California, the Golden aka burnt brown state!

I have made it! I arrived to Palo Alto, CA yesterday afternoon after a 13 hour drive from Seattle to California. Before I start talking about Cali, thought I might share a few stories about Seattle. The very first day in Seattle was essentially planned for weeks. My intention was to surprise Laura by picking her up from work which went absolutely perfectly. Although it was tough keeping the surprise hidden from her when she kept asking where Ryan and I were while we were traveling across the northern part of the country. Anyways, Mrs. Chapman mentioned to me that I should take their family car to go pick up Laura. This allowed me to drive all the way up to her gallery in perfect disguise. As I drove up to her at 6pm, she looked absolutely stunned! She wouldn't even get of the car! She signaled for me to get out of the car, which I did, and then she gave me a huge hug! The surprise was totally worth it :)

After a few days of going down to the Pike Pl market and hanging out, my old William and Mary professor (Carey) happened to be in Seattle. Carey, Laura and I had lunch and tea at the market. After lunch, Laura headed back to work and then Carey and I headed to the Stonington Gallery where native american carvings were displayed. The work was incredible! This all took place on my last day in Seattle. Next Stop was Palo Alto, CA!

The 13 hour drive was brutal. Thankfully I had my audiobook playing for nearly the whole time but a few rest stops were necessary. I have only been here for one day but I am already wicked excited to be here for the next four years. The weather is incredible and Casey (my friend whom I am staying with) told me that a few days ago it rained for the first time this summer! For those of you who I call often, you know that I enjoy giving the weather report. Southern, VA has incredible weather but this place takes it all. As soon as I arrived the Corman's grilled out and had a great dinner. As expected, I passed out fairly early in the evening.

Today, we headed into downtown San Francisco! We walked along the water, saw lombard street (see picture) and then headed to At&T park to catch the afternoon Giants Vs. Dodgers baseball game. The baseball park is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful stadiums in America. We sat in the upper deck facing the bay. The sun beat down on us for the entire game but it was well worth it. Once back in the suburbs, we threw the baseball around and then headed to dinner in the downtown palo alto area. Casey's sister pointed out to me all of the great Stanford night life spots. I thought Williamsburg had a great restaurant scene but there are even more in Palo Alto. For dessert we went to Fraiche which is a natural frozen yogurt place. You can put anything you want on your frozen yogurt and its absolutely delicious!

I will keep the blog going up to moving into my apartment on campus. After that, its time to start medical school! Stethoscope and white coats will be coming soon!

Next stop Mt. Rainier, and then home for me :(

From GNP we drove west towards Mt. Rainier National Park and I was very surprised at how dry the climate was in western Washington. It was kind of a quiet drive as we both knew that our awesome road trip was coming to an end. Jacob and I headed into Mt. Rainier National Park and had already decided on either Cougar Rock camping area or Sunshine Point. When Jacob asked the park ranger at the gate whether either of these camping areas were full yet she said "Oh, Sunshine Point washed away in 2006." So, needless to say we headed to Cougar Rock. By the way, how does an entire camping area wash away? Where does it go? Mt. Rainier is an active volcano that is prone to mud slides and could erupt at anytime (according to the information on the park map). We headed towards the camping area and it was a beautiful, clear blue sky so we had a great view of Rainier. After picking our campsite we didn't have much time left so we toured the visitor's center and went on a short hike up the mountain. We were graced by a fantastic view of the mountain and its many glaciers. We were also pleased to smell the abundance of wildflowers along the trail. We then headed back to the tent and bought some hot dogs to cook on the campfire. Jacob asked the couple next door for some ketchup. It was an older couple staying in an RV and they had a cat that was so big it needed its own chair to sit in. But, we got the ketchup and were able to enjoy the hot dogs. After dinner we played the Warner-Kuperstock all time card game; Egyptian War. I actually won a game or two for the first time "since 1992".

The next morning we headed to Seattle and to the airport. There was an appropriate amount of fog in the air. We ate breakfast and then Jacob dropped me off at the airport. Have fun at Sequoia National Park Jacob, I had a blast and I will remember our trip always. Good Luck at Stanford School of Medicine!

P.S. After looking at every car we could find the only license plate to elude us was Rhode Island. This is kind of funny but at the very beginning I had told Jacob that it was one we probably wouldn't see. If only Peter Griffin and family had been taking a road trip too... 49 out of 50 ain't bad!

Where are all the Glaciers?

One of my favorite things about this road trip has been seeing all of the incredible signs along the roads as we travel through the US. For example, today on our way to Glacier National Park we saw a sign that said "FANTASTIC! House of Mystery." Now I wasn't a business major, but I consider myself a fairly good salesman (selling all that wrapping paper, candles and preserved caramel popcorn for my elementary school fundraiser not to mention Abby using me as her sales weapon for girl scout cookies) but I wouldn't say that is a very enticing sign. None-the-less it gave Ryan and I a good laugh in the middle of Montana. Just outside of Glacier there was a giant ball and chain. I was tempted to go take a picture with it and then tease my newly married friend Doug that this is now symbolizing his life, but we decided to push on into the park :).

Entering Glacier looks very similar to the Grand Tetons until you are about 5 miles into the park on Going-to-the-Sun Road. After that your driving experience tends to change quite a bit, in addition to your chance of death. The road is directly on the side of the mountain and is even built into the mountain. There aren't tunnels however. Instead the mountain is bored out and your car is quite literally driving underneath the mountain. In the other lane, there isn't a shoulder for protection against driving mistakes, instead there is a 2 foot stone wall (in some places) that protects the car from falling off the side of the mountain. The views however are absolutely spectacular. On the drive you can see all of the beautiful mountains in addition to Jackson Glacier. Logan's Pass is the half-way point of the drive and during this 1/2 mile you can see long horned sheep, mountain goats and other wildlife cruising along the cliff edges.

Once through the park, Ryan and I tried to find a campsite to put up for the night but unfortunately all of the sites were full. We then went out of the park on the east side into the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. We stayed at the St. Mary's lodge where they have Teepee's for rent. As soon as I saw the teepee's Bill Geist's road trip across America came to mind. For those who aren't familiar with Mr. Geist, he is probably my favorite writer. He went on a road trip a few years back and documented the entire trip. He stayed at a hotel that was made entirely of cement teepees! Ryan and I both wanted to stay in a teepee but for over $200 is wasn't worth it nor were any available.

Early the next morning, we got our back country permit and headed towards Poia lake. The trail was covered in horse droppings making for a smelly and insect infested hike. We did get to see some great wildlife though. About 2 hours into the hike we came across a herd of elk. Some of the bucks were huge! They tend to graze in the wildflower fields at Glacier. Besides the landscape, the wildflowers were incredible. Acres and acres of flowers filled the mountain sides! Lake Poia was a small lake with freezing cold water. Ryan attempted to swim in it but couldn't get past his knees. We both went swimming the next day in Lake McDonald which is at a lower elevation with much warmer water (not warm...just warmer). Once out of the back country, Ryan and I set up camp one more time in Glacier, made a camp fire and grilled burgers. It was awesome to cook over an open fire versus my small propane burner. The next morning we woke up early and headed out for Mount Rainier!