Home. Oakland, California

I finally made it to Oakland, California! My final destination… For now J

Home

After actually making it out of Death Valley alive, I set up camp by myself for the very first time at Diaz Lake Campgrounds in Lone Pines. There were two very nice couples camping near by and invited me over for s’more and I told them that I was planning to drive up to Yosemite the next day.

Although they totally scared the begeezes out of me with their bear stories (probably why I didn’t end up camping there) they did recommend a very nommy place to eat right at the junction of 395 and Tioga Pass near Mono Lake.

The next day I drove the quick 2 hours up to Tioga Pass and after eating a delicious breakfast burrito, I went through Tioga Pass, which is right in Yosemite.  It was just the most incredible scenic drive! There were snow-capped mountains, rocks smoothed by glaciers, little creeks rushing with water, lakes that looked like they were filled it glitter. I mean, it was just drop dead beautiful. In fact, I spent so much time just drooling over the views I totally zoned out while I was driving and missed the turn to Olmsted Point, which is where you can get a great view of Half Dome. I realized too late and vowed I would be going back to Yosemite for at least a long weekend.

Tioga Pass, Yosemite National Park

It then took me forever to finally get to the Bay Area because of all the Memorial Day traffic, but I made it! Cindy, Matthew and Gemma were all there to greet me and after unloading my car, I just face planted into my bed.

Most amazing Yoventure ever… But I know, it’s not over yet. This was only the beginning!

Land of Great Extremes. Death Valley, California

Death Valley is the hottest and driest place in the United States and after my Las Vegas visit, it was only appropriate for me to expose myself to this cruel climate. Maybe not the best part of the trip to do totally alone... But I made a campsite reservation at Lone Pine, just west of Death Valley so I was on my way.

I entered Death Valley on the east entrance and immediately saw how the entire valley, just flat, was surrounded by these glorious mountain ranges. Apparently they had this crazy storm pass through the day before and the mountains has been capped with snow. But that didn't seem for real since it was HOT. Like so hot you could see the sizzling air just hovering above the ground.

I continued driving toward Furnace Creek and took a left to drive down to Badwater. Now, side note, I had about 1/2 a tank of gas and its about 85 miles to get to Lone Pine, so I figured the extra 34 miles round-trip to Badwater would be fine.

Badwater basin is 282 feet below sea level and is the lowest point in North America! Two to four thousand years go the basin was the site of a 30 foot deep lake that has now evaporated and left a 1 to 5 foot layer of salt in its wake, which is 4 times saltier than the ocean. You can walk out onto the salt and see how the layers contract and crest interesting patterns. If you god like 5-6 inches you can even see the water sitting below the salt layers.

Badwater Basin, Death Valley

Then, when I got back onto 190 west I passed more sand dunes! I'm pretty sure I've seen all the sand dunes North America has to offer... These ones were called Mesquite Sand Dunes and had a real desert feel. The sand was hot, the air was hot, it was just really hot. I can't even imagine how it would be in the later summer months... I learned later that in 1913 the 2nd highest temperature in the world was recorded at 134 F. As I continued driving, I went past the Race Track where you can see some of the mysterious "moving rocks". Check out all my pictures here!

Mesquite Sand Dunes, Death Valley

Even though I wanted to stay and explore some of the old mining ghost towns, it was getting late and I wanted to get to Lone Pine before dark. As I kept diving I passed Stovepipe Wells Village and saw that there was a gas station for $5.28 a gallon!! I was like yeah right... I was definitely getting low but I figured I'd make it. Of course, I didn't consider the 5,000 foot climb and as I was creeping up the mountain, the gas meter just kept creeping down. And man, I'm telling you, I was in the middle of no where! Nooo where. I got so nervous the whole drive that I couldn't even enjoy the view, I was just staring at that gas meter being like pleaseee make it! I did! FEWF! When I got to Lone Pine, gas was $4.57 uhg!!! Welcome to California I guess...

California!

6,013 miles later, I am crossing the boarder in Death Valley to the destination state: California! Wow.

Welcome to California!

Crazy. Las Vegas, Nevada

Sketchy hotel on the strip… Check

Roller coaster ride… Check

Mango jalapeño drink… Check

Monte Carlo, Bellagio, The Mirage, Harrads, Flamingos, etc… Check

Penny Slots… Check

Black Jack… Check

$5 Slots… Check

Loosing more money than was won… Check

More drinks… Check

Happiness… Check

Conclusion: I don’t ever need to go back to Las Vegas again. At least we got a peak at Hoover Dam on the way. I miss Ale now, but WOW, what an incredible trip!

Las Vegas Strip

Disco Duck!

Making Money

The Grand Finale. The Grand Canyon, Arizona

The Grand Canyon is by far my favorite National Park that I have ever been to. Every time I see the view, it takes my breath away.  It’s almost not even real. The vast space and just the whole concept that this had been created by nature over millions of years. Ale and I were just awe-struck the entire time we were there.  For those of you who watch Parks and Recreation, we only felt that Ron Swanson’s quote was appropriate here: “Crying, acceptable at funerals and the Grand Canyon.”

We entered the park from the east entrance and drove along Desert View Drive. We stopped the first chance we got and I captured Ale’s Kodak moment on video from when she first saw the Grand Canyon. Money shot!

Now, since I knew it was Memorial Day weekend, I went ahead and made reservations a few days earlier. When I made the reservations online, everything was already booked except for 2 equestrian campsites. I figured… Eh, I’m sure we can camp there, even if we don’t have horses. Apparently not! When we showed up, the NPS Ranger asked us where our horses were… And then he showed me the blatant disclosure on the reservation written in bold red font that said they could refuse the reservation if we showed up without horses. I seriously thought he was kidding… Well, as luck has it, they had only 8 campsites left and we got one. FEWF!

After setting up our tent for the LAST time together (I had to practice how to do it alone so I could manage after Ale left), we went on the free shuttle tour and took a number of memorable candid shots. Check them out here!

The Grand Canyon

That night, we had another repeat of hot dogs and s’mores, which shockingly, I am not sick of yet. Who get sick of hot dogs?! In the morning we got some breakfast to  go and ate at the Watch Tower which was created by Mary Colter, who also designed the buildings at Hermit’s Rest and Phantom Ranch, which is at the bottom of the canyon. On our drive out of the Grand Canyon, we spotted a herd of Elk! A wonderful grand finale to an incredible trip with Ale!!! And then off we were to spend our last night in Las Vegas baby!

\ˈan-təl-ˌō-pee\ Canyon. Page, Arizona

When Ale asked if we could go see the “smooth caverns” I knew she was talking about Antelope Canyon. I was so excited to go back to Page after Yosef and I went there last summer. Last year, we camped on the beach at Lake Powell and went jet skiing, and it was just the most incredible experience.  Although Ale and I weren’t about to drop big money on some silly water toys (especially considering our past experiences with jet skis in the Bahamas), we were definitely going to do some beach camping and visit Antelope Canyon.

We stocked up on beers and more hot dogs and set up camp right on the beach at Lone Rock. The weather was beautiful and the water was warm enough for us to wade up to our knees. We stayed up late huddled around our mini bon fire which was by far one of our best nights camping… But then the blustery winds came that started late that evening and carried on through the next day.

Lone Rock, Lake Powell

The next morning we got up early for our 9:30 Antelope Canyon tour and hurried over to the meeting point just in time to learn that we were an hour early… We had officially made it to PST time, but not our cell phones. They were totally confused. So we had brunch at Ranch House Grill to kill the time and had the most bomb green chili Huevos Rancheros. NOM!

Later, we boarded these funky open air trucks to drive to the canyon since it’s on an Indian reservation. I had done the same tour last year, so I was ready and prepared with the right camera settings to get some awesome shots. The canyon is basically created by flash floods and the cool formations were made by swirling water. It was super narrow inside and really tall, and surprisingly dark considering all the photos come out really bright. It was fun listening to the tour guide point out all these bizarre shapes in the rock formations, like the Liberty Bell, an eagle, a heart, etc. among other imaginative forms. But of course our favorite part was when all the red sand started pouring down the slots due to the high winds that just caked our head in dust. That sand will stay with us forever…

At the end of the tour, the guide offered to take a picture of us. He had us stand in a specific spot and hold his flashlight (not on) upwards. We were both totally confused until we saw the picture and you could see how he made it look like we were holding a torch. Amazing! That one is getting framed.  Check out more pictures here!

Holding the Torch in Antelope Canyon

On our way to the Grand Canyon, we also stopped at Horse Shoe Bend. This is a really unique part of the Colorado River just a few miles from Glen Dam, and the perspective makes it look like the river does a 360 around a little island, but it's really just a horse shoe bend... Hence the name. Beautiful!

Horse Shoe Bend

Four Corners

It has always been my childhood dream to go to the Four Corners and put one foot in Colorado, one in Utah, one hand in Arizona and one in New Mexico.

Dream come true! Enough said.

Ale touching all 4 states!

Me touching all 4 states!

Arches National Park. Moab, Utah

So apparently, the Arches National Park is the top destination for Memorial Day weekend and the Devil's Garden campsite was completely booked. No worries, there were plenty of other campsites outside of the park. We scouted out about 5 different sites along the Colorado River and everything was reserved! I guess, now it was time to stop going down the "oh, I'll just wing it" route and start making reservations... Even for camp grounds! Who would have thought?

We did however find a quite luxurious campsite with electrical outlets, water and free Wi-Fi right at our site. We were ballin'! We had another gourmet meal of hot dogs, with some chili to spice things up, and of course, more s'mores. Ale of course had been keeping a hot dog log. We were both up to 8 each... Nom nom.

The next morning we dragged ourselves out of our sleeping bags and went to the Arches National Park at 6:30 in the morning, which is probably the best time to go. Not only was the lighting stunning, but it was completely empty. This is the best way to explore the park. Since we only had the morning there, we took a couple short hikes to see Delicate Arch, Landscape Arch and Double Arches. Fun fact: there are over 2,500 arches in the entire park! See more of our awesome pictures here!

I also was given my first tribal name... Girl Who Walked Off Path. You can ask me more details about the initiation if you want.

Landscape Arch

Double Arches

Elephant Rock

Glenwood Springs, Colorado

Initially, I was going to include our visit to Glenwood Springs in my previous blog post, but I decided that the events which occurred in Glenwood Springs deserve their own post.

First, I have to say that I-70 west from Denver is probably the most beautiful drive I've even done. The Blue Ridge Parkway was gorgeous, but there is nothing that can compare to driving through the Rocky Mountains. We passed through all these cute mountain towns, including Vail and Aspen. It only took us about 3 hours to get to Glenwood Springs where we set up camp at this primitive campsite called Ami's Acres overlooking the Rockies.

Glenwood Springs is known for it's hot springs, and it has the largest natural pool in America. There was a lot to do, including our hike up to Hanging Lake, so we had already stratagized our itinerary and we were planning to spend an hour that evening at these Vapor Caves. THANK goodness they let us look at the caves first. We basically walked into this dungeon that spelled like poo. The combination of the sulphur smell and the heat causing my glasses to fog up caused this overwhelming feeling or claustrophobia and I bolted out of there. Ale went in all the way and said the placed was packed with naked people. So... We went to the hot springs natural pool instead. It was amazing!!! Like, imagine swimming in a giant bathtub that makes you skin baby soft. Heaven. And for those of you who ever visit the pool, don't forget to take 25 cents so you can turn the individual chair bubbles on! We unfortunately missed out on that...

So after a lovely soak, we headed back to camp to make s'mores and drink some Colorado brewed beer. As we were driving along the (dead end) road to our campsite we came upon a GIANT 18-wheeler truck that, while trying to turn around on this tiny street, had managed to get the whole front of the truck stuck in the ditch between the road and the highway. The entire body of the truck was blocking the road. And of course, he pulled this fancy move RIGHT in front of the entrance to our campsite. This would happen to us... But we were smart. We perched ourselves a few blocks down the road in a deserted and totally sketchy parking lot to wait and see when the truck would drive by so we knew he had left. Only 3 hours later, around 12:00, they must have somehow magically lifted this truck out of the ditch, and he was gone. Like no one's night was ruined or anything. Nuts!!

The next morning, we started the 3 mile round trip hike up to Hanging Lake. The lake is nestled up in the mountains and the water is full of minerals that give it a turquoise like color. This was an incredible and very rewarding hike, I totally recommend it. And if you go, make sure you hike the extra 5 minutes up to Spouting Rock.

I am definitely going back to Glenwood Springs. Check out more of the pictures here!

Camping in Glenwood Springs, Colorado

Hike to Hanging Lake in Glenwood Springs

Colorado Springs and Boulder

After our visit to the Great Sand Dunes, we continued heading north on I-25 to Boulder and decided to stop for the night in Colorado Springs and stayed at a campground called LoneDuck. You can imagine how excited I was! We also chose to go to Colorado Springs because we wanted to watch the solar eclipse from Pikes Peak. Our plan didn't exactly go as intended and we ended up having to book it up the mountain before it close at 4:00. Now, rushing up 14,115 feet isn't exactly an easy task. About 1/2 way up it started to blizzard and there were moments when you thought you were driving right into the heaves / off a cliff. There is a permanent grip mark on my steering wheel now. We weren't exactly prepared for the sub-zero temperatures, so when we got to the summit, we took a couple pictures and headed back down. So, in a nutshell, we didn't see the solar eclipse up there.

But we DID see it at the bottom of the mountain. After waiting about 2 hours and nearly blinding ourselves, there it was, the partial solar eclipse. Not something I'd write home about...

The next day we headed up through the Garden Of The Gods to Boulder and stopped in Nederland to see Rachel, Peter's sister. We visited their beautiful mountain house, had a lovely lunch in town and the of course, rode the Carousel of Happiness. Best carousel ever!! Every animal was hand carved out of wood and it even had a traditional Wurlitzer (a.k.a. the machine that plays music)!

We stayed the night at Colin's place in Superior, right outside Boulder. I also made sure to visit the Molecular Cellular Biology Department where my Mom got her PHD. I loved Boulder! I would live here in a heart beat. I can only imagine what mischievous things my parents were up to when they lived here.

After having a delicious chicken meal, we were on the road again, no time to waste!

Ale Lifting Rocks at Garden of the Gods

In front of the MCDB Building in Boulder

Inspiration

"You must be swift as the coursing river, with all the force of a great typhoon, with all the strength of a raging fire, mysterious as the dark side of the moon."

That's for Sophia and Ale. Love you both!

On top of Pike's Peak, Colorado

Ale on top of Pike's Peak, Colorado

YoAle Adventure Begins. The Great Sand Dunes, Colorado

By the time I had picked up Ale in Albuquerque, I had driven a total of 3,900 miles! And as much as I was loving the southern heat, I was ready to drive up north. Neither Ale or I have really explored Colorado, and so we were pretty pumped. We started off our road trip by blasting Carly Rae Jepsen and headed first to Santa Fe for some brunch at Pantry Kitchen and then further north of I-25 to the Great Sand Dunes.

As soon as we were about 10 miles over the Colorado boarder, the terrain totally changed and we became surrounded by mountains. Some even had snow on them! By the time we were almost 30 miles away from the Great Sand Dunes, you could already see them, like a Sahara Desert in the middle of a circular mountain range. It was very clear as to why they are called the GREAT Sand Dunes. They were huge! Check out more of our pictures here!

The Great Sand Dunes, Colorado

We lucked out and scored one of the last few campsites inside the park, set up our humble abode, and put on our hiking gear. We were ready to conquer the dunes! We rented a sled, since you know, that’s what you do when you go to a desert, and then began our trek. Initially, we wanted to go to the highest dune, where we saw people walking around like little ants on a hill. It became increasingly tiring to walk in the sand after a couple sled runs and strolls along the crests of the lower dunes, so we just took a ton of pictures and ate a rice crispy treat. Like champs!

Ale sledding down the Great Sand Dunes, Colorado

That night, we had a gourmet meal of hot dogs, beans and s’mores. And since you know how much Ale and I love to camp, once it started to drizzle, we battened down the hatches (a.k.a. went into the tent) and called it a night.

Oh yeah, explanation for why there was a Sahara Desert in the middle of Colorado? I’m not totally sure yet… The pamphlet talked about water and wind, some rocks were involved, but it was pretty vague. 

Hot Springs in Truth or Consequence, New Mexico

So far, I vote New Mexico as having some of the coolest places I’ve visited on this road trip. Kristina told me about the Hot Springs in Truth or Consequences, and after the past 2 days of endless driving, I knew that this would be the perfect way to relax!

I stayed at this cute little motel called Desert View Inn, and the next morning I had brunch at White Coyote Café. I waned to eat early, around 8:00 AM, since I was starving from not having a real meal the day before, and I arrived just in time to have one of their freshly baked scones. Delicious!

After that I spent the better part of the afternoon soaking in the hot springs at Riverbend Hot Springs which had all it’s public baths perfectly located right on the edge of the Rio Grande River. I couldn’t have asked for a more peaceful afternoon with such an epic view. Check out more pictures here!

Riverbend Hot Springs in Truth or Consequences

Later that afternoon, I drove around and went to look at the Elephant Butte dam and then eagerly drove up I-25 north to Albuquerque to meet Ale that evening!

White Sands National Monument, New Mexico

After leaving the Carlsbad Caverns, I must admit, I did NOT expect it to take another 4 hours to get to the White Sands. It looked so short on the map… But off I went!

The drive to the White Sands went close along the Mexican boarder, and I had to go through a couple inspection stops. It was like in the movies! They had dogs and a laundry list of questions they went through, including: “are you an American citizen?” I guess my New Jersey license plate didn’t give it away.

I arrived at the White Sands National Monument around 4:00 PM and started the 16 mile loop through the sand dunes. When I got out of the car for the first time, I was hesitant to take my shoes off since the sand looked so hot! But it wasn’t… This was better than the Navarre Florida beach, it felt like COLD whipped cream. The sand was cold because it is made of gypsum.

So, here is my quick history lesson on how the dunes formed, since I know you must be dying to know how on earth these white sand dunes found themselves in the middle of New Mexico. Basically, 250 million years ago, the gypsum was deposited at the bottom of a shallow sea and then turned into rock when the Rocky Mountains formed and the sea evaporated. That then created the Tularosa Basin, and the gypsum rock would dissolve when it rained and the wind would break down the gypsum into sand. Ta-da!

As fun as it was to take photos of the white sand dunes, I wanted to try something a little edgier… I wanted to get an awesome shot of myself jumping high above the sand dunes. After about 20 attempts of jumping up and running back and forth to check the shot, I started to feel a little light headed and nauseous, so I retreated back to my air conditioned car and waited until 7:00 pm for the sunset walk.

White Sands National Monument, New Mexico

The sunset walk was guided and just beautiful. Watching the sun set over the white sand dunes with the San Andres Mountains in the background was absolutely magical. After the tour, I walked off and managed to find an isolated dune and just watched as the colors of the sunset in the clouds reflected on the glistening white sand dunes. I can’t even begin to describe how beautiful it was… Check out more pictures here!

Sunset over White Sands National Monument, New Mexico

Around 8:30 PM, although I was so totally tired, I managed the last 2 hour drive to Truth or Consequence where I spent the night. 

Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico

On Thursday morning when I mapped out my route to the White Sands National Monument from Fort Stockton, I realized that Carlsbad was on the way. So I impulsively decided I must stop at Carlsbad Caverns. As I started driving west, I realized I was also gaining an hour, so I felt pretty confident about being able to jam both Carlsbad Caverns and the White Sands into one day. I mean, it’s only about 470 miles… Peanuts!

And I am SO glad I went to Carlsbad Caverns. Now, just to set some context, I do have caving experience so I had something to compare this against. But as I started descending into the cave, I realized why THIS cave is a National Park, versus the dinky one I went to in Switzerland. This cave totally blew my mind! It just kept going, and going, and going. I could have spent all day and night there.  Even though there were other people in the cave, there were moments where it was so quiet you could hear the silence. You cavers out there, you know what I’m talking about.

I also went sort of photo crazy. I had to stop like every 10 feet to take another shot. Luckily, I had my awesome tri-pod Yosef got me (there is your shout out) and I got some pretty cool pictures, check them out here! But still, photos cannot capture the vast impressive space that nature has created underground. It was just incredible!

I gave myself a deadline of 12:30 PM to get out of the cave so I could hit the road and get to the White Sands before the sun set.

Entrance to Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico

Inside the Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico

A Lone Texas Ranger

After my Mom left Houston to go back to Zurich, I was off on my stretch across Texas along I-10 West. I decided to break up the drive by staying over night in Fort Stockton, which seemed like the only populated city along I-10. Along the way, I knew I had to stop in Austin, and Tara recommended I stroll around South Congress, or what they call SoCo. The main street was packed with all sorts of crafty art stores with vintage clothes, furniture and all sorts of nick-nacks you would only find on Etsy. There was even an entire parking lot of trendy food trucks, check out more pictures here! I then grabbed a quick brunch at Magnolia Cafe South and hit the road.

Magnolia Cafe in SoCo, Austin

Now, I have to mention this, because it just blew my mind. Along the way, I stopped at a random Valero gas station to fill up, and when I went in for a drink, I was welcomed by the most delicious smell of a small Mexican Bakery that was bursting with fresh baked goods, right in the back of the gas station!!! I obviously got a pastry. NOM!

I continued on and drive 5 hours straight to Fort Stockton, home to the second largest road runner statue in America. The road runner and the burger at Rix Pit BBQ was well worth the visit!

Fort Stockton Road Runner

Party Time! New Orleans, Louisiana

As we arrived in New Orleans, the first thing I noticed were all the beautiful homes! I didn’t know what to expect, but the area where Natasha lives had been mostly renovated and definitely still exuded the southern charm. That night we met Natasha and her dog Oreo in her cute house along the Bayou. We called it an early night since it was Sunday, and in the south, much like in Europe, Sunday is their day of rest and mostly everything was closed.

The next morning Mom and I decided to spend the day exploring the French Quarters. First stop, Café du Monde for some delicious hot beignets smothered in powdered sugar and rich French café au laits. We then took a 3 hour walking history tour through the French Quarter.  It was incredible to see how the city had rejuvenated itself since Hurricane Katrina. I just loved the architecture with the bright colors, balconies overflowing with vegetation and flowers, music booming around every corner and beautiful vibrant art displayed on every post, fence and wall. We walked into some of the most incredible boutiques filled with Mardi Gras masks, beads, colorful costumes and the most bizarre ornaments.

Sexy Jester Ornaments in New Orleans

After the tour we got a local recommendation to eat at Deanie’s Seafood for lunch with direction to order the Nectar Cream Soda… The food was great, but you can skip the soda, unless you’re into a Shirley Temple Float. The sugar level was just a little too excessive.  That evening we met up with Natasha after she finished work and had dinner on Frenchman street at a local Cajun Italian restaurant and then finished the night off after hoping around a couple bars.

Natasha and I on Frenchman Street in New Orleans

Now… I know I missed a ton of places, like Bourbon Street, Preservation Hall, Tipitina’s, Willie Mae’s Scotch House, Pat O’Brians, and of course, a Hurricane. But, I know for a fact that I will be back, with beads and all.

The next morning, we started driving in the direction of Texas, but stopped off at Oak Alley Plantation where they used to harvest sugarcane. We took a tour of the house and then had a lovely traditional Cajun lunch with a waaay too strong Mint Julep. Luckily, my mom was DD to get us back to Houston safe and sound.

Oak Alley Plantation View from The Big House

Scenic Florida Panhandle Drive, Savannah to New Orleans

Before I venture off towards New Orleans and into the middle of Texas, I wanted to make sure we squeezed in another scenic drive. After leaving Savannah, we stayed a night in Tallahassee to break up the 9 hour stretch to New Orleans and then drove down to Panama City to start the Scenic Florida Panhandle Drive to Pensacola.

Key highlights of the drive were finally… finally finding the best key lime pie in Panama City at none other than Pineapple Willies. Incredible! It even looks as beautiful as it was delicious.

BEST Key Lime Pie at Pineapple Willies in Panama City

Oh yeah, and the beach was amazing! At a certain point, all the beaches look the same, but this one somehow had the same whipped cream sand that they have in the Bahamas. Just imagine walking through whipped cream, amazing right?

Walking in Whipped Cream Sand at Navarre Beach

Savannah, Georgia

I picked up my Mom in Atlanta on Friday, and we were ready to hit the road and drive the 5 hours to Savannah. When we arrived in Savannah, we stayed at this beautiful historic hotel called the Riverstreet Inn right on the Savannah River, which used to be where the city would store and grade the exported cotton.

It was great being in the center of the historic district, which still retains a lot of Oglethorphe’s original city plan, and it was refreshing not to see a Starbucks or CVS on every other corner of the city. All the houses and architecture are just stunning, and so picturesque with all the Live Oaks dripping with Spanish Moss. Apparently, they have very strict rules for what kind of buildings can be in the historic district. Like, if you wanted to build a new home, it had to look exactly like all the other historic buildings.

That night we strolled up and down River Street and went into the most incredible candy store I’ve ever seen, the walls lined with endless choices of old school candy and saltwater taffy, and immediately when we walked in, they handed us warm praline samples. NOM! Remember this… The place is called River Street Sweets. Watch how they make the saltwater taffy:

We had a scrumptious dinner at Huey’s and then I convinced my Mom to take a Moonlight River Cruise on the Savannah River Queen. The cruise was jamming with a live band and a grand total of 13 passengers (the boat must be able to old at least 500 people!)

The next morning, we only had about 4 hours to see the entire city, so we took a history trolley with Old Savannah Tours and saw as much as we could, including the most expensive mansion made entirely of marble and a real-live spotting of Forrest Gump himself… Sans the box of chocolates. Afterwards, we drove to the Victorian District to see the Gingerbread House… a must see! But don’t expect anything like what you read about in Hansel and Gretel. It’s only called Gingerbread because of the ornate porch railing style.

But so beautiful… See more pictures of Savannah here!

Gingerbread House, Savannah

Asheville, Athens and Atlanta

The triple A, I like to call it. Within three days, I went to Asheville, Athens and then Atlanta. By the time I had reached Atlanta, I had driven 1,315 miles and I was finally reunited with my Mom!

Asheville is an awesome town. I say awesome a lot, but I really think that word describes the free-spirit of this artistic liberal town in the south. We stayed two nights with Kristina and explored the town despite the pouring rain. The food there was totally scrumptious, and of course, all locally grown. Best spot we ate at was the Early Girl Eatery, which is where Kristina works.

Next stop was Athens. We took another picturesque drive along the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway and stopped at Caesars Head. Check out the pictures we took of the stunning views here!

Later, we arrived in Athens among the many happy parents of the upcoming University of Georgia graduating class of 2012. We made it just in time for commencement the next day… The town was packed, but we found a great spot for dinner and even had time for some boiled peanuts and sweet fries at the Trappeze Pub. After dinner we walked through the campus, past the football stadium, and I felt like I was walking through the set of Friday Night Lights.

I then zipped through Atlanta just to pick up my Mom from the airport and we continued driving down to Savannah.

Kristina and I in Front of Early Girl Eatery

Boiled Peanuts and Sweet Fries at Trappeze Pub

The Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia to North Carolina

Since I allotted myself over 4 weeks to drive across the country, I wanted to make sure I drove as many scenic routes as possible. My next destination was Asheville to visit Kristina, so I took the Blue Ridge Parkway all the way south from Waynesboro, Virginia to Asheville, North Carolina.

The Blue Ridge Parkway extends 469 miles along the crests of the southern Appalachians and links the Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks. It is definitely a must-do if you are driving in the area.

There are hundreds of stops along the way with beautiful jaw dropping views, trails and hikes, camping and visitor centers. Some of my favorites were Marby Mill, Little Switzerland and Crabtree Falls. The North Carolina part of the drive had some of the better overlooks, but the best part of all was the actual drive it’s self.

Marby Mills, Milepost 176

Crabtree Falls, Milepost 339

All the trees and flowers were in their spring bloom and since it had been raining, the water reflecting off the leaves made them look neon green. There were sections where we were so high up in elevation that it was completely foggy and it felt like we were driving through a cloud. And then when the sun came out it was like a picture from a postcard.

Check out more photos here!

Chincoteague. Assateague Island National Seashore, VA

First destination on the road trip was Chincoteague Islands to see some wild ponies! The islands are known for their migratory birds, marshes, fresh water pools, and ocean which make it a paradise for birders and photographers.

On the way, we stopped in New Castle, which I'm pretty sure is one of the oldest towns in America with over 500 historic buildings that date back to the 1700's. I even saw where William Penn first set foot on America.

We arrived in Chincoteague late, but I did my fair share of research and picked Maddox Family Campground for where we would spend the first night. The website said it was the closest campsite to the water and marshes, and I'll admit, I had high hopes that I would see some ponies grazing outside my tent when I woke up.

But no such luck! And the crazy campground charged us $40 a night for tent camping!! We didn't even get to use their community pool.

We went out to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and caught a glimps of two wild ponies faaaar off in the distance. That was about it for our pony sightings. I got some pretty shots of the beach and the beautiful woodlands. More photos to come soon!

Chincoteague Seashore, Virginia

Woodland Trail, Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge

Spotted: A Black Bear in Paupac!

I’ve heard stories from Peter and Cindy and others at Paupac about seeing a bear. I’ve never seen a bear in real life, and I was positive that fate didn’t have it lined up for me either, considering my back country camping experience…

Which is why my heart almost leapt out of my mouth when I spotted this giant black bear taking a leisurely stroll around the house. I mean... I haven't even left on my road trip yet!

I had to mute the video because all you hear is me in the background sorta freaking out. It’s just embarrassing.

Hey Ed – I wish I listened more intently to your bear impressions. 

Dry Tortugas, FL

Click here to check out more of my photos on Flickr!

We boarded the Florida Fish Finder on Tuesday evening, which is a Fishing Boat converted into a tour boat that would take us to the Dry Tortugas.

The Dry Tortugas is National Park located almost 70 miles west of Key West in a group of seven islands formed by coral reefs and sand.  The area is mostly know for it’s incredible marine life and bird migrations… hence, why I was accompanying a group of about 30 birders out to the middle of now where.

Loggerhead Key, Dry Tortugas, Florida

The main island, Garden Key, is where Fort Jefferson was built. This awesome fort is the largest all-masonry fort in the United States, built between 1846 and 1875 to protect the nation's gateway to the Gulf of Mexico.

The boat was scheduled to depart on Wednesday morning. We spent the night on the boat, in our cozy bunking accommodations. We had an awesome group of people on the tour, including Greg Miller (who’s true story inspired The Big Year movie with Jack Black, Steve Martin and Owen Wilson), Adrian Binns (Photographer and Guide for the Wildside Nature Tours), and James Currie (TV host for Birding Adventures TV Show on NBC). Fantastic group of people and lots of good laughs!

Click here to check out this awesome bird video from the trip that James Currie put together.

We spent Wednesday thru Friday out at sea, swaying back and forth, and going to both Loggerhead and Garden Key to explore the fort, go snorkeling, and of course… spot some special birds.

Some highlights of the trip include, walking around the moat of the fort, seeing a barracuda while snorkeling, watching the Antillean Night Hawk and drafting a script for a horror movie that takes place in the “haunted” Fort Jefferson.  Did you know, the fort served as a prison facility, and Dr. Samuel Mudd who was convicted for the assassination of President Lincoln stayed there? The reason why the fort was shut down is because everyone started dying due to Yellow Fever.

White Sand on Garden Key, Dry Tortugas, Florida

Since this was my FIRST National Park on my Yoventure Road Trip, I bought a National Park Passport that I can stamp as I drive across the country.

Next stop… more goodbyes in NYC.