Week #8

Welcome back everyone! I hope you had a great week because mine was absolutely insane. So insane in fact that I did not actually travel anywhere. I know this mainly a travel blog but I truly did not have the time, nor funds to do any traveling.

The time was taken up from moving from an apartment to a house. It was an awesome decision made last year and now that I'm finally moved and almost completely settled I couldn't be more happy. My roommate to the master bathroom, so unfortunately no bath tub reading in the future, but I am happy with 2 rooms and a bathroom as well. Even though its not one big suite. This gives me the opportunity to spread out. So I have my bedroom for sleeping and clothes (and in the future an apple TV!), my bathroom for....bathroom stuff, AND an extra room which I have turned into a office/reading/ office space!

I am really excited to use this space as a creative space. For writing these blogs and hopefully some stories. I recently got a notepad with some pens for cartooning so hopefully more sketching and drawing in the future. I have an ocarina I have to learn how to play and also my ukulele and cajon which should make for some interesting tunes. And of course, reading other peoples creativity and ideas. So hopefully more will come out of this blog because of this creative space I've created.

So the move wasn't the only thing. I started year two of teaching yesterday. It feels to be great to be back in the classroom and I feel so much better about it than I ever did last year. I'm at a new school in the district so we will see how it goes but it should be awesome!

Anyways that's really all I've been up to this week. I have been reading and watching shows. I am about 100 pages into Rick Riordan's "Magnus Chase and The Sword of Summer" which is good so far. Diffidently switching it up from his normal formula so I really like that! I'm also on season 2 of "30 Rock" which is pretty awesome so far. I am a huge Tina Fey fan and enjoy most of what she puts out so I'm excited to see the series progress. Jackie D is my favorite so far on the show. Anyways on the three reviews I have this week. Hope you enjoy this short post after a few long ones!

Movies: Suicide Squad is the next installment to this most recent D.C. Universe. In my opinion, it is starting to figure out the tone and themes of this universe. I really hope that the rest of the movies have this idea behind them because I enjoyed this movie a lot. Acting was all great and that's where this movie really shines, the characters were all great! Costumes, back stories, motivations, and interactions. There a few problems due to editing where some things just don't make sense but I really enjoyed this film and hope to see the D. C. universe turn around it's movie career! Suicide Squad gets a 4 out of 7

Music: "Falling into Place" by Rebelution is a reggae album. Now I love reggae as a style of music and feel like Bob Marley perfected and owned this style of music for all time. I feel like reggae has not gone anywhere or changed since Bob Marley. Rebelution classifies themselves as a reggae fusion band but all I hear is the generic reggae sound I've always known with nothing new to the table. No songs really stood out to me on this album, maybe "Inhale Exhale (ft. Protoje) but other than that this album did nothing for me in the terms of enjoyment of musical movement. "Falling into Place" by Rebelution gets 1 out of 7 stars

Music: "Guidance" by Russian Circles are one of my best friend's favorite bands. I have heard them and listened to them before and have not enjoyed them much. That is not the case for this album. It is a very well crafted, beautifully mixed, and moving album. It's not my favorite type of music though so I am not truly drawn to it but I did enjoy this album as a whole. The first track "Asa" really set the tone for it and "Mota" was where it really picked up steam. With all that being said it still does not compel me to listen over and over again. With all that being said "Guidance" by Russian Circles gets 4 out of 7 stars. 

Now that's this week's extremely short blog. Let me know if you guys like this length better! Or maybe you liked the longer weeks with travel topics in it too. Either way let us know on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Or comment on here! I would love to hear your feedback! Have an awesome week everyone!

                                              All the Best, Ross

Week #7

Hello Journey fans! I hope you had a great week! I know I did! Lots of stuff to cover this week! It was my first week back in Arizona from being in New Jersey for the summer and am excited to move into my new house and start work next week! This week we have some travel sites (big and small), a game review, a manga review, a show review, a movie review, AND an album review! Lots of stuff to cover so here....we....go!....

Cesar Chavez Park in Laveen Arizona is kinda a hidden gem. It's not only the park with barbeque stations, a stage, green space, a playground, and a lake to walk around; but it's right next to a Library and the Aquila Gold Course which makes it sort of a destination in the Laveen area. There isn't much to do in Laveen so when I move in that direction, be sure for more pictures of that place!

Tempe Town Lake + "A Mountain"  is in the heart of Tempe, which is becoming one of my favorite cities. It's a college town that has become much more than that. The city surrounds "A Mountain" which has a giant A on it

And comes right up to the Salt River which is where the Tempe Town Lake is. The salt river is dammed off creating an almost lake effect. Usually it's a calm place in comparison to Mill Avenue which is where the party scene is. With the Pokemon Go craze happening, it's was a little crowded but still a great place to sit and enjoy the outdoors after the heat of the day has past. 

Kiwanis Park is also in Tempe but on the other side and out of the city area. This also has a man made lake with a walking trail around it and right next to the canal. This is one of my favorite parks to walk in because there are so many nooks and crannies and different kinds of birds. There are ducks, loons, blue herons, and geese. In a desert city, it's refreshing to be by the water even if it's man made.

Horseshoe Bend is the big trip this week. It was about a 4 hour drive from Phoenix but it was an amazing drive. In those 4 hours the landscape changed so many times. There was Phoenix, the Sonoran Desert, the plains north of the desert, the pine forests of Flagstaff, the mountains and volcanoes of Flagstaff, more plains, Red Rock, and then this weird mounds that looked like we were driving through Mars, and finally the light orange rocks of Page, AZ. When we were almost to Page, there was a small parking lot off the side of the road which was how to get to Horseshoe Bend. This was odd to me, this is one of the main attractions of the state of Arizona and there was no visiting center, no restrooms, no place for people to buy their souvenirs. But this was super refreshing to see a natural landmark of the American Southwest being a beacon of pure entertainment. No one has tried to capitalize on it, it was just there for everyone to enjoy. It was a longer walk than I thought, we heard someone say 2.5 miles out and then another 2.5 back. But it was worth it! I have pictures but it truly does not do it justice. The river curving around the rocks in a horseshoe shape hundreds of feet below, the erosion scene on the cliff faces and where we were walking, and of course the backdrop of the red mountains in the background.

It was a phenomenal experience and worth the drive. My favorite things about this place to realize how big of a destination it really is by hearing so many different languages being spoken while were there. I head French, Polish, Mandarin, and Japanese. Most of the people there were not speaking English there and it made me realize how important this place is. Another favorite thing was the landscape on which we were walking. I couldn't believe the rock formations found on the flat ground and on the side of the rocks. It seemed like something from another world!

There are so many words to describe every tiny section of the rock there but I'll let the picture do the talking. Anyways, a storm was blowing in from over the mountains to the south and as we were walking back up the hill, we were seeing lightning strikes, the rain moving at a quick pace and thunder in the distance. That was another surreal experience! It did cut our trip short. We did go up to Lake Powell dam which was cool but not as magical as Horseshoe Bend, and on the way back we were going to go to the Navajo Bridge but didn't think it would be wise to walk on a metal bridge when a thunderstorm was passing by so we saved that for next time! We drove back to Phoenix going through the different landscapes of Arizona looking the opposite way making it a successful trip!

That's it for the travel section! I hope you enjoyed! Now onto the reviews!

Games: Pokemon Alpha Sapphire- It's a remake of the classic games which are now 13 years old; but they added so much into it seems like a completely different game! The team this time around was Swampert, Gardevoir, Cacturne (new favorite), Ninjask, Torkoal, and Hariyama. It was a very well balanced team and I was very proud of it! Anyways these games look great, feel great, and are the newest in the Pokemon main game series. Alpha Sapphire gets 6 out of 7

Books: Akira Vol. 1- Akira is one of the most influential Manga of all time. It is well written, with a great plot, and has phenomenal artwork. I am usually not a Manga fan, it seems so quick paced to me and doesn't grasp the intensity of the story sometimes but this one was different. It felt like watching a movie and I wanted to take my time through this because the artwork was so stunning it was more of an experience than a book or comic and I can't wait to get the next volume! Akira gets a 7 out of 7

TV Show: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt- This show had me since the first episode and never let go. The characters were very well fleshed out for a quirky comedy and there were so many quotes. I loved the plot and the execution of it. It seemed to resolve the problem with the bunker and the reverend but the problem was there in the second season and it was evolving into something more. Diffidently a great watch, and I can't wait for season 3! Kimmy Schmidt gets a 6 out 7

Movie: Finding Dory- This diffidently a sequel to Find Nemo and a sequel that actually makes sense. It covers every part of Dory up until the point of her meeting Marlin which really connects the dots of what happened and makes more of a tacked on sequel like I thought it would be and more of a sequel that needed to happen. I have a favorite part and a least favorite part. My favorite part was the supporting characters! They were so well written and fleshed out which I was worried they would just be gimmicky. My favorite being Hank the septapus. He was such an interesting character and is the one that moves the story forward the most other than Dory. My least favorite part was a specific joke. The whole movie is about overcoming your disabilities and moving on, so why make fun of another characters disability? It just seemed very distasteful. With all of that being said... Finding Dory gets 4 out of 7 stars

Music: The Dirty Head by The Dirty Heads- This album did not grab me on the first listen. I am a huge Dirty Heads fan. I love the groove and attitude of the first album. The concept behind the second album and more mature sound of the second album. The third album wasn't my favorite but there was an idea behind it and I did enjoy some songs on it. Now this album seems like a combination of all of those albums combined but something is missing. To me, it doesn't seem like they love it anymore. It seems almost bored with this style of music which may be true. There are some exceptions to that though like "That's all I need", "Moon Tower" and "Doesn't Make you Right" which makes me believe that they do still have some fire left in them. The way the band is set up, it doesn't really call for much change and they have tried on the third album to change their sound with not as much success. But after listening to this album over again, I enjoyed it more. The Dirty Heads gets 3 out of 7 stars

Big week! But a lot of good stuff! please follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more updates throughout the week and like us on Facebook! If you like something let us know! If you don't...let us know! Any criticism will help make this better and more enjoyable for everyone!

               All the Best, Ross

Week #6- Some Great Album Names

The county of the U.S.A. is amazing. The fact that it spans the width of the whole continent. The fact that almost every type of place can be found here. Considering I took a plane ride from the farmlands of South Jersey from the sprawling metropolis of Philadelphia to the deserts and mountains of Phoenix. It just amazes me that I am still in the same country in such a drastic change of scenery.

This will be my second year in Phoenix. I had a lot of great journeys last year; here is a list of some of them. Hiking South Mountain, Chiricahua National Monument, Grand Canyon, Walnut Canyon, Tubac Glowing Balloon Festival, Tonto Natural Bridge, Watpaki National Monument, Casa Grande, Superstition Wilderness, Canyon Lake, Phoenix Botanical Gardens, and Sunset Crater. And those were just the trips to other places in Arizona.

This week has been weird. The adventure was truly flying from Philly to Phoenix (that kind of sounds like an album name) even though flying isn't much of a journey any more rather than a task that needs to get done. I remember when it used to be an all day event; where if you were flying somewhere it was a big deal and that was your event that day. This one was much different, so let me recount the journey after I got off the plane.

So my friend picked me up from Sky Harbor Airport which is easy to get into but impossible to find your way out of it. So after one full loop around the place we finally figured it out. We are looking a place to live so we drove all around South Phoenix which is an odd place. Every three blocks it changes scenery.

First you're driving through a nice new development, then farm land, then a sketchy neighborhood, then a nice shopping center, and then a weird empty field, then back to the nice neighborhood. Its like that all over Phoenix which confuses me but makes me believe that all the places are a mesh of everything and all types of people.

Then we stopped for lunch at some Popeyes, which is a fast food journey (another good album name) nothing special there just some fried chicken, fries, biscuit, and a drink. We kept looking, and used a lock box to let us into one which was pretty awesome. We are looking for more houses today and hopefully gonna find the one we will move into! That will be a whole separate post for next week!

Anyways after that he dropped me off at the apartment and I relaxed for a bit and then decided to go somewhere so I walked up to the South Mountain, played some pokemon on the way and then went to Tempe Town Lake. This is an awesome park which is situated in between the college city of Tempe (home of Arizona State University) and the Salt River which has been dammed off to make it like a lake setting. They have places to walk, grassy areas (rare for Arizona), a splash pad, Arts building, and boat and board rentals on the Salt River. This place is great on a normal day because you can go and skate, grab some food off of Mill Avenue and eat it at the park, and rent a paddle board and enjoy the cool water. But that day was different; I would say close to 200 people were there just walking around playing pokemon Go. It is officially a cultural and global phenomenon. I didn't think it would blow up like it did! But it is pretty phenomenal to see and to know exactly what everyone is doing.

The next day I had to work (boo) and then I came home and got packed up and went to a smaller park called Kiwanis Park in Tempe just south of Baseline Rd. Again many people playing pokemon. It was nice to walk and have a clear loop that I could walk around enjoy the grass, water, birds, and people watch. I also brought my skateboard but wasn't feeling using it.

That's pretty much the small journeys I've had so far in Phoenix and Tempe (mainly Tempe). I'm closer to Tempe even though I technically live in Phoenix. Anyways on to the next section.

FOOD!

Ry's Bagels (aka Don's Bagels)- Ry's Bagels used be named Don's and if you go to it you will still see a sign out front saying "Don's Bagels" so to me the name never truly changed. It is the best bagel place I've ever been to and it's in little ole' Glassboro, NJ. It has never disappointed me and I almost always get something different. Homemade Bagels of various flavors, homemade cream cheese of various flavors, breakfast sandwiches, sides, coffee, and lunch bagel sandwiches are just a few things on the menu. My two favorites are buffalo chicken on a cheddar bagel or pork roll egg and cheese on an everything bagel. This time I went with the pork roll egg and cheese but on a specialty bagel. Well actually it was just a plain bagel in the shape and color of a pokeball (keeping with the pokemon theme here) Delicious, unique, and perfect as usual!

Mike's Seafood- Before I left for the desert, the last thing I truly wanted was a legitimate seafood dinner and then hang out with my friends. That is exactly what I did; but it was much more exciting than I expected. Mike's is in a place in Sea Isle City, NJ called Fish Alley with all the other fish markets and restaurants. Mikes is a more casual place than the others. It's open air and right over the water on the bay. If you're on the right side you can see the fishing boats pulling in and out of the docks. I ordered the captains special. Fried scallops (my favorite), crab stuffed shrimp, fried flounder, fries, and cole slaw. It was a pretty normal night with the family with a storm brewing in the distance. That storm however was heading right in our direction. Now remember the place is open air; that is a very important part of the experience. Since when the storm finally made it to us and it started raining all the tables on the end were getting soaked and came into the middle. We had a few people join our table to escape the rain. The lightning and thunder was intense especially the one that was directly overhead so there was no delay. Anyways the storm was past within five minutes and everyone dried off their tables and returned to their meals, hopefully not waterlogged. It was an amazing experience to see everyone just accept the storm was here, move away from the edge, and when it was over just go back to their tables and continue their meals without anyone making a fuss or complaining.

Green Mix- I drove past this place every year last year knowing it was there and never stopping. Now I regret doing that. This place is great! Salads, Rice Bowls, Soups, and Sandwiches. It's healthy, delicious, and not expensive as I thought it would be. I was extremely surprised with it and will diffidently be going back again. I had a brown rice bowl with broccoli, red peppers, onions, chicken, a fried egg, and some sweet thai sauce. It was delicious and just enough to fill me up but not make me feel full. I will diffidently be going back for more in the near future!


Well that's the journey this week! I hope you all enjoyed. Next week might not be as adventurous but I will have some stories to tell I'm sure. Anyways follow us on twitter, facebook, and Instagram for more awesome info and pictures throughout the week.

I'm gonna try a new thing this week. Comment on this post, tweet at us, or post on our facebook page a topic and I will write a haiku about it! Please keep it PG but it can be anything within that rating! Hoping to get some good stuff from you guys! Don't disappoint me!

All the Best, Ross

Week 5: Another Philly Trip?!

So again with Philadelphia. It was a day off from work and a few of us wanted go off site, see some cool stuff, get some good food, and of course play some Pokémon Go. Even though the trip was essentially based on where we could go to catch Pokémon, the game took us to pretty amazing places. Every pokestop is of some significance or a historical site and gives you some information about the site. So as you're walking around the city and stopping at places for items, you are getting more information about the places around you. It is a really interesting part of the game that I was not expecting. Here are some of the places we were drawn to in Philadelphia...

Washington Square: A small park just off of Independence Mall is an amazing quiet place away from the main touristy area. It is where the tomb of the unknown soldier from the American Revolution and is dedicated to George Washington. This place had so much to offer and was so peaceful and serene due to the solemnness of the tomb.

Independence Mall: If you want my thoughts on this place please look back on previous weeks!

Old City: An interesting place in Philly. It combines the history of Philadelphia with the modern look of the new apartments and shops. A very interesting place with lots of cool restaurants and shops. One of those shops being....

Rocket Fizz: An awesome shops located in between the Betsy Ross House and Ben Franklin's gravesite; this amazing little shop has so much to offer. Candy, collectables, and of course lots of soda. Four coolers filled with countless types of soda with all sorts of insane flavors. Flavors tried were Red Velvet Cake, Rice candy, Martian Poop, and my personal favorite Grass flavored. It was an interesting stop to our next destination...

Reading Terminal Market: Is the perfect place to eat if you have no idea what kind of food you want. The options are endless. Eat in indian food, soul food, cheesesteaks, Chinese, or crêpes. Take on the go some ice cream, soft pretzels, or candy. Get your meat or fish for dinner that night. Since we were eating in; I had to go with a Dinic's roast pork with provolone and broccoli rabe. A Philly favorite!

Rittenhouse Square: Another great spot in Philly was my final destination before I had part ways from the group. Rittenhouse is sort of like Washington Square but more artsy and less solemn. There was more going on there but it was also later in the day. There were people everywhere (90% playing Pokémon Go as we were) but everyone was conversing, chatting, walking, moving, and being more human I've seen humans be human in years. It was a refreshing change of pace from the city in a little park with statues and fountains scattered throughout.

And that is where I ended my trip. I walked back to the 8th and Market station and headed on home back to the dirty Jersey. The blog is not done however, I still have one more adventure for you!


Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway was one of the first pieces of literature I read on my own when I was younger. I was at the beach, it was a short book so I decided to read it. I read it when I was little and enjoyed it. The simple prose, the information about the sea, and the character of the old man himself was intriguing to me. When I read it again this year it was all of that and so much more. It was cryptic and symbolic without forcing you to realize it. The references to Christ are subtle but there and it doesn't feel like he's forcing it, it just happens naturally. Even though the prose was simple, it never felt watered down or dumb. It just felt natural within the context of the story and character and conflict between man and the sea. Old Man and the Sea gets 6 out 7 stars.


And that's Week 7! Good stuff? Maybe! I don't know you but I know I had a lot of fun reading and exploring. If you have any questions, comments, or rude remarks please feel free to comment! Or you can contact us on our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter pages! I would like to hear feedback of any sorts!

                             All the Best, Ross

Week 4

Art is an amazing thing. It's something some of the first humans felt the need to do. They felt the need to find water, food, sleep, draw, and play music. Being one of the oldest and arguable a basic need of the human spirit; the world we live in sometimes doesn't lend itself to expressing art. The place I am in does all of that and creates a tiny community of artists surrounded by swamps and farms.

Everything about Appel Farm in Elmer, NJ allows that basic human need to thrive and flourish. Old arts like singing songs from around the world, dance, percussion, drawing, painting, acting, writing, and ceramics. And newer arts like video, photography, recording arts, rock band, and comics. All of these things mesh into one amazing community that supports all types of kids and adults to bring out their creativity.

The art is all beautiful; but the surrounding area is a rural beauty. It's right outside of a town called Elmer which is unique itself. The town is your generic rural town next to a lake but the beacon in the center of the town is the abandoned mill. It's a unique centerpiece to the typical rural town.

It's not a physical journey with an end destination and finding new places on the outside. It's an internal journey with broadening your artistic horizons by listening and experiencing all types of art. Hearing someone pour their hearts onto the stage through poem or song, use every ounce of physical and emotional energy into a dance, or seeing something through someone else's eyes through their art or photography.

It's an amazing place where art is alive and thriving, everyone accepts everyone for who they are, and everyone supports all of the art happening at the camp. Inspired by this art; I'm hoping to branch out and try some new and different things and think differently about the trips and journeys in the future. Art is all around us all of the time; at Appel Farm it comes to the surface of your consciousness and you embrace it.

For my birthday I received some new types of beer. Each one has unique flavor and character. I'm not going to rate each beer, just give a little blurb about the character of each one. Let's see how it goes.

Crabbies Ginger Beer- A zesty and sharp hard ginger ale.
Crabbies Orange Ginger Beer- A beer non-beer fans will enjoy.
Holy Grail Ale- A boring ale with an entertaining bottle.
Delirium Nocturnum- A frothy drink with an extraordinary bottle.
Weihenstephaner- The oldest brewery in the world has the most classic tasting beer in the world.

Please let me know what you think of these beers, or if you liked or hated this section! Just trying new things and new journeys of taste!

Album Review Time!

California- Blink-182 Don't get me wrong, I think Tom Delonge has one of the most unique voices in rock history. Without his voice in Blink-182's music I thought it would feel off and disorienting. I was sorely mistaken. Matt Skiba (Alkaline Trio) has been doing great things with the band's sound, passion and new character. It still has that same boyish charm but has a more mature sound as well. Songs that really step out are "Bored to Death", "Los Angeles", and "California". They just stick out to me as the tracks that define the album. My personal favorites however are the interludes/outros. They just add a little character and humor to the album that Blink-182 is known for. And of course Travis Barker's drumming is the driving force behind the album and gives it the energy it needs behind Mark Hoppus's voice. California gets 4 out of 7 stars.

The last section of this week will be on my initial thoughts to the mobile game phenomenon Pokemon Go! As you know, Pokemon is my favorite game franchise of all time. The dream of every Pokemon trainer is to have Pokemon in this world. This game makes that dream a reality in an interesting, and different ways. The mechanics of the game (evolution, leveling up, moves, and gyms) are different but the core values of the game are still there. Exploring the world, catching new types of Pokemon, and trading with others all stay the same. Even though the game is still glitchy they just now have figured out how to support the masses of trainers catching pokemon. With all that being said, I cannot wait to have some time to go out into the world and go on journeys centered around this particular game; adding a whole new dimension onto how I travel and explore.


Well that's the week! No traveling this week just new music, tastes, games, and artistic exploration. I hope I didn't disappoint and if I did, please let me know! Constructive criticism is always positive unless you're mean about it. So don't be mean about it. Anyways follow us on Twitter @A_A_t_Journey Instagram @a_a_t_journey and like our Facebook Page "All About the Journey for more pictures, information, and other fun things! Also if you enjoy this blog you're friends and family probably will too! So please share with it! Let's build a community and share stories about each other's journeys. Maybe we can start a friend's journey section! Let's see what we can do with this! It's a big blue sky, lets see where it can take us.

                                    All the Best, Ross

Week #3

The world is a big plaice. Everyone knows that but only some people don't truly understand that fact. I felt like I did so much this week and went to so many places and still missed so much. This week consists of New Castle, DE, Baltimore, MD, and Washington DC. Even though these places are all within a 3 hour drive from one another, it's amazing how different they all felt. Every place had a different vibe and look and personality. Even though I spend from an hour to 6 hours in each place; I only saw a fraction of those places. The world is truly amazing and expansive. Even if I didn't see all of Washington DC; I felt like I did because I went and experienced it to the fullest of my abilities. Now with all that being said, let's get started!

We started our journey leaving Sea Isle City, NJ and driving through the marsh lands of New Jersey and then the forests of New Jersey and then the farm lands of New Jersey (it is the garden state you know). Finally we went over the Delaware Memorial Bridge and got off at the New Castle exit. When we got there and parked the car I was very confused. The only other time I was in New Castle I was in elementary school. I remember it being a field by the Delaware with a few colonial buildings. When we got there I was pleasantly surprised! It was a town! It was really neat! One half of the town was what I remembered with old colonial buildings in the center of the town; but the rest of the buildings looked like they were moved from South Philadelphia. We also walked around by the bay and I began thinking to myself "I could see myself living here". I rarely get that feeling but I truly could. It seemed like such a great small community with historical charm and a nice place to walk around in. The only problem is it gets really cold there in the winter; and after living in AZ I do not like the cold. Anyways! Lots of cool buildings there but my favorite was the library that is now the New Castle Museum! Great old building in the heart of the town!

We left there feeling good about the trip although small and drove down to Baltimore! Now the restaurant we were meeting my sister at is probably the most interesting restaurant I've ever been to! It was called the Paper Moon Diner. I was expecting a regular old school diner but again I was pleasantly surprised! Entering the multicolored exterior we come into the foyer where the walls are covered in Pez dispensers and old CD's. Every inch of the whole place is filled with old toys, dolls, action figures, and trinkets. It was so interesting that I barely even looked at my food when it came out. I got a California Quesadilla with tomato and avocado and it was great. Not the best but the company and ambiance made it great. Here is a picture of our favorite piece in the place! Just to give you an idea of what this place is like. 

So we were off again! This time to the Baltimore Inner Harbor. We parked by the Federal Hill park which is a great area! A great place for families, runners, or a nice picnic overlooking the harbor. Now the harbor is an interesting place. It's one of those places that is super touristy but at the same time it isn't. There are the touristy things like people taking thousands of pictures, families getting ice cream, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Cheesecake Factory, Hard Rock Cafe, and street performers. But at the same time there are amazingly unique things there too that are the complete opposite of a tourist trap. Federal Hill Park, Baltimore Aquarium (the best aquarium in my own opinion), Baltimore World Trade Center, Lighthouse, various ships, and of course the Domino Sugar sign. 

Now next to the lighthouse, there's an awesome stage called Pier 6 which is one of my new favorite venues. We sat on a bench on the outside and watched people walk by, listened to the Jazz Festival, and watched some guys flying drones around. We walked a little bit further finding the Katyn Memorial in a traffic circle a surprisingly peaceful place in a city setting; and then Little Italy. But after that, we walked back towards Federal Hill Park with the city lights reflecting off the harbor. 

Going into Washington D.C. on Independence Day weekend was a little scary to me. I was expecting traffic to be atrocious; but again I was pleasantly surprised! We got into the city, found a spot and walked to the mall right by my favorite building, the original Smithsonian! It's a castle. An amazing red castle which clashes with the other white buildings of the city. 

Now I could post pictures and go through our walk around DC for hours but I wont. We did a lot. There's a lot to do there; so I'll give you a list of memorials and monuments and tell you my favorites and why. We did usual ones Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, WWI Memorial, Korean Memorial, the White House, Ford's Theater, and the Capital Building. My favorites however were the World War II memorial and the Albert Einstein Monument. 

The WWII memorial was great. tucked below the ground it was quiet and peaceful and everyone was super respectful. All 50 states were represented and my grandfather's name was on the New Jersey column. Two fountains were in the center between the rotunda's representing the two sides of the war Atlantic and Pacific. Everyone there was peaceful and respectful and it's now one of my favorite places in DC.

The other favorite was the Albert Einstein Monument. Across the street from the Vietnam memorial is a statue of Albert Einstein sitting and writing about his theory of relativity. The ground his is on is a map of the stars and a few signs with information about his life. Another great stature and monument that is completely underrated because it's not remembering a politician or soldiers in a war. 

The last leg of our journey took us to a restaurant a few blocks away from the national mall called Harry's. It was an awesome spot to sit and eat and take in the sounds of the city. We sat outside and I got a lobster roll with fries and an Oreo as a special treat! It was perfect meal for the end of the day!

Now I have two more parts of the journey. A movie review and a game review. The movie review is a relatively new movie but it was my first viewing of Jurassic World. The game is a personal favorite of mine, Pokemon Heart Gold. Both of these are small journeys that I don't necessarily go on but are journeys in their own right and I would like to share them with you, if you're interested. 

Jurassic World was a good movie. Characters were all great and didn't feel generic at all, the dinosaurs look amazing, and the action was great as well. My favorite characters were Owen (Chris Pratt), Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard), Hoskins (Vincent D'Onofrio), and Lowery (Jake Johnson). All of these characters felt really genuine to me; they didn't feel like the generic action movie tropes even though they were. I just felt they had their own personalities on top of the character types. My issues with film were the first 20 minutes of the film. Every conversation felt cryptic and foreshadowing. It felt like they are trying to shove symbolism down your throat to make more room for action. My other issue was it was a little too long. Some of the action sequences were unnecessary at times and it could have been shorter. So with all of that to think about, I give this movie 4 out of 7 stars. 

Pokemon is my video game franchise of all time. It's their 20 year anniversary and I have played since the first year it was introduced in the U.S. In honor of Sun and Moon coming out soon (and Pokemon GO); I have been playing through the games in order to get ready for generation 7. I finished Pokemon Red (digital download on DS) last month and I just finished Pokemon Heart Gold. Now this game is my personal favorite. It's a remake of one of the best sequels of all time (in my own opinion). You get to go back to the world of the first game and battle your character! It's just great. Anyways here was my team (if you know or care about Pokemon).... Typhlosion, Quagsire, Ampharos, Bellossom, Crobat, and Heracross. The team was good but wasn't great, I could have used a psychic type for Bruno (that Machamp gave me trouble). Anyways I give this game 7 out of 7!

Well those are the journeys this week. Hope you enjoyed it! Please comment, like, and subscribe! We also have a Facebook page, Instagram, and Twitter. So please follow us and support us for more information and pictures! 

                                               All the best, Ross 

Week 2

Most people beleive that you need to go out of the United States to go see something historical or beautiful but that is most certainly not the case. This past week I had many adventures to countless historical places and things you would never see anywhere else. This last week we went to the independent Philadelphia, the sunny Sea Isle City, the Victorian Cape May, and the exhilarating Wildwood. No reading, shows, or gaming but I will give a small update! So without further adieu, lets get to week 2!

Trips:
           Philadelphia- Our journey started at the Philadelphia International Airport. Picked up one passenger and a pup. We decided to go into the city that day. Drove by the stadiums and into downtown through Chinatown. We finally got to park across the street from Macy's (formerly and forever known as Wannamakers) and got started on our journey. We walked into my favorite building in the city, City Hall. The architecture on that building blows my mind everytime I see it. So intricate and unique!

On the other side we attempted to go to Love Park but it was no more. My mother delightfully told me the next day "Oh yea, they did take that down didn't day?" So we settled for Dilworth Circle instead. It was very urban and not much of a park but would be great for events! So adventure took us the other way down market street, past many historical buildings made into various commercial restaurants and businesses. It blows my mind that an amazing old building is being used as a Subway... when Philadelphia has some of the best hoagies in the world! We finally got to our destination the "Independence Beer Garden" which I will go into more depth in the food section.

Independence Hall is an awesome place. In the middle of this sprawling Metropolis is the birthplace of this country. The building in which the Declaration of Independence was written is still there and is crowded almost every day of the week. An amazing square surrounds it filled with history. Around it is of course Independence Hall, cobblestone streets, the Liberty Bell, Portrait Gallery, Constitution Center, President's house, and the 2nd Bank of the United States. Now throughout all of this there are cars going by and modern buildings surrounding it but it's a little slice of history in a modern city.

So we ventured on to Benjamin Franklin's gravesite. On a small side street there is a wall surrounding Christ Church Burial Ground built in 1710. There before us lay one of the most important men to Philadelphia and our country. Never a president, but always pushing this country forward through science, business, international relations, and spreading news throughout the 13 colonies. A few more blocks down from the burial ground is the Betsy Ross house. The creator of modern American flag lived in one of my favorite cities! All of this in one of the biggest cities in the United States, one of the oldest cities in the United States, and one of the best cities in the United States.

          Sea Isle City: That night we made it to Sea Isle City, New Jersey. We decided to take a walk down to the beach with the pup. As soon as we got to the end of the road I saw something standing on the top of the dune. It looked like a house cat but was too big. Then I remembered there was a fox who lived in the dunes so I thought it was him. We pushed forward up the path and the pup was not liking it. We saw it move and the tail was not a fox tail and if we walked toward the fox it would have ran away. So we picked up the pup and tried to lure it into the light but with no success. After telling the family about our sighting and some extensive smartphone research we decided that it was a bobcat. The next day we walked down to the beach and saw the usual suspects at the beach, seagulls, dolphins, a turtle, and a horseshoe crab. But nothing was as exciting as a bobcat at the jersey shore. If you see her! Her name is Bobbi the Bobcat.

        Cape May: Cape May is a beautiful town. It's an old town; and it's an interesting town. I feel like there is plenty of things to do in that town but not much to do at all. The beach is amazing but if you go to the beach at any other shore town then you've seen it. The real highlight of Cape May are the buildings. So many colorful Victorian homes and hotels. Are main destination was the Congress Hall Hotel. So much history and stories in that place that it would take years to tell them all.

We took a carriage tour to hear more about the town and history of the town. Started as a whaling town, and it used to be North Cape May (South Cape May is completely underwater now) so some of the houses have been relocated into the historic district. Our favorite house was the house Ulysses S. Grant used as a summer home where an underground tunnel connected it to another hotel. This was used as an underground railroad as well. After a long day of shopping and sightseeing we decided to be a little more adventurous for our next destination.

              Wildwood: The Wildwood boardwalk is one of the most colorful places I've ever been, and I'm not talking about the buildings. The people there are great but sometimes insane. We decided to do some rides after walking past countless tram-cars. First up was the Ferris wheels, one of the biggest in New Jersey and one of my favorite roller coasters "The Great White".

The great white has so many memories attached to it and it did not disappoint. It is a classic track under the boardwalk, over the beach and close to the ocean. Quick and smooth the Great White is a jersey shore classic! Finally done for the day we headed back so Sea Isle for a meal at Carmen's.

Food:

          Independence Beer Garden has an amazing location wrapped around the bottom of some buildings. Right across from Independence Hall, there are chairs, bars, stools, benches, and every manner of seats and games. We found a nice shady spot and ordered. We decided on herb popcorn and picked chips. The herb popcorn was interesting to say the least. The oil on it had a unique flavor but made the popcorn soggy. I would order it again but share it with a bunch of people. Fried pickles are fried pickles, not much to say there. The highlight of the meal was my Shiner Prickly Pear beer. The more I drank the more I enjoyed it! It was a very mild flavor that complemented the beer flavor. Delicious and super refreshing.

               Ugly Mug: In the middle of the shopping center in Cape May is a little bar and grille called the Ugly Mug. Inside there are mugs on the wall commemorating the Cape May fisherman's club and the best beer foam blowers. If the mug was facing inland, the sailor was alive; if it was facing the ocean the sailor was deceased. In this great atmosphere; I ordered a fried oyster sandwich. Fried Oyster, lettuce, tomato, and onion on a Kaiser roll with a side of pickles and cole slaw. A great meal for mid day at the jersey shore. Simple and delicious.

As of now I am reading "The Brothers Karamazov" by Fyodor Dostoevsky. I am on my way to the 8th gym in Pokémon Heart Gold. and I am halfway through season 1 of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Reviews of them will be up as I finish.

Well that's the extent of the week! Hope you enjoyed hearing about various places and things I've went and saw this week. Please follow us on twitter and Instagram and like our Facebook page. There will be more pictures and information up on these pages during the week and in between posts. Please contact us or ask any questions or suggestions for future trips! Thanks again for the support and reading every week!

                                               All the best, Ross