where is everyone? where am i?

after roaming for two weeks my body is left restless, just like the letters scripted across his knuckles. get me out of H E R E. oh wait, the exclamation key doesn't work. my other half is two hundred miles from my heart. can we rekindle and drift again? we'll get some coffee and breakfast at fido, swim under the blistering texan sun, spend dinnertime with tula and sean after stopping at dino world/olde general store, and end the night at the moontower? if we close our eyes tight enough and think about it hard enough maybe we can gallivant away from the sunless, gray city and into our dreams holding hands. i'll meet ya there, and when we get home i'll have dinner ready and the blender waiting to make some daquiries.

she says, "we were all once tumble weeds knotted inside our own bodies rolling, if not in circles, across a seeming infinity..."

JUST WATCH IT. W...A...R...M...

where are the rhinos?

after an eighteen hour trip back home, we made it safely 3000 miles through the south and back to the midwest. i am sitting comfortably in my bed, alone, as the other two are doing who knows what. the cool chicago breeze is such a luxury after the southern heat turned us all into zombies. our time spent with erica, marlon, brian, and co. venturing to swim spots was a texan dream come true!

finding oureslves on the 65S that has been much traveled before, adelaide and i ventured in the rain to return her to indianapolis. luckily, steve's atlas that was our guide through the trip was still in the car, so i was able to navigate my way by side roads around the traffic that had blockaded my route back to chicago. the long, solo ride home through cornfields was very strange without my companions.

photos from my 35mm have been developed, and here are a few of the favorites...


outside of the olde general store along the 65S to nashville. probably one of our favorite legs of the ride.


steve, mickey, and adelaide enjoying this view:


at the burgess state park in tennessee...


seriously, this is in the united states! our first swim spot (thanks to jonny corndawg).


a self timed photo of us in the forest of the natchez trace parkway en route to the deep south. it was kind of like a fantasy driving through these parts.


along bourbon street


with the french quarters behind us


our second swim spot. the gulf of mexico along the southern coast of texas. not much of a pretty sight, but a nice break from driving ten hours in humidity and passing through oil rig after oil rig.


our third swim spot. the colorado river in austin. the tide that carried erica, randy, brian, and co. for six hours one day almost took adelaide and i for an unpleasant ride. despite the rough swim through the middle, floating above the turtles in the company of friends was a treat.


what a great sight. being with erica, floaties, and a body of water... ahhhhhhh, the life.


our fifth swim spot (fourth swim spot not pictured). hamilton pool, somewhere in the desert of texas. we have never been to a place like this!

for more flicks, check it:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30433867@N02/

waiting patiently to see adelaide's photos,
<3
g (missing a & s)

ABC's of the drift.

A: apples to apples
B: barton springs, bouldin creek X 4
C: crosby the cat, cowabunga babes, cafe bamboo, cheap chinese, coffee, coffee, coffee
D: daquiries
E: elizabethtown, erica
F: fawbushes, fido
G: gas stations
H: humidity, hellish heat, hunger, hillbillies, harrah's casino
I: indianapolis, indian novelties
J: jackson
K: killing ourselves
L: louisville, late nights, lone star beer
M: mickey, marlon, mississippi
N: natchez trail, n'awlins, nashville
O: o'keefe hotel, overheating
P: pin/pen pronunciation, po' boys at cafe bamboo
Q: QUIT TALKING IN SPANISH STEVE, IT'S 7 AM AND WE'RE ALL DELIRIOUS
R: robertson's, robbery, RHINOS
S: scooting, sweating, swimming, swimming, swimming, samo the pup
T: tula, texas (sucks), toy joy's vegan soft serve, technologyiscrazy, taco hell
U: u turns
V: vegan forever
W: "where are we", "why???" - Tula Fawbush
X: xena warrior princess
Y: Yippie! "Revolution for the Hell of it"
Z: zach's directions, zach forever

these rhinos are really, really hott

hello from the south!
our first photo update via free film for life photos and adelaide phone photos!


austin is wonderful. whether it be from the company that we have shared or the happenings of the city, our time spent here has been a blast. within the past three days we have swam in the gulf of mexico, the colorado river, and a few natural springs. we have floated on floaties, almost been carried away by the tides, and may or may not have poison ivy.


life at the moontower, indianapolis.
www.welcometothemoontower.com
blow it up!


the best photo i have ever taken. arriving at the fawbush's in louisville, tula showed and telled us some of her newest birthday presents and toys.




these gems were found somewhere off of 65S headed to nashville. some of the best spots in the USA.


also along the 65S was an antique mart we could have spent the whole two weeks at. this lovely couple commented on our tattoos and shared theirs with us. the work on the man's arm was done with stick and poke by a monk in thailand who also tattooed angelina jolie. there was cobra blood in the ink!!!


i always said if i was gonna go to bars they would have to be country western bars, and holy cow nashville housed the best!


our first swim spot of the trip. this cell phone photo does not do the waterfall or the beauty of this landmark in tennessee any justice.


killing time in n'awlins before 6 a.m. check in found us at the harah's casino. what a trip.


and the first photo up there is in front of the gulf of mexico at the south of texas after almost 11 hours in the car.


just a day or so left of austin. more photos to be developed upon being home, and more adventures to be had along the way.

much love, always,

a&g

"THESE RHINOS, WARM."

IT'S WARM IN THESE RHINOS.






Good afternoon and hello! We are writing from the much-appreciated air conditioned home of Erica, Randy, Bryan and Marlon. It's been a few days since we've updated but it's not from lack of desire, we've been very busy making our way from the deep South to the deeper South and settling into Austin. So let's rewind.

Our last night in N'awlins was a trip. We somehow managed to find a bar that was selling one dollar Miller High Lifes amidst a thousand five-dollar-a-beer joints. After we got about four deep we crossed a few streets to a daquiri spot because that was all Gina wanted. Eight dollars and fifty cents later ("Don't spill the eight dollar daquiri!!!") we had a mango concoction that traveled the span of the french quarter with us. We ended up at a jazz bar where us girls danced for quite a while. At one point I went outside to make a phone call to Burt Reynolds (Butt Weed, Brett Reed) and when I came back I got reprimanded for sitting in what had become Christian Slater's seat. ("You sat on Christian!") I still don't know what that means.

It was a long walk home but we finally made it back to the hotel and went to sleep. For breakfast, Stina (combination of Steve and Gina, thanks to the lush brain of Zachtown Strut) went back to the vegan Cafe Bamboo and I went off and found a falafel sandwich. After that we got in the car for what would be a very long twelve hour day of traveling.

Once we got into Texas we made our way towards the gulf of Mexico. Right as we were starting to feel lost inside a small industrial town, the dry landscape broke into a view of the beachfront. We cheered. We went sea-shelling and even encountered a crusty crab, as well as what may have been a jellyfish. I'm not sure any of us wanted to get close enough to find out. It was a two hour detour but worth it to be able to say that we found the Gulf of Mexico.

We got into Austin pretty late (being Saturday night) but it was the perfect end to the day.


to be continued . . . gotta go swim

for now,

a&g

"I'd rather be in N'awlins." .... "Bafe is dead." ... "Bible, there's always a f-in bible."

Hello from the deep South! We are writing to you from our hotel room where earlier this morning we discovered what appears to be a giant blood stain underneath one of the mattresses in our room (oh and the toilet is broken). Thus we are convinced that a murder took place in room 619. It's only fitting since we are in America's most haunted city. (can i please mention the incredible drive from nashville to new orleans? we ventured on the natchez trace parkway, hundeds of years after the indians and vagabonds had made their mark, where no more than twenty other cars were seen in the 440 mile trek. for a while all three of us were only able to say "wow" to the wonders we were witnessing on this two lane middle-of-nowhere path. trees, trees, and more trees...)

Last night we got into New Orleans at 11:30. We made our way down to the French Quarter and discovered the madness that is Bourbon Street (we walked in awe from the beautiful construction, details of the buildings, and the drunken idiots that were among us). We referred to as "shorty" by countless passerby-ers and walked the strip until finally settling at a bar where we got a beer and somehow came across a free shot of Jager. Yes Jager...focus on the free part.

OH AND THEN WE WENT TO A CASINO! Steve gave us girls each five dollars to gamble with. It didn't end too well but it was fun while it lasted. We had to stop Steve from gambling all night which was a task in itself. We stayed awake until six AM so that we could sleep during the day and be able to stay here tonight too. Come seven in the morning we all passed out, the rising sun hidden by the curtain. (one of the greatest traveling tips which turns out to be cheaper than staying in most hostels and is even more adventurous and fun: check into a cheap hotel around 6 a.m. in the morning which by you is considered to still be night time but the hotel records it as the next day. basically, it's almost as if you are getting a room to be two nights for one.)

We woke up at 2:33, dressed and then walked a guesstimated two miles to the only vegan restaurant within a 200 mile radius. We all three got Po' Boys (New Orleans classic) with BBQ'd fake chicken and it was insanely good. We still aren't hungry.

We proceeded to walk the French Quarter for about five hours, going in and out of shops and taking photos which will be uploaded soon. We found a place to sit by the river and it was great, very scenic for lack of a better word. (the french quarter of new orleans is like a hidden town. no pictures can justify the beauty. come nightfall jazz bands set up on almost every street corner and the noise of the bars is quickly covered. SEAN FAWBUSH, while sitting along the river there was a huge boat named "TULA". we all freaked and spoke of how much we love you guys.)

Now we are preparing to go to a place called the Saturn Bar that was recommended to us. Tomorrow we will rise, eat, browse a bit more and then it's off to Austin. (holy cow, i don't think we can be prepared for how hot it is going to get. if any of you know of beaches to stop at off the 10 in between new orleans and austin, please share. adventures to be had with erica&randy are awaited...)

Until then,

a & g

p.s.
(steve's contribution, "we've seen a lot of awesome stuff this trip.")

part ii of nashville posts

updating from gina's computer where steve spilled hair dye a few weeks ago so the enter key, along with many others, does not work. the long awaited new orleans is only eight hours away. my favorite part of driving through the south is adelaide saying "part of my dreams is driving in my bathing suit telling you to pour water on me." this is in our future. ya'll should google the natchez trace parkway, that's how we will be getting to our next destination.

"This weirdly colored raisin is giving me the heebie geebies."

We are writing from a little spot called Bongo Java, a coffee shop local to Nashville.

We left Louisville yesterday after eating Ramsi's for the second time. Coffees in hand, Steve took to the wheel as he complains of boredom when not driving. We made it about an hour down the road on 65 South before seeing a giant orange and black striped T. Rex. next to a sign adverstising "Dinosaur World". The cries of "DINO WORLD!!!" that came from Gina made it clear that we were stopping. We decided to forgo the thirteen dollar tickets and instead roamed the gift shop, where G found miniature dinosaur figurines and dinosaur erasers. Quite the finds? Regardless the exit was the same for the Mammoth Caves so we drove across the street to a place called "Olde General Store". Inside were the truest of southern novelties- dreamcatchers, hundreds of old glass Coke bottles, Redneck T-Shirts, beer coasters, swicth blades, turquoise jewelry, moccasins, useless antique tools...you name it. A few more like-minded shops later and we somehow made it out alive and with our funds in tact. (some details others may not think of while traveling is the change in landscape... as 65S continues on through the midwest, once out of louisville the trees start to grow more lush and it seems more apparent that this pathway has been carved out of the earth for us to mosey on along. all things aside, farm lands are still stinky as accents grow thicker.)

Once we made it into Nashville we navigated our way to a record store named Grimey's. Steve browsed for a while and then we decided to head to dinner so we swooped by Mickey's and picked him and his girlfriend Jade up. We went to a place called Woodlands, which had Indian veggie food. Delicious. (where the heck is the wall with the johnny cash mural!!!???)

Afterwards we made it back to their apartment and decided we would go towards downtown Nashville, where there is a block-long strip of famous country-western bars. We planted ourselves at a place called Robert's. Gina, Steve and I were in genuine awe. True cowboys! True country! Before arriving Mickey had joked about how being on the strip is fun at first and then you begin to realize that all the people are for real, that they take country and the whole shtick very seriously. He was right. A rockabilly band set up...two girls on upright bass and drums and a dude that played guitar and sang. Man were they into it. He was rocking the whole get-up of slicked back hair, white Tee, cuffed blue jeans and traditional bandanna hanging out of his back pocket. Welcome to Nashville.

After two beers we decided to check out and headed to a place called Springmill that Mickey's friend had suggested. Tuesday nights are karaoke night so he swore up and down that it would be a trip. We witnessed a barely-averted bar fight, countless renditions of radio songs done by a birthday girl and then managed to stick around for a run-of-the-mill looking dude who nicknamed himself "Psycho" singing his own free-style version of "Lollipop". It was oddly impressive. (hey! don't forget about mickey's number one performance that stemmed from a joke hip hop group in the nineties mainly about being vegan! saint mic rhymed while driving the streets of nashville while we cracked up and begged for more)

We all fell asleep watching some cult classic movie that Mickey loves, but its name is slipping my mind. Forgive me Mickey, I know you can recite it by heart...

Today was great. We woke up and went to a breakfast spot called Fido and enjoyed some good eats. After shopping for a little and buying cheap books, we settled on going to a place called Burgess Park that the same friend who mentioned the karaoke bar had suggested in the same conversation (jonny corndawg!). After Springmill we figured he knew what he was talking about. So we went back to the apartment and put on our bathing suits and took off.

An hour plus later we found ourselves in quite possibly one of the most beautiful places any of us have ever seen. The park had three waterfalls, one being almost 300 feet tall. One of the park rangers informed us as we were headed to the base of it that a kid had died there the week before. The closer we got to the sound of the rushing water the more excited we became until finally, the trees broke and I can only describe our reaction as a chorus of gasps. Eventually we worked up our nerves and swam in the water, which was absolutely incredible. The mist from the fall carried out almost as far as it is tall. We swam for about an hour until climbing back out and following the rocky trail back to the car.

For dinner we had cheap Chinese dishes but it hit the spot. We're all exhausted but completely satisfied with our stay in Nashville. Mickey and Jade have been amazing the past few days, they really showed us how to do Nashville. Thank you, your postcard is coming.

It's amazing what stepping outside of your hometown does for you. Realizing the millions of other lives unfolding, the landscapes you couldn't have imagined. It's worth every cent and uncertainty along the road. We've got our Atlas, our friends and an openness to whatever we come across. For now, we've got it all.

love,

a & g


p.s.
for your viewing pleasure, some of our favorite posters mickey has done (www.kangaroopress.com)

Good Morning from Louisville!

Last night we ate at Ramsi's with the Fawbush clan. Seitan parmesan paninis and seitan jerk chicken sandwiches until food comas were achieved. Little Tula brought in the sunshine through the thunderstorm that flooded Bardstown Road. Thanks to Sean and Tobey for the good conversation and hospitality! (Not one of us made it all the way through Children of Men.)

Nashville by six. Possible stop at Mammoth Cave, or swimming if we can find a lake. For now it's off to find good breakfast, maybe even back to Ramsi's because it was unreal.

Steve's rushing- we gotta go!

Love,

a & g

"this chair is a hundred years old"

We began the drive last night after watching Lou Reed in what felt like a dust bowl in the middle of the city. The gypsy drift was at 39,150 miles when we began, putting us at 39,350 upon arrival in Indianapolis. The Moontower was buzzing per usual and we spent the night on the porch in what felt like a flashback hangout from 2004. King Cobra and the crickets, stories and the sound of the porch swing going back and forth. Perfection.

This morning Jerms Tubbs joined us for breakfast and we're now waiting for him to finish burning a cd for us as a farewell gift. He has snakes for hair in case you didn't know.



So begins our southbound journey...headed to Louisville in humidity that makes our hair frizz up and our backs drip.

HI MOM! HI DAD!

Love,

a & g

pre-departure memos:

+

=





photo one- circa 2004...the place of our meeting

photo two- one year later in the parking lot of a thrift store to find more clothes to mismatch

photo three- August 2009 and we are leaving in the morning for Louisville, Nashville, New Orleans. Austin and everywhere in between. america baby.

oh yeah, and this guy is coming too...



stay tuned.

- a & g