John and Ryan Head West

Back in Central Time

2009-07-31T11:26:00.002-04:00

So we're on the home stretch. We finished the day off yesterday in Colorado experiencing some torrential rain. This was the calm before the storm.

As for last night, we found one of America's hidden gems. I clearly didn't think this thing existed and have to give credit to Kayla and Nancy at work for planting the idea in my head. Weighing in at 17,886 Pounds, The World's Largest Ball of Sisal Twine.

For those of you who still can't grasp how large this ball is from the picture above, here is another image that will hopefully give you a better perspective of things.

That was pretty much all we could find in Kansas. We saw signs that rumored a Five-Legged Elk, but the farms as we got closer to this supposed Elk didn't look open and welcoming. This morning we found ourselves in Nebraska.

We're not in Kansas anymore...

A Canyon

2009-07-30T13:52:00.001-04:00

Yes, I realize the Grand Canyon is huge, but it isn't always the easiest place to find in the dark. Fortunately for us there is no one good spot to view it from. I had to search in the dark for a good spot to view it from when the sun came up. When I finally found one, we waited for morning. It ended up the road was closed due to falling rocks.

It took us a little while to find a new view point but we found a couple good ones.

We're about 20 minutes from Colorado now.

Unimaginable Height

2009-07-30T05:41:00.002-04:00

One of the stops we had planned for the night was Vegas. We figured it was on the way to the Grand Canyon anyways, so why not check things out a little.

The trip home is a little less planned out map-wise. In order to stop and check where we were on the map while John was sleeping I stopped at the next available Rest Area. John woke up and walked in to go to the bathroom and came out with some good news. Anyone knowing me well enough will be able to pick out which of the three signs in this picture below that he came out telling me about.

So, at 3:30 AM, no more than an hour later, we were in the middle of the desert lighting off fireworks.

Thanks Nevada.

It'll be like coming home

2009-07-29T21:40:00.002-04:00

John and I hit the open road again today. The journey home will take a significantly longer amount of time. By google maps estimate, we're looking at a 2 Day 20 Hour Journey. It's the general consensus that the next time someone says "Hey you want to take a road trip?" We'll probably be OK with it; mostly because where would anyone in New England want to drive to that would take 68 hours?

So We started off back in the desert.

It was good to see that parts of America are utilizing alternative forms of energy.

I'd say the beginning of this trip home was nothing less than brutal, we missed California and neither of us were excited for being in a car for that long (granted we did plan a few stops along the way that you'll have to stay posted for). We were relieved to of made it to San Fransisco though. Also I need to say sorry to Mallory for not making it, we're in a crunch for time in getting back and we hit more traffic than we expected. I'll make it up to you I promise!

Although it was hazy I got a couple good shots. I also got my fill of every foreign language I could probably name off the top of my head. John and myself might of been the only Americans there.

For anyone who knows my love for exploring Abandoned Building, you might also know my love for exploring tunnels. Although this one wasn't that big, it sufficed.

While sitting in traffic upon leaving San Fran, I found one of the things I was hoping to find at some point during the trip. That thing was a crop circle. As an added bonus, this one contained Jesus.

Also during traffic I told John I'd rather eat a triple Decker peanut butter sandwich with no Milk than to suffer any further.

...Well I won't be called a liar, here's that sandwich

(you'll notice the absence of any milk).

Also I'm not sure when the next update will be, our cellphones are having some issues out here with calls and Internet, by Vegas we should be set I hope.

The Forest

2009-07-28T19:39:00.003-04:00

We hiked today for about 5 miles and found some interesting stuff. Originally we wanted to find a Mountain Lion and fight it. I guess we came to the right place judging by these signs.

Unfortunately no Mountain Lions showed up but we still found some critters.

Including this butterfly that was a friendly little guy and let me take a nice picture of him.

And also this lizard which got away from me but I still tried to catch.

We also found a pretty nice waterfall which I got a lot of shots of, but in the interest of our time in California I had to choose one.

Also I was the only fish in the water.

And finally, a view from on top of that mountain.

Five Cents for Advice

2009-07-28T01:47:00.002-04:00

To start off, again I don't have a panoramic lens but I'll give you the next best thing.

This is some of the graffiti on Venice Beach. I figured Erin would be appreciative of seeing some of it.

So Venice was interesting. I know some of you had made mention of if we'd stop and see any crazy novelties on the way. Things such as "The world's biggest (insert random item here)". Well today we found one of those, he was an interesting man and was the "World's Greatest Wine-O".

We got a kick out of him and are still trying to understand most of what came out of his mouth.

Also, as John is still as red as the Rite Aid logo which we apparently bought faulty sunblock from, he wore a sunhat to prevent those harmful UV rays. Here is a photo that includes:

1. John
2. The Hat
3. A guy on stilts

Some other interesting stories of the day,

We managed to talk to a man for at least a half an hour about his film projects. If anything he said went as well as he planned; keep an eye out for John Barge III. He is apparently a film maker who plans to make a movie for 50 Cent, a Television Show for Bravo, and also has already patented a design for a redesigned protective vest for the LA SWAT Team.

If a man does hold up a sign offering you advice for 5 cents, that's a pretty sweet deal. I would suggest you spend the money and get the advice before he gets arrested.

Update Update Update!

2009-07-27T03:18:00.007-04:00

So for Friday night through Saturday afternoon, I can't add any updates, my card is still in the works of recovering. Luckily though we're in good shape and Best Buy has graciously informed us of a return policy that allows for returning electronics for up to 14 days. So we're going to enjoy the hell out of this brand spanking new Dell Mini for a few days and do to popular demand, the updates will roll on.

To start off, I'll let you all know that me and John made the trip in 43 Hours. For all of you who doubted it, we did it. The only casualties were my netbook, and the amount of sleep we should have received. I do have a couple pictures from the desert, so I'll insert one here. The rest better recover properly so I can show you all.

I'll also have you know we tried to take a picture in front of the Welcome to California sign on Interstate 40, but they must of had an issue with people doing that so they put it in the middle of the bridge.

I want to take a moment to thank John's Aunt and Uncle for being so nice as to let us stay. They have a very nice house, which I hope they don't mind me showing a picture of, but I am very appreciative.

Naturally the first thing John would point out when we came in was a cat.

We didn't do much when we got in, after John drove 9 hours and appeared to be on the brink of death, we decided to go to dinner and then crash early. Today however we went to Huntington Beach.

Coincidentally it was the Hurley US Open of Surfing. We didn't get around to the Surfing as I was caught up in the Skate/BMX comps.

This kid was only 13 years old.

As for skating, I would first like to show a picture of the bowl.

Second, I would like to ask my sister Mallory, why she broke her wrist when she tried this.

Also we met up with my friend Ashley today who I haven't seen in forever. Ashley, John, and Myself were on the pier and I picked up this fish.

Finally, It's late now and we're headed to LA/Venice Beach in the morning. We found a guy claiming to do a front flip over 6.5 people. The 0.5 is a really short girl who is hard to see.

... he succeeded

The blog is back in town

2009-07-27T01:32:00.003-04:00

So the blog is back, thanks to Best Buy. I reccomend you all one thing, don't buy Acer. I'll put another post up later, we have a ton of pictures(and some that might be lost, thanks Acer) so I will put a few up. I'm still shocked from almost being mugged in a liqour store in Ponoma.

Acer = Game Over

2009-07-25T22:52:00.002-04:00

My netbook died today, the platters crashed. I called Acer and they don't want to help me for 2 weeks. Unfortunately there will be limited updates now, I had to get a new card for my camera from wal-mart today. This is from John's Uncle's laptop... thanks John's Uncle

Urband Legend Time

2009-07-24T22:21:00.005-04:00

Toad Suck Park. Why would anyone name a park that? I guess what I found was a story of some guy that used to suck on bottles of moonshine and "swelled up like a toad". So the state of Arkansas has cleverly named not only a park but also a ferry and several other things, "Toad Suck". You can get a little more info here. link.

Today, we crossed the Mississippi. We crossed it on the border of Tennessee and Arkansas.

I apologize for the next picture, I don't have a panoramic lens but I cropped these two together, I tried to get a feel for how wide that dang river is, I was thoroughly impressed.

Arkansas was a short trip, about 5 hours and we were through. We only had to stop one time there for gas and the only cool thing we found in Arkansas, aside from relief from all the people in Tennessee that shunned us, was my new shirt. (This ones for you Nana)

Oklahoma so far is dark. I'd have a picture of us entering, however John was counting Cracker Barrels and Shoney's on the highway. It was light for a little while but we spent a while seeing how Cherokee casinos compared to Mohegan casinos.

Cherokee

Mohegan

That's all for now, the roads in Oklahoma are terrible and I can barely type.

Hey Hotdog!

2009-07-24T13:15:00.002-04:00

So after years of being consistently taunted with Sonic commercials in CT, we finally found one in Tennessee.

On a scale of 1-10, I'd rate the burger about a 9, the onion rings a generous 3, and as for the service and overall disposition of fellow customers, a mere 1. You can see the expressions of both John and I in the photo below.

As you can see nothing like the people in the commercials.

However, the Hot Dog across the street was a real nice Hot Dog and we made friends.

Tennesee, still no tolls

2009-07-24T07:49:00.002-04:00

I woke up to the following items:

The largest confederate flag I have ever seen

And a newer, even larger, cross.

Needless to say, the sign we saw next seemed fitting, but in a seemingly persuasive manner...

Red Cross

2009-07-24T02:33:00.000-04:00

So we saw the biggest cross, it lit up and changed color... it was pretty much an enormous fiber optic color changing wand. Little blast from the past.

I didn't get a picture as John took a three hour nap and I was driving. It's my turn to sleep now, so here's a picture of John in his usual surrounding(vault). A couple of these should keep him going for a while.

California.... HERE WE COME

2009-07-23T21:24:00.000-04:00

Crossing borders left and right.

...left

...right

Roughly three hours in, John's still driving like a boss...

Departure.

2009-07-23T18:49:00.001-04:00

Today, July 23, 2009, John and I left on the ultimate road trip. We'll be documenting the trip here in case any of you are curious as to what is going on. Any pictures on the blog you may feel free to click to enlarge (like the one below).

Forecast looks like rain, hopefully the rest of the trip will contain slightly better weather.

See you later Connecticut.

Also to Ed and Erik, John says bye.