TEAM HANDSOME’S EPIC ROAD TRIP 2K15

~Up at 6:45 am.

~Left at 7:30 am.

~Nobody on the road – 80 mph speed limit.

~Drove through Montana – wide open land, mountains.

~Got off to get gas somewhere – failed because the gas station was closed.

~Eventually got gas in Grass Lodge, Montana – didn’t expect convenience store to be open because it looked caged and locked.

~Crossed into Wyoming – more of the same scenery.

~Got to South Dakota!

~About an hour away from Mount Rushmore we saw a ton of big horned sheep with some sort of tags or trackers around some of their necks – more good karma nonetheless!

~Mount Rushmore from 2:45 – 4:15 pm…WOW! How did they do that?! Not super crowded which was great...

HAPPY 25^TH BIRTHDAY TO ME!

• Up at 10 am. Responded to some birthday messages in bed.
• Read and hung out downstairs. Showered and freshened up.
• Left for Bozeman at 12:15.
• Bacchus Pub for lunch – free birthday shot with the waitress! We split Irish cheese puffs and really good wings. I got French onion soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. Alex got a reuben (classic Alex).
• CHOCOLATE! Walked to some candy store for birthday chocolate (classic me). Now the birthday was official. We walked around downtown, which was really pretty and relaxed.
• American Computer and Robotics Museum – a free non-profit museum that was small but extremely comprehensive. What a gem to find in Bozeman, Montana.
• Drove through MSU – super pretty!
• Alex’s birthday surprise for me…MONTANA GRIZZLY ENCOUNTER!! We got t...

We were at Yellowstone from 9:30 am – 7:00 pm. We saw so much of the park, but of course not everything (though we felt we did). Here’s a top 10 list from our trip, in no particular order:

1) BISON!! There were wild bison all over the park. We drove next to a pack of almost 20 of them that were on either side of the road. They were each about 10 feet from our car. Super cool.

2) BULL ELK! These guys were all around the hotel / town section of Yellowstone. They were close to cars, on the post office lawn, walking around all over. On the way out of the park about 30-40 of them were grazing and caused traffic because so many of them were in the road.

3) OLD FAITHFUL! We waited about 45 minutes to an hour to watch it go off...

• Slept in until 10!
• Homemade breakfast – granola, bacon, croissants, coffee
• Read / relaxed in living room – felt so good to read in silence!
• Drove to downtown Livingston and explored the few blocks of stores and restaurants.
• The Sport for lunch – I had an elk burger, Alex had a bison burger. Both phenomenal.
• Main Street Cuts – a small one-man barber shop. Very old school. Jack gave us haircuts for normal price of $10. We told him about our travels, where we’re from, our family (we’re brothers, of course), what we do, etc. Very kind old man with lots of personality.
• Back to the ranch – showered and felt so good! Betsy, my uncle’s girlfriend, arrived with her dog.
• I went with my uncle on his John Deere gator thing (like the Kawasaki at Wekeela, almost like an ATV but with spa...

We were up around 7:30 am and out the door at 8 am. Derek and his roommates were all still sleeping, so we left without disturbing anybody. The drive to Montana was the first time we’ve headed east this whole trip – what a realization to wrap our heads around! Alex realized he forgot to transfer videos from the car’s dash cam to his tablet, so after a few hours of driving we stopped at a Starbucks in Ellensberg, WA. By the way, in case you didn’t assume so, I’d like to confirm that there are more Starbucks than people in Washington state. Got a small breakfast and some tea to help my sore throat while Alex did his work. Way free WiFi and outlets!

The rest of the day was spent pretty much in the car...

9:00 am – Got up, got ready, got our lives together

10:00 am – Got in our Lyft on our way to meet Alex Waltz at Pike Place Market at 10:30. Turns out our route took us right past his house (we were there only a couple hours earlier). We called him before turning on the highway and he was standing right there at the corner! He hopped in so we shared the (free) ride together. Good karma #muledeer #elephantseals #sealions

10:30 am – Pike Place Market at the heart of downtown Seattle. We walked all around all levels of the market, which was hustling and bustling on a beautiful Sunday morning. We saw the famous bubble gum alley, fresh food vendors, a brewery that Lelchuk loves, and much more!

12:00 pm – Lunch at Jack’s Fish and Chips Spot across from the main market...

7:30 am – Got up, ate free breakfast in the hotel lobby (minimal selection, but they had make your own waffles)

8:45 am – Left Beaverton, OR

10:00 am – Arrived at Hood River, OR which was were our GPS took us when I put in Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area. It was the Forestry department, but 2 workers gave us a map which helped us out

10:15 am – 12:00 pm – Rowena Crest of the Columbia River –> gorgeous panorama view

Ainsworth State Park – Multonomah Falls –> 2nd largest waterfall in US…absolutely beautiful! We couldn’t find parking the first time we passed through…but we got a spot immediately after circling back for a 2nd time…GOOD KARMA!! We hiked a half mile up the bridge built above part of the falls. Such a stunning view.

12:45 pm – Failed attempt to check out a KFC Buffet, whic...

We slept well and got up around 9 am, leaving the hotel to explore Portland around 9:45 am. We drove in to downtown Portland and parked at a garage in the heart of downtown for $13 for the whole day. We walked a few blocks to Pioneer Courthouse and went to the visitor’s center underneath a cool waterfall thing across the street. We got a map and some helpful hints from the guy working there and were on our way for a full day’s adventure.

First we walked south to walk along the water. We saw the Spirit of Portland depart, but didn’t want to go on the cruise. Not too much going on down by the water besides a fountain, and it was cloudy so not a great view either. We then walked north and happened upon Rocket Fizz, a candy store with a great variety and a ton of house made sodas...

We were up at 7 am to get ready for the big drive ahead of us to Portland, Oregon. We were out the door by 7:45 and made 2 stops in San Fran before leaving. The first was the house used for Full House, which was disappointing because it didn’t look like the original house anymore. The second was Lombard Street, known as the most crooked street in the USA. It had beautiful gardens and was really fun to drive down – very picturesque. Our last moments of SF tourism wrapped up around 8:30, so we drove over the stunning Golden Gate Bridge to Larkspur, California to meet up with Lucy Arnell for brunch.

We arrived at Farmhouse Local a few minutes early, but Lucy was there shortly...

Today’s post theme – short, single sentences. Let’s see how this works out.

Woke up at 9:45 am.

Hung out with Chloe. She likes pancakes.

J train to downtown at 10:45 am.

Walked to New Asia dim sum in Chinatown.

SO good. Cheaper than the day before. We were the only white people.

Tuttimelon for custom bubble tea and a $1 banana nutella crepe. Also amazing.

Café Trieste for best cappuccino as recommended by Lelchuk’s dad. VERY good.

Walked through North Beach aka Little Italy in the rain.

Pier 45 – Musee Mechanique had over 200 arcade machines, some from the 1800’s. Incredible collection.

Pier 39 – sea lions! So cool! Good karma! Lots of shops, including chocolate heaven (what it sounds like).

Tried to take the trolley and use our tickets from earlier that day...