Day 9 Chicago, Il to Cleveland, OH

We had breakfast down the street from Tiffany's house at a bagel shop and starbucks. This was quite exciting for me at least because I got to drink semi-real tasting coffee and eat a bagel! Have I mentioned that I hate road food? Well I do. We drove around Chicago a bit and saw lots of parks and then we were off. At the request of Ed I shall add some details about what the car rides entail. In the mornings Marc generally drives because I can't really stay awake before 10 am so he drives while I sleep for the first hour or two. Then I wake up and he asks me for neck massages which I give. We listen to music but at this point we're both sick of every song on our ipods and in our cd collections so maybe we'll listen to a little bit of the Mark Twain cd that Marc's mom gave him. The conversations range from exciting tidbits from the Why Zebras don't get Ulcers book that I'm reading, to the people we've stayed with the evening before, to family drama, etc. We arrive in Cleveland around 6pm and promptly get ourselves completely lost, to add to our difficulties a baseball game is going on and traffic is a little bit complicated. After a couple of phone conversations with Pam, our host for the night, we make it to her house. Marc negotiates with the house of blues owners next door to let us park in their garage over night. We are quite pleased to arrive at Pam's huge 1 bedroom where she and her boyfriend Rafael treat us like royalty, going out to pick up takeout Thai while we watch a dvd of "Weeds". A lovely dinner ensues complete with french wine, homemade dessert, and good friends, life is good.

Day 8 Avoca, IA to Chicago, IL

While we are enjoying breakfast at our lovely hotel in Avoca, a missionary who has been living in the Czech republic for the past 8 years or so sits down to talk to us. She asks us if we are on our honeymoon, to which we both react with nervous laughter. If I am ever on a honeymoon in an oddly scented motel in Avoca, IA something has gone severely wrong. We drive and drive, as usual and arrive in Chicago around 5pm. Tiffany, another friend from the Spain trip, is hosting us for the night. She lives right next to Lincoln Park in a very "cozy" but very cute apartment. We try our hand at the Chicago bus system to meet up with Matt, a friend of Marc's from his former place of employment. We have a lovely Indian meal followed by a brief tour of the Magnificent Mile. We stop in the Apple Store to check out the new iphones, I'm not particularly impressed. Though I didn't get to see a whole lot of it, I am impressed by Chicago.

Day 7 Denver, CO to Avoca, IA

We head out from Denver not really sure where we're going, just aiming for somewhere between Omaha and Des Moines. Not a whole lot of excitement just a lot of driving and crappy road food for lunch. We've taken to stopping at truck stops for massage breaks and come to realize that all the truck stops now have wireless internet. Yippee! We arrive in Omaha around 8pm looking for somewhere to have dinner. According to the map, which admittedly isn't very detailed, it looks as though most of the businesses are on the other side of the bridge in an area called Council Bluffs. We stop in a pizza place which is closing and ask the woman working there if there is a restaurant nearby that would be open - "well, there's a Red Lobster and an Applebee's right down the road near the Wal-Mart" not to be a snob but this isn't exactly what we're looking for. We decide to disregard this lady's advice and head back over the bridge into what we later learned is the heart of Omaha. We come across a Cajun Jazz club that looks promising - we go inside and ask them if there's a good pizza place nearby. They direct us to the old market district a few blocks away. Unfortunately the pizza place they recommend is closed, however, there are tons of other restaurants still open just down the street. This little area of Omaha is actually really cool - restaurants and bars line the cobble stone streets and people were actually out eating at 9:30pm on a sunday. We decide on a "contemporary Italian" restaurant called Vivace that looks pretty nice. As an appetizer we are offered a watermelon and strawberry soup with tarragon and champagne that is absolutely delicious. I have some goat cheese pizza and Marc some scallop ravioli while we eavesdrop on the older couple next to us as they get their fortune read. We are very pleasantly surprised with Omaha, but decide to push on a little further so we can make it to Chicago at a decent hour the following day. As soon as we hit the road a huge electrical storm starts. The sky is lighting up every couple of seconds with bolts of lighting. It's really pretty cool looking minus the fact that I'm driving and it's happening right over my shoulder in my blind spot. Marc's bi-minutely exclamations of "Wow, did you see that?" directly in my ear don't really help things for me. Coming to realize that there's not really a whole lot outside of Omaha, Marc gives Young Dave a call for some internet assistance. Dave directs us to a town called Avoca which apparently has some hotels. We pick the first one we come to after getting off the freeway which is run by an Indian couple and smells strongly of curry. Our room smells a bit like cherry cough syrup but we settle into bed anyway. Good times.

Day 6 Casper, WY to Denver, CO

I've been way behind on the blogging - no internet in the French countryside- but now I've got nothing but time.

We wake up after a great nights sleep in a real bed at the Parkway Plaza Hotel and take some much needed showers. It occurs to me that we spent Friday the 13th in a town called Casper - as far as I know there were no ghosts - however my toilet kit did fall off the shelf by itself in the middle of the night. Hmmmmm...... We go downstairs and have a solid breakfast of omelette and pancakes, which we get for free as the front desk woman was feeling friendly. We hit the road for Denver and a return to civilization. The drive is pretty uneventful, minus lots of road work which seems to be the trend on this trip. We pass through a town called Cheyenne which is notable because it seems an alleged murderer is also passing through at the time after killing his wife. Yeehaw. We arrive in Denver around 3pm and meet up with Jacquie, a friend of mine from my trip to Barcelona. Jacquie takes us to meet up with her brother and friends and together we head to the Denver Art Museum. The building is pretty cool looking though very much a Frank Gehry ripoff. Who the hell are you Daniel Libeskind? Anyway they have an exhibit going on that is the personal collection of Vicki and Kent Logan, contemporary stuff that focuses on people and spans the globe. I think it's all pretty awesome, in fact there are few pieces within the exhibit that I don't like. Apparently I am the only one - Marc and Jacquie do not agree. Whatever, y'all just don't appreciate art. After the museum we head to dinner - to a "Mediterranean" restaurant called Soleil. Marc and I are in dire need of something un-fried that does not resemble a hamburger so this place is perfect. Apparently mediterranean means Spanish so we have some decent paella and cava and are completely satisfied. As it is Bastille Day we decide that we need to do something French so we cross the street for some dessert crepes and then head to the liquor store for a bottle of French wine. Jacquie takes us to Washington Park near her house - a really nice place with a little lake with lots of ducks. We sit on a bench for an hour or two drinking our bottle of wine and talking about life and love etc. Very French indeed.

Day 5 Yellowstone to Casper, WY

We decide to split the Yellowstone - Denver trip in two and stay a half day longer in Yellowstone. Thanks to the Road trip USA book that Ginny and Dave so kindly gave us, we took the recommended Uncle Tom's Trail. The trail was more of a staircase, as the book tells us, and went straight down into the Yellowstone Canyon for a view of the falls. I discovered that Marc is afraid of heights but the Canyon was pretty majestic. The falls were very pretty with rainbows all over the place. On our way out of the park we saw several bison along side the roads, at one point there was a group of people gathered by the side of the road but we couldn't see any animals. We get out of the car telling only to be yelled at by a crazy dude on a motorcycle who is like the hells angels version of a hippie. He yells to us that we can't stay just a few minutes because that's no way to see the park, that we need to take the time to appreciate it. Any way, as it turned out the group had gathered to see a bald eagle sitting on a tree down near the river. Woo! We get back in the car and leave Yellowstone through the east, "the most beautiful" exit. It was neat, we passed by the Yellowstone lake which was huge and we saw a wolf in a field! Very exciting. According to the trusty Road Trip USA the best ice cream in all of Wyoming was to be had at yellowstone drug, in a town called Shoshoni. With that goal in mind we wound through the breathtaking scenery that Wyoming had to offer, in all seriousness, it's a lot prettier than I would have imagined, in order to end up in Shoshoni. We arrived in Shoshoni at 7:30 only to be told by the employees of Yellowstone Drug that they were closed, regardless of the fact that there sign said they closed at 8. We begged and pleaded, but to no avail, none of Wyoming's best for us. As Shoshoni seemed to have little else we asked if there was a restaurant that would still be open. The restaurant we were directed to was, um, very authentic. I was offered a salad with "I Talian dressing" in the dialect of the locals. As a main course we had the option between fried fish and fried chicken, I got the fish, Marc the chicken.

Day 4 Yellowstone National Park

We wake up to the sound of rain on the roof of our tent - good thing we put the rain cover on! Fortunately it only lasts a few minutes. After a short talk with the ranger where he tells us that there's a bear that's been hanging around our campsite for the last week, we head out to the Yellowstone General Store for some breakfast. Unfortunately we arrive after breakfast is over so we get lunch instead. We somehow manage to time it exactly right and walk up to Old Faithful a minute or two before it um.... shoots? blows? erupts? geyses? Anyway, we see it happen - pretty exciting - and then we head out to the trail that our server from the night before suggested, the mystic falls trail. The trail starts just past the midway geyser basin where we see some really pretty turquoise and deep blue sulphur pools. Before setting out on the trail we read the bear warning sign which advises "stand your ground if a bear charges most are false charges" - very comforting. It also suggest playing dead if a bear attacks - so basically you're just screwed. Undaunted we head up the trail which winds up a mountain to where you get a really great view of the park and the falls below. Afterwards we have worked up quite a sweat and decide to head over to firehole river where you can swim in a certain section. The water is surprisingly warm although the area is pretty crowded - perhaps the two are related? We have a nice leisurely swim and then head out of the park to the town of West Yellowstone for some groceries to prepare our meal for the evening. As we have absolutely no cooking utensils our options are limited - we decide on sausage and a bell pepper to cook over the campfire as well as a can of soup with a pull-top that we can cook in the can. The sky keeps threatening to rain so before starting our campfire we ask the ranger if he thinks it will rain. His response "It hasn't rained nothing to spit at in a looong time, we drier now than we were in the fire of 99" Okay then. It sprinkles a little bit but we cook our meal without too much problem - it's surprisingly good for something cooked with absolutely no utensils. Right after we finish up the thunder starts, the sky crackles every now and then with a flash of lightning. The rangers come by and let us know that there's a bear at the other end of the campsite and that if we see it we should let them know. Ten minutes go by and the storm seems to be getting closer, sleeping in he car is looking like a better and better option. More rangers drive by - the bear is now between two tents at the end of the road. We head down in the car to see if we can see anything. No luck, but it starts to rain and the lightning is getting closer, it sounds like it's right on top of us. Maybe we'll just hang out in the car for a bit. We cruise around the park for a little while in the car until the storm passes. A few minutes go by and the rain stops, we get back to our campsite and as Marc steps out of the car our neighbor asks "Deed you ear zer ees a bear een ze campground" Ahhh a Frenchie.

Day 3 Sisters, OR to Yellowstone Natl. Park

We aim to leave at 6am from the Reed's house but end up sticking around until 7am. On recommendation we hit up the Sisters Coffee Company for some lattes. While my loyalties will always lie with Blue Bottle - this coffee was pretty damn tasty! We take the 20 East, the historical Oregon trail for the majority of the 15 hours of driving we do today. As it turns out everywhere we drive there seems to be road work going on. We cross all of Oregon and Idaho, on our way to Yellowstone National Park. As it turns out Marc has made reservations at the Old Faithful Inn restaurant for 9:30 that night. Aiming to get there with a little bit of daylight in order to set up our tent before dinner, we fail. Fortunately, after cruising through the entrance of Yellowstone and through the park at a cautious but eager 65 mph we bypass Madison, our campground, and manage to make it to Old Faithful Inn just after 9:30. The Old Faithful Inn is a pretty majestic place, a huge log cabin style hotel with cool lighting. We head on in to the restaurant, where someone immediately complements Marc on his Amoeba shirt. Our server, though very friendly seems to be a bit of a tool who can't recommend a wine and tells us that the salad comes pre-made from another company (mmm fresh!). I order a zinfandel with my elk medallions and marc the pinot gris with his trout. The result? I have come to learn that elk is delicious - tastes like steak but super tender, but my wine is really warm. The trout was so-so. Though our server was unable to suggest a wine he was able to suggest a hike and a place to go swimming in Yellowstone - we'll see how that goes! A little worried about finding our campsite and setting up our tent in the dark we head back towards Madison. After a couple of wrong turns we find the entrance and are greeted by an envelope taped to the ranger's station with our name on it - inside we find a carefully marked map and warnings about being attacked by bears and gored by bison. With help of our map, we have no trouble finding the campsite and set up our tent without a hitch.

Day 2 Sisters, Oregon

After a slow start - 10 hours of driving the day before had us pretty beat - we finally got moving and had a late brunch at the Black Butte Lodge. A pretty log-cabin style restaurant overlooking a man-made lake - they seem to be the thing in Sisters, everyone has one. Took the car into Les Schwab tires where they fixed us up for free! The Reeds took us to their hotel, the ponderosa village Best Western where we checked out their brand new suites, really fancy rooms with in room jacuzzi's and pretty awesome looking showers, and I was given a stuffed llama named Tori Amos. Later in the day, Marc and I went up to Suttle lake for a swim and a walk around the area. The water was not icy cold and there were a bunch of cute duckies and various drunkards with their kids swimming.

Day 1 of the Grand Voyage

Marc and I manage to leave Los Altos with no fights and a well packed car - with room to spare even! Marc's French flag draped across the backseat and my senegalese one waving in the AC vent up front. We set out on the road at about 7am for about 9 hours of driving to Sisters, Oregon. I slept for probably the first two hours while Marc drove. Not a whole lot of excitement on the first half of this trip. We stopped and ate lunch in a town called Dunsmuir at the river cafe. The first of many burgers to come. Passed through Shasta which was really pretty but we didn't have time to stop and look around. Upon crossing the Oregon border Marc gets a $242 speeding ticket. Woo! off to a good start. As we get off the freeway and are arriving at our destination of Sisters we hear a thumping - we get out of the car to discover a giant screw in our tire. Awesome - fortunately we're a block away from a tire repair shop, and within spitting distance of marc's family's house. We arrive at the home of the Reed's and are greeted with tasty gin and tonic's (Marc has family that drinks!) and step outside to greet the llamas.

In the mood for love

Just finished watching this movie - it makes me want to wear cheongsam every day and live by a noodle stall. The colors are beautiful and the music is simple and melancholy.

my birthday weekend

was filled with delights. Horseback riding through the ice flowers and sandy cliffs of Daly City (yeah it sounds weird but was actually beautiful), sampling the wines and cheeses at Parea, enjoying some fried chicken and old school hip hop beats at Farmerbrown, and spending the best 8 dollars I've ever spent at good vibrations. And that was just saturday. Friday was spent at Kookez and Mighty with the girls, dancing our hearts out. Sunday had champagne and dinner with the family at Paul K, complete with artichoke hearts, duck breast, and ginger cake. I am now 50 bucks richer, the proud owner of 2 more pairs of earrings, and much more knowledgeable about Boston's sights, sounds, and tastes than I could have ever hoped. All in all a lovely weekend.

SFMOMA

I could have done without the Picasso and American Art exhibit but these were pretty awesome....

there's 20,000 French people in San Francisco.

Six Français de San Francisco expliquent ce qui déterminera leur vote
LEMONDE.FR | 03.04.07

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Surprise!

I went to Walgreens on friday to pick up my photos - I know, film, how retro. It had been about a year since the photos were taken and I didn't remember what was on there, so as I'm flipping through photos of my old house mixed with some pictures of a trip to the snow, low and behold: a boob! At first I thought - is that mine? I don't remember taking that picture nor do I remember receiving those serious looking hickies - I must have been wasted. Upon further inspection I have come to realize that sadly, the breast does not belong to me. It is both larger than my own and darker in skin tone and the hands that are holding it are much better taken care of than mine. So whose is it? Having surrounded myself with somewhat immodest friends - save a couple - I have come to know their breasts quite well. It is none of theirs. So who? Perhaps the photo developer at Walgreens took a particular liking to me and decided to show me her breast? Perhaps not. Perhaps a former roomate mistook the camera for his and decided to document his most recent conquest...... The mystery remains unsolved.

bar tartine

bar tartine
Originally uploaded by disaster master.

I took Marc here for his birthday, partly for him and partly because I've been wanting to try it for about a year now. We started out at Parea the wine bar down the street and then made our way to Bar Tartine. All in all it was a delightful experience. The food, though creative, wasn't the best I've ever eaten but still quite tasty. We had some gorgonzola stuffed figs, cilantro bread soup, quail and something I can no longer remember....

wo shi sheng jeng zhuli

After a year and a half working here I finally know how to say a sentence in Chinese. So just because the fact that it means "I am an administrative assistant" makes me want to kill myself, that doesn't mean I won't use it.




oh and p.s. wo yao jiaozi





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