Weeks 20, 21, 22 - To Hartford, back to NYC, back to Connecticut and on to North Carolina!

I had some issues with my camera and lost my pictures from Connecticut. We didn't have much free time, however I was able to go to a great Cajun dinner at a jazz place called Black-Eyed Sallys, and I was able to meet up with Lee Abdella's brother, future sister-in-law and friend while there. We went to a good mexican restaurant for some food and margaritas before heading to meet out a bunch of their friends at a bar that had a Dave Matthews cover band playing. It's not only Chicago that has the cover bands..only this time, the band sounded EXACTLY like DMB!

Hartford is a very small, but pretty city. I was very surpised as I had no idea what to expect. At the CT Women's Expo, Matt Cedano from Days of Our Lives was there doing a guest appearance. Again, another picture I don't have! For you soap opera fans, he's just a good looking in person.

We had a few days off so we decided to head back to NYC since there wasn't much going on in Hartford. I spent a full day hanging out in Central Park. I did some running around the lake there and walking through the entire park. I wanted to go to the Metropolitan Art Museum but when I got there, I found it was closed being a Monday. I bought a couple framed photos of Central Park I loved it so much. Overall, an enjoyable day!

Tuesday I needed a lazy day and just spent it at the hotel sleeping in late and watching TV. Seeing as though we had to get up at 4am to head to the Today Show the next morning..it was a good call as it was a long day!

We arrived at The Today Show at 5am with our posters and rawhide dog bones. We wanted to try to stick out so we made posters geared toward Al Roker since he's the one who's outside the most. One poster read, "Hey Al, How dense are your bones?" And the other read, "We drove 15,200 miles to meet you." Since we're doing bone density screenings, we thought Al may wonder what we're talking about as well as where we came from that we had to drive 15,200 miles. (That's the total miles driven to date on the tour) Well, it didn't work...we did meet him, however being the day before Sept. 11, he talked to those who had quilts and pictures of lost loved ones...and rightfully so. We were, however, able to get our client's logo on tv since we put the stickers on the back of our signs and when the camera panned us the logo was captured...so they were pleased. I got some calls from friends saying they saw me on tv during the Conan segment. Too fun!

The Today Show was a good one! The guest star outside was Conan O'Brien due to his 10th year anniversary. It was a crazy segment if you didn't catch it on tv that morning. They had a camel, Chippendale dancers, sheep with party hats, a marching band and presents and cake. Here are a few pics:




After the show, I stayed downtown and took the NBC studios tour. We visited Dateline and Saturday Night Live sets which was pretty cool. I was also picked to do the weather segment with a teleprompter and everything. It was interesting to learn facts about many of the shows I watch on NBC.

After that I went to Shea Stadium to catch the Mets vs. Marlins game. They lost...as usual...but it was a good way to spend a sunny afternoon. When I got there, I met a girl named Jordan. We ended up getting tickets together and hung out during the game. Afterwards, we went down to Little Italy for dinner. Once again, an instance where it's been very easy to meet cool people while on the road!





After dinner, Jordan had to take off since she had to catch an early flight the next morning...and I went to a bar in the lower east side which was cool. I made friends with the bartenders and some other people there. Again, great, cool New Yorkers! I ended up going across the street later and seeing a band called The Ritchies play. A very jam-packed but fun day. Had to go out of NYC with a bang!

We then headed back to Connecticut...this time it was to the Fairfield area to work some retail stops. Overall an easy week. We didn't do much as there's not much to do there and we only had 3 days. All I did was work, workout and sleep. My wallet also thanked me for laying low since NYC wiped me out.

We left from NYC and started our journey south to North Carolina. We had to go to Charlotte to work at the Southern Women's Show. From here on out, we are basically going to cities following the SWS. It's a huge 3 or 4 day event with vendors geared towards women's interests. It involves working 10 hour days, giving bone density screenings and educating consumers on the "power of soy". It turns out being long, exhausting days and I found I didn't have much energy after work.

Charlotte is also a very pretty and clean city. It's a bit slower paced that what I'm used to, but it was still enjoyable. We were first worried about Hurricane Isabelle but were assured that it wouldn't be heading inland to Charlotte, so we decided to still attend the convention. It was a big nerve-racking to be there, but besides the day of the storm the weather was beautiful! We did get the energy to head out one night with one of our temp staffs to a lounge and a club. It was a pretty good night...met some guys that used to live in Chicago...but as I said, definitely lower key.

A highlight at the Southern Women's Show was the guest appearance of Charlie from "The Bachelorette". For those of you that don't remember, he was the guy who lost to Ryan for Trista's heart. ha ha Well, I met him and he seemed like a genuine, humble guy. He now works for Extra as an interview host. It was interesting to hear how he got on the show and how his life has changed since. That makes 3 bachelors I've met on the road so far.




I have off until Friday when we head to Greensboro, North Carolina for another Southern Women's Show. I drove down to the border of South Carolina and Georgia today and I am going on a 6-hour whitewater rafting trip tomorrow! Details to come!

Kari

Weeks 18 & 19 - New York City!

What have I done in NYC? I think the better question to ask is "What DIDN'T I do in NYC!" This really is a great city, and if my income allowed it, I could definitely live here. I think the best part is the diversity of people. I've met great people from all over the world. Since my co-worker had family in town visiting, I spent my two weeks in NYC hitting the city solo...and I had a blast! Practically everywhere I went I met great, friendly people that I spent some time with..whether it be at a concert, walking around the city, at a bar/lounge or standing in line for an event.

I think the highlight was MTV's Video Music Awards! Since they were held in NYC and I had that day off, I decided to head to Rockefeller Center early to check out the scene and see where I could stand to see some stars. I got there about noon and stood in line by an area along the pre-show stage that looked like a place where fans were going to be allowed to stand. After four hours of waiting and meeting plenty of people, we were told that people were "casted" to be in certain areas. Not really knowing how it all works, with no one giving much information to help, I started to scope out a new spot. I figured I could see the stars walk into Radio City Music Hall so I camped out there. Then I started noticing people with different colored braclets on their wrists and started asking questions. Turns out, you had to find casting staff that had the bracelets in their pockets and then talk your way into getting one while also fitting a certain demographic to..so I started hunting. I met some new friends during the day so I told them to save my spot and I'll search for bracelets. I was able to find a pink and a purple braclet, and come to find out that purple gets me along the red carpet next to the podium that all the stars stop at for their MTV interview! The girls I met were ecstatic that I got these bracelets for them. We were able to watch the preshow as well as the red carpet! I got to either see or meet EVERYONE who came down the red carpet. Here's a few that I can remember: P. Diddy, Beyonce, Kelly Clarkson, Real World and Road Rules Cast, 50 Cent, Nelly, Kelly Rowland, Good Charlotte, DMX, Simple Plan, Kim Cattrel, Jason Biggs, Hillary Duff, Kelly Osborne, The Olsen Twins, Snoop Dog, DMX, Ashanti, Mary J. Blige, Mya, Donald Trump, Justin Timberlake, Jessica Simpson, Nick Lache, Carson Daly, Gideon, Sway (MTV veejays), Serena and Venus Williams, Tony Hawk, LeBron James, Fred Durst, Limp Bizkit, Avril Lavigne, Sean Paul, Black Eyed Peas and some others. BUT..in order to get access, MTV had to take my batteries from my camera...so no pictures were taken. I only have these from before the red carpet.



I also had a run-in with 50-cent twice before the VMA's. I was caught in the middle of a fight in the NYC streets between a guy in a car and a guy in a suit that claimed he was almost hit, so he punched the guys car. Cops came and wanted to talk to me since I was there..and once I was done I turned around and 50-cent walked out of a jewlery store...you know he was there to buy some bling-bling! ha!

I also had another celeb sighting at the Yankees game. I was fortunate enough to witness the Sox kill the Yankees 11-2! I had my Cubs visor with me and made sure I wore it to the game and got quite the attention. It was a great time. I had great seats close to the Yankees dug-out and a few times I ran into Bobby Bachala (Steve Schirripa) from the Sopranos! He wasn't as big in person...but he was very nice to the fans. He stopped for a picture for me, but it didn't turn out! Again, quite the tourist!

Picture me, in NYC, with 5 different maps navigating my way around the city. I did most all of the tourist things there are to do! I hit the spots including Empire State Building, Central Park, Ground Zero (very eerie, by the way...couldn't stay long), Staten Island ferry out by the Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center, saw the Broadway show "Rent", went to the Christina Aguilera/Justin Timberlake concert with Carolyn, went to see the John Mayer/Counting Crows show at Jones Beach, hit the Bowery Ballroom to see The Damnwells and the Ben Taylor Band, learned to salsa dance from a French guy, met up for dinner with a friend, did some shopping in Jersey and Chinatown, went to Atlantic City in New Jersey to meet up with Jen Sanders, Kelly Varga and Kristen Lenda who were in town from Chicago, and surprisingly my former boss, Hertha, was in town the first weekend I was here so I went out with her and her friends. Overall, a fantastic time! But I'm broke..I've got to leave soon!

I know I rambled a lot, but I've done so much, that if I went into detail about all of it, this would be a novel. Just trust me, that if you haven't had the opportunity to spend time in NYC, to get out here and do it! I love it. Each city I compare to Chicago, and the only ones to come close so far are NYC and San Francisco...but Chicago still tops my list! I'm heading to Hartford, CT for the weekend and then back to NYC for a few days. I'm hoping to get a run in at Central Park and also go to the Metropolitan Art Museum.

Here's some pics:





(Ground Zero)







Love it, love it, love it! But, I'm still missing Chicago and you all! 2 months and counting! I've got an apartment all lined up in Wrigleyville and am living with Lee Abdella...and starting to think about what exactly I want to do when I get back!

I hope you are all doing well! I can't believe summer is officially over!

Love,
Kari

Week 17 - Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh is another city that I never really gave much thought to...and I was pleasantly surprised! It is a smaller city, but a beautiful one. With three rivers making the "point" in the city there it was easy to navigate. I took a day and traveled the city by foot. I went running along the river and went to lunch on the South Side and took the incline up to Mt. Washington. This spot is a very scenic overlook of the entire city. I then went to Station Square, which is similar to Navy Pier. Here's some shots:





I also had time to get in a Pirates game at PNC park. One of the best ball parks I've been to as far as technology goes. There's a Hi-Tops there too that we hit after the game.



There is a bunch of contests throughout the game, and a guy lost, so he won...Fabio!


Saturday night Carolyn didn't feel like going out and I still hadn't seen "The Strip" area, so I decided to head down solo. Besides going to events, it's the first time I've gone out to bars by myself. I went to dinner at Primanti Bros. which has great sandwiches and then I went to a sports bar to watch some of the Phillies vs. Steelers game. There, a guy started talking to me and got my story and then introduced me to his entire group. People seem to be so amazed by this adventure they ask a ton of questions. This group was so nice they invited me to go out with them. So the night turned into a "Where can we take Kari next?" night. We all had a blast, hit a lot of spots and ended up being a very late night! Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera out with me that night!

We were only Pittsburgh for 5 days but I really enjoyed that city. It's probably my favorite city on the east coast so far. I just arrived to New York City and am the true tourist here with all my public trans maps, etc. I think come November I'll be looking forward to coming back to the city where I know how to get everywhere...or maybe I'll forget!

Miss you all!

Weeks 15 & 16 - Philadelphia, PA and a day trip to Cape May, NJ

It is true..they do have the best cheesesteaks in Philly! I personally enjoyed Jim's the infamous joint but also liked the steaks at the ballpark. It's a good thing they don't have them on every corner in Chicago otherwise I'd be in trouble!

We did a lot in Philly. It was a pretty cool city. The night life was alright..kinda small...but there was plenty to do during the day. We worked a lot while we were here. Carolyn and I went out downtown one night for dinner and hit a few lounges. It seems to be the popular thing. Among the cobblestone streets there's plenty of lounges and restaurants all in a 3 or 4 block radius.

The second week Carolyn went on vacation and I had a couple days off. I hit Veterans Stadium for a Phillies game. I got pretty good seats and talked to many of the locals and the Phillies won! The new stadium is being built next door, and is supposed to be finished for next season. I think they are making it like Wrigley. Here's a few pics...



And here's Liberthal at the plate...


When work days came around, Carrie from the office flew out to cover for Carolyn. We had a great time. We were insanely busy working federal buildings, but we did have a day to take a day trip to stay with Jen Sanders parents in Cape May, NJ. I've never heard of it, but it's an amazing Victorian beach town. The homes there are amazing! Jens' parents were gracious enough to let us stay in their home, and her mom took us around town to see the sights. I definitely want to go back. There's great seafood restaurants, beaches, shops and bars. Jen's dad even caught fresh crabs for us that we had for dinner. It was great having a home to be in and a few home cooked meals! Here's some pics...





We then headed back to Philly for a couple days of work and before Carrie had to fly back to Chicago we did some shopping due to a down pour which also forced us into an Irish Bar downtown. Jen's friend Joe met us out and took us to Cuba Libre and introduced us to Mohida's...they are great!


My final day there, I was solo again waiting for Carolyn to get back into town so we could head to Pittsburgh. I went to a place about 6 miles our the the city center to Manayunk. It is a cute, cobblestone street with over 60 boutiques and restaurants. I walked though the shops, rented a bike and took about a 12 mile ride along the river, got a pedicure, and had sushi. A great day! On my ride I rode through the zoo, museum campus and witnessed the infamous "Rocky stairs" Check it out.

First Vacation Weekend in VEGAS!

This weekend about 30 of us flew out to Vegas to celebrate Mike and Laurie's bachelorette/bachelor party. It was great to see everyone and finally have a week off! The weather was 95 degrees and it actually rained two days. But we made do and hit the tables instead of hitting the pool. I left Vegas up and was able to pay for my hotel and spending money so all is good! I played mostly Craps, a little BlackJack and learned how to play Paigow Poker very early one morning. Beginner's luck I tell ya!

The first night we all flew in at random times. I flew in earlier and a larger group flew in later. To avoid the long cab lines the later group rented an SUV limo so they swung by the Monte Carlo to drop off their bags and to pick us up to head to the original strip. I've always wanted to check out where Vegas originated and it seemed similar to Reno, Nevada. We had a blast. They had a great light show in the street and we gambled at the Golden Nugget as well as had some tasty drinks.



The next day we tried to hit the pool but it was raining. So, we resorted to the tables once again! That night the whole group went to Ghost Bar at the Palms (my fave place) and then went to Hard Rock to do some gambling and go to the club Baby's. Another late night, but a fun one.







The final night just the girls went out for Laurie's bachelorette celebration. A 70's theme was set so we all brought outfits that were a bit crazy! I decided to go all out and get an obnoxious rainbow dress with matching yellow platforms that made me about 6 foot 3! It was definitely a funny night...and our group couldn't attract more attention!! Look at how ridiculous we look. And just my luck..while looking like a fool...I see someone I went to highschool with! Talk about embarrassing.




After 3 days and about 8 hours of sleep it was time to head back to Boston to meet up with Carolyn. My flight was close to 6 hours long but the sleep was needed. It took me two days to recoup, but at least we had some time off before we headed to Philly!

Weeks 13 & 14 - Trip out to Boston for the East coast tour (with a few unexpected pit stops along the way)!

I can hardly believe this trip out to Boston is my last long ride until I head home in November. We had 3 days to get out to Boston before we had to work which was great. When we got close to NY, we started seeing signs for Niagara Falls so we decided last minute to take a slight detour and stay the night there so we could check out the sites the following day. I've never been before so it was an unexpected surprise.

BUT FIRST...we were rolling right along the highway when we heard a pop and the truck gave a quick jolt. The first thing that came to mind is that we popped a tire (just like before) so we pulled over. Come to find out, the tire that we received in San Francisco when we got our first flat was the wrong grade of tire for our truck; Therefore, the tread fell off. The truck repair said they were very surprised we got as far as we did. Not only did we have to get the tire replaced, we decided to get all new tires so they wear together. What an ordeal! Luckily we had time to spare. The worst part is, the tread that flew off damaged the side of the truck breaking some of the fiberglass off above the wheel. Let me tell ya, I'm learning a lot about RV repair!

We finally made it to Niagara later that night. We got up and headed to the Falls and only intended on checking out the sites for an hour or so and then moving on. We had such a great time we ended up there all day. We hopped on the Maid In The Mist which took us directly in the center of the Falls by boat which was beautiful. Then we walked across the bridge, through customs, and over to Canada to have some lunch. I was suprised to see that over the border it is similiar to Wisconsin Dells - Very touristy with cheesy museums and rides. We ate at Hard Rock and then walked the streets and I went on the WWE Pile Driver Drop and Carolyn and I both rode a simulated roller coaster ride. It was nice to get out of the truck for a while. Here's a few shots I took







We left Niagara and still had 500 miles to go so we didn't get into Boston until late that night. We made the most of our ten days in Boston. Our days of work were pretty long but we had a few off for sightseeing. We were very "touristy" here. We took one of those duck tours to get the history of the city and figure out different places we wanted to spend more time. For those of you that haven't been there, driving in Bean-Town is insane! No one knows where there going, how to give directions, and for some reason feel the need to name each road with three different names, some of which Mapquest doesn't recognize. Needless to say, we were lost a majority of the time.

After our duck tour, Carolyn and I walked the Freedom Trail which also happens to be the similar route from the original Cheers (which the tv show was created from) and the replicate Cheers (a bar that mirrors what is seen on the tv show). I enjoyed my first baked beans meal and a beer at the original Cheers.




The following day we headed out to Cape Cod to check it out. We heard that driving was insane in the summer so we took a high-powered catamaran out to Provincetown. It was a very "colorful" island full of shops, restaurants, cottages and bars. The scene was a mix of families and turns out it's a popular summer spot for the gay community. For those of you in Chicago, it's kind of a Boystown meets Key West! I had a great time checking out the sights and we spent a few hours sipping cool cocktails at a bar on the water. Jason, our bartender, filled us in on the hotspots of the island. Here's a few pics...





After a few days of work we got in some more sightseeing. We checked out the nightlife at Landsdowne street and visited a few clubs and pubs. And during the day I took the train out to Harvard Square and ran through both Harvard and MIT campus over to the river. After running around the river (similar to running along the Chicago lakefront) I did some shopping in the city and checked out a free showing of MacBeth in the Boston Commons by the Commonwealth Shakespearean Theater. Unfortunately, this was the most scenic part of the week but since I was running I didn't have my camera! But here are a few shots of Boston from walking around.



After a few more days of work it was finally time to hit a game at Fenway! I've always wanted to catch a game there. The ambiance is similar to Wrigley but it's much smaller. We had seats out in the bleachers and I still crack up when I think of the crowd yelling "Hit a Ho-ma Nom-ahh! Before the game we went to a bar called Who's At Second and afterwards we went to Cask N' Flagon. Both are similar to the bars at Wrigley. Here's some of the sights...






Overall, Boston was busy but fun. We got in a lot of sightseeing and it really is a beautiful city. Besides getting turned around driving, I had a great time!