Still reading huh?

Yeah....so here's the thing- I fell a little behind on this whole thing. No surprise there. Anyway, we're back in Richmond and the trip was a success. Allow me to catch you up on what went down during the rest of the trip:

Austin- Cool town but I got sick....not so cool.

Albuquerque- Also a cool town. Climbed a volcano. NM's landscape is a little bleak for me.

Phoenix- Climbed a mountain. It was hot. I don't like heat.

LA- Bro's new pad was cool and his art is equally cool. Saw MI-III on the cinedome. 80 foot Tom Cruise frightens me.

Sequoia National Forest- One of the more beautiful places I've seen in America. I'll bet you wish I wrote more about it.

San Fran- Lissa was fun. San Fran was hilly.

Oregon- Camped near the ocean. Quite lovely.

Seattle- Awesome town. Wish it was a bit closer.

Western Montana- Pretty, but cold. Ask Eric.

Eastern Montana- There are people in Eastern Montana?

South Dakota- Rushmore and Wall Drug are deliciously campy. Speaking of which....we camped again.

Minneapolis- Al.....most......home

Madison- Marcus Miller has a sweet, lakefront pad.

Chicago- Cubs game was awesome (ie they won). It rained all of day two. Second City is funny stuff. Feel free to laugh at my explanation.

Well that's about it. You really didn't miss much. And here is, undoubtedly, what you've come for- the pics.



Sunset. Middle of nowhere New Mexico.



Me and E at the NM Volcano.



Hollywood.



My Bro in Griffith Park.



My Bro's art.



Sequoias are BIG. I is small.



As is Eric.



San Fran.



Sunset at the Cali/Oregon border.



Spaceneedle.



Mt. Rushmore.

New Orleans

As the drive from Tallahassee was a rather daunting drive and we just so happened to be rolling into town during the Jazz festival, we were desperately seeking a place to rest for the evening. Luckily, my mom'’s friend Tom was generous enough to put us up for the evening. On top of that he gave us a tour of his studio (he’s an artist like my mom) and showed us around the areas flooded by hurricane Katrina. It really was as bad as people make it out to be. Strip malls are abandoned with 15 foot piles of trash in the parking lots, entire neighborhoods deserted, a noticeable 8 waterline throughout large sections of town, and houses moved from their foundation near where the levies broke. On a brighter note, the next day we got into the Jazz Festival for free as another one of my mom'’s jeweler friends, Julie, who was also staying with Tom, was showing her wares at the Festival and we got to be her 'assistants.'’ As we got in before the doors opened, we had a pretty easy time walking around at first so we got within 30 feet of the main stage. When 11am came and the doors were opened we noticed a wave of 20 somethings charging our way. They rushed in, laid down tarps and began their revelry. What had Eric and I let slip our mind? Dave Matthews was the headliner later that evening. Must.....….escape...... Anywho, we did see many cool acts including a few traditional brass bands and, my favorite, a HUGE gospel choir. Unfortunately, we had to make it to Austin that night, so at 4 we closed up shop and moved on.



Eric avisiblevisable water line.



Damage near the busted levy.

Tallahassee

Tallahassee, like Atlanta was a quick stop for the two of us. After an overly labored journey to find our friends’ apartment, we plopped down our stuff and enjoyed a good sit. We were staying with our friends from home Stephen and Dustin. Stephen is a grad student at FSU and Dustin is an office manager for a local dentist’s office. That evening the four us ate dinner with Eric’s uncle. After dinner we didn’t do a whole lot, as Dustin had to get up at some ungodly hour to work the next morning. The next morning Eric’s uncle showed us around FSU’s campus then bade us a fond farewell. Westward we go.

Atlanta

After Chapel Hill, we make a quick pit stop in the ATL. We stayed with Eric’s grandparents who graciously provided us with full bellies and cushy beds (a most welcome sight as we’re quite used to sleeping on floors). The next day we tinkered around Olympic Centennial Park and kicked around the idea of peeping the aquarium, but a steep ticket of 22 dollars squashed any further consideration. So we quickly moved on to our next destination.

Chapel Hill

Looking to take a slightly more scenic path to Chapel Hill, Eric and I decided to take another stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway en route to our destination. Unfortunately, it turns out the parkway was closed about 30 miles into our journey, with no other way out other than to turn around and exit the way we came in. For those of you at home keeping score, that’s Blue Ridge parkway: 2, Greg and Eric: 0. Anywho, a few hours later we rolled into Chapel Hill. I was, somewhat surprising to myself, like a kid in a candy store. I couldn’t have been more excited to be back. That night we hit up the powerful 1-2 punch of Kurama (sushi) and Yogurt Pump with Heather and Erica (former roommates of mine) and Niki (another good friend of mine). Afterwards, Eric, Heather and I walked around campus, which was as lovely as ever. I challenge anyone to name a more idyllic local than Chapel Hill in late April. The next day I spent a good deal of time waxing nostalgic, by walking around campus. Eric and I played some Frisbee golf on the recently improved coarse and afterwards Eric met up with an old friend while I talked with one of my professors. Actually, by the time I had left Chapel Hill I had seen 4 professors and a TA that recognized me, but only one was planned. In the evening we did another Chapel Hill two-fer: Cosmic Cantina and the Varsity movie theatre. We saw ‘Friends with Money;’ a decent flick but by no means life changing. After the movie we charged back to the car through the pouring rain and scooted back to Niki and Erica’s place to talk to them a bit and see Erica’s dog Sonny who’s equal parts dumb, lovable oaf and skittish coke addict. That’s about it for Chapel Hill. I really didn’t expect to be that psyched to be back, but I was pleasantly surprised. So, as a parting thought, I leave you with a quote:

"What is it that binds us to this place as to no other? It is not the well or the bell or the stone walls or the crisp October nights. Our loyalty is not to the memories of what William Richardson Davie did 200 years ago . . . No, our love for this place is based upon the fact that it is as it was meant to be The University of the People. Two hundred years to the day since the founding of the First State University, we can read again the words on its seal--"light and liberty"-- and say the The University of North Carolina has lived by those two short noble words and say that in all of the American story there is no other place like this."_-Charles Kuralt, class of 55_UNC Bicentennial_October 12, 1993

Asheville

Originally, we had planned to take the Blue Ridge Parkway entirely from Charlottesville to Asheville. But, as it turns out, winding through the Appalachians makes driving significantly slower than utilizing the interstate, so after an hour of beautiful yet laborious driving, we got off the parkway and started forging a more direct path towards Asheville. On reaching the city we met our dear friend Annie, her roommate Lindsay and our friend from home who, for the sake of anonymity, will henceforth be known as ‘Betty.’ After dinner the 5 of us went back to Annie and Lindsay’s place to play some Trivial Pursuit and discuss the finer points of life. The next day we enjoyed a picnic at the botanical gardens and later that day we walked around the grounds at which Annie and Lindsay work. Although it seemed innocuous enough, it apparently isn’t the most enjoyable employment. You see, they work with youth who, instead of giving out hugs and kisses, dispense expletives and projectile fecal matter. But, to Annie and Lindsay’s credit, they are and forever will be better people than myself. Later in the evening we made some burritos and played more board games. Back to back board game nights. Truly we know how to party hardy.

Charlottesville

Later on, after the crayon debacle, we rolled into Charlottesville, Virginia to see our friend Beth. Beth is an elementary school teacher in Charlottesville who lives with her friend Sarah, a graduate student at UVA. That evening we went to a free bluegrass concert on this really cool promenade area. The next day we visited Beth’s elementary school. However, it was Saturday, so we didn’t get to meet any of her little rapscaliwags. We also walked around UVA a bit. We all agreed that although it is a very beautiful campus, it seems very uniform and overly groomed. To me it lacked the character of a place like UNC. But, then again, it’s entirely possible that I have a biased opinion.



Me and Beth

Crayon Factory

On our way from NYC to Charlottesville we decided to stop by the Crayola Crayon factory in Easton Pennsylvania. After passing on the factories parking garage we found a suitable lot to leave our wheels. On our way out of the lot a rather curmudgeonly old woman informed us that parking was 4 dollars. We though we could do better, and decided to move the car. The woman left us with the parting words, “good luck finding something cheaper.” We then proceeded to drive roughly 30 yards and parked on the side of the road for free. Apparently this was our lucky day. The factory itself was also a disappointment. On arrival we found that admission was 10 dollars and we didn’t even get to see the factory. It’s actually more of a museum/play area for tiny tots. So, Eric being the quick thinker that he is, decided to explain the situation to the Crayola staff. He explained to them that we are touring the country and making video clips for a video to send to Brazilian orphans. Keep in mind that ALL of this is true. Apparently, however, the ‘factory’ manager has a heart as dark as a ‘midnight blue’ crayon; she gave us some song and dance about how we needed prior notification and blah blah blah. I mean COME ON. We’re talking about Brazilian orphans here. What is she? A frickin’ robot? Luckily, the world’s largest crayon was located next door at the gift store. I already know what you’re thinking and the answer is blue. Oh, it should also be noted that next to the crayola factory is the Pez Museum, which was, if possible, more lame than its neighbor.



Crayola Colors



Crayon Scuplture

NYC (Next Day)

Thursday, we spent a whole day touring NYC. Led by our lovely host Catelyn, we visited the following sites: Central Park, the Met, Ground Zero, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, and Battery park. I’ve been to all of these places before when I visited NYC in high school (except for ground zero of course, which was somber and surreal). The Met was really really nice. It’s an amazing experience to turn the corner and see something hanging 10 feet from you that previously you had only seen in textbooks. A funny story from St. Patricks: As Eric was walking around the nave of the church he stopped to look at a particular display. As Eric was observing silently a man in the pews had the gross misfortune of having his cell phone go off. As if this weren’t bad enough the man, in the heat of the moment, blurted out, “Oh Jesus!” I’d say that’s easily 15 Hail Marys. For lunch we had sushi, which, as we all know, makes my day instantly a good one. In the evening we met up with my roommate from UNC, DJ, who just happened to be moving to the city that very day. We ended up having Chinese for dinner with like 15 who all seemed to know each other in random ways. What was my fortune you ask? “Tastes like chicken.” And what tastes like chicken? Look no further than my ‘learn Chinese’ word on the back: Hai-zi. Translation: Children. To finish up the evening we walked around Columbia and stopped by a coffee shop to sit and talk. In all, a very satisfying way to spend our first full day in one location.



Eric and Catelyn at the Met.



St. Patrick's.



Ground Zero.

NYC (Night 1)

Philly to NYC was an easy drive. What wasn’t so easy was finding a way into the city. Our original plan was to park somewhere outside the city and take a train in, but as we got closer and closer to the city we didn’t see any opportunities to pull this off. We stopped at a hotel adjacent to the Newark airport where they said we could park and take their shuttle to the train station. But after adding up the cost of parking and train rides, we decided it would actually be cheaper to drive into the city, so we did just that. After the arduous task of taking the Lincoln Tunnel into the city (it was packed at 11 PM), we quickly started looking for parking. I followed a sign for parking and started to take a serpentine ramp to an unknown location. Next thing I know, I’ve driven us into the heart of the Port Authority bus terminal. So here we are, in our tiny Corolla, surrounded by at least 50 busses. Luckily, it was nearly midnight, so I got out of there about as fast as I got us in there. A few blocks later we found a suitable garage and parked our ride. Unfortunately, after all the confusion, I forgot to grab a change of underwear from the car before braving the big city. Ugh.

Philly

Although hanging out with Dave was fun, we made the mistake of leaving Boston during rush hour. After some careful navigation of downtown Beantown we made it back to the interstate and were on our way to Philadelphia. In Philly we met up with Eric’s friend Mike (affectionately known as Vitty) and did some bar hopping. The next day Mike had a debate to present (Mike is a law student at Rutgers) so Eric and I went to a near by state park to toss a Frisbee and a football around. At the park we met up with another of Eric’s Notre Dame friends: Angie. A little later Mike met us there and we went out for some dinner. The three of them got the obligatory cheese steak and a beer. I got a turkey sandwich (hold the mayo) and a water. Welcome to my world.

Boston

We rolled into Boston late Monday night. When we got there we met up with our friend David Gray who is currently studying at MIT. (My boy Dave is wicked smaht) That evening we got some Chinese and walked around Cambridge. MIT and Harvard both have very impressive campuses. Harvard’s main quad reminded me of Carolina quite a bit. MIT’s campus was one architectural masterpiece after another. The next day we visited Dave’s lab. Imagine, if you will, the most embellished, cartoonish lab your mind is capable of, full of colorful bottles and all sorts of moving contraptions and now distill that image until you get something 10 times more potent. Then, if your brain is up to the task, think about how this is just an undergrad lab where Joe Schmoes like Eric and I can walk through. Oh, and for those of you wondering, Dave is majoring in Materials, which sounds vague and simple, but when Dave starts to describe it, my vision blurs and my extremities get numb. Like I said earlier: Dave = wicked smaht. Anywho, before we left, we attended a lunch and lecture with a former UN war crimes prosecutor who worked on the Slovedon Milosovich case. There were only like a dozen people, so at lunch I sat right across from this guy and Eric and I explained our road trip to him. And what did Eric and I wear to meet such a respected gentlemen? Well, I was sporting my stained Richmond Soccer shirt and Eric donned a shirt that asked the piercing question, “Hoosier Daddy?” Who is your Daddy good sir?



Really cool MIT building.

Day Two

As expected, the 600 mile drive from Pittsburgh to Boston was a long one. Luckily, we won’t have another haul like that until Austin/Albuquerque. The drive was uneventful, but there was a point of contention as to how long one can drive on a gaslight. Eric said we had 30 miles easy….I was less optimistic. To the cars credit, it did get us 20 miles. I’m sure this scene will replay itself in the middle-of-nowhere Montana. And Eric and Greg will never be seen again.

Scranton

This just gives me an excuse to remind you people to watch The Office. DO IT. NOW.

Our Trip

A quick summary of our itinerary:

April 16- Pittsburgh
April 17- Pittsburg -> Boston
April 18- Boston -> Philly
April 19- Philly -> NYC
April 20- NYC
April 21- NYC -> Charlottesville, VA
April 22- Charlottesville -> Asheville, NC
April 23- Asheville
April 24- Asheville -> Chapel Hill, NC
April 25- Chapel Hill
April 26- Chapel Hill -> Atlanta
April 27- Atlanta -> Tallahassee
April 28- Tallahassee -> New Orleans
April 29- New Orleans -> Austin, TX
April 30- Austin
May 1- Austin -> Albuquerque
May 2- Albuquerque -> Phoenix
May 3- Phoenix ->Vegas
May 4 – Vegas -> LA
May 5- LA
May 6- LA -> San Fran
May 7- San Fran
May 8- San Fran -> Oregon
May 9- Oregon -> Seattle
May 10- Seattle
May 11- Seattle -> Montana
May 12- Montana -> Dakotas
May 13-Dakotas -> Twin Cities
May 14- Twin Cities
May 15- Twin Cities -> Madison
May 16- Madison -> Chicago
May 17- Chicago
May 18- Chicago -> Home

Who are we?

Hi. For those of you who don’t know- and you must be bored if you’ve come here NOT knowing me- my name is Greg Logan. I graduated in the summer of 05 from UNC-Chapel Hill with a BA in Religious Studies. On occasion I’ve been known to play/coach soccer and throw a Frisbee around. In the Fall I’ll be traveling to Japan to teach English via the JET Program. Until then, however, this is what I do….and by this I mean wandering around aimlessly.



Eric. Eric is recently graduated from Notre Dame with a degree in Theology. Eric plays a mean game of Yatzee and has an appreciation for fine Little Debbie snack cakes. For the past several months Eric has been working in north-east Brazil with disadvantaged children from the region. In the fall Eric will be attending a seminary in Chicago to study to become a Lutheran pastor. If you haven’t figured it out by now, Eric is a giver.

Night 1

So as nice as Eric's aunt and uncle were, they did own a manic-depressive dog that made things slightly more interesting. He seemed friendly enough but anytime either you or he left the room it was as if he had totally forgotten your very existence and would proceed to bark bloody murder until a family member intervened. The real crisis came at 2 in the morning when I awoke with need to use the lavatory. I was told that the dog would be on the landing to the second floor, so I feared that any attempt to make it to the only bathroom in the house would likely mean, not only my untimely demise by Cujo (actual name Joey), but only waking up the entire house in the process. I tried for roughly 30 minutes to convince myself I could hold it and get back to bed, but I was only fooling myself. Luckily, Joey had been locked up with his owners, but when he came downstairs to see me sleeping on the coach in the morning, he made sure to let everyone know of my presence. Bad Joey.

Day 1

Like any red blooded American with too much time and an internet connection I've decided to start a blog. Although I'm doing this under the pretenses of recording my travels across the US, and in the near future abroad, it is entirely possible that this site will deevolve into meaningless dribble where I voice my meager opinions on all sectors of life. Luckily, this type of blog is rarity on the internet.

Day 1 of the road trip was relatively uneventful. Eric and I (I'm traveling with my friend Eric Wooldridge, if you didn't know) left Richmond after a hearty Easter brunch. After a brisk 5 hour drive we landed in Pittsburgh and are staying the evening with his Aunt and Uncle.
Not surprisingly, I don't have anything of interest to report as of yet, although the drive was rather beautiful. It's amazing what a few hills will do to a landscape. Unfortunately, hills are a scarce resource in Indiana.

Well...Eric is asleep on the floor, so I should probably stop typing. Next stop: Boston to stay with David Gray. 600 miles on day two. I can't help but wonder if we're going to make it.