Northeast Tour Day 7 (State Capitols)

Inspired by our visit to the nation's capitol, Ursa and I decided that we would add a few detours to our drive from Washington D.C. to Cape Cod. We wanted to see how many state capitols we could see during the drive. It brought a fun and educational flair to our day of driving.

Maryland Statehouse, at Annapolis

Our first stop was very near Washington, in Annapolis, Maryland. This is the oldest statehouse in continuous use, and dates to 1772. The statehouse sits in the middle of State Circle, a long row of government all built of matching brick, and passed by on sidewalks made of matching brick; so much brick that Ursa commented to me, "Who knew that this much brick even existed." And she was right, that was a LOT of brick.

Delaware Legislative House

From there we drove to Legislative Hall in Dover, Delaware. Delaware is known as "The First State" as that they were proudly the first to ratify the Constitution of the United States. Not far from Legislative Hall we had a quick lunch at the coolest coffee shop you've ever seen, Governor's Cafe, which is located inside a historic home on Heritage Trail near the Governor's Mansion. It's not often that one rave's about a grilled cheese sandwich, but I'm doing it now.

New Jersey State Capitol in Trenton

The next stop on our state capitol road trip was New Jersey's capitol, Trenton. The capitol building was easily visible from the interstate, but up close it was hard to get an angle to photograph. All of the other buildings were too tightly packed around it, and there was the State's World War II Memorial in front of it that was hard to get a photo around. This is the type of challenge that makes photography so much fun. There is always some new problem to overcome, always some new challenge to getting your shot. I finally found an angle along the back side of the building, similar to the view from the freeway.

Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford (photo by Ursa Davis)

Getting the photo was one challenge, but getting past New York City at 5 o'clock would be something else entirely. Even skirting the edges of the Big Apple at rush hour was a nightmare, and that's when the rain began to fall. It wasn't too bad at first but by the time we reached Hartford, Connecticut night had fallen, the roads were still clogged, and the rain was coming down in buckets. We did however get a slight reprieve from the rain just long enough for us to set up Ursa's camera to get a shot of the beautiful Connecticut Statehouse. (My camera envy again rears it's ugly head, as Ursa is able to take the kind of quality night photos that my camera simply cannot)

Rhode Island State Capitol in Providence (photo by Ursa Davis)

We drove on through the rain that continued to alternate from drizzle to deluge without much of a middle range. Our intention was for Hartford to be our last stop before we reached Cape Cod, but as it would so happen, our route took us right through the heart of Providence, Rhode Island, so we decided, what the hell, we'll stop for one more night photo. And we were again fortunate enough to have the weather cooperate by having the rains relent for a few minutes while we got our photo. Afterward we finished our drive to Cape Cod, and checked into our hotel late at night and laid down for a long rest.

Northeast Tour Day 6 (Washington D.C.)

80 degrees may not seem overly hot, certainly not to a kid from the desert like me, but I'm not from the desert anymore, and living in Alaska has apparently turned me into a big wuss when it comes to dealing with the heat. Though as bad as the hot weather got to me, it got to Ursa much worse.

As we walked around the National Mall in Washington D.C. we found ourselves on the edge of heat stroke before we got to the Jefferson Memorial, and ready to go Bear Grylls for some food before we got to the Lincoln Memorial, and no source of sustenance to be found. Should you ever find yourself in Washington D.C. might I recommend a backpack with the necessities, like water and a sandwich.
The National Mall is huge, we walked for six and a half miles but by stopping at all the monuments and attractions it took us around six hours and that does not include visiting any museums, of which there are many. Ten museums of the Smithsonian Institute are there waiting to be explored, but just visiting the monuments will take a full afternoon.

The subway deposited us near the Air and Space Museum, but we decided that it would be our last stop before we returned to our hotel. We walked past and marveled at the array of museums before we finally came to the Washington Monument. Like most people, I am very familiar with what the Washington Monument looks like, but what I was impressed by is the omnipresence of the monument as you make your way around the National Mall. It is seemingly everywhere, always somewhere within your view.

The next stop on our walk was the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. One of the great American statesmen and one of the founding fathers of the country; writer of the Declaration of Independence, Secretary of State under George Washington, Vice President under John Adams and the Third President of the United States. One of the quotes that adorned his memorial seemed especially poignant, "I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must also keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain even under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors."

The next memorial was the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, which, to be quite honest, was one of the two monuments that moved me to tears. This was the man who led us through not only one of the great calamities of the country's history (The Great Depression) but also guided us through the Second World War. I couldn't help but tear up when I read his quote: "I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded... I have seen the dead in the mud. I have seen cities destroyed... I have seen children starving. I have seen the agony of mothers and wives. I hate war."

One of the monuments that I was most looking forward to seeing was the newest, the Martin Luther King Memorial. The quote on the side of the sculpture reads, "Out of a mountain of despair; a stone of hope". What a profound statement of one of the great humanitarians not only of our country, but of the world. A man who sought to change the face of the nation through peace; a man who succeeded in the face of impossible odds. A man who believed that "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

Probably the most iconic of all the monuments along the National Mall is the Lincoln Memorial. The stoic visage of Abraham Lincoln gazing out at the nation that he helped to hold together is a moving reminder of one of the greatest of American Presidents.

Next to the Lincoln Memorial is the Vietnam Memorial. The simple black wall engraved with the names of fallen soldiers is a stark display of the true cost of war, the human cost of war. The power of this monument is in it's simplicity; no images, no sculptures just the sheer weight of row after row of names. This is the other memorial that moved me to tears, and I don't know of many people that it wouldn't.

Finally, what trip to Washington would be complete without a visit to the nations front lawn at the White House. As I looked at the White House I could only think of the great honor, and the great responsibility that goes along with the Presidency of the United States of America. And what a marvelous system of governance that we have that allows all of us, regardless of what our political beliefs may be, to speak our mind in regards to who occupies this house, and the importance of the civic duty that we all owe in speaking our minds at the voting booth. November will soon be upon us my friends, remember to vote.

Northeast Tour Day 4 (Grand Valley, Pennsylvania)

After the wedding in Brookville was done, the whole wedding party, all 29 of us, jumped in our cars and drove an hour and a half north to Grand Valley, where we checked into Woodland Lodge. The lodge was a humongous 14 bedroom, 9 bath house, divided into 2 wings. It was a gorgeous venue, ideal for this type of party.

The lodge was lost in the forest, and had miles and miles of hiking trails; those of you who are regular readers will know that one of my hobbies is birding, and I was delighted to get a chance to wander through the woods and see some lovely birds. There were lots of chickadees, as well as warblers, and there was some form of small hawk that I got two very short glances at but couldn't identify, and some type of jay that I could hear but never got a look at. My favorite though was an adorable downy woodpecker who was flitting around me for quite a while.

One of the other amenities of the lodge was it's "barn" which gave us a great space for everyone to gather together. We had a wonderful evening there of eating slow cooked brisket that was to die for and dancing to the live musicians that took the stage. It was a wonderful reception, and a fun two nights, and an absolute pleasure to meet everyone. And I would again like to thank, congratulate, and wish all of our best to Liz and Joe.
We are sad to leave this fantastic place, but we must head south today to Washington DC. See you all in a couple of days. Bye!

Northeast Tour Day 3 (Brookville Pennsylvania)

Our day today was not really OUR day, it was actually Liz and Joe's day. The wedding of our friends, Liz and Joe, was the whole purpose of this trip. I would like to thank them, congratulate them, honor them, and support them in their journey through life together. Congratulations to you both.

The wedding was held in an absolutely lovely, stone church along the banks of a lazily flowing river. We showed up a little early so that Ursa could help Liz with her makeup. While she was doing that, I mostly just marveled at all the people who made a point to take over some form of duties. This was very much the traditional wedding, with every brother, sister, aunt, uncle and distant cousin finding some way to chip in and find a role to play, be it in the kitchen, or organizing the reception area, shuffling decorations, herding children, building flower arrangements, and on and on; everyone had something. It was a trundling dance of chaotic efficiency. Perhaps others may not marvel at the inner workings of a large family in the same way that I do, but it's not something that I'm all that experienced with. It was fascinating.
The wedding itself was lovely, the church clad in fall colors and harvest decor such as pumpkins and gourds, indian corn and wheat stalks lain liberally about. The ceremony, performed by Liz's father, Tim, was light and heart felt.

Afterwards, at the reception, we all got to see the results of everyone's hard work, especially that of our friends Katie and Autumn who did a lion's share of work over several days to help pull the whole event together, including making her famous pumpkin rolls which are so unbelievably addictive that I'm going to have to ween myself slowly off of them in order to avoid going through withdrawals.
All in all it was a fantastic wedding, and a lovely gathering of friends and family, and we wish Liz and Joe nothing but love, happiness, and our warmest of regards.

Northeast Tour Day 2 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

After 8 hours of flying through the night, Ursa and I finally landed in Pittsburgh. We had a little time to do some exploring, so we picked up our rental car and drove up to Mount Washington where we got a gorgeous view of the city. After which we drove around a little to get a feel for some of the neighborhoods of the city. Pittsburgh has a lot of character, a lot of dirt under it's nails. A broke in, lived in look, like a comfortable pair of old shoes.

After our short drive we made our way over to Phipps Conservatory, which is maybe the most amazing botanical garden that I've ever been to, and it was a great way to stretch out our legs that had grown so stiff over the flight.

The first, striking thing about the Conservatory is the structure itself; long greenhouses, glass domes and a huge special event area. We spent around 3 hours walking around the inside and were awe struck throughout at the variety of indoor and outdoor gardens each with it's own individual theme, but I have to say that the highlight for me was the orchid room. Every flower was a fragrant work of art unto itself.

Speaking of art, throughout the Conservatory were works by one of my favorite artists, Dale Chihuly, a remarkable glass artist. To tell the truth, my favorite medium of art is sculpture, especially when displayed outdoors. When it's trapped in a museum sculpture loses it's ability to effect, and be effected by the world around it; the time of day, the weather, the seasons all change the look of a sculpture, and how it effects the viewer. Chihuly's glass is very much the same. Seeing it in a museum just doesn't do it justice, it has to be viewed in context with the world around it. That's why the Phipps Conservatory was such an ideal venue to display his works.

After our trip to Phipps Conservatory we made the hour or so drive out to Brookville, to attend the wedding of our friends Liz and Joe in the morning.

Northeast Tour Day 1 (Anchorage, Alaska)

Last night I returned to Anchorage after a short hitch at work in Prudhoe Bay, and this morning I took a rare opportunity to relax and recharge. I also had to marvel at the gusting wind and rain in Anchorage. The weather has apparently been awful ever since we got back from Canada and the evidence of flooding was jaw dropping from the air while I was flying in from Prudhoe. This morning I got to see first hand the gusting winds that I had heard so much about.

After a slow morning, I had to run a couple of errands, specifically getting a much needed haircut. The first place that I went turned out to be a really shady looking barber shop that didn't appear to have a pair of scissors in the whole place, everyone on the overcrowded waiting bench was getting their hair buzzed. I pretended to get a phone call and walked out. The next place was a Master Cuts in the Diamond Center Mall, where this little Asian lady with the worst dye job ever and an accent that sounded just like Miss Swan from Mad TV, took me over to a chair and put the cape over me and walked away. Part of me was thinking, "don't let her cut your hair. . . don't let her cut your hair. . . don't let her cut your hair. . ." while there was secretly another part of me that wanted her to come back so that I could try to get her to use the phrase "You lookalike a man". In the end she did come back and gave me a thoroughly mediocre haircut then asked if I used gel in my hair. I said, "no", and she promptly filled her hand with gel and said, "here, you just do thees", so I said "no, thank you," and she proceeded to put the gel in my hair anyway. "Here, you just do it thees way".  Thanks.
Back at home it was time to pack. We'll be attending a wedding, so I'll be needing a suit, and at least a weeks worth of clothes. Don't forget the electronics, we wouldn't want to be caught anywhere in the modern world without those; camera, laptop, phone, ipod, and all the applicable charging devices. I downloaded some new podcasts to listen to on the airplane, and updated my reading list on my Kindle. I know that I'll need some reading for the plane, but one can never know how much time they'll have for reading while on a trip. My book list looks like this: "Nonsense: A Handbook of Logical Fallacies" by Robert J. Gula, "The Nasty Bits" by Anthony Bourdain, "Year Zero" by Rob Reid, and "Essays in Humanism" by Albert Einstein. Maybe I'll get to them, maybe not.
Well, it's time for me to take care of a few last details before we head to the airport. Next time I see you, we'll be on Pittsburgh time! Bye!

Canada Road Trip Finale

Tuesday, September 4

We left Muncho Lake and continued wending our way through the Yukon. And while, yes, it was still outstanding scenery, this was the first day that I can say that all the driving was really starting to get the better of me and I just zoned in and got focused on the road. Point A meet Point B.

I got myself locked into podcast mode and chewed up some tarmac. Which actually brings up the interesting point of what Ursa and I listened to in order to remain entertained for this trip. For most of the drive time, when the road doesn't require a lot of attention, I like something mentally stimulating, like podcasts. A few of my favorites are The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe which is a fantastic, science based podcast hosted by Dr Steven Novella, who, along with his panel of fellow skeptics, dispel and debunk everything from myths to pseudoscience by using facts, data, and good, old fashioned logic; another favorite is Answer Me This!, a light-hearted show where the hosts, Helen and Olly, answer viewer's questions about nearly anything. Really it's just good chat. The Smartest Man in the World featuring comedian Greg Proops (from the TV show "Whose Line is it Anyway") was another staple of our road trip. Fantastic, hilarious, and enlightening; I love Greg Proops' worldview. Chris Hardwick's podcast The Nerdist is another good listen. 

There was, of course, a few exceptions to my driving hypnosis where I got snapped back into consciousness from my podcast induced haze. Mostly those moments came from the wildlife; a herd of buffalo, some wild horses, and a surprisingly fat grizzly bear who jogged across the road too fast for me to get a decent picture, but Ursa got a couple of nice shots.
We finished our day by checking into a hotel in Haines Junction, and had dinner at Restaurant Mozart which featured some very good European cuisine. The food was great, but, as luck would have it, the internet service at the restaurant went down so we couldn't pay with our card, which was unfortunate as that we had already made a point to spend the last of our Canadian currency, so we had to drive down the street to find an ATM and get cash then go back to the restaurant and pay for our meal, which was inconvenient but it was obvious that the owners were far more embarrassed about it than we were. I figure that if a petty hassle like that is the worst thing that happens to us on a road trip, then we did pretty good.

Wednesday, September 5

The terrain surrounding Haines Junction is fascinating because to the east you can see the soft, tree and grass covered mountain tops of Canada, then turn and face west to see the sharp rocky crags of the Alaskan mountains jutting up from the forest like teeth. It's a beautiful, visual juxtaposition that is impossible to capture on film. Seeing the mountains of Alaska was also a stark reminder that this would be our final day of driving, and tonight we would be sleeping in our own, comfortable bed.
As far as the driving went, we were both engrossed in the notion that our two week road trip would be coming to an end, and we just wanted to knuckle down and be done. Yes, there was some wonderful scenery, and yes, there were a few photo stops, but mostly our day consisted of monotonous wheel time, and trying to avoid tearing up the car's suspension going over the uneven pavement between Haines Junction and the American border. Once back in the USA the roads cleared right up and we were able to make good time again, which is funny because when we made this same drive a couple of years ago the exact opposite was true, the roads in Canada were good but turned to shit once you crossed the border.
We made it back to Anchorage at around 7 pm and got the car unpacked, and wanted to order pizza but found that we couldn't because large sections of town were without power, it wasn't until the next morning that we found out why.

Thursday, September 6

After spending two weeks on the road all I really wanted to do at home were a few little things to establish that feeling of normalcy. The biggest one was to take a walk. There are a couple of very nice little walking trails right around the corner from our condo, where I can go stretch my legs and let my mind go blank. Just a little while where I can rejuvenate and get my mind right before going back to work tomorrow. As I stepped out the door I, for the first time, started noticing the signs of property damage around our neighborhood. A few doors down from us, the neighbor's fence, which they just finished rebuilding about three months ago, had been knocked back down and was laying in the lawn; on the next block a tree had been blown over, branches in the road, another tree snapped at the trunk; and another, this one a BIG tree! What the hell had happened here? Thank's be to the google gods and the power of the smartphone, because I was able to find an article in the Anchorage Daily News about an unseasonable windstorm with gusts over 100 miles per hour and unconfirmed reports of 131 miles per hour, that had ripped through the Anchorage bowl. Throughout the remainder of my walk, I found more and more downed trees, some twisted and broken, some torn out by the roots entirely!
I spent the remainder of the day running errands and getting ready to travel to work in the morning.

Friday, September 7

Well, all of my fun time is over, and it's time to catch another early morning charter flight back to the oil patch. It's always easy to try and bemoan going back to work but the truth is that I'm frankly ready to go back, to feel useful and productive again. Besides that, it's still not a bad time to be in Prudhoe Bay; it's fall up here, the tundra grass has gone brown and there are occasional snow flurries that melt immediately away, it's a little muddy but at the end of the day that's all pretty good by North Slope standards. Also, I'm only going to have a short hitch this time; in two weeks I'll be off again and Ursa and I will be travelling to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to our friend's wedding. Congratulations Liz and Joe, we are so excited for you both.
After the wedding we will have a whole new adventure in store, so stay tuned! See you all in a couple of weeks, Bye!