Last Posting: Made it to Raleigh (Total: 3,081 miles)

I know blogs are absolutely no fun without pictures. So here's a bit of eye candy to keep you focused.

We made it to Raleigh... As Gary mentioned, it was a long last day in the car - about an hour an a half of stand-still traffic on the Interstate 40. Everyone kept getting out of their cars, coming over to see Charley, and offering him water. We watched Charley get ice cold water poured into his mucky bowl and thought "gee, people are nice here" and "boy, I'm kind of thirsty too". Finally, a man started running towards us screaming "we're moving, we're moving". What a sense of comradery. We finally got back on the road. After listening to our recent rest stop purchase Now That's What I Call Music 25 for the sixth time, we finally reached the NC capital. About 6:30 PM EST.

We pulled up to my overgrown lawn and my neighbors were outside to greet us - Amy & Mike. They are super sweet, and Charley got to meet their dogs Bo and Raleigh. We took a hike in the woods, the dogs frolicked in the creek and were immediate friends. "God, it would have been great to get pictures of this for the blog", I said. Mike then proceeded to ask us if he could mow my lawn. I'll repeat his words: "Hey, do you mind if I mow your lawn?".

Cranky Moment: After hiking back, I realized after an hour of running the A/C , the temperature in the house reduced to about 85 degrees. Following was an evening of emergency 911 A/C repair, a heavily panting dog, and a lot of gatorade. $325 later, I am still sitting in a very hot home the following day, waiting for A/C repair guy. Ah, the joys of homeownership. It's going to be a long two years.

Back to the fun stuff. Here are some pics of the house. Floors were just refinished, and looking a lot nicer. New appliances are in (thanks mom & dad!). And there is a shot of Gary in my very bare, cluttered living room. I'm a bit cranky in my unorganized life right now, but fortunately have a lot of free time to figure it out. :)




My backyard is a jungle. Literally a mass of woods and life everywhere. Here is the view from my back deck. It may shock you to learn that this was the draw for me to buy this house. Accompanying this view is an amazing trail that goes back many acres with a lil creek, trails etc. Although Charley keeps sitting by the car thinking that he's going to jump in and we'll head back to San Francisco, I think he really liked the trails. Here's a shot of the trails that lead down from my backyard and Charley's first hike down.




I decided to play hooky today from work and sweat it out with my dog, waiting for the A/C repair guy. My day will really be focused on this - boxes, boxes, and more boxes. I just opened a box and realized that it's not even my stuff. You hope that when you move your life and mistakenly get someone else's belongings, it'd be something cool - a plasma, video games - or maybe something interesting or revealing about them - dirty videos, a bone collection. I only looked through the top layer of the box - it is a footbath. A yellow-stained, nasty, footbath.

It's been so much fun bloggin' this trip! Maybe I'll continue to blog as my life here in Raleigh unfolds. Thanks to Gary for all his love and road work. And thanks to you guys for the all the comments and phone calls that supported us along the ride. Y'all come visit us in the Carolinas, ya' here?

xoxo - Michelle

Day Seven: Asheville, NC to Raleigh, NC (246 miles)

We're home and we're tired. After getting breakfast and coffee in a cool little Asheville cafe, buying a piece of art for Michelle's living room, and stopping in an 80-minute, get out of your car and talk to your neighbors traffic jam while the highway patrol sweeps up lemons from an overturned tractor-trailor carrying produce, we still had the energy to marvel at Michelle's newly-stained hardwoods, call the AC-guy to make the temperature in the house bearable, bring the kitchen table in from the garage (only to get it stuck in the doorway before taking off two of the legs), and hook up the cable, flat-screen, and DVD player so that we could watch old South Parks until the new Entourage came on. If you made it through that sentence, multiple it times 10, and you have an idea what a trip across the country feels like. It's a giant, glorious, I'd do it again in a second, run-on sentence.

Pictures and more updates coming soon...

Thanks for traveling with us. We love you.

Day Six: Cookeville, TN to Asheville, NC (218 miles)

You may have thought we'd be in Raleigh by now. We are not....but all by choice of course. Gary and I made a spontaneous decision to not drive through to my new hometown today, spurred mostly by all the hype I heard of Asheville, North Carolina. Named one of the world's top 12 must-see destinations for 2007 by Frommer's, we figured it was worth a look-see. So, we submitted Charley into doggie daycare for the night, and got a free pass to hit the town. When I told Charley that he was going to stay on his own tonight, this was his response.

Let's back up a bit though. We started the day by running out of the Alpine Inn and Suites by 8 AM. It was the first day our bodies naturally woke up early and wanted to leave. For me, it was the weird orange stains on the sheets that I couldn't stop thinking about. Anyway, we realized that the World's Largest Yard Sale was only about 30 minutes away, so we stopped to have a look. 630 miles of pure crap, spanning 5 states from the top of Tennessee all the way down to the end of Ohio.

I'm sure there are a lot of gems if you look hard enough. But all we saw were a lot of used motor parts, teenange mutant ninja turtle figurines, and a lot of glassware and old, dainty china. We did make a purchase - t-shirts that we'll probably each never wear. Charley also made his mark by peeing on a 127 yard sale sign, at which an on-looker said "gee, I wish I could do that". That then concluded our visit - enough said.

We then switched gears and focused on the completion of another primary task on this trip - consumption of a McGriddle sandwich. We searched for the golden arches and found that a power outage in the restaurant stood in our way of success. Of course, that didn't stop us. We continued to ride down the 40 in search of the sandwich of happiness and saw a sign that said "timezone change: est". Panic set in as we realized that hashbrowns may be converting to french fries at this very moment. McDonalds breakfast period may be switching over to lunch. We drove faster...we referred to Google Maps, we prayed to baby Jesus. And yes, look to your left - victory was ours.


With 460 calories and 21 grams of fat, you would think it *must* be good. I have to say, I didn't enjoy it. The folds holding the sandwich together were truly little, mini hotcakes...a bit rubbery and greasy to touch. And there were endless layers of egg, orangy cheese and bacon mushed together between the two. There is a hit of sweetness that trickles through as you chew, I imagine from the maple-flavored liquid injections. Needless to say, I wasn't a big fan. Gary on the other hand could not speak to me during the entire experience. He savored every bite. Go Gary!




Ok, back to the crux of our day. We started our tour of Asheville at the Biltmore Estate, a 175,000 square foot private residence, the biggest home in the U.S. Again, another massive thing to gawk at on the trip. We decided to forego the private tour, only b/c of the outrageous $55 fee attached to it. I already have a mortgage waiting for me in Raleigh, so I don' t need to be contributing to anyone else's. Instead, we headed toward the gift shop/wine tasting room which the security guard said was, "a real hoot." Drinking spit-size portions of wine out of a white, dentist office-like dixie cup is not my idea of a hoot. I still bought a bottle.

After leaving the gift shop, we headed to downtown Asheville in search of what all the hype was about. The sommonier at the wine shop warned us that the city was "weird...different", and a man we met during lunch at a local brewery in town said the creativity and people made this town the "San Francisco of the east". I'd like to reserve my criticisms since I don't feel like we spent enough time here to really experience all the culture. Let's just sum it up by saying this picture is about the most exciting and interesting one I could take all day. Hopefully Gary will interject his own thoughts later into the posting.


We did end the evening on a very positive note - dinner at a great restaurant called Savoy in Asheville (we'd highly recommend if you go). I sucked down belvedere martinis and wine, and then started to fall into deep depression that we'll be arriving in my big empty house tomorrow and my friend Gary will be gone. Gary rightfully ignored my "woe is me" attitude and enjoyed his 5 course tasting menu, each course a suprise concoction from the chef. Great food, great company, good times.

4 more hours until our destination. Welcome to North Carolina.

Day Five: Fort Smith, AR to Cookeville, TN (578 miles)

Only two states, not as many miles as we would have liked, and the muskiest hotel we've stayed in, but ultimately it's all good, because by tomorrow we will have reached our destination of Raleigh, North Carolina. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's what went on today:

Had to gas up the car, clean the windshields, and get coffee (we've had some pretty good luck finding Starbuck's the last two mornings) before we started out this morning. Our plans were to drive through Little Rock and see the Bill Clinton Presidential Library (OK, I kinda wanted to see it...Michelle had no interest) but by the time we figured out that we were close to Little Rock, we realized that we had to take a different route than the one that we were on, so we decided to skip it. No offense Le Petit Roche...

Next on the agenda was Memphis. Our first stop was Graceland, but due to doggy-sitting responsibilities we really couldn't see much. Michelle was able to get out of the car to take some photos, but you can't do much of anything without paying Priscilla a ton of cash and promising to eat peanut butter and banana sandwiches in the Elvis Cafe once the tour is over. I've seen it once, my life is complete...Michelle will have to wait until she's secure enough to travel cross-country without a guard dog.

After Graceland we drove around Beale Street, and we took quick pit stops at the Memphis Pyramid and a park on the Mississippi river. Memphis is not the most beautiful of cities, but there certainly is a good amount of history to sink your teeth into (the Blues, civil rights, Elvis, etc.) when you have the time. We didn't, so we moved on.

From Memphis we drove to Nashville, and I was pretty psyched because I had never been there before. As soon as we got off the interstate, we saw a temple...no, a fortress...no, a castle...a White Castle! It was the first White Castle spotting of the trip, and Michelle hasn't been to a White Castle since she was 11. Needless to say, we were both ecstatic. Michelle requested to peruse the menu for a moment before ordering, as things usually change in 22 years. But not at the Castle. We ordered 4 hamurgers each, an order of fries, and an order of onion rings. It was heaven. The food seemed to bring out the creativity in Michelle, as she was inspired to photograph the food from several different angles. Quite the ar-tist.

From what we saw of Nashville, I was impressed. I really want to go back to check it out more in depth (and see the Grand Ole Opry), as we were only able to drive through the center of the city before moving on. We decided that we'd drive another hour or so to Cookeville, and then set out from there to Raleigh tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that we were in the same geographically locale as the World's Longest Yardsale, and many hotels were sold out. We ended up at the ever-so musky Alpine Lodge and Suites, the worst hotel of our trip. There was, however, one redeeming quality to the hotel. Two words...vibrating bed. 'Nuff said.

Charley cuteness was off the radar today (as I write this he is laying on my bed snoring like a madman). There was slobber, drool, and a ton of cute sleeping positions.

Michelle texted Ben the following Charley photo. Ben's response is right next to it.

Before closing, I have to give a huge shout-out to Michelle's navigation skills. She has gotten us out of a number of cities when it didn't look too promising that we'd find the Interstate again. That girl can read a map like it's nobody's business...

Tomorrow we're planning on eating a McGriddle, stopping in Knoxville (home of one of the best rock bands ever - Superdrag), and barring any unforseen circumstances, landing in Raleigh around 6 or so. Seems like the trip just started. Thanks again for all the comments guys and gals...hard to believe it's almost over.

Day Four: Amarillo, TX to Oklahoma City, OK to Fort Smith, AR (438 miles)

OK, so I'm (MeShell) blogging today...mostly because I'm feeling guilty. The lack of mileage we accomplished today is entirely my fault. I had to be online working at 8 PM tonight (Worky McWorkster), and I forced a stop in the only state to "see and be seen" - the great state of Arkansas . Yes, the place where Bill learned to love politics and to love 22 year-olds .

But let's start from the beginning....sunrise. Well, our sunrise was about 10:30 AM after losing two hours during our drive yesterday. Silly time zones. We stopped at the Golden Arches for a quick Egg McMuffin (my third since Sunday) and a coffee. (To Gary's dismay, they were all out of iced coffee today). Do not be alarmed by the amount of dining @ McDonalds - this is all practice for the ultimate digestive challenge - the McGriddle. Similar to the Egg McMuffin, except that its inner goodness is trapped between two embossed golden pancakes that are given "an injection of maple-flavored syrup deep inside its griddle folds". We haven't had one yet just because it 'just hasn't felt right". It will.

We then headed over to Cadillac Ranch - I will now challenge your dedication to rollin.blogspot.com by not explaining what this place is since Gary referenced it in a past posting. It was pretty phenomenal - the cars are recessed back within a large mud field. Charley enjoyed exploring the inside of the cars. I immediately regretting wearing white pants.





Once we left Texas and arrived in Oklahoma, we decided to visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial, a site to remember the victims of the Oklahoma City bombing back in April 1995. Similar to my reaction to the Grand Canyon, the monument and the surrounding grounds were massive and breathtaking. Unfortunately, no dogs were allowed near the monument, and Charley was being watched closely by the various armed guards. It reminded me of poor Snoopy when all he wanted to do was hang with his friends, see the Oklahoma City National Monument, and find the little red headed girl. Yet that voice always said "No Dogs Allowed".

The main area of the memorial consists of two large walls or gates and in between lies a reflecting pool. Gary and some other insensitive visitors of the monument gawked and took pictures of a duck and it's ducklings taking a swim in the pool. There are also 168 wooden chairs surrounding the monument, representing the 149 adults and 19 children who died on the day. See some of our pics below. We were really glad that we made the spontaneous trip to see the monument, and we couldn't help but wonder why NYC hasn't been able to figure out something of this scale to remember 09/11.




The remainder of our drive through Oklahoma pretty much looked like this. Rain. Thunder. Lightening. Did I mentioned that I haven't sat in the driver's seat of our car since Monday? Not sure what Gary's trying to prove, but I'm not complaining. I will just continue to find opportunities to say 'hey, if you want me to drive, just ask and I'm ready' and then quickly close my eyes and fall asleep.


It's now 12:53 AM, we're watching Colbert and contemplating getting Interstate 40 tattoos on our feet. Did you really think I could post an entire blog entry and not put up a picture of my dog? Here he is begging for a bite of my Egg McMuffin. Just think what he'll do when he sees those injected hot cakes.

Day Three: Flagstaff, AZ to Amarillo, TX (607 miles)

This update comes to you from a dodgy Holiday Inn off of Route 40 in Amarillo (or as Michelle calls it, Armadillo) Texas. I'm in an uncomfortable chair positioned right next to the door 'cause this is the only place where I can get a wireless signal. Look at the sacrifices that I go through for all of you. But alas, it is warranted, as there have been an unprecedented amount of comments as of late. We thank you from the bottom of our cold, cold hearts. It's a great motivator to keep these things coming.

We have made it to/through three states (Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas) today. Certainly not something to applaud, as you could spend months in each and not see everything, but we're balancing time with sightseeing, so we do what we can. With the Grand Canyon down, and White Sands too far off our beaten path (Interstate 40), we set our sights on two things in Texas, food and Cadillacs.

The food part was certainly a highlight. Michelle found a place called "The Big Texan Steak Ranch" on Wikipedia. It's claim to fame is that it will give you a free 72-ounce sirloin steak if you can eat it in one-hour (along with a salad, shrimp cocktail, dinner roll, and baked potato). There's a table in the middle of the place with a spotlight shining from above, and a timer that counts down one hour. It is a sight to behold. When we got there, there was a couple from Norway at the table celebrating their wedding anniversary by trying to each eat a 72-ounce steak. So friggin' romantic. Needless to say, they weren't even close to finishing when the timer went off. They received a t-shirt to commemorate their attempt, but unfortunately they weren't one of the 1 in 10 who complete the task (according to our chatty waitress).

The place is insane. We both agreed that we need to come back and make the attempt (I would have tried, but the couple was already at the table, and we got there too late to wait until they were done.) The steaks that we had were amazing (Michelle - Prime Rib, Me - Sirloin). Just wish one of us had room for the Frito Pie - fritos, chili, beans and cheese. Mmm.

The Cadillac part is going to have to wait until tomorrow, as we were caught a little off guard with the change to Central time. Some of you have probably heard about the Cadillac Ranch, where Cadillacs are buried hood-first into the ground at an angle similar to that of the Great Pyramids. We're pretty psyched to see it first-hand tomorrow. Hopefully we can get some spray-paint beforehand to put our mark on the cars (that is until they get repainted).

Some other notables today:

• Today was a radio-free day. Michelle took a work call as soon as we got into the car this morning, and the radio was off from that time on. We later admitted to each other that we were both tempted to turn it on throughout the drive, but we didn't want to break our streak. We are nothing if not creatures of habit-breaking.
  
• I am the victim of a nasty rash/insect bite(s)/disease. I have these disgusting small bumps (about 10 of them) on my left and right hands (right underneath where the thumb and index finger meet) that itch like crazy. My theory is that they are flea bites since we're staying in all of these dog-friendly hotels. Michelle thinks I am allergic to something, or that it's a heat rash. Needless to say, I think I'm right.
  
• I am no longer eating at Dairy Queen. It's over. The DQ that we stopped at today seemed to be breeding flies as well as cooking up burgers and making shakes. It made my stomach turn (as did the chicken fingers that may have been a bit more literal than I would have liked). Of course, Michelle ordered ice cream and it was delicious, so she's not supporting me in my ban.

We'll, that's all from me until tomorrow. I leave you with some notable photo moments from today's part of the trip. Keep those comments coming!