Right Brain Stimulus Plan Blog

NOLA Beckoned, We Followed

sassyliz — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:48:10 +0000

It was time for another road trip. We’d spent a few months working feverishly on our businesses and were ready for a fun little break. OK, so to tell the truth, we needed the break. Of course, it was going to be a road trip (gotta run the Focus into the ground, yes?). Where to go? We thought about Florida but it was a really long drive with not much payoff. The next best thing was New Orleans … just under 8 hours driving and a whole lotta good stuff going on.

After a little research we decided to stay at the International Hotel. $90 a night seemed too hard to pass up for a boutique hotel footsteps away from the French Quarter. Then it was the question of where to have our anniversary dinner. We decided on Emeril’s Delmonico, a little ways away from the hotel but they had a happy hour from 5-7 which worked for us.

Sunday morning we packed up in a hurry and sped on down I-85. Phew that felt like a long drive! We got in around 7pm and after a quicker unpacking headed towards the French Quarter. The weather was perfect, but we were dogged tired and found a little hideaway spot for our first lovely cajun meal. We decided the partying would have to wait for the next evening and we treaded back to the hotel.

Monday was the day to wander around the French Quarter. We started off our morning at the greasy spoon kitty corner from the hotel (highly recommended by the lady at the front desk). Good thing we did a lot of walking the rest of the day … then lunch was a beignets, hot chocolate, and orange juice from Cafe Du Monde (but of course).

Lunch at Cafe Du Monde

Powdered-sugar-laden beignets

We stopped by the French Market and Liz snapped away with her fun Olympus PEN, but as the rain came and went and came and went we decided early in the afternoon to spend some time in the hotel room with our new best friend, Cable TV. That evening we headed out to Bourbon Street … it was the BIG GAME (Saints v Pats) and we surely didn’t fit in with the crowd sans football jerseys. But we checked out the local seafood at Felix’s and then chilled with our giant cups at a Hurricane bar.

Bourbon Street Bar

Hurricanes in Giant Plastic Cups

Needless to say, we didn’t last long on Bourbon Street and were soon back at our hotel, ready for bed. The next day was our 3-year anniversary and it was icky rain all day. We had a fantabulous breakfast in the Garden District and after some dreary shopping we thought it would be a good idea to head to a mall to kick out some Christmas shopping. Bad idea – the mall was even drearier than the weather. By the time we got back to the hotel we decided we’d had ‘nuf of the rain and got dressed up to eat at Rambla, the hotel’s tapas restaurant. Wonderful decision, especially since my dogs were so tired I could barely walk in my heels.

All Dolled Up for Dinner

The next day was Chris’s birthday. We had a hearty breakfast and then after checking out of the hotel took advantage of the sunshine with a tour of a nearby cemetery (more pictures with multiple cameras this time). Then, back on the road for the loooong drive back. We decided to stop in Montgomery for the burfday dinner and stopped at El Rey Burrito Lounge for local and sustainable burritos. Twice the cost of Willy’s but still purty good. It was a late night back home but we were happily reunited with Ms. Fluffster. Overall a wonderful break and refresher to get us back to work in high gear.

A Mini Road Trip for Old Time’s Sake

sassyliz — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:30:05 +0000

OK, so I realize we’ve been blog slackers for a month and a half now. Chris and I have been incredibly busy getting our businesses off the ground and I just haven’t been updating the blog like I used to. I keep thinking of things to write but it gets pushed further and further down the list of things to do. And then, ta-da!, the perfect opportunity has arisen! Last weekend, in anticipation of a month of busy weeks and weekends ahead of us, we decided to take a mini road trip to the North Georgia mountains for an escape to the wilderness.

Friday morning I hastily hashed out my last-minute work stuff while Chris packed up the car and cooked up some hearty home-cooked macrobiotics to take along with us. We set off on the road just after noon and drove an hour and a half to our weekend retreat at DeSoto Falls, just north of Dahlonega (did you know that means “gold” in Cherokee?). We set up camp and took the short 3/4 mile hike to the lower falls before digging into our macro dinner. Later we headed down to Cleveland (Georgia, that is) and got stuck in the Friday Night Lights traffic. The thought of hanging with the hometown crowd didn’t quite appeal to us, so we took a detour to Helen. As per our usual M.O., we were sidetracked by a Corn Maze sign and veered off to take on the challenge!

North GA Cornmaze ROCKS!

Punching the Corn Maze card

A crazy giant spider hanging between the corn

The next morning, we arose excited about our hike up Blood Mountain via the AT. Our excitement dissipated as we trudged the 2 1/4 miles up the mountain. Apparently, our daily morning walks through the neighborhood just don’t compare to the “real thing”.

Resting at the top of Blood Mountain

A view from Blood Mountain

What's a post without a self-portrait?

After a little rest at the campsite, we decided it was time to party! Helen was just up the road and it’s Oktoberfest, baby! We chugged our leftover roasted barley iced tea in the car and located the best honkey-tonk to drink giant beers at. Fortunately we found one with a patio and kountry karaoke. Does life get any better???

The next morning we took a quick stroll up to the upper falls at our campground and then caught a good country breakfast in Dahlonega before heading back to civilization.

DeSoto's Upper Falls

In my world, civilization = the North Georgia Premium Outlets … well, at least for an hour or so. I found some awesome deals on the clearance rack at the Saks outlet and then it was time to meet back up with the Fluffster. We’re both back to work but at least the mind clutter was cleared for 2 days. Looking forward to the next side trip!

MORE IMAGES

Three Months on the Road, a Lifetime of Memories

sassyliz — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:41:01 +0000

Phew! We’re back in the ATL after almost 3 months on the road. With 2 nights of prodding and planning under our belt in Cherokee, we spent one last night on the road camping at Moccasin Creek State Park just off Lake Burton in North Georgia. A little canoing the next morning helped ease our way into civilization.

After a stop at Mall of Georgia’s Apple Store (yee haw), we finally made it ITP Friday night and spent the weekend trying to readjust to the domestic life. Never fear, the Right Brain Stimulus Plan will continue in a new form, but before we get too far we’d like to recount our adventure for you in our favorite format … bulleted lists!

Stats:

82 days on the road
13,000 miles on the car
3 oil changes
4 new tires
25 nights camping
10 National Parks
2 countries
30 states
2 provinces
Countless friends and family

Places we visited, with links to the respective blog post:

We’d like to thank all our readers for their continued support throughout this journey. Also, thanks to all of y’all who graciously opened your homes to these two weary travelers as well as the one home that opened its doors to Ms. Fluffaluffagus. And thanks in advance for your continued support in the new chapter unfolding before us!

Winding Down the Parkway and Our Trip …

sassyliz — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:37:38 +0000

The last few days have been spent winding down the Blue Ridge Parkway, counting down the last week of our journey. We stopped in at the Blue Ridge Music Center just in time for the Friday afternoon bluegrass jam. Unfortunately, neither of us currently play the fiddle or guitar so we weren’t able to join in.

Jammin, Blue Ridge style

Later that afternoon we set up camp at Doughton Park by Bluffs Lodge, hiking a 6 1/2-miler the next morning (was supposed to be 4 miles, woops) before heading off the parkway a bit to Damascus, VA and the Iron Mountains. The next morning we hiked another 4 miles or so on the Iron Mountain Trail and, after a quick lunch in the mountain biker’s haven of Damascus, resumed our slow wind to the Smokey Mountains via Asheville, NC.

A view from the bluffs

What's that off in the distance?

Awww ... look at the baby fluffies!

After moteling it up in Asheville, Liz caught a quick yoga class that totally kicked her butt after all the hiking (ouch). We continued on the BRP and set up camp for one more night just within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park border, highlighted by a rainstorm and nightmarish shrieking owls. This morning we caught one more 4-mile hike before hitting up our favorite pancake joint in Cherokee, NC. We’re spending the next few days here holed up in our hotel room, in planning mode for our imminent return to Atlanta. We will certainly arrive in style!!!

Virginia is for Animal Lovers

sassyliz — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:06:17 +0000

We woke Sunday morning with a very exciting outlook ahead – we had just completed the last scheduled stop of our journey! Ahead of us was 2 weeks of unplanned, unscheduled, unbridled romping in the woods before arriving back in the ATL. Where to start?

We decided to head across the state towards the Blue Ridge Parkway, and visited Williamsburg and good old C-Ville on the way for an Ednam and a Montpelier sandwich from the gourmet gas station. When we arrived at the BRP, we decided to head north on Skyline Drive to behold Shenandoah National Park. We found a place to camp for the night and woke the next morning for a ranger program with the birds of the park.

Our new friend the red tailed falcon

And the barred owl

And the screech owl

That afternoon we took a 4-mile hike to get us back on the wilderness track. It was a bit of a shock to our citi-fied systems, but was a perfect prelude to the 7 1/2-miler we took the next morning on which we encountered a black bear and a pair of jet-propelled peregrine falcons.

A ginormous butterly on the Appalachian Trail

Our lunchtime view

Weary after our hike we wound our way up Skyline Drive to the Skyline Lodge for dinner, and our wildlife tally kept increasing. By the time we arrived back at camp we encountered a rattlesnake, 4 black bears, 2 wild turkeys, a barred owl, and countless deer.

Self-portrait with a post-hike high

A giant rattlesnake by the trail

The next morning we wound our way back down to the Blue Ridge Parkway and started our journey down the 500-mile scenic highway. We camped at Cave Lake where Chris took a quick evening dip in the cool waters. After 4 nights in the wilderness we were well refreshed and reflected with mixed emotions on the short road home.

Plunging into Cave Lake

We headed to Roanoke yesterday to get caught up on our laundry and our blogging. On the way here, the odometer passed the 12,000 mile mark, 2,000 miles past our initial estimate. What an adventure it has been!

We Visited the Chesapeake and Called it Macaroni

sassyliz — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 02:31:16 +0000

Our chariot arrived on Maryland’s Eastern Shore Thursday afternoon, just in time to sup upon the meal prepared by our gracious hosts, Uncle Phil and Aunt Nellie. Later that night Liz and her cousin, Mistress Abigail, jaunted to the outlet mall to purchase new attire for the upcoming wedding we were to attend.

The following morn, we broke our fast with an Eastern Shore traditional meal of beaten biscuits and scrapple before traversing the bridge across the Chesapeake Bay to Annapolis. At the visitor center, we gathered for the tour hosted by Mistress Eileen who brought the previous three centuries back to life. We all put our best foot forward as we toured downtown and then the Naval Academy (low on plebes that day) before the squires and mistresses disbursed for lunch.

Photograph with Mistress Eileen, our guide

We lunched at a lovely establishment before boarding a sea vessel for a tour on the Bay. Afterward, we all boarded Uncle Phil’s chariot and returned to the homestead to gather Mistress Hannah and dine at a crab pickin’ establishment. Fortunately, Aunt Nellie wielded a hammer well and helped us get the most out of the crabs.

The crabs, pre-pickin'

A worthy opponent

Crab pickin' at its best

The crabs, post-pickin'

After a wonderful visit, we bode our adieus and traversed the rest of the length of the Eastern Shore before arriving in Norfolk. We were meeting back up with Mistress Megan, who we had visited on the Isle of Manhattan, to get ourselves ready for the much anticipated wedding of our San Francisco amigos, Salt ‘n Peppa.

It was a magical wedding that started with a theater production of The Princess and the Squire and was full of Liz’s old UVa friends, as well as some new friends.

The Mumford girls, reunited!

Self-portrait from above the dance floor

Overall, our time spent on the Chesapeake was a wonderful visit to centuries past and a perfect preparation for our time back in the wilderness, soon to come.

Block Island, a Birthday, and a Zedonk

sassyliz — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 22:34:37 +0000

We arrived in Rhode Island just in time for a summer bar-b-que with Chris’s family celebrating a new arrival (congrats Mark and Kim) and later Chris and Mark leapt into the sunset off a Newport Pier.

A coupla leaping hams

The next morning we sailed off to Block Island for Liz’s birthday trip. We were still feeling under the weather and were looking forward to a nice relaxing couple of days in semi-civilization. After the 1-hour ferry ride and the 10-minute hike up the hill to check in to our hotel, we collapsed in the room and took a 3-hour nap.

The next morning, feeling a little better, we rented a couple of bikes to tour around the island. We stopped first at the Southeast Lighthouse and then jaunted down the road to the Mohegan Bluffs. After descending a couple hundred steep steps, we were rewarded with the beautiful vista we had read about.

Block Island's Southeast Lighthouse

The Mohegan Bluffs - what a sight!

After a few more hours pedaling in the scenery, we dropped off the bikes just in time for the inclement weather. By the time we made it back to the hotel the clouds had cleared and we took a quick trip over to the intriguing misfit zoo by the inn. A mishmash assortment of animals greeted us and Liz’s favorite was the one-eyed zedonk (half zebra, half donkey).

A friendly little zedonk

Our inn viewed from the zoo

Liz rides the giant turtle

Later that night we headed back into town for a nice birthday dinner at Eli’s and, as usual, trapsed back to the inn tired out from another busy day in the life of righ-brain-o-maniacs.

The next morning we packed up and shipped out for one more NJ overnight before heading down to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, trying to forget the fact that we were nearing the end of our journey …

The Big Apple Takes a Bite out of Us

sassyliz — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:36:53 +0000

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ………..

We spent about a week in New Jersey and New York and it may take that long to recover. Since today is Liz’s birthday, we’re going to be a little selfish and stick to a bulleted list of events followed by a photo journal. Really, this should say it all …….

Thursday, 6/25: Arrive at Uncle’s house in NJ
Friday, 6/26: Wake at the crack of dawn to drive to Secaucus for Millionaire Mind Intensive
Friday 9am through Sunday 7pm: Attend seminar, partially with our good pal Carrie, unable to reveal details of experience (seriously)
Monday, 6/29: Hang out at Uncle’s house, recover from looooong weekend
Tuesday, 6/30: Take train into NYC, check into our cheap Chelsea Hotel, begin walking
Wednesday, 7/1: Notice we’re starting to get sick but still spend the entire day walking and walking and walking, oh and see the Statue of Liberty and the Financial District
Thursday, 7/2: In spite of increased illness continue trudging; tour the Met and Central Park and go to the Top of the Rock; later go to dinner at Otto and see some funky hole-in-the-wall jazz with good pal Megan
Friday, 7/3: Return via train to NJ and just chill; set off fireworks in the back yard
Saturday, 7/4: Drive to Westchester County to visit the cousins and set more fireworks on the porch
Sunday, 7/5: Exit NY, hello RI (again)! Still sick, frogs croaking away in throats ……

Our favorite macrobiotic restaurant on Greenwich

Liz posing in Washington Square Park

Lady Liberty's guardians

Self-portrait with SoL

The Bull Market

Chris feels right at home ....

We're two ships that pass Fulton Market

Where else but Chinatown?

Caught in the rain ... just like Carrie in "I Heart NY"

30 Rock ...

New England Misfits Reunite!

sassyliz — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 02:54:44 +0000

So we’re a little behind in our blog entries, what’s new? Our trusty readership has certainly noticed that it’s been over a week since our last post, so we’ll try to make up the time as well as we can. Let’s see, where were we? That’s right – we’d just skated by the authorities and crossed the border into Vermont. We headed towards Burlington, where we were meeting up with a couple of Liz’s old work pals, Kevin and Tim. We were pumped to try what Kevin had described in his txt as “the best pizza ever” and unwind from our hasty whirlwind trip through Canada.

We arrived at Kevin’s place outside of Burlington, where we were greeted with Vermont cheddah and crackers that were topped nicely with Grandma Jane’s chutney. After a little catching up and gazing at Lake Champlain, we piled into the truck and picked up Tim for some good old fashioned gallivanting in town. We got the classic auto tour of the city and Kevin walked us through Intervale Community Farm with 14 acres of organic beds and compost before meandering through downtown and eventually making it to American Flatbread and its famous pizzas from the woodburning oven. We reminisced about our past as misfits in Atlanta (Kev – please send us that pic if you have it, couldn’t find it anywhere) and had a generally merry time.

The next morning we caught an awesome breakfast in town at Penny Cluse Cafe to fuel up for our drive to Newport, RI. We were there to visit family and to spend a good amount of time catching up on all the cable shows we’d missed on the road. After 3 days planted on the couch with the dogs and a couple of home-cooked macrobiotic meals, we were refreshed and ready to hit the road again, this time to New Jersey. Not much sightseeing, but we were about to make up for that in droves….

Chris challenges Bishop to a game of rings

Family self-portrait with pups

A Coupla Loons accross the Border

sassyliz — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 01:37:08 +0000

Our incredible urge for pasties temporarily blinded us on the way to Sault (pronounced Soo) Ste Marie and we ended up taking the southern scenic route from Marquette. After filling up with a beef pasty, we started over the bridge to the Canadian Soo ready for a quick border crossing to make up for lost time. Apparently the Thule box, Georgia plates, and Chris’s statement that he had been to Canada while on a Scouting trip to the Boundary Waters 20 years ago set off the silent alarm. We were told to go to the immigration window where we waited while they ran a criminal background check on us. Fortunately they found us suitable for Canadian soil and we ventured on, determined to make it to the Quebec border.

After another 6 hours or so of driving we had made it to Greater Sudbury and decided it was time to set up camp. We saw Fairbank Provincial Park on our map and made our way up a long gravel road, not knowing what we would find on the other end. What we got was a campsite steps away from the water, biffs with hot water showers and ceramic tiles, and cheap canoes for rent. Triple score! We decided we’d wake up early and take a canoe ride at daybreak the next morning, before heading off to Montreal.

Our campsite from Fairbank Lake

We set the alarm for 6am and drifted off to bed with the whooping loons, and surprisingly woke to the sound of raindrops on the tent. So much for canoing! But it was a good excuse to sleep in and by the time we crawled out of our sleeping bags at 9am the rain had slowed to a trickle. We decided to go ahead and paddle, even though it would mean getting to Montreal later that evening.

Paddling around the old meteorite crater

After putting up the canoe, grabbing a quick shower, and breaking down camp, we chugged back along Trans Canada 17. We chugged and chugged and chugged and 9 hours later we were on the outskirts of Montreal, looking for the hostel we’d found online and caught in Montreal’s version of Saturday night fever. By the time we checked in and parked (a feat in itself) it was close to 11:30 and way past our bedtime. We spent the next morning wandering around a completely dead Latin Quarter, practicing our French and munching on crepes.

Pittoresques maisons victoriennes de Montreal

Canadian graffiti

Now this is some window art!

We soon headed out of Montreal and worked our way down to Vermont (with a much smoother border crossing, thank goodness). The international portion of our trip proved to be entirely too short-lived, but we’ll certainly make our way back to Montreal in the not-too-distant future for a faux-European fix.