Asheville June 26-28!
We rolled into Asheville in the late hours of the 26th, to a really great air bnb studio place. We then went out and sampled the local food and beer (of course) at the Wicked Weed Brewing Pub - highly recommend this place! Everything was so delicious. Our next day consisted of walking around downtown Asheville, checking out some stores, drinking more beers (at the Thirsty Monk Brewery) and was highlighted by our tasting of hot sauces. While we decided not to sign the waiver that permits you to try the hottest hot sauce every created, we did try the four hottest hot sauces in the store. They were hot. That's an understatement. For dinner we had tacos at White Duck taco shop - who knew you can put pickled watermelons on tacos? Also the following day, we hit up 12 Bones BBQ - got the "Hogzilla" sandwhich. That thing was crazy. We were hiking after eating those when one of us came up with the "illness" that follows eating a Hogzilla - "hog-lung". We then hit the road for the smoky mountains!!

Destination: Washington DC

We packed up and left our bubbies behind in Inwood to make haste towards the Inn of Rosalyn (a real regal name for a motel by a highway). The trip was relatively uneventful, besides the amount of traffic and the obligatory stop in New Jersey to see Chris Christie's old mug hung above the rest stop entrance. By the time we made it to DC, we were all rearing to see the sights and look at old shit, you know, DC stuff.
First stop, Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, the big SMNH. We were all looking forward to seeing dinosaurs and rocks and anthropology and stuff, and let me tell you, it did disappoint. Who new that the stuff I loved when I was a kid attracts so many kids? Whailing, screaming kids. And who new that the museum would cater its exhibits towards these little demons?
So, we left SMNH and went off toward Hirsshorn Museum of modern art, passing by a sculpture of a wheel and something that came out Beetleguese. The museum was fun; how could it not be, its modern. The exhibits ranged from stark and thought inducing to a-sculpture-of-a-fat-naked-guy-hunched-in-a-corner thought inducing. I did like the painter who painted mostly tents though.
Afterwards we checked into the Inn and got ourselves some pizza at & Pizzeria (which was amazing). We then went for a walk on the Mall and tossed a disc around.

The next morning we picked up a straggler and returned to DC for one more museum: the Smithsonian Space Museum or the Holocaust Museum. The photos below will reveal which one I chose to go to. Up next, Shanandoah.

Roughing It in Ole' Virginy!

With a full company (welcome aboard, Michael!) and far too many groceries, we were ready to plunge into our first outing adventure: the Shenananadingdong River Valley (sp?). Full disclosure, I never thought we would last in the wilderness, but with a little hardwork, ingenuity, a Coleman Grill, four king-sized sleeping bags, a small tent mansion, an industrial strength space heater, and a plasma screen TV, we survived. And what's more, we befriended a sweet elderly couple along the way. After helping them mount a canoe onto their stationwagon, we were repaid with ginger ale, because nothing says "thank you" to a 22-year-old quite like a crisp, non-alcoholic soda. 

Up into the mountains we hiked, completing such scenic trails as Stony Man, Little Stony Man, and Stony Man 3: Son of Stony Man. We could have stayed up there forever, but the allure of fast food fried chicken became too much to handle. And so we tailed the first Confederate-flag-flying-pickup-truck we saw to the nearest Chil-Fil-A (no, really), thus ending our one day stay in the Old Dominion. Onward to Asheville!

We leave you with a few camping recipes from Chef Alex's Cooking Corner!

Alex's Southern-Style Breakfast Goop:

1. Wait for Jack to make too much rice from last night's dinner. Like, way too much rice. Nice one, Jack. 

2. Add water, either from the river if you want extra flavor, or from a jug if you're afraid of "food poisoning." Place pot over fire. 

3. Mix in day old fruit salad and honey to your liking. Voila, you've got yourself some grade-A second rate oatmeal!

Alex's Famous Honeyed Bread (for one):

1. Obtain bread. Store bought is fine. Remember, you're eating this alone, so no one will judge!

2. Squirt some honey on that sucker. Don't worry about plating your food. You're in the Great Outdoors. Go straight from bottle to bread. Really lather it up. 

3. Don't think too hard about what you're doing. Just enjoy. 

We are a go. We've left b-town (burlington) after a quick hike on Philo Mt and breakfast with the Schwartz's, and have made our way to Saratoga Springs (with Miranda, yay!). We didn't have much time swimming on the Hudson cause of rain (boo!), but it did leave us with an awesome double rainbow.

Destination: Saratoga Springs / NYC

We arrived in Saratoga Springs, NY and headed straight for the bathroom at Stewart's. After that, we grabbed a delicious lunch at Four Seasons (a vegetarian lunch place - thanks for hanging in there with me for that one Jack and Alex...). The two days we spent in Saratoga could not have been possible without our generous host, Mirannda Holmes, who not only is an incredible person, but she also is the proud owner of an incredible cat named Chunky (Chunk-a-monk, Chunk-lee, Chunk Master Flex, etc). Highlights from 'Toga include playing the game "Secret Hitler" (please google this - actually here's the link to the game http://www.secrethitler.com/), visiting Snook Kill Falls (pictured), making pizza, and drinking beer/playing Yahtzee at Pint Sized, a lovely bar downtown. Once again, thanks to Mirannda and her house for letting us take up space, be noisy, and smell bad.

On to the big apple!! We divided into three sections for our stay in NYC - and I'll fill you in on my own. I stayed with my sister, Sarah, in her apartment in Harlem. We ate amazing senegalese food for dinner our first night, and it turns out we were eating at the same restaurant as Jack and had no idea! We didn't even see him there, and found out that we were in the same place the following day. I also visited the MET for the first time (holy shit, talk about a hoarding problem) - and my favorite piece is pictured - stained glass by some artist I don't remember. For our next stop, we'll be going even further south to the land of our Orange Savior - Donald Trump - to D.C. we go!

Destination One: Burlington Bound

Armed with little more than the shirts on our backs and what can only be described as a "disk" of banana cake (all praise due to Franca Marzilli), our intrepid, dashing, young explorers set their course for the Great White North. Sights were seen, gear was bought (sheepskin fleeces? A barely functional headlamp for $2.99? Don't mind if I do!), and Patti LaBelle was sung. When drafting our itinerary for the trip, most wondered why we would dare start by going up when New Orleans is, well, not. To the doubters, we ask: Have you ever tasted a maple-blackberry creamie while watching the sun set over Lake Champlain? It's true what they say, folks. Burlington really is the Paris of Vermont. Though dearest Michael won't be joining us until Washington D.C, his sister Ariana was kind enough to show us around. Also, special shoutout to Sarah Schwartz for housing us--your peony garden is gorgeous, your dog is adorable, and the patience you displayed by playing Settlers of Catan with us is unmatched. Until next time, here's a picture of that killer sunset, and a highly androgynous street mural of Muhamed Ali: 

^^^Kind of looks like a woman, right?

The Night Before

I'll keep it short - this is all the stuff I'm packing! Notice the frisbee, and not pictured is my funky christmas short sleeve button down. First stop, Burlington, VT! - Andy