It's over folks.

Alright...

Today marks the official end of "The Summer of DeFeo". It is officially autumn now and I start my new job on Monday morning.

I spent the last 2 weeks of the summer of DeFeo in decompression mode. No...seriously, I slept for like 7 days straight. I've spent the rest of my time getting myself ready for starting work again and taking care of stupid errands. I also hit another 2 Diners, Drive-ins and Dives spots in NYC.

Nevertheless...Without further ado...

The Awards

Favorite large city - San Francisco*
*Excluding NYC and Chicago of course
Favorite Small city - Nashville
Favorite State - California
Favorite small town - Polsen, MT

Least Favorite large city - LA
Least Favorite small city - Kansas City
Least Favorite State - Ohio

Best Drivers - NYC...followed closely by Minneapolis.
Worst Drivers - Ohio

Best meal - Park Tavern in San Fran
Worst meal - Island Restaurant during boat trip in Spain (I didn't even eat anything...mostly because I was a "little" sea sick. It just looked gross though.)

Best DD&D spot - The Redhead in NYC...this place only recently unseated Rendezvous in Memphis and Martin's BBQ outside Nashville (They were tied for 1st prior to last weekend)

Worst DD&D spot - Pizza Palace in Knoxville, TN

Best Bar - The Beachcomber in Wellfleet on the Cape

Worst Bar - Cozy Corner dive bar in Montana. It seriously reminded me of the bar from the movie "From Dusk Till dawn"

Top 3 Favorite Moments
1) Chartering the Yacht off the Coast of Spain
2) Racing the Bonneville Speedway on the Salt Flats
3) Climbing Mt. Elbert

Top 3 Least Favorite Moments
1) The hangovers (This spot has been collectively awarded to all the brutal hangovers that I encountered at various points this summer. They hurt so much more and lasted so much longer than they did 10 years ago and they sadly reminded me that I'm not in college anymore).
2) Lightning Storm on the ridge of Humphrey's Peak.
3) Getting lost for 3 hours in the labyrinth of logging roads surrounding Mt Arvon in Michigan.

Top 3 "Close calls"
1) Not going to Yosemite...I had reserved one of the cabins where the Hunta virus broke out, but Nick and I decided to cancel our trip and I went to Spain instead. Talk about dodging a bullet.
2) Losing my way back to the car in Wisconsin and using my car's Onstar system and my GPS watch to navigate my way back to the car.
3) I am really serious when I say that I think I was a few seconds away from being car jacked in Kansas City.

Top 3 Craziest Stunts
1) Climbing the Cell phone tower in Wisconsin
2) Forging the waiver to climb Black Mountain in Kentucky.
3) Trying to drive up the Colorado jeep trail in a BMW 328i. At 10,400 feet we almost lost my muffler.

Top 3 favorite places*
1) Mackinac Island
2) Pacific Coast Highway
3) Napa Valley
*These are like the all around winners that had everything...food, drink, sights, experiences, etc.


The Numbers

Below are some fun statistics from my trip.

It's been pretty amazing, but I have literally been around the world in 80 days.

80 Days (6/15/2012 to 9/3/2012)

I've traveled...
31,160+ miles traveled
16,500 by car
14,500 by air (Jet)
85 miles by foot
24 miles by single prop bi-plane
10 miles by twin turbo prop plane
17 miles by horse
12 miles by boat
6 miles by jet ski
4 miles by bicycle
1 mile by gondola

I've visited...
5 countries
43 states
23 Capitol cities
6 time zones

I've climbed...
39 mountains and
28 State High points
120,000+ vertical feet ascended (Total feet of all the mountains)
140,000+ vertical feet exchanged (Feet actually climbed and descended)
Highest point reached by foot...14,344 feet

30 Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives locations

I've been to...
5 BMW dealerships
and gone through
1 Oil Change
1 set of rear brake pads
1 Oxygen Sensor replacement
675+ gallons of gas

Top speed attained 140mph

Driving terrains...
Paved Roads
Dirt roads
Gravel roads
Brick roads
Overgrown logging roads
On the Rocky Mountain jeep trail
On Grass
On a Cornfield
On the Salt flats
And on the Beach

21 nights in hotel rooms
27 nights sleeping at camp grounds
17 nights staying with friends or relatives
15 nights of sleeping in my car
2 nights without sleeping
2 nights sleeping on a plane
1 night sleeping on the beach

I visited 10 National Parks (I skipped Yosemite to go to Spain...looks like I picked the winning horse on that one!)
I visited only 7 Casinos
I Gambled a total of $150
I Won a total of $1000
I've spent $????? (Let's just say it's bigger than a breadbasket).

It rained a total of 4 times during my whole trip (aside from in the mountains where we were pounded with relentless rain for several hours on end).
2 of the 4 rain storms I was in occurred in the desert. The 2nd time it rained all year in the Mojave was the night I drove through it.
It snowed once while I was on Mt Elbert. It hailed once while I was in Yellowstone.

12 racks of ribs
40+ Hamburgers
32+ Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwiches
Only 4 pizzas!!!

I've eaten...
Cow
Rabbit
Elk
Buffalo
Moose
Goat
Pig
Lamb
Deer
Reindeer
Duck
Goose
Turtle
And let's not even start on all the seafood...

I picked up 1 hitch hiker
I was pulled over by police...twice
I received zero tickets

I took 3,000+ pictures
I bought close to 150 pounds of gifts

I spent approx 90 hours talking on the phone (Many of you are probably sick of me calling by now...what else are you going to do when your driving 16,000 miles?)

I've been smiling for the last 110 days
I have a 1,000,000+ memories
I have 0 regrets
I couldn't imagine doing it any differently.

I was planning on extending this blog thing further, but the reality is "living the dream" is a full time job. Plus, "The Fall of DeFeo" doesn't have quite the same ring to it.

I have been working on writing down some of my observations from the trip. They are really random and not very blog worthy just yet. I've really just kept a log of them for my own enjoyment years down the line.

Every time I think about my trip, I can't help but smile and be grateful that I had such an amazing opportunity.

Stay thirsty my friends.

The final curtain

So a little recap of Boston. The wedding was lovely. I spent a great deal of the weekend reuniting with old friends and trying not to over do it with stories about my trip. They may or may not agree with me that I succeeded.

On the way back, I stopped by Jerimoth Hill...the highpoint for Rhode Island. It was a short but throughly miserable hike due to a championship hang over that I was battling with. I mean, if there was a hang over Olympics, this hang over would have won Gold and the Justice department would have considered opening an investigation that it was juicing because it beat out all the other hang overs by such a large margin. It still hurts today.

No final road trip is complete without another diners, drive-ins and dives stop. This time I went to the famous "Pepe's Pizza" in New Haven, CT for some coal over pizza. Now, I have heard stories of New Haven pizza for years. I have heard wild claims like it is better than NYC pizza. Now I can't say this place was the best, because I don't think you can crown a single place as "the best" when it comes to pizza...there are just too many varieties and variables. However, this was some damn good pizza...correction...some extraordinary pizza. It is the first pizza I've had that gives Grimaldi's and Salluggis a run for their money. I highly suggest you try it if you are ever in town.

So what happens now???

Well, over the next couple of days I will be posting a variety of reflections on my trip. Technically, the Summer of DeFeo doesn't end until September 21st (the last day of summer).

I will be using the next couple of days to provide some of the following.

A list of the best and worst...
A breakdown of all the "numbers"...
A recap of the routes and places...
Some final reflections...
How I'm coping with it being over...
My first week at the new job...
Etc...etc...etc

I know it's a pain, but watch this video below. It won't play on mobile devices because it has copyrighted music, but it will play on a desktop PC. I promise it is worth it. It is obviously safe for work too.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8LdsGfJf34&feature=youtube_gdata_player

From Sea to Shining Sea

I stopped by my parents place yesterday while passing through New York state on my way up to New England. I left around 10pm and just drove until I got tired. Lucky for me that wasn't until I reached the bridge for the Cape. So I pulled over and started shopping around for beaches without a terribly high number of signs prohibiting access after hours.

The beach I eventually found only had 1 sign prohibiting access after dark so I figured I at least had a modicum of Plausible Deniability if I were to get stopped..."what sign? I didn't see the sign".

I slept like a baby until 8am and then started driving out route 6 to Provincetown. Along the way I stopped at a few places key places to soak in the Cape Cod sights.

The Beachcomber bar in Wellfleet is probably the coolest bar on the island. Live music, raw bar, frozen drinks, a pinball machine, buck hunter, and a giant sandy beach...all the requirements for a good time. I now hold the 5th and 4th highest scores on their Pinball Machine. I'm sort of like a Pinball Wizard.

My next stop was the famous Cape Cod light house. I climbed to the top and took the tour. It's like one of those things you just "have to do". They actually moved this thing 450 feet further away from the beach because of the erosion. The spot where it once stood is about 10 years away from having waves crashing on it. The original light house that was commissioned by Washington stood in a spot that is actually under water right now!

I love visiting these types of places. They have been one of the high lights of my trip...excuse the pun. They don't cost anything, they are rich with history and I can see myself going back one day with one or two kids in tow.

One of the biggest regrets I have this trip is not playing a round of golf on the golf course out on the cape. I had booked a tee time for 4pm, but I got side tracked in Provincetown and decided to cancel it.

Provincetown was lovely. My pink shorts were a real hit. I knew I had to get back to Boston at a reasonable time, so I only stayed until 6 and then started making my way back to the mainland.

I'm in Boston now for the Horgan wedding/extravaganza. I'm looking forward to dancing like an idiot.

I've been practicing my "Gangnam Style" in preparation (See link below...it's worth it).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9bZkp7q19f0

New York State of Mind

I left Virginia around 9am and had to go to DC for a Burger Madness at Wisemiller's deli. This place wasn't on Diners, Drive-ins an dives, but it still has the best Sandwich I've ever had. We almost got the Burger Madness elected student body president at Georgetown...that's how good it is.

I drove around the capital for a little while and got a cup of coffee at "Uncommon Grounds" on campus. College is such an amazing place. I wish I could turn this bus around and go back.

Next stop was Alexandria, VA to stop by my friend Alex's bakery for some amazing cup cakes...they were terrific. If you are in or around Alexandria you should go to "Buzz" on Slater Lane.

I hit the road around 1pm and it was a fairly uneventful drive on my way back to New York. I laughed, I cried, I wept uncontrollably when I saw the NY Skyline.

But it's not over yet folks. I have one last Horahh! I'm shipping up to Boston for the weekend and going to spend a day out on the Cape.

From Sea to Shining Sea!!!


Stay thirsty my friends!

Meet Virginia

We are in the home stretch here folks of possibly the greatest road trip ever. I woke up yesterday morning around 6:30am and started making my way north through Virginia. I had big plans for yesterday.

I was going to climb Mt Rogers, go horseback riding and jump out of an airplane. As a symbolic gesture, i decided to leave a few things left undone this trip. Virginia is close enough that I can drive back there on a long weekend and climb Mt Rogers or go horseback riding or jump out of an airplane (I did really want to go Sky diving, but President Obama was flying to Richmond or something and they restricted the airspace in northern Virginia for the entire afternoon so they canceled my jump...I guess it wasn't in the stars).

Instead, I hopped back on the Blue Ridge parkway and connected with the skyline drive for one last scenic drive.

I also stopped at "Natural Bridge" state park and the Luray Caverns before making my way up to Plains, VA to stay the night with my friend Nick.

P.S. Coast to Coast, Nick had me covered. I stayed with him in San Fran and now I stayed with him in Virginia...thanks again bro.

P.P.S Anyone ever see a car explode?

I will fill in more details tonight...I just stopped for some coffee on my way up north.