Where The Wild Thing Is – Westward Bound
Who: Jim May & Elise LeBlanc-turned-May
Whe: Chicago, Amtrak Sleeper Car, Tetons, Yellowstone & San Francisco
Why: Honeymoon
Highlight: Realizing that the western United States has such unique landscape compositions to rival any other landscape or ADD medication in the world.
Lowlight: Sadly, San Franciso. If you are ever going west, be sure to set the order of travel from Urban to BFE. After being in a peaceful BFE for beautiful and supercheap, being in a city is a wildly expensive and overwhelming.
True Story: In San Francisco, there is a little cafe/bar called the Buena Vista where they sell Irish coffees with Tullamore Dew whiskey. In fact, they sell so many Irish coffees that Tullamore Dew has branded a bottle exclusively for them. But when they serve it to you, it looks like a glorious whipped cream capped hot chocolate, so you might take a big enthusiastic gulp of it to chill your bones from the unexpectedly cold temperatures out there. And then everyone at the bar might look at you for the Amateur Hour you are because you start coughing up your lungs and life when very hot, very strong whiskey hits the back of your throat. True story.
St. John’s – Newfoundland, Canada
Where: St. John’s
What: Puffin Island, Whalewatcher B&B, Lighthouse Picnics, Irish Loop, Quidi Vidi Brewery & Molly Bawn Tours
Why: Birthday & Graduation Celebration
Who: Jim & Elise May
Highlight: Puffins! And whales.
Lowlight: Being on the northeasternmost point of the coast – only one day out of seven was clear enough to see past the shoreline.
Where The Wild Thing Is – Small Soldier (Afghanistan)
Photos and custom supertiny uniform courtesy of Daniel George:
Where The Wild Thing Is – Landoll’s Mohican Castle
Where: Landoll’s Mohican Castle – Loudonville, Ohio
Who: Jim May & Elise LeBlanc
Why: Birthday Field Trip
Guest Starring: High school prom goers.
Highlight: Tie between turrets and jacuzzi tub.
Lowlight: Only getting to stay a night.
True Story: This place was constructed almost entirely from fallen trees in the surrounding forest.
Where The Wild Thing Is – Hofbrauhaus
Where: Hofbrauhaus – Newport, KY
Who: Jim May & Elise LeBlanc
Why: Birthday Field Trip
Guest Starring: Souvenir steins.
Highlight: Magical glorious sauerkraut balls.
Lowlight: High winds keeping us indoors instead of the Biergarten.
True Story: After losing 20 pounds, it’s possible to maintain a three-hour buzz from 36-ounces of beer.
Where The Wild Thing Is – Cincinnati Reds
Where: Cincinnati Reds
Who: Jim May & Elise LeBlanc
Why: Birthday Field Trip
Guest Starring: Molson beer on tap.
Highlight: Men in stirrup pants.
Lowlight: Not applicable to live baseball games.
True Story: In her excitement to mug for the big-screen Fan Cam, a high school girl fell completely out of her seat while cameras were rolling.
Where The Wild Thing Is – Cincinnati Zoo
Where: Cincinnati Zoo
Who: Jim May & Elise LeBlanc
Why: Birthday Field Trip
Guest Starring: Peacocks running amok!
Highlight: Seeing a mother monkey teach her baby monkey to hold on for dear life while she was swinging 40 feet above ground.
Lowlight: The train ride didn’t have beverage service.
True Story: May in Cincinnati can be cold as balls.
Where The Wild Thing Is – Bahamian
Where: Bahamas – Nassau & Coco Cay
Who: Meredith Reese, Camila Gossage, Grace Miller & Elise LeBlanc
Why: Cruise Pit Stops
Guest Starring: Banana rum cakes.
Highlight: The Pirate Museum!
Lowlight: The Pirate Museum was closed.
True Story: If you offer, say, $20 for a knockoff leather briefcase, it is possible – and entirely likely – that a vendor will laugh at you and walk away.
Where The Wild Thing Is – The Majestic
Where: Royal Caribbean – Majesty of the Seas
Who: Meredith Reese, Camila Gossage, Grace Miller & Elise LeBlanc
Why: Bacheloreat / Eatlorette Party
Guest Starring: Catchphrase
Highlight: A guy named Billy Mayes singing Huey Lewis & The News at late-night karaoke.
Lowlight: A professional juggler.
True Story: You can automatically cut your ship bill in half by ordering hard liquor instead of frozen mixed drinks.
Where The Wild Thing Is – TMI: Miami
Where: South Beach Miami, Florida
Who: Meredith Reese, Camila Gossage, Grace Miller & Elise LeBlanc
Why: Why Not
Guest Starring: 2-liter margaritas.
Highlight: Putting contexts into situations.
Lowlight: Making isosceles triangles out of melted gum.
True Story: Four out of four travelers don’t remember what happened after 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 8th.
