The Gottlieb-Kim Trail

Oklahoma City text...

2008-05-08T17:32:00.000-07:00

If anyone is still reading this here is the text that should have been up when we were in OK.

For some reason the text I wrote for Oklahoma City didn't end up on the blog with the pictures. The first post talked about how we expected Oklahoma City to be boring but it actually seemed pretty interesting. The people there are very nice and are more than happy to talk to you about ANYTHING.

We went to the National Cowboy Museum expecting to kill an hour or two tops and ended up wishing we could stay all day. It was really cool and a HUGE museum. They had tons of artifacts and we learned a lot about Cowboys, rodeo history, and the rape and destruction of the land and native people. We only made it through maybe half of the museum and that was without taking the time to even read/look at everything. It's definitely a good destination if you travel across the country.

Then we found a part that turned out to be a model of an old western town. We decided to play "High Noon" which the local sheriff didn't like and that's when I got thrown in jail (the pic shown on the post titled "on the inside"). After getting out we talked to this guy who worked at the museum. He told us a lot of awesome destinations between OK city and LA. None of which we had time to visit. He had tried the Big Texan steak 15 years ago and failed. He informed us that Amarillo TX is "flatter than hammered dog shit". That has a nice ring to it.

Los Angeleez!

2008-05-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

After 4000 miles in a 16' truck that goes 75 mph, we've finally arrived in LA! Usually the nostalgia of LA hits me pretty quickly when I fly over the smog in a plane, but this time it was really gradual because of the driving. As soon as I get my computer unpacked and set up I'll begin posting non-iPhone photos of the trip!

LA Fog

2008-05-05T17:05:00.000-07:00

You know you're getting close to LA when you see a "fog" covering
nearby mountains at five in the afternoon. I traded one type of
pollution for another I guess.

Ain't That Grand

2008-05-05T16:27:00.000-07:00

Here I am at the Grand Canyon. Ask Dave about Mathers.

Good Morning!

2008-05-05T10:18:00.000-07:00

A Grand Canyon sunrise.

We decided to skip Sedona for a head start at the Grand Canyon! After
around 5 hours of sleep we woke up to catch the sunrise.

Imagination

2008-05-04T15:22:00.000-07:00

Escaping New Mexican boredom by pretending to go faster than the speed
limit. Our truck is limited to 75 mph.

Aftermath

2008-05-04T10:19:00.001-07:00

If anyone plans to take down the 72 oz steak at the Big Texan, I would
strongly advise against it. If you think that you're in for some
delicious Texan steak and a lot of it like I did, you are going to be
in for a big surprise. After my first bite of medium rare steak I knew
that it was going to be a lot tougher than I thought because the steak
wasn't really all that tasty. It made sense that this 72 oz only costs
72 dollars.

So it wasn't a matter of quantity anymore, it was all about the
ability to swallow whole pieces of chewy, mediocre steak because it's
the chewing and the bland taste that really makes it dreadful. At
about ten minutes left I started to gag every time I tried to knock
back a small piece of the tasteless steak with a swig of water. It
made sense that Kobayashi (the hot dog eater) trains by swallowing ice
cubes since it really is about the skill required to swallow things
whole without chewing.

All in all I was able to eat 50 oz of steak, a salad, a shrimp
cocktail, and a dinner roll. And since I stopped ten minutes early
when I knew 22 ounces of cold steak and a baked potato was going to be
impossible, we got some dessert since I had room for a couple
spoonfuls. We thought it'd be funny to eat dessert on the main stage
after such a big meal.

One Step Closer

2008-05-04T08:25:00.000-07:00

My new cowboy hat!

When I was asked in kindergarten what I wanted to be when I grow up I
replied "a cowboy!" it probably had something to do with being born in
Austin. Now I'm one step closer to my kindergarten dream!

Brandin' Sticks!

2008-05-04T08:12:00.000-07:00

About to dine

2008-05-03T18:47:00.000-07:00

We are sitting at the Big Texan getting ready to eat. Dave has to fill
out paperwork. Its very busy so we apologize for the delay.

15 minutes

2008-05-03T17:44:00.000-07:00

Seems like the preparation for the meal is going to take a little
longer than expected. We'll be on 15 minutes later than the original
time.

On the inside

2008-05-03T16:23:00.000-07:00

National cowboy & western heritage museum

2008-05-03T14:53:00.000-07:00

. . . and onto our next milestone!

2008-05-03T13:43:00.000-07:00

Sent from my iPhone

Damn you Jason, damn you . . .

2008-05-03T13:31:00.000-07:00

Jason finishing the Cheese Puffs.

Any other day I'd be fine with what Jason is doing right here, but
today happens to be the day I starve myself for the Big Texan. Either
way a great milestone has been passed.

Watch Me Die

2008-05-03T10:01:00.000-07:00

Foolishness captured in one photo.

It is now set in stone. Tune in to:

http://www.bigtexan.com/72ozlive.htm

at 6pm pacific / 9pm eastern to watch me attack the beast.

The Final Countdown

2008-05-03T08:50:00.001-07:00

DK Squats!!!

TONIGHT, WE DINE IN AMARILLO!!!!! It's the final countdown to the most
hyped part of my trip: my attempt to eat a salad, a shrimp cocktail,
and 72 ounces of pure unadulterated Texas steak in less than one hour.
To prepare for this undertaking, I did some push ups, sit ups, and
squatted the TV. I figure I'll be more hungry after I've worked out
some. I'm also not eating anything today, so I'll have a completely
empty system before the meal. Visit the Big Texan website and watch
the live webcam feed of my conquest! More details about the exact time
I'll be starting after I make the reservation today.

Doin' OK

2008-05-03T00:42:00.001-07:00

Hey ya'll from the heart of America, g'night!

Oklahoma, Here We Come!

2008-05-02T20:23:00.000-07:00

We're supposed to be enjoying Dallas BBQ right now, but apparently BBQ
places close at around 4 pm. We tried three places and all of them
were closed. Logically speaking it's probably because they just cook a
batch and close when they run out, but we like to think that we're
under a curse. A horrible curse that keeps us from enjoying delicious
southern barbecue. So after Jason said "Fuck Dallas!," we left and now
we're going to Oklahama.

The Largest Wal-Mart I've Been To

2008-05-02T17:25:00.000-07:00

A Texas Wal-Mart Supercenter.

Hey, we're in Texas now! We passed by a Wal-Mart Supercenter earlier
and regretted not stopping to check it out. Luckily we passed another
on our way to Dallas! We went in to poke fun, but we came out
satisfied Wal-Mart customers. The selection was incredible. Jason got
boxers, a Hendrix shirt, and shelf liner. I walked away with 12 boxers
and a Rock Band poster. To all the Mom and Pop stores that sell boxers
and posters: I am sorry.

Sorry Stew

2008-05-02T15:07:00.000-07:00

Stew's Beanie.

Sorry Stew, we have your hat hostage. Looks like you're gonna have to
come out to LA to get it back!

Grits!

2008-05-02T14:13:00.001-07:00

The "Early Bird" at Mother's for $4.95!

Woke up early today to get to Dallas at a reasonable hour and to try
out Mother's. I got all of the above, except for the ham, for 5 bucks!
Not only was the price good, everything tasted awesome. Definitely go
to Mother's when if you visit New Orleans!

The Jambalaya That Made Me a Girl

2008-05-02T13:40:00.001-07:00

Rabbit and sausage jambalaya with a wound up kick.

While Jason was munching on his po'boy, I started to chow down on one
of my favorite dishes, the jambalaya. Little did I know that this
jambalaya would kick my ass. Now I'm not much of a wuss when it comes
to spicy (I've downed a bottle of Tabasco before), but this jambalaya
was so full of flavor and spice that I was completely floored. I had
to step outside and take a break from eating the damn dish. When i
told the waiter avout its spiciness he simply replied "let's you know
you're alive now don't it!" All in all, it was an extremely flavorful
dish that I would recommend to anyone who visits Nawlins.

Coop's Place

2008-05-02T13:28:00.001-07:00

A Coop's Place Chicken Po'boy

After chillin' at the hotel for a little bit we headed out again to
eat dinner at Coop's place and listen to some Jazz. We were met with
the biggest po'boy u had ever seen.

Abita Beer

2008-05-02T13:23:00.001-07:00

A Louisiana Faverit'

Linner

2008-05-01T16:48:00.001-07:00

After going on a carriage ride and taking in the sights while drinking
hurricanes, we ate linner at Palace Cafe on Canal Street. We're
heading back to the hotel to charge the iPhone and find a good Cajun
bar/restaurant to go to tonight online.

I've Seen This Pic Before

2008-05-01T16:42:00.000-07:00

Trumpet player in front of Cafe du Monde.

This is why I wanted to visit New Orleans. Not only did he play the
trumpet, he also sang in perfect tune!

Beignets!!!

2008-05-01T16:36:00.001-07:00

Beignets at Cafe du Monde.

Woke up at noon after going to sleep at 5 am last night. What better
way to start the day than with fried dough and powdered sugar?

Finally in New Orleans!!!

2008-05-01T16:28:00.000-07:00

The Olde Absinthe House on Bourbon Street.

We finally made it to New Orleans! After parking the truck, we checked
in and immediately walked over to Bourbon Street for some absinthe.
Now I've had absinthe before and didn't feel like it was anything
special, but this time I was done drinking after one glass! At 70%
alcohol and 6% whatever comes from wormwood, I was on my jolly way and
felt drunk for the next 5 hours!

Death Mirror

2008-05-01T16:03:00.000-07:00

Bugs splattered on left rear view mirror.

At first I thought we were being hit by pebbles when I heard something
hit the windshield loudly, but we were being hit by bugs! I thought it
was awesome until we hit a butterfly . . .

A Small Setback

2008-04-30T17:25:00.000-07:00

We got to drive like Englishmen today!

So after the waffles we accidentally took the wrong interstate. We
realized we were heading toward Florida instead of New Orleans about
an hour after the mistake. Rather than double back north to Atlanta,
we decided it would be more adventurous and interesting to travel west
on smaller roads and highways to get back to the interstate that we
were supposed to take. It was a little stressful because my iPhone
didn't get any reception in most of the area, but it turned out to be
totally worth it! We got to see things we never would have seen from
the interstate like the small town of Meansville and a kid popping a
sideways wheelie on an ATV! We also saved on gas and time because the
speed limit was lower and we traveled a shorter distance than doubling
back. All in all the mistake set us back 45 minutes, but I think it
was worth it since we got to see more interesting things in Georgia.

Waffle House!

2008-04-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

A waffle house lunch.

We made what seemed like a mandatory stop at a Waffle House in
Georgia. Every rest stop and food exit so far has featured a Waffle
House so we finally gave in. Let's just say the waffles justify its
widespread popularity.

Op Stap!

2008-04-30T11:05:00.000-07:00

Coca-cola

2008-04-30T10:43:00.000-07:00

Deepo Anyone?

2008-04-30T10:38:00.000-07:00

Wake Up!

2008-04-30T05:39:00.001-07:00

A Georgia morning.

We got to my uncle's house at 1:30 am last night so I'm a little
groggy, but this is what I got to wake up to! Freakin' awesome!

More Proof

2008-04-30T05:33:00.000-07:00

Georgia gas station at around 11:30 pm.

Proof

2008-04-29T19:40:00.000-07:00

Best shot of the "Welcome to South Carolina" sign I could get at 9:39
pm.

The Carolinas

2008-04-29T19:02:00.000-07:00

Frantically trying to get to Georgia on time.

So we tried to get some "Carolina BBQ" on our way to Georgia, but
failed royally because the "Bar-B-Q King" parking lot (where they
bring you your food) doesn't allow for 10.5 foot tall trucks. Stupid
roof. Who puts a roof on a parking lot?

We called up Mr. Andrew Coats for a suggestion since his parents live
in North Carolina. He didn't believe we were in North Carolina
already, but gave us a suggestion anyways. It was then (8:30 pm) that
we realized that it takes 4.5 hours to get to Atlanta!!! So we just
ended up filling the gas tank again, scarfed down some sandwiches at
Hardees, and started heading toward Georgia.

Number 1: Hardees seems like the east coast version of Carl's Jr,
which is on the west coast.

Number 2: Proof that we are in the Carolinas coming soon.

Sustenance

2008-04-29T12:52:00.000-07:00

This is how we do.

Chick-fil-A!

2008-04-29T11:46:00.000-07:00

We drove past a lot of rest stops to eat here . . . My relatives from
Georgia would be proud.

Through the Windows of our 16' Truck

2008-04-29T08:06:00.000-07:00

As we were driving from Jersey City to Amish Country in the rain on our 16' truck, I thought to myself "Hey, someone should really keep track of this trip!" and "Driving across the country takes a pretty long time." So here I am. Finally live blogging. That means I'll be updating this blog on the road from my phone, so you'll be able to get up to the minute news about our road trip! Join us, as we travel down south and across the country to pave the way for future generations with our trail, the Gottlieb-Kim Trail.

Maryland!

2008-04-28T20:10:00.000-07:00

I'm blogging from my iPhone! We're at Jason's Mom's place in Maryland
tonight!