WOW! Ryan and I had quite a crazy day today in San Francisco. We woke up, got in the car, and headed over to the Painted Houses. These are the houses that are at the beginning of the show Full House. After that we headed to Lombard street which is the crookidest street in America. Ryan drove down the street 2 times! After that we took the car back to the hotel and rode the cable cars into fishermans Wharf. There we had lunch outside on the bay and people watched for a while. After lunch we took an hour harbor cruise that took us around the Golden Gate Bridge and over to Alcatraz. We wanted to tour Alcatraz, but tickets were already sold out for the whole day.
After our boat cruise we headed to Coit tower for a nice view of the while Bay area. Next we took the street cars downtown to this mall (like the Gallery in Philadelphia). There we saw the only spiral escalator in the nation. I thought it would be more of a tight spiral, but it was just a little curvey. Either way we were somewhat dissapointed.
Next, we jumped on the BART system and headed down to the Oakland Collisum for the Oakland A's vs. Twins game. Amazingly enough we were able to get front row tickets for the game. And boy was it awesome. The A's came back from a 10 run defecit to win the game. It was the best comeback by the A's in team history. How awesome! Well tomorrow Ryan and I are headed to Yosemite. Have a good one!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Day 26 - Drive to San Fran Part 2
Hey everyone! So it took us a while but we finally made it to San Francisco. Ryan and I traveled from Crecent City, CA to San Fran. On the way we drove through Red Wood National Forrest and almost ran out of gas. We accidentally left town without filling up and barely made it to Don's Gas station in the middle of no where. Oh well. The drive town route 101 was just spectacular. Its a perfect drive for those who love great views and curvey roads. Later in the day we stopped in a town called Ukaih for lunch. We ate at this pub and the bartender had a Phillies hat on. So we chatted with him for a while about Philadelphia and the Phillies. Its been pretty cool to run into people from Phila during this trip. They are everywhere!
After lunch we drove through Sonoma County which is known for its grapes which make lots of red and white wines. This area is near Napa valley for those familiar with that that name. Ryan and I finally made it into San Francisco and stayed at a great hotel in Nob Hill. The owner was so nice and directed us to all of the great tourist sites for tomorrow. Check back to hear all about San Fran.
After lunch we drove through Sonoma County which is known for its grapes which make lots of red and white wines. This area is near Napa valley for those familiar with that that name. Ryan and I finally made it into San Francisco and stayed at a great hotel in Nob Hill. The owner was so nice and directed us to all of the great tourist sites for tomorrow. Check back to hear all about San Fran.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Day 25 - Drive to San Fran (Part 1)
We are back!! Ryan and I had a fantastic time in Alaska with our parents. We met some really awesome people, saw some amazing thing, and finally ate well on the cruise. Check out all of the Alaska photos to see wildlife, glaciers, and Sarah Palin. Honestly, the photots don't do any justice. Alaska is a must see place for those who love majestic view.
Today Ryan and I drove all the way from Seattle, WA to Crescent City, CA. We traveled through Redwood National Forrest which was well worth the detour. We also encountered someone brushing their teeth while driving. Whoa, how do you spit after your done? Tomorrow we are driving down route 101 toward San Francisco. Should be a spectacular drive. Till tomorrow.
Today Ryan and I drove all the way from Seattle, WA to Crescent City, CA. We traveled through Redwood National Forrest which was well worth the detour. We also encountered someone brushing their teeth while driving. Whoa, how do you spit after your done? Tomorrow we are driving down route 101 toward San Francisco. Should be a spectacular drive. Till tomorrow.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Headed to Alaska
Hey everyone!! Thanks for following along with this blog as Ryan and I travel cross country. Our parents have met us here out in Seattle and today we are headed on our trip to Alaska. We wont have any phone or internet for several days, so I'll catch everyone up on everything once we get back. Have a great week everyone!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Day 16 - Drive to Seattle, WA
Hey everyone. I am going to keep this blog pretty sure because it is late here in Seattle, and I am pretty tired from driving all day. Ryan and I drove all the way from Yellowstone NP, WY to Seattle, WA. We drove through Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and most of Washington state to get here. Over 750 miles in all.
Today Ryan and I finally did ate at a repeat resturant, McDonnalds. We were hoping to find one by 10:30am so we could get an egg McMuffin, but it didn't work out. We then drove through the mountains in Montana which was pretty nice. The drive seemed forever and each curve seemed like the last one. We stopped at a reststop just before we hit Idaho and had ham and cheese again for lunch. At the reststop we were bothered by 6-8 praire dogs (kinda like chipmuks) for some food. Of course Ryan gave them some bread and cheeseballs so they warmed right up to him. After lunch we headed back on our way. We saw a town in Montana called Drexel. Apparently there are no services there. I wanted to take a pictures and make a mockery of Drexel and how they have horrible service but couldnt get my camera out. The next town over from Drexel was named Henderson. I did get a picture of this, so check it out.
Ryan and I made it to Moses Lake, WA where we had Pizza Hut for dinner. It wasn't that good, but we were hungry so anything would have been good. We then got back into the car and traveled the last 200 miles into Seattle. The last 50 miles were really pretty was we traveled through the mountains. I saw some ski lifts and a few lodges and wished I could ski. I am definately going to have to come out west next winter and do some skiing!! Well off to get some laundary done, need some clean close for tomorrow. Ryan and I are picking up our parents from the Seattle/Tacoma airport and we need to look good. I think we are doing the space needle tomorrow as well. Check back in for more updates. Till then, have a good one!
Today Ryan and I finally did ate at a repeat resturant, McDonnalds. We were hoping to find one by 10:30am so we could get an egg McMuffin, but it didn't work out. We then drove through the mountains in Montana which was pretty nice. The drive seemed forever and each curve seemed like the last one. We stopped at a reststop just before we hit Idaho and had ham and cheese again for lunch. At the reststop we were bothered by 6-8 praire dogs (kinda like chipmuks) for some food. Of course Ryan gave them some bread and cheeseballs so they warmed right up to him. After lunch we headed back on our way. We saw a town in Montana called Drexel. Apparently there are no services there. I wanted to take a pictures and make a mockery of Drexel and how they have horrible service but couldnt get my camera out. The next town over from Drexel was named Henderson. I did get a picture of this, so check it out.
Ryan and I made it to Moses Lake, WA where we had Pizza Hut for dinner. It wasn't that good, but we were hungry so anything would have been good. We then got back into the car and traveled the last 200 miles into Seattle. The last 50 miles were really pretty was we traveled through the mountains. I saw some ski lifts and a few lodges and wished I could ski. I am definately going to have to come out west next winter and do some skiing!! Well off to get some laundary done, need some clean close for tomorrow. Ryan and I are picking up our parents from the Seattle/Tacoma airport and we need to look good. I think we are doing the space needle tomorrow as well. Check back in for more updates. Till then, have a good one!
Day 15 - Yellowstone (Part 2)
Hi everyone!! Today was our second day here in Yellowstone NP. Ryan and I woke up around 8:30, got all of our gear packed, ate some pop-tarts (thanks ash) and headed out to Yellowstone Lake. We arrived around 11:30 am and rented a motor boat to explore the lake. Ryan’s excitement was beyond containment because he wanted to drive a motor boat ever since we were in Chicago. So we headed out on the lake and had a great time taking in all of the beautiful sights and sounds. The lake was like a sheet of glass and we were one of the few boats out on the lake. All we could see for miles and miles were trees, snow covered mountains, and beautiful sunshine. However, the weather at Yellowstone is quite tricky, so within 45 minutes of us being out on the lake the weather changed. A storm started forming in the south so Ryan and I had to cut our boat trip short and head back into the Marina. So instead of spending 2 hours on the lake we only spent one. It sure was one fun hour on the lake! Later on we found out that the storm would have just skirted past us and we could have stayed out longer. Oh well…
After our boat journey Ryan and I made our way towards Old Faithful to rent some bikes. We stopped off alongside the road to have a picnic. Ryan and I just hung out by the lake, eating our sandwiches, and taking in the awesome view (check out the pictures). After lunch we traveled the rest of the way to Old Faithful and rented some bikes. We took this trail (about 2 miles) down to the main road and decided to do some hiking. We were told there was this awesome waterfall down this trail so we tried to find it. However, after 40 minutes of walking and 100 bug bites later we didn’t see a waterfall anywhere and decided to turn back. On our way back we passed by this HUGE Bison about 10 feet off of the bike trail. I didn’t even stop to take a photo because we just wanted to get past it as fast as possible. The Bison look harmless but they can go from 1-30 mph in the blink of an eye (or so we were told). About a half mile before we got back to Old Faithful the gear box on my bike broke and I had to walk the bike back to the station. It sorta sucked! It just seemed like everything was going half right all day long with the broken gear box and the rain storm on the lake.
After Ryan and I returned the bikes we were famished and went to the General store again for dinner. We had the same waitress Robyn (who was really nice and friendly) from the day before. We told her all about our crazy day, but said things could have been worse. She was telling us how she and her husband travel around in an RV all year and how she has worked at Yellowstone the past 3 summers and has yet to see a bear. I was very surprised by this, and told her that maybe her luck would change. After dinner, around 6pm, we headed back to our Cabin in Mammoth. On our way home we saw a serious motorcycle accident. This woman had apparently lost control of her bike and skidded off the road. There was blood all over the road and people trying to help her. Ryan and I tried to find a park ranger just down the road, but the station had already closed. The accident looked really bad and I’m not sure if the women made it. Ryan and I both agreed that if you get hurt out in Yellowstone your pretty much screwed. The closes hospital isn’t for hundreds of miles!!! After we saw the accident we came across some Bison in the road. One came right up to our car and we could have touched it!! Check out the pictures, it was WAY close!
Ryan and I finally got back to our cabin. I decided to take my first shower in 2 days in the communal shower. It honestly wasn’t too bad. Ryan just didn’t want to have any part of the shared showers and he definitely smells like Buffalo doo right now. After my shower Ryan and I sat out on our porch and watched the full moon rise. We could see so many stars in Yellowstone with very little light pollution around. I could even see the big dipper clear as day. Soon our cabin neighbors came back from their Harley ride and we chatted with them. We told them about our day and they told us how they had seen lots of Buffalo, 2 black bears and a Moose. I told them how lucky they were to see a Moose because apparently it’s pretty rare in Yellowstone. I also found out that the two brothers were Mets fans and I rubbed it in that the Phillies swept the Mets this weekend. Then the brothers from Illinois told us how they have relatives in Ocean City, NJ and how they visit them all the time. I told them how much I loved Mac and Manko and Knor Brothers. They started to rave about Mac and Mankos Pizza. I thought it was so cool that I could be chillin outside of a cabin in Yellowstone Wyoming having a conversation about pizza at the Jersey shore with complete strangers. How crazy!!! Well, off to bed, Ryan and I have a long ride to Seattle tomorrow. Goodnight everyone!
After our boat journey Ryan and I made our way towards Old Faithful to rent some bikes. We stopped off alongside the road to have a picnic. Ryan and I just hung out by the lake, eating our sandwiches, and taking in the awesome view (check out the pictures). After lunch we traveled the rest of the way to Old Faithful and rented some bikes. We took this trail (about 2 miles) down to the main road and decided to do some hiking. We were told there was this awesome waterfall down this trail so we tried to find it. However, after 40 minutes of walking and 100 bug bites later we didn’t see a waterfall anywhere and decided to turn back. On our way back we passed by this HUGE Bison about 10 feet off of the bike trail. I didn’t even stop to take a photo because we just wanted to get past it as fast as possible. The Bison look harmless but they can go from 1-30 mph in the blink of an eye (or so we were told). About a half mile before we got back to Old Faithful the gear box on my bike broke and I had to walk the bike back to the station. It sorta sucked! It just seemed like everything was going half right all day long with the broken gear box and the rain storm on the lake.
After Ryan and I returned the bikes we were famished and went to the General store again for dinner. We had the same waitress Robyn (who was really nice and friendly) from the day before. We told her all about our crazy day, but said things could have been worse. She was telling us how she and her husband travel around in an RV all year and how she has worked at Yellowstone the past 3 summers and has yet to see a bear. I was very surprised by this, and told her that maybe her luck would change. After dinner, around 6pm, we headed back to our Cabin in Mammoth. On our way home we saw a serious motorcycle accident. This woman had apparently lost control of her bike and skidded off the road. There was blood all over the road and people trying to help her. Ryan and I tried to find a park ranger just down the road, but the station had already closed. The accident looked really bad and I’m not sure if the women made it. Ryan and I both agreed that if you get hurt out in Yellowstone your pretty much screwed. The closes hospital isn’t for hundreds of miles!!! After we saw the accident we came across some Bison in the road. One came right up to our car and we could have touched it!! Check out the pictures, it was WAY close!
Ryan and I finally got back to our cabin. I decided to take my first shower in 2 days in the communal shower. It honestly wasn’t too bad. Ryan just didn’t want to have any part of the shared showers and he definitely smells like Buffalo doo right now. After my shower Ryan and I sat out on our porch and watched the full moon rise. We could see so many stars in Yellowstone with very little light pollution around. I could even see the big dipper clear as day. Soon our cabin neighbors came back from their Harley ride and we chatted with them. We told them about our day and they told us how they had seen lots of Buffalo, 2 black bears and a Moose. I told them how lucky they were to see a Moose because apparently it’s pretty rare in Yellowstone. I also found out that the two brothers were Mets fans and I rubbed it in that the Phillies swept the Mets this weekend. Then the brothers from Illinois told us how they have relatives in Ocean City, NJ and how they visit them all the time. I told them how much I loved Mac and Manko and Knor Brothers. They started to rave about Mac and Mankos Pizza. I thought it was so cool that I could be chillin outside of a cabin in Yellowstone Wyoming having a conversation about pizza at the Jersey shore with complete strangers. How crazy!!! Well, off to bed, Ryan and I have a long ride to Seattle tomorrow. Goodnight everyone!
Day 14 - Yellowstone NP (Day 1)
Greetings everyone!! Today Ryan and I did a whirlwind ten hour Ranger tour that encompassed all of Yellowstone National Park. We woke up at 7:00am, had some breakfast sandwiches at the local Mammoth Springs eatery and boarded our tour bus. Several of the passengers on the bus were from Pennsylvania. They were mainly Pittsburg Steelers fans and gave me a hard time about the Eagles. However, I did remind them that the Phillies were the 2008 World Champions of baseball (Thanks HK). So, we got our tour started and one of the things that Ryan and I noticed right off the bat was that we could not tell if our Park Ranger was male or female (nor could any of the other passengers). Our Park Ranger had a very deep voice and short hair, but had a bust like a women. We did not figure this mystery out till our first bathroom stop where the verdict was in fact a female (I really thought it was a male at first). I had a similar issue one time on a train in Sydney Australia (remember Pheebs?)
Anyhow, let’s get back to the Yellowstone. In the morning we traveled to many of the hot springs, geysers, steam vents, painters pit and bacteria pits in the western side of the park. I had never seen anything like this, and learning all about the eco-system and volcanic activity of the park was very interesting. I can’t even describe in words how beautiful everything looked so you are just going to have to look at all of the photos. At around eleven we made our way to the Old Faithful Lodge. There we had lunch including hamburgers and milkshakes at the General store. Everyone there was very friendly and it has such a cozy type atmosphere. If we were not frugal with our money, this is definitely the place to stay in Yellowstone. They even had some cell phone reception here….WOW!
After lunch we made sure to get a prime time seat to see Old Faithful erupt. Old Faithful gets its name because it is a cone geyser that erupts roughly every 92 minutes. It was a really cool sight to see water shoot up in the air about 200 feet. A must see if you visit Yellowstone NP. Check out the pictures and video of the eruption. After seeing old Faithful we boarded the bus and headed down the road that crosses the continental divide. I had no idea what this was so I asked the park ranger and this point is where the water either flows west to the Pacific Ocean or east to the Atlantic Ocean. I wanted to get out and pour some water on both sides of the divide but we didn’t stop. Once we were past the divide we saw something that hopefully we never see again. A black bear got hit by a pickup truck!!! We were traveling down the road and all of a sudden a black bear jumped into the road and this truck hit him. The bear flew across the road and then quickly sprang up. Then the bear slowly limped into the woods and up the mountain with a definite injury. The park ranger said that most likely the bear will die in the woods and that the person who hit the bear will have to pay a $1000 fine if the bear dies. Everyone on the bus was shocked to hear this because anybody could have hit the bear.
For the rest of the day we made several more stops. Check out the beautiful pictures of Yellowstone Lake and the mountains in the background. Ryan and I loved this area so much that we are going to try and rent a boat on the lake tomorrow to enjoy the scenery even more. Plus, Ryan just wants to drive a boat. After the passing by the lake we came to an area called “The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone”. This was by far the most beautiful part of the Park and the waterfalls really reminded me of Niagra Falls. This is also a must see for those traveling to Yellowstone. While on the tour today we saw many animals including Bison (which is the same as a Buffalo), female elk, male elk, pelicans, cut-throat trout, another non-hurt black bear, lots of birds, and some deer. It was really quite novel to see some of these animals in their natural habitat and not being shot with a tranquilizer gun on the 6pm news. Seeing the black bear running through the fields was a really cool experience.
Finally, Ryan and I got back from our 10 hour tour and headed into town (Gradiner, MT) to grab some dinner. We also wanted to get some cell phone service and feel somewhat connected to the outside world. We ate dinner at a local saloon and the food was pretty good. We also went and had ice cream at the same place (Helens) as the night before. Wow, what a day!!! Tomorrow Ryan and I are headed to Yellowstone lake to do some boating and then renting some bikes and riding on some trails. Hope everyone had a great 4th of July and that everyone is doing well!! Byebye!
Anyhow, let’s get back to the Yellowstone. In the morning we traveled to many of the hot springs, geysers, steam vents, painters pit and bacteria pits in the western side of the park. I had never seen anything like this, and learning all about the eco-system and volcanic activity of the park was very interesting. I can’t even describe in words how beautiful everything looked so you are just going to have to look at all of the photos. At around eleven we made our way to the Old Faithful Lodge. There we had lunch including hamburgers and milkshakes at the General store. Everyone there was very friendly and it has such a cozy type atmosphere. If we were not frugal with our money, this is definitely the place to stay in Yellowstone. They even had some cell phone reception here….WOW!
After lunch we made sure to get a prime time seat to see Old Faithful erupt. Old Faithful gets its name because it is a cone geyser that erupts roughly every 92 minutes. It was a really cool sight to see water shoot up in the air about 200 feet. A must see if you visit Yellowstone NP. Check out the pictures and video of the eruption. After seeing old Faithful we boarded the bus and headed down the road that crosses the continental divide. I had no idea what this was so I asked the park ranger and this point is where the water either flows west to the Pacific Ocean or east to the Atlantic Ocean. I wanted to get out and pour some water on both sides of the divide but we didn’t stop. Once we were past the divide we saw something that hopefully we never see again. A black bear got hit by a pickup truck!!! We were traveling down the road and all of a sudden a black bear jumped into the road and this truck hit him. The bear flew across the road and then quickly sprang up. Then the bear slowly limped into the woods and up the mountain with a definite injury. The park ranger said that most likely the bear will die in the woods and that the person who hit the bear will have to pay a $1000 fine if the bear dies. Everyone on the bus was shocked to hear this because anybody could have hit the bear.
For the rest of the day we made several more stops. Check out the beautiful pictures of Yellowstone Lake and the mountains in the background. Ryan and I loved this area so much that we are going to try and rent a boat on the lake tomorrow to enjoy the scenery even more. Plus, Ryan just wants to drive a boat. After the passing by the lake we came to an area called “The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone”. This was by far the most beautiful part of the Park and the waterfalls really reminded me of Niagra Falls. This is also a must see for those traveling to Yellowstone. While on the tour today we saw many animals including Bison (which is the same as a Buffalo), female elk, male elk, pelicans, cut-throat trout, another non-hurt black bear, lots of birds, and some deer. It was really quite novel to see some of these animals in their natural habitat and not being shot with a tranquilizer gun on the 6pm news. Seeing the black bear running through the fields was a really cool experience.
Finally, Ryan and I got back from our 10 hour tour and headed into town (Gradiner, MT) to grab some dinner. We also wanted to get some cell phone service and feel somewhat connected to the outside world. We ate dinner at a local saloon and the food was pretty good. We also went and had ice cream at the same place (Helens) as the night before. Wow, what a day!!! Tomorrow Ryan and I are headed to Yellowstone lake to do some boating and then renting some bikes and riding on some trails. Hope everyone had a great 4th of July and that everyone is doing well!! Byebye!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)