Arrived in Edinburgh

Just a quick pause in the hotel for tea and then out to explore. This city is an awesome combination of 17th and 21st century life. The town was designed by James Craig, layout based on the Union flag (inspired by growing ties between Scotland and England).

Oban, 2 & 3

Wandered about town, up to McCaig's tower, took a tour of Oban distillery and made our way to the Isle of Mull for a hike and fresh seafood. Great little spot on Earth. Town actually smells of whisky!

Oban, day 1

Tonight we watched the Italy v. England game at a cute little bar with fish and chips and good beer on tap. It's 10:45p now and while the moon has come up, it is still very bright. Looking forward to exploring more tomorrow morning after some rest. Seems like an exceptionally beautiful place. Thanks to Dawn for suggesting it! Hugs & love, H&S

I need a beer

Just drove this little polo (wheel on right hand side, manual) on the left side of Scottish highways for 120 miles.

We are safe in Oban, at last.

Xo
H

In Scotland now...

Pork pies, haggis, iron bru and whisky. What more could a girl want?

Lazy Afternoon

A nice cup of coffee, lots of delicious English cheddar and a few glasses of wine. We are happy. Missing you all, h & s

It's been too long!

Sorry. Lots of updates to come. Were in the UK for the next few weeks. Today, off to see the tower of London. And for now, enjoying some breakfast near Hammersmith station and watching the world go by. Xo h & s

Typical breakfast

For those of you wondering...here's our standard breakfast while camping: oatmeal, blueberries, yogurt & coffee.

The dirty south.

I went to high school in Georgia, so going through the South was an opportunity to re-live some youthful memories. As it turns out, my memories are all about where to obtain massive quantities of bread products, so I wasn't a great guide. I did remember my old address though and we visited my teenage home which was really fun to see. I moved out of that house 12 years ago which has given me enough time to come full circle: from wanting to get out of that house and DO IT ALL BY MYSELF! to wanting that same house for my future kids. Very cool. Making it all the more nostalgic, it was raining/thunderstorming that day which reminded me of all the nights we would open the windows, turn off the lights and listen to the storms passing through. Not sure which I miss more: thunderstorms or being 16?

From the Atlanta suburbs we drove to Savannah. This town won us over in two seconds. Beautiful Spanish moss flowing through the trees, magnolias, pocket parks scattered every 2-3 blocks, great food, warm nights, lots and lots of history. I checked to see how much rent was and it's about $900 for a classy 1br. The problem is that there aren't many jobs. If your future travels take you through Savannah, please eat at Mrs. Wilkes (locals say to arrive by 10:30 for the first seating), and say hello to the exceedingly friendly bartender at Chuck's.

If you stay for a bit, go visit some local beaches on the surrounding islands. We stayed at this amenity-ridden private campground which is a short walk to the Tybee lighthouse, beaches and a good cafe, North Beach Bar and Grill.

Here are a few more pics.

H

San Antonio, Austin, Jackson

Now I'm going by threes since we're so far behind...

From Marfa, we headed to San Antonio. This was more of a family stop than an adventure stop. I have a cousin there and S had an old family friend, and we were thrilled to be able to catch up with them both. The highlight (outside of people) was a little drinking hole called The Friendly Spot in the King William district. It was a great neighborhood for a walk, and the beers on tap were delicious. We also, in error, decided to go out for a fancy dinner. Please avoid fancy dinner in this place. Texas loves beef and beef loves Texas. Get a burger, or a hamburger steak, or meatloaf. Plenty of options. If you fail to follow this advice, you will be like us and receive lavender hush puppies with beet tzatziki sauce and melon cubes.

Austin was another hotel stay for us. It was graduation weekend for UT and the hotels and venues were wildly busy which may have been why 6th street exceeded my expectations. I've never seen so many musicians raging in windows with beer-swilling 20-somethings cheering them on. I really appreciated the energy even though I tend towards shoe-gazing music myself. We also had a great dinner at this little pizza place, http://thebackspace-austin.com/. Another place worth mention is Wink where we celebrated S's birthday. We had a decent meal there but quickly realized we were not in SF anymore. Cheese made from cows that eat sagebrush in 100 degree heat is perhaps not the best. The duck was great though, and so was the service.

Austin to Jackson was a long haul. On the way out of Austin we stopped at the flagship Whole Foods and lost each other twice. It's really that big. They have a taco bar where you can order tacos without the taco part and have it put in a bowl instead. for $2 you get a pint container layered with potato, egg, black beans, guac, cilantro & salsa. It is the best meal for the price that I have had on this trip.

After nine hours of driving, we settled in at "Mississippi's Best Kept Secret" http://www.askewslanding.com/, which should explain why we only stayed in Mississippi long enough to sleep. It's on a pretty lake. Bring flip flops if you want to shower.

--H

Roswell, Carlsbad, Marfa

On our way from White Sands to Marfa we decided to go way out of the way to Roswell, NM. Why you might ask? Because the aliens landed there!!!!! Cause there's spectacular extraterrestrial STUFFS. Ugh. We have no idea what compelled us but let me clearly state that it is a massive waste of time. Only go there if you need an overpriced, hollywood inspired green blow up alien. Or if you want to see where diabetes comes from (Type 2).

The trek there made us late to the Carlsbad Caverns so instead of hiking into them we took the last elevator. This thing decends into darkness at 13 feet per second. The cold, dank feelings of a cave creep in and then the doors open exposing a sort of limestone amusement park. Winding self tour routes take you through miles of intricately lit stalactites. With 350k+ visitors a year, it is not a place you go to meditate but it's very nice to look at. Also, if you go a bit later in the year you can watch the bat flights. In May you just get the guano smell which isn't nearly as exciting.

From the caverns, we set out for Marfa, TX. Marfa is an artsy town with several farm-sized installations from artists like Donald Judd. One such installation is a Prada outlet placed on a lonely highway with nothing but cow pies at the entrance. Something about this contrast appeals to me. Marfa is also home to some "mystery lights" which are glowing orbs above the horizon that have never been identified...to me the viewing area was more like an awesome makeout spot for high schoolers, but hey.

Outdoor Showers!

My rec from this leg if the trip is El Cosmico campground/ hipster rv motel. I can't speak to the $100/night decked out airstreams, but I loved the hippie attitude, outdoor showers (and tubs!), and the delicious coffee. Plus it's only $12 to camp and most folks there are from the Austin burners crowd which means no homo lynchings.



I'm leaving out the part where S and I had the most epic fight over running out of gas. Let's just say this: Texas is huge. Gas up often.

Xo
H

White Sands

White Sands, a set on Flickr.

White sands is an amazing place: go there. Bring your kids and go sledding.

The national monument is miles and miles of bright white gypsum sand dunes, bleached earless lizards and spectacular sunsets. Oh, and a missile range across the street so don't pick anything up out of the sand. Don't worry, they'll give you a picture book of potential weapon pieces so you can help the military reunite with the stragglers :)

We stayed here in the backcountry for one night. Highly recommend the sites on the outside of the trail, and I think site 5 or 6 probably gets the best stars since it's the most remote.

Here are some pics from our stay.

xo
H