He did his very best to make the billows smooth and bright...

Travel Date: Tuesday, June 29

Once again we're back on Rt 90 heading west surrounding by nothing but....flat farm lands.  But since the last entry, we've managed to keep ourselves quite entertained.

From Cedar Point we followed our growling stomachs to the city of Chicago where a deep dish pizza awaited us at Lou Malnati's (good call Aft).  After gorging on ridiculously delicious pizza we knew we needed some beverages to wash it all down so we hopped back in the Yaris and ventured to Milwaukee, home of the MillerCoors Brewing company.



We finally made it to Wisconsin as made clear by the Cheese Castle along the highway (unfortunately it was not made of a cheese nor was it a castle).  When we arrived in Miller Country, a friendly lad named Danny led us around the brewery. From the caves were Frederick Miller kept his beer cool in 1855 when he started Miller Brewing using his special strain of yeast to the modern machinery which is currently in operation to bring all those suds to thirsty people around the country.  Our tour ended with some cold samples of the classic suds.

After recovering from Miller Time we hopped back in the car to drive to Goose Island where we set up camp in record time as the sun was setting.  We knew we needed to rest up for the following day's adventures of long car rides and exciting landmarks you could only find in the U.S.  


-The Walrus






Goose Island by night...

Shining with all his might

Travel Dates: Sunday & Monday, June 27-28

Currently cruising West on I-90 through Indiana and surrounded by a whole lot of nothing.... which gives way for a solid opportunity for a progress update.  The odometer is just past 1100 miles since our original departure and we're holding steady at 34/50 license plates (but we managed to spot an AK so we're confident in completion).  Backtracking to Sunday, we left off on our way up to Niagara Falls and holy cow, what an experience it was.  


We arrived in the late afternoon and linked up with a touristy group to try and pack in as much as possible.  We had a short stint upstream at Whirlpool State Park but quickly moved on to more exciting ventures aboard the Maid of the Mist ferry boat.  Done up in ponchos, we cruised into the belly of the Horseshoe Falls to really appreciate the natural power of the water flow.  (If memory serves correctly, the falls spit out roughly 92 bajillion gallons of water per micro second.  
From there, we journeyed over to the Daredevil Museum to scope out some of the barrels that have been used by the brave/crazy few over the years to spill over the falls.  



Our final stop took us back to water to the Cave of the Winds along the base of the falls on the American side.  While the actual cave has now collapsed, an elaborate series of wooden walkways enables you to walk right along the underside the waterfalls to truly get an up close and personal perspective.  Their "Hurricane Deck" actually enabled you to feel some of the pelting force of the falling water (and get mighty drenched at the same time. 


Overall, Niagara Falls was definitely a very cool place to check out.  It's one of those places that you're naturally familiar with from photos and literature but to experience in person makes all the difference and is definitely worth your while.


But enough of Mother Nature, we wanted to see what Man could do.  Our next spot landed us at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, home to the "Roller Coaster Capital of the World."  Seventeen different coasters to launch, drop, twist, flip, spin and stir the belly.  Of that lot, we rode all but two which were for children and little people only.   Although it was the longest wait, their Top Thrill Dragster stood out as it shot riders 420 feet straight up into the air at 120mph.


We'd describe the rest in detail but words would do no justice.  We would definitely recommend a trip if you've never been.  Totally exhausted after 12 intense hours their, we trudged back to a hotel, only to rinse and repeat again today as we now head for Chicago.  Our stomachs are already starting to rumble in anticipation of  deep dish deliciousness.


-The Walrus & The Carpenter
















PS  Canada was also tasty...

The sun was shining on the sea.....

Travel Date: Sunday, June 27

Lake George, New York is now officially behind us and 3G wireless access restored.  Despite some afternoon rain on Saturday, the skies cleared in time to make way for a beautiful evening ceremony with a picturesque lakeside backdrop.  Anna was done up in a gorgeous look, reminiscent of the chick from Beauty & the Beast, while Mike rocked some of the subtleties of Mr. Peanut.  All our best to the new bride and groom who now join the ranks of awesome Mr. & Mrs. Gs the world over.

Currently en route to Niagara Falls with our steel barrel in the trunk, ready to take a plunge.  Just hit 28 in the license plate game.

- The Carpenter

Ahoy!

Hey folks,
    We haven't officially set sail just yet but we wanted to test drive this blog-a-majig out to get the logistics of publishing down.... and lay the groundwork for our adventure to come!  Tomorrow morning, we're heading North to the Adirondack Mountains in New York to crash a wedding, then Sunday morning this thing officially gets underway.  The plan is to post fairly regularly with the low down on our daily exploits and hopefully a photo or two.  We've got roughly 6200 miles to cover, 20 some states, and numerous pitstops to scope out which should range from the cliche to the bizarre and unexpected.  So if this sort of thing suits your fancy, check back in the near future and hopefully we'll have something fun to share.  Until next time...


- The Carpenter