ATL BBD BFF

We were excited to have almost a full day of fun in the sun with our best friend Britt, but unfortunately, due to our car problem we were unable to get to Atlanta, GA until 8:00pm. None the less, we got to Britt's, drank some beer, slammed a pizza pie and chilled real hard. Really, what else would we want to do?

Britt enlightened us with the worlds away that lie apart from Rowe Camp such as The Fairy Gathering and other such festivals. He also lead us through a guided tour of the blanket/pillow stack that resided next to his couch. Here are some favorites:

This is an amazing pillow case that was made out of some of Britt's Mom's fabric from the 70's.
This is some needlework that Britt did in the 6th grade. . .
We had a wonderful time catching up with our old friend and seeing a tiny corner of Atlanta. In the morning, after Britt went to work, we got some got some good ol' biscuits and gravy. ...vegetarian and topped with tempeh.

JAX

Las Vegas... Check

Las Angeles... Check

Austin... Check

New Orleans... Check

Jacksonville Florida?!?!!!??!!?? CHECCCCKKKK!

Im going to be honest. Jacksonville is not my favorite place. Some of my favorite people are located there, so we had to drive through. Emily, Raph, and their adorable new son Cayden welcomed us with the finest accommodations thus far, and fresh good home cooking. I couldn't fully enjoy breakfast on saturday morning after having a late night nosh at the local "EL TORO". I grabbed the bull by the horns and it took me to the toilet for more than a couple hours.

We had a few car troubles on the way and could not get the Benz past 50mph, what could have, might have, should have been a very costly fix ended up only costing us $40 at a sweet euro motor shop called lorenzen. A very nice german fellow tuned us up and gave me a heavy appreciation for that German engineering.

Seth & Joey

Down by da beach BOYYEEEEEE

Cayden wrapped up

Anyway, thanks Em, Raph, and Cayden we had a blast. C U SOON!

-Seth

What has 4 I's and pp's?

New Orleans, what a place! Streets full of history, culture rich with diversity, a river laden with boats and ferries, corners reeking of pee and vomit, food so fried and tasty you might get diarrhea, never ending music and to-go cups for days, how could we resist?

"Touchdown Jesus"

We had a lovely time hanging with Ian and Laura playing shuffle board, a splendid morning eating a margarine soaked breakfast at the Clover Grill and walking around the French quarters, and a delightful time chillin' with Coleen, Nash, Liam, Felicity and Lenore. It was really nice to hang out with some people who really knew the area. Coleen shared many anecdotes about life in NOLA and the effects of Katrina while Nash and Liam told us about what it is like being a kid in an awesome city. They even showed us all the hot spots, like the field they like to do archery in.

After the sun went down we really let our hair down. Coleen took us to a nice cafe where we drank alcoholic and caffinated beverages. After giving us an expedited tour of the town, we met Ian at "The Joint" for some ribs, brisket, and mac 'n' cheese. We slammed the food and then proceeded to bar hop. We went to Mimi's where the bartender questioned Seth and Coleen's age, then The John where Ani DiFranco was playing while we played ping-pong, and finally to The Maison that had some great live music. We watched the spectacle that is Frenchman st and then took a cab back to Ian's house where the stinkiest dog on earth waited for us. "Charles Balls" as he was dubbed, was a rescued dog that Ian's roommate took in. He stunk like the street, had soars on his feet and had huge balls. We got home late, woke up early and headed for Jacksonville, FL.
Thanks to all of our friends in New Orleans who were so accommodating and ready to party!

A river r/funs through it

Austin, a city full of events and flyers, so much is happening, one may be able to do something like hoop dance.

I'll tell you what. . . Austin rules. After driving a mere 6 hours from Lubbock, TX, a town full of car dealerships and decrepit sprawl, we entered into the Austin city limits. It felt pretty good to see some civilization after hundreds of miles of tumble weeds and road kill. We were warmly welcomed by Greg and Chloe who are probably the most friendly friend and dog we know. Greggy

Right before Greg had to go to work we enjoyed a pitcher of beer at the local coffee shop/bar (why aren't there more of those in the world?) Luckly, for our entertainment a dog who was harnessed to a trash can across the street got loose. We had a perfect vantage as the dog sprinted down the street scraping the trash can lid the whole way. It's owner ran after it and Greg, as the only kind one in our group, ran after "Ruby" on our side of the street.
After hangin' with our new friends Travis and Rachel outside of the coffee shop in the very temperate Austin weather, we went to explore downtown.

By the time we got to 6th st. (which is the equivalent of N. Pleasant st. in Amherst or any other annoying college town) we really had to pee so we went into the first bar we saw. Heading straight to the bathrooms we didn't notice that all of the waitstaff were comprised of women in bakinis and all of the patrons were middle aged men. We left promptly, feeling a little disgusted. We checked the name of the bar as we left which was no other than "Bikinis."

Walking around in an unfamiliar city can be so hard sometimes, you don't know where the best place to eat is or where the best stores are, you don't even know where the cool people are! I'll give you a little tip as an experienced traveler: find out where the American Apparel is located and you will find the richest culture in all the land. I'm joking because I want to seem funny and I don't want to support boring travel experiences, but I am not joking because this technique works.

I'm going to give you another tip here, if you are traveling to Austin, TX and haven't eaten a real meal in 2 days (with exception to Subway) you should probably go to Justines Brasserie. Just delicious! Seth and I treated ourselves to steak and ratatouille, I even tried a tiny bit of steak!
Later that evening we went to Travis's house and hung out with some great people. His house, which is home to 6 people, felt like a familiar and comfortable environment. Even being almost 2,000 miles away from home it was nice to know that you can find other hipsters who have lived on Grand st., wwoofed or play in a band. Home is where the heart is right? Maybe home is where the hipster is.

The next day we went out to "my mothers" (mi madres) and got some danktown breakfast tacos with Greg and Travis and then road on a mustache seesaw. A mustache ride you might call it.

We just passed the halfway point! 1,835 miles to go.

Aint It Grand?

We left Las Vegas. We felt seedy and gross. We needed some extreme nature, the perfect anecdote for a night spent in the city of sin. So we went to the grand canyon. Although the makeup of the tourists was not all that different from that in Vegas, the scenery was outstanding. We stayed in Flagstaff AZ, we ate at a brewery, watched the celtics, slept in a totally fine hostel. NBD

They love the Suns in Flagstaff

After a long drive now we're in Texas. Stayed at a HOJO and were on our way to Austin where we intend to "keep it weird". Also we hit 222,222 in the diesel. 35mpg. NBD.

-Seth

The Meadows

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas right?! Well if that is the case then I really shouldn’t be telling you this, but I have to because I am committed to the blog. It is a little bit hard to write this right now due to my massive hangover, aching and raw new tattoo, swollen just-pierced belly button, body covered in buffalo wing sauce, new hot mink coat that I bought with my winnings and the stranger passed out on my lap. It’s really hard, but as I said, I am committed to the blog. Vegas sure is the entertainment capital of the world, if you know what I mean.

Well...

I have to be honest, on the drive from Los Angeles to Las Vegas I think that all of us (Seth, Anna, Joey and Hillary) had high expectations for our night in sin city. We were envisioning something similar to what happens in the movies, you know, poppin’ bottles, drugs in elevators, chillin’ with some ‘tutes, etc. What really happened was completely satisfactory, but perhaps not completely off the hook. Yes, we did all wake up with hangovers, but only because beer was so universally cheap and allowed outside (we could even drink whiskey in the mall). And yes we may have woken up with some buffalo wing sauce smeared on our faces, but that was only because we stayed at the Hooters hotel and casino where eating wings is basically mandatory (and all of the pregnant hooters girls were such good servers). In regards to the tattoos, piercings, winnings and strangers, we left that to all of the bros who swarmed the casinos in groups wearing matching t-shirts that said “I have a (wet) dream”—yes, this part is true, and yes it was MLK day. :(

What did happen was pretty fun. After settling into our room, shaving our excess body hair and watching 20 minute of The Jersey Shore we decided to hit the town! We visited all the important spots: the MGM, Luxor, Excaliber, Cosmopolitan, New York, New York, Belagio and Wild Bill’s casino and saloooon. Seth and Joey hit the roller coaster that soars above NY, NY (just to feel a little more at home) while Hillary and I went to Nathan's. We saw the live lions at the MGM and the inside of the ancient Luxor pyramid. Really it was a lot of walking, so much so that Seth had to pee on the belagio grounds and Hillary had to buy new shoes and then we had to go back to Hooters.

Back at home, the Hooters gambling floor that is, we all felt very comfortable. Seth sat down to a game of poker, Joey and Hillary sat down to some blackjack and I sat down to the slots. We all lost. But oh how fun it was to lose that money! After I won $5, I went over to the poker table to pay Seth for the bet we had made earlier (that Las Vegas didn’t have a food co-op, turns out they do), apparently after I left Seth the dudes at the poker table asked why I had given Seth my winnings. Seth had to then explain what a food co-op was; “You know, like a health food store? Like natural foods? Like hippy food, Whole Foods?”

Meanwhile Joey and Hillary were chatting it up with all the wasted southerners and the Eastern European/South American/Asian card dealers. While being served free drinks, they made a new friend from Amarillo Texas, how cute!

I will say one last think about my experience in Las Vegas. I was expecting much more on the fashion front. It became clear to me that just like at the airport, modern American culture has completely abandonded all sense of respect for luxory indulgences. What ever happened to dressing up for a flight or putting on a gown to go play craps? I was dissappointed, but at least Joey fit in. . .

Los Angles. City of Angles.

Every time I go to Los Angeles I like it a little more. I've figured out the perfect way to experience it. Ill take you through step by step.

1.) Make sure that Los Angeles is not your final destination - If it is not your destination then there are lower standards, therefore making it easier to enjoy

2.) Eat Kogi Truck - www.koreanBBQtacocountry.bombspot.com - If there is a line of 20+ people like there was on saturday, suck it up and stick it out. kogi dog is very high

3.) Hang out at venice beach - This place scares me and rocks me. 300 people having a drum circle freak out, $40 medical marijuana prescriptions, and of course roller skate dance party (videos to come)

4.) Stay for only one day and have a great host - Thanks Joey

See you in Vegas.

-Seth

San Francisco is for cool people

For all of you wondering where you should visit next, I want to let you know that San Francisco is a great place, especially if you are looking to have your car break in an industrial park. After trying to leave for LA on Friday we stopped to run a few errands only to hit a wall, a non-functioning-car-starter wall that is. Thanks to AAA and an expedient mechanist who only refers to cars with female pronouns we were ready to set out on Saturday. We were happy to get the car problems out of the way before we left...I guess.Anyway, I want to let you all know how cooool SF is. For one, Seth and I went to a totally wacky rock and roll show that our friend Eli was playing at. A Collin L. Orchestra/CSC funk band show to be exact. You should check them out at:

http://www.monkeyclaus.org/studio/colin-l-orchestra-infinite-ease-made-easy/ AND http://www.monkeyclaus.org/studio/colin-l-orchestra-infinite-ease-made-easy/

Although the show was off the hook, pregnant with great songs and ultra apathetic hipsters, the real intrigue was the venue in which the show was held at. It was at a place called "Hecco's."

Hecco is a very eccentric, fast talking collector who asked us to help clean up before the show started because we were early. We of course complied, helping him move lamps, stereos, trash, vibrators, bells, bowling balls etc. The place was a real mess, but in a very thought out way. I cannot really explain it much more, so here is a photo:After the show we stayed at Logan and Mikes house in Oakland. They are so nice.We also had the opportunity to spend some time with some people that we always spend time with on the east coast. How new and fun! Nick and Alexis were driving up from LA so we met them, got ill burritos at Pancho Via and then headed over to Jack's for some karaoke with DJ purple who is the DJ who accompanies karaoke singing with live sax and back up singing. It was pretty fun, a little too crowded, but here are some silly pixxxx!

After karaoke we stayed at Logan and Mikes house. They are the best.

Quick Up

After some brief car troubles we have made it past los angeles and are on our way to las vegas. We convinced our buddy joe to ride along. We will post some more photos and anecdotes when we land safe. Ttys.

Adendum

Hi,

Anna here. I just wanted to note the parts of the day that Seth neglected to post about.

#1. Seth accidentally spat on a girl's face. That's right, she was jogging and came up behind us while Seth was hacking up a huge green loogie. He spat, she didn't notice, the man in front of us chuckled and said, "She ok."

#2. We went to the Brentmoore, a fancy assisted living home where my Dad's cousin Judy is now living. She is more of an aunt to me I suppose. Judy is 78 and a real fire cracker! As we walked in the door she said, "you're not going to believe what I did, I pulled a mirror out of the trash to use as a plate for the lunch that I stole for you guys from the dining room, they never give me a goddamn thing down there." She confessed to always getting in trouble there, but "it's ok, if you know the right people." It was nice to see her and eat the chips, cookies and small bottle of wine she had collected for us.

#3. I bought some totally cutie smartwool slippers that I will be wearing today as shoes. $20 at REI clearance!

My fourth clause here is a request. If anyone has any insight on amazing places/sites/people to see along our way, please leave a note on this blog! Of course, by doing so you will get mad blog creds and maybe a souvenir.

Update

Okay.

I went to the DMV yesterday to make sure our ride was legit and tight enough to make it all the way across USA. The DMV in San Francisco is in Haight Asbury. It's wicked cool up there. You can score weed at McDonalds or hang out with the dirts and there pit bulls chilling on the sidewalk. Making sure to preserve the birthplace of the hippy, we transformed ourselves into fashionistas and went shoppppppppppppinngggggggg! Long story short we bumped into an old camper of ours Ty. Our very stoned little friend gave us his card. http://www.technicolorlenses.bandcamp.com

There was a shooting outside our window last night. bummer.

A fresh start

How does one prepare for a road trip across country you ask? Well, to begin one must fix up and look sharp. A few days before our trip we both got our hairs did. Before arriving in CA Anna visited her friend Owen in NYC. As a professional hair ambassador, Owen knew that Anna had to bleach in order look her best while driving in a Mercedes in California.


Seth, in a fit of disgust went to a genuine hair salon in San Francisco called "Angelicas." For no more than $12 he got the trim of his life. Being the only white man in the salon and wanting only a "little bit off the top" he got just what he needed: a cut a little too short, but just right for a guid.

Riggins Rigs

Armed with only the 5th season of Friday Night Lights and a 1987 Mercedes Diesel. We will take this US by storm. Look out East Dillon Lions, Coaches Capista and Meyer are coming to town. BOO YEAHHHH!

-Seth

Hopes and Dreams

Welcome to our cross country blog. We (Seth and Anna) will be traveling 4500 miles across the US this month. Here we will document funny things that happen, beautiful Americana photos, and anecdotes in real time via smart phone. cause why do anything with out documenting it on the internet right?

4500 Miles
Day 1: San Francisco, Ca to Los Angeles, CA (381 Miles 6.5 Hours)
Day 2: Los Angeles, CA to Las Vegas, NV (265 Miles 4.25 Hours)
Day 3: Las Vegas, NV to Grand Canyon, AZ (274 Miles 6 Hours)
Day 4: Grand Canyon, AZ to Santa Fe, NM (461 Miles 7.5 Hours)
Day 5: Santa Fe, NM to Roswell, NM (194 Miles 3.75 Hours) **Proposed Stop
Day 6: Roswell, NM to Austin, TX (506 Miles 9.25 Hours)
Day 7: Austin TX, to New Orleans, LA (508 Miles 8.75 Hours)
Day 8: New Orleans, LA to Jacksonville, FL (545 Miles 8.75 Hours)
Day 9: Jacksonville, FL to Atlanta, GA (317 Miles 5.5 Hours)
Day 10: Atlanta, GA to Willmington, NC (415 Miles 7 Hours)
Day 11: Willmington, NC to Baltimore, MD (401 Miles 7.25 Hours)
Day 12: Baltimore, MD to Northampton, MA (347 Miles 6.5 Hours)

The Crew:

Anna Grace Sharda Meyer

Serge Capistrono Esq.


See you somewhere.