Homeward Ho!

Jen again: Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! We woke up in Lone Pine, Calif., just outside of Death Valley, to a clear, cool, gorgeous morning. Our rustic mountain motel is ringed by towering craggy peaks covered in snow! We had a hot breakfast in the lobby and are preparing for the last leg of the trip through Yosemite National Park. This is the second time we've been through the park in as many months, but as John rightly put it: "I haven't been there this year!" Tonight, we'll sleep at home in Marin. Thanks to all who followed our trip on this blog -- hope you enjoyed the show!

Goin' Back to Cali

Jen this time: We've arrived in Lone Pine, Calif. For me, it's good to be home. For John, it's a rite of passage. Rolling over the Nevada/California state line in Death Valley was a big moment; John arrived in California for the first time as a resident. Sweet. Tomorrow, Yosemite and then ... Home. Together. Finally.

Check it out

At 6:51 p.m. mountain time, we crossed the 3,000-mile point in our trip. We're just outside of Phoenix. This number is significant to us becuase it represents the distance between us all these months.

The loooong star state

John here (via mobile): It's been three days without internet access, but we're hopeful for Las Cruces, N.M. We stayed in a real hole in San Antonio. To top that, we went on a beer run around 11 p.m., just after getting a bite to eat. Well, we were in the River Walk area of the city, and there were plenty of little trendy, pay-8-bucks-for-a-beer little bars. But all we wanted was a 6-pack to take back to the room. Well, there wasn't a single gas station or any type of store in the area. It's not that there wasn't one open ... there WASN'T one. Lame! Anyway, we're in west Texas now driving through the desert. Keeping score? We've traveled 2,222 miles at the time of this post.

Leavin' for the Lone Star

Juppy's wearing cowboy hats and swiggin' sweet tea by the quart. We're headin' Texas' way!

Time to dine

John here (via mobile): We had a wonderful dining experience at Mulate's in downtown NOLA. We had a sampling of basically everything, which included frog legs, crab claws, oysters, catfish, gator tail, crawfish tail and many shrimp. The place was wonderful; it had river-style music and when you were in there you could imagine New Orleans as it was before the storm came through.

Big Easy ahoy!

John here (via mobile): We're on the way to NOLA! We had a night in Birmingham, Ala., with Riley -- a bloke I knew from my ECU days. In New Orleans, we'll stay in a hotel just off the French Quarter. It's about a six-block walk to Bourbon Street. At the time of this post, we have about 6 miles left in Alabama. We'll slice off a corner of Mississippi, and then straight into the Big Easy. For those of you counting, we've driven 1,170 miles.

A new first

John here (via mobile): This is the Jup-star after her first blog post!

Charleston, SC-Bryson City, NC

Jen here: Friday night we spend the evening in the company of the delightful Maureen Hartshorn, my friend and former Marin IJ page designer who now works for the Post and Courier in Charleston. Pizza, beer, beer, uhh... beer. Oh, yeah, and Alka-Seltzer on Saturday morning after chowing down at the Cracker Barrel! South Carolina is not much to look at from I-26, which cuts through the state from the coast to the capital, Columbia, and threads north through the Blue Ridge foothills and into North Carolina's Great Smoky mountains. John's paternal grandparents, Wanda and Ken Swartz, who live in a cabin Ken built in Bryson City, fed us a delicious meal and visited with us Saturday night. Tomorrow: Birmingham!

John here (via mobile phone): We're on the road, heading into South Carolina. We've just stopped at a Bojangles, and Jen is having her first-ever taste. Watch this space for her thoughts on this Southern fried yummy.

Our Trip

John here: Well, I suppose this is technically Day 1 of our travels. We had a great good-bye party with my friends last night and people kept asking when we were leaving. Of course, when we'd say "the next day," there were a few surprised looks. They were thinking how ridiculous it would be to start a long road trip the day after ... well ... such an event as Wednesday night. There was, however, more understanding when I'd mention that the first leg of the trip was only 78 miles. The traveling really starts tomorrow. We're heading the way of Charleston, S.C., to see a friend of Jen's. In all there are quite a few stops along the way that include New Orleans, San Antonio and Phoenix. Below is our tentative trip plotted out.

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