Year 2000 Road Trip Extravaganza!

The day of the sponsors. This is, so far, my favorite day of the trip. We woke up and rented some bikes with Bill & Liz and Arlene & Tim & Co. and rode up and down the boardwalk. Along the way we stopped and had some breakfast and occasionally investigated some of the many shops that were opening up for the day. The ride was a great way to wake up and once again we found it hard to break away. But, duty calls and we finally hit the road. Northbound on the Expressway (btw, the east coast is a very expensive place to drive) we admired the random pay phones on the side of the road. What the hell?? We also stopped at a historic viewpoint for a photo-op where, after explaining to an older couple about the signs on our car, we were asked if we had any reefer. Folks in these parts are just so friendly. Sorry, I'm all out, but I have some sparklers in the trunk.

We hit some turbulence along the way in New York as we went over the George Washington Bridge, but eventually we arrived in Westford, CT, home of my good friend JoHanna, of Crazy Call fame. Jo is settled now in her new home in CT with her new husband, and her new baby on the way. Too bad she doesn't live in New Jersey or that would have been quite a sentence! It was great to see her and her incredible house, complete with a little tiny itty bitty boat dock that lets you float out (eventually) into the ocean. Very cool. I think I'll be headin' back to this neck of the woods.

Unfortunately our visit was rather short in CT, as we had to move on to satisfy another ROAD SCHOLAR sponsor. Dawn Smith graduated from the University of Rhode Island in...well, actually, we're not at liberty to say. At any rate, her parents purchased a brick for her in the courtyard of the university. Of course, I make it sound like we knew exactly what we were looking for and where it was. In reality, we drove over hill and dale to find the University, then had to investigate the location of the aforementioned brick courtyard, and finally we located the brick in question. It was a daunting task, but THE ROAD SCHOLARS prevailed. Unfortunately, our next quest was not as successful.

As you all know, I collect state mugs. Since I have yet to add Rhode Island to the collection, we endeavored to do so after our URI success. Feeling confident, we stopped at the local Super Shop & Go...not just you're everyday Shop & Go, but a Super Shop & Go. I knew it was a long shot but I thought I'd try anyway. I inquired with the very lovely Jeanelle (sorry, I didn't have the digital camera with me but if she reads this and would kindly send a photo...) if the Super Shop & Go (SS&G) carried the item in question. She knew immediately what I was looking for and insisted they carried it. Her manager, Amy, was not so sure. After a brief discussion, they decided my best bet was the airport, which happened to be on our way to Boston. I decided to go ahead and pick up a few items at the SS&G anyway in order to get some cash back and resupply our dwindling supply. Naturally, my card would not go through. Tried it for the amount only. No good. Chris tried his. No good. Fine, I'll use my credit card to buy my Fig Newtons and gum. Thankfully the in-store ATM did allow me to withdraw some cash. Chris was not so fortunate. I relayed my victory to Amy, asked her to give Jeanelle my number, and we were off to the airport.

It cost us $2 at the airport to park the car and find out that all the shops were closed. At least I found out before going through the dreaded metal detector ordeal. Thanks for trying ladies, but no mug. This was no longer a side-show, it was a quest, a quest for a mug with the words RHODE FRICKIN' ISLAND on it. The local service station gave me directions to a 24-hour CVS pharmacy about 10 miles away that was closed. Funny thing the way these East Coast folks do things.

We made it to Boston, but my mug quest was to no avail. I grudgingly conceded this one to Rhode Island, but I still have a few tricks up my sleeve and you can bet I'll get my mug.

Labels: Boston, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island

The Jersey Shore, local hot spot for East Coasters during the summer. Wanting to fit in, we tagged along with Bill & Liz and their neighbors, Tim and Arlene, for a night at the shore. We arrived with some daylight to burn, so we took the 40 minute trip to Atlantic City just north of where we were staying with our PA friends.

For those of you who have been to Vegas, Atlantic City will be a disappointment. Everything seems to revolve around Donald Trump's Taj Mahal casino--mostly because everywhere you look you can see it. If the man wants to build a casino fine, but is it really necessary to plaster his name everywhere with it. You don't see Steve Wynn calling it the Wynn Bellagio. But then again, if I spent that much on a building I'd probably put my name all over it too. We parked at Trump's place in the structure and paid $2 to some kind of fund that is supposedly put towards the "beautification of Atlantic City". Either they need to form an appropriations committee or the city needs to start giving away cars so people have something to park.

At any rate, the trip was not a total loss. We did some gambling, lost some money (I am now down $.75), hit the Hard Rock OF COURSE, and admired the local neighborhood. Chris made a new friend. I was impressed by "our" slot machine. Nice of them to honor us like that.

Labels: gambling, Hard Rock, New Jersey, Pennsylvania

Start spreadin' the news! We're native New Yorkers (for a day), checking out those neon lights on Broadway. The Week Of Dave continued today with a visit to the Ed Sullivan theatre to see a taping of The Late Show with David Letterman. We almost didn't make it. As you read in Day 7, I had quite a night with margaritas, crabs, and jacuzzis (heavy on the margs). We were doing fine once we managed to get my ass in the car headed to Trenton to catch a train into the city. We were advised by Bill (some of you may remember him as Jeeves from the MediNet days) that Amtrak would get us to the city faster, but New Jersey Transit would be cheaper. We were supposed to be at the Ed Sullivan theatre no later than 3:00 and NJT would have been cutting it close. So we shelled out $33 a piece for Amtrak tickets...only to find out the train was running 20 minutes late! We ended up at Penn Station 4 minutes before 3 O'Clock with about a mile to go. We hailed a cab (my first in NYC), called our contact at the Late Show and managed to arrive in the nick of time.

To be honest, the show was okay, I was disappointed with the lack of interaction with the audience. But hey, we were there, Regis made a cameo, who could ask for anything more, aside from being on the show? But we did the next best thing. All you TFTM folks--Dave Letterman now has a matching T-shirt.

Naturally, we hit the HRC for a T-shirt for Chris. As fate would have it, we bumped into a family from Dana Point as we came out of the subway headed to HRC. They took this picture (thanks) and we took one for them. A quick visit to Times Square (Chris was fascinated with Nasdaq) and we made our way back to the homestead in Downingtown. Another day, another whirlwind tour of a city! Just always remember to ask yourself, "why are we here?". Because wherever you go, there you are.

Labels: HRC, Letterman, New York, Pennsylvania, wod

Probably our biggest day yet, we did a lot!! We started out early on the Metro to D.C. for the FBI tour (Chris took a nap). Lots of guns! Anyone who has taken the tour will probably agree, the gun collection is perhaps the most memorable thing on the tour--next to the firearms display, which was our only opportunity to actually see a real FBI agent. I think they must go to a Jack Webb class at the academy to learn how to walk without moving their arms like the guys on Dragnet. Not only did we learn how to walk like an FBI agent, we learned how people in D.C. park (about as good as they drive).

After the tour, we said goodbye to Max and the rest of the Childs family (Chris' cousin) and it was off to Gettysburg, PA for a very brief tour. If you do make it to Gettysburg and you only have about 2 hours to spare, check out the Electric Light Map and the self-guided audio tour. We only made it to the first 3 of 16 stops, but it was fun!

Our haste was due to our scheduled arrival in Downingtown, PA where Bill & Liz live, friends of my family from CA. They introduced us to several East Coast summer traditions during our visit, starting with what was supposed to be crabs and beer. Unfortunately I was drinking Margaritas instead...let's just say we don't recommend the combination. Liz was being attacked by insects and Chris and I did our best to polish off the crabs. When all was said and done, we had just enough time for a visit to the jacuzzi before bed (also not recommended to be combined with tequila and crabs).

Labels: crabs, drinking, Pennsylvania, tequila

For many years now, I have been in search of a good time on the Fourth of July. Any holiday involving barbecues, patriotism, and explosives at high altitudes should be phenomenal, right? I've certainly had some good times over the years, but nothing has blown my socks off like I would have liked. This year started off nicely. We took the Metro back to the Museum of Natural History for another crack at the place. We got a good two hours in but still only managed to scratch the surface. One thing is for sure: I saw the biggest damn train I've ever seen in my life.

The museum closed at 5:30 and we made our way up the Mall to meet up with Gabriela. We were lucky enough to happen across the Air Force Symphony Orchestra performing a live concert in front of the Air & Space Museum. Very cool.

After we rendezvoused with Gabriela, we had an excellent dinner at a Mexican restaurant just north of the Capitol. After dinner we headed to the other side of the Capitol where the Symphony Orchestra was performing with special guests James Galway, Ray Charles, and David Benoit (kicking off the Week Of Dave). The fireworks followed Ray Charles' performance and, quite frankly, I think the show at Disneyland is better. Yeah, there were 30 minutes worth of fireworks and yeah, it was neat to see them explode behind the Washington Monument but it was nothing phenomenal. Plus there were a lot of people and very little organization and the natives were getting restless. I had much more fun after the fireworks, when we went back to Gabriela's place and corrupted her with her first cigar. Although we didn't inhale, I wouldn't say we used the "Clinton approach".

On our way out, Gabriela was amused by the amount of items I had in my pockets. As I emptied them out, Aaron observed us from the steps. Seeing his amusement, I attempted to explain our zaniness and the road trip. It was easier just to take his picture. Smile!

Labels: Gabriela, July 4th, museums, Washington D.C., wod

Mt. Vernon, the museum, and Hard Rock Cafe sums up Day 5.

Mint green...what was GW thinking?? His dining room was mint green!! A beautiful home though and an excellent piece of property, Mt. Vernon was quite impressive. Location, location, location!! In addition to the tour of the house, we walked the grounds and checked out the old tomb, the new burial grounds, and some other functional areas of the grounds like the stables and servant's quarters. No pictures were allowed inside the house, but we did snap some outside. It's no Hearst Castle, but like I said, location, location, location.

After Mt. Vernon, we headed "downtown" to D.C. to get Chris' HRC shirt. With a little extra time before we had to be home for dinner, we took a little walk and ended up at the Museum of American History. I could kill a whole week in that place, but I had to settle for about an hour. I never made it past the electricity exhibit...I couldn't help it, the conversation was so enticing.

After a superb dinner with Chris' family, we met my friend Gabriela at Union Station for a drink. We all went to high school together and she's finishing up an internship with the American History Museum.

Labels: Day 5, Gabriela, Hard Rock, Mount Vernon, Washington D.C.

We began our day early, around 6am, finishing up our ride-along with the Sterling Volunteer Fire Department (not Sterling County, as previously reported). The night was kind of slow, so we took the opportunity to improve the decals on the fire engine, rescue truck, and local police vehicles. Then it was off to Baltimore for a day at the ballpark with Justin (Chris' cousin) and his wife Vicki. The Orioles defeated the Blue Jays 3-2 at Camden Yards, and Chris and I scored some nifty new hats for signing up for Major League Baseball MasterCards.

Labels: Camden Yards, Day 4, fire department, Orioles

Greetings from the Sterling Volunteer Fire Department, station 11.

If I had to go home today, it would be worth every penny. We have had such an incredible experience in the past four days; I can hardly imagine what the next 20 will bring.

As you all know, we flew to Newark, NJ on Thursday to stay with my mom’s cousin Judy in Hamburg, NJ. We made it safely but the trip was not without incident. All was well until we arrived in Chicago at O’Hare International. We were scheduled to rendezvous with an old friend of mine, Cate. Having sent her our flight information, I assumed she would meet us at the gate when we landed. We waited about 30 minutes and decided that she was either late or not coming and hopefully she would meet us at our connecting flight’s gate. Cate never showed, which was too bad since we had plenty of time to visit. Our flight scheduled for an 8:40 PM CDT departure didn’t depart until after 10:00. We finally arrived in Newark to find out that Judy’s son Tom, who was to pick us up at the airport, had car trouble on the way. Luckily his girlfriend was nearby and came to the rescue, transporting us all back to Tom’s house in lovely Hamburg, New Jersey—thanks again, Jamie.

Thankfully that has been the extent of our misfortunes so far. We arrived in Hamburg around 3am EDT. Our original plan was to head into New York via bus around 5am in order to catch Britney Spears’ performance at Rockefeller Center (as you may not know, Chris is a big fan). Upon arriving in Jersey, however, Chris made the executive decision that while Britney is worth many things, 2 hours of sleep is not one of them. So we slept in until about 11, then picked up our rental car in New Windsor, NY. It was so incredibly easy it frightens me. It’s amazing what one can get with a driver’s license and a credit card.

I won’t bore you with our sight-seeing details, you can read that on the site in the Trip Updates section, which is now active. We really enjoyed our time with Judy and her family though, and we really appreciate the hospitality. It was certainly a great way to start the Y2KRTE.

Our drive from New Jersey was pretty smooth. We took the scenic route and got to drive through Princeton, which was very nice. And that brings us to Sterling, VA where Chris’ cousin, Justin, works as a volunteer fireman. Since Justin was on duty last night he invited us to stay at the firehouse. We, of course, accepted. “We go, you go” he informed us, as we signed our ride-along liability waivers. Cool. Unfortunately for us, the night was pretty calm. I think the San Luis Obispo Fire Department gets more action. Justin assured us it’s not always like that.

We did go out on two calls—well, three calls. The first was a dessert run, in the fire truck of course. The next was around 11pm, an inside gas leak, and the third was around 6am. The 6am call was a little more interesting. After a brief disagreement as to whether or not the call was “ours”, we finally rolled out of bed and boarded “wagon 11”. Apparently some party-goers got a little out of control during the night and rammed a car through the back wall of the garage it was parked in. It was kind of like being on the set of Tool Time as the four fire fighters figured out how to push the wall back into position. They finally decided to take the direct approach and pounded the damn thing back into place. All better. Let’s go back to bed.

A quick side note: Those of you who reside in larger metropolitan areas may be aware of the ability of emergency vehicles to control traffic signals. You might be under the impression that when a police car or ambulance or a fire engine approaches an intersection, it sends a strobe light signal to a sensor mounted on the traffic light, which gives the oncoming emergency vehicle a green light. Now I have the inside scoop. As we approached a red traffic signal, I hear on the headset, “please don’t turn, please don’t turn, please don’t turn”. So THAT’s how they do it.

Now we’re literally “on the road” headed to Baltimore. We’re hoping to get some tickets to the Orioles game and check out Camden Yards. After that, maybe we can practice our traffic signal calls.

Until next time, drive safely.

-Sean

Labels: fire station, from the road, ride-along, sterling, Virginia