Traveling WEST!!!

In August I was lucky enough to travel with my younger brother to California.  We decided that we would drive across the country.  In the fall my brother will be attending UCLA for architecture.  We packed his Toyota CRv to the brim.  So many great things to see along the way.

We Drove down the Delaware Water Gap. There we saw downed trees, and a couple of downed movers in their crushed Budget rental van & trailer.  There really was not much to write about from Connecticut to Ohio.  DWG was the big event of this section of our trip.

We left Ohio on our second day of traveling.  Nothing much would happen until we arrived in Chicago the next day.

 A visit to our aunt and uncle in Chicago was worth the three days we spent there.  We went to see the bean in the park. (picture on the right) We also sampled some of the best deep dish pizza Chi Town had to offer.  The second day in Chicago, we spent some time down by the Old Town Music School. We visited a guitar shop my uncle has been going to for years.

They had so many instruments in the store. I got a chance to try some of their hand carved Ukes and my brother played a 1930s Martin acoustic. It was terrific. Our next destination on thsi trip was Minnesota.If you are wondering there are not nearly as many cows in Wisconsin as previously thought.  Corn and Soy for miles and miles is all we saw in Wisconsin.






This is the dinner that was waiting for us when we  arrived in Minnesota.  Our cousin lives in Minnesota in a small town just over the Wisconsin boarder.  It was really nice to see her.  We don't get that many chances to see our relatives that live on the western part of the USA.

The next two days of our trip would prove to eb the most grueling.  The Dakotahs were barren and desolate, and if it wasn't for the giant carved mountains we might not have bothered with them.  We did get the chance to see Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse which left me speechless.  Rushmore was too crowded to stop so we took pictures from the roadside, and ventured around the state park in other areas.  Crazy horse is not even close to completion so my brother and I took a few snap shots from the entrance, and then headed out on our way to Colorado.

The trip was pretty amazing.  We made stops in Denver, CO as well as Las Vegas, NV.  With so much to see we forgot to take photos after leaving South Dakotah.   The trip was a great experience.  I am going to miss my brother while he is living out in California, but getting the chance to travel with him across the United States was an awesome opportunity.

I hope everyone else enjoyed their summer as much as I have.