tour de dave dot com

On the ‘moon, BONUS ROUND

Dave — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 22:49:48 +0000

“I’ll just need your license, and then you’re all set to rent that pick-up truck.”

“Um… What if I checked it in my bag at the airport?”

“That’s okay, your wife can drive it.”

My wife gulped as we signed the paperwork.

Who would intentionally plan a 13 hour layover in Dallas weeks in advance? Probably a newlywed couple hell bent on ending their honeymoon by having a great meal at the best diner they’ve ever been to.

Trust us, it was worth it.

Not just because I got to see my wife drive a pick-up truck (which for some reason was extremely amusing). But because it was the perfect end to a great chapter at the beginning of our new life together.

On the ‘moon, part 5

Dave — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 22:45:13 +0000

It felt great to come back to Buenos Aires. We stayed in a familiar and fun part of of the city, lucking out with another great AirBNB find.

This leg of the trip was bitter sweet and a perfect way to bring our time in Argentina to a close.

We got to connect with a long-time friend from back home, visit some more great restaurants, see more of the city, and learn the basics of tango.

But the journey wasn’t over, because we had an adventure waiting for us in Dallas.

On the ‘moon, part 4

Dave — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 22:44:23 +0000

We stopped as dust from the dirt road rushed up beside us, past us, and dissipated into the sunlight. She got off the motorcycle, looked at the winery, looked at me, and proceeded to kneel down and kiss the ground.

After she stood back up, she said she enjoyed it. For some reason I didn’t believe her.

Mendoza is magical. There, I said it.

Want world class wine at your fingertips? You got it.
A friendly city that’s walkable without being overwhelming? Why didn’t you say so?
Access to bicycles and a map to get you from winery to winery? Child’s play.
How about a sporty motorcycle to zoom across the country side? Done and done.

With all of the ground we covered, it’s impressive to think of how much we didn’t get to see. Oh well, I supposed we’ll have to come back at some point.

Onward! Back to Buenos Aires.

On the ‘moon, part 3

Dave — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 15:09:38 +0000

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where–” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
“–so long as I get SOMEWHERE,” Alice added as an explanation.
“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”
(Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 6)

Somehow I convinced my wife it was a good idea to leave 8 days in the middle of our trip un-planned. Nothing booked. We didn’t even know where we were going. All we knew was that we needed to be in Mendoza by a certain date and time; and that we had to get there from Ushuaia.

Leaving things to the last minute certainly limited our options. But we managed to tease out an itinerary we both could get excited about and headed northwest, into Patagonia. Our destination? Bariloche.

This leg of the trip simultaneously won the “Best lodging” and “Worst lodging” awards for our honeymoon. In our haste to book things we chose lodging in a hostel that turned out to be less than advertised. We stayed a night and ran screaming for the hills… the breathtaking, scenic, and oh so picturesque hills on the lake just outside of Bariloche’s city center. We ended up finding a gem of a place — a lake house off the beaten path with a view that made us feel right at home.

While in Bariloche we biked, hiked, and had a few adventures trying to ride the bus. But all in all, this leg of the trip was slower paced which really helped us take in the beauty that is Patagonia.

It’s hard to describe, so I’ll just post a video instead.

Up next — something worth wining about.

On the ‘moon, part 2

Dave — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 01:58:17 +0000

“Where in the hell are we?!” – my wife shouted to me from the tarmac after we got off the plane.

I wasn’t that far behind her. I could barely see as we deboarded — my eyes forced to a squint from the brightness. And then the cold breeze hit. A balmy 40 degrees, eh? So this is summer in the southern most city in the world.

Through the sheen I could start to see our surroundings — snow-capped mountains all around, a large town adjacent to the airport, and a channel connecting the town to the ocean. This area has many names — Ushuaia, def fin del mundo (the end of the world), the port of Antarctica, mostly harmless.

We thought such a far flung destination would prove desolate, but it’s quite the opposite here. There are all the amenities and creature comforts you would expect for a town with a large population.

There are so many highlights from this leg of the trip that it would be verbose to list them all, but here are a few:

Had the best meal/dining experience of our lives
Saw penguins
Canoed through the most stunning, picturesque, and serene area we’ve ever been to
Experienced 20 hours of daylight

9 days down, 14 to go. Next up, north to Bariloche to see more of Patagonia.

Hasta luego