Irene who??

Hurricane Irene was predicted to be the worst storm Philadelphia would see in decades, so Mike and I decided to skip town with a couple friends.  We went to Mikes cabin in upstate New York and lived like true mountain men for a few days.  Beer, guns, scrabble and a grill (and a 5 hour Chinese war movie) proved to be a sufficiant way to pass a hurricane.  I know it is probably bad to say, but it was slightly disappointing to drive back in to Philly, one of the "worst hit" by Irene, and have no real signs of a hurricane.  Nonetheless it was nice to see that the bus and the Packard house was still firmly planted where we left it.  

I just bought a new micro 4/3 camera to replace my old DSLR and the cabin was a great place to test it out.  It will take some getting used to but I really like it so far.  We will be hanging out in Philly for a few days before going to NY for the US Open on Thursday.  Juno is going to be staying in a luxury pet resort near Mikes moms house.  After calling 10 kennels in the Philly area and not finding one under $25 a night, I decided to go with the luxury resort that includes "potty walks" for $30 a night.  She has only stayed in a kennel 1 time, and I left it up to my parents to book it.  I was surprised to see the extensive list of additional activities you can set up for your dog.  A 10 minute session of belly rubbing is only $6 for you dog at Country Kennels, and 3 "potty walks" for the dog that is a "true adventurer" is only $9 a day.  At Molly's Country Kennel you can really splurge and buy special #2 which includes a tooth brush, bedtime mint for fresh breath and a bedtime story.  What a bargain at $10.95...Anyways I think she will enjoy it.

Despite all the fun we are having in Philly, we are definitely excited to start climbing hard again.  While we were in the strange town of New Paltz, NY I bought the guidebook for the New River Gorge.  It is the biggest guide book I have ever seen and it is very obvious that a month will be nowhere near enough time!!  We will be getting there just as the temps get good in mid-september.   

Cheers,

Thomas

We are about $450 deep in the drive and only in Illinois.  I have seen lighting bugs for the first time since I was a kid in Virginia, a dead armadillo, a million and one signs saying God loves me in Kansas and Missouri, and the gateway to the west in St. Louis.  We stayed in a Walmart parking lot in Topeka, Kansas last night where I found out that a generator to run our AC unit is $1,500...That is enough to last us a few months on the road so we opted for a cheap inverter and a 6 inch personal fan.  If we were in a faster car we might have made it to the east coast in time to feel the earthquake.  And if we were in any slower of a car we probably would have felt the freak earthquake in Colorado.  Seems like we are lucking out and the signs all through Kansas and Missouri were right...

Eastbound...

Lincoln Lake

Mike and I began the 1,749 mile drive from Denver, CO to Philadelphia, PA today.  The bus is running great considering it sat around for over 2 months in the heat.  Leaving Colorado for the second time was much different than when we left in January.  Instead of wearing down jackets to stay warm since our heater sucks, we are wearing next to nothing since our air conditioning (or lack there of) sucks even worse.  We were planning on stopping somewhere to get a generator for the aftermarket air conditioner that came in the bus, but Kansas doesn't have ANYTHING which is making this drive seem like it is taking forever...I'm sure Juno is really missing the air conditioned homes, wood floors and fenced in yards that she had this summer.

Kansas

The plan is to spend a few days in Philadelphia with Mikes family before making our way to New York to watch the US Open (yes...tennis), climb in the Gunks and hang out at Mikes house in upstate New York.

We are glad to be back on the road, and appreciate everyone in Colorado showing us a good time and providing us a place to stay!  Thanks and keep checking the blog!  We will be posting much more regularly.

Cheers!