Purple Mountain Majesties: Weeks 40 and 41
Greetings to our loyal readers who’ve followed us more than 15,000 miles across this great country and now, most of the way back. We’ve arrived at our new digs in Oklahoma City, in a state that no one can quite agree if it’s part of the south, the midwest, or the plains states. But we’ll leave that for a future blog. This one is firmly set in the mountains – or rather, along the edge of them.
The Best and Worst Place in the World: Weeks 35 and 36
Hello to all our loyal readers – here is proof of life that we have survived our two weeks in Las Vegas, and at least haven’t lost so much money that I’ve needed to pawn my computer.
The title of this post comes succinct piece of wisdom delivered by a slightly buzzed Morgan on our first night here, marveling at the chaos of the Strip. After all, we’d just spent a week in a town where the excitement was limited to minor league baseball and watching a semi-regular flow of people hotboxing cars down the street from our Airbnb.
Continue reading “The Best and Worst Place in the World: Weeks 35 and 36”Fres-slow: Weeks 33 & 34
Hello from the recently reunited Nick and Morgan, as we undertake yet another New Development. That’s right, the Great Swing Back East has begun, as I write to you from Sin City itself, Las Vegas, Nevada.
It’s a fairly absurd Vibe Shift™ from our most recent stop, Fresno, California.
Continue reading “Fres-slow: Weeks 33 & 34”From Sea to Shining Sea: Week 30
“San Diego has always been where Americans go to escape America and find they have run out of country.”
Charles Bowden, Red Line
Greetings from San Diego where, it’s true – I’ve run out of country on our journey west, even though escaping has never been our goal. It’s taken a little mental adjustment not just leaving the desert, but coming to California, with everything that means. Morgan is firmly settled on a different coast, enjoying a quiet few weeks in one of the quieter corners of Florida.
Continue reading “From Sea to Shining Sea: Week 30”Life in Florida, and the Florida of the West: Weeks 28 & 29
Greetings to all our readers, and welcome to our latest and greatest destination: San Diego, California. I will do my damnedest to avoid too many Anchorman references, but no promises.
I arrived here on Sunday after departing from the criminally underrated city of Tucson. I’ve jokingly referred to Arizona as the Florida of the West early on in our visit here. But the longer I’ve thought about the concept, the more appropriate it seems. Consider the following:
Continue reading “Life in Florida, and the Florida of the West: Weeks 28 & 29”Torrid Temps in Tucson: Weeks 26 & 27
Hello again from the Sonoran desert, where we’ve gotten used to daily 90 degree temperatures much faster than I’d have expected, considering we were snowbound in Santa Fe just a few weeks ago. Life is different in a real city after a month in Adobe Disneyland, and we’re making the most of it.
Meth and PBR in ABQ: Week 25
Hola and buenos noches from our new home for the next month, Tucson, Arizona – set in the Sonoran Desert less than an hour from the Mexican border, and home of Saguaro National Park. I’ve always had a fondness for cactuses – probably because I’m not nearly as good at keeping plants alive as Morgan thinks I am. In any case, we’re sure to make plenty of spiny friends over the coming weeks.
It Grows As It Goes: Weeks 22 & 23
Hello again from Santa Fe, America’s oldest capital city and a significantly nicer capital city than the one we previously lived in. We’re just over halfway through our month here, which has flown by in a way that makes me wonder how I ever did trips shorter than this. This place is different than anywhere I’ve ever experienced in so many ways – including one of the cooler and weirder state mottos. But we’ll get to all that in a second.
This one’s another long one, so get comfortable. I promise to try to get back to shorter, weekly posts now that I’ve mostly caught up.
Continue reading “It Grows As It Goes: Weeks 22 & 23”Holy City, What A Town: Week 2
Hello from the start of Week 3, where it’s finally starting to sink in that we’re not going “home” – whatever that means these days. I’m writing from North Charleston, South Carolina, where we arrived on Thursday for the second stop of our trip. To say it feels like a different planet from Helen would be an understatement.
Park Views: Theodore Roosevelt Side Trail and Pulpit Rock
Teddy Roosevelt loved to hike, and Rock Creek Park was his favorite place to do it while president. We’re taking a look at one of his favorite spots and the trail that leads there and bears his name in another installment of Park Views. Let’s head on down the Theodore Roosevelt Side Trail and see what we find.
Continue reading “Park Views: Theodore Roosevelt Side Trail and Pulpit Rock”