Tag: road trip

“Oh shit, there’s running involved!” – Me

On By HanneIn TravelLeave a comment

Oh man, these bison are crazy!

IMG_6661Traffic slowed to a snails pace as we approached a few bison along side the road. They were walking in a line and suddenly were walking alongside the road. People moved super slow, and the bison didn’t seem to care. That said, several cars started to go around and pass on the quicker side which upset the SUPER GIANT ANIMALS. So the car in front of us picked up speed and as the car passed, the bison started moving quicker, tail was swishing and head lowered. I was certain that the car was going to lose it’s back bumper. My turn to pass was next and we went far out into the lane for on-coming traffic (no cars were coming, obviously). There were a few more ahead, so traffic was slow, but once they were behind us, the other drivers were trying to get them to move faster and suddenly they were running behind us and we had nowhere to go. Eventually they crossed the street, but between Cait and I it was a chorus of “OH GOD, I DON’T WANT TO DIE” and “DON’T HIT MY CAR” and “OH SHIT, THEY’RE RUNNING.”

Overall, I’m still madly in love with Yellowstone. Weather wasn’t great, but it wasn’t awful either. A few patches of rain/hail, but nothing to keep us in the car when we wanted to pop out for a picture.

We hit Cody, WY around 4pm and went through the Buffalo Bill Historical Center (cool, but over-priced). We’ve got a lazy evening in the hotel and a relatively early morning as we head 10 hours south to Pueblo, Colorado (plus a few museums).

Whoever is happy will make others happy, too. — Anne Frank

On By HanneIn Travel, Uncategorized1 Comment

Shots on a barAh yes, it’s finally that time of year again. Time to hit the road, time to move with the wind (though preferably not tornado type wind)… whatever you’d like to call it.

Time to dust off the gps, the state maps, and settle into some long drives across the country. Time to turn up the tunes and pick a pair of shades.

TIME TO ROAD TRIP.

I hope to be blogging fairly regularly over the next three weeks. And I promise it’ll be more than ramblings about NCIS and Mark Harmon (though Fri/Sat are reserved for NCIS love).

A quick over-view of my route:

trip2013

“Put your heart, mind, intellect and soul even to your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.” – Swami Sivananda

On By HanneIn TravelLeave a comment

It’s funny how there is always something – something that sparks extra excitement within us. It’s like my heart-rate jumps, I sit up a little taller, I focus a little harder. It almost sounds like I’m in love. And to some extent, I am.

The prospect of another road trip. I know there is always another trip ahead of me, but usually I don’t know when. Without specific dates, I can plug them into a hotel finder or search local events. But now with the dates locked in for Mark Harmon’s charity event in OKC, I have dates. And it’s like something has been lifted off of me. I have that goal, and I want nothing more than to go barreling head-first toward it.

It’s not just the actual trip – it’s the planning, the reading, the maps… I feel like an addict of sorts, checking and rechecking distances and drive times. I know I can comfortably hit 6-700 miles in a day, up as high as 900 if I’ll have a break the following day. I know how much time I need for bathroom breaks and fuel purchases and that I need to add an extra hour for roads I’ve never driven so that I can pull off to take photos.

For the roads I’ve already driven, I have favorite coffee shops and diners, dotted along the route. Favorite bars and restaurants in the cities I know so well.

There are gift-shops and postcards. Tourist information centers and truck stops. The new people you meet. This year will be nearly 7,000 miles of both familiar and unfamiliar territory.

IMG_3363Of all the places I’ll be returning to one this trip, Memphis, TN is my favorite. While I would never live there (own a vacation home, yes), Memphis is a place that I consider to be my ‘Soul-City’. A place where you find yourself letting out a deep sigh, dropping all the negative baggage and breathing in renewed energy. Some places, when I arrive, I spend the first evening in my hotel room, with a bottle of wine after a hot shower. Memphis is one of those places where I can’t get my car unloaded fast enough, as all I want to do is stand in the middle of Beale and watch the excitement move around me.

It’s simply mesmerizing.

So I still have a good four months to go – I foresee several more trips to AAA, numbers of miles and drive times mesmerized and outfits analyzed. But it’s good. These are all things that make me feel alive. I feel more inspired for the gym. I want to read more. I want to write more. I just want more out of life when I have a goal within reach.

It feels good to feel alive again.