Back from a great, long weekend

To celebrate my youngest cousin’s high school graduation, Yeni and I headed to Albany to join the celebration. Instead of flying, we packed very lightly and took the Harley 650 miles east from Ann Arbor to Albany, mostly following I-90 (we were going to go through Canada, but that’s a different story).

The trip to Albany was amazing and covered parts of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Cities included Toledo, Cleveland, Erie, Buffalo, Syracuse, and Albany. Normally, when traveling on the Interstate, you really don’t get to see much, and with this trip, we set that as our expectation. Gladly, we were wrong. I had never been West of Albany (yes, I’m one of those type of New Yorker’s) and You know you want to keep reading »

Welcome to June

More pics...

Yeni and I just got back from a quick trip to Chicago… visiting her brother as well as celebrating our first month of married life.

It was a short drive (few hours) from Michigan to Chicago, and figuring the parking in Chicago would be interesting, we chose to take the Versa instead of the Expedition. Although, if we hadn’t have needed the trunk space, taking the Harley would have been much more fun. The more highway driving I do, the less I love Michigan roads. It’s funny too, as the second we hit Indiana, the road just smoothed out and we just smiled. Then, when you hit Chicago, well… welcome back “holes in the floor.”

Coming up this week… some Twitter coding, more Asterisk work, and if all goes well, a motorcycle ride up the east coast of Michigan with the wife (We have a new bluetooth headset to test as well as a trip to Albany to prepare for)

Still in Florida

I’m still in Florida, but headed back to Michigan on Wednesday. I’ve been enjoying the warm weather, although it was 98 degrees yesterday in North Florida… much, much higher than Ann Arbor.

Anyway, this last weekend I:

• Celebrated mom’s birthday with my family (including my sister and our spouses)
• Had an AMAZING meal at Joe’s Stone Crabs (but, when do you not?)
• Celebrated Mother’s day with the family
• Worked a little in Boca Raton, FL
• Enjoyed a nice afternoon on the beach with my wife.
• Read some hilarious comments on the Gandy Dancer review

I’m looking forward to the drive up on Wednesday… love those Mountains.

US Airways Cancels Flight, Again

Remember when flying was fun?

As a boy, I loved going to the airport. I remember being fascinated by the TWA terminal at JFK, awed by the escalator down from LAX, and excited to see the ocean immediately after take off from Fort Lauderdale. Airports also meant seeing family, visiting new places, and let’s not forget all the cool planes. I associated air travel with very positive emotions.

Well, a funny thing happened on the way to Detroit…

Today’s world finds me loathing any experience with airports, airlines, or at this point just air travel. For the third time in a year, US Airways cancelled my flight. I like numbers, so let’s look at it this way… I’ve taken 3 trips on US Airways since April 2008. Each of the three have had a cancelled flight, and, two of the three delayed overnight; requiring a hotel stay. So, in percentage… 100% of trips on US Airways have a cancelled flight and 67% delay arrival by a day or more.

You know you want to keep reading »

Slow going?

Yes, thank you. Our speed matches the temperature which is 29 degrees, lots of snow and lots of trucks.

We are 40 miles south of Toledo.

Welcome to Ohio

Welcome to Cincinnati, Ohio where the welcome is traffic, traffic, traffic.

Hello from London

Hello from London– London, Kentucky. We have hit some pretty huge snowflakes since Knoxville. Although it makes the mountains even more beautiful, it has slowed us down a bit. The GPS puts us in Ann Arbor after 10pm. Oh yeah, Yeni’s driving.

Note to self

When you leave Gainesville at 4:30 you hit Atlanta in time for rush hour.

Its a brand new day

The sun is up and more traffic is joining us. We are about 40 mules South of Macon, GA.

Northbound on I-75

Just hit Georgia.

Stopped on the Florida Turnpike

Ah, I now remember the joy of turnpike travel during the holidays. We are just south of the Orlando toll.

Summary: Ann Arbor to Fort Lauderdale

Fred enjoying Dunkin' Donuts

Yeni and I started early — very early — Saturday morning. After loading the truck and topping off the tank, we hit I-94 somewhere around 4 am. It was BEYOND cold with the truck showing outside temperatures ranging from 10 – 15 degrees. Normally, I make as few stops as humanly possible; combing fuel stops with rest breaks (and yes, “rest breaks” means exactly what it sounds like). I learned quickly, that while traveling with someone else (aka Yeni) brings great joy, it also requires more frequent “rest breaks.”

Our first break was near Dayton, OH. Finding a Dunkin’ Donuts, we stopped for “rest,” coffee, and an egg bagel. Mmmm, egg bagel. After topping off the tank, we heading back on the highway hitting a major traffic jam in Cincinnati, OH. After staying in place for the better part of an hour, we were able to cross the bridge, enter Kentucky, and put Ohio behind us.

When we reached Lexington, KY, we got off the main road and visited a college friend of Yeni’s (Maria Fernanda and her husband Diego). After a nice visit and a great breakfast, we dropped Mafe at the Univeristy of Kentucky and continued south. I’d never been to the University, and it’s always nice to visit a place where the Gators have dominated (this year we destroyed Kentucky, but that was a home game).

My favorite part of driving to/from Michigan is the leg from Lexington, KY to Knoxville, TN. The trip takes you through the Cumberland Mountains (southeastern section of the Appalachian Mountains) and provides beautiful climbs, views, and scenery. Although best experienced riding on a Harley, the trip is still enjoyable from the truck.

Little Lil puts a smile on Fred's face

After reaching Knoxville, we called my good friend Patrick and met with him, his daughter, and wife (Jessi) at a local Italian restaurant. It was great to see their family and playing with lil’ Lil put a big smile on my face. After eating some pasta, rolls, and cannoli , we were back on the road — this time with Yeni at the wheel.

Chattanooga is only a few miles north of Georgia, and the drive through Georgia is long; very long. Did we mention construction? Georgia’s I-75 passage can be described in three words: Pecans, Outlets, Construction. Despite being on the road for more than 20 hours, Yeni was determined to drive through Georgia by herself. She made creative efforts to stay alert, such as talking to the GPS device, counting Juanes songs, and singing.

We reached Florida around 2am and I took over the wheel. When we arrived to the house in Gainesville, Yeni wisely suggested we inflate the bed, grab some shuteye, and rest for a few hours. We rested until around 7 am, loaded Grandma’s chandelier into the truck, grabbed breakfast at DD, and hit the road. Yeni had never seen Florida’s west coast or the Everglades, so I decided to take I-75 straight through to Fort Lauderdale.

Spider-bear at the Gulf of Mexico

When we reached Tampa, we took I-275 to visit the Tampa Bay and see the ocean. I-275 takes you over the Sunshine Skyway bridge (the world’s longest cable bridge) and the ocean view provides a great contrast to the snow we woke up to on the previous morning. Yeni seemed to enjoy the ocean, and Spider-bear was excited to play on the rocks (during one of the “rest” stops).

We continued driving (well, I drove while Yeni napped), and after crossing the Everglades reached the Casa de Parientes. I cannot wait for the rest of the family to arrive and celebrate my favorite holiday.

Yeni sleeps in the Everglades

Arrived in Ft. Lauderdale

Hi mom. We are outside!

Almost there

Crossing the Everglades now and should reach mom and dad’s in an hour. I’ll wake Yeni soon and show her the glades.

Yeni sleeps

Yeni fell asleep a little bit ago. Should be in Ft Laud before 4PM.