Sarah and Oscar's Excellent Roadtrip! Day 14

Day Fourteen - The Worst State, The First State, and Half Naked Navy Guys (or Sarah and Oscar take on three more State Capitols)

Worst state might be a bit of a stretch, but NJ has left a bad taste in my mouth and I really have no need to ever go there again.

It started out not so bad. What do you know!?!? New Jersey DOES have a welcome sign, although I'm convinced this is the only one! Of course it was not in a convenient place to stop and take Oscar's picture, so we just got a shot as we drove past it. It gave me high hope that New Jersey would redeem itself off of my list of states I don't particularly care for after the great Welcome Sign Hunt of last week. It was a short lived hope, I promise!

Oscar and I decided that we would keep up with yesterday's trend of State Capitol hopping since we would be within such close proximity to three more capitols. Heading south on I 95, Trenton, NJ, was just a brief 45 minute detour. So, it was totally feasible to pop in and get our pictures and hop back on the Turnpike. Here is Oscar outside of the capitol. We decided that New Englanders really like their gold leaf domes. This is the third such dome we've seen in two days!

Here is a muddled state seal on the pathway into the capitol. We were going to get another better one inside, but no such luck. New Jersians are quite snobby about who they let into their building.

When we arrived, we had to go through security as we did at every other capitol. No worries. But after my bag went through the X Ray and I went through the metal detector they rudely asked me where I was going today. I explained that I simply wanted to grab a few snap shots of the inside of the capitol. Apparently, this is a capital offense! No one is allowed to just wander through the capital. There are only guided tours! I finally was able to talk my way into getting just one shot of the inside of the rotunda, but the officer treated it like we were doing espionage: "If anyone asks, this never happened." For real??? It's a picture. Of a rotunda! Thanks for your hospitality my friend, I'll get back on the interstate now and find some states that actually welcome visitors to their homes!

If that wasn't bad enough, there were some very mean drivers throughout the drive back to the turnpike. Granted, I was already in a bad mood, so this just heightened it. I likely wouldn't have noticed otherwise. But they just pissed me off!

And my final reason for not liking NJ...Apparently you can't pump your own gas here??? There are very limited gas stations on the Turnpike and every single one of them is full service! OK, I know, a very silly reason to not like a state. One might actually find this appealing...not having to get out of the car on the Turnpike. And they clean your windshield while you wait. But again...bad mood...nothing was going my way...I just wanted out of NJ and didn't have enough gas to get me there!

Alas, we finally entered Delaware. Again with no place to stop and take the picture.

But we did get a shot with this sign as we were leaving a few hours later...

All in all, Delaware has my major seal of approval as far as states go. These were likely some of the friendliest people I've ever met! Dover is a precious little town, full of all of the history of those larger places like Philly and Boston...but none of the traffic! Score!

Upon arriving in downtown Dover, I really needed a bathroom, and the first building I happened upon was an art museum with free admission. Perfection! The art wasn't much to look at, but the bathrooms were clean and the woman at the front desk was very informative. She sent me next to the Old State House. She said I simply HAD to go there. Well, if I must, then I must!

What a delight! A lovely man named Tom, who just wrote a 30 minute one man play about the life of Allen (something or the other - I forget his last name) that he even agreed to perform at a Tea Party function provided they didn't take on his character as their new mascot once they learned how awesome he was, gave a delightful tour of the Old State House. He informed me about everything I ever wanted to know about the history of Delaware, and this building as well. I must have spent an hour in there just chewing the fat and learning all sorts of cool facts about DE's role in the fight for Independence.

Oscar and I then went to explore the New State House. Guess what??? Their guards let me in to take as many pictures as I wanted! Below is the outside shot (it's hard to see the state house in the distance, but it's there), the state seal, and the inside of the building. There is no rotunda, so I couldn't get a shot of that. But there was a beautiful staircase, and I love those just as much as rotundas!!!

After stopping for a quick snack, we headed west to Maryland. Again, only really small back roads could get us there...aw shucks!

We made it into Annapolis at 20 to 5, leaving us a very short time to fit in our third capitol of the day. Here is the Maryland State House, seal, and rotunda:

Now, the story gets fun. About a week ago, knowing I would be in Annapolis tonight, I attempted to find a cheap place to stay. I have only recently learned the joys of Priceline, and went through their site to find a place. Lo and behold, I got placed in a 4 start resort for $65! Sweet!

However, when I went to go check into the hotel, I learned that they had over booked for tonight. But, if I was willing, they would put me up (at their expense) in an equally as wonderful hotel just down the road and give me a voucher for a free stay another night at their hotel. Realizing that I wasn't going to be coming back to Annapolis any time soon, I didn't need the free voucher. But taking the cost of my hotel from $65 to free was a pretty sweet deal! So, tonight I'm in some swank hotel with all sorts of fancy amenities at absolutely no cost to me!

Although I will say this much. There is no wireless. I am currently sitting at a desk rather than sprawled out in a bed as I'd like to be because I have to connect my computer to the internet with a wire! Do your remember those??? it's the cable that comes out of the wall and plugs into the computer forcing you to stay within a 5 foot radius of said wall. If I were paying for this stay, I'd demand a refund! hee hee hee!!!

Anyway, last item on the agenda was dinner. We're in Maryland for crying out loud. We HAD to get crab cakes. Thanks to the joys of the internet (even if it is coming out of the wall and not thin air), I found a local's joint on a river with outdoor seating. What more could a girl ask for!?!? We stuffed ourselves with boiled shrimp, jumbo lump crab cakes, and hush puppies!

On the way home from dinner, I was amazed at the number of tall, thin, half naked men there were jogging the streets. It was delightful enough that I got momentarily lost as I was not paying attention to road signs. Oops! As I was contemplating moving to a place that had such wonderful eye candy, it dawned on me that I was driving past the Naval Academy...duh! It all makes sense now!

Now with bellies full and eyes drooping, I dare say I may crawl into bed and pretend to read while I actually examine the inside of my eye lids.

Tomorrow...exploring Shenandoa on our way to Abingdon, VA!!!

Sarah and Oscar's Excellent Roadtrip! Day 13

Day Thirteen - Tour de State Capitals

As we were driving to Worcester yesterday morning, I was contemplating what we would do the following day. I knew I wanted to go to Providence, because other than to take a van from the airport to a train I had never been to RI. As I was contemplating I passed Hartford on the Interstate. There was a sign there for this historic state house. Then I realized I would be 30 miles outside of Boston. Suddenly it hit me like a ton of bricks! That's it! Three State Capital buildings in one day! Day Thirteen Adventure was set.

This morning we set out with a belly full of delicious donuts from the cafe Jeff recommended to us and made our way into Boston. Having been to Boston twice before myself, and having done the Freedom Trail and all that wondefully historic stuff, I opted to not do any of that again. I feared it would cramp too much into my time for exploring other places. So, we quickly took Oscar's picture with the Capital.



I did decide to go in for a minute and see the inside. I was greeted by this lovely sign, and was really wondering what Boston was trying to tell me...



Until I realized that this gentleman's name is General Hooker. OOOOOHHHHHH! That makes sense!



The inside had a beautiful stained glass under the dome. I learned later upon skimming a book about state capitals that the glass has the seals of the original 13 colonies, with Massachusetts' in the middle.




I also learned that Massachusetts is one of only four states known as a Commonwealth. I knew Virginia was (Thank you "An American President"). The book explained to me why, but I don't really remember now. Look it up though. It's interesting stuff!

Moving on, we headed south to Rhode Island. As usual, New England states make it quite difficult for me to get my state sign pictures. I took quite the scenic tour of Historic Pawtucket in order to get this shot, but I got it!



Further in to Rhode Island (but not too far you know, it's not that big of a place!) we explored Providence a bit. And by explored I really mean to say that we got hopelessly lost trying to find the road that leads to the capital building. This is why GPS is handy, but you have to actually use it if you want it to help you! Alas though, we eventually figured it out, and lo and behold there was a metered parking spot right next to the capital just waiting for me! The grounds of the RI state capital are absolutely lovely! And the building itself is of course gorgeous. Here are shots of the Capital Building, the inside of the rotunda, and the state seal. All DG's will love the seal!!!






There are many things I remember about my family's vacation to New England six years ago. But one of my favorite memory's was my brother's successful attempt to have lobster at just about every meal and served a different way each time. The boy likes his lobster! Upon entering Rhode Island I was nostalgically reflecting on that trip and decided it was absolutely necessary to get a lobster roll (my particular favorite of the lobster delicacies we enjoyed). A quick reference to google sent me exploring a southern town outside of Providence called Warwick in a restaurant called The Crow's Nest. I can't even talk about how delicious the food was! I of course was unable to stop at just lobster roll. I opted for the 1/2 lobster roll with the New England Clam Chowder and a side of Clam Cakes (I think that's what they were called). These were basically the love child of a clam and a hushpuppy. Good Lawd! So good! Oscar considered this venture a major success!



And since were were in Rhode Island, we couldn't possibly leave without seeing at least one light house. You know how much we love those. God bless the godphone and it's abilities to locate such things for me. We were able to (without going too far out of our way) visit this one. Of course the Coast Guard has control over it and I wasn't able to really explore it, but Oscar got his picture. And let's face it, that's what's most important about these things!



We hopped back on the road, heading west this time. Our goal - Hartford, CT. Fortunately, there are no direct interstate routes bewteen Warwick and Hartford, so it was back roads most of the way. Re-entering Connecticut we actually had an easy sign to get a picture of, but since we already had a CT sign, we just shot this one as we drove past it.



The Connecticut State House proved more difficult to find than planned because they apparently have two of them! Ok, not entirely true. But, there is an historic state house and the actual Capital Building. Getting lost in downtown Hartford almost made us miss our chance to get pictures inside the Capital. But fortuantely we made it with about 10 minutes to spare. And we even made friends with the lovely security guard (Stu) who pointed out several places we could photo the state seal since I couldn't find one on my own. He was highly intrigued by our day's adventures. And yes, he met Oscar! I didn't make him take a picture though. So here is the Connecticut Capital building, inside of the rotunda and the wicked angel statue underneath it, and the state seal:






Finally, we got back on the road to NY. Tonight we lodge at Casa de Krista again before beginning the journey south. And we finally got our Welcome to New York sign! And as far as signs go it was relatively easy to get this shot, except that New York threw us for a loop by putting the sign on the left side of the road. So, I had to wait until traffic cleared before I could get it. Thankfully it wasn't too long. We don't particularly care for sitting on the side of interstates!





At this point the trip is about 2/3 over. I can hardly believe how quickly time is flying! I am eternally grateful for the adventures I've had thus far, and am really looking forward to "Sarah and Oscar take on Appalachia" starting Wednesday evening. Keep posted!

Sarah and Oscar's Excellent Roadtrip! Day 12

Day Twelve - Make New Friends, but Keep The Old

Today was a lovely visit the Steimer House in Massachusetts. But in order to get to MA from NY, we got to take two new state sign pictures:




Upon arriving in MA, we got to spend some quality time with my old friends Liz and Jeff:


Liz and Jeff were freshmen at Spring Hill when I was a senior. Liz is my grand little sis in Delta Gamma. Jeff is my former soccer coach. Yes, I played soccer once! Ok, it was an intermural league, and we sucked! But if I recall correctly by the end of the season we had scored at least one goal, and I (as the goalie no less) had blocked a few! Good times, good times!

While we were here though, we got to make some new friends with the additions to Liz and Jeff's family. This is their precious son Matt:


And their pup, Hank:



It was a pretty chill day, just hanging with the family and playing with the baby. Oscar really enjoyed connecting with our old friends and making some new ones. After dinner, we even celebrated Matt's 6 month birthday. Too bad he was already in bed and couldn't enjoy it with us!



Tomorrow we head out for an exploration of New England state capitals. We hope to hit three by days end!

Sarah and Oscar's Excellent Roadtrip! Day 11

Day 11 - Somewhat miserable start, Somewhat awesome completion

I should begin by sayin that there are no photos for today's adventures. Oscar has been laying low these past few days, but Krista and I have been having a blast. Today we had tickets to Yankee Stadium. Whoa! It was a bit overwhelming for me considering that I'm used to going to quaint little Wrigley Field. And on top of that there temperature dropped about 35 degrees from the miserable 100 on Thursday (apparently there is no comfort zone in NYC, it's either unbearably hot or miserably chilly!) and wet...it was misting throughout the game. We actually decided to leave at the end of the 5th. It was the first game in history Krista ever left early, but it was worth it...especially since neither of us likes the Yankees!

We spend the rest of the afternoon just chilling at her place. There were many, many, many games of cards, a few beers, and a pizza involved. We were both pretty excited with the way that day ended.

Tomorrow - driving to Worcester, MA to visit the Steimer's!

Sarah and Oscar's Excellent Roadtrip! Days 8-10

Days 8-10 - Give our regards to Broadway, remember us to Herald Square

What a whirlwind of fun and adventure we've had since we entered New York! I apologize for not updating this sooner. I've had several complaints, and it is never my intention to keep my happy readers waiting for so long for an update. So, today I finally update covering the past 2 1/2 days. Beware, this could get lengthy!


When I left you last, Oscar and I had explored the deep history of the city of Brotherly Love. The following morning, we left bound for New York. Knowing though that we would pass through New Jersey, we first had several stops to make. The first of course was to get Oscar's picture taken with the state welcome sign. Well New Jersey must not be a very welcoming state, because there are no welcome signs. Trust us, we tried three separate routes. Yes, that does mean we drove back and forth over the Delaware River from PA to NJ and back three times. Don't judge...you know you love it! So, we opted for a picture with a license plate instead. Hey, you gotta get creative sometimes!



The next stop on our adventure requires a bit of back story. Many years ago, my dad was really big into family genealogy. He was able to trace our family name back to New Jersey...to Colestown, NJ no less. Well, I just thought that was coolest thing ever, and totally wanted to go! So, I looked it up on the map and well it doesn't actually exist any more! Boof! BUT! The historic Colestown Cemetery does still exist and it is conveniently enough located just across the state border from Philadelphia. Well fate, if you're gonna make it that easy, I guess I have to go!



And it was really neat. I actually learned some pretty cool stuff. Take particular note of his daughter's name:



Well all of that adventure took us way past our original departure time, so rather than take beautiful US hwys through NJ into New York, we hopped right on the turnpike. Otherwise, we would have hit the George Washington Bridge about 5:30 PM. I'd rather eat dirt!

Yet again, upon entering the great state of New York, no welcome sign! Well, that's not entirely true. There was a placard in the middle of the GW Bridge, but pulling over to get Oscar's picture with it was not a very good idea, so we bypassed. We figured there will be another opportunity to enter New York on our way back from Massachusettes on Monday. So, that picture is on hold for now. We'll fill you in later.

We arrived at Krista's with little damage (other than our frazzled nerves from having to drive through the Bronx as school was letting out), got our stuff settled and headed out to grab a bite and have a quick drink. Nine hours later, we arrived back at home! Good times! Oscar didn't take any pictures that night. He didn't want anything embarrassing to end up on the Internet!

Thursday morning though, we hit the town, camera in hand, ready for a good time and some excellent picture taking! Unfortunately, it was hotter than Hell's waiting room in New York yesterday, so we had to be careful and yet again get creative. We got downtown with no specific plan in mind. We had about 5 hours to kill though before we met Krista for dinner. First stop...Time's Square!



As we walked past Times Square, we saw that Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum was right there. Given that it was 800 degrees outside and I really needed a bathroom break anyway, we thought this was a great pit stop in our adventure! And we had a blast! Oscar got to meet all sorts of wonderful people:

Now that we were cooled off, we continued our trek further south to Herald Square:

and waved to the Empire State Building before heading back north.

Oscar wanted to make a quick stop here and buy me something pretty...


but that silly man left his wallet at home! So, we had to settle for just the picture.

Our final stop before meeting Krista for dinner was to stroll through Central Park, ending ultimately at Strawberry Fields. Unfortunately, what we didn't realize was that the Black Eyed Peas were playing in Central Park last night. So what was intended as a leisurely stroll through the park turned into fighting through mobs of obnoxious people. And can I remind you again that it was unbearably hot while we were doing this! By the time we got to Strawberry Fields, we simply had time for a quick picture, but at least we got that!

Oscar says, "I can imagine a better world, can you???"



We closed out the night with Krista and Scot at a great bar on the Upper West Side called Jake's Dilemma. If you live in New York or visit New York, you should definitely check this place out, especially between 4 and 8 when everything is half priced and the music selection totally rocked my socks! Oscar had fun, too!



There was one minor incident in which I had to give a piece of my mind to an incredibly rude and obnoxious drunk guy who invited himself to sit at our table. Actually it was kind of impressive to everyone around me. Even I was a bit impressed. Word to the wise, if you want to make new friends at a bar, don't be all assholey to them and piss them off. Then maybe they'll want to talk to you and not tell you off. Just saying!

Anyway, the adventures continued with the ride back to the Bronx. Here's the kicker though...living in the Bronx means it is inevitably a pain in the rear to get home after any fun night in the city. It makes it even harder when you accidently miss the stop you're supposed to get off of to transfer to your train and then you have to backtrack and figure out another way home. It was a bit of an adventure. But you know us, we love adventures!

Today has been a bit of a lazy day. We have some shee shee la la plans this evening, so we played it cool this morning. This evening we are going to a Spring Hill Alumni function at the Princeton Club (when you read those words, please insert haughty air of sophistication as that's how Krista and I say it!) It should be very swanky! Then we are going to some fancy schmancy rooftop club for drinks. It should be lots of fun, but I'm leaving Oscar at home for this one! He said since he didn't bring his nice Cassock he's gonna sit this one out. I think he's just tired after the late nights we've been having. If you can't hang with the big dogs, stay on the porch!

Well that's all for now! I hope you are continuing to enjoy the many adventures of Sarah and Oscar. We have one more day in NYC and then moving on for other adventures! Don't despair if I don't update tomorrow. I'll try my hardest, but I make no promises!