SF to NYC Day 10-15: NO, Oxford, Smokys, DC, NYC

I have not been able to post the last week because I have either been on the road driving or hanging with whom ever I was with in that city.  So I am giving a small excerpt from each place over the past week.

New Orleans:
Steve was one of the best hosts around.  From when we woke up till we passed out he showed all the stops in New Orleans.  We woke up and got Po' Boys at Parkway Tavern which were awesome.  They are humongous.  Neither of us could finish them, so we saved them for later.  After taking Steve's dog on a little park run and sweating so much cause NO is super humid, we went to the Southern Food & Beverage Museum.  We then went to Dryads Market for some chips and afternoon beers.  NO is so awesome, no matter where or what you are in there is a bar at least 30 feet away.  After freshening up we hit the town, went to Bourbon Street and Pat o's and got Hurricanes, and had Chili Dawgs for dinner, then Cats Meow karaoke for a drink before heading to our Ghost tour with this voodoo lady.  She took us all round the French Quarters telling us ghost stories about each place.  It was one of the scariest things ever!  Had to drink extra to get rid of the heebeejeebees.  We went out after that and I have to say Frenchman Street is one of the coolest places ever.  Woke up very hungover and we got Beignets before I left for a struggle drive to Oxford.

Oxford:
Oxford is one of the most unrated towns in the south.  It was so awesome to see Kunhardt again, I haven't been able to hangout with him like old times in forever.  Chris showed me around Ole' Miss campus and around town.  Nice little square.  There is a lot of cool history in Oxford and the school is so old.  We went to Chris' girlfriends, Glennis' place, where we met the 4 cats and 3 dogs they have.  One of them was Chris' named Harry, very cool dog.  We had some tasty cocktails before we got dinner at this asian fusion sushi place that was really good.  I was finally starting to feel human again after a few drinks so we checked out what the square was like.  It was popping off!  Every kid had a polo shirt and khaki shorts on.  Went to a couple places but ended up at Chris' favorite spot called City Grocery, which was an awesome bar in the square that was mostly locals, on a second story building with a balcony.  Next day we checked out William Faulkner's house which was very interesting.  We hung out the rest of in town talking in southern accents (just me) and people watching.  It was sad to leave the next day.

Great Smoky Mountains:
On my way to the mountains the scariest thing ever happened to me.  I stopped outside of Knoxville to get gas.  I went in to pee and the gas station clerk asked me where I was coming from, I said SF, and where I was going, I said NYC.  And then he said, not even making this up, "You're going to Columbia right?  Going to study Medicine?"  My heart dropped and I freaked out a bit.  I peed came back and spoke with him for another 25 minutes.  He wasn't a psychic but said he just knew things.  Hard to explain this while typing so feel free to ask me next time you see me.  Needless to say I was freaked the funk out.  Made it to the Smokys with no cell service and it was pitch black.  And because I thought I was going to get murdered I slept in my car.  Woke up with stiff knees and thought I should try to make the best of it so I went fishing for awhile.  After losing 4 flies to the overhanging branches and still having the willies from that weird guy, and because I was so sick of driving, I decided to head out a day early.

DC:
Schwebel was kind enough to welcome me to DC a day early.  He made me a comfy pull out bed.  We talked about the trip and hung out for a bit.  He is also moving back to NYC in two weeks to leave with his finance that just got a new job.  We got breakfast in the morning and he understood I was sick of being on the road and wanted to head home.

NYC:
I did not go through a toll until my drive from DC to NYC where I went through a MILLION tolls.  Why are there so many tolls on the east coast and before AND after bridges, and to get into and out of cities, where does all this toll money go cause it ain't helping the roads, so much money going through these tolls.  Anyways made it to the big apple, changing the mountains to sky scrapers.  I had officially driven 4433.8 miles.  Damn that's long.  Basically slept and checked out campus since I've been home.

It was an amazing trip and thank you for everyone who put me up and followed along.

On to the next journey, should be a long one.

- Frank

SF to NYC Day 9: BA to NO

Hung out with Chadd a bit in the morning, caught up on some stuff I needed to do then headed to New Orleans. Steve texted me around 12 telling me to come 2 hours earlier cause he wanted to get started. It's a quick 1.5 hours from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. Drive is pretty easy and nice, going along the water and bridge. The flood had receded enough where everything was good.

For those who don't know, Steve and I met in Chile when we both did English Opens Doors program. Steve is from Louisiana and has the best accent and he is the man. We would run around Chile and do dumb shit together all be time and become best friends. And he's been yelling at my ass to get down to New Orleans forever. Wish I went sooner.

So I get to Stevens and let myself in. He was still a work for a sec. I locked myself out on his patio and had to jump the fence to get back in. As soon as Steve got home he immediately picked me up and we went to Brisbe's on the lake had some oysters and beer. Then we came back home picked up his lady, Vanessa, and headed to he original Frankie & Johnnys, 1947, which was awesome. I had fried catfish, which I realized I never had catfish before, Steve got red beans and rice which was awesome, catfish is good too but the beans were better. (I have been eating non stop since I got here and I love it.) We drove around a bit showed me the sights and all the abandon houses Katrina messed up. Crazy thing about New Orleans is everything is a house, Steve is sick of me saying it but it's so cool that everything is a house, there aren't a lot of apartment buildings or high rises besides downtown, everything else is a long awesome southern looking house. AND every place we got to has a bar in it, grocery store-bar in front, museum-bar to the side, po' boys place-bar attached, I love this city.

We went out on Magazine street after dinner just me and Steve, Vanessa had to work tomorrow, and bar hopped all the way down. Bars were awesome big old bars in houses, good bar games and cheap. We proceeded to get Chilean drunk and I lost in air hockey to some girl and I was super mad. Had so much fun catching up and getting our drink on, walked home and passed out on top of the sheets. Steve has a whole day planned for the next day and I am pumped.

New Orleans is the best.

SF to NYC Day 8: Go Tigers!

Y'all staying dry? Let's go Tigers (southern accent.). That's how I imagine all people in Baton Rouge talk, but they don't all have southern accents, I just love southern accents, and Chicago accents for that matter.

So I slept super all after my long drive and Chadd made some tasty eggs for breakfast. We then went to Chadd's new study office where he will be taking classes for his new program. Chadd is also going back to school! He was accepted to the best Landscape Architecture program in the country which is at LSU. Pretty awesome since he wants to take what he learns here and apply it to his family business once he's done. It's a 3 year program and I am sure he will crush it. His studio and building where most of his classes will be is awesome. Chadd already has his desk setup and is already doing homework, a week before any of the other students get there. Always getting after it. LSU campus is awesome. Huge quad and Spanish looking buildings. You know the red tile roofs, is that Spanish? We walked around campus for a while. Made it down frat row which brought us back to shot gunning and strikeouts, I think I convince Chadd to pledge again. Chadd also found a giant wire wheel thing which he wanted as a coffee table so he rolled it around all day, all over campus, many people looked only a few asked. We then walked over to the stadium to check out Mike the LSU mascot. It is an actual live Bengal tiger in a big cage/enclosure. This dude is so freaking big. And you can get really close to him on the fence. And since Chadd had that big wheel he kept following Chadd around creeping up looking like he wanted to eat him. It was awesome.

We got home got cleaned up had some dinner then wanted to go out. But we found out the Baton Rouge had a ten o'clock curfew so all the bars we wanted to go to were closing at like 9. It was nuts, never been in a curfew before. We did get to Barcadia for a bit which had a million games which was fun, and had the Holiber's favorite: punching bag game, my arm is a little sore.

Bought some beers for home, hung out a bit with the neighbors then went to bed. All in all it was great to check out the campus and get the new school feeling. It got me excited to start school in a few weeks! (holy shit)

Next stop New Orleans, party time, excellent.

SF to NYC Day 7: Long Haul Part II

I would like to personally thank Ralph Teetor the inventor of cruise control, and his annoying lawyer:

"Modern cruise control (also known as a speedostat or tempomat) was invented in 1948 by the inventor and mechanical engineer Ralph Teetor. His idea was born out of the frustration of riding in a car driven by his lawyer, who kept speeding up and slowing down as he talked."

Amarillo to Baton Rouge took me 11.5 hours.  I left at 5:30am and got there at 6pm.  It was a very long drive but not the worst.  It was just mentally draining.  You know when you play guitar hero for a really long time and then when you stop and look away from the screen and everything looks like it's still moving, that's how I felt when I finally made it, and when you are in the ocean waves all day and you got to sleep and still feel the waves, when I went to sleep I felt like I was still in a car.  I drove across the pan handle of Texas through Dallas then down Louisiana.  The first 9 hours were pretty much all Texas, flat and farm land very boring.  I was back in the Louis CK and classic rock phase.  I am trying to think about what I thought about in the car during these hours because I had some funny thoughts but my mind is pretty much mush right now.  Maybe the next leg they will come back to me.

The last three hours were pretty tough.  It was raining a bit on and off and sometimes hard to see the road but the hardest part was I was getting tired eyed.  So I resorted to my methods of staying focused: 5 hour energy drink, sun flower seeds, LCD Soundsystem.  Thanks Ben for the 5 hour and seeds.  So I was raging the last couple hours, my mouth is still a bit raw from all the salt on the seeds, I usually shove a handful into my mouth, put them in my upper lip and then crack one at a time, got to use the back molars to crack then the front teeth to get the seed.  People who only use their front teeth are amateurs.  I filled an empty Snapple bottle with shells, yum.  

Got off the exit to Chadd's and rolled down there windows, it was actually pretty nice to feel some humidity compared to the dry Vail and desert I was just in.  Baton Rouge is pretty bad but a lot of the water has receded and most of the roads are back open.  You can see there is a lot of debris where the water got really high.  It'll take some time to get everything cleaned but for be most part, at least around LSU, people are in good spirits, welcome to Baton Rouge.  Chadd found me and gave me his Chadd bark yell and hug.  We got some groceries and he cooked some dope ass chicken pasta and veggies, Chadd is a good cook.  Took it easy then went to bed since we were both pretty beat and my mind was a potato.  I slept like a baby.

Y'all!!!!

SF to NYC Day 6: Long Haul Part I

Vail to Amarillo, 8.5 hours: Louis CK radio for 3 hours, classic rock 1 hour, Moon Taxi 1 hour, talk to E 1 hour, techno/house/base to the face last 2 hours. It's nothing but flat farm land the whole way and only one lane, almost all 18 wheelers trying to speed up past them. It was the most boring part of the trip so far. It would've been worse had I not stopped at the Cadillac Ranch once I got to Amarillo. It's several buried Cadillacs that people come to see and spray paint on. Something nice to look at after 8.5 hours of truck butts. Got some steak at the steak house next to my hotel, waiter called me pawtnar, so overall success. Next day is the big one, 12-13 hours to Baton Rouge to see Chadd. My butt's numb.

SF to NYC Day 5: Gone Fishing

If you ever go to Vail get Dan Werney as your fly fishing guide. Call him bonesaw and you'll catch all the fish.

We woke up relatively early, had some bagels, got our stuff together, hit up Dan's shop, then headed to the Eagle River. Dan knew some good spots he wanted us to try. We headed to the first hole with breakfast beers in hand, it was Miller time. We didn't catch too many, Dan caught 5 I think, I caught 2. But my second was the biggest brown trout I ever seen, got it on a dry fly which was the best feeling ever. In the middle some people were floating down the river and threw us some beers. We later saw them all scattered down toward the bottom and one guy way up who popped his tube, his girlfriend looked pissed. Also for some reason I had the worst allergies ever, and I usually never get them. My left eye was all gross and I had snot dripping out my nose the whole day. It got worse and grosser. Danny caught one more on the way out as we finished our beers. We fished for about 5 hours then got some Hawaiian food near by. We ordered way too much but the owner liked us and came out to say what up, he was funny, had that slow Hawaiian accent talk, brah, how did he end up in Colorado?

We were beat again from the whole day in the sun so went to see Suicide Squad, which wasn't great, save your money, then chilled at home and hit the hay.

Love visiting Vail and fishing and hanging with the Danny Bones, it was short but sweet. Wish I could fish all day everyday. Next day I start my two longest driving legs.

"Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Don't teach a man to fish…and feed yourself. He's a grown man. And fishing's not that hard"- Ron Swanson

SF to NYC Day 4: Drive to Vail DWerns

It was sad to leave Zion. The valley and cliffs look especially magnificent in the early morning. But have to keep the trip moving. Next stop was Vail to see Danny bones. It was an 7-8 drive but it really wasn't that difficult. In fact it was awesome. Most of the drive was on I-70 which cuts through the whole USA. Went from Zion which is mostly desert to green hills in northern Utah, then east through what must be northern Grand Canyon, then the canyons turn into green bushes and trees and mountains. Very scenic drive, if you ever get a chance do it.

Finally come up through the pass and see the sign for Vail. Dan and some buds were there when I arrived. Got cleaned up and headed to a new wings spot. Immediately started to feel the altitude and pollen but after some beers and hot wings felt right as rain. We went to a couple more spots after that, Friday Afternoon Club where all the cougars hang out. We were pretty beat so headed home for an early wake up the next day for some fly fishing!

SF to NYC Day 3: Zion - Observation Point & Emerald Pools

Day 3 was my last full day in Zion so I wanted to do two hikes. I woke up ready to get after it but had issues with my fire cause everything was still a bit wet. My runny eggs and semi cooked potatoes didn't sit very well in my stomach but I cooked a nice Italian sausage all the way through so that paired nicely.

Observation Point was the first hike on the list. It's a 5 hour hike I was hoping to do in 3. It starts a shuttle stop after the entrance for Angles Landing. It's on the strenuous list only because of the distance and consistent vertical grade all the way up but the trail is sometimes paved but always large and flat. This hike up was amazing. You go along the East Rim Trail which takes you back and forth behind the peaks up where there is more tree growth. I got there early enough so I was almost alone. The trail cuts through a massive canal and then you come up and see nothing but cliffs and red rock, so epic. I was hauling it up the trail, got to the summit, and then it's another half mile to the point, made it up in 1.75 hours. The views from observation point are amazing. You are another 1000? Feet higher than Angels Landing, looking down on it and through the valley. The top is 6500 feet. Took a break, had a snack, took some pics and then headed back down. Cruised down as well, made it in 45 minutes. The people were starting to come up, you know those people you see towards the bottom that are already struggling, and you know how much more they have to do, sometimes I just want to sit them down and tell them what's in store, but I don't and feel bad, they'll figure it out.

I wanted to see all of Zion so I took the shuttle to all the stops, had lunch at the Temple of Sinawava which is a natural amphitheater and the entrance to the Narrows which is the most popular hike in the park. Next time when it doesn't rain I will go. Stopped at the Big Bend and Court of Patriarchs which were gorgeous.

I wanted to do an easy and quick hike in the afternoon so I decided to do Emerald Pools. I wish I did a different harder one cause there were so many damn people! And the pools were just ok I thought, we have cooler swimming holes in VT with a quarter of the people. Don't get me wrong it's very cool there's an oasis and lots of green in this rocky desert. Just when you're hot and sweaty and you have to wait for other hotter and sweater people to move in front of you it gets old. And there should be a class on proper hiking etiquette and all the niños should take it before they are allowed to hike. Decent views and a quick hike if you are in a hurry but I recommend something else if you can.

Shuttled a little more around the park and got back to the campsite around 430. Took a dip in the river which was the best feeling after a hot day in the sun. Had a couple brewskis, prepped dinner, fed my neighbors who got all there stuff messed up in the flood, nice peoples, cleaned up, went to bed. Woke up at 12am cause my sister, Reshydawg!, told me there was a meteor shower. I saw 5 shooting stars and the Milky Way was looking great. I miss the stars.

Day 3 in the books as one of the best. Tomorrow off to see the Danny Bones Bonesaw Werneyyyyyyyy!!!!

SF to NYC Day 2: Zion - Angels Landing & Flash floods

Zion National Park is a little less than 3 hours from Las Vegas. I probably could've done skipped Vegas but thought to be safe. Woke up at 3am to try and be at Zion before 7. Forgot the time change, went up and hour, so I booked it and got there at 715. The south campground which lives at the entrance of the park is first come first serve and I was able to get an awesome spot by the river by 8am. I gathered my stuff setup my tent and had a little breakfast. I was tired and only running on 4/5 hours of sleep but wanted to get going. I looked over the map and found a nice 4 hour hike called Angels Landing. Got on the shuttle and was on the trail by 10am. I was already in awe on the bus ride there. Must have taken 30 pics in the first 100 feet of the trail. Hate to say it because I consider Yosemite my home, but I Zion's got you beat. There are straight up cliffs and rock everywhere, thousands of feet, my neck still hurts. The native Paiutes called this place "the straight up land."

The hike up to Angles Landing isn't too difficult. However you get to the top and then look up to another razor like edge and they tell you, no that's the top. They have chains you hang on to on your way up but there were so many people passing I thought someone was going to bump someone over. There were some sketchy parts where it was like 1000 feet down on either side and I could feel the knees getting a bit weak but then some 12 year old would pass me and I would be like fug that. Most of the time you are waiting for people to pass. But once you get to that top it is magnificent. The pictures look sweet but nothing compares to being on top and looking through the entire canyon. Found out they call it Angels Landing because someone once said "that point's so high only angles can land there." So some crazy park ranger manager wanted to build a trail there. Glad he did because it instantly made me fall in love with this place. Then river cuts the canyon in two large areas. And you can see both from the top of Angels Landing. All you can see is red rock and beauty. There is so much color and detail, too much for someone who sucks at writing to describe.

So while I was at the top it started to thunder a little and we felt a couple drops but it quickly passed and I headed back down. As soon as I got to the bottom it started to pour. I regrettably left my rain fly off my tent cause I figured I was in the desert and won't need it, sleeping bag, pillow, pad all nicely places in ready for my return. On the bus back it started to pour even harder. I finally got back to my tent 25 minutes later and my neighbor was kind enough to through my rain fly on top, my stuff was a little wet but could have been much worse. Then it REALLY started to come down. I got in my car and called E. While on the phone with her it started to hail, like fucking toe nail sized ice, the big toe. I looked out and my neighbors tent was in a river of brown water. E googled it and said to get to higher ground. I threw as much as I could in my car, ran to the neighbors and told them to get out of there and we all left. Watch the video. I also lost my brand new sandal in the midst of be flood. And one of the ice cubes hit my toe nail, it hurt so bad. It rained for the next 5 hours. The road out was closed for awhile and I took refuge at a sports bar in town where the bartender/owner hated all the foreigners who came in and gave me the locals discount cause I spoke English. The flash flood dug out most of the camp but pretty much everyone was fine except my neighbors who were under 4 inches of clay. I heard it was the 4th worst flood in record, whatever that means, didn't make top 3.

Finally was able to lay my head down around 9, tried to read but actually went backwards in my book cause I was back tracking trying to remember where I left off. But I did sleep like a baby. Onto day 3!

SF to NYC Day 1: Vegas meh

My first leg in this cross country challenge was an 8-9 hour drive from SF to Las Vegas. It was sooooooo boring! It was all freaking desert, which is what I am mostly driving through the first half of this trek. It wasn't that bad, I wasn't that tired but I think that's because I was just jacked up I was actually starting the trip. I only made two stops for gas but I filled up in Las Vegas in prep for the next drive. Maybe it's because I didn't do any partying or gambling but not a huge fan of Vegas. 108 degrees, middle of the desert, my "hotel" and casino smelt like an ash tray. Silver Sevens Las Vegas, don't stay there, but it was cheap, you have to walk through the casino to check in. The room was huge, but there wasn't anything in it, just a bed and dresser, I couldn't sleep cause I thought I was going to get murdered. Not much for day 1 but it was all preparation for day 2!

SF to NYC Day 0.5: See ya later San Francisco

It finally hit me, when I took one last look at the apartment all packed up and dark, this will be the last time I see it in person.  I now had to actually saw goodbye to the wonderful, spacious, and fucking awesome home E and I have created and lived in for the past year and a half.  And now I really had to say goodbye to this fucking awesome city I have been living in for the past 2 and a half years.  San Francisco, The City by the Bay.  There are too many things that make this city and northern California my favorite so I will do my best to list off some of them (sorry if I leave some out):  Yosemite, Big Sur, Golden Gate Bridge, burritos, Sequoias, Red Woods, Burning Man, the weather, all the camping, $1 oysters, Tahoe, skiing Tahoe, wig parties, all the weird parties, wine, cheese, Pride, AT&T park, B2B, OSL, the homeless, the hidden gems, the victorians, and all the wonderful people I have met.  I can very much see myself living here again for a much more extended period of time, sorry ma.  I am fortunate enough to have traveled a little bit and so far for me nothing beats northern California.  So I like to think of this as just a see ya later SF, I'll be coming back soon.

I will not see the blondie for 4 weeks so it seemed only fitting that we finished how we started when we first moved in together.  Eating dinner on a towel in the living room watching Netflix because we had no furniture.  While we won't be starting from scratch we will have to adjust our home decor to fit the likely shoebox we will be living in New York City when we move.  Great, can't wait.

For those of you who don't know I was recently accepted to a post bacc premed program in New York and will begin class this September.  It is a two year program to prepare and help me get into Medical school.  So, basically I will be cramming for the next two years and have no life.  Because I will be drastically changing my lifestyle for the next likely, forever, I thought it should be best to sneak in a quick outdoor adventure, one I have always wanted to do.

For the next 15 days I will be driving solo cross country from SF to NYC.  I will be making stops in 10 places visiting friends and camping.  See the links and list below of the trip.  I would love to hear of any places I should hit up along my route or if you just want to keep my from going cray cray driving by myself give me a call!  

Hope to see you soon.

Google Maps Route

Route Calendar

• 8/09:  SF to Las Vegas
• 8/10:  Las Vegas to Zion National Park, Utah
• 8/11:  Zion National Park
• 8/12:  Zion to Vail, Colorado (w/ Bonesaw Werney)
• 8/13:  Vail
• 8/14:  Vail to Amarillo, Texas (breaking up 22 hour drive)
• 8/15:  Amarillo to Baton Rouge, Louisiana (w/ Chadddddd)
• 8/16:  Baton Rouge
• 8/17:  Baton Rouge to New Orleans, LA (w/ Esteban)
• 8/18:  New Orleans
• 8/19:  New Orleans to Oxford, Mississippi (w/ Kuuuuuuunnnnn)
• 8/20:  Oxford, MS
• 8/21:  Oxford to Great Smoky Mountains
• 8/22:  Great Smoky Mountains
• 8/23:  Smoky Mountains to Washington DC (w/ Schweeeebbeess)
• 8/24:  DC to NYC

- Frank