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. 

Punk rock, avocados, and provincial hipsters

In two weeks, I will no longer be a Californian. I'm not really sure that I'm one now but I'll be giving up my only claim to being a Californian: my California driver's license (which I'm looking forward to since it's a horrible picture). When I started this blog last fall, I was trying to figure out how to live here and be me at the same time. I think I've figured out a few things so I thought I'd revisit the list I made right before I started writing from the Island. This list was really the start of the blog so let's see how these things look another year later.

Things I've Learned While Living in California

1. Date off island. Alameda is an island and according to a friend who has lived here for 20+ years, the only way to date is off island. His theory is that if you date on island everyone will know and talk about you because everyone knows everyone else's business. I'm not sure that this is an Island thing or a small town thing. If I lived in a small town the same thing would be true so I've decided that this is not so much a California thing as a "live in a larger city if you want more privacy" thing. 
2. I will never be local. I actually wrote about this not too long after I started the blog. I've been here just about 2 years and that still only equals a nanosecond to some people. As I wrote previously, it doesn't matter that I'm involved in the community, shop local, and tell everyone how awesome Alameda is. Still not enough to be a local. I was willing to work to be a local but I don't know to how here. This is one of the reasons I'm not terribly sad about moving back to Virginia. I'll miss my friends and certain things about Alameda, but I don't really have an anchor here.
3. Double parking. I still don't get this. I know people double park everywhere but it's like a sickness or an addiction here. It's not a safe practice - streets are fairly narrow so it's not always possible or safe to go around someone who is double parked. It's also not safe for pedestrians who might be getting out of the double parked car or are trying to get around it. And don't even get me started on bicyclists (in general and when they're trying to go around a double parked car too).
4. Provincial hipsters. It's difficult to be both provincial and a hipster haven but Alameda seems to be able to pull it off AND do it well. I went to the Alameda Fourth of July parade this week and it's the perfect combination of both. A parade that features the Girl Scouts, the NRA, and a group of organic backyard farmers is pretty much the epitome of provincial hipsterism. I still don't want to deal with your ironic statement babies but thanks, hipsters. Without you there probably wouldn't be any cute coffee shops, local art stores, or good pizza places in Alameda. I appreciate your efforts, I just prefer my men without scarves and wearing non-skinny jeans.
5. Food judgement. Two years has not changed the fact that I like bacon and chicken and I am okay with them not being organic, free range, or local. I'm cool with it if they are but I'm not going to go out of my way to make that happen. I also like cheese (fancy and processed) and I occasionally like to eat Kraft Macaroni & Cheese (it's the cheesiest). I'm not ashamed of any of these things and I am finally able to say that within this state and not care if someone judges me. If you want to be a vegan or raw foodist or whatever else, be my guest. You stay out of my shopping cart and I'll stay out of yours.
6. Humidity, heat, and cold. I wore a sweater the entire time I was at the parade on Wednesday. And I was comfortable. If I had taken it off I would have been cold. That just doesn't feel right to me. As much as I love the fact that I can sleep comfortably with my windows open most of the summer (it's really more like most of the year) and am not currently melting, I miss seasons (particularly fall). Get ready leaves, I'm dying to see you change colors. 
7. Punk rock and cheese. I just reread Gordon Edgar's book Cheesemonger. If you like cheese, you should read this book. I enjoyed it even more the second time around. He's a punk rock cheesemonger. I totally understand how the two are linked and I like his honesty about being in the cheese business and all the snobbery that comes with it. I'm not entirely sold on collectives but that's okay; I think he would understand. Gordon made me feel better about food judgement and dealing with it like a grown-up instead of like a petulant child. Also one of my favorite quotes is in this book: "A lot of punks say they hate everyone, but a wise friend once said to me that punks are basically nice people pretending to be mean, whereas hippies are mean people pretending to be nice." (page 205)
8. Buy "local". I'm a loyal local shopper. Even if I no longer live in the immediate area where your store is but I like your products, I will buy them online or stock up when I'm back in town. Being a New Orleanian, I fully support the idea of buying locally (and I still buy locally even though I no longer live there) but I still feel that people here too narrowly define "local" or "locally made." Sorry, I have a much broader definition of local and it doesn't mean grown in my backyard (because I don't have one). I also think that there's too much negativity placed on shopping at non-local stores. I'm tired of feeling bad about going to big box stores or chain restaurants. Trust me, I get it but sometimes I just want to get stuff done instead of having to go to more than one place or I want to eat a burger where I don't have to hear about how the cow was treated or that the tomatoes were grown 5 feet from where I'm sitting. It doesn't make me a bad person - it just makes me practical. And that's not always a bad thing. 
9. Adding avocados = California. This may, in fact, be the biggest myth of California. Slap an avocado on something and it's instantly healthier and more Californian than it was before. I didn't notice this much before I moved here but now I notice it all the time. The funny thing is that it happens here too (at all types of restaurants). My friend, Erin, recently pointed out that most of the avocados (or avocadi - I prefer this version of the plural) consumed in the US actually come from Mexico so it's not just a myth, it's false advertising.
10. Everything's pedestrian. I love walking in Alameda. This might be what I will miss the most when I move. It's so easy to walk places here and it's always a lovely walk. A year ago, all I did was drive and it was annoying. I still drive to work and the grocery but I find myself walking to a lot more places theses days. I still have some issues with pedestrians when I'm driving (don't flip me off because I have the right of way and you're not paying attention - DON'T WALK applies to you too) but overall, I've gotten used to the pedestrian nature of Alameda. 

Bikers, well, they're another story. One day I'm sure I'll understand them too.

Don't rain on my parade

Hello patriots and Happy Fourth of July! I hope that you're all enjoying celebrating America. If you're planning on setting anything on fire today (grills, sparklers, fireworks, your deck), please make sure to keep a fire extinguisher handy.

I've been watching a lot of presidential/America rocks movies this week. Every station seems to be airing a thematic movie. I've re-watched Independence Day and The American President and watched the G.I. Joe movie for the first time. That was a mistake. Seriously, who thought that movie was a good idea? Honestly, I would have preferred a camp themed movie marathon. I never went to camp but I love movies about camp. My ideal camp movie marathon would include Camp, Ernest Goes to Camp, Camp Nowhere, and Wet Hot American Summer. I love any movie with a really good "end of camp talent show" sequence. Let's work on making this happen next year.

I consider myself a civics geek (or maybe neek as my friend Jessica would say). Not a government geek but a civics geek. Don't get me wrong, I love to talk politics and get involved in debates and I read  a lot about legislation, policy, and government history. The main difference (to me) is that I don't let my politics interfere with my love of participation in the great civics experiment that is America. People forget about participation. Democracies really don't work if you don't participate. Or rather, they work but they don't work for pretty much anyone. We tend to let other people participate for us and then we complain about it and wonder why things aren't working the way we wanted them to work. And yes, it's also very American to complain about the President and Congress and anything else government related but that's sort of the point. Your complaints have more meaning if you actually participate in the process.

I taught 9th and 12th grade Civics which should have been a dream come true for me. Teaching young people about the American government system and how exciting it is to participate, count me in! Clearly, I underestimated my students' enthusiasm for this topic. Seniors don't care about anything. They are ready to graduate and move on to the next exciting chapter of their lives. It doesn't matter that they're all of age to do things like vote, sign up for Selective Services, pay taxes, and serve on a jury. And the freshmen? It's not that they don't care, it's that none of it makes a lot of sense yet because their participation is rather limited. Fourteen year olds can't participate in ways that older Americans can so it was a struggle to make it relatable for them too. I spent a lot of time talking about what they could do - volunteer in their community, be responsible for their actions and words, be informed, and generally be nice to people. I also showed movies and recordings of important speeches in hopes that they'd get it. I'm sure at least one of them did.

Today is not about politics or about healthcare or education reform or about the President's personal life. It's about the spirit of the nation and its people. It's about participating in whatever way you'd like to participate. You and I might not agree on things politically but I'm certain we agree on several important things about today:

1. Parades are awesome
2. Fireworks are pretty (loud, but pretty)
3. Everything tastes better from a grill
4. It's okay to get a little weepy when you hear patriotic music
5. Mid-week holidays are slightly surreal but sort of awesome all at the same time

I got to celebrate that today by going to the second largest Fourth of July parade in the US right here in Alameda (according to Wikipedia and seven people who live in or have lived in Alameda-so it is clearly true). This particular event encapsulates civic pride in so many ways. I think photos would be a better way to illustrate this. Enjoy!

I have no idea why the first paragraph is being weird. Oh well...