Hot Springs, AK, aka Bubbatown

Imagine a paper mill. Imagine you were a block down-wind from said paper mill. Now imagine you could capture that odor and cram it into the smallest space possible. Now sit in that room for 10 hours and you'll have a close aproximation of what its was like to drive to Arkansas from the Smokies. That kind of powerful odor has a nearly psychotropic effect at times. While I rationally knew all I needed to do was find a motel with a working shower somewhat near our destination, I had moments where I thought about driving the entire way to my sister Emily's in Austin, TX (for context that's about a 20 hour drive).

Stopping in Hot Springs, one of the two AR towns claiming to be the home of Bill Clinton, was worth it for more than just the shower. Hot Springs is a combination of an Ocean City, MD with a Berkeley Springs, WV, so picture a quaint historic town surrounded by natural beauty, combined with all the tie-dyed keychains and personalized airburshed unicorn shirts your heart could ever desire. We rolled in too late to do a full tour of the bath houses, but did get to walk around the hillside park behind the bath houses and see the "display" hot springs. Pretty hot!

One of the curious things we've noticed while touring the south is that the tourist attractions seem almost exclusively visited by the over-70 set and bikers. At least we're now feeling younger and cleaner than most! I guess we'll see how this theory plays itself out through TX...
-D

Older than Many, Cleaner than Some...

We saw this sign advertising a motel "on the strip" in Pigeon Forge, TN. Across the street was a sign reading "Welcome" Welcome Center. For non- country music history buffs, Pigeon Forge is the birthplace of Dolly Parton, and adjacent to her recently bankrupted Dollywood theme park. We were just a little too late to take in this attraction, but judging from the businesses that sprung up around it, we weren't missing much--lots of Appalachian and Jesus-themed supper club productions.

The drive out of the Smokies to Pigeon Forge was beautiful, as was the Pigeon River itself. In the early morning, it looks like steam pours off the river, giving it an overall smokey appearance--very cool.
But after two chilly nights in a national park with no showers, we were definitely feeling more like the commercial strip of Pigeon Forge, that is, "older than many, cleaner than some," and ready to drive on to what awaits in Arkansas.
--Kristi & Dennis

The First of Many National Parks

For those who had the great joy and honor of seeing our house put up for sale, you may have set eyes upon our realtor Mark Rutstein's photo of the Smokey Mountains (which much improved the look of our bathroom). What you'll notice here is a picture of the same location, which isn't as beautiful. While the Smokey Mountains are beautiful, they don't photograph well (much like the moon, I recently discovered).

Our first hike was to the highest pint in the Smokeys (though I guess when you drive most of the way up the mountain, it's cheating!) We climbed the steep, paved path up to a bizarre future-mod ramp with great views, even if a little foggy.
-D

Asheville, NC

Finally the car moves. In an attempt to get to New Zealand, the first thing we had to do was drive to Asheville, NC. And as a place to start our travels, it may be one of the better places. Nestled in the hills of the Smokey Mountains, Asheville is a wonderful combination of a mountain town, an eco village, and a sleepy southern 'burg. Even better than the city itself was being so warmly welcomed by our friends Jean and Boris, who we hadn't seen in years, as well as their great roommates and adorable son, Sava. With some world travelers in the bunch, we got some good tips, like exotic fruits to try in NZ and Jean's parting words, "remember, everything's temporary"! Pretty reassuring...

So long, DC

We’ve had a great last few days in DC. Thanks to our friends Hope and Tom, we weren’t homeless between the time we sold our house and I got my passport. Actually, these may be some of the more luxe accommodations we’ll have in a while. Free wireless internet, laundry service, and great food within a block. That picture of slop you see is pupusas—one of the delicious foodstuffs we’ll be missing for about a year. Mmm. Hanging out with friends has been really fun, has helped us not freak out, and has also been a little bit sad. We’ll miss you guys!
-K

Mommy, where do pigeons come from?

One of the benefits of staying with friends is feeling a little like we’re on vacation, spending time in new neighborhoods, and soaking up the scenery and interesting wildlife. At Hope and Tom’s we’ve been observing the resident pigeons, Fred and Ginger, who live next to the back balcony. I don’t doubt Fred and Ginger have got a lot of love, but I don’t hold out too much hope for their happy family. They’ve been trying for a while, but 3 haphazardly placed twigs on a narrow ledge does not a nest make.

So far, Ginger (or is it Fred?) has laid an egg, which was quickly neglected and then disappeared. They spend a lot of time trying to lay another one, but it’s not looking good. For a really prodigious bird that constantly obstructs the sidewalks, it makes you wonder. For that matter, has anyone every seen a baby pigeon? I find it all a little mysterious, or perhaps suspicious. If someone could please send in some photographic evidence, I could breath a sigh of relief.
-K

Thanks Eleanor!

I am now the proud owner of a U.S. passport! I have to give thanks to the good people in Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton's office, who helped me cut through the red tape and talk to a real live person who was able to tell me what documents I needed to expedite my passport. More passport advice--if you have a baby in another country, make sure you register their birth with the U.S. Consulate. This piece of paper is really important down the road. Also, thanks to my mom and dad for scrambling through their files for all the other paperwork I needed to get this done. Now I've got one of the fancy new passports covered in eagles, monuments, and the moon landing, just so no one will mistake me for a Canadian. I'm undocumented no more, which means we're on our way out of DC. Toutalou!
-K

Oh Canada!

If you're thinking of traveling around the world, my first bit of advice is to get a passport. Now! Oops--you're probably too late already. You might want to just forget about your trip all together. I say this because I've been trying to get a passport since April. Hopefully I'll have one in the next few days.

For people who don't know my dirty little secret, I was born in Canada. Only recently has this made getting a U.S. passport nearly impossible (thank you Department of Homeland Security!) My other bit of advice is that you should never call a government office in Canada. Especially one that's located in Thunder Bay. Despite what you think you know about Thunder Bay from such illustrious films as Slapshot and Young Blood, the people up there are loath to answer their phones. I briefly considered a boycott of all things Canadian, but the thought of never watching Degrassi or the Littlest Hobo ever again was too painful.

Also, know that all bureaucrats love paperwork--bring it all--you never know if that high school report card will be the key to proving your citizenship after all.
-K

Sophisticated? Sure. Alpaca? Absolutely!

So our blog has a goofy name, but I assure you it comes from a place of inspiration (or lack of?) If you live in the DC area (and perhaps elsewhere), you may have seen the TV commercials from the International Alpaca Association that try to lure you from the rat race to a better lifestyle, i.e. raising alpacas. Maybe it was too many late nights watching those commercials during Iron Chef, but it got us thinking about leaving DC and trying something new, and probably not involving livestock. Our other inspiration for this trip was our friends Dave and LeeAnne, who just returned from a round the world trip. You should check out their fancy blog--some really amazing photos and writing. Anyway, when it came time to set up our website, all of our brainstorms about the name devolved into discussions of alpacas, David Lee Roth, Robert Evans, and George Goober Lindsey (due to some stress—see blog post, Oh Canada!-- we’ve gone really light on the reading list). We stuck with the alpaca theme, and I hope we see some along the way.