Yes, another long day. Driving was monotonous except for the instant blizzard in which visibility was down to a couple hundred feet. Wasn’t perfectly vibing off the music of the day.
Started the day off with an extremely empty gas tank. Filled it up with the only non locking gas nozzle on the trip. I would encounter another one later in the day when I filled the tank as full as possible. More in a bit. I also stopped at the Largest WalMart On The Planet. No idea why it’s in Latham New York, but it is! It was essentially a regular Walmart but with more space between the aisles. And a second floor. I suppose I wasn’t expecting much but I was still disappointed.
After a couple of hours driving I stopped to see the Irish Stoplight. Many Irish helped build the Erie canal, and when it was done, a good few of them settled in Syracuse New York. There was a squabble about the green light on a stoplight being the bottom, and lesser somehow than the British, so they fought for a reversed order to the colors on this particular light. Eventually it settled down and we now have a light that’s reversed.
Was going to go to Niagara Falls and I heard the view was better from the Canadian side. After going through the border and talking to a delightful border guard (accent and all) I followed the signs. I was stressing a bit because I had a deadline I was trying to make so I could do my therapy call from the hotel. The drive was taking much longer to get to the falls, and when I got to the area parking was confusing and hard to find. I ended up going in the opposite direction so I just pulled over, took a few pictures, and went on my way. I’m sure it’s amazing, and I’m sure I would be impressed if I had more time and got closer.
As it turned out, my deadline was early by half an hour. But I made it to the hotel with a bit of time to spare. Luckily I had the extra time to be able to get gas, as I had been neglecting that for many, many miles. So much so in fact that I got down to 6 miles worth remaining. And then it was suddenly 2. But when I got off the highway it was back to 4. By the time I located the closest gas station it was down to 1. And as I pulled in, the car gave up telling me and just showed “–” – I put exactly 40 liters in, and I have a feeling that’s the exact size of my tank. So much for my early trip rule about “half means empty” in order to always have half a tank at the ready.
Tomorrow it’s straight through to my sister’s house where I’ll take a zero day. And then it’s the short long drive home.
Deets
License Plates: collection complete
States: NY, Ontario
Countries seen so far: US, MX, CA
Departed: 7:56 am EST, 32 degrees
Original ETA 1:40 pm EST
Arrival: 4:30 pm EST
Warmest/Coldest: Death Valley 90°, Hamilton ON 12°
Weather: Bright and Cold, then low visibility blizzard, then Partly sunny and cold
Music:
Moxy Fruvous – Bargainville
Moby – Moby
M.I.A. – Kala
Muppets – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (new movie)
Walk off the Earth – Sing it all away
Mix
Observations
Fleeing the country was easier than I thought
Canadian interstates are just like US interstates, but I can go 110 instead of 65. Also, drivers are more polite.
Pictures
keyword: StyleMy hotel room has no less than three hockey memorabiliaMy view during the storm
Another late-ish start to the day, but it was a short one. I added a few stops last night, thanks to Atlas Obscura. No issues, no major complaints about the drive except for the usual slow drivers. And more of the right lane avoidance. Three lanes, keep right except to pass. That should result in trucks on the right, sleepy drivers in the middle, passers on the left. But no, nobody wants to be in the far right lane. Weird.
Not sure if I mentioned this yesterday, but it is now a roadtrip. Before it was a quest, a hero’s journey, or my favorite from the Native Americans – Crying for a dream. But now it is a journey home, over roads familiar, through environments like those I am from. No pondering the mountains in the distance or being constantly amazed by the ocean. Now it’s trees and this local regions gas station flavor. It’s ok, I’m good at road trips. I’ve broken the long days up into multi hour segments separated by what I am now calling stopportunities. I think it’ll catch on.
Titanic Museum
I was going to go to the Titanic Museum, or at least do a drive by, but after too much time on a very stoppy state highway, I bailed. I don’t know that I was that excited about it anyway, as the description even smelled dusty, and I wasn’t ready to spend time shuffling around a museum with the one volunteer watching me, waiting to pounce the moment I had a question.
Stockbridge and Alice’s Restaurant
I was interested in this one. The Arlo Guthrie song “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” is an old favorite. It’s just a great yarn and then there’s an infrequent chorus everyone (else) can sing along to. So when Atlas Obscura let me know the original restaurant site was on my route — I was in! It’s not the original restaurant, but it’s on the original site. And they play it up. There’s a restaurant there, but it’s not Alice’s. In fact, it belongs to nobody. It’s permanently closed. After finding a parking spot in the charming little village of Stockbridge, then wandering around until I found a sign pointing down an alley, I came upon the restaurant. Which wasn’t anymore. Looked like a nice place when it was there. Just a locked door now.
Stockbridge is like walking onto the set of a Hallmark Christmas Love Story Made For TV Movie. Bright white snow, probably about 6 inches of it. Sidewalks and streets wet but cleared, no ice. The buildings are quaint old wooden classics, the main street angle parking. There were people walking in their heavy winter coats walking their dogs. Cheerfully crossing the street or looking in a shop window. Of course they all said hi to each other. It was a nightmare. I’ll admit I haven’t gotten into the Christmas or winter mood yet, but it’ll happen over the next week.
Arrowhead
I lied. Moby Dick wasn’t written in New Bedford. It may as well have been, and it was indeed set there. But the actual writing of it happened at a place called Arrowhead in Pittsfield Massachusetts. Another Obscura find, I knew I needed to see it. I also knew it was going to be closed, but that was okay. Just seeing it and hearing the woods around it was enough. I could imagine Herman coming out the side door to tend to the animals (it was a farm) before going back in and continuing to write the Great American (whaling) Novel.
Had it been open, I would have looked at every little thing, map, chair and whatever else they had for me. And if there was a gift shop, it would have ended with a loud noise and a heavy bag. The Moby Dick shoestring set, the Captain Ahab bath toys, and of course the Herman and Elizabeth salt and pepper shakers. Can’t find any more Meville fun on the way home, but I’ve had plenty so far.
Deets
License Plates: collection complete
States: MA, RI, MA, NY
Departed: 8:59 am EST, 38 degrees
Original ETA 1:38 pm EST
Arrival: 2:30 pm EST
Warmest/Coldest: Death Valley 90°, Wallace ID 22°
Weather: Bright, cold
Music:
Boston – Boston
Golden Earring – Greatest Hits
Huey Lewis – Greatest Hits
TOTO – Essential TOTO
David Bowie – Let’s Dance
David Bowie – Tonight
Observations
Hit 9,000 miles!
Ear pop!
Sign: 1290 Feet, Higest elevation on I-90 east of South Dakota
It’s all downhill from here!
Light snow on ground, then by Stockbridge around 6 inches of heavy snow on the ground, streets and sidewalks completely cleared.
So many Subaru vehicles here!
Sign: Climbing lane ahead. (instead of passing lane)
Sign: Abode of the Message – a Sufi center for study and worship
Pictures
StockbridgeStockbridge and Alice’s signPermanently Closed.Arrowhead
Back on the road properly after luxuriating with fresh home brewed coffee from my sister. We pored over the weather and decided it might just not be big deal. My other sister called by sheer coincidence, and she lives in a complicated weather location on the great lakes. She still had some words of caution, but in the end I decided to forge on to New Bedford MA, as it has been my literal white whale for some time. Every time I got close to going, something threw me off. With the mission statement of this trip being “when are you going to have this opportunity?” it was a done deal. I might not be by here for a long while and I just felt the need to make it happen. Moby Dick is one of my favorite books, and I have read it more than once. It’s my comfort tome, in some ways. The combination of the ocean, boats, and daring do is just too much for me. New Bedford is where Melville wrote the book, and it’s where the story begins.
The drive itself was short and a bit monotonous. It was full on pouring rain the whole way, but the temperature started modest and just rose from there. I encountered no ice, though the wipeout crash on the bridge make me pause. I’m guessing it was distracted driving combined with hydroplaning or a quick jerk of the wheel. It did not look like anyone was hurt.
I stopped along the way at a park that Atlas Obscura pointed out. There were two troll sculptures, and if it wasn’t raining or too muddy I was going to do my best to see both of them. Unfortunately, it was coming down in buckets when I got there. I could see one from the road on which there was absolutely no parking for hundreds of yards. The other was down the muddy trail and I wasn’t up for it. The rest of the largish park was empty. Rain.
My cough is at its bitter end and my drive mojo is back in full swing. It’s nice to be in the familiar sterile comfort of a hotel room. Though at my current rate, it’s likely I’ll be in my own bed in a week’s time. Not sure how I feel about that. I welcome it and I fear it. But let’s put that off for a while. By the math, if I took the absolutely straightest drive home right now, I would exceed 10,000 miles. So that’s awesome. I look forward to the grand total!
New Bedford Whaling Museum
As I said, the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park contains the New Bedford Whaling Museum and a number of other locations in a small chunk of town that has been kept fairly pristine. Cobblestone roads, narrow as can be. Old buildings and the vibe that a gruff sailor in a heavy coat is going to brush past you on the way to the whaling ship he’s been signed on to. The vast majority of the shops and buildings were closed, mostly because it was after 3 on a Tuesday in shoulder season. I expected little. The museum was open, though, and I loved exploring there.
In the lobby are two whale skeletons suspended from the ceiling. One of them is of a humpback, and the other is one of five blue whale skeletons on display – in the world! The whale had been injured, died, and washed up in New Bedford a number of years ago. The skeleton had been preserved for the museum, and after an extensive period drying them out and getting the oil out of them, here they hang. Whale bones are so completely saturated with oil that these bones are still occasionally dripping out to this day.
There were various scrimshaw displays, cultural pieces and discussion not just of the European whalers, but the local native populations as well as whalers from the Azores. Portugal populated the islands and by the time the whalers came to trade, local men sought out positions on the boats. As a result New Bedford has a huge Portuguese restaurant scene.
Plenty of information about the business of whaling, both in the financial sense and in the functional sense. I’ve very familiar with the mechanics of whale hunting, but I was excited to read the small bits of information that I had never known. At some point captains wives began going on the whaling voyages. Something I would like to investigate some more. No books in the gift shop on that!
They have a half scale sailing vessel on display, and surrounded by supporting exhibits – you can even climb aboard, though there is an awful lot of ducking involved. The gallery the ship was in was very distinguished and complemented the material and ship well.
Thoroughly enjoyed the museum and would love to come back. I could spend a week at the National Park and all of the other sights in New Bedford. So glad I came!
Tomorrow: Off to Troy New York to see my eldest daughter! I am now hitting Atlas Obscura to find some distractions along the way.
Deets
License Plates: collection complete
States: RI, MA
Departed: 10:23 am EST, 34 degrees
Original ETA 1:27 pm EST
Arrival: 2:00 pm EST
Warmest/Coldest: Death Valley 90°, Wallace ID 22°
Weather: Rain
Music:
Massive Attack – Blue Lines
Morphine – Cure for Pain
Bis – Return to Central
General Public – All the Rage
Zero 7 – Simple Things
Mix
Observations
Stopped along the way to see some troll sculptures in the woods, but it was raining hard. Got to see one, the other was down a muddy path.
I apparently have “distance callouses” – anything under a couple hundred miles just flies by. I almost missed two turns at 28 and 50 miles today.
More Point Break vibes driving near big water in the pouring rain. I still do not look like Keanu Reeves
Saw a spinout crash on a bridge today. Bridges ice before roads, you know.
Pictures
New Bedford HarborNew Bedford HarborNew Bedford, the old townTroll!, approximately two and a half Roberts tallWhale skeleton that drips oil
Welcome back to the trip! After a nice long rest, I am recharged and ready to go! slowly on the mend and getting back into the swing of things. My excitement is tempered by my remaining cough and the impending weather. Had a great time with family, and I have some cool stops coming up, but I have to say I’m slowly getting ready to be home, no matter how good or bad that will be. Today took me through six(!) states, and I finished my collection state license plates with Rhode Island, parked right next to me at a rest area. I managed to turn a 4 hour drive into a 6 1/2 hour drive – I think I’m surprised it wasn’t longer. For being a straight shot from Maryland to Connecticut, I found a few things to keep me busy. First of all..
The Lowest Highest Point! (not really)
There’s a band called Moxy Fruvous. They’ were a witty Canadian band, and everyone in my little family love them. Their album “Live Noise” includes a track called “Lowest highest point.” Check it out:
The bit being an improv in which that quiz the audience on which state has the lowest “highest point” — and in the end reveal that it is Delaware. This is wrong, of course, as it’s Florida. But it’s a funny bit. I was trying to find a way to add Pennsylvania to my list of states, and I didn’t like the idea of crossing a bridge, turning around, and declaring myself a native of that state. I wanted a reason to be there. So lo and behold I find that Delaware’s highest point it a literal stones throw from Pennsylvania, and I would have to go to there to get to the landmark. And so it was.
I did get to go on some cool back roads to get there, which is where I got the covered bridge merit badge. I also got to covered some ground on some proper twisties. The wrinkle being the elevation changes. It’s fun to go side by side, or do it on a grade uphill or down, like the coast. But these had pure stomach dropping upsdy daisy twisties! Although then you go over the top you rise up a bit and lose some amount of traction. Frightful. Photo at the bottom and the top.
The next exciting portion of the drive was..
Manhattan
I have always thought it would be. a cool urban exploration to go from Battery Park on Manhattan to the northernmost point. One. Stoplight. At. A. Time. Of course I know this is silly, and it would get mind numbing chewing your way through traffic. But I still want to do it.
Today I did a reasonable variant. I think enough to satisfy the itch. I mean, when am I going to be back with free time and a MINI? So here was the journey: Holland Tunnel into SOHO, did a Washington Square drive-by, then over to the West Village to wave to the Stonewall Inn, then took a right turn but the wrong way onto a one way followed by the fastest MINI u-turn ever. Spun up through Chelsea, passed through Hudson Yards and ended up on Henry Hudson Parkway off the north end of the island.
So much fun! No accidents. I got honked at cutting someone off (on purpose) and I honked at someone sleeping at a green light. I saw what I believe might have been a legal parking space, watched very large vehicles just go busting into intersections like they knew just how much mass they had.
It wasn’t end to end but it was a good taste, without any of the insanity of the busier parts of the city. Sure was nice having a little MINI in those tight streets!
Losses
I haven’t had many losses on the trip, but I have had three important ones. The first are my favorite pajama pants. I forgot them on the bed in the Hotel Del Sol in San Francisco, mostly because it was a suite and I didn’t hit the bedroom comprehensively in the final sweet. I did get replacements at a Target some time after that but they’re not the same. Sung to the tune of “I left my pj’s in San Francisco”
The next is exfoliant. I feel it’s a luxury, and I use it at home when I shower. But I didn’t bring any along as I figured I could live without for a month. As it turns out it’s a much bigger part of my acne prevention system than I realized. One of my meds has the side effect of excruciatingly painful cystic acne, as well as good old fashioned teenager facial acne. And the exfoliant (along with Benzoyl Peroxide and/or Retin-A and cleansing pads all combine to make things as stable as possible. Yeah, it’s more than you wanted to know. And yet here you are, reading away.
So I stopped at a CVS or something and got some of my favorite kind. Awesome. Remember how I use it in the shower? Yeah, that’s where I left it. Can’t remember where. Rinse and Repeat in Monterey. Got some, left some. Got some more and left it in New Orleans. Got some more and still have it. Pray til the end of the trip. Yes, it’s expensive, but it makes things less worse.
And now to the rings. I have a VNS (look it up I’m not explaining it here) and in order to turn it off when I need, I have a “medical magnet” that I hold up to my chest. It pulls a reed switch which deactivates it for that five minute period. Well, smarty pants me figured out you could use a magicians ring. It’s a ring magicians use to palm coins and other metal things. So I wear it, wave it past my chest, and boom no more electrical infusion. I wore one and packed two more. The problem is that they’re hematite or something similar, which makes them brittle. Drop them on the ground and they’re done for. The first went some time after Florida. the second in Maryland minutes after telling my sister about how it was great I had spares. So I’m down to one now, but ordered some more for when I get home.
Thankful that’s all I’ve lost. Except tomorrow when I realize I forgot my boots at my sisters on her radiator. I hope that doesn’t happen.
Up Next
I knew this portion of the trip (the last leg of five) was going to be the most volatile. Winter weather can be so varied and unpredictable. I have a hard deadline of the 9th of December, as I have appointments on the 10th that I must be at. As it stands I’m set up to arrive home on the afternoon of the 9th. I only have one zero day in there, and it’s at my sisters so I can’t sacrifice it. There’s a storm coming, but predictions are still haphazard at best. The clincher looks like it’s Wednesday night. Albany has multiple inches predicted, and it’s right about the time I’d be getting there. There’s also a cut through Canada, though the border is usually not that bad, what if we add weather? The closer I get to home the fewer manipulations I can do to make up for unforeseen issues. Though I do have one last stop at the edge of Wisconsin that I could skip. It would make for a nightmare drive, but I’ve done it before. Some spoilers there but not too many!
Tomorrow we get back on track. After a lovely stay with my brother and his family, I am ready to get going. I’m telling that to myself. I’m tired, I’m not necessarily in the best head space, it’s cold and getting colder, and the endpoint is home. Home where I don’t want to face reality.
I am excited for many of my stops. There is no “great crossing” here. There may not be oceans or deserts, but there will be great lakes, and hints of mountains. I have repacked my storage bins and sorted winter clothes to the suitcase. Big winter coat is out, and all sweaters are in play. In repacking I grabbed all of the magnets so far and stashed them together. I didn’t look at them, but it’s a nice thick pile of souvenirs. In the license plate game I have yet to get much of New England, which I will solve soon. But Kentucky remains elusive. Getting nervous on that one.
My time with family has been wonderful, and having five zero days in a row has been great. I happened to score a bout of the coughing flu: Sore throat, cough, aches, maybe a hint of fever. A full course of NyQuil and I’ll be right as rain. By the time I leave I’ll be really and fit. I’m actually happy it happened this way – being sick on the road would be a real challenge. Daughter drove my MINI when we went to Washington D.C. and thought it was quite fun! That was great to witness.
I am not getting into the Christmas Spirit very well. When I get home I’ll put up my tree and start planning gifts and that will do it. But having come from the desert it’s hard to believe we’re in snow and Santa season. Even here in Maryland it’s a little too green to fully engage with the Christmas carols.
The Next Ten Days
Oops, there’s a spoiler. You now know my end date. I have appointments on the 10th of December, so I have to be back by the 9th. The 8th would be awesome, but whatever. Not sure if I mentioned all of that before. In two days I will begin to hear west homeward, but there will be some fun stuff in there. Connecticut tomorrow to stay with my sister, and then full on tourism from there.
Schedule is flexible enough that I can eliminate days, stops, states, whatever it takes in case of weather. I’m hoping weather goes well. I have new winter worthy tires, a lifetime of experience driving in snow and on ice, and a boatload of determination. Of course that doesn’t help all the time.
I’ll see you on Connecticut!
Deets
States: MD, VA
Weather: Clear, sunny, cloudy, apparently some rain. Temps ranging fro “brisk” to “cold” in Minnesota parlance. And “cold” in Minnesota is nowhere near actual really cold.
Observations
Thanksgiving is good
You sure can get awfully tired not doing anything
If you build your niece a three story home in Minecraft and within an hour she spills lava on it, don’t build her a new one.
Pictures
Where the daughter worksHome of the Post Office Musem, for my friend Angel who is in fact, a postman.The license plate game completed in one go!Daughter in Laurie Anderson’s “Four Talks” installation at the Hirshhorn.
Got to my hotel on Chincoteague island but I was a bit early so I thought I’d get some lunch. Nobody open. McDonald’s was even closed. But there were cars in the parking lot. It was very bizarre. Finally got to a sub shop and they told me the power was out. Blown transformer. Just the one. Power out for the whole island. That seems like a weak link there.
Back to hotel and they let me check in because they had physical keys. Went to my room and tried to nap while waiting for power to come back on. Eventually I just got way too far in my head and started to worry about the possibility the power wouldn’t come back on until morning. Need power for my CPAP and the heater in the room. The longer I wait the more night driving I would have to do if I bailed and just went to my brothers. So I reached out and they said to just come to them, that part of Maryland doesn’t have highway lights and so forth. Decision made and problem solved. So I bailed on the hotel and headed to my brother’s. It was eventually dark, and it was raining, and it seemed foggy too.
Had a great call with my therapist, managed to get a surprised “oh, huh.” out of her. Which is always good. But we covered a lot of good ground and it made my drive go by much faster. I stuck to the right lane and camped out behind slow traffic but still paid attention to the road, don’t worry.
So now I am in Baltimore, visiting family for Thanksgiving. More than a few zero days, I’ll be heading out on the 1st of December, heading north. So I’ll be picking up the blog again for sure. Until then I may have things to post and I may not. Old stories and new adventures. Not being an annoying Youtube creator – but if you subscribe you get notified when I throw a new post up.
Deets
License Plates: DE, WV, Saskatchewan
States: VA, DE, MD,
Departed: 8:20 am EST, 59 degrees
Original ETA 11:56 pm EST
Arrival: 12:00 pm EST
Warmest/Coldest: Death Valley 90°, Wallace ID 22°
Weather: Blue sky, rain, sun, chilly
Music:
Public Enemy – It takes a nation of millions to hold us back
Tricky – Maxinquaye
Edie Brickell – Shooting rubberbands at the stars
Yello – Stella
Random Mix off Yello – Sinead O’Connor, Yello, Propaganda, Art of Noise
Observations
The Chesapeake Bridge / Tunnel
Needs to have a “Do you have to pee?” sign before the last exit
I’m fine with heights, and bridges over water don’t bother me. But after 20 minutes I started to get a little twitchy being enclosed or enbridged.
It’s a cool bridge though.
Passed 8,000 miles! Doing the math and hoping I can get to 10,000 miles. It might be close, I’ll just drive around the block for a while.
Another fairly long day, interstates and state highways. Nothing unique, nothing particularly North Carolina about it. It could have been almost any state. Out west I was surrounded by massive mountains that you could see from miles away, reminding you that the earth was exploding and running into itself and pushing up huge landforms. You could see an ocean that made you realize we’re on a rock, spinning out of control through space, and on the barest surface of that rock there is some water. Water that we find to be depthless. You drive through a desert and feel the sun beat down on you, the dry air burning the moisture out of you in a way that would literally kill you given enough time. Or you may even drive through lake country, glimpsing a new lake every five miles that were the product of glaciers, impossibly large ice flows from thousands of years ago.
But the miles today and yesterday haven’t been any of that. They’re flat, no lakes, not cold but cool. And the ocean is hidden behind houses and distance. So it’s hard to stay interested. In the coming week or two I’ll be closer to the ocean, right by the Great Lakes and coming back into home territory. So hope springs eternal. Or winters eternal. I am excited to see family, and very curious to know how the last leg of the trip turns out. I can vary or eliminate destinations, days taken, distances per day, and potentially add a day or two. Luckily, I have appointments back home that drive my deadline, otherwise I would be tempted to just keep circling the country until the money runs out.
At the end of my day I got to enjoy two brilliant historic locations. And of course, you get backstory!
The Lost Colony of Roanoke
In the 1970’s there was a show called “In Search of..” hosted by Leonard Nimoy. It was all about the supernatural, the unsolved mysteries, and the myths and legends of the world. Episodes on Bigfoot, Bermuda Triangle, ESP, Dracula, and most importantly: “The Lost Colony of Roanoke.” I specifically remember watching the show with my sister, and we would be mesmerized by these exotic tales. And they were being told by Spock! But as a human! So much of my knowledge about the “other things” of the world came from that show. When someone mentions Oak Island, Bigfoot, Aliens, The shroud of Turin, D.B. Cooper — it’s too many to list. All of these things we shown to me on a black and white TV set (possibly over headphones while Dad played the piano) and they were all burned into my brain.
I was invited to a Halloween party thrown by a coworker who was fairly new. This was only about 30 years ago. Because he was new none of us from work knew his party friends, and back. I dressed as a sock, and I was the sock that was lost in the dryer. Paranormal costumes all around. But upon arrival we walk into a room with a bunch of people sitting around in a circle. I was immediately concerned. Was this a cult initiation? Was someone about to ask us if we had accepted Jesus into our hearts?
Turns out the host wanted to have something to start the party with that wasn’t just loading up on alcohol. There was that, but first, introductions and a game. We all went around and said our names, how we knew the host, and what we believed in as far as the mysteries of the universe go. In my introduction I admitted that I really don’t believe in that kind of stuff. Next, we had trivia in the realm of the paranormal and beyond. Being someone who doesn’t believe in that kind of thing..
Of course I won. Apparently I don’t believe, but I know an awful lot about it. And much of that is from Mr. Nimoy and that black and white TV.
One of the episodes that creeped me out the most, was “The Lost Colony of Roanoke.” To summarize: English dude makes three trips to new world. First, to recon, second, to set up a military fort (and then nope home with all the troops right away, and third, to settle a colony. Colony comes over on boat, lots of people get sick, you know the drill. They eventually land and set up shop on Roanoke island, and the first European to be born on North American soil, Virginia Dare, is born. One of the old white guys says he’s going to pop back to England to get more supplies, and off he goes. It was going to be a quick turnaround, but there was this pesky war, so three years later he shows up at Roanoke Island and .. nothing. Buildings taken down, people gone, anything that could be carried off was, well, off. No sign is struggle or anything. Poof, gone. Except.. on a tree nearby was the carved word: CROATOAN. Audible gasp from 8 year old me. What could this mystery word mean? Leonard spun it a bit like nobody knew. Like it could even be an alien word, or voodoo. No, it’s the name of the island next door. The one I’m on right now, in fact. Anyway, big mystery and they still don’t know what happened. Hit Wikipedia to burn a few hours on that one.
So there’s a Fort Raleigh National Historic Site on the location of the lost colony. A very nice visitor’s center with a great museum type exhibit explaining the whole story and mysteries associated. There’s a nice trail where you can see the earthwork fort that the second voyage built, rather a reproduction, but it’s on the original footprint. And there’s a lovely theater where they put on a play about the whole thing. I guess it’s quite the big deal.
The hike was nice. Placards here and there explaining things, and just a nice stroll through the woods. The same woods those colonists lived in for a time. Scary and mysterious, or beautiful and fascinating? How did they feel being on the other side of the planet from everyone and everything they knew? Like being stranded on the moon. To me they seemed like peaceful woods, and they had a wonderful smell. Sweet, with cherry or tobacco hints? I asked the ranger back at the visitor center if she knew what it was, but she didn’t.
On the drive out I wondered why they didn’t have a living history experience, with colonists dressed up and showing how they survived. And then I realized they did. With missing colonists and all. (too soon?)
Kitty Hawk and the Wright Brothers
Within gliding distance is Kitty Hawk. The Orville and Wilbur Wright National Memorial stands where they made their famous first flight. Great visitors center, again with explanatory displays and such. Really went into great depth but not boring. Lots of info about the Wright family, the iterations of the gliders and finally airplane, and a full scale recreation of the Wright Flyer, with a few actual artifacts. A piece of fabric from one of the wings, most of a propeller, and some bike parts they used for their launch rail. The brothers were big bicycling fans. Some say the brother flying the fourth and longest flight yelled “on your left!” as he whizzed past his brother.
The field is what we all come for though. There is a giant hill with a monument on it, but it’s the launch rail and stones marking flights that are really cool. They flew four times that day. The first three they actually had some hang time, but only for a hundred feet or so, a little bit more every time. The fourth flight was 852 feet, a huge improvement over the first three. Unfortunately, the plane had issues landing and then when a gust of wind hit it. There is a facsimile of the rail from which they took off, and markers at all four flight distances. The first three are sad. They’re so close! But that fourth one – walking all the way down there takes so long you have a good bit of time to think about whether or not you needed to make the walk. But you did, and it was worth it. The takeoff spot is so far away!
There is a single runway next to the field where airplanes can land and takeoff. If I had a plane of my own, that would be right up there on the todo list. It was amazing to see airplanes taking off and flying around the field where the first one flew.
I think I’m still processing this, but I felt quite a bit there. Part of it was the contemplation of what these brothers did. Years or trials and learning and work, and they made history. What have you done to make history? Somehow it felt easier to try and comprehend my life in relation to the long life of a Redwood, than to think of mine next to the Wright brothers. A truly humbling experience.
The detail I loved was the fact that they sounded like they were having fun. Yes, they wanted to prove something, but there are so many little details that show how welcoming they were to friends who wanted to visit, and how they didn’t seem to be ego driven, especially when it came to failures. What caught me the most was the propeller. It was a prop built for flying their airplane. Likely to bust and have to be remade, like any other part. But they painted it. And it had a little design on the tip. That’s not the work of someone who’s driven. That’s the work of someone who is passionate.
Deets
License Plates: None
States: NC
Departed: 8:01 am EST, 51 degrees
Original ETA 12:49 pm EST
Arrival: n/a, went to sites before arrival
Warmest/Coldest: Death Valley 90°, Wallace ID 22°
Weather: Cool, mostly sunny
Music:
U2 – Zooropa
Tori Amos – Little Earthquakes
Alanis Morissette – Jagged Little Pill
MC 900 ft Jesus – Welcome to my Dream
DJ Sammy – Heaven
Smiths – Hatful of Hollow
Eels – Souljacker
Observations
Parked next to the Wisconsin car at the Wright Brothers National Memorial
Actually paid for a National site entry finally, the Wright Brothers National Memorial
I tried figuring out where the scene from the end of Brainstorm was filmed. And found it.
Pictures
Christopher Walken.. runnenThe scene to the left was shot at the left side of this photo. The replical Flyer is just behind those windows. Movie is free on Youtube if you don’t believe me!
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Woods of the Lost Colony
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White stones mark the initial three flights, and the one way down there is the fourth
Today’s post header image is from my first night, in South Dakota. That was an awful long time ago.
If Tybee island was the middle class ocean dream holiday, then Wrightsville Beach Island is the upper classes stuffy ocean dream holiday. Honestly I haven’t seen a ton of it, so I can’t really judge it. But that’s the vibe I got. Also, the hotel room has little cards all over telling you how much the lamps cost if you want to buy one. Or the robe. Or almost anything. Feels tacky.
I was surprised to find the noise from other rooms. I was sitting on the bed writing this and other things, and I could hear the next door TV really well. I couldn’t make out the show, but there was music, and lots of talking. I was getting pretty irritated, especially given the snoot level of the hotel. I was surprised they could have such thin walls. I was about to go complain, when I tried to triangulate the sound. Which side was it coming from? Which part of the wall. The window side of the beds was pretty quiet, actually. Between the beds I could definitely hear it. And the other side of the second bed? Oh My God it was horrible. I could hear their TV as clearly as if there was a.. radio.. on the sidetable. Ok. So the room has this bluetooth speaker / radio thing, and I guess they thought it would be good vibes to have it on when I get to the room. They were wrong. Of course the upside was not having loud neighbors. I surely feel silly now!
Today’s drive was the last of the boring stretches – every stop from here on out is interesting, at least to me. It was one of the longest driving days of the trip, and honestly I worried that I was chasing miles. And chasing time. Two things in the “rules of the trip” that I have yet to publish. The state and interstate highways were fine. Not very pretty, not too busy, not too full of trucks, not too different from any other highway in any other state.
Got to have the top down for a couple hours. I have a feeling that may be the last topless time until April. We’ll see. Maybe I’ll put on the leather and fleece earflap had in Michigan and come up with my own windchill.
I am feeling the post-halfway blues a bit. Excited to see much of my family for Thanksgiving. Concerned for the remaining sections of the trip. Weather is likely to become something of an issue somewhere. I have planned everything so I can remove or swap stops on the trip, either extending or shortening the total days. I have multiple routes for most every section, and a week before the trip I got some crazy awesome tires suitable for rain, snow, heat, and maybe even gravel. I have plenty of winter clothing which I will swap out of the backseat bins when I get to my brother’s, I also have winter jacket(s) of varying intensities, and things like food and a blanket. Heck, the left bin is focused on winter gear and car safety and emergency gear. And souvenir magnets.
I will be detailing the outfitting of the car some time next weekend as I’ll have plenty of non-driving days. The magnet thing is part of my directive of souvenirs and any purchase, really. Keep it small and keep it relevant. I broke the rule twice. Once when I got the baby blue cable knit sweater at Target, since that’s a moderately large item to be adding to packing. And another time when I purchased two books in the Castro. But those go in the backpack, so they had a bit of room to spare. The books were Hemingway’s short stories, and Pink Marine. The latter is the source material for the Netflix show “boots” and it might as well be my story in the Marines, though the book focuses on the boot camp portion, and mine would focus on the end bit.
I’ve missed getting magnets for a few states, like New Mexico and Florida. If I just bolted through a state and didn’t interact with anything unique to the state, I am okay skipping. I do know that my fridge is going to be absolutely covered in magnets when I get home! At the beginning of the trip, when I was at Wall Drug which is arguably the biggest tourist souvenir mall anywhere, I looked at the shot glasses. I don’t drink, so it’s a little pointless to add to my existing collection. However, I thought it would be fun to get the same souvenir in multiple places. Visiting my sister on Mackinac Island, we see all the tourist stuff. But on the way home there’s a gigantic souvenir store, and it has many of the same things, but with just “Michigan” written on them, instead of “Mackinac Island.” Clearly the same plant in China can crank out snowglobes for anywhere. So looking at the shot glasses I found a simple metal (tin? aluminum?) model that I was sure would be everywhere else. I was only half right. I’ve found it a few times, but it’s not as ubiquitous as I had hoped. Should have gone for a snowglobe.
Tomorrow: Kitty Hawk and Roanoke Island after just a 4 hour drive. The following two days are even shorter. Love it!
Deets
License Plates: Nova Scotia, Quebec
States: SC, NC
Departed: 7:36 am EST, 65 degrees
Original ETA 4:11 pm EST
Arrival: 2:45 pm EST (not sure why the disparity)
Warmest/Coldest: Death Valley 90°, Wallace ID 22°
Weather: Gray then drizzly and intense fog, then warmer and sunny
Music:
Pop Will Eat Itself – This is the day..
Pop Will Eat Itself – Cure for Sanity
Pop Will Eat Itself – The Looks or the Lifestyle
Pop Will Eat Itself – Dos Dedos Mis Amigos
Pop Will Eat Itself – New Noise Designed by a Sadist
Extraordinary playlist, music from the BBC show
Lady Gaga – Mayhem
Depeche Mode – Music for the Masses
Observations
When there are three lanes, they don’t use the rightmost lane. The slow traffic is in the middle and faster slow traffic is in the left.
Today was the third longest day on the trip at 376 miles. The second longest was from Phoenix to Las Cruces and the third longest has yet to come…
The text I send to family was “It took a lot of driving, but I found another ocean. I don’t think this one is as big.” And here I am, on the other side of the country, staring at a beautiful ocean that I had not previously appreciated. Every other time I saw the Atlantic I think it was with a caveat – usually that there was land in between the eternal ocean and where I was. Like Chesapeake Bay. Totally huge, amazing, made out of ocean. Not going to argue that. But on the other side of the water it isn’t Europe or Africa, it’s more United States. So when you look, it isn’t into the gaping maw of tide and time. Which I require. But Tybee Island provided what I needed tonight.
Tybee Island is quite nice. It’s a standard tourist zone, except I didn’t see any fudge. The gift shops were enormous. Like taking five Mackinac Island neon shirt shops and jamming them all together. The gift shops close early and some of the restaurants don’t even try. It looks like mostly a family deal. Lots of kid safe locations and activities. But plenty of bars for Dad to sneak out to while the kids are on the beach with Mom. Or for Mom to sneak out to.
I knew Savannah was going to be on my wishlist, but I also knew I wouldn’t have a proper amount of time to explore the city. Also, had no idea where to get a hotel. So I thought I’d go with what I like, and find something near the ocean. I’m in a proper oceanside vacation hotel. It’s not new, it’s been refurbished and everything is just fine. But it’s worn. Worn in a way that you can tell even with 50 years of paint layers on it. But it’s better than bad. It just has a lot of other things in the area compete with.
I can imagine (and I think have heard in real life once) the loud volume of childen in swimsuits thumping at a full run down the hall excited to get to the beach and find some water. A similar scenario has happened here so many times. The vast majority of them being following by the “aww mom”s and other noises the kids make when mom insists they put on sunscreen. Stop wiggling.
That leads me to the glorious feeling here. It’s not really even shoulder season anymore. There are Christmas decorations up. It’s like being on the set of Ruby in Paradise (good movie, watch it. Ashley Judd’s first, I think) But it’s like the carnival is mostly up and running, but no rubes for the carnies.
I think I’ve talked about ghosts here and there, and I need to make it very clear that I don’t really believe in ghosts, exactly. For me the idea of ghosts comes more from what used to be, rather than something coming back. One of my frustrations of living in the area I grew up in is all the ghosts. 10 year old me at the main library, 25 year old me downtown Minneapolis, two months ago me in the hospital. It’s your past and it comes with you, little reminders everywhere to let you know you can’t escape who you are or were.
In this cute little tourist town I can see everywhere the tourists would be, but aren’t. I am surrounded by the ghosts of people i would wish weren’t here if they were. (it makes sense to my brain!). Where I see a couple on the sidewalk, I also imagine a crowd on the sidewalk, everyone jockeying for position or rushing to a shop, or just standing blissfully unaware looking at a map right in the middle of everything. I know this is likely a treasured tradition – driving over from Atlanta in the second week of July to the hotel your family has stayed at for decades. Relationships beginning on the beach, growing to come back with kids, and eventually a single person watching the sun set. Kids who cannot stand the idea of coming back again but ten years down the road they’re convincing their new wife why they need to vacation here.
Just like hundreds of little cities and islands and beach communities (and lake resorts and mountain cabins) all over the country. All unique in their own way, except for the fact that there is one model of snow globe that exists in at least one gift shop in all of those places. And if you bought one of each, the universe would collapse under the nostalgic weight of it all.
On top of it all, I swore I heard my name three times, and then my own voice. Til I realized my own voice was just that, my voice recorded accidentally went into playback mode. Or was it an accident? Also, I got this weird anxious feeling for a brief bit on the beach, but I’m chalking that up to high power underground cables. They can do that, you know.
Ok, moving on. It’s not a huge tourist zone near my hotel, but it’s decent. The clerk at the desk told me how to get to ocean after I asked. There’s a public pier and everything. Walked for maybe 10 minutes and there I am. It’s a typical setup. Large pavilion with ice cream vendor, burger and hot dog place, and who knows what else. Oh and loud music blaring. On my way back out I thought it was annoying and why do they have to have it on so darn loud? And then heard myself and realized I was walking by an intentional older kid friendly zone. Nice. Wandered out to the end of the pier, good number of people fishing while I took one picture of the ocean.
Looked down the beach (took picture) and figured I’d go walk down some sand. I cuffed my jeans twice and started smooshing through the sand until I realized there was a huge band of very packed sand which made strolling super comfortable. One or two small familiar, a good bunch of teens, and a few couples were out. Busy enough to feel busy but not touristed. Nice touch where the beach and pier meet the road/sidewalk: It looks like white gravel, but it’s actually a crap ton of seashells.
The sun was going down and I thought I’d watch the ocean and wait for sunset. Sat down and did just that. Eventually the sun turned red and it looked like there were other who had been waiting for this moment. Take a picture and all done. I actually took about 20, but weeded out the good one. On my way back to the hotel I stopped at a restaurant for dinner. Google reviews said reservations were all but required. I had no trouble, and I don’t think the other guy had reservations either. Mediocre burger that will prevent me from going out and getting bar burgers for another three weeks. Great Ginger Ale though!
Story Time – Hurricanes, Hot Dogs, HBO
Hurricane Iniki (/iːˈniːkiː/ ee-NEE-kee; Hawaiian: ʻiniki meaning “strong and piercing wind”) was a hurricane that struck the island of Kauaʻi on September 11, 1992. It was the most powerful hurricane to strike Hawaiʻi in recorded history. Iniki caused around $3.1 billion (1992 USD) in damage and seven deaths. This made Iniki, at the time, the costliest natural disaster on record in the state, as well as the third-costliest to hit the U.S.
In regards to the “Hurricane evacuation route” sign, it reminded me that we didn’t have an evacuation ability in Hawaii. In 1992 I was stationed on Oahu, working in the training office with a handful of other Marines. One of whom had a wife who was 14 or 15 months pregnant. He was Matt. When the hurricane warning came to Battalion, there were disaster plans taken out of dusty binders and put into effect. We had a really cool gunny in charge of us, and Matt asked if he could take off right away to board up the windows on his condo. This was the same gunny that put me in for a Naval Achievement Medal at a time when there was no way the command was going to allow that, but he did it just to stick his thumb in their eye. He did think I deserved one for my work though.
As Matt is grabbing his cover (hat) I gave him a look and he asked gunny if I could come along and help, especially since his wife couldn’t. Gunny wasn’t buying it, but I guess he rented it – he said that was fine if we come right back home after the hurricane. Matt and I were smoking buddies, he was from Milwaukee and I was from Minnesota, so we were darn near related. We hopped into his souped up whatevercar he had and made our way across the island. He made what was a 30-45 minute drive into about 20 minutes. I think everyone else was running around panicking so we could get away with it.
Conveniently, the hurricane showed up on a Friday. When we came back to base on Monday, the story we got was hilarious. Apparently they cut power to the barracks in a preparatory move. That meant the air conditioning was out. I remember something about everyone being told to store water by filling their bathtubs, but we had showers, so.. Not sure. There was something about the mess hall, too, so food was scarce, I guess.
Matt and I arrived at his condo midday on Friday. It was a nice two story thing right on the edge of a golf course, so they had a pretty view of large lawns and palm trees. We thought maybe we would hold off on plywood for the windows just yet. Also, we didn’t get any plywood. We did, however, go to their complexes pool. If you’ve never seen a woman from the air force who’s 15 or 16 months pregnant do a cannonball in a pool, you are sorely missing out. We had a lot of fun. It was getting cloudy but the wind wasn’t bad or anything.
That weekend was awesome! We had hot dogs – in fact they taught me how to microwave a hot dog and bun without making the bun gross. We watched endless movies on HBO, swam, enjoyed the air conditioning, and I think we might have had a barbecue, too. There was a point in there somewhere that it rained, and there was a good bit of wind. One of the branches of a tree on the gold course fell off. It was a lovely weekend. Sorry we missed the hurricane.
Ok, so what really happened? The hurricane hit Kauaʻi really hard, and it was a bad scene. Not trying to make like of that. Oahu really didn’t get hit hard, there were some strong winds (85mph) in some places, and the shore got beat up in a few areas. We were appreciative of the fact that it wasn’t worse.
The very next day on Waikiki they were selling “I survived Hurricane Iniki” t-shirts.
Deets
License Plates: None
States: FL, GA
Departed: 7:15 am CST, 75 degrees
Original ETA 2:15 pm EST
Arrival: 4:15 pm EST
Warmest/Coldest: Death Valley 90°, Wallace ID 22°
Weather: More clouds than blue sky, some light rain, then warm (75-80) and sunnier
Music: (as you can see, it was a long driving day)
BT – ESCM
DJ Shadow – The Private Press
Steve Miller – Best of Steve Miller
Pat Benatar – Get Nervous
Everclear – So much for the afterglow
REM – Automatic for the people
Pink Floyd – a momentary lapse of reason
Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
Public Image Limited – Public Image Limited
Soundtrack to the British TV Series Extraordinary
Observations
Interesting signs of the day
“amish stuff”
Hurricane evacuation route – I think that made me feel safer than the Tsunami signs
Speed Checked By Detection Devices – This just sounds like they’re making it up. “Yeah, we have uh, devices, that will, um, detect if you’re speeding. Yeah. Yeah those.”
Water may cover road during high tide – Some people are delayed by train crossings, others by deep snow. Ferry timing, bridges being raised, heat so hot it melts tires – these are all different reasons people are late for work. But tides? That’s a new one to me, and I think it might be my favorite, except the wise boss can tell you to find the tide tables and deal with it.
The downside to state highways: many have no rest stops, so if you have to use the restroom you’re either going to have to risk an empty field, try a church, or stop somewhere and buy something. Usually junk food and pop. (I have worked hard not to use the word “pop” or “soda” or “coke” on this trip, because I don’t want to stand out as a weirdo with pop.
That the interstate was not too bad. Fewer trucks by a long shot, and the cars were (for the most part) driven by drivers who understand the road. Except the guy in the little picking driving 40 in a 75. Yes, technically that’s legal. But not wise.
Saw my first dead armadillo, expected to see armadillos in Texas, alive or dead
Saw a dead boar or black pig, not near a pig farm as far as I could tell. I like wild boar, sounds cooler. Have not been keeping track of roadkill because I haven’t seen much exotic roadkill. Had I come across an Elk or a Dolphin or an Axolotl I would have noted it.
“Thank you farmers” sign. Like “Thank you for your service.” Is this a way to look supportive without actually doing anything? See also Disabled Veteran’s needs.
Bopping along a country road, like Fozzie and Kermit in a Studebaker, and a massive gigantic black SUV went blowing past me like they didn’t just own the road, but like their papa had bought it for them and they didn’t know how to responsibly take care of it. And what do we find two hills down the road? Bright flashing lights. And a massive gigantic black SUV pulled over. Maybe for speeding. And that is speedtrap justice.
Passed 7,000 miles.
At 81 degrees and sunny, the outskirts of Savannah smelled like pine, hot sand, and dead pine needles. It’s one of my favorite smells. It reminds me of the resorts we used to go to as a family. We had one vacation per year and that was it, and it was great intense fun for a week. At the first resort I can remember, there was a concrete tile sidewalk (narrow) going along the shore of the lake for all cabin folks to be able to come and go to the main lodge. I was so little I didn’t even know to hate myself yet, and my grandma and I were walking to the lodge/beach. I stubbed my toe and it was the most pain I think I had experienced so far in my life. I bled, even! And that’s where it smelled like pine, sand, and needles.
Savannah seemed cute. I blew through it pretty quickly. Small streets, boulevards, lots of trees and the trees had that creepy southern moss on them.
Savannah also had complicated one way streets and many traffic directions that I couldn’t read all of and I think I mostly ignored them.
Cotton is so white
The cotton is baled into gigantic truck sized toilet paper rolls with likely plastic around the outside. But when they’re in transit little bits of cotton get blown off, and they end up on the side of the road.
Pictures
Cotton, a picture for my sisterA whole other oceanTybee Island BeachTybee Island Beach, but with me in the picture to show my haircut but also what a convertible does to a nice haircut.Yacht Rock in Photographic Form
A few last thoughts about New Orleans. Managed to get out and get to Cafe Du Monde for juice and coffee. Loved that hotel. The shower was one of those sunflower looking things that mimics rain, except the water falls too lightly to get. a proper shower – but this one had pressure! The controls were on the opposite wall from the showerhead. The room felt royal. No typical hotel tan, and the in room coffee maker had *two* decaf cartridges. Not the standard single. I wasn’t quite as early out the door this morning, so I didn’t get the same experience of watching the city wake up over half an hour. But it was still quite peaceful.
I found the contrast of audiences in the shopping of the French Quarter. In one case there are people who are going to buy Doritos slippers. Having nothing to do with New Orleans. And there are other people who are going to pay thousands of dollars for a large crystal. Two different extremes, and originally I was thinking of that as a negative judgment. But I think instead it just speaks to the fact that different people, classes, types, styles, shoppers are able to find value there.
Also, my car is perfect for the tiny streets of the French Quarter.
It was a day of long driving. Either on the interstate playing the truck game, or on the state highways playing the stoplight game. Did get to have the top down for a bit, but I was getting further frustrated by my hair. I got a haircut before I left but that was some uncountable time ago. But the wind was making it all go straight up and I ended up looking like the Heat Miser. (look it up) So I located a Great Clips and popped in. They have the notes about my preferred haircut on file, which is helpful. I usually let slip I used to work at corporate but not as anyone important. Got a good haircut and headed for lunch.
Which was, of course, the rest of the muffuletta. Complemented by an iced latte, I thought I’d stop at a beach and watch the gulf waves. Except there were no beaches. There were resorts, restaurants, bars, and all sorts of things. But no public beaches. I finally found a state beach a ways down the road. For four dollars entry it was a bargain! Plenty of parking, covered picnic area, restrooms, and a nice long land dock leading to the beach proper. I headed out and planted myself in the sand and began munching my sammich. Not too many people on the beach, but it wasn’t abandoned.
And then he looked at me.
I tried to avoid his gaze, but he was being really obnoxious making all sorts of weird noises and walking toward me in a roundabout fashion. I knew what he wanted and I wasn’t about to give it to him without a fight. Then his friends started showing up. Screeching and jumping about. The first seagull started attacking the incoming friends, as if to establish dibs or something. Meanwhile, the pigeons started to wander over. They were mostly just walking around getting ever so slightly closer. I found it fascinating that the seagulls and the pigeons had rivalries, but were completely separate. The alpha seagull would chase off other seagulls, but it was like he couldn’t see the pigeons at all.
In the end it was my sandwich all the way. The pigeons looked kinda cool though.
Road Report
Again, I don’t like interstate highways. They make me sleepy, they make me play “the game.” (BTW, you just lost the game.). I took the interstate through Pensacola and didn’t see a thing. Not a building, not a house, nothing. So I try to stick to state highways, and so far it had been working.
Today I learned why both of the GPS systems were throwing a hissy fit. The state highway that ran alongside the interstate was indeed interesting. And it had good passing lanes and patterns. And somewhat fewer trucks. But the stoplights? Many. And long. And they interrupt the flow of traffic. And in today’s case there wasn’t any great scenery. I thought it was going to run along the shore. It did, but there were many properties in the way. So from here on out I’ll blow through busy areas on the interstate and take the state highways when crossing desolate lands.
I’m doing okay on my license plate spotting. New England is the sticking point and I think that will take care of itself in a couple weeks. Except for Kentucky. It’s wedged up there right in the middle, and beyond the shoulder season issues of no tourists, I think it just has fewer people in it. Hopefully I’ll catch a break in the middle of the east coast. In the interstate game the trick is to pass as many people as possible. But in the license plate game, it’s easiest to see the plates of a car that is slowly passing you. So I’ve been trying to be mindful, stress less about passing, and keep in mind that the car behind me might just have Kentucky plates..
If you’ve been keeping up, I mentioned a trip to New Orleans with our 18 month old baby. The whole trip is spotty, electrocuted out of my brain. But I have flashes. We stayed in a motel near Jackson Mississippi, and it had a pool. I feel like it was one of the first times we got to take the baby in a pool, and we were all excited about it. Swim diaper and everything! I remember being in the pool, splashing enough that the light would shine through the flying water. I have a strong feeling that I had strong emotions. I think it may have been some sort of extreme joy or happiness. Those days were hard. The baby was still colicky and so there was a lot of stress and frustration in the family. Many of the memories of that time are hard. Unfortunately the memory wipe don’t always pick the memories we don’t want.
We also went to a roadhouse. We were looking for the proper southern traditional restaurant and were told to just drive until we saw one and stopped. So we did. On the way in we mused about what it was going to look like on the inside. My partner’s opinion was red Naugahyde. I thought it might be something that could be easily hosed down at the end of the night. I was right.
The place was not too crowded, and the waitress was wonderful. She was not a server, she was a proper waitress. She was kind and attentive, and spent just the right amount of time distracting the kid. Hush puppies were their favorite, so she brought more. Some of the customers were cliched southern characters, almost caricatures. But everyone was nice, and we were all there for the same thing. Wonderful food. Every order came with a whole load of wonder bread. And of the food all I can remember is the impression of grease. Good grease.
I was a groomsman, and we went to the practice. While I was on stage being positioned here and there, the rest of my family posse was finding ways to busy themselves. And in doing so, our super crawler managed to get backstage and find the hot tub. We thought that was interesting as all get out, we hadn’t been to a baptist church before, but it made sense that they would have one. Not having a river in the church and all.
We were northerners. And even up north we were alternative. Boots instead of high heels. Black instead of neon. Urban instead of rural. Hipster snobs might not be far off. But we worked really hard to be polite and not snobby. But we couldn’t help feel out of place in a southern baptist wedding and reception. And my friend who invited us and asked me to be a groomsman (he was one at our wedding) was great, and made us feel welcome. But when it came down to it we really felt like we weren’t something borrowed or something blue, but something heathen. And we were okay with that.
Deets
License Plates: None new. Did realize the Mississippi license plates state name looks like hair. Curly hair.
States: LA, MS, AL, FL (wow!)
Departed: 8:02 am CST, 72 degrees
Original ETA 1:15 pm CST
Arrival: 3:25 pm CST
Warmest/Coldest: Death Valley 90°, Wallace ID 22°
Weather: Pleasant and clear leaning to cloudy at end of day
Music: Smashing Pumpkins – Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, 100 Hits from the 80’s playlist (sucked), Toto – Toto IV, DJ Rap – Learning Curve
Observations
I knew there were a lot of waffle houses in the south, but I had no idea just how many there were. Just when you finally stop thinking about how gross they are, another one shows up.
The sand on the gulf beaches is white and almost powdery. The water is green or blue or something. Aqua, even.See my previous post talking about people describing things and then saying you had to see it in person.
I love off season beaches. I don’t know why. I think it’s the beauty meshed with the loneliness of it all. Throw into it the idea that it’s not just lonely, there are times where the beach is teeming with life. The drama of family and vacation. It makes the absence of people even more pronounced.
Passed a cemetery and there were little flags planted next to the grave stones. Confederate flags.
I’m so road seasoned when I see there are 3 hours to go, I think “Oh, ok, that’s not so bad.”
Downtown Mobile has some pointy buildings
Pictures
The parking garage at the hotel in the French Quarter had a car elevator in it!Kingsway studios were located here. Daniel Lanois studio in the French Quarter. So many incredible albums were made here in the 1990’s.My little seagull friend.
The Windmill Posts 