But California was calling - so we packed up our stuff and Simba and hit the road. We like to make the road trip more than just that - so we gave it a theme: Brew Pubs and National Parks. Jeff says we hit more Brew pubs than National Parks - but I wasn't complaining. Also, Mark was gracious enough to take the 200sx across country again - so Jeff and I got to ride together.
Oh, and our default hotel was La Quinta Inn - they are all pet friendly - no extra charges or notice necessary.
First stop: Savannah, GA
This place is oozing with Southern charm. It's like New Orleans without the debauchery. Tree lined streets with Spanish moss and plenty of period architecture. Not to mention a few good watering holes (we had some great beers at Moon River - and some excellent fried green tomatoes. This is one town that we would like to come back to and spend more time.
Second stop: Gatlinburg, TN
So the first park we went to was the Great Smokey Mountains. Google maps took us on a slight detour on our way to Gatlinburg, but we made it. Our hotel/cabin was kind of creepy, but it was the only pet friendly place in town. No one else was staying there, but you just got an erie feeling there, like you were not alone. We had dinner at the Smoky Mountain Brewery - and it was OK, but definitely 2nd place to Savannah. In the morning we got up early to take a quick hike through the Great Smokies and stumbled upon a steaming fresh pile of bear poo on the trail. We didn't actually see one, but we knew he was close.
Third stop: Memphis, TN
From Gatlinburg, we made our way to Memphis. We've been to Memphis before, but we liked it so we decided to stop again. Plus it was Memphis in May - a huge BBQ contest and festival - so Jeff wanted go and do some tasting. It was a beautiful day on the Mississippi River, but Jeff was disappointed to find out that you needed a special pass to taste all the BBQ.
Fourth stop: Salina, KS
There is not much that we wanted to see in the middle of the country, so we drove a whopping twelve hours (and three states) from TN to KS. Simba let us know that he was not happy with the long drive at hour ten - he emmitted this strange smell that reminded us of something dead. We moved as fast as we could to get him (and us) out of the car after that - only to find that Salina, KS wasn't so bad. In fact they had a really good mexican restaurant, Gutz, that even had vegetarian food for me.
Fifth stop: Denver, CO
We were blown away by Denver. LoDo was a great place to walk around, eat and drink. Our first stop was the Flying Dog Brewery. We were running late (as usual) so we missed their daily tour, but no worries - their tasting room is open all afternoon. There were two staffers working, one was drinking and the other was serving. They let us taste all ten beers on tap and then go around again. We were off to a great start....
Next we went to my favorite brew pub chain, Rock Bottom, and got a pitcher of Hef and a plate of nachos - I was in heaven. Then we proceded to check out a few other breweries and take some silly pictures. Don't worry folks, we were walking.
Sixth stop: Moab, UT
Driving from Denver to Moab was beautiful with some drastic changes of scenery. In Moab we were able to visit Arches National Park(it was like another planet) and go hiking in a light summer rain. Afterward we went to the Moab Brewery and had some cold beers and tasty food.
Last stop: Las Vegas, NV
You would think that we would be excited to be in Vegas - but we were just tired. We checked into La Quinta Inn and got Simba settled and then we headed to dingy old downtown for the Main Street Station Brewery. We got a sampler of beer and Jeff was able to order sushi, because it's Vegas Baby. Funny thing was when we left and were driving back to the hotel Jeff got out the camera and started taking pictures like a tourist. I was like "Haven't we been here like ten times before?" and he was like "Oh, yeah........"
Final Destination - Ripon, CA
We left Vegas in the morning for the long drive to California's Central Valley - where we spent the rest of the summer sitting by the pool and looking for jobs!
