Ben & Ness's Excellent Adventure

Made it to CA!

2009-08-01T20:40:00.001-07:00

We made it! We're currently subletting in a home, and expect to move in to our permanent (for now) digs at the end of the month.

Ben will be posting details from the trip soon. Thanks for reading, more to come!

Last Night in SD

2009-07-22T18:21:00.000-07:00

We did some crazy hiking today: five or so hours worth. It was crazy but not as crazy as the jumping pillow as shown above. All I can think of is the Bill Cosby skit in which he says, that if there aint adults playing on it, neither will I.

Nough said. Going to go play with fire and cook some sugar.

On The Road Again

2009-07-21T16:11:00.000-07:00

And off we go, leaving Jackson on our way to South Dakota.

Ben had cooled some beer for me as a surprise when I got out of the shower, but I wasn't feeling well and fell asleep without drinking any! Eli and his Aunts gave us some of their left over beer since they are moving also.

Anyways, getting some gas and some breakfast (fast food chains are everywhere!).

Hm, I should probably set that reservation for tonight soon...

The Badlands

2009-07-21T16:10:00.000-07:00

So, we're at The Badlands. No, not as in World of Warcraft.

This is a sneak peak of some of the pictures we took while here today. It is an unexpected view after a day of farms and slight hills. So, more to come!

And We Skip a Few Days

2009-07-20T20:13:00.000-07:00

So, while we have tons of pictures (more like 3000) and been having lots of fun, we've been having too much fun to actually post anything. And instead of trying to put up posts in chronological order, we decided to go with the most current and then fill in the gaps (and then reorganize them in the end?).

Right now we are actually in Jackson, Minnesota staying at a KOA (Kampgrounds of America) on our way to Mount Rushmore. The original plan has us staying Kennebec, SD but yesterday, when halfway to Minneapolis to visit Ben's uncle Spike we discovered that we left Ben's license in Chicago (3.5 hours back). So, we went back to Chicago and spent an extra night with Eli and his aunts. Which, really, we don't mind (it was a shame we missed Spike though).

Minnesota is a beautiful state. With lots of farmland on hills and breathtaking views. And more windfarms! Which are very creepy when there are about twenty of them all together and not moving...Pictures to follow eventually.

Ben drove to most of the way through Wisconsin (the first half is only exciting the first time though), and then Yanessa drove two and a half hours into Minnesota (and then we were hungry), and then Ben drove the rest while we listened to Bill Cosby.

I guess that's it for now. We will eventually write real posts again soon. We promise :)

PS. At this KOA, there is a small dog (one of those tiny fluffy long-haired chihuahua looking dogs) that the owner groomed to look like a lion. With the mane and the poof of hair at the end of the tail. Its funny and sad in a weird way. Maybe I'll get a picture of it tomorrow...

PPS. Posted from Ben's crack-berry, typed by Yanessa, edited by Ben.

The Chicago Bean

2009-07-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

We made a fire!

2009-07-15T17:22:00.000-07:00

Last night's was actually more amazing, but this one works too. In Streetsboro, OH.

Ohio seems nice

2009-07-15T11:31:00.001-07:00

More to follow post grocery run. Apparently we're in an award-winning KOA.

Niagara Falls!

2009-07-14T08:42:00.000-07:00

Tent is up

2009-07-13T17:31:00.000-07:00

The tent is up! Forgot stakes for the fly, but whatevs

Milkshake break

2009-07-13T11:13:00.000-07:00

Quick bite at Friendly's halfway through PA. Bubbles!

Philly cheese steak

2009-07-12T11:48:00.000-07:00

22" goodness

Day 6: Montreal to Exeter

2009-07-10T12:30:00.000-07:00

After 4 and a half days of fun and relaxation, it was time to head to our next destination: the Exeter Inn, where we had our wedding reception in January.

Yanessa and I rose early to pack everything into the car, and then took the time to enjoy coffee with everyone. Matt had spent the night (his clothes were drying after the rain), so he joined us as well.

Sophia took the time to tend to her garden as well. The plants had grown quite a bit from the beginning of the week when Yanessa painted them:

After saying our goodbyes, we set out. The mural had grown some new details as well:

Once in the car, Yanessa set herself up with the camera to take some shots of Montreal that we didn't get on the way in. She also decided that the power line stanchions (or whatever you call them) look like our cat, Griselda, but angry...

She also took advantage of the opportunity to snap a few shots of the curious road signs and traffic signals.

Our next stop was the border crossing station. There were many more cars here at noon on Saturday, July 4, than there had been on Monday, but I guess that makes sense. There was a lot more security for entering the U.S. than exiting, though, which is always curious. The official we spoke to had an interesting accent, and a very even intonation across all of his questions making it difficult to tell if he was suspicious or just being thorough.

After that, it was a much sunnier drive through Vermont and on to the Inn!

Once we got to the Inn, we found ourselves to be very tired. We hung out for a while, and then went downtown to get dinner at Szechuan Taste. Of course, we got fried ice cream (our favorite), which we finally divined is lit using Bacardi 151, but only around the ice cream, not on it. (That was my mistake at home). Here's a video:

After that, we relaxed in the Jacuzzi and then hit the sack!

Day 5: Last Day in Montreal

2009-07-10T12:16:00.000-07:00

Neither Lil or Soph had class (no-class Fridays are sweet!), so we had a slow morning. I made French Toast for everyone while Lil and Sophia edited a paper that was due in the evening so that we could hang out for the rest of the day.

Yanessa tried her hand at ‘Hit the Spot’, a puzzle which requires some manual dexterity and manipulation of slopes. I thought I had been doing very well the night before, when it turns out the table it was resting on was slanted towards me (I didn’t know, I swear!).

After breakfast and some final edits on Soph’s paper, we all piled into my car. It was the first time we’d been in the car all week, surprisingly. It was really nice to be able to walk most places. On our way out, we noticed that the little café/bookstore/hang-out-spot on the first floor had added a mural facing the parking lot:

Driving in the city of Montreal wasn’t as bad as I feared – it was much less crazy than Boston. I think the city was planned out a little better, with enough space for the traffic (at least at
midday). Yanessa snapped some shots of some highlights:

The Chinatown gates

A big, kinda scary mural. I think the artist may have been somewhat well known (at least in Montreal).

Molson’s headquarters in Montreal. They’re pretty proud of their beer, apparently… Probably the way I would be proud of Harpoon (as opposed to Sam Adams) as a Boston Resident.

Our first stop was at the Parc Lafontaine, which apparently is in the Plateau, the neighborhood where Sophia lived before her current digs. As we walked along the Parc, Lil and Yanessa started discussing the architecture of the brownstones, and how it’s somewhat similar to New York with walkups. I wonder how the walkups fare in the winter though, as since the steps are floating, they must freeze very easily.

We stopped by a restaurant/diner that specializes in pouttine(sp?), Montreal’s ‘unique’ food. Pouttine is basically French fries with melted cheese curds and gravy, but you can add extra stuff as well. Yanessa and I tried the Pouttine Dan Dan, which had bacon, pepperoni, and grilled onions in addition to the regular goodness.

It was pretty good, but really, too much food. Between the two of us, we ate at most 2/3 of the dish.

While at the parc, we saw a few ducklings in the water.

Yanessa also saw a cloud which reminded us of the characters in ‘Partly Cloudy’, the latest Pixar short:

Afterwards we met up with Matt again and browsed through a few stops before going to a Café on Rue Saint Denis called Julienne et Chocolat. They specialize in chocolate drinks and desserts. We of course neglected to take pictures, but if you’re ever in Montreal, you have to go! Very delicious. A great assortment of alcoholic drinks as well – Yanessa had a ‘Chocolate Ruby’, which is dark-ish chocolate, some brandy (I think), and a scoop of raspberry sherbet which melts into the rest of the drink over time. I had a chocolate fondant with salted caramel melted all over it, which was (of course) amazing.

After that, everyone was pretty full and tired (and it started to rain!), so we went back to the apartment. Sophia’s friend Yoshi brought over a bottle of wine, and we watched Lars and the Real Girl (very good, touching movie).

Yanessa also found this on Rue Saint Denis:

About Day 4:Montreal, Canada on Day 10:West Chester, PA

2009-07-08T16:54:00.000-07:00

So, now, let me try to remember what happened day 4...

Best way to do it is to see what photos we took that day. Apparently it was the day that Soph and Lil left us to our own devices in the city. We ate lunch at our favorite chain bakery:

And then walked back into the city for some more shopping. I got myself some more paint (running a little low), some more canvases, and finally found what we wanted to get Steve (the awesome photographer from the wedding). And then did some personal shopping (the people in Montreal and the stores are ridiculously helpful and straight-forward). We got a little lost walking back to Atwater (Ben says we were just adventuring).

In our adventuring though, we saw the from of the Forum, where hockey used to be played. Apparently the Bruins used to be awesome...

And by that point, well, we were hungry. So we ate this place:

Which was pretty nice and the food was fun. Especially the Spanish coffee (brandy and coffee) and the Tiramisu. Although, The Daily Catch in Boston is still my favorite for drinks, food, and desert (Italian and seafood).

And then, well, we headed back to the apartment and chilled. Lil and Sophia have the DVDs of Planet Earth, so we watched the one about the deep ocean - very cool.

Yanessa's new haircut

2009-07-08T10:57:00.000-07:00

So short!

About Day 3:Montreal, Canada on Day 9:West Chester, PA

2009-07-07T19:39:00.000-07:00

So, we are pretty behind on posts, but I figure it's okay. Especially since we are behind because we are having too much fun hanging out with Lil, Soph, and their friends that writing posts just doesn't compare.

Anyways, the Finnish pancakes were awesome! (Yes, we are actually that far behind: writing about day 3 on day 9 (I actually had the post done the 6th, but wasn't able to post)). Soph and Lil made the pancakes and eggs while Ben and I worked on some awesome Priscilla-Pudding and berries. I'm not sure if Ben mentioned the pudding, but it's amazingly awesome and amazingly simple. It's just sour cream and brown sugar, but it tastes like so much more.
After the super hearty breakfast: since both Lil and Soph had work to do (homework and real work), I decided to do some painting out on their porch and Ben decided to play some Baldur's Gate. Soph has some amazing plants growing on the porch. The plants include Zucchini, Celery, and Onion.
I struggled a bit with the first painting. The pot I was painting was nicely glazed and thus nicely reflecting the world back at me. That and enough sunlight was making the shadows nearly non existent...
So I didn't finish that pot, and decided to simplify my subject:
That is the new green paint we got the day before. It's similar to the blue in the sense that its really oily and hard to keep dark. But it was more fun than working with the pot. And by that point, it was very hot outside, so I decided to move on in doors.

Eventually we went out grocery shopping with Soph (after feeding us some veggies and peanut butter). We went to a super market called Super C. Think of it as a blend between Costco and Super Stop and Shop. There were regular size stuff next to Costco-sized versions. You could also buy 3 liters of milk in plastic bags. Which is pretty awesome. We also picked up some cheese (sauvagine) at the Atwater Market and some olive bread (amazing!) from our favorite bakery chain.

Once we got back to their place, Soph made everyone some regular hummus and some white bean hummus (recipes can be found in the previous posts). A friend, Matt, came over for dinner, and while Lil and Soph got the food ready, we made our way through the cheese and the bread. Sophia cooked some tofu in some sesame oil and seasonings, some thin rice noodles, and fried some eggs and honey. Lil (and Matt) cut up some zuccini, scallions, cucumber, mushrooms, peppers, and mango. They also made some peanut sauce. Then, once this was all prepared, Soph softtened up some rice papers in warm water. We then took the rice papers and stuffed them with any combination of the above. It was deliciousness. And surprisingly filling.

We then took a break and Matt, Lil, and Ben played some guitar while Soph read some of the paper and I read a coffee table book about the golden age of barns (and we all drank some tea). Then, once the food settled a bit more, we went for the fruit tart the Ben and I bought for the group. Nom nom.

And this is how we celebrated Canada Day. Yup. There were fireworks (Montreal has an international fireworks festival: every Wednesday a different country sponsors fireworks) but there were rumors of thunderstorms:
Sadly though, we somehow have no pictures of this meal. But we will totally host this meal for dinner in CA.

On Our Way Out

2009-07-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

And onto the mass pike we go! With two turtles. :)

Jacuzzi Suite

2009-07-04T14:36:00.000-07:00

The jacuzzi suite at the Exeter Inn. We were supposed to stay here for the wedding, but water damage from a burst pipe got in the way. So we get to stay here one night for free!
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Because I'm Bored

2009-07-04T12:18:00.000-07:00

More of route 89 in NH. (I promise to write about the rest of Montreal once we reach the Inn).
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Ben Driving

2009-07-04T12:13:00.000-07:00

Um, I think we are just passing exit 7 on 89 in NH. W00t.
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Lil's cool hair (but not Lil. Lil is not in pictures)

2009-07-04T06:39:00.000-07:00

You can't identify her. For serious.
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Finnish pancakes

2009-07-04T06:31:00.001-07:00

Don't have to let sit; they don't rise. Excellent esp. With fruit and/or yogurt/pudding.
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White bean hummus recipe

2009-07-04T06:27:00.000-07:00

As opposed to the other hummus recipe. Both delicious.
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Hummus recipe

2009-07-03T11:38:00.001-07:00

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Day 2: Exploring Montreal

2009-07-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of pictures in this post - Yanessa is the shutterbug for this leg of the trip. I'll have some pictures of my own soon.

Tuesday we woke up with the sun shining through the window in the study where Sophia and Lil set us up - not a bad way to wake up for the first morning of our trip. We wandered into the kitchen and found them on their cute little porch having morning coffee. They gave us some suggestions for where to walk to, and we set a time to meet with Sophia later in the day.

Armed with some basic directions, Yanessa and I set out to explore downtown Montreal on foot. Their apartment is on Rue St. Jacques, near Avenue Atwater; After walking up a sizeable hill along Atwater we soon encountered Rue St. Catherines, one of the main drags in Montreal.

As we walked along, a few things stood out - the people who are out and about are generally thin or fit-looking (more thin than fit; slim pants and shirts more than lean muscle), which makes one feel like they stand out as an American. After a while we noticed that there are a ton of places to eat, but the proportion of restaurants and bars vs. chain fast foods was very high, especially when compared to Boston or most dense suburbs in the States. Also, I don't think you really have chain bakeries in the U.S., and if they are, they have mostly processed foods. In Montreal, there's a chain bakery (we stopped to ogle pastries and pick up sandwiches) but everything seems fresh.

The other thing that's hard to miss along St. Cat's is that the advertising for sex shops and strip clubs is much more brazen than pretty much anywhere I've been in the U.S. Even most of what I've seen in San Francisco is discreet on the street; in Montreal you get a pretty good idea of what's inside.

Our first stop was an art supply store so Yanessa could pick up a few items for her oil painting; we got a new brush, a tube of raw umber and sap green, and a few canvases for what seemed like very reasonable prices.

We wandered around for a while, and then got pretty hungry, so we stopped into a bakery around noontime. There was a pretty decent line, and everything is in french, so we picked some things of the menu which seemed reasonable - Yanessa had grilled chicken with cheese, bacon and lettuce, and I had a ham and brie sandwich, both (of course) on baguettes.

After stopping to eat, we went in search of McGill University to meet up with Sophia. McGill was founded early in Montreal's history, so despite being very close to what felt like the city center, the campus is very green and expansive. Quite beautiful, really.

Once we found Sophia, we stopped by a smoothie place - the name escapes me - which was essentially Jamba Juice, but with different branding. Quite delicious. I found out that debit cards in Canada are different from U.S. debit cards, so we stopped by an ATM to pick up some cash (fee free, I think).

After that, we struck out on a tour of various parts of the city, seeing how much trouble we could get in before Soph went back to class. We passed through a closed off section of the city set up for the Jazz Festival, which was featuring Stevie Wonder as a part of the opening festivities that night. Apparently it's the 30th annual Jazz Fest in Montreal. Very exciting. The place where it's set up is a nice open plaza - it reminded me of Government Center in Boston, except a lot more attractive, and with restaurants and such around the perimeter making it much more of a destination.

Continuing along St. Cat's, we next found a section of the city closed to road traffic for the summer known as the Village. It was great to be able to stroll down the middle of the street, checking out the shops and such on either side.

After reaching the end of the village, we turned north to Rue Ontario and began heading back towards downtown. Sophia soon had to leave us for class, but as we walked along we found the 'Quarter Latin', which was packed with restaurants and cafes, very much like sections of Newbury Street with lots of outdoor seating, varied cuisines, and people watching.

By the time we found our way back at the Jazz Fest, a few opening acts were under way, and there were a lot more people. We thought aboug sticking around, but by that time we were pretty exhausted from all the walking - better to head home for the day.

The walk back was quite long, and felt much longer than the initial exploration - whether from our fatigue, or the lack of exploration and curiousity, I'm not sure. But we made it back safe and sound.

Montreal's architecture is very interesting - there are parts that feel old, other parts that feel very updated with modern but perhaps understated architecture, all transitioning and sometimes clashing along the same miles-long street. All in all, we walked about 9 miles - the map is below. By the time we got home, I pretty much passed out from exhaustion, and slept through the next morning. Wednesday is Canada Day, so we might take it easy - not range too far afield, but check out some fireworks in the evening. More to follow, as always.

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From NH to Montreal

2009-06-30T18:05:00.001-07:00

We have now been in Canada for about 2 days and its been awesome. And it being awesome is why we haven't posted in a while. Lil and Soph have been super-awesome and are letting us crash in their study on an Ikea pull-out bed.
Anyways, this post will focus mostly the drive through NH, VT, and Canada and the pictures (and some thoughts). We had videos of the flash rain, but I forgot that Lightroom (the tool we are using to keep out pictures organized) doesn't take in videos and already formatted the card. But here we have a picture of what it looked like between wipes (on super fast). And yeah, it was pretty bad.
Then again, they were only pockets of rain (I don't think it rained for longer than 10 minutes at a time), but it still sucked. Going all the way through NH and VT was a first for the both of us, and thus, we were very amused at the signs along the way.
There was one "MOOSE" sign that was sub-signed (Does that make sense?) with "In 5000 ft". Ben was excited to pull over and have a look, but no such luck.

At some point we decided we were getting kind of hungry. The first place we saw was:

Which seems pretty sketch. But then we saw a sign for a Pizzeria. And it was amazing! Easily one of my favorite pizzas ever. We got a small pizza with onion, mushroom, and bacon. If you look closely, that bacon is awesome.
Hopefully I can convince Ben to swing by there on our way back south. Anyways, VT and NH are full of trees. And hills. And more trees. I know at one point we saw a sign for Montpelier (the capitol of VT) but I never saw a city.
So, after the pizza, it was pretty much all the same. Hills with lots of trees. So I stopped taking lots of pictures and instead decided to write down some key random thoughts and to organize them by their respective mile of the trip. The following are some of the more awesome ones:

159 - There are cows in Vermont?
164 - Ben's response to 159: How do you think they make Ben and Jerry's?
175 - Exit 7...really? Seriously? I feel like Exit 2 was an hour ago.
184 - Where do people buy cars in VT?
184 - Ben's response to 184 - Prolly Monpelier.

And then, at some point, we got through customs (with only a slight hitch when Ben hesitated in saying that we have no weapons). And we got into Canada!
And then it was farmland. Lots and lots of farmland. And us paying lots of attention to the signs in French trying to make sure we stay on the correct routes and such. And just to let you know, there were serious amounts of firewood at these houses. Like the size of Ben's car amount of wood at least. Oh! And farmland is flat. And it suddenly got flat in the last couple miles of VT.

But anyways, we are starting to work on breakfast so I need to hurry up if I am going to help.

Along the way through the farmland, we found Montreal (which is apparently an island). I was so excited to see a real city. With tall buildings and such. And we managed to find Soph and Lil's place without getting lost. (It's amazing how some Spanish reading ability can really help out when reading French). And they are pretty awesome people.

And that's really the end of the driving post. Yay! Off to eat pancakes and eggs (over easy).

Start: Mile 33

2009-06-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

It's our first day out and about on the trip, and we are on our way to Montreal. Currently we are on our way through NH. Staying at Ness' parent's place was awesome while it lasted, but we are excited to get going on the road. We've packed clothing, painting supplies, some trail mix, some wine for Sophia (who we are visiting while up at Montreal), and of course, the necessary tech: laptop, wireless card, external hard drive, 2 cameras, cellphone, ipod, and respective cables.

Ness's mom took this picture as the official start of the trip (even though Ness took 15 minutes setting herself up in the car, and that the mile count is off by the distance from the gas station around the corner to RT-95S).

Ness got to drive from Lynn all the way to the NH border. Which is a big deal, don't cha know? (The driving permit limits some-what her driving to certain states).

A view of the drive after Ben took over for me. (Actually, it just got a ton worse. Check out the next post.)

This is our trail mix: Almonds, Cashews, Dried Mango, Dried Cranberries, Pecans, and Chocolate Covered Almonds. It's almost 3 gallons worth, but we have a measuring bag to measure out 4 servings per day.

Not the most exciting looking post, but note this: this was posted as we got on RT-89. w00t.

Another Roadmap

2009-06-20T16:18:00.000-07:00

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The Roadmap

2009-06-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

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