Minneapolis to the District

The trip thus far has spanned 11 days and 13 states with one district thrown in for good measure.  At last update we had just arrived in Minneapolis at Toms house.  The day after arriving we got to go to a twins game at the beautiful new target field.  We had great seats thanks to Toms mom and we made sure to get there early enough to get a tour of this new facility.  Peter and I kept a score card but the twins got their butts kicked.  We followed that up with some beers in downtown before heading to an Irish pub to meet one of toms friend and play some trivia.  Emma was very excited to have Tom back in town.  Trivia was really difficult.  The next morning we took our journey via light rail to the "MALL OF AMERICA".  We went begrudgingly because I still did not have glasses.  I got some new ones aLand we made sure to get out of there quick.  It was surprisingly packed for a monday morning and it seemed like there were atleast 2 of every store.  Later we meet up with toms friend and biked to uptown to get some dinner.  My buddy Mike who I havent seen in 5 years stopped by and it was good to reconnect.  We biked home but Tom got a flat so Lauren waited and rode the bus with him.  The big development was that Tom decided he would join us on the next section of the trip and then fly back to Minneapolis on the 16th so Lauren had someone to drive with. Tuesday morning we headed off bright and early to Chicago.  We made our way through Wisconsin making a quick lunch stop in Madison and then dealing with our first toll roads which would end up eating a lot of money on this trip.  Getting close to chicago was crazy.  The amount of people on the Miracle Mile where we stayed seemed to equal that of everywhere else we had been combined.  I was very happy I didnt drive that section.  Tom met up with an old friend while Peter Lauren and I walked around before taking a cab to the MapRoom which is a really cool little beer bar.  Tom and his friend eventually met up with us and then we headed off for some sushi.  After sushi we jumped in a cab and headed back downtown to the Hancock tower which is one of the tallest in the US.  On the ride I got to talking with the cabbie.  Abdi was a nice guy whose family lives in Nairobi but he is from Somalia and his dream is to Motorbike from Cape town to Cairo.  Pretty cool idea.  We took the elevator up to the bar and the view was amazing.  After the bar shut down Peter decided to plank a series of different structures on the way back to the hotel.  The next morning we got up and headed out for Youngstown Ohio.  We collected our beers in different states then drove through all of Indiana and Ohio.  Midway I though that I had lost my wallet and freaked out...not my best moment. Lauren saved the day and the trip and my sanity by finding it crammed between some seats.  We arrived in Youngstown after almost everything was closed so got our Ohio beer at Chili's.  All of our eyes were bigger than our stomachs but around 10:30 pm that can happen.  The next morning we woke up and said our goodbyes.  Tom and Lauren were off on their 9:30 hour journey to Stores Connecticut and Peter and I were headed to Washington DC.  Friday we will all meet again for our weekend in the Big Apple.  We made our first stop for lunch in Pittsburgh were I got to meet up with another friend I hadnt seen in 5 years.  Again it was great to catch up after such a long time.  Peter and I actually got our beers comped at the lunch spot because the manager liked his car and the story of our road trip.  We found our tattoos then headed to Maryland where we got an early dinner and were stuck in the worst traffic of the trip.  Who would have thought that Fredrick Maryland would be a stand still on a Thursday at 4:30. We stopped for our Maryland beer and an early bite to eat before our last little stretch to Peters new life.  We made our way around the belt way and finally pulled up to his house in the District.  His house is situated about a mile from the football stadium, down the street from a high school and right next to a homeless shelter.  The house is pretty nice but his room is miniscule.  Basically it is less wide than the MJ wingspan poster by a few feet.  We unpacked the car and started to get settled before buying our bus tickets for tomorrows trip to NYC for the weekend. And now for the part you only look at anyways.

 Our seats at target field.

 Sitting on the dugout at target field...before we got sent back to our section.

 Drinking after the baseball game at a rooftop bar in downtown Minneapolis.

 Tom and his mom.

 Outside Toms house leaving Minneapolis.

 Chicago along the water front.

 At the MapRoom with our Illinois beers.

 Cheersing in Munster Indiana at 3 Floyds.

 Our first goodbye the real one comes later.

Our Maryland beer and as you will notice in most of the cheers photos on my hand ever appears.

Peters house, much nice than the photo would lead you to believe.

Tomorrow NYC for the weekend then back to DC then home!

Montana to Minneapolis

The last few days have been a whirlwind tour of the US. We left Missoula and drove through Butte (a former mining town) and headed to Bozeman where we met up with Tamma and Austin.  Tamma ran with Tom, Peter and I in college and I don't think any of us had seen her in over 8 months.  We had some lunch and then were on our way to Yellowstone National Park.  This is when the first big failure on my part happened on the trip.  In all of the changing of cars I had left my sunglasses case on the roof.  Little did I know this when we tried to get onto the freeway and they fell off breaking the case and my regular glasses getting run over by a car behind us.  I still am without the ability to see as soon as it gets dark but hopefully this will be remedied here in Minneapolis.  We arrived in Yellowstone hoping to find a camp ground in the park with some space.....sadly all the spaces were taken.  We drove through the park missing Old Faithful but we did see some Bison about 3 feet from the car.  I was shocked at how huge and yet developed the park was.  I had no idea people lived in the park year round or that you could rent hotel rooms and even get gas inside the park.  The thing that stands out about this trip other than the constant danger of the car dying is that the west is so beautiful.  We drove through the park stopping for photos and exited out the eastern side in the dark in search of a camp ground that wasnt full.  Around 20 miles later we found one and set up camp.  For our first attempt as a group things well very well even with me being no help due to my night blindness(blindness is a little strong but it still really makes it tough when the only glasses you have are sunglasses).  Our dinner was cans of soup cooked over a campfire and some Wyoming beer.  The four of us shared our tent and in the morning peter made some coffee which I hear was really good.  We packed up and headed off for Devils tower.  We arrived again after dusk and set up the camp after driving around in circles for the best spot.  This time camp set up was much faster and dinner was hot dogs, s'mores and wine.  The camp ground was situated about 2 miles from the base of Devils tower with a great view.  The next morning we got up and prepared to hike around Devils Tower which was very touristy but really spectacular.  Also the area around devils tower is known for its prairie dogs.  This days drive was the shortest as we were just hopping the border to South Dakota and the town of Deadwood.  Next week is Sturgis and the bikers were already out in full force.  Last year Sturgis got 850,000 bikers.  We did a quick tour of Deadwood and the town of Lead where Lauren's family friend has a cabin in which we stayed.  It was a very nice little 3 story cottage right next to a ski mountain which would be a lot of fun in the winter.  We dropped off our stuff and consolidated to a single car and headed off to Mount Rushmore.  Everyone told me to temper my expectations so I was skeptical at first.  When we got there I thought it was spectacular.  We did our on version of the photo then headed off to the Crazy Horse monument which is unfinshed as we pulled up it was about 3 times the price of Rushmore so we decided to take a pass and head back up for some dinner and gambling.  Deadwood has been known for its gambling for around a 100 yrs.  We walked into a bar looking completely out of place with our fake tattoos and not wearing leather anything.  The bikers stared but eventually went on not caring about us except thinking we were out of place.  After losing some money we moved onto another bar where Bill Hickok got shot and then back to the cabin.  We got about 6 hours of sleep before we decided to head off to Minneapolis.  Our first stop was Wall Drug supposedly the worlds biggest drugstore.....letdown.  It was not that interesting. I would skip it.  Next we headed to the worlds only Corn Palace.  Its not really all made of corn so it was too a let down.  Its actually a stadium which the local college uses for basketball games and plays.  Interesting but super corny....my one pun for the day.  From there it was a straight shot to Toms house in Minneapolis.  After arriving around 9 Tom's mom greeted us and we had our first Minnesota beer and then passed out from the 10 hour driving day.

 The crew with Tamma in Bozeman.

 Entering Yellowstone!

 A view from the car of Yellowstone.

 Bison right out my window.

 Peter tried to hit a bison.

 Another photo of Yellowstone.

 We are standing out of a sulfur vent.

 Our photo with the sunset leaving Yellowstone.

 We are a creative bunch.

 Devils tower formally known as Bear Tipi by certain tribes.

 Our Christian rockband album coverart.

 A prariedog.

 The Cabin in Lead.

 A creative book sold in a few stores.

 Lunch in Deadwood in a bar owned by Kevin Costner and filled with his memorabilia and menu items such as the Elliot Ness Burger.

 Crazy Horse obviously unfinished.

 Wall Drug.

 The Mitchell Corn Palace this is the only group photo I didnt take with the timed photo.

Drinking our Minnesota Beers at Toms house.

Today we are going to a Twins game and hopefully I will get regular glasses tomorrow.

Kennewick to Missoula

Today was an early start ...8am.  We had some repacking of the car to do because Peters was overloaded.  Peters parents were great to stay with and very nice taking care of us.  After getting that situation covered we packed up and jumped in the car headed east for Spokane and Coeur d'Alene.  For the first section I was still riding with Lauren through beautiful farm filled eastern washington.  We arrived 3 hours and 2 stops later in Coeur D'Alene Idaho and entering our third state on the trip.  We stopped for lunch and sadly I missed getting a photo of the enter Idaho sign.  Lunch and the Idaho beer "Laughing Dog Pale Ale" was very good.  Tom was being sick of being a passenger so we traded and he drove Laurens car while I rode with Peter.  I had no idea how much I appreciated a car with 4 speakers and Air Conditioning.  Peters car as you could guess has neither so our first stop out of town was to wallmart to find a hook on fan and something that mists.   Luckily we found both which made the next 5 hours much more tolerable with the high 80's day.  Tom and Lauren left slightly before us so getting to Saint Regis we had almost no use of our walkie talkies(they were way more than 2 miles ahead of us).  As we hit our first large hill on the eastern side of the Idaho panhandle Peters car overheated and we had to pull over.  This was our second big question mark with his car but we survived and didnt have any more problems the rest of the way but the mountains will be more of a problem along the way.  We made it St Regis put on our new fake tattoos (along with the beers something we are collecting in each state) and got a moment to recharge from the boiling car.  We were only 70 miles from Missoula and a friendly haven with people from college.  We reloaded the mister and headed off again.  This section was much smoother but again the BMW trailed far behind the hyundai.  Missoula is an interesting city which we met up with some friends Amelia and Max and stayed in their apartments.  Tomorrow we are off to Yellowstone and then to the badlands not sure when I will get to update next.

 Lauren at the gas station in Ritzville Washington.  Soon enough she would get sick of me and replace me with tom.

 Having our Idaho beers in Coeur D'Alene.

 Showing off the tattoos in front of the bar.

 A close up of the fake tattoos.

 Peter and I struggling to survive the heat with our hooked on fan and our sugar loaded Warhead drinks.

 Entering Montana sign the first one I got a photo of.(Must have been the slower car)

 Beautiful St Regis Montana. They had a trout aquarium.

 Drinking beers with Max and Amelia in Missoula.

The group in Max and Amelia's Apartment.

More updates when I can.  I hope you all enjoy.

The Road Trip Begineth!

After spending a few days renewing my love for the people I know in Portland the journey across America started.  The weather in Portland during my stay couldn't have been better but sadly as always there were people I missed.  The road trip will consist of 4 main characters.  First off we have Tom who all of you who read the blog know a Lao regular with myself.  He is only going so far as Minneapolis which is home.  Peter is going to Georgetown Law and is the proud owner of the white '76 BMW 2002 which is packed to the hilt. He is also our resident mechanic who should keep this trip going smoothly.  Lauren the only female will be going to UConn for psychology graduate school and owner of the blue Hyundai also very well packed.  I round out the crew.  We started our day off by eating lunch with a group of friends and making sure we drank a beer brewed in Oregon.  We decided that at least one thing we did on this trip was to drink a beer brewed in each state in that state.  Off we went after lunch, saying our goodbyes we almost made it all the way out of Portland before our first problem.  Tom and Peter rode in his car had a hiccup where they could hear the fan belt clicking.  Lauren and I headed on our way to Multinomah Falls.  We wasted some time climbing the falls while the guys got the car fixed and met up with us.  Three hours and 2 stops later we arrived in Kennewick Washington at Peters House.  His parents met us with a cooked meal and some Washington beer so we could check that off the list.  We will spend one night here before heading off to Missoula Montana and hopefully have a beer when we hit the 70 miles of the Idaho panhandle.  More updates to come.

 The Crew Peter, Myself, Lauren and Tom in front of a packed car.

 Lauren still happy even though she was stuck riding with me.

 Multinomah Falls if you zoom in you can see the sign which tells the size of the waterfalls.

 Passing Peter and Tom on the highway.

 Peter happy about his Washington beer.

 Lauren and Tom enjoying our home cooked meal.

 We pulled up to Peters house.

Driving in Eastern Washington admiring the farms.