Scarsdale Sisters Explore America

Straight out of their college and high school graduation robes, Scarsdale sisters Ellen and Nancy DaSilva are off to explore the glorious United States of America. Obsessed with all things America they are now driving across the USA and hitting up the greatest, most American sites. Their route began at home and included Iowa City, Minneapolis, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota, Mount Rushmore, The Grand Tetons, Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Seattle, and Mount St. Helens, Washington. They plan to wind-up their trip in Portland, Oregon.

The girls are keeping a blog to chronicle their voyage and their impressions of the sights and the cities. Here are a few entries from the blog ellenandnancyusa. Read more here:

Iowa: What a pleasantly surprising state! We woke up in Iowa City and took a brief cruise to the Old Capitol Building, which looks as though it is now part of
the University of Iowa campus. After, we drove about 45 minutes on a scenic byway to the Amana colonies. Our guidebook promised an old-fashioned, Amish like village but we thought it was more like a 21st century tourist trap. It was a beautiful drive but the destination itself was not too interesting.

The day really took a turn for the better when we rolled into Des Moines in the early afternoon. As we approached the city, the gilded domes of the Des Moines capitol building rose above the luscious fields of green and welcomed us to a pretty happening city, all things considered. (By "all things", we mean its location in the center of Iowa). Our first stop was right outside the Capitol Building, whose domes inspired Taj Mahal Déjà vu. Ellen found a car with a bumper sticker that boasted 85% ethanol gas. Then onto lunch at Dos Rios restaurant, a local eatery with Mexican inspired soups, salads and sandwiches. We both enjoyed the Ranch Salad (Lettuce, Avocado, Chorizo, Chicken, Tomato, Hard Boiled Egg and Chipotle Vinagrette).

On our way out of Des Moines, we passed by two beautiful suspension bridges that added a very modern look to the city along with many public works of art. All in all, a great and interesting stop. It's so nice to see small, modern and CLEAN cities all over America.

Mall of America: WOW! This mall is simply huge. There are no other words to describe it. As you approach this monstrosity, you see two stadium-sized parking lots on both sides of the mall. However, when we pulled into the military compound/mall, we found ourselves a parking spot right in front of the main entrance. After a standoff with a mom van, we snagged the spot, which we later found out was reserved for expecting mothers or parents with small children. We definitely qualify for the latter.

As we entered the mall, our ears were greeted by high pitched screams that were coming from the FULL SIZED amusement park in the center of the mall. We indulged ourselves and went on the Fairly-Odd Parents roller coaster ride. (Side note: we were screaming our heads off while the 6 year-old in the car with us laughed)

After our excursion in the theme park, we stopped in a few shops, found the aquarium and took some pictures in a photo booth.

St. Paul: We only had time for one tourist stop in St. Paul and that was the home of F. Scott Fitzgerald. As Ellen went into her heavenly state of mind, I took pictures of the beautiful victorian house. We're pretty sure that the house is currently occupied so we didn't try to go inside but just being there seemed to be good enough for Ellen.

Mount Rushmore: Today we had an exciting day, beginning with our entry into the lovely state of South Dakota! (Great faces, great places.) As we drove, we passed through the Black Hills National Forest, which, with its overcast sky, looked incredibly ominous.

We saw 100,000 signs for Wall Drug along the highway, which begin somewhere near the Great Wall of China and build up to the culmination in Wall, SD. This quirky drug store began as an ordinary pharmacy and now boasts a wedding chapel, an 8 foot dinosaur, a mini replica of Mount Rushmore and a fantastic bookstore. (Sounds like Nancy's room). We purchased some goodies and attempted to head out to Badlands National Park but instead ended up shielding ourselves from a lightening and hail storm on the side of the road.

The evening miraculously cleared up and we headed to Mount Rushmore. To all you naysayers out there, Mount Rushmore is awesome. We heard countless times that Mount Rushmore was a blip on the radar: that it is easy to see it, drive by and move on. Well Nancy and I had some patriotic fun and decided to stay for the speech. We were impressed with the Park Ranger who dissected the Pledge of Allegiance, and although the movie was overly politically correct and a little cheesy, we enjoyed ourselves and learned a lot. For such a touristy town (a la the hotel shaped like the White House), we thought the park was an incredibly tasteful, interesting place. Learning about the history of the construction of Mount Rushmore and the politics behind it was fascinating, and we have never been so proud to be Americans!

Read more about Nancy and Ellen's journey here: