Lost mail

Apparently a lot of the mail I sent didn't go out, because I sent it on Canadian post cards (which apparently are slightly larger and don't qualify for the post card stamps I put on them).

So, if you gave me your address, or would like me to mail you (even again!) please text me your address, or if I got your address, just let me know I haven't mailed you!

7325019544

One Love,
Brett

I'm afforded virtually no free time

Sorry I haven't written here in a while, but I get basically no free time. The summer is great, the kids are great and the stuff I'm doing is unreal. I'm sure after the trip I'll provide a huge update. Until then, here are the mailing instructions (again)

real quick I'll give you guys the login for the pictures
check out atwteentours.com and go to the summer pictures login, the password is sz1108

The following are instructions for how to mail me:
Please address all mail to "American Trails West #11" followed by the address (as though the person you were writing to was "American Trails West #11"). In the bottom left corner, please write my full name (Brett Burk) and underneath that write "Hold For Arrival". Allow at least one week for the mail to reach its destination (unless you write me while I'm in Canada, in which case give it 12 days). You can't fedex/ups anything, only the USPS can send to postal boxes.

July 12
kamloops
Hampton Inn
1245 Rogers Way
Kamloops, B.C.
Canada V1S 1R9

July 13-14
Whistler Resort
Delta Whistler Village Suites
4308 Main Street
Whistler, British Columbia
Canada V0N 1B4

July 15-16
Seattle
University of Washington
McCarty Hall
Box 354470
Seattle, WA 98195

July 17-18
Portland
Embassy Suites Hotel
9000 SW Washington Square Road
Tigard, OR 97223

July 19-20
Lake Tahoe
Lakeland Village Beach Resort
3535 Lake Tahoe Boulevard
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150

July 21-23
San Francisco
Hyatt at Fisherman's Wharf
555 North Point Street
San Francisco, CA 94133

July 24-26
Los Angeles
UCLA
Saxon Suites-Reiber Vista
310 DeNeve Drive, 131607
Los Angeles, CA 90024-1316

July 27-28
San Diego
Embassy Suites
4550 La Jolla Village Drive
San Diego, CA 92122

July 29-30
Palm Springs Resort
Renaissance Esmeralda Resort
44-400 Indian Wells Lane
Indian Wells, CA 92210

July 31-August 1
Las Vegas
Monte Carlo Resort
3770 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109

August 2-4
Zion National Park/Bryce Canyon National Park/Grand Canyon National Park
Bryce/Zion KOA
PO Box 189
Glendale, UT 84729

August 5-6
Salt Lake City
Marriott Spring Hill Suites
625 South 300 West
Salt Lake City, UT 84105

I'll be arriving in Newark on the 7th

woods blogging

hanging out right now, did all the shopping for the trip ($2400 at Walmart). Tomorrow we get the kids.

Home

So, I forgot to update this earlier today which means that this will be briefer than I'd like.

My sister and I rolled through a bunch of shady hotels and saw a bunch of goofy people (dude in an all white suit with a giant hood walking up the road in death valley was pretty interesting) but the trip definitely climaxed in New Orleans.

We got in after a wonderful drive through LA, probably the most scenic (I love the creeping vines and the fullness of the trees on the road-the bridges over the swamps were sweet too). We got a pretty good deal at the hotel, hung out for a bit and headed out to Acme (not a grocery store) for dinner, which I'd definitely recommend if you're in the area. We got delicious oysters and I ate a fried crab-they literally dip the whole thing in batter and fry it- it sits on your plate and looks exactly like a crab, kind of intimidating for a former vegan to bite into, but I got over it and it was DELICIOUS. We headed over to Bourbon street and got drunk, my sister went back to the hotel and I met a bunch of cool people and saw all sorts of whacky stuff going on.

The next day I woke up early and went to the Insecatrium which was cool, albeit a little pricey. I was a little disappointed until I went into the butterfly room, which made the whole thing worthwhile. I hit the stationary bike in the gym, which I needed (I've put on a few pounds due to my inactivity behind the wheel). My sister and I then went to WINO (Wine Institute New Orleans) and she taught me a lot about wine-she took both Wine Tasting and Advanced Wine Tasting at Stanford. I went out while my sister went to sleep and met more weird people and decided that at some point in my life I'd like to live in NO, I think it might have been the miniature horses, but it may have been the fine southern gentlemen in white tuxedos.

The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful, aside from the characters we'd run into at truck stops (there are ALWAYS characters at truck stops I've come to learn). I got some good inspiration for a story I'm writing from this trip and the people.

We got in last night at 1am and today I went bike riding and hung out and tomorrow I'm flying to Denver. I've been told that there have already been a bunch of letters sent out to me, which I'm super pumped on.

One Love,
Brett

back home

made it to Jersey. updates tomorrow (I lost my cell phone charger and camera cord so it looks like no pictures at the moment).

Da souf

Yosemite was really cool, tons of waterfalls and a few short hikes with my pops. 3,000 year old trees and going from 0 elevation to 9,000 feet is pretty intense. Hung out and got some reading done there.
My sister and I got on the road Wednesday Morning and drove and drove and drove and drove. We passed through Death Valley, which was gorgeous but incredibly empty. There were cacti everywhere and the elevation changes were very extreme, but it it was mega cool to pass through. The gas was $6.75/gal, luckily we filled up before we entered the park.
We went to Vegas for dinner, which was a cool place to stop off in (I'll be back later this summer) and chilled out for a bit, before continuing on to AZ. We went over the Hoover Dam at night which was pretty impressive, but we weren't really all that concerned. I stopped at a rest stop and was using a urinal and upon looking down I saw a foot long snake (this is not a crude joke). It scared the crap out of me, I told the lady who worked there and she gave me a box which I used to pick it up and take it outside. Apparently it was a Red Racer, which is not poisonous, although the lady kept insisting it was. We slept in a ratty hotel in Wickenberg, AZ.
Yesterday we got up and put in a bunch of hours on the road, We passed through Phoenix and Tucson as well as all of New Mexico (which was really boring on rt 10). We also made it through El Paso, but I was either asleep or not paying attention and couldn't tell you anything about it.

Today is one more full day of driving before we arrive in New Orleans to party for a minute before heading straight up to Jersey.

ONE LOVE,
Brett

from the left side

It's 7:30 AM here on 6/16 in Palo Alto.
Yesterday was my sister's graduation ceremony. Oprah was the commencement speaker and she is a wonderful public orator although her personal philosophy leaves much to be desired. She did tell some wonderful asides and attempted to push philanthropy on all the Stanford graduates, which can only be a positive thing. We then went to one of Maura's friend's houses before dinner and chatted with them in their gorgeous backyard. The Indian food we ate afterwards was fantastic.

Now I'm going to go help my sister pack up the rest of her life before we get on the Road to Yosemite, where we'll spend the rest of today, all day tomorrow and then depart for our cross-country trip on wednesday-I think we're taking route 10.

Pictures whenever I get near a computer I can plug my camera into

One Love,
Brett