I now have family in the mid-west.

Chi-town (chicago)! What a place! Beautiful outdoor art, and such a cultural mecca! I was so impressed by how much diversity there is and soo many things to do. Like any city it's busy and offers lots of thing but it's a different feel. People are hard-core for sure. One night me and a fellow couch surfer were going to an outdoor concert to see Pink Martini (one of my favs) and it started to down-pour. People were still functioning and walking about like it was no big deal! Believe me if this happened in CA people would hide or duck and cover! It's just a different culture. I stayed with the brother of my other couch surfer from Flagstaff. Gabe was a spitting image of Dan but younger. Gabe took me out for my first official deep Dish Chicago pizza. I can now say, that I'm official fan of the thin New York style. He gave me full-range of his one-bedroom apt while he stayed at his girlfriends. Unfortunately, there was no AC (sigh). I didn't know that coming into the situations. Otherwise, I'd prefer not to stay there...but hey I can hang! So, the first night was soooo horrible. I slept with a wet towel between my legs, arms and neck. I can't image how shiya felt. :-( But after that the nights were pleasant. Gabe told me that I could take his bike and tour around the city. I was super stoked! Biking in Chicago?! Sweet! So I did about a 10mile trekk around the downtown and Lake Michigan. Saw Millennium Park and Navy Pier. Had a great time in Chicago and would love to stay their longer next time. On my way out of town I stopped by the Bahi Temple and checked out the beautiful stonework. Apparently it took 60 years to complete. Pretty amazing http://www.bahai.us/bahai-temple.

I remember about 4 years ago when I was coach in Craftsbury http://www.craftsbury.com/index.php?flash=no that I meet a really cool family from Madison, WI. They ranted and raved about how awesome it was. That has stuck with me on this trip so I definitely had to find out for myself if it was true. My host Terry and his roommate Matt totally took me in and showed me the town. I was really impressed by the scene and the vibe of Madison. We did the walk around downtown and strolled across some live music at the Convention Center, the music was reminiscent of a Chris Issac style which I love. While we were there we got to see the Madison water ski team practicing their tricks too. At one point they had 16 water skiers behind this triple engine boat. After that we went to a bar called the Nitty Gritty where if it's your Birthday you get all the free beer you want. So, it was Terry's sisters birthday. To honor your birthday you get a complimentary beer stein with a balloon attached to it. Image a dive bar with 15 people with balloons just wandering around. It was great! What a great marketing scheme! Bring all your friends to a bar cuz you don't have to buy your own! Noted! When I own a bar... ahhh one day! You know like the movie " Cocktails & Dreams?" Anyway, after that Terry took me to a few restaurants he use to work at. He was the talk of the town. Everyone knew who he was and they were his best friend. It was great to see all this Mid-West hospitality. Everyone was so friendly and wanted to get to know you. This is what I was looking for! The next day Terry invited me to his families bar and grill called "Wilson's" his family's name. It was total heaven, all the locals, 10+ screens, micro brews and burgers! After about an hour his grandparents showed up and sat with me. They were the coolest grandparents! We started talk about their travels, how they go on "Mystery Tours." And no, it's not like a dinner and mystery show but a travel company that takes you places without you knowing where you're going to go until you land. What a cool concept!?! After hearing about all of their adventures I spilled the beans about where I've been and where I'm going and then 3hours flew by. At the time Terry was working the bar and was just glancing over and just shaking his head about how well I got along with his grandparents. He came over a few times to attempt to rescue me but I kept giving him the eye like, "No, I'm having a great time." By the end of the night his grandparents had told me that I have to stay with them next time I'm in town and they they want to take me fishing.

After feeling so welcomed and at home I headed over on the flattest drive of my whole trip. I was dreading the flat corn fields of Wisconsin and Minnesota. BUT I found a deep appreciation for old farm houses silos and corn fields. I think their beautiful. The one time I stopped for gas in Minnesota I heard it the accent (similar the Fargo) it was sooo funny! "Don'tcha know," " Oh yahh!" LOL. Coming into my next destination Sioux Falls I was really excited to get an idea of this foreign land. About 30 miles out of Sioux Falls at around 6:30p the endless road was heading directly toward some black clouds! Oh Sh*t! I've seen these clouds before in Texas right before the tornado sirens went off. So, I quickly looked around to see what other cars were doing. They seemed unfazed. So I proceed to drive and follow other cars w/ a South Dakota plate (they should know what they're doing)... then the dark clouds started to get lower and lower like a grey/ black ceiling. This was def not good. After my GPS read 15 miles to Sioux Falls I was just praying I'd get to my destination before something went down. All of a sudden rain started to fall and then DUMPED! I can't even describe how horrible this rain was coming down. I felt like I was submerged under water. I slowed down to a 35mph and blasted my windshield wipers! I still couldn't see the car in front of me! Now, I'm starting to panic. What should I do?! What should I do?! Find an overpass, quick, quick! I get under an overpass and my car is swaying back and forth. Aw, this is worse then driving! 12 more miles to Sioux Falls! Okay, just go, go, go, go! A car passes me and I follow them on the interstate and then follow what I could make out of their break lights. 8miles, now the weather service is tellin me that the winds are reaching upward of 60-70MPH.... jesus, the water is flowing off of the interstate like a river! OMG! 3miles, com'on Stella! I finally make it to the off ramp and scurry to my couch surfers house. Getting to the door I was drenched head-to-toe. That's a no- mess around weather state for sure. "Welcome to Sioux Falls," my couch surfer said. I laugh." Thanks, glad to be here!"

After drying off the next day I scooted over to The Badlands National Park. I wasn't sure what to expect. It was in the late afternoon and I had to drive 25 miles on a dirt road to the FREE BLM campsite, which took an hour. Once I got there I was hoping to find other people my age that I can hang out with for the evening, possibly make friends. So, driving around the camp, all I see are families and RV's. Guh! Then finally, I see a dog running around. Hey! park over there, anyone who has a dog is generally pretty cool. Got Shiya out of the car put her on the leash and then walked over to the camp with the dog. This women (alison) was writing in a journal and then I ask her "Is your dog friendly?" with a little hesitation she says "yes." Instantly, the two dogs mesh and are playing and wrestling. I start talking to her and apparently her and her friend (Rich) are also on a cross-country road trip. I asked where they were headed next. They said Rapid City to see Mt. Rushmore. "Me too", I said. "Then where?" "Yellowstone!" "Me too!" Granted there are only about 20people in this campsite and I happen to find the ones who are doing my exact same trip. Then her friend Rich comes over. First thing I notice is. He's topless and he's ripped. Geeze... this shouldn't be interesting. After retelling my story to him they invite me over to camp with them and hang out for the night. I guess both of them just graduated college and just wanted to do a trip before they get jobs/ careers. Eventually, we swapped numbers and shared beers. It was friends for life after that. Just great people. We had planned to go to Mt. Rushmore the next day. then meet up in Yellowstone.

After parting ways with Alison and Rich I had planned to stay at a couchsurfers place in Rapid City before I headed to Mt. Rushmore to meet up with them. They decided to camp in a field somewhere in between. In the Morning I went to Mt. Rushmore but didn't pay $15 to get in. Just illegally parked on the road to take a picture. Then jetted over to see Crazy Horse http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy_Horse which I did pay to see. Apparently, the size of Mt. Rushmore is smaller then the head of Crazy Horse. Just giving you a perspective on how huge this thing is. It didn't dawn on me until I went to Mt. Rushmore that it is kinda a F-U to Native Americans. It's planted into the Black Mountains where the Lakota Sioux were from and we as American's decided to chisel 4 Presidents faces into a rock on the land that was once theirs. So, the elders of the Lakota Sioux wanted to make a monument that represented them. About 12 miles from Mt. Rushmore you can find this under construction piece of history. It's taken 50 years so far to get where they are today and it's expected to take prolly 100 years to get it all done. Since it's inception, the original funds have ran out and now it's only way of financing is by paid admissions and donations which I was happy to pay. You an see in the picture that the white model is what it is supposed to look like.

Next on the travels is Yellowstone and the Tetons. Coming soon.

Offically Half Way!!!

Monday:


I would like to apologize to Andrew Brown who was a Couch Surfer from Atlanta who took me out and taught me how to sail at Lake Lenier (45 min North of Atlanta). It was one of my best experiences thru couch surfing and had a total blast. I totally forgot to mention that in my last post. So sorry brotha!

IT's my Bifffday!!! Yay! I'm officially 27 today and phew! It's been a long ride sooo far... ups, downs, trials, tribulations, pros, cons, not so wonderful and amazing experiences. I would just like to reflect that this trip so far has been so life changing as an attribute to all of you who have pushed, pulled and supported me through the years. Each and everyone one of you reading this now have had a huge impact on my life. I can't expresses how much friends and family have really been there through some pretty tough shit. As well as just being a friend to talk to... nothing is more important then just your presence and energy! This is to you. I hope some or maybe one of you can take this trip and do something like this for yourself. Move to just move do something that your scared of. I've been so empowered. I want that for you. :-D

Now, I'm in Dayton, OH with my gf Lillary from college. I haven't seen this girl since graduation (3ish years) and she is exactly the same... which is a good thing. She also majored in Sport Science and she is sooo amazing. She use to play for the Sacramento Sirens (w's football team) and she's a crazy workout guru! Fortunately, she is going to be moving to Marin later this year, so I'm hoping we can be workout buddies! yup yup! Someone to kick my ass.... (grin). So, today I am planning to head to Cincinnati to go touring around and do some hiking. The rain is coming down like crazy, I know you're sooo surprised. BUT I work at REI so I have all the rain-proof gear, so I'm set! and Shiya likes it; she has a reason to be hella muddy, it's cooler and so she can shake it all on me. What a good girl!

Saturday:

Boy am I stuffed!!! I just got done stuffing my face with a crazy awesome dinner that me and my host from LOUIE-Ville had!!! Apparently, she has all these co-workers from all over the world and we had an "International Food Making Party". She is from Porto Rico and the guests consisted of French/ Canadian, Greek and Brazilians. So it was cool to all cook together and learn some new cooking techniques. Of course I made my famous enchiladas! Yum! I just wanted to get a taste of the Bluegrass state. Man, I like this place even more then the last. And fireflies!!! OMG! Why don't they exist on the BEst Coast?! Duh, the WEST! I stayed with a surfer named Noa who is from Porto Rico who has lived her since she was 17? Currently, she is in the process of become a hand surgon. She also lives in this huge old colonial style house which is about the same cost of my room in Marin (guh). She took me took me to a few famous landmarks, the Louieville Slugger Factory, this awesome museum/ hotel with tons of modern art (some interactive) and downtown.

On Father's Day I decided to go to Churchhill Downs, it's flippn huge! I didn't get to go in but I plan to go one day with Bird (from KY) and wear a huge hat too! I strolled over to the Woodford Reserve Distillery. Which is the oldest and smallest distillery in Kentucky (8 total in the state). It's also is the official Bourbon of the Kentucky Derby! You know I never really tried Bourbon, but I liked it- on ice. I didn't know exactly what Bourbon was but apparently, all Bourbon is whiskey but not all whiskey is Bourbon. Bourbon has to at least have 51% corn in it but not all whiskey has that much corn. But, I did the tour and totally got picked on the whole time by the tour guide cuz I was from California. But in all good fun, I got to smell 140 proof, got a stolen cork w/ a nice topper (the tour guide gave me) , a shot and some Bourbon chocolate.

Before, I got here I spent one night in Charlotte, NC, Asheville, NC and Nashville, TN. Charlotte was very similar to Charleston, SC in the way the city looks but no history. Apparently, they had torn down all their old historical buildings so they pretty much have very little tourism. What I was told is that they want to be like Atlanta and have nothing but new buildings (which is dumb in my opinion). Nascar is based there but I wasn't that interested in going to see it.

Now! Asheville, it's settled just about an hour outside The Great Smokey Mountains National Park. This place was something special. It's reminded me of Auburn/ Grass Valley but with a Berkeley twist to it. Super progressive city (with some high rises) and on every corner there seemed to be a Vegan/ Vegetarian based business LOL! Every house has prayer flags on their porch, u know how it goes. But the cool thing was, I was staying with a couple of guys and one was a VEggie chef at a local restaurant and on the first night me made us an awesome super filling mashed potato, kale and tofu dinner. Then for the first time this trip I slept outside under the stars w/o a tent. I was praying and praying that I wouldn't get eatn alive ( I didn't) and it was sooo cool and nice that night. Granted I had only planned on staying one night and then camping in the Smokies but Ashley was a little to hot and too chicken to brave the storm that was heading that way. So, Shiya and I planned a day hiking trip to go see some waterfalls and do some river walking. Well that storm came in 1/2 way thru our hike (dog and cat rain status) so that really nice REI rain jacket that I bought the day before was in the car.....soooooo we ran the half back to the car.

To my relief I was heading to AJ's place my friend from HS and he had a washer and dryer in Nashville next. This was one my destinations that I was really excited about. I've heard from him that it was a really cool city and that I'd like it. Sooooo... it was pretty awesome. Huge city! First night we saw some live blues music (which he participated in). Granted he played in HS kinda but I haven't seen him play since then. He just made that guitar sing! I was sooo impressed, now this is why he moved here. He just drew all this energy from the crowd and used it. People stopped to hear him play. He out shinned everyone else in the band. The next day we toured around downtown and went to a life-sized replica of the Parathion. Apparently, it was built to be temporary to celebrate the Centennial of the city. When it became a huge success that the plaster started falling off they decided to keep it as a staple of the city and restored it. We also went to Coyote Ugly (I have never been there) but I did see the movie. Not to anyones surprise I was hella down! So, we were "watching the Lakers game" and enjoying the company of the Coyote Ladies. If you don't know what it is here: http://www.coyoteuglysaloon.com/. It's a themed bar with the bartenders who dance on the bar and embarrass you. Especially if it's your birthday. My a-hole of a friend told them it was my birthday (3 days too early) and they pulled me on the bar and a-hemmmm.... and got a shot of tequila. That was fun...

I have been requested to write more frequently. I will try my best since I am borrowing internets. :-D :-D

Saturday:

Well this portion of the trip has been flip'n awesome! I started out my trip in Atlanta and was pleasantly surprised. My expectations of the ATL was pretty much ghetto... BUT, it was wonderful! A nice mix of DC, SF and a hint of Vermont. It was a big city with lots of suburbs and business people like DC. The hipster young energy and progression of SF but with nice quaint/beachy vibe of the Northeast. I stayed with this wonderful couple (first couple of couchsurfing) in their trendy loft in the Reynoldstown. Which was originally an area that housed freed slaves from the Civil War. Then in the 50's it became the mecca for the railroad industry and now is a trendy area with an abundant amount of converted lofts and flats from the old railroad buildings. The downtown area is soo unique something I've never seen before. Two of Atlanta's biggest colleges (Georgia Tec and U of Georgia) are all downtown. So strolling thru all you see in this a super urban setting and college kids laying in the parks, sitting at cafe's and walking around among all the business people. It's a really cool vibe "young vs. old" Not to mention all the cool shops and underground mall! Fortunately, my last day in Atlanta was perfect California weather. It was 82 with hardly any humidity. Score!

Then of course Savannah! Wow! It was sooo beautiful! There are all these beautiful big droopy trees the with Spanish Moss hanging from them like you would see in a swamp. The classic big French looking houses with a real old world charm. Went down River Street and went to all the cool shops and candy stores to get free samples, woot woot! This was the most unique couch surfing experience I've had so far. I shared my space with Arthur (fellow couchsurfer and Matt my host) which the two of them were soo inspirational and amazing! My host Matt was originally from Detroit, Michigan and had moved to Savannah a couple month ago to join the Police Academy. He had the desire to do this because he had just completed a few cross-country trips and had A LOT of good- samaritan help all over the US on his journey. After doing this he felt like he wanted to do the same for others. Unfortunately, he didn't get in. Now he's just hosting travelers and finishing up this book (Highway Humanity) to hopefully give back in someway to others. Matt is the ultimate domestic traveler! He had just finished a 5000 miles walk. Yes, I said walk! During his walk across the US he had documented all all of the "good things" random people had done for him. Granted he was only carrying a backpack and had little to no money doing this. So, this experience was set up to depend on others for help (food, water and lodging). Just hearing him talk about all these people along the way. He remember all of their names and what city they lived in. It really moved me that there is sooo much humanity still in the world. People would see him walking on the side of the road and give him water and talk to him about WTF is he doing in the middle of Texas! He would knock on doors asking to stay in their backyard in his sleeping bag and most of the time they would offer him a shower and extra money to food the next day. He would also show up a churches and they would put him up in hotels. He would be sitting at a convenience stores and people offering him rides. He survived on the kindness of others for two months. And he wrote about it.... he's in the process of trying to get it published and I was lucky enough to read the first three chapters. It really brought tears to my eyes hearing all of these stories of people just helping people. Which is what couchsurfing is all about. About paying it forward.

The other guy who happen to be staying at Matt's place with me was Arthur who is from Pilly. He had just rode in from a 3-week bike trip from there to end in Savannah. He also just had a backpack, hammock and two water bottles. He averaged 120miles a day (140 being his longest) and sleeping in the woods in his hammock and surviving on Little Debbie snacks. He had decided to do this trip because he had just lost his job and just wanted to do it. He had never done a multi-day road trip ever before so he had gone into this pretty blindly. Both of these men were so amazing that I was memorized by all their stories and what's next for them. I felt so inspired and travel is just that easy. The hard part is decided to do it. Since this trip my fear of traveling has diminished and I feel totally capable of doing more. Much more!

After that inspirational couple of days. I headed over to Goose Creek, South Carolina where my girlfriend Jane and her husband Thom live. We spent and afternoon in Charles towne (Charleston) and then spent a day at Folly Beach. Got a great tan and and lotsa Vit-C. It's sooo great to see people from back home and comforting to have my peeps here! They treated me soo well... we made a crazy home-made dinner and took me to The Cracker Barrel! It was awesome it's a botique that's a resturant. So, I tried grits and friend Okra for the first time. They were both delicious! So, we had a lot of good-times and catching up.

What's next: I heading Charolette, North Carolina, Asheville and then spend a few days in the Smoky Mountains.

Go Tigers and Hangn in the Big Easy!

Saturday: Having a hard time uploading to Facebook so I haven't uploaded the other pictures yet. Will soon! Anywhos, in Birmingham, AL and about to head off to Atlanta today to meet some couchsurfing peeps. Supposed to go sailing on Sunday but we'll see how the weather fairs up. After that then Savannah to go see MRS Reed (formally Ms. Jana Mabel Unruh).

So, the South! Wow! First things first. That people are awesome! So friendly, cordial, polite and chitty-chatty. Even the stock boy at the grocery store wanted to know how my day was and what I was cookn for the night. :-D :-D The houses in the French Quarter are beautiful and very unique, everyone of them. Decorated in crazy colors, beads, vibrant flowers and just ooze history. One thing that really moves me is the culture here. I haven't really understood strong historical culture until I got here. You can just feel it in the air, walking down the cobble stone street and watching the gas lamp street lights flicker. You can just hear the horse drawn carriages, jazz music playing and the smell of cajun spices from a simpler time. It's a beautiful thing. Which by-the-way, Cajun spices are like lil trumpets dancing on the tongue! The first night I was in Baton Rouge I went to Chimes (a favorite among the locals) and had GUMBO for the first time. DEEEEEElish! My host also made a Creol red beans and rice... I just can't get over how flavorful and spicy things were! MMMMmmmm.

Thankfully, my host in New Orleans lived walking distance to Bourbon Street, The Quarter and the Frenchman. I had full range of the house and it was air conditioned! He lived in an area called the Treme, which is the oldest African American Suburb in the United States. Nowadays, it's a breeding ground for local musical artists in New Orleans. The music! The music! Every other bar, restaurant or street corner had live piano players, harmonicas, trumpets, sax players or a whole bands. Seriously, it just oozes... I just wanted to groove.

The weather was tolerable and mostly cloudy which made for cooler weather. Shiya and I did some hiking and walking down Bourbon street. You can't imagine the looks on peoples faces. A Wolf! Unfortunately, I didn't get to see any gators but I saw some swamps and buoys. So, much water! I think I was on a bridge for like 26miles going over swamps. It's crazy to see Lake Tahoe/ Redwood height trees growing out of the water! As far as the oil spill. I couldn't see it or smell it but many of the residents of NOLA are more concerned about a shortage of Crawfish then the environmental effects of the spill. Interesting. I also strolled over to the 9th Ward (most of the Katrina destruction) and it was amazing how much has not been done to re-build even after 5 years. I decided to not take pictures because there are still residents living there and I felt it disrespectful to stop and take pictures. They already looked at me weird driving by. But a lot of caved in roofs, half of houses missing, and cement foundations where houses use to be. Many of the houses that are there are covered by over grown greenery and marked with a big red X on the door.

So, I'm about to head off to a Birthday Party for one of the locals before I head to Atlanta. Hope you're enjoying reading. More pics soon!