...from the phone

update: end of day 5

Ok, i was going to type a bunch of stuff about the past 2 days but I want to keep it short. So, I'm going to do this in list form, or no real structured form at all. We'll see how this goes.

Yesterday: (Austin, TX)
- Slept in
- Went downtown to explore
- Toured the amazing state capital building. It's the second largest dome capital in the country and larger than the US capital in DC.
- Shopped a bit in southern Austin and it's weird shops
- Tried to catch the bats take flight from under the bridge, but it was too dark and rainy.
- Met up with a (new) friend to watch some bands and ate some really nice Mexican food.
- Went back to the hotel and to bed.

Today:
- Woke up and drove to San Antonio. (beautiful city and I wish I had more time there)
- Viewed the Alamo. (small, kind of disappointing)
- Drove some more and headed to Roswell, NM
- Speed limit turned to 80.
- I got a speeding warning
- Clouds were amazing!
- Stopped off to refuel and ate at Sonic. Yum!
- Crossed into NM. Boring roads and Roswell is the first town that appeared to still have people living there.
- Ordered some pizza and took it easy since the internet at eh hotel is actually good for once on this trip.

I finally started a gallery on my pbase page and finally got the pictures up from St. Louis. Below are a few samples.

Take care everyone!

The Arch at sunrise


Me shooting Caleb, shooting the arch


heading up the the top of the arch

...from the phone

My favorite clouds!!! Texas is beautiful.

update: end of day 3

Yesterday in St. Louis was great. We got there around 4pm, checked into the hotel where we could see the arch from our room. We quickly made our way across the street, to the arch and took pictures before going up to the top. After a very small elevator type ride and a 630 ft incline, we were at the top. The views were great and it was surprisingly small inside. I bailed out for the evening around 9:00pm as I was feeling very dizzy and exhausted. I knew we had a long day today and I needed some rest. I had been running on very little sleep the previous 2 days.

We just arrived in Austin, TX, it's 1:00 am and a bit later than what we had planned. We left St. Louis, MO at 8:00am this morning and drove 525 miles straight (minus a stop for gas and Sonic) to Oklahoma City, OK, to view the memorial. Gorgeous! From there, Caleb took over at the wheel and drove the remaining 390 miles to Austin. Apparently, they are working on the road every 10 miles or so staring at Fort Worth and continuing south. So, what should have taken us 6 hours (according to Google Maps) took us 7 1/2. I wasn't prepared for the extra time on the road. I surprisingly handled it well and sat kinda still. Right now, it's off to bed and hoping to get some much needed sleep tonight. Until next time...

I promise to get pictures up by the end of the day tomorrow!!

Notes for the past 2 days: (in no particular order)

• The speed limit in OK is 75! Add 5-7 mph on top of that and it makes for a nice ride that doesn't take as long.
  
  
• Magazines would have been a nice way to pass the time, especially after your phone (games, internet, etc...) dies.
  
  
• I sure am glad I brought a new bottle of Ibuprofen.
  
  
• I'm still a little scared of heights; especially when looking 630 feet straight down.
  
  
• What I heard pronounced as "Dievus" is actually supposed to be "Davis." Silly OK accents.
  
  
• The Blue Merle album still gives me goose bumps.
  
  
• We've spotted 40 out of the 50 state license plates. We even got one from Alaska.
  

...from the cell phone

morning sunrise at the arch.

One quick shot:

Just as I thought my evening in KY was coming to an end (see below) Caleb's cousin took us to a scenic overlook, in Kentucky, that looks over the Cincinnati, OH skyline. I had no idea Cincinnati was such a big city. It's definitely a place I'd like to come back to visit when I have more time.

Below is one of the shots from the water's edge.


That's all for now. I'll get more pictures up as soon as we get to St. Louis.

Well, day 1 is nearing an end. We are in Dry Ridge, KY after about 530 miles of driving through 3 states; including VA. St. Louis is tomorrow!

...almost there?

one mile down... just a few more to go.

Metal, metal and more metal! \m/

That's what was in store for me when I entered this po-dunk bar in WV known as Cookie's. Black clothes, one light on the stage, smoke, beer, more black clothes, long hair and more beer. I felt a little out of place with my shaved head, light grey shirt, brown shorts, and a Sprite in my hand. I was there to support some good friends and their fellow bandmates. Somehow I stuck it out to the end of the show as it neared the 2:00am mark and somehow I managed to find some lights laying around to help put some kind of lighting on the stage. All in all, it was a great time. I came home tired, smelling of smoke, regretting I ate the stale nachos with cheese and feeling good about the pictures I took.

Below are a few samples:
You can get to the main gallery by clicking HERE!

New Blog/Updates

For those of you who don't already know, I'm taking a cross country trek to San Diego with one of my best friends, Caleb. I have created this page to help document the trip and allow my friends/family to view the status of our adventure.