I'm a 1000 miles from nowhere.

GUYS. We need to talk about Salt Lake City. It has officially moved itself up to the Top 5 of Places I Want To Live. I haven't decided what place it knocked off, but right now I am deeply infatuated with SLC.

OK, so last time I wrote an entry, I was in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. When I woke up that morning, there was almost half a foot of snow waiting for me. Needless to say, that trip to Utah was filled with excitement. The first 50 miles or so of Route 40 was a little bit white-knuckle. Nothing crazy, but definitely had to pay extreme attention to the road. Once I reached Utah, though, it was clear skies! By the time I made it to Salt Lake City, I had just enough time to get to the Lake and take some pictures during sunset.

I know it's not the ocean, but after being away from the sea for 3 weeks, the Great Salt Lake was a welcome sight. It smelled so good! What a beautiful place. Another part of this great country that will never cease to amaze me.

I was only going to spend one night in SLC, but then I ended up spending THREE nights there. The weekend I was there was a big celebration for the 10th year anniversary of the 2002 Winter Olympics. I LOVE Winter Olympics sports so I knew I had to stay in town and take advantage of all the events going on that weekend. I ended up spending a day in Park City, Utah. I love that town. If I am still working at the same job next year, I'm totally going to attempt to go to the Sundance Festival next January. I don't ski or snowboard, but it's still a cool community to me. I toured the Olympic Park - where they held the bobsled, skeleton, luge and a bunch of the skiing events during the 2002 Olympics.

That night I ended up at the Olympic Oval in Kearns where in 2002 they held the speed skating events. The town of Kearns was putting on a little show that night and I thoroughly enjoyed it. They even lit a replica of the Olympic flame. The next day, I spent a good few hours down at the Olympic Gateway where they had all kinds of events going on and a bunch of Olympic alumni. I kind of fan-girled for Derek Parra - one of the best speed skaters of our generation. I never know how to act around "celebrities" so I didn't get any autographs. So instead, I left and walked around the Morman Tabernacle and Temple.

There is nothing I find more awkward then religion so even though I enjoyed reading about the history of Mormonism, I felt extremely uncomfortable and headed back to the hotel for a little R&R. I just wanted to read stuff and there was people accosting me asking me how I was. No thank you.

That night turned out to be a dream come true. I have loved ice skating my whole life. I saw Stars On Ice back in 1989 with my aunt Mary and I still vividly remember that night, even though I was only 5 years old. It was in Providence and it was amazing. I also used to rollerblade around the neighborhood thinking I was Bonnie Blair. And when I ice skated on the cranberry bogs - I was Dorothy Hamill! When I saw that the Stars On Ice would be in SLC with a few special guests to commemorate the 2002 Olympics, I knew I had to buy a ticket or I would regret it my whole life. To see Jamie Sale and David Pelletier skate was a dream come true. I hooted, hollered, gave standing ovations. And I had no idea but my favorite skater of all time - Scott Hamilton was there too. I lost my shit when he skated out. Joannie Rochette - the 2010 Olympic bronze medalist - was fantastic, as was Todd Eldridge. I find it hard to believe that he never placed in the Olympics. Anywho, Stars On Ice in Salt Lake City is something I will never forget. It's things like this that make this trip worthwhile.

 Begrudgingly, I left Salt Lake City Sunday morning. I had nothing but pleasant experiences while I was there. The people of SLC have some deep-seeded pride. And it was a pleasure to stand side-by-side with these people that weekend. I really hope that SLC gets the Winter Olympic bid in 2022. It's a great community with some amazing facilities that is helping to shape some of the future Olympiads of USA. I think I could live there. Easily. Such a great city. Such great surrounding communities. I already miss it...

After SLC, I made my way to Oregon. I spent the night in The Dalles where the next morning, I partook in a couple local breweries. Speaking of community pride, the people of Oregon really love their state. And they also really love the show "Portlandia" which I find beyond amusing. I ended up spending the night with my cousin Haley, whom I haven't seen in at least 17 years. It was really cool to be able to meet up with her, and I can only hope that we will stay in touch.

After I hung out with Haley, I had all these big plans of touring Portland and taking pictures, but it ended up being a crappy day so I just did a few breweries and called it a night. I gotta say....some of the beer I've been trying has been delicious.

I left Portland and headed towards my aunt Louise's house in Port Orford, Oregon on Wednesday. It was straight up down-pouring when I woke up that morning. But I looked to the west and it was clear skies. That made the decision easy. I drove along the Salmon River for a bit and then did one of my favorite rides ever - the West Coast of Oregon - Route 101. It's so friggin' beautiful.

Today I left Port Orford after spending a relaxing three nights there. For a town with not much population, I found there are plenty of things to do. Two mornings in a row, we went down to the beach to collect agates. And yesterday I found myself combing the beach and then climbing Battle Point rock. Also, managed to catch up with a lot of my TV shows - which to anyone who knows me, is a very big deal.

Today I started to slowly make my way to San Francisco. I made it as far as Ukiah - after hitting up a few breweries. I made the trek out to the coast of Fort Bragg - which I challenge anyone to try. It was a LONG and WINDING road - through the forest. I feel like it was a prototype for the video game Cruisin' USA. But man, was it a great drive. I am forever thankful that I am able to do this trip. I take nothing for granted and I mean that. Driving along the coast of California today made me realize how lucky I am. Here I was in the middle of nowhere with the Pacific Ocean on the right of me and the great Redwood forest on the left of me. And it felt so right.

Tomorrow I will be in San Francisco just in time to shut myself in my hotel room and watch the Oscars. And then probably on Monday I will do a tour of Alcatraz.

I love this country so much. I can't tell you how many times I've just randomly smiled throughout this trip. Only a few weeks left, and I can tell that it's going to be epic.

On the road and hangin' by a song

Brace yourself. This is going to be a long one. It's been over a week since the last time I wrote, and A LOT has happened. Where did we leave off? Smoky Mountains? Yikes. That feels like so long ago...

NASHVILLE. That was my next stop. Leaving Pigeon Forge, of course, it was a beautiful day out. Could have used that weather the day before on my hike! (Sidenote: my legs hurt for a week from that damn hike....) Can I say how much I love that city? I only spent two nights there, but I could have spent a week. I just really enjoy the whole scene downtown - all the honky tonks, live music, nice people. The first night I was there, it was Super Bowl Sunday. I don't like football, but I still wanted to watch the game - for the commercials and half-time show. Of course, I picked the one bar downtown that wasn't non smoking. Not cool. Also while in Nashville, I did the tour of the Ryman Auditorium - which is the original home of the Grand Ole Opry. I also went to the Country Music Hall of Fame. I really enjoyed it last time I went and a few of the exhibits had changed. And all I've really been listening to during this trip is my country music playlist. It's good driving music!

After Nashville I made the long drive out to my aunt's house in Alliance, Nebraska. Mostly boring ride but I did stop in St. Louis for lunch at Schlafly Brewing and to take some pictures of the Gateway Arch. I made it as far as Rockport, Missouri that night. The next day, I pressed on. Route 80 is the worst. Nothing to look at, flat and just horrible. So to mix it up, I took a little pit stop at the Pioneer Village in Minden, Nebraska. It's basically an entire replicated village from the beginning of the century. And every building has artifacts and stuff galore. It's a picker's paradise! A hoarder's dream come true!

I decided to ignore Serena's (my GPS) warning and took a nice backroad to Alliance - Route 26. It brought me up and down these beautiful hills, saw some deer and drove through a few towns that had less than 100 people inhabiting them. All during a nice sunset.

I ended up spending close to a week in Alliance. I managed to do a lot of relaxing, and mainly because the minute I pulled into town, I got sick. Nothing crazy, just annoying. The first full day I was there, I ended up sleeping 8 hours that night, then a 4 hour Benadryl induced coma and then 10 hours of sleep that night. Guess I needed my rest! During my time there, my aunt took me on a trip up to Devil's Tower in Wyoming. One of the coolest things I've ever seen.

We spent the night in Rapid City, South Dakota and then next morning went east a little way to Wall, South Dakota and then the Badlands. I love the Badlands. They're beautiful. Saw a lot of different wildlife - tons of antelope and deer, some buffalo, one poor little mountain goat and my favorite - PRAIRIE DOGS! They're just the cutest little rodents - even if they do carry the plague...

I really enjoyed my time in Alliance with my aunt, the cat Gaby and the dog Gertrude. I wish I could have stayed longer, but it was time to get back on the road. Hopefully the next time I visit won't be too far off in the future!






So, yesterday I left Nebraska and headed south to Fort Collins, Colorado. Never been to Colorado before except the airport, but that doesn't count. I had big plans on visiting a few breweries so that's what I did! New Belgium was up first. GREAT tour. Highly recommended. You sample 6 beers during the tour and then can purchase more samples for only a $1.50. We don't get New Belgium in Mass. so I really thought it was fun. After that, I headed down the street to Odell - another beer we don't get on the East Coast. Another good tour, and I enjoyed some samples afterwards that I'll probably never get to try again. After that, I drove a half hour south to Longport to go to the Left Hand Tap Room. This is a beer that we get out east. Good stuff. Found a hotel right there in town and was passed out by 10:30!

Today I ended up in Denver, even though my original plan was to press on towards Oregon. Oh well. Plans changed. I figured since I was so close to the city, it'd be kind of dumb to not drive down and do a tour of Coors Field - home of the Colorado Rockies, and the ballpark the Red Sox won the 2007 World Series in! Great facility. Even better was that there was only 4 people on the tour. I can't wait for baseball season to start!

Now since I changed the schedule up a little bit, might as well keep changing it! I knew that I would make a stop in Salt Lake City, but now I'm thinking that tomorrow I will spend TWO nights in Park City. I really want to check out the Olympic Village and watch some athletes train. But first, I apparently have a 6 hour ride ahead of me in the morning. Today I took Route 40 through the middle of Colorado. It was a beautiful ride through the Colorado Rockies, over a couple of the Passes. Thankfully the weather has been cooperating because I could see how that ride wouldn't be fun. Hoping for blue skies tomorrow!

THERE. DONE. I think....Did I leave anything out? Basically, in a nutshell, I'm having a blast doing this trip. Didn't think the second time around could be just as fun. But it is, and I'm thankful that I get to do this.

Takes time, you pick a place to go and you just keep truckin' on

Time for an update from the road!

It felt like February 1st would never get here. But finally, this past Wednesday, at 4:30 AM, I took off for my adventure - USA Road Trip Part II! My first destination was a 1:30 tour at the Yuengling Brewery in Pottsville, PA. I left so early because you never know what kind of traffic you'll run into in that horrible state of Connecticut. And of course, I didn't really even hit too much. It was smooth sailing from the Tappan Zee Bridge and I arrived almost 2 hours ahead of schedule. So, I went and had some lunch at a local sports bar in Pottsville called Maroons. It was like heaven to see a whole draft beer area devoted only to Yuengling products! The tour itself was great. I did it two years ago and I have to say, hands down, this is the best brewery tour you'll get. Over an hour long, you get to go in and out of the whole belly (and underbelly) of the business. And at the end, two free samples!

After the 3 hour stop in Pottsville, it was time to press on. My next destination was Lexington, KY but I knew I wouldn't make it there in one day. Instead, I just really wanted to get to West Virginia. After almost 700 miles clocked and over 12 hours of driving, I finally pulled into a hotel in Fairmont, WV for the night. It was a long day, that's for sure. Didn't anticipate having to drive through Maryland, but the way Serena (my GPS lady) brought me, I ended up going up and down the mountains of northern Maryland for what seemed like forever! Never again.

I've got to say that Lexington was a nice surprise. Put a few hours on the road and got to Woodford Reserve distillery in Versailles, KY for the 1:00 tour. I'm not a fan of bourbon, but I'm always interested in seeing how different alcohols are made. There was only 6 people in the tour which made things a little bit more intimate. Good tour, and actually, not a bad bourbon!

From there, I took a tour of the Alltech Brewing Company. They make a great beer called Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. It's hard to find in Mass. but Wines & More usually has it. No one else showed up so I had my own private tour! Good stuff and got to try a beer that's not on the market yet because they're still tweaking with the recipe.

That night in Lexington was a blast. The Irish pub Lynagh's was recommended to me by the tour guide at the brewery because they have a good selection of beer. I just figured I'd go in for a burger and a couple brews. Well, next thing you know it's almost 1 AM and I'm just leaving! I met this nice local couple who introduced me to almost every local in the bar - including one of the owners who gave me a free t-shirt. It ended up being trivia night so we entered (and lost). So much fun! I love when random things like that happen. This is also another reason I love traveling alone. If I had been with someone else, who knows if a conversation would have initiated between someone else. So thanks Charlotte and Tim for a great night!

Yesterday was a little struggle to get up. 2 days of driving, not a lot of sleep and a night out on the town took a toll on me. But I had to get going. First, I did a tour of the Four Roses distillery where I was the only person on the tour. I could get used to this private tours! Ended up in Pigeon Forge, TN just in time for sunset where I settled into a hotel for 2 nights under $100. Not bad! Of course I found myself at the Smoky Mountain Brewery where I enjoyed some good brews, shooting the shit with the bartender, Josh.

Today I had all these plans of getting up early and doing a trail on the Smoky Mountains. Naturally, I slept later then expected. But that's because I thought it was still dark out. Yes, of course, it was raining. Just my luck. I took a drive up the mountain but you couldn't see anything because of the rain and fog. But then once I crossed over to Gatlinburg - the sun was trying to come out and the temperature was at almost 60. I decided to do the Rainbow Falls Trail. It was 5.2 miles round-trip and let me tell you, it was torture. Lots of rocks, boulders, mud. And I was by myself, so no one to talk to. Even the descent down was hard. But the waterfall was nice to look at. My legs are killing me right now! If I can move tomorrow, it'll be a miracle. After the hike, I went and stuffed my face at the Brewery again. I can only imagine what I looked like devouring those BBQ ribs. Hot mess.

Onwards tomorrow to Nashville, TN. Thinking of taking the backroads I took last time. It was a nice drive and if the weather actually cooperates then I'll do it. I'll be spending 2 nights there - doing the tourist thing. Can't wait to chill out at all the honky tonk bars. Then I will head out to Nebraska to spend a few days at my aunt's house. I'm hoping to hit up Kansas City along the way - probably spending the night there.

So, that's been my trip so far. Not really an exciting read, but I know a few people wanted updates, so there ya have it!