bridge. Here are some pictures from on top of the bridge.

Well, is all for today. Tomorrow I am going to go on a tour of a couple of retired Navy boats in Charleston, then it's off to Savannah.

Dom

Update #3

I left the Smokys today and headed to Asheville, NC. My back told me that it needed a break from sleeping on the ground so I find myself in a Holiday Inn. I have made today a laundry day. I am also doing some research on my next destination. I am thinking of Charleston, SC. I am going to check out a local brewery tonight.

I went on a couple more hikes while I was in Smoky Mountain National Park. One was to a waterfall. It was okay, not much of a waterfall though. Here is a picture.

I was planning on hiking up to the highest point in the park for my birthday. It was going to be an all day hike. Then I found out that there is a road going almost to the top, and a paved half mile trail leading to the summit. I drove. Here are some pics from the summit.

I feel as I should write a post titled "The art of pooping on a road trip." I will spare you though.

I found out that the Appalachian Trail goes through the park. I hiked on it for about a mile then turned back. I can now say that I have hiked on the Appalachian Trail.

I have perfected making pizza using only a camp stove and cast iron pan. Yum.

On a final note, I have uploaded all of my pictures. They are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/dgasparo

Dom

Update #2

I have been in the Smoky Mountains for the past couple of days. It is raining in the park today so I decided to drive into town to do an update. The park is beautiful. My one complaint is the noise. Most people just drive through the park. That includes motorcycles. The Harleys are loud enough, but mix those with all of the custom bikes and it is horrible. I couldn't even escape the noise by going on a hike. I hiked to a summit, 2 miles one way and up 1700 feet. I still heard the bikes from the summit.

About that hike. It was my first major hike of the trip. I hiked to the summit of a mountain named Chimney Top. Like I said, a 1700 foot elevation gain in two miles. That is pretty freaking steep. It was good to get the heart pumping though. Here are some pictures from the hike.

A river at the beginning of the hike

Had to scramble up these rocks to reach the summit.

Some views from the summit

The best view from the summit!

I will be headed somewhere new on Monday, and Monday will most likely be my next entry here. I am going to head back into the park and see if the rain has stopped yet, and maybe lay down some nails for the loud motorcycles. There is a hike to a waterfall that I have my eyes on for today.

Dom

Update #1

I finally found free internet! I am sitting in my car in Sevierville, TN. Sevierville is about 25 miles north of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It seems like an interesting town. There are a ton of outlet stores and a bunch of tourest stores. Enough about this small Tennessee town. Let me tell you about my trip so far.

I left Howell on Tuesday morning. It took me about 8 hours to get to Mamouth caves. All I did on Tuesday night was set up camp and look into the cave tours. I selected the longest possible tour for the next day. Here are some pictures from around my camp sight.

I went on the tour on Wednesday. It was okay, but the first three hours of the tour all looked the same. The last hour and a half was really neat though. There is a picture from the begining.

And here are some pictures from the last hour and a half.

I actually took almost 50 pictures inside the cave, but hardly any turned out on account of it being dark.

Okay, I am headed up to the Smoky Mountains. I'll post next time I can find internet.

Dom