From Sea to Shining Sea!

“The most important reason for going from one place to another is to see what's in between, and they took great pleasure in doing just that.”

                                                                         Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth
We have arrived!  More than 3600 miles and 16 states!  Three weeks ago, we were camping on a beach facing the Pacific Ocean, and today we made it to the Atlantic Ocean.

But first... more on camping.  It DID NOT rain.  There was NO FLOOD.  We had a great time.  This is the view to which we awoke this morning:

Not a bad skylight!

After exploring our campground this morning, we got on the road for the last time on this half of the trip and drove into Portsmouth for Mimi's 1st lobster roll!  While waiting for our house to be ready, we drove to the beach (see above).  Then, this afternoon, we arrived at our rental house, right on the Great Bay.  Perry, the owner, is a very enthusiastic, generous guy, and the house is great with large, waterfront decks and all the amenities including bicycles and kayaks to use.  The house is rustic, but large and well-located.  We're glad to have made it safe and sound (and speaking), and are so happy to settle in for a while.  Gonna be a great week!

The view from our front deck

Camping!!!

“To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug.”                                                              

Helen Keller


Day #8
Pennsylvania to New Jersey to New York to Massachusetts to New Hampshire

Okay, we've almost arrived!  Last night we'd met our Fairfield Inn quota, and so stayed at a lovely boutique hotel in the arts district in Philly.  I didn't have much of an appreciation for it for several hours after arrival because I was so exhausted from driving, stressed from the traffic and driving through the city (a series of crowded one-way streets).  But once my blood pressure normalized, and we found some decent food, I had an appreciation of the nice room, the Frette sheets, and the rain shower head.

This morning we wandered around Philadelphia - a really pretty city (and the weather was perfect).  We walked around and saw the sights until we got to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.  I know security is a concern, but just couldn't see waiting in line for 2 hours to walk past the bell (when you can see it from the outside through the glass), or get a ticket to go into Independence Hall 4 hours later (no fast pass here).  Seems like there must be a better way.  Still, the history on every corner gives me goosebumps.

We got on the road for the final leg of the journey, but took a less direct route because I'm not interested in the stress of driving in or around a big city (NYC) for a long, long time (or at least until we go to Boston in 1 1/2 weeks :).  More beautiful country driving north in New York and through some beautiful parts of New Jersey (who knew?).  This short drive fed into two of my obsessions:  1) we went through Hopewell, where Anne Morrow and Charles Lindbergh lived when their baby was kidnapped, and 2) I waved and blew kisses at my "friends" Theresa, Caroline, Melissa, Jacqueline, ... in Franklin Lakes (for those of you who are missing out on great television, these are the Real Housewives of New Jersey).

So close to my RHNJ!

As we neared New Hampshire, we started looking for a place to stay.  Ding, ding, ding... CAMPING!  We immediately went online to find a campground and look at the weather.  Great campground/50% chance of thunderstorms.  What the heck -- we were in.  We drove to this campground in Pawtuckaway, NH, and set up camp.  We had to laugh when comparing the last 2 nights:  Boutique hotel vs. tent, gourmet food vs. hot dogs on a long fork, rain shower head in the giant shower vs. projected real rain showers, Frette sheets on the bed vs. -- oh wait, we did have 600 thread count sheets on the air mattress!!  Looking forward to a great time camping and praying for no rain!

Thank God for the headlamp!

One of the best dinners we've had on the trip!

Caution: Pig Crossing

I once spent a year in Philadelphia, I think it was on a Sunday.

W. C. Fields 

Day #7
436 miles
Roanoke, VA to Philadelphia, PA
Virginia to West Virginia to Maryland to Pennsylvania

The final couple of days of this leg of the trip have arrived.  As we near our destination, we're considering the various routes to take (this is the part of the trip about which AAA geographically challenged Stephanie said: Look at all those roads.  Which way do you want to go?).  We decided (thanks, Sharon) the next stop was Philadelphia.  I don't think I've ever been here on any of the family cross-country trips (have I, Mom?).  The first part of the trip was easy - fascinating change of scenery from the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia to the sweeping farmland of eastern Pennsylvania.  We took a side trip through Lancaster County - Amish country. Beautiful country (including the "Pig Crossing" sign - missed the photo op).  We felt a little weird trying to catch glimpses of the Amish people working on their farms, and were excited to pass buggies on the road -- kind of stalkerish (okay, pretend it's a word), but such an interesting glimpse into such a different life.

We stopped in Intercourse, PA (really) for a pretzel and a leg-stretch and came across Pickle Boy.  He works for the Intercourse Canning Company ("Part store, part interactive attraction," really, and has "Freshly packed pickles," really -- this a not a town for the immature), and apparently his job is top secret in nature.  Mimi tried to engage him in conversation (shocking), but much like a palace guard or Mickey Mouse, he is apparently not allowed to talk! [Lucy moment: "Did you ever hear the one about the dog psychiatrist who wrote a book? It's called Is Your Crocker Off His Rocker? Is Your Collie Off His Trolley? Is Your Poodle Off His Noodle?"]

We drove on - destination Philadelphia.  Hence the W.C. Fields quote.  It should go like this, "I once spent a year in Philadelphia.  I think it was on the freeway at 5 p.m. on a Friday night."  Nuf said.

 

Blue Ridge Parkway

When we tire of well-worn ways, we seek for new. This restless craving in the souls of men spurs them to climb, and to seek the mountain view.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox 

Day #6

424 miles

Tennesee to North Carolina to Virginia  

9 states total

Today was another "short" day, although we were on the road for more than 10 hours!  Most of those hours were spent creeping through the Blue Ridge Parkway - but I digress.

Although we've been careful not to set too many plans on the road (the one day we had reservations in Albuquerque, we got there & decided to drive on 100 more miles!), today was set to be our first camping day.  We bought the box for the top of the car, and have all of our camping gear stored there.  Today we were ready to use it!

We woke up in Sevierville after a night of thunderstorms, and took off into the Smoky Mountains.  First, we had to drive through Pigeon Forge, TN, the home of Dollywood.  We didn't go to Dollywood (although we do love Dolly), but driving through the town was an experience in itself.  I'm not sure there's another tourist town in this country that is anything like it.  Every block is a new experience -- restaurants, arcades, carnivals, shows... I said as we drove through that it was a kid's paradise.  I can't imagine just driving through with kids unless they were blindfolded!  I could hear the plaintive, "Stop here, Mommy."  "PLEEEEASE can we go there."  Here are some of our favorites:

An upside down mansion.  Kinda creeps me out.

Then we set off into the Great Smoky Mountains.  This is God's country -- everywhere you turn is something spectacular.  The mountains are beautiful, with the lush, thick, green and the wisps of "smoke" and mist everywhere.  Beautiful.

Wish this were scratch 'n sniff.  The air was so fresh.

At the end of the Smokies we entered the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Also spectacularly beautiful.  The plan was to drive along some of the six-hundred and some miles, dotted with highly rated campgrounds all along the way, and stop to camp when we got tired.  So much for making plans.  The ranger had told us the cloud cover was coming in, and that the top of the mountain was socked in with a chance of thunderstorms.  Ever optimistic, we drove on, determined to find a campground.  As we went higher, the cloud cover came lower and lower until we were creeping along at 10 mph on a narrow, cliff-edged, mountain road with 15 feet visibility in front of us.  We knew the last "escape route" for 50 miles was 10 miles up the road so we kept driving, looking for a way off that awful road.  At one point, we were going 10 mph, I had violent, noisy hiccups, and Mimi was white-knuckling it, saying "I want my mommy"!!  Finally, we got to the last road out and drove for another hour through a very steep, winding, twisting, road until we got to the bottom and pulled over so Mimi could barf!

Camping was a dream deferred, but we were SO grateful to be out of that mess!

We were finally heading north, and took a scenic byway into and through North Carolina.  We came upon Mt. Airy, Andy Griffith's home town and the model for Mayberry!  The town was great -- authentic, not touristy -- with a great historical downtown area with a 2 chair barbershop, a diner, etc.   I'd like to tell you this side trip was intentional, but in reality, my navigator was napping and I missed the turn-off I was supposed to watch for.  Serendipity.

Floyd Lawson: You know, everyone complains about the weather but nobody does anything about it. Calvin Coolidge said that.
Andy Taylor: No, Floyd, that wasn't Calvin Coolidge that said that, it was Mark Twain.
Floyd Lawson: Then what did Calvin Coolidge say?

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness. 

Mark Twain

Day #5

West Tennessee to East Tennessee!

311 miles

Still 7 states total

After a couple of LONG driving days, we kept the hours on the road to a minimum today.  (Now that I write this, I see how relative distance & time have become - a 5-hour driving day feels like a rest!).

We stayed in Nashville last night, so had to go to the Grand Ole Opry this morning.  We went on the backstage tour.  Very cool!  Our tour guide was a very lively, enthusiastic, knowledgeable lady who clearly loves her job (when anyone asked her "How are you?" she replied, "Super-Duper!").  Reminded us of the Abraham Lincoln quote:  "Whatever you are, be a good one!"

Arlyne & me: Happy tourist & happier tour guide!

Until today, there were only 2 named Cash on the Opry stage (Johnny and June).  As of today, another Cash (& company) took the stage and stood in that famous old oak circle!

Really fun morning, then hit the road through the mountains of Tennessee.  Another beautiful, and different, driving day.  Final stop today: Sevierville, Tennessee -- the birthplace of Dolly Parton!

We've been blessed with great weather (and avoided the awful weather throughout most of the country).  Since camping is in the near-future plan, that means the weather may be changing! We'll see what tomorrow will bring.

P.S.  If anyone was wondering where Paula Deen went after her Today Show interview, I think we spotted her interviewing for a job at the Courtyard by Marriott in Nashville!

The Road to the Opry

We know we belong to the land (yo-ho)
And the land we belong to is grand!
And when we say
Yeeow! Aye-yip-aye-yo-ee-ay!
We're only sayin'
You're doin' fine, Oklahoma!
Oklahoma O.K.!

Day #4:
 Oklahoma to Arkansas to Tennessee
724 miles (No wonder I'm pooped!!)
7 states total

We spent the morning in Oklahoma City this morning.  First, we went to the Softball Hall of Fame & Museum -- expected a sort of rinky-dink affair (think back to last year's visit to the Alien Museum in Roswell) but found a really quality site.  There was a lot of memorabilia, including a whole room devoted to Olympic softball.  It was very exciting to see all the pictures, and tributes to the teams -- especially all the stuff relating to our former student, Stacey Nuveman.  So proud of her!

Stacey's catcher's mask in the center.

The next stop on the OK City tour was a visit to the memorial at the site of the Oklahoma City bombings.  It is such a moving memorial, with parts of the original building still standing, empty chairs representing the lives lost, and the giant memorial walls at either end, with "9:01" inscribed on one end (when life seemed "normal"), and "9:03" on the other -- one minute after the bombing (when life was forever changed).

On the way out of town, we drove through part of Moore, Oklahoma (which was struck by a tornado on May 20th).  Pictures and news reports cannot begin to convey the mass devastation.  We drove around a few city blocks right off the freeway.  Overwhelming and heartbreaking.

So, after a pretty depressing morning, we got on the road and headed east.  We drove through some beautiful areas of Oklahoma and Arkansas, again grateful for the back roads and scenic byways.  We were going to stop in Memphis, but it was one of our least favorite cities last year, so we decided to drive on (we did listen to the King all the way through the city).  Here we are in Nashville, having put in more than 700 miles today!  We'll see a little Opry tomorrow.

On the way here, we passed many potential stopping places.  I know you might call me a motel snob, but I'd rather pay a few bucks more than stay in a Motel 6.  That has sort of been my "bar" for motel quality, until Mimi found the following:

I guess I really need to set the bar a little higher than "6" (are you with me, Kim?).

Wild, Wild West

Kindly check yore shootin' irons yonder at the door,
Please remove yore spurs before you come out on the floor,
We'll have no gunplay here at this charade,
No, siree, there's gotta be down right respectability,
Where ev'rybody drinks pink lemonade.
 
 I was hopin' to be ropin' somepin' wild in the wild, wild west,
I been settin' till I'm gettin' kinda riled at the wild, wild west
                                                   "The Wild, Wild West" from The Harvey Girls

Day #3: Santa Fe, NM to Oklahoma City, OK
599 miles
(New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma)
5 states total

This first looked like a "drive through and see nothing" sort of day.  We had concluded there is nothing to see between New Mexico and Oklahoma (apologies go out to residents of these places!).  Anyway, we stuck with our decision to stay on scenic by-ways rather than interstates whenever possible, and my able navigator found us some real gems along the road.

We drove through town after town where it was apparent that time and the economy had been devastating.  There were miles of closed shops and deserted homes.  Still, it is not difficult to picture how some of these places looked in the Wild West days (maybe my affection for the Cartwrights and the Barkleys spark my imagination a little).  In the spirit of the Wild West, we visited Billy the Kid's gravesite (which was eerie and fascinating in the cemetery by ourselves -- we escaped just before a busload of teenaged Baptists!), and went by Bosque Redondo - an internment camp for over 9000 Navajo and Apache people in Fort Sumner in the 1860's.  Then we got in the car and, through the magic of the Internet, reminded ourselves what Billy the Kid actually did (not a nice guy). 

The next stop was a ghost town - Yeso, NM.  I was planning on sidling up to the bar in the saloon and ordering a sasparilla.  This was no Calico Ghost Town.  See below:

 The next stop was one of the original Harvey Houses in Clovis, NM.  For those who aren't Judy Garland fans, (aka, according to Alexis, "Twitchy"), you've GOT to watch The Harvey Girls (note to Anne: we are carrying Pleasantville across the country.  We may actually watch it!).  Anyway, love the movie and the idea of the Harvey Houses.

The next point of interest was the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, TX.  It consists of a bunch of Cadillacs buried hood first in the ground in the middle of a field.  Visitors get to spray paint the cars.  Sounds crazy, but it is impressive and beautiful (note the pink heart on the middle car!).

So our day with nothing to see turned into a mixed bag of fun, history, art and entertainment!  Looking toward another long driving day tomorrow.

What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery 

Day #2

Phoenix to Santa Fe, NM

490 Miles

3 states total (Arizona to NM today)

Continental Divide - New Mexico

Today we saw so many different facets of the Southwest.  We went from Arizona's desert, through Arizona's mountains, through the Petrified Forest, and the Painted Desert and then into New Mexico.  Spectacular landscapes, perfect weather, and fascinating history. We had planned to stop in Albuquerque ("Ethel May Potter: We Never Forgot Her"), but the lodgings were a little dodgy, so we kept going to Santa Fe.  Nice town.

 We hiked a short trail through the Petrified Forest -- spooky and barren and HOT!

Mimi on a petrified log!

Our first wildlife photo!

Some of you faithful readers may remember Mimi's challenge when it came to photographing wildlife last year (we have dozens of blurry antler pictures -- really, we saw lots of beautiful moose and elk, often standing still, but I'm not sure we ever got a picture of one!).  This year, we decided that one of her jobs as navigator was photographing the "Welcome to...." state signs.  Here's the first one:

 

Not bad, huh?  As we neared the New Mexico border hours later, she practiced on road signs for approximately 10 miles before the big moment.  Okay, we see the Welcome to New Mexico sign in the distance.  Get ready, get set, SNAP:

Yup.  That's it!  Can you see the edge of the "O"?  That's from the New Mexico!  Close, but you've only got one shot (literally).  Maybe we'll find another job.

 

As we've been driving, we've been listening to old CD's (and satellite radio).  We've come to a glaring conclusion:  we make up the words in A LOT of songs!  We'll be singing along and realize the two of us are singing entirely different lyrics.  So, our new road game is "Name those lyrics."

The first entry-- very appropriate for the blog through the Southwestern part of the country-- is Mimi's belting out: "I want to speak with you in the desert tonight, with a million stars all around."  Apparently, she has something very important to talk with me about!

 

We're having a blast, seeing a lot, and laughing a lot.  On to Oklahoma City tomorrow!

 P.S.  That Super Moon is incredible in the middle of the desert!

We're on the road again!

Let me recommend the best medicine in the world: a long journey, at a mild season, through a pleasant country, in easy stages.

James Madison 

Day #1

358 miles

2 states (California & Arizona)

 

 We're on the road again!  The prep this year seemed a lot easier (which probably means we forgot all sorts of important things!), and we're a little more confident due to our successful trip last year.

Today we got a late start (perhaps deciding to paint the hallways in the days just prior to leaving was not a brilliant idea!), but are determined to take our time and keep our cool, so left when we were ready.  That meant the first change in the "plan" because we only made it to Phoenix.  Still, it was a really nice, easy ride, and my anxiety attack right before we left ("What if I suddenly hate driving and riding in a car?") was quieted quickly.  The days before the trip were a little more challenging.

Two days before leaving, we went to AAA to get our Trip-Tik (the detailed map book they put together -- apparently the only thing my AAA fees have gone toward for the past 10 years).  Last year, our AAA helper, Stacy, was great -- lots of ideas and a very thorough map book.  This time we were sent to Stephanie, the sick trip girl.  This woman has the hai-pan-tod and coughed and sneezed over all our maps and books (we super-sprayed everything with Lysol as soon as we walked in the door, and loaded up on Airborne, but we still have not opened the Trip-Tik.  Mimi is researching the incubation period of SARS on a surface as we speak!).  We would have had some tolerance for her deathly illness if she'd had the faintest idea about using a map (or a computer), or acted as if she'd ever SEEN a map of the United States.  Our session with Stephanie went something like this:

S: Where do you want to go?

Us: From here to Portsmouth, New Hampshire

S: Okay.  The computer will give the shortest route.

Us: Wait a minute.  We have some places along the route that we want to see.

S: Well, what route do you want to take?

Us:  Well, we want to go on some scenic byways, and want to go through Sedona, Oklahoma City, Nashville, Asheville, and up the Blue Ridge Parkway.

S: Well, what route do you want to take?

Us:  Can't you put those points in and tell us the best way?

S: Well, what route do you want to take?.....

It went on like this for several (germ-filled) minutes until I grabbed her pen (immediately ran to the bathroom to scrub with soap and hot water) and marked on the map.  Some comments included:

S: "Are you going through Rahnokey?" 

Us: Excuse me.  Where?

S: Do you want to go through Rahnokey? ....

Finally got it -- Roanoke.

Several minutes later:

Us: We want to get from Lancaster, PA to Portsmouth, NH without going through New York City.

S: What route do you want to take?  There's no Portsmouth.  Here's Portland, Maine.  So how do you get from Lancaster to Portland?

Us:  No.  Here's Portsmouth.  How can we get there without going through New York City?

S: I don't know.  Wow!  Look at all of these highways.  Which route do you want to take? .... 

So here we are in Phoenix, planning the next few days.  Tomorrow we go to the Petrified Forest (Lions and tigers and bears), and on to Albuquerque.  Having fun already, and looking forward to the adventures ahead! 

Trial Run

 "Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody."    Mark Twain

Okay, so we're preparing for cross-country road trip #2!  We bought a new tent (after the floating-on-the-air-matress in the pouring rain camping last summer), and decided to try it out.  Found a cancellation on the sand at Doheny beach on our first week out of school, and we're off!  We arrived in Doheny at our perfect site on  a sunny, breezy day, set up and settled in.  The tent is great (best advice ever, Kim.  Get a tent you can stand up in!), and the view was unbeatable.

We watched the sea and the surfers and took a long walk on the beach at twilight.  Beautiful.  The campers around us were impressed by Mimi's ability to build a great campfire (did you know that graph paper is a wonderful fire-starter?), and we got ready to make our super S'mores.  Surf watching was particularly fun as there was a high-surf warning and the waves were impressive.

Let me digress here for a moment.  We are not campers.  We have camped on several occasions with experienced campers, and ventured out the one time on our own (see the aforementioned floating in 3 inches of water in the leaking tent).  Still, we're adventurous and pretty good sports, so what could go wrong?  About a week before this latest trip (after the tent, car carrier... were already purchased) we started discussing our camping experiences and came up with 1) camping in Yosemite in 26 degree weather with a deflated air mattress -- the longest, coldest night of my life.  (It was supposed to be 3 nights, but we went to the Awahnee Hotel and begged for shelter the 2nd night, and then went home early); 2) Our backpacking trip down the Grand Canyon where Mimi injured her knees, my toenails fell off, our food was stolen by the young men in the next camp, and the drunken guide forgot to pick us up for our pack trip out; 3) Renting all our camping equipment and driving to Jalama Beach to camp with Lisa and Kim (surprise!  but invited), only to find they had driven home early; and, 4)  our adventure in the Maine campground with the thunderstorms, flash flood warnings, and flooded tent.  It suddenly occurred to us: What if camping is really just awful?  Well, we were committed (or should be).

Back to Doheny.  As the campfire grew bright in the dusk, we prepared our S'mores and watched increasingly large waves.  As the evening went on, the water crested the berm in front of us.  The campers next door said, "High tide is at 8:30, so if you're still here at 9 you'll be fine."

 Easy for them to say, from the comfort of their RV!  At 8:15, a giant wave hit, but barely came over the berm 20 feet in front of us.  However, the screaming down the beach, and the smoke from water-extinguished campfires told us it had flooded other campsites.  Then we watched as the water pushed tsunami-like, laterally across the beach wiping out the campsites down the line next to us.  We scrambled to pull up stakes (Mimi's a really good staker) as the water crept closer, and just managed, with the help of the RV guys next door to literally "pull up stakes" and lift our tent before the flood!  The area where our tent had been was 4 inches deep in water!

So much for the Trial Run!  We're rethinking this camping idea a little.  Do we just have particularly bad luck, or is Nature trying to tell us something ("Stay in a hotel.  Stay in a hotel.")?  In any case, we're out of school, we're at a beautiful beach, and we have another story for the books!

We waited out high tide, staked our tent on a patch of dry sand, and slept to the sound of crashing waves.  Not a bad night after all.