If you ever plan to motor west, travel my way, take the highway that's the best
Warning - very long post...pix at the end
Back in July, a few friends came over to the house to help celebrate my birthday. Somehow during the conversation it came up that a certain Miata named Chia was going to be shipped out to Phoenix at some point to be reunited with her owners that had recently relocated there. I casually suggested that Joel and I should deliver it out there for them. We all laughed and the conversation moved on and I really didn’t think anymore about it.
Well, several weeks later I got an email from Joel asking which weekend we should take this journey. I was a bit taken aback at first – the thought of driving almost entirely across the country in a long weekend were a bit overwhelming. But I thought about it and decided at the very least it should provide good blogging material and it might provide a much needed break from some of the stuff going on in my life.
Over the next couple of weeks we made arrangements: picking a weekend, working out the logistics, booking the return flight, figuring out whether to go with the hard top or the soft top, etc. The actual trip began for me when I got off work Thursday afternoon. I headed to Washington National Airport (yes, I know it has a new name, but you won’t find me using it). I parked my car in the Economy lot and jumped aboard the shuttle to go to Metro so that I could meet Karyn and the girls at Pentagon City. Well, when I got to the Metro I realized that I had left my cell phone in the car so I had to ride back out to the parking lot, get my phone and return to Metro.
I met the family and began the drive to Roanoke. We stopped at the Five Guys in Woodstock and I introduced everyone to their burgers and fries. Grace and Mattie proclaimed them to be the best ever! The remainder of the trip on 81 took forever as there was a ton of road work going on in addition to the usual heavy truck traffic. We arrived safely, everyone went to bed and I did laundry and packed and joined my slumbering family.
The next morning Sam was to take me to Joel’s house on his way to work. He said he would pick me up around 7. I got my things together and headed out to the front porch to wait for him. Luckily I remembered at the last minute to grab my cars keys, otherwise Joel and I would have gotten to DC and discovered that I had no way to start my car. As I waited for Sam, I had time to do a little weeding in the front flowerbeds. In fact, by the time he arrived around 7:30, I was almost done. The trip to Joel’s was uneventful, other than a brief encounter with a sappy Carpenter’s love song that I made Sam quickly change (he was getting into a little too much for my comfort level).
By 9, Joel and I were off in the Miata. Joel drove first, through southwestern Virginia and eastern Tennessee. We spotted about two dozen law enforcement vehicles during this portion of the trip; perhaps they were watching for the NASCAR fans headed to Bristol (you know how those crazy NASCAR fans drive…). Somewhere before Nashville we put the top down and I took a shift driving.
Outside of Nashville it began to pour and I chose to pull over and put the top back up. We went around Nashville, got out of the storm and put the top back down. Tennessee is one wide state but we managed to make it across to Memphis around dinner time. First stop was gas and I exited 40 and began to look for a gas station. I found what I thought was a gas station – it had pumps etc. But we soon found out it was a municipal pump when an officer pulled up to get gas. He directed us to another station down the road and we filled up and headed to Beale Street to look around and get some grub.
I was very impressed with Memphis – definitely a place I would like to spend some more time. There was a lot of neat architecture (even a pyramid), lots of unique housing near the downtown area, and Beale Street seems like it would be a ton of fun at night. We walked around a little then went into the Hard Rock Café for souvenirs for Jilian - she collects their pins and shot glasses. We were informed by the folks in the gift shop that the shot glasses are cheaper if you get them at the bar with a shot in them. So I made the sacrifice and had a shot so that we could save a buck. We asked the bartender where to go to get good ribs and she directed us to a place named Rendezvous in a nearby alley. I was a little nervous that she was actually sending a couple of out of towners to our demise (perhaps she had been able to ascertain that Joel was a damn Yankee). But we went anyway.
The place is indeed in the alley and then down below ground level. The ribs were incredible, but the thing that won it my affection most was the tea. You know you are in the true South when you order tea and they don’t even ask sweet or unsweet. This was the best sweet tea I have ever had (my grandmother’s mint tea is still the best overall). It was perfectly sweetened and served very cold. I had a few glasses and would have had more if I had thought Joel would stop to let me go to the bathroom before we needed gas again. We left the restaurant and returned to the car. Along the way we found another souvenir for Jilian and a store selling “Wholesale Ladies Ready to Wear” – too bad we didn’t have any extra space in the Miata .... We left Memphis and Tennessee and continued our westward journey in Arkansas.
Arkansas was fairly uneventful – we were treated to a very nice sunset. We made it past Little Rock (which Joel had mistakenly determined to be half way) and stopped for the night in Russellville. The hotel we stayed at doubled as a girls’ dorm for a local college. Unfortunately the days driving had worn us out, or we might have hung out in the lobby a little while, just to be friendly. The next morning we got an early start and continued our travels.
We started out with the top down and the heat on. The top remained down throughout the daylight hours, despite a couple of rain showers (Joel refused to stop for anything but gas). We crossed the many Native American Nations that make up Oklahoma. In Texas we passed the self-proclaimed largest freestanding cross in the western hemisphere - though Joel and I both thought we had seen a bigger one in Tennessee. The thing that got us through this part of the trip – almost three entire states in fact – was an 80’s cd that Rex had made for me when I left my previous job. It has now been named “Rex’s tri-state 80’s mix” and it must have almost every song recorded in the 80’s on it.
We arrived in Albuquerque New Mexico in time for dinner. I asked a lady at the gas station where to find a good Southwestern type restaurant and she gave me directions to a strip that was supposed to be full of them (she didn’t want to give a particular recommendation). We got to the strip but found nothing for quite awhile and then only located a single Mexican restaurant. Luckily it turned out to be an excellent choice – the food was great. Joel seemed to be playing the role of a bull in a bullfight – he kept being attracted to the color red; more specifically to ladies in the restaurant wearing red. We left Albuquerque and headed to Flagstaff, our chosen stop for the night.
This part of the journey was really interesting. First off, west of Albuquerque is where the landscape really changes. The mountains and valleys were spectacular. We saw many trains, and unlike in SWVA, you could see the entire train because there were no obstacles. After another great sunset, we could see countless stars thanks to low light interference and being in a convertible. Then the storms came and the wind started blowing tumbleweed across the road – it was. We could also see lightning all around, but heard no thunder. The rains came hard and forced us to finally put the top up for the night. We arrived in Flagstaff, found a place to stay and went to get some beer. While I was paying for the beer, the lady behind the counter told me about an attempted robbery in the store the night before – we left pretty quickly.
The next morning we got a very early start to the Grand Canyon. The drive up was beautiful, with ever-changing scenery. We paid the fee, got our map, drove to the first parking area and got out to go view the canyon. I was totally blown away – I got chills down my spine. Nothing I had ever seen had prepared me for the vastness. I can’t even begin to describe it in words and pictures just don’t do it justice. Definitely a place that I will return for an extended visit. Joel and I got some supplies and did a little hiking around the rim and into the canyon a little ways. Around noon, we reluctantly left the park (I think Joel’s reluctance was largely based on the number of attractive women in the park). On the way back through Flagstaff, we stopped at the Route 66 Dog Haus for lunch – great chili dogs!
The drive to Tempe was hell – although hell may be cooler. Traffic was crazy. We had the top down and by the time we reached Tempe the temperature was 116 – a record. It was so hot that highway overpasses were a welcome, albeit brief, respite. While stopped in the shade of one such overpass as we neared Rob’s and Kris’, we were victims of a miniature sandstorm (apparently a car above had managed to throw sand over the side rail somehow).
We arrived at Rob’s and Kris’ temporary digs and were treated to refreshingly cold water, beer, quesadillas (with real Mexican queso and homemade guacamole). Once the day began to cool to a more manageable 110, we ventured out to downtown Tempe for dinner and beers. It was a quiet Sunday night, the company was great and it was nice to be able to relax and talk.
The next morning we bade Kris farewell and Rob took us to the airport. After some initial confusion as to the departure gate we found our way to the plane and headed for Houston. Unfortunately some bad weather was heading to that part of the country as well. We arrived in Houston just in time to board our completely booked flight to Washington. The plane taxied a bit, then stopped. This was the first of many stops and starts in what turned out to be about a 3 hour wait to take off (based on a bit of overheard conversation between the gate agent and the pilot, Joel and I speculated that this gave the pilot time to read Flying For Dummies). We arrived at National, found the way to my car and, after I made a few wrong turns out of the airport, managed to find our way toward SWVA. After depositing Joel at his house, I continued the last part of the journey alone and finally parked the car at 2:38.
It was a great trip! I thank Rob and Kris for providing us with the opportunity to take the journey in the first place. I also thank Joel for taking the idea and making it a reality and for always driving into the setting sun!
Nat King Cole Trio (and countless other covers) / (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66
waiting for Sam
still waiting for Sam
Sam
Memphis Pyramid
Beale Street
mmm Rendezvous
Shouldn't there be a comma after Ladies?
I'm cool
Sunset Boulevard?
See Joel, we could have fit the camping gear
The heat is on...
Largest Cross in...this area?
Smokin'!!!
We aren't "back east" anymore
Choo Choo
I've seen fire and I've seen rain
Looks like elk hang out on the road rather than running acoss it like deer
Yabba-Dabba-Doo
Apparently "All Others" doesn't include "U.S. Citizens 62 or Older"
I swear these birds were just waiting for us to die
the tenacity of life
Joel, how much further do you want me to step back?
Wow!
Ditto!
Um Joel, we aren't supposed to approach the wildlife
The long and winding road
Look, up in the air - it's a?
that boulder looks pretty precarious
leaving reasonable temperatures behind
in the Dog Haus
are you supposed to apply sunscreen while driving
Umm, I think we might have made a wrong turn
Soave - tailing a cute girl from Phoenix to Tempe
Line em up
Home
Back in July, a few friends came over to the house to help celebrate my birthday. Somehow during the conversation it came up that a certain Miata named Chia was going to be shipped out to Phoenix at some point to be reunited with her owners that had recently relocated there. I casually suggested that Joel and I should deliver it out there for them. We all laughed and the conversation moved on and I really didn’t think anymore about it.
Well, several weeks later I got an email from Joel asking which weekend we should take this journey. I was a bit taken aback at first – the thought of driving almost entirely across the country in a long weekend were a bit overwhelming. But I thought about it and decided at the very least it should provide good blogging material and it might provide a much needed break from some of the stuff going on in my life.
Over the next couple of weeks we made arrangements: picking a weekend, working out the logistics, booking the return flight, figuring out whether to go with the hard top or the soft top, etc. The actual trip began for me when I got off work Thursday afternoon. I headed to Washington National Airport (yes, I know it has a new name, but you won’t find me using it). I parked my car in the Economy lot and jumped aboard the shuttle to go to Metro so that I could meet Karyn and the girls at Pentagon City. Well, when I got to the Metro I realized that I had left my cell phone in the car so I had to ride back out to the parking lot, get my phone and return to Metro.
I met the family and began the drive to Roanoke. We stopped at the Five Guys in Woodstock and I introduced everyone to their burgers and fries. Grace and Mattie proclaimed them to be the best ever! The remainder of the trip on 81 took forever as there was a ton of road work going on in addition to the usual heavy truck traffic. We arrived safely, everyone went to bed and I did laundry and packed and joined my slumbering family.
The next morning Sam was to take me to Joel’s house on his way to work. He said he would pick me up around 7. I got my things together and headed out to the front porch to wait for him. Luckily I remembered at the last minute to grab my cars keys, otherwise Joel and I would have gotten to DC and discovered that I had no way to start my car. As I waited for Sam, I had time to do a little weeding in the front flowerbeds. In fact, by the time he arrived around 7:30, I was almost done. The trip to Joel’s was uneventful, other than a brief encounter with a sappy Carpenter’s love song that I made Sam quickly change (he was getting into a little too much for my comfort level).
By 9, Joel and I were off in the Miata. Joel drove first, through southwestern Virginia and eastern Tennessee. We spotted about two dozen law enforcement vehicles during this portion of the trip; perhaps they were watching for the NASCAR fans headed to Bristol (you know how those crazy NASCAR fans drive…). Somewhere before Nashville we put the top down and I took a shift driving.
Outside of Nashville it began to pour and I chose to pull over and put the top back up. We went around Nashville, got out of the storm and put the top back down. Tennessee is one wide state but we managed to make it across to Memphis around dinner time. First stop was gas and I exited 40 and began to look for a gas station. I found what I thought was a gas station – it had pumps etc. But we soon found out it was a municipal pump when an officer pulled up to get gas. He directed us to another station down the road and we filled up and headed to Beale Street to look around and get some grub.
I was very impressed with Memphis – definitely a place I would like to spend some more time. There was a lot of neat architecture (even a pyramid), lots of unique housing near the downtown area, and Beale Street seems like it would be a ton of fun at night. We walked around a little then went into the Hard Rock Café for souvenirs for Jilian - she collects their pins and shot glasses. We were informed by the folks in the gift shop that the shot glasses are cheaper if you get them at the bar with a shot in them. So I made the sacrifice and had a shot so that we could save a buck. We asked the bartender where to go to get good ribs and she directed us to a place named Rendezvous in a nearby alley. I was a little nervous that she was actually sending a couple of out of towners to our demise (perhaps she had been able to ascertain that Joel was a damn Yankee). But we went anyway.
The place is indeed in the alley and then down below ground level. The ribs were incredible, but the thing that won it my affection most was the tea. You know you are in the true South when you order tea and they don’t even ask sweet or unsweet. This was the best sweet tea I have ever had (my grandmother’s mint tea is still the best overall). It was perfectly sweetened and served very cold. I had a few glasses and would have had more if I had thought Joel would stop to let me go to the bathroom before we needed gas again. We left the restaurant and returned to the car. Along the way we found another souvenir for Jilian and a store selling “Wholesale Ladies Ready to Wear” – too bad we didn’t have any extra space in the Miata .... We left Memphis and Tennessee and continued our westward journey in Arkansas.
Arkansas was fairly uneventful – we were treated to a very nice sunset. We made it past Little Rock (which Joel had mistakenly determined to be half way) and stopped for the night in Russellville. The hotel we stayed at doubled as a girls’ dorm for a local college. Unfortunately the days driving had worn us out, or we might have hung out in the lobby a little while, just to be friendly. The next morning we got an early start and continued our travels.
We started out with the top down and the heat on. The top remained down throughout the daylight hours, despite a couple of rain showers (Joel refused to stop for anything but gas). We crossed the many Native American Nations that make up Oklahoma. In Texas we passed the self-proclaimed largest freestanding cross in the western hemisphere - though Joel and I both thought we had seen a bigger one in Tennessee. The thing that got us through this part of the trip – almost three entire states in fact – was an 80’s cd that Rex had made for me when I left my previous job. It has now been named “Rex’s tri-state 80’s mix” and it must have almost every song recorded in the 80’s on it.
We arrived in Albuquerque New Mexico in time for dinner. I asked a lady at the gas station where to find a good Southwestern type restaurant and she gave me directions to a strip that was supposed to be full of them (she didn’t want to give a particular recommendation). We got to the strip but found nothing for quite awhile and then only located a single Mexican restaurant. Luckily it turned out to be an excellent choice – the food was great. Joel seemed to be playing the role of a bull in a bullfight – he kept being attracted to the color red; more specifically to ladies in the restaurant wearing red. We left Albuquerque and headed to Flagstaff, our chosen stop for the night.
This part of the journey was really interesting. First off, west of Albuquerque is where the landscape really changes. The mountains and valleys were spectacular. We saw many trains, and unlike in SWVA, you could see the entire train because there were no obstacles. After another great sunset, we could see countless stars thanks to low light interference and being in a convertible. Then the storms came and the wind started blowing tumbleweed across the road – it was. We could also see lightning all around, but heard no thunder. The rains came hard and forced us to finally put the top up for the night. We arrived in Flagstaff, found a place to stay and went to get some beer. While I was paying for the beer, the lady behind the counter told me about an attempted robbery in the store the night before – we left pretty quickly.
The next morning we got a very early start to the Grand Canyon. The drive up was beautiful, with ever-changing scenery. We paid the fee, got our map, drove to the first parking area and got out to go view the canyon. I was totally blown away – I got chills down my spine. Nothing I had ever seen had prepared me for the vastness. I can’t even begin to describe it in words and pictures just don’t do it justice. Definitely a place that I will return for an extended visit. Joel and I got some supplies and did a little hiking around the rim and into the canyon a little ways. Around noon, we reluctantly left the park (I think Joel’s reluctance was largely based on the number of attractive women in the park). On the way back through Flagstaff, we stopped at the Route 66 Dog Haus for lunch – great chili dogs!
The drive to Tempe was hell – although hell may be cooler. Traffic was crazy. We had the top down and by the time we reached Tempe the temperature was 116 – a record. It was so hot that highway overpasses were a welcome, albeit brief, respite. While stopped in the shade of one such overpass as we neared Rob’s and Kris’, we were victims of a miniature sandstorm (apparently a car above had managed to throw sand over the side rail somehow).
We arrived at Rob’s and Kris’ temporary digs and were treated to refreshingly cold water, beer, quesadillas (with real Mexican queso and homemade guacamole). Once the day began to cool to a more manageable 110, we ventured out to downtown Tempe for dinner and beers. It was a quiet Sunday night, the company was great and it was nice to be able to relax and talk.
The next morning we bade Kris farewell and Rob took us to the airport. After some initial confusion as to the departure gate we found our way to the plane and headed for Houston. Unfortunately some bad weather was heading to that part of the country as well. We arrived in Houston just in time to board our completely booked flight to Washington. The plane taxied a bit, then stopped. This was the first of many stops and starts in what turned out to be about a 3 hour wait to take off (based on a bit of overheard conversation between the gate agent and the pilot, Joel and I speculated that this gave the pilot time to read Flying For Dummies). We arrived at National, found the way to my car and, after I made a few wrong turns out of the airport, managed to find our way toward SWVA. After depositing Joel at his house, I continued the last part of the journey alone and finally parked the car at 2:38.
It was a great trip! I thank Rob and Kris for providing us with the opportunity to take the journey in the first place. I also thank Joel for taking the idea and making it a reality and for always driving into the setting sun!
Nat King Cole Trio (and countless other covers) / (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66
waiting for Sam
still waiting for Sam
Sam
Memphis Pyramid
Beale Street
mmm Rendezvous
Shouldn't there be a comma after Ladies?
I'm cool
Sunset Boulevard?
See Joel, we could have fit the camping gear
The heat is on...
Largest Cross in...this area?
Smokin'!!!
We aren't "back east" anymore
Choo Choo
I've seen fire and I've seen rain
Looks like elk hang out on the road rather than running acoss it like deer
Yabba-Dabba-Doo
Apparently "All Others" doesn't include "U.S. Citizens 62 or Older"
I swear these birds were just waiting for us to die
the tenacity of life
Joel, how much further do you want me to step back?
Wow!
Ditto!
Um Joel, we aren't supposed to approach the wildlife
The long and winding road
Look, up in the air - it's a?
that boulder looks pretty precarious
leaving reasonable temperatures behind
in the Dog Haus
are you supposed to apply sunscreen while driving
Umm, I think we might have made a wrong turn
Soave - tailing a cute girl from Phoenix to Tempe
Line em up
Home
posted by r.m at 5:54 PM
2 Comments:
I like your post. You add more commentary and color than I did. Plus the pictures are great.
Good post! Wow, I forget sometimes how beautiful the west can be. The Grand Canyon is specatcular, I went there as a child and I was blown away. This earth we live on is really quite amazing!!
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