DC today, Shenandoah NTL Park tomorrow.

What a life? My second trip is going significantly better than my last trip. Last night I did a city tour of DC and only managed to get lost once! This is a huge accomplishment for me. I'm really excited because the next four days I'll be in National Park in Virginia and Tennessee that I have never been to. It will be nice to get out of the city and finally do some real hiking and camping. I hope that I don't have any pansy asses on my trip because I'm going to hike there little tales off. My last group was still complaining by the time we got to NY about the hikes I had them do in Zion and the Grand Canyon. This group appears to be a little more athletic than my last group. At any rate, I'm really excited. We'll be in Shenandoah NTL Park, Virginia tomorrow and the Great Smoky Mountains NTL Park by Tuesday. They both look absolutely beautiful. Pictures to follow.

After the GSM Park I'm going to Nashville! Thank God I have cowboy boots! So far, I've worn my boots everyday of this trip, even though it was 100 degrees in DC today. Now, that's dedication.

Also, I destroyed my U-Haul trailer (long story), the good news is that when I got to Jersey they gave me a brand new Hallmark trailer, which is 100 times better than the old, stupid, smelly U-Hauls. I WIN!

New Jersey

I'm in Secaucus, New Jersey rapping up my last trip and getting readyfor my next trip that leaves on Friday. I had a fabulous time with my friend Brian last night. We took a bus into New York City and met one of his friends. I went to Time Square, Little Italy and China Town. The highlight was of course eating and drinking. I ate lamb in an Indian restaurant and had Tarimisu and coffee in a bakery. It was a great way to wrap up my first trip. The craziest part about my experience in NY was that I managed to run into one of the kids on my trip. There's millions of people in the city and I managed to run into one of 10 people I know in the city. Crazy! Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera so I have no photos from my time in NYC. Maybe in two weeks when I'm back.

PIC: Me and K drinking "Hand Grenades" In New Orleans. K is actually pretending like he's playing some type of horn with his cup.

Best of the East

Here is a link describing my next trip, which leaves Friday.
http://www.trekamerica.com/tours/be.html

N'Orleans - DC

GD! I have been busy. And completely tired! I am so excited that tomorrow is the last day of first trip. This trip has taught me a lot about myself and about being a leader. This job can be extremely stressful and intensely rewarding at the same time. I feel completely emotionally and physically drained, but there is no time to rest. I leave for my second trip on Friday. Next, I'm doing an "Best of the East" or "Beast" in trek lingo. Highlights include: New York, DC, Chicago, and Nashville. There is not as much hiking as I would like, but I'll take it.

Tomorrow, I drive to New Jersey and drop of my peeps. I have lots of paper work and preparation to do, but before anything else, I'm meeting up with friend Brian for some first trip cocktails.

One more thing... I love New Orleans. I would consider moving here if the weather didn't suck.

PIC: this is my group acting sad because I got them up at 5 in the morning to watch the sunrise. Best thing about my group: they weren't impressed with the Grand Canyon. I can't blame them, it's not like it one of the seven wonders of the world, or wait, YES IT IS.

My new boots!

When we got to Mexico, I told my pax that I would buy some cowboy boots and wear them everyday for the rest of the trip. I totally got the boots, but foolishly wore them without socks while in Mexico. As soon as I put them on I knew that they were for me. It was like they had a mind of their own. I couldn't stop dancing. Long story short, I danced for two hours and as a result, destroyed my feet. It was all worth it though. I've got some great pictures from our one night (4 hours) in Acuna Ciudad.

However, if I had to do this trip again, I would skip Del Rio and Mexico all together. We spent close to two hours trying to get back into the U.S. after our night out. It was kind of funny because the girl hanging us up was Canadian. In defense of customs, I think that she might be a terrorist too.

Another note about my job: tour leader is synonymous for "designated driver." I only had one margarita in Mexico. I still had a great time and we made it home safely. Kind of a new gig for me. Look for more pictures on flickr.

Day 9: We didn't get lost today

Today was a good day. I'm just barely able to start relaxing and start enjoying my trip. This job requires qualities that I didn't even know existed. This is by far the MOST challenging AND rewarding job that I have ever had. There has definitely been points during the last month where I have questioned my ability to lead. I'm pretty confident that I'm going to be a good tour leader someday but I need a lot of work. I feel kind of bad for my group, having a rookie and all, but I think that they still like me. Reasons for them to be concerned so far:

1. Drove in the wrong direction for one hour on the was to Vegas (Day 2)
2. Couldn't get any money out of the bank for our trip because the stupid state of California punched my only valid piece of picture ID when I got my commercial driver's license (Day 4)
3. Trailer became unhitched while driving (Day 5)
4. Couldn't find tour guide for our Jeep tour in Monument Valley (Day 6)
5. Couldn't find camp site, drove around for an extra hour (Day 8)

Today we left Santa Fe and arrived in Carlsbad in time to go to the Caverns, which were totally awesome (picture to follow on my flickr site). I highly recommend anybody who is in Carlsbad and has $6 to check them out.

Pic: My Van in New Mexico and my Group in Monument Valley. I have two Koreans, five Brits and one Canadian on tour with me.

Enough already....

You win! I now have pictures of my flickr site. Note: I have very little free time so I don't know when I'll be able to post more photos. My computer is kind of slow so the whole process is very time consuming. The address is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/emilyismoody/ Enjoy!

PIC: this is an old picture of Jewelz that I have had on my computer for a long time. This was from when him and Chad were living in CA.