North of Chicago

So the McDonalds in Bangor smelled like sewer, bad, so we left pretty early for Acadia State Park. We had a great time driving the park loop, checking out Thunder Hole, and driving to the top of Cadillac Mountain. We left the park and headed to a little lobster shack, right on the water. It was great, but nice things are lost on Lauren. We were going to take the ferry to Nova Scotia, but it was closed because of the hurricane. We drove about 3 hours through nothingness to Calais, ME, only to be turned around by Canadian Border Guards. They said my record was not sufficiently clean, and I need to apply for rehabilitated criminal status. We had our truck ripped apart and searched twice. I didn't feel much like driving, so we stayed at the Walmart (after their power came back on). We backtracked all the way through Bangor, Vermont, and headed for Buffalo. I drove about 12 hours and slept in a Walmart in New York near Lake Champlain. In the morning we had chicken at Walmart and headed for Niagra Falls. It was packed, and I couldn't go to the Canadian side, so after a few hours, we left. We stayed up for a while in a McDonalds on the way to Sandusky, OH, because it was open 24 hours. But, that means they let some colorful people in. We went to bed when we were tired of the hoopin' and hollarin'. We went to the Walmart next to the Mcdonalds and went to bed. It was nice, we parked against a big grassy hill. In the morning we watched the first 2 Mad Max movies and drove all the way to Sandusky and found a place near the hotel to park. We went for a walk and found out that the mini golf was free for the evening. We only got through half of a game before they closed though. We got about half way through Beyond Thunderdome, and I fell asleep. We had a blast in the park. Usually amusement park experience, complete with funnel cakes. We went out halfway through the day to have lunch, and I decided that I'd rather eat other people's trash than my own Taco Bell leftovers. That night, we tried to sleep in the smae spot, but security ran us off. We went to a Walmart and went to bed. The next morning, we found that we had internet in the Walmart lot, so we got some rice and chilled out. We went to a Koa so Lauren could shower and drove to the first rest sop in Michigan before we realized I lost my passport and credit card. I called Cedar Point and sure enough, they had it. I drove all the way back to get it, and re-drove everything I had just done. We were shot, so we went to Cracker Barrel to decompress. After that we got close to the Gilmore Car Museum and crashed in a Walmart. In the morning we had chicken and went shopping. We watched Tucker: The Man and the Dream, and went to the museum to see number 47. Then we drove through downtown Chicago, and found a Walmart about an hour north. The GPS has been screwing up alot, and I think its because I wont pay $120 to update the map software. It took 3 tried to locate a Walmart. We watched most of THX-1138, and went to bed. This morning we tried to finish it but I was out of power. We cleaned out the truck, refilled our water, had a nice brunch, and left. We were going to another car museum, but its a big one, so we decided to start early tomorrow. We're in a Mcdonalds now, charging everything we have. Signing off..

Bangor, ME

So, we agreed to stay an extra week at Lauren's aunt's house, so we could watch her dog while we went out of town. We stay 5 days of that, to find out "her landlord" does not want us to stay. We quietly left. We went to a Dick's to find Lauren a headlamp, but they didn't really have anything. We went to Panera for their internet, till they closed. We found an Eastern Mountain Sports to stay at. In the morning Lauren got her headlamp, and we got some bagels and did laundry. We headed all the way past Providence, RI and stayed in a Wal-mart parking lot. I was gearing up to "shop" for a few hours, but they closed at midnight. We went to Boston, but the traffic was incredible. It was moving-in day for the college students, and there was some street fair going on. We drove past Cheers and headed to a Panera to regroup. Then, we went to a park, but the music from the club next door was so bad we left. We stayed nearby the Sam Adams brewery. In the morning we were on the first tour. We tasted several of their beers (and their ingredients) all for free. We went across town to the USS Constitution, but the shit was closed that day for some reason. We went to the museum instead. We had lunch, and went back across town for a sampling at the Harpoon brewery. My favorite is still the Leviathan Imperial IPA. We headed up I-93, and found a McDonalds. They didn't have any wi-fi, so we went to another one, but it had no outlets. We used a light bulb socket adapter, but the assistant fat-manager said it wouldn't fly. He made up some story about how they were remodeling, because he didn't have the nerve to just tell us not to. We found a nice corner of a 24hr Wal-mart, and I got a 30 pack. We continued up 93 and drove out NH 112 and played in a  creek with the dog. He's doing pretty well, but he still had a few hard landings. We kept going North to what they call the basin. It had some very interesting stream beds. We  went all the way into Vermont for some cheese; I found an aged, maple smoked sharp cheddar. We headed east on US-2, and found a diner. We had good food and fantastic service. We continued on to a McDonalds, just north of Mt. Washington. It didn't have any outlets, but I was able to check the weather with my laptop battery. They had an amazing parking lot. We were so far away from the building, that we were able to leave the rear window open all night. We woke up to the sound of a small stream, just starting to flow out of a big pond. We, boogied for Mt. Washington. My truck doesn't have a CD or a tape player, so I had to put the "complimentary" audio tour on Lauren's laptop and run it through the truck's speakers. We went right up, stopping twice. Once to pick up some mica, and once to put on sweatshirts. We made it to the summit and took some pictures, but it was very foggy (cloudy?). We piddled around, and had some hotdogs, and eventually headed down. I didn't feel the need to cool my brakes, but I did go very slowly. After the decent, and a tour of their gift shop, we took off for Bangor, ME, and Lauren even got some wheel time on the way. We are headed to the Arcadia area in the morning, and maybe on towards Halifax. Hurricane Earl is supposed to hit sometime Friday...

Lauren's Aunt's House

After some forceful negotiation, I managed to replace the lock on my topper. I had to get new bolts at a local hardware store. They had shoplifting warnings everywhere, even life-sized cut-outs of police officers in all the isles. They had to go into the back room for my bolts, but the woman said they were only 43 cents, I could just have them. We pretty much wasted the rest of the day, until Linda came home and made dinner. In the morning we gathered some things and headed toward the city. We walked about 5 blocks to where I thought a shoe store was to sew Riley's service dog patch on, but we didn't see it. We caught the train into Penn Station and walked up to Times Square. Lauren got a blue M golf ball at the M&M's store, then we headed up to meet her cousin Joe. He gave us a tour of the studio where they master albums. We walked around the aircraft carrier Interepid, and met back up for some German food. It was a little pricey, but it was amazing. I have to learn how to make herring like that. After lunch we headed toward Tom's Restaurant form Seinfeld, but it was several blocks, so Lauren waited for me in Central Park. I had an apple and a brown bag, and I came back to meet her. We went into the subway, but the trains were down, so we walked down one station. We sat on one for about 30 minutes, but when it finally left, it went the wrong way. we got turned around and checked out ground zero. We were going to Ellis Island, but it got to be too late. I got a PBR, and Lauren's knees were hurting, so we headed toward the house. This morning, I picked up my new camera at Best Buy, and played with it for a while. I got a message from Joe (Hamsher) saying he got a tattoo, but thats all the info I have. We went to a diner with Jayne (Linda's cousin), and it was very good. Linda asked if we wanted to stay for another week so we could watch her dog, Froto, when she went out of town, and we said that would be fine. I'm exhausted, so I'm going to stop before I make any more typos.

Long Island

We got up, packed up, said our goodbye's and loaded up the truck. We headed into DC to check out the sights, and we were finished withing 20 minutes. Then, we got stuck in traffic for an hour. We went through downtown Baltimore and up into Delaware. We drove all the way down to Chincoteague island and spent the night in the parking lot of a Comfort Inn. Delaware blows. This morning, we had the free continental breakfast, and headed to the Assateague Island visitor center. We saw some ponies in a coral, and walked out to see more of them in the wild. The mosquitoes were awful. They hurt when they bit you. On the way back we stopped for gas and some off-brand Fanta Slurpees, and drove north. We were almost to the Cape May Ferry, when Lauren's aunt, Terrie and her daughter opted not to have us over, even though we are rarely able to visit. The ferry took about 70 minutes and was nice. Not 46$ worth of nice, but nice. So we drove up through New Jersey, dodging every toll. We went to the Quick Stop from the movie, Clerks. We tried to set the GPS for Brooklin, but we still had the toll avoidance enabled, so it recommended we drive through Minnesota, and through Canada. We turned off that setting, paid 8.35 and were there in 2 hours. We are staying with Lauren's aunt, Linda, and she is very nice. Her Pomeranian  is pretty neat too.  I ordered my digital camera, and I'll pick it up around here in 5-7 days. I'm going to replace the topper lock on the truck tomorrow, then head into the city Thursday to meet Lauren's cousin Joe. I'm going to try to catch George if he's still on Long Island, but we'll see.

Lauren's Parents' House: Still

We went to The Cheesecake Factory; I had never been. It was good. Mike decided to leave. Then next day we rescheduled our visit with Kristin, had some tilapia, and went to the mall. I replaced my North Face high-tech action shorts that had a hole in them, and we looked for a charger for my camera. I've been waiting for years to get a waterproof camera that had a better zoom. They have always been 3x. One came out that was 3.6x, and I finally settled for it. While we were at the mall, I see that they now have 5x for only 40$ more. I've only had mine for two months. I'm going to try to sell mine to my brother, and get the new one. 

   The next day we went to the VA DMV, it was excruciating. Lauren's number was B78, and they were only on B62. I went for a walk and got some Mcdoanlds. It was so busy that cashiers were taking orders with clipboards and umbrellas all around the sides of the building. I ate my Mcgangbang +bbq, and headed back. B65. I went back out to the Sheetz and got a Tilt and an orange cream cookie sandwich. I drank the Tilt in the tractor supply store, and got a new light bulb/ac adapter adapter (they're priceless when you need one). I brought the cookie back to Lauren; B72. We traded off playing games on her new cell phone until it was time. Then we went to the nursing home. It was nice, Lauren's grandmother was doing well, and looking good. We had some Giovanni's and went to walk some dogs. I also checked at Butt's for some "Doah"/"Mac" Stickers, but they were closed. We came home and started recording the Redskins game with the DVR, but since neither of us new how to do it, it was on the wrong channel. It was the game, but we recorded the first 4 minutes in standard definition, rather that high definition. I don't know how we could have been so foolish. I decided to take a long nap.

  The next afternoon we went to see Lauren's friend Kristin and her husband, Joey, and her son Caleb. While we were waiting, I got a tall boy and a hot sausage. The credit card machine was screwy, and the lady was a bitch about it. We had Chinese, in Berryville, and went to the Clarke County Fair demolition derby. They only had 3 rounds, but it was still fun. I stopped for a refreshment on the way home, and went upstairs to rest.

  We are doing our best to destroy the leftovers, and Lauren is doing the laundry. We were going to DC today, but its kinda nasty out. It is definitely time to continue on.

Lauren's Parents' House

We went to see Mel and Brook Byers at their kennel out past Charles Town. We watched part of Blazing Saddles, then headed to meet Melissa for dinner. On the way, I ran a red light beside a cop and pulled off before he could even turn on his lights. Mi Degollado was great. Lauren left her camera there, but she went back for it. Budek came over to the Inn for a while, and we hung out with Jesse and Josh. Jesse even gave me a harmonica. In the morning, we cleaned up, said goodbye to Melissa, got some postcards, and headed to Bakerton and River Riders to see the progress. Then, we went to a kennel in Purcellville to get a dog tag and to let Lauren visit an old friend. On the way we saw a KFC/Taco Bell combo that got me thinking about burritos and gravy. We headed for her parents house, and I had some of their leftover Chinese food. Lauren's brother, Mike has his cat here and he's great. I think we are try to organize a trip to the Cheesecake Factory; I've never been. We're watching a Tivo'd episode of America's Got Talent. Woo...

Melissa's place, Harper's Ferry

Change of Plans. We left ASCI a little later than we wanted to, so we could eat more free food. We said goodbye to Angel, Brent, and Colin. Then we hopped over to Ohiopyle and hung out with Grizz. We decided to run the Cheat at 1.8', and it was a blast. I borrowed a Z and Lauren shredded with Grizz. I think she's already purchased a Shredder in her mind. After we sorted out gear we headed for Harpers Ferry, but there was a wreck on I68, that cost us an hour. Melissa was too tired to come to her place, so we crashed there. This morning I finally closed my JSB account, and received a whole 32.99; 20 of which went to new brakes. (US 381 pushed 'em over the edge) I got a High Gravity 40oz, and went back to the apartment/hostel thing to put 'em on. I think the old ones were original. I had to lower the truck onto the wrench to get some of the bolts out, but it only took about an hour. Once Lauren finally got up, we went down to see Melissa hard at work. We then went to Taco Bell, and Lauren visited a friend. In about an hour, we're going to go run the Needles. Tomorrow, we kill time until 6:30ish when we go to Mi Degollado for Margaritas with Budek, Melissa, Lydia and Rebecca. Early Wednesday, we head to Sterling, VA. I left my camera charger in my parents car, so it will need to be mailed. And Lauren phone alarm goes off for like 3 seconds then turns itself off completely; we need a 3 rd party application or maybe a hack. More to come...