Lessons (of the Road)

Life is hard.
Plan on changing your plans.


Everything happens for a reason.
There is no wrong track.


Life can overwhelm you.
Take things one step at a time.
Don't overwhelm yourself.


Fire is the tool of man.
It cooks his food, keeps him warm, lights his night, and keeps him safe.
Only God and man can start fires.


Water is nature's most powerful and abundant force.
Everything needs water.


Everything is dependent on something else to survive.
Independence is just a declaration.


Animals are naturally afraid of people.
We are naturally afraid of the ones that aren't.


Our first sin is to want what is not for us.


Good things come to those who wait.
Everything is a gift.


Worrying gets you nowhere.
Complaining doesn't even get you that far.


Some people do things to make money.
Some people make money to do things.


Every bubble bursts.
Stay away from big bubbles.


You get everything you need until you die.
Death is what everyone and everything shares.


We use language to name things.
Nomenclature is destiny.
Be careful what you call things.
Be careful what you call yourself.


Life is a story.
We are all storytellers.
Tell a good story.


We are here to learn.
The picture keeps getting bigger.


Stay hungry.
Stay foolish.


What goes around comes around.
Everything is a cycle is everything is a cycle

Escape from L.A.

Last night was a very fresh and different experience for us, thus far most of the nights of our trip have consisted of star gazing while making s'mores around a campfire. Regardless, it felt good to get back into civilization and mingle with people. Hollywood was a very fun place and not quite as crazy as one might expect. The only real examples of crazy that we were privy too were the myriad soon-to-be 'stars'. The Walk of Fame was teeming with these thespians that are just "so close to making it". They dress up in the garb of various movie and television characters with the hope of getting noticed. They certainly get 'noticed', yet I'm fairly sure that tourists pointing fingers, posing with them and snapping pictures in a mocking fashion are not their primary target audience. They caught our attention though didn't they?

The night had us participating in a fair amount of karaoke and sampling some of the culinary delights of Hollywood's street vendors. We hoped to knock down some late-night pins at a nightclub/bowling alley called Lucky Strike, but alas there was a longer-than-tolerable wait for open lanes.

The night ended without showing us any celebrities but not without showing us a good time. But now, we must be moving on...
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Venice Beach and the American Dream

You can find every shape, size, and kind of person at Venice Beach. 80% of the people are just passing through, while 20% are trying their darndest to get your attention, and a dollar.

My personal favorites were the grown man for adoption and the old guy who jumps off a chair onto broken glass every 15 minutes- for donations. They don't teach this stuff in business school. What entrepreneurs!

Now we find ourselves on the walk of fame in Hollywood. Tonight our home is the Holiday Inn- our 2nd hotel room of the trip.

"Through the Wire" by Kanye West feat. Jake Smith

Under the Bridge

By Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Hang 10, Take 5

We got up early to scope out the surf and Ryan gave us the go ahead to attempt surfing. He compared surfing for the 1st time to having never held a golf club and trying to play Pebble Beach. The Pacific Ocean did with us whatever it wanted to do.

We gave it our best, but after about an hour in the water, neither of us could stand up on a wave. At least we got to see first-hand how it should look every time Ryan caught a wave.

Afterwards, Ryan treated us to lunch and sent us on our way with directions and tips on what to do in L.A. Thank you Ryan and Mary for your hospitality, it was a blast.

Now we find ourselves bumming around Pepperdine University campus, en route to Venice Beach and Los Angeles. Pepperdine is located just off the coast up on a hill with an amazing view of the ocean and beaches.

Soreness is beginning to set in.

Ventura, CA and a Home Cooked Meal

Santa Barbara was beautiful- we had a great time bumming around the beach. The 30 min drive into Ventura was very scenic and nearly all along on the coast.

My cousin Ryan and his wife Mary are our generous hosts tonight and provided us with our first home-cooked meal of the trip. Thank you again, it was delicious! Here's a picture with Ryan checking the surf, their oldest son playing, and my feet.

Tomorrow is L.A. and Hollywood.

Longboards on the Peer, SB

Santa Barbara, CA. We're about as far from home as the U.S. gets. I could get used to this.

South on HWY-101 to US-1

We camped in Big Sur last night. Had to take a quick detour off the coast due to road closures from all of the active forest fires going on now. The haziness is from the fires- where there's smoke, there's fire.

Lots of vineyards and open land out here. We picked up US-1 at Cambia headed South down the coast towards Santa Barbara where we're meeting up with Cousin Ryan for the night.

"...I must be travelling on now, cause there's too many places I've got to see." -Freebird

Beaches, a Boardwalk and 'Beck.

Sent 6/25/08 at 8:00pm PST

With distance to travel before sunset, we were forced to leave San Jose in mid-afternoon. However, we would like to thank Santa and her family for generously putting us up for the night. It was really great to see everyone and we are dissapointed that we are unable to stay for another night. Thank you again!

Upon leaving San Jose, we caught Highway 17 towards Santa Cruz and the beaches there waiting for us. After quickly wetting our feet in the surprisingly frigid Pacific, we grabbed some carnival food from the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. The Boardwalk is essentially a permanent county fair boasting rides, games, Henna tattoo booths, etc.

Next, we were lucky enough to experience rush hour traffic on California 1. Once that had cleared, we made our way through Salinas and into Monteray. These areas seemed familiar as they were the setting for many of John Steinbeck's novels that we read when we were younger. As we entered Monteray, we were directed to the historic Cannery Row which is actually a title of one such Steinbeck work.

Unable to visit the famed Monteray Aquarium due to time constraints, we passed through Pacific Grove. Clint Eastwood was once mayor of this small seaside town and to his credit, the streets seemed clean and free of injustice.

Finally, we took a quick detour through 17 Mile Drive, a marked route which passes through a few scenic golf courses on the Pacific coast. This includes Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hills as well as some great Pacific Ocean vistas.

Now we continue on California 1 with the goal of camping on the beach in the vicinity of Big Sur.
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Lunch at Apple - 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA

It doesn't get much better than this. Fresh-grilled burger, fries, fruit smoothie and a brownie for dessert.

We're keeping our eyes peeled for Steve Jobs. We hear that he takes late lunches.

Thank you Tyrone for hosting us! Otherwise, the general public is only allowed about 10 feet inside the front door.
What a great looking place to work. Kind of ironic that SO many people work for Jobs.

Golden Gate Bridge

Virtually, Vicariously Vosen

Hey Jeff! That's crazy that Cioppino's is one of your favorites. We went in a small souvenier spot so Jake could get a patch, and the reciept was good for 10% off at none other than Cioppino's. What a small world.

I'm glad we could bring you back. Thanks for reading!

Fake Tales of San Francisco

So we made it to San Fran! We took the bay bridge into the city from Oakland and then did the drive down famed Lombard St. Check out Alcatrez down the hill.

We've stopped for some pasta at Cioppino's near the bay, then we're going to cross the Golden Gate Bridge- twice.

Dinner time.

Yosemite Part 1: Join Together With the Band

We arrived at Yosemite yesterday afternoon around 4pm. We had a good hour of driving within the park to get to our camp site at North Pines, so we stopped off midway to climb up Olmsted Point (seen in the first photo). At the top, we had an amazing 360 degree view of the park. You can see our car as the tiny black dot in the bottom-left corner of the picture.

Then we setup camp (apparently we were extremely lucky to have gotten reservations on just 2 days notice). We were site number 531 out of 531. After getting the tent up and enjoying a couple delicious hot dogs we started playing some music, and that is when we met our California friends.

Seen above from left to right (front row) Amy, John, Tian, Tyrone, (back row) me, Jake, Sarah, and Tabitha. Once again, we were uplifted by the character and open hearts of our camping friends. John invited us to play guitar with him at their camp fire- we shared stories, food, music, and good times. They were all on a big trip together with their church. We exchanged contact info so hopefully we can keep in touch with our new friends. Tyrone works for Apple Inc.- the greatest computer and consumer electronics company in the world. Major props to him for his work on Boot Camp!

Also, we got a voice mail from Keith yesterday as he is back in NY, NY and doing well. Keep on keepin' on Keith! Can't wait to catch up.

Yosemite is a vastly different park than anything we've seen so far. A climber's paradise, there are gigantic rock formations every which way you look. Thank you glaciers, its beautiful.

Yosemite Part II: The Seeker

We were just about to eat our normal of peanut butter on wheat bread and maybe some scrambled eggs when our situation was greatly improved. Our California friends invited us over to their camp site to share breakfast with them. They were claimed to have an overflow of breakfast meats, a situation that required the assistance of a couple of willing, empty to stomachs. We were happy to help and were graciously treated to an extremely satiating meal complete with the first hot camp site coffee we've had in quite some time.

After reluctantly bidding farewell to our new friends, we got in the car to seek out our first point of interest. We hiked to the bottom of the Lower Yosemite Falls. From there we could also see the Upper Falls - which is higher than Niagra Falls - and had an overall spectacular view.

Our second falls of the day was Bridalveil Falls. It was a smaller yet more interactive waterfall. By that I mean we were able to get much closer to it. We climbed some wet slippery rocks to get some good photos and also to serve as a bad example to all of the kids around the falls.

With our clothes wet from the mist of the falls, we drove towards Glacier Point. Glacier Point offered a great view of many of the rock formations around Yosemite including the famed Half Dome.

From Glacier Point we head towards San Francisco and all of its hilly glory.

"They call me 'The Seeker'/ been searching low and high!" - The Who

South Lake Tahoe

Driving in Lake Tahoe

"Boom" goes the dynamite.

We took a quick break to hit a few balls on the range. How refreshing. Now it's oil change time.

We're going to bum around Lake Tahoe and mingle with the laid back country folk before heading down to Yosemite for the night.

We're picking up the pace a bit these next 2 weeks- there are so many things we want to do! Our adventure is laid out for us- all we have to do is keep up.

Keep Me Movin', When I'm Mobile

Got an early start today since we didn't have to take down the tent. Last night was as good as it gets- 65, clear and calm. We're heading east out of Folsom Lake Campground towards South Lake Tahoe for a quick tour.

Tonight we sleep in Yosemite.

A Night in Folsom, CA

We're on our way to Folsom for the night, kind of like when Suge Knight and Rick James went to Folsom. Unlike them, we will be free to leave in the morning.

Tonight is supposed to be in the mid-60's and clear- virtually no chance of rain. We might skip the tent and just sleep under the stars on our cots, a welcome change in climate.

Tomorrow is set to be a full day between visiting Lake Tahoe and setting up camp in Yosemite. For the 1st time this trip, we actually have reservations!

"The Sun may rise in the East, at least it settles in a finer location."

-Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Californication"

California Dreaming

Thank you the Mamas and the Papas. And although the entirety of our trip has taken place in the month of June we have nonetheless experienced plenty of inclimate weather that has made it seem like "such a winter's day".

But persistence is rewarded and as such we have finally arrived in the Golden State. Not long after we crossed the border on I-5, we were greeted by the picturesqe Mt. Shasta which can be seen in the bottom picture. Hopefully this is a sign of many more beautiful sights to see over the next week as we have many spots to visit within the borders of California.

Our last stop in Oregon was in Medford to visit Sean's aunt. She was thrilled to see us and we all hated to say goodbye. However, we had to be on our way so that we can reach Sacremento by nightfall.

Onward and Southward!

2 Weeks Living on the Road

Here is a rough map of our journey so far. We still have a lot of ground to cover and lot of sights to see.


View Larger Map

M. Night Shyamalan presents 'The Crappening'

Hello all, I just wanted to add one thing about M. Night's newest movie. First, let me say that over the years I've learned my lesson to not spoil movies for others or to force my opinion of movies onto others.

Don't see 'The Happening'. Don't ever for any reason watch the movie 'The Happening'. If you ever find yourself having the slightest inclination or desire to see the movie, stop yourself before its too late.

If I'm already too late to save you from this film, we heard rumors that you can send your ticket stub to Shyamalan's studio for a full refund. At this point, its my only hope.

And please, please don't misinterpret this post as some sort of "No means Yes" reverse psychology ploy to encourage you to see the movie- its not. Do not see 'The Happening'. Don't ever see it, for any reason- or for any amount of money. Don't see it for free and don't let anyone pay you to watch it.

That's all, I just wanted to say that one thing. Don't do it. Have a great day and good luck avoiding this movie.

The Portland Happening

Upon learning that we were still 5 hours from our planned destination of Crater Lake, Oregon, we decided that Portland - home of Nike and Intel - might not be such a bad place to stay for the night. We met up my relative Janie who is staying in Portland for a training seminar. She had reserved a room for us and got us a room for the night in the hotel in which she was staying!

After eating dinner with Janie at an Italian restaurant we caught a showing of M. Night Shymalan's 'The Happening'. Viewing that movie was a mistake. Unanimous winner for 'Biggest Waste of Time on our Road Trip'. Mr. Shymalan apparently went to the Weezer School of Film-making. (That of course being a reference to the fact that his first few works were good with each subsequent film being so bad that they actually detract from the quality of his initial films.)

Regardless, it felt good to get back to civilization for a bit and enjoy the indulgences that come with it (Yeah, I'm talking about you, $4 bag of Sour Patch Kids!).

Tomorrow looks to be another long day of travel with Crater Lake being our main destination.

Thank you again Janie!