Winston-Salem, NC-Wake Forest University

Travel Blog for Winston-Salem,NC trip from Boyertown, PA and back. Kept a hand written journal in the car. Listed events such as radio stations listened to and stops we took.

1. 555am-Harrisburg- Pa Turnpike- 96.1WSOX with the greates hits of all time- oldies
2. Lizzy got hungry at 66.1 miles into the trip.
3. Reminder( add Argentos Cheese Steak toCheese Steak list –Huge and tasty)
4. 97.3 WRVV The River outside of Harrisburg
5. 608am called my dad, wished happy fathers day-woke him up—oops
6. 630am got off Carlisle and ate at McDonalds(103 miles), well ordered and ate in car. I had a Mc Griddle egg,ham and cheese…very tasty and so unnutritious. Lizzy bought… total bill $11.30
7. Got $10 at Texaco off of the Carlisle turnpike exit-2.73/gallon-no receipt
8. Then got on 81S, using first Carlisle ramp.Turned the off radio at 720am
9. Oh, got a Sunday Sentinel at the Texaco. Back in the late 70's my brother and I were newspaperboys for the Sentinel.
10. Found out and later heard on NPR radio that the US Soccer team tied Italy last night. Apparently the goal was an accident. However, US had made another goal, but for some reason it was not counted. The US did not make it out of the first stage. They lost two and tied one by luck.Check the scores here. One year the US will get over its idea that American Football is so great, and acutally take itself seriously in the World Cup Soccer arena.
11. 759am-101.5 Classic Rock-Hagerstown MD.-Greencastle
12. 748am 155.9miles-Steppenwolf: "Born to be Wild"
13. 168miles West Va, 70 mph speed limit. Passing Falling Waters at 821am,
14. 194.2 miles VA...Idea...Volkswagonbus.com bus blog.... travel the states looking at and perhaps eventually buy a vw bus. Find em on ebay or else were.. travel to see them....in conjunction with a Travel Blog
15. Who sings Sister Christian..motoring…whats your price for flight…finding Mr. Right”....Answer is...Night Ranger
16. 840am 105.5FM 215.5 miles Queen “you’re my best friend”
17. 842am passed exit 30 off of 81S mile marker 300.5
18. Shanedoah Valley golf club charitycharity fund raiser event on radio
19. Where to go next winter? Banff…will need passport. Oh pretty sure we are going to go to Las Vegas in November...must make it a yearly event...meet us there in November...check back here for further updates.
20. 902am 88.3fm USA radio network news
21. 945am , 289.7 miles 93.1fm MIX
22. 955am, 98.5 fm,301.4 miles1001am
23. 94.3 ‘the Cars” are on the radio again, 307.2 miles Harrsonburg Star 94
24. Nice farm off of Interstate highway 81 Mile marker 331.5
25. 1030 am-342 miles into trip "Hey What Can I Do" by Zepplin 94.3fm
26. 1039am the station is fading, 353.3 miles into trip
27. Got off highway and wen to Shell Foodmart at exit 171 maybe-Arcadia. Bought $28 in gas at 2.85 a gallon. I got a Vanilla Moonpie and a Power Aide. Lizzy go Pizzeria Combos and Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies(one of her favorites). Tom, Lizzie's third son who we are taking to camp, got Pizzalisious Pringles;5 packs of gum:3 Hubba Bubba,1 sour wringlies, 1 Juicy fruit;and 1 Dorritos cracker pack.
28. 1055am-352 miles-Traffic jam at 166.2 milemarker. When we passed there was wreckage strewn all over the side of the road...it was a nasty wreck.
29. 1107am-1620am radio report accident on 81S at milemarker 165
30. 1107am-96.3fm-"Fat Bottom Girls" on ROV the Rock of VA
31. 1120am moving again
32. 1136am searching radio channels
33. 1137am 101.5 fm oldies 372 miles into trip, mile marker 146
34. 1208pm 406 miles into trip channel surfing
35. came across station 90.7fm which was playing some real funky stuff
36. 1210pm 96.3fm 408 miles- George Thurogood " One Burbon, One Scotch..."
37. 1218 off highway exit 101 Claytor State Park and went to Taco Bell - 14.72 for lunch:Chalupa, taco Salad and Nachos Grande. Then had two Choco Tacos for 2.92.
38. Tom won an Underdog doll in one of those crane games. Lizzy (oops another mistake) always touts that her kids are so talented at those crane games.
39. 1246 Back on ther road after lunch
40. 1252pm-424 Miles into the trip radio is off.
41. 1257pm- radio is back on 96.3fm
42. 104pm- passing ramp to 77S
43. 120pm-98.7Fm-464 miles Pink Floyd song on radio
44. 135pm-470.7 miles back up to 70MPH and in North Carolina
45. Had a Kudzu siting
46. 138pm-476 miles-I74E-Almost there
47. 220pm- 515 miles- Wake Forest-Yea
48. 4pm-Drop off at Wake Forest and make our way to La Quinta Travels of Lizzie Bean: Winston-Salem, NC-Wake Forest University

Did eat at Jimmy's Oyster Bar... it was fine, nothing special though...the oysters were tasty. However, prior to going there, we went next door to the hotel to the Village Tavern and had some fine appetizers and cocktails. Bruchetta was quite tasty. The menu looked very good, but I had my heart set on oysters...perhaps when whe go back to pick up Tom.

La Quinta is a very nice hotel. The swimming pool is quite extrodinary for a hotel pool, and the continental breakfast was by far one of the best continental breakfasts we have eaten. The beds were very cozy and the rooms were very spacious. Overall the experience at La Quinta was favorable and we would stay there again.

In the morning after the continental breakfast, we began our journey home.

1. 9:27 leaving La Quinta
2. Pilot Mountain State park...cool looking mountain
3. 1009am...Tom called from camp...having fun, wants to stay two more weeks.
4. 10:21am..entering VA 55.6 miles into return trip
5. 10:2am exit 84 Grahams ford ..8.78 gallons..Kangaroo Gas...2.61/gal....23.01
6. 10.59am back on the road
7. 1:03pm...Mint Spring, exit217, 224 miles into the trip. Got off highway for lunch. First went to a little deli in search of slaw dogs. The owner advised me to try the truck stop across the highway, since they do a lot of business with truckers. The deli also had Eavers Classic Cars and Collectibles Museum which has Elvis Presley's last Cadillac and many other classic cars. A nice stop for classic car enthusiasts. Ended up eating at the Subway on the other side of the highway. The highlite of my lunch was not the company of the young family with 5 children, but the taste of the FlatHead Lake Monster Granny-Apple soda I drank...quite tasty indeed. The bottles are really cool looking...almost Sobe esque. Apparently there is a legend about Flat Head lake...guess I should read up about it on their site.
8. Back on road after eating
9. 3:02pm Robert, Lizzies oldes son, called to ask if he could take a shower...LOL
10. Briefly listened to 94.3fm, but decided to listen to Fine Young Cannibals instead.
11. 3:18pm...332 miles WVA
12. 3:37 off highway for an excursion of smashing results...
13. 4:02pm 359.2 miles Maryland
14. Phoenix Color company...what do they do? Printing company according to Google.
15. 4:13pm...371.4 miles we enter PA
16. 4:58pm..419 miles..we get off of 81 on York Rd to make our way to Little Johns, a Carlise Restaurant, to have dinner with my dad and step Mom. Lizzie had the same thing she had the night befor, Crab cakes, which she said were really good. I had the Portabella pasta...which was just as good the next day for lunch. Pieces of portabella over pasta with a soy sauce, with artichokes and sun dried tomatoes thrown in for color. We were really full, so we didn't have desert, but I am told they have a really good Conconut Cream Pie.
17. 5:55pm...back on 81 for a short section...just getting off at the last Carlisle exit and then getting on the PA turnpike. An hour and a half later, we are back in Boyertown.

An uneventful trip for the most part, but a nice little get away. Have to plan for next months return trip to pick up Tom. Lizzie says she wants to stay some where closer to Wake Forest University.

Winston-Salem, NC-Wake Forest University

Next weekend, Lizzie Bean will be venturing to Wake Forest University, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina for a summer camp participant drop off. For one night Lizzie will be staying at La Quinta Inn & Suites located off of Griffith Road in Winston-Salem, NC. I am trying to talk her into going to Jimmy's Oyster Bar for dinner on the 18th. She isn't crazy about oysters, but does love seafood...I heard Jimmy's has great seafood. We shall see if the concierge at La Quinta recommends it.
Lizzie made reservations online with hotels.com. She had compared prices on travelocity.com and expedia.com as well, but her final purchase for this trip was with Hotels.com and La Quinta. Of all the hotels in Winston-Salem, La Quinta had the best customer reviews. If there is not a rating scale available, which was the case here, Lizzie uses customer reviews to make her travel plans.

New Brunswick, Home of Rutgers State University of New Jersey

Following the Anniversary party of the previous post, Lizzie and I headed off to the Hyatt Regency located in New Brunswick, NJ the home of Rutgers State University of New Jersey. The Hyatt is located minutes from the NJ Turnpike, walking distance to the town and the University. Lizzie and I were actually unaware of the fact that Rutgers is located in the town. We actually thought that Princeton was close by.
Upon checking into the hotel, we got our suits on and went down to the pool, but due to a load of baseball players in the pool we decided to seek other entertainment. We went back up to the room, changed and went to the Drafts Pick Sports Bar and recieved some great dining advice from our bartender. We then left the hotel for the restaurants off of George Street, where we decided to follow our bartender and conceirges advice, and chose to eat at Old Man Rafferty's. Love that place. Any place thathas a philosophy statement of " life is uncertain... eat dessert first" is a place after my own heart. Just when I thought the deserts could not get any better, we found Old Man Rafferty's. I think they were teasing us when they sat us around the corner from all the deserts. If the meal we had, had not been so good, it would have been considered torture. Lizzie had a scrumtuous Grilled Veggie Pizza or at least she had a quarter of it. I followed the advice of our bartender again and got a bowl of the Famous Tomato Basil Soup. If tomato soup tasted like that when I was a kid, I would have eaten it every day. I also had the Italian Country Salad, which unfortuneatley more that filled me up. Unfortuneately because, I was so full I could not eat my own desert. Should have taken their advice and ate it first. Lizzie, however, indulged in a piece of Brownie Delight Cheesecake, which she alloud me to taste. Every bit as good as the previous posts cheesecake.
Now all we need to do is plan anther excursion to New Brunswick so we can feast at Old Man Rafferty's.

Mastoris Fine Dining- Bordentown, NJ

Had an anniversary party to attend this past weekend at Mastoris, a fine dining restaurant. I am not sure if it is coincidence, but the cheese cake in New Jersey is soo good. Mastoris and The Clinton Diner had the best Cheese cake I have had up until that time. The anniversary party was for Lizzie's Cousins parents 50th wedding anniversary. Once the surprised bride and groom arrived, we began a splendid meal which began with two different kinds of bread - cinnamon bread and cheese bread. Then there was salad, followed by pencil tips( a type of pasta), soup, the main course. As unbelievable as it was, their were more than 5 choices of main courses to choose from. I had veal marsala and Lizzie had a shrimp salad. After the main course, we were treated to a fabulous wedding cake, that the lightest tasting icing. Following all the food, the kids showed a home made movie of chronologic photos of their parents lives. Quite interesting to see how the fashions have changed.
Then upon leaving Mastoris, we stoped off at their bakery and purchased a heavenly slice of Cheese Cake.
Overall, it was quite a pleasant dining experience. The kids did a splendid job with the festivities.

Cheese Steak Again

Had another trip to Philly last weekend, this time for an art show at the Pa Academy of Fine Arts due to a very fine artist whose work was in the show. Quite an exhibit. Did not have nearly enough time to view all the fine artists works due to a lame foot and empty stomachs. Ended up at the Independence Brew Pub again. Lizzie had a pizza, I had a chees steak for the second time that day, and out other companion, Sam had Fried shrimp. Not a particularly great meal, but for Cinco De Mayo it was very empty, which was what we were looking for since our first choice of restaurants , Maggiano's of Little Italy was packed and Lizzie was in no mood to wait 45 minutes to an hour. We had been to Maggiano's for several company parties, and have been very pleased. But settled for the Independence Brew Pub, and had an average time. Oh one last thing, Sam ordered a piece of Cheese cake that was huge and Frozen. Took with us along with Lizzie's Pizza.
After dinner, we were torn between catching the train home or finding a room for the three of us. We ended up spending the night at the Marriot, which is a fine hotel. Very friendly staff, and nice beds. Due to not having any clothing though, Sam and I had to venture out to get Lizzie a tshirt to sleep in. Who would know such a task would be so difficult. Everything it seems shut down between 8 and 9, including CVS. So ended up at the Hard Rock Cafe and got Lizzie a $40 Tshirt.
In the morning, we showered and then hopped the train back to Norristown. In Norristown, Lizzie treated me to one of the best sandwiches I have had in quite a while from a place called Eve's Lunch. Eve's does not have a website, but has had reviews. Her phone number is 610-277-6600 with hours of 10am-7pm M-S. The two cheesesteaks I had the previous day were nothing compared to this sandwich. The Sandwich was what is locally known as a Zep, which stands for zepplin due to the shape of the sandwich. The sandwich is basiclly like an Italian but has no lettuce. I am informed that Zeps originated in Norristown. The Zep I had was a Cheese Steak Zep. I did take pictures with my phone, but they just don't do justice to these sandwiches.
Well made it home with a full stomach and new place to eat.

Gotta Go to Chicago...

Feeling like it's time to run again. I've been climbing the walls lately with only a few day trips under way over this long, long winter. Now that spring is starting to creep in ever so slowly - it's time to start planning. And it looks like Chicago is going to be the winner!

We'll be off to see our favorite couple who had the fabulous Las Vegas wedding last November. I've been promising Cat of Chicago that we would visit - and now we will. I haven't been to Chicago in years and Adam has never been - poor boy. He'll be in for a treat! From what I remember Chicago has some amazing food! There is a place that has the best burittos that I think I've ever had (we'll be sure to post when we return as I can't remember the name of the restuarant now). And, of course the famous Chicago deep-dish pizza!

It looks as if the weekend will be May 20th - I'm so excited. We probably won't get to review a hotel during this venture, but there will be lots of other events to write about when we return!

Weekend vistas

A very mello Weekend for Lizzie. Friday she went out for dinner after having gone to Otts exotic plants nursery. Wow what a lot of strange plants. It's like a trip to a rain forest. And evan more unbelievable is the fact that they dont have a web site. Their facilities are definitely web worthy.
Then Lizzie and I headed out in search of an outstanding meal. Several places we stopped at were very crowded so ended up at a pub, called Ortino's Northside. To be fair, Lizzie and I both had salads, so we don't think we had a great sample of their faire. The portions were ample though, and the food of the other patrons looked very appetizing. The wine and beer selection was very respectable. Will have to make another trip.
Lizzie went out with her good friend on Saturday, and visited the American Grill in Collegeville, not once, but twice in the same evening. Hmm must be good food. All I know, the desert is quite tasty.
Then on Sunday, Lizzie visited the Cold Stone outside of Coventry. We never go away hungry from that place. Lizzie and I would have shared, but she likes chocolate a little too much for me, and the Boston Cream was just calling my name.
And that was the end of Lizzies weekend. But fear not, trips are on the horizon.

Philly Cheese Steak

We have been critizied. Sam says we never go any where, so why do you have a travel blog. Well I guess everyone has to start somewhere. It also wouldn't be the best to leave to travel with a house full of kids. So we travel as much as a middle aged couple with kids can. Our most recent over night trip was to Philedelphia. Actually we had two separate trips to Philly. And neither time I believe did we have a Cheese steak. Although I hear they are suppose to be tremendous. I did have one yesterday from the only pizzeria in Oaks, PA. Oaks is about 45 minutes from Philly, or 10 minutes from Valley Fordge. (great bike riding) Actually was a chicken cheese steak with peppers. Sandwiches come either 12" or 18". HMMM. Thankfully I work not too far from their so I can eat them at least weekly. If you get to Oaks, the pizzereia is off of 422 heading into Oaks on the left just past the underpass. Great selection of pizza slices also. Oh they are closed on Monday.

Back to our Philly trips. On the first trip, we took Lizzie's daughter to Philly for a night. I had a business meeting in the evening, so it was convient for me to stay there. The two girls went and had dinner at the Independence Brew Pub by the Reading Terminal Market. Lizzie and I have eaten there numerous times. Quite a nostalgic place. It is quite the hang out on weekends, with several bars and pool tables up stairs. Ah , ya gotta love it...Independent label fresh brew beer and pool....hmmmmm....Homer would be in paradise. Not that Lizzie and her daughter had any beer. Then they went back to the hotel and watched tv in the comfort of their Hilton Gardens hotel, a very fine 3 star hotel. They treat Lizzie jr like a princess...free skittles. I on the other hand had to make my way from the Hilton Gardens to Cherry Hill, NJ which was very accessble via rt 30. The following morning we made out way down to the Reading Terminal Market and had an unremarkable breakfast at the dinner that was located inside the market.

I then left the two laddies to wander around Philly, while I went to my sons Reading Junior Royals finals. What a remarkable game it was indeed. My sons team came in first for the tournament and the season. 4 games that weekend, of which all three were amazing. The boys lost one and won 3, and due to the Delaware Ducks team coming in second they placed first. The finals where at held at the Hatfield arena, which is great because of the wonderful cosy seats. Usually these cold arenas have cold metal bleechers.

While my sons team was winning the playoffs, the girls were busy walking and shopping in China town. Lizzie managed to find an Astro Boy wallet( she loves Astro Boy) She also bought a few little things for the boys. They then hopped a train to meet me in Ambler. This in itself was a treat for Lizzie's daugher.
The second trip, involved taking two of Lizzies sons to Philly. We got to Philly on Saturday morning, checked in to our four star Loews hotel room, and then headed out to Philly. The rooms were adequate, but the staff was really friendly and helpful. Also, if you want to bring your cats or dog, Loews is pet friendly. The bed however, needed a little help. Not quite the memory foam I am used to sleeping on. My back was in terrible shape for the next entire week or so.

Went to the terminal market and checked out the shops. Went back to the hotel and took a nap, paid a 10 fee each to use their luxurious health facilities. Quite a nice hotel gym. If you feel like being pampered and are willing to pay the extra fees, this is quite a nice little spa. Then after napping, we headed to South Street for dinner. We ate at Johnny Rockets, a little diner that is a 1950 ice cream shop type restaurant . Great shakes, and a fun atmosphere make this a great place to bring kids.
After dinner, we walked around a bit more checking out the various South Street shops, then caught a taxi back to the hotel. We all ordered room service and watched a movie.
The next morning we got up, checked out and walked around in search of breakfast. Numerous places that Lizzie had jaunted as a college student were visited, but ended up at Little Pete's diner. Nice breakfast. Not sure if it had a bath room.
After breakfast, we ambled around the shops in Philly(tower records and others) then headed back to Boyertown.

Washington DC Day Trip

Had a short day trip to DC for a class trip. Inspite of a little sickness the trip was very nice. Started out by going to the Arlington Cemetery . Upon arrival we walked up to the Arlington House because Lizzie has a distant relation to General Lee who once lived there. After the Arlington House, we walked down to The Tomb of the Unknowns and caught the end of the changing of the guards. The precision and dedication of the guards is so awsome.
Next we headed down to the bus and to fruitlessly hunt for a coke. Lizzie was still feeling ill from what we thought was the bus ride, but latter found out was a stomach virus that was going around.
We boarded the bus at the designated time and then left to have lunch on a senic vista. Well I guess that is what you can call the park by the Lincoln monument. We found a park bench and started to eat our lunches while looking out onto the Potamac River. Only a few bites into her lunch though, Lizzie became very sick. The rest of the trip she spent sitting in park benches or theatre seats.
After lunch we were dropped off at the Air and Space Museum and then told to meet back at the museum of Natural History to view a movie. We managed to walk to the Hirshorn museum. And at this point we had the most exicting part of our trip(other than Lizzie spewing) was when we witnessed a robin chasing a squirrel around the garden. Not something you see everyday. The bird chased the squirrel into a hedge of bushes and down the entire length of the hedge. Quite a funny site.
Another highlight of the trip was the demonstration of the migrant workers who were protesting the recent changes in legislation. We had to cross through their demonstration inorder to get to our next stop.
We made our way to the Museum of Naturual Hisory to watch a really nice 3D movie about the four animals in Africa. The hightlight for us came at the end of the movie, when Lizzie again had to get sick and was only able to relieve herself by using her sweater.
After cleaning up we made our way back to the bus and headed home.
Well we made it home with no further problems. We will have to make another trip to the capitol when Lizzie feels better.

Clinton Station Diner

Recently, we had a short excursion into New Jersey to take Sam to visit some friends. Sam is number two son. After dropping him off, we stopped at the Clinton Station Diner, a restaurant in Clinton, NJ . What an awesome Restaurant. The first thing I noticed upon entering was the line of fish tanks along the wall facing the entrance. The next thing that I noticed was the deserts, of which I would suggest you partake. Usually, I have found when deserts look that good, they don't taste very good, in this case, I was wrong. The cheese cake alone was worth the trip. Our server, Lisa Isabella Basile(love the sound of her name), was very helpful. She helped us choose two items that were huge in portion and taste. Oh, and the salad bar was one of the freshest and best selections that I have had in quite some time.

Another note worthy item is about "Mount Olympus" the world's burger. This thing is grotesque - it's so enormous. It's made of 25lbs of meat and the total weight of the burger with all the fixn's is 50lbs! Now, they will give it to you for free plus $500 if you and four of your closest friends can finish it in 3 hours. Not too shabby!

Skiing at Whistler

Here are a few pics of the ski trip to Whistler taken with the Lizzie Cam. We got extremely lucky, as it was reported there was record snowfall for January 2006 in Whistler. Unfortunately I did not take many pics and my camera also had a lot to be desired. Would have loved to have gotten some pics while up on the glaciers, but the weather was usually pretty severe up there, and taking pictures would not have been advisable. Most of the pics are of Blackcomb viewed from Whistler village as seen from The bottom quarter of Blackcomb(took me about 15 minutes to get down from there) There is also a pic of the lodge at the top of the Whistler village Gondola. There were three Gondolas, one at Creekside Village which was the furthest away, and the Whistler village Gondola and the Blackcomb Gondola. Well hope you like these pics. I would say Whistler is a must ski place...try to do so before the 2010 Olympics, which are going to be in Vancouver, and many of the events will be at Whistler.















The ski rental place we used was Summit Ski Bike Board. They were great, and very helpful. Especially liked the end of day Valet treatment. For a little extra, they even put our boots on the driers over night. After the first day of skiing, my legs were numb, and after talking with Dave the ski rental manager, I switched boots and skis and had a much better time for the rest of the trip.

THE FOOD AT WHISTLER

The food at Whistler was great. From the breakfast on top of the mountain for 15 extra dollars, which not only gets you a great buffet, but gets you up on the mountain for the first runs of the day. Quite a bargain. The other meals we ate were equally impressive.
For lunch for all but the last day where we ate up on the mountain, we ate at the Dubh Linn Gate Old Irish Pub & Restaurant.The waiting staff was friendly and pleasant and the Irish faire was quite pleasing. Oh, and a great selection of beer.
At the end of each ski day, we ended up at the Longhorn saloon for several pitchers of beer and pub fair. Seems like everyone ended up there, and a lucky few were able to get a massage from the on staff masseuse(there was quite a line of clients waiting for her skilled hands)
One night we went out for dinner at Citta Bistro for and played a game of music bingo, and thanks to Bobby, Lizzie's Brother, won a Candian Molson cooler, which will be auctioned off on ebay in a mystery auction.
But our favorite restaurant of the whole trip was the Rimrock Café. As a treat, Lizzie's brother, Robert, took us out our last night in Whistler. Scrumptious and very easily the best dining we have done in quite a while. From The Famous Gate Pinot Noir to the dessert, the whole meal melted in our mouths and left us feeling content and almost ready to go home. Our waitress, who was back working for the first night after breaking her leg playing hockey, was a delight.

GOING HOME

The next morning bright and early, we packed our rental, and headed off to the airport. One last comment about our trip that truly deserves mentioning. The flight was spectacular. We flew on Cathay Pacific Airline, which had been named airline of the year in 2005. I believe they deserved it and should get it in 2006 as well. The flight staff was unbelievably attentive, encouraging us to spread out. From the three choices of meals, the free drinks, and free movies...they have every other airline beat.

The only real problem of the trip was getting to and leaving JFK . We got lost both times, and if it had not been for the directions of my friend Richard, we would surely still be lost in Manhattan.

Lizzie Bean Goes Away....

It all started with the need to get away and run...

I've been running since I first got my license in 1977. I started exploring the US first. I went from PA to Florida... then to Atlanta, Oklahoma, New Orleans and up to Virginia. There were many places in-between. Then in 1982 I left for Europe. I spent most of the six months I was there in Rome, but traveled throughout Italy and Austria. When I returned to the States - I started running again. I continued to go back to Rome whenever possible over the years that followed...

That feels like a life-time ago. One old, worn out marriage and four kids later - I find myself running again. Some trips are not so far away from where I now call home - Boyertown, PA.

I have a new travel companion, since my husband decided to run away too - but in the opposite direction. My companion, confidant and best friend, Adam, gets dragged along, like it or not, on all my excursions. He too, I must say is well-traveled as he's made his way through Germany and the surrounding countries, a good portion of the US and in the very near future - we'll be off to British Columbia, Canada.

That's my introduction. Now on to the travels...

We'll start in November 2005 when we ran off to Las Vegas, NV - first time there! The event was to enjoy the wedding of one of my best friends.

Now, Adam and I had actually never been to Las Vegas. I never had the desire - I'm not much of a gambler - as I said before, I'm a runner and I stand by that. But, I wouldn't miss Cat's wedding for anything! We'd been waiting YEARS for her to find the perfect man. And finally - she did. So, everyone was invited to Las Vegas - and off we went.

I must say it was a beautiful city to fly into - sitting there in the middle of the desert. A bizarre metropolis surrounded by nothing - except beauty - for endless miles. The parts of the city that we saw were clean, alive and packed with people - and this was two weeks before Thanksgiving.

We stayed at the Sahara, which was very unimpressive. I guess I expected it to be something special as it was a huge, well-known casino. But, much to my dismay, it was old, falling apart and not particularly clean. Now that I've seen other places in Vegas - next trip - and there will be a next trip - we'll stay somewhere else. And there were many options. I would like to try Caesars - if only for the pool alone.

We did a good bit of gambling. Me - I stuck by the slot machines - so, I lost. But, Adam played some blackjack - with much success.