Destination: Las Vegas | Havasu Falls | Phoenix

My last post on this blog was nearly six months ago while I was on vacation in North Carolina. Since then, I've drove down to Cincinnati for Homecoming in October, followed by a trip out to Connecticut in early November to see an old high school friend, Craig and his then-pregnant wife, Heather. I'll may eventually write up a few articles on those trips in a flashback style, but I'm in no rush to do so. Since then, aside from a few back-and-forth drives to Youngstown, my travels have been kept to a fair minimum. Until now.

This past August, I put together a team of friends and collegues to produce and shoot a film for the 48-hour Film Project that ended up being called 'The 4th Floor." We had 48 hours to write, shoot and edit the film, and our efforts paid off. Two weeks later at the Cleveland awards ceremony, we were awarded the 'Best Film' selection for the city of Cleveland, meaning that our film will move on to the next round of judgment during the annual Filmapolooza, an event which happens to be taking place in Las Vegas next month. Am I going? You better [expletive] believe it. If our film is selected as the top ten out of it's 80 competitors, it will move on to the 2010 Cannes Film Festival in France. Consider my fingers crossed.


So next month, I'm spending three days in Vegas attending different films and booths throughout the NAB floor show. I'll be the first to admit that Vegas isn't my favorite city, but I'm lucky enough to have a few friends in the area, so we'll all have a good time, no doubt. However...three days isn't much of a vacation for me. I travel out west about every other year, so this is the perfect opportunity for me to explore a few things that I've been meaning to do for quite a while, see some family that I'm overdue to visit and spend a good full week relaxing in the Arizona sun.

More details are sure to come, but as soon as the Filmapolooza wraps, I'm planning on driving out of Vegas in my trusty little rent-a-car and heading east towards the Grand Canyon. Before I reach it however, my route turns north along a small Indian highway that runs for 65 miles before dead-ending in a parking lot overlooking the canyon. From there I'll enter the Havasupai Indian Reservation, one of the most remote reservations in existance, hike 10 miles into the oasis where I'll spend the following two days camping and relaxing by the turquoise-blue waters of Havasu Falls. After my hike out of the canyon, I'll jump back into the car and head south through Sedona and into Phoenix and Tuscon, where my uncles and their families both reside. I'll hang out down there for a few days and help them out a bit before catching my flight back to Cleveland.

I plan on documenting this trip fairly heavily, so try and keep up. I may even make a small documentary out of my experiences in the Havasupai Indian Reservation. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted. I leave on April 10, so until then...signing off.

Here Comes the Sun

As the morning has progressed, the blue skies have emerged. Slowly at first, but eventually overtaking the clouds and spanning across the whole of the sky. Spirits are up, the music is playing, and everyone in the house is determined to make this day the best of our trip so far. As I type, everyone is getting ready to hit the beach. Towels are in hand, bathing suits are on and the sun tan lotion has been applied. I'd go into a lot more detail, but I think, for the day's sake, I'm going to cut this one short.

Here Comes the Sun. Thank you, Mr. Harrison.

The Shorewalker and the Storm

When one goes on vacation, especially to a southern destination such as the beach, one has an expectation. Warm weather, for one. Or, at least, sunny skies. Unfortunately, with the exception of the first full day we were here, we haven't gotten either in over 48 hours. About two weeks ago, I checked the weather to see what we were in for once we arrived and I saw nothing but rain and cloudy skies in our futures. I've long accepted that this would be more of an indoor retreat than anything else, but with everything the ocean and our surroundings should have to offer, it can turn somewhat oppressive if you let it. I refuse.

After the events of last night, all of which for privacy's sake, I won't go into here, we all in our own ways retreated to different corners of the house. Leila spent some time reading on the top-floor deck during a break in the clouds. Marty stayed close to his room and downloaded scores of music to keep us in good spirits for the rest of the trip. Katalina and Claire popped in a movie. Julia stayed close to her phone for any further updates. I went for a long walk by myself along the beach.


The ocean, as I've stated before, is a near-perfect place to clear your head. The repetition of the rolling waves can be borderline hypnotic and you see absolutely wonderful things happen along the shore. You see older couples walking hand-in-hand, children in the midst of primal innocence as they build their fortification walls and sand castles against the onslaught of the rising tide. You see families joined together by the water and many many others just enjoying what nature has to offer.

I've had a lot to think about lately, and the therapeutic effect of the sea has only given me more insight, regardless of the ominous, threatening clouds or the torrential rain that has confounded our days here so far. Such as everything else in life, the rain will pass. It will move on...maybe, just maybe, while we're still here on the island. In the meantime, I'm going to continue writing (I nailed out over 20 pages of a new script I've been thinking about lately), relaxing, and enjoying each and every moment that we're here. I will walk the shore again tomorrow morning and the next day, even if I have to get completely drenched doing it. The sea is a gift...why waste it?

As the Sun Rises in the East

There is absolutely nothing like seeing the sun rise, or set, over the water. Whether it be the waters of the Atlantic ocean, or the shallow basin of Lake Erie, these sights can be truly breathtaking. However, there's something to be said about a sunrise. It's the start of a new day. As the first lip of that burning red sphere starts to peek over the distant horizon, all of the stress and tension from the day before seems to fade away into the emerging light. Within minutes, the blazing orb is at its fullest, slowly crawling up into the rapidly lightening sky. Magnified by the dense collection of moisture near the horizon, our sun is at its largest state of being, and nothing can be more captivating. It's official; a new day has begun, full of fresh possibilities.

I woke up early this morning, roughly 5:45am or so, quietly left the house (everyone, understandably, was still asleep) and slowly walked the 600ft from our house to the beach. Since we arrived late last evening, I hadn't a chance to head down there before we all crashed for the night, so I figured this would be my best opportunity to reacquaint myself with the Atlantic shoreline for the first time in almost ten years. As I walked down the wooden steps and stepped onto the soft, deep sand, I was greeted by a blazing red sky, immediately bringing to mind my Grandpa Vimmerstedt's old Navy proverb, "Red sky in the morning, Sailor's warning." We're supposed to get hit with some vicious thunderstorms this evening, so I couldn't help but smile at the logic. It seems absurd. Maybe not so much.


I spent the next hour watching the sun rise into the morning sky. I consider myself a fairly good writer, but right now I'm having a hard time putting these moments into words. Even the picture I'm posting to go along with this entry doesn't quite do it it justice...and it's a pretty amazing photo. To put it bluntly, I was alone, and not a soul could be seen or heard in either direction down the shoreline. I was sitting, legs crossed, in the sand facing immediately east, bathing myself in the light of the dawn. My eyes were closed most of the time, and I was concentrating fairly hard on letting my body completely relax. ...And most importantly, I was breathing. This may sound like a huge load of New-Age bullshit to some people, but in all honesty, I haven't felt this at peace in months.

When I was a teenager, and dealing with the typical teen angst that most all teenagers do, my mom introduced me to a series of meditation and relaxation techniques that she used while trying to recover from cancer in the early 80's. It was alternative healing therapy that for her, on some level, worked. It had worked then, and it had worked today. Even though I wasn't obviously attempting to recover my body from a battle with cancer, or any other physical infection for that matter, I was in a sense, recovering. It's been a hard summer. It's been a busy summer. It's been a summer that I've been extremely proud of and will not soon forget, for so so many multiple reasons. But it took its toll, and this vacation is exactly what I need...as was this morning's sunrise.

I am so happy that I'm here.

Five States, Two Panic Attacks, and 14 Hours Later...

It's a long trip, Cleveland to Corolla, NC. In fact, Google-Maps says it should only take 11 hours and 45 minutes. Let me tell you right now, Google-Maps are a bunch of liars. Then again, Google-Maps didn't drive with three women and a blown fuse.

The girls arrived at my house this morning around 7am, and we pretty much had the car packed up and ready to go within 20 minutes. It was just about this time that we discovered that the cigarette lighter wasn't working. Thus, the GPS wasn't getting any power. And for all of those that understand the technology of a battery, an uncharged GPS is a useless GPS. ...We had a useless GPS. I checked the fuse box, spent an extra 15 minutes swapping out the spare fuses with the one in question to no success, thus we were now relying on Google Maps and my Car Atlas that I now keep in my Jeep for emergencies. There was a moment of panic where I saw society become overly dependent on technology. One could write an essay on this very topic. Then Claire busted out the Google-Maps. Way to go Claire. Claire is prepared. Everything is right again. Honestly, this is the way I'm used to road tripping, so the failed GPS didn't really bother me. Staring a some little machine that will tell me that I have 23.6 miles and 18.85 minutes left until my next right turn is not a fun driving experience, as far as I'm concerned. Give me a map any day.

I drove for the first six hours, then changed seats with Julia in Maryland, who then exchanged seats with Claire in Virginia. Claire (while not paying attention to the maps) ends up driving us through downtown Richmond in the effort to backtrack to the freeway that we should've stayed on in the first place. The upside of this maneuver was that we got to see the downtown/warehouse district neighborhood of the city, filled with eclectic restaurants and cool little brownstone-style bars. Richmond actually seems like a pretty cool town. A few hours later we cross into North Carolina and stop to grab a bite to eat. Katalina is now behind the wheel. We pull out of the restaurant to hear a loud thump and crash occur behind us. We our now aware that the back hatch of Katalina's car has popped open and there goes my bag (containing my precious computer) and Katalina's Nikon tumbling down the road. Panic ensues. I pretty much dive out of the car while it's still moving to run back and grab my computer. Thank GOD I had a padded backpack. Anything less and I'm sure that it wouldn't have made it. Obviously I'm working on it now, so everything turned out okay, but that was a scary few moments. Save from a small dent in the corner of the machine, it's working perfectly. I can breathe again, and for everyone here that uses a Mac...we all know what life would be like without our precious machines. Shit...I sound like Gollum. ...whatever. Gollum never had a Mac.

About an hour later we pulled up to the house to be greeted by both Leila and Marty. Josh, Pat and Megan were already in the hottub and it took us absolutely no time at all to get ourselves settled in, changed into our bathing suits, and joining them all in the bubbly.

It's a quiet, clear night tonight, and I think everyone else has pretty much gone to bed. It's been a long day for all of us, but tomorrow will be the real start of our vacation. I'm looking forward to doing nothing. I'm pretty sure I'm overdue.

Destination: The Outer Banks, NC

It wasn't so long ago, maybe just a few months, that our friend Leila raised the question of where we should all go on vacation this year.  We knew we wanted to take a trip together, but deciding on our destination was still up in the air.  It was unanimous that all of us wanted to visit the beach, so after a few random islands were tossed into the mix, the majority of us settled on where we're about to set off to today: The Outer Banks, NC.

To be honest, I don't know much about the area, but I've heard it's absolutely gorgeous.  Before I really fell into the group, I few of them had headed down there last summer around the 4th of July.  They've been dying to go back, so after a few rounds of discussions, we settled on a rental house for the week, paid our dues (only $165 for each of us, for the entire week...awesome!) and in just a few minutes, I'll be jumping in the car with my friends Julia, Claire and Katalina, and be on our way.  Marty and Leila drove separately yesterday, and the rest of the guys are heading out later today to pull an all-nighter.

It's a 12-hour drive, and I'll be making a few random updates throughout the week, but I'm planning on using this vacation as a more of a recovery model than anything else.  The nice thing about it that we are all going down with the mentality to do whatever we want...no schedules, no planned events...nothing.  So, even though the weather is supposed to be a bit spotty (luckily no hurricanes), I'm planning on getting in a lot of writing, mediation, and relaxation.  After the events of the past month, ...the past year even, I need it.  That said, we're packing up the car now and we'll be on our way in a few short minutes.  God knows, this vacation couldn't have come soon enough.

The Arrival into DC: Just Point Me to the Beer

Leaving work just after 2:00, I was able to swing by home, pick up Kino, throw a few last minute things together and manage to be on the road towards Youngstown by 3:30. I've done this part of the trip probably close to a million times, so to actually try and write about it is a bit of a challenge. Though this time around, I decided to play it somewhat stupid and slipped onto the Turnpike with less than eighth of a tank left in the car. With thirty miles to go before I got off at my exit, the low fuel light popped on and I made the decision to see how far I can push my car. Needless to say, everything turned out allright, and I was able to make it to the gas station off the exit 33 miles later, but I had never seen that needle drop so low. Those last few miles were surrouned by a few silent prayers that I wouldn't run out of steam on the Turnpike. My parents, who were patiently waiting at the exit to grab Kino, wouldn't appreciate it very much. I did drop him off with them though without incident, gave my thanks and hug goodbye, and jumped back on my way towards DC.


My drive into Washington was fairly uneventful, but extremely beautiful. I've driven through this part of the country in the mid-fall, when the leaves are at their peak, and if I were to come back, I would probably choose that time of year to do it, simply for the scenery. However, this time around I found myself passing through the lush laurel of mid-Pennsylvania and the red soil of northern Maryland, only to descend into DC sometime around 9:30pm. My GPS wove me along a few winding roads around the Chevy Chase neighborhood, through a long series of traffic lights and roundabouts, to finally, the front of Nick's condo in Columbia Heights, just adjacent to Mount Pleasant.


I found a parking spot just outside Nick's building and with his help, carried my bag and my bike up into his apartment. There I met his girlfriend Sarah again, whom I hadn't seen since about 2006 when all of us met in Cincinnati for the famous Labor Day fireworks. About fifteen minutes later, the three of us headed around the block to an English Pub in their neighborhood called The Common Wealth, where indulged ourselves on a basket of chips and a few pints of English ale. About 48 ounces in, Sarah decided she should head home while Nick and I hit up a few more of the local bars in the area. We actually only managed to make it one, a small indie dive bar called the Raven, which was mostly populated by Virginia students and random hipsters. We found an open two stools at the bar, where we sat and drank Yeungling until just before closing.

As of now, we're showered and ready to grab some south American breakfast before exploring the town. The weather is a bit spotty, but we're prepared to make the most of it. I'm more than sure that a little rain would hardly dampen the experience.