I now have an opportunity to do the same trip, this time in reverse, and with better weather and a little more time. Right now, it’s looking like I’ll be making the voyage the last week of September.

Below, I’ve mapped out a first draft of a potential route. They key stops are marked.

View CA > NY Option #1 in a larger map

Here’s my reasoning for the stops I chose:

1. Salt Lake City, UT — 11h from Santa Clara, CA

If I could make it to Denver in one day, I probably would, but 18 hours of straight driving is a bit too much. So Salt Lake City looks like a good place to stop. I actually stopped here on my way out to California. It was beautiful in the Winter. I’d like to see how it looks in the early Fall as well. Stopping in SLC will also set me up with a nice arrival time in the Denver area…

2. Denver, CO — 7h30m from SLC

Yeah, I stopped here my last cross-country drive as well, but I like Colorado. Also, my brother lives here, so it’s a necessary stop. On top of that, I can’t think of a better way to say goodbye to some of my favorite beers, those brewed by the New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins CO, than by visiting the actual brewery for a complementary 1554 and/or seasonal brew. Unfortunately for me, they don’t distribute anywhere east of Chicago Speaking of Chicago…

3. Chicago — 14h30m from Denver

This would be my longest day of driving, but there really isn’t much between Denver and Chicago anyway. I’d like to spend at least a full day in Chicago. It’s been over three years since I’ve been there and I’m long overdue. Plus it’s the only remaining city I have left on the “Cities I need to visit in 2009″ list that I made at the beginning of the year. I also know people in Chicago, so I guess I should say hi.

4. New York, NY — 12h30m from Chicago

My new home! I’ll leave myself the option to take a detour during this stretch and stop in my hometown of Fulton, NY if needed, but it actually looks like my parents will be in NYC the same weekend that I’m arriving, so I might not have a reason to.

So that’s my first draft of the road trip schedule. I’ll probably revise it several times before I go. Do I have it all wrong? Have any other recommendations?

And the verdict is in! Austin is awesome! So much good food! I’m feeling lazy right now, so I’ll just let some pictures do the explaining:

Texas Capitol

Ate at this Mexican place my first night there. Tasty stuff.

Played some BYOB mini golf at Peter Pan Mini-Golf. I don’t think the place had been updated since the 1970′s. I think there was lead paint peeling off the statues. Didn’t matter, it was BYOB!

Proof.

Ate at the Salt Lick BBQ. All you can eat BBQ. Bring some more beer as well as an appetite.

Proof.

Picture of 6th street.

Oh, and I can’t forget about the Alamo Draft House. Go to a movie and have food and drink brought to your seat while you watch!

1. From New House 6/2008

   I moved from San Jose to Santa Clara. No longer am I living in a small two bedroom apartment in a mid 70′s architecture complex with crappy management. I now live in a spacious four bedroom modern house with a surprisingly accommodating landlord. Biggest plus: my drum set now lives in a garage instead of a living room. Woo. How about pictures from when I first moved in? How about a house warming party in the near future?

2. I’m starting a new job on Monday. Same company. Different building. Different team. Different things to do. I’m pretty pumped. I’m hoping to be doing some fun stuff and meeting a lot of new people in the new role. Of course, I’ll be certain to stay in very close contact with everyone from my old team. Not only because they are my friends, but also because they are the only people linking to my website and giving me PageRank.

And in unrelated news…as I was just about to leave work yesterday evening, I get a phone call from an old high school friend from good ol’ Fulton, NY. He tells me that he just rode his motorcycle across the country as is currently just down the road from me. It was a pleasant surprise. Beers consumed that evening: New Belgium’s seasonal Skinny Dip and Lost Coast’s Downtown Brown.

Plus I’ve actually received some comments (ok, one comment) from fellow beer fans (fan) that happened to enjoy (accidentally find) my blog.

Alas, a good enough reason to create a new category.

Not that anyone really cares.

The Bedlam in Goliath has been out for about two months now, but I just got around to listening to it. I usually “obtain” Mars Volta albums long before their releases, but after two sub-par releases, this one drifted a bit off my radar. I wish I had listened to it earlier.

This is the first release featuring acclaimed drummer, Thomas Pridgen. His influence is immediately obvious. Unlike all of Mars Volta’s previous releases, this one kicks you right in the face at 00:01 of track 1. No extended intro, no buildup. In fact, in this album they didn’t include any of the overly extended random noise that annoyed me in previous releases. Just straight up energy all the way through. It’s hard to describe something like this in words, so I encourage you to give this album a listen.

Would I consider this album better than De-Loused in the Comatorium? Hmm…I don’t know if they ever could top that masterpiece. We’ll see how I feel after a few more listens. But it’s by far their best effort since.

P.S. Here are some tips to help you truly appreciate the depth of this album:

1. Use headphones. Good headphones. Dan Chow would agree with me.
2. Adjust your EQ to either the default “Jazz” setting, or adjust it to focus specifically on the extreme highs and lows.
3. Don’t multi task. Just focus on the music. In fact, turn off the lights…just don’t wait until next year’s Earth Hour.
4. Take the time to separate the instruments in your mind for a bit. There’s a lot going on at once.
5. Drink a tasty beer or two. Because, why not??

Last September, I made a trip out to Denver, CO to visit my brother and cousin. I did a lot of fun stuff while out there, but by far the highlight of the trip was a tour of the New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins. Anyone that knows me personally will tell you that I act like a living advertisement for this company. I show up to every social situation with at least a sixer of New Belgium Beer with me, usually Fat Tire or 1554. Yeah, it can be awkward at first when I show with beer at my Grandma’s birthday party, but it usually helps gets the rowdiness started.

New Belgium also has an amazing reputation as a trend-setting environmentally conscious company. I encourage you to read about their commitment to sustainability.

OK, picture time.

Proof I was there, and that I can ride a bike.

A view from the outside.

The bar. I’m guessing this is what Heaven looks like.

Blue Paddle, 1554, Abbey, Trippel…did I mention this was all free?

A random view from behind the bar.

There was funky stuff all over the place, like this muralesque thingy.

Shiny vats. I believe this is where the magic happens.

Correction. THIS is where the magic happens.

A crappy picture of the bottling line, with floating ghost people.

Silos of some sort outside. I’m assuming these are filled with deliciousness.

So a few weeks back while perusing the craft brews aisle in Bevmo, and finding myself indecisive as usual, something caught my eye at the far end of the shelf:

It’s called Chili Beer. Yes, those are chili peppers floating inside. And they’re not just for looks — the beer has a distinct chili pepper taste. And despite the incredibly annoying website, the beer is delicious. Once you get past the initial moment of surprise when a strange, slimy object tries to slide into your mouth mid-gulp, you’ll be hooked. I’ll definitely buy some more next time I go to Bevmo.

Why can’t more products in other stores I go to be more like Chili Beer? It’s not that hard, just make something different and intriguing, and I’ll buy it.

And then I’ll blog about it. And then people still stop bugging me to write blog posts.