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| East Coast |
Friday, July 29, 2011
The East Coast!!
Hello!!
It has been about two weeks since we last wrote and since then we have been to Washington D.C, New New York, Boston, Connecticut, and Maine. I'm warning you all now, this is going to be a long one! I'll split it up into cities, that way if you read it and want to come (if you dare) you can easily find your place. Here goes!
WASHINGTON D.C
We got into Fairfax, Virginia on thursday night, which is right across the river from D.C. We were pretty tired that night from all the driving, so we decided to treat ourselves to some take out thai food as we knew we had a long day of walking and sightseeing ahead of us. In the morning we headed out for the Metro around 8:30 and made it into the city. We grabbed a couple of breakfast sandwiches and started our day of exploring. We first went to the Lincoln Memorial. I knew it was going to be big, but I didn't realize HOW big. Walking up the stairs, I couldn't help but think of the hundreds of movies that were filmed on the steps looking out to the Washington Monument. After the Lincoln we went straight to the Vietnam Memorial. At first sight, it doesn't actually look like much, it's not huge like the Lincoln Memorial and there aren't crazy statues like the Korean Memorial but as you get closer and start reading the names on the wall and seeing how many names there actually are you start to understand the magnitude of the memorial. The Korean Memorial was next and I really liked this one. In the middle of the memorial, there were about 12 large statues of soldiers. Surrounding the statues, there is a large black reflective wall that had faces engraved on it. Looking at it is kind of eerie and we were told that at night it's actually pretty creepy because everything is dark except the statues are lit up. Next we went to the WWII memorial. This was my favorite. It's hard to describe but it basically had huge pillars, each representing one state with stone wreaths placed on top with a big fountain in the middle. The Washington Monument was directly in front of the memorial across the grass, so it just gave it a pretty powerful feel. We lingered there for a little while and then made our way to the Washington Monument to snap some pictures. It was already super hot at this point so we figure it would be a good time for a museum. We got our tickets for the Holocaust Museum, the one museum I was most eager to go in, and then headed to American History Museum. I had no idea how enormous these museums were. We had about an hour and half to get back to the Holocaust Museum and we didn't even get through half the history museum. It was really cool through and had so many exhibits I can't even remember half of them. Finally, we headed back to the Holocaust museum. The first thing you do when you enter is pick up a passport id. This I.D tells the story of a real person who experienced life during the Holocaust. At the end of each page, it tells you when to read the next page. At the end of the museum, it tells whether your person survived the Holocaust or not. I have never been so moved by a museum, it did not hide anything. It took you through the war, from the rise of Hitler to the end of the war, showing and explaining both sides. It was hard for me not to get teary, especially when it came to the children's section. The museum just made everything feel very personal. After two and a half hours we were super hungry and tired. We got some sandwiches at a place called Potbellys and then made our way back to the History museum to finish up. My favorite part was the First Lady section because it showed all e their inauguration gowns. By this time, we had been walking around in the heat for about 8 hours so we called it a day.
The next day we headed back into the city and met up with Natalia, Conner's friend's girlfriend. She was amazing and took charge to show us the rest of the city. We went to the Air and Space museum and watched a cool IMAX movie about the Hubble telescope. After that, we made our way to the capital and took some pictures. For lunch we got indian food and brought it to the Sculpture Gardens. This was really pretty and a good rest. We felt like we saw what we needed to see in D.C so Natalia and her friend Manny took us to Georgetown. It was super pretty and cute, but as Natalia said, super stuck up and rich. However, that didn't take away from the experience. She took us to a really cool spot that overlooked the river. We sat for a while and then headed through the town until it was time for dinner. Con and I had reservations at The Palm (thank you Steve!!) so we had to get ready for that and by getting ready, I mean changing in the car in front of the restaurant. We probably could have been a bit more dressed up but once we got our food, we didn't care anymore. It was amazing AND we got to pick any dessert on the menu on the house :) After dinner, we met up with Natalia and went out. It was really fun because we hadn't really been able to go out much on our trip. I got to see my friend Abby, who I studied with in Spain so that was really exciting. Around 2:00 am, we were beat. We have been used to just going to bed when it got dark when we were camping so 2 am was LATE for us. We got home around 3:30am and crashed. The next day, we were so tired, we decided to stay an extra nice just so we could lay in bed, eat and watch tv all day. Natalia, if you are reading this, thank you so much, you are amazing!!
NEW YORK CITY
On our way to NYC, we stopped in Philadelphia. Can anyone guess why??? Philly Cheese Steaks, obviously. Once again, we found the winner of food wars and headed straight to Pat's. They are actually the original cheese steak so it was pretty cool. We were planning on each getting our own, but we didn't have enough cash. This worked out well because we were full after just splitting one. I had never had a philly cheese, so I can't really compare, but it was pretty good. A couple hours later we were driving into NYC. We knew it was going to be an expensive couple days when we had already paid $15 in tolls and hadn't even been IN the city yet. We were in disbelief on how huge these buildings were. I felt like a little ant. We were staying at Rose's apartment, a friend of Conner's from home, so we had to find our way to her work to get the house key. So our first experience in the city? Driving. By the time we got to Rose's work, poor Conner was on the edge of a nervous breakdown. I ran up to get the key while he circled around. When I got back he told me he understands why people are so angry in the city because he feels it rising in him. People just honk at you for no reason. Its craziness. We got to Rose's and just hung out until she was done with work. She lives in the East Village in Manhattan, a really cool section of the city. For dinner, she took us to an AMAZING Italian restaurant, which fulfilled 1 of the four "must eat things" when we were in NY. After dinner, we headed to a bar, where my friend from high school met us. I told Conner at the beginning of our trip that I was bound to see someone from my hometown, somewhere. Well, first night in NY I saw 4 people, only one of which was intentional. One person tapped me on the shoulder the ask for directions on the corner of a random street, it was a surprise when I turned around. The next morning, we woke up and headed to an awesome little New York cafe. We filled up because we knew we were going to walking around a lot. We started our journey to Lower Manhattan, which was 50 blocks in the extreme heat. We found ourselves on Wall Street which was really crazy. As Conner put it, this is where it all happens. We saw the New York Stock Exchange which was flooded with tourists outside taking pictures. We finally got down to the water and hopped onto the Staten Island Ferry. This was really cool because it was free and it took us right around the Statue of Liberty. We got to Staten Island and just got off and right back on the ferry. By this time, we were hungry and hot and knew exactly what we wanted for lunch. Number 2 on our list was a NY hot dog. We went to Grays Papaya and got the recession special. Two hot dogs and a drink for 3 bucks. Pretty much the best hot dog I've had. We needed to be in the shade for a while so we layed down in Washington Square for a little bit. I was so hot I finally had to just go back to the apartment to cool off. We rested for a bit and then met Rose for Thai food (number 3 on our list). For those of you from Chico, this place is as good, if not better that Chada Thai. So so so good. After dinner, she took us to the oldest bar in New York. When you walk in, the guy just puts you at a random table with other random people, a good way to meet people if you're by yourself. There are only two kinds of beer here, dark or light. So all you do is ask for a dark or a light. Pretty simple and really good. We were tired after that so we headed back and fell asleep pretty early. In the morning, we packed up and headed to Connecticut. We stayed with my friend Cheryl and her family and they were more than hospitable. Caminiti's if you are reading this, you are amazing and so generous and we love you. It was amazing to see Cheryl after TWO years.
BOSTON
If Cheryl's family didn't already do enough, Cheryl's brother Brian, who I have never met, housed us in Boston which we are so grateful for. WE LOVE BOSTON. I had been to Boston twice before but I didn't actually remember too much about it. We stayed in the North End, which is basically the Italian part of Boston. It is so beautiful and cute, we both just fell in love with it. Everything is super close together so you don't get the feeling that you are in a big city. The first thing we did when we got there was grab a drink. We walked into a bar/restaurant and found out that they actually weren't even open yet, and their opening night was a couple days later. They offered to make us any drink we wanted because we were their first costumers. After a glass of sangria, we were ready for some good Italian food in Little Italy. Apparently our food was taking a long time (though we didn’t notice) so they brought us a plate of calamari for free and at the end they gave us, and the whole restaurant a complimentary piece of tiramisu…yum! We were super full after dinner so we walked along the water. It was so beautiful and I fell even more in love with the city. The next morning, we walked across the bridge to the USS Constitution. We took a tour of the ship which was really interesting and then headed hopped on the T (Boston’s metro) to Cambridge. The one thing I remembered from the last time I was here was Mr. Bartley’s, which is known for it’s burgers. The line was out the door and there was an old man sitting on a stool, who I think is Mr. Bartley, taking orders. Our burger and sweet potato fries were awesome. We also went to the brewery and sampled some beers, we are just spoiled with Sierra Nevada. We walked around Harvard, we tried to find an empty classroom so we could feel like we went there, but we failed. We couldn’t even get the elevators to work…Chico didn’t prepare us enough for Harvard. After Cambridge, we went back to the apartment and hung out until dinner time. This is where number 4 on our food list in NY came in, and I am very happy it happened in Boston. We went to Regina Pizzaria, which got 4.5 stars on 700 reviews. I have been to Italy, eaten real Italian pizza and this was the best pizza I have ever had hands down. That was the perfect end to our few days in Boston.
MAINE
Our first stop in Maine was the Clam Shack, which was voted the best lobster roll in Maine. First lobster roll, and lobster for that matter, and it was delicious. We drove through Kennebunkport, a beautiful town on the water and looked at the houses. I instantly decided that this was my top 3 favorite places we have been and we hadn’t even gotten to our destination yet. The whole drive to Acadia National Park was beautiful. The park is located on Mount Dessert but we thought the whole island was the park. The boundaries are actually just kind of sporadic through out the island which makes the people who live here the luckiest people in the world. This is one of the most beautiful places I have seen, the coastline is awesome with houses whose backyards is the ocean. Pretty much every house I saw I told Conner I wanted to live in. We got to our campsite at night and just had some soup and went to bed. We woke up around 5:00 am so we could go to the beach and watch the sunrise. We missed it by a few minutes but it was still gorgeous. It was still too early to go to breakfast so we headed down to Bar Harbor and walked along the water. We talked to a local fisherman for a while and he told us where to go to breakfast. Jordan’s was an awesome little diner with super good food and nice people. I’m not sure if it’s all of Maine or just where we were, but I had no idea that they were so known for their blueberries. Everywhere we went had blueberries whether they were blueberry pancakes or blueberry martinis. Our plan for the day was to rent bikes and go around the island but we changed our minds once we saw we could rent kayaks. We headed out to Barlett’s landing to launch our tandem kayak. It was absolutely beautiful out, super calm and sunny. We found a really cool secret beach and hung out there for a long time. We kept paddling around Bartlett Island and then found a little island in the middle of the water. We park our boat and ate some lunch on “our” island. I decided we should buy the little island one day and build a hut. I just can’t reiterate how gorgeous this whole place is. It kind of reminded me of a giant Tahoe but even more beautiful if you can imagine. After about 6 hours of paddling we figured we should head in. We made it just in time because the wind was really picking up at the end so we definitely got a good work out. That night we headed back into Bar Harbor for dinner. We went to West Side Café known for their lobster of course. I loved Maine so much that I told my parents they should buy a house there.
Music lovers, now is when you get jealous. Last night we went to The Allman Brothers Band Live at the Beacon Theater in NY. This was pretty much Conner’s dream come true. The Allman bros were amazing alone but to make the show even greater they brought out Natalie Cole, Crosby and Nash, Phil Lesh and Billy Gibbons. The show lasted nearly 4 hours!
Hope some of you got through this blog! If not, thank for attempting!
Love,
Katie and Conner
It has been about two weeks since we last wrote and since then we have been to Washington D.C, New New York, Boston, Connecticut, and Maine. I'm warning you all now, this is going to be a long one! I'll split it up into cities, that way if you read it and want to come (if you dare) you can easily find your place. Here goes!
WASHINGTON D.C
NEW YORK CITY
BOSTON
MAINE
Music lovers, now is when you get jealous. Last night we went to The Allman Brothers Band Live at the Beacon Theater in NY. This was pretty much Conner’s dream come true. The Allman bros were amazing alone but to make the show even greater they brought out Natalie Cole, Crosby and Nash, Phil Lesh and Billy Gibbons. The show lasted nearly 4 hours!
Hope some of you got through this blog! If not, thank for attempting!
Love,
Katie and Conner
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Making our way up the Blue Ridge Parkway and Shenandoah National Park, VA
Hola!
We last wrote to you while we were in Asheville, NC which was dubbed the weirdest town in the U.S. It was definitely a cool town, but I think growing up next to Berkeley gives me a bias view of what "weird" really means. We ate dinner at a mexican/carribbean fusion restaurant called Salsas. It was super good and different than anything I had ever had. Our meal came is a big lava hot bowl filled with chicken, lamb, beef, shrimp, vegetables and a spice sauce. Yummy.
We left Asheville the next morning and began our journey to Virginia via the Blue Ridge Parkway. Our first stop was Chimney Rock, the filming spot of The Last of the Mohicans, so if you have seen the movie you know how beautiful it is. We figured heading to the top of Chimney Rock would be an easy hike, as it was only 1.5 miles up. What they failed to mention was it was 1.5 miles of steep staircases. Apparently we aren't as in good of shape as we thought we were because we were dying by the end. It was well worth it though. The peak was beautiful and over looked miles of green land. When we were at the top, we ran into a couple people who went to UC Davis and were from Yuba City...small world. On our way down, we detoured to the waterfalls which are always beautiful. If you ever get a chance to hike to any waterfall, do it, it's always worth while. After our hike, we continued our drive through the parkway and landed on Lake James for our campground. It was really pretty and secluded, right on the lake. We had planned to stay for two nights, but it was so hot and humid there that we couldn't last more than a day.
We left Lake James in the morning and found some easy hikes along the parkway. Rich Mountain was pretty hike through the forest and up into a cow pasture and then along Trout Lake. Then came Cascades Falls hike which was only about a 20 minute hike but it was really pretty. We hiked down to the falls, took some pictures and hung out down there for a little while. We then continued driving for a couple hours and decided we traveled enough for that day. We got a hotel in Roanoke, VA, ordered pizza and watched a movie :)
The next day we finally made it to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. This park was a lot like the Smokey Mountains except drier. The first night we just hung out at the campsite, played guitar and made hot dogs. The next day we set our on our hike. Old Rag Mountain was the "must do" 9 mile hike in Shenandoah and for a VERY good reason. We headed our around 9:30 am and started making our way up to the summit. The first half of the way up was a normal dirt path hike up through the forest. It was really pretty and we were covered in trees so it was great hiking weather. About a mile and a half into the hike it completely changed. There was no more path, it was all giant rocks and boulders all the way up to the summit with little blue markers painted on the rocks to show us the way. It was like a crazy obstacle course getting up to the top. There were points where I wouldn't have been able to get up if Conner wasn't there to give me a boost. It was super cool and I knew while we were "rock scrambling" that this was my favorite hike so far. When we finally made it to the summit, we found the highest rock and climbed our way up. The view was amazing. This was one of the hardest hikes we have done but it was so fun, I want everyone to experience it. On our way down (no rock scrambling down the other side of the summit) we ran into a ton of wild blueberry bushes. A couple kids from Long Island were close behind us and I handed one a blueberry. Poor guy was really skeptical about eating it, he had never seen a wild blueberry and said he hoped he wouldn't get sick, but I think the pressure of me watching him forced him to eat it. Oh well. We made it back to our car and as soon as we got back to our campsite it started pouring, so for once we actually had good timing with our hike. We decided to treat ourselves to dinner at the lodge. The dinner was pretty good but the best part was the blackberry cobbler for dessert.
Now we are in our hotel in Arlington right across the river from DC. We are here for 3 days so I am super excited to head into the city tomorrow and explore all the amazing sites.
We'll talk to you soon!
Love,
Katie and Conner
We last wrote to you while we were in Asheville, NC which was dubbed the weirdest town in the U.S. It was definitely a cool town, but I think growing up next to Berkeley gives me a bias view of what "weird" really means. We ate dinner at a mexican/carribbean fusion restaurant called Salsas. It was super good and different than anything I had ever had. Our meal came is a big lava hot bowl filled with chicken, lamb, beef, shrimp, vegetables and a spice sauce. Yummy.
We left Asheville the next morning and began our journey to Virginia via the Blue Ridge Parkway. Our first stop was Chimney Rock, the filming spot of The Last of the Mohicans, so if you have seen the movie you know how beautiful it is. We figured heading to the top of Chimney Rock would be an easy hike, as it was only 1.5 miles up. What they failed to mention was it was 1.5 miles of steep staircases. Apparently we aren't as in good of shape as we thought we were because we were dying by the end. It was well worth it though. The peak was beautiful and over looked miles of green land. When we were at the top, we ran into a couple people who went to UC Davis and were from Yuba City...small world. On our way down, we detoured to the waterfalls which are always beautiful. If you ever get a chance to hike to any waterfall, do it, it's always worth while. After our hike, we continued our drive through the parkway and landed on Lake James for our campground. It was really pretty and secluded, right on the lake. We had planned to stay for two nights, but it was so hot and humid there that we couldn't last more than a day.
We'll talk to you soon!
Love,
Katie and Conner
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Savannah, Charleston and into The Great Smoky Mountains!
Hey Everyone,
Last time we wrote, we were in Savannah, Georgia heading to Charleston, SC. When we arrived in Savannah, it was really exciting because I knew we had made it into a quintessential southern town. It was really beautiful. The streets were lined with big trees covered in Spanish moss and paved with red cobblestone. There were parks on almost every corner with saxophone players, giant fountains, and people taking pictures of the huge monuments in the middle of the square. We walked around a bit and then headed into Lulu's Chocolate Bar. This bar is exactly what it sounds like. Cakes, pies, tarts, chocolates and any desert you can think of were behind the counter, but what really caught our eye were the 20 or so different chocolate based martinis. I ordered a peanut-butter cup martini while Conner ordered a more tart chocolatey type martini. After we ordered, they brought us a plate of chocolate cookies dipped in chocolate, chili sauce. It was definitely a different bar experience than either of us had ever had but super yummy. After that, we were pretty full so we just headed back to our hotel and hung out.
The next day we left Savannah and headed to it's sister city, Charleston, SC. While Savannah can be referred to as "a pretty woman with a dirty face," it's sister city has been voted the most well mannered city in the US, I think 7 years in a row. Before heading into the actual city of Charleston, we set up camp at Charleston County Park and headed to Folly Beach. I guess I really had no idea what South Carolina, or either of the Carolinas, were going to be like, but for some reason I didn't imagine myself going to the beach in South Carolina. We hung out in Folly beach for a few hours and then had dinner at Jack's Cosmic Dogs bc Alton Brown (food network) said it was the best thing he ever ate in his hometown. After the beach we just hung out at the campground.
On the 4th of July, we woke up, went for a run around the park and then headed into Charleston. We drove along the outskirts of town along the bay which was lined with huge southern homes with wrap-around porches and huge backyards. It was so pretty, I instantly fell in love with the whole vibe of the city. We parked by the water and walked into downtown. I swear, this is the happiest, nicest city in the world. Everyone we passed on the side walk either smiled or said hello. The city actually kind of reminded me of a smaller (and kinder) San Francisco. So after walking around the town for a little while, we headed to our awaited lunch spot. Hominy Grill has been raved by tons of people on the food network, locals and tourists around town. It took us about 40 minutes of walking in the heat and humidity and then another hour wait once we got there but it was VERY worth the wait. They are known for their shrimp and grits, so Conner got those while I got the fried green tomato BLT. Both amazing. Fried green tomatoes are the best thing in the world and I'm actually a little mad at California for not having them. After lunch, we walked back downtown and headed to Wet Willy's, a bar known for it's daiquiris. I knew we had entered into the charming south when on the front door there was a sign explaining the male dress code. Shirts must have sleeves, and if shirts are longer then arms length, they must be tucked in. Luckily, this dress code wasn't enforced until after 8pm, so Conner was in the clear. After Wet Willy's, we walked around the town and saw all the beautiful churches and houses. These houses are so beautiful, it was hard not to pick out my future home. We had been walking around for a few hours so we decided to head back down to the water and relax there for a little while. Once rested, we headed to the brewery and had a few southern beers while over looking the water. This is also where we started sorting out the menu for Conner's restaurant we have decided he is going to open so stay tuned for that :) After the beers, we went to the Gin Joint, a very classy little bar that is famous for their cocktails. I got a New Orleans fizz and Conner got a Habanero Cilantro martini. Since we were feeling classy, we got a cheese platter as well, we figured this could be an appetizer to our dinner. We were really lucky and got a table outside, right on the water at a great restaurant called Fleets Landing. We were so excited to eat that we ordered a little too much. We had been seeing a ton of people ordering stuffed hushpuppies, and since we had no idea what hushpuppies were and felt too dumb to ask anyone, we had to order some. We soon found out that they were basically corn-dogs stuffed with lobster instead of hotdogs. After eating a few bites of my salad and Conner's fried sea food platter, we were stuffed. We watched the fireworks over the water and finally headed back to the campground. I was sad to leave Charleston and wished I had more time there, but we were both ready to get to the Great Smoky Mountains and get back into our hiking boots.
As we got closer and closer to the park, I was surprised at how tropical it felt in North Carolina, it reminded me a lot of Maui. When we finally got into the park, I fell in love. Everything was so green and mossy and beautiful, it was so refreshing. We got to our campsite, ate some dinner, played about 20 games of Speed and when it got dark, we headed up the road to a waterfall. We were the only ones up there so it was pretty amazing feeling, especially with all the fireflies around the waterfall. This got us super excited for our back country trip we were going on the next day. Early the next morning, we packed up our camp and backpacks and headed to the Deep Creek Trailhead. We had it all mapped out. Hike up Deep Creek to our first site, camp, hike about 6 miles to our next site, camp, then loop around and hike about 9 miles back. It sounded like the perfect 2 3 day backpacking trip. Well, we headed off and the trail was gorgeous. Hiking along this beautiful creek was super motivational because it was so pretty. We were happy because we weren't getting any rain, as we knew it had been showering once or twice a day. We finally made it to our camp around noon, we were excited we had made such good time and had all this time to spend exploring around our camp and relaxing. The site of awesome, right on the creek and under 3 or 4 rhododendron trees. We were a little bit annoyed because there were so many flies, but whatever. After about an hour by the creek, we felt a little sprinkle. We figured we should put the rain cover on the tent and maybe start putting stuff back into our packs. Within a minute it was a full on downpour. We were running around the camp like crazy people throwing stuff into the tent and trying to close up our packs. We brought our ponchos from Disneyworld just in case (one thing we were prepared with) and put them on our backpacks and then hung them from the cables set up for our food. When we finally made it into the tent, it was pouring. We thought we would just wait out the rain and then go on with our day. No. Our tent has about an inch of space between the actual tent and the rain cover, so bugs are able to get into that little space. Within 10 minutes, our tent was surrounded by flies, mosquitoes and bees. We were both too scared to get out of the tent and also saw no reason, as it was still raining, sooo we were trapped in our tent for the next 15 hours (the rain hit around 3pm) and we didn't get out until about 6 the next morning. Luckily, we had a book of crossword puzzles (thank you to the Hayes family) and we are now pro crossworders. Around hour 6, cabin fever set in. You may be able to follow the time line with the pictures, I'll let you decide which picture defines our insanity. Finally, we got tired (I don't know how, we had spent the last 8 hours laying down) and fell asleep. In the morning, we woke up to the sound of the creek and the sun shining. Everything will go smoothly from here. We had decided the night before that we should probably just hike back today because we knew it would rain again and we would just be stuck in the tent. We got out of the tent and saw that our packs, shoes and whole camp was swarmed by bees. Side note, I had already gotten stung the day before. Packing up camp was a night mare, we were getting chased by bees and they were swarming everything. I ran down the trail a little ways with my backpack and the next hour consisted of me running back and forth from camp to my pack yelling at and dodging bees. Conner kept saying they wouldn't sting me bla bla bla, but I think he was just saying that to keep himself calm :) When everything was finally packed, we booked it down the trail and didn't stop for about 2 miles. We laughed for a while about the whole thing because we knew we looked like freaks but it was a good adventure. We made it back down to our car a little while later and decided we needed to do some laundry. We got a hotel in Cherokee, did about 25 loads of laundry and layed by the pool. After a good nights rest, we went back into the park and hiked up Laurel Falls, a short, popular hike up to some waterfalls. It was really pretty and there were tons of people swimming and climbing around the falls, but it was so packed we decided to head back down and do a less popular hike later that day. We got a campsite but as soon as we were going to set up the tent, it started pouring again. It only lasted a few minutes, and the sky was looking pretty clear, so we headed to Abrahams Falls for a 5 mile hike to some more waterfalls. The trail was really cool, it had a a little foot bridge right at the beginning to cross the creek and the rest of the trail followed right along the water. About a mile and a half into the hike it started to sprinkle but we didn't care. About 5 minutes later it was a complete downpour. We thought it rained hard at Deep Creek but this was on a whole different level. We contemplated for a few minutes whether we should turn back but we thought it would be pretty fun to do it in the rain. We started up again and 10 minutes later, we could barely see 3 feet in front of us and we were absolutely soaked. We decided we should turn back, but it was super fun being in the pouring rain. We started running back just completely soaked. When we made it back to the trailhead we stood under a little cover for a few minutes, waiting for the rain to die down. 20 minutes later, it did. Totally wet, we headed back to camp and set up the tent. Of course, it was beautiful as soon as we got back but so far that was pretty much the story of our trip.
We left the Smoky Mountains today and are now in Asheville, North Carolina. A few years ago, it was named the weirdest town in the US so I'm excited to do some shopping. The Carolinas have been amazing and I could definitely see myself living some where around here for a while. I actually would love to live around Asheville because the entrance to the Smoky Mountains is free so I could go in whenever I wanted. I don't think I could ask for anything more.
Okay, that's it for now! Enjoy!
Love,
Katie and Conner
Last time we wrote, we were in Savannah, Georgia heading to Charleston, SC. When we arrived in Savannah, it was really exciting because I knew we had made it into a quintessential southern town. It was really beautiful. The streets were lined with big trees covered in Spanish moss and paved with red cobblestone. There were parks on almost every corner with saxophone players, giant fountains, and people taking pictures of the huge monuments in the middle of the square. We walked around a bit and then headed into Lulu's Chocolate Bar. This bar is exactly what it sounds like. Cakes, pies, tarts, chocolates and any desert you can think of were behind the counter, but what really caught our eye were the 20 or so different chocolate based martinis. I ordered a peanut-butter cup martini while Conner ordered a more tart chocolatey type martini. After we ordered, they brought us a plate of chocolate cookies dipped in chocolate, chili sauce. It was definitely a different bar experience than either of us had ever had but super yummy. After that, we were pretty full so we just headed back to our hotel and hung out.
On the 4th of July, we woke up, went for a run around the park and then headed into Charleston. We drove along the outskirts of town along the bay which was lined with huge southern homes with wrap-around porches and huge backyards. It was so pretty, I instantly fell in love with the whole vibe of the city. We parked by the water and walked into downtown. I swear, this is the happiest, nicest city in the world. Everyone we passed on the side walk either smiled or said hello. The city actually kind of reminded me of a smaller (and kinder) San Francisco. So after walking around the town for a little while, we headed to our awaited lunch spot. Hominy Grill has been raved by tons of people on the food network, locals and tourists around town. It took us about 40 minutes of walking in the heat and humidity and then another hour wait once we got there but it was VERY worth the wait. They are known for their shrimp and grits, so Conner got those while I got the fried green tomato BLT. Both amazing. Fried green tomatoes are the best thing in the world and I'm actually a little mad at California for not having them. After lunch, we walked back downtown and headed to Wet Willy's, a bar known for it's daiquiris. I knew we had entered into the charming south when on the front door there was a sign explaining the male dress code. Shirts must have sleeves, and if shirts are longer then arms length, they must be tucked in. Luckily, this dress code wasn't enforced until after 8pm, so Conner was in the clear. After Wet Willy's, we walked around the town and saw all the beautiful churches and houses. These houses are so beautiful, it was hard not to pick out my future home. We had been walking around for a few hours so we decided to head back down to the water and relax there for a little while. Once rested, we headed to the brewery and had a few southern beers while over looking the water. This is also where we started sorting out the menu for Conner's restaurant we have decided he is going to open so stay tuned for that :) After the beers, we went to the Gin Joint, a very classy little bar that is famous for their cocktails. I got a New Orleans fizz and Conner got a Habanero Cilantro martini. Since we were feeling classy, we got a cheese platter as well, we figured this could be an appetizer to our dinner. We were really lucky and got a table outside, right on the water at a great restaurant called Fleets Landing. We were so excited to eat that we ordered a little too much. We had been seeing a ton of people ordering stuffed hushpuppies, and since we had no idea what hushpuppies were and felt too dumb to ask anyone, we had to order some. We soon found out that they were basically corn-dogs stuffed with lobster instead of hotdogs. After eating a few bites of my salad and Conner's fried sea food platter, we were stuffed. We watched the fireworks over the water and finally headed back to the campground. I was sad to leave Charleston and wished I had more time there, but we were both ready to get to the Great Smoky Mountains and get back into our hiking boots.
As we got closer and closer to the park, I was surprised at how tropical it felt in North Carolina, it reminded me a lot of Maui. When we finally got into the park, I fell in love. Everything was so green and mossy and beautiful, it was so refreshing. We got to our campsite, ate some dinner, played about 20 games of Speed and when it got dark, we headed up the road to a waterfall. We were the only ones up there so it was pretty amazing feeling, especially with all the fireflies around the waterfall. This got us super excited for our back country trip we were going on the next day. Early the next morning, we packed up our camp and backpacks and headed to the Deep Creek Trailhead. We had it all mapped out. Hike up Deep Creek to our first site, camp, hike about 6 miles to our next site, camp, then loop around and hike about 9 miles back. It sounded like the perfect 2 3 day backpacking trip. Well, we headed off and the trail was gorgeous. Hiking along this beautiful creek was super motivational because it was so pretty. We were happy because we weren't getting any rain, as we knew it had been showering once or twice a day. We finally made it to our camp around noon, we were excited we had made such good time and had all this time to spend exploring around our camp and relaxing. The site of awesome, right on the creek and under 3 or 4 rhododendron trees. We were a little bit annoyed because there were so many flies, but whatever. After about an hour by the creek, we felt a little sprinkle. We figured we should put the rain cover on the tent and maybe start putting stuff back into our packs. Within a minute it was a full on downpour. We were running around the camp like crazy people throwing stuff into the tent and trying to close up our packs. We brought our ponchos from Disneyworld just in case (one thing we were prepared with) and put them on our backpacks and then hung them from the cables set up for our food. When we finally made it into the tent, it was pouring. We thought we would just wait out the rain and then go on with our day. No. Our tent has about an inch of space between the actual tent and the rain cover, so bugs are able to get into that little space. Within 10 minutes, our tent was surrounded by flies, mosquitoes and bees. We were both too scared to get out of the tent and also saw no reason, as it was still raining, sooo we were trapped in our tent for the next 15 hours (the rain hit around 3pm) and we didn't get out until about 6 the next morning. Luckily, we had a book of crossword puzzles (thank you to the Hayes family) and we are now pro crossworders. Around hour 6, cabin fever set in. You may be able to follow the time line with the pictures, I'll let you decide which picture defines our insanity. Finally, we got tired (I don't know how, we had spent the last 8 hours laying down) and fell asleep. In the morning, we woke up to the sound of the creek and the sun shining. Everything will go smoothly from here. We had decided the night before that we should probably just hike back today because we knew it would rain again and we would just be stuck in the tent. We got out of the tent and saw that our packs, shoes and whole camp was swarmed by bees. Side note, I had already gotten stung the day before. Packing up camp was a night mare, we were getting chased by bees and they were swarming everything. I ran down the trail a little ways with my backpack and the next hour consisted of me running back and forth from camp to my pack yelling at and dodging bees. Conner kept saying they wouldn't sting me bla bla bla, but I think he was just saying that to keep himself calm :) When everything was finally packed, we booked it down the trail and didn't stop for about 2 miles. We laughed for a while about the whole thing because we knew we looked like freaks but it was a good adventure. We made it back down to our car a little while later and decided we needed to do some laundry. We got a hotel in Cherokee, did about 25 loads of laundry and layed by the pool. After a good nights rest, we went back into the park and hiked up Laurel Falls, a short, popular hike up to some waterfalls. It was really pretty and there were tons of people swimming and climbing around the falls, but it was so packed we decided to head back down and do a less popular hike later that day. We got a campsite but as soon as we were going to set up the tent, it started pouring again. It only lasted a few minutes, and the sky was looking pretty clear, so we headed to Abrahams Falls for a 5 mile hike to some more waterfalls. The trail was really cool, it had a a little foot bridge right at the beginning to cross the creek and the rest of the trail followed right along the water. About a mile and a half into the hike it started to sprinkle but we didn't care. About 5 minutes later it was a complete downpour. We thought it rained hard at Deep Creek but this was on a whole different level. We contemplated for a few minutes whether we should turn back but we thought it would be pretty fun to do it in the rain. We started up again and 10 minutes later, we could barely see 3 feet in front of us and we were absolutely soaked. We decided we should turn back, but it was super fun being in the pouring rain. We started running back just completely soaked. When we made it back to the trailhead we stood under a little cover for a few minutes, waiting for the rain to die down. 20 minutes later, it did. Totally wet, we headed back to camp and set up the tent. Of course, it was beautiful as soon as we got back but so far that was pretty much the story of our trip.
We left the Smoky Mountains today and are now in Asheville, North Carolina. A few years ago, it was named the weirdest town in the US so I'm excited to do some shopping. The Carolinas have been amazing and I could definitely see myself living some where around here for a while. I actually would love to live around Asheville because the entrance to the Smoky Mountains is free so I could go in whenever I wanted. I don't think I could ask for anything more.
Okay, that's it for now! Enjoy!
Love,
Katie and Conner
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
New Orleans and Florida!
Hello!
I'm just going to jump right into New Orleans. We arrived in New Orleans about a week and half ago and were there for two nights. When we got to our hotel, I was so excited because it was the first nice hotel we had stayed in. After staying in countless Motel 6's and local cheap motels, the Wyndham Hotel in downtown New Orleans felt like a palace. Conner kept telling me that the hotel wasn't even that nice, but the fact that it had a fitness room and more than 2 floors, it felt like a castle. About an hour after we got to our hotel we decided to head downtown. We were right on Bourbon Street so the location was perfect. My dad and countless other people had told us that we couldn't go to New Orleans and not drink a Hurricane. We headed to Pat O'Brien's, the original Hurricane bar, and had our first Hurricane. I realized after my first sip, that these drinks are not famous because of the taste, they are famous because of the strength. I'm pretty sure it was just rum with a little bit of packaged Kool-aid mixed in, but none-the-less we finished them and moved on feeling pretty good. We got dinner at Coop's Place, which is a famous bar and restaurant we found in our guide book. We were ready for our first experience with food in New Orleans. We shared the sample platter that included red beans and rice, rabbit and sausage jambalaya, shrimp creole, and sea food gumbo. We also sampled a couple local beers. We knew that we were staying here for two nights so we decided to sleep the first night and stay out late the next. In the morning we got up and walked to the French Quarter to eat at the famous Cafe Du Monde. This place was packed and all they serve is coffee and beignets which are basically a type of doughnut with tons of powdered sugar on top. I'm not usually a big fan of doughnuts but these were super good. After breakfast, we walked around and checked out some of the shops. Soon it became lunch time so we headed back to the French Quarter to the Central Market. The Central Market it famous for their muffalettas, which is fresh baked Italian sesame bread layered with fresh cut Italian ham and salami topped with homemade olive salad. Once again, the food was amazing. After lunch we went back to our hotel and hung out until dinner time. If you haven't caught on yet, food was our main focus in New Orleans. For dinner we went to the Acme Oyster Bar. This restaurant was on Man vs. Food and is very well known in the city. The line was out the door so I ran across the street and got us some "to-go" dacquiries while we waited. The restaurant is obviously known for its oysters so we ordered half a dozen char-grilled oysters and a pound of boiled crawfish (neither of which I have ever had before). They were SO good, I could have eaten a whole pound of crawfish to myself. We also ordered a Po' Boy, which typically is a fried shrimp or oyster sandwich on a sour dough role with tomatoes, mayo, lettuce and pickles. We got the works and it was again, amazing. After dinner, we went to Fritzles, a "European jazz club" where we were led in by a hostess and sat front row. We ordered some wine and listened to jazz for the next couple hours. Conner was in Heaven. It was very New Orleans and we felt very satisfied with our stay. But of course, we couldn't leave the next day without one more meal. Domilise's is voted the best place to get Po' Boys in New Orleans, is frequently visited by the Peyton and Eli Manning and also won Food Wars on the food network. This Po' Boy was even better than the night before and we left New Orleans happy and full.
On Friday the 24th we finally made it to Florida, our awaited "vacation" from our vacation. As soon as we crossed the border into Florida we stopped in Pensacola and went to the beach. It was perfect weather and the beach was beautiful. We stayed there for a few hours and then went on our way to Orlando. The next day, after staying the night in Bonifay, we got to our condo in Orlando. It was perfect. We had a big condo with a full kitchen and the best part...LAUNDRY. The first two days consisted of laying on the couch watching tv, swimming and cooking our own food. On Monday, we met up with one of my best friends and roommate in Chico, MEGAN NICOLE SIMMS (Meg, because we didn't take any pictures, here is your shout out). We hung out at her hotel with her family and got dinner with them that night. Thank you Simms family!!! The next day we went to Disney World. We did all four parks in one day and were there for 14 hours. BTW, it was thunder storming all week, so we sported the Disney World ponchos. I don't think I will ever grow out of these parks, they are still as fun as they were years ago. We did spend a week in Florida, but there really isn't a whole lot to say because when we were not at theme parks, we were in our room relaxing and lounging around. We got extremely hooked on the Casey Anthony Trial and watched it live everyday (the trial is being held in Orlando). On Thursday, we went to Universal Studios, which was super fun and my first time. After the park, we ate at a restaurant called Bob Marley's that had amazing Carribbean food and Pina Coladas :) We spent the last few days of our Florida vacation lounging around, eating and watching movies. You may think that sounds boring, but it was pretty awesome. Thank you SO much Grandma Laverne, we really appreciate it :)
Now we are in Savannah, Georgia and heading to Charleston, SC today and for the 4th of July. We will update as soon we we can!!
Miss you all and hope you are doing well :)
Love,
Katie and Conner
I'm just going to jump right into New Orleans. We arrived in New Orleans about a week and half ago and were there for two nights. When we got to our hotel, I was so excited because it was the first nice hotel we had stayed in. After staying in countless Motel 6's and local cheap motels, the Wyndham Hotel in downtown New Orleans felt like a palace. Conner kept telling me that the hotel wasn't even that nice, but the fact that it had a fitness room and more than 2 floors, it felt like a castle. About an hour after we got to our hotel we decided to head downtown. We were right on Bourbon Street so the location was perfect. My dad and countless other people had told us that we couldn't go to New Orleans and not drink a Hurricane. We headed to Pat O'Brien's, the original Hurricane bar, and had our first Hurricane. I realized after my first sip, that these drinks are not famous because of the taste, they are famous because of the strength. I'm pretty sure it was just rum with a little bit of packaged Kool-aid mixed in, but none-the-less we finished them and moved on feeling pretty good. We got dinner at Coop's Place, which is a famous bar and restaurant we found in our guide book. We were ready for our first experience with food in New Orleans. We shared the sample platter that included red beans and rice, rabbit and sausage jambalaya, shrimp creole, and sea food gumbo. We also sampled a couple local beers. We knew that we were staying here for two nights so we decided to sleep the first night and stay out late the next. In the morning we got up and walked to the French Quarter to eat at the famous Cafe Du Monde. This place was packed and all they serve is coffee and beignets which are basically a type of doughnut with tons of powdered sugar on top. I'm not usually a big fan of doughnuts but these were super good. After breakfast, we walked around and checked out some of the shops. Soon it became lunch time so we headed back to the French Quarter to the Central Market. The Central Market it famous for their muffalettas, which is fresh baked Italian sesame bread layered with fresh cut Italian ham and salami topped with homemade olive salad. Once again, the food was amazing. After lunch we went back to our hotel and hung out until dinner time. If you haven't caught on yet, food was our main focus in New Orleans. For dinner we went to the Acme Oyster Bar. This restaurant was on Man vs. Food and is very well known in the city. The line was out the door so I ran across the street and got us some "to-go" dacquiries while we waited. The restaurant is obviously known for its oysters so we ordered half a dozen char-grilled oysters and a pound of boiled crawfish (neither of which I have ever had before). They were SO good, I could have eaten a whole pound of crawfish to myself. We also ordered a Po' Boy, which typically is a fried shrimp or oyster sandwich on a sour dough role with tomatoes, mayo, lettuce and pickles. We got the works and it was again, amazing. After dinner, we went to Fritzles, a "European jazz club" where we were led in by a hostess and sat front row. We ordered some wine and listened to jazz for the next couple hours. Conner was in Heaven. It was very New Orleans and we felt very satisfied with our stay. But of course, we couldn't leave the next day without one more meal. Domilise's is voted the best place to get Po' Boys in New Orleans, is frequently visited by the Peyton and Eli Manning and also won Food Wars on the food network. This Po' Boy was even better than the night before and we left New Orleans happy and full.
On Friday the 24th we finally made it to Florida, our awaited "vacation" from our vacation. As soon as we crossed the border into Florida we stopped in Pensacola and went to the beach. It was perfect weather and the beach was beautiful. We stayed there for a few hours and then went on our way to Orlando. The next day, after staying the night in Bonifay, we got to our condo in Orlando. It was perfect. We had a big condo with a full kitchen and the best part...LAUNDRY. The first two days consisted of laying on the couch watching tv, swimming and cooking our own food. On Monday, we met up with one of my best friends and roommate in Chico, MEGAN NICOLE SIMMS (Meg, because we didn't take any pictures, here is your shout out). We hung out at her hotel with her family and got dinner with them that night. Thank you Simms family!!! The next day we went to Disney World. We did all four parks in one day and were there for 14 hours. BTW, it was thunder storming all week, so we sported the Disney World ponchos. I don't think I will ever grow out of these parks, they are still as fun as they were years ago. We did spend a week in Florida, but there really isn't a whole lot to say because when we were not at theme parks, we were in our room relaxing and lounging around. We got extremely hooked on the Casey Anthony Trial and watched it live everyday (the trial is being held in Orlando). On Thursday, we went to Universal Studios, which was super fun and my first time. After the park, we ate at a restaurant called Bob Marley's that had amazing Carribbean food and Pina Coladas :) We spent the last few days of our Florida vacation lounging around, eating and watching movies. You may think that sounds boring, but it was pretty awesome. Thank you SO much Grandma Laverne, we really appreciate it :)
Now we are in Savannah, Georgia and heading to Charleston, SC today and for the 4th of July. We will update as soon we we can!!
Miss you all and hope you are doing well :)
Love,
Katie and Conner
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