November 12, 2008
There are only 2 ways into Tucson from the rest of the U.S. so the last part of any journey is over well traveled, and well documented, Interstate road. We spend the time finishing up any audio book we might be listening to, reminiscing our travel adventures, and creating the “lists” for posterity.
So, for the results of our one lap of America 2008 here are the Lists:
10 BEST Experiences (15, really as we are overachievers)
1. The weeklong gathering of the Culver’s, Davis’, Kendall’s and us in Maine. Having memories of this is priceless. In years to come we will all remember Peter’s singing into the kitchen faucet.
2. Meeting Jim & Lori Evilsizer in Spragueville, IA, while searching for an out of the way cemetery. This couple quickly became friends and went out of their way to help perfect strangers just passing by.
3. Freezing in the wind and rain on Mt. Washington, N.H. Had the weather been perfect it would just have been an event, but add in the elements and it was memorable. The movie they show at the top of the mountain still brings me chuckles.
4. Big Horn National Park in Wyoming. We almost missed the entire state in our trip planning except for Nathan’s observation so driving through this park in eastern WY made it doubly good.
5. Hundreds of Buffalo in Teddy Roosevelt National Monument. Yellowstone may have a few Buffalo, but to really get a feel for the old west you need to travel a little further up the road.
6. Frank Lloyd Wright Houses in IA, IL, & PA. FLW homes have been a favorite of ours for a long time and this trip gave us the opportunity to see many of his works including his own home/studio in Oak Park, IL and the famous Fallingwater in PA. We purchased a field guide of all of his works so that we could find more out of the way designs to further expand our inventory.
7. The walking tour of Chicago’s near north side, or as we remember it, the “Foodie” tour. Strolling along with a guide leading the way to small food purveyors for an afternoon was just right.
8. The Blue Bird Cafe in Nashville, TN. From a comment by a fellow walker on item #8 above, this country music writers hangout was a most memorable evening of intimate exposure to some very talented folk.
9. An entire week in Washington, DC. Having a townhouse within easy walking distance to the famous quadrangle gave us opportunities to see parts of this city that would take many trips in a more traditional fashion. We could set a plan in the morning and change our minds without worry about transportation or lodging. A subset for me was Ginger’s treat at Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant for my birthday.
10. Fresh Shrimp in South Carolina. About 3 miles from our cottage was the shrimp boat dock and sales shed. The best shrimp we have ever had moved 20 feet from the boat to us.
11. Going to a play in Chicago’s “Loop”. Scoring cheap tickets to Jersey Boys only made this experience more enjoyable. Once in a while it is fun to be urban grown ups and going to the play gave us this opportunity. Afterwards walking to the car park under the famous “L” tracks among the tall buildings rekindled memories.
12. Traveling the Freedom Route from Montgomery to Selma, AL. Civil Rights progress is vividly on display in museums and the memorials along this route for a moving experience.
13. A leisurely lunch at an inn in Vermont. We came across the oldest continuously operating inn in VT by chance and it was a delight. Sitting in surroundings that other travelers had for over 200 years allows for conjuring stories of old.
14. Eating the famous Maine Lobster Roll. Red’s Lobster Shack in Wicasset is the place to go for the absolute best in our opinion. More lobster than should be eaten at one sitting leads to Item #1 of our 5 Things we learned category.
15. Walking on the beach in South Carolina. After many years and many attempts around the world, we finally got our own private beach. Someone passing by our window was an event to be noticed and our own walks went a mile each way without people.
6 Things we Learned
1. You can get too much Lobster. It is hard, but generous portions and friends urgings will take you to the pinnacle of lobster overdose.
2. Just because there are nice cars in front of a cafe doesn’t mean it’s good food. The Sunrise Cafe in Fulton, IL had this phenomenon. Potato soup was along the lines of library paste and the salad came from a bag.
3. Boiled Peanuts aren’t all that good if you are a Yankee. We thought they tasted like soft chick peas.
4. We are not cut out for 2 weeks without TV or Internet access. Both Wisconsin and South Carolina had barriers to our entertainment “fix” requirements. We did, however, need to become creative, so it wasn’t a total bust.
5. Interstate roads are in worse shape than backroads. It looks like the States have repaved the local roads as traffic has shifted to the Interstates and they are really in good shape.
6. Audio books are a must during Interstate travel, preferably good ones. After the changing scenes of local roads, Interstate travel is boring and a diversion is required. We also sang to the I-Pod tunes at times.
1 MOST SCARY Thing
1. Being next to the ocean in a storm with a precarious house. Some natural calamities occur quickly like tornadoes and earthquakes with little warning and a person’s reaction is likely to be short. The storm we were in took several hours to unfold yet the effects were beginning to look as devastating. Making the decision to abandon “ship” with water piling up all around was an experience not forgotten.
In summary, we rolled up almost 15,000 miles this time without any car failures, tire failures, dents or dings, or injuries. We attained our goal of touching every one of the lower 48 states in our journeys, and are still up for more should we get the urge. We learned a lot of stuff we didn’t know, met a lot of people who were friendly and maybe one grouch. We laughed, we cried, we pondered the events displayed before us.
America is beautiful, there is way lots to see and do. Who knows, the road beckons……
November 11, 2008
Lubbock, Texas is the birthplace of Buddy Holley, and unfortunately, his resting place, too. We zigged up here to see what this part of Texas looked like and to look at the tribute to B. H. The town has created a small park in the convention center area with a larger than life statue of Buddy surrounded by plaques of other west Texas artists such as Waylon Jennings and Mac Davis. It was interesting to note the number of well known performers from this area.
We drove west towards New Mexico in rolling countryside disputing the notion of absolutely flat terrain like further south. Upon entering New Mexico we were inundated with oil wells pumping. Literally a forest of pumps greeted us with a large number of new derricks working on wells. The fields were bustling with workers tending the “crops” of rigs. It looked like every white pickup truck in the west was working off road.
Once the oil fields ended, we drove into a scenic mountain section near Alamagordo. Curving along canyons and steep grades we first climbed to over 7200 feet to pass through a ski area and then plunged down some 10% grades to the desert floor. We didn’t realize these mountains were there and it was a nice surprise.
Our stop for the evening was Las Cruces, NM, and we were fortunate to stay in a brand new Holiday Inn Express for the election eve coverage. The new Plasma TV, some cocktails and snacks and we were all set for the big event.
November 3, 2008
Only in Texas can you drive for many days, many routes, many miles and still feel you are an underachiever. Ginger colors our daily travel routes in the map book and in most cases the various states are filling up pretty good with colors. Not Texas. Again today we travelled over 400 miles in a northwesterly direction covering mainly new ground and ending up in Lubbock.
Our route was influenced by the need to have lunch at our favorite BBQ joint, Cooper’s. We first sampled Cooper’s this past Spring during the Great Azaelea hunt and knew that should we get even close to Llano, TX we had to return. The smoked meats and ambience were as remembered and we not only stuffed ourselves , but we bought some extra for future meals at home. Our little travel refrigerator is also stuffed now.
We passed through the original Maverick, TX, an apropo item for the current environment. In the 1800’s a guy named Maverick accumulated ranch land in central Texas and started raising cattle. Apparently he did not believe in branding his cattle like the other ranchers, so when a cow was spotted wthout a brand it was called a maverick cow. Isn’t that exciting to know how mavericks came to be known?
Lubbock is in the heart of the oil well country and the wells and pumps are all over here. Activity is high in the fields even though prices are dropping. Today we saw $1.92/gal. as an all time low for the trip.
November 3, 2008
Crossing into Texas near the Gulf Coast at Beaumont we start to see the effects of the recent huricanes. The blue FEMA tarps on roofs are becomng a new landmark to sight on for damage indicators. Wind driven sheet metal must be scary during the storm as we saw huge piles of the stuff in farm fields. Trees were down everywhere and the progress on cleanup was limited to cutting the major trunks away from the roads. Lots of work to do here in the Guf still.
On a brighter note, we took a quick detour to the Blue Bell Ice Cream headquarters. Spotting a big billboard, we couldn’t resist the opportunity to sample the absolutely freshest ice cream. For a buck we got 2 scoops of our choice in a cup and I got to try a new flavor called snickerdoodle. Are you listening here Ben & Jerry’s? We reflected on our overpriced experience in Vermont one more time.
