Our Best Adventure Yet

Day 1,645: 4/8/16 (Hudson, NH)

Jillian woke up this morning excited that it was Friday.  Little did she know, there was a whole lot more to be excited about. 

Jillian had been working longer hours through tax season so it was uncharacteristic when she called right at 5pm saying she was headed home.  Rico went into instant panic mode because he was expecting another hour or so of setting up for the proposal.  In true Rico Suave fashion, he told Jillian he was craving bruschetta and asked if she could stop at the store to pick up ingredients.  While Jillian was moseying up and down the aisles thinking about what other groceries we needed, Rico was running up and down stairs setting up vases, flowers and candles everywhere.  The grocery diversion wasn't quite long enough so Rico had to tell Jillian she wasn't allowed to come inside yet.  Oddly, she didn't question it.  She just sat on the stoop, oblivious to everything happening inside.

Once she got the all clear, Jillian walked in.  Instantly, she knew what was happening and couldn't stop the tears of joy.  Through all the suspicious activity, Jillian was none the wiser  – it was a complete surprise.  Rico's proposal was perfect, and the ring is beautiful.

After 4 ½ years, we cannot wait to start the adventure that is the rest of our lives.

Eat Well; Travel Often
Rico & Jillian

Videos

Videos

We finally caught up on some videos so we figured we would post them all in one place so everyone would have an easier time finding them.

They will also be posted within the respective days!

Day 55 & 56 Video
(New Orleans)

Day 57 & 58 Video
(New Orleans)

Day 59 Video
(Memphis)

Day 61 Video

(St. Louis)

Day 64 & 65 Video
(Great Smoky)

Day 66-68 Video
(Virginia Beach)

Day 69 Video
(Philadelphia)

Day 70 & 71 Video
(New York)

Day 73-75 Video
(Boston)

Road Trip Selfies

Life From a Different Angle

Travel Often 

2015 Summer Road Trip

76 days,

14,000 miles,

39 states, 
21 major cities, and

15 National Parks later, 
we wanted to say THANK YOU!

Holly Knight

For finding all of the camping stuff and staying up late that last night to pack everything, for bringing Jillian’s wedding clothes to Rico’s parents, and for checking out a few apartments for us

John Knight

For paying to register and inspect Jillian’s car so we had something to get us from Maine to California and back and thanks for torturing us with all the fun that’s going on back home – not!

Sandie Santamaria

For taking such good care of our kitty, Khaleesi, for the gas cards/gift cards, for our hiking shirts, and for taking some of our stuff home with you from the wedding

Dan Santamaria

For coming down several times to move us out of the apartment, for being Khaleesi’s buddy for the summer, and the numerous times you helped find us addresses and other information along our route

Alli & Nate 

For the many gift cards you gave us!  We have put great use to all of them <3

Erin & Kelsey

For the gas card that helped us get from South Dakota to Wyoming, and thank you Erin for suggesting all the places for us to live

John & Stacy 

For loaning Jillian a hiking pack even if we didn’t use it

The Aldrich Family

For always treating us like family and for all the home-cooked meals – it was great to catch up with you guys again

Janet & Marty 

For feeding us until we were splitting at the seams and treating us to all your homemade garden fresh goodies

Kevin & Ari 

For letting us stay for nearly an entire week, for all the food and fun, and for being our housemates for the wedding

Alli C.

For welcoming some strangers into your place – we are so thankful

Amy & Rich

Also for welcoming some strangers into your place, for loaning us your aquarium membership cards, and for dinner – we will definitely pay it forward

Kristen & Dan

For allowing us to sleep in your living room for 4 nights on pretty short notice and for dinner in Santa Monica, we are so grateful

Lindsay & Derek

For letting us bum around while we tried to avoid the heat and for an extremely fun night on Fremont Street

Susan & John

For opening your home to us and reviving us after a week in the desert

Kris

For being so incredibly generous while we stayed and for having the cutest little kitty (aside from Khaleesi of course)

Caitlin

For bringing us around Houston and for being a lovely host even if our stay was short

Anne

For bringing us around New Orleans, for introducing us to oysters, for dinner our first night and for lunch our last day, and for bringing us on the Natchez cruise

Kristy

For being the best host in NYC! and joining us on our early morning Jimmy Fallon adventure. We were so happy to see you

Audrey & Drew

For the loads of snacks to take on our trip and for being the best last stop anyone could ask for!

Our followers

We’re not sure how many stuck around aside from our parents and Jillian’s sister, but thank you to all our readers who kept up with us the past 11 weeks!!! (And the long awaited completion of the blog).  Keep an ear out for any future travels because we will probably keep this going.  We also plan to backtrack a bit and write about some of the past adventures we’ve been on.

Eat Well; Travel Often

Rico & Jillian

Day 76

Day 76: 8/1/15 (Northfield, NH to Berwick, ME)

46 miles

Today we finally made it back to the spot where our journey began.  Jillian's family had set up a finish line at the start of the driveway for us to drive through.  We ended up coming down in two cars though which made it a bit awkward, but we just jumped into one car and drove through together.  The line didn't break which made for more awkwardness so we got out and ran through which was slightly more successful.  Waiting on the other side of the finish line was some handcrafted cocktails which was just what we needed after 76 days on the road.

We spent the better part of the afternoon and evening enjoying lots of food and drinks.  We all had plans to head to Portsmouth later to see Sean's band play at the Blue Mermaid.  Before we left, Chelsea gathered everyone upstairs to go through our blog giving a brief summary of each day.  We didn't even get half way through before we had to leave.  By the time we got to Portsmouth we were all feeling pretty happy, and then Jillian's dad bought a round of shots for everyone so we were really happy.  Our group was definitely the most fun – we occupied the dance floor the entire time we were there.

Hands down the best part of the night was when Josh, Chelsea's boyfriend, took Jillian aside to let her know that he was going to propose later that week!  Jillian freaked out and jumped up and down for a few minutes to make sure she let it all out before going back downstairs to face Chelsea.  Rico had found out earlier in the night before we had left for Portsmouth, but he made sure that Jillian was also let in on the secret.  Everyone was worried that Jillian would let it slip before the night was up, but somehow she managed to keep her mouth shut.  It probably helped that she passed out on the car ride home and all Rico had to do was carry her to the tent and the secret would be safe.  The rest of the group stayed up late around the fire while Jillian slept it off.

Fact:
Jillian's sister is getting married!

Lesson:
If you want to make it to the end of the night, you should eat more food during the day


Eat Well; Travel Often

Rico & Jillian

Day 75

Day 75: 7/31/15 (Boston to Northfield, NH)
93 miles

This morning we cooked up some eggs loaded with mushrooms, garlic, and onions before heading out for our Duck Tour.  Somewhere between picking up all the ingredients during our first full day in Boston, we stopped to buy tour tickets.  We learned that there are two different Duck Tour companies, and we ended up on the lesser-known one by mistake.  We were going to try and get a refund, but it had already been such an ordeal that we decided to just stick with the tickets we had.  Our tour departed from the Aquarium at 11am so we walked down around 10:45am.  We road a double-decker bus over to the Navy yard where we hopped on a duck.  Our land guide was an older woman who was a Boston native.  She was pretty entertaining and we learned a few fun facts.  Our dive into the water was seamless and our cruise around the Charles River was nice and relaxing.

Once we were back on land, we were dropped off back in front of the Aquarium.  On the walk back to Audrey and Drew's apartment, we stopped at Mike's Pastry to bring home some sweets and then the beer store for a 6-pack of Not Your Father's Root Beer.  Jillian started packing everything up while Rico road the T our car.  Traffic was a little crazy, as to be expected, but eventually Rico arrived and we loaded everything into the car and were on our way back to New Hampshire.  We made it to Rico's parents right around dinner time so we ordered some sushi and Chinese food.  Back at the house, we were finally reunited with our kitty!  She had to sniff us for about 15 minutes before she really believed we were home.

The rest of the night was spent soaking in the fact that our trip was over.  Jillian stayed up until about 4am going through all the photos since the wedding and trying to make notes for all the blogs.

Fact:
Khaleesi didn't forget us!

Lesson:
If you want a tour on the old amphibious vehicles, don't use Super Ducks


Eat Well; Travel Often
Rico & Jillian

Day 74

Day 74: 7/30/15 (Boston)

0 miles

IT'S RICO’S BIRTHDAY!!!!

At this point, we can't really tell you what we did this morning, but it wasn't anything too exciting.  We left the apartment around 11:30pm to head to Monica's for the "best Italian sub in Boston".  We grabbed our sandwich and started walking to an accounting firm where a few of Jillian's classmates had started working.  Aside from the sandwich truly being the best, it was great to catch up with some friends.  And once we caught a glimpse into the (very near) future of working as a professional in a fairly demanding career, we were ready for a drink.  So we rounded the corner to a Panera to use the wifi to get some directions to the Sam Adam's Brewery.  We found the closest T stop and we were on our way.

When we got to the Brewery, the next tour time was about an hour out, and the tasting bar was closing down – so much for a good time.  Luckily, right as the next tour was heading in, they said they had a few extra spots available so we jumped aboard.  It was a very different experience from the Coors Brewery since the Boston Sam Adams Brewery doesn't do any bottling.  They're known for crafting up new and unique beers, and the classics that are exclusive to some of Boston's oldest pubs.  Once we got through the whole talking/information part, it was time to drink some beer!  We went through a sophisticated 5-step process to tasting the beer, of which #5: Taste, is all we can remember.  We were able to sample the Boston Lager, Sam's Summer, and the Rebel Rider IPA.  Towards the end of the tour, our tour guide made a plug for a long-standing, Sam Adams-supporting bar named Doyle's where our tour ticket would earn us a free pint glass – we were in.  The perk was that there was a shuttle bringing people straight there.  The bus driver had quite the personality and a signature stance whenever he mentioned Doyle's.  After a short, yet entertaining drive, we arrived.  There were 9 Sam Adam's products to choose from, but we ended up with a Curious Traveler and an Angry Orchard (we know, boring). 

 From Doyle's we headed towards Fenway hoping to find a rowdy bar to enjoy a few beers.  Drew was getting out of work so he met us over there.  At first we thought about going to a raw bar to try some east coast oysters and compare them to the gulf ones from New Orleans, but instead we found an Irish pub named Cornwalls and snagged some bar seats.  The boys split a pitcher of Guinness while Jillian sipped on some sangria.  After a round, we went back to the apartment to meet up with Audrey.  We also picked up a cupcake from Lulu's, which was just a couple of doors down from the apartment, to celebrate Rico's birthday.  We found a match to light and Jillian serenaded him with a very off-key version of Happy Birthday.

Once Audrey was home, we took an Uber over to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner since it was raining and we didn't want to walk.  The highlight of the meal was definitely the fried mac and cheese bites we shared as an appetizer.  We didn't have enough room for dessert so we picked out a tiramisu cheesecake and a red velvet cheesecake to take home.  By the time we left, it had stopped raining so we decided to walk home.  We dropped off our leftovers and desserts and then headed back out to go see the sand sculptures at Revere Beach.  We all jumped on the T, sneaking two at a time through the gates, and headed out to the last stop on the blue line.  It was nice to get our toes in the sand, but it was not so nice to feel the iciness of the Northern Atlantic waters.  After making a trip up and down the beach, we walked back to the T station to head home.  Unfortunately, when we arrived back at the apartment, we found out that Tonks and/or Dobby (Drew and Audrey's cats) had peed on our bags.  We quickly unpacked our bags and tried to clean them up as best as we could, but in the end we decided we would have to leave the next day instead of on Saturday.

Fact:
Don't get on Tonks and Dobby's bad side

Lesson:
Don't bother telling the Cheesecake Factory it's your Birthday, you don't get free dessert



Eat Well; Travel Often
Rico & Jillian

·          

Day 73

Day 73: 7/29/15 (Boston)

0 miles

It took us a little bit to get going this morning, but around lunch time, we finally got ourselves out of the apartment to start enjoying the North End.  Audrey and Drew left us with a few suggestions so we made our way over to check out some shops and markets.  We made sure to visit the little alley shop that we discovered last summer when visiting Boston because it was a nice little reminder of Italy and the simplicity of its food.  While waiting for our sandwich, we browsed around the store and all of the delicious food inspired us to cook a dinner.  Audrey and Drew were on board (of course, we used to be neighbors –  they know we can cook) so we picked up a few packages of ravioli and gnocchi and then headed across the alley to the bread cellar.  We grabbed a nice, fresh loaf of ciabatta and then made our way to Modern Pastry where we purchased some creme brulee and turtle cheesecake.  From there, we picked up some essentials at a small grocery store, some chicken and pancetta from a butcher's shop, and a box of wine.  At last, we were ready to create a masterpiece.

By the time we got home with all of our ingredients, it was about time to start cooking.  Rico was planning to make a sauce for the raviolis and to braise the chicken.  Jillian was mainly responsible for the brussel sprouts and getting the dipping oil prepared as an appetizer.  Shortly after we fired up the stove, Drew got home from work and started digging into the bread.  He was surprised when, half an hour later, we were still cooking – c'mon, Rome wasn't built in a day.  Once Audrey got home, the food was just about ready.  After she heard (and smelled) everything we were making, she made a comment about how Drew wouldn't think that she was a good cook anymore – sorry not sorry!  Alas, it was time to enjoy the fruits of our labor, and damn was it good!  We did a pretty good job timing everything for once so everything was hot and ready all at the same time.  Usually one component gets finished early and ends up getting cold.  After dinner we played a few games of Settlers of Catan, split the turtle cheesecake, and headed to bed.  It was another great day in Boston.

Fact:
We miss cooking!
Lesson:
If you want some great quality food, go to the North End


Eat Well; Travel Often
Rico & Jillian