New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland*, Virginia and Texas (6/10)
*only 14 miles were traveled in this state
So Jo and I heard about all the news concerning the snow to come back home/ already come. So we hope everyone on the east coast is enjoying the snow/ cold weather!!
On that note, today Houston, TX had a high of 75 degrees and sunshine all around!
Mike had to work (who would have guessed?!) but don't worry Jo and I were unfazed as he woke up around 7AM. Jo and I woke up around 8:30 and 9, respectively. Jo woke up before me for once, crazy I know! We have been constantly on the go for the past few days so we decided to take the morning slow. We kept the front door open and watched some television, specifically the Fresh Prince of Bel Air and House. It was lovely.
Around 12:30 (central time, aka 1:30 where you are) we finally decided to head out. We dressed appropriately, Short sleeves and flip flops, and made our way to the Beer Can house. Although only a stones throw from Mike's apartment (like it was destiny) it was the first time Jo and I had sweated the entire trip!! Including the runs we did earlier this week. Plus, as i was brushing my hair later, I realized I had a little sunburn- please don't be too jealous.
Anyway, the beer can house was started in 1968 as a hobby for John Milkovisch and he finished collecting in1988. The result was a landmark in Houston, TX. The house is just nestled into a regular neighborhood, on a windy day you can hear it before you see it! You can find more information about the beer can house at http://www.beercanhouse.org/ (a very creative website name).
As Jo said before the picture, "of course you need a picture with the beer can house Alex!"
A beautiful sight in the midst of a lot of condos that look frighteningly similar
Don't worry Haggred made the trip too!
Haggred appreciating John;s handy work
After the beer can house Jo and I headed to an Italian restaurant suggested by Jo's dad. For a moment we considered Mexican.. well I considered Mexican... but Jo reminded me that we would be in the South for a while and would constantly be surrounded by tacos, enchiladas and the like for the remainder of the trip. She had a valid argument.
The restaurant was called, Raia's Italian Cafe and Market. Jo and I both got huge sandwiches and were able to sit out side to enjoy the food and weather.
We worked up quite the sweat after our 3 plus mile walk and deserved to kick off our shoes during lunch
After lunch we headed back to the apartment. Somehow House was still on, I guess it was an all day marathon? I prepared for a run while Jo began to upload some pictures of the beer house on Facebook (side note- you should probably check them out, they are all pretty cool). I found a park to run through and was able to work off some of lunch on my 4 mile run while Jo worked it off by taking a short walk/jog closer to home. Our exercise finished just as the sun was setting and Jo suggested a beer to watch the sun set outside the apartment. Excellent idea!
Beers and bare feet in the garage watching the sunset!
While we drank beer and listened to some Abba (It was on Mike's playlist) Mike came home! With Mike's arrival it meant it was time for dinner slash time for Jo and I to clean up. Dinner was at El Tiempo (Jo predicted this Mexican restaurant!). It was another restaurant on Washington Ave. We ordered a pitcher of margaritas and a pound of steak for fajitas -wonderful! this is my kind of life!!
The margaritas for which Jo got carded and I did not!
After eating enough for three people s a second time for the day we headed back home for beer and martinis (very strong martinis made by Mike at that). We kicked back and watched Avatar with surround sound and in blue ray... compared to the VHS movies we were watching before break it was surreal. Not to say the classics on VHS aren't amazing in their own right but blue ray/ this sound system made it feel like we were right there in Pandora!
Jo and I are getting spoiled in Houston, its going to be hard on the road after this comfortable lifestyle. We'll make it, but its going to be a little tougher.
We'll time to get ready for tomorrow and go to bed, so good night! Have fun shoveling (I swear the next entry won't brag as much!).
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland*, Virginia and Texas (5/10)
*only 14 miles were traveled in this state
Today was our first and last day in Washington, D.C. It was another beautiful day (how are we getting so lucky?!) Aileen had work at 8AM (this seems to be a trend in our trip so far, everyone we stay with has to work or go to school- I guess Jo and I should feel like slackers… or not). Jo and I slept a bit later and started our day after 9. Last night we had decided to try and head over to the Zoo during the morning and then over to Rosslyn, VA for lunch with Aileen and to catch the bus for the Dulles Airport.
We packed up our things and before we could head out I received a frantic request from Aileen, which changed our plan up a bit. She asked us to drop off a check at her landlord’s house before the end of the day. The landlord was the opposite direction of the Zoo, but after Aileen gave us some directions (although tad vague and yes you do have to go past the tennis courts Aileen) I compared them to the directions to the Zoo and figured out a relatively simple loop to get to both places.
We made it to the landlord’s with little confusion (that was easy it was a straight line). For the Zoo we had to back track a bit. Our travels took us past the Polish Embassy!
That’s when everything got a little confusing. Joanna figured I knew exactly where I was going, and I did my best to pretend I was an expert of the Adams Morgan road ways… if only that was the case. Instead, we ended up making a wrong turn that had put us a mile or more away from the zoo. I’m not sure of the exact distance, but it was far enough that when we asked people, “Excuse me, how do you get to the zoo?” we would receive a slight chuckle and a, “Well you are going the wrong way…” in reply. After getting this reply twice, Jo and I headed over to a map and tried to figure out what went wrong. We managed to look lost enough that a city worker came over and helped us out, a lot. He stopped traffic then flagged down the necessary bus that would put s back on the right path.
The bus took us back to Aileen’s apartment for the most part (so we backtracked again). This time Jo took over the navigation. She figured out that we could walk the other direction from Aileen’s house and we would eventually make it to the Zoo.
The path we ended up taking ended up being a very roundabout way, but this time when we asked people, “Where is the National Zoo” we were greeted with replies such as, “Oh you just keep going straight on this road!” and “Just three more blocks, right ahead!” However, at this point it was already 11:40. We had planned to be back at the apartment and on our way to the metro station at 12:30. This did not leave much time to finish walking to the Zoo or look around the Zoo. But Jo and I were dead set on making it to the Zoo.
At 12 we finally made it! Looking at the map we realized that we could walk straight through the part and end up at Aileen’s apartment (the path we had tried to take earlier in the morning). Because of our previous luck with navigation we made sure to double check with one of the Zoo employees at the welcome center. The women at the front desk confirmed our theory, “Yea, that will take you right where you want to go, alright but cha’ gonna miss the Panda exhibit and the wild bird cage!” Jo and I just laughed… she had no idea we were even lucky to see any of the animals!
We headed out and completed one of the quickest tours through the National Zoo (look for it in next year’s Guinness World Record’s book). We saw the cheetahs, zebras, elephants and tigers. The main event was the lions! They had brought the cubs out early and we were able to see them play around for a few minutes.
By the time we left the Zoo it was 12:20 (great timing right!!). We did not get lost on the way home thanks to the lovely signs pictured below. It’s like the city had finally caught on that Jo and I are not very good at navigating.
We got our bags from the apartment, grabbed a seat on the bus and headed to the metro station. Our timing was perfect, as we headed down the gigantic escalators our train pulled into the station. One transfer to the Blue line (wait time 3mins) and we made it without problem to Rosslyn and with a half hour to spare (I now take back everything I said; clearly Jo and I are just expert navigators- if you want any advice please feel free to contact us).
To ensure no further problems, we grabbed lunch to go from Chipotle and bit Aileen adieu. The sun was still out as we sat on the bench, ate lunch and waited for our bus to take us to Dulles Airport.
The bus arrived a little late, but the fact that everything had worked out thus far, Jo and I were still feeling good. We hit a little traffic and ended up getting in about twenty minutes later than planned but we (actually only Haggred) made some friends during the trip. He was the topic of conversation in the back of the bus and I think he will be getting a few friend requests before the night is through!
The Dulles airport was beautiful, clean and big. Huge windows provide light for the ticking area and you aren’t required to know your gate or terminal information until after security (a very nice feature for people out of town). We made it to our gate with about an hour to spare (very good planning).
The wind helped our plane out and we actually landed in Chicago a little earlier than expected, a first for this trip.
Then we had to wait in Bear country (not for very long). The Midtown airport in Chicago is little more yellow and little more crowded than Dulles. But there was only a small distance between our arrival gate and our departure gate so all and all it’s not horrible (minus the Bear’s fans... who weren’t really making themselves known, but I know they are here).
Our flight was delayed by about 10 minutes, not terrible by any means. We waited at another gate, as all the chairs were full at ours. The gate was for a flight to Albany, and for a moment Jo and I thought of switching flights for a moment, and then saw the temperature, 19 degrees… definitely not, haha. Not when Texas had a high today of 66 degrees!
On the plane, the flight crew was trying to make up delay time they had picked up in Boston. But, another passenger had other ideas. As we were about o push off, she got up to go to the bathroom. The flight staff suggested she sit back down and wait until after the plane took off. She said she couldn’t wait. The staff called the captain as she was in the bathroom and the captain said to knock on the door and tell her to hurry up! She didn’t and we lost our spot in the flight pattern and had to wait a little bit longer.
It all turned out okay in the end, the pilots made up 42 minutes of the delay time and we only got in 7 minutes behind schedule. As we walked off the plane I was officially the furthest West I have ever been!! Jo and I had made it to Huston, Texas!
Jo’s brother, Mike, picked us up and took us to Krogers to pick up some frozen pizzas for dinner. When we got to Mike’s house Jo did a good job explaining it, “it’s so Texas looking. ” Haha, well it was another good day and now it’s time to relax with some beers and pizza.
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland* and Virginia (5/10)
*only 14 miles were traveled in this state
Today was our last day in C’ville! Surprisingly, Tori had class from 8AM to 12PM today- this really messed up our plans for the day and was completely out of the blue(plus for some reason Tori doesn’t want to drop out of med school to Join Jo and I on the rest of our trip, crazy I know!). Luckily, there is enough to do in Charlottesville and the surrounding area to fill a solid few weeks of back to back activities.
Although she wasn’t going to be able to hang out with us Tori did help us plan our day. Tori told us about a hike in the Blue Ridge Mountains that would take us to the top of Humpback Gap Overlook (elevation 2360ft). Jo and I borrowed Tori’s car and headed northwest to the Blue Ridge Mountain range and pitch-off for our hike just after 10. Compared to the ADKs and other mountains the hike was rather short, but just as steep. After a mile of hiking we made it to the top! Beyond the rocks was the Shenandoah Valley and a mountain full of bare trees. Following the trend of our trip thus far the view was beautiful.
Outlook from the top of Humpback Rocks
Haggred made the trip up too! (We finally remembered to bring him out, we’ll stop slacking- swear it!)
Haggred being lazy as usual and piggy backing a ride
At the top! enjoying the view, what a lucky gnome
We took a shortcut back down the mountain to the parking lot and headed home. The whole hike took about an hour and half and with the drive the trip was just over 2 hours. We added some time to our trip when we stopped at a outlook on the highway to get a few snapshots of the valley bellow.
View form the RT 64 outlook
We got home just in time to shower and pack up before Tori made it home from her meeting. Tori took us over to the Mello Mushroom for lunch while telling us about how she will be representing the Phoenix’s in her college bowl competitions throughout the rest of her time at UVa (their colors are black and yellow and I will be using any free time on the rest of my trip to make a fight song, any suggestions are welcomed!). The Mellow Mushroom is another great eatery in C’ville that services great pizza and beer. Jo and I ordered an IPA and hefeweizen from the local Starr Hill Brewery as reward for our tough hike (much better than our previous Jama Lager’s from Starr Hill).
You would never guess the theme/ decor at the Mellow Mushroom
After pizza and beer it was time to head over to the Amtrak station. Leaving Tori behind is not our decision, but I guess taking two weeks off at the beginning of the semester is frowned upon (lame). We said our goodbyes and headed into the station to pick up our tickets.
Entering the station a sign that read “train 50 3:55PM” greeted us, and as fate would have it we were on train 50. Luckily we didn’t have too many time constraints (besides meeting up with Aileen) and the hour delay didn’t stress us out and only made us a little sad.
If you have good vision / a magnifying glass you can see the 3:55 depart time in the background
I slept for a bit and Jo finally had time to read part of Dune. It was 4:15PM when our 2:47PM Amtrak train to Washington, DC finally left Charlottesville.
On the train Jo and I worked on planning the rest of our trip from Houston onwards while Haggred ensured our luggage stayed put. I think we have most of the details nailed out… but they will most likely change, but that’s half the fun!
Keeping an eye on the luggage
We arrived in Union Station in Washington, DC around 7:15PM- scratch that around 8:00PM. Hopped on the red line and got off at Woodly Park/Adams Morgan where the beautiful Aileen Comey was waiting for us! After scaring some of the other passengers with her exasperated sigh, Aileen helped Jo and I get on the bus and head to her apartment.
(side note- we almost lost Haggred at this point! he had lost some weight and no longer fit into the side of my bag. On the way up the three story escalator- it's mammoth size- he slipped out and almost feel the entire way down. thankfully another patron scooped him up- although confused at what she was holding- and brought him back up to us)
Starved, Jo, Aileen and I headed to 18th street to grab some grub.Our first attempt failed as we used the wrong door to get into Bourbon... hey if you saw the two entrances you would probably have chosen the same door... maybe. Once we did get into Bourbon there were no seats, someone didn't want us to eat there, their loss.
We headed next door to the Downtown Tavern where it was Ladies night!! But we weren't really in the mood for half priced Captain Morgan drinks, food was really top priority. For some reason they were out of all types of chicken except buffalo and ceasar flavored chicken (still don't understand this phenomena) so we had to change our orders around a bit. All obstacles aside we were finally munching on fried pickle chips (amazing, but I ate way too many) and our dinners just after 9.
We headed back to the apartment, exhausted. Aileen showed us the trick to opening the front door (I can't do it but Jo can open it) and then we got ready for day 5!
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland* and Virginia (5/10) *only 14 miles were traveled in this state
Today is Jo and my's last full day in Virginia! Can you believe it? I bet not... I can't either. On paper it seems like we should be here longer.
Tori had class from 8AM-12PM again today (so far my thoughts on medical school... too much class and too early!). But not too worry there is a lot to do in the happening town of Charlottesville.
Jo and I started our morning with another run even though there a few more clouds in the sky and it was a little chillier than the previous morning. This time we ran a 3.57 mile loop through the downtown mall area (much more flat than our previous run). It wasn't until after the run that JO and I found out that neither of us had actually wanted to go on the run... whoops? Jo explained it as the Texas Paradox**... or something of that nature? I guess it actually worked out neither of us spoke up, we are still on track for our 5 mile goal!
**this was further researched and found to actually be called the Abilene paradox is a paradox in which a group of people collectively decide on a course of action that is counter to the preferences of any of the individuals in the group
We got back just as the sun was finally coming out and just in time to shower before Tori and her roommate Ashley got back from class. Once cleaned up Tori, Jo and I headed over to Bodo's Bagels. Bodo's specializes in delicious bagel sandwiches. The food was delicious and the weather had finally warmed up (as promised by the weather channel) and allowed us to enjoy our sandwiches outside.
We walked back so Tori could meet up with Ashley and head over to Lowe's for some apartment things. On their way to the hardware store Tori and Ashley dropped us of at the UVa art museum.
Entrance to the Art Museum
The museum had just finished showing an African Art exhibit and was now showing a exhibit about the transition of European art from romanticism to neoclassicism. It was a very interesting exhibit highlighting different techniques such as the lithographic and mezzotint methods used by artists in the early seventeenth century. The images and level of detail that the artist were able to create using these different etching styles was amazing! Some of the artists on exhibit were John Martin, Turner and Gainsbourgh (also Jo's street name in White Plains). You can find out more about the exhibit at their site (http://www.virginia.edu/artmuseum/index.php).
Following the art museum we retraced our steeps through campus to get some more pictures (that weren't pitch black). While walking through campus we also tried to find as many secret society symbols as we could... but that became overwhelming, so we stopped. But here are some of the ones we captured before losing count!
IMP surrounded by little Z's- how many Z's can you count?
Another Society... the 7's maybe?
2 more! and Jo maneuvered her way to get into the picture too
After spotting all these tags Jo and I began to wonder what it would really take to start our own society. Jo came up with a pretty good idea... but I can't tell you.. because it's a secret. But, if you happen to see a bunch of these IMP's become TMP's don't look at us! really, don't it would ruin everything!
Okay, so after our campus excursion we walked back to the apartment (we now know the geography and layout of Charlottesville rather well, just in time to leave!). Tori still had some work to do so we headed to one of her favorite coffee houses- Shenandoah Joe.
My Mocha latte from Shenandoah Joe's!
Thank goodness I recently started liking coffee, because this place was delicious! Tori did work and Jo and I uploaded pictures and caught up with friends. I wrote must of this blog entry at the coffee house actually.
After coffee it was off to check out Tori's classrooms (all brand new and state of the art).
An amazing lecture hall for the 1st year med students at UVa
This is a lecture hall for 150 students! There are 6 screens so you can look anywhere to see what the professor is talking about! In the basement there is a practice hospital and doctor's clinic for the students. The practice hospital has rooms full of lifelike manikins who are used to simulate real life emergency situations. The practice clinic is used to practice doctor and patient interactions. I would be okay with these students eventually saving my life!
Further, the facility is full of Johnson Controls sensors and controllers!! Definitely a good school!
Johnson Controls is everywhere!
After our personalized tour it was off to Beer Run! Another wonderful establishment in the town of C'Ville (which after seeing this around for the past few days I finally get that it stands for Charlottesville). I don't think there are any bad places to eat or drink here. The beer selection was great and it was pint night! A dollar off all pints (meaning PBR was a whole dollar!!). We got some wonderful nachos and a few drinks (mainly because Jo and I have been way too healthy during this trip thus far).
Before Nacho Consumption
After Nacho Consumption
You can't see it but the last two drinks for Jo and I were just a dollar!
Now it's time for Tori to do more work and Jo and I to post pictures all while watching a movie ( I would say which one, but we haven't decided yet!).
Tomorrow Jo and I hike Humpback Rock and head to DC!
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland* and Virginia (5/10) *only 14 miles were traveled in this state
Today Tori had class from 8AM-12PM and then had to read some chapters for class the next day.
Jo and I did not wake up with Tori and instead slept until 10 and 9:30, respectively. Once Jo woke up we went for a light jog around UVA. We ended up running a total of 2.58 miles over the course of a half hour. Our goal is to be running for 5 miles by the time we get to Reno.
After our jog we cleaned up and planned dinner. Tori came back from class and drove us over to Harris Tetter (the local grocery store). We picked up our supplies for dinner and then on the way back Tori dropped us off at the beginning the mall in downtown Charlottesville.
The banners that are on every lamp post in the mall area and our first view of downtown
We stopped and got some coffee from the Mud House. It was delicious and warmed us up. We stopped in some stores, including a rare and reuse book store. There was a really cute corgi inside, half the reason we decided to stop in, that was very friendly. After shopping around we stumbled up on the chalk wall.
The 1st amendment chalk wall
The chalk wall is a place for visitors to leave their mark and have their say. Their are several quotes chiseled out from great speakers such as Thurgood Marshall (a prominent person during the Civil Rights movement) along with several quotes from people passing by. Jo and I added our mark with the handy chalk!!
"Road tripping w/ my favorite Allies, Jo and Alex 2011"
The wall was very cool and then we made our way to the visitors center/ transportation center. We were able to find a few maps that offered information about the area including a walking tour of the historic sites of downtown Charlottesville.
We followed the guide through the downtown area. The tour highlighted several civil war memorials, historic houses and historic business district buildings. You can find more pictures with descriptions on my facebook account.
"Stonewall" Jackson statue which is supposedly one of the best equestrian statues in the world
The sights were amazing and the sky/lighting were perfect for taking pictures. Jo and I had a lot of fun touring the city.
Taking a break to play some checkers in Lee Park
Following our navigation through historic Charlottesville we hopped on the free trolley back to UVA's campus. The trolley was great, had a great conversation with a local fellow concerning the economic status of New Jersey and Pennsylvania versus Virginia and we also were able to see some more sights while remaining warm. The stadium is huge! I can't even imagine playing in-front of that many people! so nerve racking.
We got off the trolley and headed to the special exhibits on UVA in the special collections library. The current exhibits highlighted a Virginia city that had been the home of several different groups throughout history, the effects of increased globalization on politics, American propaganda during the second World War and the United States presidents. Although you weren't supposed to take pictures we snapped a few. Hey, no one was around!
The Karma Sutra- UVA has a collection of all the Tibetan sutras (not the originals because they were destroyed)
Following the exhibits we went back to the apartment, hungry and cold. Tori was still doing some work so Jo and I made dinner (after snaking on the delicious chips and salsa we had purchased earlier in the day). Our Tilapia tacos were wonderful, but a little too filling. Before we could go out again we had to let the food settle.
Once settled, Tori, Jo and I headed out again. The temperature dropped so we had to bundle up before setting out. We walked around the rotunda and special dormitories in the center of campus.
one of the only pictures that came out, a walkway near the Rotunda
The campus is amazing (but my camera doesn't work very well at night) and Thomas Jefferson is everywhere!! The center of campus is actually full of houses and single dormitories. The students who live here are specially selected and professors are specially selected to live in the houses. Each of the houses is designed in a different architectural style, while remaining consistent with the overall look of the school. Tori also told us about some of the secret societies on campus (even though they aren't so secret because they leave their mark everywhere!).
Z secret society, member reveal who they are when they die
After our night tour of the deserted campus we headed to a bar to watch part of the Orange Bowl. At Boylan Heights we ordered the Jomo Larger, a beer from the local Starr Hill Brewery.
Jo and I ordered two lagers from the local Starr Hill Brewery
The Orange bowl was between Stanford and Virginia Tech. Support for Virginia Tech splits the campus as several people dislike the school and at the same time several people either went to or live in the area near Virginia Tech. The bar was split into two levels, the first wanted Stanford to win and the second, Virginia Tech. We left before the game was over, but the score was in favor of Stanford.
After the bar it was back to the apartment, Tori has class again tomorrow and Jo and I were pretty tired from all the walking/running we did today.
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland* and Virginia (5/10) *only 14 miles were traveled in this state
Tori started her day at 8:30AM (before Jo and I had even woken up). She drove from Clifton Park, NY down to Basking Ridge, NJ. At 11:10 Tori arrived at Jo's house where Joe and Lisa pushed eggs and food into her lap (she must be starving at this point). After some food Jorge, Tori's classmate from UVA, met up with Jo and Tori at Jo's house. Before leaving Joe gave Jo a mysterious bag that was not to be opened until arrival at Tori's apartment!
From Jo's house Tori drove to Morgantown, PA to pick up me! My parents drove me to the McDonald's where we met up just before 2PM.
From Morgantown, PA it was a straight shot to UVA... for the most part. Minus a little miss-navigation in Carlise, PA. One pit stop at Wendy's and 5 hours later we made it to UVA! We got to drive around the campus a bit, but it was already dark and we were a little tired of being in the car, well more so Tori was, but with good reason!
Unpacking the car! don't worry Haggred Williams survived the car ride
After unpacking the car we finally got to open the mysterious bag!
The contents of the mysterious bag! Wine and Cheese!!
Thanks Joe and Lisa!! Relaxing with wine and cheese happens to be a favorite pastime for all of us. So although it was not a Monday, we popped open the wine provided by our parents (a common trend in Jo and my drinking habits- as Jo pointed out) and munched on some delicious cheese and bread. Tori had to go over some chapters before class the next day so we put on a DVD of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 1.
A few episodes later it was time to hit the hay and we concluded our first day!!
