Thursday, October 8, 2009

Hooray For Hollywood!!!

I'm actually writing this post from home, where I find myself temporarily.
But I did want to update and share some pix and explain the last few weeks.

From Washington state I spent a couple of days in Los Angeles before heading home. There are many more images posted on the Facebook page for those who want to see them.
Holywood was fun and I want to go back. Shallow touristy stuff sure, but fun.
When I first arrived I thought I could avoid a tour of stars homes and just buy a map. After a half-hour drive to see Steven Spielberg's, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner's, and Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy's GATES, I plunked down the $$$.
Take the Star Tours open top van in front of the Chinese Movie House on Hollywood Blvd. The guide was amazingly informed, hilarious, and knew that while some were driving on the street gawking at famous gates, he was one street over explaining the much more visible backside of the house. Highly recommend this tour, lots of fun.
While in L.A. I had 'thechnical difficulties'. My cell phone stopped working, then my laptop refused to go to certain pages. While attempting to diagnose this I must have done something right. For the repair guys! Because now it will not display ANY pages! NONE!
But I will be posting more updates and filling you in on future plans so come back her, subscribe, visit Facebook for the photo albums.
Alan

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Sunday, September 6, 2009

If It's Friday This Must Be Crater Lake

Crater Lake in Oregon on Friday, Mt. St. Helens on Saturday. Wow!

I have posted pix of both on Facebook and hope you will check them out. Also I have added a new Lexi's House image and some NOT BIGFOOT photos that should be funny.

I know, I have a little bit of a Bigfoot obsession but bear with me. Truly, don't discount the possibility without the proper knowledge. I am super skeptical and believe in nothing. UFO's, alien abduction, faries, ESP, religion, all bullshit. But Bigfoot might be real. No definite proof yet but if you want to argue or tell me I am silly you must have an open mind and read Professor Grover Krant's book 'Bigfoot Sasquatch Evidence', or at least the chapters on the Patterson-Gimlin film and footprint cast evidence.

Anyway, you could also just check out the pix and drop me a line saying hi.

Alan

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Tuesday, September 1, 2009

My Favorite Images

I finally got around to posting some of my favorite photographs in a larger format here on the blog. Hope you like them. I am heading back out to Northern California to continue my search for the elusive Bigfoot, onward to Washington, maybe Rushmore and Yellowstone, Devil's Tower and a southward drive home. Check out the pix and let me know what you think. Hopefully more will follow soon.

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San Francisco to Houston, Atlanta, NYC, Houston, Sf Again. Whew!

Yes, I had to get from San Francisco to New York City with Lexi to see the Little Mermaid as promised. Tiring week but today I have access to a normal computer with excellent Internet so maybe I can get some stuff posted. I just put up photos of my visit to New York City's Museum Of Modern Art. Hopefully I can get some other images on of the sights we saw over the weekend. Visit Facebook for more stuff.

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Wednesday, August 26, 2009

In San Francisco, Headed To New York City

Today I left Bigfoot to his devices and drove East to Lassen Volcanic National Park just to have a look around. Nice forests, lots of large trees, little undergrowth, craggy volcano looking over the whole park. But I ended the day driving to San Francisco to catch a plane to Houston, Texas tomorrow morning.

Planned long ago the old gang of me, Lexi and Deanna shall fly from San Francisco, Houston, TX, and Miami, FL to New York City. We shall see the sights over the weekend, paint the town red, the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, the Museum of Modern Art (Picasso, Van Gogh, Warhol... I am in Heaven), and Saturday night we shall see the last evening performance of Disney's 'The Little Mermaid' on Broadway.

Looking forward to this weekend and I shall keep you posted! Thanks for reading.

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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

BIGFOOT!

I know, don't say it, I have heard it all.

I am officially a sceptic on almost everything. I make Doubting Thomas look faithful. UFO's are airplanes or window reflections, or clouds or lies. ESP and talking to dead relatives are crap.

Nontheless, there may be a large bipedal ape in the wild, undiscovered. Probably not, but possibly so. Without spending all night explaining my open mind please rad "Bigfoot Sasquatch" by Grover Krantz, a balanced and critical look at the best evidence. Not proof, evidence.

Anyway, I spent the last few days in the mountains of Northern Californis searching for the elusive Sasquatch. Ever elusive. Invisible. I did meet people who claim to have seen him, stayed in campgrounds where he has been seen.

In a region stretching from Eureka, CA to Willow Creek, north to Hapy Camp and westward to Crescent City, a huge number of sightings have occured. It's an area about 30-40 miles wide, a hundred high. Few roads cross the interior. I drove many of those roads hoping for a glimpse, at the same time maybe hoping not. Why?

Those woods are damn scary! Sasquatchy!

I'm not the scared type. But something weird is going on out there it seems. Maybe people are just scared. There are bear, mountain lions, pot farmers with itchy trigger fingers, drunk Indians (literally and seriously), and rural rednecks. But CO and central CA and Utah all have those things and seem to have more tourists.

I drove 25 miles into the Bluff Creek Road area, the heart of Bigfoot country, in the afternoon. and 25 miles back out. I passed 4 cars. The Klamath Riber is gorgeous, with rapids, fish, camping opportunities. I saw no rafters, kayakers. In three days and miles of river maybe 2-3 fishermen. Every few miles there is a National Forest Campground with a "host", a permanant RV camper. Virtually every campground is empty. Try to get a spot in Colorado late in the afternoon and you are out of luck.

Today before I left I took a final drive up Bluff Creek Road. As soon as I turned onto the road the trees grew thick, shadows long, it was darker. I passed no cars, None. Often the roadside was a drop of hundreds of feet, you look out at the treetops. It was six in the afternoon but darkness was coming up here. What if you saw Bigfoot? Speed by him? Stop for photos? Back up, on that perilous road?

After five miles I turned back and as soon as I entered the main road afternoon returned. I hear some of you snickering, giggling. I, a 45 year old man nervous on a road in the woods. Until you visit the area hold your opinion. I defy you to drive the lonely roads to Bluff Creek.

Anyway, it is creepy. I saw nothing. I shall return.

At the campground I walked away from the campfire, lay in the grass. Soon my vision adapted and more stars than I have ever seen appeared. Like a million diamonds on black velvet. The dozen you see in Houston were huge fireballs, others Houston shall never see appeared. A wispy cloud crossed the sky, the billions of stars of the Milky Way Galaxy, so numerous and far away they appear as a mist. Occasionally a meteor flamed across the black.

Here I had an experience I cannot explain. Remember I do not believe in aliens, flying saucers, lost time, alien abductions. Maybe they are all real, but I don't subscribe. I did not see any of the aove but as I lay in the grass one of the stars caught my attention as it moved across the sky. Faster perhaps than a jet but slow compred to a shooting star. Steady, deliberate, the star moved inches across my field of view. It was too fast to be a plane it seemed, so it must have been a satellite. On dark nights they reflect the sun and are visbile. They move fast, faster than a juet of course.

But then the light turned about 45 degrees.

No arc, no slow curve like a plane, no decrease in speed. Just a steady, quick left, left, left, trun 45 degrees with no slowing sudden turn. A second later it vanished.

Weird. Sceptic in me says it was an optical illusion, maybe two faint lights, satellites?, happening by at the same time. Eyes lost one, picked up the other. Some sort of wierdness in my human eye. Surely so, but still wierd.

I would rather have seen Bigfoot!

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San Francisco, The Goodbye Girls, And The World's Most Advanced Toilet.

In tha last week we have traveled across California through Death Valley, Yosimite, and onward to San Francisco. The city lived up to it's reputation and we did many of the requsite tourist things as you can see in the pictures on Facebook, but the most fun we had was just driving around the city. Unique architecture, diverse neighborhoods, a million restaurants and odd shops, and the people seem very nice, polite even. SSeveral days driving in a confusing city and no people cutting me off or flipping the finger. Nice.
One highlight for Deanna was at the Coit Tower, what she claimed was the "World's Most Advanced Toilet". Well now, that I have to try. The man in front of me entered, the door autonaticall and sllloooooowwwwly creeped to close. He sure seemed to make the most of ot because he took a full five minutes. Water ran, stopped, ran again. The sound of air rushing was followed by more water. Paper was dispensed, water ran. Finally the door creeped open and he departed. I entered. I pressed the start button. Right, I said the start button. Nothing. Press again. Nothing. The man returns to tell me I have to exit and allow the toilet to go through it's "cleaning cycle". What? I exit, door creeps closed, cycle seems to totally repeat and then the door opens allowing me in. Finally, I am in the World's Most Advanced Toilet.
I pee. That took 15 seconds. Then I waot 3-4 minutes and all sorts of water runs and air blows, toilet flushes, on and on. From the wall behind me water gushes out and through cracks, under my shoes, just under. Longer pants would make this the world's most likely to PISS YOU OFF toilet. Finally the door creeps open to alloow my escape. I probalby already have to pee again!
Deanna, your turn. Right after the cleaning cycle.
Ridiculous.
And then the girls went home, flying home from San Francisco. Leaving the airport I will confess the car was silent, heavy, sad. It sucked. Funny, Deanna called me a couple of days later and said that once she was home she didn't know what to do with the lack of activity, nothing planned to do.
Of course it is a mixed blessing. No conversation ll day. No arguments. No dining companions, I buy dinner for one rahter than three. The budget has breathed a HUGE sigh of relief.
Now, it's off to Willow Creek and Bigfoot Country.

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Saturday, August 22, 2009

Bad Stomach Day On The Road!

Have you traveled? Have you ever had to go, really go? You know what I mean... to the bathroom? When it was impossible.

Sometimes the best travel tales are the only funny or interesting in retrospect. They are foten horrible at the moment. Yesterday I had such a moment. We had arose later than normal and had a large lunch. Rather than a leisurely morning to allow things to sort themselves out we set out on the road, myself at the wheel. I should point out that at the moment we find ourselves in Santa Cruz, Ca.

In Texas it seems that every exit on the freeway has half a dozen restaurants, gas stations, restrooms. Here on the coast highway from Santa Cruz to San Francisco the exits seem mostly devoid of business activity. There lies the problem in this tale and that drive yesterday.

Several miles out of town I imeediately felt that rumble in the gut that says stopping is imminent. Scanning the horizon I watched an exit slip by that actully had some semblence of the possibily of a restroom. Knowing from a previous drive the day before that the next exit was quite distant my stomach immediately tightened into a knot.

Miles ticked by and the torment increased until finally in the distanc ehter appeared an exit from the freeway. My stomach forced my eyes to scan the exit, the bushes, the side of the road for possible lacations to find relief. Nothing seemed possible, all offices, homes, open spaces. I whipped the Scion into a side street and up a hill and with drooping hope and twisted bowels realized it was only homes. The road curled upward qucick, each new curve revealing a new home.

How badly has your own body tormented you before? I had no choice but to make the most of a bad situation. This involved grabbing a roll of the only apper available, paper towel, hopping from the Scion with instructiions to Lexi to just drove, and scaling a steep hillside in search of a private moment.

My eyes crested the peak of the hill to reveal the inevitable home. Damn it. I DO NOT CARE. I crossed the drive to the seemingly empty home and slid down a brushy hillside into the closest thing that looked like privacy. Crouching in the scratchy brush with thoughts of poison ivy, snakes, spiders, coastal hillbillies, I did what I had to do! I did.

Of course a car on the private hill would cause a woman to emerge from a nearby home to look aorund, She bore a creepy resemblence to Kathy Bates in the movie 'Misery'. The Scion crept along the rim of the hill slowly, attracting even more attentiion.

Enough of all that. I skulked to the vehicle and slipped into the driver's seat and made my way out of the neighborhood. The woman in the yard avoided all eye contact. Of course the girls thoroughoy enjoyed my moment of weakness and loss of control.

I wonder if one of the homeowners eventually went to the brushy hillside to see what that man was up to. Keep in mind the back of the Scion has 'Alan Around The World.com' on the window.

No angry messages yet!

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Out of Touch, Hopefully Back In the Loop...

Hi folks.
First I have to apologize for being out of touch so much. Let me explain. Logistically the blog is hard to update on the road with a small computer and iffy Internet connections. Picture resizing is almost traumatic for me. Also, we spent over a week in Las Vegas and Interent access was 15 dollars a day and the day was long and tiring. Two days past that the hotels had no accesss. Tonight I do.

Anyway, I believe that from now on I shall try and use the blog to update the details of travel and catch all my friends up to where we are. And images shall be posted on Facebook where it is easy and painless.

Thanks,
Alan
P.S. I just posted some more Las Vegas images tonight and much more stuff to come.

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Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Arches National Park, Utah

A Wonderland Of Red Rock In The High Desert
Last week we crossed into Utah and drove to Moab. This small town sits right up on Arches National Park, a magical place of quiet, wind, red rocks. Utah is huge, empty, harsh, and hard to cross. For moew dwtails and lots more photos please visit the Facebook photo album.

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Friday, August 7, 2009

A Fox In Colorado Tells Me Goodbye

Little Fox Gives Me A Backward Glance, Then Vanishes

Just before we crossed the border into Utah this little fox trotted across the road, gave us a glance back and seemed to say "Hmph, leave Colorado? I think not"!
Smart fox!
To see more photos of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and out journey into Utah visit the Facebook albums.

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Thursday, August 6, 2009

The Old Gold Road From Canon City To Cripple Creek, Colorado

Why Are There Claw Marks On The Steering Wheel?

This pretty windmill on a beautiful mountain lane of ranches and flowers led to a one-lane, rut-filled dirt road clinging o the side of a cliff hundreds of feet above a canyon floor and a rushing little river. Scary, makes you drive real close to the rock face. Until another car approcahes and wants to pass. Hopefully one of you have a pullout to make use of. Hopefully you will not have to back up to a pull out. Hopefull when the local ranch hand in the large pickup truck whizzes by he won't bump you off of the cliff!
For the rest of the images see my Facebook album.

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Whitewater Rafting The Arkansas River

Just Make Sure To Get Out Before The Raging Royal Gorge

SSure it was Bighorn Sheep Canyon, an introductory stretch of whitewater on the Arkansas River near Canon City, CO, but for us it was a huge new experience, a great accomplishment, and a fun day to remember.
Raft Masters supplies the gear, guide, boat, everything. I remembered the sunscreen, camera, all the dea=tails except the camera battery. Oops!
Lucky for me the hotel was only five minutes away so I swiftly retrieved the battery and was able to take some images. Warning, on a raging river just when you think the best pix might be happening you are paddling and clinging to the raft. This excellent shot was taken by Raft Masters from the shore. For the rest of mine check out the Facebook album.

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Royal Gorge. 1,053 Foot High Suspension Bridge.

Say Goodbye To The Ground, Say Hello To The Sky

The title above is the billboard motto of the Roayl Gorge Bridge, but at 1,053 feet above the river it might be better if it read 'Say Hello To Dizzy Spells'.
We visited right about closing in the evening as the sun set on the canyon wall horizon. Most tourists had already drifted back to hotel and restaurant and we pretty much had the entire site to ourselves.
You not only can walk across, you can drive across. The roadbed seems to be 3 inch thick boards on metal I-beams. Seeing the river through the cracks as you walk is definitely disconcerting.
Lexi did not enjoy the swaying sensation or height but wanted to ride the bungee cord contraption that throws you out over the canyon. Go figure.
The funniest thing that has happened so far was when I took a shortcut off of I-70 to Empire, CO. The graqvel roadbed was like a washpan and as we drove we hit a major series of ruts. We all looked up just in time to see one of the Scion's hubcaps roll away faster than the car. I slowed to retrieve the hubcap but an oncoming car, having no place to swerve or turn, ran over the hubcap and it exploded into dozens of pieces. Our jaws hung slack, waiting for the other car to stop. Instead he sped off in a cloud of dust and we burst into laughter.
To see more Royal Gorge pix visit my Facebook album.

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Tuesday, August 4, 2009

The Stanley Hotel, Estes Park, Colorado

No Ax Wielding Jack Nicholson. How Disappointing!

We spent the night in Estes Park, CO and went up to the grand Stanley Hotel. This is the place Kubrick filmed much of 'The Shining'. Beautiful and creepy.
We had to sneak in by telling the guard at the gate I was there about a reservation. Then we sneaked upstairs past the "Registered Guests Only" sign, right up to the infamous room 217 where the woman's corpse qas found. Two little girls were staying there, their parents nowhere in sight. I asked if they knew a movie had been filmed in their room. They said yes but seemed unimpressed. Perhaps they really were the two creepy little ghost girls from the film?
Visit my Facebook for the complete album.

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Rocky Mountain 360 Degree Surrounded By Mountains

Surrounded By 12,000'+ Mountain Peaks

Awesome mountains surround us in a high valley between Gunnison and Leadville. Cool video!

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Monday, August 3, 2009

Across The Top Of The Rocky Mountains

Higher And Higher And Higher We Climbed

We took an amazing ride through the Rocky Mountains, capping it off with a drive over Trail Ridge Road, the highest through road in the world. Here I am jumping for joy at the Continental Divde at Cotttonwood Pass. For lots more pix see the Facebook album.

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Sunday, August 2, 2009

Capulin Volcano National Monument

Sure I am Sitting On Top Of It. But It Is Dormant!

We stopped at the Capulin Volcano National Monument and had a scary ride to the top. Right at the edge, huge drops, rain, lightning, wind, clouds. I have passed this conical mountain so many times in the past and always wanted to go up. This was the first trip. From a distance you can see the road twisting up the exterior. On the road it is quite a bit more of an intense experience.
Please visit Facebook in the sidebar link to see more pix. It's hard to find fast Internet and difficult to build the post after a long day on the road so I will add much more to Facebook than here.

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Saturday, August 1, 2009

West Texas Wind Farms Under The Big Sky Near Amarillo

Windmills As Far As The Eye Can See

As we drove further north we spotted some giant windmills in the distance and detoured to see them up close. I didn't want to miss this sight. I hear they stand 2-- feet tall. Every day in Houston I would see large trucks hauling the vanes, one per truck, out of the city. They are so long the trucks need special escort.
After a ten mile one way detour for a few pix I realized we were perilously close to being low on fuel, maybe a quarter tank.
The ironic thing is that we squeaked into Sweetwater, Texas and fueled up but the 15 miles to Sweetwater and the 30 miles after were nothing but a panarama of windmills. No need to detour!
They sell this energy through 'green' providers for those who like even higher electric bills!
Hope to see you on the road!

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Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, Texas

In West Texas, They Grow Caddies At Cadillac Ranch!


Today, under the incredibly big sky of West Texas, we visited the world famous
'Cadillac Ranch', the art project sponsered by Stanley Marsh 3.
Along Interstate 40 just west of Amarillo you will find 10 old Cadillacs buried head first in a row. For whatever reasons these objects have become a famous art display and has been featured in a jazillion movies, music videos, magazines, etc.


The cars are supposed to be buried at the same angle as the sides of the Great Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt. When I asked about the location of the cars a local good ol' boy said "We got us an eccentric billionaire oilman out here"! I already knew Marsh had a rep for eccentricity, even going by Marsh 3 rather than III, as in the third. He claims that is pretentious.


Lexi climbed atop one of the cars for a cool shot. Yes, it is allowed, and you can add your own spray painting tags. Best of all, it is free! The most amazing thing I saw and missed getting on film was a young man, either extremely talented as a gymnast or insane, who stood atop the car and suddenly did an amazing 360 degree flip off the side, landing perfectly on his feet! I was actually astounded by that.


Deanna, Lexi and Alan atop the Cadillac Ranch!
Hopefully I can find tgime to post more images of the amazing things we did today as it is late and time is short. We also rode a twisting, narrow road to the top of Capulin Volcano, a dormant volcano in New Mexico. As we entered the park a powerful thunderstorm blew in, lightning, wind, rain. This made the drive even more scary. The ranger warned about lightning at the peak but failed to mention the tight lanes and hairpin curves with absolutely no railing between you and a thousand foot drop. Insane.


Of course we tagged the cars in an appropriate fashion.
At the end of this long day we find ourselves in Pueblo, Colorado. We intended to stop much sooner but had to go to over 20 hotels to find an overpriced room on the fly. A NICE room, except for the teens running up and down the hall until midnight.
Tomorrow we shall ride the top of the Rocky Mountains and try to make it to the Rocky Mountain National Park, perhaps the Sand Dunes National Monument.

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Friday, July 31, 2009

San Antonio Tourist Stuff

We Drop In On Ripley's And Wax Museum



Having driven by it a dozen times we finally made the time to go through the Alamo. You know how so many things look
smaller once you really get to them or in them? The Alamo actually seemed quite a bit roomier than I thought it would be from seeing the inside. Packed with tourists!



Just across the street from the venerated Texas monument is of course a collection of tourist attractions. We took in the Ripley's Believe It Or Not 'Odditorium'!



One of my favorite things was this deer head. Notice anything strange or different about it? It is in the 'Odditorium', after all!



The deer head is made totally of nails.



I'm almost 6' 4". This Robert Wadlow fellow was 8' 11". Makes me feel tiny!



Deanna gets creeped out by eyes so she did not want to buddy up to the bug-eyed man.



But Lexi seemed to develop quite a liking for the man qho could swallow his nose...



At the wax museum next door Lexi was interviewed by Oprah about all of her exciting plans.



Supposedly Jay Leno posed with Deanna but this Jay looks a little crazy to me!



Just like watching his show, talking to Dr. Phil drove me to tears.

More from the road coming soon.

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Road Trip! Houston, TX to San Antonio, TX!

Road Trip Around The USA - Day One


Lexi, Deanna, and Alan roll out of Houston headed west.
The Scion is packed to the gills with clothes, tent, food, bazookas, space suits, etc.


We did get a Garmin GPS and from the first day it has been a super cool addition to any trip, calmly and cooly giving directions without once saying I won't ask because I am a man.
My new girlfriend, she will be coming on the bike with me too.


Bye-bye Katy, TX. This is a bedroom community on the west side, out of H-Town.
The road quickly thins out into miles of caws, woods, and speeding tractor trailer trucks.


Interesting display of 'Tiny Texas Houses;, though my pic says 'Texas Uses'. WWell, some Texans do I am sure. These little houses were in a magazine I saw, some as small as 96 square feet! One guy even tows his to friends backyards and then moves every few months.


Downtown San Antonio. We arrived late in the day and were immediately impressed by the architecture, small town charm, the Riverwalk with it's ambience and restaurants. We were not so impressed by the apathetic waitress and error filled menu at Rainforest Cafe' or the termite like bugs on the wall of the Motel 6! (Yes, we are splurging!)
I shall soon post a better and larger shot of this image on the photographs page.

Deanna and Lexi on the Riverwalk, San Antonio, TX.
We had a great night anyway, bad waitress and bugs and all, and looking forward to the coming weeks.
Honestly this happend on Wednesday and I am sitting in a motel typing this on Thursday evening, actually Friday morn at 2 AM!!! Plenty of pix and stuff from today I will have to post in the morn when I awaken. We went to two attractions in S.A. and through some incredible scenery and torrential rain.
Safe and sound, see you soon.

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Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Around The United States Before Around The World

Road Trip!


Lexi, her friend Deanna and I are about to take a huge around the United States road trip in the Alan Around The World Mobile!
We hope to do a large loop out west, north, back east, and down the Atlantic coast in the coming weeks. School is looming so we have about 25 days!
Stay tuned for posts.

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Monday, July 27, 2009

Atascocita, TX, to New Waverly, TX

Zipping Along On Day One. Kind Of Boring, Actually.


I got an early start at 6:30 AM, beating the heat, leaving
Atascocita, TX. I streamed through the neighborhoods, east on FM 1960 across the Lake Houston Bridge and over to 2100 North.


2100 strings North through piney woods. Lucky for me the morning was overcast. When the sun came out it was defeated by a continuous line of trees to my right.


On Plum Grove Road to Cleveland I was chased by these two vicious critters. Later some of their more enthusiastic and larger cousins would cause me to let the adrenaline kick up my pedaling a notch. No problem though... unless a chain were to break!


Plum Grove City Hall.
No marble statues here.


Classic Texas.


Cleveland, thirty easy and cool miles. In Cleveland I refilled water bottles and asked the gas station clerk where a good restaurant was. There happened to be a breakfast buffet next door. Outside a man had overheard me asking and insisted I take ten dollars for eating. I tried to explain that I had money but he insisted so I had an awesome free breakfast and the waitress got a nice tip.


One of many drink water and stretch the legs and feet breaks.


A new county!


Through the Sam Houston National Forest. I thought it would be a beautiful drive through unspoiled wilderness. Instead it was 30 miles of pine trees, hills, tons of houses and no stores or facilities. Who knew the National Forest was full of houses?


Richard had met me at the restaurant and suggested I take a vitamin pack with potassium for cramps. He had a brand new pack of them and actually went home for them, meeting me on 1725 in the woods to give them to me. Second very nice person to help me out.


One of the coolest rest spots I found. Trouble is when you take off your shoes and lie in the grass people tend to stop and ask if you are OK. It happened a couple of times with concerned motorists and I realized that you have to rest sitting up, lol!


"Think This Is Hot"
Actually, I do, hellishly so.
Soon after this I needed to refill my water. I knocked on the door of the only home without three dogs and a No Tresspassing sign. Mr. John Lewis filled my bottles with water AND ice! Nice man.
(BTW, a No Tresspassing sign salesman could make a fortune in these parts! And they take it seriously here. A few weeks ago some lunatic man and woman shot two people on thier land, and Texas law favors the landowner. Not in your house mind you, or stealing or threatening, they shot them just for trespassing in the woods!)


East Texas farms love fanciful mailboxes.


Another funny mailbox.

All that said, the first day went smooth and not so hard, but It left me wondering if this is really the way I want to see the world.
I had read 'The Long Ride' by Lloyd Sumner ( a great read) and it seemed fun and incredible. I took the MS 150 mile ride to Austin for charity before and had the time of my life. (With 10,000 other bicycle riders of course!)
But after 65 miles I am thinking that the overwhelming feeling I had on the road on a bike was not of accomplishment (I know I can ride, I have done it in the past), or of adventure, the main emotion was boredom.
I want to see things and stuff, and after 65 miles of pine trees, pine trees, pine trees, farm house, more pine trees, I am considering if maybe I should find a faster conveyance to the stuff that is cool?
After 8 hours on a bike I can be camping in the woods somewhere. After 8 hours on something motorized I can be in a museum or natural attraction.
What do you think?
If I change the ride please bear with me and continue along. I am still going to go around the world, and possibly the blog will be better with more interesting things because of the decision.
Input?



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Friday, July 24, 2009

Burning My Work Shirts In A Symbolic Gesture


Goodbye Work And Home, Hello World!


In the backyard of a friend I made use of their burn pile and set five of my "work shirts" afire. Call it a symbolic gesture of cutting the bonds of wage slavery, a visual representation of, wisely or not so wisely, burning bridges.

Don't get me wrong, I worked for a good company and with good people, but let's face it, a bad day on an adventure of a lifetime is better than a good day at work. Well, usually!

I'm still trying to get the details and kinks worked out, so it looks like an early Sunday morning departure now. Stupid little details like finding five mini-blinds for the apartment. Trixi was torture on blinds and I can buy them for five bucks each or the apartment can do it for $30. That extra $125 will go far in India so it is worth it to get them done myself. Soon enough though I shall roll, I promise.

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Calling Cards I Ordered To Hand Out On The Road

Don't Call It A Business Card!


I ordered a thousand of these 'calling cards' online for only a few bucks so I could hand them out to people I meet who might want to follow along on the blog.
So many times lately my purchases led to questions about me taking a trip. When I described the bike adventure and told people about the blog they always start looking for an ink pen to write the domain name down.
This shall greatly simplify the process. Who I am, what I am doing, how to follow along or contact me. I will leave small stacks with several friends and take a couple of hundred along with me. More can be mailed to my stops along the way.
What do you think? Leave a comment please.
And PLEASE go vote for me to go to Antarctica through the link at the top of the page!!!!

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Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Gear List For Long Distance Bicycle Touring Trip

Complete List Of Everything On The Bike

Of course every bicyclist is different. Some carry everything but the kitchen sink, others carry a credit card and cell phone. I am beginning with this gear. Maybe in time I will thin the equipment out or add to it, only time and experience will tell me what is needed and what is dead weight for my trip.


1. Ortleib Front Pannier, Left, waterproof
2. Lightweight socks, biking
3. Wool socks, hiking, cold weather
4. Underwear
5. Rain jacket and pants, good REI stuff
6. Light long underwear, wicking, warm
7. Medium long underwear, warmer
8. Dry bag for computer, rubbery for kayaking and such
9. ASUS netbook computer with cover, totally cool, I recommend
10. Magellan pants, zip off into shorts
11. T-shirts, cotton nylon blend, comfy
12. Magellan shirts, cool, dry fast, dressy enough for eating out


1. Ortelib Pannier, Front, Right
2. GORP. Good Old Raisins & Peanuts. With M &M's!
3. Bath towel
4. Knit hat for warmth
5. Non-dairy creamer. Thanks Shipley's!
I also have some hijacked jelly packs. Don't tell.
6. Tea selection
7. Utensils, one-cup coffee gadget
8. Washrag
9. Snack bars
10. Peanut butter, can stew, veggies, tuna
11. Mess kit
12. Extra plastic bags
13. Sugar
14. Coffee
15. Honey
16. Day-Glo vest, gift from Lexi and Sara.
(Where is the promised cash contribution to the trip girls? It was my Father's Day gift!)
17. Oatmeal


1. Ortleib Rear Pannier, Left
2. Katadyn water bottle purifier filter. Dip in river, drink, like magic.
3. Sterno stove and fuels
4. Candle lantern
5. Candles
6. Bathroom- toothbrush, paste, shaving, lotion, shampoo, soap, sunscreen
7. Foot care, lotions, creams, moleskin
8. Manual for camera, I am still learning it.
9. Tool shed, rope, can opener, sewing kit, tent repair kit
10. Pajama bottoms
11. Hat, large brim, neck flap, light, quick dry, high SPF
12. First aid, bandages, painkillers, Immodium, Carmex, etc.
Also, somewhere in there is an LED headlamp.


1. Ortleib Pannier, rear, right
2. OK, both shoes would not fit into one pannier. I have yards rather than feet.
3. Water bottle filter had to be moved
4. Net mosquito hood, cheap, light
5. Kyrptonite New York City lock. Heavy, $3,000 Warranty.
6. Cheap and small tripod
7. Electronics- chargers for phone, computer, camera, batteries, etc.
8. Prescription, 2 months. Won't get you high but without it I don't digest food well. A real pain in the neck. And wallet.
9. Toilet paper. Enough already


1,2,3,4 Panniers, loaded
5. Sleeping bag in dry bag
6. Sleeping pad- Soft and keeps cold ground away from me
7. Tent in dry bag
8. Tent poles
9. Under seat bag, full of tools, spare tubes, patch kit.
10. Helmet
11. Biking shoes and socks
12. Bright yellow jersey
13. Shorts
14. Handlebar bag for phone, camera. snack



1. Handlebar bag
2. Bell. Required in some countires, and fun!
3. Waterproof map case mounts to handlebars
4. Mileage computer
5. Air pump
6. Underseat tool bag
7. Sleeping pad
8. Tent and stakes
9. Sleeping bag
10. Front panniers
11. Water bottles, thanks Sari, Jeanne, and Shannon!
12. Rear panniers

That's it!
I haven't weighed it but it seems scary heavy. That credit card and motel style of biking is surely easier physically, but more expensive. But when I took her for a first spin it was surprisingly easy to move along nicely. A bit wobbly at first, I have to get used to the extra weight.
Strangely, as soon as the wheels touched the pavement the sky darkened, lightning crashed, drizzle fell, and of all things a black cat crossed the street a block away.
I turned the corner!
(Literally and figuratively, I suppose.)

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