So, I was all proud of myself for joining the Fort Marcy Community Recreation Center this week so I could swim and work out, but even the best of intentions need a little adjusting. I swam a mile yesterday, felt fine while doing it, and was actually a little psyched that 3 weeks out of the pool did not undo all the hard work I put in at the good old Plex this summer. And then....I went home, cooked myself some dinner (gnocchi with spicy tomato sauce), and went to stroll around the Plaza and got a horrible headache, the headache that just won't quit.
I, apparently, am having some difficulty with Santa Fe's altitude--a totally common affliction--but a huge annoyance. Apparently you eventually get used to it, but in the meantime, I must drink obscene quantities of water, take some aleve, and hope for the best. Some toned-down workouts are also in future plans. Santa Fe is roughly 7000 feet above sea level and, for east-coasters, a bit of an adjustment. All the people I've told about this episode have nodded knowingly, and told stories of what happened to them when they first moved here. Some people still have difficulty sleeping throught the night because their throat dries up. Thankfully I've no sleeping problems, but I am more fatigued, and guess I will just grin and bear it, as there's no real cure unless you get really sick and have to go to the hospital for a prescription.
The headache is starting to subside, but I seriously think I've had more than a gallon of water today. All else is well. I went over to the museum itself today to view the show that's about to come down "Circling Around Abstraction."
(http://www.okeeffemuseum.org/visit/current.html) The Museum itself is lovely and well-organized and the show was extremely interesting. I especially like O'Keeffe's early work from the teens and twenties, and it was well represented in the show. I've always liked her work, but reading her bio. in conjunction with being at the museum has been really fascinating, and I've begun to get some more ideas together about Stieglitz. I also had my research library introduction this afternoon, and Eumie, the librarian and co-director of the Research center, could not be nicer, or more helpful. It's going to be a productive fall!
I can't believe it is Labor Day weekend already, and it feels strange not to be home, or going to the beach. Ah well, we adjust. I am thinking of going to check out Taos on Sunday and maybe go to an Indian festival at one of the nearby Pueblos.
Now I'm off to find my local movie theatre. More Water!!
Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
R.I.P. 2002 Silver Ford Taurus....
The adventures never end in this part of the world. While driving home from the Albuquerque airport on Tuesday afternoon after the San Francisco weekend the Taurus decided to behave really badly--engine light flashing, evil sputtering sounds, no acceleration, etc. So, I decided to try to make it to the nearest dealership, Capitol Ford in Santa Fe, and see what was wrong. I left the car and took a ($25!!) cab back to the casita (note to self: cabs in Santa Fe=bad idea) to await the fate of my vehicle.
I strolled around the Plaza, trying to get a better idea of where I am (and to forget that the car was broken), and had a nice dinner at Il Vicino, a local favorite pizza and salad place. I, of course, also located an amazing paper store-Papergami-which reminded me a lot of home and the Paper Source in Brookline on a much smaller scale. After watching a documentary I bought ages ago about Stieglitz (An Eloquent Eye), I fell asleep. I decided to walk to work on Wednesday morning, a lovely 10-minute stroll, and checked in at the Museum Research Center. Monica, the curatorial assistant, showed me around, and I am thrilled at the whole set-up, especially my amazing office (see below). As I was unpacking books, I got a call from Capitol Ford, letting me know that cylinder #1 in my engine was dead, equaling a $4000 new engine. Steve and I decided (seconded by Vincent the service guy) that there was no way we were putting a new engine in the p.o.s Taurus and so looked at other alternatives. Totally disheartened, I strolled around the Santa Fe car park, inquired about long term rentals at Enterprise ($700/month) and in the end, decided the solution was just to get another car.
So, me being me, I made my decision quickly (which is the antithesis of everything Steve believes in--car research would have taken him at least a month) and decided upon a 2007 Suburu Impreza Outback Sport (see below!). I knew I didn't want another Ford (sorry Dad!) and had been dreaming of Outbacks for awhile, so this little silver sporty version seemed the perfect choice for Maine. It was the last of it's kind on the lot, a standard, and drove really well. So, Robin, my hilarious salesman (Jarrett, if you are reading this, he reminded me SO much of you--same voice!), set me up, got me a reasonable deal, and I spent the better part of the afternoon (four hours) at the dealership purchasing, financing, registering and insuring my car! It's so strange to do this in another state. For instance, in NM, there are no state inspections, you just have to drive the car to the insurance agent and he looks at the odometer. Also, you need to purchase protection against uninsured drivers as more than 40% of drivers in NM are illegal and not-insured. Crazy! So, I will, in a few days, have New Mexico plates, which I think is hilarious. I am enjoying my new ride thus far. And, I would just like to reiterate to Steve that I DID NOT purposefully sabotage the Taurus engine despite earlier threats that I was going to just leave the car on the side of the road in NM before returning home. I guess the 4300 miles we put on the car coming out here was just too much for its delicate sensibilites. Ah well, RIP Taurus, and the impressive $100 trade-in value you brought to me. Honestly, I would have paid the dealership just to dispose of it.
So, back to work in my lovely office. Files are all unloaded, and so, no more excuses, it's time to start writing. Hope you all are well. Drop me an email and let me know what's going on in your parts of the world. Happy Labor Day Weekend and Good Luck to those getting ready to go back to school!
Pic 1: The New Suburu Outback "Sport"
Pic 2: The courtyard of the Research Center
Pic 3: My incredibly beautiful new office!
I strolled around the Plaza, trying to get a better idea of where I am (and to forget that the car was broken), and had a nice dinner at Il Vicino, a local favorite pizza and salad place. I, of course, also located an amazing paper store-Papergami-which reminded me a lot of home and the Paper Source in Brookline on a much smaller scale. After watching a documentary I bought ages ago about Stieglitz (An Eloquent Eye), I fell asleep. I decided to walk to work on Wednesday morning, a lovely 10-minute stroll, and checked in at the Museum Research Center. Monica, the curatorial assistant, showed me around, and I am thrilled at the whole set-up, especially my amazing office (see below). As I was unpacking books, I got a call from Capitol Ford, letting me know that cylinder #1 in my engine was dead, equaling a $4000 new engine. Steve and I decided (seconded by Vincent the service guy) that there was no way we were putting a new engine in the p.o.s Taurus and so looked at other alternatives. Totally disheartened, I strolled around the Santa Fe car park, inquired about long term rentals at Enterprise ($700/month) and in the end, decided the solution was just to get another car.
So, me being me, I made my decision quickly (which is the antithesis of everything Steve believes in--car research would have taken him at least a month) and decided upon a 2007 Suburu Impreza Outback Sport (see below!). I knew I didn't want another Ford (sorry Dad!) and had been dreaming of Outbacks for awhile, so this little silver sporty version seemed the perfect choice for Maine. It was the last of it's kind on the lot, a standard, and drove really well. So, Robin, my hilarious salesman (Jarrett, if you are reading this, he reminded me SO much of you--same voice!), set me up, got me a reasonable deal, and I spent the better part of the afternoon (four hours) at the dealership purchasing, financing, registering and insuring my car! It's so strange to do this in another state. For instance, in NM, there are no state inspections, you just have to drive the car to the insurance agent and he looks at the odometer. Also, you need to purchase protection against uninsured drivers as more than 40% of drivers in NM are illegal and not-insured. Crazy! So, I will, in a few days, have New Mexico plates, which I think is hilarious. I am enjoying my new ride thus far. And, I would just like to reiterate to Steve that I DID NOT purposefully sabotage the Taurus engine despite earlier threats that I was going to just leave the car on the side of the road in NM before returning home. I guess the 4300 miles we put on the car coming out here was just too much for its delicate sensibilites. Ah well, RIP Taurus, and the impressive $100 trade-in value you brought to me. Honestly, I would have paid the dealership just to dispose of it.
So, back to work in my lovely office. Files are all unloaded, and so, no more excuses, it's time to start writing. Hope you all are well. Drop me an email and let me know what's going on in your parts of the world. Happy Labor Day Weekend and Good Luck to those getting ready to go back to school!
Pic 1: The New Suburu Outback "Sport"
Pic 2: The courtyard of the Research Center
Pic 3: My incredibly beautiful new office!
Monday, August 27, 2007
Settling In....
We arrived in Santa Fe late Wednesday afternoon and after a few wrong turns found our way to the 610 Paseo Corto casita, a very sweet little (and I mean little--there's a reason it's a 'casita') place that I will call home until Christmas-time. After unloading books and endless amounts of clothing from the car, we decided to consult the roadtrip book one last time for a dinner suggestion. Once again, it steered us in a very pleasant direction and we had a great southwestern dinner at the Shed. I've never seen garlic bread served with mexican food before, but it was a nice twist and we enjoyed our "last meal" together. Back at the casita, not wanting to unpack, we watched a little TV and fell asleep. On Thursday, I took Steve to the Albuquerque Sunport to fly back to Boston--truly the end of our cross-country trip and back to old and new realities for both of us! Steve's already back at work, and I check into the O'Keeffe Museum to get shown around and move into my office on Wednesday of this week.
After I dropped Steve off at the AP, I managed to miss the turn back onto Route 25 to take me back to Santa Fe (an hour's drive from ABQ) and drove around aimlessly for a bit trying to find my way. Eventually I did, hindered only by a crazy accident, and my extremely poor sense of direction. I always think that it will somehow improve or get better with age--it never does. I used to forget how to get from my house to high school back in the day. I decided to use Thursday as an unpacking and shopping day, so I found all of the local hotspots--Trader Joes, Target (on a street named Cerrillos, leading out of the city, reminding me a lot of Rt. 9 at home) and proceeded to set up my new digs. Not loving the comforter already on the bed, I found myself a more Libby choice, and stocked the pantry. I also had to get a small bookshelf at Target for all of my Maine reading materials in preparation for teaching in January, and I was lamenting the loss of Steve's presence, because I am terrible at following directions and putting things together. I managed to get it done, however, and the place is starting to look a little more homey. My neighbors, the owners of the guesthouse, are quite nice and have two very cute kids. It's just a short walk to the Plaza and to the museum--neither of which I've explored as of yet--having saved the "fun stuff" until the more practical things were done. I found a great local hangout near Trader Joes, "Cafe Santa Fe," where I will happily bring anyone who comes and visits. I found the laundrymat (I thought those days were done for me...alas)! And I found that my day passed rather quicky and I went back to the Casita and packed Kate's Bachelorette weekend in San Francisco.
The Bachelorette weekend was great fun, the highlight being a trip to Napa Valley on Saturday where we had lunch, a tasting and a tour at the Flora Springs winery. The winery, http://www.florasprings.com/, was lovely, quiet (we were the only people there) and I found that when served in such a setting, taken straight from the oak barrels, and with a good bit of explanation, that I quite like wine after all! It was so much fun to see all Kate's friends from Notre Dame, her family, get to know William's mother and sister, and to spend a weekend in San. Fran. is always a treat! I head back to Santa Fe tomorrow (Tuesday) and am excited to go exploring. From what little I've seen of the city thus far, I think I am going to love it and feel very at home there. Best of all, I'm going to get alot of work done. I am halfway through Roxana Robinson's biography of Georgia O'Keeffe (which I thought was only fitting) and will finish the rest this afternoon. It's a wonderful read and her early life was alot more complex than I imagined. It's also helping me understand a great deal more about Stieglitz and his approach to Gallery 291. It's such a treat to think only about my own work, and not about starting school, and so I'll take advantage of what I know will be a rare prospect these next few years. More later!
Pic 1: Slide Rock State Park, Sedona--so much fun!
Pic 2: Lunch at Flora Springs Winery, Napa Valley
After I dropped Steve off at the AP, I managed to miss the turn back onto Route 25 to take me back to Santa Fe (an hour's drive from ABQ) and drove around aimlessly for a bit trying to find my way. Eventually I did, hindered only by a crazy accident, and my extremely poor sense of direction. I always think that it will somehow improve or get better with age--it never does. I used to forget how to get from my house to high school back in the day. I decided to use Thursday as an unpacking and shopping day, so I found all of the local hotspots--Trader Joes, Target (on a street named Cerrillos, leading out of the city, reminding me a lot of Rt. 9 at home) and proceeded to set up my new digs. Not loving the comforter already on the bed, I found myself a more Libby choice, and stocked the pantry. I also had to get a small bookshelf at Target for all of my Maine reading materials in preparation for teaching in January, and I was lamenting the loss of Steve's presence, because I am terrible at following directions and putting things together. I managed to get it done, however, and the place is starting to look a little more homey. My neighbors, the owners of the guesthouse, are quite nice and have two very cute kids. It's just a short walk to the Plaza and to the museum--neither of which I've explored as of yet--having saved the "fun stuff" until the more practical things were done. I found a great local hangout near Trader Joes, "Cafe Santa Fe," where I will happily bring anyone who comes and visits. I found the laundrymat (I thought those days were done for me...alas)! And I found that my day passed rather quicky and I went back to the Casita and packed Kate's Bachelorette weekend in San Francisco.
The Bachelorette weekend was great fun, the highlight being a trip to Napa Valley on Saturday where we had lunch, a tasting and a tour at the Flora Springs winery. The winery, http://www.florasprings.com/, was lovely, quiet (we were the only people there) and I found that when served in such a setting, taken straight from the oak barrels, and with a good bit of explanation, that I quite like wine after all! It was so much fun to see all Kate's friends from Notre Dame, her family, get to know William's mother and sister, and to spend a weekend in San. Fran. is always a treat! I head back to Santa Fe tomorrow (Tuesday) and am excited to go exploring. From what little I've seen of the city thus far, I think I am going to love it and feel very at home there. Best of all, I'm going to get alot of work done. I am halfway through Roxana Robinson's biography of Georgia O'Keeffe (which I thought was only fitting) and will finish the rest this afternoon. It's a wonderful read and her early life was alot more complex than I imagined. It's also helping me understand a great deal more about Stieglitz and his approach to Gallery 291. It's such a treat to think only about my own work, and not about starting school, and so I'll take advantage of what I know will be a rare prospect these next few years. More later!
Pic 1: Slide Rock State Park, Sedona--so much fun!
Pic 2: Lunch at Flora Springs Winery, Napa Valley
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Days 12 and 13: The East Rim, Bryce Canyon and Hiking with the Hoo-doos, and Sedona!
Right now it's day 14, the last day of the roadtrip and I am sitting on the balcony of the Matterhorn Inn in Sedona, Az, looking out to the red rocks the city is so famous for. We arrived here yesterday late afternoon after a 310 mile jaunt from Bryce Canyon in Utah. Bryce Canyon is a truly incredible place, and some of the most spectacular scenery I have yet to witness. It's really like you are on another planet when at the canyon. We arrived at Bryce Canyon on Monday afternoon, after leaving the Grand Canyon via the East Rim (worth seeing--some great views, and a few cool landmarks, like the watchtower below) and headed toward Utah. We were on Route 89 seemingly FOREVER, and it's no accident that parts of that road, through Arizona into Utah, were some of the last places to be mapped in the entire United States. Desolate is the only descriptive I can think of, and even that does not do it justice. Utah is weird; I've no other way to describe it, just plain weird, and Steve and I are still trying to get over our encounters with the local residents of Kanab. A few more marks of civilization begin to emerge as you approach Bryce Canyon, but upon entering the park you just forget about all the desolation of the previous miles. We set up camp at our North Campground site--the basics: a tent, picnic table, fire grate and nearby bathrooms (no shower) and decided to see a few viewpoints before an excellent dinner at the Bryce Canyon Lodge.
The park is known for the tall skinny rock formations known as hoodoos (see below) and the vistas are really amazing and very different in different lights. I honestly thought Bryce was way more interesting than the Grand Canyon, but maybe it's because the whole experience was less crowded and not as commercialized. After dinner we went to Sunset point to, yes, you guessed it, watch the sunset, and then headed back to camp after exploring our options for hiking the next day. The night sky at Bryce is stunning. Whereas because of light concentrations in more developed areas you can only see about 2500 stars, at Bryce you can see 7500. We hiked up to the rim of the canyon near our campsite and stargazed for a bit.
The next morning we woke up early (the timezones keep changing on us), packed up camp, and went on our hike. Steve, the old boyscout, was very gung-ho about this, so I went along with it. We walked the Queen's Garden Trail and the Pueblo loop before heading back to Sunrise Point. It was a 3-mile hike and I was extremely glad we went in the early morning before it got scorching hot. The way down was fine, but the way back up was incredibly challenging. Worth it for both the stunning views and the workout. We were both stunned as to the poor footwear choices of people clambering down (ie the lady in the gold sandals) as well as the lack of people carrying water, and figured they just didn't read the guidebook or realize what they were in for on the way back up. It was a very cool experience, and one I'd repeat despite the knowledge of the awful ascent! If you've not been to Bryce add it to your list!
We headed out after the hike and made our way to Sedona, another very strange and beautiful place. It's very artsy and new-agey here with LOTS of rich people. We went to some galleries yesterday where the minimum pricetags were in the 1000s. Nevertheless, we had a great dinner at a Mexican Cantina, and, since just about everything in Sedona closes at 6, we decided to go to the movies. We saw "Superbad," which was incredibly funny and well worth the price of admission. Go see it!!
Today, after a little more sightseeing in Sedona (surrounded by a plethora of national and state parks and forests) we head to Santa Fe. Steve flies back to Boston tomorrow morning--I can't believe two weeks have passed so quickly! Here's a list of the states we've driven through/visited:
Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah....16 in 13 days--pretty good!
Pic 1: My favorite of Grand Canyon signs
Pic 2: The Watchtower on the East Rim
Pic 3: Bryce Point at Bryce Canyon, Utah
Pic 4: Looking up from the Bottom of Bryce Canyon during our hike
Pic 5: Moon over the red rocks of Sedona
The park is known for the tall skinny rock formations known as hoodoos (see below) and the vistas are really amazing and very different in different lights. I honestly thought Bryce was way more interesting than the Grand Canyon, but maybe it's because the whole experience was less crowded and not as commercialized. After dinner we went to Sunset point to, yes, you guessed it, watch the sunset, and then headed back to camp after exploring our options for hiking the next day. The night sky at Bryce is stunning. Whereas because of light concentrations in more developed areas you can only see about 2500 stars, at Bryce you can see 7500. We hiked up to the rim of the canyon near our campsite and stargazed for a bit.
The next morning we woke up early (the timezones keep changing on us), packed up camp, and went on our hike. Steve, the old boyscout, was very gung-ho about this, so I went along with it. We walked the Queen's Garden Trail and the Pueblo loop before heading back to Sunrise Point. It was a 3-mile hike and I was extremely glad we went in the early morning before it got scorching hot. The way down was fine, but the way back up was incredibly challenging. Worth it for both the stunning views and the workout. We were both stunned as to the poor footwear choices of people clambering down (ie the lady in the gold sandals) as well as the lack of people carrying water, and figured they just didn't read the guidebook or realize what they were in for on the way back up. It was a very cool experience, and one I'd repeat despite the knowledge of the awful ascent! If you've not been to Bryce add it to your list!
We headed out after the hike and made our way to Sedona, another very strange and beautiful place. It's very artsy and new-agey here with LOTS of rich people. We went to some galleries yesterday where the minimum pricetags were in the 1000s. Nevertheless, we had a great dinner at a Mexican Cantina, and, since just about everything in Sedona closes at 6, we decided to go to the movies. We saw "Superbad," which was incredibly funny and well worth the price of admission. Go see it!!
Today, after a little more sightseeing in Sedona (surrounded by a plethora of national and state parks and forests) we head to Santa Fe. Steve flies back to Boston tomorrow morning--I can't believe two weeks have passed so quickly! Here's a list of the states we've driven through/visited:
Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah....16 in 13 days--pretty good!
Pic 1: My favorite of Grand Canyon signs
Pic 2: The Watchtower on the East Rim
Pic 3: Bryce Point at Bryce Canyon, Utah
Pic 4: Looking up from the Bottom of Bryce Canyon during our hike
Pic 5: Moon over the red rocks of Sedona
Monday, August 20, 2007
Day 11: The Grand Canyon
Sorry for the blogging delay, but no wi-fi in the 1950s wigwam (hey, the cable box channels were changed by hand) or in the Yavapai Lodge at the Grand Canyon. So now I am in some Days Inn parking lot somewhere in the middle of nowhere between Arizona and Utah!! We ventured into Winslow, Arizona after leaving our wigwam. We ventured all the way to Winslow, because there was no breakfast to be had anywhere in Holbrook! You wouldn’t think an entire town center could be based around one small lyric from an Eagle’s song, but apparently “Standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona” is the thing to do there. And you stand on the corner with a life-size bronze cast of Don Henley. Steve was having none of it! We finally found the long-sought Falcon Café and enjoyed some delicious (if rather slowly delivered breakfast). Steve’s homemade chorizo in scrambled eggs was particularly good. Today was a relatively short journey, a bit under 200 miles, and we arrived at the Grand Canyon around noon. Upon entering the park (yay, the pass worked again) we realized just how many people visit the Grand Canyon in the summer—thousands!! At Mather Point, the first vista, there was nowhere to park, and rather than wait for a space, we decided to drive on further into the village inside the Canyon, have some lunch, and check into our Lodge. All went smoothly and we decided to follow the park’s suggestion and take the free shuttle buses from viewpoint to viewpoint. After hitting the Visitor’s center we followed the green line out to Yaki point and walked back along the rim trail a few miles to the village. The rim trail is paved and our walk was a quiet one; we hardly saw anyone. We then headed west on the shuttle to see Hopi and Mojave Points, where you could view the Colorado River. The Canyon itself was absolutely stunning and definitely something everyone should see at least once in his or her lifetime. It’s hard to really fathom the depths as you look down. I am not sure I would bring small kids here, as it is really easy to get close to some sheer edge drops. There are more (right now) non-Americans than Americans here, and it’s neat to hear all of the different languages being spoken and to see various cultures ideas of “hiking wear.”
If I came here again, I would either sign up for the white water rafting trip down the Colorado River, or prepare for a hike into the Canyon. It was really surprising to me how pleasant the weather was here today—in the mid-80s, but not humid—and really cool after sundown. I have to say (and this feels a little sacrilegious) that this was not my favorite of the National Parks we visited. I really loved the Painted Desert and the Great Smoky Mountains. Don’t get me wrong, it’s amazing, and I am looking forward to the East Rim views tomorrow as we head to Bryce Canyon in Utah, where we will be camping. Off to bed; I can’t believe the trip is coming to a close so quickly. Driving cross-country has been great and I would totally do it again.
All Pics: Some of my favorite shots from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon!
If I came here again, I would either sign up for the white water rafting trip down the Colorado River, or prepare for a hike into the Canyon. It was really surprising to me how pleasant the weather was here today—in the mid-80s, but not humid—and really cool after sundown. I have to say (and this feels a little sacrilegious) that this was not my favorite of the National Parks we visited. I really loved the Painted Desert and the Great Smoky Mountains. Don’t get me wrong, it’s amazing, and I am looking forward to the East Rim views tomorrow as we head to Bryce Canyon in Utah, where we will be camping. Off to bed; I can’t believe the trip is coming to a close so quickly. Driving cross-country has been great and I would totally do it again.
All Pics: Some of my favorite shots from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon!
Day 10: Wigwams and Petrified Wood
We left Amarillo relatively unscathed after a lovely stay at the Drury Inn, and began another long day of driving—500 miles to be exact! We were helped in our travels by driving through two time zone changes, gaining two hours for ourselves. Our destination today was the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. To get there, we drove ourselves out of Texas (no more speeding tickets), and through New Mexico, into Arizona. Driving through New Mexico was such a change from the plains of Texas and we saw stunning scenery essentially the whole way through. I can’t wait to see more of it during my four-month stay, and I am happy to have any fellow explorers who want to come visit and join in! Sunflowers line route-40 west, and we also traveled some historic Route-66, which is alternately charming, quaint, and extremely busted. We stopped for lunch in Old Town Albuquerque and ate some fine Southwestern cuisine at La Hacienda. Steve enjoyed his first sopapilla (which he described as a cross between a dinner roll and fried dough) and my mouth burned for hours after my encounter with some green-chili sauce, a New Mexican specialty. We then drove past miles of rest stops and “Indian Shops,” stopping at our fair share.
We arrived at the Petrified Forest National Park around 2:30 and checked into the visitor center. I was finally able to use the National Parks pass I bought for the trip and skipped through the $10 entrance fee. This is an absolutely amazing National Park, and one I would highly recommend to any traveler. It’s a 28-mile drive through the park with many stopping points and opportunities to walk around and explore. The vistas are really stunning, as you can see by some of the pictures, but what was most striking was the way the landscape kept changing. We went from the roses, pinks, orangey-browns and greens of the Painted Desert, to the black, blues, and purples of the “tepee” formations and then into the many-hued chunks of petrified wood. We spent about four hours in the park, ending at the Rainbow Museum where we watched a 15-minute film about the park. The best part of the movie was at the end when a man was shown being arrested for stealing some petrified wood, and where a little girl read her letter as follows: “Dear Park, I am so sorry for stealing your wood. You can have it back. Love, Me Me.” At the Rainbow Museum end I spent some time reading letters from people who stole petrified wood and sent it back. Either the theft wore too heavily on their consciences or they had extreme bad luck while possessing the wood. Apparently, around one ton of petrified wood gets stolen every month from the park, mostly in the form of pebble-size pieces. Rest assured, we did not take any!! We then made our way to Holbrook where we spent the night at the Wigwam Motel after having a late dinner at the famous “Joe and Aggie’s” Café. The Wigwams were surprisingly comfy and old school despite the small bed. Off to the Grand Canyon tomorrow.
Pic 1: The Painted Desert
Pic 2: Petrified Wood from the Painted Desert
Pic 3: Lib and Steve at, you guessed it, the Painted Desert
Pic 4: Ancient Petroglyphs—I think these are so cool!
Pic 5: Wigwams! We slept in Wigwam #1
Friday, August 17, 2007
Day 9: 600 miles, hay bales, rain, a speeding ticket...and 72 ounces of beefy goodness!
Howdy y'all (I must hear this word 50 times a day in the South). As I write this I am in Amarillo, TX, home of the "Big Texan Steakhouse," snuggled under covers in my large and clean room at the I-40 Drury Hotel and Suites. It was not an eventful day for the roadtrippers. We departed the Rosemont Bed and Breakfast (lovely, I would totally stay there again) after a breakfast of fruit salad, sausage omlette, and amazing biscuits in Little Rock around 9am and hit the road for our longest driving day of the trip. 600.1 miles: we spent many hours in Arkansas, many in Oklahoma, and a few in Texas. All of these hours, albeit a few brief food excursions, were spent on Interstate-40 West, a two lane highway populated with trucks, 70 mph speed limits, and lots of Jesus signs. When entering into Texas, we were treated with a sighting of the largest cross in the Western Hemisphere. Awesome. Otherwise, really not that much to report, just sweeping plains, hay bales, a huge windfarm and cows. We ventured into Fort Smith, Arkansas for lunch (not a cool place!) and it bummed us out, but we followed our USA guide for a food recommendation and were not disappointed. We had a lovely $12 lunch at Tammy's Tamales and scooted back to the highway, stopping only for gas, a delicious Sonic diet coke, and when I was pulled over for speeding in Texas. Ah well, I'll take it slower. Fun fact: Texas speeding tickets do not tell you how much they are for, you need to call a judge for a "payment plan" which I will do on Monday. Again, Awesome, thanks Texas. We made our way into Amarillo in time for dinner at the world famous Big Texan Steak House. We were skeptical, but the atmosphere was inviting (and cheesy) and the steaks were excellent. They are famed for the "free" 72 ounce steak (if eaten in an hour) similar to the Old 96-er in the "Great Outdoors" for you John Candy fans out there. Then off to the hotel, where we will be until we head to the Painted Desert tomorrow and our Hobrook, AZ Route 66 Wigwam sleeping adventure. Good Night!
Pic 1: Tammy's Tamales, over 70,000 sold, and today was "free cookie" day
Pic 2: Being serenaded with "On the Road Again" at the Big Texan, how appropriate
Pic 3: Steve surrendering to his 21-oz steak....
Pic 4: Me in the big chair, at yes, the Big Texan
Pic 5: What awaits you in Amarillo....
Pic 1: Tammy's Tamales, over 70,000 sold, and today was "free cookie" day
Pic 2: Being serenaded with "On the Road Again" at the Big Texan, how appropriate
Pic 3: Steve surrendering to his 21-oz steak....
Pic 4: Me in the big chair, at yes, the Big Texan
Pic 5: What awaits you in Amarillo....
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Day 8: Country Music, Gibson Guitars, and 100+ degree heat!
Greetings from Little Rock, Arkansas, where we are happily ensconced in the Rosemont Bed and Breakfast, watching HBO on-demand and catching up on Entourage. Yesterday's 100 degree night (it was still 96 at 10 pm) in the breezeless Nashville KOA campground seems but a distant and unpleasant memory. Today was all about the music. We woke up to stifling heat in Nashville and decided we should see something more than the campground in the dark, so we headed to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Now, neither of us are fans of the country music, but the museum is pretty amazing and well worth the visit and the $16 price of admission. We wandered through exhibits on the history of country music, hillybilly music, bluegrass, etc. I enjoyed seeing all of the instruments--especially the steel and the pedal steel guitars and listening to all of the old records. The Hall of Fame portion itself was a bit creepy--too much "never let the circle be unbroken," but there was a fantastic exhibit on Ray Charles, and after about 2 hours, we headed out and drove off towards Memphis.
We were a bit wary about stopping in Memphis as this week is "Elvis Week," and, as billed, the biggest Elvis celebration "ever."
But, we said, what the hell and decided to make a quick run-through. Steve wanted to visit the Gibson Guitar factory, so we called ahead and booked a tour, and headed into town. The Guitar factory and showroom is right next to the infamous "Beale St.," home of the blues, birthplace of rock and roll. SO, while Steve headed in to his tour, I decided to make a trip to the Rock and Soul Museum across the street. It was about this time that we both figured out that the time zones had switched from Eastern to Central, so we had a little more time in Memphis than we thought. The Rock and Soul museum was also well worth it, especially for the more than 100 songs you have access to on the audio tour. I enjoyed seeing Al Green's costumes, and Isaac Hayes's amazing diamond and emerald crusted piano watch next to his giant mink coat. There were some great artifacts in there--guitars, albums, costumes, old jukeboxes and radios and a really well-done history (thanks to the Smithsonian affiliation) of blues, country, and rock-and-roll born in Memphis. Really fascinating. I then met up with Steve, who thoroughly enjoyed watching the factory workers build hollow body electric guitars (this is one of 3 Gibson factories in the country). Fun fact: the factory uses 900 gallons of water a day to keep the factory's humidity at 50%.
We took a quick stroll down Beale Street, marveled at the amount of people from all over the world in town for Elvis week (an Italian guy at the Gibson factory asked to take his picture with Steve b/c he looked like one of his buddy's from home), saw an impersonator or two, and drove out of Memphis. We made a quick stop at the Lorraine Motel, sight of MLK's assassination, but were too late to go to the museum. The hotel balcony itself is amazingly poignant, definitely sends shivers up one's spine.
We then headed off to Little Rock, home of all things former President Clinton. We've spent quite a bit of time on Route 40 west since leaving Asheville--and the Arkansas stretch was lovely in parts and scary in parts. The religious billboards took a scare tactic turn in Arkansas, warning us never to commit adultery and asking us if we died today, where we would be spending eternity? Not on route 40, that's for sure! It took us about 2 hours from Memphis, and once we checked into the
B+B, we headed down to the River Market district to grab a little dinner at a Pizza pub and sports bar hangout. What little we saw of Little Rock was pretty cool, but we have a very long day of driving tomorrow (600 miles from here to Amarillo) so off to bed!
Pic 1: The Atrium of the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville
Pic 2: It's Elvis week in Memphis, the 30th anniversary of his death...need I say more!
Pic 3: The Rock and Soul Museum, Memphis
Pic 4: Gibson Guitar Museum, Memphis
Pic 5: The Lorraine Motel, Site of Dr. Martin Luther King's Assassination
We were a bit wary about stopping in Memphis as this week is "Elvis Week," and, as billed, the biggest Elvis celebration "ever."
But, we said, what the hell and decided to make a quick run-through. Steve wanted to visit the Gibson Guitar factory, so we called ahead and booked a tour, and headed into town. The Guitar factory and showroom is right next to the infamous "Beale St.," home of the blues, birthplace of rock and roll. SO, while Steve headed in to his tour, I decided to make a trip to the Rock and Soul Museum across the street. It was about this time that we both figured out that the time zones had switched from Eastern to Central, so we had a little more time in Memphis than we thought. The Rock and Soul museum was also well worth it, especially for the more than 100 songs you have access to on the audio tour. I enjoyed seeing Al Green's costumes, and Isaac Hayes's amazing diamond and emerald crusted piano watch next to his giant mink coat. There were some great artifacts in there--guitars, albums, costumes, old jukeboxes and radios and a really well-done history (thanks to the Smithsonian affiliation) of blues, country, and rock-and-roll born in Memphis. Really fascinating. I then met up with Steve, who thoroughly enjoyed watching the factory workers build hollow body electric guitars (this is one of 3 Gibson factories in the country). Fun fact: the factory uses 900 gallons of water a day to keep the factory's humidity at 50%.
We took a quick stroll down Beale Street, marveled at the amount of people from all over the world in town for Elvis week (an Italian guy at the Gibson factory asked to take his picture with Steve b/c he looked like one of his buddy's from home), saw an impersonator or two, and drove out of Memphis. We made a quick stop at the Lorraine Motel, sight of MLK's assassination, but were too late to go to the museum. The hotel balcony itself is amazingly poignant, definitely sends shivers up one's spine.
We then headed off to Little Rock, home of all things former President Clinton. We've spent quite a bit of time on Route 40 west since leaving Asheville--and the Arkansas stretch was lovely in parts and scary in parts. The religious billboards took a scare tactic turn in Arkansas, warning us never to commit adultery and asking us if we died today, where we would be spending eternity? Not on route 40, that's for sure! It took us about 2 hours from Memphis, and once we checked into the
B+B, we headed down to the River Market district to grab a little dinner at a Pizza pub and sports bar hangout. What little we saw of Little Rock was pretty cool, but we have a very long day of driving tomorrow (600 miles from here to Amarillo) so off to bed!
Pic 1: The Atrium of the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville
Pic 2: It's Elvis week in Memphis, the 30th anniversary of his death...need I say more!
Pic 3: The Rock and Soul Museum, Memphis
Pic 4: Gibson Guitar Museum, Memphis
Pic 5: The Lorraine Motel, Site of Dr. Martin Luther King's Assassination
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Day 7: On Top of Old Smoky is NOT covered with cheese, but Dollywood is full of it!
Today was a long and really eventful day as we really covered quite a bit of ground! After a wonderful breakfast of strawberries romanoff, sausage, and baked apple french toast and some comparing of Asheville sightseeing notes with the other guests, we headed off on our adventures. We decided to eschew Biltmore (sorry Vanderbilts) because Steve wasn't really that in to Gilded Age robber baron ridiculous displays of wealth and instead decided to drive through the Rocky Mountain National Park on our way to Nashville. If anybody in the blogosphere ever wants to visit Asheville and Biltmore, I am in!
We entered the National Park in Cherokee, North Carolina and it's about a 40 mile straight shot across to Gatlinburg, TN. We took the detour to Clingman's Dome (7 miles off the main road) so we could climb the 1/2 mile to the top of Old Smoky, the highest elevation in the park. Not an easy climb despite the paved walkway, but we made it and were rewarded with some striking views. The park is really incredibly gorgeous and I would like to come back and really hike and explore more some day. We then made it to the other side, in Gatlinburg, and decided to do a little bit more detouring, so took the 8-mile driving nature trail through the park's south end and were rewarded with a bear sighting, which was pretty cool since, when I got out of the car to take a picture, I was only about 10 feet away from the little guy. Fun fact: the park is known as the Salamander Capital of the world with over 30-different species! On this trail we were near a rushing river (not so rushing without a lot of rain) the whole time and saw quite a few old houses and mills and such. It was a very cool drive, and had the possibility for lots of little side hikes, which I would like to come back and do.
We then headed down 441 on to Nashville. It was about 3pm and we debated how best to spend our time and so we decided to go to DOLLYWOOD--Dolly Parton's downhome amusement park in Pigeon Forge, about 5 miles away from Gatlinburg. We paid the $47/each admission and began the experience. So worth it. I've secretly wanted to check it out since I saw the "So Graham Norton" special on it a few years ago. It was brutally hot, but we were able to ride most of the major attractions--my favorite was the mountain slide, a cool water ride, and Steve really liked the Tennessee Tornado. He made me go on it and I was way too scared--too many loops and upside-down time for me. The real kicker was having my $100 sunglasses fall off into the great beyond at the very end. Ah well, Dollywood was very, well, "Dollywood" and we figured we would never be there again, so why not live it up. Steve ate the biggest cheese danish I've ever seen in my life and we both got this amazing green Dollywood tee-shirt. It would have been better to spend the better part of a day there, but we really did accomplish alot in the 3 hours we had until park closing . We then realized, while driving out of Pigeon Forge, why people would spend a whole week in the "Gateway to the Smokies." On the glorious Rt. 441, there were more mini-golf adventures, arcades, dinner shows, go-kart tracks, airbrushing workshops, and helicopter rides than we have ever seen anywhere else. It looked like a seriously fun place to be and we were sorry to leave, but Nashville beckoned, and so we drove onwards. Of all the places we've been in the past week--both of us agree that we would visit both Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge and the Outerbanks again!
We got to our campsite in Nashville around 9:30pm after dinner at a Mexican place in Knoxville, and set up camp. It was hotter than I have ever felt at night before in my life, and it was an awful sleeping experience (why didn't we buy the tent fan at the Target in VA??????). We learned the next morning, while checking out, that Nashville reached 105 degrees that day, a new record, and that it was still 96 at 10pm!!!! Awful. We took some cold showers in the morning and headed into the gloriously airconditioned Taurus and into downtown Nashville!
Pic 1 and 2: The Great Smoky Mountain National Park--the North Carolina side. So beautiful!
Pic 3: The bear!
Pic 4: Proof that we went to Dollywood!!!!
Pic 5: The ride that scared me to pieces and stole my awesome sunglasses :-(.
We entered the National Park in Cherokee, North Carolina and it's about a 40 mile straight shot across to Gatlinburg, TN. We took the detour to Clingman's Dome (7 miles off the main road) so we could climb the 1/2 mile to the top of Old Smoky, the highest elevation in the park. Not an easy climb despite the paved walkway, but we made it and were rewarded with some striking views. The park is really incredibly gorgeous and I would like to come back and really hike and explore more some day. We then made it to the other side, in Gatlinburg, and decided to do a little bit more detouring, so took the 8-mile driving nature trail through the park's south end and were rewarded with a bear sighting, which was pretty cool since, when I got out of the car to take a picture, I was only about 10 feet away from the little guy. Fun fact: the park is known as the Salamander Capital of the world with over 30-different species! On this trail we were near a rushing river (not so rushing without a lot of rain) the whole time and saw quite a few old houses and mills and such. It was a very cool drive, and had the possibility for lots of little side hikes, which I would like to come back and do.
We then headed down 441 on to Nashville. It was about 3pm and we debated how best to spend our time and so we decided to go to DOLLYWOOD--Dolly Parton's downhome amusement park in Pigeon Forge, about 5 miles away from Gatlinburg. We paid the $47/each admission and began the experience. So worth it. I've secretly wanted to check it out since I saw the "So Graham Norton" special on it a few years ago. It was brutally hot, but we were able to ride most of the major attractions--my favorite was the mountain slide, a cool water ride, and Steve really liked the Tennessee Tornado. He made me go on it and I was way too scared--too many loops and upside-down time for me. The real kicker was having my $100 sunglasses fall off into the great beyond at the very end. Ah well, Dollywood was very, well, "Dollywood" and we figured we would never be there again, so why not live it up. Steve ate the biggest cheese danish I've ever seen in my life and we both got this amazing green Dollywood tee-shirt. It would have been better to spend the better part of a day there, but we really did accomplish alot in the 3 hours we had until park closing . We then realized, while driving out of Pigeon Forge, why people would spend a whole week in the "Gateway to the Smokies." On the glorious Rt. 441, there were more mini-golf adventures, arcades, dinner shows, go-kart tracks, airbrushing workshops, and helicopter rides than we have ever seen anywhere else. It looked like a seriously fun place to be and we were sorry to leave, but Nashville beckoned, and so we drove onwards. Of all the places we've been in the past week--both of us agree that we would visit both Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge and the Outerbanks again!
We got to our campsite in Nashville around 9:30pm after dinner at a Mexican place in Knoxville, and set up camp. It was hotter than I have ever felt at night before in my life, and it was an awful sleeping experience (why didn't we buy the tent fan at the Target in VA??????). We learned the next morning, while checking out, that Nashville reached 105 degrees that day, a new record, and that it was still 96 at 10pm!!!! Awful. We took some cold showers in the morning and headed into the gloriously airconditioned Taurus and into downtown Nashville!
Pic 1 and 2: The Great Smoky Mountain National Park--the North Carolina side. So beautiful!
Pic 3: The bear!
Pic 4: Proof that we went to Dollywood!!!!
Pic 5: The ride that scared me to pieces and stole my awesome sunglasses :-(.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Day 6: A New Windshield, Lutheridge, and Asheville
Good Evening,
I am lying in my extremely comfortable North Lodge B+B "Library Room" bed as I write this and Steve is out in the lounge reading some super-nerdy book about Hacking Google that he found on the shelves. To each their own! While blogging, I am listening to the luscious tunes of "The Reminder" by Feist, a new disc I picked up today while tooling around downtown Asheville (Zajack, if you don't have this one, get it, and Steve also picked up Midlake at your suggestion!)
We got started a bit later than planned today due to the whole windshield replacement thing, but eventually the fine gentleman from Triumph Glass (below) took care of business and we were on our way out of Clemson around 2pm. We spent the morning hanging at the Zajacks, chatting with Mark, learning some new shows ("Psychic," "Survivorman," "Dog the Bounty Hunter"), and having some great sandwiches from the local deli. My turkey on a croissant was certainly more appealing than the scorpions, ostrich egg, and locusts I saw survivorman eat in the desert--gross!! The drive to Asheville was a pleasant one, only about two hours, three megachurches and countless crosses from Clemson. When we got close to Asheville we started to see advertisements for a variety of Christian retirement communities. We happened upon one of these communities named, rather appropriately I thought: "Lutheridge." The crosses on the side of the road today got more graphic (writing not image) and had a lot to say about the saving power of the blood of Jesus. I've no problem with people professing their respective faiths, but it is so strange to see it so openly proclaimed around every corner. Christian condo complexes abound! We saw no offramp signs to the future today, but we did see one to the "Bat Cave," and alas, did not venture off, not knowing if Alfred would welcome us to Master Bruce's lair.
We arrived at our Bed and Breakfast, the Northlodge on Oakland, around 4pm, checked in, got the tour, got settled and decided to see a little of downtown Asheville. I am a huge fan of B+B's--Steve not so much--and this one is lovely. We strolled around downtown Asheville for a bit. I like the city--it's small, funky, and very artsy. We peeked in some galleries (suprisingly reasonable art prices); patronized the local music vendor; and, then went to eat at Tupelo Honey, a restaurant chosen because Kate sent me a gift certificate to it in my birthday package :-). The food did not disappoint. They do Southern with a twist (the twist being local, organic, and slightly healthier). Steve chose the pork loin, and I had the nut-encrusted fried chicken. It was all delicious, but the biscuits with peach butter and raspberry jam were the highlights for me. We intended to do some more strolling in Asheville, but shops close early, so we headed back to the Northlodge. It's been extremely hot in the Carolinas these past 2 days--over 100 both days, so hopefully it cools off soon. Asheville really doesn't seem like the South. The city has a lot of left-over Art-Deco flair from the 1930s (Kate and William, you guys would be big fans of the vibe and the architecture), and a lot of hippies, both young and old. It's likely the artsy influence, and the lovely Great Smoky Mountains backdrop. I've no idea what tomorrow brings. We're trying to decide between the Vanderbilt's mansion--Biltmore; Dolly-wood (seriously); and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. We'll be sleeping in Nashville tomorrow night, camping again, but that's all that I know for certain. We'll see what the morning brings. Be Well!! -Lib
Pic 1: Getting a new windshield in the Zajack's Driveway
Pic 2: The Northlodge B+B on Oakland--our digs in Asheville
Pic 3: The local Asheville music store
Pic 4: Where Kate sent us for dinner...yum, and thanks!
Pic 5: Clarke Kent was nowhere in sight....
I am lying in my extremely comfortable North Lodge B+B "Library Room" bed as I write this and Steve is out in the lounge reading some super-nerdy book about Hacking Google that he found on the shelves. To each their own! While blogging, I am listening to the luscious tunes of "The Reminder" by Feist, a new disc I picked up today while tooling around downtown Asheville (Zajack, if you don't have this one, get it, and Steve also picked up Midlake at your suggestion!)
We got started a bit later than planned today due to the whole windshield replacement thing, but eventually the fine gentleman from Triumph Glass (below) took care of business and we were on our way out of Clemson around 2pm. We spent the morning hanging at the Zajacks, chatting with Mark, learning some new shows ("Psychic," "Survivorman," "Dog the Bounty Hunter"), and having some great sandwiches from the local deli. My turkey on a croissant was certainly more appealing than the scorpions, ostrich egg, and locusts I saw survivorman eat in the desert--gross!! The drive to Asheville was a pleasant one, only about two hours, three megachurches and countless crosses from Clemson. When we got close to Asheville we started to see advertisements for a variety of Christian retirement communities. We happened upon one of these communities named, rather appropriately I thought: "Lutheridge." The crosses on the side of the road today got more graphic (writing not image) and had a lot to say about the saving power of the blood of Jesus. I've no problem with people professing their respective faiths, but it is so strange to see it so openly proclaimed around every corner. Christian condo complexes abound! We saw no offramp signs to the future today, but we did see one to the "Bat Cave," and alas, did not venture off, not knowing if Alfred would welcome us to Master Bruce's lair.
We arrived at our Bed and Breakfast, the Northlodge on Oakland, around 4pm, checked in, got the tour, got settled and decided to see a little of downtown Asheville. I am a huge fan of B+B's--Steve not so much--and this one is lovely. We strolled around downtown Asheville for a bit. I like the city--it's small, funky, and very artsy. We peeked in some galleries (suprisingly reasonable art prices); patronized the local music vendor; and, then went to eat at Tupelo Honey, a restaurant chosen because Kate sent me a gift certificate to it in my birthday package :-). The food did not disappoint. They do Southern with a twist (the twist being local, organic, and slightly healthier). Steve chose the pork loin, and I had the nut-encrusted fried chicken. It was all delicious, but the biscuits with peach butter and raspberry jam were the highlights for me. We intended to do some more strolling in Asheville, but shops close early, so we headed back to the Northlodge. It's been extremely hot in the Carolinas these past 2 days--over 100 both days, so hopefully it cools off soon. Asheville really doesn't seem like the South. The city has a lot of left-over Art-Deco flair from the 1930s (Kate and William, you guys would be big fans of the vibe and the architecture), and a lot of hippies, both young and old. It's likely the artsy influence, and the lovely Great Smoky Mountains backdrop. I've no idea what tomorrow brings. We're trying to decide between the Vanderbilt's mansion--Biltmore; Dolly-wood (seriously); and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. We'll be sleeping in Nashville tomorrow night, camping again, but that's all that I know for certain. We'll see what the morning brings. Be Well!! -Lib
Pic 1: Getting a new windshield in the Zajack's Driveway
Pic 2: The Northlodge B+B on Oakland--our digs in Asheville
Pic 3: The local Asheville music store
Pic 4: Where Kate sent us for dinner...yum, and thanks!
Pic 5: Clarke Kent was nowhere in sight....
Monday, August 13, 2007
Day 5: 70 m.p.h, "Jesus Saves," and Geddy Lee in Chapel Hill
Hello!
Today we traveled 501 miles, so there's really not a whole lot to report--just a long day of driving. We packed up camp and left Camp Hatteras around 9am and got ready for the drive to South Carolina to visit the Zajacks. We saw many things of interest on the highway today and as Steve drove the whole way (I did offer...)I had plenty of time to observe. A few highlights:
In many spots, the speed limit was 70 mph--this was a first for both Steve and I!
We saw an exit ramp to the "Future" but were too scared of what we might see there to get off....
The Carolinas LOVE Billboards. They are everywhere on the highway--lots of advertisements for discount cigarettes, XXX shops, world's largest fireworks emporiums, and churches. In case you didn't know, "Jesus Saves," a fact I was reminded of every 300 yards.
Most churches have neon signs and crosses directing you off the interstate and into the congregation.
We saw gas prices as low as $2.40/gallon, and cigarettes for $2.10/pack.
There is a giant BMW factory in Greenville, SC.
We decided to get off the highway for lunch in Chapel Hill, NC to check out UNC (lots of light blue everywhere) and to visit one of the restaurants our Roadtripping USA book recommended. We drove around campus, found Franklin St., and headed into Peppers Pizza. Much to Steve's delight, on the menu was a slice named "Geddy Lee." Now, gentle reader, if you don't know who Geddy Lee is, he's only the bassist for Rush, the Canadian power trio and one of Steve's favorite bands! The Geddy Lee was artichoke hearts and sundried tomatoes, a combo that stymied Steve until he inquired of the waitress. She told him that toppings are by the number and so while artichokes are "21," sundried tomatoes are "12," hence "2112," the album title. Awesome. You can see Steve enjoying his slice below. We then headed back to the highway, arriving at the Zajack's lovely Clemson home around 7. We were treated to a super homecooked meal, where Steve decided he did like cous cous after all. Wonders never cease! Day 6 will bring us to Asheville, NC, and we will be departing for that fine city as soon as the friendly windshield man comes to repair the crack from the CT rock!
Pic 1: Peppers Pizza Menu in Chapel Hill, NC (note the "Geddy Lee")
Pic 2: Steve eating a slice of Geddy Lee
Pic 3: The sign on the stairs at the Zajacks in Clemson, SC
Pic 4: The Zajacks
Today we traveled 501 miles, so there's really not a whole lot to report--just a long day of driving. We packed up camp and left Camp Hatteras around 9am and got ready for the drive to South Carolina to visit the Zajacks. We saw many things of interest on the highway today and as Steve drove the whole way (I did offer...)I had plenty of time to observe. A few highlights:
In many spots, the speed limit was 70 mph--this was a first for both Steve and I!
We saw an exit ramp to the "Future" but were too scared of what we might see there to get off....
The Carolinas LOVE Billboards. They are everywhere on the highway--lots of advertisements for discount cigarettes, XXX shops, world's largest fireworks emporiums, and churches. In case you didn't know, "Jesus Saves," a fact I was reminded of every 300 yards.
Most churches have neon signs and crosses directing you off the interstate and into the congregation.
We saw gas prices as low as $2.40/gallon, and cigarettes for $2.10/pack.
There is a giant BMW factory in Greenville, SC.
We decided to get off the highway for lunch in Chapel Hill, NC to check out UNC (lots of light blue everywhere) and to visit one of the restaurants our Roadtripping USA book recommended. We drove around campus, found Franklin St., and headed into Peppers Pizza. Much to Steve's delight, on the menu was a slice named "Geddy Lee." Now, gentle reader, if you don't know who Geddy Lee is, he's only the bassist for Rush, the Canadian power trio and one of Steve's favorite bands! The Geddy Lee was artichoke hearts and sundried tomatoes, a combo that stymied Steve until he inquired of the waitress. She told him that toppings are by the number and so while artichokes are "21," sundried tomatoes are "12," hence "2112," the album title. Awesome. You can see Steve enjoying his slice below. We then headed back to the highway, arriving at the Zajack's lovely Clemson home around 7. We were treated to a super homecooked meal, where Steve decided he did like cous cous after all. Wonders never cease! Day 6 will bring us to Asheville, NC, and we will be departing for that fine city as soon as the friendly windshield man comes to repair the crack from the CT rock!
Pic 1: Peppers Pizza Menu in Chapel Hill, NC (note the "Geddy Lee")
Pic 2: Steve eating a slice of Geddy Lee
Pic 3: The sign on the stairs at the Zajacks in Clemson, SC
Pic 4: The Zajacks
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Day 4: Lighthouses, Dunes, and Uncle Paulie...OBX Style
Good Evening,
So here I am, 10pm, sitting at the picnic table under the stars and blogging at the campsite. You can check out our digs below. Tomorrow we fold up the tent and head out to Clemson, SC to visit the Zajacks, friends of Steve from Colgate. It's a cool 500 miles from here, but the drive promises to be lovely and we do get to go through Roanoke (lost colony, anyone?), so I am looking forward to seeing all of that route 12 national seashore in the light of day. I've made the Zajacks promise some sort of home-cooking as eating out 2-3 meals a day is starting to get to me.
We began our day early, just kicking around the campsite, writing postcards (in my case) and lyrics (in Steve's case) until it started to get hot. We (well, really "I") decided that going to see the Cape Hatteras lighthouse (also below)--the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States--would be a cool thing to do since we were within 20 miles, so we went. It was a really lovely National Park site. I tried to use the $80 National Parks Pass I bought from the US government, but to no avail. The rangers told me it will work "out west;" that remains to be seen--this thing better get me into the Canyons. We paid our $7 fee/each to climb to the top of the lighthouse, all 269 steps to the top, the equivalent to a 12 story building. I heard the ranger tell a visitor that the lighthouse itself was made of 9,000,000 pounds of bricks--a pretty amazing feat of engineering for the mid-nineteenth century. The lighthouse was added on to on a few occasions because the beacon is a particularly important one. It warns sailors of a few very tricky currents, and the waters off of the coast are referred to as the "graveyard of the Atlantic," site of more than 600 shipwrecks. Oh yeah, and the Outerbanks is all about pirate stories--no shortage of skull and crossbones flags. The view from the top was really lovely and it was a completely clear day so you could see both the Atlantic and the Pamlico sound sides for miles and miles. We then travelled to the end of Hatteras Island (any further and we would have had to get on a ferry to Okracoke) and turned around, hungry for lunch and eager for the beach.
Two subway sandwiches later (Steve being a former sandwich artist at the Jersey shore), we headed back to Camp and to the beach. The beach exceeded both of our expectations. You can see the image below, but it was an enormous expanse of shoreline, with big breaking off-shore waves, soft sands, a good breeze, and very warm water. We spent the afternoon there, frolicking in the waves, reading, and trying to remain shaded from the sun (thank you neutrogena sunblock)! The early evening saw some studying from Steve, some laundry from me, and dinner at "Uncle Pauly's East Coast Surf Grill." Here's one of the many things I don't understand about North Carolina: you can still smoke in a restaurant, while eating dinner, or drive through a liquor store, but state law prohibits restaurants from cooking hamburgers anything less than well done. So strange. Nevertheless, a pleasant dinner, followed by a parking lot run-in with Uncle Pauly himself, quite the character. Uncle Pauly (maybe about 50) grew up in Kitty Hawk (of "first flight" fame) right down the road, dropped out of school at 15 and ran away to New York city and became a Union guy, a welder for boilers specifically. He's now back home, running his very strange restaurant. I could go on, but I'll spare you, just picture lots of gold jewelry, a New York accent, a dark tan, a harley hat, and wildly gesticulating hands--that's Uncle Paulie. An ice-cream cone and a shake from the Conery later, we were back at Camp Hatteras. Steve wanted to try out the pool, so we went night swimming, just getting back a few minutes ago. After seeing the beaches, I truly understand the appeal of the Outerbanks, and would definitely come back. Life in the South is a bit slow for me, but it's a fine pace for vacation. Time to get back in the tent, enjoy the ocean breeze and crashing waves, and get ready for tomorrow's long day in the car. Life is good.
Pic 1: Home Sweet Tent, Camp Hatteras
Pic 2: Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
Pic 3: After the 259 step climb to the top of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
Pic 4: The beach at our Campground (seriously)
So here I am, 10pm, sitting at the picnic table under the stars and blogging at the campsite. You can check out our digs below. Tomorrow we fold up the tent and head out to Clemson, SC to visit the Zajacks, friends of Steve from Colgate. It's a cool 500 miles from here, but the drive promises to be lovely and we do get to go through Roanoke (lost colony, anyone?), so I am looking forward to seeing all of that route 12 national seashore in the light of day. I've made the Zajacks promise some sort of home-cooking as eating out 2-3 meals a day is starting to get to me.
We began our day early, just kicking around the campsite, writing postcards (in my case) and lyrics (in Steve's case) until it started to get hot. We (well, really "I") decided that going to see the Cape Hatteras lighthouse (also below)--the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States--would be a cool thing to do since we were within 20 miles, so we went. It was a really lovely National Park site. I tried to use the $80 National Parks Pass I bought from the US government, but to no avail. The rangers told me it will work "out west;" that remains to be seen--this thing better get me into the Canyons. We paid our $7 fee/each to climb to the top of the lighthouse, all 269 steps to the top, the equivalent to a 12 story building. I heard the ranger tell a visitor that the lighthouse itself was made of 9,000,000 pounds of bricks--a pretty amazing feat of engineering for the mid-nineteenth century. The lighthouse was added on to on a few occasions because the beacon is a particularly important one. It warns sailors of a few very tricky currents, and the waters off of the coast are referred to as the "graveyard of the Atlantic," site of more than 600 shipwrecks. Oh yeah, and the Outerbanks is all about pirate stories--no shortage of skull and crossbones flags. The view from the top was really lovely and it was a completely clear day so you could see both the Atlantic and the Pamlico sound sides for miles and miles. We then travelled to the end of Hatteras Island (any further and we would have had to get on a ferry to Okracoke) and turned around, hungry for lunch and eager for the beach.
Two subway sandwiches later (Steve being a former sandwich artist at the Jersey shore), we headed back to Camp and to the beach. The beach exceeded both of our expectations. You can see the image below, but it was an enormous expanse of shoreline, with big breaking off-shore waves, soft sands, a good breeze, and very warm water. We spent the afternoon there, frolicking in the waves, reading, and trying to remain shaded from the sun (thank you neutrogena sunblock)! The early evening saw some studying from Steve, some laundry from me, and dinner at "Uncle Pauly's East Coast Surf Grill." Here's one of the many things I don't understand about North Carolina: you can still smoke in a restaurant, while eating dinner, or drive through a liquor store, but state law prohibits restaurants from cooking hamburgers anything less than well done. So strange. Nevertheless, a pleasant dinner, followed by a parking lot run-in with Uncle Pauly himself, quite the character. Uncle Pauly (maybe about 50) grew up in Kitty Hawk (of "first flight" fame) right down the road, dropped out of school at 15 and ran away to New York city and became a Union guy, a welder for boilers specifically. He's now back home, running his very strange restaurant. I could go on, but I'll spare you, just picture lots of gold jewelry, a New York accent, a dark tan, a harley hat, and wildly gesticulating hands--that's Uncle Paulie. An ice-cream cone and a shake from the Conery later, we were back at Camp Hatteras. Steve wanted to try out the pool, so we went night swimming, just getting back a few minutes ago. After seeing the beaches, I truly understand the appeal of the Outerbanks, and would definitely come back. Life in the South is a bit slow for me, but it's a fine pace for vacation. Time to get back in the tent, enjoy the ocean breeze and crashing waves, and get ready for tomorrow's long day in the car. Life is good.
Pic 1: Home Sweet Tent, Camp Hatteras
Pic 2: Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
Pic 3: After the 259 step climb to the top of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
Pic 4: The beach at our Campground (seriously)
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Day 3: Pancake Houses and Time Travel--Williamsburg Style
Pic 1: Ye Olde Pepsi Machine--I wasn't aware such things existed in the 18th century....
Pic 2: Libby helping the colonial cause by stomping clay at the brickyard
Pic 3: Steve in the Stocks
Pic 4: This is for you Derek. This picture cost me $72 admission!
Greetings good sirs and ladies,
May I begin the evening by asking, as I sit in my camp chair, in front of my tent at Camp Hatteras in Rodanthe, North Carolina, in the heart of the Outer Banks (or OBX if you're cool): is it really 'camping' if you can be blogging on your computer? Well, it is completely dark, and the girls in the site next to us are roasting marshmallows over a fire, so I suppose I must be camping.
We started the day out in Williamsburg at the "charming" Super 8, and had our pick of no fewer than 15 local "pancake" houses to choose from for breakfast. We chose the Capitol pancake house simply because of proximity, and, once inside, we knew we were truly in the South. Maybe it was the mullets, maybe the fanny packs, maybe the votive candles with names on them for sale, maybe the pitchers of mountain dew at the table behind us, or the Nascar shirts....I am not sure what exactly tipped us off. Steve opted for blueberry, me for banana, and after enjoying our fill we decided to visit actual Colonial Williamsburg, for no other reason than who knows when we will ever be there again. As someone who has chosen history as a profession, you'd think I would have been more into the experience, but truly, the appeal was largely lost on me. You drive into the visitor's center, which looks like any John Hughes movie high school, pay your $36/person admission, hop on a shuttle bus, and are supposedly transported back in time. Actually, you are transported into a zoo of humanity--people from all over the world looking around not quite sure what they have paid to stumble into. Reenactments, restored houses, people in costume, colonial souvenirs....I never didn't feel like I was still in 2007. Some highlights were the cabinet maker's shop, as well as the coopers and the brick yard, where I took off my flip-flops and stomped around in the clay for 10 minutes. Derek requested a picture of Steve in a tricorner hat (see the best of them below), so we tried on a few, watched the fife and drum corps process to the parade ground, and walked back to 2007 via the 1/2 mile path to the visitor's center. I think that it would be nicer in the fall, with fewer people, but I am quite confused how people manage to plan a whole vacation around it. The colonial highway, a veritable smorgasboard of motels and pancake houses, led us to our next stop, Mini-golf USA which boasted itself as one of the 10 best courses in the USA, according to USA Today. Now, I have never set stock in USA Today, a glorified tabloid, but their credibility is now totally shot. It was a decent course, and a very reasonable $6/person, and it did have pin flags, but it was no "10 best." Steve would like you all to know that he won, 45 to 48, but I would like you all to know that I was leading up until the 17th hole.
We then decided to head South to OBX and our camping adventure, so back in the Taurus we were, heading to North Carolina. A mere 150 miles from Williamsburg, it was about a 3.5 hour drive. Once we hit North Carolina, confederate flags were a flyin' and we were inundated with billboards every 10 yards. I saw my first drive-through liquor stores, and lo and behold, we found a "Sonic." Now, anyone on the east coast who watches TV has seen the Sonic commercials, but the elusive drive-ins are nowhere to be seen in the North. We decided we had to give it a try and were not disappointed. I have found the perfect diet coke. Now, for me, a dc connossieur, this is no small feat. Sonic prides itself on being drink specialists, mixmasters, if you will.....Large diet coke, crushed ice, "lime flavor"-four real limes, and a styrofoam cup. Amazing. Steve's cherry limeade was pretty good too. We'll be back. It was still many more miles to Rodanthe and once we hit rt. 12 south, a one lane highway going through the National seashore, we knew we were going someplace cool--20 miles and not a soul or a light in sight, all duned beaches, which I look forward to seeing in the daylight tomorrow.
Well, it's getting late, and I've never camped before, so it's time to go join Steve in the tent and go to sleep to the sound of crashing waves. More tomorrow. Thanks for reading! -Lib
Pic 2: Libby helping the colonial cause by stomping clay at the brickyard
Pic 3: Steve in the Stocks
Pic 4: This is for you Derek. This picture cost me $72 admission!
Greetings good sirs and ladies,
May I begin the evening by asking, as I sit in my camp chair, in front of my tent at Camp Hatteras in Rodanthe, North Carolina, in the heart of the Outer Banks (or OBX if you're cool): is it really 'camping' if you can be blogging on your computer? Well, it is completely dark, and the girls in the site next to us are roasting marshmallows over a fire, so I suppose I must be camping.
We started the day out in Williamsburg at the "charming" Super 8, and had our pick of no fewer than 15 local "pancake" houses to choose from for breakfast. We chose the Capitol pancake house simply because of proximity, and, once inside, we knew we were truly in the South. Maybe it was the mullets, maybe the fanny packs, maybe the votive candles with names on them for sale, maybe the pitchers of mountain dew at the table behind us, or the Nascar shirts....I am not sure what exactly tipped us off. Steve opted for blueberry, me for banana, and after enjoying our fill we decided to visit actual Colonial Williamsburg, for no other reason than who knows when we will ever be there again. As someone who has chosen history as a profession, you'd think I would have been more into the experience, but truly, the appeal was largely lost on me. You drive into the visitor's center, which looks like any John Hughes movie high school, pay your $36/person admission, hop on a shuttle bus, and are supposedly transported back in time. Actually, you are transported into a zoo of humanity--people from all over the world looking around not quite sure what they have paid to stumble into. Reenactments, restored houses, people in costume, colonial souvenirs....I never didn't feel like I was still in 2007. Some highlights were the cabinet maker's shop, as well as the coopers and the brick yard, where I took off my flip-flops and stomped around in the clay for 10 minutes. Derek requested a picture of Steve in a tricorner hat (see the best of them below), so we tried on a few, watched the fife and drum corps process to the parade ground, and walked back to 2007 via the 1/2 mile path to the visitor's center. I think that it would be nicer in the fall, with fewer people, but I am quite confused how people manage to plan a whole vacation around it. The colonial highway, a veritable smorgasboard of motels and pancake houses, led us to our next stop, Mini-golf USA which boasted itself as one of the 10 best courses in the USA, according to USA Today. Now, I have never set stock in USA Today, a glorified tabloid, but their credibility is now totally shot. It was a decent course, and a very reasonable $6/person, and it did have pin flags, but it was no "10 best." Steve would like you all to know that he won, 45 to 48, but I would like you all to know that I was leading up until the 17th hole.
We then decided to head South to OBX and our camping adventure, so back in the Taurus we were, heading to North Carolina. A mere 150 miles from Williamsburg, it was about a 3.5 hour drive. Once we hit North Carolina, confederate flags were a flyin' and we were inundated with billboards every 10 yards. I saw my first drive-through liquor stores, and lo and behold, we found a "Sonic." Now, anyone on the east coast who watches TV has seen the Sonic commercials, but the elusive drive-ins are nowhere to be seen in the North. We decided we had to give it a try and were not disappointed. I have found the perfect diet coke. Now, for me, a dc connossieur, this is no small feat. Sonic prides itself on being drink specialists, mixmasters, if you will.....Large diet coke, crushed ice, "lime flavor"-four real limes, and a styrofoam cup. Amazing. Steve's cherry limeade was pretty good too. We'll be back. It was still many more miles to Rodanthe and once we hit rt. 12 south, a one lane highway going through the National seashore, we knew we were going someplace cool--20 miles and not a soul or a light in sight, all duned beaches, which I look forward to seeing in the daylight tomorrow.
Well, it's getting late, and I've never camped before, so it's time to go join Steve in the tent and go to sleep to the sound of crashing waves. More tomorrow. Thanks for reading! -Lib
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