The long trip down...

So, we obviously just arrived here in Mexico, finally... after a week and a half or so of driving.  It was a fantastic trip down though!  Got to see a bunch of this beautiful country (complete even with some parts that weren't that beautiful...), a lot of good friends and family, and had a great time doing it all.  Our route was definitely not the most direct route to Mexico, or even close, but it allowed us to see people we really wanted to see.  Our route went like this:

Albany, NY - Left Nyssa's apartment after a long few days of packing, cleaning, and moving out stuff
Utica, NY - Stayed a night with Rich's parents - great Central New York family-style Italian food and fabulous company
Butler, PA - Spent a night with Grandpa Wilson, age 95 and still as alive as ever!  Nyssa finally got to meet him and we showed up just in time to bring him to the dentist to fix a broken tooth!
Athens, OH - Got to walk through Ohio University and Rich got to meet the three people who will probably decide whether he gets the Graduate Assistantship for the program he is applying to for the fall in Recreation Studies.
Pittsburgh, PA - Spent a very fun night with our college friend Andrew and his girlfriend Toi.  Also saw the campus of Carnegie Mellon - as per request of Rev. John Knarvik, class of '72.
Baltimore, MD - Had two fun and relaxing nights with Rich's sister Sarah and her boyfriend Kevin.  Baltimore is always really fun - who doesn't love BYOB establishments, Natty Bo, and the best burger of my life... ( if you ever have the choice to have Maryland crab on a burger, do it!)
Annapolis, MD - Quick stop to have incredible crepes with Julianne!
Raleigh, NC - We spent two night with Nyssa's good friend Kate, who co-lead the trips to Ecuador that Nyssa went on while working for a summer student travel company.  Also Rich got to meet a bunch of people who work in the office for the company.  This stop was originally supposed to only be one night, but the whole South got a big storm, so we just camped out in NC.  Definitely the best place and best company to get stuck with!
Atlanta, GA - Spent a night in the fantastic hospitality of Rich's Uncle Charlie, and Aunt Laurie - we left there extremely well fed and well rested, even with sandwiches and snacks for the drive!  When we left their house it had been 48 hours since the snow had stopped and the roads still had not even been touched!!  This part took longer than originally expected due to the most snow they had gotten in over 20 years.
New Orleans, LA - The only hotel we stayed in during the whole trip - but worth it!  We were right in the French Quarter - surrounded by lots to see and do and even more to eat!  Mmm... jambalaya, gumbo, crayfish po-boys, and French donuts!
Austin, TX - We spent our last night in the states with our college friend Charlie.  Met great people and drank great beer - turns out Texas isn't so bad!

And now, here were are.  Our drive here was longer than expected but uneventful.  The border crossing went really smoothly and so did our visa's and car permit!

Just want to throw in a quick THANK YOU to everyone who fed us, housed us, or in any other way added to the success of our trip - it was awesome to see everyone and thank you all so much for your hospitality!