Home on the Range...

I have to warn you: I have a lot to cover in today's post, so it will be a bit abbreviated. But hopefully, I will cover all the bases by the time we're finished. Colorado Springs. What a fun place! We had a great time at our stay in the Rocky Mountains. After a LONG drive from Springfield, MO, we pulled into the Springs after dark. The next day, we took the two-hour trip to Buena Vista, CO to go whitewater rafting. It was so much fun! Jillian had never gone before; I had gone once on a fairly mild trip years ago. These rapids, however, were frequent and technical. We chose to ride on a paddle boat, as opposed to a "combo" boat, meaning we were responsible to paddle hard, following the guide's instructions, powering through the rapids.

I'm the guy in the back to the guide's right; the one with the big arms...

Alright, I guess I can't fool you. This picture is from the internet, but it looks like what

we did and we didn't have to pay $25 to purchase the one they take for you.

Upon returning to dry land after successfully navigating Seven Step, the Widowmaker, and several other sets of rapids, the names of which I forget, we dried our frozen and stiff bodies and made it back to Colorado Springs. On the way we stopped at Garden of the Gods, an incredible rock formation carved out of a rocky area by the forces of wind and water.

This is Jillian's interpretation of "Act 'god-like' for the picture!" :)

One of the mighty sculptures

Balancing Rock

Needless to say, we went to bed exhausted.

The next morning we woke bright an early to make an 8AM cog railway reservation to the top of Pikes Peak, the easternmost fourteener. The cog railway was a fun blast from the past, built in 1889 by a fellow Wisconsinite, it is the highest railway in North America. Once at the top, we bought some world-famous doughnuts; took pictures; saw the spot where on a Huberty-family vacation several years ago, Kyle leaped from rock-to-rock over 1000-foot precipices, making mom cry out of maternal terror; and got headaches, due to the low oxygen levels at such a high elevation (14,115 feet).

The Cog Railway

An incredible view from the top of Pikes Peak

After reaching the bottom, we wandered around Manitou Springs and looked at some western shops before leaving Colorado, hitting the road again. This time, we were headed south toward New Mexico.

A side note: on the way to New Mexico, we stopped at Royal Gorge to see the highest suspension bridge in the world. Unfortunately the area has been overrun by a kitschy theme park and a $25 fee is required to cross the bridge. We were highly disappointed and angry with these disgusting monopolists. We did get some pictures from a nearby overlook that they provide. We are convinced they only do this to tempt people to pay their exorbitant fees.

The highest suspension bridge in the world!

We are now in Farmington, New Mexico, about to leave. We did go to Mesa Verde--our first National Park--yesterday and toured some amazing Pueblo Indian ruins. About a thousand years ago these ingenious Native Americans built entire cities into the sides of cliffs. I will have to post pictures later however, because we are in a hurry to leave; Meghan and Taylor arrive at the airport soon. This leads me to my next comment:

For those of you who wonder or care (mom), I will post our schedule for the next few days. We will go without communication for several days as we're hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, which obviously has no wireless internet (at least yet). Like I said, Meghan and Taylor are joining us for the next week and a half. We're really excited to see them!

Our schedule:

Today: Pick up M & T and drive to the Grand Canyon (stopping at Four Corners National Monument on the way).

Tuesday: Hike to the bottom of the Canyon.

Wednesday: Hike up the Canyon (please pray for us!)

Thursday: Drive to Las Vegas, stop at the Hoover Dam

Friday (my birthday!): San Diego

Saturday - Wednesday, July 7: Los Angeles

With that, I'll be going... We love you all! Thanks for reading...

-A

Springfield, Missouri!

After a beautiful drive through Kentucky, we slowed our pace and enjoyed relaxing in Springfield, Missouri. We stayed with Aaron’s cousins, Erica and Brian, and their tiny two-month-old baby, Elizabeth Jane (a.k.a. “Chicken Nugget”).

Elizabeth Jane Praschan

When we arrived, we were enthusiastically greeted by their Italian Greyhound named Lilly. Initially, we were too shallow to recognize Lilly’s inner beauty. Note: Italian Greyhounds are not furry and pudgy. However, Lilly quickly endeared herself to us and before long she was cuddling in our laps. We joined Erica, Brian and Elizabeth on their nightly walk, getting the low-down on strollers and watching Lilly race a dachshund (we highly recommend this form of entertainment). We also enjoyed getting the tour of an interior designer’s house (that’s Erica) and witnessing Elizabeth’s first swim in the pool. We also take took part in the classic Southern art of porch sitting.

Coincidentally, Jillian’s great-grandmother’s brother, Uncle Jim, and his wife, Donna, also live in Springfield, and they were kind enough to take us all to a delicious sushi lunch. They even share mutual friends with Brian and Erica!

Spending Time with Loved Ones

In short, our Missouri stop consisted of catching up with and getting to know each other’s families. We really enjoyed spending time with Erica and Brian and meeting Elizabeth for the first time! Aaron and Erica even got to relive some of their ADME club memories when Erica brought out their “Dumb Guy” portfolio, a collection of their childhood plans, drawings and paper dolls. After our visit, we left the next morning and drove fourteen hours through the beautiful plains to Colorado!

"Dumb Guy" Paper Dolls

-A & J

This Crazy Town!

Nashville, Tennessee: Music City. The Country Music Hall of Fame. Elvis Presley. This is the place where legends were born, where people with high hopes and big dreams come from around the country to be "discovered," and where the next installment of the Hubertys' adventure occurred.

After a beautiful, winding drive through the Great Smokey Mountains from North Carolina, we arrived at the apartment of Jillian's high school friend, Renee. She was gracious enough to be our hostess and tour guide for the short time we had in Nashville. Though our stay was brief I believe we got a good feel for the many things this city has to offer.

Our day started out by visiting the trendy shops of Midtown (I think?). Jillian and Renee bought matching parasol mobiles that could pass for genuine Hong Kong merchandise. They really do call for a picture, but unfortunately I was too interested in reading about neckties and James Bond trivia in "The Man Book" to take one so your imagination will have to suffice.

Our next stop allowed us a chance to try some local flavor at the famed Pancake Pantry. These skillet-fried delicacies pass for breakfast, lunch, and dessert rolled into one and are enough to send Lance Armstrong into cardiac arrest. I must say they were delicious and aesthetic.

Bananas, Chocolate, Raspberry; it doesn't get much better than this...

The Pancake Pantry

With our blood sugar deliriously high, we went though a touristy stroll across a pedestrian bridge crossing the Cumberland River and connects the honky-tonk downtown to LP Field, home of the Tennessee Titans. I must take a minute to commemorate the historic flood that occurred a few short weeks ago and nearly destroyed much of what makes Nashville Nashville. We saw much of the devastation that the waters left behind. Thirteen inches of rain in two days covered much of the downtown area with feet of water. Cars were floating. Homes and businesses destroyed. Pavement was literally torn from the streets. The river consumed the historic Grand Ole Opry hotel and theater, calling for months of reconstruction. For a beautiful and haunting video showing much of the damage as it was happening, visit the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwCGz1vSh_M This video was filmed and edited by a friend of Renee's and does a great job of capturing the experience.

The Mighty Cumberland River

After visiting the gift shop of the Country Music Hall of Fame (none of us are diehard country fans and it was closing soon anyways) and walking around the downtown area, we returned to Renee's home, enjoyed a dip in the pool, and made dinner . . . delicious handmade guacamole and chicken quesadillas. Personal thoughts regarding the pool and pools in general: I love swimming. Although I hated nearly every minute of my mother forcing me to take nearly a decade of swimming lessons, since being in the South, I am loving every chance I get to jump in a pool. Even back home in Connecticut, though it's been months since I've moved in 20 minutes from my in-laws and their backyard pool, the novelty has not worn off and I can't imagine it wearing off anytime soon. Lately I've been really into the feeling of sitting or lying at the bottom of the pool. Try it some time: hold your breath, go underwater and blow out as much as you can stand (so you sink to the bottom), and sit there feeling hundreds of pounds of liquid over you, around you, in you and through you. It's quite peaceful. Perhaps womb-like. Anyways, I'm on a tangent... It's hotter than Gehenna in the South and I'm glad for water.

Later that night we ran out to a local venue and watched some local talent in a showcase. They were alright and it was fun to see a show.

We hope everyone is doing well!

-A

North Carolina (Durham, Chapel Hill and Asheville)

Aaron has asked me to apologize for not blogging in a timely manner. I, however, feel that this wait has only built suspense. So here is our long awaited update :). We had a blast hanging out at our friend Matt's house in Durham. When we arrived on Friday, we went for a leisurely swim after a hike through Duke's woods, watched some World Cup and Family Guy, then met Hannah and Anna (other Wheaton friends) at Hog Heaven for some authentic Southern BBQ. It was all we had hoped.

Hog Heaven: A heavenly experience

After dinner, we visited Hannah's stomping ground of UNC Chapel Hill. We browsed an old bookstore and bought some poetry books to continue our literary development as we traverse across the country. Then Hannah presented us with early birthday presents: matching tie-dyed T shirts. We are now ready to be hippie Californians!

Our friends!

The next day, we hung out with Matt and chilled all day. Then on Sunday, we drove a few hours to Asheville, where we ate at a local bar and walked around the city, stopping to listen to a bluegrass band and watch the accompanying hula hoop dancers. Then we drove on to Nashville to see my friend Renee!

-J

The Asheville town center

Our Nation's Capitol

Wow, today was quite a trip! In an effort to make a comprehensive, one-day visit to the District, Jillian, Mom, Dad, and I arrived at in the Capital City at 7:00AM, waved goodbye to Grandpa Joe (my new nickname for Jillian's grandfather--our Virginia host and D.C. escort) and eagerly embarked upon our first stop of an all-day adventure. The Library of Congress is a superb architectural wonder; impressively constructed and intricately decorated in classic American Renaissance tradition, it stood out as our personal favorite of the tours we enjoyed.

The Library (or OUR Library, as the introductory video patriotically reminded us) holds many of the world's treasures including a genuine Gutenberg Bible, drafts of the Constitution, Gershwin's piano, and "America's birth certificate"--a German map of the world dating from 1507 that first documents the "New World's" new name.

Moving quickly onto the Capitol, we were guided to the underground facility of the Capitol Visitor Center, a new addition to the D.C. tourist's experience. Due to some extremely good personal contacts I happen to have high up in the government (don't ask, I'm trying to get a job... Just kidding), we were given the VIP tour--a personal intern of a certain Congressperson who's received substantial media coverage over the past few years took us around and told us all about the history, workings, and secrets of the Capitol building. Did you know that there is a certain place you can stand in the Old Senate Chamber where, due to the acoustics, you can overhear personal, whispered conversations from across the room? Senators were being driven so crazy by these "voices in their heads" they were forced to annex the building and create a new space for the Senate to fix this pesky problem. Well, I'm sure there was more to it than that, but that's all I know... We had a few sightings as well in the Senate gallery: McCain and Kerry, my two favorite people!

Jillian for President!

Next was a long hike to Casablanca. The White House, that is. I've often wondered what it would be like to live at 1600 Pennsylvania Street. I don't know if I'd enjoy having thousands of unannounced visitors traipsing all over my lawn and through my halls when I'm having the king of Denmark over for tea in an hour and a half and there are dishes to be done, treaties to sign, you get the picture... Well, we sat in line for about an hour, got bossed around by a power-hungry Secret Service dude, and eventually made it in. It was nice. End of story.

After many miles of walking around, hours of thirst and a quick pit-stop in the National Museum of Natural History to see giant spiders and bugs, we ended our trip at the Lincoln Memorial. We were inspired. Goodnight!

Greetings from A, J, and Abe

- A

Day one: 349.4 miles

And we're off! Within the past week we have given exams, finished school (work), celebrated bachelor/bachelorette parties, attended a rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, seen my beautiful sister get married to her childhood sweetheart, moved out of our first apartment and packed for two months on the road... it's been crazy! Today we drove down to Virginia, picking up Aaron's parents Kerry and Scott on the way. We ate one of Grandmum's delicious home cooked meals and we are now planning our stops in D.C. tomorrow! We appreciate your prayers as we travel! Lots of love to all.

-J