Easier than Scrapbooking

Travelling

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 22:18:00 +0000

During our many hours in the car over Christmas, M and I realized that over the past year we have visited 21 of the 50 states. I know we will be able to cross New Hampshire off the list in the summer and maybe Alaska or Hawaii when we finally get around to organizing a vacation together. But for now, I am just happy to be home.

It Could Be Worse

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 20:08:00 +0000

Today we were supposed to fly from Carlsbad to Los Angeles to Denver to Philadelphia. In case you hadn't heard, there's a little bit of a storm out there on the east coast. When we arrived at the airport we double checked to make sure that our flight out of Denver hadn't been canceled, and at that point, it was the only one that hadn't. So we went through security and decided to cross our fingers and hope that fate was on our side.

Then my phone rang: This is United with a cancellation alert. Uh oh. Had the call come five minutes later we would have had a mini-vacation in Denver for a night. Had the call come five minutes earlier we would have walked out with free round trip tickets (as our flight from Carlsbad was over weight and they were looking for volunteers).

As it stands we are rebooked onto a flight tomorrow afternoon that will get us into Philly at 6am on Monday morning. It's 75 degrees here in Carlsbad so I think it's time to change into shorts and head down to the beach.

Like I said, it could be worse.

I Didn't Sign Up For This

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:36:00 +0000

Someone told me when I moved to CA that I would be experiencing nothing but sunshine and blue skies. Well I'm here to report they lied.

Today it's cold, blustery and wet.

At work my car almost got hit by a tree. Luckily it was the weak outer branches that landed on my hood and not the trunk of the tree. I can't say the same for the car that parked in front of me. I have yet to check out if there are scratches.

Thanks to the rain we lost power at work and I was able to go home an hour early. Just look at the way the palm trees are blowing! When I got home I found the lid to the garbage can and one of our recycling bins all the way across the street.

Luckily my plants were still on our balcony and after moving them inside to a safe non-windy dry spot I had a moment to enjoy the sunset. You should have seen how fast the clouds were moving, it was insane!

Now it's time to change out of my wet clothes and into something warm and comfy. I think I'll snuggle up on the couch under a blanket with a warm drink and watch some TV. I'm definitely not going out to run errands tonight. . . maybe tomorrow.

Gobble Gobble!

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 02:32:00 +0000

After a disastrous first attempt at the airport we made it through very easily the second time around. Gina even had our boarding passes printed and ready to go with arrival and departures gates highlighted for our connection in Los Angeles. Still no apology for her rudeness in the morning but a lot better customer service the second time around.

Mom and dad were waiting at the airport when we arrived. Apparently they saw our plane land and then watched from the parking lot as we deplaned. At first they couldn't figure out who was waving to them from the plane but after a couple of waves they waved back. We had a quick bite to eat and drink before heading down to Fisherman's Wharf to watch the seals/seal lions (I can never tell the difference!). Unfortunately we got detained on the way back, at the local pub, and are only now starting to cook our turkey day dinner (6:30pm).

I am really looking forward to a family meal this evening and just enjoying being on holiday. I hope you and yours are also having a wonderful Thanksgiving day.

I Don't Like Gina from United

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:39:00 +0000

We routinely fly out of our small local airport to avoid the drama that can usually be found at larger airports. It's close to our house, the staff and TSA agents are really helpful and we can get to where we need to go without the hassle.

Unfortunately not this morning, thanks to Gina. Although we arrived 25 minutes before our flight she argued with us for 10 minutes refusing to print my boarding pass stating that she had to get the flight out on time. We pointed out that during this 10 minute conversation she could have printed the boarding pass and we would still have had 15 minutes to get on the flight and leave on time. Especially since the TSA agents were fully ready to screen us and put us through. Unfortunately reasoning with her got us no where but left at the airport. To add insult to injury a gentleman arrived 5 minutes before the flight was set to depart and he was still able to get on. And even worse, the TSA agents told us that had it been any other agent at the gate, this would have been a non-issue.

So now instead of being with my family on Thanksgiving morning, relaxing and enjoying beautiful Monterey, we are still in Carlsbad dreading seeing Gina again when we return to the airport to take our flight. We'll still get there today but 5 hours later then we intended.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Girls Day

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:42:00 +0000

Lately I have been in a little bit of a funk. As you might have noticed the funk has lead to me not blogging very much. But don't worry, after today I feel like I'm back and I plan to update you on all the goings on, starting with today.

About a week ago I was talking to one of my best girl friends and she happened to mention that she would be down in LA the Friday before Halloween with her boyfriend to visit some of his family. It was going to be a short trip because she had to be back in the bay area Saturday night so she could pack and catch a flight on Sunday for a business trip. Jokingly I suggested that she should stay in LA on Saturday and we should meet up for a girly day of shopping and haircuts. After we got off the phone that night I kept thinking about what we had discussed and I realized that instead of just talking about it I should make it happen. So the next day I had made two haircut appointments at the salon I used to go to when I lived in LA and had sent her an email telling her the time I would be picking up her up at her hotel and what our itinerary was for the day.

Honestly this girls day out couldn't have come at a better time. Not only did we both desperately need haircuts but I also realized that I needed a day of hanging out with a really good friend. I guess one of the benefits to being back in California is that I have good friends nearby. After successful haircuts, mine used to be below my shoulders and is now just about chin length, we headed to the mall for some shopping. We both had success, me with three dress and her with some new work clothes.

And to top it all off we had a chance to stop by Diddy Riese for their famous ice cream sandwiches. You pick the flavor of the fresh homemade cookies and the ice cream, they build the sandwich for you, and you enjoy. All for just $1.50, it's unbelievable! Sadly after this delicious snack our day had to come to an end so she could hit the road for her 6 hour drive back to the bay area.

London

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:25:00 +0000

I arrived in London this morning for a short vacation and continued celebration of my brother's recent marriage. I would like to say that we arrived early but sadly it wasn't in the cards for us.

We arrived in London at 6:30 when we were originally supposed to land at 7:30. After circling the airport for 15 minutes we were finally given the go ahead to land and touched down at 6:45. At which point we found out that our gate was occupied because we had landed early. So we were shuttled off to the remote parking area where they bring steps to the plane and then shuttle bus you to the terminal. Sadly, when we arrived to the remote terminal it was also full and we had to wait until 7:15, when it was free and we finally could pull in. Unfortunately the guiding system on our plane malfunctioned and it was another 15 minutes of waiting before we could pull the last 10 meters into the remote gate and finally get off the plane. Which of course took longer then normal because instead of getting off the plane and into the terminal we were getting off the plane, going down the stairs and waiting for shuttle buses to take us to the terminal.

Once inside things ran a lot smoother. Customs line was short, my bag was already going around the baggage reclaim and the tube was waiting for me at the stations, both originally and at my connection. It couldn't have been smoother.

After a 2 hour nap, I joined my parents for lunch and then this afternoon we headed over to my sister's house where I met my niece for the very first time. As cute as a button and very curious. Definitely a keeper. I also presented my nephew with a new construction book which seemed to go over quite well. He kept running around the house yelling out "digga!" and looking at all the pictures.

This evening mom, dad and I went out for traditional Fish and Chips with a side of mushy peas. Nothing better out there to give you energy to overcome jet lag. I am now waiting for my brother and sister-in-law to get back from Paris so I can give them a hug and then crawl into my bed and get a peaceful nights sleep. Tomorrow morning M arrives and we are going to tour London. It's his first time here.

One Year

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:23:00 +0000

Last night M and I went to Sur La Table for a cooking class in celebration of our one year anniversary. It's so hard to believe that it's already been a year and also hard to believe that it's ONLY been a year.

The cooking class was entitled End of Summer Bounty and it was to feature items that you can find at the farmer's market this time of year. There were about 16 people in the class and in teams we worked on making all of the dishes.

Gorgonzola and Grape Pizza
Wild Mushroom Pasta
Oven-dried Tomato Tart with Goat Cheese and Black Olives
Roast Salmon with Basil Aoli
Blackberry-Champagne Sorbet

I wasn't a huge fan of the pizza because the dough was made with Kamut flour, supposedly a healthier flour with more protein, which made it very hard and dry. The rest however were delicious! I think we are definitely going to make some of these in our kitchen, especially since M couldn't stop raving about the oven dried tomatoes.

Herb Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:22:00 +0000

While mom was here over the weekend I decided to put her gardening expertise to use and have her help me plant an herb garden. Back when I was in grad school I bought the Chia herb garden, thinking it would be super easy as Chia plants always were. Sadly I just never got the plants to grow. Since we've been here in California I have been inspired by all the plants we have around us, grapefruit, blackberries, grapes, olives, etc. That and we always seem to be running to the store to buy mint for our cocktails. At $2 a packet I figured it must be cheaper to just have a plant.

So off we headed to Home Depot to buy seedlings, pots, soil, and patio containers. We also stopped by the local farmers market to pick up a few missing herbs that we didn't find at Home Depot, mainly a mint plant. While we were at the farmer's market we also sampled chocolate mint. If you ever see it, try a leaf, it's pretty much awesome. If I can figure out what I would use it for and I can keep these first herbs alive I am definitely going to invest in some.

What we did end up with was flat and curly leaf parsley, basil, chives, cilantro, thyme, rosemary and mint. So far they are happily sitting on the patio enjoying the sun and the ocean breezes. We have used the cilantro in homemade guacamole, parsley in our pasta salad and mint in our cocktails. And next time we do our mustard glazed pork loin we are going to use home grown thyme instead of the store bought stuff.

P.S. If you have any recipes that use fresh herbs, definitely send them my way!

Carlsbad History

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:04:00 +0000

Monday was mom's last day here so we decided to have a leisurely morning and then explore a little bit of Carlsbad history. First stop was Magee Park and the Carlsbad Historical Society. The actual building and museum was closed but we did get to wander around the park, read a little about the barn and granary, and see the rose garden. It was such a beautiful day.

After the park we wandered toward the center of town and came across Carlsbad Mineral Water. Earlier in the weekend mom had spotted the statue of a man near the water dispensing pagoda. I had seen the water before but didn't think much of it and had no idea who the man was. So we decided to investigate.

Turns out this man discovered the famous Carlsbad mineral waters and was one of the founders of the city of Carlsbad. His name is Captain John A. Frazier. When drilling for wells on his farm he came across both fresh water and also artesian springs with mineral water. What I also didn't know is the water that you can buy to fill up your gallon containers is this famous Carlsbad mineral water. Supposedly it has health benefits and is better for you then regular water. Sadly we didn't have a gallon container with us so we have yet to try it out.

Audobon Nature Center

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:16:00 +0000

Tips of the bullrush from the nature trail.

On Saturday mom and I went for a walk over to the local nature center. I have been waiting for her to come visit to check it out and, though small, it was lots of fun. On our walk over from my house we saw a baby grebe on the road and we also came across a few men fishing in the lagoon.

At the nature center we saw many different birds and also learned a little bit about the white pelicans that come to Carlsbad during the winter. After looking around the nature center we took a short walk down the nature trail which took us through the bullrushes and towards the lagoon. It was a little too hot to stay for too long but it was still lots of fun.

Beginning of the Nature Trail down by the lagoon

Fungus growing on a tree trunk.

Sycamore Tree

Cuckoo Spit

I'm so smart!

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 05:03:00 +0000

Lately I've been doing some job searching online. The problem is that every time I try to open a pdf file, Mozilla seems to stop. It won't load, it won't close, it won't do anything. So after a little research on the Internet I found a solution. And now it works perfectly!

I guess this means no more yelling at the computer when Mozilla crashes and I'm left losing all the tabs that I had open with different job related items. As for the job search . . . it goes on.

Farmer's Market

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:09:00 +0000

Every Saturday and Wednesday from 1-5 there is a farmer's market here in Carlsbad. Recently I have found myself only making it to the Wednesday market. Partly because I originally thought the market was weds and sun, and partly because there are people to spend time with on the weekends instead of wandering around the market.

Some of my favorite items to purchase at the market are zucchini, avocados, potatoes, corn, and prickly pear. If you haven't tried a prickly pear I highly suggest it the next time you are at your local farmer's market. They taste a little like guava and a little like a mix between a pear and a banana. They have seeds like a pomegranate inside the flesh which you can just swallow.

The other highlight of our new place are the grapes and blackberries growing in the back. I'm not exactly sure what to do with the grapes as they are very small, sweet flesh, sour skin and have little seeds inside. With the blackberries I want to try to take a cutting and see if I can grow them on the front porch. That way they would get more sun and would turn from red to black and probably be more sweet.

Lastly in the front of our house we have a grapefruit tree. Sadly they are not ruby red grapefruits but rather large yellow ones. We pulled one off the tree the other day to try it and despite the super thick rind, the grapefruit inside was pretty tasty. A little sour to eat the whole thing but probably good for making grapefruit juice.

Sunset

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:03:00 +0000

Regardless of the time of day, there is always someone else on the beach.

I usually forget my camera when we go for our evening beach walks but lucky for us, this has been a nightly occurrence.

I love that not only does the sunset reflect in the water, but it also reflects off the sand as the waves crash in and out.

Although not a beach view, the view of the sunset from our deck is still pretty impressive.

The Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 02:51:00 +0000

Today was another hot day on the coast. So after spending the morning unpacking and sorting things out, M and I took an afternoon trip to the beach. It was so worth it.

It was nice to walk along the beach, it was nice to bob in the ocean waves, it was nice to just enjoy the beauty that we have so close to our house. Honestly, you should come visit. We'll go swimming in the ocean. It will be awesome.

Emerging from the Boxes

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:03:00 +0000

The last two and half days I have been surrounded by boxes. We spent the weekend in our new home with just an aero bed and a couple of bags of clothes. But with the arrival of the movers on Monday morning we suddenly found ourselves with an apartment full of boxes and furniture.

M came home early from work on Monday and we put a tiny little dent in the mass of boxes. By bedtime we had a room to sleep in. Tuesday I spent all day going through box after box of kitchen stuff. I love all my kitchenware, appliances, and the like but honestly, this kitchen is a little small to hold it all. So Tuesday afternoon we made a run to IKEA to buy a bookcase to hold some extra kitchen stuff. By bedtime Tuesday we really had only gotten through the kitchen and the rest of the house was an absolute mess.

However, by Wednesday evening when M walked through the door he walked in and didn't see piles of mess and boxes, but he saw a home. I finished picking up the random things in the kitchen, set up the living room and dining room, unloaded boxes of books onto the bookcases and moved a bunch of stuff down into the garage. This meant that now we have a very functional apartment, all except for the guest room where we still have some boxes and figuring out to do.

Slowly but surely we are getting there and it's beginning to feel like home.

First Full Day

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 04:38:00 +0000

Today was our first full day in our new home. And by full, I mean FULL.

Up at 7:30
Breakfast in town by 8:30
Walk back along the beach and home by 9
In the car and down to IKEA in San Diego to buy bar stools and look at storage options
Lowes to look at gas grills
Best Buy to research a new TV
Home by 2 to eat lunch at the deli in town
Drop off stools at the house and find local Best Buy and Lowes
Best Buy to buy television
Television barely fits in backseat of car, return home to drop off
Lowes to buy a gas grill and pickup sausages and burgers for dinner
M assemble grill, I do two loads of laundry
Dinner cooked on the grill, sitting at the bar on the new bar stools, with the new television on the floor behind us

Phew! I think we will both sleep well tonight!

We Made It!

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 01:44:00 +0000

After five days in the car, 8 tanks of gas and 3,000 plus miles . . . we've made it! Hard to believe that we are done with our cross-country road trip and even harder to believe this is home.

First view of the ocean.

Carlsbad beach, exactly one block from our apartment.

Any town with one of these is A-OK in my book!

Lagoon we can see from our deck.
Check out here for pictures of the house that we had from the original listing. And here's one more of the most important room:

Four Corners

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:13:00 +0000

The most remote stop on our trip was the four corners. Out in the middle of nowhere you come across a small monument to the only place in the United States where four states touch. Outside of the monument, not too much to see.

A Day of Random Stops

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:00:00 +0000

Yesterday was day three in the car and we didn't really have any plans except to drive as far as we could in the day. Strangely enough once we got in the car and started googling our route we found some very fun and different stops along our way.

First stop, that really was the highlight of the day, was the General Tom P Stafford Air and Space Museum. Stafford grew up in Weatherford, Oklahoma which is why the museum is there. It has a lot of cool space stuff that we haven't seen in the DC Air and Space Museum but it is mainly centered around Stafford's career. He was on both Gemini VI and Gemini IX.

After the Air and Space Museum we set our sites for Amarillo, Texas. The first stop was Cadillac Ranch. Created as an art installation in 1974 it consists of 10 Cadillacs half buried in the dirt. People who visit the art installation are encouraged to spray paint and graffiti the cars, as you can see below from our photo.

The last place we ended up in was the Big Texan in Amarillo, Texas. This is definitely what Texas is all about. When they say everything is bigger in Texas, they aren't kidding. The Big Texan is famous for their 72 ounce steak, yup 4 1/2 pounds of meat. Apparently if you eat that plus a baked potato, roll, shrimp, and a salad within one hour, and keep it down for the hour, you get the meal for free. In the picture of the dining room below you can see a gentleman sitting at a table all by himself at the front of the dining room underneath the American flag. He's attempting the challenge and we got to witness him lose it all with only 11 minutes left.

El Reno, Oklahoma

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:07:00 +0000

There’s not much to see in Oklahoma.

Just lots and lots of open air and land as far as the eye can see. Unfortunately M and I were travelling through Oklahoma around lunch time today and we were a little concerned about where we would stop to eat. So M pulled out the computer and started to look for cafes and/or diners in the area. The review online said Melanie’s Trolley Stop Cafe was a place where the local movers and shakers often frequented so we figured, why not, and had two fabulous sandwiches for lunch.

If you ever find yourself on I-40 through Oklahoma you should stop in El Reno for lunch at Melanie’s Trolley Stop Cafe. The funny part was on the way out when the waitress called us out for not being locals:

Top of the Mornin' To Ya!

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:03:00 +0000

Last night we stayed in Van Buren, Arkansas. We made sure to get off the road early enough to take advantage of the indoor pool at the hotel we were staying at. Definitely worth it! Not only did I sleep better last night but I also feel a little bit better. There’s something about road food and lack of exercise that just makes you feel blah. But I’m definitely feeling a little better this morning. Plus we had a relatively decent breakfast at our Hampton Inn.

Today we are pushing west heading as close as we can get to Albuquerque, New Mexico. We heard that the roads in Oklahoma weren’t the best, but so far they seem okay. Below are some photos from the drive yesterday.

Farmland in the heart of America

In Arkansas we came across a big storm. Here are the clouds before we got to the storm.

We decided to storm chase a bit and here is the result. This was still outside the storm and before we entered the flash flood area.

Sunset from the overlook we briefly stopped at just before we reached Van Buren.

On the raod again

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:20:00 +0000

Not too much to report for today's trip. We started out at 9am this morning from Knoxville, Tennessee and headed towards Memphis. I did all of the morning driving while M got some work done. It's really interesting to think about technology and the fact that two years ago my dad was sleeping in the passenger seat when he wasn't driving and now M is sitting there responding to work emails and conducting conference calls as we drive.

When you see a pig in your rearview it must time for bbq!
We arrived in Memphis about 2:30 this afternoon, just in time for a late barbecue lunch. It was definitely worth the wait and the drive. Unfortunately M's favorite, Rendezvous, doesn't serve lunch during the week so we relied on the help of a good friend who recommended Jim Neely's Interstate Barbecue. Two pork sandwiches, french fries, baked beans, cole slaw, potato salad and a couple of drinks later we were stuffed to the brim and ready to walk around a little bit. So we headed into Memphis to see the famous ducks at the Peabody Hotel and take in a little live music on Beale Street. My only wish is that it would have been a little cooler so we could have walked around a little bit more.

Ducks at the Peabody Hotel. They hang out here from 11-5, everyday.
Right now we are west of Memphis heading toward Little Rock, Arkansas. We are hoping to make it through Little Rock towards the Arkansas/Oklahoma border. Luckily we feel like we can relax a little bit for the rest of the drive due to two discoveries today

We received a call from the moving company letting us know that our stuff would not be delivered on Friday morning but now it looks like it will arrive on Monday. Good thing we packed an aero bed, towels and the iron skillet in the car!
We are going to gain three hours as we cross the different time zones. Little did I know I would be serenaded as we crossed the time zone change, "Oooh we crossed a time zone. Yeaaah! Wooooo! Yeaaahhh! Wooooo! We got an hour."

We have also come up with some very fun car games. The rainbow game where you must find a car or truck of each color of the rainbow (plus brown, black, white, gold, and silver). You wouldn't believe how many purple trucks are on the road, especially in Arkansas. And we have the trusty licence plate game that we have been playing everyday. So far we have seen many different states but it seems that we may not come across Hawaii, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.
Crossing the Mississippi River between Tennessee and Arkansas

***Sunday August 17th License Plates seen: 35 states***

Two New Tires and My Puerto

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:08:00 +0000

There we were coasting down Highway 81, having nice conversation and watching the road pass by when suddenly we heard bang, thump-thump-thumpthumpthump. I immeadiately new it was a flat tire, back right, as M carefully pulled the car over to the side of the road. My reaction, let's call triple-A. M's reaction, let me put on my sneakers and we'll change the tire. Luckily we have both changed tires before so while he put on his sneakers I emptied out the trunk to get out the spare and the jack. Together we found the jack point and then M quickly got the old tire off and the new tire on.

Luckily for us we weren't too far from the next exit, with a gas station. So while M filled the spare tire with a little more air I used the internet on his laptop to google search tires in the nearest town. If you are ever in Broadway, Virginia looking for tires, I would highly recommend Broadway Automotive and Tire Center. Not only were the people really friendly but they were able to find me two** new tires that matched my other tires and got them on the car and ready to go in the time it took M and I to get lunch at the Subway just down the street.

Lesson's Learned:

Make sure your spare tire has air before a long road trip.
Get flares or emergency triangles for my car emergency kit.
Have a non-digital tire pressure guage.
Be thankful that Dad forced you to learn how to change a tire when you had a flat in high school.

The other adventure of the day came when we were looking for dinner. Due to the tire debacle we are a little behind schedule and ended up in Marion, Virginia to get some gas and dinner. As far as we are concerned Marion is a diamond in the rough. From the outside Marion appears to be a sparsely populated Southern Virginian town. Highlight #1 was the fact that the bathroom at the gas station was the cleanest gas station bathroom I have ever been to. Thank you Chevron in Marion! Highlight #2 came after asking the gas station attendant for a dinner recommendation and ending up at My Puerto, an authentic Mexican restaurant. Who would have thought in the middle of Southern Virginia you could find such delicious Mexican food and a friendly wait staff who was willing to chat with me in Spanish? Now we have full tummies and the goal to make it past Bristol, Tennessee tonight.

**We ended up getting two new tires because the tire that broke was one of the two that was a little run down. So we figured it was better safe then sorry and decided to replace both the rear tires.

Breakfast is the Most Important Meal of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Adventurous Twenty-Something) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:55:00 +0000

Yesterday M and I reunited in Connecticut for our final farewell barbeque with his family. It was so much fun to hang out with his brother, sisters, niece, nephews, aunt, uncles, and grandma. After a little bit of beach time and a lot of delicious food we hit the road and headed towards New Jersey. Our plan was to make it past New York so that we wouldn’t have to deal with the traffic this morning.

Two and half hours later, after battling some New York traffic, we arrived at the Hilton in Short Hills, New Jersey. The hotel was beautiful but sadly the service at the hotel restaurant this morning was absolutely appalling and after sitting for 20 minutes and only receiving a glass of water we decided to pack up and try the Summit Diner in town.

Turns out the bad service was a complete blessing in disguise because the Summit Diner was all kinds of awesome. I mean just look at the place:

If this isn't your typical all American diner I don't know what you are looking for. It felt like it was straight out of the 50s. The building itself was aluminum and shaped like a rail car and inside you had a choice of sitting either in the red leather booths or on the stools in front of the counter.

I indulged in an egg and sausage sandwich with a side of country potatoes and M had scrambled eggs with bacon and country potatoes. The food was so delicious it's now 2 o'clock and neither of us are hungry for lunch yet. Granted breakfast was at 10, but still. So far so good on day one of our cross country adventure.

***Sunday August 16th License Plates seen: 12 states***