Road Trip Summary

At 10:32pm on Wednesday, September 17th, we arrived back in Los Angeles, CA, and of course quickly showered and went out for celebratory drinks & mac and cheese. Here is a quick summary of our trip:

Total Miles Driven: 9,995
Total States Driven Through: 35
Total Stops for Gas: 34
Number of Speeding Tickets: 0

Our Favorite Town Names: Weed, CA; Drain, OR; Ocean Beaches, OR; Butte, MT; Winner, SD; Hometown, IL; Coochawhatsie, SC; Mango, FL; Weeki Wachee, FL

Best Quotes:
“Did you paint your own nails?!?” – Museum Employee in Brownsville, OR (to Betsy)
“Is that your sister? She’s beautiful!” – Man on street in New York City (to Amanda)
In Chicago: Amanda: “Where’s the big face thing?” Info Stand Employee: “Down the stairs and to the left.”
“Oh my God! Stop! …I think.” – Amanda
“My hand-clapping video is so awesome in my head.” – Betsy
Pelak: “Drinking in the middle of the day is like a video game.” Amanda/Betsy: “Why?” Pelak: “I don’t know.”

Albuquerque & Four Corners, NM

In Albuquerque, we went hiking, climbed some trees, and went to the Rattlesnake Museum. Behold, our adventures:




Snake Lesson


Rattlesnake Museum


Then we took a small detour to Four Corners, which is in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado:

Pennsylvania to Florida to Louisiana

After some fun times in Pennsylvania, it was time to make the loooong trek all the way down the East coast. We made it through the hurricanes and finally got to Amanda's aunt's in Orlando, Florida. Here, we met:
Cat Dillon, Cat Damon, Cat Lauer, and Brad Kitt


Amanda spent the night with the kittens and her family while Betsy stayed in Port Charlotte with her grandparents.
The next day, after a very brutal game of dirty clubs at Aunt Betty's, the Road Trippers were reunited! The evening consisted of a nice dinner at the retirement community, swimming in the pool (first swim of the ENTIRE trip), and a friendly game of shuffleboard.
Which was fun, until one of us lost by approximately 68 points.


The next day we left for Baton Rouge, snagging the last few gallons of regular unleaded fuel in the state of Florida apparently, because after we left, they shut all the gas stations down. Due to the hurricane, 25% of the nations oil refineries had been shut down. Luckily, it didn't hinder our adventure too much. We drove on...

Thanks to our friends in the band Streamline, Mike Hogan and Jon Scholl, we had a place to stay the night.


We were also treated to a gourmet Emergency Meal dinner, courtesy of Chef Jon. Here you go, learn something new (Disclaimer: Jon Scholl has a potty mouth):


Delicious!!

We also conducted some totally slame interviews (super lame = SLAME):


After leaving Baton Rouge on Monday morning, we re-routed our trip to avoid Houston. We took I-40 instead of I-10, which took a few extra hours, but we were able to find gas pretty easily and didn't encounter any road closings. We finally made it to Albuquerque around 6am. To be continued...

Road Trip FAQ

Why are you doing this trip?
Why the hell not???

What are some road trip hazards?
Besides not always getting to sleep or shower as much as we’d like, there have been a few technical issues along the way. Due to an unfortunate soda-bottle-opening-in-the-purse-at-The-Met issue, Amanda’s phone is currently malfuctioning. There was also the shampoo-bottle-leaking-in-the-backpack episode that has left my laptop sticky and smelling very clean. So a word to the wise: keep your electronics away from liquids! Duh.

Do you guys ever get into fights?
Only when Amanda loses at Shuffleboard.

What kind of music do you listen to while driving?
Luckily, Amanda and I are perfect road trip partners because we have almost exactly the same taste in music and opposite taste in which parts of the Chex Mix we like (for the record, Amanda likes the Chex and I like the bagel chips). We listen to a LOT of The Format and The Honorary Title. Other favorites include Brand New, Jimmy Eat World, Something Corporate, Cassino, and Death Cab for Cutie. Also, we have been listening to all the mix Cds that people have given us and that we have made along the way. At the moment, our favorite songs are Citizen Cope’s cover of "Karma Police," Alkaline Trio’s single "Help Me," and Weezer’s new song "Troublemaker."

What has been your favorite part so far?
We both really loved our stay at the Pedrazzi ranch, but there have been so many amazing moments. Look for some highlights when we do our road trip wrap-up posts later this week.

Wow, you guys are so awesome! I wish I could do a road trip like you!
Yeah, too bad. It’s quite exhausting to be this Awesome, and not just anyone can achieve our level of Awesomeness. Maybe if you check out our Awesome photos, some of the Awesomeness will rub off on you.
Okay, seriously, anyone can do any kind of road trip they want! It’s just a matter of planning it out and making it happen.

Boston, Salem, Maine, New Jersey

Amanda: OOhhhhhhhhhh Boston. Where past is present. Boston is one of my favorite cities, with it's old historical buildings and roads mixed effortlessly into the giant, shiny new buildings of today. But really, it's like they said "Lets keep the original city hall, a couple of court houses, and that cobblestone road over there, but lets add a couple of free-ways, starbucks stores and a statue of Paul Revere." It's pretty cool.
Betsy: Ohhhh Boston. Where the roads have no apparent lane divisions and the intersections involve confusing diagonals. Boston is not one of my favorite cities, but I was excited to go because it meant seeing my brother and sister even though it's not Christmas. We had a Uhler sibling reunion which meant good times and of course, some drinking.

Amanda: We did a little bit of sight-seeing, mostly window shopping and of course, some eating.
Betsy: We went to a club called the Middle East and saw a band called What Made Milwaukee Famous. We made friends with their merch guys, and then they charged Amanda $5 for a free poster. Thanks a lot, guys! Great to meet you!


We did a lot of walking in Boston, but even more spotting of random things on the streets, including: giant slugs, a rabid squirrel, the remains of a stolen bike, and a pogo stick (yes, we pogo-ed).


Amanda: We had a day off while Betsy's sister Lauren worked and her brother Rod had class all day. So we decided that Salem would be an educational place to visit. Until it rained. Of course. What would our trip be without torrential downpours? Is anyone seeing a trend here? Salem is very much an outdoor city. Walking tours proved to be out of the equation due to the weather, so instead we grabbed a slice of pizza, sat down to watch a 27 minute long educational movie about early settlers in Essex County. The best part was the subtitles for the hearing impaired that did everything BUT match the actual dialog on the screen. At least we had a good laugh before we walked around a creepy old cemetery.
Off to Maine.
We drove to Portland (our second Portland ever) which only took about two hours. Portland is this adorable little fishing town with all kinds of shops and pubs and all the lobster you could dream of. Naturally, being the dare devils we are, we sat down to a cold, locally brewed, pumpkin beer and a big old plate of lobster. I've had lobster before, but not when I've had to pull the poor animal apart and Betsy's NEVER had it. There was alot of cringing going on over this poor lil guy. We ate him anyway.

Betsy: Sorry, Bobster!
On our way back from Boston, we decided to stop and see our friend Pelak. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I hate New Jersey because it is a gigantic pile of garbage. There are very few things that would get me to drive into New Jersey. Those things include: Warped Tour circa 2002-2004, New Years 2003, and Pelak.


And now we're off on a 24-hour drive to Florida to fight some hurricanes. Wish us luck!

New York City: Guest Post!

Our New York City Adventures are chronicled below by our lovely host, Iris. Thanks, Iris! Our side notes are in bold.

So I really wanted to hear what Amanda and Betsy had to say about their trip to NYC, however, they asked me to “guest blog” about the trip. Judging by my awesome stories in the Met, sounds like they just wanted to hear more!

The trip started off with me making the girls come uptown by themselves rather than me go down and meet them, because if you know me, that’s how my lazy ass works. Not within ten minutes of them in my apartment, Betsy broke a picture in the bathroom and then I made her fish out the glass in the toilet. What a welcoming party!

We then walked to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which was fun until it started to monsoon. It was great that the girls came fully prepared with no umbrellas and that my parents taught me how to share. (it's true. thanks iris!)


It took us a LOT longer to get to the museum since it was pretty much impossible to trudge through the puddles that were becoming lakes. Once inside, we dried off and enjoyed the many sights of the museum, including the guy who was busting out of his shirt because his muscles were too big for his size kids 10-12 shirt and the many tapestries that had zero descriptions of what they were, to which I provided my own color commentary. Iris taught us that many of the Egyptians couldn't read menus. They also had trouble buying birds since they were decidedly blind. And if you ever go to the Met, look for William, The Blue Hippo.

Afterwards, we went back to my apartment in an even worse rainstorm than earlier in the afternoon, which left all of us completely drenched. Mind you, I had utilized many coworkers’ opinions of where to go out and drink so that we had a really full itinerary of awesome NYC bars… which never happened because the girls had no more going out clothes since they were completely soaked. Hooray! But we made a night out of it, so nothing was lost! Instead, we feasted on all kinds of chinese food and didn't have a single sip of the mass amounts of alcohol that Iris tried to pawn off on us. But who needs to go out in NYC when its storming and you have all sorts of vegetable fried rice staring you in the face in a nice, dry, apartment?? Not me. Not I.

Every weekend in NYC there is a street festival that occurs on different avenues. To make up for a crazy Saturday, they obviously planned around us and held the street fest on 3rd Ave right outside my place! This vast awesomeness included free food (which we only discovered after we bought food… that wasn’t very good), free crap and free water bottles, which I seemed to accrue the most of.

Once we walked the entire festival (20 blocks), we headed down to Chinatown where we were immediately harassed to buy everything ("You want Gucci handbag? Handbag handbag handbag??"). Super cool! We saw live baby turtles being sold on the street, anime bobbleheads and even water filled balls that were shaped like boobs. Then we got candy! FYI never try to sample something in a candy store in china town if it isn't clearly noted as a sample. They'll follow you around like you just tried to steal a part of the Great Wall.

Next, we traveled to the East Village where we found an awesome bar that had phenomenal taste in music, like The Cardigans and Interpol. Then they played BOTH of their records in the entirety because they’re really just that good. Both of them. Then we rushed back up town to get their stuff and down to the bus where Betsy and Amanda continued their nationwide travels.

Monday night, while in Boston, I received 3 text messages one right after another from Betsy and her two siblings about the concert they were at. One was pretty detailed, one was short and to the point, one was completely blank and Amanda doesn’t have my number. I was already missed!

It's true, Iris was instantly missed. She was, however, a fabulous host! And if Amanda HAD your number, she definitely would have texted you as well. Thanks again Iris!!

yeah. we know we've been slacking. but at least we're taking more pictures.

We've been up to alot lately, and we're falling a few days behind. Bear with us.

We're in Boston right now, staying with Betsy's sister Lauren. We have a whole day to waste away so we've decided we're going to go see Salem and then head up to Portland, Maine and eat some lobster. I heard it's cheap there, like ordering a domestic beer. Makes sense. MAINE lobster. Whatever.

Alot of interesting things have been happening, but we'll have to fill you in a little later when we have a minute to get all our pictures and things organized. I'm a little hungover and it's time to get ready for the day, but here's a taste of what's to come:

*strange exotic animals
*exciting ethnic foods
*immigrants
*serious bootleg gucci hand bags
*interesting modes of transportation

"Chicago... not so much"

Part 2, Day 1:
We got a late start, but after an awesome dinner of my favorite mom-made casserole (thanks mom!!!), Betsy and I were ready to jet. We made it to Chicago without hitting any traffic, and in just enough time to get some drinks with some friends.
Here are some pictures:



We ended up at a karaoke bar where it only made sense that it would be the last place we stopped all night. There's no way this place would have been as much fun earlier in the evening. The man in the video below was quite the karaoke pro, so we had to get evidence. Betsy asked me if I thought it was ethical to post videos of drunk men we don't know on the internet. I'm pretty sure it isn't, but we did it anyway:



Part 2, Day 2:
I want to preface this entry by letting you all know that Chicago can be awesome. I've seen it. However, Betsy didn't agree. I don't blame her. It rained all day. But we decided to brave the monsoon anyway and check out Millennium Park because it's necessary. Drew kept saying "are you SURE you want to do this in the rain??" Yup. We were sure.



Afterward, we said goodbye to Drew (who was a champ enough to stand in the rain with us) and were off with a quick pit stop on the way to meet Betsy's friend Charlie at a Safeway gas station just near Valpo.

We finally made it to Betsy's house by 4:30 AM. Sorry to all of you who got text messages in the middle of the night.


Shout Outs:
*Thanks to Peter Verdell and his awesome friends for taking us in and spending some quality time with us!
*Congratulations to Anne on her new giant TV! Thanks for breakfast!
*To the people of Safeway: the taquitos were stale. thanks.

What We Discovered:
*Betsy is allergic to Chicago.
*Parking downtown Chicago is monitored by robot.
*Tolls in Indiana and Illinois cost more than a small horse.
*Danville, PA is lame. Super lame. Slame.
*It's exhausting to be awesome.

Eleven Weeks in Wisconsin

Okay, yes, we are a little (2 1/2 months) behind in updating! But since our amazing Washington to Wisconsin adventure, we have just been hanging out here in the Cheese and Beer State working to earn money for all the gas and alcohol we will need for RTA2K8 Pt2.

It hasn't been all work though! We attended the Summerfest music festival in Milwaukee where we managed to see only one band (Dashboard Confessional) in an entire day. Check out our Summerfest pictures here!



Also, we did other fun things such as tour the Leinenkugel Brewery, set off the Burt Reynolds alarm at The Safe House, work at a Three Days Grace signing, blow up some giant blue balloons, and have beers with Dave Grohl. Not to mention the MAC AND CHEESE PIZZA. Those adventures are all documented here in our Picasa album. Enjoy.


Thank you very, very much to the Spellmans for putting me up for a week, taking us on a boat cruise, to the John Lennon exhibit, and out to eat multiple times. You are the epitome of gracious road trip hosts and I am very grateful!

And now, my friends, is time for PART DOS of our road trip to commence! We are leaving in a few short hours for Chicago, then off to Pennsylvania, New York City, Boston, New Hampshire, Maine, then allllll the way down the East coast to Florida and back across by way of Baton Rouge, LA and through Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. We'll get back to Los Angeles on September 16th or 17th and you are all invited to our welcome back party!

We're currently accepting suggestions for fun, cheap places to go in all our stops on Part 2, especially NYC and Boston. So if you know of any amazing restaurants, stores, or must-see tourist attractions, please let us know by leaving a comment on this post. We'll be sure to update again soon with as many lame YouTube videos and cheesy photos as possible.

See you soon!!!

WA - ID - MT - WY - SD - MN - WI

Day 5, 6, 7 (June 18-20)

8:02pm: Leave Everett, WA, start driving East.
Amanda: "If I'm asleep when we go through Idaho, wake me up. I need to get a rock."
12:56am: Tragically, all gas stations in Idaho are closed, there is nowhere to pee.
4:04am: Stop for Red Bull in St. Regis, MT
1:32pm: Welcome to Wyoming!

4:28pm: Quizno's Feast! Thank you Allie for the gift card :)
6.25pm: Welcome to South Dakota!
7:56pm: Arrive at Mt. Rushmore!

8:44pm: Tailgating in parking lot begins.

10:13pm: Enter Red Garter Saloon. Madness ensues.

11:41pm: This is how we roll:

9:23am: Welcome to Minnesota!
Betsy: "My hand-clapping video is so awesome in my head!"
1:13pm: Welcome to Wisconsin!
4:50pm: Arrive at Amanda's house in Waukesha, WI


Total Miles from Everett, WA to Waukesha, WI: 2,193
Total Road Trip Miles Driven So Far: 3,805

Betsy's Road Trip Tips

Here are some helpful road trip tips and necessities:



1. Energy drinks. Other tips for staying awake when you’re trying to drive while really tired: roll down the window, put on good sing-along music, eat snacks, call someone to talk to.

2. Water. Money-saving tip for the road: if you have a water bottle, you can fill it up for free at almost any gas station soda fountain. Bring a cooler along, and fill it with ice at gas station soda fountains as well, and your water and energy drinks will be cold.

3. Trip Journal In addition to blogging and taking photos and videos, we are keeping a journal to keep track of all the little details from our trip including daily accomplishments, memorable quotes, and favorite road signs and town names. We’re also keeping track of how many miles we drive per day, how often we fill up the gas tank, and what the gas prices are. These facts help us plan for later!

4. Map of the US. Having a GPS is awesome, but for really extensive road trips like ours, I would definitely bring a full map of the country because sometimes it helps you gain perspective as to exactly where you are and where you want to go. If you have a AAA membership, maps are free at any AAA location.

5. Shoes. These just happened to be on the floor of the car when I took the picture. Although I would definitely say that shoes are a recommended item to pack for a road trip.

6. Cds. When we threw our going-away party the night before we left, we asked our friends to bring us mix Cds, and collected a bunch for our trip. We’ve had a lot of fun listening to them and discovering new songs we love.

7. Nutricious snacks. Also recommended: non-nutricious snacks.

8. Laptop. A laptop is not a necessity, but if you have one, it gives the passenger seat road tripper something to do even if you aren’t connected to the internet. I edited all of our photos and videos while Amanda was driving.

9. A million different chargers. Here’s another money-saving tip: if you have a bunch of chargers (phone, laptop, iPod, rechargable batteries, etc.), instead of buying separate car chargers for each one, just get a power inverter. A power inverter converts your car charger into a regular outlet socket, and I got mine at Target for $20.

10. GPS system. I almost didn’t buy a GPS, but changed my mind at the last minute. This is a must-have for any extensive road trip, or any trip that involves a lot of stops. Not only can it give you directions, but it can tell you where the closest gas station, fast food place, Wal-Mart, etc are or where other points of interest are located. It also keeps track of fun stuff like your average speed, maximum speed, and time driving. Also, you can have a lot of fun experimenting with the different voices. My research concluded that the two best brands of GPSs are TomTom and Garmin.

Other Road Trip Necessities: camera, cell phone(s), jumper cables, pillows/blankets, credit card

Day Five: Seattle, WA

We took so many photos and videos this day, there's not much left to write about. Special happy birthday and thank you to Amanda's awesome cousin Taylor for spending the day with us.




We paid $5 each to ride this roller coaster, and you can relive it with us now for FREE! You're welcome.





Yeah, we know, we're awesome. Try not to be too jealous.


More Seattle photos here!


8:02pm
Betsy: "So, where are we going now?"
Amanda: "Well, I guess Mount Rushmore."