Hey guys,
I know I have seriously dragged my butt on getting these pictures online! I'm sorry!!! :) I've been job hunting, and being depressed about not being on the road anymore. Not really. Well kind of. :)
But, anyway, they are finally, finally, finally up!!!!!!!
Thanks again for following!!
Amy and Ricky
http://www.photobucket.com/rickyandamy
6.10.2009
6.03.2009
Home Sweet Home
Current Location: Roxboro, North Carolina; Total Miles Traveled: 7,497 Miles
Thank you guys so much for keeping up with this thing for so long!! You are amazing!!!
We made it safely home on Sunday night, and man oh man were we tired!!!! We slept until after 9:00 the next morning -- (okay, not that late, but we are usually up by 7:00!) -- and were still exhausted.
This trip has been the greatest vacation ever. We have decided to make it a tradition to go on a good vacation each year from this point forward. I suggested England (on a plane, silly) for a next vacation, to which Ricky replied... okay, if you pay for it! :)
I've spent a few days going through the pictures, and blogs, and everything from the trip, and man, I gotta tell you, I don't know if we will ever be able to top this. Wouldn't it be great if it just kept getting better and better? :) Doubt it could get any better though!
Today, I spent the entire day job hunting. I looked at my cell phone and saw it was after 10:00 am and had a laugh because if we were still on vacation, we would just now be getting going. Something always seemed to come up! Meeting new people, a thousand pictures to upload, something always came up.
I wouldn't trade this experience for anything in the world. It was the best graduation present EVER and I am so lucky to have such a hot, spunky, awesome man by my side.
Thank you guys for reading, commenting, or keeping up with the blog. I am so grateful for all the sweet emails and phone calls and stuff. You're the best!!
And for those who got "offended" by this, or jealous or whatever the reason was that you ran your mouth about this blog... well, you know, maybe one day your life will be interesting!
But for everyone else, I loooooooove ya for staying tuned!!
Until next time,
Amy and Ricky
Thank you guys so much for keeping up with this thing for so long!! You are amazing!!!
We made it safely home on Sunday night, and man oh man were we tired!!!! We slept until after 9:00 the next morning -- (okay, not that late, but we are usually up by 7:00!) -- and were still exhausted.
This trip has been the greatest vacation ever. We have decided to make it a tradition to go on a good vacation each year from this point forward. I suggested England (on a plane, silly) for a next vacation, to which Ricky replied... okay, if you pay for it! :)
I've spent a few days going through the pictures, and blogs, and everything from the trip, and man, I gotta tell you, I don't know if we will ever be able to top this. Wouldn't it be great if it just kept getting better and better? :) Doubt it could get any better though!
Today, I spent the entire day job hunting. I looked at my cell phone and saw it was after 10:00 am and had a laugh because if we were still on vacation, we would just now be getting going. Something always seemed to come up! Meeting new people, a thousand pictures to upload, something always came up.
I wouldn't trade this experience for anything in the world. It was the best graduation present EVER and I am so lucky to have such a hot, spunky, awesome man by my side.
Thank you guys for reading, commenting, or keeping up with the blog. I am so grateful for all the sweet emails and phone calls and stuff. You're the best!!
And for those who got "offended" by this, or jealous or whatever the reason was that you ran your mouth about this blog... well, you know, maybe one day your life will be interesting!
But for everyone else, I loooooooove ya for staying tuned!!
Until next time,
Amy and Ricky
5.31.2009
Chillin' In Charleston
Current Location: Charleston, South Carolina; Total Miles Traveled: 7,143 Miles
Good Mornin' readers!!!
I'm sorry that I don't have time to write you a good blog today, but we didn't get to our hotel until 2:30 am last night, so we didn't sleep very much, and we have a very busy day ahead of us in Charleston. After traveling most of the country, I think Charleston is still our favorite city in America. :)
Okay, so really quickly, our hotel is the nastiest, most gross hotel that I have ever seen. The toliet hasn't been cleaned in probably eight months. But, the worst part -- the shower. There is dirt in the bottom of the tub. Like, a lot of dirt. A year or so of dirt. Oh, and ughhhhh there was hair on the side of the tub. I HATE hair in the shower!!!!!! It is so nasty!!! And if they had even half cleaned the dern thing, they could have gotten off the hair. It makes me sick to even think about it!! Needless to say, we slept on top of the covers last night! Ughhh!!!!!
We will be home this afternoon. I am sad to end the vacation. I wish we could go another 7,000 miles.
Amy and Ricky
Good Mornin' readers!!!
I'm sorry that I don't have time to write you a good blog today, but we didn't get to our hotel until 2:30 am last night, so we didn't sleep very much, and we have a very busy day ahead of us in Charleston. After traveling most of the country, I think Charleston is still our favorite city in America. :)
Okay, so really quickly, our hotel is the nastiest, most gross hotel that I have ever seen. The toliet hasn't been cleaned in probably eight months. But, the worst part -- the shower. There is dirt in the bottom of the tub. Like, a lot of dirt. A year or so of dirt. Oh, and ughhhhh there was hair on the side of the tub. I HATE hair in the shower!!!!!! It is so nasty!!! And if they had even half cleaned the dern thing, they could have gotten off the hair. It makes me sick to even think about it!! Needless to say, we slept on top of the covers last night! Ughhh!!!!!
We will be home this afternoon. I am sad to end the vacation. I wish we could go another 7,000 miles.
Amy and Ricky
5.30.2009
M, I, crooked letter, crooked letter, I, crooked letter, crooked letter, I, hump back, hump back, I!!
Current Location: Jackson, Mississippi; Total Miles Traveled: 6,410 Miles
Hi friends from Jackson, Mississippi!
Today has been a great day for traveling by motorcycle. It is so warm here! I thought California and other West Coast states (Arizona, New Mexico too) would be the hottest but so far - the most consistently warm/comfortable state has been Texas. Mississippi is great too. In fact, it's warmer at night here than it is during the day in other states.
We only got to Mississippi because we spent so much time stopping at little knick knack places along the way. Ricky also spent hours searching aimlessly for a Harley Davidson store. Finally after we were more behind than we needed to be, we decided just to go on and forget about the HD store -- then, right as we were heading out, there it was!
The people inside were so sweet too. I guess she is the owner of the store, but anyway, we were trying to pick out a shirt for Ricky and she went and got more out of the back for him to look at. Then, when we were checking in, she grabbed the tank top I was buying, and marked it down! How awesome is that?!
We had dinner at this Pizza place this afternoon and we had such an odd waitress. She got sassy with me; and not in a good way niether! She only got a $1.50 tip because of her attitude. At least I still tipped though, Ricky is bad about not tipping at all. The other morning, we ate at the Cracker Barrel, and the waiter was kind of clueless. Okay, so I do NOT like grits, so I wanted to swap them out for hash browns. He said I couldn't substitute (not true!) so anywho, when the food came out it was not at all what either of us ordered. Ricky gets a meal that is way too big for any human to consume in a healthy manner, and when it came, all he had was eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns. Mine was all wrong too, so to make a long story short, she only charged us for $21 out of our $30 bill. And honey, he didn't tip the man AT ALL! Isn't that mean?!
We had the most amazing thing EVER happen to us today. We saw these huge cows that I wanted to take a picture of, so Ricky turned around and went down this little side street, and HOLY COW I am so glad he did! When I got off that bike and looked in that field, I was shocked and so excited. Cows? Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle because there were long horn's, zebras, horses, camels, and an ostrich! As a person's PETS!!!!!!!!!! How awesome is that?! Can someone find out for me how much a zebra costs? I want one!
Tomorrow, we are headed to Charleston, South Carolina. And Sunday is our last day :( on our vacation. We can't wait to get to the ocean!!!!!!
Night!
Amy and Ricky
Hi friends from Jackson, Mississippi!
Today has been a great day for traveling by motorcycle. It is so warm here! I thought California and other West Coast states (Arizona, New Mexico too) would be the hottest but so far - the most consistently warm/comfortable state has been Texas. Mississippi is great too. In fact, it's warmer at night here than it is during the day in other states.
We only got to Mississippi because we spent so much time stopping at little knick knack places along the way. Ricky also spent hours searching aimlessly for a Harley Davidson store. Finally after we were more behind than we needed to be, we decided just to go on and forget about the HD store -- then, right as we were heading out, there it was!
The people inside were so sweet too. I guess she is the owner of the store, but anyway, we were trying to pick out a shirt for Ricky and she went and got more out of the back for him to look at. Then, when we were checking in, she grabbed the tank top I was buying, and marked it down! How awesome is that?!
We had dinner at this Pizza place this afternoon and we had such an odd waitress. She got sassy with me; and not in a good way niether! She only got a $1.50 tip because of her attitude. At least I still tipped though, Ricky is bad about not tipping at all. The other morning, we ate at the Cracker Barrel, and the waiter was kind of clueless. Okay, so I do NOT like grits, so I wanted to swap them out for hash browns. He said I couldn't substitute (not true!) so anywho, when the food came out it was not at all what either of us ordered. Ricky gets a meal that is way too big for any human to consume in a healthy manner, and when it came, all he had was eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns. Mine was all wrong too, so to make a long story short, she only charged us for $21 out of our $30 bill. And honey, he didn't tip the man AT ALL! Isn't that mean?!
We had the most amazing thing EVER happen to us today. We saw these huge cows that I wanted to take a picture of, so Ricky turned around and went down this little side street, and HOLY COW I am so glad he did! When I got off that bike and looked in that field, I was shocked and so excited. Cows? Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle because there were long horn's, zebras, horses, camels, and an ostrich! As a person's PETS!!!!!!!!!! How awesome is that?! Can someone find out for me how much a zebra costs? I want one!
Tomorrow, we are headed to Charleston, South Carolina. And Sunday is our last day :( on our vacation. We can't wait to get to the ocean!!!!!!
Night!
Amy and Ricky
5.29.2009
Everything is BIGGER in Texas!!!
Current Location: Bedford, Texas; Total Miles Traveled: 5,928 Miles
Howdy y'all from Texas!!!!!!!
Today was a wonderful day -- I wish the weather would have been this beautiful the entire vacation. We traveled the rest of the way through New Mexico, and a good ways through Texas. And honey, Texas is gorgeous! And warm, honey, it feels excellent here! :)
The first thing that I want to talk to you guys about today is this creepy old man that I met when we first came into Texas. I was looking for the postcards in the shell station when I look to my left and realize that I am being completely undressed by the old, dirty, nasty truck driver. As soon as I looked over, he didn't turn away in embarrassment, oh no friends, instead he lifted his eyebrows in what I assume he thought was a sexy way. I walked away and tried to avoid that section of the store. When we got ready to leave, I looked behind Ricky's head and realized that psycho was looking at me AGAIN! Ugh! So I told Ricky to look, and creepy trucker looked away. Then, this was repeated six times or so with no reduction is stares. Gross! I am only 21 -- you're old enough to be my grandpa!
Then, tonight we met up with my cousin Erica and her husband Raymond. We met and hung out at McDonalds (not a fan, but last thing still opened) for a few hours. We had a great time just catching up! It makes me miss my cousins who live out here, alot.
Tomorrow, we are going to try to make it to Atlanta, Georgia. I am so sad that our road trip is almost over. I'll never be able to top this.
Until tomorrow friends, have a great night!
Amy and Ricky
Howdy y'all from Texas!!!!!!!
Today was a wonderful day -- I wish the weather would have been this beautiful the entire vacation. We traveled the rest of the way through New Mexico, and a good ways through Texas. And honey, Texas is gorgeous! And warm, honey, it feels excellent here! :)
The first thing that I want to talk to you guys about today is this creepy old man that I met when we first came into Texas. I was looking for the postcards in the shell station when I look to my left and realize that I am being completely undressed by the old, dirty, nasty truck driver. As soon as I looked over, he didn't turn away in embarrassment, oh no friends, instead he lifted his eyebrows in what I assume he thought was a sexy way. I walked away and tried to avoid that section of the store. When we got ready to leave, I looked behind Ricky's head and realized that psycho was looking at me AGAIN! Ugh! So I told Ricky to look, and creepy trucker looked away. Then, this was repeated six times or so with no reduction is stares. Gross! I am only 21 -- you're old enough to be my grandpa!
Then, tonight we met up with my cousin Erica and her husband Raymond. We met and hung out at McDonalds (not a fan, but last thing still opened) for a few hours. We had a great time just catching up! It makes me miss my cousins who live out here, alot.
Tomorrow, we are going to try to make it to Atlanta, Georgia. I am so sad that our road trip is almost over. I'll never be able to top this.
Until tomorrow friends, have a great night!
Amy and Ricky
5.27.2009
Yo, New Mexico!!!!!
Current Location: Santa Rosa, New Mexico; Total Miles Traveled: 5,392 Miles
Hello again -- still from New Mexico!
We WOULD have been spending the night in Texas, but for some odd reason, there is a flash flood trackin' through the "desert" we are in, so we are STUCK in New Mexico!
New Mexico is really pretty, but I think it would be even prettier in the rear-view mirror. I am ready to be in Texas, and to be done with this silly weather. We rode today only for about an hour before we had to stop because we started to get rained on. Oh yeah, and it hailed again today. It wasn't as painful this time so we didn't have to stop and rest but it still hurt.
We are going to get up super early tomorrow (hopefully) and get on the road so that we can make it all the way to Dallas by sundown. I hope that the weather is clear and WARM tomorrow!! :)
So, you know that you are having fun and that you have a great life (LML = Love my life!) when you are driving along, getting poured down rain on and still laughing. I mean, I'm not talking about a little drip here, and a little drip there: I am talking about rain dripping off your helmet into your eyes, your legs numb from the cold water, your toes frozen in place, and being so soaked that you can ring out your clothes and have a bucket full of water. Now that is a downpour. We were riding through New Mexico singing that "they call me mello' yello" song and bobbing our heads to the "beat." :) So much fun!!!
Ricky hit a BIRD today with his face! Oh Emm Gee! He smashed the poor bird at 80 miles an hour! It hit so hard that Ricky heard a "pow!" noise. We think that the bird will be our only casualty of this trip -- that, and our MONEY! ha!
Amy & Ricky
http://www.photobucket.com/rickyandamy
Hello again -- still from New Mexico!
We WOULD have been spending the night in Texas, but for some odd reason, there is a flash flood trackin' through the "desert" we are in, so we are STUCK in New Mexico!
New Mexico is really pretty, but I think it would be even prettier in the rear-view mirror. I am ready to be in Texas, and to be done with this silly weather. We rode today only for about an hour before we had to stop because we started to get rained on. Oh yeah, and it hailed again today. It wasn't as painful this time so we didn't have to stop and rest but it still hurt.
We are going to get up super early tomorrow (hopefully) and get on the road so that we can make it all the way to Dallas by sundown. I hope that the weather is clear and WARM tomorrow!! :)
So, you know that you are having fun and that you have a great life (LML = Love my life!) when you are driving along, getting poured down rain on and still laughing. I mean, I'm not talking about a little drip here, and a little drip there: I am talking about rain dripping off your helmet into your eyes, your legs numb from the cold water, your toes frozen in place, and being so soaked that you can ring out your clothes and have a bucket full of water. Now that is a downpour. We were riding through New Mexico singing that "they call me mello' yello" song and bobbing our heads to the "beat." :) So much fun!!!
Ricky hit a BIRD today with his face! Oh Emm Gee! He smashed the poor bird at 80 miles an hour! It hit so hard that Ricky heard a "pow!" noise. We think that the bird will be our only casualty of this trip -- that, and our MONEY! ha!
Amy & Ricky
http://www.photobucket.com/rickyandamy
Arizona and New Mexico Travels
Current Location: Gallup, New Mexico; Total Miles Traveled: 5,111 Miles
Yo, from New Mexico!!
:)
Good evening guys!! We "lost" one hour today because of time change, and due to that and the crappy cold weather, we are in New Mexico tonight instead of Texas. Today has certainly been comprised of the worst weather we've had the entire trip.
Before I get to that though, let me tell you about something awesome we did this morning. Arizona - that's where we stayed last night; only about an hour from... none other than the GRAND CANYON! It is so beautiful there, it is unbelievable. There are some amazing views from where we came in. But, honey, lemme tell ya -- it is sort of a rip off to get into the "park." They charge you $25 (yes!) to get in and that is just for your little feet to cross the line. That is a lot, right? I mean, it is a God made structure! Yesterday when we went to the Hoover Dam, it was free and that was not God made! Either way, it was beautiful and I'm glad we went.
We met this hottie (100% sarcasm!) at a truck stop who was the stereotypical truck driver of modern day. He was missing about six of his teeth and the ones that he did still have were going in their own direction and doing their own thing. He looked like he hadn't showered in about eight days; his large beer belly hung over his britches about six inches, and of that, three inches of pure belly was exposed and jiggling with each step. It was rough. Now, I'm not making fun of this fella, I am just trying to give you a very vivid visual image of our buddy, the truck driver. So anyway, we stopped to get postcards (I collect!) and he talked to us for the next fourteen minutes about the most random and silly things I have ever heard. He began telling us about his obsession with candy on the road. Salt water taffy is apparently his favorite! He told us (very slowly, mind you) that we needed to turn around and go BACK to Salt Lake City to get some of the best he had ever had. Skippy there told us that you can purchase 30 pounds (my good gracious!!!!) of taffy at this place in Salt Lake for only (sarcasm!) $73. Now, let me ask you guys this: who in the WORLD has $73 to spend on candy!?!?!?!?! Not me, not me! Seriously, do people actually spend money like that on candy?! I don't know anyone that does. I can barely pay the little bills that I have, much less spend almost $100 on freakin' candy!!! And when he said that it was $73 we were thinking jeez louise, that is high but homeboy claimed that it was very cheap.
The bad weather today was AWFUL!!! Remember a few posts back when we talked about the salt storm?? Yeah, this was way worse. Hail! In May! We were driving along and all of a sudden: these large, icy chunks began to hit us. It was absolutely horrible. Remember when you were eight and your older brother shot you twenty six times in the thighs? That's pretty much what it felt like. It was like bb's all the way around my legs for about fifteen miles in the freezing cold rain. It was terrible. We had to pull over and wait for it to calm down a little bit. I have welps on my right leg, and I'm still numb from the cold weather in Arizona and New Mexico. Someone lied to me when they said this area was all desert! It is cold, cold mountains!!!!!!!
Despite the painful :) weather, and all the other things that have put us off track, we are having a blast!!!!! This has been the most fun journey of my life, and I seriously doubt that I will ever be able to top these nineteen days! Texas, here we come!
Amy & Ricky
Yo, from New Mexico!!
:)
Good evening guys!! We "lost" one hour today because of time change, and due to that and the crappy cold weather, we are in New Mexico tonight instead of Texas. Today has certainly been comprised of the worst weather we've had the entire trip.
Before I get to that though, let me tell you about something awesome we did this morning. Arizona - that's where we stayed last night; only about an hour from... none other than the GRAND CANYON! It is so beautiful there, it is unbelievable. There are some amazing views from where we came in. But, honey, lemme tell ya -- it is sort of a rip off to get into the "park." They charge you $25 (yes!) to get in and that is just for your little feet to cross the line. That is a lot, right? I mean, it is a God made structure! Yesterday when we went to the Hoover Dam, it was free and that was not God made! Either way, it was beautiful and I'm glad we went.
We met this hottie (100% sarcasm!) at a truck stop who was the stereotypical truck driver of modern day. He was missing about six of his teeth and the ones that he did still have were going in their own direction and doing their own thing. He looked like he hadn't showered in about eight days; his large beer belly hung over his britches about six inches, and of that, three inches of pure belly was exposed and jiggling with each step. It was rough. Now, I'm not making fun of this fella, I am just trying to give you a very vivid visual image of our buddy, the truck driver. So anyway, we stopped to get postcards (I collect!) and he talked to us for the next fourteen minutes about the most random and silly things I have ever heard. He began telling us about his obsession with candy on the road. Salt water taffy is apparently his favorite! He told us (very slowly, mind you) that we needed to turn around and go BACK to Salt Lake City to get some of the best he had ever had. Skippy there told us that you can purchase 30 pounds (my good gracious!!!!) of taffy at this place in Salt Lake for only (sarcasm!) $73. Now, let me ask you guys this: who in the WORLD has $73 to spend on candy!?!?!?!?! Not me, not me! Seriously, do people actually spend money like that on candy?! I don't know anyone that does. I can barely pay the little bills that I have, much less spend almost $100 on freakin' candy!!! And when he said that it was $73 we were thinking jeez louise, that is high but homeboy claimed that it was very cheap.
The bad weather today was AWFUL!!! Remember a few posts back when we talked about the salt storm?? Yeah, this was way worse. Hail! In May! We were driving along and all of a sudden: these large, icy chunks began to hit us. It was absolutely horrible. Remember when you were eight and your older brother shot you twenty six times in the thighs? That's pretty much what it felt like. It was like bb's all the way around my legs for about fifteen miles in the freezing cold rain. It was terrible. We had to pull over and wait for it to calm down a little bit. I have welps on my right leg, and I'm still numb from the cold weather in Arizona and New Mexico. Someone lied to me when they said this area was all desert! It is cold, cold mountains!!!!!!!
Despite the painful :) weather, and all the other things that have put us off track, we are having a blast!!!!! This has been the most fun journey of my life, and I seriously doubt that I will ever be able to top these nineteen days! Texas, here we come!
Amy & Ricky
5.26.2009
Getting Lucky in Vegas
Current Location: Williams, Arizona; Total Miles Traveled: 4,759 Miles
Bonjour from Arizona!!!
I'm not getting lazy on you guys! We stayed up all night last night in Vegas and then the hotel Nazi's called soon after we got up and asked if we were checking out. Well, I mean, obviously if we only got ONE night then yes... we are checking out.
Yesterday morning, we got up pretty early and headed back to Los Angeles. BTW, we love LA. We did a little more sightseeing in Hollywood, and Beverly Hills, and then we spent the next three hours wandering aimlessly around California in search for Marilyn Monroe's grave. In case I haven't mentioned it before, I love Marilyn. Like, to pieces. I'm not obsessed with any other celebrities, but, man, I love me some Marilyn Monroe. So anywho, we drove and drove and drove and drove forever searching for it. I gave up. I was like "obviously the google directions are WRONG! Let's just head to Vegas." But Ricky said that we had "blown" so much time looking for it that we had better keep looking until we find it. And we did... ride for another hour or so. Three (!!) hours of driving, three random street walker's directions, about 35 u-turns, and six profanities later, we found it! And honey, let me tell you. That grave yard is tucked away in the middle Beverly Hills. There are NO SIGNS, no directions and no big show to get you there. The enterance is a small alleyway tucked behind a theater and church. If you didn't have very specific directions, you would never, ever find it. There are beautiful trees, and it is very peaceful there. And, her grave is one of those little drawers that is stacked. It very much blends in. There were fresh flowers and lipstick kisses covering her space. Inside, there was a letter tucked away that someone "left her." It was so strange to know that this person that I adore was right there, just on the other side of the marble that my fingers were pressed up against. FYI -- we read online that Hugh Heffner reserved the space right beside Marilyn. Another thing that was really weird about it is that there were people all around her. Like on top, on bottom, to the right and all the way across. How lucky are they to be buried right there with her! :)
Speaking of lucky, we went to Vegas last night. And... yeah, we did NOT get lucky in Vegas. We took $---, uh, an unspecified amount of money, and lost every dern penny. Then, Ricky had another $15 in his wallet, and honey, we LOST that too!!! Oh wait... I forgot, I left with $.07 and some lent in my pockets.
Las Vegas is such a different place!! I think that we were the only sober folks in the whole city! :) Oh, and there are naked people everywhere. Billboards, t-shirts, even the newspaper racks contained naked magazines. Naked, everywhere! I just never realized it. I guess that is maybe why they call it sin city?! Perhaps!
We woke up about 9:30 this morning (we didn't go to bed until about 4:00!), and no sooner than we started getting ready, we got that phonecall asking if we were checking out. Oh yeah -- I forgot to tell ya where we stayed... The ONLY hotel in Las Vegas that wasn't sold out - The Super 6. Recall that last week we had a very bad experience (boogers, stains etc) with one so I was so against it. But, it was the only hotel that still had rooms and I guess beggers can't be choosers so we stayed there. Don't judge a book by it's cover because that room was actually really nice! I took a picture, and they will be up in a few hours at http://www.photobucket.com/rickyandamy along with alot of other pictures. As always, click the album names off to the left side.
Hoover Dam -- there we went! :) It is BEAUTIFUL there. Remember how cold it was in California, Colorado, Kansas... etc, etc -- basically every state we've been to? Well, well, today we finally got our wish for WARM WEATHER!!!!!!! :D Nevada and Arizona were both extremely warm, I mean like... oh my mexicans! Heat stroke weather!! As we waited to enter the hoover dam, I thought I was going to pass out from the heat and lack of air passing over us. I think Ricky underestimated how thirsty I was because when we left the dam to go get something to drink, he was being picky about the location (I might have told him to aim for a resturant, but hey, who knew it would take so long?!), because we drove for 50+ miles before stopping at a Hardees wannabe called Carl Jr. Can someone tell me why they are the exact same resturant, but have different names?
Then, we drove and drove and drove... until... it got freakin' cold again!! In Arizona! What the heck people! It's a desert. So, we had to stop at a Howard Johnson's for the night. They had a heated pool (finally!) so we went down to go for a swim. All that was great until we got there, stuck our piggies in and realized that it was NOT heated. It was like ice!!!!! We stuck to the hot tub instead, and it felt great!!!!!!!
We need to get our rest because we have a long day of driving ahead of us to get to the Grand Canyon and New Mexico tomorrow. IF it isn't cold! We will see tomorrow. Good night readers -- thanks for keeping up with our travels!
Amy & Ricky
Bonjour from Arizona!!!
I'm not getting lazy on you guys! We stayed up all night last night in Vegas and then the hotel Nazi's called soon after we got up and asked if we were checking out. Well, I mean, obviously if we only got ONE night then yes... we are checking out.
Yesterday morning, we got up pretty early and headed back to Los Angeles. BTW, we love LA. We did a little more sightseeing in Hollywood, and Beverly Hills, and then we spent the next three hours wandering aimlessly around California in search for Marilyn Monroe's grave. In case I haven't mentioned it before, I love Marilyn. Like, to pieces. I'm not obsessed with any other celebrities, but, man, I love me some Marilyn Monroe. So anywho, we drove and drove and drove and drove forever searching for it. I gave up. I was like "obviously the google directions are WRONG! Let's just head to Vegas." But Ricky said that we had "blown" so much time looking for it that we had better keep looking until we find it. And we did... ride for another hour or so. Three (!!) hours of driving, three random street walker's directions, about 35 u-turns, and six profanities later, we found it! And honey, let me tell you. That grave yard is tucked away in the middle Beverly Hills. There are NO SIGNS, no directions and no big show to get you there. The enterance is a small alleyway tucked behind a theater and church. If you didn't have very specific directions, you would never, ever find it. There are beautiful trees, and it is very peaceful there. And, her grave is one of those little drawers that is stacked. It very much blends in. There were fresh flowers and lipstick kisses covering her space. Inside, there was a letter tucked away that someone "left her." It was so strange to know that this person that I adore was right there, just on the other side of the marble that my fingers were pressed up against. FYI -- we read online that Hugh Heffner reserved the space right beside Marilyn. Another thing that was really weird about it is that there were people all around her. Like on top, on bottom, to the right and all the way across. How lucky are they to be buried right there with her! :)
Speaking of lucky, we went to Vegas last night. And... yeah, we did NOT get lucky in Vegas. We took $---, uh, an unspecified amount of money, and lost every dern penny. Then, Ricky had another $15 in his wallet, and honey, we LOST that too!!! Oh wait... I forgot, I left with $.07 and some lent in my pockets.
Las Vegas is such a different place!! I think that we were the only sober folks in the whole city! :) Oh, and there are naked people everywhere. Billboards, t-shirts, even the newspaper racks contained naked magazines. Naked, everywhere! I just never realized it. I guess that is maybe why they call it sin city?! Perhaps!
We woke up about 9:30 this morning (we didn't go to bed until about 4:00!), and no sooner than we started getting ready, we got that phonecall asking if we were checking out. Oh yeah -- I forgot to tell ya where we stayed... The ONLY hotel in Las Vegas that wasn't sold out - The Super 6. Recall that last week we had a very bad experience (boogers, stains etc) with one so I was so against it. But, it was the only hotel that still had rooms and I guess beggers can't be choosers so we stayed there. Don't judge a book by it's cover because that room was actually really nice! I took a picture, and they will be up in a few hours at http://www.photobucket.com/rickyandamy along with alot of other pictures. As always, click the album names off to the left side.
Hoover Dam -- there we went! :) It is BEAUTIFUL there. Remember how cold it was in California, Colorado, Kansas... etc, etc -- basically every state we've been to? Well, well, today we finally got our wish for WARM WEATHER!!!!!!! :D Nevada and Arizona were both extremely warm, I mean like... oh my mexicans! Heat stroke weather!! As we waited to enter the hoover dam, I thought I was going to pass out from the heat and lack of air passing over us. I think Ricky underestimated how thirsty I was because when we left the dam to go get something to drink, he was being picky about the location (I might have told him to aim for a resturant, but hey, who knew it would take so long?!), because we drove for 50+ miles before stopping at a Hardees wannabe called Carl Jr. Can someone tell me why they are the exact same resturant, but have different names?
Then, we drove and drove and drove... until... it got freakin' cold again!! In Arizona! What the heck people! It's a desert. So, we had to stop at a Howard Johnson's for the night. They had a heated pool (finally!) so we went down to go for a swim. All that was great until we got there, stuck our piggies in and realized that it was NOT heated. It was like ice!!!!! We stuck to the hot tub instead, and it felt great!!!!!!!
We need to get our rest because we have a long day of driving ahead of us to get to the Grand Canyon and New Mexico tomorrow. IF it isn't cold! We will see tomorrow. Good night readers -- thanks for keeping up with our travels!
Amy & Ricky
5.24.2009
Hittin' Cali'
Current Location: Ontario, California; Total Miles Traveled: 4,148 Miles
Hello again from California!!!!!
Today was a spectacular day! It was sunny and beautiful all day long. Our hotel is outside of Los Angeles, so we spent the day there today, and honey, it was amazing. Beautiful, sunny, and so much fun! This has really been the first day of excellent weather that we have had this entire trip.
As most of you guys know, I love, love, love Marilyn Monroe. So, the first thing we did was go to try and find her grave. We looked and looked and looked forever before we realized that we went to the wrong graveyard. Were we in another celebrity graveyard, you ask? No. We were in a Jewish cemetory. HA! A random graveyard in Hollywood. We felt really dumb, but hey you live and you learn!
Next, we headed to Santa Monica Boulevard. Ever since, I've had that Sheryl Crow song "...til' the sun comes up on the Santa Monica Boulevard!" stuck in my head! Then, to the Sunset Boulevard which Ricky was estatic about. He got some pictures outside the famous clubs the Whisky a go go, the viper room etc. It was really neat to see some of the places that rich people hang out at!
Which reminds me, what do you guys in LA do for a living and how can I do it too?! People drive around in $250,000 cars!! Please fill me in guys!
We went to the walk of fame, which was so so so cool!!! We also went to the chinese theater which has none other that Marilyn Monroe's hand and feet prints!!! And of course, snapped a picture.
There are these people that stand outside in Hollywood dressed as famous characters like Spongebob, Micky Mouse, Tinkerbell, MARILYN MONROE etc. As we got closer to Micky Mouse, he told me we had to PAY him to take a picture with me! PAY?!?! No way! So, I was like "oh, ok" and kept taking the picture. Then, I quietly walked away withOUT paying him! Ha! Mickey started hollering!!! He said, "we collect tips for posing!!!" I kept walking. He kept on shouting, and I kept on walking. There's no way that I will PAY for a photograph.
It was a lot warmer today (like California SHOULD be!) and so we went down to the ocean, and got a few pictures with the Pacific Ocean. And, yes, my piggies went in the water! I have a weird love of sticking my toes in important bodies of water!!! :) You can find those and more here: http://www.photobucket.com/rickyandamy --- The "album" is blank, but if you look to the left there will be a subheading with all the states in alphabetical order that we've gone to. Click one of those, and you will be sent to all the pictures from that state!!!!!
Ricky became a stalker for the day. :) We went to Axl Rose's house and I snapped a picture of Ricky at his gate. As soon as we pulled up, however, this vicious border collie :) directly across the street began barking, and carrying on like a big tough guard dog. Because of this, we had to make the photo-takin' very fast!!!
Today was a fabulous day. We are headed back for just for a few more sights to see and I am sure we will have a fantastic day. Good night readers!! See you tomorrow!!
Any & Ricky
Hello again from California!!!!!
Today was a spectacular day! It was sunny and beautiful all day long. Our hotel is outside of Los Angeles, so we spent the day there today, and honey, it was amazing. Beautiful, sunny, and so much fun! This has really been the first day of excellent weather that we have had this entire trip.
As most of you guys know, I love, love, love Marilyn Monroe. So, the first thing we did was go to try and find her grave. We looked and looked and looked forever before we realized that we went to the wrong graveyard. Were we in another celebrity graveyard, you ask? No. We were in a Jewish cemetory. HA! A random graveyard in Hollywood. We felt really dumb, but hey you live and you learn!
Next, we headed to Santa Monica Boulevard. Ever since, I've had that Sheryl Crow song "...til' the sun comes up on the Santa Monica Boulevard!" stuck in my head! Then, to the Sunset Boulevard which Ricky was estatic about. He got some pictures outside the famous clubs the Whisky a go go, the viper room etc. It was really neat to see some of the places that rich people hang out at!
Which reminds me, what do you guys in LA do for a living and how can I do it too?! People drive around in $250,000 cars!! Please fill me in guys!
We went to the walk of fame, which was so so so cool!!! We also went to the chinese theater which has none other that Marilyn Monroe's hand and feet prints!!! And of course, snapped a picture.
There are these people that stand outside in Hollywood dressed as famous characters like Spongebob, Micky Mouse, Tinkerbell, MARILYN MONROE etc. As we got closer to Micky Mouse, he told me we had to PAY him to take a picture with me! PAY?!?! No way! So, I was like "oh, ok" and kept taking the picture. Then, I quietly walked away withOUT paying him! Ha! Mickey started hollering!!! He said, "we collect tips for posing!!!" I kept walking. He kept on shouting, and I kept on walking. There's no way that I will PAY for a photograph.
It was a lot warmer today (like California SHOULD be!) and so we went down to the ocean, and got a few pictures with the Pacific Ocean. And, yes, my piggies went in the water! I have a weird love of sticking my toes in important bodies of water!!! :) You can find those and more here: http://www.photobucket.com/rickyandamy --- The "album" is blank, but if you look to the left there will be a subheading with all the states in alphabetical order that we've gone to. Click one of those, and you will be sent to all the pictures from that state!!!!!
Ricky became a stalker for the day. :) We went to Axl Rose's house and I snapped a picture of Ricky at his gate. As soon as we pulled up, however, this vicious border collie :) directly across the street began barking, and carrying on like a big tough guard dog. Because of this, we had to make the photo-takin' very fast!!!
Today was a fabulous day. We are headed back for just for a few more sights to see and I am sure we will have a fantastic day. Good night readers!! See you tomorrow!!
Any & Ricky
5.23.2009
SUNNY California?!
Current Location: Ontario, California; Total Miles Travled: 3,969 Miles
Hiiiiiii from Ontario/Los Angeles, California!!!
Okay, I am so so sorry that I didn't get a chance to write you guys yesterday!! I stayed with my uncle and aunt in Gonzales so I did not have the internet to send my blog your way. We spent yesterday in San Francisco. SF is a beautiful place. It is absolutely spectacular. We went to see the Golden Gate Bridge, Knob Hill and the Alamo Square where Full House shot the "outside their house" scene.
It is freakin' amazing. And boy, oh boy, great shopping!! :)
We stayed at Richard and Joanne's house last night, and they have a beautiful home. We stayed at their house, and they made a great dinner and great breakfast for us.
Okay, so San Fransisco was very pretty. It was really foggy so our pictures didn't turn out that great, but man, it was beautiful. Just like in the movies. And, honey, let me tell ya -- there are several "emergency call boxes" on the bridge incase you are thinking of jumping off and think you should make one last phone call to try and get someone to talk you out of it. First of all, who is the good Lord's name would jump off the Golden Gate Bridge?! Do you know how wack your body is going to look for your funeral? And secondly, if you were about to jump, would you really think to call someone on the "emergency phone?" While we were there we saw a couple on a double bike -- with a woman driving the bicycle! And, then, we knew we were offically in San Francisco because two men walked by shaking their hips with their fingers intertwined. It wasn't weird to me that there were two gay men but it was so strange to see two gay men openly holding hands! That does NOT happen in Roxboro!! :)
Then, we went to get lunch downtown, and I saw my very first true hippie!!!!! Her hair was matted and nappy. She looked like a female, white Bob Marley but with greasier hair. She had about 6 teeth total, and was wearing hemp all over. I guess she was a crack head or some other kind of drug lova' cause we were sitting there having lunch when all of a sudden Happy Pants overthere burst out laughing so hard that she was slamming her hand on the table and choking over her giggles. Now, I tend to get tickled myself so I glaced over to see who or what was making her laugh and she was definitely all alone, and looking at a car sales ad. Soooo... it must have been the voices in her head that made her laugh, otherwise, she was just a looney.
Today was a very very cold day as well. We FROZE on the way here! It is supposed to be Califonia - the state of Sunshine, but so far it has been California; the state of numb toes!!! Come on California, warm the TRUCK up!!!!!!!
For now, we are heading to bed. We can't wait for tomorrow's all day long adventure in Los Angeles. I hope we see someone famous, but more than that, I hope it's WARM!!!
Love,
Amy and Ricky
Hiiiiiii from Ontario/Los Angeles, California!!!
Okay, I am so so sorry that I didn't get a chance to write you guys yesterday!! I stayed with my uncle and aunt in Gonzales so I did not have the internet to send my blog your way. We spent yesterday in San Francisco. SF is a beautiful place. It is absolutely spectacular. We went to see the Golden Gate Bridge, Knob Hill and the Alamo Square where Full House shot the "outside their house" scene.
It is freakin' amazing. And boy, oh boy, great shopping!! :)
We stayed at Richard and Joanne's house last night, and they have a beautiful home. We stayed at their house, and they made a great dinner and great breakfast for us.
Okay, so San Fransisco was very pretty. It was really foggy so our pictures didn't turn out that great, but man, it was beautiful. Just like in the movies. And, honey, let me tell ya -- there are several "emergency call boxes" on the bridge incase you are thinking of jumping off and think you should make one last phone call to try and get someone to talk you out of it. First of all, who is the good Lord's name would jump off the Golden Gate Bridge?! Do you know how wack your body is going to look for your funeral? And secondly, if you were about to jump, would you really think to call someone on the "emergency phone?" While we were there we saw a couple on a double bike -- with a woman driving the bicycle! And, then, we knew we were offically in San Francisco because two men walked by shaking their hips with their fingers intertwined. It wasn't weird to me that there were two gay men but it was so strange to see two gay men openly holding hands! That does NOT happen in Roxboro!! :)
Then, we went to get lunch downtown, and I saw my very first true hippie!!!!! Her hair was matted and nappy. She looked like a female, white Bob Marley but with greasier hair. She had about 6 teeth total, and was wearing hemp all over. I guess she was a crack head or some other kind of drug lova' cause we were sitting there having lunch when all of a sudden Happy Pants overthere burst out laughing so hard that she was slamming her hand on the table and choking over her giggles. Now, I tend to get tickled myself so I glaced over to see who or what was making her laugh and she was definitely all alone, and looking at a car sales ad. Soooo... it must have been the voices in her head that made her laugh, otherwise, she was just a looney.
Today was a very very cold day as well. We FROZE on the way here! It is supposed to be Califonia - the state of Sunshine, but so far it has been California; the state of numb toes!!! Come on California, warm the TRUCK up!!!!!!!
For now, we are heading to bed. We can't wait for tomorrow's all day long adventure in Los Angeles. I hope we see someone famous, but more than that, I hope it's WARM!!!
Love,
Amy and Ricky
5.21.2009
California Dreamin'
Current Location: San Francisco, California; Total Miles Traveled: 3,364 Miles.
Hello from San Francisco!!!!!!!!
Click http://www.photobucket.com/rickyandamy for photos
Holy cow! I can not believe that we MADE IT all the way to California!!! And, on a Harley too! HOT DOG!
Today was a great day for motorcycle riding, and we were so lucky to make it an entire day without any weather like we've had for the last few days. Remember that we stayed in ghetto town last night? Well this morning, I was trying to upload some of our pictures and so because I was busy doing that, Ricky handled all the packing this morning. Okay, so, ladies, you can back me up when I say that flat irons are very expensive. Very expensive. Well, we left the hotel early this morning, and five minutes later, I realized "oh shoot!" we forgot my water! So we went back to get it, and oh my gosh, I opened up the fridge and there it was... my flat iron in the fridge! I don't know what in this world Ricky was smokin' or snortin' but he put it in the fridge. When I walked outside with it in my hand, his jaw dropped. "Where was THAT?!" He better be glad we found that BEFORE we left Nevada. Oh my gosh! It would have been bad. Very bad if he had left it there. So bad, in fact, that I would have learned to drive that motorcycle, and I would have left that fool in Nevada!! :) Just kidding. But, I probably would have made him take me to Sally's so I could buy another one. :) Or so that he could buy me one, maybe. :) Wink, wink!!
Nevada is very pretty. Ricky really didn't like it very much. He said it was boring, but I thought it was cute! Cold as heck, but a very cute state.
Okay, so then, we crossed into California, and honey, let me tell you... California is GORGEOUS!! Especially the mountians. Just beautiful. We stopped for lunch at a McDonald's, and Lord knows there was a bum outside with a sign that said "I'm hungry." And, would you believe it?! Someone actually stopped and gave him money. He came inside, had a burger, and went back out and held up the sign again. And, let me just say that when I said he came inside, that means that he WALKED inside -- so he is fully capable of getting a job and not standing on the side of the road. So, as we're about to pull off, I leaned into Ricky's ear and said "hey, let's tell him to get a job." Ricky laughed and told me not to say that because I would "get US killed!!!!!!!!" So of course, I said it. As we were about to pull off, I turned around, looked him in the face and shouted as loud as I could "GEEEEEEEEEET A JOBBBBB!!!!!!!!!!!" I don't know if he heard my words, but honey, he sure heard my tone of voice. If you're reading this Lazy McDonalds Bum in Truckee, California, please get a job! Work at McDonald's and then you can eat all the fries you want. Then, you don't have to hold a sign and you won't have to be hungry. You're there all the time anyway, might as well get paid for it.
Then, we had a very odd thing happen to us. This slang talkin' guy with a long beard (who shall remain nameless because I fear for my safety otherwise!) stopped us at a gas station to tell us that if we ever needed "a tow" to call him, and he would call his people to hook us up. That should have been a warning because I sure don't have "people" so obviously, something is odd with this situation. He gave us a business card with a swastika and a motorcycle gang (yikes!) on it. Good gracious! I know my pink kodak camera, and cute little pig tails hair strike most people as "ganster" but we sure ain't trying to be in no gang honey!!!
California's gets the award for worst road system in the entire world. Seriously. We got airborn a couple of times by accident, and it is all because of the potholes and bumps in the roads.
Dear California,
Can you please use the $4 you charged us as a toll to fix a pot hole or two? That would be great - thanks!
Tomorrow, I hope we are able to vist my uncle and aunt who live here in California. I hope it isn't as cold tomorrow. Tonight, it was unreal how cold it was.
Before we leave the west, I am going to ride a horse. Someone send me ideas of where I can do that between California and Texas!!!
Good night!
Amy and Ricky
Hello from San Francisco!!!!!!!!
Click http://www.photobucket.com/rickyandamy for photos
Holy cow! I can not believe that we MADE IT all the way to California!!! And, on a Harley too! HOT DOG!
Today was a great day for motorcycle riding, and we were so lucky to make it an entire day without any weather like we've had for the last few days. Remember that we stayed in ghetto town last night? Well this morning, I was trying to upload some of our pictures and so because I was busy doing that, Ricky handled all the packing this morning. Okay, so, ladies, you can back me up when I say that flat irons are very expensive. Very expensive. Well, we left the hotel early this morning, and five minutes later, I realized "oh shoot!" we forgot my water! So we went back to get it, and oh my gosh, I opened up the fridge and there it was... my flat iron in the fridge! I don't know what in this world Ricky was smokin' or snortin' but he put it in the fridge. When I walked outside with it in my hand, his jaw dropped. "Where was THAT?!" He better be glad we found that BEFORE we left Nevada. Oh my gosh! It would have been bad. Very bad if he had left it there. So bad, in fact, that I would have learned to drive that motorcycle, and I would have left that fool in Nevada!! :) Just kidding. But, I probably would have made him take me to Sally's so I could buy another one. :) Or so that he could buy me one, maybe. :) Wink, wink!!
Nevada is very pretty. Ricky really didn't like it very much. He said it was boring, but I thought it was cute! Cold as heck, but a very cute state.
Okay, so then, we crossed into California, and honey, let me tell you... California is GORGEOUS!! Especially the mountians. Just beautiful. We stopped for lunch at a McDonald's, and Lord knows there was a bum outside with a sign that said "I'm hungry." And, would you believe it?! Someone actually stopped and gave him money. He came inside, had a burger, and went back out and held up the sign again. And, let me just say that when I said he came inside, that means that he WALKED inside -- so he is fully capable of getting a job and not standing on the side of the road. So, as we're about to pull off, I leaned into Ricky's ear and said "hey, let's tell him to get a job." Ricky laughed and told me not to say that because I would "get US killed!!!!!!!!" So of course, I said it. As we were about to pull off, I turned around, looked him in the face and shouted as loud as I could "GEEEEEEEEEET A JOBBBBB!!!!!!!!!!!" I don't know if he heard my words, but honey, he sure heard my tone of voice. If you're reading this Lazy McDonalds Bum in Truckee, California, please get a job! Work at McDonald's and then you can eat all the fries you want. Then, you don't have to hold a sign and you won't have to be hungry. You're there all the time anyway, might as well get paid for it.
Then, we had a very odd thing happen to us. This slang talkin' guy with a long beard (who shall remain nameless because I fear for my safety otherwise!) stopped us at a gas station to tell us that if we ever needed "a tow" to call him, and he would call his people to hook us up. That should have been a warning because I sure don't have "people" so obviously, something is odd with this situation. He gave us a business card with a swastika and a motorcycle gang (yikes!) on it. Good gracious! I know my pink kodak camera, and cute little pig tails hair strike most people as "ganster" but we sure ain't trying to be in no gang honey!!!
California's gets the award for worst road system in the entire world. Seriously. We got airborn a couple of times by accident, and it is all because of the potholes and bumps in the roads.
Dear California,
Can you please use the $4 you charged us as a toll to fix a pot hole or two? That would be great - thanks!
Tomorrow, I hope we are able to vist my uncle and aunt who live here in California. I hope it isn't as cold tomorrow. Tonight, it was unreal how cold it was.
Before we leave the west, I am going to ride a horse. Someone send me ideas of where I can do that between California and Texas!!!
Good night!
Amy and Ricky
5.20.2009
Hakuna Matata from Nevada!!!!!!!
Current Location: Battle Mountain, Nevada; Total Miles Traveled: 2899 Miles
Good Mornin’ Guys!!!!!
Yes, morning. We stayed at a casino hotel that closes in the lobby at 9:00 pm and we do not have a password to get to their internet. Ghetto? Maybe. At least with the fact that they close at 9.
Yesterday was…wow…some kinda day! We left first thing, and since we were only about five miles from the Utah border, we crossed the state line pretty quick. Well, at least we WOULD HAVE crossed it pretty quickly if we hadn’t driven around for thirty minutes trying to find the ramp for the interstate. What is Wyoming thinking, not clearly labeling their streets?!
When we finally got to Utah, we thought it was absolutely gorgeous! Just beautiful!! There are gorgeous sandy mountains and plateaus when you first get there. Then you ride and ride and ride forever with no gas stations! Seriously. We were about 8 miles from running out but that goodness we finally made it to get gas. In Utah though, we hit some terrible weather. Honey, it was AWFUL! It poured and poured rain for a long time. After it finally quick, we drove for less than forty minutes before we hit some kind of crazy storm. We will hereby refer to it as a “salt storm.” Okay, so obviously Salt Lake has a ton of salt. (BTW – do people actually swim in SL? Cause, ewwww, to that.) Well, there are also these things on the side of the road called “salt plains” and apparently, when the wind blows, so does the salt. Now, I know that I have shared the fact that pouring rain feels like little bullets hitting your body. Well, I thought nothing could hurt worse but darlin’ was I ever wrong!? “Salt storms” (that’s what I am naming it) hurt like little bullets with needles on top! It hurt so bad, I was almost in tears. We had to pull over!!! And honey let me tell ya’, I was tasting that nasty salt on my lips for the next six hours or so. And, how lovely it tasted – NOT!! Oh, and then as the salt storm began to fade a smidgen, and then what happens? It begins to POUR down raining!!! And boy, if you thought that one type of weather hurt – try both together! Yeah, it hurt! We pulled over and stood on the Bonneville Salt Flats! This is gonna sound so wack, but it looked like snow or another planet! It was beyond weird. But, pretty cool!
Okay, and can we just talk about the fact that my lips were salty again. Seriously? Can we invent some sort of chapstick that makes salt not stick because omg it's like being in the ocean for 12 hours.
We were aiming for Reno and then the wind was so rough it almost blew us back to North Carolina so we had to stop in this itty bitty place called Battle Mountain, and here we are! It worked out well though because we got to do a little gamblin’ baby. Yes sir. We spent a whole… $4 in the casino! Ricky won $6 or so, and I won about $1! Heck yeah!!
Up next, California, here we come!
Amy and Ricky
http://www.photobucket.com/rickyandamy
Good Mornin’ Guys!!!!!
Yes, morning. We stayed at a casino hotel that closes in the lobby at 9:00 pm and we do not have a password to get to their internet. Ghetto? Maybe. At least with the fact that they close at 9.
Yesterday was…wow…some kinda day! We left first thing, and since we were only about five miles from the Utah border, we crossed the state line pretty quick. Well, at least we WOULD HAVE crossed it pretty quickly if we hadn’t driven around for thirty minutes trying to find the ramp for the interstate. What is Wyoming thinking, not clearly labeling their streets?!
When we finally got to Utah, we thought it was absolutely gorgeous! Just beautiful!! There are gorgeous sandy mountains and plateaus when you first get there. Then you ride and ride and ride forever with no gas stations! Seriously. We were about 8 miles from running out but that goodness we finally made it to get gas. In Utah though, we hit some terrible weather. Honey, it was AWFUL! It poured and poured rain for a long time. After it finally quick, we drove for less than forty minutes before we hit some kind of crazy storm. We will hereby refer to it as a “salt storm.” Okay, so obviously Salt Lake has a ton of salt. (BTW – do people actually swim in SL? Cause, ewwww, to that.) Well, there are also these things on the side of the road called “salt plains” and apparently, when the wind blows, so does the salt. Now, I know that I have shared the fact that pouring rain feels like little bullets hitting your body. Well, I thought nothing could hurt worse but darlin’ was I ever wrong!? “Salt storms” (that’s what I am naming it) hurt like little bullets with needles on top! It hurt so bad, I was almost in tears. We had to pull over!!! And honey let me tell ya’, I was tasting that nasty salt on my lips for the next six hours or so. And, how lovely it tasted – NOT!! Oh, and then as the salt storm began to fade a smidgen, and then what happens? It begins to POUR down raining!!! And boy, if you thought that one type of weather hurt – try both together! Yeah, it hurt! We pulled over and stood on the Bonneville Salt Flats! This is gonna sound so wack, but it looked like snow or another planet! It was beyond weird. But, pretty cool!
Okay, and can we just talk about the fact that my lips were salty again. Seriously? Can we invent some sort of chapstick that makes salt not stick because omg it's like being in the ocean for 12 hours.
We were aiming for Reno and then the wind was so rough it almost blew us back to North Carolina so we had to stop in this itty bitty place called Battle Mountain, and here we are! It worked out well though because we got to do a little gamblin’ baby. Yes sir. We spent a whole… $4 in the casino! Ricky won $6 or so, and I won about $1! Heck yeah!!
Up next, California, here we come!
Amy and Ricky
http://www.photobucket.com/rickyandamy
5.19.2009
Roaming through Wyoming!
Current Location: Evanston, Wyoming; Total Miles Traveled: 2,492 Miles
Good Evening from our last gorgeous night in Wyoming!
Today was a good day. A very good day. We got up, ate breakfast, went to see Cheyenne, and then hit the road for our longest day yet of riding. Let me tell ya honey, we went about 500 miles today, and my thighs are FEELING IT!!!!!!!!!!!
It was very warm in the city -- in the upper 80's, so we only wore short sleeves and took a sweatshirt. Silly us... silly, silly us! It was cold as a monkey's uncle when we started up those mountains. Ill prepared as usual (ha!), we almost froze to death. There was snow -- yes friends, you read that correctly, I did say SNOW -- on the ground, and we could see our own breath with every gasping shudder we took. It was beautiful. The most beautiful place we've seen yet - no doubt. The skys were beautiful. The snow was beautiful. Everything in Colorado was beautiful.
I forgot to share yesterday that we saw a bunch of buffalo (no joke!)on the side of the road yesterday. There must have been about 35 or so of them. They are so big and pretty. And, they stood right up by the fence, posing beautifully for my photographs. :)
My lil' genious took ANOTHER wrong turn today and set us back about two hours. I have no sense of direction, but Ricky usually does. This cold weather must be taking a toll because I think his internal GPS needs to go to the shop! :)
We saw more and even more of those antelope today. We maybe saw 87 of them at least (seriously) just on the side of the road. Their population is as much as our North
Carolina squirrels!! We also saw praire dogs heck yeah!
I will finally be posting the pictures from Colorado and Wyoming at some point in the next few hours at http://photobucket.com/rickyandamy so check that often for updates.
This morning, Ricky and I met some English people staying in our hotel. They said a lot of rich people own Harley Davidson's and as a result, said to Ricky "so, you're rich then?" HA! We are not!! :) They also wanted to know about our "crash hats" or helmets, and I thought that was super duper cute!
Thanks for the feedback and for spending time at work (ha!) or home to read this blog. You're the best!!!
Amy and Ricky
Good Evening from our last gorgeous night in Wyoming!
Today was a good day. A very good day. We got up, ate breakfast, went to see Cheyenne, and then hit the road for our longest day yet of riding. Let me tell ya honey, we went about 500 miles today, and my thighs are FEELING IT!!!!!!!!!!!
It was very warm in the city -- in the upper 80's, so we only wore short sleeves and took a sweatshirt. Silly us... silly, silly us! It was cold as a monkey's uncle when we started up those mountains. Ill prepared as usual (ha!), we almost froze to death. There was snow -- yes friends, you read that correctly, I did say SNOW -- on the ground, and we could see our own breath with every gasping shudder we took. It was beautiful. The most beautiful place we've seen yet - no doubt. The skys were beautiful. The snow was beautiful. Everything in Colorado was beautiful.
I forgot to share yesterday that we saw a bunch of buffalo (no joke!)on the side of the road yesterday. There must have been about 35 or so of them. They are so big and pretty. And, they stood right up by the fence, posing beautifully for my photographs. :)
My lil' genious took ANOTHER wrong turn today and set us back about two hours. I have no sense of direction, but Ricky usually does. This cold weather must be taking a toll because I think his internal GPS needs to go to the shop! :)
We saw more and even more of those antelope today. We maybe saw 87 of them at least (seriously) just on the side of the road. Their population is as much as our North
Carolina squirrels!! We also saw praire dogs heck yeah!
I will finally be posting the pictures from Colorado and Wyoming at some point in the next few hours at http://photobucket.com/rickyandamy so check that often for updates.
This morning, Ricky and I met some English people staying in our hotel. They said a lot of rich people own Harley Davidson's and as a result, said to Ricky "so, you're rich then?" HA! We are not!! :) They also wanted to know about our "crash hats" or helmets, and I thought that was super duper cute!
Thanks for the feedback and for spending time at work (ha!) or home to read this blog. You're the best!!!
Amy and Ricky
5.18.2009
Two blogs in 24 hours!!
Current Location: Cheyenne, Wyoming; Total Miles Traveled: 1,951 Miles
Update: I know, I know! We are still in Cheyenne, Wyoming but I needed to send an update to you guys about Ricky's sunburn. He can walk today!!! It still looks like lovely lobster legs but hey, at least he can move 'em!
It's about 6:30 am, and we are about to the contiental breakdast. We are big fans of free breakfast and we hope it is more than two peices of toast today.
All the pictures from Colorado, and Wyoming will be up tonight because we are crossing back into Colorado. You can see those at http://rickyandamytravelblog.blogspot.com/ -- click on the state albums off the the left side.
Yesterday, we were watching the Denver, Colorado news and apparently a bear "broke in" to a car in small town Colorado. Funniest part ever: you know they usually go after food or garbage? This clever bear totaled homegirl's car... for a box of weight watcher bars!!! :) They are good, but good gracious. Enough to total a car? Nah. Enough to total a car for a box of mexican food? Oh yeah!
Amy and Ricky
Update: I know, I know! We are still in Cheyenne, Wyoming but I needed to send an update to you guys about Ricky's sunburn. He can walk today!!! It still looks like lovely lobster legs but hey, at least he can move 'em!
It's about 6:30 am, and we are about to the contiental breakdast. We are big fans of free breakfast and we hope it is more than two peices of toast today.
All the pictures from Colorado, and Wyoming will be up tonight because we are crossing back into Colorado. You can see those at http://rickyandamytravelblog.blogspot.com/ -- click on the state albums off the the left side.
Yesterday, we were watching the Denver, Colorado news and apparently a bear "broke in" to a car in small town Colorado. Funniest part ever: you know they usually go after food or garbage? This clever bear totaled homegirl's car... for a box of weight watcher bars!!! :) They are good, but good gracious. Enough to total a car? Nah. Enough to total a car for a box of mexican food? Oh yeah!
Amy and Ricky
Wonderful Wyoming!
Current Location: Cheyenne, Wyoming; Total Miles Traveled: 1,951 Miles
Whatta wonderful day it is in Wyoming!!!!
Today has been a spectacular day!!!!!
First, we woke up to eat at the continential breakfast at our hotel. We got Raisin Bran, and took one bite and realized "yuck!" this ceral is STALE! It was baaaaad. Very bad. So, we had two peices of jelly toast instead, and it was much better!
Then, while we were waiting to leave, a motorcycle parade went down the street. It was probably, gosh, 1000 motorcycles in that poker run, and we found out that they were all on the way to Washington, DC for a Vietnam wall ride. It made me smile -- I'm glad people still care about our country.
Ahh, and then Colorado. What an amazing place Colorado is. It was 90 degrees, but there was snow on the ground on the mountains!! Denver is beautiful; Aurora is beautiful; the WHOLE state was BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!
We fell in the beauty of the place. There is NOTHING like it back home -- nothing.
Ricky decided to "wear" 2/3 of Colorado's bugs on his face, and helmet because he just loves to have them hit his face. He also decided against my better judgement not to wear sunscreen on his naked legs and now as I watch him stumble around the room, I think he is paying for that. Speaking of sunscreen, can you believe it?! Ours FELL OFF the back of the bike. Yes sir!! Gone, gone, gone. So we'll have to stop tomorrow and buy more. Hopefully, my smartie pants will listen to me about sun screen next time!
We are staying in the nicest dern hotel ever. It's the Comfort Inn in Cheyenne, and maaaaan it is super awesome. A GYM (heck yea!) AND a WASHING MACHINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We love it, and we've decided to try for comfort inn's from now on.
While in Colorado, we had a prong-horn antelope run out in front of us! It was giagantic, and we got a great picture of it and more! We also saw a small group of priarie dogs that were adorable! They were chillin' outside of a barn on the side of the road. We also got some great photos of a herd of buffalo. They were stading right up against the fence, so those pictures kick butt too!!!!
Ricky didn't wear his helmet in Colorao today because he is a dum dum. He hair looked rough honey when we stopped!!! WHEW!
Tomorrow, we are gonna check out the historic part of Cheyenne, and head to Utah. But now, we are going to a very, very needed early (11:48 pm here) bedtime.
Amy & Ricky
Whatta wonderful day it is in Wyoming!!!!
Today has been a spectacular day!!!!!
First, we woke up to eat at the continential breakfast at our hotel. We got Raisin Bran, and took one bite and realized "yuck!" this ceral is STALE! It was baaaaad. Very bad. So, we had two peices of jelly toast instead, and it was much better!
Then, while we were waiting to leave, a motorcycle parade went down the street. It was probably, gosh, 1000 motorcycles in that poker run, and we found out that they were all on the way to Washington, DC for a Vietnam wall ride. It made me smile -- I'm glad people still care about our country.
Ahh, and then Colorado. What an amazing place Colorado is. It was 90 degrees, but there was snow on the ground on the mountains!! Denver is beautiful; Aurora is beautiful; the WHOLE state was BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!
We fell in the beauty of the place. There is NOTHING like it back home -- nothing.
Ricky decided to "wear" 2/3 of Colorado's bugs on his face, and helmet because he just loves to have them hit his face. He also decided against my better judgement not to wear sunscreen on his naked legs and now as I watch him stumble around the room, I think he is paying for that. Speaking of sunscreen, can you believe it?! Ours FELL OFF the back of the bike. Yes sir!! Gone, gone, gone. So we'll have to stop tomorrow and buy more. Hopefully, my smartie pants will listen to me about sun screen next time!
We are staying in the nicest dern hotel ever. It's the Comfort Inn in Cheyenne, and maaaaan it is super awesome. A GYM (heck yea!) AND a WASHING MACHINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We love it, and we've decided to try for comfort inn's from now on.
While in Colorado, we had a prong-horn antelope run out in front of us! It was giagantic, and we got a great picture of it and more! We also saw a small group of priarie dogs that were adorable! They were chillin' outside of a barn on the side of the road. We also got some great photos of a herd of buffalo. They were stading right up against the fence, so those pictures kick butt too!!!!
Ricky didn't wear his helmet in Colorao today because he is a dum dum. He hair looked rough honey when we stopped!!! WHEW!
Tomorrow, we are gonna check out the historic part of Cheyenne, and head to Utah. But now, we are going to a very, very needed early (11:48 pm here) bedtime.
Amy & Ricky
5.16.2009
We ain't in Kansas anymore!
Current Location: Burlington, Colorado; Total Miles Traveled: 1,621 Miles.
Holla from Colorado!!
And what a beautiful day it has been in Kansas and Colorado. Cold, but beautiful!!! We woke up around 6 am, had a lovely continental breakfast, and left around 8 to try and make up some lost time. Boy, oh boy was it COLD here today! Cold, Cold, Cold!!!!!!!
We had to stop several times to get coffee and to warm up including one time at the ghettoist (if that is a word) McCafe that has ever, ever exhisted. I couldn't wait to leave Kansas City! We bought hankerchiefs to keep the wind off our faces, and they worked like a charm!
And, may I just point out this fact about Kansas -- raise your hand if you've thought that Kansas would be one of the most beautiful states ever?? Not many! I KNOW! But, let me tell you -- it is absolutely gorgeous there. Spectacualr!
It took forever to get out of Kansas. We arrived in the state about 50 minutes into the ride, and didn't get out of it until eight or nine hours later!!!! Ricky said that Kansas in Indian, must mean "never get out 'a state" and I must say, I agree! :)
Colorado is beautiful too, and I can't wait for us to see more of it tomorrow.
This morning, we met a couple on their honeymoon in Missouri... they were 87 and 80!!! And cute as a button! Everyone that we've met so far has been really nice. We haven't met someone mean yet.
Oh, and apparently there are big, gigantic, alien windmills in Kansas. I've never seen anything like it in my whole life. You can check out those pictures here: http://www.photobucket.com/rickyandamy -- as well as some videos. Click the "albums" button to the side to enter the section with the pictures.
We are two hours behind you guys here. So... it's actually only 10:30, but honey, we are some jet lagged folks! And we didn't even fly!!!!! :)
Our little guy (Harley Cat) is doing better! He has started to come out from under the couch, and actually lay in the floor, eat, and play with his toys. I bet'cha he thinks we gave him up for adoption. I would be maaaaaaad if I was him and I'm sure he will be! :)
We are staying in a hotel that hasn't been updated since 1975 or so. Seriously, the walls and floor are green. And not cute forest green, or pretty polka dot green. Oh no. This is yuck green!!!! And, we actually get into the room with... guess what?! A KEY!!! Go figure! I didn't think anyone used keys anynore. Apparently, that's how they roll in Burlington, Colorado. And, to leave, you actually have to turn the key to lock the door. Ha!
Sleepy time -- FINALLY!!!!!! :)
Amy and Ricky
Holla from Colorado!!
And what a beautiful day it has been in Kansas and Colorado. Cold, but beautiful!!! We woke up around 6 am, had a lovely continental breakfast, and left around 8 to try and make up some lost time. Boy, oh boy was it COLD here today! Cold, Cold, Cold!!!!!!!
We had to stop several times to get coffee and to warm up including one time at the ghettoist (if that is a word) McCafe that has ever, ever exhisted. I couldn't wait to leave Kansas City! We bought hankerchiefs to keep the wind off our faces, and they worked like a charm!
And, may I just point out this fact about Kansas -- raise your hand if you've thought that Kansas would be one of the most beautiful states ever?? Not many! I KNOW! But, let me tell you -- it is absolutely gorgeous there. Spectacualr!
It took forever to get out of Kansas. We arrived in the state about 50 minutes into the ride, and didn't get out of it until eight or nine hours later!!!! Ricky said that Kansas in Indian, must mean "never get out 'a state" and I must say, I agree! :)
Colorado is beautiful too, and I can't wait for us to see more of it tomorrow.
This morning, we met a couple on their honeymoon in Missouri... they were 87 and 80!!! And cute as a button! Everyone that we've met so far has been really nice. We haven't met someone mean yet.
Oh, and apparently there are big, gigantic, alien windmills in Kansas. I've never seen anything like it in my whole life. You can check out those pictures here: http://www.photobucket.com/rickyandamy -- as well as some videos. Click the "albums" button to the side to enter the section with the pictures.
We are two hours behind you guys here. So... it's actually only 10:30, but honey, we are some jet lagged folks! And we didn't even fly!!!!! :)
Our little guy (Harley Cat) is doing better! He has started to come out from under the couch, and actually lay in the floor, eat, and play with his toys. I bet'cha he thinks we gave him up for adoption. I would be maaaaaaad if I was him and I'm sure he will be! :)
We are staying in a hotel that hasn't been updated since 1975 or so. Seriously, the walls and floor are green. And not cute forest green, or pretty polka dot green. Oh no. This is yuck green!!!! And, we actually get into the room with... guess what?! A KEY!!! Go figure! I didn't think anyone used keys anynore. Apparently, that's how they roll in Burlington, Colorado. And, to leave, you actually have to turn the key to lock the door. Ha!
Sleepy time -- FINALLY!!!!!! :)
Amy and Ricky
5.15.2009
Piggies in the Mighty Mississippi
Current Location: Concordia, Missouri; Miles Traveled: 1114 Miles
Hello readers!!!
I'm sure you are wondering why in the world we are updating our blog so early, and why in the world are we spending another night in freakin' Missouri?? Well, friends, apparently that storm ain't goin' away any time soon. We barely got three hours before it started to get ugly.
We were driving down 70 when the clouds went from bright and bushy tailed to totally, and completely black. The wind started to blow like crazy; so much so that driving at only 55 miles an hour was nearly impossible. The bike was shifting, and tilting, and blowing around like a little rag doll, so we pulled over to "wait for it to pass," or so we thought. Five hours later, we are still here and it is still raining, thundering, lightning, and blowing wind.
Even though we are about 3 days behind (ha!), we just cannot sweat it. It's a vacation, and we are GOING TO ENJOY IT!! :)
Let me tell you guys about this amazing thing I saw for the first time today. It's called a "wash bowl" - have y'all ever heard of that? Okay, let me tell you; it is AWESOME!!! You are gonna wanna go buy one after you read this... First, you stick your little hands inside this big bowl, and soap comes down and falls into your hand. Then, warm water; then cold water, and it runs for as long as you are supposed to wash up, and during this time you scrub, scrub, scrub! Then, the heater comes on! It's a true one-stop-shop cause you never have to take your hands out of the "sink" to complete the hand washing process. See, it IS lovely, and I bet you will be searching ebay for one within hours!! :)
Oh, and Ricky said that I had to include what I do to pass the time on the back of the bike, and that is: by singing songs into his ear. Yeah, I sound just like Axl Rose when I am rockin' out to My Michelle in my head. And, he agrees.
Ricky just tripped over the bag, and it was H I L A R I O U S!!!!!!!!!!! Ha!
Today in St. Louis, we went in the St. Louis Gateway Arch. It is the "gateway" to the west. It was super neat, and we got some really pictures. You can check those out at http://photobucket.com/rickyandamy - To get to the tip top, you have to ride in this egg like "cart" that seats five. Now, I know what you're thinking, and the answer is yes, we did have to ride with three other people, but it was three really nice older gentlemen! So even though I felt like the walls were gonna swallow me whole (seriously), at least we had good company.
Oh and guess where I put my toes-ies? IN THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes ma'am, I stuck my piggies in the Mississippi River! :)
Tomorrow, we just wanna get out a' Missouri. Hopefully, we will get many miles under our belt tomorrow, but we shall see! Check back soon for updates, and thanks for following our travels!
Amy and Ricky
Hello readers!!!
I'm sure you are wondering why in the world we are updating our blog so early, and why in the world are we spending another night in freakin' Missouri?? Well, friends, apparently that storm ain't goin' away any time soon. We barely got three hours before it started to get ugly.
We were driving down 70 when the clouds went from bright and bushy tailed to totally, and completely black. The wind started to blow like crazy; so much so that driving at only 55 miles an hour was nearly impossible. The bike was shifting, and tilting, and blowing around like a little rag doll, so we pulled over to "wait for it to pass," or so we thought. Five hours later, we are still here and it is still raining, thundering, lightning, and blowing wind.
Even though we are about 3 days behind (ha!), we just cannot sweat it. It's a vacation, and we are GOING TO ENJOY IT!! :)
Let me tell you guys about this amazing thing I saw for the first time today. It's called a "wash bowl" - have y'all ever heard of that? Okay, let me tell you; it is AWESOME!!! You are gonna wanna go buy one after you read this... First, you stick your little hands inside this big bowl, and soap comes down and falls into your hand. Then, warm water; then cold water, and it runs for as long as you are supposed to wash up, and during this time you scrub, scrub, scrub! Then, the heater comes on! It's a true one-stop-shop cause you never have to take your hands out of the "sink" to complete the hand washing process. See, it IS lovely, and I bet you will be searching ebay for one within hours!! :)
Oh, and Ricky said that I had to include what I do to pass the time on the back of the bike, and that is: by singing songs into his ear. Yeah, I sound just like Axl Rose when I am rockin' out to My Michelle in my head. And, he agrees.
Ricky just tripped over the bag, and it was H I L A R I O U S!!!!!!!!!!! Ha!
Today in St. Louis, we went in the St. Louis Gateway Arch. It is the "gateway" to the west. It was super neat, and we got some really pictures. You can check those out at http://photobucket.com/rickyandamy - To get to the tip top, you have to ride in this egg like "cart" that seats five. Now, I know what you're thinking, and the answer is yes, we did have to ride with three other people, but it was three really nice older gentlemen! So even though I felt like the walls were gonna swallow me whole (seriously), at least we had good company.
Oh and guess where I put my toes-ies? IN THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes ma'am, I stuck my piggies in the Mississippi River! :)
Tomorrow, we just wanna get out a' Missouri. Hopefully, we will get many miles under our belt tomorrow, but we shall see! Check back soon for updates, and thanks for following our travels!
Amy and Ricky
Mid-West Magic!
Current Location: St. Louis, Missouri; Miles Traveled: 797 Miles
Good evening readers!!!!!
What a beautiful night it is in Missouri! Today has been an amazing day for traveling. This morning, we woke up in Hazard, and turned on the news to find that it was going to be a terrible storm complete with hail, rain, and none other than tornados. :) We went to the free breakfast at our sweet hotel, and had a wonderful meal. Bagels, cereal, oatmeal, danishes, muffins, coffee and orange juice. YUM YUM!
Should we stay in Hazard another night, or try and make it to the edge of Kentucky? What to do?! We decided to tough it out and just drive as far as we possibly could in the storm. By the way: the storm stretched from freakin' Canada to the bottom of Texas! About twenty minutes into our ride, the good Lord dropped the bottom out on us!!! It started pouring rain. Our glasses were fogged, our clothes were soaked, and worst of all - there were puddles in our shoes! But we drove and drove and drove for over an hour until the storm began to die away.
You'd think that since that storm was so wet, cold, and yuck that the weather would be pretty chilly for the rest of the day, but that was not the case! What a gorgeous, beautiful, spectacular, amazing day it was in Kentucky!! Mountains, and rocks; hills and ponds; grass and flowers, and my favorite: HORSES everywhere!!!! It was the most beautiful place and so much fun to ride thorough. Lexington, and Louisville were both amazing. We had a blast! I love that state, man, and it was the first time I had ever gone through it!
Indiana came and passed; another beautiful state! And then, Illinois came - and honey; Illinois is flat, flat, flat. There are no hills! Just flat plains, and farmland. It took forever, but finally, we made it here to Missouri. We saw the arch - and drove through St. Louis.
The bike gets about 175 miles to the tank, and as we reached about 170 with no gas station in sight, we began to panic. We asked a taxi driver who gave us directions (which included a U-turn) and sent us on our way. After our magical u-turn in ghetto Missouri, we were approached by, um, what's the best way to say this... we were approached by what I assume to be a man? in a small SUV. He kept staring at us, and it was making me very uncomfortable; not like, this guys gonna rob me uncomfortable, more like this person is going to spit on me uncomfortable. He rolled down the window and hollered "are yew guuuys undeer the influence?" Maybe you fools don't make U-Turns in Missouri, but in North Carolina, we are all about some U-Turnin'!
After an unsuccessful search of nice hotels, we decided to just suck it up, and stay at a place called the "Super 6" not to be confused with the Super 8 or the Super 59 or whatever the heck other Super Hotels they make! Lemme tell ya, honey, this place is NO America's Best Value in like we stayed in last night. I just found a booger, yes a booger, on my bath cloth. And Ricky found something brown on his.
Dear God,
Please let the sheets be stain free!
Love, Amy
Oh and guys, we are PAYING (heck yes, I said paying) to use the internet!!! Tomorrow, we are going to book a nice hotel without the word "super" in it.
We have seriously had the greatest day ever. I am so excited to see the rest of this beautiful country we live in. This has already turned out to be the best vacation ever, and we are only 2 days in!!! I can't WAIT to get to riding tomorrow. We are going inside the arch, and hope to make it at least close to Colorado by tomorrow night. Even if we can't make it that far (storms again, tomorrow), we are having such an amazing time!! We are having a blast, and as long as we're together, we are going to have the best, best, best time EVER!!!!!!!
Below is our photobucket account with our pictures from the trip!!! Enjoy and let's pray again for good weather!!!!!
http://photobucket.com/rickyandamy
Amy and Ricky
Good evening readers!!!!!
What a beautiful night it is in Missouri! Today has been an amazing day for traveling. This morning, we woke up in Hazard, and turned on the news to find that it was going to be a terrible storm complete with hail, rain, and none other than tornados. :) We went to the free breakfast at our sweet hotel, and had a wonderful meal. Bagels, cereal, oatmeal, danishes, muffins, coffee and orange juice. YUM YUM!
Should we stay in Hazard another night, or try and make it to the edge of Kentucky? What to do?! We decided to tough it out and just drive as far as we possibly could in the storm. By the way: the storm stretched from freakin' Canada to the bottom of Texas! About twenty minutes into our ride, the good Lord dropped the bottom out on us!!! It started pouring rain. Our glasses were fogged, our clothes were soaked, and worst of all - there were puddles in our shoes! But we drove and drove and drove for over an hour until the storm began to die away.
You'd think that since that storm was so wet, cold, and yuck that the weather would be pretty chilly for the rest of the day, but that was not the case! What a gorgeous, beautiful, spectacular, amazing day it was in Kentucky!! Mountains, and rocks; hills and ponds; grass and flowers, and my favorite: HORSES everywhere!!!! It was the most beautiful place and so much fun to ride thorough. Lexington, and Louisville were both amazing. We had a blast! I love that state, man, and it was the first time I had ever gone through it!
Indiana came and passed; another beautiful state! And then, Illinois came - and honey; Illinois is flat, flat, flat. There are no hills! Just flat plains, and farmland. It took forever, but finally, we made it here to Missouri. We saw the arch - and drove through St. Louis.
The bike gets about 175 miles to the tank, and as we reached about 170 with no gas station in sight, we began to panic. We asked a taxi driver who gave us directions (which included a U-turn) and sent us on our way. After our magical u-turn in ghetto Missouri, we were approached by, um, what's the best way to say this... we were approached by what I assume to be a man? in a small SUV. He kept staring at us, and it was making me very uncomfortable; not like, this guys gonna rob me uncomfortable, more like this person is going to spit on me uncomfortable. He rolled down the window and hollered "are yew guuuys undeer the influence?" Maybe you fools don't make U-Turns in Missouri, but in North Carolina, we are all about some U-Turnin'!
After an unsuccessful search of nice hotels, we decided to just suck it up, and stay at a place called the "Super 6" not to be confused with the Super 8 or the Super 59 or whatever the heck other Super Hotels they make! Lemme tell ya, honey, this place is NO America's Best Value in like we stayed in last night. I just found a booger, yes a booger, on my bath cloth. And Ricky found something brown on his.
Dear God,
Please let the sheets be stain free!
Love, Amy
Oh and guys, we are PAYING (heck yes, I said paying) to use the internet!!! Tomorrow, we are going to book a nice hotel without the word "super" in it.
We have seriously had the greatest day ever. I am so excited to see the rest of this beautiful country we live in. This has already turned out to be the best vacation ever, and we are only 2 days in!!! I can't WAIT to get to riding tomorrow. We are going inside the arch, and hope to make it at least close to Colorado by tomorrow night. Even if we can't make it that far (storms again, tomorrow), we are having such an amazing time!! We are having a blast, and as long as we're together, we are going to have the best, best, best time EVER!!!!!!!
Below is our photobucket account with our pictures from the trip!!! Enjoy and let's pray again for good weather!!!!!
http://photobucket.com/rickyandamy
Amy and Ricky
5.13.2009
Set Backs and Alterations in Our Plan
Current Location: Hazard, Kentucky; Miles Traveled: 328
Good evening readers!
As you can tell from our current location, and miles traveled, things are not working out exactly as planned for Ricky and me! :) Bright and early this morning, we began to put our carefully packed bag complete with a tent and other camping materials on to the pack of the Harley. Well... we apparently thought we had lot's more room on the luggage rack than we acutally did, because Lord Have Mercy, all our junk was not fitting.
Seriously? Seriously. The morning of... what can we do? As Ricky began to contemplate ways to better place our luggage, we had a visitor. A little blue eyed, scruffy lookin' white kitten showed up on my door step looking like he was straight from an ASPCA commercial. I quickly ran to our kitty cat's room and grabbed some food and water for the cutie pie. After playing with him, and feeding his scruffy butt, we decided to 86 the camping, and just get hotel rooms because of the lack of room.
Finally around 9 am (2.5 hours later than planned!), we were ready to hit the road. FYI: It is cold as heck in May even at 9 am. So about an hour into our trip, we stopped to grab a bite to eat, and.... we had to buy gloves so that we could arrive with all of our fingers!!! :)
--- Fun fact: as we left the Harley store, we passed a "if flashing you are speeding sign" and Ricky said, in the most serious tone: "what if the 'flashing' they are talking about was real flashing; like someone flashing us?!" ~ that's my shuggg!
After several hours of driving in the cold cold wind, we arrived in Galax, Virginia. And, honey, let me tell ya, we had a gay ol' time there!!! We were on a deserted four lane road, driving along minding our own business when out a' no where blue lights appear in our side mirrors. SON OF A GUN!!!!!!!!!
As the jerk, I mean policeman, walked to the motorcycle, I could already tell he was in a bad mood. "Hello! How are you doing?" I asked. "Fine," he snapped, "let me see your license." Wow, I thought, what a rude state trooper! He brought our ticket (Ricky's first ticket in eight years), and didn't even offer to give us directions even though we told him we were far from home and not one hundred percent sure about the road we were traveling on.
Finally, we were on the road again, and on the way to Louisville, Kentucky - we decided to stay there because of our setbacks, and knew we could make it there before the sun went down. Three hours, and a missed turn later, we ended up here in Hazard, Kentucky. I don't know how, or why, but we were led to an American Value Inn by a very very nice state trooper about thirty miles back.
We checked into the hotel (which I got a sweet deal on) and decided on Subway for dinner. We stood in line, decided on what to order, and watched the "sandwich artist" put our supper together. As she began to ring up the two sandwiches, Ricky reached into his pocket, and O M G his wallet was NOT there!!!!!!!!!!!!! He must have left it in the hotel three miles away. He had to go back because I didn't carry a bag so I didn't have my wallet either! After standing there uncomfortably a few minutes with these hillbilly workers waiting, he came back, and finally we were able to eat, come back here to the hotel, and now we are ready for BED!!!!! :) We've had a great time together - despite the setbacks, ha! - and we know that this is going to be the greatest vacation ever! :D We can't wait. Tomorrow, we are going to try and make it to western Missouri. If all things work out, this time tomorrow, we will be back on schedule. I'll update as soon as I can. Tomorrow, I am going to upload some photos to our photobucket, so check back tomorrow for that web address.
By the way, if anyone could please google or ask around, and please find out why in good gracious' name do people in Kentucky let their eight rolls hang over their britches under their two sizes too small t-shirts??? Someone please let me know! Ok, thanks! :)
Good night guys!
Amy and Ricky (who has now fallen completely asleep)
Good evening readers!
As you can tell from our current location, and miles traveled, things are not working out exactly as planned for Ricky and me! :) Bright and early this morning, we began to put our carefully packed bag complete with a tent and other camping materials on to the pack of the Harley. Well... we apparently thought we had lot's more room on the luggage rack than we acutally did, because Lord Have Mercy, all our junk was not fitting.
Seriously? Seriously. The morning of... what can we do? As Ricky began to contemplate ways to better place our luggage, we had a visitor. A little blue eyed, scruffy lookin' white kitten showed up on my door step looking like he was straight from an ASPCA commercial. I quickly ran to our kitty cat's room and grabbed some food and water for the cutie pie. After playing with him, and feeding his scruffy butt, we decided to 86 the camping, and just get hotel rooms because of the lack of room.
Finally around 9 am (2.5 hours later than planned!), we were ready to hit the road. FYI: It is cold as heck in May even at 9 am. So about an hour into our trip, we stopped to grab a bite to eat, and.... we had to buy gloves so that we could arrive with all of our fingers!!! :)
--- Fun fact: as we left the Harley store, we passed a "if flashing you are speeding sign" and Ricky said, in the most serious tone: "what if the 'flashing' they are talking about was real flashing; like someone flashing us?!" ~ that's my shuggg!
After several hours of driving in the cold cold wind, we arrived in Galax, Virginia. And, honey, let me tell ya, we had a gay ol' time there!!! We were on a deserted four lane road, driving along minding our own business when out a' no where blue lights appear in our side mirrors. SON OF A GUN!!!!!!!!!
As the jerk, I mean policeman, walked to the motorcycle, I could already tell he was in a bad mood. "Hello! How are you doing?" I asked. "Fine," he snapped, "let me see your license." Wow, I thought, what a rude state trooper! He brought our ticket (Ricky's first ticket in eight years), and didn't even offer to give us directions even though we told him we were far from home and not one hundred percent sure about the road we were traveling on.
Finally, we were on the road again, and on the way to Louisville, Kentucky - we decided to stay there because of our setbacks, and knew we could make it there before the sun went down. Three hours, and a missed turn later, we ended up here in Hazard, Kentucky. I don't know how, or why, but we were led to an American Value Inn by a very very nice state trooper about thirty miles back.
We checked into the hotel (which I got a sweet deal on) and decided on Subway for dinner. We stood in line, decided on what to order, and watched the "sandwich artist" put our supper together. As she began to ring up the two sandwiches, Ricky reached into his pocket, and O M G his wallet was NOT there!!!!!!!!!!!!! He must have left it in the hotel three miles away. He had to go back because I didn't carry a bag so I didn't have my wallet either! After standing there uncomfortably a few minutes with these hillbilly workers waiting, he came back, and finally we were able to eat, come back here to the hotel, and now we are ready for BED!!!!! :) We've had a great time together - despite the setbacks, ha! - and we know that this is going to be the greatest vacation ever! :D We can't wait. Tomorrow, we are going to try and make it to western Missouri. If all things work out, this time tomorrow, we will be back on schedule. I'll update as soon as I can. Tomorrow, I am going to upload some photos to our photobucket, so check back tomorrow for that web address.
By the way, if anyone could please google or ask around, and please find out why in good gracious' name do people in Kentucky let their eight rolls hang over their britches under their two sizes too small t-shirts??? Someone please let me know! Ok, thanks! :)
Good night guys!
Amy and Ricky (who has now fallen completely asleep)
On the road again...
Good morning friends! It is bright and early 6 am in NC, and we are packed, and ready to leave! We are so excited and can't wait to get going. Ricky is at his dad's finishing up some last minute errands, but soon enough, we will be on the road!!!!!
Wish us luck, and pray for sunshine!!!!! :)
Amy & Ricky
Wish us luck, and pray for sunshine!!!!! :)
Amy & Ricky
5.12.2009
I should be packing... instead, I'm blogging!!!
Hi friends!!!
My graduation is over, and now it is time to celebrate - road trip style. We are leaving very early in the AM. Our first destination is St. Louis, Missouri. We are so so excited!!!!! :)
We can't wait to burn up the road. We will blog again tomorrow night!!!
Amy and Ricky
My graduation is over, and now it is time to celebrate - road trip style. We are leaving very early in the AM. Our first destination is St. Louis, Missouri. We are so so excited!!!!! :)
We can't wait to burn up the road. We will blog again tomorrow night!!!
Amy and Ricky
5.02.2009
First Blog!
Welcome to our FIRST travel blog!!!!! We are leaving on our cross-country motorcycle trip in ELEVEN DAYS!!!
We are getting really excited and can't wait to embark on our wonderful journey!! There is one major thing that has to be done before the trip, and that is my graduation from Meredith College in only EIGHT days! :)
Stay tuned -- we'll update a little more before we leave, and then every night while we are gone!
Amy
oh, & Ricky
We are getting really excited and can't wait to embark on our wonderful journey!! There is one major thing that has to be done before the trip, and that is my graduation from Meredith College in only EIGHT days! :)
Stay tuned -- we'll update a little more before we leave, and then every night while we are gone!
Amy
oh, & Ricky
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