Everyday Adventures

Fresno is more of a pit stop on our way across the country. The drive from Fresno to Idylwild, CA on the other hand has a lot to be said. Never taken highway 99 before while heading south, I was surprised at the lush greenery and agriculture that surrounded the highway. The plethora of agriculture companies, ones that I had never heard of, with their combination of fruit and vegetables available, was a bit perplexing that I had never come across them in my local grocery store. Products like Foxy broccoli or even Naples Apples and Pears, were both companies that I had never seen. Such a broad diversity that I never knew existed in my own backyard slightly threw me off guard. This also brought the beginning of the reading the billboards as we drove onward. Smart ad campaigning on billboards done by beer, soda, and fast food joints try to lure the tired, bored, and unsuspecting drivers from the freeways and into the cool- air conditioned units of sugar and carbohydrate pla...

Day one of our journey began with rising early to pick up the U haul trailer and begin emptying the condo of our belongings into the back of my car, Jon's truck and the closed-in trailer. Packing was a beast! You never expect it to take as long as it does....at least I got a "buns of steal" workout from carrying boxes up and down a flight of stairs. I had spent the last week absently packing stuff into boxes without really thinking how much stuff was still in drawers. After cinching down the last of our possessions with rope ties and tie downs, we checked our walkie-talkie radios and we were off for the miles of road ahead of us. We left driving through mid-evening traffic through Emeryville/ Oakland (an experience with a caravan of Jon's truck and the trailer with me leading the way in my car piled with our bikes on the back.) Nothing is quite like the traffic that just grows in the bay area. It grows in pockets and then expands and contracts like the inner i...

Driving across the unknown road ways of America is a pilgrimage that many people have taken in their lifetime since the rush for gold paved the way for the Oregon Trail in the mid 1800's. Highways spanning East to West and North to South is a constant reminder of the wonders of the American landscape. At this time in my life, I have the opportunity to see this great country from the roadsides of America. I will be caravanning with my partner Jonathan Haeber from the West to the East Coast. (Jon is a renowned photographer and author. He was recently accepted into the UMASS graduate program, which was one of many reasons for t his exploration.) We plan to take 10-11 day across the Southern Midwestern route starting in the San Francisco Bay Area and ending in Amherst, MA. We plan on beginning south down highway 99 to Fresno. Then cutting down towards Palm Springs then cross over from the highway 10 to 17 to highway 40. We will end up continuing to take highway 40 over the remainder...