ugh..

I am so beat.....

Texas.....oh ehm jee

So we left yesterday morning from Kankakee dark and early at 4am for Austin, TX. I took the first leg after popping some caffeine (the first picture is of sunrise in Illinois). It was interesting...I am not usually a 4am functioner-type, but I did pretty well. It was interesting to watch the temperature first go up because the sun was rising, and then go up again because of our traveling south. Auri slept for the first chunk and I listened to the radio shows. I kept thinking to myself...what do people do when the land is so flat....The culture in the cities seem to be centered around consumerism, computers, and television. I like to shop, I like computers, and I like television...but I try not to let my life revolve around them. Anyways......It was a lot of driving...Out of a total of about 17 hours between Kankakee and Austin...I drove about 14 of the hours...not because I really wanted to...but because I really wanted Auri to keep reading "The Restaurant at the end of the universe". I would read it while she drove...but I get car sick if I try and read in cars...it is unfortunate. We didn't get to Austin until after the sun already went down, but we snapped a shot of it just to show how long we had driven.
When we met our hosts Erin and Mike, we dropped off our things, showered, and headed out to a place called Polvos a little Tex-Mex place with really...really...strong margaritas. After getting thoroughly stuffed and a little buzzed we went, to a bar called the Red Shed to meet us with some of their friends before heading back to their apartment and finally calling it a night at 1am - almost 24 hours of being awake.

Today we woke up and got ready to go to the Pachanga Festival. A latin festival that had a lot of music besides just latin. There were quite a few fusion bands and pop bands. That was most of the day.....we came back and played a game of Quiddler while drinking "Mexican Martinis". We're currently trying to figure out what to do tonight....so maybe there will be another post later!

Goodbye Illinois....next stop....Texas!

Well it has been a wonderful stay here in Illinois visiting my grandparents, aunts and uncles, but the road is calling us again. We'll be back on the road tomorrow morning dark and early at around 4 am (hopefully). We have friends in Austin Texas that we'll be going to visit for a few days where we will be doing lots of fun things that will surely have their own respective entries in this documentation of "the Dilly".
Today Auri and I woke up around 8-8:30 and ate some breakfast (bagels and cereal) and then went to the Kankakee River State Park for a bike ride. We both woke up on the right side of the bed and were in pretty silly happy moods. When we started our ride I was being a little silly and was jumping my bike over the cracks in the path. For those of you who know me, you know that I am a pretty big guy. I can only imagine the torque I was putting on the pedals when I was landing those little bunny-hops. Soon after a few of those jumps I noticed a slight difference in how my pedal was feeling. Apparently I had loosened the bolt that holds the pedal onto the crank and the whole pedal and arm were coming off...it was unpleasant. I decided to get off the bike so as to not cause any extra damage. This brought my mood from cheery/silly to being slightly frustrated and disappointed. Thankfully after we had walked the mile or so back to the car, loaded the bikes up, and were headed out of the park, we found a maintenance shop where there was a worker who was more than willing to help tighten down the loose nut. So we were able to get back on our bikes and finish our ride. My mood was lifted:). After the ride we went back to my grandmother's house to get cleaned up and share some photos that she hadn't seen yet (we also shared these with my Aunt).
After heading to the local grocery store and getting some more goodies for our cooler we relaxed at my grandparents until...
We had dinner with my uncle David, Aunt Beth, and two of my cousins at a little Italian place in Bradley, IL. It was a nice little meal to share with the family before we depart. We're gonna relax tonight and try to get to bed early.
more to come!

mmmm....food....

well today we spent some time with the family, did some bike riding, and we were then stuffed full of Stuffed pizza and some of my Grandpa's BBQ pork ribs.
It was fun to sit around and talk about everyday differences like how the trees are different here, and the birds are different. I noticed all of this by first listening to the birds and noticing that their songs are very different here. The bark on the trees is different, and the leaves too. Auri and I are feeling pretty beat now though, and my arms got a little sunburned in our outdoor game of Quiddler with my cousins. We're gonna get some sleep....

Westward!

So we were up around 5:30am this morning, though we barely slept a wink. Camp was packed up and we left the strange campground at around 6:30. After grabbing bagels at Dunkin' Donuts we got back on the road. We hopped onto interstate 90 and headed west. This was the longer day. The weather went from being really gray, to rainy, to sunny, and back to rain...wait no it was a torrential down-pour.
Let's backpedal a little bit...
Before the aforementioned down-pour we got into Illinois..... just barely. We rolled off of 90 and got to a gas station (I am sure) in just the nick of time. After filling up we headed back onto the highway and towards Chicago. Now I don't have any problem driving in cities, but I got instruction from my grandfather to take 90 and that would put me on I-57, but there was no signs for 57 (at least not that Auri or I noticed). So we ended up on the other side of Chicago in the wrong place. So after a discussion with my uncle on the phone and dealing with the rush hour traffic of the greater Chicago area, we were headed to my birthplace: Kankakee, Illinois. (please...don't pronounce the s)
It was on route 57 that we both finished the first book of the hitchhiker's guide and met that down-pour I spoke of.
after one more wrong turn....we made it to my grandparents house where we showered and were fed some delicious italian beef, potato salad and olive salad.
tomorrow morning
biscuts and gravy....grandpa Harmon style :)

Searching for one of the biggest waterfalls....

Well....the trip was....good......good is probably the best adjective. Normally I would use a word that would exercise my vocabulary but the first leg to Niagara falls was rather anti-climactic. We drove for about 10 hours when we got to the exit that mapquest had suggested, and then we drove....and drove....and we were kindof confused as to where we were and if we were going the right direction. We then found out we were in fact in the right place. "They" never tell you just how unattractive the city of Niagara falls is, but believe me it is VERY disappointing. The sun was setting as we rolled passed the campground we were set to stay at when we decided that we would just go find the falls before we set up camp. So on we drove...
and drove...
and drove.....
then we could see a blue sign that resembled the signs that tell you where hostpitals are only it had an image of a waterfall on it. We then followed these signs for another 6-10 miles. When we finally got to Niagara Falls State Park we experienced our first positive of this part of the trip...the parking attendants had gone home, and when they do that you park for free! So we locked our bikes to the car, and walked briskly towards the mist we could see, and the sound we could hear, as the sun was dipping fast and we wanted to be able to really see the falls.
Just as the last time I had been, I felt very, very, small next to these falls. Though the first time I went it was probably around 2 am and the moon was shining full, I slept through the crappy part of town, and it was the Canadian side...(they have the better side by the way).
The campground we stayed at was fine but it was not (as advertised) close to the falls so the bike ride we had anticipated did not happen. Instead our bikeride was after we set up camp to the building that housed the bathrooms at the end of the campground.
Following this we set up the tent then sat in the car and ate pickled beets, pickled brussel sprouts, and imitation crab meat (dinner of champions).
We ended the night by going to the tent that was terribly uncomfortable as we had forgotten proper sleeping bags. Auri read some more of "The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy" which she had been reading out loud for the duration of the trip. After about a chapter we both decided to try and get some sleep so that we could wake up early and head off for Illinois....
the end



not really
WWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
that is the sound that the siren made....at about midnight-2am...for what reason we do not know...but it was perhaps the loudest siren i've ever heard...
I was thinking....
wait....is one of the biggest waterfalls in the world on fire?
nah that was sleep logic....

Today is the day

Well I am extremely groggy to the point where one of my eyes is still closed but I am typing out of almost complete instinct. I've gotten to the point where I can type pretty fast without looking down (I used to be terrible at typing).*yawn* We are almost done packing for our trip, and when I am done writing this entry I have to shut down my computer and
unplug it and pull it away from the wall because the apartment is getting painted while we are out on our exploration.

Auri tells me that breakfast will consist of cereal with soy milk. Sounds good enough, but meager in its own way as well (perhaps we'll grab something else on the road as well...not McDonalds though...that would be a bad way to start).

Tonight we hope to make our way to Niagara Falls, NY. Where we will probably camp and then head on to Kankakee, Illinois every day. Its funny every time I Type Kankakee into any sort of word processor it comes up with a red line under it cause the comp. is like WTF? Yeah it's a real place...I was born there in November of 1985'.

Anyways....feeling a little more awake now I should work on getting the last of my things packed and then we're gonna pack the car!!!

maybe there will be a post from a cafe with free-wifi later....

we'll see....

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Today is a new chapter.....

Well it was just a few days ago that I walked across a stage and was handed a fancy, green, two-paneled, and empty degree holding device. A ceremony that gave me the title "Bachelor of Arts in General Music Studies." What does that mean anyways? It means I didn't specialize in Education or performance of music, but studied it as the subject itself. My college experience was overall a good one, and that is because I had some good friends to make the ride worthwhile. Really no matter what you're doing, if you don't have friends, or don't belong to a "pack" (as one of my good friends put it), you should change that ASAP. Even if you are generally a loner (like me). You should have people to talk to, share things with, and most importantly (for me) have someone relate to your situation. Even if your pack is small, it can still be strong and very beneficial to your own mental health. I am now onto a new chapter of life. I've studied some of what I wanted to, now it's on to study something that will help me more as far as a day job goes. Network Administration.....lets see how that goes.....

The immediate future however has very different plans. I will be going on a road trip with my Partner, and her and I will be going to the Chicago area, then to Austin, Houston, New Orleans, and then back up here to the northeast (possibly stopping in D.C. and Philly if we have the money at that point).

it should be a grand time.
I love adventure
I love to see new places
I am really looking forward to this journey...
lets just hope that she won't sleep the whole way...(like most car rides)