All posts by Andrew Mascharka

Introduction to West Coast Redux

The world. It’s our home, our backyard, our playground, and our benefactor, all rolled into one. Some people live their lives taking it at face value, walking through life without much regard for the mysteries and majesty our planet holds, cradled in it’s many countries and provinces. A mistake if there ever was one. There’s more to see out there than could ever be accomplished in a single lifetime, but that certainly isn’t going to stop us from trying. 

Last year, the two of us traveled from Michigan to New Orleans, from there to Las Vegas, from Vegas to Los Angeles, and then to Seattle and all the way back across the northern United States, home to Ann Arbor. We called a 2009 Ford Focus our home over the course of 25 days. We saw 14 total National Parks, Monuments, and forests, and stayed in some of the biggest and brightest cities the U.S. had to offer, as well as visiting a plethora of other amazing sites and scenes. This year, we’re doing it again, but even bigger.  Continue reading Introduction to West Coast Redux

Days 18-20: Missoula, MT-Yellowstone-Devils Tower

The past three days we have spent traveling through Montana and Wyoming.

First stop was Missoula, MT, where we spent a little time at Arizona Diamondbacks Single A team, Missoula Osprey, watching them play.

Photo Jul 23, 6 56 23 PM

The next day we headed to Yellowstone National Park and although we had our plans of staying there change, it was still an enjoyable experience to see even a part of it.

Continue reading Days 18-20: Missoula, MT-Yellowstone-Devils Tower

Day 16-17 Seattle, WA

We spent the next two days traveling from Eureka, CA (Rough 12 hour drive) to Seattle, WA. We had originally planned to stop in Portland, OR for one of the nights but the hotel we had booked was supposedly in one of the few sketchy neighborhoods in Portland so we decided to scrap it and keep on driving to Seattle. Overall, I could describe Seattle as a giant Ann Arbor. Lots of local places and the marketplace was amazing, along with the museums. (See Matt’s post on the art)

Continue reading Day 16-17 Seattle, WA

Day 13: San Francisco, CA

Today we started off going to Monterey, CA to see the awesome cliffs over the Pacific Ocean. We did not have a ton of time there but it was well worth the stop.

Then we headed to San Francisco and we went to Chinatown and then took the cruise out to Alcatraz.

Tomorrow we head to Oakland to catch an Oakland A’s game and then staying in Sacramento, CA.

Continue reading Day 13: San Francisco, CA

Day 11: Los Angeles

For Day 11, we ventured into LA, which yes the traffic is as bad as people say but it was well worth it to see some of the historic landmarks around the city. We went early to check out Hollywood Blvd. and we saw the Chinese Theatre. Then we drove up the the hills and found a spot to hike up and see the Hollywood Sign.

After spending a little time in Hollywood, we booked it out to the Santa Monica Pier and that was an incredible place to be where they had actual talented street musicians playing and lots of other things to do along with the beach!

Continue reading Day 11: Los Angeles

Day 10: Legoland, CA

On the 10th day of our trip, we decided to fulfill our dreams as kids and visit Legoland, CA. The park, overall, is aiming its market towards kids but the two parts I was overly impressed with were Miniland, USA which featured mini Lego versions of major cities, ie New York, Vegas, San Francisco, etc. I was also impressed with the fact they had the original sets used in the Lego Movie.

It was nice being a kid again for one day but for day 11 we’re headed off to LA!

Continue reading Day 10: Legoland, CA