Slow Rye Life

Now that I'm here in Rye and performing at Playland on a regular basis, things have really slowed down. For the most part, my summer travels are over, so I'll post on here when things get interesting. 

Don't hold your breath. 

About NYC

6/15/2009

Upon awaking in Brooklyn at a friend's place, I set out to galavant around the city. Highlights include: the Mac Store, Central park, Toys 'R' Us, Trump Tower, and ending with the opening night HBO Summer Film Festival in Bryant Park. The night's feature: The Sting staring Robert Redford. 

So yea, I said I would blog everyday... I didn't say each one would be good. 

Lounge'n and Shoot'n

6/14/2009

Thanks to the Times Square Alliance, I was able to take a good portion of my day and spend it sitting on Broadway and Seventh, watching, listening, thinking, and basking in this jungle called New York City. 

The remainder of my day was spent watching my friend Allison rock in a pool tournament. Read all about it at nycgrind.com.

Watch the Gap? Please

6/13/2009

In my 24 hours of being here, there are a few things I can take or leave. 

• First off, on the train platforms there are warnings that say Watch the Gap, a poor pathetic, bastardized American version of London's classic Mind the Gap. Come on, NY, I expected better. 
• Second, I've discovered that this is my landlady:

You Have Reached Your Destination

6/12/2009

Mandy has said that to me many times throughout the past two weeks. Mandy is the GPS I've been using to get around the eastern half of the United States. Well, 'Mandy' is the female voice I chose to listen to. She was American, which is sad. One can download an expansion pack for a TomTom and get a British female voice, much more alluring. But I digress.

I'm here! I have arrived in Rye, NY. I spent most of today getting to know the town. It's got a great old school main street, lots of shops, and passersby. Around the corner from the main street is one of the performers houses. Down the street from there is the train to NYC, round trip ticket for around $20. Not bad.

I already got to know the shop owner at the local wine shop, Bruno. He sold me a nice Reisling while we chatted about the city and whether or not there were any good bars in Rye. He told me of a few places nearby. I figured I'd get to know them later that night.

After visiting the library for the internet and jamming in a park for a while, I decided to make my way to Playland amusement park to see where I'd be spending my summer. There I met with the cast manager Bret and briefly met others, as they were in the middle of rehearsal. The park is like a carnival that came to town, settled in one spot, and grew from there. It's got the same rides that a traveling carnival would, but also has a big roller coaster, screw-you-over carnival games, and of coarse, entertainment. Once I have conquered all the rides, I'll let you know if it's worth coming to.

While the rest of the cast rehearsed, I went to The Pub. Literally, a pub called The Pub. I was told by Bruno that is was a chill place. It was chill. Mostly because everyone in there was over 50. No matter. I still made a friend. Vinny was chatting, rather loudly, with his friend about good music, concerts they've been to etc. I piped in and before I knew it we were exchanging bang recommendations. Right now I'm looking at a coaster which he wrote the names of three artists: Peter White, The Amazing Blondel, and Dando Shaft. He ranted and raved about these three, guaranteeing I would not be disappointed..... truth be told, I'm a little disappointed. They all sound stereotypically like music someone over 50 would be into (no offense to those reading this who are). I told him I'd have a listen and see him next Friday at The Pub.

Once the cast was done with rehearsal, I met them all one town over at Buffalo Wild Wings. This is the area where the young'ns go. Apparently, I have a lot of hockey fans in my cast because every one of them had to lock into the Stanley Cup. I have to admit, it was fun watching Pittsburgh wail on Detroit, and seeing the Yankees win over the Mets on an outfield error was also quite exciting. Over a few beers, I got to properly meet the cast. Everyone seems eager and excited for the summer ahead.

Final Stats:

Total Miles Driven: 1,921

Total Stops for Gas: 8

Total Amount Spent on Gas: $245.75

Foggy Horses

6/11/2009

I was thinking of spending another day/night in Philly, but really there wasn't much keeping me there. Plus, by this point in my journey I was ready to settle in Rye, NY, my final destination. However, after hitting the road out of Philly, I got a call from my company director informing me that the house I am to be moving into is not ready due to some renovations. So I extended my tour a bit.

As I drove up the Jersey shore I picked a point on the GPS and went to it, figuring I'd stop when I saw something interesting. That did take long. Within an hour of driving I came across Monmouth Park horse racing track. I've watched the Kentucky Derby on TV and such, but I've never been to a live horse race. Lucky me, I got there in time to see the last four races, three on the dirt and one on the turf.

It was a unique day for racing because as you can see, it was a touch foggy. For the majority of last race, the announcer just said, "and I can't see anything, last I saw 'Fast Forward' had the lead." Because of the mysty dampness, the dirt was good and thick and clung to the jockeys. It was these little nuances that entertained me the most.

Like when a horse decided he just wasn't going to leave the stables. The caretaker tugged and pulled, but he just planted his hooves. Every once in a while he would buck up on his rear legs and everyone around would clear the way. The race was drawing nearer. The owner and jockey were discussing scratching. Then out of nowhere the horse decided he was in the mood for racing after all. He ended up taking second.

After the races, I continued my drive north on Ocean Avenue. I pulled off to walk over the sand dunes but saw nothing but a few feet of the Atlantic Ocean and a whole lot of fog.

I continued north and reached Sandy Hook National Park. I'm sure this place is gorgeous on a bright sunny day. However, I did not have such luck. Further into the park though, things got more interesting.

In the early 1890's this National Park was (and still is) a homeland security base. Some of the old turrets and mortars are no longer in use and are open to visitors. Well, they are sort of open. The cool parts are gated off. But that did stop me. There was no one else in the park, so I figured a little gate hoping wouldn't hurt. I went where this sign said I shouldn't. Opps, but worth it.

Not Always Sunny in Philadelphia

6/10/2009

It was overcast all day. But no matter. I made it to Philly and met up with Zach, whom I met on couchsurfing.com. Now when I mentioned couchsurfing to family and friends before I left on this little excursion I got a lot of, "are you sure you wanna do that?" And I do understand people's concern.

Allow me to explain couchsurfing. Better yet, I'll let them. This is taken straight from the "What is Couchsurfing?" page on their website:

Mission:

"CouchSurfing seeks to internationally network people and places, create educational exchanges, raise collective consciousness, spread tolerance, and facilitate cultural understanding."

As a community we strive to do our individual and collective parts to make the world a better place, and we believe that the surfing of couches is a means to accomplish this goal. CouchSurfing isn't about the furniture- it's not just about finding free accommodations around the world- it's about participating in creating a better world. We strive to make a better world by opening our homes, our hearts, and our lives. We open our minds and welcome the knowledge that cultural exchange makes available. We create deep and meaningful connections that cross oceans, continents and cultures. CouchSurfing wants to change not only the way we travel, but how we relate to the world!

The safety factor is also addressed on their site. But I really wasn't too concerned on safety. Zach is just a guy, like me, like so many people. Say 10% of people in the world (and I think I'm over estimating) are out to get you: harm you, scam you, etc. That still leaves 90% that are just living life, not interested in hurting anyone. This certainly was Zach, a fellow guitar player.

He had to work most of the afternoon so I made it around Philly on my own, checking out the Historic district and walking around the Delaware riverfront as well as South Street, a popular shopping/eating/happening area. Saw Benjamin Franklin's grave, Besty Ross' house, some war memorials, and buildings that dated back to the time of the Revolutionary War.

Once Zach was done with work we walked down to south Philadelphia for some Geno's and Pat's cheesesteaks. These two epic rivals are located right across the street from one another. Since there is so much controversy over which is better I figured I'd overstuff myself and sample one of each. Geno's, with it's neon flashy exterior uses a cheese wiz, imitation cheese on their steaks. Pat's, on the other hand, uses real slices of cheese. Being the Wisconsin guy that I am, I had to choose the one with the real cheese.

Give me more Baltimore

6/9/2009

Around an hour drive northeastish of D.C., and I was in Baltimore, Maryland. Here I was meeting up with old running pal Brennan. He works for the Baltimore Orioles, and was busy all day. Fine by me, cause the harbor was just a short bike ride from Brennan's place. 

Full of restaurants and rental mini-boats, the harbor area is well designed and great for a chill afternoon. Lining the docks are a few permanently moored historic ships that are available for touring. 

It was either that or go to the aquarium where it seemed every elementary school in Baltimore was taking an end-of-the-year field trip. I decided to go where there were no screaming children, aboard the USS Torsk and later the USS Constellation. 

The Torsk was a submarine used most in the late 50's / early 60's. It was nifty, but so tight that some men even had to sleep above torpedo storage. Leavers are exposed all over the place which would make me nervous as a sailor knowing I could accidently bump one and flood the whole shebang. The other most interesting part, to me anyway, was the escape hatch which was used if they did start taking on water. Four men would sardine their way into this hatch, close the end they came from, and start filling the airtight space with sea water. Once full, they would open the top hatch and swim their way out. This process was then repeated for every man on board.  

My real cup of tea was the USS Constellation, the last wooden sail ship built but the US Navy. I think I was most into this ship for two reasons. One being I want to go on extend sail on a grand tall ship sooner than later. The other reason is I had just finished reading Blue Latitudes by Tony Horwitz. It's a book about the journey of Capt. James Cook as he "discovered" islands and indigenous peoples around the Pacific. From reading that book and taking the audio tour at the USS Constellation, I feel like I could tell anyone all there is to know about ships in the late 1700's. Go ahead. Ask me sometime. (Just don't ask about the actual sailing aspect)

I sat around the harbor people watching for a while, but the skies started to look a little questionable. I made it back to my car just in time to sit through some high winds and pounding thunder. After a while, the rain stopped and Brennan got done with work. We took a seven mile run around the Harbor area and over to the Oriole's stadium where people were beginning to pile in. We ran back to his place, showered, and made it to the stadium in time to see the first run of the game.

Since Brennan is a supervisor in charge of sponsorship and advertising, he oversees all that is sold and displayed in the park. I think I annoyed the hell out of him throughout the game, asking him how much that sign was or that promotional "text-in-your-answer" question. It was cool sitting with someone who knew all those ins and outs. Plus from our private box, we had a great view of what turned out to be a beautiful night in Baltimore. 

Gotta Love D.C.

6/8/2009

Seeing as how my friends are all employed, I took on D.C. today on my own. Went to see the Freedom Documents: The Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, and the United States Constitution. From reading the info provided while I was waiting in line, I learned that the rotunda room where the documents are kept is only two footcandles in luminosity. Apparently a footcandle is the distance of a candle a foot away from you. A sunny summer's day can reach 12,000 footcandles. But no matter what the lighting is like, seeing those documents is an experience every American should have. 

From there I took a walk to the sculpture garden in the middle of the mall. Among the many interesting pieces a few stuck out in my mind. One being the Wishing Tree for Washington D.C.

by Yoko Ono. While I do despise her for breaking up the Beatles, this piece is pretty cool. It's just a tree. But next to it is a box full of tags in which visitors write their wishes and place them on the tree. I'd tell you what mine was but I'm afraid it's like a birthday wish, and it may not come true. 

Another nifty piece was this two-dimensional house that looked very three-dimensional. 

I decided more art was in order. So I continued my day at the Smithsonian Hirshhorn Modern Art museum. As you may recall from an early blog on modern art, I have mixed feelings on it. But this gallery had quite a few I could get into.

Today had it's fill of art, but I could use a bit more history. So I checked out the Native American Indian Museum, which was worth the stop just for the incredible design of the building itself. But inside I dove into the world of the America Indian, from the Incas to the Alaskan tribes. 

The museum closed on me before I could get in all that I wanted, but no matter. It was time to end my night. I had dinner with my gracious host Sara at Bangkok 54, a fantastic Thai place. Then ended my night with a few beers and catching up with my other Sara friend, this one from college. 

We finished up our beers just in time for me to catch the last Metro leaving Foggy Bottom. 

D.C. Brunch and Georgetown Waterfront

6/7/2009

With the Jumbo Slice of pizza comfortably sitting in my belly, I knew it was time for sleep. Making it back to Crystal City just wasn't going to happen, so I crashed at Chris' place. 

Upon awaking this morning, we were hungry. How this is possible after eating a pizza slice the size of a small child, I'll never know. But I was informed that while I was in D.C., I had to experience a D.C. brunch.

This brunch was nothing like the Sunday after church crowd in Green Bay, WI. The first thing the waitress asks for is your drink order. Much like a dinner, except this is brunch, the first thing most people will eat on Sundays. As it turns out, I had half a bloody mary in me before anything else. But when my omelet came to the table, the bloody was on hold till this magnificent egg creation was taken down. Besides the great food and drinks, the meal was also accompanied by great conversation, as Alex, Chris, and I caught up on old times from 9 years ago. Yet, I felt bad for Chris' roommate who sat quietly, taking in all of our ridiculous stories. 

Chris had a soccer game after our brunch. So Alex and I went to his place to chill on his rooftop pool. Once I felt like I had fried myself enough up there. We went down to the Georgetown Waterfront where at 2pm the outdoor bars were packed with people getting there afternoon buzz on. We chilled at this bar for the rest of the afternoon as we watched helicopter after helicopter buzz the waterfront every 20 minutes or so, both police and Coast Guard. When two US helicopters flew by together, Alex told me it was probably Biden. When three fly together, that means it's the president. 

Eventually, Chris met back up with us. At this point, we were already about eight margaritas into our afternoon, but we still had room for a few more. 

I walked back to the metro station with Chris. On the way, I broke our conversation to say, "um Chris is that the White House?" Hey replied with a, "oh yeah, and that's the US Treasury." 

A Tourist with Well Connected Friends

6/6/2009
Today started out as a touristy day of D.C. with Sara as my guide. First we saw the Navy Memorial/Fountains. Then we walked to a park where a young boy apparently just couldn't hold it anymore. 

From there we checked out the Natural History Museum where we saw some prehistoric skeleton's of extinct sea creatures, land mammals, and birds, but more importantly DINOSAURS. Oh and the Hope Diamond which is surprisingly not as impressive as one would think. 

After that museum, we met up with my other buddy Chris and checked out the Air and Space Museum. Here we saw a model of the Wright brother's plane, a bunch of rockets, and the coolest parts, the Apollo command modules. I also discovered that one of the Wright brothers was a wicked mandolin player. Who knew?

Chris just so happens to be a legislative assistant on Capitol Hill, so he took Sara and I on a little tour of the offices. We even got to venture out onto the roof to get a fantastic view of Independence Avenue and the Capitol. 

Then we were hungry. It was a toss up between Ethiopian and Spanish tapas. Since we passed by the tapas place first, it won out. Fantastic little dishes. One consisting of the most flavorful, tender chicken, another dish of warmed mini-potatoes with a spicy/tangy dipping sauce. The wild rice and mushrooms had each of us fighting for the last bite. Even the asparagus, covered in a buttery base and topped with asiago cheese, made for quite a treat. Washing it all down, a perfectly blended sangria. 

A good day in D.C. But we still had a night ahead of us. Sara and I parted ways with Chris to get ready for the night. I met up with Chris later in Columbia Heights, just a 15 minute Metro ride up from Crystal City where I was staying with Sara. We started things out in a dive bar with a few bottle's of PBR. But eventually we wanted to meet up with another friend, Alex. We made our way to South 18th street, a bar district packed sidewalk to sidewalk with a young drinking crowd. We drank at Town Tavern for a bit and met up with Alex, then went next door to a sweet jazz lounge, more my cup of tea. Unfortunately, the band was just wrapping up. But no matter, cause we were getting free drinks. It helps to know people who know bartenders in D.C. 

After that, we were done, but hungry. I was told I had to experience a jumbo slice of pizza. At the time, I remember a euphoria of pizza bursting in my face. However, the next morning when I looked at this picture, the only thing I could say was, "I ate that?"

Hold Your Breath and Hit the Gas

6/5/2009

Driving in D.C. is a hell on wheels that I am not looking forward to repeating anytime soon. But it was cool to be diligently following the GPS and turn a corner to see the Washington Monument poking out of the city. A few turns later and I was circling the Iwo Jima Monument, followed by Arlington Cemetery. However, I'm extremely glad to be off those roads and enjoying a Yuengling lager. 

After chilling out at my friend Sara's apartment for a bit, we grabbed a bottle of wine and headed for the mall to see some night sights: Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, World War Two Fountains, and the Korean War Memorial. Cruising up and down the mall at night is a gorgeous way to see these memorials in their greatest splendor as they are beautifully lit. Plus, you are not fighting too many tourists for a close look or a good picture. 

Didn't Know I Had that Muscle

6/5/2009

As I woke this morning, I couldn’t figure out which pains are from the six hour cave dive and which are from sleeping in the car. There's a lot of not just condensation, but a thick layer of dripping water on all may car windows. Undoubtedly from my sleeping in here, but also from the large pile of wet clothing in my back seat. Either way, I had to get out of that car before pushing on to D.C.

Right next to the Sleep Inn is Harding’s Family Restaurant, a good ol’ fashioned diner where I can get a hardy breakfast. The combined elevator-music rendition of Goo Goo Doll's "Slide" and the large display of Bennie Babies in the gift shop gives this diner a slice of class like no other. Anywho, my cakes and eggs are coming soon.

Here are some more stats thus far:

Miles Driven: 1,180

Total Gas Cost: $97.64

State w/ Highest Gas Cost: Illinois 

Number of Times I've Had to Poop in the Woods: 2

Caving Makes it All Better

Yesterday was worth it for today. Even though I woke up at 7am, packed up a wet tent full of wet clothes, pulled a deer tick from my inner thigh, and did it all in the rain, still worth it.

My wild cave tour consisted of Tim from Chicago, Diane and Gretchen from Georgia, and our two guides Taylor and Emily. That's it. Three guys and three girls each physically fit and able to challenge this cave to its fullest. Our lead guide Taylor ensured us right from the beginning that because we had a small group, we'd see much more than the average tour. My little boot snafu yesterday seemed to happen for a reason. Because that tour was at a full capacity of 14, and not all of them looked like the most intense climbers. But today, we were.

From straddling canyons to belly crawls through 9 inch openings this tour was more than I could ever have imagined. I couldn't count the amount of times we came out of an opening, turned around, and said, "we just came out of that?!" There were also many moments when we barely had room to move and all I could see was the ass or boots in front of me. A few of those times, I had to slowly breathe and say to myself, "you're ok, countless people have done this before you." Today, I conquered claustrophobia. 

The tightest passage is called Bare Pass, which got it's name from a tourist from the 1950's who lost his pants going through it. It's that tight. Another favorite was Hell's Pass, a detour which Taylor let me lead on. It's a whole other experience leading a crawl from the front, and wondering when or if that belly journey would end. A spot I suggested going to after I saw it's name was the Cheese Grater, a tight winding passage full of jagged limestone that tears your clothing as you crawl. Everyone thanked me for suggesting that after we made it through. 

As fun as the tight passages and crawls were, one can't help but to be amazing at the natural beauty of the cave all around you. It's especially awe-inspiring in rooms like the Cathedral or Ethel's Dome, both known for their remarkably high ceilings. The final stop, Frozen Niagara, is a site any visitor to Mammoth Cave needs to see.  

My favorite moment of the whole tour is when we were walking down a paved trail that all the less strenuous tours take. All of the sudden with any warning, Taylor looks at a tiny opening to his left and dives in. The other guide, Emily, said, "ok, follow him." That's a good representation of our day.  

These most extreme tours can go pretty much anywhere the guide wishes to take the group. Since we were all abled-bodied visitors, we grabbed that cave by the stalagmites and made it our bitch. 

Once the tour was done, I was on a euphoric high. After a much needed shower, I used that high to hit the road and get five hours behind me. Currently, I'm in a Sleep Inn motel parking lot using their wifi. I intend on "sleeping in" my car and journeying the rest of the way to Washington D.C. tomorrow.

...Even When Life Tries to Get You Down

6/3/2009

Once I was done with my online business at Arby's, I looked out the window. The black sky rolling in and the wind bent trees suggested the beginning of a tornado. As I rushed out the door I heard one fast food patron say in his Kentucky twang, "I heard there's some hail coming in!" 

Just as I was getting in my car, an old gentlemen getting into his said, "let's high tail it outta here!" With a smirk I replied, "too bad I'm camping at the National Park."

"You'll be fine," was his quick remark as he dashed into his car and drove off. 

Barely seeing through the buckets of water splashing over my windshield, I drove through the tiny towns outlining the National Park. One in particular, Cave City, is a tiny run down town built around the tourism of Mammoth Cave. It's full of novelty gift stores, crappy mini-golf courses, and other second rate attractions. But one caught my eye through the haze of water on my windshield: Dinosaur World.

A park that boasts over 100 life-size dinosaur models in an outdoor realistic setting. I was in Jurassic Park heaven. Especially because when I got there, it was still thundering and lightning. Even though everyone else at Dinosaur World was running out (all 6 of them) I insisted on running in. Although the park mostly caters to those under 12, I would argue it's fun for all ages. 

Except on a day like today, where the challenges keep coming. My main purpose for going into Dinosaur World was to get as many pictures as I could of me with these super sweet dino replicas. However, as you may recall from earlier today my good camera died. Now my crapy one was making me work for every picture as I had to turn it off and then on in order to take every single pic. Frustrating. But still, at $12.50, Dinosaur World was worth every penny.

Things dried off as I was there, so I figured I'd check back in at my campsite and survey the damage. To my surprise, my day's luck turned around as my tent still stood with minimal water inside.

A touch of daylight remained, so I hiked along some trails and saw where the subterranean River Styx's opened up to the surface world. I winded my way down some other trails and discovered that deer are just straight up attracted to me in this park. Three sat eating dinner no more than 15 feet away as I sat and watched the chomped up leaves roll down their long necks as they swallowed. 

Got back to my campsite just in time for the rain. Sat in my tent entertaining myself with the mandolin and trying to get some stations in on my wind-up radio. Eventually the rain started coming down harder, and I found exactly where the leaky spots in my tent are. I plugged them up with dirty clothes I had lying around and slept as dry as I could. 

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life...

6/3/2009

Today just started off bad. I awoke much earlier than expected to the sound of screaming German children in the campsite next to mine. Then I went to charge my camera and discovered it's dead. The lens won't even extend from the camera itself. The battery is fully charged but the lens is no longer willing. 

Ok, no big deal. I have another, yet much crappier, camera that can take some decent pictures of me spelunking. A quick breakfast, a sink shower, and I was on my way to meet with my tour guide. 

We met on the back porch of the visitor's center. Ranger John started describing the journey ahead of us twelve. As he described how we would have to inhale to get around one rock and exhale to pass another, I couldn't have been more excited. Then he said, "let's check over all of your gear." 

He glanced and me and said, "This fellow has the ideal outfit for spelunking. Cargo pants, long sleeve shirt, and sturdy shoes. Right now I'll have all of you hike your pants up so I can inspect your shoes." Then he checked out my shoes and said, "Oh, doesn't look like these will work out." I had the rest of the ensemble right, but not the shoes.

Apparently, it is an unbendable rule that you must have hiking boots that come up over the ankle. Mine stopped just short. I even brought soccer shin-guards that covered part of the ankle, but apparently that wasn't enough. I wasn't allowed to go. The trip I had booked a month in advance and had been looking forward to just as long, wasn't going to happen. 

As one of the rangers stood explaining my options, I was just fuming. He said, "here are the other tours you can take today.....blah, blah, blah." I didn't hear anything else he said. Other tours? I didn't want another tour. I wanted the Wild Cave Tour, the tour that has chest diameter requirements, the tour that takes 6 hours, the tour that made other people in the visitor's center say, "you have to be nuts to do that." That's the tour I wanted. I didn't want to walk around where the other tourists and people with bad back's walked. I wanted a challenge. 

I sat weighing my options. Finally, I decided any tour would be better than no tour. I went with some other package. As I walked away from the ticket counter with my new ticket in hand and the difference of the two tours refunded, I was still rather upset. I thought of how I wouldn't be satisfied until I really spelunked that cave. 

And it dawned on me, just go tomorrow. I'm not on any strict schedule. What's another day in Kentucky? I walked back up to the ticket counter, asked to go on tomorrow's tour, and asked where I could purchase the proper hiking boots. 

Sadly, the nearest place was Wal-Mart. Barf. Whatever. The boots were only $35.00 and I'll probably return them tomorrow. So, here I am at Arby's. Using their free wi-fi. (Ohh yea, that fast food rule ended before it began. It seems that fast food rules the highways.)

At 10:05 this morning, once I was booted off the tour, I was ready to pack up camp and hit the road with all the rage I could muster. I was pissed. But after taking a few moments to really assess the situation, I settled down and made the best of what I was dealt. I'll be on my way back to Mammoth Cave National Park now, maybe take in a bike ride. Either way, I'll have had a great day. I'll have an even better one tomorrow.

Mammoth Cave National Park

6/2/09

Hit the road at 9 this morning and got to Mammoth Cave National Park around 11:30. Found myself a campsite, and got the tent set up just in time for a 20 minute downpour. I've never heard thunder like I've heard it in Kentucky. Intensely loud cracking like a giant bundling up a few redwood trees and snapping them like toothpicks. The storm helped me take a much-needed nap, and now I have my first cave tour in 20 minutes. I am pumped.  

My first cave tour today was an easy stroll through this wonder of a natural spectacle. Words can't describe it's beauty and apparently neither can pictures. Because the cave is so vast the flash from a camera didn't really help much, so pictures don't really work out. But a few did.

This is the bottomless pit. It's 105 feet deep. It was termed bottomless from the first cave explorers who looked down it with simple lanterns, making it look like the entrance to the center of the earth. 

Other notable places in the cave included the rotunda (the largest open room in the cave system), the old salt vats of the mining operations, and the methodist church. 

The methodist church was a spot in the cave where in the 1800's a local preacher took church goers to worship. Why a cave? It's a constant 50-some degrees in there, much better than a packed little chapel reaching the 90's on the surface. The preacher would lead the parishioners down the cave to the large chapel room. From there, he would take everyone's lantern and place them on a ledge to backlight him as he spoke. Black stained rocks mark where these lanterns sat. The preacher's sermons would sometimes last up to 4 hours, yet everyone stayed the whole time because this crafty preacher had all their lanterns placed behind him. Without that light, it's a treacherous and close to impossible walk back out. Who would be bold enough to interrupt the word of God, walk up behind the preacher, and say "sorry Father, I've had enough."

As we continued another hundred feet down we encountered "Tall Man's Agony," a long corridor of a four-foot-high ceiling, and "Fat Man's Misery," similar to the Agony but horizontal instead of vertical. Also, pictured at right, was the giant's coffin, eerily shaped and colored like the coffin of Paul Bunyan. 

The cave is full of wonders, each with a story attached. All along the route were scribbles of graffiti, most from the mid-late 1800's. Our guide, Kaite (who looked like the Ting Ting's Kaite White), told us that any graffiti prior to 1941 is historical graffiti, anything written after that is a federal offense. 

This historical graffiti is quite interesting, most of it done by burning dots into the rock with candle flame.  The most interesting to me was a burned etching from 1855 when the first band played in the cave. Just a few yard from the tunnel where their name has lasted centuries, is a room in the cave with incredible acoustics. Back then, bands would perform in the cave often to a crowd of lantern holding spectators. 

The cave tour was magnificent. I didn't want to resurface. Mostly because it was ranging in the 90's with I'm assuming close to 90% humidity. From the entrance of the cave, you can feel both the heat of the surface and the wonderful cool air of the cave. You can also see the fog created from the meeting of the two. 

I went back to my site and made a delicious pineapple and ham "pie." It must have smelled good too because I had about five guests for dinner. A little herd of deer kept a safe 20 feet away as this sniffed in my direction and I threw them a few scraps. 

My night finished with the burning down of the campfire and a few songs on my guitar. Until tomorrow's cave spelunking!

New Month, New State

6/1/09

I hit the road around quarter to 8 this morning. Destination: Evansville, Indiana. I’ve just now stopped at 10:00 to refuel and de-oil my un-showered skin.

So far, so good. Here are some statistics:

Miles driven: 325

Total Gas Costs: $31.11 + just refueled: $33.02  = $64.13

Later That Day:

Arriving in Evansville around 4pm, I made my way to the University of Southern Indiana campus to meet up with a friend who’s doing summer-stock theatre work there. She wasn’t quite done with work yet, so I decided to take a jog around the USI campus.

Hot & Humid. That’s all I can really say about both my drive today and my run. I knew the south would be warmer, but I didn’t quite expect this. Nor did I expect my air conditioner to just shoot out air instead of cold air. My car is a rolling inferno.

My night in Evansville was chill, but really that’s what I needed. Hanging out with some fun theatre peeps playing drinking games. Even from state to state, some things never change. Drinking is drinking and a good time is a good time.

Drove to Chicago, All things Go

9-31-2009

With a long night in Boytown behind us, Lee and I woke up to a leisurely morning consisting of Hulu videos and playing with Charlie the rabbit. Lee had some studying to do as his finals were coming up, so I took the Metra (yes, Metra, not metro) into the city for a little touristy Chicago fun.

I made my way up the Sears tower to the Skydeck observation level on floor 99. For a soild hour I stood up there gazing out onto the magnificent city below, thinking of the hundreds of thousands of lives that are unfolding under my feet. It’s a humbling experiences seeing a city like Chicago laid out beneath you.

My friend Meagan met me up there and we sat for another long while staring out onto the city and catching each other up on the last year of our lives.

A ear-poppingly quick ride down the elevator and Meagan and I were walking the city streets seeing what there was to see. In a short while we got thirsty and realized we were across the street from the House of Blues. Great place for a few beers. Last night I was introduced to 312 (pronounced three one two), a locally famous Chicago brew reminiscent of New Glaurus’ spotted cow. Good converstion, good beer, great atmosphere, but before long we decided to check out more of the city.

Millennium park was our next stop. What an incredible public space. We just so happen to get there as a local youth choir was finishing up a concert in the park. The stage, architecture, and sound of this performance space is masterfully done. I could see myself as a Chicago citizen and utilizing this space on a daily basis.

The incredible Mellennium park outdoor art has made a landmark in-print on this Chicago area.

One can get some rather impressive pictures using this metallic dome-blob to help.

From there, we did a bit more walking as the sun began to set on this marvelous setting.