Hey everybody...
Our last post left you in Utah and we've been doing a lot of traveling since then! We had a great set up at the University of Utah and spent a day off four wheeling in the High Uintas Mountains outside of Park City, Utah. It was amazing and there was over a foot of snow on the ground. We rode all day until we were exhausted and left town the next day to start our trek towards New Mexico.
On our way, we had to make a stop in Las Vegas. We spent the better part of the day driving and walking around the strip sightseeing. We also made it downtown to the Fremont Street Experience. If you've been to Las Vegas and haven't seen Fremont St or you're planning on going soon, it's a must-see! We also stopped by Hoover Dam on our way out of town and it was truly a monumental sight.
We stopped for a night in Williams, Arizona, which probably doesn't mean much to most of you. But, it just so happens to be the town where you get off the Interstate to visit the Grand Canyon. Words can't describe how utterly breathtaking the view is. We had planned on stopping by rather quickly, but ended up spending several hours there. Once again this is another must-see for anyone that hasn't done so yet!
We finally made it to Albuquerque (after several more stops along the way) and had a day off before we set up at the University of New Mexico. We had a great time at the University and enjoyed our time there. While in NM, we went out for some authentic New Mexican food...now, authentic apparently means "atomic heat" in New Mexico. My mouth was literally on fire. These people put chile peppers on everything (including cheeseburgers at McDonald's) and, yes, they are very spicy. But, once again, it was an experience that we hadn't been through before so we can scratch that one off the 'ole list.
We left New Mexico and started traveling towards St Louis where we will drop off the "dorm room of the future". We'll get back to Atlanta sometime early next week and then we have to sign off for good. Emily and I don't have definite plans for the future just yet, but we're hoping to continue our careers in this awesome industry. It will be nice to spend some time at home for a while and catch up on some R&R, but we'll be missing our lives on the road and traveling around the country.
We've enjoyed meeting everyone throughout our stops across the country and will always cherish the memories we've been privileged to make. We've had some truly wonderful experiences and are grateful to have such a fun, exciting job. Thanks for keeping up with us in our travels and we hope the blog has helped to keep you updated along the way. We'd also like to give a quick shout out to the sponsors and people that made the tour possible. We'd love the opportunity to work with them again in the future.
Signing out for the last time,
Ross & Emily
Have a good day today and a better one tomorrow!
Yes, we finally made it to Salt Lake City, Utah. Despite the chilly weather, which we are hoping to get use to, we've had a blast so far. Today was our first day on the University of Utah campus. It was a peaceful day, which matched perfectly with the view of the mountains. We continue to be amazed by the beauty of the West.
Tomorrow will be our last day on campus and then we are very excited about the rest of our time spent in Salt Lake City. We have scheduled to go four wheeling on our day off, and couldn't be more anxious about the sites we will see, and experiencing the mountains first hand! We'll let you know how it goes!! Should be amazing!!
We spent our free day Wednesday traveling all over San Diego seeing as much of it as we could. We visited the beach-side town of La Jolla (pronounced La Hoya) and it's as close to paradise as we've come. The weather was beautiful and we went to the top of Mt. Soledad where you can see the entire San Diego area in a 360 degree panoramic view!
We left San Diego yesterday and got on the road towards Salt Lake City. About an hour outside San Diego, the big truck with the dorm room of the future started to overheat, so Gary pulled over to let it cool off. He sent Emily and I on ahead and planned to catch up to us later. Well, ten minutes down the road, we suffered a tire blowout and were on the side of the Interstate ourselves. After an hour or two, we finally got the tire fixed and Gary was up and running again....or was he? The truck had alread been looked at by a mechanic, been given the go-ahead, and started overheating again right as we got back on the Interstate. So, to make a long story a little shorter, we spent about 5 1/2 hours on the side of the road or in parking lots in San Bernardino, California. We're actually still here and hopefully the truck will get fixed today and we can be underway yet again towars Salt Lake City. You can't help but laugh at the situation, because we were bound to have trouble somewhere on the road and we're all glad it happened in town rather than 100 miles out on the middle of nowhere.
The plan is to arrive in Salt Lake City sometime tonight and have some down time over the weekend. Contingent, of course, on things running a little smoother today...
SDSU was an awesome first school for us to hit on the West coast! The area was beautiful and we got a wonderful response from the students! Ross and I plan on going to the beach tomorrow, and doing all the tourist stuff that we can. We are so excited to be out here for the first time! We love Cali!!! Check in soon to see what spots we hit while in San Diego!
We're back in action! Today was our first day at San Diego State and it was back to business as usual. We all had a nice stay at home last week and we all made it back to the job safely. Last week was full of some R&R and some home cooked meals...and it was soooo nice. We flew back in on Saturday night and hung out with each other the remainder of the weekend. Sunday as we were going to wash the truck, we happened across a U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds air show and that was a pretty cool little deal.
Today, we set up at SDSU and got back in our groove. We had a great day, except it was a little chilly and we hadn't prepared for that. But, don't get me wrong...I'll take 60 degrees over 95 degrees any day! We're on campus again tomorrow then have some time off until our next stop. We'll definitely be back to let you know how SDSU ends up...
Hello, loyal followers...
We've been driving for just under 30 hours the past 3 days and we've officially made it to San Diego!!! We left Kansas State on Friday and drove for a couple hours to the western part of the state. On Saturday, we had a beautiful drive through Colorado and into Utah. It was amazing watching the landscapes change, but we definitely weren't ready for the temperature change. After 11 hours on the road, we spent the night in Beaver, Utah, and when we woke up on Sunday it was 28 degrees and snowing! Ice was covering the windshield and grass and we were both in shorts and t-shirts...shivering if you can imagine.
We left Sunday morning and drove through Southern Utah and stopped for lunch in fabulous Las Vegas. We didn't get to stop long, but we'll definitely be traveling through Vegas again before it's all said and done. From Vegas, it was about a 5 hour drive to San Diego. We got to SD safely, but as we were arriving in town, we had a blowout and lost a tire on the trailer. It was a small setback, but we got it taken care of and found a nice place to stay. I know we're both looking forward to spending some quality time in San Diego next week and hopefully getting some beach time in if the weather/temperature permits.
As you can see, we spent the better part of 3 days on the road, but if you've never seen the West, you have to make a point of getting out here. The land is so open and full of breathtaking views...although sometimes you really are in the middle of nowhere!!
Emily and I both fly home tomorrow for Fall Break. She is heading to Greensboro, NC, and I'll be spending the week in Nashville. It will be good to get a home cooked meal and see some familiar faces, but I'm already getting anxious to get back out here and keep on touring...
Hello all! Today was our first day at Kansas State. The weather was beautiful and we were very impressed with not only the students energy but also the professors. Everyone on campus was curious about our tour, and so much fun to talk to. The campus in general had a great feel and we are so excited about tomorrow. Tomorrow will be our last day in Kansas. We are sad to leave, but excited because we are heading to San Deigo where we will get to fly home for a couple days. We will definitely be in touch during our break, and keep you all posted on our time off and future plans. Well, that's all for now!! Goodnight all!
When we left Purdue, we headed down to Indianapolis for a day. We stayed in Carmel and had a great time there riding bikes and trying out a Segway for the first time. It was a little tricky at first, but we caught on quickly. We left there and spent the weekend in St. Louis. It was such a fun weekend!
On Friday we went to The Hill (the Italian neighborhood of STL) and found ourselves at a restaurant called Milo's. It was straight out of Italy complete with Bocce Ball courts built into the back patio. We also tried toasted ravioli there for the very first time and they were soooo good...if I had to be honest we had them 3 more times during the weekend. After Milo's we visited one of the most famous area landmarks...the Anheuser-Busch Brewery and took a tour that ended with some complimentary refreshments!
The rest of the weekend was full of a lot of relaxation, which was much needed. We watched some great upsets in football and even took a stroll down to the famous St. Louis Arch. Today, we drove towards Kansas City, Missouri, and are hoping to get some great BBQ while we're here! We'll definitely let you know if it's as good as they say it is and stay tuned for updates from Kansas State University later this week.
Let's hear it for Purdue!!! We just finished an amazing two days at Purdue University up in West Lafayette, Indiana. The turnout was amazing and it was definitely an awesome time. We had rain off and on for two days but that didn't bring down the energy at all. We had one of the best turnouts yet. We came down to Indianapolis to hang out tonight and spend some time in the big city. Tomorrow we're off to St Louis where we're planning on staying the weekend so we'll definitely get back to you when we visit the Arch and some other local hot spots. Keep checking in because you never know what we'll get in to next.
There are no words for how amazing today was except WOW!! On our way towards Purdue we decided to stop by Niagara Falls and take some photos. I can't even describe how beautiful the Falls were. We took tons of pictures, but no pictures can explain how powerful yet peaceful the view was. I was also so amazed at the diverse crowd that surrounded us while taking photos. I must of heard at least five different languages! People from all over the world had come to witness Niagara Falls for themselves. It was an amazing experience! After that we entered Buffalo, NY and ate at a restaurant that claims the original Buffalo Wings. The wings were great and filled our stomachs for the long drive ahead. Today we finally reached the hotel and are super excited to work at Purdue on Tuesday. Anyway, that's all for now! Talk to ya soon!
~Emily
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