When going east, always speed!

Goodbye Socal!!!

We recently moved here in east cost and I wanted to share with you my 6 days road trip across country with Scott, Philly (pet dog) and Cali (pet cat) using Highway 70. Scott doesn’t like to ship the cat because the horrible stories of pets not surviving the trip and because we wouldn’t be there in the airport when she gets there. It would be tough to ask the parents in law to pick her up and knowing my cat, she wouldn’t be happy with a stranger checking her out. I had a great itinerary outlined for a cross country trip in the past but it doesn’t include the cat in the plan and it requires staying in Utah for more than a day. The same month we were moving, I went to Japan and it was my last month with my job so my schedule was a bit crazy and I wasn’t able to create a specific itinerary for the trip but it all worked out great. The pets handled it very well, better than we have expected. They didn’t do anything crazy along those 3000 miles. The only concern I had at first was the weather because it’s starting to get hot but with the air condition on the whole time, I won’t say that the pets had a good time but they were okay. Because of anxiety, their diet was messed up and Philly was constipated for a couple of days. It was a smooth trip since we are not hauling any boxes with us, just some laptops and liquids that I didn’t want to throw. My only complaint was that I wasn’t able to do the things that I wanted to do. I was really bummed about passing 9 states and not really exploring each one of them at all. I have provided the links of the places that we dine at, hoping that it would be helpful to someone who’d be taking the same route. Do not be concerned about my food choices, no armadillo or raccoon were harmed for my dining pleasure for the entirety of the trip LOL. Do not expect any 5 star hotel either for we have pets, we are limited to where we can stay. By the way, all the photos used in my blog are mine.

Day 1: San Diego, CA to Moab, UT

We stayed the previous night in a Motel 6 in downtown which is the best Motel 6 room I have ever stayed at. Although it’s tiny, it looks like it was renovated recently to look modern. For those who haven’t stayed at Motel 6. This is a chain hotel that is dirt cheap. Do not expect any hair dryer, shampoo and conditioner nor any kitchen gadgets such as microwave, fridge and coffee maker. Although we’re still at San Diego, we had to stay here for a night because we don’t have any furniture in the condo. The only problem with staying in downtown are the bums lingering in the area so the location is not so good. From here, we just grabbed a quick breakfast in Subway and started our road trip.

We’ve been plenty of times in Las Vegas so there’s really no reason to stop, instead we stopped for dinner at the world famous Ray's Tavern in Green River.

I just had to try Ray’s burger because people are going nuts about it in Yelp.

It was good but nothing special; I wouldn’t say that it was the best burger I have tasted but it was packed with people on a Tuesday night. We also ordered the pork chop and I find it kind of bland for my taste.

We drove a total of 13 hours this day until we get to Moab and unfortunately all the hotels are booked. We didn’t make any motel reservation since we don’t know where we’re gonna end at. The receptionist in each hotel were nice enough to check with other hotels nearby who has the ability but then there’s nothing that is pet friendly until we saw this one with the sign “available”. It was called Red Rock Lodge and probably the worst motel in Utah and that’s why they have availability. Scott didn’t mention about the pets when checking in because it’s almost midnight, were tired and we really have to stop so Cali can use her litter box. She won’t drink and eat in the car unlike Philly who would eat whatever I’m having. It was a big room but really old and smelly: I wouldn’t trust the comforter touching my skin. That night, Cali was so restless. She was jumping in the bed, off the bed and everywhere. There was also a stray cat outside and it didn’t help coz my cat is the antisocial of all, yeah she is worst than I am.

Day 2: Utah to Denver, CO

We started the day in Eklecticafe which landed the number one spot in restaurants in Moab by Trip Advisor. It is a small café that serves organic, healthy breakfast and lunch. Scott had an organic cranberry scone which is delicious and I had a salmon cake with wheat bread toasts and chorizo battered potatoes. The salmon cake was great; I can eat it every day for breakfast.

After breakfast, we head to the Arches National Park while it’s not very hot yet. What we did was to stop at each view point, take a picture and jump right back to the car because the air conditioning was running and with the weather outside, we really can’t leave the pets, sounds fun right? Without Cali, I would probably send Philly to a doggie day care (there are two in Moab) while Scott and I enjoy half a day of ATV driving and half a day of white water rafting but she’s with us so that aint gonna happen. We also have wanted to dig some dinosaur fossil in the area but again it is impossible with the pets, better luck next time right?

Arches National Park Scenic Drive

Balanced Rock

Delicate Arch, the most famous natural span in the world.

Skyline Arch

Landscape Arch, the longest natural rock span in the world.

The Windows Section, North and South Windows

Cove of Caves, Double Arch, Cove Arch and Turret Arch

Driving in Colorado was nice because the scenery is awesome.

From the Utah heat, we were then in Denver where the air is still cool and it still feels like spring.

You can even still see the snow in the mountains and in some ski slopes.

We passed the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel which is the highest vehicular tunnel in the United States and second in the world. It is also noted as the longest mountain tunnel and highest point on the Interstate Highway System. I wanted to stop at the hanging lake and spouting rock in Glenwood Springs but the access road to it is under construction, bad luck huh?

It was late afternoon when we got to Denver and since we drove 13 hours the other day we decided to take it easy and retire early but we must check the city first and see what Denver has to offer.

After checking in Motel 6 (you heard it right, we gave it another try) it brought us to Lodo District in this Mongolian Grill called bd's which is short for Be Different where you create your own stir fry. It’s like Benihana but way better because you can select your own meat, vegetable and sauces and the guys who cook it while you’re watching does some tricks too. It was fun, refreshing and different. There’s not a lot of locations right now but if you ever see one do not even think about not stopping. It was a great experience and because you choose everything in your food even the spices, you can’t complain how it’s gonna turn out . I have been trying to contact an old time friend so we can meet up since she lives in Denver but she didn’t check her Facebook on time and I do not have her new cell phone number. Back to Motel 6, we had a realization. Why do we keep staying in the cheapest hotel when our hotel expenses are covered with Scott’s relocation? Duh! The only thing I have to do from now on is figure out what locations are we gonna stop to sleep and book it before we get there. There’s plenty of website catering for pets but Dog Friendly is my favorite as far as looking for pet friendly hotel is concerned. This should be the last Motel 6 we ever had to stay to.

Day 3: Colorado to Salina, KS

This day I really anticipated stopping in Kansas City, Kansas to eat some real good Kansas City Bbq but with our time constraint, were not gonna be able to hit it. I heard that the two best barbeque places in Kansas City are Oklahoma Joes and Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque. Just in case you would have the chance to stop by during your trip, can you eat some barbeques for me will you? Remember how I said that it was nice and cool in Colorado? When we got out of our car in Kansas, it was the other way around. It was in 100’s that day.

We decided to stay at the Ramada hotel in Salina, KS. It was such a coincidence because the last movie we saw while in San Diego was Vertigo and the lead actress played a role of a girl from a small town called Salina, KS, how funny huh? There was a barbeque restaurant across the hotel but it was so hot, we decided to eat at the O’ Maleys Irish Pub inside the hotel.

I had a Guinness battered fish and it was good, I probably would try to make one myself at home. Although it was freaking hot outside, it was cool and nice in our room. It was the 2nd Ramada Inn I’ve been to in my life and I’m always pleased with my stay. Too funny the other one I’ve been too was as hot as this day and you guessed it right, it was in Arizona LOL.

It was our 3rd day driving so we are all tired and thank goodness we all had a great night sleep, even the pets. You can’t even wake up Philly and the cat she slept under the sheets.

Day 4: Kansas to St. Louis, MO

This morning was not as hot as yesterday afternoon. We drove thru Spangles for breakfast. Their menu selection is huge so I ordered everything that looks good and unique in their breakfast menu. I like it, I think is better than Jack in the Box or something like that. Actually, I think it’s comparable to Shake n’ Steak.

On the way to St. Louis, we stopped by Stefaninas Pizza in O’Fallon. I ordered the Stef’s Special made with provel cheese and topped with sausage, bacon, hamburger and 5 varieties of vegetables. It was yummy!

We checked in La Quinta Inn for the night. It was an executive suite so it was huge with a separate seating area for watching TV and an office area.

The pets loved it coz they can run around and we loved it because for only 20 dollars more, it’s still under our 100 bucks budget. What were we thinking in staying at Motel 6? In St. Louis, we met with Scott’s twin brother Jason in his house and his sister Jen and husband James came with their baby.

It was awesome to see my new niece for the first time. Samantha is just adorably precious. We had a nice dinner courtesy of Jason but we didn’t stay late because we need to get up early the next day again.

Day 5: Missouri to St. Clairsville, WV

We passed the states of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio for this drive. There’s nothing really much to see in the first two states but I asked Scott to stop in Ohio so I can try some Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams in Bexley. Scott had the blueberry and the pear while I had their famous salty caramel (tastes as it sounds but I love it) and rhubarb rose (rhubarb and rose wine, almost taste like strawberry). I am gonna order one online soon and have it shipped to me as soon as I figure out a flavor that everyone in the house would enjoy and its definitely not gonna be salty caramel.

We had dinner the restaurant beside Jenis which is called Moshi Sushi Bar. There I had a stone pot bibumbap and Scott had a Moshi Jerk Chicken, it is a bit pricey but I think we deserved it.

We ended up in St. Clairsville to sleep. Red Roof Inn was the most decent I found online and OMG! It was a hillbilly town out there. People are nice but since they are all starting to get drunk, they are loud and were yelling at each other. It was so uncomfortable. The room was non-smoking but it stinks of cigarette smoke so bad. It was definitely the most awful experience in a motel we had so far. I would never recommend this place because there’s nothing good about it.

Day 6: West Virginia to Pottstown, PA

Yay! We are down to our last day of driving. I waited for Coleman's Fish Market to open in Wheeling, WV for my much anticipated world famous fish sandwich. I was the 2nd in line 10 minutes before it open and when the clock turned 10am, customers flocked around the market.

I ordered the fish sandwich with creamy coleslaw and devilled crab on the side. Now that I am looking back at their menu, I just noticed that they serve alligator and turtle soup as well. I had an alligator before but I wonder if they serve real turtle in turtle soup. If they do, I missed a chance of trying it. I really enjoyed the fish sandwich; you can tell that it is very fresh and oh so tasty.

Since my hubby doesn’t eat seafood, he chose to grab something in Craker Barrel. I had a good time in the souvenir shop but the food is very common, there’s nothing unique about it.

Our last stop aside from gas stations and rest stops is The Fallingwater House The Fallingwater House. If you haven’t been to the place or haven’t heard of it, please check the website out. We were the only couple there under the age of 50 but why would you wait 50 to enjoy architecture. I just think that the construction and design is a genius. I haven’t seen a real Picasso in a private residence before and it was fabulous. I wouldn’t say much about the house for I wanted you to check it out yourselves.

For a late lunch, we dine at Ruby Tuesday and we continued going home to Pottstown. Thanks for reading guys!