The highlight of the trip so far has been the automatic bathroom door at The Oasis in St. Augustine. You can wash your hands and you don't have to touch the bathroom door to get it open. Why aren't these installed in all bathrooms!?! I love it!

This concludes our broadcast day.

Dave

We finished up the last two days in St. Augustine without major incident (and my tongue intact). On Friday we got take out Sonny's BBQ and had a huge feast with my Grandparents, Emily, Bob & Patty. It was delicious, we had a whole gallon of sweet tea, which Emily made sure was finished by the time we left Florida. Emily and I went for a walk on the beach and nearly froze; we were not prepared for how cold the wind would be. I no longer believe that Florida is always 80 and sunny. Through the wonders of modern technology and some help from FedEx we were able to receive the inauguration tickets in time. It took many phone calls with the congressmen's office but they were delivered to Cape Vincent in time to be shipped to Florida with less than 24 hours turn around time, America sure is great!

Saturday was occupied with Syracuse basketball and of course more playing of the Wii. Emily & Patty spent the day gallivanting around St. Augustine (that's what girls do) while Bob and I enjoyed relaxing at the condo. I think we got the better end of it; we did partake in some intense battles of Wii tennis. Saturday night we headed to the "World Famous" Oasis for some seafood, I'm not quite sure why it's world famous but the food was pretty good. Emily got the fried shrimp she had been craving and you wouldn't believe it but Bob was back on the horse and eating wings again. Not me though, I stuck to the safety of a fried fish sandwich.

We left the condo around 11:30 Sunday morning and headed to Savannah. I was glad to see Bob and Patty again and be in one place long enough to get a little mail. We probably won't be stationary that long again until we get to California. It was great to visit with my grandparents and gain some valuable insight about life on the road. Who better to learn from than a couple of world-class travelers?


This concludes our broadcast day.

Dave

We've started a pool for how many miles we will travel since leaving Cape Vincent. We welcome all guesses. Post a comment or send an email to Emily or myself.

Dave's guess - 6476
Emily's guess - 5000
Bob's guess - 5750
Patty's guess - 6325
Lee's guess - 5800
Emily's Dad's guess - 5898
Dave's Mom's guess - 5950
Dave's Dad's guess - 5700
Jim's guess - 5400
Becky's guess - 6125


This concludes our broadcast day.


P.S. We were asked by my dad (Emily) what the prize would be. I'll tell you like I did him "The prize is being right but we'll send you some free sunshine."

*A special note of thanks to Dave for this amazing blog title.


We arrived in St. Augustine, Florida after taking the "scenic" route as Dave calls it. We made the joint decision to drive down 27 South and see where it would take us. We knew we were heading towards Gainesville and then somewhere along the way we would make a left turn and start listening to the GPS. I did not know a backwoods existed in Florida but I tell you now, indeed it does. It was fine up until it got dark, then I started to worry we had wondered to far in Gator Country. Some how Doris, what we named our GPS system, found us on big brother's satellites and directed us toward Quail Hollow. We arrived at exactly 9:10PM for those of you who are interested.

Bob and Patty were here to greet us while we ate the third round of Chik-Fil-A. Dave ventured out to the chicken sandwich but I was having none of it, I don't like change. After nuggets and Polynesian sauce we played some Wii. It seems everyone has these gaming system and I want one! Shortly after we all said good night and headed our separate ways.

Thursday morning we laid around the condo, visited Dave's grandparents for a couple of hours to enjoy hearing about their new projects and all the gossip around Quail Hollow. We said goodbye to them and then headed back to A74U to play some more Wii and take another walk on the beach and man was it cold. Never have I experienced Florida in winter and I think I will stick to coming to the condo in June and July. It was nice to see the sun set on the ocean again and I’m getting excited to have the possibility of seeing it everyday.

This is where the Thursday night gets interesting. We all decided we wanted to get wings. Bob and Patty gave us a couple of options but none of us wanted to decide so we just decided to go to both. The first wing place is called Big Belly’s and we ordered a dozen hot and a dozen medium and were all in agreement that they tasted the same. After that we drove across the parking lot to Hurricane’s where we ordered a dozen “Extra Hot” wings and Bob had a coupon for 5 free wings that were Apple-Bourbon flavored. At this point I was full so I tried one of the Apple-Bourbon and watched Dave and Bob eat the hot wings. Well then the tears, red noses and coughing began. Bob and Patty had come once before and had the Category 3 wings and said they weren’t that hot so he wanted to try Category 4. Bob and Dave only had one bite and decided they couldn’t finish them and that’s when Patty figured out something wasn’t right. The waitress had put in the order for the Category 5 “Ridiculously hot wings” and they layer those with cayenne pepper. Well I don’t have to tell you that we got the wings for free because at that point neither one of them were in any condition to eat another round of wings or anything for that matter. After we left Patty drove us to Wendy’s for a frosty at their request. Finally feeling returned back to their tongues and they vowed to never again eat there.



More Wii and to bed!
Emily

...sing a song about my life."
-George Strait











We left Albany on Monday morning and knew we had the whole day to get over to Blakely because my grandmother had a Doctor's appointment in Dothan, Alabama. I wanted to show Dave some of the places I grew up so he could get a better idea of why I am the way I am. I think he did.

Our first stop was Colquitt, Georgia. This is where both sides of my family would gather and where I spent most of my childhood. The farm as we called it is officially named "The Last Draw Pineceae Tree Farm" and he also owned a plot of land called "Egypt." The land has now been passed down to my father and his sister, Aunt Pam, and it looked very different than I remembered. The state of Georgia widened the Highway from a two lane to a four lane and I couldn't even find where to turn in. There used to be a fence, gate, a tall oak tree and The Rufus House, where my grandfather grew up. Now there are no markers at all except a small fence line. After making several U-Turns we called my father and finally found the fence line after calling my dad. I showed Dave both ponds that once held catfish and bass and The Rufus House which has now been moved to the back of the property. Although it looked much different the spirit of the farm is still alive and well.

After that we moved on to Iron City, Georgia. Don't let the name fool you it's smaller than the town I grew up in. Richardson's BBQ is their only claim to fame and I couldn't believe it still exists. We were the only two there so we received full service with sweet tea, pulled pork, french fries and their amazing "world famous" Brunswick Stew. It was so good Dave just had to take some to go. We ate quickly and kept on truckin’ to Brinson.

Brinson has been preserved over the years and looked exactly how I remembered it. We drove by my old house (the parsonage), and also drove by my home away from home, Brinson Baptist Church. I showed Dave our "General Store" which seemed a lot more run down than I remembered. I guess we all can get a little run down over the years. All in all it was a successful trip down memory lane and one I think (and hope) Dave enjoyed.

After that we decided it was time to make our way to Blakely, Georgia to see the other side of my family. We made it there by 4pm in time to print some pictures for Ammama to keep and then headed over to her house. Aunt Pam and her new Nissan Z were parked in the driveway so we got to visit with her for a little bit before Ammama got back from Dothan with my Aunt Lish and Cousin Ginger. They left shortly after and we decided to eat at Dairy Queen for dinner.

We all filled up on hamburgers, fries and a dipped cone and headed back to Ammama's house to chat the night away. We lost track of time asking her questions, literally until 2AM. We talked about Cary and how they met, about the war and what life was like back in the 1940’s. We enjoyed listening to her talk about her life and learning much more about my grandmother that I ever knew. After sleepy good nights we headed off to bed to get ready for another day of family and friends.

We played the rest of our time in Blakely by ear so there would be no stress. We got up a little later than usual on Tuesday and headed out to eat at The Doghouse Grill, a UGA themed lunch place. They have the most fantastic sandwiches all served on Texas Toast and sweet potato fries (Mom-you will love these!). I think Aunt Lish and Ammama got the best meal of us all, which was country fried steak on toast. We sure did eat well while we were there.

We also did a little shopping at Peebles and Pernickety to work off the huge meal we had just eaten and then headed back to Aunt Lish’s, also known as the Grand Central Station of the south, for more visiting before heading out to dinner. When I was in Rochester, dad mentioned that if I wanted to eat some good raw oysters I should get Ammama take me to Griffin’s. I got a whole dozen served to me on a lunch tray topped with lemon and Griffin’s special house sauce. I also added cheese grits and hush puppies for a sublime southern dining experience. Dave also had a memorable meal with fried catfish, bone and all. I think he was a bit appalled when I asked if was going to eat his fish tails. He's a good sport and I made sure to keep those sweet teas coming!

Blakely was another successful stop on our whirlwind road trip. We got our fill of food, family and laughter.
Who could ask for more?
Emily

Emily and I arrived in Albany, Georgia late Friday night after a quick stop at Chick Fil-A for the first of what I assume will be many servings of Polynesian sauce. We joined Emily’s sister, Amanda at her friend’s house to participate in game night. We played some Rock Band on Wii and an interesting few rounds of loaded questions. I actually enjoyed rockin’ out on the guitar hero, on easy of course!

Saturday we picked up some Sonny’s BBQ and headed over to Emily’s Grandparents for lunch. I spent the afternoon helping here grandfather with a few chores around the house and a few errands he needed to run while Emily visited with her Grandmother. The afternoon was spent enjoying some of the NFL playoffs and delicious spicy sausage and biscuits. I love this sausage you can only find at Carroll’s in Albany. I was glad that I got to watch some of all four games this weekend. Going into the trip I was worried I would miss all of the playoffs, but it has worked out where I’ve gotten to see most every game. Saturday night Amanda’s friends band were playing a show at a small bar/club in Albany called the Crowbar. I’ve been to a bar in Albany before with Amanda and Emily, but nothing like this. This place was full of rednecks of course and they are proud of it! The band was called South Train; they were a country-rock cover band. The music was good but the vocals could have used a little work. I’d forgotten that you could still smoke in bars in Georgia by the end of night my skin was permeated with cigarette smoke and I felt like I had smoked a few packs. We also ordered some food from the bar; they had something on their menu called Cheese & Pepperoni pizza bites, which I wanted to try for obvious reasons. You wouldn’t believe it but it was a mini Red Baron pizza but cut up in small pieces. Just like in Cape Vincent, good thing my Mom doesn’t charge $6.99 otherwise Dave, Mitchell and I would have had to spend a lot of money over the years!

Sunday, Amanda and Emily cooked a huge steak meal with baked potatoes and green bean casserole. DELICIOUS! Afterwards I planted myself in front of the television only to watch the Giants lose, sorry Dad (at least Syracuse has been doing well, knock on wood). Emily and I were going to stretch our legs a little bit and walk around the Albany Mall but unfortunately it closes at 6 on Sunday so instead we stopped at the local Pizza Hut. What an experience! There were no servers, you just order your pizza at the counter, and they give you a paper plate and then bring you everything you ordered in one box. It took over 25 minutes, the longest I’ve ever waited at Pizza Hut. They didn’t even get our order right. So by the time we finished our pizza the breadsticks finally came out. We ate one a piece and save the rest for leftovers. At least those were good for breakfast!

We left Albany around 12:15, after another serving of Polynesian sauce for Emily (that’s 2 so far for those who are keeping count). We drove through Colquitt where the Houston family farm is located. Emily gave me a quick tour of the ponds and the one room house where her grandfather was raised. We were able to take a driving tour through rural Georgia listening to the Allman Brothers Live at Fillmore East courtesy of Emily’s father. Emily gave me a quick tour of the small town she grew up and stopped at the Brinson Baptist Church where her Dad used to preach. I used to think Cape Vincent was small, but at least we have Aubrey’s! For lunch we stopped at Richardson’s BBQ. Emily had remembered this from her youth as having the best Brunswick stew and here memory did not disappoint. It was so good I had to take some to go. It is a very small place, it seems like it has been unchanged for the last two decades. Yellow tables with orange chairs, the building looked as it was about to fall over. I got the feeling that we were the only two people to come through the door all day. You’ll have to see the pictures to believe it.

We made it Blakely around 4 O’clock and visited with the other side of Emily’s family a little bit before heading to Dairy Queen for dinner. They have a great DQ here, mmm Butterfinger blizzard.

This concludes our broadcast day.

Dave

*This entry didn’t make to the publisher in time to be posted, but I thought that you all might enjoy it anyway. I just want to give a special thanks to our publisher for letting me slide this one in out of order ;-)

After 25 years I have officially left New York State. I had to travel through a white out blizzard to do it, but I did. I find it funny that the only time it ever snows is when I need to go anywhere. I am excited that in the next chapter of my life I will longer have to live according to the phrase “Depends on the weather.” We had a great time in Rochester; I was able to see Mitchell, Sean and Mary one more time. We grabbed dinner at Matthews next to the Little Theater (the only night it snowed in Rochester!). Emily and I were also able to stop by to see our friends Jay and Mark. They have a great apartment in Rochester; they even had a big enough place for stairs. I haven’t seen an apartment like that in a while!

Emily and I made a side trip to Buffalo last Sunday; we met up with her friend from Canada, Amanda and Graham. We made a stop at Anchor Bar for some amazing wings; I still think they’re better than Duff’s, not as large as Duff’s but crispier! Afterwards we were able to hang out with Jamie, Dan and Theresa. We also met Theresa’s fiancé Mark for the first time. We all sat around and caught up and heard about their wedding plans. The limo bus sounds like it will be awesome (and the seat coverings too!). Afterwards we headed over to Casey’s to drop or stuff off before heading out to experience some nightlife in Buffalo with Dave the “King of Allen Street”. Casey beat Emily and I in the longest game of darts I have ever played, 41 rounds! We played some photo hunt and got the high score with the assistance of Dave and the bartender. I hope that Bunny B-lo can last forever, it has been a goal of mine to finally crack the high score and I have finally done it!

Monday we made a quick trip to Fredonia for some Upper Crust soup (Tomato Mushroom and Creamy Potato for all those in the know) and a Chicken Finger sub. Both were better than I remember, especially the sub. We stopped by our respective old apartments and stomping grounds. I’m glad to report that BJ’s is still around, it’s dark and dingy but I wouldn’t have it any other way. You can also still find a wide selection of 40’s and egg salad at the Fredonia Food Mart! After our quick tour through Fredonia we headed back through Silver Creek for some cheap gas from our friends at the Cattaraugus Reservation. The remaining time in Rochester was spent packing and running errands. Emily made it through all her boxes and on Wednesday I cleaned and packed the car. First thing Thursday we were packed, fed and ready to begin our Great American Adventure!

This Concludes Our Broadcast Day.

Dave

*For those of you who don't know this is what I called my home state when I was a baby. I'm so adorable.



“We’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there…”
-Jerry Reed


We have officially made it to Hendersonville, NC and because of the vast amount of things we saw through each state we passed I have decided to write this entry much different than the past few.

9:30AM – We leave New York State as residents and head for our new home.
- It’s travel day and Dave is involved so naturally there is a ton of snow, high winds and a white out.
- Dave begins the day not feeling that well as he has severe acid reflux and feels like he is trying to digest a baseball. His theory is that my mom put something in his food so we couldn’t leave this morning (just kidding mom we love you).
-My parents send us off with a delicious southern white trash meal of sausage and biscuits, scrambled eggs and cheese grits. Yum! What a great meal to get us ready for the south.
- We have to stop at the rest stop shortly after getting onto 90 East towards Syracuse as the ABS (Anti-Brake Lock) and AWD (All Wheel Drive) lights are on in the message center and we need to stop to turn off the ignition. If the lights go off then great if they don’t then it’s an issue. The lights are still on however; we both vaguely remember that Dave’s mom said something the sensors go off if slush gets on them. Good job GM your computer system malfunctions when it’s needed the most.
- Originally we were supposed to get lunch with my best friend, Frank, however the weather was so bad we ended up continuing on to 81 South when we got to Syracuse. I hate I didn’t get to say goodbye but then I remembered he is going to be a rich International Business Lawyer someday and he can just fly me in for lunch wherever we are. I’ll miss you terribly dear.
- On 81 South the windshield wipers malfunction and instead of resting below where they should be they get confused and are now suspended in the air. They will only stay down if we keep them the control on delay. What an interesting way to see the East Coast.
- As I am writing this I get a call/text from my mom asking, “Where are my keys?” I helped move the cars around the night before we left and slipped them in my pocket. Oops. I guess I shouldn’t have made fun of dad for forgetting his wallet on their trip to the Outer Banks.
- We honked the horn and waved when we passed the Marathon Branch of the family!


12:51PM – Pennsylvania, the state of independence, welcomes us.
-Shortly thereafter we enter the Welcome Center as Elton John’s “Philadelphia Freedom” plays on Dave’s ipod.
-We thought it would be fun to stop off in Scranton and go to the Chili’s the Dundees are held at on The Office. It doesn’t exist, Thanks NBC. We to a weird chain called Red Robin instead with bottomless fries and an extremely perky waitress appropriately named Emily. We were the only ones there by the end of the meal.
- We stop in a Post Office on Main Street to get those keys back to my mother.
- We pass a place called Hometown, PA.
- There is one random Christmas tree lit on the side of the road. Is it battery powered?


5:59PM – Maryland Welcomes Us.
-We have crossed the Mason Dixon Line.


6:28PM – We have crossed into the “wild and wonderful” state of West Virginia.
-I have my first Chick (a) – Fil- A sighting.
-You can go 70 MPH in this state but we seem to be the only ones doing so.


6:49PM – Virginia Welcomes Us.
-We have our first real huge religious symbol sighting. It’s an LCD lit cross!
-Passed by Route 66.
- I see a town called Christiansburg and the sign when you are leaving says “Leave Christiansburg.”
- We enter a Texaco Station in Buchanan, VA and we have our first taste of deliverance country. The woman behind the counter is telling a long story about how she lost her billfold and the man she is talking to is wearing a John Deere hate and blue jean overalls. The only thing missing is a hayseed sticking out of the corner of his mouth. Oh how I have missed the south!


10:59PM – North Carolina State Line. I have returned home.
- There are a massive amount of semi trucks coming down the mountain of Virginia and North Carolina. Imagine me driving down a mountain in a mini van with high wind warnings and huge trucks going 80 MPH. I now know what the sign "Runaway Truck Ramp” means.
- A Billboard I liked: “Life. One Verse at a time.”
- Another Texaco station we stopped at had racing fuel at the pump. We tried not to stay here long as we were gathering weird looks about the amount of snow and salt on our cars. You could tell they had no idea where we had come from.
- There are billboards for this huge store called J.R and one of the 25 billboards that caught my eye was “Mucho Cheapo.”


Day one turns into Day two…

1:49AM – We enter the city limits of Hendersonville, North Carolina. We are now only a few short miles from a bed and a couch at Aunt Sharon and Uncle Jay’s home.

By 2am I am asleep in a very comfy bed and Dave is asleep on the couch.

We get up around 9:30AM to shower and visit with Aunt Sharon and Uncle Jay. We get the grand tour of their stunning new town house. We decide to go out to lunch and they treat us to a yummy Mexican place called El Paso. We also get to see their their cute town and enjoy chatting with them some more as we pass away the afternoon. What a great way to spend our time in North Carolina. Thank you both so very much for your generosity, hospitality and that extra chocolate milkie for the road. You both are too wonderful!

Today is a much easier trip. We only have a couple of states to go through and we should make it to my sister’s house by 9PM this evening in Albany, Georgia.

2:54PM we make it into South Carolina for a car wash. Finally people can stop staring at us. So far we have only seen one confederate flag but we will keep you posted.

4:28PM – Georgia is glad we have them on our minds. Only 4 more hours to go!


P.S. Thanks Chik-Fil- A for the free wifi!

Dear Mr. Edsall,


You will be so proud of us today. We have officially been approved for Healthy New York (Health Insurance) as of January 1, 2009. Now you can take a deep breath and rest easy as we make our way west.


Sincerely,
Your Humble Subjects

Hello All!

What a wonderful whirlwind of a weekend we have had. We arrived safe and sound in Rochester on Friday with a couple of hours to spare. Mom wanted to practice a song to sing for our evening of Karaoke. I'm more of a get up there and wing it kind of girl but that's just me. After an hour searching Youtube singing everything from Carly Simon to Reba McEntire I finally consented to sing "I got you Babe."

We left for Flaherty's a little later to meet Steve and Amy (aka The Tausch's) for some dinner and Sinatra. We ate a traditional Friday night fish fry and waited for the Karaoke Master to start up the evening's entertainment. Steve was one of the first brave souls to get up there and sing. He's a regular and he's really good so of course he made it look easy. It is not. My dad, ever the enabler, began pressuring me to pick a song to sing by myself and even went as far as to make several trips up to the Master to gather paper, pencils and the Karaoke version of the Bible. My palms began to sweat as I leafed through the song book. I must have looked at every single song and artist in the book and couldn't decide on any of them. Dad convinced me that it should be a song to rouse the crowd and also something that I would have a good time singing.

I ended up picking "Hey Jude" by this little group called The Beatles and shortly thereafter my name was called. I thought I was sweating before but now I was soaked. I downed my cup of courage, walked up to the stage, grabbed the mike and began praying "Please let this be painless. Please let this be over soon." It wasn't. I did have fun with it though. I finally realized I am not a singer and that's when I really let loose. I even threw in a heartfelt "Judejudejudejudeee." I was so relieved when it was over and sat down feeling pretty proud of myself before my mom leaned over and asked "When are we going to sing our
song?" Well my dad's ears perked up at this question and immediately got up to grab more supplies for our second song. He's very good at helping other people embarrass themselves. Thanks dad. While we were up there mom and I weren't really sure who was singing Sonny and who was singing Cher but we kept going and have a lot of great pictures to show for it. Steve rocked the house with "My Way" and "That Lady is a Tramp" and even though mom and I tried to convince Dave and dad to get up there, they weren't having it. What goes around comes around guys, you're up next time!

Saturday was a quiet day of running a few errands, playing Wild Uno and watching a movie. It was nice to relax as we knew the next day would find us in Buffalo. And it did!

We left for "The All America City" after church and went directly to The Anchor Bar. After two years of not having good wings in NYC it was so exciting to be in the city that created the chicken wing. My Canadian friend (I always have to say that because I think it's so cool I know a real life Canadian) Amanda and her husband Graham met us there and experienced real Buffalo wings for the first time. They loved them (I think). We then all headed to the Walden Galleria for some window shopping and real shopping on The Lohnes part but really just enjoyed hanging out for a few hours.

After we said our goodbyes Dave and I headed over to Jamie's house to hang out with her and our friend Theresa. We also got to meet Theresa's fiance and really enjoyed catching up with them and finding out how life is in Buffalo. I am happy to report that life is good! Dave was also happy to be near a big TV to catch the Eagles vs. Vikings Playoff game. See I pay attention to sports! We finished the game and headed over to our friend Casey's apartment.

Then the debauchery began (but not really mom, honest). We met her friend Dave and hung out at a local dive bar playing the longest game of Darts ever and Photo Hunt. We were the only ones there on a Sunday night so we headed home to play Scattergories but instead ended up putting in The House Bunny, a movie that is two hours too long. We set up our sleeping bags and settled into an uncomfortable sleep. I kept telling myself I need to get used this now as I no longer have a home or a real bed. It also didn't help that she has kittens that run around the house during all hours of the night. I was luckily on the couch but I'm pretty sure Dave got attacked several times during the night. We are definitely not cat people. But we appreciated Casey's hospitality and loved that we were able to hang out with her before we left for the west coast.

We got up a little congested and decided we needed Creamy Potato and Tomato Mushroom soup. That's right...we were too close to Fredonia to just head home without a quick stop. We had fun walking down memory lane after our yummy bowls of soup and stopped by Forest, my old apartment on Temple and 24 Lambert! We also walked around campus to see all the changes, the new Kranston is amazing and they even have a Starbucks in it. I wish we were going there now, it might actually be nice to go to a real school. We made another quick stop to the clock tower, our old meeting place oh so long ago. With one final look around (and a chicken finger sub) we headed back to Rochester with no regrets.

Thanks to everyone who made our Buffalo trip a great one. We will miss you all and only hope for you the very best!
Emily