Day 26: Utah to Nevada

Friday, May 1

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As we pulled into the hotel the night before, we’d noticed that Wicked was playing across the street at the Capitol Theater. Since we’re both big fans of that musical, we discussed staying in town through Saturday morning and trying to get tickets to Friday night’s show. However, a few phone calls revealed that not only was the show sold out, but that scalped tickets were way too expensive, so we decided to just keep on driving.

Salt Lake City

Before we left, we drove around Salt Lake City for a while. It’s a very pretty town, and very well kept. (Or else we just didn’t find the run-down areas.) We were surprised to see a couple of big tour groups, which we weren’t expecting, and we also saw that Gray Line Tours operates daily tours here. Interestingly, the city is dominated by churches, and not just the Church of Latter Day Saints. In some parts of town, it seemed like there was a church on every corner. But the LDS church is by far the biggest and most conspicuous presence, with a temple, a huge conference center, an office building for their headquarters, and a large genealogical research library all in close proximity to one another downtown. 

Despite that enormous presence, Mormon strictures do not dominate Salt Lake City the way they used to. There are several decent coffee places, and the stringent liquor laws that used to exist (for instance, the one requiring that only “private clubs” can serve alcohol) are being relaxed.

The Utah statehouse is particularly impressive, even as compared to the capitol buildings of other states. We approached it from the south side, on State Street. As you approach it, trees on both sides of the street form arches, blocking you from a full view of the capitol ... so when you’re finally past the trees, the statehouse rises up suddenly, with the words “State of Utah” emblazoned beneath the dome. Very cool.

We had lunch at Indian Market & Grill, an Indian / Pakistani place serving average curries. There was basically one employee, who was running around like crazy when he had four tables occupied. Fortunately, we were the first ones to arrive.

We stopped at the Raw Bean for a pretty good cup of coffee, before heading out.

Nevada

Sandy hadn’t slept well the previous night, so Zahid took the first shift and we headed west on I-80. Zahid drove as far as Elko, Nevada, with Quadrophenia as the soundtrack. If you don’t know that album, it’s a classic that Zahid listens to over and over. And over.

When we reached Elko, we grabbed fast food at a place called Arctic Circle, which was, well, decent fast food. The restaurant hypes their shakes, but the shake Zahid had was mediocre. (Yes, Zahid’s supposed to be eating healthily. He didn’t finish either the shake or the fries, if that makes you feel better.) We then gassed up, switched drivers, and headed west.

The Great Salt Desert

The El Dorado

Toward Reno, we debated whether to push through to get home, or to stop in Reno for the night. It would have made a difference of about 2 hours, which was just enough of a difference that we decided not to push forward. We made a reservation at the El Dorado Hotel and Casino (Priceline had failed us, not finding any rooms available for the night) just as we were heading into Reno.

The El Dorado is a typical casino, which is to say, it’s a big contrast from the roadside hotels we’d stayed in. Even the fancier places like the Monaco or Hyatt Regency can’t match the El Dorado (or any other Reno hotel/casino) for flashiness. We paid a little more than we’d paid for most of our hotel stays.

For the last night of our trip, we picked a hotel

with a different aura from any of the previous ones.

As it turns out, it was worthwhile. When we first showed up, we were booked into a smoking room. We called down to complain, and they asked us to come back to the front desk to pick up keys to a different room. When we got there, after a brief conference between the front desk staff, they realized they didn’t have a comparable non-smoking room. Instead, they upgraded us to a very nice corner suite—one of the more comprehensively appointed rooms we’ve stayed in. We were impressed with the front desk’s determination to satisfy the customer even if it meant a significant room upgrade. It was probably a pretty painless switch for them, as it was late and the suite probably wouldn’t have been rented out that night anyway, but we appreciated the gesture.

Day 25: Wyoming to Utah

Thursday, April 30

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The fun continued at the Plains Hotel on Thursday. First, we asked the front desk to have housekeeping send up more towels, as we weren’t convinced that the ones we had were clean. Then, a few minutes later, the front desk called us back and asked who we were, as they didn’t have a record of anyone staying in that room. Apparently, the night crew had not updated our room assignment when they moved us. Lastly, later in the day when we returned to the coffee shop to get a pick-me-up for the road, it had closed early—for reasons unknown to the front desk staff. Overall, our take on the Plains Hotel: thumbs down.

The Luxury Diner

After checking out, on the advice of our friends Gina and Correna, we had breakfast at the Luxury Diner. This was good advice—the Luxury Diner not only has a fun atmosphere (it’s in a converted rail car), but they serve really good biscuits and gravy, and really good corned beef hash. The only warning we have is that they’ll give you exactly what you want—meaning that “extra crispy” hash browns are almost too crispy to eat. Maybe you should try ordering your hash browns “somewhat crispy.”

Back on the Road

Anyhow, we finally got on the road again, taking I-80 toward Salt Lake City. One interesting thing about the freeways in Wyoming—they will close in bad weather, even the interstates. This didn’t happen to us (it’s probably reserved for the coldest and iciest months) but there are signs as you leave town saying, “if lights are flashing, the road is closed—go back to Cheyenne” or whatever town you’re leaving. The Wyoming Department of Transportation probably figures the commerce and travel they interrupt by closing the roads are worth less than the expense and risk of keeping the roads clean.

During the Wyoming part of the day, we passed the highest point on I-80 (8640 feet) and the Continental Divide. In fact, we passed two different signs that indicated we were crossing the Continental Divide. We couldn’t figure out how the same east-west line can cross the Continental Divide twice, but clearly, the Wyoming Department of Transportation knows better than we do.

There were also other curious signs, such as this rather comprehensive exit sign. We weren't sure if we were supposed to be able to memorize this sign!  Fortunately, the next sign was not a pop-quiz about it.

The scenery improved as we entered into central and western Wyoming; the harsh high desert was replaced by rolling hills and mountains.  But when we passed into Utah the beautiful mountains and lush valley we drove by seemed to dwarf the beauty of Wyoming.

Somehow, eastern and southern Utah has nearly cornered the market on natural beauty. Sandy did remark, however, that the western part of the state is a different story, which was borne out when we traveled that way the following day.

Sandy did remark that Utah also had quirky roadside items, such as having individual traffic signals on a seven-lane one-way street.

Is Salt Lake City trying to out-do Los Angeles?

Approaching SLC from I-80

Hotel Monaco

As we neared Salt Lake City, we rolled the dice with Priceline yet again. This time, we were very successful, as the Hotel Monaco accepted our bid of $60 for an upscale hotel. This great hotel (consistently rated as one of the best places in town) is part of the Kimpton chain, which has never disappointed us, and through any other website would have cost us $209. Of course, we used much of the $150 savings to pay for dinner at the hotel restaurant, Bambara. Zahid had a delicious corn bisque with crab and a mixed greens salad, followed by an apple-cranberry pandowdy that was a bit of a letdown after the fantastic meal. Sandy had roasted chicken (as you may have noticed, she is in a bit of a rut lately) with mashed potatoes, and an excellent crème brulée with apricot confit.

Gorgeous flowering trees lining the street – 

dogwood, maybe?  We are useless at identifiying flora!

Day 24: South Dakota to Wyoming

Wednesday, April 29

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Through all of the various itineraries we planned for our return trip, only one attraction managed to stay fixed in our plans, and that was Mount Rushmore. Sandy’s seen it a few times before, but Zahid had never gone, and it was still at the top of his wish list.

Mount Rushmore

So Wednesday morning after checking out, we went straight to Mount Rushmore. It was a stunning sight—Zahid was gaping from the moment we saw the sculptures from the road. We paid the entrance fee of $10, and went in to take a closer look and get some photos. While Sandy went into the souvenir shop, Zahid set up his tripod and took photos from a variety of angles. After looking at the exhibits in the visitor’s center, we made a donation to the upkeep of the monument and left. You’ve seen hundreds of pictures of Mount Rushmore, and the one we’re posting here won’t be any different. See it in person if you can—it’s really an awesome sight.

Crazy Horse Memorial

We drove from there through Custer to the Crazy Horse Memorial, which is still being constructed. Having been in progress since 1948, it’s in no danger of rapid completion, but after reading about it at the Visitor’s Center (cost of admission: $10/person or $27/car), we learned why. First of all, it’s a massive undertaking—when complete, it will be an order of magnitude bigger than Mount Rushmore. Not only is the monument planned to be larger, but the area around it is slated to be an university, a medical training center, as well as a museum. Second, it’s being built exclusively with private funds—the builders refuse to take Federal or State monies for it. The monument is being constructed by seven of the children of the original designer and sculptor. We recommend holding off on visiting this monument, at least for a while—once it’s complete (which may or may not be within our lifetime), it will be a breathtaking sight.

The dream and the reality: The model for the

Crazy Horse Memorial is in the foreground,

with the actual sculpture in the background.

Upon leaving Crazy Horse, we decided against driving through Deadwood (where Wild Bill Hickok was killed while playing cards) or to the Mammoth Site, one of the premier sites for research into prehistoric animals, including mammoths, bears, and American lions. Instead, we took US-385 through Wind Cave National Park, where we saw our first buffalo of the trip. We then headed into Wyoming along US-18.

Wyoming and the Plains Hotel Fiasco

While looking up information on our route in Google Maps, we got more weird results, this time from the My Location feature, which insisted we were in Colorado when we clearly weren’t. Since this was the second weirdness we’d encountered this week, we switched to Microsoft Live Search for the Blackberry. As it turns out, that program doesn’t have a feature analogous to “My Location” at all, but it does most of the other things that Google Maps does and integrates better with the Blackberry address book. So right now, we’re testing out both and hoping the quirks in either will be resolved soon.

Scenery in Wyoming was pretty lackluster, and we pushed to get to Cheyenne before the electrical storm we were driving through got worse. Along the way, we tried our luck with Priceline, but our bid was not accepted, and this time, Priceline did not give us a second chance. Instead, we booked a room at retail value at the only hotel Priceline ranked with three stars, the Plains Hotel. We read some good stuff about the renovation of this 1910s-era hotel, and it looked like a nice place once we got there. We checked in and, when we got to our room, immediately ordered room service from The Capitol Grille. Shortly afterward, though, we realized that the room had not been thoroughly cleaned. (We are declining to give details—suffice it to say, eww.) We called the front desk, and they sent William up with keys to a new room. While we were moving our things, William told us some stories about the hotel. Apparently, a couple of the rooms are thought to be haunted. He also told us why the elevator at the hotel was built so small—to discourage patrons from bringing their horses to their rooms! Not sure if those stories are true, but they made for an entertaining few minutes.

In the new room, the sink didn’t work (the drain was stuck in a closed position). With William’s help, we jury-rigged the sink to work, but by that time, we weren’t exactly brimming with confidence about the hotel. 

On a more positive note, the food arrived shortly after we called down to tell the restaurant about the room switch. It was an excellent meal, particularly the bison meatloaf with chipotle ketchup, and we highly recommend The Capitol Grille, but not the hotel itself.

Day 23: Minnesota to South Dakota

Tuesday, April 28

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We started with breakfast again, thanks to Sri. This time, we opted to have more of a continental breakfast so we could get on the road, as we wanted to run some errands and still get to Rapid City, South Dakota by the end of the day. After saying goodbye to Sri, we drove back toward Minneapolis to stop  We stopped at the Lands’ End inlet (outlet store) briefly, gassed up, and picked up some groceries, then got on the road.

Zahid’s former co-workers, Melissa and Barney, were driving in the opposite direction to get from Washington to Michigan. We had hoped to cross paths with them, and maybe meet them for a quick meal, but we were staying on I-90 and they ended up taking I-80 across. I-90 across Minnesota and South Dakota is a nice drive, peppered by lots of small farms (presumably dairy farms). And some very odd artwork!

South Dakota

In South Dakota, there’s a sign advertising the “Golden Spike,” so we stopped, thinking we were going to see something commemorating the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. (You history buffs would probably have seen this coming, since the “Golden Spike” of railroad lore was in Utah, not in South Dakota, but we didn’t pay that much attention in history class.) It turns out that this memorial was for the completion of I-90, which dates back to the ancient era of 1978. False advertising, I say!

Commercialism in Western South Dakota

It’s possible that western South Dakota can boast the highest billboards-to-attractions ratio in the world. In fact, just two “attractions” (Wall Drug and the Rushmore Borglum museum) were responsible for probably 70 billboards between them on our drive west. To make matters worse, when we reached them, both of these places were closed (Wall Drug had closed 10 minutes before we got there, and the museum was closed for “the season”.)

Yes, if you do the math ... this billboard for

a South Dakota drug store is in Minnesota!

Yes, it was defaced in SD, but can you imagine what

activists would have written on it if it were in CA?

As we neared Rapid City, we tried Priceline again for a hotel. Our bid of $35 for a mid-range hotel was not accepted, which normally means you’re out of luck in terms of using Priceline for that night. This time, Priceline let us try again after recommending we up our bid to $47. We did so, and the bid was accepted by a Radisson Hotel that turned out to be reasonably nice. 

Rapid City

After checking in, we ventured into the streets of Rapid City toward a restaurant at which we’d reserved a table, the Corn Exchange. (We used Yelp for recommendations on where to eat.)  On the way there, we saw why Rapid City calls itself the City of Presidents—the streets of the city feature sculptures of several of the presidents. This was a really cool effect—we saw JFK, William Howard Taft, and Martin Van Buren. Apparently, the city plans to eventually have life-sized sculptures of all the presidents on the downtown corners. We intended to come back and get pictures the next morning, as it was dark, but we did not end up doing that, so we have no photos of our own to share. Instead, though, you can check out the sculptures at this Presidential Walk website.

The Corn Exchange was a fantastic restaurant. (Way to go, Yelp!) Zahid got a filet, and it was a great cut of meat that was cooked perfectly. Sandy had roasted chicken that we agreed wasn’t quite as good, but it was still a wonderful meal, and the flourless torte she had for dessert was fabulous. We would recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting Rapid City.

We hit the sack as soon as we got back to the Radisson. The hotel featured the “sleep number” bed, about which we’d heard much advertising hype, but the bed did not live up to the hype—it basically felt like an Aerobed. Otherwise, the Radisson was a fine place.

Day 22: Staying in Minnesota

Monday, April 27

Monday morning, we had a breakfast (prepared by Aks and Sri, the consummate hosts) of bacon, eggs, quiche, blackberries, croissants, and baguettes. While we ate, we got to talk with them about their jobs at the Carlson School of Management (at the University of Minnesota). Sri is an Associate Dean, while Aks is a tenured professor. The school has alliances with programs overseas in Italy, Poland, India, and China, and between teaching assignments in those countries, and research co-authored by colleagues from overseas, they do a lot of travel.

Photo Safari to Onamia

After breakfast, they headed to work and we went on a little side adventure. Sandy’s friend Michelle owns a home in Onamia, Minnesota, but lives in Georgia and rents it out. She asked us to look in on the property and make sure it was alright, so we set out on the 90-minute drive to Onamia to do so. When we got there, we took photos of the house from several angles, and then headed back. On the way back, we were treated to what has to be one of our favorite bumper stickers of the trip:

Before we got back to the house, we made a stop at a grocery store to buy pickles. That’s right, pickles. Apparently, there’s something special about Gedney’s “Zingers” (dill pickles with red peppers) and “State Fair” pickles that Sandy just can’t find in California. We bought a LOT of pickles (seven jars, to be precise) and then headed back to the house.

Our Evening Out in Minneapolis

Once there, we took a brief nap and then went upstairs for a snack of brownies, pasta salad, and apple cake (Zahid was disallowed from having Cheerios) with Sri. Once Aks got home, we bundled into Sri’s car for a trip to the Dakota Jazz Club, where we saw Ben Sidran play an excellent set (including a great rendition of Subterranean Homesick Blues) —it was really a treat. The meal was also excellent—Sandy had the prix fixe menu of pea soup, halibut, and pineapple upside down cake, while Zahid had a salad, a filet of beef, and a Valhrona chocolate lava cake.

After the show was over, we took a brief tour of Minneapolis, including the Guthrie theater complex and a driving tour of the University of Minnesota (AKA “the U”). The city has changed quite a bit since Sandy was there, mostly by expanding outward. Once we got home, too tired for the sauna, we said goodbye to Aks (who was going to be gone to teach the next morning before we woke up) and went to bed.

Day 21: Illinois to Minnesota via Wisconsin

Sunday, April 26

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After gathering our things and checking out, we headed to Shahtaj’s house. Her mother, Zahid’s Khadija mumani, is staying with her. Shahtaj and Zahid’s uncle Aslam were also babysitting her granddaughter Kayla. We spent a short time with them, including a “snack” of biryani and tea. While we were there, it started to rain heavily, so we excused ourselves to get on the road as soon as possible, so we wouldn’t be rushed. On the way out of town, we stopped for groceries and some frozen custard at Culver’s—Zahid’s cousin Henna had recommended it and we were not disappointed. Some day we’ll have frozen custard in Sacramento  ::sigh::

We were only a little tempted to stay in Chicago and try to get tickets to the Bulls / Celtics game that was scheduled to start at 1 pm. But we had to be in Minneapolis that night, so we passed on that opportunity and headed out of town. Some day we’ll have playoff basketball in Sacramento  ::sigh::

We headed “west” on I-90 (which really goes in a north or northwest direction at that point) toward Wisconsin. The drive through Wisconsin was pretty but we basically breezed through the state (despite the twin attractants of friends and a Lands’ End inlet store) in order to make good time to Minneapolis.

Minnesota

Once we reached Minnesota, Sandy was in her element, having lived there for over a year. We made good time into the Twin Cities, and then followed the directions we’d received from Zahid’s aunt Srilata and uncle Akbar, who live just west of Minneapolis.

We hadn’t visited them before, but as we neared their house, we realized what a gem it was. It’s unfortunate that we aren’t better photographers, because the photos we took don’t do this place credit. It’s an arts-and-crafts style place, designed by a disciple of Frank Lloyd Wright, adjacent to a large lake. Inside, it’s a beautiful mix of classic design and modern fixtures, which Aks and Sri have tied together by an eclectic design style.

Soon after we got there, Aks gave us a tour of the wine cellar. Almost all of his wines are French or Italian, and he picked a few of them (a Pinot, a Châteauneuf du Pape, and a Sauterne dessert wine) for us to sample with dinner. Dinner was a mix of gourmet foods including soup, a seafood pasta salad, and skewers of lamb. After dinner, Aks gave us a more complete tour of the house while Sri went to work on a photo montage for their son Sage’s 30th birthday. After the tour, we helped put together the montage and set it to music—Happy Birthday by the Beatles, and Happy Birthday by Stevie Wonder. Very creative selections, don’t you think?

Aks and Sri have a sauna by the guest room, in the basement, and we wrapped up the evening by sitting in there for a short while before showering and going to bed.

Day 20: Pennsylvania to Illinois via Ohio and Indiana

Saturday, April 25

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Saturday morning, we woke up on time! and packed for our trip. Sandy helped Ahmed make a breakfast of pancakes (approximately 438 of them) and omelets. Phuppu, Phuppa, and Selmaan came over bringing bagels, lox, and cream cheese to round out the meal. After breakfast, we said our goodbyes and left a little past our planned departure time of 10 am. We filled gas, picked up coffee, and were on the road by 11 am. We took I-79 north to I-80 and headed west.

Zahid's liked this sign. Sandy thinks Pennsylvania 

needs help with figuring out how long the

highways in the USA actually are.

Shaker Heights

While heading west, we took a detour in Shaker Heights to see some old familiar sights. While Zahid slowed to a crawl in front of the Normandy Road house he grew up in, Sandy took some pictures. It was pretty comical because we were worried the current owners would come out with a shotgun or something, so Zahid was urging Sandy to hurry up while she barely had time to take even one photo.

Zahid’s childhood home

We also discovered that the “steep” hill Zahid used to skateboard down in front of his house wasn’t that steep at all. We got pictures of some other landmarks from Zahid’s childhood in Shaker Heights, once Zahid remembered how to get to those places.

Strongsville

From there, we headed to Cleveland, Sandy navigating while Zahid drove. We picked a route that we thought would be fast, but which in fact took us through some of the scariest parts of Cleveland. Eventually, though, we made it to a freeway and to Strongsville. Strongsville is where Zahid’s uncle Saadath, aunt Cheryl, and cousin Shireen live, and we had a nice lunch with them. They are coming to California in May, so we may get a chance to see them again soon.

We talked with them about our route going forward. Our plan had been to stop somewhere south of Chicago, and on the map, Joliet looked like a good candidate. Saadath and Cheryl counseled us otherwise, since Joliet is the site of a federal penitentiary! They indicated that we would be fine if we stayed near the freeway, but that it wasn’t otherwise a safe area. They also suggested we try Priceline.com in looking for hotels.

Indiana and Illinois

After lunch, we got on our way again, heading west on I-80. This route took us through Toledo into Indiana and towards Gary. Gary was a milestone because Sandy had previously driven all of I-80 west of that point. Reaching Gary meant that, on this trip, she had been on every part of I-80—not in one shot, as we did US-50, but it was still a milestone she had wanted to reach. As a practical matter, this also meant that we had no more reason to stay on any particular roads, and we could pick any routes we wanted to.

We’d originally intended to go south from Gary to visit our friends John and Mary in Champaign. However, John was working in Oregon and so we had no reason to go south. Based on that, as well as on Saadath and Cheryl’s advice, we decided to stay in Chicago itself rather than south of there. We also took their advice to check out Priceline.com, using a laptop tethered to Zahid’s Blackberry. Using the Name Your Own Price feature, we bid $40 for a high-end hotel, and our bid was accepted by the Hyatt Regency Woodfield, in Schaumberg, Illinois. 

On our way up to the hotel, we stopped for White Castle burgers. Neither of us had ever tried the place before, and Sandy had heard negative reviews, but Zahid insisted on trying it. It turned out the food was bland and forgettable, and Zahid agreed to never disbelieve Sandy again. Ha!

We also took this opportunity to call Zahid’s aunt Shahtaj, who lives north of Chicago. Had we gone to Champaign, our route would have skirted Chicago, so we wouldn’t have been able to visit her, but our new itinerary gave us the opportunity to do so. We set up a visit for Sunday morning.

A brief word on Chicago drivers: scary. At one point in our drive to Schaumberg, there were five cars in our immediate vicinity—two of them swerving from one lane to the next, one tailgating us, one in the fast lane going 70 with their hazards on, and one tailgating them. Wow ... and Sandy thought NYC was bad! Ha!

We arrived at the Hyatt Regency and were pleased to find that Priceline had got a great bargain for us, as the hotel was clean and well-appointed, and we collapsed into bed around 11 pm after a great long day of seeing family and driving.

Day 19: Staying in Pennsylvania

Friday, April 24

We woke up late on Friday. (From now on, just assume this is the case unless we tell you otherwise.) The house was empty, as Shabana and the kids were at work and school. Not everyone is lucky enough to be on vacation! We called Phuppu, who invited us over for breakfast.

We used Google Maps to find the way, and the results were, well, unexpected. Google told us to get on the freeway, drive south about seven miles, get off the freeway and re-enter going north, and then drive back to the same exit from which we’d started. Wow. We started talking about using different software to guide us, though I’m sure they all have their quirks.

At Phuppu’s house, we were forced to eat yummy homemade Indian food—including fresh parathas, eggs, aloo, and keema. We finished with fresh-out-of-the-oven apple crisp and ice cream.

After lunch, we dropped Selmaan off at his job at Target, then spent more time with Phuppu and Phuppa. When Selmaan was off work, we picked him up and went back to Ahmed and Shabana’s for dinner. Ahmed was home, so we got a second tour of the basement, this time from the engineer’s point of view. 

For dinner, we had a yummy pot roast with mashed potatoes, gravy, and salad. For dessert, apple pie and ice cream was served, but we were too full to have any!  Sabreen had a friend, Gerilee, staying for the night as well, so it was a full house. We’d planned to watch Slumdog Millionaire, but everyone was way too tired, so we started a couple of loads of laundry, dropped Selmaan at Phuppu’s, and went to bed.

Day 18: New York to Pennsylvania via New Jersey

Thursday, April 23

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Our first move as we left New York was to get lost in Harlem. Well, not lost so much, but … well just not knowing where we were or how to get out. We finally figured out how to get to the George Washington Bridge, and crossed it and passed into New Jersey.

Our next goal was to find the beginning of I-80. We wanted to start from the beginning of that freeway since it goes all the way from New Jersey to San Francisco (via Sacramento) and Sandy had been on much of the road already. So we drove around Teaneck trying to figure out where it started. 

New Jersey

Once we found the start of I-80, we followed it through New Jersey. We saw a billboard for the Land of Make Believe so we took a side trip to see what we thought must be a magical attraction. Well, kids, the “Land of Make Believe” is closed until late spring—and it didn’t look magical enough to take a picture of the park, but we did get a picture of the sign! Sorry.

NJ thinks it has the Land of Make Believe.  

(In actuality, an amusement park that was closed for the season.)

Pennsylvania

We passed into Pennsylvania soon after that. We loved the scenery along I-80 in Pennsylvania. We stopped for an early dinner in Dubois, driving by the still-smoking remains of a Perkins Restaurant that had just burned down before happening upon the Italian Oven. Our meal there was pretty good, marred slightly by Zahid’s salad swimming in red wine vinaigrette, but still overall good.

We took I-80 to I-79 (not the fastest route to Pittsburgh, but again, we wanted to stay on I-80 as much as possible), and then took I-79 south to the house of Zahid’s cousin, Ahmed. We made it safe and sound, despite Zahid’s misreading the directions, thanks to Sandy, “the human GPS.” We visited with Shabana and Sabreen and Sameena—Ahmed was out of town on business. We’d intended to visit with Zahid’s brother Selmaan, as well as his aunt (“phuppu”) and uncle (“phuppa”), but we arrived too late at night. Instead, we chatted with Shabana, got a tour of the house (including the newly remodeled basement), and went to bed.

Speed Blogging, New York edition

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As of the end of the day April 17, we had seen almost everything we wanted to see in Washington, and we were ready to move on to New York. What follows is the epic story of that journey.

Day 13 (April 18)

We didn’t actually leave until after 11 am. We spent the morning (after sleeping in) doing laundry, cleaning up the apartment, and packing the car so that everything we wouldn’t need in New York was in the trunk. Then we drove to Baltimore—actually, Ellicott City—to meet Sandy’s friend Mike, as well as his wife and kids. We spent a couple of enjoyable hours with him and his family, and then got on the road again.

We got through to the far side of New Jersey around 9 pm, which was pretty good time to that point, but bogged down when we got close to the Holland Tunnel. The traffic leading up to that tunnel took us two hours to get through—meaning that people were still coming into the city (probably to party) at 11 pm. Coming from sleepy Sacramento, most of which closes down by 11 even on weekends, we were astounded by this. Once we got through the tunnel, we saw where those partiers were going: everywhere. The entire city was alive with people, in the streets and on the sidewalks and inside the clubs and restaurants. The late hours weren’t restricted to young partiers; there were also more subdued people out, including older people and dog-walkers.

Driving in that atmosphere was entertaining. The traffic was no more frenetic than in parts of Los Angeles, but the narrow streets, the constant honking of horns, and the sheer number of taxicabs (which don’t exist in California in the numbers they do in New York) zooming around with reckless abandon made it feel crazier. It was enough like Los Angeles that Zahid wasn’t scared to drive there, but enough like Delhi that he wasn’t completely comfortable doing it. Sandy, on the other hand, immediately announced she would not be driving in New York.

We finally got to Zainab’s apartment around 11:30, and were lucky enough to find parking nearby. She had a prior engagement (we hadn’t given her much notice that we were coming that night—the original plan had been pretty vague) so she’d left the keys with the doorman. We carried our bags up to her studio apartment, and Zahid went out to get pizza. That’s right, by the slice at 12:30 am. We’re pretty sure that’s not possible in Sacramento. Zahid immediately formed the impression that New Yorkers get a bad rap for being unfriendly. It was very easy to strike up conversations with random people, and he did!

Zainab showed up soon after we ate. After we caught up for a while, and a quick intervention to get Zainab’s wireless working, we went to sleep with the satisfaction of having resolved another technical hurdle.

Day 14 (April 19)

We woke up mid-morning, and Zainab immediately went into her “tour guide” role—a mode in which she stayed for the rest of our trip, and believe me, she is fantastic at it. She made sure we understood the general layout of Manhattan, including how public transportation works, so we’d be able to get around when she was at work. She then took us to a breakfast of bagels (which were the same as anywhere else, but we had to get them in New York to say we had done so) and then on a brief tour. We walked through Central Park, including brief stops at the Dakota apartments (where John Lennon was shot and where Yoko still lives) and at Strawberry Fields, the monument to Lennon. We then picked up cookies at Levain Bakery and headed for Grand Central Terminal.

Grand Central Terminal (often, as our tour

book snarkily points out, referred to

incorrectly as Grand Central Station). If you

look real close, you can spot Sandy and Zainab.

We boarded a train to White Plains to visit Zahid’s aunt, Tyema. Hasan and Aliya, and Mustafa, met up with us on the train, and we spent some time catching up. Upon arrival, we were glad to find that Tyema’s son Amir had joined us too; we didn’t think he’d be able to make it. Sadiq was also in town, with Nawal and Najma, and we all spent a wonderful afternoon (including excellent Indian food from our hostess and yummy cookies from Levain) chatting about all manner of things including Mustafa’s career in advertising and Hasan and Aliya’s upcoming trip to Morocco. Zahid got to spend a good long time learning about Amir’s music, which Amir classified as “a really expensive hobby.” It was cool learning how Amir applies his creativity not just to making music, but also to gathering samples to use in making the music.

With Amir at Tyema’s

What a lively bunch! Clockwise: Nawal (with Najma

hiding), Sadiq, Hasan, Tyema, and Aliya.

Najma with one bowl for chocolate and another for vanilla

That didn’t end the day; Hasan and Aliya invited us over to their place in Manhattan afterward, and we spent the evening listening to Dylan and some jazz, and talking about what sights we should see in New York. Finally, it was back to the Upper East Side for bedtime.

Day 15 (April 20)

Monday morning started with doing some laundry, as well as what must be a ritual for Manhattan natives—moving the car for street-cleaning time. On the block where Zainab lives, street-cleaners come on Monday and Thursday, so there’s an hour-and-a-half window during which your car can’t be in the street. Zahid babysat the car during that window. Once that was taken care of, the car was safe where it was for the next three days—again, we really lucked out with parking. Then Zahid went for a haircut while Sandy napped—his hair was getting really really long, probably 3/8” long.

We finally left the apartment to head to the Guggenheim, stopping along the way to pick up real-life New York hot dogs at Papaya King. They tasted like, well, hot dogs. The Guggenheim was fantastic, except that most of the floors were closed so the museum staff could rotate in some new exhibits. We next stopped at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, a Smithsonian museum that we were really looking forward to. Unfortunately, that museum is undergoing a substantial remodel, so only one room of the permanent exhibit was open. That didn’t stop them from charging us the full price of admission, unlike the Guggenheim, which had cut its rate substantially due to the closed exhibits. We were actually surprised to be paying at all, as we’d thought all Smithsonian Institution sites were free to the public.

After we got back to the apartment, we spent some time planning our drive back home. We’d earlier determined that our trip east had been too hurried. We also wanted to add a stop in Minneapolis on the way home. We addressed these two concerns by deciding to leave New York on Thursday (April 23) rather than Friday, and by removing one of our planned destinations—Yellowstone National Park. We plotted out our return trip as follows:

• Thursday, 4/24 – Drive from New York city to Pittsburgh
  
• Friday, 4/25 - stay in Pittsburgh to visit with Zahid’s brother, aunt and uncle, cousin Ahmed, and Ahmed’s family
  
• Saturday, 4/26 - Breakfast in Pittsburgh, drive to Cleveland to visit with Zahid’s uncle Saadath and aunt Cheryl, Drive to Joliet, Illinois
  
• Sunday, 4/27 - Drive to Wayzata, Minnesota
  
• Monday, 4/28 - Stay in Wayzata to visit with Zahid’s uncle Akbar and aunt Srilata
  
• Tuesday, 4/29 - Drive to Rapid City, South Dakota
  
• Wednesday, 4/30 - See Mount Rushmore, and then drive to Cheyenne
  
• Thursday, 5/1 - drive to Elko, Nevada
  
• Friday, 5/2 - drive to Sacramento
  

[Author’s note: Stay tuned to find out if we actually stuck to this plan!]

After we had plotted out our trip, and contacted our various relatives to update them of our plans, we headed out with Zainab to a great restaurant called Stanton Social. This restaurant serves great meals of “small dishes,” almost like appetizers, so you order several dishes per table and share them amongst the whole group. We particularly liked the Kobe beef sliders and the red snapper tacos). We were too full for dessert, so we headed to an Italian bakery called Veniero's, where we ordered four desserts and shared them between the three of us.

Day 16 (April 21)

Today, based on our experiences in Washington DC, we decided to take an all-day tour of the city. Also based on our experiences there, we went with the same tour company. We had a good time and got to see much of the city (although it was overcast).

Really? Even the NYPD needs neon lights?

Dakota Apartments

Our tour guide, Tyler. We’re not certain

he didn’t embellish some of the narrative,

but he was a great tour guide regardless

The Empire State Building is so tall,

you can’t even see the top of it!

Some French thing

Maybe the economy would recover if

these guys would take fewer smoking breaks

Ground Zero

After the tour, on the advice both of Zainab and our tour guide, we grabbed an early dinner at the Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien. Despite the uninspiring name of the place, these were excellent burgers, well worth the stereotypically brusque service (think “Soup Nazi” here). Since we’d had such a nutritious dinner, we stopped at the Magnolia Bakery for a cupcake before heading to the Lunt-Fontanne theater to see the Broadway production of The Little Mermaid. We enjoyed the show, particularly the staging and effects, which were great. Musically and dramatically, we were not quite as impressed—the production seemed more like a trial run than a show that had been running a while. After the show, it was back to the apartment for bedtime after a long day.

Day 17 (April 22)

As with our visit to Washington, we had several things to squeeze into our last day in New York City. We started out with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which was fantastic. This is a museum you can spend several days in, even if you’re not a runaway teenager. We paid the closest attention to the 19th and 20th century art (reflecting Sandy’s preference for impressionist and post-impressionist artwork) and the photography exhibits.

After we left the Met, we took a bus to Serafina Fabulous Grill on E 61st St ...

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We now interrupt this blog post for a rant from Zahid: have I mentioned how much I hate Flash-based websites? They aren’t bookmarkable and most break the conventions and keyboard shortcuts of the web browser. The vast majority of Flash-based websites not only suck, but use Flash in unnecessary ways. Do we really need restaurant menus to be animated?

And now back to your already-in-progress blog post.

---

... to meet up with Zahid’s cousin Ali. Ali is currently in Singapore for three weeks out of each month, so we were lucky to be able to meet up with him this week. We got to catch up with him about his job, his new apartment, and parenthood, which will be a reality for Ali later this year. It was a fun conversation, and the fact that the food truly was fabulous was an added bonus.

Next up was the Museum of Modern Art, which was absolutely fantastic. In addition to the permanent collection, we spent a significant amount of time at an exhibit on design, which delivered what we’d hoped to see at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.

We left MOMA when it closed, and headed to Starbucks to wait for Zainab. We picked the Starbucks in Rockefeller Plaza, based on our assumption that Tina Fey would show up there. She did not. Once Zainab was off work, we headed with her to the Shake Shack via the subway. Shake Shack is a good hamburger place with even better milkshakes and a crappy Flash-based website. Enough said.

At the subway station

Zainab and Sandy

The next step in the evening was Zainab’s brainstorm—karaoke—which we eagerly agreed to. (Actually, Zahid eagerly agreed; Sandy begrudgingly agreed.) Joined by Zainab’s friends Siddharth and Sita, and later by Zahid’s cousin Mustafa, we went to a place called Duet, which was a little different from our past experience with karaoke. Duet features private rooms that parties can rent. In effect, you’re singing to one another—not a room full of strangers. Everyone participated—even Sandy, though she refused to sing into a microphone—and much fun was had by all. Except anyone who could hear us through the walls.

Sita and Siddharth

Mustafa and Zainab

Finally, karaoke was over. For most people, that would mean time to go home, but we first took a cab to The Kati Roll Company for a midnight snack. Finally, we headed back to the apartment for our last night in New York.

Chilling with Kati Rolls at the end of a tough night of singing

What we missed in NYC

You probably will be surprised to know that, despite having seen so many people in New York, we still didn’t see all of Zahid’s relatives. We did not get to see Funda, Zahir, Akeel and Carol, or Gautam chacha, which disappointed us, but everyone had things going on and we didn’t give them much advance notice.

Besides the relatives, we wished we had had more time to stroll about Grenwich Village and other neighborhoods. We also would have liked to see Union Square and Columbia University. Lastly, it might have been nice to eat at a “celebrity chef” restaurant like Bobby Flay’s or Nobu. All in all, though, we had a magnificent time in New York, and we will be back!

Speed Blogging: Washington edition

Dating is a pain in the neck. We haven’t done it in years, but we know this to be true from people who still do it, who tell us that it’s an enormous effort with a low chance of success. In the last few years, some enterprising businessmen came up with a solution: speed dating. Basically, it allows you to cut out all the time-consuming getting-to-know-you stuff while still getting some information about the essence of your date.

We have a similar problem (and we hope you understand we mean that figuratively). This blog is our means of getting information out to our family and friends in an efficient manner, but once you fall far behind, it becomes a pain in the neck to catch up. In the spirit of not letting down our reading public, and based on our wisdom that there are no loftier role models than dating services, we now present to you … Speed Blogging^®. 

This basically means a brief synopsis of each day, followed by a few photos from that day. Today's blog entry will Speed Blog the entirety of the Washington leg of our trip. (No update to the map for this entry, since we were in or near Washington for all the days covered here.) 

We are under no illusion that Speed Blogging^® will provide as pleasing or complete a record of our journey as we’d originally intended. (This is also much like speed dating, which only really guarantees that you’ll be kissing your twelfth frog while conventional daters are working on kissing their first one.) With any luck, we will revisit these entries later to flesh them out. In the meantime, at least you won’t be paralyzed with suspense about what happened on ...

Day 8 (April 13)

We took an all-day tour of Washington via OnBoard tours.We highly recommend this approach (take a survey tour on your first day, then spend the rest of the trip filling in the gaps or seeing things in more detail). We also recommend this tour company. After the tour, we were exhausted, and Sandy was feeling a little under the weather, so we picked up food from Cafe Pizzaiolo. Verdict: the pizza was OK, but the salad was excellent.

The Marine Monument (based on the famous photo taken at Iwo Jima)

Springtime in Washington

Night skyline from Sadiq's window

Day 9 (April 14)

Sandy was really not feeling well, so we stayed at the apartment for much of the day. That was just as well, as the skies were overcast and drizzly. For part of the afternoon, Zahid visited the Supreme Court (which was not, unfortunately, in session). Later that night, Sadiq arrived in town and the three of us met up with Zahid’s cousin Hadi, Hadi's wife Ambreen, and their middle daughter Dania at a very good Lebanese restaurant called Lebanese Taverna.

A rare empty Metro station during "Tourist Month"

The Supreme Court building

Day 10 (April 15)

Zahid took a “photo safari” tour—really a photo class that uses tourist locations as photo subjects. The tour itself was really good, featuring good advice from a seeminly knowledgeable guide, as well as ideas on the best locations from which to shoot Washington landmarks. In addition, since it was Tax Day, we got the opportunity to see tax protesters at work. The downside is that the day was cold and miserable, making it the least enjoyable morning of the trip so far despite the good tour.

In the afternoon, Sandy joined Zahid at the National Archives. This turned out to be her favorite destination of the DC leg of our trip. Besides the well-known contents of the archives (e.g., the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights), there are a lot of lesser known items in the collection—for instance, one of four original copies of the Magna Carta, genealogical records (including immigration records from Ellis Island), photos, and videos.

Aspiring writers or screenwriters should visit the Archives; there are so many stories chronicled in the Archives that are just waiting to be turned into books and movies. It was really a fascinating place.

Dinner was at Five Guys Burgers,which came highly recommended. Verdict: good burgers, and even better fries.

Yes, that is, in fact, a monument to Albert Einstein. Who would have thought?

This is one of two sets of statues that face the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall.

Honest (and stern) Abe

The Constitution. For reals.

Sadiq mentioned that he saw Tom Brokaw on The Colbert Report some time last week, talking about his Highway 50 book. We later looked up the clip on YouTube. Here it is—just fast-forward to the 5:21 mark:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Obama's European Trip - Tom Brokaw
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest

Day 11 (April 16)

We started the day at the Sculpture Garden (at the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum), which has a small but interesting collection of modern sculpture. We then headed to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. This is, of course, the favorite part of any little boy’s visit to Washington DC, and Zahid was no exception—when he was a little boy, that is. But it was still fun even for grown-ups. In particular, there was an exhibit of large photographs taken by the Cassini mission to Saturn. You can check out these photos on spacedaily.com.

After the Air and Space Museum, we met our friend Kathryn (and her two baby twins, Danica and Sabrina) for lunch. We ate at the café at the Sculpture Garden, which featured decent food in a much quieter atmosphere than the chaos of the Air and Space Museum.

We next visited the Holocaust Museum.There’s not much to say about this place—it’s a must-see, but be warned that it is a scary and moving experience (many visitors leave in tears). Beyond reminding us the brutality of the Holocaust itself, visiting this museum made us think about whether we’ve really learned anything. Genocide has continued to be a recurring theme over the last 60 years, so the heightened visibility of what happened to European Jews does not seem to be serving its intended purpose

The museum currently features an exhibit on Nazi propaganda.The Nazis, from Hitler on down, were brilliant innovators in that arena, and we recognized some of their tactics from recent American politics—from the use of fear to suppress dissent, to the use of the cult of personality to promote visceral (rather than rational) reactions.

We had an invitation to dinner from Zahid’s old law school buddy Pete, so we cut short our museum visit to head out to Fairfax, Virginia. We got to catch up with Pete, as well as meet his son Matthew (age: 12 months), his wife Hai-Hong, and her parents. We feasted on a meal of Chinese dumplings—more than we could possibly eat, but we did our level best. It was a great meal but an even better opportunity to catch up with an old friend.

My company actually advertises in DC. Specifically, in this one Metro station, where there are five identical ads. I'm sure there's a good reason for that. Woodrow Wilson gets a memorial, too. The Sculpture Garden is not for arachnophobes. The space program is not for claustrophobes. John Glenn spent five hours in space in this capsule that's not much bigger than a person.

Day 12 (April 17)

This was to be our last full day in Washington, so we really had to prioritize to make sure we visited the places we wanted most to see. We started with Arlington National Cemetery, where presidents, Supreme Court justices, and war heroes are interred. This site was also historically the home of General Robert E Lee, but he vacated once the Civil War broke out. We took a bus tour through the cemetery to make sure we saw most of the notable gravesites.

We then took the Metro to the Smithsonian’s American History Museum. This museum was fascinating and deserved more time than we gave it, but we were pushing to squeeze everything in. Among the exhibits we did see were one on the process of inventing, a temporary exhibit featuring photos of Washington DC’s African-American community by the Scurlock family, and the transplanted kitchen of chef Julia Child.

We did a better job at our next stop, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum, which are located in the same building. We did not see every exhibit, but we saw most of the permanent exhibit. We spent the most time at the American Presidents exhibit.

Late in the afternoon, Sandy headed back to the apartment. Zahid stayed in Washington a little longer to take some twilight and night photos (he’d been dragging around a tripod all day), but after one very long trudge to the capitol, he gave it up and headed back himself. Despite the early finish to the night, we ended up achieving a busy and tiring itinerary that made for one of our trip’s most rewarding days.

RFK's grave at Arlington National Cemetery

A great portrait of Lincoln from the America's Presidents exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery.

A closeup of the famous Obama portrait. I never knew it had these bits of print and newsprint in it.

What we missed in DC

There were a great many sights and museums in Washington we did not see. Some of the obvious ones (such as the White House and Capitol tours) simply do not hold much interest for us. There are others we definitely would have seen had we had time; these include theNewseum, the Library of Congress, and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. And then there were a places that were on the bubble, such as the Smithsonian’s Natural History and Postal museums, the Spy Museum, and the Gallaudet campus.

OK, that just about wraps it up for today's edition of Speed Blogging^®.  Join us next time when we'll recap our stop in the City That Never Sleeps.