New Website
We have started a new website for Tucson. Its called tucsonverve.com.
Day 7
We hurredly packed up our things and left the KOA. We headed towards the California coast along I-80 to CA-37 to CA-101 to CA-1. Before Petaluma there was some beautiful marshland. Erin kept bothering Izzy about the marshland, because he was attempting to read emails about the house. We then arrived in Petaluma.
We needed some supplies, so we found the a Whole Foods in Petaluma. Erin told Izzy that Petaluma was the birthplace of the industrial organic chicken industry, and remains the hub of that industry. So, while Erin was in the vegetable section, Izzy went to get eggs. They said “Cageless” and “Freerange.” Izzy, wondering about the slighty cheeseball marketing on the egg cartons, whipped out the AWESOME GOOGLE PHONE to investigate the chicken farms. He found that most of them were from the same large chicken torture factory, right in Petaluma. “Cageless” actually meant wooden cages, instead of wire cages. Please read “An Omnivore’s Dillema” to find out more about the “Freerange” industrial organic chicken. Izzy subsequently found some eggs that were actually truly freerange, using the SWEET GOOGLE PHONE.
We continued towards the Coast, and the GREAT GOOGLE PHONE FAILED! It told us to turn left from a highway onto a road, for which there was no exit! We were apparently supposed to drive through the guardrail and make a crazy stuntman jump onto this road. Thus the small print at the bottom of the Google map pages stating that the directions are for planning purposes only and that we must follow all laws (the laws of gravity especially). We had to backtrack about 10 miles to get off, then drive back up 10 miles to get on the road. The path that Google chose to get us to CA-1 was very long and odd, but ended up being quite scenic.
We arrived at CA-1 and attempted to find a beach to run around on, but they were fraking packed! The first one we tried had a line of about 25 cars waiting for beach access. That is not what we call fun! We decided to drive north for a few miles until we found a less populated beach.
We finally found a nice looking beach, paid the $7 for parking, tied up the dogs, and ate PB&J sandwiches. Then we took those maniacal mutts down to the water. Cauchy’s eyes nearly burst from her head when she saw ALL THAT WATER! So, with the waves only splashing up to our ankles the dogs played in the water. Then, the lifeguard (aka the fun police) saw us. He came to tell us that we were on the world’s most dangerous beach and we would certainly die if we continued to stand, ankle deep, in the water. Erin gave the fun police the stank eye with a bit of the lasers, and grumbled back to the car. We needed to get on the road if we were going to make it far enough North to find an open campground.
The drive North was spectacular, and there were many many many cyclists. We think going to do the cyclist tour next time, it would be totally awesome dude!
We stopped at a small wine store and got a $17 bottle of wine.
We found a nice campground by the beach, pitched our camp, then walked down to the beach itself. It was gorgeous, but extremely cold! Izzy got some sweet pictures, especially of Erin. Our day ended with that bottle of wine (the best $17 Cab Franc Erin has ever had), grilled portabello mushrooms, and tasty pasta.
From Fire Strewn Sand,
–Israel and Erin
Day 6
Izzy woke up, and his brain said, “Mountain Biking will happen today!” Coincidentally, there is a huge road bike event in Markleeville called the Death Ride this weekend, and the street were infested with roadies.
We spent about 14 days trying to find a ride that was fun, relatively easy, and close. During this foray, Erin received a happy email offering her a job in a lab at the University of Arizona’s department of biophysics, woot! Erin proceeded to run around the tiny cabin we were staying in, she was very excited to be gainfully employed. She is looking forward to another year of playing with proteins. We celebrated by going on that mountain bike ride that took 14 days to plan.
The ride was a bit disconcerting at first. We were on a road with no shoulder for about 1.5 miles, then we came to the “trailhead” that was on the map. There was a road, behind a large fence, locked with a mean looking chain. The road appeared to be private, even though there were no signs indicating the status. We wondered around for quite awhile looking for the “entrance”. Finally some angler dude came walking down the road behind the fence. Izzy asked him what the trail was like up there, and he indicated it was easy.
We lifted our bikes over the fence and proceeded to bomb hills and hurtle over sweet jumps (Napoleon Dynamite Style)! Some of the terrain was pretty technical, and (Izzy says) Erin did quite well. At the end we came upon a large creek, where we put our feet in the water and hung out for awhile. We started skipping rocks and were having a blast. All of a sudden Izzy said, “Crap” and started looking around in the water. Erin saw a glint from the creek bottom, and watched Izzy retrieve his wedding ring. Izzy was thoroughly vituperated. Izzy needs a wedding ring that fits!
After we arrived back at Markleeville, we decided to get Steve (Izzy’s Dad) and go get some Ice Cream. Izzy is an Ice Cream Addict. Izzy was disappointed that they had no hot fudge, no whipped cream, and were serving only Dryer’s.
We then packed up and hit the road again. We intended to camp at some lake near Sacremento, we were very tired and getting frusterated, so we arrived at this KOA at 1am, which we are staying at, begrudginly. It has the loveliest view, of the highway.
From the KOA Krapground,
–Erin and Izzy
Day 5
This morning, we enjoyed breakfast with Izzy’s Dad and made our way to the lake. Despite all the California drivers, Lake Tahoe was absolutely gorgeous! At first, Cauchy and Aldo were unsure of the waves. After a few minutes, Cauchy plowed head first into the lake and Aldo followed suit. We visited a few historical buildings and went on a nature walk. The dogs managed to get into something that gave them a nasty rash.
Having thouroughly tuckered the pups, we made our way to the Casa of G-ma and G-pa Vaughn. G-pa Vaughn is still recovering from heart surgery, and had many stories to tell. He seems chipper, considering he had been opened up three times just a few weeks ago.
Izzy then had, once again, the stupid house crap to work on. To make up for having to work on the honeymoon, we went to my Dad’s favorite restaurant, Freshies. These crazy Hawaiians started a restaurant in Tahoe, and the food is excellent, who knew quinoa potato coconut pancakes could be so good. Izzy had Udon noodles, which were also excellent.
After dinner we went home and slept.
Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the dog rash bite!
–Erin and Izzy
Day 4
We awoke amongst tall pines today. Cauchy was barking incessantly. We looked out of the tent only to spy Aldo running loose after a squirrel. Cauchy was jealous of Aldo’s new found freedom and was simply trying to get our attention. An interesting lady was the campground host, she sold all of her possessions and lived in campgrounds. We found a cafe and shared a gi-normous omelet. It was tasty.
The waitress enthusiastically suggested we take the scenic route back to the highway. We did. It was spendiferous! The dogs were sticking their heads out the window. Aldo seemed so enthralled by the scenery that he kept trying to get up into the front seat for a better view.
We then made our way to a Home Depot to acquire something to keep our roof whale’s mouth shut. We discovered that in California you can pick up several immigrants for pretty cheap work right at the Home Depot entrance. Not in need of immigrants, we headed back out to the highway.
We proceeded to book it up to Tahoe. Unfortunately, we had to drive through the LA area. LA is gross. Seriously gross. Why do people live there? Ew.
Route 5 is also gross. Industrial farming is gross. Gross. California drivers are insane. Erin was very frustrated with them. Erin couldn’t wait to get away from them. The Jersey Girl attitude made an appearance several times. The Jersey Bird made several appearances as well.
We stopped in Sacramento for a early dinner/late lunch. Burritos were had by all. Lake Tahoe was getting closer. As darkness approached, we hit the very windy road that leads into South Lake Tahoe. The California drivers were out in full-force. Finally, we made it to the doorstep of Izzy’s Dad’s little cabin in Markleeville. Following hugs, sleep was had by all.
Cheers,
–Erin and Israel
Day 3
Some of you may be wondering why we were in Tucson in July during our honeymoon/ULTIMATE AMERICAN VAGABOND ROAD TRIP. Of course, Erin had that interview, which went swimmingly, but it was scheduled concurrently with our arrival to Tucson. The reason we had to take our silver Subaru starship to Mercury, is because this week is our inspection period on the home we are purchasing.
So we needed to check it out and call Shenanigans where Shenanigans needed to be called. We hired our very own professional Shenanigans investigator, and looked for Shenanigans ourselves. Shenanigans were found, primarily on the roof and in the cooling system.
After waiting for the termite inspector, who never arrived, we began the long trek west. We drove and we drove and we drove. The heat was incessant, at one point it hit 112. We were happily cruising along in our refrigerated box. Shortly after entering California on Interstate 10, Erin’s crazy ninja senses sounded a ninja alarm when she saw Izzy’s blue sleeping pad flying into a large semi-truck, followed by Izzy’s sleeping bag. Note : Erin has the crazy ninja laser eyes, the opening through she observed our escaping paraphernalia was only about a 3 x 3 inch square. She immediately freaked out and swerved crazily off the road (says Izzy). According to Erin, she calmly made a controlled stop, including using the blinker. Izzy jumped out (and remember it is 106 degrees) and observed our black roof whale laying wide open. Izzy stared backwards to see stuff, our stuff, being pummeled by semis. He ran like a rabid wolverine down the side of the Highway. Remember it’s 106 degrees. He nearly snatched the sleeping pad, but it was trampled yet again by a large semi. The sleeping bag started to roll towards the median, but fortunately another truck swooped by and the draft sucked back to the shoulder. Izzy triumphantly all the items, and so began the “what the frack was that!” section of our trip.
Izzy was wondering how in the hell the thing opened! Erin was wondering “Oh my ga, how are we going to get all of the roof stuff into the car, and where can we dispose of this defective roof whale? (Picture of roof whale coming soon). Izzy messed around with things for awhile, then we decided to rope it like a steer. That would would keep that whale’s mouth shut!
After lassoing the whale we continued on our way, albeit more slowly due to our attempts to figure out “what in the hell caused that!” Izzy was observing the whale’s behavior when he noticed it open its mouth to try to eat some bugs. The Yakima rack was defective! The wind was opening the front, the roof whale was becoming pressurized and its belly was bursting, spilling the contents all over the highway. We talked about possible solutions, and decided to just strap the shit out of it for now! We decided to camp somewhere “cool” so made our way up into the Angeles State Park, where it was only 62 degrees! Yay! Cauchy and Aldo said Woot!
Buenos Noches,
Izzy and Erin
Day 2
Day 2 of the GREAT EPIC AMERICAN ROAD TRIP, YEAH, began with the discovery that some brands of soy milk, become soy yogurt. Note : the brand was not Silk. Good thing Erin brought a backup. The backup brand was Silk. (We are in no way affiliated with Silk brand products).
We packed the car and decided to take the scenic route through Sedona, instead of mountain biking. Neither of us had slept well. There seemed to be a common thread between us involving barking, black dogs, and canine shenanigans.
Sedona was super pretty (Pics soon)!
After coffee in Sedona, we realized that we needed to get going, because Erin had an interview at 4:00pm for a new job at the University of Arizona, and we smelled like and looked like dirty hippies, not that that is a bad thing, but, unlike the evolutionists and ecologists, biochemists and biophysicists tend to frown upon poor hygiene, since their whole world involves sterilization and cleanliness.
We drove through the Center of the Sun, AKA Phoenix. We then arrived on Mercury, AKA Tucson. Fortunately temps on Mercury were a mere 102, instead of the blistering 106 at the Center of the Sun
We set up camp, showered and headed to the University. Erin was giving Izzy the practice spiel of her experience for the interview, which Izzy found quite interesting, even though he only caught about half of it (Erin says three quarters). Izzy dropped Erin off.
Izzy went to work on house stuff, the google phone stopped being so awesome. The heat took its toll on the computers and phone, and he got little work finished.
Erin went to the awesome guy’s lab. The awesome is guy is really awesome. He went from 2nd choice to 1st choice for the possible job positions. Here is to keeping our fingers crossed that Erin gets the position.
We went back to our little Mercury camp at Catalina State Park (filled with fire ants) had yummy portabella mushroom sandwiches and arroz con mariposa.
Hasta Luego,
–Israel and Erin
Day 1
Izzy was feverishly preparing the house buying crap (i.e. paperwork), and also getting a “few” hours in attempting to ready last minute work obligations.
Erin was packing and checking many many things of her many many checklists and sub-checklists in preparation for the ultimate Vaughn American Style Roadtrip.
The dogs were tip-toeing around woefully hoping that there was not going to be yet another Mexican Adventure (to which they were not invited).
After packing up the last few items, eating one last breakfast burrito, and corraling the dogs into the car, we hopped on I-40 west and booked it!
Highlights of the day :
1:52 PM : 80 miles away from the “Q”, lost all ABQ radio stations, switched to iPod mode
2:06 PM : A torrential downpoar ensued
2:09 PM : The sun was shining again
End chronicling by time, we already lost track
We then stopped at this weird place with trees made of rock, it was named the Petrified Forest National Park.
It was cool! We bought a National Park Annual pass!
The native people left us some pretty pictures to enjoy, even a baby and a stork! (Picture to come later)
Cauchy and Aldo liked the park at first, but soon decided that the refrigerated car was the more desirable option. Black dogs no likey 99 degree heat.
We arrived in Flagstaff, AZ and used the man (awesome G1) phone to find a sweet campground by a lake on the top of a mountain amongst beautifully tall pine trees. The dogs were ecstatic, as the temperature was a comfy 69 degrees.
The day ended with a beautiful sunset over the lake (really a marsh) and bean burritos.
Over and out,
–Izzy and Erin
Prelude
Many moons/months ago, before the entire house and moving to Tucson thing, we were planning an extravagant month long vacation to Australia and New Zealand. Then…
We realized that becoming home-owners was the more “grown-up” choice, as opposed to tromping around in the Outback. So…
We decided to tromp around in our own back yard for a couple of weeks, after all, Izzy has not seen about half of the US. This also gives us an opportunity to visit some folks who were unable to attend the Mexican Adventure Wedding.
We will be chronicling our adventures once a day (hopefully, maybe, who knows, this is actually day three and we are finally writing the prelude) for everyone to enjoy.
This high tech road trip will be made possible by Izzy’s new and improved fancy man phone, AKA the awesome G1 google phone, with internet in the car and also by Ted.
-Izzy and Erin
Welcome to our Wedding Website!
We have crafted this site as a source of information, fun, and communication for our friends and family.
This is your place to play a part in our big day!
