The Black Hills!

The Black Hills are a National Forest, a sacred Lakota landscape, or some controversy involving one of the two.  To the average tourist, however, they are beautiful and home to some of the American west's great treasures.

You may recognize this particular treasure.  For those of you who have spent some time in Morocco recently (you know who you are), the presidents on the mountain are, from left to right, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.  Surprisingly, the choice of presidents was left entirely to the artist who sculpted the mountain, Gutzon Borglum.  Borglum, meanwhile, was the estranged scultpor of Stone Mountain, Georgia, who had been summarily dismissed from the project in Georgia.  Borglum had to flee Georgia (for S. Dakota) because he had destroyed all the models of the Stone Mountain sculpture when he had been fired and the state issued a warrant for his arrest.

He chose Washington because he was the father of the country and the man who set precedent for the presidency, generally; he chose Jefferson to honor the Louisiana Purchase and the Jeffersonian ideals of the yeoman farmer and manifest destinty; Teddy Roosevelt's selection was controversial at the time, but Borglum respected TR's 'common man' ideals and his emerging philosophy of conservation; finally, Lincoln was selected because he stewarded the union through the war and maintained the union against all odds. 

After Mt. Rushmore, we swung by the Crazy Horse monument, a long-in-progress sculpture of the Native American hero, before heading toward Deadwood, a well-preserved if morally-corrupt town of Old West lore.  Photos from our day are available here.

Finally, we arrived in Wyoming and set up camp at the base of Devils Tower, a geological oddity in the Northeast corner of the state.  The Native American legend of Devils Tower involves a bear chasing people up the tower; the clawmarks from the bear allegedly form the rivulets along the tower.  Photos from Devils Tower are available here.

The Badlands and the Landscape

Well, when we turned into the Badlands last night, we were confronted with an awe-inspiring sunset.  We found a campsite at the edge of the Badlands and attended a ranger's talk.  Tired from our long drive, we turned in early, only to be rudely awakened by a set of enormous thunderstorms that shook us from our serene sleep.  The pounding rain on the tent, the electricity in the air, and the fear of a flooded campsite kept us up for a few hours.

We awoke, however, to dry, if grey skies, and managed to find our way around the Badlands in the daytime.  This formation of rocks and eroding hillsides is shocking and calls to mind one's idea of a moonscape (even if, as Abigail points out, one has no idea what a moonscape looks like).  Photos of the Badlands are available here.

After leaving the badlands, we had an opportunity to tour a decomissioned nuclear missile launch facility, buried thirty-one feet into the South Dakota terrain.  It was a pretty amazing and informative tour; it's quite impressive that we managed to keep everyone on earth from nuclear disaster for so long.  Photos from that tour are available here.

After the tour, we headed to Wall, SD, whose famous Wall Drug is the epitome of a roadside tourist trap (photos are available here).  It is the "South of the Border" of the West, with billboards as far away as Kenya.  Nevertheless, we were successfully trapped, and we took advantage of the homemade donuts and pie.  It was well worth the stop!

After Wall Drug, we stopped for a quick bite to eat in Rapid City (a cute town, photos are available here).  Then, we turned South and headed into the Black Hills, where tomorrow we will visit Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and Deadwood, before heading to Wyoming.

Driving Across the Prairie!

Well, we have accomplished one of the longest drives of the trip.  14 Hours in all!  We left Chicago bright and early this morning and started to traverse the great Western plains.

We turned North out of Chicago and cut across Wisconsin.  Finally, we crossed the great Mississippi river and entered into Minnesota, where the landscape changed drastically and we passed acre upon acre of the other great American crop, big corn.  It is just stunning how much corn we must grow here; for as far as the eye can see across the midwest, it's just corn. 

So much corn, in fact, that in Mitchell, SD, they plaster (literally) their civic auditorium with dried corn and call it the corn palace!  This oddity has served as a siren's call to road-trippers for generations (Kevin recalls it from his youth), but when encountering this building, one can only be impressed by how awfully weird it is.

After we crossed the Missouri river in South Dakota, however, the landscape changed dramatically.  The corn gave way to open prairie and range-land and we saw as much cattle as we saw corn.  This Western portion of South Dakota proved a gorgeous drive, especially as the sun began setting in the West.  The sky in this part of the country is indeed large and unencumbered by mountains and cliffs.  We can only hope that hte weather holds up for stargazing over the next couple of nights.  We turned into the Badlands this evening and are camping here.  We have great photos of the Badlands, but you'll all need to wait until tomorrow for those.

In the meantime, you'll all have to settle for photos here.

Chicago, Illinois!

Well, we've had a wonderful visit to Chicago!  Over the course of this summer, as we have kept a constant eye on our journey west, friends have regaled us constantly with the virtues of Chicago and the necessity of making a visit.  And, over our two days here, we can definitely second all of the wonderful things we've heard about the city.  We are very grateful to all of you who have lent your recommendations and suggestions for an itinerary; we feel, after two days, that we have been able to get a great sense of this great American city.  We left early Monday morning from Vermilion and wound our way across Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.  We had found a ridiculously good rate on a very central hotel on Jetsetter, and were able to check in upon arrival at 11 AM. 

Monday afternoon, we partook of the Chicago Architectural Foundation's architectural tour, which involves a 90 minute boat-tour up the Chicago river.  The river branches around the city, and the boat tour affords a magnificent sense of the city's history.  Moreover, the foundation's architectural lens allows one to access the rich history of the city in a unique way.  In part because of the opportunity to rebuild the city from scratch after the great Chicago fire, the city seems to maintain a robust awareness of its architectural legacy.

There are buildings that remind us of the great industrial American cities with their rosy, sturdy, brick structures; there are buildings that celebrate the modern without the typical sterility; there are art deco buildings that call to mind Chicago's financial history; and there are contemporary buildings (the Trump tower among them, surprisingly) that pay homage to the rich history of the city while introducing environmentally friendly features.  After the tour, we had a lovely dinner at a hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant in Little Italy, Rosal's Italian Cucina, where we indulged in handmade Italian pasta and a refreshing caprese salad.

Tuesday was a full day.  We started with a walk through the downtown, loop district of the city, over to Millenium Park.  The park is beautiful, and this picture to the left is of the huge, reflective, 'jelly bean,' which apparently serves as a gathering place for the city.  After the park, we took in the Art Institute of Chicago, which, for Kevin at least, called to mind the classic scene from Ferris Buehler's Day Off, where Cameron stares stoically at Georges Seurat's "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte."  The museum's other famous pieces include "American Gothic" and Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks."  The museum recently opened a new modern wing, which is beautiful; nevertheless, the museum's scale is overwhelming, and we only wish we could have spent more time exploring the collection. 

After the museum, we took a walk up the famous (infamous?) Magnificent Mile, but the 10% sales tax in Chicago serves as a poor incentive for consumption.  At the top of the mile, we found time for a famous Chicago delicacy, Giordano's deep dish pizza!  The pizza is indeed deep.  A small 10" pizza is more than sufficient for two people, as the toppings and cheese are more than an inch thick!  The pizza was deeply satisfying...  into the next day!  After lunch, we crossed Michigan Avenue over to the John Hancock tower, and rode the elevator up 96 floors and enjoyed a decent drink complimented heartily by a magnificent view over the city's skyline.

Afterwards, we tried to work off the pizza with a walk along Lake Michigan, including the opportunity to dip our toes into the American Great Lake!  The walk took a number of hours and gave us a chance to experience classic, midwestern, humid heat.  The lake is beautiful, and the city has done an admirable job of reserving the waterfront for public use.  The lake is filled with sailboats, swimmers, and triathletes!  Seeking out refreshment, we followed Abigail's Aunt M's advice and walked into an otherwise nondescript Macy's.

This Macy's, however, is the original Marshall Field's an enormous, nine-story, epitome of the great American department store.  On the seventh floor, we found a seat at the bar at the Walnut Room, a gorgeous dining room where one can only imagine generations of shoppers taking a break to share lunch during their Christmas shopping.  As we enjoyed a Frango chocolate pie, we waxed nostalgic over the decline of these old department stores but also over the general decline in the relevance of urban centers.  Too often we leave the cities to walk and shop in suburban malls; but there is an energy to Chicago, as there is an energy to most downtowns.  And that energy is unique to the cities.  Chicago is a wonderful city and every city ought to aspire to its livability, navigability, and heritage.

Tomorrow, we are off (quite early) to South Dakota.  We are pessimistic as to our connectivity on this leg of the trip, but in the meantime, feel free to enjoy our Chicago pictures.  Day 1 is here and Day 2 is here!

Our Western Road Trip Begins!

Well, this is our last major road trip of the summer!  Hard to believe!  This one, our Western Road Trip (WRT) will take us directly West, into South Dakota, Wyoming, and finally to Colorado, to see Kevin's grandmother and mom. 

Saturday, after a pit-stop in Hyannis, MA, to retrieve Abigail from a trip to Nantucket, we drove to Connecticut and spent the night with Abigail's parents.  Early this morning, then, we took off, driving a now familiar route across I-84 to Scranton.  We've come through Scranton on every road trip this summer, and we have yet to be enthused by the town, whose maze-like exits often present themselves just when we need gas.  We traversed Pennsylvania and entered Ohio, the furthest West we believe we had yet to travel this summer. 

We spent Sunday night in Vermilion, OH, with dear family friends whose hospitality knows no end!  The neighborhood we stayed in in Vermilion is made up of Depression-era lagoons.  Each home fronts the lagoon, which feed off of Lake Erie.  This affords the neighborhood desirable (and beautiful) access to Lake Erie, but also creates a deep sense of community, of which we were the direct beneficiaries!  We dined at a neighbor's house and benefited from amazing food, wonderful conversation, and a great set of people.

Tomorrow we are off to Chicago, a city about which we have heard amazing things.  We can't wait!

Pittsburgh!

There are towns with good brand names and there are towns with bad brand names (i.e., Cleveland).  Pittsburgh is one of the towns for which we had...   ...modest...  expectations, but which surpassed those expectations beyond belief!

We arrived in town on Wednesday evening and quickly met Abigail's brother, Caleb, at his apartment in the lovely Shadyside neighborhood.  He and his girlfriend, Blair, showed us around what is clearly a pleasant neighborhood and we toured his local beverage and cuisine establishments.  He had already prepared a generous list of things we might tour around Pittsburgh, and our motivation was high.

Said motivation, however, was quickly tempered on Thursday by an oppressive, sultry heat wave that had enveloped all of the Northeast.  Thursday morning, we dined (oh did we dine) at the less-than-healthy Pamela's cafe, whose affinity for butter rivaled our affinity for cooled, conditioned air.  However, we overcame our magnetic attraction to the air conditioned confines of the cafe, and headed to the South Shore of the Monangahele river, where we rode up the 'incline' -- a gondola that rides the steep inclines of the bluffs overlooking the river and found lovely ice cream and a great view of the city.  We descended the incline and moved into a converted railroad-yard-now-shopping-center, which afforded us air conditioning and a place to rest.  That afternoon, we took in a duck tour of the city, which provided a welcome orientation to the town.

Friday, with Caleb, we drove 90 minutes out of town and into the Laurel Heights in search of Frank Lloyd Wright's famed Falling Water, designed as a country home for the owners of Kauffman's department store (Kauffmans, like Filene's, Marshall Field's, and the Bon Marche, has been folded into Macy's).  The tour of the house was wonderful and informative, and the home lives up to its fame as the touchstone of mid-century modernity.  It is the house that you wish all ranch homes are and never become.  We would post pictures of Falling Water were it not for their constraining photography policy.

Friday evening, we all celebrated Caleb's birthday with a trip to Pittsburgh's own Hoffbrauhaus.  A raucous, exhausting time was enjoyed by all - replete with German beer hall song and dance!

Saturday, Caleb and Blair showed us around the Phipps' Conservatory, a massive, impressive botanical feast of the senses.  The sprawling gardens and greenhouses are home to a robust collection of floral and plant species from across the globe -- from coffee trees to agave plants!  It's a beautiful way to spend the morning and was a fitting end to a visit to one of the most pleasant, livable towns in the country.  All of our pictures from around this fabulous city are here!  Pictures from the Phipps are here.

Buffalo & Niagara Falls!

We're in the car now, driving south on I-79 from Erie, PA to Pittsburgh, PA, where we will spend a few days visiting Abigail's brother, Caleb, and his girlfriend, Blair.  Yesterday, we traversed Massachusetts and New York, with our aim being Niagara Falls (Canada!) that archetypic honeymoon destination of yore.

First, though, we stopped in Buffalo, NY, and ate at Frank and Teresa's Anchor Bar, apparently the original home of the Buffalo Wing, that spicy chicken treat.  We enjoyed wings and beer at the bar and watched the Netherlands' second-half surge against Uruguay.  The wings were as fantastic as advertised (and as filling, our 3:30 pitstop satisfied as supper for the rest of the evening)!

We arrived in Niagara Falls in the evening and took the required trip on the Maid of the Mist, the boat-ride that travels right to the base of the horseshoe falls and into a  mist as drenching as an afternoon thunderstorm (BTW, a thunderstorm would be much appreciated given the current, muggy, ninety-degree weather).  We also took in a slightly underwhelming IMAX experience and had a margarita at the newly-opened Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville (our second Margaritaville experience since the BVIs, ironically).  Finally, we made a swing through the slot machines at the local casino and garnered a near 50% return on our money!  Also, we happened to recover Kevin's momentarily lost wallet - probably a greater recovery than our gambling ROI.

Today, we left Niagara Falls and made a pit-stop at a local winery.  We should be arriving in Pittsburgh in the next 45 minutes or so!

Pictures from our entire trip thus far are available here!

What Shall we Call This One?

Well, we're off again!  We're leaving at about 9 AM this morning, heading West across Massachusetts and New York into a foreign country (Canada!).  We're touring Niagara Falls!  After a day there, we will turn Southward to Pittsburgh to visit Abigail's brother, Caleb, before returning to Ridgefield.  We'll be in touch on the blog!

Question, though - what shall we call this particular one-week road trip?  Suggestions in the comments?

Lovely New England Weekend

We just spent a lovely weekend with Abigail's family!  On Saturday, we drove to East Haddam, CT, where we enjoyed a lovely lunch on the banks of the Connecticut river and attended Annie Get your Gun at the lovely old Goodspeed Opera House!  The Goodspeed is a beautiful old Victorian building, originally used as a commercial center and now converted into a full-time theater!  The musical was fabulous and much enjoyed!

On Sunday, we traveled to Worcester (pronounced WOOSTAH!) for the wedding of Abigail's cousin, Tiffany.  Lots of dancing and revelry to celebrate the 4th of July!

Pictures from Saturday are available here and from Sunday are available here.

Life on the Sudbury

We're hardly Mark Twain, here, but we did take a meander down a local river yesterday, renting a canoe and floating down the Sudbury River from the South Bridge to the North Bridge in Concord, MA.  The diligent among our readers might recall that Kevin & Abigail took Kevin's mom, Michele, to Concord after graduation (pictures of that day are available here).

Today's float was wonderfully relaxing, affording views of local wildlife, amazing homes (some monstrous new construction, others quaint memorials to a Revolutionary era), and the undersides of centuries-old landmarks.  We passed the Old Manse, the home of a number of New England writers, and thus fulfilled our obligation to Abigail's mom to see "Some Old Author's House" with some regularity.  We ended at the North Bridge, the site of the first battle of the Revolutionary War, and the site of the writing and memorial recitation of Emerson's "Concord Hymn."  It is apparent that we can only go so many blog-postings without calling to mind some element of American history.

After our float, we wandered through the main streets of Concord, purchasing some fantastic bread and cheese at a local gourmet food-shop; on the way home, we stopped at a local farmers' market and purchased tomatoes and berries for dinner.  It was one of those days that calls one to the suburbs, and we couldn't help but calling out the for-sale signs in front of sprawling old farmhouses along the path back to Boston.

All of our pictures from today are available here.

Beach Blanket Babylon!

We turned North on Thursday, and headed for a day-trip to our favorite New England beach, Crane Beach, managed by Massachusetts' own land-trust, the Trustees of the Reservation.  Crane's is a gorgeous, pastoral beach, with rolling dunes and a sprawling, protected beach.  Upon our arrival, though, we were slightly cautioned.  The water temperature was listed as a mere 58 degrees, clouds threatened over the beach, and the sun would peak out every twenty minutes or so, otherwise warming the top-side of the dark clouds above us.

While we had no rain, it was hardly sunbathing weather.  We instead read, relaxed, napped, enjoyed a lovely picnic, and later in the afternoon, went for a hike among the dunes on the Western shore of the barrier island.  Crane's manages miles of trails among the dunes, tucking into small pine woods and over barren dunes, some large enough to make one think you are walking the foothills of a larger range.

After our hike, we made an impromptu decision.  After stopping at a local orchard to pick up some treats and ice cream, we turned further North and headed back to one of our favorite towns, Portland, Maine.  Some of you may remember that Kevin shared his fondness for this harbour-town with his family after graduation; but Portland, where Abigail spent last summer working, is the site of much nostalgia and revelry for the two of us, who enjoy the local restaurants and the live music.

We enjoyed a pitcher of beer, fried clams, and live music at our favorite waterfront establishment, the Portland Lobster Company, before diving into the best pepperoni pizza in the world at the Flatbread Company.  The day also provided an opportunity for us to partake of a midnight drive home together -- something we love so much and do far too little.

You can see all of our pictures from this amazing improv of a day here, including, believe it or not, some that are not in black and white.