It was now the final leg of our journey – which consists of a 9 hour road trip from Louisville, KY to Silver Spring, MD. Notable highlights in Kentucky include:-horse farms-signs for the Kentucky Derby horse race-more horse farms As we made our way out of Kentucky, into West Virginia, we were back on familiar…

After 3 days of driving, it was time for a day off. And, what a better place to do so, at friend’s Tom’s home and workshop in Louisville, KY. Paddy has known Tom back in his Michigan days, and I was about to meet Tom for the first time. Tom is an artist. A sculpture…

The terrain of western and central Arkansas looked a lot like Maryland. Rolling hills, green vegetation and trees over 3 feet tall. The biggest difference was the increase in water supply. Here, river beds actually had water, and the land did not look complete scorched. Arkansas has discovered the meaning of “multi-use development land”. The…

Let’s just get to it. Some states are sincerely “welcoming” and others are not. We touched on 4 states today (New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas) and the “welcome factor” is very important to my hoopmania vibe as we travel cross-country. New Mexico-Paddy found starbucks coffee at the Silver Moon Cafe next to our hotel-the…

It was time to descend from the stunning views of Colorado Rocky Mountain peaks, and beam ourselves back down to earth. Rather than travel the Interstates, we decided to take the back roads less traveled, southward to Albuquerque, NM – approximately 400 miles from Vail. The skies were clear, and the temperature was a balmy…

On ski day 4, in the Rockies, we were glad to depart the high altitudes of Breckenridge – and drop 1600 base feet to ski & be reunited with family & friends at Vail . While we wait for the snow squalls to pass and the winds to subside in the early morning, let me…

There are some expert skiers out here – many who take skiing to the extreme limit. The “bowls”, the “extreme terrain”, getting lost in the “back country”, outlasting an avalanche or 2, or sking backwards down the double blacks. These were some impressive feats to admire…and the apres ski was all about bragging rights. But,…

After a few hours of computer work, it was time to get the day started on the Peaks at Breckenridge. We sachet’d our way to the bottom of the parking lot – and waited for the free shuttle bus to take us to a ski lift. “Where are you headed?” the bus driver asked. “Anywhere…

I’m thinking that an emergency oxygen mask should be designed into ski head wear — for anyone skiing in altitudes above 9000′. Wait a minute! Hear me out on this. It would work just like in the airlines. As soon as the oxygen level gets too low…the mask would drop outta your hat — and…

The weather was calling for 60 degree temperatures in Denver CO…and temps in the upper 30’s up into the mountains. We would soon find out, that there is really no telling what the weather will do in the mountains. The “climb” from the valley of Denver…to the lower mountains was downright jaw dropping…only to be…

After 2 & 1/2 days of driving…we opted to stay the night in western Denver – just one exit past “Wadsworth Boulevard”. Denver rests in elevation a mile high…a good start to our acclimation process. The Quality Inn had a POOL that was greater than 3 feet deep…so moments after checkin…we raced to the water…

DAY 3 (Denver CO)Enuf with the HOOPING….Paddy needed COFFEE. and not just your everyday starbucks experience….this was about down-n-dirty getting the best cup of coffee that could be had. I was equipped only with a verizon card…and my good friend google. As a team, it appeared that we had discovered the “coffee district” of Denver…

Day 2…. Missouri yippee – we just crossed the Mississippi – and I kept staring at that big ARCH – which represents the GATEWAY to the WEST. I stared at it so long as I was driving, that I accidentally got off I-70, and magically appeared at a parking lot RIGHT next to the ARCH.…

With a brief “low” in gas prices, and in our 2nd winter month away from Cat Maudy, it was time for a new adventure. A road trip. Spontaneous. Unplanned. This is our style. There were many similarities (and differences) between the expedition of Lewis and Clark…and our “Jane & Paddy goes west story”.1. L&C started…