Well, here I am, back in LA! So I guess that's it for this journal. Perhaps it will be revisited for another vacation, some other time... but in the mean time, thanks everyone for all your comments and for being part of our trip!! Hope you enjoyed it, and now that I'm back home, I hope to talk to everyone personally soon. If you're interested, and you've missed any of the entries, you can check out the "archive" section for all the old entries... Enjoy!

Isn't this the cutest picture ever??

Anyway we travelled from Amarillo to Flagstaff today, via I-40 which runs parallel to the famed Route 66. It was one of our smoothest drives ever (and it doesn't hurt that you can go 75 in New Mexico and Arizona...) plus we gained 2 hours thanks to time zones so we got here around 6 pm local time. We're staying at Howard Johnson's on Route 66, in case you're interested. Right now we're relaxing before tomorrow-- when we finally bring the kittens home!!

Guess that's all. I'll write a final entry when we return to LA...!

Crazy day. We left Little Rock this morning, but as we got closer and closer to Amarillo, we found ourselves in the middle of some very scary thunderstorms. Fortunately Cindy was driving at this point because I was a little freaked out by how hard it was raining and all the lightening. This wasn't just heat lightening-- it was the kind you see in movies and on TV! And of course, we were in the middle of Oklahoma and the entire landscape looked exactly like scenes from Twister. We feared the worst, but we got out of it, thankfully!! I don't know if any tornadoes hit later, but the weather certainly seemed prime for it... We were listening to this almost surreal little local radio station playing a very random selection of oldies. The station kept going in and out because of the lightening. Weird.

Anyway we made it here and now we're getting ready for bed. Enjoy the latest pics... gotta go, Simon is trying to type for me.
'night.

OK I know I owe you guys some pictures-- I'll put them up tonight, really I will --- but we drove 12 hours yesterday from Asheville to Little Rock and I was beyond exhausted once we got here... plus well... we do have 2 little monsters ;)

Anyway I don't have time to post much now cause we're about to leave for amarillo and this connection is pretty slow but anyway we'll be there tonight and hopefully I should have time to get some new kitty pics up...
:)

OK, guys, where did all your comments go?? It was much more fun doing this when I was getting the feedback... Oh well. Maybe I'll put up some more pictures of kittens tomorrow... then at least Sharon will comment!!

Anyway the good news of the day is that Libby (the mother cat) does NOT have FIP. She's at the vet's tonight, after her spaying and exploratory, but she comes back here tomorrow just in time for us to say goodbye to her before we hit the road.

So what else? Mainly we ran some errands today, barbecued in the rain, and fought with North Carolina DMV about Cindy's license plates. Bureaucracy at its finest. Tonight we're packing up the car and getting ready for the trip back. As I think it says in the itinerary, we stop in Little Rock, Amarillo, and Flagstaff -- but we won't be doing too much sightseeing since we have the kittens.

At least I'll be creeping back into better time zones...

all for now...

Well, we're back with the kittens!! Actually, today we took them to the vet to get their second set of vaccinations. I can't believe we get to take Simon and Bianca with us on Friday. It's wonderful... but also kind of sad to break up their little family, you know?? Anyway I know it's what's best for all of us, but it's still sad. Libby, their mother, goes in to be spayed tomorrow and since they have to open her up a little anyway, they are going to do an exploratory to try to figure out what is wrong with her (long story short, she's had some various symptoms that haven't been going away and that the vet hasn't quite been able to diagnose). Anyway she goes in for that surgery in the morning.

Friday we pack the kitties up and hit the long road home!

Not too much else to report... what happened to everyone's comments?? I post photos, stories... and I get no comments! :( Say something, if you're out there!!

I’m writing this update from the road… we’re not going to get into Asheville until probably midnight so I figured I’d be too tired by then to get online.

At any rate, we didn’t wind up going to Niagara Falls. We got on the road a little earlier than expected in Ithaca and we decided we’d seen so many pretty falls there, and since both of us had already been to Niagara Falls, it seemed like a better idea to get further down the road since we knew today would be a long day of driving. So instead, we stopped for the night in Erie, Pennsylvania. Note to Sharon: It was a handicapped room and right by the highway—but we kept the room, lol. This morning we got up and drove straight to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. The Hall of Fame was very cool – but I was bummed because they don’t allow you to take pictures inside. So while I expected to have a whole day’s worth of photos there, we were just able to take a few outside the building. So, no photos. :( But we did get to explore the museum – the coolest thing they had were a lot of original handwritten lyrics by the likes of Billy Joel, John Lennon, Suzanne Vega… even Martika! Did you know that “We Didn’t Start The Fire” was originally something like “Jolene, will you take me as I am” or something like that?? Crazy. The café there was lame, so we decided in the spirit of things to go to the Hard Rock Café, and all we had to do was type “Hard Rock Café” into the GPS, and we were there. Gotta love this car. Anyway we ate at Hard Rock, and then got on the road. Now we’re on the long drive to Asheville to begin the final leg of our journey. Can’t wait to see the kittens!

Lots of photos!!!

I'm trying to make up for the recent lack of imagery. But anyway those are photos from the wedding, and a picture of my parents up here in Ithaca. Yesterday we visited the different falls around here and then bbq'ed for dinner. Today we went to lunch, drove around Cornell (my Dad's favorite thing to show off), and now we're getting ready to head to Niagara Falls tonight. Not too many other stories from here... enjoy the pics for now...

SO sorry about the gap in entries. When we got to Vermont, we discovered, much to our surprise, that the place had no phones in the rooms, and our cell phones got no signal-- we were really out in the country!! Anyway I had to forgo the update briefly. But I'm back. I'm back. I'll tell the stories first and then I'll post some new pictures a little later. I'm at my parents' house in Ithaca right now so I'm actually on a high-speed connection -- woo hoo!!

So we left Long Island on a rainy, wet morning and did what most Long Islanders I know have never done -- took the ferry from Port Jeff to Bridgeport. It was actually a really nice ride and quite a bit more relaxing than driving through NYC on I-95. Our car was positioned right at the back of the boat so we had a great view without even leaving the car. After we de-boated at Bridgeport, we drove up to Middletown, where Wesleyan is, and I showed Cindy all around my old school grounds, and we even ate lunch at my favorite Indian restaurant, Taj, which is still there... and the same guy is actually still working there...scary!! A LOT has changed around there. There's actually a movie theater in walking distance from school!!!! SO jealous about this. We didn't have that!!! Middletown has definitely gotten in better shape. I was bummed though because Manhattan Bagel was closed... wanted some of that french vanilla cream cheese (Arwen knows what I'm talking about... ;) ) Anyway from Middletown we drove up to Grafton, Vermont, an adorable little town in the middle of nowhere -- but fortunately our GPS told us how to get there. Almost right away we saw Kelly who seemed SOOO happy. If you're reading this -- congratulations again Kel & Zoe! Anyway we checked in and panicked at the lack of phone situation... but we got through the withdrawl. Friday night there was a party thrown by the parents with a digital montage of their lives, which was really cool to see. Then we had lots of fun hanging out with Arwen and Dave and Kristin and Jim in the game room... (By the way, I won at pool!! Just had to point out that rare event).

The next morning we took advantage of the free breakfast with Arwen and Dave and then we met up with Kristin and Jim to walk around the town. The main attractions in Grafton include the Cheese factory and a sheep barn. Yes, that's a barn with sheep, and a place where they teach you how cheese is made and where you can buy the cheese as well as, of course, maple syrup! Then Cindy and I wandered around town buying souvenirs and we all met up again at Arwen and Dave's house, which kind of became the communal crash pad (thanks, guys!) since we had already checked out of our room.

The ceremony was beautiful, and we caught up with Lauren there too. Afterwards we were served a really good dinner... (Yes, I'm leaving out mention of the "contest"... those who were there know what i'm talking about and those who were not really don't need to). ;) and cake and ice cream, followed by dancing and some sweet parental speeches.

I wished we could have stayed longer but Cindy and I had decided that we were going to make it all the way to Ithaca last night... so we headed out around 9:30 on a dirt road where we actually saw our first MOOSE! I wish I had been able to take a picture of it but I didn't have my camera ready. Anyway we continued on and drove the back roads to Ithaca, successfully averting deer, racoons, squirrels and cats. We made it here very late and found a large racoon ravaging mom's bird feeders. He's caught on tape though, so he won't get away with it!

Anyway... here we are in Ithaca and I think we're going to explore the falls soon--- tonight I'll post pictures! :)

Ok... this one will have to be quick because it's late and I'm using the Rothblatts' internet connection. No pictures to see of Long Island -- we tried to get a good one of the NYC skyline, or what's left of it, but we couldn't get a good pic of it, plus... it was sad. Very sad to see that for the first time since, well, you know. Anyway we're at Jill's house tonight with Jill, Sue, Richard and Jill's parents. The good news is -- I had Carvel!!! (Em's been asking about this one...) Yum.

After spending the morning with Jenny, we surprised Cindy's NJ relatives with an unexpected visit! It was great to meet her random family members, and good for her to see people she never gets to see... dropping in on them when they least expected it!!

Cindy got to experience the LIE -- the world's longest parking lot... and then we arrived at Jill's place and we all went out for Thai food which was really good -- followed by Carvel. We hung out and reminisced -- probably not so fun for Cindy -- but fun for Jill, Sue and me! So anyway we're going to go to bed now -- tomorrow we're taking the ferry to CT and ending up in Vermont! I'm sure I'll have some pictures then...

:) 'night.

Arrrrgh. My computer crashed as I was writing this so I have to write it all over again. This morning we sadly had to leave the kittens for a week to do the northeastern portion of our trip. Everyone’s doing well… though Simon freaked out when I walked into the “nursery” with a bag of carrots. No one else reacted but he ran off and kept eyeing the carrots, looking terrified. We’re trying to figure out if he had a traumatic incident with carrots in his past. If anyone has any ideas on this, let me know. I said to Cindy, “he’s definitely your cat – he’s afraid of vegetables.”

So anyway we took the long trek up from Asheville to Philadelphia today – not as scenic as our past drives, unless you consider construction and old battlefields scenic. But we successfully crossed the Mason-Dixon line and thanks to the Lexus GPS, we were directed accurately straight to Jenny’s apartment. When we arrived in the driveway, it even said “You have reached your destination.” Amazing!!! This thing was truly a trip.

Now we’re here in Philadelphia with Jenn and her husband David – they have a cool apartment with a great view of some river I can’t pronounce. And tomorrow we’re off to Jersey and Long Island…don’t think we’ll find much more scenery there…

Sorry, no new pics today -- have to get to bed really soon because we're driving all the way up to Philadelphia tomorrow. We're still in Asheville -- our first full non-driving day, which was wonderful!! I was able to work out with Cindy's mom's exercise equipment, I watched All My Children, and we went out to dinner at a Chinese buffet. Good stuff. Cindy took care of her drivers' license and inspection and all that, and the Lexus arrived from Jacksonville! It's pretty cool. Kinda weird with its whole touch screen radio and navigation and all that... but cool.

The kittens are doing well. They're jumping around and being cute and Libby (their mom) is doing really well. She had a tapeworm when she first arrived, then some mysterious symptoms, which now seem like they might be allergies. Plus she's in heat -- the poor thing needs to be spayed really soon. She's just the sweetest cat though :)

Anyway I'm sure I'll put up more pictures of all of them later -- but for now, I'm going to try to get ready to get back into the car...

:)

It’s kitten day!!! We arrived in Asheville after a long drive from Alabama, stopping in Atlanta to visit my cousin Jennifer, who is doing great. We got a preview of our upcoming animal adventures when we met her two dogs and her cat. She’s got a great place in downtown Atlanta, and we were sorry we couldn’t stay longer – but we had to make it up to Asheville, another 3 ½ hours away. When we got here, we first met Libby, the kittens’ mom, who is a little angel. We heard that the temperament of the mom is indicative of what the temperament of the babies will be, and if that’s the case, we’re very lucky. Then we met the kittens – all four!! The two that Cindy’s mom is keeping are Rex and Jack, and the two that we’re keeping are Simon and Bianca. If you want to know who’s who, visit our cats page. Anyway, Simon immediately gave me kisses, Bianca loves to be held and cuddled, and Rex and Jack love to play… well, okay, they all love to play, but Rex and Jack are the most active. It’s really wonderful watching their little family interact. We’re not actually taking Simon and Bianca with us until our second trip to Asheville on the way back since they probably would not enjoy the trip up the east coast and back, haha. But anyway they are all wonderful!! I put up the best ones above and if I ever have time to get all the pics up on my imagestation page, there will be more! I can’t wait for all of you to meet them at one time or another. Anyway, it’s been a kitten day, and I’m very happy. Also we get to take a much-needed breather tomorrow here in Asheville, which is nice. Then Wednesday it’s up to Philadelphia…

Morning in the French Quarter was quite different than evening there... but somehow the same. It definitely feels like there's a party going on all the time… but by day while the bars aren’t as raucous, the cafes are full as are the shops. So we were glad that we had checked out Café du Monde last night because the line there was a mile long in daylight. So we at breakfast at Café Beignet at our hotel and did some shopping before checking out of our room at noon and driving to Alabama.

I’m still confused about the gambling laws in Louisiana and Mississippi. If anyone can explain them to me, please feel free to do so. We arrived in Gulf Shores, Alabama around 4:30. Here, we’re staying at Cindy’s Dad’s condo with him and Cindy’s half-brother Ted and his friend Brendan. The beach is amazing here – the softest white sand I’ve ever felt, and the water in the gulf is actually warm.

Anyway – we went out to dinner. There’s no real way to describe this experience… other than that I knew I was in the South when we arrived at Lamberts, home of the “throwed roll.” I’m going on the assumption that they know that “throwed” is not a word, but one never knows. And in case you are wondering, yes, they throw rolls at you. They pitch them. Kind of like in baseball. The problem is you have to catch them. Those who know me know I am not very good at catching. I did catch half of one… I’m not doing an adequate job of describing this place – it’s something you really have to see to believe so please check out the Lambert’s website. What else can I say?

Now we’re back at the condo getting ready for bed and it looked like the Lakers were about to make it to the playoffs or whatever they’re called… I can only imagine the partying that’s going on in L.A…. ‘Night, all.

It’s almost 1 am here in Louisiana, so this might be a little short – I’m tired! This morning I got up early (even earlier than our normal 8 am wakeup time) to go to Southfork Ranch as soon as it opened. For those out there who happen to not be psychotic Dallas fans 11 years after its cancellation, Southfork was the location site for all the exterior scenes from the show, and is now a museum dedicated to it, and a convention center. Anyway Cindy passed on the chance to experience this in favor of sleep, but I went, bought souvenirs, of course, and saw the very tacky “museum” area with TVs running clips from the show, while the radio played God Blessed Texas over and over again. The walls are lined with magazine articles (some of which I remembered hanging in my room for many years!) and cast photos and whatnot. Very cheesy, but fun stuff. Then I got the tour, where the guide told me all about the “movie magic” they used to film the show, haha. (I should mention, by the way, that I was the only one there for this and got my own private tour) It was silly, but fun. After that experience, I picked up the sleeping one, and we began our long drive to New Orleans. Yucky traffic getting out of Texas. Bleh.

Once we got into Louisiana, things got more interesting. For one thing, gambling is legal in this state – I’m not sure how they set up the zoning laws though, because it’s nothing like Nevada… The “casinos” seem to all be small video poker houses attached to gas stations, like the food mart. Very odd.

Then we got further south and I got to see the swamps and the bayous. That was cool. Note to Sharon: I thought of Greta, lol.

Finally, around 9 pm we arrived in New Orleans. We got off the exit and briefly went the wrong way and found ourselves in the middle of what felt like south central LA. Note to Em: Think those neighborhoods in mid-Wilshire about 5 times worse… Shades of Tijuana too…Anyway we found our way and it’s amazing how you cross the street (Rampart, appropriately enough) and you’re suddenly in the tourist-friendly French Quarter. Again I’m reminded of the problems of unequal distribution of wealth in this country… but anyway back to happier things.

We got to our hotel, which is charming, and then went for a late dinner at a place called Nola, which is an Emeril Lagasse restaurant. I was a bit skeptical because it was one of those places where you have like 5 different servers and you never know who to ask for anything, and the water guy gets annoyed if you ask him for food and the waitress gets annoyed if you ask her for drinks, etc. (Yes, this is one of my many pet peeves because you never know who to complain to if they get your order wrong) But in spite of the weird service, the food was great. Really, some of the yummiest stuff we’d ever had. I got some kind of roasted chicken which came with a parmesan polenta which I was leery of because of the parmesan factor… but which actually was delicious and tasted neither like parmesan or polenta. Cindy got pork chops with really really good brown sugar basted sweet potatoes.

After dinner we strolled the streets and went to Café du Monde for hot chocolate and beignets. And I don’t care what anybody says… it’s funnel cake. A little dougier, but definitely funnel cake. Gotta love that powdered sugar!!!

I think that’s all. Now we’re back in the room… I gotta get some sleep.

By the way, I’ve put a few more pictures up on the photos page if you get a chance to look... :)