Son of a bitch...here I thought I was being unique by NOT doing the Gnome and using Gumby instead. Oh well. Okay, it's been Day 3 in New England...Friday spent in Boston and Saturday-Sunday in Rhode Island...so now that I've a little free time, I am going to try and give a run-thru of all the good food we've had so far. Friday we were going to the Yankees @ Red Sox game at Fenway Park and got to Boston several hours before the game to have time to walk around. Got off the subway at the Boston Commons stop and walked around and literally accidentally stumbled upon the Cheers bar. I had a Sam Adams Boston Brick Red that was mighty good to the last drop...especially since it was 102° F. the day I arrived. Later we met ebk and her hubby at the Cask n Flagon(voted best beer/sports bar in America) outside Fenway Park on Brookline. I cannot remember what everyone had, but I had grilled fruit and two beers: The first was a wonderful Belgian White-style beer: Harpoon UFO White. I became addicted to Belgian Weissbier in the summertime during my years in Europe. There are few better beers for a hot summer day than a good, fresh and light on the palate Belgian White. The Harpoon UFO Wgite definitely hit the spot. Better than Shock Top's Belgian White and miles beyond the overrated Blue Moon. The second beer I had wasn't as good: Leinenkugel's Summer Shanty. Very lemony...too sweet, too much like drinking lemonade. Then at the Red Sox game, I tried one of the recommended sausages...Kayem's Italian Sausage with grilled onions and pepper and spicy brown mustard. Mmmmmm good. Sorry I don't have photos to share. Saturday morning in Warwick, Rhode island I had my first ever visit to a Dunkin' Donuts for coffee and donuts. The coffee is as good as people say and while the donuts aren't the best, they have a great variety and they are still way better than Winchell's and Krusty Kreme. For dinner, we went to a nice little pub called Mews Tavern to eat, drink and watch the Red Sox game. Thwy had a splendid beer list...one of the best I have ever seen for a small pub. They had a great deal called a 'Rack-O-Draughts': any combination of 4 beers in 7 oz. glasses for $9. That's 28 oz. Of beer for $9...a good deal in my opinion. Here's me with my rack... From left to right, the beers are: 1. Batch 19 Pre-Prohibition Lager (Colorado) 2. Allagash White Ale (Maine) 3. Revival Zeppelin Hefeweizen (Rhode Island) 4. Sam Adams Summer Ale (Massachusetts) In order of preference, I would say best to least was 1) Revival Zeppelin; 2) Batch 19; 3) Sam Adams; and 4) Allagash White. I had a little help from my tasting buddy. For dinner, we started with some Calamari Giovanni and a Harvest Salad(apples, cranberries, blue cheese crumbles, red onions, walnuts and greens tossed with a maple vinaigrette). For the entrees, she had Pescado Cubano(baked George's Bank Haddock topped with chipotle salsa, tortilla chips and lime, with brown rice and beans). I had the Guinness beer battered Fish n Chips. Later, after exploring some beaches and a lighthouse, we had some handmade ice cream for dessert: chocolate walnut and peanut butter cup. I'll get to Sunday's amazing repast at Spain another time.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Richard Pryor's widow at a tribute night to Richard Pryor the American Cinematheque had a few months ago. They showed the first two concert films he did, which were revolutionary. Before that, nobody had thought you could release a comedian's standup act as a film. The sucess of "Richard Pryor Live" and "Live on the Sunset Strip" paved the way for everyone else that followed. Watch those films now and you can see how Eddie Murphy basically stole his act...Eddie's concert movies are almost an exact replication of Richard Pryor. Richard Pryor was the real deal. How did we go from Pryor to a sham like Dean Cook?

At a certain point on a trip like this, things happen faster than I have a chance to process and organize into thoughts and post. Yesterday was such a day...all I will say for now is that after the monotony of Kansas and Missouri, Pennsylvania was a delight! What beautiful countryside...the stretch from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg was breathtaking. Just passed Stamford, CT.

After a night in NYC, the FINAL leg of my trip has begun...just crossed the bridge from New York into Connecticut! Rolling down 95...six miles to Stamford, CT and 147 to Providence, RI!!! Hi Dave!

Hoky smokes! Gives new meaning to the term 'heartwarming'. Relieved to hear all is well. You've taught your kids well.

You'd have to be pretty oblivious to think Robert Plant would want to sign "Hammer of the Gods". Too bad I wasn't there to see him before the show, I could have warned him "dude, put that book away!" and saved him from embarrassment.

Does James Gandolfini know about this?

One thing that has been fairly consistent on this trip is the heat. Not just in the deserts of California, Nevada, Utah(which I expected), but in the fruited plains of the Midwest. Even at 4 in the morning, it is sweltering in Columbus, OH. Sure, the temperature gauge says 76° but the humidity is freaking 87%. The only respite from the heat was being in the Colorado Rockies Tuesday night. I'm drinking water at a rate that would put CJW to shame.

Well, well, well...BJ's Louge was certainly the place to be Monday night. Bloody brilliant. It was when I first heard the "Live on Blueberry Hill" bootleg that I realized what a fan of Fats Domino Robert Plant, if not the whole band, was. It inspired me to seek out and investigate Fats Domino's music further. Cannot wait to see Robert again next week.

An exhausted, tired Amish family in Columbus, OH @ 3:26 am.

July 17, 1973 Seattle. 40 years ago. One of the best shows from the 1973 tour. I prefer the audience to the soundboard...it is one of the few really essential boots from 1973.

Strider and Gumby Go to White Castle...and somehow survive. Okay, here's the worst meal I have had so far on my trip. I'm in Indianapolis, IN, and it's after midnight and White Castle is the only place I can find open. I never have understood the reverence East Coasters have for White Castle. My memories of the place are of awful, soggy, tiny burgers. They're cheap, yes, but so what. I don't mind paying for quality. White Castle is garbage. I got one original slider and one jalapeño cheese slider...and a Barq's Red Cream Soda.

I'll let you know when I get to Rhode Island...my friend got the tix so I don't know at the moment. In Indianapolis at the moment...right across from Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Colts. Been walking around checking the city out. It's after midnight so I could only find a White Castle that was open 24 hours. Yuck...it was as bad as I remembered. Next stop...Columbus, Ohio.

Yes, these three live tracks are the bonus tracks on the "Now and Zen" that comes in the Nine Lives box set. "Ship of Fools", "Billy's Revenge", and "Tall Cool One" are all sourced from bootlegs. What's interesting is that "Ship of Fools" and "Tall Cool One" come from the Nov. 1, 1990 Universal Amphitheatre show I was at and that I taped. In 1993, my home was robbed and all my tapes stolen. Wouldn't that be a trip if my tape was the source used for the bonus cuts. "Billy's Revenge" comes from a different show but I can't remember where...Britain maybe?

As Wednesday (day 2 and a half on the road) comes to a close, the sun sets over Illinois, the land of Lincoln. It's too dark now to take photos. By morning I should be in Pennsylvania.

I plan on posting that in the Bon Appètit thread. Unfortunately because I spent more time in Colorado than I intended, I didn't have time to really eat anything special today.

Missouri...where I did my Army boot camp at Ft. Leonard Wood. Or as it was parochially known, Ft. Lost in the Woods, Misery. Pretty much kept on the 70 heading east, with a stop in Boonville and Wetzville before hitting St. Louis.

Greetings from Effingham, Illinois. After dawdling yesterday through Utah and Colorado, Wednesday today we've been swallowing up the miles...through the state of Kansas in the morning, Missouri in the afternoon, Illinois now in the early evening, and should hit Indianapolis, Indiana by 11pm or so. Four states in one day, and very little difference between them. Corn fields as far as the eyes can see, bulbous water towers squatting over the land like alien ships, and those tacky mega churches designed more like halls of commerce than houses of worship. Kansas is flatter than a pancake, Missouri and Illinois a little more woodsy and hilly. After the scenic thrills of Colorado, it was quite a change of pace to wake up this morning to Kansas. Toto, I've a feeling we're not in California anymore.

It's pointless and impossible to actually quantify something like "the best country in the world". Unless you have been to EVERY country in the world and actually lived and worked in each one, it's rather condescending to even try.

Thanks. I knew if anyone would appreciate them, it would be a fellow skier like you.

There were thunderstorms predicted but all we got was a spot of rain at 8:15pm. There were some threatening clouds, however...and as night fell, a bright half-moon shining over the slopes of Vail, CO.

The Rockies...even with the lack of snow, it was still spectacular scenery. One of the reasons why, when time permits, I prefer travelling thru the land rather than fly above it. I love going thru mountain tunnels and the Rockies have plenty of them...and they're beauties. The gondolas of Glenwood Springs, CO.

After Utah, came Colorado... Crossing the Utah-Colorado state line. Welcome to Grand Junction, CO. I actually spent more time in Grand Junction than originally planned...it's near the Colorado Natinal Monuments...but that allowed me to explore the place and find some cool spots. I'll devote a separate thread to my time in Grand Junction at a future date. Leaving Grand Junction and heading into the Rockies and on to Denver, CO.

Some highlights of the first day, Tuesday July 16. Dawn breaking Tuesday morning somewhere north of St. George, Utah. Sunrise over Parowan, Utah. Saying 'good morning' to the cows. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. Welcome to Green River, Utah. I think it's the same Green River CCR sang about. Met some bikers from Frankfurt, Germany. Obviously a popular stop with the truckers.

The trip officially began last night, departing Los Angeles at 7:11pm. Arrived in Las Vegas about 1am. Left Las Vegas around 3am a little lighter than I arrived...about $30 lighter, haha. I thought the casino being named California might bring me luck. Nope. Just heading out of St. George, Utah going north to Colorado into what should be a glorious mountain sunrise. It is wicked hot, though...Las Vegas was sweltering even in the middle of the night. And my ears have been popping all night as the elevation changed.