Monday, June 20, 2011

Its Going Down

Whats good friends? BZurk here just doin work around our beautiful eastern united states of america. I have been continuing the adventures since I last posted. From Philly the road trip crew and Chief (our car) went to Ricketts Glen State Park and saw 22 waterfalls on one hike.
We then went to Brooklyn and kicked it with our boys in Ravenous for a few nights. I had never been to Brooklyn before and I had a great time. I go to New York a few times a year and its always fun but this time I saw a whole new side to the city, a side i really enjoyed. I also got to meet up with some of my favorite homies, Max from Tulane, Andrew from Suisse and Max from the 301. Its great seeing cool people. It was awesome to see my dad and Daniel for so much pizza at Patsy's and a really fun Met's game. Citi Field is like a world class shrine for all that is Mets and I am so pumped to see the team moving back toward being a .500 team. The stadium looks a lot better than it did last year. I think that they will continue to improve the stadium every year.
After NY we headed to Williamstown and hung out in Tommy's old stomping grounds. Now we are in Cape Cod living it up at Paul's friend Nick's house. We are a 5 minute walk from the beach and his mom Nancy is so unbelievably nice. Cape Cod rules. Boston next followed by Acadia. Be sure to fill out this survey if you are free for me to visit you wherever you are. Peace and love.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Waterfalls + The Kraus/Ravenous Spot NY

After our fantastic stay in and around Illadeplhia, we hit the road for a little rural retreat. Rickett's Glen State Park offered us two nights cheap camping and a 5 mile loop hike that toured 21 different waterfalls. With our swim suits and picnic packed, we set out to see the falls, each one progressively more stunning. Be on the lookout for a new viral youtube video, as we made a little song and dance to accompany the many waterfalls.




On Thursday we re-packed our bags to brave the heart of Brooklyn, New York and ran into quite the character on the train into the city.


With Michael Jackson still ringing in our ears, we arrived to meet our friend Nick Kraus, a fellow Colorado College graduate, who was gracious enough to let us crash on his hardwood floor. Being the good little road-trippers that we are, we had planned ahead to spend the Thursday and Friday nights with Ravenous (Matt Ogg, Taylor Bragg, Mr. Benjamin Field-Pickering, and kindergarden Coach Alex Becker), who also live in Brooklyn. Fortunately for us, these two spots happened to be a mere 6 blocks from each other! The horde of us had a few happy hour drinks together before parting ways for two different shows later that evening. The six of us (Nick included) headed out on the L train to the Brooklyn Bowl for a DJ set hosted by the one and only DJ ?uestlove of the Roots spinning the hottest vinyl cuts from his personal collection. We chatted up both Captain Kirk (guitar), who Sarah danced with for quite some time, and Knuckles (percussion) of the Roots. We had an uneventful, smooth, and flawless train ride back to Nick's spot where we all immediately hit the pillow.

On Friday we each did our own thing... visiting long lost friends, walking the Brooklyn Bridge, witnessing high fashion at the MET, getting caught in an extreme thunderstorm, eating delish pizza & bagels (not to be confused with pizza bagels) and getting dunked on at Rucker Park. We've got one more day in the big apple and then off to sunny Williamstown and then the Cape Cod and Boston areas. Until next time, you stay classy world.

Shout out to our hosts in the song of the day: Ravenous- Saltwater Taffy (The Dock)

Sunday, June 12, 2011

It Begins...


Yes, the rumors you have been hearing are true. The road trip to end all road trips has officially started. And oh what a start it was. We said sayonara to Silver Spring, MD around 5pm, and drove promptly through to Pat's in South Illadelph to find some delicious cheesesteaks. However, when we got there, what we found instead was the craziest line EVER! (See below)


As we filed in to this line pouring out into the street, cars were passing us left and right, some more upset than others about the traffic jam we were creating. Eventually, the cops even had to come and move the line to the sidewalk because no cars could get through. Despite the fact that we stood in this line mingling with some of the worst people in the world (Phillies fans), it was definitely worth the wait when we got our food. It was also a momentous occasion because Kate and Sarah had their first cheesesteaks ever and our own Benjamin Porter Zucker even broke kosher!

After wolfing down our meal, we got back on the road to Haverford College, to meet Mr. Joeseph "Woody" Carpenter, of Portland OR, track and cross-country extraordinaire. Dude threw a party just for us! But not actually (we crashed his going away party). I believe Kate put it best, "You Haverford people are sloppy. And Wonderful."

We woke up this morning on a beer stained floor of an apartment a little bit hung over but mostly just ready to roll, especially when Woody made us all pancakes before taking us on a tour of the college. After our stroll around lovely Haverford College (phenomenal stone buildings says our budding architect Paul), we said goodbye to our new runner friends and made our way to see Grandpa Jack and Louise (Ben's grandparents. Holla back Porter family) for some lunch. After the post-lunch tour of their zone and the clubhouse, which was an unemployed college graduate's paradise full of games and fun, we decided we have to return (tomorrow night) for some mischief.

Our wonderful lunch in the rearview mirror, literally and figuratively (getting punny), we drove back into the city to meet Kate's brother and his hilarious dog Hugo.


Hugo and Ben proceeded to take us on a tour of downtown, during which we did a little bit of slack-lining (tons of fun). Hugo got a little bit tired from the walk, but us humans would not let the heat get us down, and we had a little workout session in the afternoon. Well, Ben has just prepared us a fantastic dinner, so we've got to run, but thanks for reading and keeping up with us whoever you are. Here is the song of the day because it is oddly specific to our road trip: Wyclef Jean- Gone Til November

And.... we're off!


Whatsup party people! We are on the road and its beautiful. We are still forming, haha. Last night we kicked it with Joseph and some wonderful fools at the track team up at Haverford College. Silly and sloppy is how I would describe it. We woke up on the floor, confused and abused after a night of shenanigans and headed over to Grandpa Jack and Louise's place, which is amazing and has a fun clubhouse. A clubhouse is basically like a playground for 20 year olds. We headed over to downtown Philly to kick it with Kate's brother (also named Ben) who has a hilarious bulldog named Hugo. We took him for a walk and he was a hit with everyone we saw. Now we're at Ben's watching the finals (I'm rooting for the Heat. Witness.) and we should have more adventures for sure over the next few days. We're going back to Grandpa Jack and Louise's place, I'm gonna chill with Jenna, and then off to some sweet falls and then New York on Wednesday to Saturday.  Let me know if you're in the Big Apple and want to chill! Peace.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Even The Best Laid Plans Can Go Awry

Hello Everyone,

As you know, today was supposed to be the official sendoff day for our little trip. However, in a shocking twist, getting ready for a 6 month road trip is a lot of work. As a result of the laundry list of things that we still have to do, we are changing our plans and hitting the road tomorrow with our first stop being the Philadelphia area. So, if you are in Philly and would like to see any of the furious five (nicknames for our group are a work in progress and suggestions are welcome) then please let any or all of us know. In the meantime, we will continue packing and making the car into a road warrior.

Also, in between making hurried trips to REI and Target to get more and more gear, our very own driving expert Paul has been teaching the rest of the gang to drive stick. At this point, Paul and maybe Kate are probably the only people allowed to drive on big boy roads. All I have to say in response to this is shotty.


Finally, we would like to give a big thank you to everyone who has filled out the survey so far (105 people and counting!), and, if you have not yet filled it out, please take a minute and do so if you are interested in meeting up with the fab five en route (I can think of at least five migrants who will be eternally grateful if you do).

In conclusion, here is the song of the day for obvious reasons: Ray Charles- Hit The Road Jack.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Bout to roll

Its weird. I've left home for long stretches before but for some reason this one seems more permanent. Maybe thats because I'm not going to any one place in particular or maybe its because Tulane is over and its time to move to the next phase in life. Whatever, I'm sure it will all be fine. Thomas Friedman, who spoke at Tulane graduation, wrote a cool NY times op-ed today titled "The Earth is Full" y'all should check out. I'm in to his idea of "a move to a more happiness-driven growth model, based on people working less and owning less." Yesterday I went to REI and the DMV, today, Target and Negril. Sara arrived yesterday so now the whole squad is in Silver Spring, pretty exciting stuff. I just got an update from Joe and my friends from Tulane who are having an amazing European adventure. Needless to say, they are having an amazing time and I'm jealous I'm not with them. Alright, I'm not. First stop: Philadelphia.
Flip, flip, flipadelphia

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Ravenous- Rock On!

"Maybe its the light of the moon, maybe its the moooooooooooonshine."  HOLY MOLY last night was fun. 2 shows with my favorite band and all the amigos. First they played a show at 9 which I only caught 1/2 of and then, as luck would have it, Ravenous played another show at 2 in the morning. That means I was able to party like its 2005 all over U street with Alex, Mike, Tay and Ben and the rest of the squad of Ravenous fanatics.


Props to Paul for driving and not losing the car. Props to Kathy for taking pictures, when I get them I will post them here. Be sure to check out Ravenous' myspace, their blog http://ifuckswithravenous.tumblr.com/, and their facebook. I will surely be visiting the band on the roadtrip when I get to Brooklyn. If you are in NY and like to rock, you should come with me.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Travlin is Fun

I have been adventuring around lately and it has been SO MUCH FUN.



I drove a Budget rental moving truck (much less expensive than UHaul, I recommend checking out Penske though) from New Orleans to Atlanta to Goochland to Alexandria to Silver Spring. I always have a good time in Atlanta. Roger Sikes is one of the best people on planet earth and it was cool being able to check out his pad and having a few beers with him and his buddy. Central Virginia in May is beautiful and the drive up to Joe's place was spectacular. Joe's family is always so welcoming and I had a good time there too shooting guns and relaxing. The off to Alexandria, dropped off Tommy and his stuff and then finally back to good ol Silver Spring, land of the free home of the brave. I had missed the family a ton so it was cool to get back (even though I didnt have a room, now I have a corner of the basement which is cool). Truckin across the South is something every young man should do, the seat was uncomfortable and the truck was treacherous but overall it was a good time.


I went to Texas with my dad and saw one game in Houston and two in Dallas. First impressions of Texas: large, great food (bbq and tex-mex), nice people, lots of space between things/buildings, slow drivers, great baseball stadiums. I always love the retractable roof stadiums (Astros) and the Ballpark at Arlington (Rangers) is a classic American baseball stadium. Its one of my favorites for sure. We had amazing seats and the Rangers are a good team, the won in a walkoff on Sunday. It was also sweet to kick it with my dad, these trips are an amazing tradition that I hope never ends.



My most recent adventure was to NY to go to the Hamptons with one of my main amigos from school, Max Joseph. Per usual, Max and I had a great time in the pool, in the marsh, and by the beach. He is also a majorly hospitable dude and it was a great trip. Took the bus there which sucked but then after a nice lunch with Papa (grandfather on my Dad's side, it had been way too long since I've seen him and it was great to go to the Royal Cliffs with him) I took the train home. I realized I love trains, totally preferable to planes, buses and cars due to comfortableness and speed.



Thats it for now, we should be setting off on the Road Trip soon (next Friday-ish) which will be an adventure all its own. By the way, the road trip blog is up, check it out! http://roadtripping2011.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, June 1, 2011