A Gorgeous Evening on the Patio

Hopefully the photo says it all.

Road Trip heading home TN - KY - IL - IA - MN

Leaving Dickson, TN

I went to college in Nashville back in the late 70's and early 80's. For Thanksgiving break I would go to Marion, Illinois to my step great aunt's.  Her brother was my mother's step father.  Mable Todd was a self-made professional woman and leader of her community.

Kentucky Welcome Center

Illinois first rest stop

 I was hoping that my trip home from Tennessee would take me past Marion and that I could pay my respects to this woman who was an inspiration for me.  My route did take me to Marion. I was not sure which or where the cemetery was but fate was on my side.  There are three exits and I for some reason I knew or remembered the second one would take me to the edge of town and that is where the cemetery would be.

 I used my phone to search the cemetery's online burial directory. I had a difficult time understanding the codes designating the location of Mable's stone. I vaguely remembered that there was an upright stone. After driving around and looking up the location several times, I finally figured it out and find her plot.

Mable's marker was completely overgrown with grass. I could see her mother and father's marker and by poking around the grass, found Mable's. I happened to have a Swiss army knife like tool which I used to clean up Mable's marker.

Marion square.

I placed a penny on the standing marker and was happy that I had found what I was hoping to find.

 The main feature of Marion I remember is the square. There is this enormous clock tower.  The tower is still there, however, the clock does not have any hands now.

I ended up driving all the way to Iowa all in the same day. I had not planned on getting that far but ran into a "dry" spell of no hotels.  I also ran into some odd weather with on-and-off rain and a LOT of wind.  Farmers were working the fields so the air was full of dust, dirt, and chemicals.

 

But by making it to Coralville, IA, I was that much closer to home for the last leg.



Minnesota Welcome Center

There isn't an Interstate way from eastern Iowa to Minnesota but the highway is divided if not a direct shot.  Finally hit some on-and-off showers in Minnesota but I made it home before 1pm.

The final odometer!

Total of 3,733 miles. The Escape Hybrid was flawless. I never got sore and I consider the ride very smooth.  Gas mileage averaged around 30 mpg which I consider excellent.  My left knee that I was so concerned about never got more than a little achy.

It was fantastic to see family and friends. It was also fantastic to see the country. I had been through most of the routes at various times in my life but this time of year highlighted how green and lush so much of the USA is.

There have been stories written lately on the Interstate highway system reaching 50 years old. The fact is evident in how close (and big) the trees are in many places.  In many places they come almost right up to the edge and even overhang especially in the Tennessee mountains.

The actual conditions of the Interstates are really quite good. I encountered a few construction projects but nothing horrendous. I am so glad I made this trip.

Road Trip Dickson, Tennessee

I have two nieces that live in Tennessee. Jamie lives in Clarksville and Kristine lives in Jackson. Neither knew that the other was there only about 2 1/2 hours apart. Dickson Tennessee is about in the middle of both.

Turned out that Kristine was in Chicago and Detroit on a trip but would be driving through on Sunday. Jamie drove down from Clarksville with her three boys, Douglas, Duncan, Dexter.

Jamie and the boys arrived about 11:00am. We changed into swim suits and played in the pool until Kristine and her boyfriend. Anthony, arrived about 11:30. We all ate lunch at Cracker Barrel next to the Hampton Inn.

It was nice to see Kristine. She looked just the same. Anthony was pretty quiet. They had to leave as Anthony still had to drive to Louisiana.

Jamie and the boys came back to the hotel. We went back to the pool and played for a long time. I didn't have any toys but I had my underwater camera. There are about 1,000 new photos on it!

The boys have endless energy. I do not know how Jamie keeps up.  The littlest it one, Dexter, really took to me. Douglas and Duncan called me Uncle Grandpa (we have already established that I look like my brother, their real grand dad) or Uncle Jeff. I haven't heard my name called so many times repeatedly ever!!

Douglas climbing a tree. What else is an 8 year old gonna do.

Jamie and the boys, Douglas, Duncan and Dexter.

Uncle Grandpa with Duncan and Douglas.

We went to a state park to try to burn up more boy-energy. Turned out the little creek had fish, tadpoles, water bugs and crawdads(fish). The only one whose energy got burned up was mine.

Looking for crawdads.

We had dinner at Ruby Tuesdays. I was exhausted and the boys were still turned on full. I don't think Jamie wanted to leave and Duncan definitely wanted to spend the night at the hotel. But she did finally head home around 9pm. I got to spend a full day with my niece.

Road Trip SC to TN

Heading home through Tennessee to visit with two nieces. Mom has decided to stay with Betty for a while so I am on the road solo again.

On the way out of Betty's neighborhood, a saw a truck stopped and the driver out pushing a turtle out of the road. I stopped to help as it seemed the woman didn't really know what to do. The turtle was not happy but decided to quickly cross the road on its own.

The drive through the South Carolina - North Carolina - Tennessee borders is amazingly beautiful.  Very mountainous and all forests, I can imagine this being extremely popular in the fall especially.

Tennessee Welcome Center designed to look like an old cabin.

I had decided to break up the drive to Dickson, TN in to two days. I spent the night in Dandridge which is on Douglas Lake. I ate at Alonso's On The Point over looking the lake. It was an incredibly beautiful evening.

Sunset over Douglas Lake.

There was prediction for a new and spectacular meteor shower. What a better place than out in the hills and country of eastern Tennessee. I drove out to a field north of the hotel but did not see any meteors. There were lots of firebugs which made it magical.

I decided to try another place nearer the lake.  Again no meteors but a beautiful night of stars.

I arrived in Dickson around 1pm on Saturday.

Road Trip - Mt. Pleasant South Carolina

Wednesday and Thursday were spent exclusively in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. And for the first time on this trip I did not drive for these two days.

My sister Betty lives in Mt. Pleasant which is outside of Charleston. Wednesday was a quite day. I actually worked most of the day. Betty picked up her grand-children, my great nieces, Payton (10 - almost 11 according to her) and Ivy (8) from school.

The three of us went for a walk through the neighborhood. The trees are fantastic and there are ponds and a canal that goes out to the inter-coastal waterway. We walked all the way to the entrance of the neighborhood hoping to get a ride back from my nephew Robert, the girls uncle.

Payton and Ivy

Payton with an "a" who is almost 11.

Robert didn't make it by the time we were supposed to be back to the house for dinner. We kind of got in trouble. Just as we got back to the house, Robert drove around the corner... of course.

Thursday, my nephew Brett (Payton and Ivy's dad) and his wife Sadie met Mom, Betty and I at O'Brien's in the I'on neighborhood. I'on is a sort of recreation of old Charleston. It is very nice.

We were able to sit outside in the shade. There were lots of laughs and stories. It suddenly got very hot so we headed back to the house. 

Very refreshing Sam Adams Summer Ale at O'Brien's

I cleaned out Betty's garage before jumping in the pool to cool off. I scrubbed the sides of the pool which was really just an excuse to stay in the water.

After I cleaned the pool

Road trip VA - SC

The next big part of the road trip was to my sister Betty's place in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.

Mom decided to go with me. We had breakfast at IHOP before getting on I-95 at about 10am for the long drive. 

Traffic and construction in Virginia made for very slow going. Once we got passed Richmond it was better. When we stopped to get gas, the Mileage To Empty read 480 miles! That is the best I have ever gotten. Credit the good mileage to the slow going.

Leaving Burke, VA

I missed the Virginia Welcome Center so my collection of Welcome Center photos will not be complete. Darn.
 

 North Carolina plants day lilies and wild flowers in the median and along the Interstate. The colors are wonderful and make the drive more pleasant.

Mom at North Carolina Welcome Center.

South Carolina is very lush this time of year.  The trees and undergrowth have grown up nearly right to the highway.

We stopped for supper at Shoney's in Manning, SC. It was steak night and they were grilling outside the restaurant. It smelled fantastic and tasted just as good.

We arrived at Betty's late. I had hoped to get in before dark but we didn't quite make it. My GPS could not get us to Betty's house. We ended up having to call Betty and have her guide us.

This leg was nearly 540 miles of driving.

Road Trip Days 4 & 5 & 6

My sister Carol drove over to Mom's on Saturday so we could go see my brother Loyd (Spade) and his wife, Bev, in Colonial Beach, Virginia. It was very glad and appreciative that Carol dr0ve over because I had been doing so much driving. She doesn't like to drive at night and we were probably going to get back late.

We drove right into a traffic jam on I-95 so veered off onto US 1.  Ugh.  Millions of stop lights which all seem to be red and still more traffic. We were planning on getting to Colonial Beach at 1:30 but it was closer to 3pm before we actually made it. None of us are great at directions either... that didn't help.

We met Loyd at his True Value hardware store. Carol saw someone buying eucalyptus and decided she would get a plant when we came back. We followed Loyd over to his and Bev's marina to have a late lunch at Dockside restaurant. I forgot my hat and jacket in my truck so went back to get it. When I walked through the restaurant, one of the waitresses asked if I was Loyd's son. SON! [Christine you will appreciate this]. I could not wait to announce the miss-relation.

Loyd soon find out who had made the mistake as she came outside hiding her face. We all laughed a lot... especially me.

I did not take one picture the entire time we were with Loyd and Bev. I am so stupid.

From Colonial Beach we drove to St. Mary's county Maryland to see my sister Lea and the new foal that was born just 2 weeks ago. Lea was racing in a barrel race and wouldn't be home until around 7:30pm. She had just pulled in before us at 7:15pm

Only 2 weeks old!

Mom, Carol and Lea

The foal's mom.

My nephew Raymond trying to get the foal to eat solid food.

We did not get home until late Saturday. It was another long day of driving.

Sunday was Artie and Carol's wedding in Front Royal, Virginia.  Artie was my karate instructor when I lived in Warrenton, VA in junior high and high school. He has visited a few times in Minneapolis... actually more than anyone in my family other than Mom.

The wedding was at the Bing Crosby baseball stadium.  A perfect location for two reasons: Artie is a huge baseball fan (that is the reason he has come to Minneapolis really) and there was a very large crowd. Artie has taught karate in Front Royal for over 40 years. He has seen pretty much every family in Front Royal... multiple generations.

The bleachers were full of his and Carols friends, students and families. It was a beautiful day.  There had been 5 inches of rain just two days before and the road to get to the stadium was under water. Fortunately there was an alternate way in.

bride and groom and officiate as umpire

small part of crowd in the stands

scoreboard

After the wedding I went to visit my niece, Kim, who lives in Front Royal. I got to visit with her and her daughter, my great-niece, Anika, and their dogs. Kim lives a lovely house in the woods and streams near the Shenandoah River. Kind of tricky to get to.

Monday was a day of not driving except very locally. I went to a Starbucks to use the internet for work in the morning. Later I drove Mom to the bank. We had lunch at a good Mexican café then to Target to buy a new electric sweeper. We got a sweet deal at Target on a Bissell 2-in-1.

Later I ran to a gym to workout. That was it.

Road trip Day #3

I finally made it to Virginia and to Mom's. The mileage came in at 1270. Friday I finished the eastern part of Ohio which is very mountainous (Alleghenies) then through a bit of West Virginia to Pennsylvania. Back into West Virginia the Maryland and finally Virginia.

Maryland had the nicest view from their Welcome Center. The drive was really very beautiful all the way. Up and down the mountains was fun to drive though the whole thing just took so long.

Friday night had dinner with good old friends. I have known Lance and Judy for over 30 years. They were separate parts of my lives back when I lived in DC. Judy was a co-worker at my first job out of college. Lance was a co-worker at Arena Stage... my first professional theatre work. Lance's partner, Tony, has been part of the group for 20+ years now.

We had dinner at Lance (Loom) and Tony's hang out in Capital Hill, Las Placitas. It was a crowded night with the Friday dress parade at the Naval Academy and a National's baseball game down the road. It was a beautiful evening and tons of laughs

Me, Judy, Tony, Gracie, Lance

Pennsylvania

West Virginia welcome center

Maryland welcome center. Fantastic view.



Start day 3 @ 17515



Arrival at Mom's (plus 2 miles) @ 17867

Road Trip Day #2

The goal today was to get to Mom's place. That didn't happen. It was all Interstate Highway and good speed for the most part but I just cannot drive as long as I used to.

Central Illinois is super flat and also super green this time of year.  I never encountered any real rain but it was overcast (good driving condition) and off-an-on sprinkles.  There were several road construction zones with posted speeds of 55 but most were short.

There a lots of 18 wheelers on the highway. At some times it seemed it was just me and a hundred truckers. The economy must be doing better if all this trucking is happening.

Morning start at 17040.

Indiana welcome center.

 Standing water on all the fields while on the news the drought and fires in California.

Ohio's welcome center. Very depressing looking building but it was an earth-bermed structure so eco-friendly.

The Ohio town of Cambridge.

Made as far as eastern Ohio. Stayed the night in Cambridge where they have re-done their downtown. It is very lovely.

Road Trip VA-SC-TN Day One

Started on my road trip this morning. I had planned to leave really early but instead waited to this morning to pack and get the house ready for Roxi to take care of Frankie and Uno.

I also had to do some work for work that I did not finish on Tuesday. I ended up leaving Minneapolis at 10:30am.  I set the navigator to avoid highways! It took over an hour to get out of the Twin Cities.... there were parts of St. Paul I never knew existed.

When I finally got to a place I recognized, I turned the navigator back to regular mode. This trip was going to take me weeks instead of days otherwise.

Starting mileage 16,534

 I crossed the Mississippi River 5 times? First leaving Minneapolis to St. Paul. Second St. Paul to South St. Paul. Third from Minnesota to Wisconsin at La Crosse. Fourth from Wisconsin into Iowa at Dubuque. Fifth from Iowa to Illinois.

The Mississippi River at Lake City, Minnesota.

Late lunch (senior dinner) at the Hungry Peddler in La Crosse, Wisconsin.