Gary, Indiana and Detroit, Michigan

On the way to Detroit, we stopped in Gary, Indiana to visit the Jackson family home. We didn't know the address, but Lorenzo remembered "2300 Jackson Street" from the song, so we figured we'd go with that. Gary is a small city without much economy to speak of. The old Jackson family neighborhood, like the rest of the city, is pretty run-down and has numerous boarded up homes. We were surprised how small the home was since the Jackson family is so large, but it looked well taken care of compared to the rest of the neighborhood. Unlike most of the historic sites we'd visited, however, there was no plaque or sign in the yard identifying the house as the Jackson family home. We just figured we were in the right place based on the street name and the pictures, flowers, and balloons other visitors had placed along the fence.


Welcome to Gary!


The Jackson family home


The corner of 2300 Jackson Street and Jackson Family Drive where the Jackson family home is located

Because of Detroit's history as an automobile manufacturing capital, a factory tour was at the top of our must do list. We decided on the Ford Rouge Factory Tour, which included a Ford museum with movies and exhibits in addition to the factory tour. The factory tour led us on a 1/3 mile track above the floor where employees assembled Ford F-150's. It was really interesting to us to watch the different parts of the trucks come together. We saw windshields attached, headliners added, and the cab and bed of the truck connected.


Part of the Ford Rouge Factory


Historic Ford cars exhibit inside the Rouge

After the Ford tour, we headed over to the Motown Museum/Hitsville USA. Although the museum is relatively small, the tour lasted about 2 hours and we were really impressed by our tour guide's knowledge about Motown's history. The most interesting part of the tour was our visit to Studio A, where thousands of famous Motown songs were recorded. Before leaving Detroit, we also explored the downtown area, GM Renaissance building, and the Riverwalk - a walking path along the river that separates downtown Detroit from Canada. Although we did see some boarded up buildings around Detroit, overall the city seemed to still have an active economy and we enjoyed the history and sights.


Lorenzo on the front steps of Hitsville USA


Hitsville USA


Kim and Lorenzo at the Riverwalk


A view of Canada across the river full of floating chunks of ice


The GM Renaissance Center


One of many boarded up buildings around Detroit

We originally planned to go to Toronto and Niagara Falls after Detroit, but because Kim's grandmother passed away, we decided to end our trip a little early. We are still heading to Europe in April for the next leg of our journey so stay tuned!

Lincoln, NE and Chicago, IL

On the way to Chicago, we stopped overnight in Lincoln, Nebraska to break up the super long drive. The next morning we drove through Des Moines, IA to pick up a fresh pair of new Jordans for Travis' birthday. We also stopped to check out the Iowa 80 truck stop, the world's largest truck stop, before continuing on to ChiTown. This truck stop included numerous restaurants, a movie theater, shops, a truck parts store, and even a dentist. Its actually more like a mini-mall. When we finally arrived in Chicago, the first thing on our minds was to get something healthy to eat from a familiar place. Thus, we headed for an old faithful, Whole Foods, for organic salads. Afterwards, we drove around a bit and admired the skyline before calling it a night. On our first full day in Chicago, we drove by Harpo Studios where the Oprah show is filmed, and we browsed the Oprah store. We then headed downtown to the Cloud Gate (the Bean), Grant Park, and Millennium Park. We went to the NikeTown where they had a display of every Jordan shoe in all white. Lorenzo loved it. Next, we headed to Banana Republic where Kim purchased a trench coat she had been eying for weeks, for 50% off. What a deal. After what seemed like much more than a 1 mile walk along North Michigan Ave, also known as the Magnificent Mile, we grabbed a bite to eat at the Grand Lux Cafe, which included lots of veggies and some seared tuna, and headed back to our hotel. The next day we drove a few miles back west to the Aurora Premium Outlets, and while there, we were tempted to purchased a new netbook from the Sony Store to assist us in blogging and keeping you up to date at we travel throughout Europe on the second half of our trip. We couldn't visit Chicago without tasting some deep dish pizza, so went went for some of Chicago's best at Lou Malnati's. Here we picked up a couple of bottles of their famous house sweet vinaigrette. We later checked out the Chicago Bulls stadium, the waterfront, and the world's 3rd largest Whole Foods located in Lincoln Park, which included a fantastic sushi section and many other specialty areas. We ended the evening with a trip to the movie theater to see Brooklyn's Finest on our last night in the Windy City.


Lincoln Nebraska (literally the middle of nowhere)


The world's largest truck stop (Interstate 80 in Iowa)


Harpo Studios (Home of the Oprah Winfrey Show)


Kimalee at the Oprah Store


Cloud Gate (A.K.A., The Bean)


Us at The Bean


Ice skating in the city


Chicago's nighttime cityscape


The Crown Fountain at Millennium Park


Deep Dish pizza at Lou Malnati's

Cheyenne, WY and Denver, CO

When we left Salt Lake City, we drove through the Rocky Mountains, the last major mountain chain in our drive east. After spending the last few weeks traveling through mountains of varying elevations, we were looking forward to the flat grounds of the midwest. On the other hand, the driving time between stops increased as we drove across the northwest because the cities were few and far between. We decided to stop in Cheyenne, the capital of Wyoming, to rest for the evening.


Some of the many mountains we drove across.


We literally drove through the mountains. Much faster than going over them!

The next morning, we headed to Denver, CO which is about 1.5 hours from Cheyenne. We decided to go to a Denver Nuggets game that evening. It was very exciting to sit amongst thousands of Nuggets fans as the Nuggets beat the Utah Jazz. Unfortunately, Ty Lawson was injured and didn't play, but Lorenzo still got a Lawson shirt and matching socks. The next day we explored downtown Denver and the state capital. We happened to be visiting the capital on a day when the state representatives were voting on medical marijuana, so we watched a rally by medical marijuana supporters which was soon broken up by the Denver Police. It was amazing how so many people who didn't appear to need marijuana for medial purposes rallied so hard for it. We didn't think it helped their cause much. Overall, Denver was one of our favorite cities with great shopping, nice houses and suburbs, and a very active downtown area.


Inside the Pepsi Stadium watching the Nuggets play


Lorenzo and Kim at the Nuggets stadium


Kim in front of the Colorado state capital


A close up of some of the people supporting medical marijuana outside the capital

Boise, ID & Salt Lake City, UT

Leaving Seattle, we drove through beautiful evergreen lined highways surrounded by snow capped mountains and crystal clear lakes that mirrored the sky above. Entering Boise, we noticed that although the city is the capital of Idaho, it was quite small. It reminded us of Gordonsville or Culpeper in Virginia, with just a tad more to do. Small, but charming, with a homey feel to it. After a two night stay in Boise that included nothing more than just exploring downtown, and a quick look at the capital building, we headed toward Salt Lake City.


Mountain drive to Boise


Oregon evergreeens


Idaho State Capital

After a long drive and before we even checked into our hotel, we drove straight to the Great Salt Lake. The lake spans 1700 square miles and is the largest salt lake in the western hemisphere. The high salt concentration allows people to float in the water much easier than in ocean water. Once we got here, we walked the 100-meter beach to the water's edge where we took in views of various species of birds and the surrounding area of mountains and snow. The beautiful colors beyond the lake and into the mountains appeared blue, purple, and grey. After taking in the scenery, we stopped off at the FYE Superstore where we picked up some rare DVD's for Dad and Aunt Linda, and headed to our hotel. The next day we explored downtown including Temple Square (symbolic heart of the worldwide Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints), the state capital building, and the University of Utah and Olympic Park (home to the 2002 Winter Olympics). We regret that we didn't have time to travel 90 minutes away to the Bonneville Salt Flats State Park - the 30000 acre natural wonder where they test speed cars. But, we'll catch it on the next trip. All in all, we really enjoyed our time in Salt Lake City. Next stop, Cheyenne, WY and Denver, CO.


Snowy drive through Utah


The Great Salt Lake


Scenic views around the Great Salt Lake


Us cuddling to stay warm in the wind of the Lake


The Salt Lake at night


The Utah State Capital Building


Kim's favorite spot on this trip. She relaxes while Lorenzo drives.

Seattle, WA

On the way to Seattle, we stopped off to view Mount St. Helen's. Mount St. Helen's looked so serene and beautiful that it was hard to believe that just 30 years ago it caused the deadliest volcanic event in the history of the United States. Once in Seattle, our first stop was the Space Needle. We rode the elevator up 520 feet to the observation deck where we were able to see 360 degree views of the city. The observation deck has both inside and outside viewing sections, which we greatly appreciated because it was extrememly cold and windy outside. We saw dense downtown skyscrapers, a working port, neighborhoods, and the snowcappped mountains in the distance. We were even lucky enough to time our visit so that we were able to see the views during the day, at sunset, and at night. After the Space Needle, we caught a bite to eat at a nearby Thai restaurant and called it a night.


Mount St. Helen's in the distance.


The Space Needle


The view of the Seattle waterfront from the Space Needle.


A view of the downtown area at dusk.


Kim and Lorenzo on the Space Needle.

The next day we took a 15 minute drive out to the Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, WA. We stopped at the visitors center and the Microsoft museum where we learned about Microsoft's history and how Bill Gates started it all and about the company's current and developing technologies. Here you can play XBOX, listen to Zune, browse software on laptops and even test Microsoft Surface. We then browsed the Microsoft store where we saw employees picking up loads of discounted software. We left Microsoft for a late breakfast at IHOP on National Pancake Day, then headed to the REI flagship store near downtown Seattle. Downtown Seattle has a large variety of restaraunts and tons shops and we ended the day by shopping and eating downtown.

Microsoft headquarters


Lorenzo added his picture and message to a screen at the Microsoft visitor center.


Lorenzo joining the Microsoft founders.

Despite the windy and overcast weather, the next morning we walked from our hotel near the Space Needle to Pike Place Market which is located on the waterfront near the downtown. The Market is full of little specialty shops and restaraunts and stands selling fresh seafood, fruits, and vegetables. As we wandered around, we smelled dried lavendar and fresh flowers and saw purple potatoes and a giant octopus. We also tasted chocolate pasta and ate a humongous oatmeal cookie and a delicious apple pastry from a small Russian restaraunt called Piroshky, Piroshky.


Pike Place Market


Giant octopus at Pike Place Market


Kim taking a bite of a yummy apple pastry.


Lorenzo enjoying a mushroom and broccoli pastry.

Portland, OR

The 10 hour trek from San Francisco to Portand was like one long, continuous uphill drive. Although the drive was long, it was also very scenic with views of snow capped mountains and an abundance of evergreen trees. When we finally reached Portland, we were highly impressed by the downtown skyline and both agreed that it was the best one yet. Although we were visiting Portland, we technically stayed in an apartment-like hotel (Staybridge Suites) across the state line in Vancouver, Washington. On our first full day in Portland, we went downtown to checkout the Nike flagship store and also braved the cold Portland wind to walk to Voodoo Doughnuts where we waited in line for an hour to try six doughnuts including the Bacon Maple Bar, Grape Ape, and Apple Fritter. After tasting the absolutely amazing doughnuts and seeing the other 70 people also waiting in line, it was clear to us why native Portlanders consider this place an institution. Voodoo Doughnuts, like the rest of Portland, is a bit alternative, but this is a quality Portlanders are very proud of. After exploring downtown, the rest of our time in Portland was spent watching Redbox movies and taking a break from the fast-paced travel of the last few weeks.


Some of the hills we encountered on the drive to Portland.


The evergreens and mountains of Oregon.


The outside of the flaship Niketown in Portland.


The line at Voodoo Doughnuts


The Voodoo Doughnuts menu


A few of the doughnuts we tried - Grape Ape, Apple Fritter, and Bacon Maple Bar.


Evidence of Portland's pride of its weirdness.