Road Tripin’

If you have been reading along then no doubt you have noticed a theme throughout our trip – a false expectation of some stops. Whether it was the forest leading up to the Grand Canyon, or the vastness of the Rocky Mountains (that John Denver was NOT full of it!), we where totally caught off guard. Nashville, Tennessee is no exception.

Leading up to the city, neither one of us expected to see high rises. This is the city of music for crying out loud. We stopped downtown near the Art District and quickly walked around looking for a bathroom (it was a long drive!). We ended up not finding a bathroom, but instead got a great food recommendation to a place called Puckett’s. Southern-style BBQ with hospitality that can only be found in Nashville. They even served us cornbread in the shape of pancakes – how original!

After lunch, we decided to walk around downtown to take in some of the city. We walked through The Arcade (sorry no video games there, just art galleries) and stumbled upon street exhibits full of music, art, and creativity. Short on time, and our ears plum with Nashville tunes, we got back into our car and continued the drive on east.

Just outside of downtown Nashville, we made a stop at Lane Motor Museum. Home of over 2000 unique and antique automobiles, we saw virtually every type and model of car ever made, and then some. From a 3-wheeled electric car built in the 60s, to a 75′ long LARC-LX capable of carrying over 60 tons!

We even saw a car built to drive in two separate directions. Read that again. This isn’t a car that can drive forward and then reverse – no this car had dual engines and 2 steering wheels – it was designed for extremely narrow roads where the driver could not turn around, but rather would switch to a different seat.

Unfortunately we were not able to spend more time in Nashville – it seemed like such a fun city. With the lively music, good food, and southern draw, it certainly is a city both of us would like to visit again. Maybe next time not in the middle of a two week cross country road trip. On to the next city, Washington, DC.

Nashville

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Out of all the cities we have stopped off in, St. Louis reminded us the most of Boston. With three major sports teams and a location right on the water, it’s no wonder that these two cities have been at it for the past 10 years. Good thing the record speaks for itself (2002 Superbowl or the 2004/2013 World Series anyone?!?)

We first ventured out downtown to the Gateway Arch. You don’t realize how huge this monument is until you see it in person. The trip to the top of the monument happens to be the coolest part: squeeze into a small trolley the size of a smart car with five other people and ride the pod all the way to the top where you can take in an impressive view of the city.

After capturing the city from atop the Arch, we thought it was appropriate to venture around on foot. We heard Ballpark Village is a whole lot of fun and a Budweiser restaurant is located in the heart. Even though we were going to the Cardinal’s game that night we thought it would be better to check out the Village before it gets too packed for the game. An order of wings, a couple of Budweisers, and we were ready to tackle the rest of the city.

In case you haven’t seen a theme here yet, Budweiser is everywhere in St. Louis. Everywhere? Everywhere!!

Located just outside the Budweiser house at the Ballpark Village, Budweiser parks a trolley car that will take you to their brewery located just 10 minutes away. With a cost of free, it’s impossible to turn that down! Off we were to tour our nation’s largest brewery.

The brewery was unlike any other brewery we have ever visited. Sure it had its mashers and fermenting tanks, but in addition, it also housed Clydesdales and of course gave out free samples. The brewery itself was built in the early 1900s and consists of brick work and architecture unique to that time period. It’s a statement that has stood the test of time.

After heading back to the hotel to recharge our batteries (and put on our Red Sox gear), we hailed a cab and ventured down to the Busch Stadium. Immediately after getting out of the cab we were met by taunting fans jealous of our recent World Series win – can’t blame them! We also noticed that public drinking is allowed around the stadium during game time, hooray beer!

The game itself was pretty eventful. We met a couple of new friends (shout out to Sarah and Lauren!) who walked us around the park and introduced us to frozen margaritas by the pound. After that, we don’t remember… just kidding! The game ended up going to extra innings and the fans were geared up for a win. A few timely hits and the Cardinals where jumping up and down on home plate in celebration.

Once the game was over we headed over to Lemiere Casino to push our luck. Unfortunately, lady luck was not on our side this night and we ventured back over to Ballpark Village for more late night fun. We ended up at a bar called PBR which had a mechanical bull out on display. It took a little convincing, but Jason was bold enough to get up for a ride. Check out the video!

After falling off the bull pretty hard, we decided to call it a night. St. Louis is a fun city and a great southern compliment to Boston. But in the end, it just doesn’t match up to our city of champions. And with that, it was on to the next city.. Nashville!

Bull Ride VIDEO

St. Louis

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Coming off a day at the Grand Canyon, we were then ready to head on east to Denver, Colorado. Eager to hit the road, we woke up early and was on the road by 7:30. Unfortunately, with all of our excitement, we neglected to fully plan out our route. Early into the drive a crucial decision came our way: Do we head north through Utah and then take i70 east across Denver, or come up through the south and bypass the Rockies. Lucky for us, we choose the former and had one of the most enjoyable drives of our entire trip.

The landscape and scenery through Utah was straight out of an ACME cartoon. It was as if someone had drawn out the canyons, crevices, mounds, mountains and much more. The video posted below is a time lapse of our drive to Denver, speeding through the open plains and slowing down through the rocky mountains.

We are fortunate to have family in Denver, whom were amazing hosts. Mike and Theresa took us to some of the hot spots. First stop was the Red Rock Amphitheater where some of the greatest musical legends have played since the early 1990s. To our surprise, the amphitheater was open to the public and almost everyone there was working out. People were taking advantage of the extra wide rows and the hundreds of steps. We saw some people climb, do squats, walk, run… practically everything.

After Red Rocks, we headed over to Golden City to get a tour of Coors Brewery. Unfortunately for us, this happened to be the one day of the week they were closed to the public. Luckily, Colorado is home to thousands of micro breweries and we were able to find great local brewery a few blocks away. Even though it was at least a hundred times smaller than Coors, they did claim to be the second largest Brewery in Golden City.

What a day we had in Denver, and there is no other way to sweeten the trip than some great Denver food. For lunch we ate at Wynkoop Brewing Company. Jason enjoyed a 50/50 burger, half bacon, and half beef… mhmmm. Jeremy was adventurous and selected a Buffalo meatloaf. Judging on the empty plate he left behind, it sure was good! For dinner we ate Italian food at a place called Brunos. Jason wolfed down a plate of Chicken Marcela, and Jeremy opted for the Baked Ziti with sausage – everything was excellent!

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We had thought the Redwood trees and the Hoover Dam were massive- turns out nothing compares to the Grand Canyon. No picture or video can do justice in describing the size. When we finally saw the canyon for ourselves, we were truly blown away. Just to put things in perspective: to get from the South Rim to North Rim it is about a 20 mile hike across (approximately 3 days) or by car, 220 miles.

Growing up, we have hiked many times through parks and on trails. So since this was the Grand Canyon, we had to challenge ourselves to get some of the best views. We surely got more than we asked for! As you can see in the videos below, the trail was very steep at times and took us to the edge of cliffs. It was thrilling, scary, and fun all at the same time. The trail was at Grandview Point located on the South Rim.

During our hike we found a large rock overhanging the Grand Canyon with another rock overhead, creating somewhat of a cave. Now prior to hiking the Canyon, we had stopped off in town and picked up subs. This overlook was perfect- we carefully got on the rock and ate our lunches.

As the sun started to set, we headed out of the canyon and drove east to Desert View. This point sticks out into the Grand Canyon and gave us a perfect view of the sunset. The colors, deep purples mixed with fiery oranges, can only be viewed at the canyon – no picture we took could express the magnificent scene.

 

Road Trip Pro Trip #4
About an hour south of the Grand Canyon Village, there is a small town called Williams. Historically, Williams is located along Route 66 and was a big part of the interstate highway. If you have a chance to visit the Grand Canyon, we both recommend staying in Williams. It is a bit of a drive, but the Cafe 66 neon signs, street performers, and rustic steam locomotives makes it certainly worth it.

Grand Canyon Hike VIDEO 1

Grand Canyon Hike VIDEO 2

Grand Canyon Hike VIDEO 3

Grand Canyon Hike VIDEO 4

 

Grand Canyon

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Opposite the dam, and almost just as amazing, is the Memorial Bridge. This bridge was recently constructed next to the dam to allow quicker access across the canyon. Combined, massiveness of the Hoover Dam and Memorial Bridge are just jaw dropping.

Unfortunately, when we arrived to the Hoover Dam, the gift shop, visitor center, and guided tours were closed (even though the sign said they should be open for another hour!).

Missing the tourist centers was not the end of the world however. We were able to walk around and explore freely. And as bonus, while we were wrapping up our visit, the sun started to set- we got to see some stunning views! As soon as the sun dropped behind the canyon we headed out to see the Grand Canyon.

Road Trip Pro Tip #3

Maps show a road passing over the Hoover Dam and connecting back up with the freeway. While you can still drive over the dam, the connection at the end has been blocked off making the Hoover Dam a dead end (actually there is a gift shop at the end – go figure!)

Hoover Dam

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We decided to spend the last days in SoCal enjoying the best it had to offer: beaches, hiking trails, and great food. Throw in a few sunsets over the water and you have yourself paradise.

Huntington Beach is a classic that is family friendly and has a lot to offer in terms of entertainment. The long pier offers a unique view of the beach, if you don’t mind the numerous seaguls and fishing lines. After a few beers on the Pier Bar, we took a nap on the beach to soak in the sun. Mexican for dinner at famous Freds and our night ended on a perfect note.

On Sunday we ventured out to Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park and hiked up to 1500′ elevation to get a high view of the city. A wild fire has been burning out in Silverado Canyon (a few miles away) for the past couple days and we were able to snap a few photos of the smoke off in the distance.

On the last night in SoCal we headed over to Laguna Beach. The weather was perfect, 80s with a slight breeze and not a cloud in the sky. This made for a beautiful sunset. The final sendoff meal was a no-brainer: Rockin Fish located right on the strip. Jeremy had the King Salmon with homemade spicy mac&cheese and sweet potato fries. Jason settled with seafood Jumbalaya with clams, shrimp, sausage, fish, and linguini. We finished off our meal with a desert you can’t find anywhere else. It was a mountain of chocolate, vinalla, and mocha ice cream topped with whip cream, buttercups, and chocolate sauce. What a way to end our stay in SoCal.

 

 

View from the peak of the mountain VIDEO

Drive to Laguna Beach VIDEO

A Day in LA part2

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We decided to venture north a little for the day and explore the outskirts of LA. The day was perfect – 90 degrees, low humidity and not a cloud in the sky. We decided to start the day off at the beach, after all not much can go wrong after a day in the sun. We craved a little excitement so Venice Beach it was.

It’s the middle of the week, but the beach was still very much alive. We saw young Tony Hawks at Venice Skate Park, Arnold Swartzinagers lifting weights at Muscle Beach and something.

We also ventured into a new money making scheme. An artist does something absurd, funny, or crazy and if you want to take a picture you need to pay a dollar. Why not – these days everybody is posting photos! (Hmmm… side job?) Jason got sucked in and had to take a picture of this guy holding two live cobra snakes in his hand.

For the evening we scored ourselves $9 Dodger tickets – try finding that in Boston! The San Diego Padres where in town and we figured what better way to experience the city than go to a game at Dodger Stadium.

Unlike Boston’s Fenway Park, which is located in the city, Dodger Stadium is located on a massive hill top surrounded by a vast parking lot. The food and drinks are about the same price but double the size. The beer comes in 24 oz tall boys and the hot dogs are genuine foot longs.

Our seats turned out to be great seats. 6th row in left field right next to the dugout. Jeremy was ready at any moment to catch a fly ball, but unfortunately no home run balls were hit our way. We both were decked out in our Red Sox gear and surprisingly got a bunch of high fives going through the stadium.

We noticed the fans sitting around us were true Dodger fans that go to every game. It’s more of a casual event with in-between inning antics, but the fans get really into it. One guy was even wearing a jersey with the name “Left Field”… sitting in Left Field. Ha. Ha!

Laziness + innovative + dogs best friend = VIDEO

The upcoming Tony Hawk from Venice Beach VIDEO

Our trip continues down the Pacific Coast as we decided to take Route 1 to get up and close to the California Bluffs. The drive ended up being majestical and thrilling; however, we could not plan the trip any worse. We did not leave San Francisco until 1 in the afternoon for what was planned to be a 7 hour drive to south of Los Angeles. When did we actually arrive?… about 1 in the morning!!

To our defense, the views along the coast line were so surreal that we kept making stops after stop to take it all in.  However, a couple times we got duped by other travelers.

Road Trip Pro Tip#2
Just because a group of cars stop and people have their cameras out- this does not mean it’s an amazing view. As soon as you park your car along the coastal highway people flock to that spot within seconds. Everybody makes the assumption that if someone has parked their car, then it must be a photo-worthy view. [Side Note: It IS California after all- let’s be serious, they are all great views…]

For a good part of the trip we were driving within feet of the edges of cliffs from these massive mountain ranges. Check out the video attached below to view some of our journey along the coastal highway.

Towards the end of our trip we spotted a couple of whales not too far off the shore line. One of them was having a great time and kept flopping its tail around. And when we stopped to take in the sunset, we miraculously came across a large group of sea lions. Hearing the sounds they make was like music to the ears. It is almost identical to the sound of a deep burp… hmm

About 5 days into our trip and we made it to SoCal!!

 

Sea Lions VIDEO

Whale VIDEO

Coastal Drive VIDEO

Pacific Coast Highway

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Before we started our journey down the coast to SoCal, we made our way over to the Golden Gate Park. This massive park placed in the middle of the city was beautiful. We parked the car near Stow Lake and journeyed through some of the park. During our exploration we came across a waterfall, a peaceful Pagoda, and even some American Bison.

After the park we headed down to a tourist hot spot called “Fisherman’s Wharf”. The streets were lined with seafood restaurants featuring all the fried goodies. We ended up splitting a clam chowder bread bowl, a fried fish sandwich, and lemon spiced shrimp. What a way to end our stay in San Francisco!!

Drive Through SanFran

Ooh what a beautiful song

From the outskirts into the city

Park + Fisherman’s Wharf

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We woke up early in the morning and ventured out to the Golden Gate Bridge. The weather was perfect: sunny, mid 70s, and a slight breeze. The day was going to be great!!!

Road Trip Pro- Tip #1

Buying extra batteries for your camera is a brilliant idea, but you still have to charge them in order for them to work.

Jeremy learned this tip the heard way after failing to charge the batteries overnight. Shorting after arriving at the bridge, we had to watch as our camera died and all back-up batteries failed as well. We still had our iPhones, but alas the pictures did not come out the same.

After touristing the bridge we walk along the beach towards Cow Hollow where we were staying. As we reached the end of the beach and put our shoes on, stuck between our toes were pea-sized spikes. Ouch!! For the rest of the walk it felt like thorns were digging into our feat.

Before reaching our hotel and resting our feet, we stumbled upon one of the best sandwich shops in SF. In fact it was so good, we’ve decided it needed its own blog.

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