Donna and I both make entries in the journal, so my comments will be light blue and plain face, like this, Donna's will be pink and italicized like thisand the route will be yellow and in plain face, like this. Let me restate that the notes here are just our impressions on one trip, so, if any offense is taken, none was intended.
Day
1—Houston, TX to Texarkana, TX
Day 2—Texarkana,
AR to Jackson, TN
Day 3—Jackson,
TN to Abingdon, VA
Day 4—Abingdon,
VA to Woodbridge, VA
Day
5—Woodbridge, VA to Charlotte, NC
Day 6—Charlotte,
NC to Montgomery, AL
Day
7—Montgomery, AL to New Orleans, LA
Day 8—New
Orleans, LA to Houston, TX
Houston—Start
US-59 north to Texarkana, AR
Our first stop was in Lufkin, where
we interviewed a couple of radio personalities and visited the Texas
Forestry Museum. The museum was okay for an industry museum; it was
actually more interesting than the petroleum museum in Houston,
probably because most of the displays involved tools that were
recognizable to non-professionals (we're talking about cutting up
trees, here).
Coming through Carthage, 59 and 79
did this odd little multiple-crossover thing that made us check the
map every five minutes just to be sure we were headed in the right direction.
We stopped in Jefferson, an oil
town, to use the rest room. The clerk at the info booth told us about
the Sleepy Hollow Restaurant which she said had the best catfish in
the known universe. She was right. They also had hushpuppies to die
for, friendly, prompt service, and a view that was one John Deere
tractor away from being a postcard.
We made it into Texarkana by 7:00
p.m. Texarkana has 59,000 people, which makes it just large enough to
have a big head. It's by far the largest city in a 100-mile radius,
so the citizens really think they're cosmopolitan. The waitress at
the Sleepy Hollow even warned us about the "bad" people in
Texarkana, the general idea being that "cities" are full of
bad people.
Donna made me take some pictures of
her bestriding the State Line, and we found some historic markers
describing (left to right) The French in Texas, The Caddo Indians
(who were resettled about 100 miles north in OK—dunno why), a
settler's trail, and the first Church of Christ mission in Texas. The
Arkansas visitors center was closed, and I don't have great hopes of
it being open on our way out, Day 2 being Sunday.
US-71 north to US-70
US-70 east to Benton, AR
I-30 east to Little Rock, AR
I-40 east to Jackson, TN
Taking a scenic route up to
Hot Springs on highways 71 and 70 that was recommended by the lady at
the Arkansas Visitors' Center. It's through lumber country and it's
interesting that Weyerhauser has posted large signs that say when a
section was planted after clear-cutting. I wonder if there are signs
like that farther away from the highway or if the signs are for
travelers' benefit?
We stopped in Hot Springs, AR, at
about noon. There was a rock/gem store that occupied us for most of
an hour. We spent a couple of bucks and picked up a quartz, a blue
tiger-eye (a fabulous stone that only shows its gorgeous impurities
at a certain angle), and an obsidian pylon.
Near Little Rock, we visited an
archaeological dig that had once been an American Indian Settlement.
Actually, it had been the capital of a small civilization. They had
advanced (for the time) weaponry, such as a modified recurve bow and
Celtic-style war hammers. The whole compound struck me as a stockade.
It was surrounded on three sides by embankments and had a large mound
centered on an oxbow riverbank with a great view of the river approaches.
We were aiming for Nashville,
but only made it to Jackson. It's better this way because we can hit
Nashville in mid-morning when we need a break and everything will be
open. Tennessee doesn't seem to be as friendly as Texas or Arkansas.
It may be because we were on the Interstate today instead of the US
Highway. The Interstate is definitely faster, but the towns we pass
through, and the stops we made on the US highways were more fun. The
people were more talkative, too. I guess they get the sightseers and
the tourists who are interested in that part of the country, rather
than the "I'm in a hurry, please" kind of person on the interstate.
Tomorrow (day 3) we hope to make
Bristol, VA. If we make Bristol, then we can proceed to
Fredericksburg. Elsewise, we'll probably have to cut off the Virginia
leg of the trip and loop back through Durham, NC.
I-40 east to Knoxville, TN
I-81 north to Abingdon, VA
We both woke up puffy and still
tired. The bed wasn't all that good. We stayed at Fairfield Inn by
Marriott. I'm thinking that's one to mark off as a place not to stay.
On the other hand, it could be that we're spoiled. Donna and I
usually stay in business traveler and "old classic" hotels,
and the stripped-down efficiency of a motor lodge may have taken us
by surprise.
Near miss on I-40 at Tennessee mile
marker 105. Some moron just started pulling into our lane. Barely
acknowledged us when we honked.
Not only did we make it to
Bristol, we made it 12 miles past it to Abingdon, VA. It was
surprising because we made two long stops and several short ones.
Brett happened to notice—thank goodness—that the fuel gauge
was sitting on "E" when we pulled into the Comfort Inn in
Abingdon. Now I know how far a tank of gas will take us—about
400 miles.
We stopped at the
Hermitage—President Andrew Jackson's home. It was nice, but not
as beautiful as the new house at the George Ranch. Also, it was very
crowded as one would expect from a major landmark.
The weather has been perfect.
Cool and a bit overcast in the morning, which keeps it cool to drive,
then sunny and warm in the afternoons, then cool again in the
evenings. We've been doing most of the driving from 8-11 a.m. and 3-7
p.m. During the rest of the day, we stop often and sightsee. We have
stopped on the spur of the moment so far and it's been great.
Our other major stop today
was the Stonehaus Winery. It's a tiny little place that produces up
to about 100 thousand bottles a year. It's run by about 10 people and
was very friendly. We got to tour the place and picked up a few gifts
for people (it really is very good wine).
All in all, today was much
better than yesterday. Tomorrow should be fun, too, as we return to
US highways through the Blue Ridge Parkway.
P.S. There was a place called
Bucksnort, TN. So far that's my favorite place name. We didn't stop, unfortunately.
I-81 north to Buchanon, VA
VA-618 southeast to Otter Peaks
Blue Ridge Parkway north to
Shenandoah National Park
Skyline Drive north to US-211
US-211 east to Warrenton, VA
US-17 south to Falmouth, VA
I-95 north to Aquia, VA
US-1 north to Woodbridge, VA
We Stopped for a minute in
Wytheville to get some Virginia information. We overheard one of the
local city employees talking about some tourist who told him the town
was "just like Mayberry." He seemed to think that was cute.
The town is very American-looking. I took some local literature. It
would be a wonderful place to stay for a week, making day trips into
the surrounding areas.
We spent all day driving the
Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park.
Well, Brett drove, and I spent a lot of time saying, " Oh, wow.
Look!", "Did you see that?", and "Whoa!" It
took roughly seven and a half hours to drive a little over 150 miles.
The views are spectacular, and we treated ourselves at the Skyland
Lodge Restaurant at the high point in Shenandoah National Park.
Fabulous view. We saw lots of deer in the evening. They were everywhere.
Virginia is gorgeous with
rolling green hills and lots of historic places. It reminds me of
England. We could live here easily, I think. It's wooded and rural,
yet cosmopolitan at the same time.
We zipped through Stafford tonight
as evening was falling. I didn't recognize the Aquia Harbor entrance.
What had once been piney woods and an ARCO station is now an open
mall with gobs of trendy shops. I spent half an hour going
"wow". It occurred to me that we tend to expect the places
where we live to change and grow with us, but the places where we used
to live to always be the same.
Shenandoah was even more beautiful
than I remember. The slopes went on forever, and there were more
types of plants than you can imagine without seeing them. I was a
little disappointed that the Sperryville Emporium was closed before
we got there. I wanted Donna to see it. They had some interesting
concrete and fiberglass ornaments in the parking lot, but the whole
effect demands that you go inside; the lot is just prelude.
US-1 south to Falmouth, VA
I-95 south to Petersburg, VA
I-85 south to Greensboro, NC
I-40 west to Winston-Salem, NC
US-52 south to Lexington, NC
I-85 south to Charlotte, NC
Forgot to mention in yesterday's
entry that we missed the exit to Blue Ridge Parkway, so Donna
suggested that we take the next road east. Our luck took a downturn,
and the "road" turned into a dirt track climbing into the
mountains with about a zillion switchbacks. Plus we followed an idiot
in a moving van (the road had a sign saying "NO THRU
TRUCKS") the whole way.
Stafford Wayside Park on US-1 has
been closed and the entrances graded over. Some changes are just stupid.
Ironic that R.J. Reynolds' second
largest plant (Whitaker Park in Winston-Salem, NC) is just across the
street from a cemetery.
Started out the morning
early, and in pain. As a passenger, I seem to be fine, but driving
gives me a pain in the neck—right where the neck meets the
shoulders. I found that if I concentrate on keeping my chin down and
my chest up and out I can stave off most of the discomfort.
Fortunately, today we made a lot of stops—about once every hour.
Our first stop was in the North Carolina visitors' center. Lots of
good stuff in a beautiful building, inside and out.
Second stop was Durham, home
of the Bulls. We found the new stadium. We made an attempt to find
the old stadium, but missed. The new stadium was beautiful, and we
saw Inaugural year 1995 T-shirts and hats like the ones at
Arlington's The Ballpark. There was a game tonight, and we would have
gone, had we been on a different route where we could have stopped.
There is a brick walk of fame sort of thing where various people and
businesses buy a brick and get their names stepped on. Joe Morgan had
an honorary area, as did the Bulls' mascot, and the movie Bull
Durham. Brett got a video of the movie one. It spells the word
"starring" as "staring". Geez!
Rolling on down the road, we
went through Winston-Salem, just to take a tour of the cigarette
factory. It was fascinating. The lady standing beside me commented
that it was so impressive that it made her want to take up smoking. I
knew exactly how she felt. Plant tours do that to me. I find them so
interesting; and seeing what sort of machinery has been developed and
computerized is amazing.
From Winston-Salem, we went
to mile 1957 (my birth year) on the trip so far and stopped for
dinner at a place called "Ryan's". Apparently, it's just
been redone and turned into a buffet/bakery/eatery from your generic
family steakhouse. The steak was perfect, and the cobbler was really
good. I guess the locals aren't pleased with the change because we
overheard the people beside us joking/complaining about how they
couldn't walk in, take their usual table in the corner, and toss
silverware around any more. Our waitress' name was Jayne, and surely
gave the term "Plain Jayne" a new meaning.
Brett took over the driving
after dinner (as we have been switching after dinner each day) and
brought us safely to Charlotte. The Ramada had a laundry room, so I
got a chance to give us clean underwear for the rest of the week!
There was a small group of guys (and one girl) who were truckers all
traveling together and stopping at the Ramada, too. When I went to do
the laundry, they were standing around outside, drinking a beer and
talking. When I came back for the dryer, they were pitching dimes at
a plastic cup weighted with ice. While I waited for the dryer to
stop, they moved to quarters, because everyone ran out of dimes. I
had to wait a while for the dryer to finish, and watched the game.
Poor Brett came looking for me because I had been gone so long, and
desperately wanted to get in on the game. Unfortunately we didn't
have the $5.00 to contribute to the pot. Didn't matter, anyway,
because one of the guys finally won soon after Brett got there. The
pot was probably $20 by that time.
We've decided to call this the
"Politically Incorrect" tour, because we've stopped at a Forestry/Logging
museum, a winery, a cigarette factory, and the home of probably the
most corrupt President in US history (Andrew Jackson, not Nixon).
Each day, one of us wakes up well
before time to get up, so we've had no trouble getting on the road by
8:00 am. We'll cross the time-change again, tomorrow, so this may
change things.
I-85 south to I-65
I-65 south to Montgomery, AL
The South Carolina visitors'
center is being renovated, so they are temporarily in a trailer. The
ladies in there had sort of a uniform—at least they were dressed
the same. They were helpful, but not as friendly as some of the other
visitors' centers. I think that's because the part of South Carolina
we went through is only a little over 100 miles wide, and most
everyone is probably just passing through without stopping. There was
a water tower painted like a large peach in Gaffney which looked
pretty cool. You see this humongous peach in the distance. Great
paint job.
We were listening to the
radio when we left Charlotte, 95.1—the Edge, whose DJ's were
hilarious. They went on and on about Michael Jackson and his new
song. They also were supposed to have a doctor on who specialized in
bulemia/anorexia, but apparently the guy stood them up. Of course,
this meant they had to fill in the time with banter. One of them was
talking about self-image and how you should stand in front of the
mirror each morning naked and say, "I look great! I like the way
I look!" He claimed that if you liked the way you looked to
yourself, you would always be satisfied with yourself. He also warned
not to ask anyone else's opinion, because then the fantasy would be
ruined. He said he preferred to live in a fantasy world. They were great!
There is an amazing amount of
kudzu growing around here—Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia.
It covers everything that doesn't move and gives me a kind of
smothering feeling. Brett says it's fought like crazy, but takes over anyway.
The visitors' center in
Georgia was very impersonal. You actually had to ask for specific
brochures that were shown behind sealed display cases. I can't
imagine that brochure over-use would be a problem. If that method was
to get people to ask about what interested them—or what they
wanted—it wasn't working very well. The ladies behind the
counter seemed more preoccupied with planning their own trip than
talking with people who needed information.
Speaking of information, we
got lots more information than we wanted from one of the three
employees at the rest area outside Atlanta, Ga. She talked and talked
and talked about how lazy the other two guys were and how she was
doing their work, too. She was stopping, though, because she was
working three jobs which paid for her home, her apartment (local),
and her new vehicle, which was supposed to be bought, but turned out
to be a lease when she got the monthly payment paperwork. Her trucker
boyfriend was taking her with him on the road for 2 weeks as soon as
they decided when.
This was the longest leg of the
trip, but it took the least time, largely because there were no
interesting stops that wouldn't have taken all day to see or get to.
Luckily, the few things we "missed" weren't must-see items.
It did, however, illustrate the trouble with this kind of journey: We
can't afford to go too far off our track, or we'll blow our schedule
all to hell and destroy the "our own pace" feeling.
I-65 south to Bay Minette, AL
AL-225 south to Spanish Fort, AL
I-10 west to New Orleans, LA
Heading south on I-65 from
Montgomery to Mobile we saw a HUGE mimosa—at least 40 feet tall.
Mississippi has a gorgeous welcome
center on I-10. It's modeled after a southern plantation
house—complete with Southern Belles greeting guests. )
There are also decorations which represent a parlour and a sitting room.
We breezed through
Mississippi pretty quickly as it was just their panhandle, which
gives them a Gulf -view. Really boring stretch of land with nothing
going on and a lot of folks in a huge hurry.
We stopped at the Louisiana
Welcome Center to get a map and some idea of where we could stay the
night. I felt kind of yucky because of the soda I had at the MS
Welcome Center and because of the heat and humidity of the Gulf area
hit me all at once. We spent more time there than planned because of that.
We made New Orleans about 3
pm, before the rush hour, but after the hottest part of the day. The
place I picked to stay is an old hotel which has been
renovated/updated and opened in January. It's an historic building,
but they basically left only the floors and gutted the rest. It's got
the feel of a grand old place, but the amenities of the '90's. I'm
sure Chris would have something to say about how it was done, and how
they didn't stick to period inside the rooms, but it's cool, anyway.
It seems the part of the French Quarter it's on the edge of is being
reclaimed. I gather that with the new casino so
close by, they could afford to renovate and make the money back
rather quickly. At the moment, it feels like we're the only ones in
the place besides the staff, but, since it's Friday night, I'm sure
it will fill up.
Brett wants to investigate
the cemetery over off Basin Street and then try Harrah's Casino. I'd
be happy with the hotel and a short trip into the French Quarter for
food and souvenirs.
The St. Louis Cemetery was closed
when we got there. The visiting hours are rather short and run
through the heat of the day. We went to Harrah's and played the slots
for a while, then we came back to the hotel to rest some more.
Harrah's doesn't allow camera equipment on their casino floor, so
they got a security guard to escort us to the coat-check room. He was
very polite and even gave us a cook's tour of the facilities. I
suppose he doesn't get to talk to many people who aren't complaining
or being ejected for obnoxiousness.
We later went to Mama Rosa's
Italian Restaurant. Donna had canneloni, and I had veal parmesan and
we bought a loaf of bread. The food was great, but it came in HUGE
portions. Donna ate all of her cannelloni and regretted it. I only
ate about half of my meal and had the rest put into a doggy bag.
Then, I realized that we had no way of keeping it, so I asked Otto,
the bell captain, to give it to the homeless or something. I would
have done it myself, but I didn't want to accidentally insult someone.
I'd like to do New Orleans,
again, but not in the casinos. I found it kind of boring, and
very loud. I'm sure the constant ringing and music is meant to
generate excitement. I found it deafening. It was fun to watch Brett
pick out the slot machines that were going to hit, though. We'd walk
around, then stop at a particular machine, and it would hit. There
were people who played three machines at once, sometimes letting the
winning machine sit there and flash that it was a winner. It just
occurred to me that they may have been machines where the attendants
had to cash it out because there was so much.
I would have liked to do the
Ghost Houses walking tour, but I was way too tired, even after eating
dinner which was delicious. We came back to the hotel and crashed.
New Orleans should have been in a different place in the trip, I think.
I-10 west to Houston, TX
US-59 south to TX-8
TX-8 to home
The drive through Louisiana was
less boring than I remembered it being. Donna woke up automatically
when we crossed the Texas border. Sensed that we were home, I suppose.
We hit our only traffic snarl of
the trip about 40 miles outside of Houston. They had to move the
entire highway onto a two-lane, two-way feeder, so first they narowed
down to one lane, then let everyone exit. The road really needed fixing.