escapin' the norm

So I'm finally

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 20:09:00 +0000

home, 10,700 miles later! Here are the pics from Cincy - sorry it took a while to get them up as I've been busy trying to get unpacked and catch up with everyone from home and such. Will try to keep updating the blog, but no guarantees about anything terribly exciting, haha!

Well it's the end

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 14:06:00 +0000

of the line....will be back in PA later tonight, at which point I will post pics of Cincinnati and my stay with Barni - looking forward to seeing everyone and staying in my own bed tonight!

Been hangin

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 19:44:00 +0000

with my gnomies in Bloomington, Indiana, haha. Kristi (and her roomies Haley, Summer and Nate) definitely showed me a good time and reminded me of the sweet, sweet college life, haha. Had some good food, checked out the campus and downtown, did the house/apt party thing, made it to a bar and got pizza, and in general missed college. Anyway, pics!

Chicago

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:57:00 +0000

was pretty cool and I wish I had more time to spend there, but unfortunately, the last two weeks of this trip are a bit hurried. Anyway, had a good time with Matt - besides letting me chill with him, he took me out for dinner both nights - the first for Giordano's (Chicago style deep dish) and the second night to a sweet tapas place and then to Fox and Hound for some pool. If he was on couchsurfing he would definitely get a thumb's up, haha. Anyway, on to the pics from Chitown. Tonight I'm heading to Bloomington, IN (Indiana University) and then to Cincinnati. Oh yeah, at the Chicago Institute of Art, I got to see a ton of Monet, Renoir, Pissaro, Picasso, a bit of Dali, and they had a whole exhibition of photography, including Ansel Adams, Sarah Hobbs and Angela Strassheim, and they had an exhibition of Lorenzo Ghiberti's 'The Gates of Paradiese' - all very cool! Anyway, on to the pics!

Oh, sorry for all the black and white, but the city completely lent itself to that style. Oh, and hopefully I'll get a bit more work done on the panoramas so I can post a better one.

Getting ready

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 21:43:00 +0000

to head up Sears Tower - it's a fifteen minute wait, but luckily they have wi-fi everywhere, haha. Anyway, only had the day in Chicago, but managed to check out Millenium Park as well as the Chicago Institute of Art, and now doing Sears Tower. I'm happy with the productivity. Have a few pics I'll post later tonight sometime when I get back. Gotta run, time to go up the tower!

Monday nights

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 21:57:00 +0000

in Madison....haha. 'nuff said. Anyway, my most gracious host, Kelly, took me out for a night in Madison, and we had a pretty sweet time. Well, I mean, the 50-yard dash through the bar, her knowing approximately 50% of the Madison population, her friend Chelsea having a vicious case of the hiccups, and unknown wet spot on the futon aside, it was a pretty sweet time. I kid, I kid. Had a great time with Kelly and now it's on to Chicago, where I'm meetin' up with Spicher. See everyone soon!

Chillin in

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 22:33:00 +0000

the enemy's territory! Haha, just kidding =) Havin a blast with Kelly (who was kind enough to host me) - she's showing me around and we're eating and drinking well. Checked out University of Wisconsin and the capitol, both of which were real cool. Heading to Chicago in the morning, but definitely gonna enjoy the rest of my time here. Oh, for an interesting story, check out Old Abe. Oh, I'm posting from Barriques Coffee Trader - they have wine by the glass and wi-fi. How could it get better, haha!

So I'm in

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 01:14:00 +0000

Madison, WI. It was a tough decision last night at two in the morning about whether to start driving home or try and find a spot to stay in Madison, but everything worked out, and I ended up going out on a boat and seeing Madison and the University of Wisconsin from Lake Mendota. Met some cool people, too! Anyway, looking forward to being home sometime soon, and if I can get the internet to work on my laptop (using someone else's computer right now) I'll post some pics of the area and the university.

Update

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 18:01:00 +0000

so I'm in Minnesota, just about an hour or two outside of Minneapolis, trying to find a place to stay tonight. In the meantime, though, will post the pics of the drive of the 14 (map is below) and of me at Rushmore, which was incredibly cloudy (obviously). Actually, the drive on 14 was crazy - there are sections of granite that are 2.5 billion years old! Anyway, looking forward to Minneapolis and sleeping in my own bed in less than two weeks!

oh, ps, i only have one sweatshirt with me.

View Larger Map

Yellowstone (Day 3)

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 01:07:00 +0000

ugh, this is taking a while, haha. Anyway, on to day 3 - pretty much just hit the main spots on the way out of the park, as well as the waterfalls again - different trail this time, a lot cooler. Steep though! Anyway, that's all for now - on to camp tonight, I think, cause I am definitely not making it all the way to Minneapolis. Will post some great pics of the 14, which is apparently Wyoming's version of the 1 in Cali. And of course, a few pics of Rushmore, which I saw earlier today - even though it was nasty weather. Til then!

Yellowstone (Day 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 00:33:00 +0000

Okay - pics from day two - I hit up most of the hot spots on this day, starting with Yellowstone Lake in the morning, then on to Old Faithful, Norris, Mammoth Hot Springs, The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone (with its waterfalls) and finally ended up camping at Canyon, which has an elevation of over like 8000 feet! Most of the park is anywhere between 7000 and 10000 feet, which makes a pretty big difference when you're hiking up and down these trails that have elevation differences of a few hundred feet. Anyway, on to the pics! Which are in pretty much random order =)

Yellowstone (Day 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 05:30:00 +0000

So yeah, gonna do it by day cause there are a ton of pics and i'm not even posting them all....basically the first day, got into the park (which was $25) - seems expensive until you realize its only twenty-five bucks for a seven day pass to the nature lover's theme park. Anyway, so yeah, get in, decide where to camp - it takes me like an hour to get halfway there - partly because i'm taking pictures and partly because its so freakin big. So i see faithful at like 9:30, get to my campsite by 10:30, pitch that thing and sleep. Had to start the post with the funniest pic i got - quality is horrible, but what do you expect when a thousand pound beast strolls up beside your car? Hm, really tired, have the rest of the pics coming in the morning - sorry, its a bit tiring going through 500+ pics! See everyone (from York) soon!

Believe the Hype

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 20:08:00 +0000

about Yellowstone - it's definitely everything everyone says - the wildlife, the nature, the views - its all awesome. Old Faithful was cool and all, but when you see some of the pics of the other things I checked out...just crazy. And all packed into one park (one 3 hour drive from one end to the other park). Anyway, making my way to South Dakota - debating about whether to do the Badlands or hostel and check out Rushmore instead - we'll see. Either way, when I get to internet tonight, I will do a huge pic blow out of Yellowstone. Til then! I guess one pic is fine - from last night before bed.

Out of Oregon

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 05:17:00 +0000

and into Idaho for the night. Portland was really cool - very hip city with a young crowd and plenty of pubs and coffee shops....what else do you need? Haha... so staying at a little hostel in Nampa, Id, which is just outside of Boise. Sorry about the lack of Portland pics, but the weather there wasn't terribly conducive to great pictures (surprise!) Anyway on the way to Idaho, I did manage to snap a couple good ones, even though the weather was still pretty ugly. Tomorrow it is on to Yellowstone. Keep your fingers crossed for sunny skies!

oh, ps, the moon colony looking thing? yeah, it's a cement factory! whodathunkit?

Hey

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 09:26:00 +0000

all! Still in Portland, chillin... anyway, if you get a chance, check out some of my mp3s at mp3 unsigned - they are all techno tracks i've done on the trip...thanks! Will post pics and such soon!

Cheers!

Pics

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 02:53:00 +0000

from the drive - enjoy! I'll try to get some pics of Portland up soon. =)

So I'm at

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 23:10:00 +0000

Big Guy's Diner, in Newport, Oregon, which is the first restaurant I've ever been to that has both outside restrooms and free wi-fi. Interesting, haha. The Mushroom and Swiss Burger is pretty bangin, though. So yesterday, I left San Jose (finally ha!) and it was the first day that I was super happy that I had the 318i with me. The 1 (which runs from SoCal all the way up to about 2 hours south of the Oregon border) is the best highway, or even road for that matter, that I have ever driven. It is fun. Period. Great scenery, switchbacks, s-turns, u-turns, straightaways and turnouts for slower moving vehicles (which are legally required to move over for faster traffic). It was great. Anyone who loves driving owes it to themselves to check it out. The closest I can compare it to is snowboarding, where you are constantly shifting your weight back and forth through the turns. Anyway, the best area was definitely the end before it runs into the 101 and ends. Check out the map of the last 20 or so miles here. Seriously, drag the map around - it looks like a freakin' race course. Awesome. Got a bunch of pics, and a video or two, but gonna wait til Portland to post em. Should be there in a few hours. Til then!

Productive Day

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 02:39:00 +0000

in San Jose so far - saw a bunch of stuff - the Mexican Heritage Plaza (which was running a small exhibition of Martin Ramirez's stuff - definitely an interesting story if you have a second to read about him), Kelly Park (which has a cool Japanese Friendship Garden), and downtown San Jose, where I was like 4 years ago. Interesting. Anyway, getting ready to head home and make some dinner, but got a couple pics to post first....enjoy =)

So yesterday

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 17:57:00 +0000

I was a chauffeur, but the day before was pretty cool. We checked out a local rose garden and the local Rosicrucian Garden, where we played a good game of Senet (which I lost). That night we went out in Los Gatos for another 21 celebration. (Apparently my timing with regard to birthdays is pretty good). Anyway, yeah went out with Corynne and her roommates to celebrate, and besides a bit of debauchery at the end of the night involving a dustbuster, it was a pretty fun time. Yesterday, I saw more Fry's Electronics stores than I really needed to, but had In n Out and a Pearl Tea, so the day was salvaged by food, haha. Last day in San Jose, and Corynne is working for most of it, so I'm gonna try and check out some more sights, etc. Will post again before Portland!

Oh, sorry most of the pics are out of order...if it has Egyptian-themed architecture, its the Rosicrucian Garden, if not, it's probably the Rose Garden.

Went for a Hike

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 19:29:00 +0000

yesterday with Corynne at Almaden Quicksilver County Park, near San Jose, which was an old mercury mining village. Pretty cool - got some good pics. Oh, the mountain lion one is obviously edited, but that is exactly what we were thinking when we saw it, haha. The deer one isn't really edited at all - that's what their eyes looked like! They were literally staring us down as we walked past - freaky.... Anyway, came home, relaxed for a bit, had dinner (and drinks courtesy of the Two Buck Chuck). Anyway, don't know what the plan for today is yet, but we'll figure something cool out, I'm sure. Til then, enjoy the pics =)

oh, ps, i'm not much for getting into politics, but if you get a chance - check out the cheney video that just hit the net in the past day or so from '94. interesting, to say the least.

K, gonna

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 20:21:00 +0000

try and get the pics of LA up quick while Corynne is out doing an errand. Um, the panoramas are from Beachwood Drive (near the Hollywood sign) and Mulholland Drive (across town to the west). The rest of the pic are mostly from Hollywood (where I was staying) and there are a couple at the beginning from the drive up to San Jose on the 101 (which was the best drive I've done so far). Enjoy!

In San Jose

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 05:54:00 +0000

but don't have time to post all the pics from LA tonight - had a fun time there, even though it's not particularly my style. A bit too fast and trendy for me. Pros: anything an American consumerist could ever want is in a fifteen mile radius. Cons: to get to any of those things will take you at least an hour in mild traffic. Anyway, hangin out with Corynne (yay!) Will post pics tomorrow!

Haha, just a quick post

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 17:30:00 +0000

so you can see where I am staying and get a quick tour of the places around me.

My Hostel

Where I had coffee the first night I was here

Hollywood and Vine (where you can see Capitol Records)

and

Surfas, where me and Joe did lunch

Will post more pics/links later today!

Happy B-Day Dad!

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 02:18:00 +0000

Haha! Anyway, got checked into the Banana Bungalow in Hollywood, so I have a chance to post some of the pics of San Diego. It ended up being one of the Irish lasses' 21st b-day last night, so we partied it up a bit. Good times, haha! Most of the other pics are from a trip around San Diego we did with the Bungalow Crew - props to Chaz and Jaime for showing us a good time. Loved San Diego - can't wait to get back there =)

p.s. sorry for the random order of the pics - there were too many for me to actually sort them out for the post!

Did a ton

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 03:00:00 +0000

of cool stuff in San Diego today - went on a tour with a bunch of people from the hostel - all of whom are awesome. Saw Balboa Park, Coronado, a bunch of naval ships, more of La Jolla and the cove and a bunch of other stuff. Anyway, busy busy day and I'm a bit too tired to post the pics tonight - will try and get them up tomorrow after I get to LA. Peace!