What do you mean I don't live on an island anymore?

A farewell cocktail

I'm here - Virginia. We made it across country (again) and in one piece. Haul and Oates did their job and tomorrow I can get rid of the last part of the duo and move into my apartment. Pumpkin won't have to run away from the dog or jump on top of the refrigerator (although I suspect she really enjoys that part of being at my parents' house).

I did a lot during my final days in Alameda. I went to a Giants game, the Off the Grid food truck event at South Shore, a BBQ, going away drinks, my final work lunch, and an A's game. Oh and I did some packing, dropped off the last donations, and started cleaning.

In a previous post, I declared this year the year of the friend. I feel like I made progress on that while in Alameda and I will definitely miss the friends I've made and hope that they'll come visit me in Arlington.

I enjoyed being part of the ever-shrinking Oakland office.  Erin, Katrien, David, and Creighton - make sure to drop by when you're in Arlington. I look forward to wearing my Oakland shirt at the H'Oscars. Once an Oakland office member, always an Oakland office member.

To the Altarena peeps: I have enjoyed working with you all and having the opportunity to be part of an Alameda tradition. Joe and Sue, thanks for being my Forbidden Island buddies, reading and encouraging the blog, and making me feel as "local" as I can be. Liz, Mari, and Star: thanks for helping with the UHaul last week. I was totally impressed with the job we did. I appreciate it more than you know. Keep in touch and thanks for the laughs. Star, thanks for introducing me to DPC and talking art with me. Liz, I'm glad someone else understands my travel obsession and doesn't think my crush on Richard Dowden is too weird.

Making candy with strangers - delicious

To Erin, Scott, and team 959: Erin, thanks for making me feel like a part of the Oakland office rather than "the other Erin." I will do my best to find a sane (but interesting and fun) new trainer to keep things balanced and entertaining. I don't know what I enjoyed the most: listening to Pat's random mix CDs before meeting him, making candy with strangers (Katherine, Amber, and Seth), listening to Emily's side comments, Matt's crazy stories, or the musings of Dr. Scott. It's been great getting to know all of you. Hopefully, I'll see y'all next time I'm in town. I was also not joking when I told Erin I would post a video of Dr. Scott on this blog. Film it and send it to me and Dr. Scott will make his Island debut. It will be amazing.

And what will become of the Island of Misfit Toys? This blog started as a way for me to figure out my way in California and I think it helped tremendously. However, it's really morphed into me being me and having an outlet for writing so I think it'll stay the same. As I explained to several people before I left, I'm sort of the misfit toy and the island now. I think it still fits. I hope you keep reading because I'm going to keep on writing.

Does your mom know you're here?

We've spent the last two days hanging around Detroit. Both of our parents were born and raised in southwest Detroit. Scott and I were born here too (him in Detroit, me in Southfield). We moved away before I started kindergarten. We spent a lot of summers and holidays here when we were growing up. I really didn't like Detroit when I was a kid. My friends went to camp or on vacations in the summer. We went to Detroit where there was no air conditioning and nothing to do (at least that's what I remember telling my friends all the time). What I probably never told them was all the fun I did have playing with my cousins - making mud pies in my grandpa's backyard, going to Tigers games, and getting to go to Dairy Queen on Michigan Avenue (this is back when most DQs were only open in the summers).

I complained about these trips but secretly I loved them. I particularly liked sitting at the kitchen table at either of my grandparents' houses (or late my aunt's) and listening to the adults talk. They'd tell fun stories about our family or gossip about relatives that weren't around. We'd stock up on Vernor's and Faygo and Better Made potato chips. Good times.

Detroit has changed a lot since those summers. I know most people don't know or don't want to know Detroit. It's easier to make fun of the city and to overlook it's colorful history or its contributions to industry, agriculture, art, and music. I'm not going to spend time trying to convince anyone that Detroit is awesome - I know it is, my family knows it is, and people who love Detroit get it. If you don't, that's cool. We can't all like everything all the time.

My aunt took Scott and I on a little tour of places of our past. I feel like my aunt is the keeper of Detroit. She and her family live in one of the oldest neighborhoods in Detroit and really live for the city. She doesn't want us to forget these great places. So we drove to the Detroit River and walked part of the Dequindre Cut. The Riverfront is beautiful; a lot of work has been done to make it bike and walker/jogger friendly and support local art.

Wave to Canada!

We also took Scott by the Heidelberg Project. I had been here before and thought it was amazing. It's an outdoor art project started in 1986. The artist, Tyree Guyton, started the project as a partial political protest to the decline in the neighborhood. The city has razed it twice but he keeps going.  If you make it to Detroit, you should check it out.

Parts of the city are definitely undergoing revitalization. The hipsters have moved in and hopefully, the allure of living in edgy neighborhoods doesn't wear off before they do some good. Neighborhoods change and some look like they're changing for the better. 

Visiting family was great and we did the Detroit errands we always do: Dearborn Music, hockey store, and grocery trip. Dearborn Music is one of my favorite places. You can find good used music and they have a huge selection of indie bands. They're moving to a bigger location soon so it was good to go to the old store one more time. Scott also got to go to the hockey store (like a toy store for hockey players). 

No trip would be complete without a grocery run to get our favorites. Buying potato chips and pop (yeah, I said pop-I'm still in Michigan you know) is the best. We don't eat them in the car on the way home; these are saved for later. It's like a reward - you've driven over 2300 miles and you have about 600 more to go, so you deserve some chips and a pop when you get there (despite the fact that you've eaten fast food for days). That first Rock  & Rye is going to be epic.

Thanks Detroit (and family) for another great visit. We'll meet again soon and hopefully for more a visit next time.

The great relocation of 2012 is drawing to a close. Haul and Oates have had a few days rest in Detroit and should be ready for the open road. Hopefully, Scott and I can get the car back on the tow dolly without an accident. We have written instructions and we watched the guy do it the first time. If all else fails, there's a U-Haul location up the road and they can do it for us.

One more mountain range to go.

Road Ninjas

Today was another long travel day. We started out in Omaha, NE and made our way through a large part of Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana. Michigan is our 10th state in 4 days and we have four left before we get to Virginia. Hopefully, between now and then I will not throw Rosie out a window.

Rosie is my brother's GPS. I don't own a GPA and Rosie is partially responsible for that. She's named after the robot from The Jetsons. Scott thought the voice on the GPS sounded like the cartoon character. Rosie the GPS and Rosie the Robot have a lot in common:

1. The voice is the most obvious. Rosie the Robot's voice is a bit huskier but they definitely could be related.
2. Both are bossy and know everything. Rosie the GPS just won't stop with her demands: "Turn left, then turn right." "Turn left, turn left. Turn right." "Didn't you hear me you moron -turn left!" Sadly, Rosie doesn't often realize that we're stopped at a stop sign or light. You can't turn left on red.
3. In theory, both have their owners' safety in mind. Rosie the Robot took excellent care of the Jetsons and gave sage advice even in her bossy way. Rosie the GPS is great if you're going from point A to point B on a the highway (she even avoided a roadway my brother hates near our hotel) BUT Rosie the GPS is also rather fond of sending us through the set of The Wire. No matter where we are, she seems to find the worst part of town at least for part of the trip. Her focus on safety is questionable.

Rosie the GPS has gotten us here and I know she'll help get us all the way to Virginia. That doesn't stop me from hating her just a little bit every time she says "Recalculating" or tells me to turn left but stay right. That just doesn't make any sense.

As we were driving through Illinois (Scott was driving, I was reading), Scott happened to see a road sign about a road ninja. I looked up just in time to see what he was talking about but not in time to take a picture. Road Ninja is an app so I did what anyone with an iPhone would do, I looked it up. It's a free app, created by the company that is responsible for most of the signage you see along the highway. It lets you search upcoming exits and find nearby services. Road Ninja may be my favorite thing ever. 

We used Road Ninja to find an Arby's in Indiana (if you have to eat fast food you might as well eat what you like) and figure out what restaurants were in Jackson, MI where we decided to stop for dinner. Road Ninja, like a real ninja, doesn't talk but sends you awesome advice like "You are too far away from an exit to strike. Remember your Road Ninja training: Creep closer and try again." Or "Road Ninja senses nothing at this exit move along." 

Road Ninja balances Rosie since it's quiet, stealthy, and provides information that isn't always easy to use when you look up places on Rosie's search option (Road Ninja displays exits 40 miles or more away). Did I mention that one of the icons on the options menu is a throwing star? 

Road Ninja led us to Jackson for dinner this evening. Earlier in the day, Scott and I were discussing where we might stop for dinner. We knew we'd have to stop before we got to the hotel since it would be late and our dining options would be limited. I made some comment about our attire and Scott replied, "We're basically dressed to go to the Olive Garden." This may be the funniest thing my brother has said so far on this trip (and he's said a lot of funny things). So when Road Ninja displayed our food options and the Olive Garden was listed we couldn't help ourselves and went there for dinner.

Scott was 100% correct in his clothing assessment: we fit in perfectly. I have this habit of trying to figure out what's going on with people at other tables when I'm in a restaurant. Are they on a first date? Is it awkward? Are they fighting? It's probably not a great habit but it's fun to do particularly when I'm by myself. Anyway, we were seated by a window and there was a couple at seated right behind Scott. I was trying to figure out if they were a couple couple, related to one another, or friends. I admit that I still haven't figured it out.

The guy was in his 50s, tall and rotund (a big, big guy). He had one of those bluetooth earpieces in and a big, diamond encrusted ring. The woman was younger and blond, dressed in a shiny, lowish cut shirt and Olive Garden appropriate shorts. I couldn't figure out what their deal was. We overheard a part of their conversation and that centered around "the girls" at work who weren't doing their jobs and just wanted to sit around and listen to their music. Yes, they were discussing strippers. We still haven't figured out if the guy was the owner or manager of the club or her boyfriend. They left shortly after we overheard this nugget of conversational amazing but they were still in the parking lot when we left, hanging out by a very large white pickup truck. Keeping it classy Olive Garden style.

I leave you on that note, Island readers. I'll post more later this week.

Can't talk about ninjas without mentioning pirates.

Motorcycle gangs, time travel, and the Pony Express

Greetings from Omaha! We've made it through three days on the road and have been enjoying the trip. Today, we left Littleton, CO and made our way to Omaha, NE. Nebraska is one of my favorite states. We got in a little later than planned but that always seems to happen to us.

As we left Littleton this morning after the delicious awesomeness of Krispy Kreme donuts (thanks Amy), we saw this on the highway:

Sheriffs in formation. I've never seen police officers ride in formation outside of parades and special escorts so this was kind of cool. After this, we kept seeing groups of motorcyclists together along the highway.

I don't really know that much about motorcycles or the people that ride them so several questions came to mind as I was driving today:

1. What constitutes a motorcycle gang versus a group of riders? There was one group that had about 12 bikes (maybe more) so I'm wondering if they would be a group or a gang. Do they get to make that call or is there like a motorcycle gang approval process?
2. How does one decide what to where when riding a motorcycle? For example, if you were riding on the back of a motorcycle going down a major highway with lots of semis, people hauling stuff, and other traffic, would you wear jeans and a pink tube top?
3. Along the same lines, if your state has no helmet law or a lax enforcement policy, would you still wear one? Or is riding a motorcycle really the last bastion of badass rebel coolness so you just say to yourself, "Suck it safety!"?

Scott made the reverse trip with me just under two years ago when I moved to California. We discussed the idea of stopping when the time zone changed and taking pictures but we never did. Then the movie Paul came out and there's a scene where Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's characters to this on their UFO road trip. You know, it's time travel. Scott and I decided that we would do it on this trip. And today was the day. We researched where the time zones change and decided that we would wait until the change from Mountain to Central time. If you want to try this one your own, it happens between Paxton and Sutherland, NE.

The pictures in front of the sign are in Mountain time. The pictures (we tried action shots but the road was really hilly) are in Central time. Time travel rocks. We almost passed the sign (Nebraska has to do a better job of warning us when stuff is coming) so I puled over and we walked back. I'm sure the people passing by were laughing at us when they figured out what we were doing.

Final thought of the day (it's late and we have a long day tomorrow). We passed by one of the original Pony Express stops not to long after our time travel photo op. One of my favorite tv shows growing up was The Young Riders. The show was about a group of Pony Express riders and their lives out West. There was the girl passing as a boy (and of course falling in love with one of her fellow riders), the deaf boy, the Native American, the Kid, and young versions of Buffalo Bill and Wild Bill Hickok. Melissa Leo was also on this show (she helped run the Express station) and eventually married the sheriff. Melissa Leo has been on three of my favorite tv shows ever (this one, Homicide, and Treme). Maybe my obsession with mail and sending postcards is connected to my love of the Pony Express and the Old West. Some of you might even be the lucky recipients of Pony Express postcards. You just don't know.

Tomorrow we head to Detroit. It will be another long day and it will bring our total state count to 10 by the time we get to Michigan. Here are some more fun photos from today. Good night!

Haul and Oates enjoying Nebraska

Scott and "Paul" at a truck stop in Grand Island

The Gateway to the West

Are we there yet?

This is how my last day in California started: picking up the tow dolly (I'm calling the truck and dolly Haul and Oates for the duration of this road trip). 

Then we entered our first stop, the Fairfield Inn in Salt Lake City, into our trusty GPS, Rosie. She promptly shared that it was 645 miles to SLC and we would get there at 10:25 pm. Rosie is insane and doesn't actually know how to tell time. We didn't get to SLC until 2:30 am. It was a very long first day but we made it through and we made it through Day 2. 

I'm going to keep this as short as I can; it's almost midnight and I need to get some sleep. I thought I'd share a list of my favorite things so far from this road trip...with pictures.

1. Scott had his first In-N-Out burger! He didn't have it animal style (he doesn't like all the items involved) but enjoyed the experience. We did wait in the longest line ever which might have contributed to our 2:30 am arrival time in SLC.
2. I wanted so badly to make a Donner party joke in this blog but I realize there's nothing really funny about the Donner party. However, every time I see the name (as when one leaves the California), I think of my friend's mom who liked to joke that she wanted to put in their name as Donner at a restaurant so that the hostess would have to call Donner, party of 5 when their table was ready.
3. Our room number in SLC was 227. Even though it was so late my brother actually asked me "Seriously?" when I told him the room number. Good times.
4. I'm now officially obsessed with Wyoming. I've been in the state 3 times (all related to moves) and I really want to come back and actually vacation here. I want to go to Frontier Days (which we are missing) and buy cowboy boots. Also, I couldn't help but think of this really terrible Hallmark movie I watched starring Andrew McCarthy (non-bobble head form and looking very rugged and dreamy) as a Wyoming rancher who puts an ad in a magazine for ranchers seeking wives. Of course, a city girl answers the ad and typical Hallmark movie awesomeness ensues. I watch too many of these. 
5. The Acrocats. I'm not making this up. There was a truck parked at a gas station we were at for the Acrocats. Check them out at circuscats.com. I should have asked if they'd take Pumpkin on. Pet rent can't be paid in cuteness.
6. At a Burger King at a truck stop in Rock Springs (maybe?) four teenage boys, wearing cowboy hats and boots, randomly broke into "Rhinestone Cowboy." It was fantastic and unexpected. 
7. Thankfully my iPod dock has a battery option so we're able to listen to our iPods. Otherwise it'd be a lot of AM radio (we could get saved buy a different preacher every 100 miles or listen to awful talk radio) OR Christian rock (which we're not allowed to listen to). Scott put his on alpha by song. We didn't get to the Bs until Colorado. It took most of Utah, all of Wyoming, and a bit of Colorado to get through the As.
8. We got to spend the evening with my friend, Amy, in Littleton (not too far from Denver). She graciously put us up for the night and took us to a great pizza place called Southside. You should go there if you're ever in Littleton.

That's all for now. Enjoy the photos. Next stop: Omaha, NE!!

Why is Wyoming so awesome?

Also Wyoming

Welcome to Colorado!

Scott and Muddi - new friends

We will shank you

Let's talk about how much I love this song and this video. I like it so much that it warrants a list:

1. This video is what I would imagine would happen if the Mad Max movies had a baby with The Warriors. I don't actually understand why Chris Tucker was in this video but it was 1995 and people did crazy things in 1995.
2. The "Welcome to Oakland" sign - I've been trying to figure out a way to use "wild, wild West Oakland" in a blog post and now I have thanks to this video. In 2095, Oakland will be the wild, wild West again if 2Pac's vision is correct. I'd like to think that he had it right.
3. Dr. Dre throws out this lyrical bomb and you are destroyed by its awesomeness:

Now let me welcome everybody to the wild, wild west
A state that's untouchable like Elliot Ness
The track hits ya eardrum like a slug to ya chest

(This is my favorite part).

There's also a part at the end where Dre and 2Pac (or Tupac -whichever you prefer) are just hanging in the desert and finishing the song by calling out the cities and discussing their awesomeness. In the radio edit of the song one of the lines is "Yeah, Inglewood, Inglewood, always up to no good." This gets in my head every time I'm at LAX and I see the Inglewood sign when I leave the car rental lot. Then I go to the high school or district I'm training and in the middle of a class this will pop into my head and I can't make it stop. It's awesome.

Anyway, I thought of this song as I attended my very first Oakland A's game. I'm an equal opportunity baseball fan so I wanted to make sure that I gave equal time to both teams. If the SF Giants represent fancy baseball, I would say the Oakland A's represent the baseball of the people. The Coliseum reminds me on my childhood trips to Tiger Stadium. It's an old stadium that has probably seen better days but it has character and you can tell A's fans are a dedicated bunch. There's something very tough about the A's and their fans. Last night's game against the Yankees was probably one of the more well attended and the fans were pretty brutal. 


We had awesome seats. One thing my brother doesn't ever skimp on is baseball. Great view, easy access to food. Did I mention is was Dog Day at the stadium? When we got to the gate, we happened to be at the gate to the Plaza level where all the dogs and their owners were entering. Neither of us knew is was dog day so that was fun. 


The A's game just reminded me of that simpler time I wrote about last week. There's still fanciness at the stadium (they have to compete) but it's not as in your face. I had a great time at both games but I have to say that I love the Oakland A's more than the San Francisco Giants. I love an underdog and I was excited that the A's beat the Yankees. 


Most random thing of all? I actually ran into people I know at the game! I almost never run into anyone I know (because I don't know that many people here) but as Scott and I were going in, I saw a fellow board member from the theater. He was meeting another board member and her husband. I didn't even know they were going to be there. It was fun running into Patrick, Diana, and Keith. Hope they enjoyed the game as much as we did.


More pictures from our evening with the A's. No animal hat picture; they had elephant hats but you had to ask to try them on. I guess it's true that everything we learned about stealing we learned in Oakland. Today's title is courtesy of a fan behind who shouted this as Derek Jeter came up to bat in the first inning. I told you it was wild, wild (west) Oakland).

I like that Scott is smiling and being normal and I'm making a face. Typical.

Video from youtube.com
Lyrics from www.lyrics007.com

Fancy baseball

Baseball has always been a consistent part of my summer life. Growing up, my family spent a lot of time in Detroit in the summers and we went to lots of Detroit Tigers games. Tiger Stadium was amazing and I have fond memories of sitting in the bleachers with my brother, cousins, aunts and uncles, and my parents. We'd eat hotdogs, my brother would keep score, and we'd do the chicken dance over and over again. I don't remember the players but I do remember Sparky Anderson and getting to stay up late for night games.

This is what Tiger Stadium looks like today:

Depressing isn't it? Tiger Stadium is gone, replaced by Comerica Park. Comerica Park is lovely but I've never felt particularly good about going to games there. Something is missing, or rather something has taken over baseball and it throws me off.

Baseball has become fancy. 

Baseball is not a fancy sport. I know there's science to pitching and stats and all but ultimately, it's a fairly straightforward game that doesn't require lots of equipment or a special field. Kids play baseball anywhere and everywhere and works out just fine. We just don't seem to be happy with the basics anymore so baseball has gotten fancy. Every new stadium has to do things bigger and better with more food options, full bars, microbrews, and photo opp areas that put Disney World to shame. Don't get me wrong - I love Camden Yards (it's one of the most beautiful stadiums I've ever been too) and I think AT&T Park (home of the Giants) is amazing but I worry about the fanciness of baseball. First letter writing went online, now baseball is fancy. What's next?

Erin, Scott, and David

A few months back I wrote about all the things I wanted to do before I moved back to Virginia. Last night I marked another of these items off my list - I went to my first San Francisco Giants game. My co-workers planned the evening as a going away party and office fun activity. AT&T Park is amazing (the name annoys me but whatever) and we had a great night at the park. AT&T Park is ridiculously fancy and very San Francisco. It definitely belongs in the city and Giants fans love it.

Katrien rocks a ridiculous hat

Several things struck me last night as we watched the Giants beat the Astros:

• It's July and it's 50 ish degrees outside. This is crazy.
• People will buy anything. Seriously, anything.
• BART isn't terrible. I was bummed about the ferry but BART was alright. I wouldn't want to take it every day but it was fine for last night.
• Watching Pablo Sandoval plow into the catcher as he slide home last night was awesome. And it made me giggle because his nickname is Kung Fu Panda (hence the Panda hats)
• Fancy baseball is addictive.

Fancy nachos

I can mourn the loss of a simpler time at the ballpark all I want but the fact is that people want fancy when they go to events. They want to enjoy themselves and they want to eat and drink good things and feel like they're not getting ripped off when doing so. Baseball fare is expensive so I understand offering better and fancier things - that's what pays the bills. I just don't deal well with so many options. It's overwhelming and what if you choose the wrong thing? There goes $12 (or more if you're the family that always sits in front of my at games and eats and eats and eats and eats some more). I could ignore the fancy when I go to games but I don't. I like fancy nachos and Ghirardelli hot chocolate on a cold night. It just makes sense when you're watching fancy baseball. 

Mobile hot chocolate vendor - for real.

Next week, my brother and I are going to an Oakland A's game (against the Yankees). I wonder how fancy A's baseball will be?

More fun from my night! 

I look drunk (and I only had an adult beverage). But the hat is awesome.