Relay for Life

For those of you who don't know, every year I participate in the Relay for Life which raises money for cancer research. I'm happy to say that, as of today, I am in the top 5 for fundraising so far. I hope to keep that up. If you would like to donate or join my team, view my personal page.

This year I am proud to be a co-captain of my team, Fish Poop Soup, along with my friend Jen. I was recently interviewed and my "Reason for Relaying" was included in the latest Relay newsletter. Read the story

Rain, Rain, Go Away! - Europe Tour 3.1

Today was a poopy day as far as weather went. It was pouring pretty much the entire 24 hours. Sightseeing was another story - we perused the Park Guell created by Gaudi. I'm surprised by how much I am enjoying his work because I normally like very simple, clean art and architecture. Gaudi is nowhere near simple - his temple is said to be one of the most enigmatic structures in the world. Maybe it's because his work is so unique and unlike anything I've ever seen before that I like it so much.

This is more like it - Europe Tour 3.0

We started our first day in Barcelona with a "quick stop" at the bank to change money. The "quick stop" ended up taking about 45 minutes because only one person was actually working the line while the other 2 people were busy with something else. Patience is truly a virtue when traveling abroad! With replenished wallets, we hopped on the metro to see what our next hotel had in store for us. Thankfully we were pleasantly surprised by the Hotel Catalunya Park Putxet. While not in the center of the city, it was only 4 stops away from the action and was in beautiful condition. Thank you Priceline!

Complications Arise - Europe Tour 2.2

Our last day in Valencia started at about 1pm - we just cant seem to shake this jetlag - with some incredible crepes at a little creperie near our hotel. It was a Sunday so almost everything was closed, but we were quite happy to have discovered such a gem. We had done our research the day before and found out that trains to Barcelona left pretty much every hour, so the plan was to find an internet cafe, book a hotel and hop on the train so that we would arrive in Barcelona before dark.

Well, things didnt work out quite as easily as we would have liked. We were unsuccessful in finding the internet cafe that our concierge said was "only a 10 minute walk from the hotel". All we managed to do was get ourselves completely frustrated and doubting our map reading capabilities. At that point I really wanted to get on a train and at least get to Barcelona so we could find a hotel before dark, but James felt more comfortable having something booked. Back at the hotel, James decided to pay the outrageous 6€ per hour fee for internet and tried to book a room. Not finding anything that fit our budget and/or expectations, we headed to the train station and decided to take our chances in Barcelona.

The train ride was very pleasant, we both caught some z's, and we arrived in Barcelona before we knew it. With only about an hour left of daylight, we decided to hop in a cab and head to the nearest hostel. It was full and since we had just used our last euros for the cab, we started walking (with luggage!) towards the city. We spotted another "hostal" (which I put in quotes because it was really more of a motel that tries to attract tourists by calling itself a hostal) and deemed it good enough for one night. It was clean and had internet, but there's not much more to say about it except that we were more than happy to check out and move on to the next hotel.

Quite a day! Well, half a day - Europe Tour 2.1

We got off to a late start on our first day after waking up at 3:30pm. Yes, that's right, PM. Luckily Valencia is a fairly small city and we were able to hit most of the tourist spots before the sunset. Our walk started in the park near the Music Hall fountain where teens practice their skateboarding and tired feet get much needed rest. There were so many people everywhere doing their own thing seemingly oblivious to what other people thought. That's one of my favorite things about Europe' there's so much room for individuality.













Our walk continued and we were human sponges soaking up as much culture as we could. Both of us really enjoy looking at architecture so we were having a field day. There were beautiful bridges, a tower that used to be the entrance to the city (it still has damage from wars fought before the US existed) and many gorgeous churches. We even wandered into one that had a wedding going on. Dont worry, we didnt cause a scene, the public was allowed to roam about (pretty cool!) and enjoy the ceremony for as long as they pleased.

A little while into our tour, James had a craving for french fries, so we stopped at a McDonalds. The woman was trying to tell James something about his order (maybe there was a minimum?), but neither of us speak Spanish and we couldnt figure it out from body language. She eventually gave up and James got his fries. We marched on victoriously to a few more churches and, much to our satisfaction, realized that the sun doesnt set until about 8pm. Good thing since we had just barely woken up!

Night finally came around and we found a nice plaza area to have some dinner. James had pizza, I had vegetable paella and we split a cinnamon/sugar crepe for dessert. Our server was very friendly and spoke some English- so far I havent felt like a total fish out of water for not speaking Spanish. We also scored some live entertainment when a martial arts group decided to perform in the plaza. Then we headed back to the hotel after what turned out to be an action packed 8 hours.

Ode to jetlag - Europe Tour 2.0

Hola Spain, we have arrived! James added it up and figured in total it took about 20 hours to get from John Wayne to our temporary home at the Holiday Inn in Valencia. Plan A was to hop on a train from the airport but we would have had to wait almost 12 hours. We nixed that idea and opted for the bus. A nice lady directed us to a shuttle that took us to the bus station - which turned out to be the wrong one - so we hopped on the subway to the right one. About 2 hours later we were en route to Valencia on what turned out to be a surprisingly nice bus ride. I caught a few hours of sleep and before I knew it, we had arrived.

Needless to say, we didn't have much wind in our sails upon arrival but it was only 5:30pm and we needed to start adjusting to the time change. We got our second wind after some nice, hot showers and decided to grab dinner and explore. Except for Google Maps on James´s Blackberry (which oddly didn´t jive with the street signs we were seeing), we were mapless. Fatigue was beginning to rear it´s ugly head and manifested itself in a few snappy exchanges, but we ended up having a nice dinner at a Chinese place after strolling around the port area. That´s right, our first dinner in Spain was Chinese food!

It´s now 6am and I´ve been up for about 4 hours wishing I could get back to sleep like my partner in crime is doing. I´m cursing myself for sleeping on the bus but I do remember this same thing happening to me the last time I was in Europe. Oh well, at least I´m finding the time to write these blog posts. :)

Ahhh, the joys of international flights - Europe Tour 1.0

After only 2 weeks of being back at home, James and I now find ourselves on a journey across the Atlantic to see what Spain and France have to offer. It is James´first time crossing an ocean (woohoo!) and will be my first time setting foot in Spain. I studied abroad in Paris back in 2004 (wow, has it been 5 years already?) and am very excited to see it again. Except for our general itinerary and hotel at our first stop in Valencia, we don´t have very much planned at this point. Between unpacking from the road trip, catching up with everyone and handling what life threw at us each day, we just never found the time to nail things down. I guess it will add to the adventure and make for a more interesting blog!

Our first flight was from John Wayne to Atlanta and, due to extreme weather, we had to alter our course a bit. There was also quite a bit of turbulence which got me searching for the infamous barf bag. It wasn't there. Luckily just when the visions of me having to high-tail it down the aisle with hand over mouth and a green complexion started to become a real possibility, the pilot announced that we were descending. Crisis averted!

Now we are enjoying our second leg from Atlanta to Madrid - I forgot how great it is to fly internationally! Headsets, pillows, blankets and eyeshades were waiting for each of us and flight attendants even handed out ear plugs. Recent movies, current TV shows, music and games were all available on the touchscreen installed in every seat. (On a side note - I watched Slumdog Millionaire and highly recommend it!) I guess now that a bag of peanuts has become the highlight of a domestic flight, I feel spoiled to have so many creature comforts readily available. We even got to eat food!

Back to the "Real" World

Wow, has it only been a week and a half? Amazing how quickly I've assimilated right back into the day to day! Isn't it strange how experiences can sometimes make you question your perception of time? The trip is already starting to seem like a distant memory and I've just barely finished getting all of the laundry done.

It has been 10 days since our return to the OC and I've had a little bit of time to sit back and think about the adventure we just had. My conclusion? We are the luckiest people in the world! A U.S. road trip should be a required course in all college curriculum. There's no better way to really connect with this country other than seeing it and experiencing it. Plus you learn a lot about yourself along the way. I'm so glad we decided to take the trip despite all of the excuses we came up with beforehand. I guess sometimes you've just got to say screw it and just do it.

Over the last 10 days it's been really interesting talking with friends and family...I had no idea so many of you were actually reading my blog! I must say, it's nice to think I've got a fan base out there (and I didn't even have to bribe anyone!). And for those of you living vicariously through my travels, I'm not stopping anytime soon. Europe is next on the list, so be sure to keep checking in.

PS- Many of you have asked about the status of the Magic Van (or "Maggie" as James and I like to call her). She's parked safely in James' driveway and is available for rent (or for sale) if any of you are thinking about taking an impromptu adventure. In fact, at the end of April Maggie will be escorting our friends, Jake and Lovely, on a long-weekend voyage up the California coast to Big Sur. Vive le Voyage!

Rest in Peace Grandma Graham

Sadly, my grandma passed away this morning. I am fortunate to have many great memories of her that I will cherish always. Before leaving on my recent road trip, I got to talk to her about Martha's Vineyard (where she grew up) and she was so excited for me to see her hometown that she wrote me a 14-page letter filled with recommendations! She will be missed by all of us and I hope she is now resting in peace with Grandpa.

California Here We Come - Cross-Country Road Trip 12.0

It was a little bittersweet crossing the California border last night. It's been a good run and I'm sad that it's ending but I'm also excited to see my two cats, Cooper and Tank. I suppose it will be nice to have my huge closets and my bathtub back, but there's something to be said about waking up in a new place almost everyday. Maybe that gets old after a while but it's been a month and I could keep going!

Before starting our final leg home, I made a final breakfast of oatmeal and yogurt mixed with fresh mango. Delicious! On our way out of Indio we stopped to say a quick hello to my family friend, Cathy Bentley and then we were on the road again. I got my stuff packed (and joked to James that I was moving out) while we drove to make room for the kitten and 2 dogs that we would be picking up on the way. It was sad to having everything in bags again, seeing it so bare reminded me of the first night in Rhode Island when we had to sleep with no pillows and the awning as our blanket. Awww, memories.

We stopped at the parents' houses to pick up the pets, say hellos and give tours of the Magic Van. I was quite elated to hear how many people have been enjoying the blog...good old "Maggie" (what we nicknamed the van) has become somewhat of a celebrity it seems. James' neighbor even came over to take a peek! The drive home was not as disastrous as I had imagined. All three pets stayed relatively calm and we managed to avoid the Friday traffic. Walking into my house felt a bit surreal, I had forgotten what having so much space feels like!

Last Stop at Last Chance - Cross-Country Road Trip 11.2

Our last day of the Magic Van Winter '09 Tour was a nice, relaxing stop in Phoenix, AZ. I did some credit card damage at Last Chance and My Sister's Closet, two of my favorite store to find great deals. If you've never heard of it, Last Chance is basically where Nordstrom sends everything that hasn't sold or can't be resold and offers it at dirt cheap prices. My Sister's Closet is a consignment chain in the area that has tons of designer stuff well below retail. It is exactly the kind of store I dream of opening one day. I woke up early from sheer excitement and got goosebumps when we pulled into the parking lot.

Once the receipts were printed and my shopping adrenaline subsided, we strolled around the Scottsdale area soaking up the sun on a perfect, almost 80 degree day. We had some sushi at happy hour and laughed at hour similar Scottsdale is to Orange County. It was nice though to sit around and people watch in warm weather - hello Spring!

I had made reservations for much needed massages at a school in Phoenix, however, they neglected to tell me that they only accept cash, so my "perfect relaxation day" plan didn't come to fruition. Oh well, got to roll with the punches. We hit the road around 7pm and James got us all the way to Indio where we found a parking lot with our names on it for our last night in the Magic Van.

Good Morning Arizona! - Cross-Country Road Trip 11.1

Wow, I can't believe the trip is coming to a close. What initially started as a 2.5 week trip has evolved into almost 4 including our first few days in Colorado. We've seen so much in the last 4 weeks it is almost sensation overload. But we've got tons of pictures and over 50 blog posts (yikes!) to remind us when the memories get fuzzy.



Last night we were talking about our favorites of the trip...favorite city, favorite experience, favorite tourist attraction, etc. and we both came to the conclusion that what has made this trip so spectacular is not necessarily where we've been, it's the people we've connected with. Whether it be a stay at their house, a ride from one location to another or just a passing conversation, each person we've encountered has been as much of a participant as either James or myself has been.

This morning we woke up in the Super 8 parking lot in Benson, AZ (we tried to make it to Tucson but got too sleepy) and snagged a little free continental breakfast (I promise to stay at a Super 8 sometime to make up for it). The tables were full but a nice man waived me over and let me sit with him. We got to talking and it turns out he lives in Kansas but travels the country buying and selling truck parts. He and his wife want to go to Boston so I got to tell him a little bit about our adventures there.

It wasn't a life changing conversation or anything, but it made my morning a little more interesting and churned up some business ideas to think about on the drive to our last stop...Phoenix, AZ.

Exploring Carlsbad Caverns, NM - Cross-Country Road Trip 10.1

Up until a week or two before we left SoCal, I had never heard of the Carlsbad Caverns nor even knew they existed. James' roommate, Troy, heard us planning our route and suggested we check it out. Thank goodness we took his advice because it was a spectacular site to see.

The caverns are located in Carlsbad on the southeast corner of New Mexico. They are one of the world's largest known cave systems, new sections and rooms are still being discovered today. Bats have called the caverns home for thousands of years and are the reason European settlers made this incredible discovery in the first place. Someone saw a huge bat colony emerging from a cave and went inside to harvest the guano (it is used as fertilizer) only to discover this geological anomaly filled with stalactites, stalagmites and various other formations so massive they almost don't seem real.

At different points on the hike, both James and I had flashbacks of Thunder Mountain - sadly the closest thing I can compare this to. Of course Carlsbad Caverns trumps Disneyland hands down, I just found it comical that a couple of SoCal natives thought of that. The sheer size of the caves is completely humbling and made me stop to think about how awesome our planet is. I also got to thinking about what crazy person volunteered to be the first to go in. Without the current lighting system it would be so dark that you wouldn't be able to see your hand held inches from your face. I wondered what these walls would say if they could talk - imagine all that they have seen over the centuries!

New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment...OK, maybe - Cross-Country Road Trip 10.0

It was a long and arduous journey to Carlsbad, NM but we arrived without incident at around 3pm today. The terrain is very much desert now, which is beautiful in its own way, but not quite as captivating as what we've been driving through. We passed through quite a few old towns, some of which were just abandoned structural skeletons left to wither away with the elements. Seeing ghost towns like that always makes we wonder why the people decided to ditch it.

Close to Carlsbad, we passed through a currently inhabited city called "Loving" to which James replied "cute". That made me chuckle.

We arrived too late to get into the caverns today so we grabbed a campsite at the Carlsbad RV Park. This is our 2nd RV Park experience and I must say I'm pleasantly surprised. This one has a heated indoor pool, horseshoes, hair dryers in the bathroom and a huge selection of dvds you can rent for $1 (they also give you one free rental per campsite).

We took advantage of the pool, went for a walk, enjoyed a gorgeous sunset, I caught up on some blogs and then we watched The Dark Knight before calling it a night.

One More Stop in Austin - Cross-Country Road Trip 9.4

We left downtown Austin last night after seeing the bats and headed west for Carlsbad, NM. It was getting late and we were hungry so we crossed our fingers that we would find a good spot to stop and eat. I started to get discouraged when we kept seeing "closed" signs, thinking that maybe people out here go to bed when the sun goes down, but that wasn't the case. We spotted a neon spinning cowboy and an "open" sign that beckoned us into the Nutty Brown Cafe.

From the front you'd never know, but there was a huge patio out back that holds I would guess around 600 people. They have concerts there and everything. In the center of the patio is a huge cage that Cheeto the Parrot lives in. He's a gorgeous tropical parrot that talks...in fact, he even tells kids to f-off when they are bothering him. Something tells me he doesn't get invited to very many town birthday parties!

Nutty Brown Cafe turned out to be a great discovery...service was top notch, Cheeto was an unexpected surprise and the food was delicious. Mine wasn't the healthiest (enchiladas drowning in queso) but everything tasted so fresh it was obvious that it was all homemade. Our server convinced us to try a piece of their strawberry/peach pie and while my thighs weren't very happy with me, my tastebuds were jumping for joy. It was devoured faster than you can say "strawberry/peach pie" (ok, maybe not that fast!).