Indianapolis

I have arrived in Indianapolis and am now in my hotel room. I'm going to probably just take it easy tomorrow. Sleep in, grab a late breakfast and then drive around getting to know Indy. I will look for some apartments as well and hopefully it won't take me too long to find something.

I'll keep everyone posted on my progress. I will also try to post a bunch of the pictures I've taken along the way.

Change of plans - Arriving in Indy tonight!

Last night I drove pretty late until about 1 am after crossing the border into Minnesota and ended up only an hour from the Wisconsin border. I decided last night to go from where I stopped all the way to Indianapolis today. I am currently right off a freeway exit in Chicago. Wow - I thought traffic on the West Coast was bad. On top of all the traffic, every road has a toll. So it's essentially just like driving in the Bay Area, only without bridges.

I have reservations at an extended stay hotel on the northside of Indianapolis for the next five nights. I'll spend those five days looking for a place to live. Once I find a place, I'll move my stuff in, get setttled and get acquainted with my new home, Indianapolis. I'll keep everyone posted.

Later

I'm looking California....and feeling Minnesota

How true do the Soundgarden lyrics ring right now? I am at a restaurant just in Minnesota right now. A place called Taco John's. They have what they like to call West-Mex. I kid you not. They have a monkey called Whiplash as their mascot that is apparently in their tv commercials. I can't make this stuff up. And they give you wireless internet to boot.

I have obviously been doing quite a bit of driving the last two days since I was in Billings, Montana. I have done quite a bit of sightseeing. I will definitely get pics up when I get a chance. I started yesterday morning and went to Little Bighorn and saw Custer's Last Stand in Montana. Then I was at Devil's Tower in Wyoming. Then I drove into South Dakota and the Black Hills where I visited Deadwood and Wild Bill & Calamity Jane's graves. I finished yesterday at Mt. Rushmore and saw all the faces. I got there at the right time as the sun was setting. It was also the first night that they lit up Mt. Rushmore with lights. Apparently they do it for two hours every night during their in-season. This morning I was at the Minuteman Missile Historic site where I walked into an underground launch control site behind an 8 ton concrete door. We also saw an actual missile silo with a disarmed nuclear missile in it. That was probably the coolest thing I've done so far. I then drove through the Badlands National Park and got to see some cool landscape. So much that I've done, I can't really go into detail about each thing I did. All were very cool. I probably enjoyed the Missile site first, then Mt. Rushmore, then Little Bighorn if I had to rank them. I am trying to make it to Chicago by tomorrow night, where I'll stay for the night. The next day, Thursday, I'll spend a couple hours around downtown Chicago before I head for a three hour drive to Indy and my final destination. I'll keep you all updated on my progress.

Talk to you later,

Rob

Seattle Pics

Here are some pics from when I was in Seattle. Thanks again to Marta and Peter for the cioppino.

Quick Comment Posting Note

Apparently some people that want to post comments haven't been able to. I went ahead and changed a setting so that you don't have to be a member to comment. Now anyone and everyone can comment on what's going on.

Billings, Montana and the Impenetrable Glass Wall

I arrived tonight in Billings, Montana. I am staying here tonight and will be leaving tomorrow morning when I will travel to Devil's Tower in Wyoming as well as Mt. Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Here is a funny statue I saw in Kellogg, Idaho while I was filling up at a gas station.

Funny story: As I walked up to the hotel door, or so I thought, I proceeded to walk directly into a glass wall. I wasn't tired or distracted; I just thought it was an open door next to the closed one. In reality there was one door and I was not going to be going through it. I hit the glass wall so hard my hat came off and I almost fell down backwards. No one saw it, but a guy came around the corner and asked if I was alright. I felt like a complete jackass. I had to feel my face to make sure I wasn't bleeding as I tried to get a hotel room. Ahh, the road.

P.S. to post below

Just to add to the last post, here are some pics from when I was up in Hood River/Multnomah Falls/Portland.

Also, the Red Wings beat San Jose today to even up the series 1-1. Evgevni Nabakov managed to let Detroit score with a minute left in the game. Too bad for all my Sharks friends. Watch out for the teal and white.

Huck the Fuskies

I successfully made it to Seattle yesterday. Surprise, surprise - It was raining. I will stand strong for my fellow Ducks and stay away from UW and any Husky I see. I went to Pike Place today and watched the seafood throwers. Always a site to see. I saw this pretty funny bumper sticker while I was in Hood River, Oregon that I thought I'd share.

The Columbia River Gorge

I am still alive and kicking. I am in the Columbia River Gorge city of Hood River right now hanging out with my friend Emmy. I went to Multnomah Falls yesterday on my way here from Portland. I'll try to get a picture or two up. We are about 30 miles from Mt. Hood and the weather is nice, so I hope to get some nice shots of the mountain. I am going to go to Portland later today for one more night. Then Friday morning it is off to Seattle for Starbucks, Microsoft, grunge rock, Jimi Hendrix.....and Heart. Barracuda is a rockin' song, even if chicks wrote it.

I haven't reset my trip odometer, so at this point I've traveled 1800 miles since originally leaving SF the first time. 1800 miles and I haven't even left the Pacific time zone. As of today, I should be arriving in Indianapolis next Thursday. We'll see if I stick to that plan. My blog will probably be updated just about everyday as I'll be hitting up a lot of different spots each day.

The Red Wings are set to take on the hockey hotbed of San Jose against the Sharks tonight. San Jose had a nice run, but that train is about to come to a halt against Hockeytown.

Fishing in the rain

I successfully made it to Portland and have been here for the past couple days. It's been great catching up with old friends again. I went fishing on Saturday and though I didn't catch anything, it was quite awesome standing in a river listening to the river and the sound of rain hitting the water and nothing else.

Also did a little jamming with the guitar gods Nate and Brian. Or more to the point, I stood with my guitar in hand and watched them play while I became jealous.

Brief Pit Stop in SF, Oregon is calling

I made it to San Francisco last night after the short stint in LA. Stayed in my old room with nothing in it on an air matress. Got to see the SF roommates, Brian and Nate, one last time. It is now off to Oregon as I bid California adieu. I'm looking forward to the next week in Oregon as I will be able to see many old friends and do some pretty awesome stuff. I will be sure to carry my camera and continue to post pictures of my adventures.

Go Ducks!

L. Ron Hubbard and Cocaine

Well, Vegas is in the rearview mirror and San Francisco is on the horizon, but Los Angeles has enough going on to keep me entertained for at least another night. Last night my buddy Dave and I were out in Hollywood on the Sunset Strip and Hollywood Blvd. I figured I might as well go out with a bang in LA. Anyway, walking down Hollywood Blvd. last night on the Walk of Fame, we came upon a lovely building dedicated to none other than the religion of Scientology. There was a gigantic exhibit called the "L. Ron Hubbard Life Exhibition". Only in LA. So we decided to head to a place called the Roosevelt Hotel. They have one of those all too familiar LA scenes where everyone is hanging out next to a pool. Anyway, we are hanging out having some drinks when the guy next to me decides to whip out some cocaine and snort a line on the table next to us. Doesn't try to hide it or anything. This is a Tuesday night mind you. Good Ole' LA.

Ironically enough, I'm playing in a poker tournament tonight with Dave for some work function he has. Only until I leave Las Vegas do I play in a poker tournament.

Moving On & Pics of The Family

I am leaving Las Vegas and my family and heading to LA today. I went to the NHRA drag races yesterday, which was pretty cool. The sound and vibration of those cars is absolutely amazing. Here are some pics of my parents and my nieces in Vegas:

Toto, we're not in San Francisco anymore

Well everything I own is now officially sitting at the ABF terminal in Indianapolis. It will now wait there until I show up and find an apartment. Still here in Vegas. I should be here through the end of this week before I head to LA and beyond.

Sweet Home South Chicago; New meaning of the term launch control

The pod arrived in South Chicago today. Hopefully they don't take it near Joliet or Calumet City or I might never see my plasma tv again. I've also been following the weather in Indy. Some snow flurries hit the past couple days. Hopefully it won't be so cold in a couple weeks.

I also found this picture of Paul Tracy at the Vegas race this past weekend. F1 has launch control, which "launches" the car off the standing start to get it going quickly. Apparently launch control means something different in Champ Car.

Champ Car Race and Pod Update

The past three days have been nice and relaxing. I've spent most of my time at the Vegas Grand Prix in the sun. Got to take some good pictures and the race was pretty awesome. And I also learned what NASCAR actually stands for: Non Athletic Sport Centered Around Rednecks.

Also, I just checked online and the pod with all my stuff will be arriving in Chicago today. It's now just a three hour drive from Indy. I'm still a long way from getting there, but my bed, couch and tv are all going to be waiting for me. The pod is going to go into storage once it gets there. Once I've found a place to live in Indy, I will call up ABF and have them deliver the crate to my doorstep to be unloaded. Hopefully the plasma is still in one piece.

Back Home Again in Indi....errr.....Las Vegas

The pod was successfully picked up and I drove today from SF to Las Vegas. So I am officially no longer a resident of San Francisco or California for that matter. I am now a resident of the American Interstate Highway system and various friends couches.

I've done the drive from SF to Vegas enough that I know where I am going without a map. Unfortunately nothing too exciting happened on the way down. Although I did see a La Quinta Inn sign that said "La Quinta is Spanish for an Indoor Pool and Free Continental Breakfast." Which is kind of confusing because I stayed there last year and the front desk sign said that La Quinta was Spanish for Free High-Speed Internet. Apparently La Quinta has multiple meanings that coincide with whichever feature they are pushing to their guests at that moment. I also saw a Golden Nugget Casino billboard that was entirely written in Chinese, except for the word Comps. I'm trying to think of something sarcastic and witty to say about that one, but nothing is actually coming to mind. It was just bizarre.

I will be going to the Vegas Grand Prix Champ Car Race. Big surprise that I was able to have my trip to Indy coincide with a car race in my hometown. If all goes to plan, I may go to the race next weekend in Long Beach as well. Who knows, maybe I could squeeze a job out of somebody before I get to Indy? Explaining that all my belongings are literally in transit to Indianapolis as we speak could be a pretty good ice breaker.

Now We Play The Waiting Game

The pod has been successfully filled. Hopefully nothing will shift too much and get damaged. Who knows, I could leave San Francisco with one big TV and show up to Indy with thousands of tiny TVs. I am now waiting until the pod gets picked up later today. Tomorrow morning I embark on my journey and head to Vegas to be with the family for some sun and relaxation.

...And So It Starts!

The pod was successfully dropped off this morning, so now I have very little chance of quitting at this point. No I wasn't drunk when I took this picture; the crate is sitting on an angle. Thank You San Francisco hills.

The going away party came and went on Saturday as well. A good time was had by all, except for maybe a couple neighbors. Beautiful weather, a BBQ, a keg and multiple games of flip-cup had everyone liquored up a little bit. The party went into the night back inside the apartment.

Thanks to everyone who showed up to give me a proper sendoff. I will try to post some pictures later

7 Days And Counting...

I am now in the final week before I embark on this epic adventure. I've now told enough people about this stupid thing that maybe some people actually read what I type. Then again, I could just be posting on a website that no one even looks at.