Pizza Research Institute...you are my favorite restaurant thus far!

This blog recounts the day of May 31st, 2010.

Woke up this morning in full gear. I felt great, we've been eating good veggie food and also, my mom was finally on the trip and loving it, and that made me happy. Mom and uncle were already at breakfsat when I got up, probably drinking 10 cups of coffee amongst the two (8 uncle rick, 2 by mom). Had the usual toast with peanut butter and bananas and that usually does the trick until lunch. The odd thing was that Kristina hadn't messaged us even that morning, giving us a feeling that something was off about the situation. Some baseball players, I imagine at the midget level, were eating hotel donuts for breakfast in preparation for their big memorial day tournament...if that doesn't win you baseball games, nothing will...

Today, we drove to Eugene, which may seem like an uneventful drive to us (4 hours) but to most people, it's a long one. Now, what made it eventful was the scenery. Only green-filled pastures and forests all the way down, with the odd snow filled peak in the horizons. The other really odd item up for bid: gas stations. Apparently, by law in Oregon, gasoline is only purchased with service. Which must've looked particularly awkward to the attendant trying to get payment out of my window, which could not open, and finally, when I got out the passenger door for no apparent reason to take a piss. But hey, he must've thought, Oh...They're Canadian, and just shrugged it off. Once we got to our wonderfully quaint Days Inn in Eugene, OR, Tyler went off to meet another one of his online contacts, Bethany, who sounded delightful from the description I got of her. On the other hand, my uncle, mom and I went to a fully vegan pizzeria, the Pizza Research Institute. Seriously now, WOW, this place was remarkable. The dining area was an old garage, and local art hung everywhere on the walls. The chefs were all very talkative and expressive, which I really liked, and their menu was made of recycled items, including ziploc bags. I got us some lemon water, and we ordered some Miso soup, potato leek soup for my mom and a large baked spicy tofu with vegan cheese pizza. It was simply fantastic, and even made my uncle rethink peperoni on pizza... Afterwards, we went shopping a la Americana to a Goodwill (even I made a few purchases), a Wal-Mart for some shoes, peanuts and other trail mix, Dick's sporting goods, where I bought new baseball pants since other ones were too big :) and Market of Choice, which was like a Whole Foods and we bought some produce for the road.

Back at the hotel room, Tyler left me a message that he went to go try to the Pizza place, and that the Blackhawks were up 2-0 when he left. I check the tv and saw that it was 3-1 and felt safe in a Flyers loss. So I drove back to Pizza Research Institute and saw Tyler finishing up his appetizer. I ordered supper this time, which may be the first time in my life I eat lunch and supper at the same restaurant in one day. But this place was that good. Tyler had a slice of the chef's special (14 diff ingredients) and another with goat cheese, and I had 2 different slices with smoked gouda, chevre(goat cheese) and apples and walnuts...sounds terrible, tastes unbelievable. We started heading back to the hotel after a discussion about the local art with a waiter, and I realized I was out of rum. Unfortunately, liquor stores were closed Memorial day, so I had to settle for Malt Liquor (2 king cans for 4$) from a gas station. Let's just say...last time I drink malt liquor in my life. I finished half of one and decided I'd give the second to a homeless. We fell asleep watching king of the hill and family guy, and finally, got in contact with Kristina, and she told us her phone had been malfunctioning and she had messed up the dates to when we were coming. Unfortunate. But, tomorrow would be another day.

Album of the day (only because it was the most played by popular demand...Uncle Rick): Titanic Soundtrack

Driving today: 4 hours

Status of Trip: 66% complete

Oh Beverley, we shall miss thou!

This post recounts the day of May 30th, 2010.

So after that crazy dream, I woke up at 5 AM. All the Irish girls in my room were still sleeping :( So I went upstairs to their room to see if Bev was ready. We went to our parking at 6 AM, and to our dismay, our canadiens car flag had been cut off its pole. More on that later. I was little off my rocker if you know what I mean, but I trucked on anyhow to make that 25 minute drive to the airport. Tyler was a bit help in the back seat, and Closing Time by Tom Waits blasting in the car helped immensely as well. We said our goodbyes to one of our cast members on this trip, and we were back to three. We drove back to the hostel and I got a little more sleep in before the average length drive to Redding, CA. We all checked out at 10 AM (mom and uncle both loved! the hostel, which was great news to me, for fear they would never road trip with me again) and we began our in-car exploration of what we missed in San Fran. First, we checked out Fisherman's Wharf, always a must-see when visiting the Bay City. Afterwards, my uncle made a comment that irked me: "I don't know why everyone say San Francisco streets are so steep, they're not much worse than Montreal..." WHATTT!! So I brought them up Powell near the crookedest street (Lombard) in North American. They quickly changed their tune. They hopped out of the car and saw what I say is the best view of San Francisco, on top of the highest peak in downtown. Finally, the last stops in SF were the thrift stores where my uncle saw books he wanted and my mom, a vase.

While leaving SF on the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge, we got a longer view then we wanted as we hit Memorial Day Weekend Traffic. And then, after 15-20 minutes, through the rainbow tunnel and to northern Cali we went. Me and Tyler were pretty excited, especially since we were going to meet a friend of his in Redding, Kristina, who has been following our trip closely via blog, and was excited to see us as well. We called her from the hostel in the morning, and multiple times on stops along the way, but still no answer. We figured once we hit the hotel, we could use the very handy facebook or MSN to contact her. We were quite hungry though upon arriving at the hotel, so we went on Happycow.net and found the nearest vegetarian friendly restaurant, a 5-mile drive from the hotel. It was a pretty recluse place, in an outdoor mall, adn we loved it. My mom and I ordered Vegan Quiche, and Tyler a BBQ Tofu sandwich. My uncle ruined the veggie party by ordering a turkey breast sandwich, which he loved anyhow. My uncle proved he was actually a nice guy, when he paid the cashier extra when she had undercharged him, which we were all in shock and awe over...(just kidding uncle rick!)

Finally, we tried to call our friend Kristina back at the hotel for the upteenth time, to no avail. Next time...we said. My mom, my uncle and I took a small walk afterward to digest. The pic above is actually from that walk, and their first pic on the blog! I fell asleep early that evening, and Tyler caught a show called Check It Out with Dr. Steve Brule, starring John C. Reilly, and I think he found it really funny. Just thought I'd mention that, I'm not advertising for the show or anything...And tomorrow was to be another day.

Album of the day: Closing Time by Tom Waits

Driving today: 5 hours

Incredibly ridiculous note: Habs car flag cut off today

Moustache Parrrrrrrty!

This blog post recalls the day of May 29th, 2010.

We woke up and had some free pancakes at the hostel, and I noticed we were really starting to slow down with 5 people. It’s a lot tougher to keep the discipline. However we finally left the hostel at 10 AM to pick up my mom and start doing the tourist stuff of San Fran. We walked alot on Market, went to some Goodwills and thrift shops, and ate lunch at Herbivore, a vegan restaurant in the Mission District. We ate there last year, and it hadn’t changed. Still amazing amazing food, even the meat eaters couldn’t believe it. After lunch, Tyler and Bev went to the festival San Fran was having for memorial weekend, and I took my mom and uncle to Golden Gate Park and the Japanese Tea Garden. Simply breathtaking views and a must-see for anyone visiting SF.

After alot more walking, we bussed it back to the hostel, and the private room we had now was to be without me. I checked into my new room, and to my huge surprise, 3 girls all watching me stroll in. May I say, 3 really cute Irish girls, accent and all. I was not going to be bored tonight....because of the moustache party!! That’s right, our hostel is hosting a themed party with free booze (FREE!) rum and cokes and vodka crans. I went to eat first with my mom and uncle at a Chinese Vegetarian restaurant, which turned out to be quite good, and the sweet and sour “chicken” tasted so much like chicken, that I had to ask the waitress to make sure...impressive.

Then, the party began. The staff started mixing the rum and such, and started handing out the moustaches. I got mine drawn on by a gorgeous German girl. I met a group of girls at the party from les Iles-de-la-madeleine doing the same type of road trip as us, without the baseball games. They were in LA pretty much same time as us too. We talked till 1 AM and then I decided to hobble to bed...

**Dream that night**: I was in the hostel and people were still drinking. I had the urge to go to the Crazy Horse strip club. I stumbled down 5 blocks to Market street where this gentlemen’s establishment is located. Apparently, cover was 25$, and lap dances 40$. This dream was so vivid, I kind of feel like I went there. The inside had movie theatre seats all around a big stage in the middle where the pole dancing occurred, and 5-6 girls came to me at different times to get me in the back. None of them tickled my fancy though. I went outside for some fresh air, and some of the guys smoking gave me some vodka redbulls because I was Canadian. We have the best nationality. I followed up by upchucking all my drinks, and a crippled veteran in a wheelchair was cheering me on, telling me to get it all out of my system, so I could go back in and enjoy myself. I gave him a buck for his troubles and bought a pack of gum at the 24-hour corner store. I went back in, feeling much better, and the next girl that came to me was simply brilliant. Cute little Russian girl, Lina was her fake name, and she said because I was so awesome, I could get a private room for 100$. Apparently, in this dream, I was rich, and payed the guy overlooking the private rooms. And the rest is history...since I woke up. I should drink every night if i’m going to get dreams like this...oh,wait, I do that already, must’ve just been a lucky night. And tomorrow will be another day.

And we’re going... to Sannnn Frannnnn-Ciscooooo!

This blog post recounts the day of May 28th, 2010.

I woke up in pain today. We slept on the floor this time, on cushions from the couch. I don’t mind sleeping on the floor, but I already had a nagging neck pain and it wasn’t getting any better. I guess the blind spots were not going to get checked today while driving. I made some eggs and slowly but surely everyone started waking up, Tyler, Bev, Eve, Sarah, Sarah’s mom...and finally Ashley. We chatted for the last few hours together out in the gorgeous backyard Eve put together. Just flowers galore and we always got visits from bees and hummingbirds. Such a serene home. We finally left around 11 AM and went to yogurtland for the second straight day. I felt like a pro there now, tapping my cup to make more room, interchanging yogurt and toppings, the works...you know how it is. My cup cost like 5$, unbelievable for the amount of calories I was about to ingest. We finally got on the road at about noon, listening to the sweet sounds of Mitch Hedberg comedy. It still amazes me to this day how we are simply able to make it from destination to destination without any trouble. So far, once we got to San Fran, we’ve driven about 11,700 kms (7000 miles). Simply amazing, only 2 oil changes and a messed up driver window.

I dropped off Tyler and Bev at the USA Hostel dead in the center of San Fran. I was finally going to see my mom for the first time in 3 weeks, she was waiting for me at the airport with my uncle Rick. I drove as fast as I could (as legally-ish) as I could to make it on time, but I was still 45 minutes late. Traffic was abundant on this memorial day weekend. I finally got to the San Fran Airport at about 8pm and picked up the folks. Uncle Rick looked like he’d lost some weight, and my mom looked as happy as ever . Oh, I forgot. Problem number 2 with the car occurred just before. I entered the airport parking and rolled down the broken window. I got the ticket and rolled it back up, but it was crooked and didn’t roll up properly, not only that, but it went down deeper in the door and broke the lock. So, not only do I have a busted window now, but I have to enter through the passenger side to get i the driver’s seat...just great. Might finally attempt to get this fixed once and for all...maybe in Seattle. I drove to the hotel I had reserved for my mom, and checked in under me to get the discount. It was a shabbier hotel then im used to, but the location was pretty good for a hotel under 65$ in DT san fran. My mom joined us on the “walk” to the hostel to get me and my uncle settled in the hostel with Bev and T. I say “walk” because we walked two blocks before I got lost, and my mom wanted to ask for directions. A cop was parked on the side of the road, saw our three Canadian tourist faces, and made us hop in to the cop car. It was a nice ride, and they didn’t hesitate to point out the corners where dope was being sold, as well as coke, and finally, the tranny areas, but apparently, they don’t come out until late. All I could do was laugh. They finally dropped us off in front of the hostel, and we checked in, and then cabbed back to my mom’s hotel(safer...) and me, T and my uncle went for a late night supper at an Indian restaurant that me and T knew well from last year, where you eat like a king with leftovers for 10$. Finally, they went to bed and I started drinking an insane rum and coke. which I am currently still drinking as I write this blog. And tomorrow was to be another day.

Album of the day: Do you believe in Gosh? By Mitch Hedberg

Song of the day: Babe, I’m on fire by Nick Cave

Driving today: 8 hours

Quote of the day: Our whole word association game in the car... i.e. fun...pleasure...sex...position...missionary....and so on.. it was awesome

Lost 3 pounds and a concert in the same day?! Hell yeah, it's possible.

This post recounts the day of May 27th, 2010.

Bonjour, les amis. Today, was fantastic. Woke up out of a nice cozy bed for we owned the house on that one day, but today the ladies were coming back from Sin City. But to serious things, Weigh-in number 2. To recap, very bland weigh-in in Geogia, lost 0.4 lbs. Nothing to brag about. But I was amped up for this one. I felt it. But just in case, I asked if T minded if we walked two miles to the meeting. Of course, he relished the idea. And so we did. I got there and it was packed, so many more people at Weight Watchers then in Montreal, for I guess obvious reasons...but I got on that scale, and killed it, down 3.8 lbs. Good feeling indeed. After the meeting, we walked back a different way and got really lost, because no streets connected to each other and we just looped and looped in residential Long Beach for hours on end. Well, really two. But still!

When we finally got back to the house, we were starving, so we made our organic veggie burgers from Trader Joe's. Even on the frying pan, they were something else. Monica came over to visit, since we didn't see much o her on barbecue night. We had another controversial talk about makeup on women, but her views were a little closer to my own then previous people (Bev!) :P Tyler, Monica and I took a trip to one of my favorite stores in the States, Whole Foods. This place has everything, and it's just such good food, that I don't really care if I can pay 0.30$ cheaper at Wal-Mart. We shopped around awhile, buying mostly new stainless steel water bottles and a few other items that don't come to mind right now. Then we drove to an awesome place called Yogurtland. Picture 15 different kinds of frozen yogurt, 16 different kinds of toppings ranging from oreo bits to fresh pineapple and strawberries, and you can mix and match anything and weigh you cup at the end and that's what you pay. Seriously, a ton of Fro-Yo (it's how kids say it these days) for like 3-4$. What a deal! On really full stomachs now, we said bye to Monica and prepared our second day in Hollywood.

We had two items on the list, care of the planning man Tyler Rae. First off, vegetarian place, LifeFood Organic. Second off, an intimate concert at the hotel cafe. Third off, maybe a quick stop at Amoeba Music again, but just quick.

So, veggie place. First of all, they had seasonal menus, and we happened to be on the last day of their winter one. Therefore, very limited selection. I had the shitake sandwich and T tried the world's best veggie chilli. I had a taste, and even I have to say, it must be pretty damn close. Even though I thought the place was a little overpriced for what they served, it was freakin delicious. It also reminded me I need to used more avocado in my cooking back at home. Then we went to Hotel Cafe. This was no ordinary concert venue. We walked in, saw maybe 5 tables and chairs to fit maybe 15 people if they were all stick people. The way it worked was it started at 7pm, and every hour, a new artist would come on, until midnight. We were there mainly for an artist T had researched before we left called Emily Jane White, who had the 9 PM slot. She already had 2 albums out, and we listened to both whilst driving through the States. Needless to say, we were quite anxious for her performance. But we walked in at 8:35PM and saw an angel on stage. Her name was Carla Warner, and she was gorgeous. Not only gorgeous, but her music and lyrics and voice were all but phenomenal. She personally gave me a very big PJ Harvey vibe...simply fantastic. We kind of regretted getting there late, but then Emily Jane came on stage and we forgot everything, as we drowned in her poetic voice and lyrics, her very talented musical partner playing steel guitar in the shadows. I just couldn't get enough. And, did I mention, this concert cost all of 10$...for 5 hours if we'd wanted to stay. But the next performer only cussed and fussed so we felt it a better use of our time to buy Emily Jane's albums at Amoeba. Tyler bought both, I, broke as I was, had to refrain. It was to be for another time.

We got back to the house to some pooped and Vegas'd out women, just chilling on the couch making conversation. We talked until pretty late, and Tyler decided to try an air mattress alternative, with two chairs together to make a bed. I myself took the couch cushions from Bev and made a bed on the ground, most likely both options were better then the air mattress. We fell asleep to the sweet sounds of the cats running up and down the halls. And tomorrow was to be another day.

Album of the day: Ipos by the Dreamers (John Zorne)

Song of the day: Victorian America, sung live by Emily Jane White

Amoeba Music...no place like it, but thank God there isn’t any in Montreal!

This post recounts the day of May 26th, 2010.

We woke up uncomfortably today, mainly because our inflated air mattress deflated in the night, and my head and left side of my body was on the ground and Tyler’s right side ditto. I got up and the mattress shifted to make Tyler look even more uncomfortable, but I didn’t wake him anyways. I chuckled a bit though, whilst fixing the crick in my neck. I went to the kitchen to make some eggs. The ladies were leaving today, and we chatted all morning before they left at around noon. Bev got acceptance from her mom, and she joined the crew of now 5 going to Vegas. Tyler and I were happy for her, but when the invitation to go to Sin City was tendered to us, we had to respectfully decline. We had been one year past and enjoyed it somewhat, mainly for the Beatles Love show starring the Cirque du Soleil, but we felt that we were done with Vegas for at least the next 40 some years. And we had the house to ourselves. We used the opportunity to relax. Tyler made some long awaited phone calls, while I explored the depths of the backyard pool. Long Beach is really nice if you like the same weather over and over for 11 months of the year. 25 degrees with a breeze. I guess most people like that. But I’d miss winter dearly.

We then took a drive to Hollywood, with the hopes of finding as much good music as we did last year at the Amoeba Music store. We parked for free at Denny’s and walked a mile to the store. On the way, we found a gay thrift store and made some purchases, about 6-7 items for like 25$...awesome. And then...ahhh...Amoeba. This is where dreams are made. Let it be known we walked in at 3pm. Let it be knownst...that we walked out at 7 pm. There was just such an insane collection of old, new, used, new, just wow. What a place, a heaven for any music fan. After making a hole in our wallets, we walked back to the car and braved evening Hollywood traffic. We planned on making a great meal that night, some tofu, side spinach salad, some garlic olives and pita chips n dip. It was indeed fantastic, and devoured in minutes. And the time came for rum and cokes, and of course, tipsy laundry. And tomorrow was to be another day.

Some family, a barbecue and a big-ass bottle of wine...Splendid evening!

This post recounts the day of May 25th,2010.

Well, well, well. The day has finally come. I get to see Eve Rae again, Tyler’s aunt, whom I missed dearly since I saw her last, almost a year today. But right now, were in Tempe, AZ. So I had to get my drive on. We started off with a healthy breakfast, and the dude watching the breakfast to make sure it stayed full talked to us for 5-10 minutes about the news and weather...most likely to squeeze a tip out of us. It failed, but that’s just because I never tip at hotel breakfasts. We attempted to read the USA today while eating some eggs and toast, but to no avail, because that newspaper is just awful, it’s really full of terribly written articles and the whole paper just doesn’t flow... Finally we left, leaving Bev with another on the go breakfast. Surprisingly, I got a fantastic sleep that night, and therefore the drive to Long Beach, which was about 6 hours, felt like nothing at all.

Once we got there, we went to Trader Joe’s beforehand, which is like a mix between Whole Foods and Health Tree, therefore, awesome and wholesome good food. We bought a few items: olives (almonds and garlic), veggie burgers for the upcoming barbecue, and soya milk and a box of cereal for Tyler, as the man does love his soy milk! We got to Eve’s new house at around 3 PM, and it looked like an article from a magazine. Gorgeous furniture, great decor and flower arrangements, simply pristine. Best feature: Surround sound that would play out the windows and into the backyard. That feature will be used for days to come. We weren’t the first ones to arrive, a small family from Cornwall, ON, friends of Eve’s, were there already. Sara was quite charming, as was Ashley, her younger sister, and the very eloquent Sandra, their mother. Bev, Tyler and myself got acquainted with the lot and told them of our road tales and troubles. Though I have been on vacation for almost 3 weeks now, this is the first time I had absolutely no worries in my mind. We were finally in Long Beach, enjoying the company of family and friends, and a nice cool breeze was in the air.

A little later in the afternoon, Monica, who we had met last year, came over and we reminisced over a rum and cokes (for me anyway, I think they had water). More people started showing up, and I especially warmed to a couple by the name of Jana and Gregor, who were from Russia and loved hockey. Coincidence? It was really a fantastic barbecue, with Tyler holding the chef job and doing a fantastic job on the burgers for everyone (veggie and meat alike), and it seemed everyone had a grand old time. I’m gonna add that the 5 Liter bottle of wine was only half-drunk, and Lydia, a very scary\nice woman, brought it home, along with my Ipod, saying that she’d load it up with audiobooks for our trip. Mistake? Perhaps. We shall only see. It was also great to see Millie once again, Monica’s mom, as she is always good for a laugh a minute. Soon, everyone started to head home, and Tyler and I were left with our inflatable mattress, and Sara and her family also staying at Eve’s house that night, we had a great chat before bed, especially about the fact that all the women were going to Vegas tomorrow, leaving me and T to fend for ourselves in the streets of Long Beach. Ka-ching! And tomorrow was to be another day.

And we’re going to Arizona...it’s ok, we all have our papers.

This post recounts the day of May 24th, 2010.

This was a tricky morning. It was the first morning where we have a deadline to make that day. Habs Game 4 PM, Arizona time. We were 8.5 hours away. We were passing through 2 time zones though, which helped us a lot time wise. We were all feeling kinda low due to our upcoming long drive, but the anticipation for the Habs game was too strong to keep me down for long. We had a quick grab-n-go breakfast and we were on the road again. We ended up finishing a great audiobook by Nick Cave entitled The Death of Bunny Monroe. And finally, about 10 minutes late, we made it to a sports bar in Tucson, AZ for the game. The bar was fantastic for any sports fan. About 30 TVs and personal speakers at your table to set to any TV sound. The food was pretty decent, I’m pretty sure we had some veggie quesadillas and a garden salad.

The game was troublesome, and I was tired, and I really wanted a win...but it was not meant to be. The stupid Flyers took us in 5 games and ended the Habs’ magical playoff run. And we were only halfway thru the trip! We left with a glum face, well, I had a glum face, Tyler had to be cheery so we wouldn’t bring Bev down, and we went on our way to Tempe. The 2 hour drive was started by an amazing song to commemorate our great season: Les Boys by Éric Lapointe.
We finally got to Tempe, AZ, and my mood improved instantly when the cute receptionist who goes to ASU knew where montreal was, and actually dreamt of visiting our great city. She even spoke to me in French. I missed having a crush on someone... I had her draw us a map of the happening spots in Tempe. We went out. The happening spots, which I guess are normally happening, were not so happening on a Monday, especially after a devastating Habs loss, which I’m sure every Tempian was extremely upset about. We ended up at a bar with a live musician singing some Bob Dylan and I had a Rum n Coke courtesy of the wonderful Beverley. After the drink, we walked a little more throughout the city, really enjoying the Riverfront walk with their string-lit bridges. And tomorrow was to be another day.

Driving today: 10.5 hours

Song of the Day: Les Boys by Éric Lapointe

Album of the day: Beverley singing to Ingrid Michaelson mix...what a great voice...oh, and Ingrid was good too.

Welcome to the Ballpark!

This post recounts the day of May 23rd, 2010.

We ran late that morning, not exactly on the schedule I planned, but we also didn't plan to have Beverly for another week, so...WIN! We got to the Arlington Ballpark with about a half-hour before game time. I was amazed at the amount of cubs fans at the game. I guess they came for the whole series, but I no longer felt that a drive from Montreal was that intense for Texas...unless they all flew, then they're pussies :) We walked to the ballpark from our amazing 5$ parking. One thing that was really cool from "The Ballpark" was that scalpers were not allowed anywhere near the premises. It brought every other ballpark in that category to shame. I bought my Vladdy Guerrero t-shirt and we went to our seats. By the way, at least 20 staff members welcomed me to "the ballpark" on my way to my seat. How nice! Also, from our level, we were able to have a great view of the new Dallas Cowboys stadium...its too bad the talent of a team isn't based on the majesticness of their stadium because the cowboys would be undefeated...but alas, they probably wont make the playoffs in 2010-2011.

They announced before the game started a contest which had a few categories, but only one category would be taken, amongst which were: lived furthest away, best dressed fan, youngest fan, oldest fan, and many others. I figured driving from montreal "to see Guerrero" would be a good entry. Unfortunately, in the 7th inning, they announced 4 11-year girls that had Texas jerseys won the best dressed contest...HOGWASH! Absolute garbage if you ask me. The game also featured 1$ ice creams, which I purchased on a hot 35 degree day. The Rangers went down early 4-0 in the first inning but clawed back as best they could, but unfortunately lost 5-4 in the end. This makes our record for home teams when we attend game 18-7. Bev got badly sunburned during the game, and was red as a tomato. She is officially a red-head in my eyes.

Post-game, they gave free energy drinks, which was great for a tired me about to drive 4.5 hours after the game. But, yet again, we make it without a scratch to Midland, Texas. This was our sleeping stop between Austin and Phoenix. The stop at the szechuan restaurant was great, simply for their tofu soup. Finally, we got to the hotel in Midland, Tx, and we argued with Bev on the unimportance of makeup on women, and that sometimes makeup can make a girl who has beautiful natural traits look pugfugly (pardon my french). She disagreed. And tomorrow was to be another day.

Driving today: 7 hours

Album of the day: The Death of Bunny Monroe Audiobook by Nick Cave

Quote of the day: "Avril Lavigne's vagina must be the fuc**** valholla of all vaginas..." - Nick Cave

The day we watched two hockey games in Austin, TX

This blog post recounts the day of May 22nd, 2010.

We woke up really early for some reason, I cant recall it now. (While writing, I remembered why we got up early. I was supposed to get weighed in at Weight Watchers in Austin, but we got there too late due to traffic and it was closed...So Tyler and Bev spent some time in the Guitar World Store next door) It was only a 3.5 hour drive to Austin from Houston, and we only had to be there by 2PM CT, since Habs played at 3PM ET. Nonetheless, me and T were up by 6 and we let Bev sleep in. I tried to blog that morning but was unable to...never mixing wine and WD 40 again...or was it MD2020...wtv it was, its spiced rum and diet cokes from now on. We took a little gander at breakfast which had your basic orange juice, oatmeal and bagel with light cream cheese. Always a good start to the day. Now, we had two problems: the window and our Ipod cable which start fading on us. So we went to radioshack right next door which had just opened and glory me, 7$ for a brand new cable and we were back on the road. The window would have to wait. We got to Austin at around 1PM and ate at this well-reviewed vegetarian restaurant called Mr.Natural. Simply delicious, such big portions of healthy, wholesome food, a blended iced with spinach and pineapple, all for the low price of 6.30$ plus tax. We then rolled to the car and into our Country Inn and Suites and I tried to schmooze the front desk lady to let us in before check-in. Either there were alot of available rooms or my charm was simply too much to handle, because we got a room like that. *snaps fingers* We watched the game on NBC (love national broadcasting, much cheaper than bars every time to get it on Versus.) Unfortunately, les boys struggled once again to put it in the net, and we were down 3-1 in the series. Not the worst position to be in, i.e. Washington, however, I would have much rather had it been tied.

After the game, we debated for an hour on what to do next in Austin. Live music everywhere, lectures given on political progress and such, theatre pieces galore as well as black and white movies somewhere. And then, magic struck. The Hamilton Bulldogs were playing the Texas Stars about 20 minutes from our hotel, and tickets were 10$. It was a pretty easy sell, since Tyler figured there is no way the same franchise would lose in the playoffs on the same day. So I went to Spec’s via recommendation from Jenn I met in Houston, and whaddaya know, she was right. 2L bottle of spiced rum...*drum roll* .... 22$ tx incl. This country baffles me at times. I stored the prized possession on our hotel safe (jus kiddin) and we were off to the arena.

We might not have had Bulldogs jerseys on, but we were both decked out in Habs gear nonetheless and Bev borrowed the car flag to cheer on MAX PAC, Alex Henry, Curtis Sanford, David Desharnais, Shawne Belle, Ryan White and the rest of the future habs. It was an awesome game, lots of action and fights, and the Bulldogs ended up winning 4-0 (Sanford was not a star?!?) and we got on the big screen in the arena, quite possibly because we were the only bulldogs fans, but most likely because we were amazing. Out in the parking lot after the game, you better believe we strosed “bulldogs” (see definition of strosed in Houston post), and that win took a little off the edge of the Habs loss. We drove back to the hotel and I downed some rum and cokes before getting some much needed sleep. We were to lose Beverly the next day as we’d be taking her back to San Marcos. And tomorrow was to be another day.

P.S. This pic has nothing to do with Austin, but what a waste of paper in our Houston hotel.

Houston, we have Canadians in the building!

This post recounts the events of May 21st, 2010.

Well, well, well, I woke up before my alarm today, at a foreign house, with awesome people, and a farm load of crippled animals(my favorite was Faith, the 3-legged dog). Also in the family was Misty (she hated us, but warmed up to Tyler before we left, Cyclops the one-eyed cat, and Gimpy the 3-legged cat) This house made me want a SPCA or pound animal so much, they were so nice, reminded me a bit of Max's dog Magoo back in Montreal!

And on with the show... so our plan was to go to Houston first to see an Astros game, followed by Austin, and then Arlington on the 4th day in Texas. First of all, Beverly decided she'd like to come to Houston and Austin with us, which was a very spontaneous but always appreciated decision, since me and Tyler's motto is always the more the merrier. We left at around 2 PM after Mike(Bev's step-dad) made us an awesome pancake breakfast. Traffic wasnt as bad as people mentioned, but there was some nonetheless, but what do we care, Tom Tom the navigator can withstand anything! Unfortunately, you need a human to set it, and that human was me, and I set it to the Astrodome...which the Astros havent played there in at least 2 years. Once we got there and realized this was obviously not the ballpark, it clicked that Minute Maid Park was the place to be...and this one was downtown...and the traffic *shudder* impenetrable. We found parking for cheap one block away from the ballpark. We made it just as a kid said play ball!! We bought our scorecards and made our way to our seats, right behind home plate, about 120 rows back. :) The game was great, the Astros held the division leading Rays to 1 run in a 2-1 win. This was my 27th ballpark of the 31 in the MLB. We also discovered a new verb in this game:

To Strose: when hearing a abrupt sound, one must spit out the name of the team that he last saw win in person. For example, a car honks, I would yell Habs, or Stros.

Finally, it was Friday night fireworks after the game so we stayed for 15 minutes of bangs which was not very good, but at least they did it to 90s music. (Im not an ass, I just go to the La Ronde fireworks and they are spectacular). After that, we drove to El Supermercado Wal-Mart (that's right, everything inside was in spanish) and picked up a bottle of wine, followed by a gas station stop to pick up a bottle of MD 2020 (13% and packs a hell of a punch), oh and I guess gas... and drove to our hotel in west Houston. Upon arriving, there were people in the pool, which was surprising since the pool closed at 11pm...but they said they were making their own party rules, which I of course respect them for doing so. I joined them after some pizza, and met a gorgeous girl named Jen. She was from New Orleans, which was still fresh in my mind, and we chatted about that beautiful city over the awful bottle of wine. Finally, the inevitable happened and the hotel manager kicked us out of the pool area. And tomorrow was to be another day.

Album of the day: Bev's Ipod mix

Word creation of the day: To Strose (see above)

Driving time today: 3.5 hours

Quote of the day: "Don't go down to Fannin Street...You'll be lost and never found...You can never turn around."

- Tom Waits singing Fannin Street, while we are on Fannin Street

The day that was supposed to be but wasn't...

This post recounts the miserable day which was May 20th, 2010.

Ok. 5 AM wakeup. Good. Car all packed. Good. Leland ready in the common room. Good. Hunger. Not so good. Decide to drive to Walmart and pick up something for the road. Bad idea. Very bad. Got a flat tire 2 minutes from Walmart. Call AAA, and since it is 5 in the morning, good luck. We walk to Walmart and see if they have any tires to replace ours (we cant keep up our trip on the spare). The closest Walmart that has our tires was in Grosse Tete, LA. About 45 minutes west. The AAA guy comes and tows us all the way there. What a waste of time. Was so upset at this new development that once we got to Grosse Tete, we remembered poor Leland probably still sitting in the common room at the hostel waiting for us. Without cell phones, nor the number of the hostel, reaching him to say we were sorry seemed near impossible.Finally bought 2 new front tires and we were back on the road at around 9 AM. We drove all day, making very limited pit stops for coffee and teeth brushing. We just drove and drove and drove on the endless I-10 freeway, and finally, Houston. Unfortunately, we couldn't stop and watch the game that night since the Habs were playing in Game 3 vs. the Flyers, so we decided to switch up our days, and go to San Antonio first, meet Tyler's friend Beverly, then tomorrow go to Houston, and then Austin the next day. I started rolling down my window to have some "fresh air" and all was good. Rolling it up on the other hand, not so much. The window popped out of its socket and wasn't hanging on by much, especially driving 75 miles per hour in Houston. One hand was holding the window and one hand the wheel, and Tyler was doing the signaling for lane changes. We stopped shortly thereafter for some gas and to try and fix it, but it was a lost cause. (To this day in Long beach, it is still not fixed.) We drove the last 3.5 hours to San Antonio with no open window, much to my chagrin.

We got to Beverly's house at around 5PM. The Habs were playing at 6PM CT. We met the folks, lovely people, and ate dinner and watched an amazing display of our Habs at their finest. Post-game, and a few rum and cokes down, the karaoke machine made an appearance and we sang and sang, Beatles, Shania Twain and others...Quite the evening, and to top it off, 3 games of 3 AM Yahtzee! Aww, vacation!
And tomorrow was to be another day.

Driving today: 8 hours

Album of the day: Rain Dogs by Tom Waits

People we have upset on this trip: 1 (Leland the traveling musician)

People that love us on this trip: like 40,000 because we're amazing and Canadian!

Life on Bourbon Street

This post recounts the events of Wednesday, May 19th 2010.

We woke up pretty late this morning, what with the barely sleeping in our room that smelled like someone shit himself and then threw away his pants in the garbage can in the room and all, but we managed to put our Wal-Mart groceries to good use. I didn't much feel like doing anything that morning/afternoon for we were planning on doing Bourbon Street that evening and retire quietly before a long drive to San Antonio, TX, the next day. Obviously, this was New Orleans, and that is nowhere near what happened. First off, we met Ravi, this Indian guy who lives just south of Windsor, ON. Now, I'm going to tell you something about myself that you might not know: I'm in love with the Indian accent. I could not stop laughing, not only for the accent, but this guy was actually funny too. Oh man...We asked him if he wanted to come to Bourbon Street that night, but he wanted to watch the Lakers and the Suns play. We compromised and told him we'd watch the first half with him if he came with us to Bourbon. Me and Tyler decided, since this was to be our last night in NOLA, and that we still had so much of the food we bought at Wal-Mart, that we were going to cook for a select few people that were around the common room. Invitees were: Me, Tyler, Ravi, Autumn (a friend Tyler spoke to on the shit night) and Tim (the hostel manager). On the menu: Sauteed tofu with a mesquite marinade, a side spinach salad with honey mustard dressing, fried spinach and a red bell pepper. The supper was an obvious success, and we were quite pleased with ourselved. Man, the amount of tofu we had was immense, no way we would've finished that à deux...

Reese, one of the hostel managers, gave us a ride to the top of Bourbon St after dinner. It was only around 6 pm, but everyone was drinking outside and there were street performers everywhere. This is pretty much where shit hit the fan and I told myself, "When in Rome..." and got a bucket (around 1.5 L) of beer for 4$. On the other hand, Tyler, my partner in crime for this road trip, decided this day, to be is last day of drinking ever. Quite the city to decide that in, but I have the utmost confidence that he will accomplish his goal. As I returned to my drink, we walked around and saw this beautiful girl sing on Royal and saw strip clubs galore and people seemingly drunk walking aimlessly to their next bar...awww...paradise. Just kidding, but you have to take it all in, right? We got back to the hostel late that night, and Tyler, Leland and I were to have a big day of driving ahead of us. Leland was happy since we were bringing him to Austin to try anew over there, his gig not really working for him down in NOLA.

And tomorrow was to be another day.

Quote of the day:

"Soooooo many good artists in Canada, let's see...Celine Dion, and and and, Bryan Adams!"

- Ravi discussing Canadian singers

Drinks consumed today:

5 (dont ask what size they were)

Song of the day: Rid of me by PJ Harvey

Life on Magazine Street

Sorry for the delay folks, but i'm back in black.

This post recounts the events of Tuesday, May 18th, 2010.

We woke up with wicked headaches that morning, not really, but that's what people say when they drank lots the night before. We were actually quite well. We went to the New Orleans Wal-Mart, which surprisingly, is like any other Wal-Mart anywhere. But, we were in a hostel, and that means, cook for yourself time! Also, not many meat-free cajun places in New Orleans. We picked up the breakfast, lunch and dinner of champions: Organic Flax Cereal with raisins, soy milk, spinach tortilla wraps, 2 packages of family size spinach (recyclable with #5 plastic), yogurt, 3 bell peppers (tri-color pack), 2 packs of tofu (firm and extra firm), mesquite marinade and some honey mustard dressing. Happy with all our groceries, we returned to the hostel and labeled all our stuff, not that anyone would take it anyways. We decided that day to walk all the way up Magazine Street, known for its little shops, nice restaurants and many antique and art stores. It was a beautiful walk, despite the 90+ degree heat, just under 4 miles long, and at the end of it, just like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, a Whole Foods. We bought our veggie dogs that we couldnt find at Wal-Mart, which has always been our pre-hockey game meal. We also found a place that would show the Habs Game #2 vs. the Flyers.

We got back to the hostel, another 4 miles later, and we started our meal to get ready to watch the hockey game. Leland, our friend the traveling musician, was in the common room chatting up a storm, and we left abruptly after eating our dogs.

On our way to the place we wanted to watch the game at, winds were picking up and it looked like it was gonna pour. This waitress named Tiff (really really cute) at a resto-bar called Jackson was putting away the outdoor chairs and tables and she saw my jersey and asked us to come in to watch the game. We complied. 10 minutes before game time and we were making friends the bartender Stephen, and since we were the only two customers at the time, even the chef like us and brought us complimentary strawberries stuffed with goat cheese. Delicious. We watched the atrocity of a game, not as bad as Game 1, but not much better. Before leaving, we thanked everyone for being so awesome, and we told them we'd call them from San Antonio after a Game 3 win.

We got back shortly after to our hostel, where a gathering of people in the common room were going to go see a local brass band at the Maple Leaf bar. We all got 3-4 beers each for the walk/trolley ride (drinking in all of New Orleans is legal in streets, stores and public transports). The band was simply fantastic, I was in the front row all night and couldnt hear a thing when I left, but I didnt care. It was a fantastic show. I met a few people in the bar that were from Winnipeg, Worcester, Fredericton and others. A town of tourists, this New Orleans.

Not realizing how far the trolley had taken us, we started walking back the hostel from the bar. We walked about 10 blocks before realizing we'd never seen these streets before, so we flagged down a cab. It was a Moroccan driver, and he was also awesome. Drove a cab in the Big Easy for the past 20 years. He laughed at us for even attempting the walk, especially tipsy, for it was in reality around 50 blocks to our hostel(not NYC blocks either). We payed the man and went to our room.

Now, we arent very picky about hostels, but when we opened the door to our room, a certain stench was in the air. We saw that a new guy was in the room, and the AC was off. I woke him as asked if we could turn it back on, and he said no. I then asked if he was cold, and that was the reason he turned it off, and he said no. Seeing that we were getting nowhere with our new smelly friend, Tyler and I went to sleep on the couches and chairs in the common room, with a drunk swiss girl on facebook and a tired Brazilian girl called Gabrielle, who was outraged beyond belief when we told her of our situation.

And tomorrow was to be another day.

Walking today: 10 miles

Song of the day: Wanted Man by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Quote of the day: "I wish I was able to make balloon animals." - Leland, traveling musician

P.S. It did pour for 15 minutes that night, and apparently, Magazine street can get bigtime flooded, like 3 feet deep of water.

I wish I was in New Orleans...then we got there...and played beer pongggg!

This post recounts the events of Monday May 17th, 2010.

This was a long long drive. However, it did not feel long. It was really weird. 11 hours in a car...we stopped for a total of 20 minutes. We left from Tampa really early on Monday to be able to check into the Hostel in New Orleans. It went by surprisingly quickly, and we parked somewhere illegal until we spoke the hostel manager, Tim, who was amazing by the way, and we straightened that situation out. Did I mention how much I love free parking? Anyways, we werent sure how this place would fare against the amazing Baltimore hostel, but when we got outside to the pool hut, we knew we were in for a treat. We were offered a beer, and we started playing beer pong with 3 girls from Wisconsin, 2 girls from Australia, 2 girls from Switzerland and an awesome dude from England. Let's just say that first night was a night we'd never forget! The hostel itself was a little shabbier then we've known to encounter, but it definitely made up in terms of atmosphere. What great people here!

And tomorrow was to be another day.

Driving today: 11 hours

Albums of the day: Strict Joy by Swell Season and Break Syndical by Les Cowboys Fringants

Songs of the day: I’m gonna booglarize you baby by Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band and I wish I was in New Orleans by Tom Waits

Quote of the day: Something by the English guy that I can't remember, but I laughed for awhile.

Hattricks Bar not as lucky as O'Sheas for Habs...

This post recounts the events of Sunday May 16th, 2010.

The morning breakfast at El Palacio was much better than expected, with many different varieties of fruits, oatmeals and juices. We only had a 4 hour drive that morning, but there was still a nerve-racking aspect because we needed to do it in less then 5 to make it for the game. Obviously being the pair of kooks that we are, we did it without stopping or talking, music soulfully playing in the background. Speaking of kooks, did I mention our insane superstition regarding the Habs? On game day, every game day since the playoffs began, Tyler wears a long-sleeve green button-up shirt with raggetty black jeans, and I wear my Habs jersey...all day long. Now picture us in beautiful Tampa, FL in 30+ degree weather (thats mid-90s for you americans) where the girls are all wearing bikini tops and short shorts so short their bums stick out a bit...did we look out of place?? Hell yeah, but we love the Habs, so it's worth it. We found a local man's parking that was 10$ cheaper then a couple blocks nearer to Tropicana Field, so we parked there. Really nice guy, and remember, if ever you guys go to Tampa, park there and you're garanteed never to pay more then 10$ ;)

Tropicana Field was not as I'd expected for a domed field, I actually enjoyed its look, feel and charm. It made for a great sunday afternoon game. The field looked a little crappy but it added character to the building. The game was awesome, it was a masterful pitching duel between Matt Garza and Cliff Lee, who we saw pitch for the 2nd time in 3 games, great luck! The Rays rallied down by 1 in the 7th and 8th to squeak out a 2-1 victory. Once again, Cliff Lee could count on poor Mariner offense to get his second loss of the season. Great game nonetheless.

Post-Game, we were getting ready to watch the Habs play the Flyers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final. We had researched a little place in downtown Tampa called Hattricks (figured that was safe and they'd show the game) They also had a few vegetarian options on the menu which is always a good sign. We also re-routed our trip to stay in Tampa and watch the game instead of driving a little closer to New Orleans, our next destination. We were obviously disappointed with the result, and even the beers we drank couldnt take away from the pain. We mosied our way back to the Country Inn and Suites Tampa, a great little place which has 24 hour gooey cookies in the lobby. The cookies helped a bit. We followed up with our first laundry stop of the trip, and let me tell you something, you havent done laundry till you've done laundry tipsy. Very underrated activity.

And tomorrow was to be another day.

Driving Time today: 4 hours

Album of the day: Excerpts of a love circus by Lisa Germano

Song of the Day: Weeping Song by Nick Cave

Quote of the day: Whilst hearing a car panic button alarm in the Tampa Rays parking lot, fan were chanting in unison: "RAYS! RAYS! RAYS!"

As-tu le rock en TOÉ?

This post recounts the events of Saturday, May 15th, 2010.

We woke up in Cordele at around 7:30PM. I was not feeling too good due to the lack of sleep, but we had no choice. We needed to be in Miami by 5 pm for the baseball game and there was an 8-hour drive ahead of us, plus traffic. We had the usual continental breakfast and I called our contact about where to pick up our tickets at Marlins Stadium, which we were getting pretty much for free. The drive went about as well as any drive would, no scary moments. We got to our hotel, the El Palacio Sports Hotel, supposedly a mile walk from the stadium. We got all checked-in and started walking toward the stadium, but got lost. Walked a mile in the wrong direction, sort of pissed us off but we got over and high-tailed it in the right direction.

The Marlins Ballpark was pretty shabby, and didn't even look like a baseball stadium, and it was mostly used for the Dolphins. But the game was good, the Marlins ended up beating the Mets in another late inning victory. The tickets were really amazing though. And Dave Van Horne talked about us on Marlins radio because he saw our Habs car flag on the interstate. And he most likely saw us in the stadium and sent us a Fox Sports interviewer to tell him about our trip in between the 5th and 6th innings. So if anyone was watching that game, you saw me and Tyler all decked out in Expos gear. But you probably didnt cuz who the hell would watch the Marlins.

After that, we got back to the hotel and ordered an any size, any toppings, any crust pizza for 10$...amazing deal. Follow that up with a rum and coke and old people making out in an elevator and you've got a hell of an end of a day.

And tomorrow was to be another day.

Driving time today: 8 hours

Album of the day: Eve 6 by Eve 6

Song of the day: Coupable by Éric Lapointe

Quote of the day: I'm in New Orleans right now writing this, so obviously I forgot.

Apparently, we called 9-1-1...

Hey all,

this post recounts the day of Friday May 14th, 2010.

P.S. I'm not in the best of states, if you know what I mean. (I.E. 6-0 loss)


We woke up in Athens that morning, a muggy 28 degrees celsius, some ridiculous number in farenheit, and we went for yet another free breakfast. After loading up on carbs, I came to my first snag of the trip. The first weightwatchers weigh-in. Now, you all know by now I started weightwatchers on Jan. 1, and weighed 290 lbs. I went in there today and it was pretty cool, the woman was really happy because I was her first foreigner. I was a little nervous obviously, we'd been in the States for 6 days and with all the restaurant food, and almost no exercise, I felt like I might've gained. Pre-trip weight: 248.6 lbs. I stepped on the scale, and she looked happy. So was I. Weigh-in in athens: 244.8 lbs. Down 3.8 lbs. Just amazing. I stayed for the meeting listening to old women talk about how hard it is to stay within point when one slice at Domino's is like 8 points, and then I left.

It was about time for lunch, and we had looked up a vegetarian place called the Grit, so we gave it a whirl. I had the tofu reuben and Tyler had something called the golden bowl, full of tofu and veggies, and for you people out there, tastes nothing like the well-known golden shower. Quite stuffed from the meal, we decided to walk thru college town Athens. Apart from some college chicks in bikinis and some pretty cool parks and buildings, there wasn't much! ;) Unfortunately, we didnt have much time down there to hang around and talk to some locals, because we had our 2nd baseball game to go to that evening in Atlanta, which was a couple hours away. Now, at this point, we'd driven about 3500 km and we were due for an oil change. We checked this place called Express Oil Change & Service Center. We talked to the guys about our trip and they loved it so much they gave us 20$ off a new air filter and the oil change, which ended up costing approx. 35$...down en crisse.

We drove toward Atlanta after that, and got there just in time for some batting practice. We got pretty lucky out there in left field, Tyler caught 2 home runs and I caught one as well. The nice guy that he is, he gave his baseballs away to two cute little girls that had been patiently waiting to catch one for about 2 hours. The asshole that I am, I kept mine. The game was pretty average when it began, crappy pitchers and both teams werent so hot, and the Braves were down 4-1 coming into the 8th. With a few good hits, they tied it up in the 8th. The D-Backs came back with 1 in the 9th, but with Chad Qualls on the mound, the crappiest closer in the game, the Braves were able to give him a blown save followed by a loss in the bottom of the 9th. Braves win 6-5. We were at that point 15 wins and 6 losses for the home team when we visited their park.

After the game, we drove to Cordele, GA. It was just over 2 hours drive and we got there at around 1:30 AM. Checked in like normal, and I decided to go out for some fresh air and a rum and coke. Well, I no sooner turn the corner, I see two cops in from of the hotel...confused, and nervous about public drinking, I chug my rum and coke and go see what's up. Apparently, a 9-1-1 was made from our room and called the Cordele sherriff. I told them it was a mistake, as had the front desk guy, and they went on their merry way. The front desk guy also told me to unplug my phones, they might've been broken... You don't say...

And tomorrow was to be another day.

Driving today: 4 hours total

Album of the day: The Queen is Dead by The Smiths

Song of the day: La Bartendresse by Éric Lapointe

Quote of the day*:

The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit; he who is abhorred by the Lord will fall there.
Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him.

- Proverbs 22:14-15

*Tyler tries to read one proverb a day per hotel that we are at; while personal interpretations of the Bible are welcome - even encouraged - bear in mind, Tyler reads the Bible as being inherently good and therefore the aforementioned quotations are intended to reflect the goodness of humankind.

“Two Rednecks and One Dumbass”

This post recounts the day of Thursday, May 13th, 2010
We woke up Thursday morning and we knew we had a big day ahead of us, an 11 hour drive to Athens, GA. Went to go make our all-you-can-eat pancakes and I realized I had lost my wallet. Now this has happened once before on the road, last year, when I left it in a hotel in Johnsburg, IL. We had started driving about 20 miles before I realized I left it there, and we went back and the hotel manager told me he’d called my mom and everything. But I got it back. This time was different. I was in a hostel sharing a room with 2 Americans who left an opened bottle of Johnny Walker by their bed, a sweet Russian girl and an awesome Finish guy. Now I’m not one to point fingers, but let’s be honest, all I have in the room is a bed and a locker, and the wallet wasn’t there. The night before was a little fuzzy on account of the Habs win, so I went back downstairs and the front desk woman, Erin, politely told me she found my wallet in her cash box. The overnight help must’ve found it by the phone. Yay for me! Until today I check 5 times an hour if I have it on me. We said bye to our roommates and to Baltimore and went on our merry way.

The drive itself went very smoothely, stopping solely for gas, twice. 10 minutes of stoppage time on an 11 hour drive. We are that amazing. The music selection was some of the best albums I’ve heard in a long time, which tells me that once again, Tyler’s music taste is none other then amazing.

We got into Athen’s at around 9 PM. Tyler went to explore the environs and I went to make myself a rum and coke. I stepped outside for a bit and I was called over by three guys near a pickup all drinking beer. They were from Alabama. We each talked about our respective trips, them coming to see drag racing in Athens, us doing something so much cooler, and when I was about to turn back to the room, Tyler showed up and talked to them too. “Now you can tell yer friends in Montral that youz all met 2 rednecks...and one dumbass (pointing to the stupidest one)”. We all laughed.
And tomorrow was to be another day.

Driving Time today: 11 hours

Album of the day: In an aeroplane over the sea by Neutral Milk Hotel

Song of the day: Pancake by The Legendary Marvin Pontiac

Quotes of the day (2):

Tyler: ‘So Jari, between Finnish and North American girls, which are the best?’
Jari: “Both. I like them both. They have uh...how do you say...they have good size!

Tyler: ‘So Jari, where have you travelled so far?’
Jari: “Well, I go to 12 States, 8 Provinces and one ...District of Columbia...or whatever.”

P.S. The picture is of Erin and me, when she told me about my wallet. Definitely relieved.

P.S.2 It is pronounced YAH-ree. He corrected me twice.

To the Flyers: WE'RE BAAAACK!

Sorry about the delay. With the Habs and the 11-hour drive today, blogging was the last thing on my mind. Wednesday morning we woke up early-ish to get to our yoga class we booked the night before. Kind of felt like shit, but I’m a trooper so I went anyways. The place was simply amazing, and it was sorta my first real yoga studio. The teacher was a sub, but what do I care, I’m only there for one more day. It was hot yoga too, and if you want an image of how I sweat, when I bent down, it was like pouring water out of a teapot onto my mat. If you didn’t want the image, well, too bad, you got it anyway. Post-yoga, we went back to the hostel and started to get really excited about the Habs game that night. Because of our superstitions, we were going to eat lunch at the same place (Waterfront Hotel) and eat the same thing, same thing for supper as well (veggie dogs with mustard) and I ate my pre-dinner banana. We have a lot more superstitious things, but this would become a 3-page blog. We decided next to go to the Walter’s Museum of Art, which, like many similar museums, had an incredible permanent collection and we couldn’t cover everything before they closed their doors at 5pm. They had everything from 18th century Asian and Italian art, to Islamic weaponry, medieval armaments and a great Christian exhibit.

We got back to the hostel and started our meal. Got that done, and went back to our lucky Irish Pub, Mick Oshea’s. Got there a little early to get good season, and the minute I got in with the Habs jersey, the TV was changed to Versus. Gotta love the Irish. I ordered Coors Light all night, Tyler Heineken, just like Game 6. The result was amazing, just like Game 6. Alot more Americans were cheering for the Habs this time around, we understood mostly because there is a rivalry between Baltimore and Pittsburgh, but also, they all hate Crosby. Something we have in common. We met a beautiful girl, Kate, who was a Detroit fan, but became a Habs fan since the Wings are out, and got shots and ended a beautiful evening.
We got back to the hostel and shot the shit with our new roommates, Anya, a Russian who live in LA with a great sense of humour and Jari, a Finnish dude who was simply hilarious, and he reminded us a lot of Koivu. After alot of talk about Koivu and the Habs, we went to bed.
Tomorrow was to be another day.

Driving wednesday: 0 hours

Song of the Day: Never let you go by Third Eye Blind

Quote of the Day:
“An idea is one of the most dangerous things you can have, especially when you only have one.”

Oh Camden, my Camden!

Wow seems like forever since I wrote my last post. Let's start with last night. How amazing was that game! Habs were playing like champs, especially PK Subban with his 29+ minutes of ice time and is +2 differential. We went to O'Sheas to watch the game and ended up having a few beers (sticking to Coors Light for a. Diet and b. Habs scored 2 goals in a minute when I ordered my first one.) and also we met a couple from South Bend, IN and they bought me a shot of something with honey in it and I of course bought them one back from a little something from back home, my friend Jameson. Total bar tab for 5 coors and 5 shots (double shots, not wussy ones from canada) = 32$...Can I get a whaaaaaaaaaa? How do they make any money. Oh and Tyler's Heineken's were 3.25 a bottle. That is all. We stumbled back to the hostel and had a great sleep.

Onto this morning, we started off with the hostel's free pancake breakfast and then walked to our first Vegetarian restaurant of the trip called the Yabba Pot. (see review on www.happycow.net) Simply amazing food and a delight for both of us. Then, horror struck. It started pouring and we were supposed to see a baseball game tonight. We worried a little all day, but when it seemed that the weather was going to hold off, and baseball players aren't made of sugar, we started relaxing a bit. We went for dinner at our second vegetarian fare of the trip, Liquid Earth. Very tasty place and although the woman serving us seemed to know nothing about her restaurant's menu, the white guy with dreads who was cooking our food was awesome and was an expert at wielding a knife. We met this german guy named Peter at the hostel and he joined us for this whole ordeal. It was his first veggie restaurant and he sure to tell us how good he thought everything was.

We got to Oriole Park at Camden Yards about 20 minutes before game time. Tickets were ridiculously cheap (8$) and we had a great view behind home plate. Not only that but it was free t-shirt night so I got a player t-shirt for my collection with no cost to me! Sweet! The Orioles were battling the Seattle Mariners in what seemed to be a losing battle from the start with Cliff Lee on the mound for Seattle. Result: 5-1 Seattle. Great game and half the fun was trying to explain the game to Peter who'd never seen a game before, and knew none of the rules. "This is a funny game, they don't even move alot." was his response. Kinda chuckled at that.

We came back to the hostel, I called my mom and just when I finished, this old man came to us and started talking to us about this restaurant he went to, and how the best hostels are in Nicaragua, and asking why the US was in Afghanistan and Iraq... I faked listening but my eyes were saying: "Do I really give a shit about your stories, old man? Move along please..." Unfortunately, he didnt, so I called Kristina, and then he started talking to Tyler, so I passed him the phone...and he finally left. 20 freakin minutes of my life I will never get back.

Tomorrow will be another day.

Jay

Driving Time today: 0 hours

Favorite song today: Don't stop believing by Journey tied with Take me out to the ballgame

Quote of the day (3):

1. "This looks like it's not going to fit in my mouth...HA!...That's what she said!
- Me looking at my huge Earth Burger

2. "A movie in 5D is going to be like, you go to the movie at 8 pm and you come out of it and it's 6PM...like you gained time."
- Peter the German talking about new 3D and 4D movies.

3. "Root, root, root for the home team, if they don't win that'd be normal..."
- Orioles fan in front of us singing a remix to Take me out to the ballgame

West Baltimore...Dangerous...? Not a chance!!

Woke up this morning around 8 AM to the sound of Nick Cave's soothing voice belting out Wanted Man. We left Wilkes-Barre after a quick leftover breakfast of last night's pizza and arrived in Baltimore at around noon. This city immediately seized me, for its charm, character and antiquated architecture. Gorgeous churches and museums that go sky high. We parked at the hostel we are staying and walked to the inner harbor, one of the most unforgettable places. The views are magnificent and the pier and harbor walks are the definition of serene tranquility (Mark, I know that's redundant.)

We had lunch at this little place called the Waterfront Hotel, which Tyler had researched on one of his favorite tv shows, Homicide: Life on the Street. This was the bar/restaurant where the cops came to shoot the shit, get drunk and eat some crab. By god, I understand why. Awesome specials every day and 1$ Pabst bottles all day every day! We ordered veggie quesadillas, exquisite. We left afterward to go checkin to the hostel, which by the way, is the coolest way to travel. Great place they have here smack dab in the middle of downtown Baltimore. Julia and Betsy checked us in, some of the the friendliest people we've met on the trip so far. Loved our dedication to the habs and baseball. Once we got settled in, we knew we had a couple hours before the Habs game, so we went to check out Edgar Allan Poe's burial ground in West Baltimore. One of my all-time favorite poets, this was definitely on my bucket list. We also went to check out his house that he lived in while he lived here, and the street corner where he was found unconscious and eventually died in the hospital down the street from our hostel. Little tid-bit!
West Baltimore was awesome, not at all shady or dangerous as mentioned by many people who will remain unnamed. It showed a lot of character, and reminded me a bit of old Harlem in NYC.

Anyways, just before we go start dinner, we go check out this Irish pub down the street called O'Sheas (didnt look as cool as Duffy's though...) Tyler went in and asked the question I dreaded to hear the answer to:

"Are you guys showing the Habs game?"
"They playing Pittsburgh tonight? Yeah, we'll have that on."

My jaw dropped. You guys know where i'm drinking tonight. Favorite bar in Baltimore. :)

Tomorrow will be another day.

Jay

P.S. GO HABS GO BABY!!!


Driving Time today: 3 hours

Favorite song of drive: Les Boys by Éric Lapointe

Favorite album of drive: Adrenaline Disc 2 by Éric Lapointe

Quote of the day:

"It is NOT God's will that two homosexual men sleep together, this is the will of the demons within THEM!"

- Crazy Guy yelling on the corner of the street in West Baltimore

Wilkes-Boring...?

Got to Wilkes-Barre by 11:30 or so this morning. Tyler was meeting a friend of his, who turned out to be quite delightful for a penguins/Phillies fan. Good taste in music and sense of humor, that’s two good things in my books. Anyways, they went off to visit Scranton, which I also visited later on(we drove on Mifflin Rd. Ahhhhh yea!) I checked in and stayed in the Ramada most of the day, doing some fitness center and yoga on my own and it felt great, followed by a nap, which means I should be right back on track with the sleep patterns now. Got up and walked around Wilkes-Barre, took me 15 minutes to find someone and we’re in the middle of downtown...on a Sunday afternoon...and the person I found was a bum, and he wanted to bum a smoke...so boring...maybe only on Sundays, but I dunno.

I met up with her and Tyler later on and we went to a Chinese buffet, get this: SUPER BUFFET WORLD! You know that a place with full neon sign and pink neon around the windows, you’re gonna be in for a treat! Back at the hotel now, trying rum and cherry coke to be different, and the taste of it reminded me why I don’t like being different.

Tomorrow will be another day.

Driving Time today: 4.5 hours

Album of the day: A Man under the Influence by Alejandro Escovedo

Quote of the day: “That's why I hate bittersweet chocolate. I don't even-- What's the point of that? Why not just sweet? I mean who- who are you helping??”

- Michael Scott, from an Office episode I just listened to 20 minutes from Scranton

Love/Hate: J-M vs. Pittsburgh Fans

After an amazing ballet, we took a nap at T’s from midnight to 2AM. Got up, had a 3 egg omelette and finished up packing the car, and we were off. Surprisingly, not too bad a drive from Montreal to Pittsburgh. Customs was jokes because he only asked us 2 questions to two 22-year-old guys who were going in the US for 5 weeks...

Rain was coming down for most of the drive and the winds were pretty intense, but we finally made it to the Radisson Pittsburgh at around 1:30PM. Mellon Arena was awesome again, but I don’t want to compliment it too much, I hate the penguins too much right now. Especially frail, cherry lips Crosby. Habs support was good, i’m proud of montrealers...about 1500 fans on my count. Hoping Gill is back for Game 6, the guy is a beast. Stupid, stupid fans...I can’t stress that enough. Kids everywhere in my section asking their parents why I’m not wearing their dumb “White-out” t-shirt... “Cuz IM A HABS FAN!...dumb kid...”

As you can expect with anyone with barely 2 hours sleep and an 11 hour-drive, I was pretty pissed at losing. But back at the hotel with a stiff rum and coke, I felt a lot better. Especially when Big featuring the legendary Tom Hanks came on TV.

Tomorrow will be another day.

Driving today: 10.5 hours

Best album of drive: 1990 by Daniel Johnston

Quote of the day: Well, you know, Mario Lemieux, you know, he’s the greatest thing that happened to this team, you know, and, you know, with Sid and Malkin, you know, hockey is really becoming big in Pittsburgh, you know.

- Paul, our shuttle bus driver


P.S. I might have forgotten my camera cable, so pics are unavailable at the moment. My apologies.

Adieu Duffy's!

Gonna miss the whole gang alot: ML, APM, SK, SE, TJB, JB, JB#2, RCB, TB, TH, CH, LB and and and MB! If you dont find your initials here, I probably wont miss you. The rest of you, I will probably stop thinking about you though once I hit New Orleans...or Long Beach..or San Fran...hmmm...san fran...anyways, Getting the packing done today was awesome, enables me to get somewhat wrecked tonight after a Habs win...without consequences. So friday im napping all day and hitting up the last ballet of the season "Minus One" at 8PM, supposed to be fantastic ordeal. Not sure how they will top the previous one, but if anyone can, Les Grands Ballets can. Also, renewed my season tickets for next season, 5 ballets plus the Nutcracker, going to be CRAZY. Post-ballet, another nap (does anyone know how to nap, msg me) at Tyler's place until 3AM saturday morning, and then, we ARE OFF!! Gonna hit up the Duty free at 6 AM, which is obviously the best time to go. And I'll see you all in Pittsburgh for Game 5!

Cheers until then,

Jay

Final Road Trip Details

Just finished up fine-tuning some details on the road trip which now includes seeing the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 in Pittsburgh on May 8th. Hope to see some of you loyal Habs fans in Steel City to support Les Boys. Going to be leaving May 8th early morning, probably 3 AM, and the road trip shall begin.

Future Cities:

May 9th :Wilkes-Barre, PA
May 10-11: Baltimore, MD