The OC

The end of today finds us in San Clemente, CA. Drove in through San Diego then up PCH (the Pacific Coast Highway, for the uninitiated) into Orange County. Really pretty town. Stuck my feet in the Pacific and got some fantastic seafood for dinner.

Some digits to groove on:

Miles driven: 434.0
Miles per gallon: 23.1
Average speed: 55mph
Travel time: 7hr, 46min

Normally the last day of a vacation is totally depressing. It's like a Sunday evening, only amplified tenfold. But I've got to say, despite the fact that I've had an awesome time the past 11 days, I don't feel any of that right now (though technically I have all the rest of this week too).

It's just really exciting to not have any clue what is coming my way in the coming days and weeks. Heck, I haven't even seen the apartment I'm moving into yet!

Ah well, I won't try to make any profound analogies, or at least, I'm not posting any of the ones I came up with. Neither will I try to capture all the thoughts I've got going on in my head. I think that would require knowing what they all were in the first place.

Anyway, I've got movers coming at noon and 30 miles of rush hour to brave. So to all, I bid thee adieu and goodnight!

So ends the last real day of my travels, but something tells me the trip is just getting started!

The Golden State

CA
Originally uploaded by altoloco.

And here we are! Our hero's epic journey is nearing its end.

Dateland

So I'm driving along the 8* and about the time my stomach and gas tank are running low, I start seeing signs for "Dateland". Didn't really think anything of it at first. But not long after that, I saw some signs suggesting that drivers stop for a "World Famous Date Milkshake". Cuuuurious.

So, clearly I had to stop and see what all the hubbub was about. The part of town by the interstate consisted of exactly one restaurant/gift shop and one gas station... and nothing else as far as you could see in any direction. Anyway, got some tasty breakfast burritos and a date shake to go.

In a word... strange. Pretty tasty (albeit reeeeally sweet, not that there's anything wrong with that). Pretty much what you would expect: a milkshake with chunks of date in it. Actually worked fairly well with the straw. Anyway, had to share. I'd never heard of such a thing. They also had some kind of cactus shake, so if anyone heads that way, I expect a review!

*So I have a question. None of the party girls had an answer for me, so perhaps someone out there can shed some light. At what point do roads take on the "the X" moniker? On the east coast, it's always just "ninety-five" or "sixty-six". But in SoCal and Phoenix at least, it's "the ten" or "the four-oh-five". I didn't notice people doing it in Utah or Wyoming, so maybe it's just a southwest thing.

Phoenix

Took the scenic route (again, good advice from Dan) from the Canyon down through Sedona. Got slammed in traffic when the beautiful day turned into a torrential downpour, but it was still a pretty drive.

Rolled into Phoenix around 5 and got to Carrie's place after taking the "scenic" route through downtown. Grabbed some excellent carne asada and margaritas at Loco Patron then headed out with her roommate and two other friends of theirs. Gotta say, it's fun walking into a bar with four good looking women!

What followed was an excellent night spanning three bars, some cheap pitchers, vodka redbulls, Jagerbombs, and [one hardcore] Long Island. Definitely going to miss cheap drink specials when I get to L.A.! (When I came out to visit Dave, I learned the hard way why you don't order double VRB's in Hollywood. Yeowch.)

Good times in Phoenix/Snobsdale!

Ah yes, almost forgot, the numbers:

Miles driven: 434.4
Miles per gallon: 32.2
Average speed: 48mph
Travel Time: 8hr, 54min

Grand Canyon

grand canyon
Originally uploaded by altoloco.

Arrived at the big hole in the ground around 9:30AM, and it's a good thing I did. By the time I got out of there around 12:30, there was a line about 1/2 a mile long of cars waiting to enter. I got to see all the major viewpoints along the South Rim, no traffic, no waiting, and before it got too hot out. Definitely the way to do it!

There's really no picture that can capture just how ridiculously huge the canyon is (though I took a few sequential shots I'll try to stitch into a panoramic). I can't even imagine the sight it would be on a less smoggy day. It just seems to go on forever downward and out to the horizon. Beautiful colors, too.

Will definitely have to come back and check out the north rim and maybe do some hiking down into it. Who's in?

The Grand Canyon State

leaving UT
Originally uploaded by altoloco.

Departed lovely Mexican Hat at the crack of dawn. Unfortunately, there was no Arizona welcome sign, but I snapped this picture of the other side of the Utah sign. So this will just have to do.

Mexican Hat

Rolled out of Arches and noticed that the "Service Engine Soon" light had gone out. Wasn't sure if that was a good thing or bad thing, but it's back on now, so whatever.

The original plan today was to head to Moab to stay for the night. Of course, my cell phone has been pretty much worthless for the past several days, so as soon as I get to civilization I get half a dozen voicemails I didn't know about.

[War]drove around Moab for a bit, caught up on email and returned some calls while I was back on the grid. It turns out the movers are bringing my stuff early Monday afternoon, so I'm going to have to shave a day off my trip.

Had a quick lunch/dinner so I would survive the rest of the day then hauled ass to Mexican Hat, so named for the rock formation depicted here. Such a shame I had to rush through this state. Utah may not be big on drinking, but damned if they don't have some unbelievable landscapes.

Got to the San Juan Inn. It's a pretty cool little place right next to the San Juan river. Checked in, then went for a dip in the river. Soooo relaxing. The sun was just starting to set, and the water was the perfect temperature. Exactly what I needed after an extended driving day!

Stats for day 9:

Miles driven: 380.1
Miles per gallon: 30.1
Average speed: 50mph
Travel time: 7hr, 31min

Tomorrow: Grand Canyon and partying in Phoenix!

Can't believe this trip is almost over...

Arches

Rolled on over to Arches National Park. Some pretty cool formations all over, but I didn't really plan for hiking all over the place. Most of the really cool stuff is off the road, but there are most definitely some cool sights without venturing too far.

This picture is the south of the two "windows". Other must-sees: Delicate Arch (1.5mi self-guided hike), Fiery Furnace (3 hour hikes that leave at 9am and 4pm). Might have to come back sometime to really do those two justice. Ah well, still a lot of spectacular scenery and cool geology.

The Scenic Route

Took Dan's advice to take rt. 128 toward Moab rather than 191. Most definitely worth the extra 22 miles! The road follows the Colorado river down toward our next destination: Arches National Park.

This picture is from the resort where I stopped for lunch. It's this lush green oasis in the middle of the red rocks of the canyon. I forget the name, but if you're in the area, you can't miss it. Good food too!

The Beehive State

So, no sooner had I left Preston when Valentina decided to cause a little trouble. Lo and behold, I see a little yellow light next to the tach. "Service Engine Soon". You've GOT to be kidding me.

Missed the Utah welcome sign because I was on the phone with the Nissan service manager at Brown's. His advice? Enjoy the rest of my trip and get it checked out whenever. He told me that 9 times out of 10, it's a sensor sending back some bad data. He said as long as it's running fine, not to worry. Easier said than done, but I'm working on this whole easy-going thing.

Now to blow off a little steam. First off, that light should actually read, "Give us money soon." What kinda useless message is that? "Hey, something's wrong but I won't tell you what." I'm the one making the payments on this hunk of metal. If there's a sensor saying something's wrong, I was to know what the hell it thinks is wrong! I shouldn't have to go into a Nissan dealership for THEM to tell me what my car should already be telling me. Absolutely ridiculous! I'm no serious mechanic, but I am most certainly the type of person who likes to have information when it's pertinent (like, say, when I'm 2500 miles into a 4000 mile road trip)!

The other side of this, though... An engine is a reasonably simple device. Air meets gas, gets compressed, ignited, and the driveshaft turns. There's more to it than that, obviously, but we've been building the damn things for over 100 years. Now, I'm all for technological advancement, but really, the mechanics here haven't changed that much in all this time. I would say we overcomplicated the process when all this monitoring and ambiguous error messages was entered into the mix. We've all experienced the frustration of a computer not doing what it's supposed to. For the love of all that is holy, can we PLEASE not bring this nightmare into every other facet of our lives? Obviously it's good there is a system that's noticing something is amiss. Now how about TELLING ME WHAT THE FSCK IT THINKS IS WRONG!?

Long story short, I got to my destination with no problems, just a little annoyed. Stats as of my arrival in Spanish Fork, UT (Day 8):

Miles driven: 437.6
Miles per gallon: 34.3
Average speed: 43mph
Travel time: 10hr, 6min

Preston

Ahh, the city that started it all. Sweet!

[War]drove around the town for a little while so I could find the Preston Chamber of Commerce. If you think Napoleon Dynamite is a big deal, this town takes it to another level. Just about EVERY retailer there was advertising ND gear.

Anyway, grabbed some lunch, then picked up the map of "Napoleon Dynamite's Preston" to track down the real-life locations of the movie scenes. Took a bunch of pictures (duhhhh), but more on that later. Keep an eye out for a future post. Spent almost half the time in Preston on gravel roads, so I hit a car wash on the way out.

Side note: those self-service car washes are great! $3 for an excellent wash and you get to play with this BEAST of a sprayer! I'd never used one until this trip. I've been missing out!

Preston's a pretty small town, as you'd expect. Nice people though. And anyplace where Napoleon Dynamite is a religion is okay by me! Pretty cool, I guess.

The Gem State

Just a quick jaunt across the border to check out Preston. Sweet!

The Grand Tetons

Was going to take the short route straight into Idaho, but figured the scenic route through these monstrosities would be a better call. B-E-A-utiful. This area of the country is just unreal.

Yellerstone Wrap-Up

First things first, day 7 stats:

Miles driven: 378.3
Miles per gallon: 29.9
Average speed: 40mph
Travel time: 9hr, 16min

The stats are a little skewed because a ton of it was driving around the park. Ah well, beautiful scenery along the way!

Headed back to the campground and set up my tent and ate some dinner. It was getting to be about 9:00 by this time, and the sun was starting to set. So I jumped in my car and hurried over to the lake to catch the sunset. Got some okay pictures of the sunset itself, but this one of the moon rising... Melikes!

Back to the site, locked everything in my car that wasn't me, my sleeping bag, and clothes. When you're in grizzly country, you gotta be careful! Personally, I think leaving the water in the car was a little excessive, but I'd rather not argue and find out wrong the hard way!

Grand Prismatic Spring

Un. freakin. believable.

I think this is the coolest sight I've seen on this trip. The various bacteria and algae color the water according to the different temperatures of the spring. The walkway going by is a good 10 degrees warmer than the rest of the park because of all the heat rising off the water. This is one that must be seen to believe. It's a whole lot bigger than this picture makes it look.

Old Faithful

Freakin' sweet! Walked up and within 5 minutes, I caught Old Faithful blowing its top. What timing!

There's a cool path that goes around the geyser basin, so I took a little stroll. There are some enormous geysers that erupt with less frequency, and some that cannot be predicted at all. Pretty amazing, most of them were venting steam or just boiling over. Didn't have the patience to wait around till 3-5 AM to catch the big boys, though.

On the way back, I was just a little ways away when Old Faithful erupted again and managed to get some good pictures from a different angle. (Man, I look goofy in this one, though...) Coincidence? I think not.

Yellowstone

Bought myself an annual National Park pass at the gate on the way into the park. I'll have to make good use of it till next July!

Driving into Yellowstone was quite an experience. I knew it would be beautiful, but wow. Had to fight the urge to stop at every single tourist spot on the map. Some of the initial highlights: Mammoth hot springs and petrified tree.

One thing I wasn't prepared for was just how much driving you do around the park. The roads make a figure-8, and it's at least 30 minutes to get from one leg to the next. Too bad, it feels... wrong to be driving around this beautiful place.

Stopped off at one of the campsites to make a reservation, then headed off to the geysers!

The Treasure State

Well if yesterday was the most fun I've had driving, today would have to be a close #2. Took the scenic route from Cody to Yellowstone, bringing me (briefly) into Montana. Paid $2.80 a gallon for gas... I guess I should probably get used to that though.

Sneakernet

So you all had better appreciate the following posts. Wrote these in my hotel room last night and put them on my USB drive to post whenever I got back to civilization. The Grand Canyon was most excellent, and I'm now in Phoenix. Will recap the day's events later, but for now it's time to get some dinner then enjoy the nightlife here!

P.S. Sorry for the low-res images, I had to optimize for time/space since I thought I was going to have to resort to posting these via dial-up *shudder*. I'll put mo' bigger ones on Flickr lata.

Greybull

sunset
Originally uploaded by altoloco.

Safe and sound in Greybull, WY. Stats for day 6:

Miles Driven: 318.0
Driving Time: 5hr, 34min
Miles per Gallon: 27.9
Average Speed: 57mph
Fun Had: INT_MAX

I was thinkin' about heading to Cody, but I needed an evening to decompress. Rolled into town, got my room, gave Valentina a much-needed bath (there are some HUGE bugs out here), then got some dinner. Met a cool girl who's on her way back to Kentucky from a trip cross country. She is doing pretty much the opposite route I am on the return trip. Random. I'll have to check out the southern route sometime.

Anyway, getting up early as heck to get to Yellowstone. Should be a beautiful day for it!

Bliss

granite pass
Originally uploaded by altoloco.

Imagine, if you will...

84 miles of pristine tarmac winding its way up the Bighorn mountain range, then down the back and through the canyon below. Set the speed limit at 65mph. Now dial the traffic density down as low as it will go.

Then get yourself a car. Preferably one with a 6 speed manual transmission that pulls 0.88 G's or better on the skidpad. Fill up the tank. Put some thumping techno on the stereo.

If you need me to explain what to do next, you're beyond my help.

Wow. Just... wow.

The feel of the engine in 3rd gear, pulling at about 5k RPM, right where the VTEC kicks in and you can hear the intake screaming? Vassap! Incredible views as you round a turn and look out over what seems like the entire world below you? Double vassap!

I have never had more fun driving. Ever.

Don't drink the water!

crazy woman creek
Originally uploaded by altoloco.

Well, gentlemen, I've finally figured it out.

The Equality State

WY
Originally uploaded by altoloco.

Short drive to the border from Deadwood, went through Spearfish canyon (very nice drive) and grabbed some breakfast. Then hustled down 90W.

Deadwood

deadwood
Originally uploaded by altoloco.

Honestly? A little underwhelming.

First things first, though. Day 5 stats:

Miles Driven: 404.1
Driving Time: 7hr, 23min
Miles per Gallon: 26.8
Average Speed: 55mph

So, now, Deadwood. Cool history, for sure. Saw the gravesites of Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, and Seth Bullock, and wandered around some of the historical sites. That stuff was pretty cool, wish more of the original buildings were still around.

Unfortunately, the town has become a super-commercial tourist destination. It's so remote, you would think it would retain some of its character, but really it just felt... cheap. All the hotels run casinos with slots and card games, but I didn't try my luck.

Camped out at a KOA just outside of town. Met some cool people in the site next door. They're planning a wild-west themed wedding (sweet!) nearby so they were scouting it out. They told me they'd (including their dog, who wasn't a big fan of me) visited all 48 continental states and nearly every national park. I think that's a pretty cool goal.

Anyway, nice weather but it got super windy during the night. My back wasn't happy with me in the AM. Ah well. Glad I saw Deadwood, but probably wouldn't come back.

Mount Rushmore

mt rushmore II
Originally uploaded by altoloco.

What need be said here? Freaking cool. Beautiful weather. Fun drive through the mountains from Crazy Horse.

One thing, there was this great contemporary Native American band playing at the park. A group of four called Brule. Didn't have the cash to pick up a CD but will definitely get one off their site. The music was hypnotic. Tons of energy. The flute player is... *cough* easy on the eyes. Wish I could have stayed longer.

Crazy Horse

crazy horse II
Originally uploaded by altoloco.

My lands are where my dead lie buried.

-Crazy Horse

Short jaunt from Mitchell to the Black Hills of South Dakota. Some fun mountain roads in this area.

Our first stop brings us near Custer, SD. It is the site of the in-progress memorial to the Lakota chief Crazy Horse. This sculpture is absolutely massive. You can read the insane stats on the website (e.g. the pupil of each eye is 3ft in diameter, all four heads of Mt. Rushmore would fit in his head, etc). It's estimated that it is only about 10% complete.

It's already a mighty impressive memorial, but should be absolutely incredible when they finish (hopefully sometime in my life!).

Corn Palace Stampede

wild child
Originally uploaded by altoloco.

So, as it turned out, I was lucky enough to arrive in Mitchell the same weekend as the Corn Palace Stampede. Now, I'd never been to a rodeo before but I've seen enough in TV and movies to know what to expect. In case you've never been, let me tell you this: it's exactly like you'd expect. A whole bunch of people in cowboy hats drinking beer, cowboys, cowgirls, a bunch of horses, clowns. It's quite a production. I highly recommend checking one out if you ever have the chance.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending how you look at it), this is the only picture that came out in the sunset lighting. The rodeo clown "Wild Child" jumped over this trailer on his dirtbike. Pretty cool, I guess.

Good times in Mitchell!

Cornelia

cornelia
Originally uploaded by altoloco.

Can't forget the Corn Palace mascot!

Oh, forgot to mention. The local high school basketball team plays on the court inside the palace (where all the murals are). Their name? The Kernels.

Corn Palace

corn palace
Originally uploaded by altoloco.

So on the way into Mitchell, I saw all these signs advertising "The World's Only Corn Palace" and other such endorsements for this mysterious place. It was like driving down 95 toward South Carolina, except everyone knows what South of the Border is... right?

Wow. These people love their corn. They decorate this giant building every year with art made from different colors of corn. It's pretty impressive. And they've been doing it for over 100 years. They even have murals inside that are similarly done. I've never seen anything like it. Got some closeups, it's pretty impressive to see. I'll Flickr 'em later on.

Definitely a must-see if you're headed through South Dakota!

Mount Rushmore State

SD
Originally uploaded by altoloco.

What kinda nickname is that anyway? Wasn't the state around for quite some time before Rushmore was created?

Ah well.

The stats for Day 4:

Miles Driven: 633.8
Driving Time: 9hr, 2min
Miles per Gallon: 27.7
Average Speed: 70mph

So, after a hellish day of driving, I found myself at the Thunderbird motel in Mitchell, SD. In figuring out my route, I figured, what the heck, it's right about the right mileage, and the name works. Little did I know...

The North Star State

MN
Originally uploaded by altoloco.

After the not-so-exciting scenery in Wisconsin, the first couple miles in Minnesota was a welcome departure. Gorgeous. Straight shot down 90 and on to South Dakota!

The Badger State

WI
Originally uploaded by altoloco.

Can't say I saw any badgers, but I wasn't in Wisconsin for long. In fact, I believe this was the only stop there.

Quickie

Well, I was thinking I would have time to catch up on my journey so far, but tonight actually ended up being pretty crazy! Wanted to get the entries for days 2 & 3 up while I could, but I don't have the energy to recap today too. Be on the lookout shortly for: 600+ miles of driving, the Corn Palace and the Corn Palace Stampede. Tomorrow: to the Black Hills for some big heads carved into rocks and Deadwood!

'Night, kids!

The City of Lights

Stats for Day 3:

Miles Driven: 315.2
Driving Time: 6hr, 41min
Miles per Gallon: 29.1
Average Speed: 47mph

Best known for being the setting of the Wayne's World movies (and, I am guessing, not much else), Aurora, IL is located just a few minutes West of Chicago. This makes it an excellent location for a night's stop for those traveling in that direction. Also, I just wanted to be able to say I'd been there.

Took a soak, read my book, then got to bed early for the day of driving insanity that was to follow.

The Windy City

Wow! Chicago is a really cool city. Lots of incredibly cool buildings that made for some awesome photo ops. Will Flickr'ize em later.

Hit up the Sears Tower skydeck first. Had to wait about an hour but it wasn't too bad. Now, someone tell me if I'm being paranoid here, but they had this green screen with a camera setup. They were feeding people through this after the metal detectors and before they bought tickets. The sign said it was for a souvenir skydeck photo, and no obligation to buy. Some people ahead of me asked if they could skip the picture since they weren't going to buy it, and the attendant said no, they had to have the picture taken! What kinda 1984 crap is this? I guess most people just don't care enough to question stuff like that.

Anyway, got to the top (after a speedy elevator ride) and... wow. Just awesome. You can see forever. Absolutely a must-see at some point.

Took a stroll down to Millennium Park and shot about 2 rolls of B&W at the fountains there. It was insane how many families were down there with their kids playing in the water. I hope some of the shots come out, they were having a blast (and I was too!). Sports mode is a must-have for taking shots of kids (and 4fps is pretty handy as well). I have a bunch of other pictures from walking around Chicago but I'm too tired to resize them all down right this minute.

Hit up the Navy Pier after that. It was aight I s'pose, would have been fun to have more time to check it all out (especially the beer garden). Then headed back to my car and hit the road...

The Prairie State

Unfortunately, I was stuck in a construction zone in bumper-to-bumper traffic at the Illinois border, so couldn't get a snap of the overpass with the welcome. Traffic into Chi-town was absolutely horrendous, though I took a chance and cut through the city without too much hassle.

The Hoosier State

Woke up in Ann Arbor to a torrential downpour. Loaded my car up, filled in the details about the previous night, said my goodbyes (you and Lauren had better come visit me!) and hit the road. As I'm driving along at 45mph, completely unable to see the car in front of me (and, keep in mind, I had fresh Rain-X on the windshield), I'm getting passed left and right by idiots in SUV's doing about 70. What freaking idiots. Anyway, it cleared up before the border, so I didn't get soaked taking this shot.

Party Like a Rockstar

Second leg of Day 2. Stats for this day:

Miles Driven: 198.3
Driving Time: 4hr, 15min
Miles per Gallon: 27.9
Average Speed: 46mph

Headed off from Dearborn to Ann Arbor to see how Jae lives. He immediately put me to work helping him move apartments. Only had to move his crap across the courtyard, so it wasn't bad but definitely not my idea of fun after the nightmare that was moving out of my own place. He paid me well in pizza and beer though, so it's all good.

That night, went out with some of his med school friends and neighbors. Got nice and ripped on cheap drinks ($5 for a Vodka and Red Bull? I'll take it!) and danced it up. Big pimpin'...

But, of course, what night of drinking would be complete without nearly coming to blows with random other drunk people? Thanks, buddy! Finally got him inside, then I retired back to his place to chow down on a coveted Big Ten burrito. Mmmm...

Good times!

The Great Lakes State

"You have every sensation of being hurled through space. The machine is throbbing under you with its cylinders beating a drummer's tattoo and the air tears past you in a gale. I tell you gentlemen: no man can drive faster and live!"

-Barney Oldfield (Describing the feeling of going 60 mph)

Not going to Flickr the pictures b/c I'm on an open WAP and they don't let you login via SSL (stoopid!). Started out the day with a short jaunt to Dearborn, MI for a little auto-centric action. Checked out the Automotive Hall of Fame while I waited for my tour to start. Not terribly exciting, but some cool history there.

Then it was off to the main attraction. The Ford Rouge Factory Tour. Now this was pretty f'in cool. Got a mostly fluff little intro, then got to see the actual factory floor where they build the F-150 pickup. As we were about to enter the factory floor, however, I did the "pocket touch" and realized my wallet was gone! Called in the reinforcements, who called around to the buses and checked the various theaters. The site manager was extremely helpful. The wallet was eventually recovered (sans >$200 in cash), which was somewhat of a relief; at least I still had my credit cards and all that. To the asshole who has my money: enjoy it, fucker.

So that put a bit (big) damper on the factory tour, but it was still pretty neat. After the bodies are painted, they travel through a track that's 3 miles long for final assembly. Each station has 60 seconds to perform their work before the vehicles move on to the next. Unfortunately, I picked one of the only weeks all year that the factory wasn't in operation, but you could still see the bodies in various states of completion. Highly recommended, if you pick a day when it's in operation. Unfortunately they won't let you photograph any of the cool stuff, so no omgpix.

Estoy vivo

Don't worry, I haven't forgotton about y'all. Hit Chi-town today (awesome!), and am presently in Aurora, IL. Looooong day tomorrow so I'm going to get to bed here in a sec. The WiFi I'm on right now is slow as crap and I have a jacuzzi in my room, so the redux from today and yesterday will have to wait. But don't worry, got some cool pictures so those will be forthcoming as well.

The Buckeye State

OH
Originally uploaded by altoloco.

What do we leave behind when we cross each frontier? Each moment seems split in two; melancholy for what was left behind and the excitement of entering a new land.

-The Motorcycle Diaries

Arrived in Cleveland this afternoon, a bit ahead of schedule. Stats for this leg:

Miles Driven: 396.3
Driving Time: 6hr, 50min
Miles per Gallon: 31.0
Average Speed: 58mph

Came into town during "rush hour". The lack of traffic around here compared to DC is just crazy. Actually going 65mph on a highway? Unthinkable! Of course, here I am moving from the #2 worst traffic to #1. Hey, when I do things, I go all out!

I'm still reeling from my one hour of sleep on Tuesday night, so I think I'm going to pass on the waterfront tonight. On the upside, I spent enough time driving around trying to find a hotel that I think I could lead a tour of this city =).

Peath out.

Túnel

allegheny tunnel
Originally uploaded by altoloco.

Taking a little shortcut through the mountain. Pretty cool, I guess.

de la Mancha

windmills
Originally uploaded by altoloco.

Stopped for a sec while chasing these GINORMOUS windmills in PA. Tried to get a picture while driving but my horse wouldn't hold still ;)

The Keystone State

PA
Originally uploaded by altoloco.

On to Pennsylvania!

Side note: I'm pissed at Google Maps. It told me to take route 76 (which, looking at the map, looks like the most direct route). However it neglected to tell me that 76 is a toll road. I'm not sweating the $8 extortion money charge to get from 270 to Ohio, but it was immensely annoying that I couldn't stop when I wanted to. Ah well. At least the gas station I stopped at had Rain-X. That stuff rules.

The Old Line State

MD
Originally uploaded by altoloco.

I was all ready to get a picture of the "Welcome to..." sign, but this will have to do.

Ciao

Well, the big day is finally (almost) here! This'll be a short post (and sorry, no pictures yet) since I was up all night packing. The movers came by and took all my possessions off to who-knows-where, to arrive who-knows-when. What a nightmare. Anyway, just changed my oil, time to get the car all packed up then rest up. ¡Hasta luego!