The Alley Way

Hey You!

2007-09-26T08:55:00.001-07:00

Please scroll down past the postcard to read my latest post!

Postcard from the Edge

2007-09-02T16:54:00.000-07:00

My GREAT friend Christine made this for us. She's a graphic designer now residing in Pensacola, Florida. We met in 1997 when we used to raise hell waiting tables at Mario's in the South Side. You can't begin to imagine. Someday I'll tell you about it. You're too young to handle it. Anyway, she's been in FLA since April and I miss her lots. My next road trip will have to be to visit her.

You can visit her blog at www.steechez.blogspot.com. Thanks, Christine!

So, you were wondering where I've been.......

2007-09-02T10:29:00.000-07:00

After leaving Jenny's we headed for the Redwood National Park. Once we got past the vineyards and slaughterhouses, northern California reminded me a lot of Oregon. A very natural coastal region. With LOTS of hippies and drifters. This is around the time the word about our trip must have reallly gotten out, because more and more frequently we passed people on the side of the road giving us the thumbs up. News travels fast, I'm really impressed!
By this time I've cut back on how much water I drink and have replaced it with coffee. I need loads of it to keep the road straight in front of me. Luckily, the trend that really took hold in Seattle has oozed it's way across the nation. But this is something I never see back east and hadn't seen anywhere else across the country until we got here. It's like a post-Seattle drip. The roadside drive-through espresso stand.

And Mycol is still asking me why I can't hold my water any longer than I do, which is about as long as half an hour on a seriously caffeinated morning. I pulled over in a very small town to use the restroom. The only one's available were at the dock. They pull oysters from these waters. I spoke to a local woman while I admired the beauty and serenity of the Pacific on an early morning. She said we could get the freshest oysters on the half shell just about anywhere in that area. I don't like oysters on the half shell. Oh, well. But I love this shot.

And this one.

Before this trip I'd been to a lot of places on the west coast. I'd been from San Diego to the Napa Valley, along the northwestern coast of Oregon and along the Columbia River, camped in Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Washington, as well as Seattle and through central Washington as far east as Moses Lake, in the center of the state. I'd always said that Oregon and Washington were some of the most beautiful places I'd been. After this trip I'll have a stronger opinion about what geographical locations of the United States I'm most attracted to, but for now I will tell you that the final word on Oregon and Washington is that I like Oregon much better, but more on that next time. The other thing is, there is a definite feeling I get about being in California. There is an energy there that I pick up on and it exhilerates me. It definitely has to do with all the John Steinbeck I've read and Hollywood's glorification of California, but nevertheless it is there. I even love the sound of the name "California". So, as we traveled north into areas I'd not seen before I started to love it even more. Only I realized that it reminded me so much of Oregon at this point, which, I supposed helped Oregon to edge out Washington in my state ranking. It's big nature out here. It's the diversity of the blue ocean along the rocky shore that disappears into piney forests and mountains all in one view.

As we got closer to the Redwoods we passed a lot of roadside attractions with americana themes. They did not detract from the natural beauty of the area.

We made it to the Redwood National Park in good time that day. The impression on the way in was that it was remote and that we should stop at the last place possible to get gas, which was a single old-fashioned gas pump on the side of the road between a small convenience store and a place that sold wood-carved bears, lighthouses, windmills, etc. We did stop for gas there and then drove in on a road that was suddenly out of the bright wide open and into the depths of the forest, with sky-high trees on either side, everything shady green and brown with little dapples of sunlight dropping down from above. We entered the park, got our map, and chose a short hike on the Lady Bird Johnson trail, the "jewel" of the park where you could find examples of everything the Redwoods has to offer. Here is the first tree that everyone gets to see up close. It stands in the parking lot at the trailhead and greets them.

I know I haven't posted basically since I've been home. I promise to continue with a little more dedication from now on. Before hitting the road I was a little scared. I was worried about how much it would cost, about what we would do if the car broke down, about whether or not all my "stuff" at home would be alright, and most of all about the safety of my family and how I felt most responsible because it was my idea and I was the driver and obviously Mycol's safety is my responsibility anyhow. Now that I'm back I feel like I should have been more scared to return! Life seems rather ho-hum here, and it should scare the shit out of me! I wanted to come home and share my experiences with everyone, but like any big adventure you can't really share it, not like you can with the people you went with. And besides, while you are still on some kind of high from it all, at home no one has moved an inch, they are all still exactly as you left them, like chess pieces on the board waiting for someone to start a game. And this static atmosphere will suck you right back in, until you feel almost like you never went anywhere and you're back to worrying about all the same old things. So, maybe I haven't posted because I've been trying to figure out how not to get dragged back down by the ever-churning cycle of school days, work days, and chores. Ah, well, I wish I was in Montana. See you back here next post, where I'll take you on a tour of the Redwoods where we camped the night before heading up to Oregon.

Still in California

2007-08-29T09:19:00.000-07:00

Ahh, I see you are wondering what has happened to the three Santucci's. Well, I won't tell you just yet. For now, let's get back to business.
We left Coronado and San Diego on August 10th. Some stress had begun to build up since Las Vegas. Did I mention how civilization slapped us in the face like a rude SOB? The traffic, the pollution, the crowds. The natural world is EASY to get used to. A week away from all the chaos of city life had me hooked. Even though I've always considered myself a city girl. Which makes me wonder, how long would I actually last if I changed things up and became a woodswoman? The point is, driving into Vegas there was a lot of construction, it was late, it was dark, I was tired. We were all tired. And from there we went to San Diego. Paradise, sure, but not exactly relaxing enough. Now, from San Diego our trek was to take us up the coast to Oakland, where we'd stay with Mummy's friend Jenny. We had to pass by Los Angeles and Mummy thought she'd like to stop in for a short visit with some of her friends from the firm she used to work for. They have a showroom in Santa Monica, I think. Well, it was Friday and I don't think it even matters what time we left because it seems that rush hour lasts just about all day between San Diego and L.A., especially on a Friday! So what SHOULD take 3 hours ended up taking 7!!!! I had definitely noticed the increased number of tourists in Coronado when I was there, and I certainly don't remember this kind of traffic 13 years ago. But that said, we did not make it in time for Mummy to visit her friends at the showroom. And she was audibly upset about it. By that I mean I got the silent treatment from her and I could hear the serated edge of the knife cutting through the tension in the air. And once again we found ourselves driving late into the night, tired, no room at the inns we first sought out, necessary to go another 30 mintues north and keep our fingers crossed. We stayed just north of Magic Mountain and headed to Jenny's the next day. And this is what I first noticed in Jenny's guest room, where I went directly for a nap after the delicious luncheon she prepared for our arrival:

Okay, I think George Clooney is absolutely gorgeous. But that's not why I picked up the magazine and took it to show Mummy. The reason is because George Clooney has an uncanny resemblance to my grandmother. Hey, don't get the wrong idea! My grandmother was a beautiful woman. Seriously, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL woman in her hometown in Italy. And everybody knew it. Just imagine George in a feminine way. Cross him with Salma Hayek and you'll get the picture. So, I show my mom that a sign from Nonna was waiting in the guest room at Jenny's and she reminds me that the day before, August 10th, was the 2 year anniversary of Nonna's death. AND I HAD FORGOTTEN! And THAT was what was REALLY bothering Mummy all day. I felt soo bad. But she said she didn't want to mention it because it was better not to get sad. We think of her all the time, everyday, when we aren't on vacation. She knows we love her and miss her. See, I'm getting sad anyway. So.....
Jenny's granddaughters were performing that night in an obon festival. It was serendipitous.

The 13th through 16th of August is called obon in Japan. Obon is a Buddhist event and is one of the most important traditions for Japanese people. It is the period of praying for the repose of the souls of one's ancestors. People believe that their ancestors' spirits come back to their homes to be reunited with their family during obon.
People clean their houses and offer a variety of food such as vegetables and fruits to the spirits of ancestors in front of butsudan (Buddhist families altar). Butsudan is decorated with flower and chouchin (paper lanterns). On the 13th, chouchin are lit inside houses, and people go to their family's graves to call their ancestors' spirits back home. It's called mukaebon. In some regions, fires called mukaebi are lit at the entrances to homes to guide the ancestor's spirits.
Hey, is that the Karate Kid or Matt Lu?

Here are Jenny's beautiful granddaughters:

The festival was so neat, I couldn't stop taking pictures. The traditional dresses were so colorful and the dancers ranged in age probably from 2 to 85.

Afterwards, we went out to dinner with Jenny, her son, and his girlfriend.
One thing we really hadn't had a lot of on the road was good food. Between Pittsburgh and San Diego the best thing we ate was bought from the grocery store in Colorado at a Safeway. We bought hard rolls, turkey and the BEST EVER salami from the deli and had picnic sandwiches with mayonnaise. I'm tellin' you, the BEST EVER salami! In San Diego, Mycol and I had a great breakfast downtown around the corner from the hotel. He had a sausage omelet and I had one with mushrooms and squash blossoms. Both were served with a side of refried black beans in a corn tortilla shell. Mummy missed out on that one, but we brought her some leftovers. So Jenny's luncheon was the first excellent home-cooked meal we had. She served soup with fish and shrimp, and a lentil salad. And a nice red wine from Trader Joe's that I should remember the name of, oh wait, she called it something like "ol' Chuck" as a joke. So eating out after the festival at a chinese restaurant was our second good meal in 48 hours after searching the expanse of the country for something good to eat in a restaurant. (Oh, shit, I'm lying! The lunch I had at the Highway Restaurant in Albia, Illinois was pretty good. Standard BLT and a cup of excellent soup of the day, something with beef and cabbage in it. And of course, we avoided fine dining across the country to save money). When Jenny took us into Berkeley the next day to have my oil changed, shop at REI, and eat lunch at ANOTHER good place to eat, it almost overwhelmed us. We started to remember the good things about city life all over again. We had lunch at an Indian restaurant and filled up on curry, nan, saag, etc.

That's Jenny with Mycol and me. The name of the restaurant reminded me of my friend Raj. His little girl's name is Priya.

At REI I bought a sleeping pad and a sleeping bag for Mycol. I wanted our next night in the elements to be WARMER. Jenny knows all about that, she camps a lot! We had a great time at her place, very comfortable. It was fantastic to stay with a friend for the first time in a week. Life on the road can be tough. But we had to move on. Stay tuned for our next stop. Northern California, here we come!

Coronado

2007-08-21T08:31:00.000-07:00

The following post comes to you from in front of my tepee on the Continental Divide! We are in Glen, Montana tonight and ABSOLUTELY LOVING IT!!!!
(Pictures to follow)

For those of you who don't know or remember, once upon a time I lived in Coronado, which is an island across the bay from downtown San Diego. I was stationed at North Island, a Naval station on Coronado. That's where I fixed the electrical components of helicopters and aircraft attached to the base. Mycol was born in Balboa Naval Hospital and our first home was on Coronado. Coronado is an upscale community and we lived in a duplex behind one of the bigger houses on H Street. Mycol hasn't been back to see his origins since he was 2 years old, so it was great to show him around.
Here's Mummy's new car:

This is the surf shop we used to go to. I bought Mycol some new gear in there, plus a shirt for me and one for Stephanie.

Here's the front entrance to our old place. I knocked on the door because it seemed like someone was home, but nobody answered. I really wanted to go in and show Mycol the apartment.

Here's our upstairs neighbor, Connie! I was so glad to see that she's still there. Her and her daughter, Kirsten, who was 12 at the time, used to babysit Mycol for me sometimes. Kirsten made a cross-stitch for Mycol with his name on it that he still has in his bedroom!

We had to walk up between the houses to the street side to get our mail. Our address was 829 1/2 H Street.

This is across the street from us. Our neighborhood, where I used to walk Mycol up and down in the stroller.

Here's the liquor store my ex-husband financed.

The Hotel Del Coronado was right down the street from our apartment. We used to walk to the beach.

And here is where you can STILL get a GREAT carne asado!! We loved it!

So, the BIG QUESTION IS: WHY DID WE EVER LEAVE????????
Stay tuned......next stop, Oakland, CA.

The West Coast

2007-08-21T06:56:00.000-07:00

The west coast occupied the majority of our travels. It's the only part of the trip where we stopped to stay and visit with friends, which is how it took up 17 days (I think). Both my brain and the internet are working slow this morning, so I'll see what I can do. We are in Wallace, Idaho, which is an historical silver mining town. We stopped here last night by chance. The original plan was to camp last night, but the weather was inclimate, to say the least. The rain was real bad, but more importantly, it's been as cold as October or November since Seattle. I'm going to start calling this first leg of the return trip "In Search of Summer". I saw a girl in Moses Lake wearing a WINTER coat. And she looked SMART! It's AUGUST, PEOPLE!!!!! What the?!?! When Mummy and I went to Roslyn, we thought we'd just freeze to death. And I kept remembering how the thought had crossed my mind back in Pittsburgh to pack my down vest because it wouldn't take up too much space. But then I thought, "Who needs a down vest in AUGUST?" So, here goes, let's get to some very cool (but warm!) stuff in California!
Hey Fish Market Westin people........here's the Westin Horton Plaza in downtown San Diego. That's where we stayed!

It was luxurious. A welcome break from camping and motel-ing. Another thing my mom does everywhere she goes is recognize fabrics from her company. They had some of the best accounts in the corporate interior design business. She planned on visiting her friends at the showroom in L.A., but Friday rush hour traffic prevented us from getting there in time. The point is, she knew the wallpapers used in our room at the Westin. I loved the bathroom and would like one just like it at home!
I'm still trying to gather photographs of things everywhere that remind me of people. Of course, there are some that were missed because I was driving and no one was able to grab the camera quickly enough. Like for the sign that said "Standish Hickey". That would have been for my sister-in-law. She used to be a Hickey. Right, Love?
So, I know I already got Aaron twice, but things just kept popping up. Mycol and I were strolling in downtown San Diego looking for a place to get some breakfast. I saw this place and asked him if he'd like to have his fortune told. Then I saw the address.

Here's a shot of downtown that I like:

It was taken on our second day. The night before, when we were coming back to the hotel from Coronado, this street was bustling with nightlife. There were lots of pretty, pretty girls. Mycol said, "Man, I wish I was 25 right now." He says that San Diego has more "hot" women than Pittsburgh has average AND above-average women. He said he's seen at least 6 or 7 boob jobs, he THINKS. Clearly, Mycol has girls on the brain.

Note that those are the only mountains we were able to find in the area.
Time on the road must be well organized. I was too tired last night to blog anything. After we ate at the 1313 Club in Wallace we returned to our room at the Stardust Motel. (Photo to follow). It's a real '50's joint. Anyhow, I was content to trim and file my nails, which had been growing since we left the 'Burgh, while watching "History Detectives" on, you guessed it, PBS! So this morning I got up early and was able to put this short intro to our trek up the west coast for you. Hope you enjoyed it. Stay tuned for more.......

Hey, wait a minute.....

2007-08-19T22:55:00.001-07:00

I haven't mentioned the wildlife yet. For a long time on the road I was wondering whether or not any wildlife existed anymore. I finally came upon a smattering of it in Utah.
Here's what really made my heart smile at Zion! (Sorry for all you people who know it's wrong and want to argue with me about how it's wrong. I know it's wrong. But tell me, how can something that is wrong feel soooo right?) I fed a wild animal right out of my hand!! Just like my childhood hero, Grizzly Adams, I felt a true connection with the beast. Like our souls were on the same level, when no one else on earth has been able to fully understand me. It wasn't easy, we both had to work through our issues with distrust. And now, I'll never forget my little buddy. I miss him already.

We met while we were at a designated picnic area in the park. Word spread and then this guy came over with some friends.

These little monkeys were so cute (that's right, I said monkeys), I decided to bring them home with me. They fit nicely in the car and they are behaved enough, they don't distract me too much while I'm driving.

And last, but certainly not least, the beast that used to rule the grasslands. The beast whose numbers were decimated down to a mere 200 head in just 15 years time. This beauty of a beast.

He's real cool. They call him "wild", but he's fenced into a pasture and he rolls right up to the fence line to get his water while 30 humans gawk. Then he turns to stroll back to his herd real stately like. But I feel like he's saying something smart-ass under his breath as he goes. Don't you?

Day 6...continued

2007-08-18T22:59:00.000-07:00

We left Bryce Canyon and moved on towards Zion National Park, which is virtually around the bend. Just when you think you've really seen the most beautiful thing, Utah gives you Zion and you can't decide which is better. Bryce is delicate and more detailed, like lace. Zion is bigger, the palette is softer, and the rock formations look like tufts of flakey pastries, while Bryce's "hoodoos" are more like a million red-orange candles dripping with wax. These pictures don't really show what I'm talking about. You could see all the thin layers of rock formed one on top of the other, like a phylo dough.

Here's the tunnel we drove through on the way in:

So, guess where I am? You'll never guess. Not ever. I was in Moses Lake, Washington yesterday, which is in central Washington. That's where we went from Seattle to see the rodeo. That is the little town where Mycol's great grandfather lives and hosts a family reunion every year in conjunction with the local fair and "Rodeo Round-up". I am still, obviously, trying to catch up on my blog. Dammit. I think today is Sunday, right? And we had planned on being in Montana tonight. But for reasons that I will not get into just yet my mother and I left Moses Lake and headed BACK WEST again!!!! An hour and a half WEST, AGAIN. For Mycol, so that he could spend an extra day with his dad and his aunt. She and her husband and mother-in-law have a "cabin" near Roslyn, Washington. Get out your maps and figure it out. It's right off of I-90, the highway that runs from one end of Washington to the other through the middle. I'll posts pictures and stories later, but for now let's talk about what came after Zion.
From Pittsburgh to Zion was a wonderfully paced trip. Beautiful country. Lots of fun. After Zion, well, things changed. It didn't happen all at once. First, we had to travel through miles and miles and miles of this:

It wasn't the first time I'd thought it (I thought it back in Nebraska), but I thought, "What if we were space travelers, and this car was our space exploring vehicle, and this planet was unknown prior to our exploration, and this is what we'd see and report on." The desert is one of several places that make you notice that the earth is a planet. Catch my drift?
And then, suddenly, the space explorers come upon a crossroads where there is still nothing for miles and miles other than the three buildings on three of the four corners of the crossroads. Two gas stations, one bigger than the other, each with a gift shop and port-o-johns, and some other building. You'd think we'd find out what the other building was, but we were taken aback by the aliens. This one rolled up on us out of nowhere and started trying to mate. He said he was from Illinois where he grows corn and soy and he pulled this tiny alien over to show us and called it his "boy" and said he was looking for a new mommy and maybe a new baby brother soon after. He asked us if we was "Latino" and said he's got a BRICK house back home with plenty of room for us and if'n we'd like to come for a visit just give him a holler and he'll send a plane ticket promptly. He was the spittin' image of my hen-pecked uncle Chuck, so we figured we'd better report on him. 'Specially when he give us his business card and it read Charles Hunt. Coincidence? I think not.

We parted ways with Charles and headed for Vegas. Here is a sign that Las Vegas lies ahead:

Those things are used to power these things:

And here's my lucky lady trying her hand with lady luck:

She couldn't resist, but she didn't win anything other than 3 extra plays, or something like that. She still finds money on the ground everywhere we go, though.
Stay tuned

Day 6

2007-08-18T08:54:00.000-07:00

Just to let you know, I am posting this post from Seattle. Here I sit in Erica's back yard on an early (not so early) Seattle Saturday morning. She has a lovely place to stay here and Mummy and I are very comfortable. The house she is sitting looks so much like something out of Domino magazine I had to take pictures of every square foot of it. I'll use the pictures to inspire my own remodeling project back east.
Day 6 on the road.....well, my notebook is in the car, but that was the day we visited the national parks in Utah. Bryce and Zion. On the way there, we stopped at Big Rock Candy Mountain, which I'm sure was one of the songs from O Brother, Where Art Thou, and we stopped to purchase some things. Now, when my brother Rock, and his wife Luvy, went on his honeymoon in California he made friends with some bears. He's so good at making friends. When I saw this bear at Big Rock Candy Mountain, I asked him if he knew my brother. He said he'd heard of him and asked if he could have his picture taken with me so that he could say he'd met Rock's sister. How could I say no?

So, let me tell you, Great Sand Dunes seemed like a protected jewel. There were hardly any other cars on the road to the entrance of that park and when we got there, although there were other people, tourists and campers, comparatively there were very few.
As you approach Bryce and Zion the fanfare surrounding them was a bit unsettling. I wondered if I was entering an amusement park rather than a national park. Billboards advertising gift shops, museums, trail-riding horse camps, RV camp sites, hotels and motels and resorts, ATV adventure companies, etc., lined the entrance road to Bryce. We drove on in, parked in the lot for Sunrise Point, and walked out a short distance through the pines to the ridge. And then.......and then........and then tears came to my eyes as this emerged before me

Words can't describe it.
On the other hand, there ARE words to describe people who walk around with bright yellow plastic bags on their heads.

Remember that bold little birdie that tried to beat my car across the road? Well, at a gas station before Bryce while checking my oil I noticed that it's carcass had fallen from the place where it was wedged below my hood down into a space in front of the radiator. I was concerned that it's body would rot there, creating an odor that would be somewhat unpleasant. So I wanted it out of my car. So in the lot at Sunrise Point, Bryce Canyon, I decided we'd better find a good stick to knock the dead birdie out of there. Mummy said, "I'm your man." And she was.

Well, folks. That's it for now. Stay tuned for a continuation of Day 6 on the road with "The Three Santooches".

Day 5

2007-08-12T20:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know you won't believe it, but I've been experiencing technical difficulties. Yes, technically, it's been exhausting to try and post in the evening after a fun-filled day of vacation. Also, exhausting after a day filled with driving to our next destination. It's Sunday now, our 10th actual day on the road, but I've only caught you up to day 4. So here is my attempt to get on with day 5 in an effort (which will continue when possible) to get everyone up to date. If you care.
So, we reluctantly left the Great Sand Dunes and I didn't think anything could be better. I was so happy to have "discovered" them. There weren't too many people there at all. It was peaceful. My original plan was to do a 4 mile hike there up to the Medano Lake, which was pictured in my NG guide. Unfortuneately, the road that led to the trailhead had been washed out by the storm that took out the power at the Travel On Inn the night before. The rangers said that the road wouldn't be back in use until Friday or Saturday, which was too late in the week for us to consider staying. So I guess I'll have to get back there someday and do it. As we left the park we looked all around us and admired Mother Nature's work.

Okay, okay. So there are a lot of you out there who thought you'd never hear from me again. Like, I'm so lazy I gave up the blog altogether. Or, I've crashed and died and will never be seen on earth again. Or, I've died and gone to heaven out here in the west and will never return. Any which way, you are all wrong. I just have a lot to catch up on. Have I been at all repetitive yet?
So, we've seen prairies, sand dunes, mountains, lakes, rivers, oceans, and deserts. Songs that keep repeating themselves in my head (I can't help it and I don't know why) are: Bohemian Rhapsody!!!????, Oklahoma! from Oklahoma! ("we know we belong to the land, and the land we belong to is grand"), and Beverly Hills by Weezer. I swear, I've listened to some music on the way, and none of these songs represents what I've been listening to, or even really what I love, but still, they are on auto-replay.
Here's what the prairies look like in Colorado peppered with livestock:

Here's a letter on the side of a hill in Gunnison, Colorado. It's for you, Aaron:

We finally made it to Utah on day 5. We pulled into tiny Salina, Utah. Rhymes with vagina. This town is about 30 miles from the mining accident in Utah. Salina is big on coal mining. Just like back home. It's a real neat little dusty town with one blinking red and yellow light at the only intersection. I really like these towns. It was almost as cool as Plattsmouth and Mitchell, Nebraska.
Anyway, we checked into our room before heading out for pizza. Hey, Aaron, check out our room key!

We went for pizza after I checked out some cowboy boots in the western outfitters store. Still haven't found the right ones! But that's okay, I still have Wyoming and South Dakota to hit up!
Next door to the pizza joint was the Big Beep Bar and since I hadn't had a nice cold beer since I left home I thought it was about time. The Big Beep Bar is across the street from this:

And two doors down from this:

This is the Big Beep Bar:

Granted it was a Tuesday at about 6 pm, but we were the ONLY people in there.

I let Mummy taste my Squatter's Wheat beer 'cause it was light and refreshing. The bartender told me it's locally brewed. Hey, his name is Mudsy and he was locally brewed in Indiana, Pa. No kidding. Then his parents moved him out to Salina when he was 14. Here he is:

Stay tuned for Day 6! If I can remember how that day went!

Day 4 continued.....

2007-08-08T06:05:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are curious, this is how I get online when there is no wireless. I tether to the internet via my cell phone. Cool, huh?

So, we had a good time hiking in the dunes.

Everything is so....vast. Can you see Mummy in this one? When you stand out here and look all around you, you are just stunned by the fantastic beauty of it all. It's so over the top.

This was a great place to introduce my mom to camping out. She said she could have stayed a week.

Chris told us to pack for the cold weather we'd encounter up in the mountains. But just like my grandfather taught me to be, I was suspicious of how cold it could actually be in August. Well, at 8,000 feet, without the proper equipment, you could find yourself spooning with your mother in the middle of the night. At her suggestion.

And don't worry, your neighboring campers, who are old pros, will be glad to give you a jump in the morning!

Thanks for the jumper cables, Aaron! I accidently left my keys in the car the night before in the first position, which draws power. I was trying to charge my phone up a little, but then I forgot all about it. This guy who jumped us was from Albuquerque, New Mexico. I acted dumb and said I didn't know how to do the cables because I really just wanted him to do it. He said no problem, he'd been on both sides of this scenario before. But when I saw him clip the red cable to his battery's black anode before telling me to start my car I had to point it out to him. I said, "So, why didn't you put the red cable on the red side of the battery?", all like I was just curious about it. He kinda jumped out of his skin for a second and said, "OH GEEZ!" and quickly straightened things out.

This is the dunes in the morning. In the night while we camped a storm came through. It was only rain though, none of the serious lightening and thunder from the night before. Did I mention that the storm the night before took out the power at the Travel On Inn in Limon, Co.?
Stay tuned for Day 5.

Day 4

2007-08-07T22:31:00.000-07:00

We left Limon, Co. at 8:10 am. We have traveled 1,772 miles to date. Mycol starts our day off with a little Ice-Cube, "Check yo'self". Gas just keeps getting more and more expensive. The cheapest we saw was way back in Indiana, for $2.57 a gallon. Of course, we didn't need any gas when we passed that station. We haven't seen anything less that $3.07 in 3 days. Haha. I just lied. We bought gas for $2.96/gallon in Walsenburg, Co. But still......we would like to be economical, and we've stayed in motels so far. The most expensive being $89 and the cheapest being $59. So, we went to Safeway and bought enough groceries to last us a day with snacks left over for $30 and we intend to camp tonight for $7 at Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado. But first, here is where tractors go when they die:

And here is what happens to bold little things that misjudge their timing:

He'll never have the guts to try that again.

(Sorry about that) Actually, on the morning of Day 4 I was feeling kinda like that. The night before I was EXHAUSTED and I hadn't really caught up yet with my sleep. So I was anxious to get to Great Sand Dunes and spend some time outside in the beautiful country. And as soon as I saw them I knew it was worth it. But I didn't see them until after I found this for you, Alison:

As for the Dunes, I'd always wanted to visit White Sands, New Mexico, but this trip wasn't going to take me along that route. I'd purchased a National Geographic Guide to the National Parks which featured Great Sand Dunes, Colorado. I'd never heard of the park, but the pictures were enough to sell me on a visit there. It's located in the south of Co., so we never actually had to pass through the better part of the Rockies. We did pass through the Sangre di Cristo mountain range. When we got to the park we hiked through the dunes and admired the view for a good long time. The temperature outside was perfect. The sunlight was perfect. We loved it so much there was no question that we would spend the night. It was my mom's first time ever camping! And she loved it, too. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Alright, gotta get to bed early to get up early. Stay tuned for more from Day 4 tomorrow (even though it will be Day 6 in reality!) Betcha your jealous, though.

Day 3...continued

2007-08-07T20:28:00.000-07:00

OOOOPS!!! Sorry about that! So, as I was saying, there was something in Alliance that I had to see......CARHENGE!!!!

My mom has been finding money on the ground almost everywhere we go. A quarter here, a dime there. I think that is a fortuitous sign. I, on the other hand, have been finding things along the way that remind me of the people I know, and I've tried to gather them up to post here. Like the spawning salmon I saw at Carhenge for the folks at the Fish Market. Here's something else I found at Carhenge. Christine, this one's for you!!!!

His name is Tom and he's from Missouri. He's on his way to his first Sturgis. We've been traveling along side bikers from all over the country on their way to Bike Week. I wish we were going! But Mycol is sooo anxious to get to San Diego. He mentions it all the time. Sometimes he gets so frustrated with me he could throw something.

So we headed on to Scott's Bluff. The college my mom went to her freshman year was called Hiram Scott. It doesn't exist anymore and she hasn't been back to Nebraska since. There wasn't much left in the town that she recognized, but she thought this looked familiar:

We drove into Colorado (we've been on Mountain Time since Ogallala, Nebraska) and encountered a crazy lightening storm that opened up on us in a split second. We'd been watching the lightening burst out in the distance and when the wind started blowing tumbleweeds across the road I said maybe I'd like to pull over and just watch it play out. No sooner had I said that than we were nearly blown off the road ourselves and the thunder was blasting right over our heads and the rain was driving faster than I was. There wuz even sideways rain. My heart jumped into my throat when I realized that a tornado could kill us all in a minute. But I traveled onward. The storm broke just as we approached Brush, Colorado. Tired and weary, we pulled into the Tomahawk truck stop for gas and fuel. We stopped into the truckstop eatery, Digger's Diner. I started feeling pretty good when I saw this on the wall:

The owner of Digger's showed us to our seat, right in front of the TV so we could watch the Steelers/Saints pre-season game. The menu had the "Three Rivers Omelette". Hmmmm. Hey, does anybody recognize this guy?

It's Jeff Marcus, Gateway Highschool (Monroeville) Class of '88!!! He's out here in Brush, Co. running Digger's Diner and coaching cross-country at the local school. He was real nice to us and gave us 2 Digger's Diner ball caps. (the Digger is the mascot for the beet farmer - they make sugar out here)
And speaking of Pittsburgh and the Steelers.....this one's for you, Rocky. After we pulled out of Brush we drove to Limon, Colorado and stayed at the "Travel On Inn". As I said, there were bikers headed for Sturgis everywhere. When we pulled into the Inn, there they were, all sitting out front with their Harley's. When I went back out from our room to smoke a cigarette I said hello and struck up a conversation. I said that we'd traveled from Pittsburgh and one of the guys says, "My son played for Pittsburgh." I ran upstairs and got Mycol to come down and say hello to Mr. Ernie Mills, Sr.

Day 3 was a long day, filled with so much cool stuff that I was too tired to post that night at the Travel On Inn. But there you have it. In a nutshell.
Stay tuned for Day 4 when we will depart Limon, Co. for......? Can you guess where in the world I might be?

Day 3

2007-08-06T05:51:00.001-07:00

We left Kearney, Nebraska this morning at 7:50 am.

Ride Hopper:

"Uh, could you give me a lift to the next grass station?"

We've traveled 1,199.1 miles to date. Yesterday my car reached 70,000 miles. (I heard a rumor through Stephanie that some people don't think I'm doing ALL the driving. I assure all you doubters that I am the ONLY one behind the wheel on this trip!) Nebraska is cool, humid, and overcast this morning. It's great for traveling. No sun in my eyes. No intense 'greenhouse' effect heat burning me through the windshield. Moon roof open without the A/C on. My friend Tracey emailed me and sent her regards that I had to drive through this state, which was her least favorite when she went cross-country. I kinda like it. We saw lots and lots that was pretty to look at. Like this:

The further west we traveled, the lush farmland gave way to more arid conditions and dusty little western towns. But before we got out of the corn and hay fields, I was forced to water the roadside grass myself. Luckily I was wearing a vintage sundress passed down to me from my mother that made it easy as pie. I drove away with complete understanding for the difference in men's and women's fashions.

Driving in western Nebraska:

One of my favorite things in Nebraska was stopping in this little dried up town called Mitchell. It is the epitome of an old western town. Notice the sign tacked on to the back side of the church!

We were on our way to Scott's Bluff, Nebraska where my mom went to college her freshman year. We made a little detour first, to a town called Alliance. There was something there that I'd read about and I just had to see it. Alliance is about an hour out of the way for us, but the drive was worth it. If we hadn't gone, we'd have never seen this:

And, as it turned out by the end of the day, I'd found a couple of things along the way for some of my friends, as well. Like this, for my peeps back at the Fish Market:

Day 2

2007-08-04T21:04:00.000-07:00

Everywhere on the road there are Harley Davidson's with license plates from across the U.S. Last night in front of the Super 8 I asked a biker if he was headed to Sturgis. He told me that bike week is NOW!!!! Mummy was really counting on going there and sporting her new leather bikini, but I told her that it'd totally mess up our schedule. She's so upset about it, even now, like 24 hours later, that she's sleeping on the floor, refusing to share the bed with me.

So, this morning we left Knoxville, Illinois at 9:58 am Central Time. Way later than we wanted to because we were so tired. We crossed the Mississippi River near Burlington, Iowa and traveled west on 34 across the entire state. America is full of corn.

In the first 20 minutes on the road in Iowa we saw a fire on the side of the road.

And an overturned tractor trailer. Men were cleaning up the watermelons that got spilled.

And I can't figure out if you get gas here or see XXX movies!?

We passed the "American Gothic" house, you know, the painting by Grant Wood of the man & woman farmers with the pitchfork? Yeah, that's in Iowa.

We stopped in Albia, Iowa to gas up and get fed. Mummy went to a garage sale across the street from the gas station and bought 5 polished river stones for $1.00. The guy who sold them to her said they were from California.

We ate at the Highway Restaurant in Albia. The guy at the garage sale and the lady at the gas station both recommended it. There was a restaurant across the street from the Highway called the White Buffalo, but we heard it was for rich attorneys. I had the BLT and a cup of soup. The food was great and I ate it fast enough to get an instant belly-ache. But all I had to take was a Tums and I was fine. There was no cure for Mycol's belly-aching, though. He was utterly embarrassed to be seen eating with us "tourists". We had to change tables when the 2 old ladies in booth 1 got up because I needed the outlet to recharge my laptop. We had the computer, cell phones, and the camera all plopped on the table along with our notebooks and journal. I took a picture of our waitress, Sam.

She was real sweet and I had to represent and let her know I serve, too. I told Mycol that people ask to sit near outlets at the Fish Market all the time to plug in their laptops. He was like, yeah, because they are businessmen, and I don't have any business! I said, "You know what else they do at the Fish Market? They take pictures of their food!"

We crossed the state line into Nebraska at 5:02 pm. We'd only traveled 328.9 miles so far.

Plattsmouth, Nebraska:

SOY!!!!

We thought we'd sleep in Hastings, Nebraska tonight. It was listed in my "Let's Go Road-Tripping U.S.A" travel guide. Hastings didn't immediately endear us. So we moved on towards Kearney, which is where we are tonight. But we didn't leave Hastings before Mummy made two new "amigos". She asked them if she could get their picture and they asked us in their rudimentary english where we were from. We told them Pennsylvania. Then Mummy asked them where they were from. And they said "Des Moines".

First Day!!! (continued)

2007-08-04T05:50:00.001-07:00

I think this pretty much sums up driving through Ohio! We were all just so excited to be on the road. It's hard to believe.

1:02 pm : Indiana / 290.1 miles

So, apparently Indiana is the boyhood home of Abe Lincoln. We stopped in Richmond, Indiana and had a picnic lunch that we'd packed in Pittsburgh for exactly this location. We spread a blanket on the lawn in Glen Miller Park near the base of the "Madonna of the Trail". It is a huge statue of a pioneer woman and her two young'uns. The 9th statue of 12 erected by the Daughters of the American Revolution. The park and the statue are along the National Road (or Trail), and sit at the sight of the 1st tollgate to the west!

Mummy walked aroung in the grass looking for things, but she found nothing. She said, "Looks like they haven't had rain in a lot of Sundays. It's dry. Real, real dry."

I smoked two cigarettes.

Mycol's very anxious. He counts every minute and tries to keep us on our toes. He won't let us "waste" any time enjoying a break from the road. He wants to get to San Diego, dammit!!! By TUESDAY!!!!! (He's CRAZY!)

Another thing Mycol likes to count: the minutes until his next bite of food. He is ALWAYS hungry!!!

I said, "Indiana. The Hoosier State." Mycol said, "Who's YOUR state?"

What's on the radio in Indiana? Hellfire & Brimstone or country music, take your pick.

We stopped in Centerville, Ind., which is a really neat small American town with the "Antique Alley". OOHHHH! Mycol was very nice to oblige us while we browsed the antiques. I found a postcard from 1908 and a baby's photograph from ???? at Wheeler's on Main St. Mycol found Jesus. I think he's following us.

Mummy thought we should each be someone from the Oregon Trail. She's gonna be Merriweather Lewis, Mycol is Clark, and I am (uhoh, I don't know how to spell this) Sacajawea - or Sacajamila.

In Jamestown, Indiana we pulled over for gas. It was kind of a scary little place. Anyway, it'd been hot as hell. Before we left Pittsburgh, Mummy put bottles of Desani water in the freezer. By the time we were in Jamestown she'd been trying to drink the few sips of water that have thawed around the ice. The ice in the bottle looked like.....well, here's how it went:

Ma: "Look, an ice arrow!"

Me: "Too bad you can't get that out of there. It looks like an ice rocket."

Ma: (laughing and holding the bottle up and jiggling it so that Mycol and I can get a good look) "It looks like.....What it looks like is......"

Me: "An ice penis!"

Mycol: (shaking his head) "Dirty old grandma."

6:34 pm : Illinois / 459 miles (crossing into Central Time Zone, reset clocks to 5:34 pm)

Pulled into Knoxville, Illinois around 8:30pm. Tired and hungry. Have been on the road for 13 1/2 hours. Get a room at the Super 8 because it's the only thing around. The good news? Let me rephrase that. The great news? We are right across the road from the Knox County Fair and we have just enough time to catch the last hour of flat track motorbike races!!!!!! While eating 'fair' food!!!!

My mom was thinking of catching the shuttle back to the Super 8 (where she saved us $10 for being overaged). But she really enjoyed the motorbike races, so when she saw the sign for monster trucks, well, she forgot all about taking the shuttle.

Finally, back at the hotel room and ready for a good night's sleep. Mummy plops herself down on her bed.

"Ouch!", she says.

"What?", we say.

"My bum hurts!"

"Dirty old grandma."

At the end of day one we have spent $155.03. This is more than we'd like it to be.

$2.25 - Gatorade
$1.00 - Sunchips
$2.73 - 2 small cones from Dairy Queen
$4.37 - antique postcard and photo
$30.35 - full tank of gas
$3.58 - coffee, tea, Chexmix
$89.00 - double room at Super 8
$22.00 - food at the fair for 3

Anything else we ate or drank on the road we had brought with us in the cooler.

First Day!!!

2007-08-04T05:14:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you know what time it is, but damn, I'm tired. Only it's the start of Day Two on the road and I wanted to get this up so that you all can see what we've been up to. So, without further ado.....

This is a trip that I've been thinking about taking for about seven years now. I've driven cross-country before, but only with a destination in mind, not as a vacation in itself. Over the last 6 weeks or so I'd been hearing myself tell my friends again and again about the route I'd be taking and the things I'd be stopping to see. But every time I had that conversation with someone I felt doubt and a tinge of fear. I wasn't sure at all that I was really going to do this. I easily saw myself coming up with an excuse to just stay home for a month of vacation. Another Ferragosto. I'd just have to deal with a bit of shame and embarassment. Nothing I haven't dealt with before! But enough of that nonsense, because like Jack Kerouac I am ON THE ROAD!!!!!!

My travel buddies: (see that picture up there? It's up there because I'm still retarded trying to post pics on this thing). That's me Ma 'n me boy. (I'm a brave soul, aren't I?) Anyway, her name is Mary, a.k.a. Mummy, Ma, or Grand Mere (that thar is French for granny). Her real name shall remain withheld. Her real name is soooo beautiful that when she was introduced to pregnant women or their husbands they would cry tears of joy at the discovery of such a name that would be just perfect for their new baby girl. Women started going and getting themselves knocked up so they could name their baby this name. So in an effort to maintain the name's originality, she started calling herself "Mary". Now people don't even remember her name.

We departed Pittsburgh at 8:07 am on Friday, August 3, 2007. My car (Manuela), had 69,083 miles on it in the driveway.

9:07 am : West Virginia / 49.06 miles

9:18 am : Ohio / 62.08 miles

At the Ohio State Visitors Center, we stopped to use the restrooms and I smoked two cigarettes (because Mummy said to me nicely in the morning that if I needed a cigarette, could I please just pull the car over to smoke? Which is WAY better than anything she has EVER said to me before about smoking!!!!). Mummy likes to walk around in the grass and look for things. She found a quarter of a dollar and a quarter of a buckeye. We kept both. Alison and Rocky both called me while I sat there. What great timing.

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2007-07-02T23:08:00.001-07:00

DSC_0103.JPG, originally uploaded by milasantucci.

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2007-07-02T23:07:00.001-07:00

DSC_0077.JPG, originally uploaded by milasantucci.

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2007-07-02T23:06:00.001-07:00

DSC_0057.JPG, originally uploaded by milasantucci.

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2007-07-02T23:04:00.001-07:00

DSC_0055.JPG, originally uploaded by milasantucci.

The Time Is Now

2007-07-02T21:33:00.000-07:00

When you don't really know someone you can always talk about the weather to break the ice, so here goes. Although it is July, and traditionally we are hit with the three H's - Hazy, Hot, & Humid - the weather has been great. Since it's late in the day I won't keep looking for the line I want from Thomas Wolfe's "Look Homeward, Angel" to post here, but someone please remind me and someday I will. In the meantime, just to get a start on this thing, I'll say that the weather has been perfect for baseball.