tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92127833253912471792024-03-05T08:14:54.678-05:00Caution: Children at PlayFour amigos. One car.funniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00065088503907118140noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-41867323360967564212012-06-30T10:09:00.000-04:002012-06-30T10:09:27.647-04:00List of States<br />
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Hey Folks! This is a complete list of the states that we hit on the road trip, in the order that we drove through them. There are 31 states total and 2 countries. A huge thank you to everybody that helped make this happen: The Captain's parents for trusting 4 recent college grads with their car, Ocho's family for being dispersed across the entire west coast, everyone that gave us a place to stay or helped us find one, national park rangers, everyone that suggested somewhere to go or something to do, and all of our friends that we met up with along the way. <span style="background-color: white;"> It has been an amazing adventure. We couldn't have asked for a better way to </span><span style="background-color: white;">celebrate</span><span style="background-color: white;"> graduation.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><br />
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1.
Massachusetts </div>
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2. New
Hampshire</div>
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3. Vermont</div>
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4. New York</div>
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5. New
Jersey</div>
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6.
Pennsylvania</div>
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7. Maryland</div>
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8. West
Virginia</div>
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9. Virginia</div>
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10.
Tennessee</div>
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11. North
Carolina</div>
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12. Georgia</div>
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13. Alabama</div>
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Mississippi</div>
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15.
Louisiana</div>
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16. Texas</div>
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17. New
Mexico</div>
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18. Arizona</div>
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19.
California</div>
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20. Oregon</div>
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21.
Washington</div>
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22. Idaho</div>
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23. Montana</div>
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24.Wyoming</div>
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25. South
Dakota</div>
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26.
Minnesota</div>
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27.
Wisconsin</div>
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28. Illinois
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29. Indiana</div>
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30. Michigan</div>
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31. Ohio<br />
32. Our little brother to the north, Canada</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05750534501088728455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-60415492628018425082012-06-27T17:00:00.000-04:002012-06-27T17:00:00.217-04:00Day 29: The Most Pleasant of all the VillesThe three Amigos awoke in pleasant beds, in a pleasant house, to pleasant weather and great coffee. Waking up in a new place most every day for the past 30 can get rather disorienting, but the Amigos knew exactly where they were this time: Pleasantville. There was something missing, though. "WHERE'S OUR FOURTH AMIGO?!?!?" each of us woke up screaming. We had to find him at once. LT2's father, The King, generously drove us to the train station. We were determined to find our Whiskers in the big ol' city.<br />
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On our trek to locate him, we first met up with our awesome friend Bryan who was being a big-time working man down in the Financial District. He graciously fit us in to his very busy work day, and we all had the best time with him. Bryan ran into Whiskers a day or two earlier, so we thought he might have a lead on where we could catch up with the mysterious amigo. We were having so much fun catching up and eating burgers at the Shake Shack that we almost forgot our mission. Reluctantly leaving our fellow Eliotite buddy to get back to work, we headed north to scan the city for Whiskers.<br />
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With the help of a smart phone or two, we lured Whiskers to a highly-rated beer bar called The Ginger Man, which boasts 66 beers on tap. We got him! He was also wily enough to finagle a break in his work day to come meet up with us for our last official road trip event. We clinked our glasses to Four Amigo reunions in the future, and said farewell. We were all very reluctant to say goodbye to such a phenomenal trip.<br />
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Whiskers had to whisk off back to work, so the remaining three walked north again towards Grand Central where we would catch the train back to Pleasantville (not that NYC hadn't been overwhelmingly pleasant). But Oh ho, dear readers! We walked straight into a brilliant surprise! Our friend who you read about in our Dallas adventures, Warren, was working in the MetLife building and shot downstairs for a few minutes to see us off. Three friends in three different places in about three hours! The amigos did some good work in the short time they spent in the city (per usual!).<br />
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The next item on the agenda took us to the local Pleasantville brewery, Captain Lawrence. For $2 you can taste all the beer you want from a CL tasting glass that doubles as a souvenir of your visit. Tasting is from 4-7pm. We arrived after 6, but rest assured, dear readers, that the tasting we did in less than an hour was more than most mortals could probably do in three. We left happy and well-cultured in the intricate brewing style of Westchester County.<br />
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Relaxing back at LT2's castle, we feasted upon the famous Lime Cilantro Shrimp that we had prepared earlier and LT2 cooked up for us. What a pleasant end to a great day! We then snuggled in for a screening of A Knight's Tale before nodding off into pleasant dreams...<br />
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<br />funniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00065088503907118140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-84511538154861522592012-06-27T12:00:00.000-04:002012-06-27T12:00:01.029-04:00Day 28: Empire State Of Mind<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Today was a
great day indeed as for the first time we got a real continental breakfast in a
hotel.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">We enjoyed non-expired
toast, waffles, cereal, and eggs galore! After feasting like kings, we packed
up and drove to Niagara about 30min away.</span></div>
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After
finding a parking spot, our first stop was Maid of the Mist. This boat tour took us closer to
Horseshoe Falls than any of us expected.
We chose to stand at the front of the boat, ensuring that we would get
extra drenched. We quickly figured
out that there was no need for us to shower this morning because we would be
taking a few more throughout the day.
Unable to bring a camera and take photos on the boat, The Captain
decided to keep his stylish blue poncho as a souvenir instead.</div>
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Not
impressed by the amount of mist we encountered, we next headed to the Cave of
the Winds. As we bought our
tickets we noticed a sign that clearly read “There is no Cave.” We weren’t sure if this was some sort
of reference to “The Matrix” or if they just didn’t want to mislead us. Cave or no cave we wanted the sweet
souvenir sandals and poncho that comes with the Cave of the Winds tour so we
went for it!<br />
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We rode an
elevator 175ft down into the Niagara Gorge until we reached the base of Bridal
Veil Falls. At the base, we were
greeted by a red wooden walkway that designated our path. Our first thought was “it would suck to
have to build this.” (Fun fact:
Every winter the park staff have to take down the walkway before it freezes and
then they rebuild it each spring.)
The last stop of the tour was the aptly named “hurricane deck” where the
falls literally fall on you. Those
who dare to brave it find that the poncho is less effective than thought and is
more of a fashionable accessory. We
were all left with soggy trousers.</div>
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Upon our
return to the top of the falls, we decided to dry out by getting some ice cream
and walking in the sun back to the car.
Back at the car, suitcases full of clean?, dry! clothes greeted us and
we changed before continuing our adventures in the town of Niagara. We were getting kind of bored of
America after driving around it for the last 4 weeks (naht!), so we decided to walk
across Rainbow Bridge to Canada. We were
pleased to find that there weren’t any warrants out for our arrest as we were
allowed to cross the border without any hassle.</div>
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We were not
even a half mile into Canada when we began to feel a yearning for the good
ol’ USofA. So we headed to Dave
and Busters, an American restaurant chain, for some drinks, snacks, and games. We ordered some poutine. We learned how to say poutine. It was all very educational. After watching some kids play the arcade
games we thought we had figured out the tricks of the trade. We played $10 worth of games. In the end, we were able to cash in our
tickets for 4 pirate tattoos. A
fair trade indeed!</div>
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Niagara was
fun and all, but LT2 felt a calling from home. After snapping a few pics of "that waterfall over there" we
got in the car and headed home. The
drive was a test of endurance for The Captain and LT2, as The Captain drove all
7 hours and LT2 did not have to pee once!
We arrived at the castle around 10pm after stopping to pick up some
victory beers. Awaiting our
arrival were the King and Queen as well as pizza from one of LT2’s favorite
haunts. The rest of the night was
spent relaxing and watching TV until the remaining amigos slowly drifted off to
sleep.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05750534501088728455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-40030776403000089382012-06-27T09:27:00.001-04:002012-06-27T09:27:07.011-04:00Day 27: Back to Where It All Began<div>
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Ocho awoke early this morning, fetching coffee and bagels before the rest of us could even get out of bed. We were soon caffeinated, carb-loaded, and ready for one of our last treks on the roads. Tres sent us on our way from outside her apartment, ending her stint as one of our greatest hosts.<br />
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The drive took us from Illinois, to Indiana, a brief detour into Michigan in order to add that state to the list, Ohio, a brief piece of Pennsylvania, and then New York, where the Amigos first rendezvoused. Although we were now missing one of the four, he had made the trip with us in spirit.</div>
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We stopped in Buffalo for the night, wanting to save the sights and sounds of Niagara Falls for the morning.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">The hotel was possibly our nicest of the trip - Oh, how we spoil ourselves as the end draws near! We were soon at the bar next door for some late drinks and hopefully dinner. The kitchen, however, was closed. Not wanting to lose what appeared to be their only customers, they attempted to convince us to stay by offering anything from the frier and reminding us they were open till 2am. We decided to see what else Buffalo had to offer in the way of Culinary Arts.</span><br />
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And what a glorious decision this one turned out to be. We soon found ourselves within Nicky G's Sports Bar, which was perhaps a mile's walk from our hotel. This walk was made quite quickly and with no stopping on street corners. It appeared we were perhaps the only non-regulars there this Sunday night, as well as the only non-New York licenses the bartender had ever seen. Ocho was so bold as to use a passport (replacement license still en route via mail). While perhaps possessing a more traditional structure than Snake and Jake's of New Orleans fame, we agreed this bar was on par with it in many other ways. In order to better fit in, Ocho announced quite loudly that "This is our jam!" when Rack City began playing over the speakers.</div>
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We were soon seated at the bar, enjoying being able to get three drinks for under $8, and befriending several of the patrons around us. Our food came quickly and was heralded by the amigos as delicious and extremely filling. All of the profits at Nicky G's must go straight to the kitchen, because those burgers and sandwiches were incredible. That, or it was close to 11pm and we were starving, but we're pretty sure it was the former.</div>
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After a quick jaunt back to our hotel we were soon in bed with dreams of Waterfalls and Canadian borders dancing through our heads.</div>
<br />Neil Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15159341812408994408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-56926506308594169542012-06-26T00:45:00.000-04:002012-06-26T00:45:28.813-04:00Newest PicturesHere is the end of Chicago and the drive to Niagara, hopefully the rest will be up soon:<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/109410165020218041086">pics</a>Neil Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15159341812408994408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-13126472420341082812012-06-25T12:30:00.000-04:002012-06-26T00:57:57.610-04:00Day 26: Shenannigans in Chi City<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;">Whiskers departed at the break of dawn for the airport, given a generous lift there by Tres at 5am. The remaining amigos slowly awoke much later in the morning, having completed recoveries from the night before (bad food, not drinking related). They soon realized that while Whiskers might be gone physically his memory would live on through the piles of crap (I mean priceless belongings) he left behind for us to transport home. Best of which was a passport-sized photo of himself which we all quickly decided would be affixed to the windshield for the rest of the trip so Whiskers could continue to guide our way like a mermaid on the helm of a ship.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;">Eggs, coffee, and cold showers (Tres assured us this had never happened before in her apartment, hopefully this wasn't somehow connected to our arrival) had everyone wide awake for our departure to Summerfest in the early afternoon. There we met up with LT2's cousin, Kyra and some her friends. We found a couple glasses of sangria, but not much else that held our attention. So we headed over to Oldtown to tour some of Tres' favorite haunts.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;">As Pride festivities in the city were already under way, Tres and the Amigos soon arrived at the day's main event: a party in Boystown hosted by one of Tres' friends. The table shined like a rainbow colored beacon in the night: jello shots, rummy bears, skittles vodka, icee vodka, and some more multi-colored sugar in food form. Minutes quickly turned to hours and soon fellow partygoers were vying over the now vacant seat in the Silver Swede. Eventually it was pointed out that the cover band which had drawn us to this particular area of the festival had been scheduled to take the stage 30 minutes ago. The party soon spilled out onto the street, where copious amounts of drinks morphed into copious amounts of dancing.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;">Worn out from our cutting up so much rug, we returned to Tres' place for a quick power nap around 8pm. Rallying wouldn't commence, however, until around 10:30pm when we finally staggered our way to a local pizza place to pick up some dinner. From there we returned with food and fresh supplies of local IPAs and decided upon a fun night in with our host. This involved some fun games, an appearance from the dino hat (see <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/109410165020218041086">album</a>), and plenty of laughs as we decided to dub over "You've Got Mail" with our own dialogue and narrations. One things was to be sure, we would all get a good night's sleep at the end of this day.</span>Neil Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15159341812408994408noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-77045461826257591702012-06-24T13:00:00.000-04:002012-06-24T13:00:03.936-04:00Day 25: The Amigos Dip Their Toes in ChicagoAfter waking up for sunrise and driving 14 hours in the car the day before, The Amigos took the morning easy and slept in to rest up for some exciting days in Chi City.<br />
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We took off walking towards Navy Pier around 1pm and took a scenic route through the free zoo (the lions and apes were probably our favorite) and by the lake. To The Ocho's chagrin, some people refer to this as "the beach", which she has a hard time wrapping her head around. There was quite a scene there on this perfect, sunny, 75 degree day. There were a ton of people playing volleyball, frisbee, football, jumping in the lake, and just soaking up the sun. </div>
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Before reaching Navy Pier, we took a detour towards Millennium Park because we more time than we expected taking in the sights to our destination. LT2 and The Captain were invested in seeing the Germany vs. Greece EuroCup game, so we hit up Sweetwater Tavern and Grille, by suggestion of The Ocho's sister (Tres). Surprisingly, we ran into our fellow Eliotite friend, Janet, who was eating lunch with her dad! Janet is a Chicago local who we were already planning on meeting for dinner. We got in a bonus impromptu catch-up session before she took off to do some errands. </div>
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Tres arrived just as Janet left and we took off adventuring to The Bean, where we got some great Amigo pictures (<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/105263942888579687662">check the Picasa album</a>!). We trekked back to Navy Pier to do the tourist-y thing and rode the Ferris Wheel. This marks the first time The Ocho and Tres had ever ridden one, which the others decided was a childhood necessity. Wow! <br />
<a name='more'></a>It offered great views of the city skyline (again, <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/105263942888579687662">check our our pictures!</a>). </div>
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From there we walked to Moe's Cantina and had an awesome dinner with lots of margs and sangria with some fellow Harvard alumni. It was so fun to reunite with Janet, Dan, Ebele, and Kiara! Just like being back in the Domus. Ahh, good times. </div>
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As the Captain successfully argued $50 off our bill because of over-priced margarita pitchers (yes, we had that many margarita pitchers) he began to feel the effects of food poisoning. He fought back the urge to upend his meal on the manager, mainly because the Tres had paid for the dinner and that would have been a waste of her money. The Ocho, always the caring individual, decided not to leave him alone and soon followed with some food poisoning of her own. The two of them soon retired to the apartment while the others headed out to further adventures at Chicago bars.<br />
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It hardly feels like we've been on the road for 25 days. It is with heavy hearts that we must tell you we are losing an amigo. Whiskers is taking off early tomorrow morning to start a job in New York. We are hoping he will meet back up with us in New York when we get there. We will miss our furriest friend a lot in the next couple days, as we are sure you will as well.<br />
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</div>funniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00065088503907118140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-15385654652126273962012-06-24T12:00:00.000-04:002012-06-24T12:00:01.391-04:00Get the VisualsPictures links from:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/105263942888579687662">Past Few Days</a></span><br />
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<a href="http://cautionchildrenatplay.blogspot.com/2012/06/photos-galore.html">Prior</a>Neil Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15159341812408994408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-19379098217988660332012-06-24T00:20:00.004-04:002012-06-24T00:20:41.302-04:00Day 24: An I-90 Love StoryAll four Amigos managed to arise early in order to catch an authentic Badlands sunrise. We had been informed by LT2 that sunrise was at 5:07am. None of us, however, had accounted for the fact that the jagged and often high-peaked terrain of the Badlands might delay this. We sat for about 20 minutes in the brisk morning air until the sandstone peaks behind us first began to light up. Whiskers took this opportunity to document every single second on camera. Shortly thereafter the first rays of sun began to warm our faces. It was a very pleasant way to start what would be one of our longer days of the trip.<br />
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We soon had camp broken down and were ready to hit the road following one of the Ocho's most impressive examples of efficient packing yet.<br />
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Our 14 hour, 850 mile drive would feature the amazing diversity that only the US interstate system could provide: 13.5 hours and 830 miles on I-90. Oh what a road. </div>
<a name='more'></a>After jumping on just outside of Badlands National Park, I-90 took us on a whirlwind tour from the rolling fields of South Dakota, to the rolling fields of southern Minnesota, to somewhat rolling fields of Wisconsin, to Illinois, where the Chicago skyline finally began to provide something new. LT2 described the experience as "driving on a treadmill." In one day we achieved much however, as the car crossed the 170,000 mile mark, the trip odometer tipped 8,000 miles, and we went from our 24th state all the way to our 27th.<br />
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We could not met a better sight at the end of our very full day on the road than Ocho's sister Tres excitedly greeting us. She was soon ushering us toward her apartment complete with luxurious couches, hot showers, and a fridge fully-stocked with liquid refreshments. After making ourselves presentable with the hot showers and affable with the contents of the fridge, conversation flowed as we prepared and proceeded to devour some home-made pizzas. The four Amigos were soon drifting off to a comfortable sleep, secure in the knowledge that they were in good hands for the next two days.</div>
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<br /></div>Neil Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15159341812408994408noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-78476088842211844482012-06-24T00:20:00.003-04:002012-06-24T00:20:32.562-04:00Day 23: South Dakota Adventures<br />
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The day
began with a relatively short drive from Gillette, WY, through the Black Hills
National Forest, to Mount Rushmore.
Our national parks pass didn’t grant us admission to Mount Rushmore, but
we decided we were willing to fork up the $11 parking fee. The stop began with a walk down the
boulevard of state flags. We each
got pictures in front of our home state and argued over which state is the
best. The next stop was the
information center, where we watched a movie on the making of Mount Rushmore
and filled out our Junior Park Ranger packets. The Captain, Ocho, and LT2 are
now proud Rushmore Park Rangers! </div>
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As we were
leaving, we decided to snap a few pics with four of the sexiest men that ever
lived! Dibs on Washington, wooden
teeth are hawt! A kind, old
tourist was willing to take our picture in front of the mountain. Whiskers was Lincoln (very fitting, given the facial hair), LT2 was good ol’ TR (very fitting, given the Army
background), Ocho was Jefferson (very fitting, given the wig), and The Captain
was Washington (very fitting, given his tendency to chop down cherry trees).</div>
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After the
pics were taken we contemplated going on a hike, but decided to wait until The Badlands. We grabbed some buffalo
chili and a buffalo burger for lunch instead (no wonder buffalo almost went extinct). Stomachs full, we headed
back to the car. Just as we piled in,
the rain started to fall. Good
thing we didn’t go on that hike!<br />
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We have
frequently found ourselves asking why we allow the Ocho to drive. It seems that every time she is behind
the wheel the sky turns dark.
A deafening hailstorm hit during the drive from Rushmore to the Badlands, but we prevailed thanks to the Ocho's growing experience in dire weather conditions.</div>
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When we got to The Badlands info center
it was still raining a bit so we decided to wait out the storm by earning our second Junior Ranger badges of the day. The
Captain, Ocho, and LT2 worked tediously on their packets to earn the title of
Badlands Junior Park Ranger. To
our dismay, the Park Ranger that gave us our badges was less than enthusiastic
about it. She didn’t check our work
and didn’t even make us take the oath...clearly someone doesn’t take this
responsibility as seriously as we do.</div>
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Badges
acquired, we used our ranger knowledge to check the weather report. It appeared that the storm was passing
and we would be good to hike and camp for the night. With clear skies above us, we hit the road again to drive
through The Badlands and take in the sights.<br />
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In no time we were taking full advantage of the fact that you are allowed to adventure anywhere within the park, paths be damned! At the first pull-off LT2 was soon scaling the tallest dirt peak she could find with the best of the twelve-year old boys. <br />
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The rest of us took to more manageable peaks and photographed LT2 so there would be evidence for the doctors to diagnose her injuries after the fall. Shoes covered in mud (or entire body if you were LT2) we piled back into the Silver Swede and headed for the next sight.<br />
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At the following pull-off LT2 surpassed her previous achievements by climbing even more impossibly steep cliffs. Whiskers disappeared for awhile to become one with nature. As the rest of the amigos began to fret that we'd lost him, he was eventually located in a canyon, having returned from following some ram tracks for awhile.<br />
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Back in the car we headed for the Roberts Prairie Dog Town. After turning off on a dirt road that only ended up being 5x the length LT2 estimated, we arrived. As promised, the dawgs were out in force, certainly not the shy type. Whiskers spent a good amount of time <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/105263942888579687662/DayTwentyThreeRushmoreAndBadlands">photographing them</a> (which came as a surprise to no one), while LT2 spent a good amount of time <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/105263942888579687662/DayTwentyThreeRushmoreAndBadlands#5756855135331871378">photographing Whiskers</a>.<br />
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Spent from our long day of travels, we retired to the campground, set up base, and enjoyed a nice tuna, beer, and whiskey dinner before hitting the hay with plans to awake for sunrise early in the morning.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05750534501088728455noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-25635630754348178522012-06-20T21:00:00.000-04:002012-07-04T13:40:00.490-04:00Day 22: Winter Wonderland [Yellowstone (Part II) to Gillette, Wyoming]<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;">On the open prairie, there are few things for a amigo to do but sit and mull things over. To ponder the big questions and to figger out where the next watering hole might be, relying only on himself and his trusty steed, alone in that wide expanse. This is the kind of country we encountered in Yellowstone. It's country that tests an amigo: bear country, you see. We came here to wrassle bears, and that's just what we'll do. The hunt is on to find a big ol' grizzley.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;">The sky was clear (our tents a little damp from dew) when we
awoke this morning. Our bison friend that was sleeping under a tree about 200
yards away when we went to bed had already awoken and moved on, so we followed
her lead. Today was our opportunity to get a closer look at the vast (2.1
million acre!) Yellowstone Park. Hiking was at the top of our priority list. Wrassling was on top of the top of the list.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;">First, however, we stopped by the Fishing Bridge visitor
center to attend a ranger talk about bear safety. (We didn't want to hurt nature when wrassling it, you see.) This doubled as a good idea
for our hike and a way to complete our specifications to get our Junior Park
Ranger badges. Ranger Patrick provided us a wonderfully informative talk and
issued us our well-earned badges. Fun fact: we actually learned a lot by
filling out the packet and correctly identified a number of different critters
on our hike. But a critter ain't a bear. We don't wrassle the little stuff.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;">From the lengthy list of day hikes available at the visitor
center, we arrived at the decision to embark on the most strenuous of our
options: the hike up to Mount Washburn, which promised great views of the park and crossed straight through bear country.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;"> And boy, did it! The parking lot gave us a taste of the chilling, howling wind, but the bear warning sign at the trailhead raised our spirits and we
quickly warmed up on the trail. The trail itself was lined with snow, enough to
make us hike on top of 3 ft. piles of snow at some points. We also saw at least
three marmots, two types of squirrels, and chipmunks. The top of the mountain gave us gorgeous panoramic views
of the whole park, including Yellowstone Lake, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone,
and Grand Teton peak 75 miles away. The wind was again howling at 10, 243 feet,
but there was a pleasant indoor observation room that had displays about what
we were seeing. This was the bottom floor of a ranger residence, which serves
as a fire lookout that is in use about June-October. About every two weeks
provisions are hiked up to the isolated ranger in residence, who spends the
entire season there. We all recognized, though, what the lone Ranger up there was doing: he was waiting to wrassle bears. Taking a page out of the Ranger handbook, with which we were so familiar, we waited there on the mountain top for a grizzley to accept our open challenge. The bears wussed out. No wrassling today. But the views were spectacular, and we were happy to hike back
down to the warmth of our Silver Swede. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;">On our way out of the park we came across a moose and her
baby! They were rather shy, munching on greens behind some trees across a
river, but we a good peak at them anyway. It was a first for both LT2 and The
Ocho! What a great farewell to the park...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;">I (The Ocho) awoke to a very snowy and pristine landscape. I was
informed we were in Wyoming and driving up the Beartooth Pass. The temperature had
dropped to a chilly 40 degrees and the terrain had switched to a wintry-looking
wonderland of thawing lakes. We took a break at the summit, a lofty 10,947 feet above sea level. The descent on the Montana side was just as dramatic and
the whole pass reminded The Ocho of mountainous lakes similar to those on
backpacking trips with her family in the Southern Sierras. Absolutely gorgeous! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;">After enough switchbacks to make you sick, we soon hit I-90
and were flying east once more. We chose to rest our heads in Gillette, WY for
a while before we hit Mount Rushmore and the Badlands tomorrow. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;">We are camping in the Badlands so here begins another short
stint of radio silence. Hope this onslaught of belated posts satiates you until
then. In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled on Sportscenter for clips of The Captain wrassling a grizzley. He spotted one on a bear warning sign the other day and is convinced that we will encounter him tomorrow in the Badlands. ESPN said they were interested in the story, now that the NBA Finals suck so bad. Finally, dear readers, this could be the Amigos' big break.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc;">Hasta luego,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #666666; color: #cccccc;">Los Amigos</span></div>funniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00065088503907118140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-54397237416784862722012-06-20T17:00:00.000-04:002012-06-21T22:38:00.412-04:00And Even More PicsHere are the Mt. Washburn pics and our drive towards South Dakota<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/105263942888579687662">click me</a>Neil Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15159341812408994408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-68860206063984249692012-06-20T14:00:00.000-04:002012-07-04T13:38:27.981-04:00Day 21: Jellystone!<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">Our trip thus far has been a whirlwind, zipping from state to state and coast to coast in our trusty Silver Swede, giving us a diverse and condensed view of the country that I doubt any of us would have been able to have with any other mode of transportation. If we'd had to travel 100 years ago, I don't know if we could've made it, we four Amigos. 8,000 miles on horsey would've really tired us out, you know. I just don't know if The Captain and the Fourth Amigo could've carried us all this way.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">They would've had no respite on a day like today, as we zoomed all over Yellowstone National Park. As much as
love driving for 12 house stretches, we decided that today we would take in the
sights. We left
Bozeman early to give ourselves a full day in the park. Unsure if we would have a place to camp
at night, we stopped by an info center near the Northwest entrance. Luck was on our side as we found out
that the Bridge Bay campground had not been filling up. The info center was also able to tell
us about all the wildlife sightings that had occurred in the last 24 hrs. To our delight, a mama grizzly and two
cubs had been spotted! We covered
ourselves in honey and went on our merry way.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">The first
stop was Lamar valley where a lot of wildlife had been spotted. It did not disappoint as we saw a ton
of bison, beautiful rolling rivers, and a Black Bear with two cubs! After driving about halfway through the
valley, we turned around to drive south towards our campsite and most of
Yellowstone’s attractions. But
before we could experience any more of the natural wonder we had to pick up
junior ranger booklets, of course!
Ranger Sprinkle was very excited that we wanted to become junior rangers
and also gave us helpful tips on what to do if we encountered a grizzly.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">Since we
were so impressed with the Grand Canyon, we thought we’d hit up the Grand
Canyon of Yellowstone.
Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to hike any of the trails around the
canyon, but we did see some spectacular vies of the lower and upper falls. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">Next stop
was the Norris basin. The Norris
basin is home to Steamboat Geyser, which is the world’s tallest
currently-active geyser. We saw
numerous hot springs and smelled lots of sulfur. It was cool and all, but we were really itching to see Old
Faithful.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">It was about
5:25 when rolled up to old faithful.
10 minutes later, dar she blows!
Man do we have good timing!
We snapped our pics and browsed through the gift shop. We were surprised such a large crowd of
tourists there and feeling a bit overwhelmed decided we should get to our
campsite. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">En route, we
spotted an elk grazing not 5 feet from the side of the road. What a beautiful animal! Our campsite was right near the lake,
so we had some nice, brisk winds blowing.
All of the computers were down, so it took them awhile to find our
reservation and assign us a plot of land.
Yes, it’s good to have land!
We were pleasantly surprised to find a bison chillin’ about 50 meters
from our campsite. The Ocho and
LT2 battled the strong winds to set up the tents while the boys went off to
gather firewood. Having found a
large bounty, they returned as men.
It was not difficult to notice that LT2’s tent (brown and mustard yellow
in color) was significantly more janky than all the other tents at the
campsite. This is a point of
pride, not shame!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">Since the
night was so chilly, we spent most of our time hanging by the fire. Whiskers went to a ranger program on
grizzly bears while LT2, Ocho, and The Captain filled out their Junior Ranger
booklets. When Whiskers returned,
we commenced drinkin’ and chattin’ until it was time to call it a night. It was a good, long day in Yellowstone
and we were anxious to get up in the morning for round 2. The Captain and the Fourth Amigo are damn lucky that we live in 2012. The Silver Swede is a much better horsey than they are, and I hope they know that. They'll never get jobs as pack horseys. Typical boys.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">Adios,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">Ze Four Amigozzzz</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05750534501088728455noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-77994787291571987942012-06-20T13:00:00.000-04:002012-06-21T22:37:39.333-04:00Latest PicturesWe've added a few more days, including our trips through Clearwater National Forest and Yellowstone National Park!<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/113853587353431584342">Newest</a><br />
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Find links to all of the pics in this older <a href="http://cautionchildrenatplay.blogspot.com/2012/06/photos-galore.html">post</a>Neil Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15159341812408994408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-26068607091913374182012-06-20T09:34:00.000-04:002012-06-20T09:34:14.323-04:00Day 20: Scenic Drive Through Clearwater National ForestThe Amigos awoke to a smell they were becoming all too familiar with when staying with members of the Ocho's family: a delicious breakfast awaiting them in the kitchen. They were soon well fueled for their departure thanks to the Wards. After a quick photo session including Rolo and Stripes, we were on the road again.<br />
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Since this day had been set aside to cover as much ground as possible on the road, we decided to at least get in some sights. As we approached the Washington/Idaho border we hopped off I-90 and made our way to scenic Highway 12 through Clearwater National Forest. This drive closely followed the route of Lewis & Clark during their own road trip west. The path followed the winding river and provided some very picturesque views which did not escape our camera.<br />
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After over 13 hours of driving time, covering 750 miles, and becoming reaquainted with our soon to be good friend I-90 as we made our way into Montana, we finally stopped for the night in Bozeman, MT (shout-out to Bozeman Kennifer!!). The stay would be short, however, as we were all excited to head to Yellowstone the following morning.<br />
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Note: We'd like to wish The Honorable Magician, The King, Rick the Taller, The Judge, and Uncle Todd a very Happy Father's Day! Thanks for making this trip possible. We love you!Neil Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15159341812408994408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-51747398832959073262012-06-18T04:00:00.000-04:002012-06-23T14:09:48.113-04:00Day 19: Chillin with the fam in Tacoma, WAStretching across this great country of ours, there hides a secret and exclusive society. It is the Ocho Kennifer Family, and its associated lodges stretch from Tustin, CA, all the way to Tacoma, WA. Today, the Amigos found themselves welcomed by the Tacoma lodge, led by the ever-wonderful Todd and Kim. After a week of relaxing in sunny Monterey and San Francisco, the Amigos doubted the rainy northwest would stack up. The Amigos didn't count on The Ocho's extended family being such unequivocal ballers.<br />
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We rolled out of Portland this morning at a casual 8:50AM, only fifty minutes behind schedule, which we should be proud of, considering that last night included our first encounters with drag queens--an Earth-rocking event, I think. After a quick two-hour jaunt north to Tacoma, WA, entering the shadow of Mt. Rainier during our approach, we met the fabulous Ward family, including the world-famous Maggie, Kevin, and Brian, of which we had already heard so much. (For example, during the car ride up, Maggie had warned Devan that she was going "instagram the crap out of the day." The Wards also have a dog named Rollo, who is 13-years old, chocolate-colored, jacked, and kinda blind, which means he is a dude of epic proportions.) After a brief welcome at the Ward estate, the seven of us piled in the Wards car for a trip to Seattle to see the sights. It would be a guided tour.<br />
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After a tour of Pike Place, the fish and farmer's market on the river in Seattle, we made our way up and over to Top Pot Doughnuts on the recommendation of Guide Kevin. (We might not be doughnut connaisseurs, but we did think the doughnuts were pretty boss.) Top Pot Doughnuts provided us with the sugar rush we needed to make it down the street to the Experience Music Project, a music and sci-fi museum, and Seattle Center, where there was a sweet fountain that looked like a koosh ball in a bowl. We also went up the Space Needle, where we met a guy who had been there on the first day that the needle opened, when he had proposed to his wife there at the top, and now he had returned on the 50th Anniversary of his proposal and the 49th Anniversary of his bride's tragic death on their honeymoon. It was an incredible story. We bought him a drink--gin and tonic, his wife's favorite--and he said he would never forget us. I'm lying, we didn't go up the space needle. But it did look cool from the bottom and The Ocho calls it the Space Noodle, which is a funny name when you imagine what it looks like.<br />
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On our return trip, we stopped at the Gas Works, a cool park outside Seattle, where we stumbled on a festival for the Solstice. The festival was, eh, kinda hippie. There was a map that showed the different parts of the festival, and there were parts called "Hula Hooping to a Tax Loophole," "The New Economy," "The People's Art Gallery," and "So You Want to Live Indoors?" It was a wonderful spot, full of music and sensual hippie dancing. We highly recommend it to any passersby, though you might have to change your itinerary to accommodate the pagan calendar.<br />
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After busting through Seattle traffic--which wasn't hard, considering that we were coming home to a tasty dinner courtesy of Todd and Kim--we were all pretty wiped out from our exciting touristy day. We hit up Kevin's fro-yo joint--where he is third in command, mind you--then collapsed into bed. Of all the places we have been thus far, Tacoma joins a very short list of spots that will forever have fond memories for us, thanks to the generous hospitality of our hosts. The Tacoma lodge of the Ocho family is a truly remarkable bunch--hilarious, too--and we're super lucky to have gotten to crash with them today. Tomorrow, we're back into the wilderness, back toward the east coast. Adios, Pacific!johnnybhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914505808648822390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-80957836147054746702012-06-17T14:10:00.000-04:002012-06-23T14:12:26.202-04:00Day 18: On the Road Again to Portlandia<br />
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Hidden deep
in the north country, there is a magical kingdom called Portland. It is of this
city that I would like to speak to you now.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I have seen
only one episode of <i>Portlandia</i>, but
that one episode had a profound impact on me. After watching that episode, all
of a sudden, I had something to live for. Now, I did not think that Portland
would live up to my expectations, and granted, in our visit I only saw a narrow
slice of Portland life, but my goodness it was a tasty slice. I intend to go
back for more, even though it was not the taste of Portland that I had
expected. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We made our
triumphant return to the road today with a casual ten-hour drive. The day got off to an early start. After some handy craftsmanship by Mr. Siete
to get the shower working, the Four Lokos were ready to go! We said goodbye to our amazing hosts and
headed across the Golden Gate Bridge, off to the north country.<o:p></o:p></div>
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While we
would have loved to take the longer, more scenic route up the coast, we had
places to be and people to see. Route 5
it was! (for about 550 mi). The drive
was relatively uneventful. The Ocho
pointed out the tiny town of Willows where her G-ma lives and we almost took a
detour to the Sierra Nevada Brewery, but decided it would have taken too long.
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An unusually
long break was taken in the middle of the day.
We stopped for food, gas, groceries, and (drum roll, please) the Fourth
Amigo got a new phone! He upgraded to a
smart phone after his last phone took a dunk in the Pacific. Having doubled our supply of smart phones on
this trip, we took the road once again, closing in on that aforementioned
magical kingdom.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Seven hours
later, we pulled off the interstate and found our host’s house on the outskirts
of Portland.<br />
<a name='more'></a> Our tour guides for our
stay in Portland were our hosts, Gavin and his wife Suzie, and our MC, Brett. (Shout out to The Captain’s brother for
arranging this stay.) They treated us
right as we were handed the best ginger whiskeys we’ve ever tasted as soon as
we walked in the door. They had a full
night of activities planned for us and around 9:30 we finally hit the town. But
let me tell you, baby, the town hit back.<o:p></o:p></div>
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First stop was<em><b><span style="background-color: white; font-style: normal;"> </span></b></em>Deschutes
Brewery. LT2 was over the moon to find
that they had a sour beer on tap! Could
this night get any better (hint, it can)!? It was decided that the main event
for the night would be a drag show…I mean female impersonator show! A quick stop was made at a bar for some social
lubrication. It was an interesting bar
to say the least. There were
approximately 5 other patrons aside from us.
Two of them were painting and one woman was dancing by herself in a bit
of a trance, but a trance that included robot dance moves. We decided it was best to get moving again. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Thanks in part to our
newly-acquired liquid courage from Deschutes and Sketchy Bar, we did not
hesitate before entering the most magical of magical sanctums in Portland:
Darcelle’s, a bar and showroom of “Female Impersonators.” We were there for
Darcelle XV, a musical revue hosted by the lovely sixty-something-year old
Darcelle and performed by a cast of five of the most ambiguously-attractive
men-women I have seen all road trip. Dear Reader, let me tell you, they did not
disappoint.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Darcelle XV is an amazing
experience. It was so bad, it was
good! No, it was great! The Ocho repeatedly questioned how this place
could still be in business, pointing out the low production value—all the music
and singing was canned—and potentially overwhelming manliness of one of the
performers, but the debate was moot because Darcelle’s was alive and well on
this Friday night. There are a few pictures, but you will probably never see
them, and none of us can run for public office now. Many of us, at one point or
another, in one way or another, tipped the performers, and when they found out
we were from the east coast, we did get interviewed a bit by one of the hosts.
What a great man-lady. Very funny. Very sassy. All in all, it was a stellar
night. Darcelle’s gets the old Amigo Seal of Approval.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Portland is a place of
magic and mystery, where all the people are friendly, gender is a personal
choice, and even uptight northeasterners can have a good time. Drag shows are
amazing. Portland is amazing. It’s a shame we have to keep on trucking, but
we’re off to Tacoma to meet more family of the Ocho, so we know the good times
will keep on a-coming.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Over and out.<o:p></o:p></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05750534501088728455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-4907034776604946682012-06-17T03:27:00.003-04:002012-06-23T14:11:27.283-04:00Day 17: San Francisco Dreamin'Today, we decided, was Invasion Day. After so many days of stagnation in Monterey, we were itching to move, itching for a fight. LT2, drawing on her extensive military training, selected the target: San Francisco. The Captain, drawing on his extensive experience with Google maps, selected the invasion route: (whatever road we came in on). The Ocho identified the key players: The Garrigues. The Fourth Amigo agreed to be the spiritual figurehead and dashing spokesperson for the invasion fleet. And so the Invasion of San Francisco began. It was an historic day. A day that will live in infamy.<br />
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We entered the city on the east side to avoid any traffic associated with the opening day of the U.S. Open of golf. Wasting no time, we immediately set our GPS destination to the Philz Coffee in Nob Hill. We then headed up Twin Peaks with fresh and delicious pour-over. The view was not the clearest for us, but that could have just as easily been due to the steam coming off our Philz. It also cleared up a bit as we surveyed the city. </div>
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Freshly fired up about all we had to explore, the Lokos headed down the hill and meandered through Golden Gate Park for the views and a visit with the bison. Man are they huge! And furry! </div>
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Wasting no time, we left the park on the west side and hit the coast to tour the Ocean Beach/Land's End side of town. We took in some sights, The Historian read lots of informational signs, and we were back in the car, disappointed that we didn't have more time to hike around. </div>
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The Ocho missed a few turns on her driving tour, including a close-up view of the golden gate and a drive through the Presidio and the Marina, so we landed at Fisherman's Wharf a little early. After we circled the area a few times like a team of voracious sharks, we found a reasonably priced parking lot and we were off to the races! (And by races I mean Pier 39).<br />
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We had a great day for Alcatraz - sunny and warm with a healthy wind. The island was even better than expected. Alcatraz is one of those cool tourist attractions that locals can enjoy just as much. The history of the place keeps you on your toes with the tantalizing mixture of creepy prison and exciting escape attempts. The Historian decided to welcome extra excitement and opted for a Spanish audio tour. ¡Que aventurero! Visit our picture album for the day for nice views of the city and sad-looking amigos in prison cells.<br />
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Thankfully we made our ferry back and were not stuck on the island for the night. This also meant we got to meet up with The Ocho's big sister, Siete, at her apartment. (You can read Siete's side of this whirlwind adventure at californiacomeback.blogspot.com) We were kindly received with IPAs for happy hour and took another on the road for a tour of the neighborhood, including a pass by the house featured in Mrs. Doubtfire on Steiner street!<br />
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Back to the apartment for some grub, Siete whipped up a magical feast of fajitas and salad while The Ocho tried her hand at some grapefruit margaritas. Siete finished it all off with unbelievable individual molten chocolate cakes a la mode! In case you were wondering, yes, The Lokos do realize just how spoiled we are!<br />
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Soon after dinner, Siete's husband came home from being away for work, and all rejoiced at the addition. The rest of the night was a super fun session of Would You Rather, riotous laughter, The Historian falling asleep on the couch, and more laughter. Though the day in the city was exciting and action-packed, this was our favorite part of San Francisco. Adventures on the road are awesome, but our hosts have really made the trip what it is. We didn't get to spend nearly enough time in San Francisco, so we'll be back! And with hosts like Mr. and Mrs. Siete, we'll be back soon! But first, we continue our journey north... The Invasion Fleet's next stop is Tacoma, WA. We will show no mercy.<br />
<br /></div>funniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00065088503907118140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-62210209009592760232012-06-17T03:09:00.004-04:002012-06-17T03:09:43.196-04:00Photos Galore!Links to all the pictures we have posted so far:<br />
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/111168158417502466782">Days 1-6</a><br />
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106662204668220542713">Days 7-8</a><br />
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/107011477950082012592">Days 9-11</a><br />
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/102940615010611122830">Days 12-16</a><br />
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/113853587353431584342">Days 17-19</a>Neil Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15159341812408994408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-13965783592348628792012-06-14T04:13:00.002-04:002012-06-14T04:13:22.441-04:00Day 16: Hasta la vista, MontereyThis being our last day in Monterey, we had a bit of a bucket list to work through. Pebble Beach Golf Course, the wharf, bodysurfing, and the DMV all needed our attention--as we think could be said by any tourist in California--and we are happy to report that we visited them all.<br />
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Today the
Ocho learned how to drive! No
wait, she just got reacquainted with a drivers license. After a 6 month+ separation, the Ocho
made a trip to the DMV to get her new drivers license. It was a very special moment and we all
hope that this license has a longer lifespan than her previous one that did not
live to see the year 2012 (the Mayans were right!). The Captain also made a trip to pick up our finely tuned
Swedish tank. With fresh oil and
rotated tires we are ready to hit the road again!<br />
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Aside from
these few errands, the morning was slow and relaxed. LT2 and The Ocho were finally able to catch up on all of
this season’s Mad Men episodes. Both
viewers give it two thumbs up! After
a lot of intense fictional drama it was time to Cali out and we all head to the
beach!</div>
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Our resident
guide, The Ocho, gave us all lessons on how to put on wet suits and body
surf. Apparently the trick to
keeping warm is to wet yourself.
The rip current was a little strong and Ocho had to help LT2 out on a few
occasions. LT2 was a bit like a
fish out of water. Good thing one
of us is a certified California state lifeguard. After catching a few waves and eating it a couple times, the
four amigos were ready to head back to la casa de Kennifer to recuperate. </div>
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After
cleaning up, it was time to head to fisherman’s wharf. We struck gold at a local bodega where
we picked up some authentic tacos and other California purchases to sustain us
through the rest of the trip.
Souvenirs aplenty were purchased on the wharf as The Fourth Amigo and LT2 grooved to the sounds on the Bee Gees. A trip to California would not be complete without a stop at See's Candy to feed LT2's milk patty addiction.</div>
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Chocolate procured, the next stop
was the pebble beach golf course.
We walked holes 4-9 along the ocean as The Captain, the only golfer
among us, explained general rules, techniques, and course maintenance. The Ocho and the Fourth Amigo headed down to the shore to search for lost gold balls. The Fourth Amigo<b>
</b>made the big find by acquiring a genuine pebble beach golf ball. </div>
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A quick pit
stop was made back to the house to switch cars and pick up the Ricks. We enjoyed a wonderful last supper at
Baja Cantina. We enjoyed great
food, beers, margaritas, and a wonderfully fluorescent green beverage! It was an amazing way to cap off our
stay in Monterey. We are all sad
to be leaving in the morning, but the open road is calling. Plus, we all have a feeling that we
will be back here soon!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05750534501088728455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-25248259685341750772012-06-14T04:08:00.001-04:002012-06-14T04:19:07.362-04:00Day 15: Dude, the Aquarium is AMAAAZINNNG<div>
When one of the amigos was a little boy, he dreamed one day of working at an aquarium--not as a feeder or a guide, but as a harbor seal. When this little amigo heard about a harbor seal named Hoover, who had lived in Boston until 1985 and, from his tank outside the New England Aquarium, had barked things like "Get outta heah!" to the passersby, well, when this little Amigo heard about that he thought he had found a fellow man-seal and he figured his future career at the aquarium was guaranteed. But it turns out Hoover was really a harbor seal, and the little amigo couldn't turn into one of those, so he gave up on life and went back to school. Over the years, he forgot all about the aquarium and all the things he had dreamed about doing there. The aquarium faded into the background--until today.</div>
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Yes, this was Monterey Bay Aquarium Day for the amigos, and what a magical day it was. After a brief run on Carmel Beach, where we were joined by the Fourth Amigo's long-lost middle-school friend named Allison, we met The Ocho's friend Grant and processed en masse to the seashore, continuing straight through the front doors of the aquarium, where we found ourselves in a magical world. "A world of long-lost man-seal dreams," as they say in the old country. Dear readers, the Monterey Aquarium is everything you ever dreamed of, and more.</div>
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For example, have you heard of "The Jelly Experience"? Did you know that it's a acid-trippy 70s adventure through the biology and diversity of the jellyfish kingdom? And did you know that "The Jelly Experience" unites jellyfish and Jimi Hendrix under the banner of psychedelic conservation? I think you did not know any of these things, and for this reason, you have been missing out.</div>
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When our minds weren't being blown by those mushrooms of the sea or the thousands of spiraling sardines, we stood in shock at the edge of the sea otter exhibit, basking in their face-ruffling, hand-holding, somersault-swimming cuteness. Those snea snotters, as The Ocho affectionately refers to them, stole the show, though they faced stiff competition from the weedy sea horses, puffins, and the penguins, especially, who stole the hearts of both The Captain and the Fourth Amigo. </div>
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But if, by chance, you find cuteness a bit overdone these days, don't worry--there are exhibits for mature audiences, too. We recommend one called "Getting Together." It explains seahorse mating rituals, illustrated most poetically by a short animated film about seahorse sex. That film runs on an infinite loop. One young man we saw there today, transfixed by what he saw, may well be there when you visit, too, whenever that time may come.</div>
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The only downside of the aquarium was that it was so gahddurn big. After only three hours of brain-melting experiences, we were all pretty tuckered out. We had to leave before seeing the entire aquarium. After a quick stop at the local farmer's market, Allison headed back to Stanford while the rest of the gang headed to Post No Bills, a craft beer joint near Monterey that the Kennifers are known to frequent on their lazy Sundays. It was a relaxing way to end the day: with a beer in one hand, pizza in the other, and a brain chock full of scarily-vivid sea creature facts, the four Amigos savored their Californian treats. In so many ways, it had been mind-expanding day.</div>
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Never give up on your dreams, kids. You may not turn into an English-speaking man-seal with a colorful regional accent, but do not despair. You can still come to Monterey, where the sun is always shining (except when it's foggy), the birds are always singing (except when they're not), and the aquarium is always open (except at night; but don't worry, a closed aquarium doesn't mean that the animals are dead). All you kids out there, all you small children who are reading this blog, you can be sure of this: from the Four Amigos, Monterey gets the old Four Thumbs Up.</div>
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Over and out.</div>johnnybhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914505808648822390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-26769411691697673692012-06-13T18:18:00.001-04:002012-06-13T18:18:09.594-04:00Day 14: Back Down the Coast For a BitThe last few days in California have been pretty damn stressful, let me tell you. Bombarded by generous hospitality, sunny days, and ocean breezes, we have had nothing to do but sit around and worry about everything, which has left us clean tuckered out. Thank goodness we were able to escape the grind today with a mini-road trip: a quick jaunt down the Cali One to Big Sur, where every one and every thing--we concluded--has very recently ingested an industrial-strength tranquilizer.<br />
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After a late night by the fire, even we four amigos were slow to rise this morning. After forcing several gallons of coffee into their systems, they were prepared to once again start a wonderful day in California. The agenda for the day was to head back down the coast through areas of Big Sur which they had driven through far too quickly on the way up. Ocho once again played host/chauffeur, making sure to find all the scenic lookouts on the way down.<br />
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(This picture shows where mermaids are born.)</div>
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We were treated to lunch at Nepenthe by the Magician. The only thing rivaling the incredible food was the view. After sampling a variety from each other's orders, we agreed that you could not go wrong with a choice off the menu. Stomach's full, our next stop was to look around the Henry Miller library for a bit before stopping of at Phieffer Beach. We sat on the beach, enjoying the peaceful sounds and sights of the ocean for over an hour. The stay was marred only by the possible loss of one phone, which was lovingly embraced by a large wave. </div>
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Our Big Sur trip was topped off with a visit to the Big Sur River Inn where we relaxed, feet in the river, bums in sturdy Adirondack chairs, and hands on some reading materials. The only thing that could tear us away from this tranquility was the news of a surf and turf dinner awaiting us at Casa Kennifer. Enjoying a feast fit for a king (or Princess?), we were soon filled to the brim with food and contentedness. </div>
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We were then told we had to experience a Kennifer family childhood classic known as the Chipmunk Adventures. This was followed by a slightly more age-appropriate viewing of The Endless Summer. Deliriously happy sleep soon overcame us before we could even manage our end of the night photo. We're a lot more relaxed now, don't worry. We hope this feeling lasts as we get back to the grind on our road trip. It's a hard life we lead, we know.</div>
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<br />Neil Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15159341812408994408noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-89611277133233998702012-06-12T14:49:00.003-04:002012-06-12T14:52:59.783-04:00Day 13: Cali is kinda cool, I guessWith three of the four of us having grown up in the northeast, the majority opinion of the Amigos was that Californians were a bit into themselves. All through college, The Ocho never stopped talking about how awesome Cali was, how amazing the weather was, blah blah blah, but The Ocho had not seen snow before going to college and she didn't really wear shoes that much, so we knew she was a bit off in the head. We consequently discounted most things she said about Cali. Our continued hesitation to believe the hype made yesterday absolutely amazing.<br />
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We started
the day off right with eggs prepared by none other than Rick the Taller (RTT). The Fourth Amigo was eager to learn a thing or
two about California cuisine and enthusiastically mimicked all of RTT’s moves
and put hot sauce on everything! I
believe The Fourth Amigo's mouth had a religious experience. Stomachs full, we were all in agreement that breakfast was
delicious! </div>
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Eager to get
moving again, we headed to the beach club for some yakkin’. Martha and LT2 overcame their steering
difficulties to conquer the seven seas.
The water was slightly choppier than expected, but we had a blast
nonetheless. The two singles that
we had out were reserved, so halfway through our ocean voyage the Ricks left us
to return the kayaks. The Four
Lokos stayed out and even tried paddling Viking style for awhile (attach the 2
kayaks together and have 4 people paddling). The rolling waves lent to some nice relaxation, but they
also got LT2 reminiscing about the time she got sea sick crossing the English
channel. Let’s just say it’s a
good thing she didn’t join the Navy.
We brought the yaks in and headed to the beach club to relax.</div>
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We cooked
ourselves in the hot tub for a bit before running down to the ocean and diving
in the frigid water. That sure got
the blood flowing. After chillin’
in the pool and hot tub a bit more we hopped in the showers and then made our
way into Monterey. The Ocho gave
us a brief driving tour, but there were mucho tourists so we decided it was
best to move on.</div>
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It wasn’t
until we arrived back at the Ocho’s house around 5pm that we realized we didn’t
eat lunch. The Ocho herself
immediately cooked us up some chicken paninis, and the next two hours were spent recuperating at home before we
hit the beach again for an evening bonfire.</div>
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Loaded with firewood,
ingredients for s’mores, and brews we made our way to the beach. Ocho’s friend, John, joined us and we
enjoyed a pleasant evening of stars, surf, and fire. Around 11:30 the party was broken up by some local police
officers who kindly informed us that fires were not allowed on the beach after
10 (maybe their clocks were slow?).
All in all they were rather pleasant. We returned home and went to sleep happy after another great
day in Monterey! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif0VhU9kO8J1At5K4jSFAGLZr5d6a0twvh3Kmi6smijHsnVVEckEwnorIZQCGuhxv5Pior6BSWtwAaYOKA1lpJLF4sRL-Xx5P0L2XzwgdGaHFIZoysYQcMGBR4gL4Hf5Pt3f7gfkLp6q0/s1600/IMAG0268.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif0VhU9kO8J1At5K4jSFAGLZr5d6a0twvh3Kmi6smijHsnVVEckEwnorIZQCGuhxv5Pior6BSWtwAaYOKA1lpJLF4sRL-Xx5P0L2XzwgdGaHFIZoysYQcMGBR4gL4Hf5Pt3f7gfkLp6q0/s320/IMAG0268.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
(The above picture was taken after The Captain re-invented Greek Fire and threw it on some logs.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3Qn2hMqIG8G0Syh-DoHPUb1wsU65f31eUnzPwx3tuwIdPSQaq8ad1uhzNFyjV62OOvOeAIABjE2KWz50OPIRi63poRHrjrp_OeSygVGKFK-XX96ywXCp_rz6Kn-ScIzjXslXHeAQyGk/s1600/IMAG0269.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3Qn2hMqIG8G0Syh-DoHPUb1wsU65f31eUnzPwx3tuwIdPSQaq8ad1uhzNFyjV62OOvOeAIABjE2KWz50OPIRi63poRHrjrp_OeSygVGKFK-XX96ywXCp_rz6Kn-ScIzjXslXHeAQyGk/s320/IMAG0269.jpg" width="191" /></a></div>
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(The above picture was taken as the Fourth Amigo proved to a crowd of thousands that he can feel no pain.)</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05750534501088728455noreply@blogger.com0Monterey, CA, USA36.6002378 -121.894676136.549247300000005 -121.9736401 36.6512283 -121.8157121tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-49068355346706202622012-06-11T14:26:00.000-04:002012-06-11T22:07:53.050-04:00Newest PicturesWe have added Day 11: <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/107011477950082012592">https://picasaweb.google.com/107011477950082012592</a><br />
<br />
and Days 12 and 13:<a href="http://www.blogger.com/%C2%A0https://picasaweb.google.com/102940615010611122830"> </a><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/102940615010611122830">https://picasaweb.google.com/102940615010611122830</a>Neil Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15159341812408994408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212783325391247179.post-32185335479837787042012-06-10T21:45:00.000-04:002012-06-10T21:45:21.580-04:00Day 12: A Full Taste of CaliforniaWe awoke bright and early, excited to spend our first full day in Monterey. As soon as all four amigos were out of bed and perked up with a cup of coffee or two, it was off to Carmel Beach. We began by demonstrating our athletic prowess to our fellow beach-goers with some tossing of the pigskin. This was followed by a light jog down the beach, a long spell of the Captain staring at the Pebble Beach Golf Course in wonder from less than 10 feet away, a light jog back to our possessions, and some laying in the sun. <br />
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Back at the Kennifer Inn, we showered up, had lunch, and prepared ourselves both physically and mentally for the Monterey Beer Festival. The event was better than any of us could have imagined. Many a beer was tasted from such breweries as: 21st Amendment, Ass Kicker Ales, Grand Teton, Lagunitas, Peter B's Brew Pub, and many more. The only thing that went down smoother than the copious amounts of beer were the cover bands reenacting the greatest hits of U2, AC/DC, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. It was also here that we got to meet several of the Ocho's hometown friends. We spent a good amount of the festival with John and Grant, two great guys.<br />
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Following the festival the Ocho showed us around her old high school stomping grounds before we headed off to Grant's house for game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. While the result of this game did not go as desired, the result of the night in general was fantastic. Delicious food, good friends, some brews, and a wonderful California night were just what the amigos needed to end their second night in this magical part of California. Arriving back at the Kennifer household, they kept their eyes open just long enough to take the traditional end of the day photo before hitting the hay.Neil Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15159341812408994408noreply@blogger.com1