If you didn't know by now, we have arrived home safe and sound.
We were up bright and early on Friday and enjoyed a nice breakfast, it was refreshing to have a good variety of healthy foods. It seems the farther north we traveled the better breakfast options we were given.
After a tasty breakfast we quickly changed into our bathing suits and jumped into the pool one last time. We made a few laps and Lu jumped into the whirlpool before we headed back to the room to pack up.
We then checked out of the last hotel and packed the car for the last time .. we then programmed Nuvi to take us to downtown Minneapolis, where checked out some of the buildings and took in the sights.
It didn't take very long to get through Minneapolis and once again we were on the interstate heading towards Albertville this time. We had to check it out since we were not fully utilizing our 1500$ limit .. so a few more items were purchased. They had a Bose store, which is like a toy store for adults .. so much cool technology and so little time .. we had a chance to check out one of the newer items Bose offers, the Bose Video Wave .. the demo we had was pretty cool .. all speakers are fully integrated into the TV .. as well as an integrated control system.
After escaping the Bose store without buying anything we finished shopping and headed to get some supper. We drove a little way to St. Cloud and ate at Buffalo Wild Wings once again .. the wings were very good and the meal overall was good, the only thing that left a bad taste was the sneaky way the waiter up-sold us on onion rings and a salad .. never did he mention there was an extra charge for onion rings or salad, we figured we would take the extra cost out of his tip .. funny how that works.
With our last US meal settling in our stomachs we jumped back in the car and headed home .. we made one more pit stop for cheap booze at Happy Harry's in Fargo and maxed out on our 1-litre each limit .. with some vodka and kahlua on board we headed for the border.
Around midnight we arrived at the border, and then after a few quick questions we were free to come home .. we did ask the border agent a few questions as well, like are we able to bring any fireworks home, the answer is yes, if you have proper paperwork. I figure the required paperwork would be difficult to obtain, so really the answer is no.
One more hour of driving and we were in our driveway .. very nice to be home.
All in all we drove just over 7,000 kilometers and traveled through 16 states, and I am happy to report not a single speeding ticket!!
Would we do it again? In a heart beat .. but not today, to be honest I am tired of living in hotels .. nothing compares to home.
Thank you for following the Adventures of Derek and Luanne.
Until our next trip, over and out.
:)
Monday, August 29, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Day 13 - Thursday, August 25/11 - Elgin, Illinois to Hudson, Wisconsin
After a good sleep at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Chicago - Northwest, in Elgin, Illinois we quickly checked out the pool, ate the two leftover slices of our The "Malnati Chicago Classic" deep-dish pizza from last night, and proceeded on our way.
Filling up for fuel - the most expensive fill yet ($3.97/gallon - yikes!) - before hitting the interstate, Derek had a brief chat with the cashier who had commented on Derek's newly acquired Sun Studio t-shirt. The cashier is a musician and wondered if Derek recorded music and happened to have a card. ;-)
We continued to be nickel and dimed the rest of the way out of "Ill-a-nnoy-is" as there are tolls every few miles it seems and some even on the exits. We were thankful to reach Wisconsin where there were no tolls on our route and mildly surprised that Illinois didn't try to toll drivers exorbitant amounts just to get the heck out of their state!
We inadvertently missed a toll for $0.80 on our escape from Chicago last night, when we realized as we zoomed by at 70 mph (~120 km/h) that we were in an i-pass lane. Oops. Hopefully they don't come after us, but we'll see. Apparently you can pay missed tolls online, but not if you live outside the US. We're supposed to mail in the $0.80, but I think we're also supposed to report which plaza it was. Ha .. don't have a clue which roads we were on, just know that we managed to make it out of Chicago in one piece. Side note - in the city we were cut off by a cabbie who snuck in front of us on our right (we were in the right lane). As he nudged his way in, Derek had a couple words with him, wondering what his deal was!
Wisconsin was a pleasant drive, complete with the fresh smell of cows at some points along the way. At one point Derek had his shirt pulled up over his nose, and he couldn't figure out why the smell hadn't passed as drove by at 70 mph. Then he realized it was because we were actually following the semi hauling a bunch of cows. ;-)
We found a couple cheese shops (Ehlenbach's Cheese Chalet, Inc near DeForest and Humbird Cheese near Tomah) along the way, and didn't make it past Wisconsin Dells without a quick drive down the strip and a little shopping at the Tanger Outlet! Remembering how disappointed Derek was about missing the mini-golf at Pensacola Beach on Sunday night, I scoped out a couple that looked awesome (I'm sure there were more). But after our shopping experience, we decided it best to once again hit the road and continue NW toward home. I promised Derek 2 mini-golfs sometime in the future, to make up for this 2nd disappointment. =D
We coasted into a fuel station near Baldwin and then re-exited the interstate shortly after at Hudson (just before Minnesota state line) to 'borrow' some wifi from a hotel before deciding whether to push through the night and get home around 4am or stop for the night. Largely due to the helpfulness of the girl working when we drove up, we ended up checking in at the Fairfield Inn by Marriott. We went over to Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar nearby for our first real meal of the day (those leftover slices of pizza from last night sure kept us going!). We had the Cheeseburger and the Buffalo Ranch Chicken Sandwich, along with a small sampling of traditional hot wings. All was very tasty.
Tomorrow we plan to enjoy the hot breakfast provided by the hotel and the pool/hot tub and be on our way. I suspect we won't make it past Albertville without stopping, but we still plan to be home by tomorrow, in good time!
Filling up for fuel - the most expensive fill yet ($3.97/gallon - yikes!) - before hitting the interstate, Derek had a brief chat with the cashier who had commented on Derek's newly acquired Sun Studio t-shirt. The cashier is a musician and wondered if Derek recorded music and happened to have a card. ;-)
We continued to be nickel and dimed the rest of the way out of "Ill-a-nnoy-is" as there are tolls every few miles it seems and some even on the exits. We were thankful to reach Wisconsin where there were no tolls on our route and mildly surprised that Illinois didn't try to toll drivers exorbitant amounts just to get the heck out of their state!
We inadvertently missed a toll for $0.80 on our escape from Chicago last night, when we realized as we zoomed by at 70 mph (~120 km/h) that we were in an i-pass lane. Oops. Hopefully they don't come after us, but we'll see. Apparently you can pay missed tolls online, but not if you live outside the US. We're supposed to mail in the $0.80, but I think we're also supposed to report which plaza it was. Ha .. don't have a clue which roads we were on, just know that we managed to make it out of Chicago in one piece. Side note - in the city we were cut off by a cabbie who snuck in front of us on our right (we were in the right lane). As he nudged his way in, Derek had a couple words with him, wondering what his deal was!
Wisconsin was a pleasant drive, complete with the fresh smell of cows at some points along the way. At one point Derek had his shirt pulled up over his nose, and he couldn't figure out why the smell hadn't passed as drove by at 70 mph. Then he realized it was because we were actually following the semi hauling a bunch of cows. ;-)
We found a couple cheese shops (Ehlenbach's Cheese Chalet, Inc near DeForest and Humbird Cheese near Tomah) along the way, and didn't make it past Wisconsin Dells without a quick drive down the strip and a little shopping at the Tanger Outlet! Remembering how disappointed Derek was about missing the mini-golf at Pensacola Beach on Sunday night, I scoped out a couple that looked awesome (I'm sure there were more). But after our shopping experience, we decided it best to once again hit the road and continue NW toward home. I promised Derek 2 mini-golfs sometime in the future, to make up for this 2nd disappointment. =D
We coasted into a fuel station near Baldwin and then re-exited the interstate shortly after at Hudson (just before Minnesota state line) to 'borrow' some wifi from a hotel before deciding whether to push through the night and get home around 4am or stop for the night. Largely due to the helpfulness of the girl working when we drove up, we ended up checking in at the Fairfield Inn by Marriott. We went over to Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar nearby for our first real meal of the day (those leftover slices of pizza from last night sure kept us going!). We had the Cheeseburger and the Buffalo Ranch Chicken Sandwich, along with a small sampling of traditional hot wings. All was very tasty.
Tomorrow we plan to enjoy the hot breakfast provided by the hotel and the pool/hot tub and be on our way. I suspect we won't make it past Albertville without stopping, but we still plan to be home by tomorrow, in good time!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Day 12 - Clarksville (Louisville) to Elgin (Chicago)
Today we woke up in a different time zone, and after figuring out what time it really was we made a trip to the outdoor pool to see what was going on .. well, moss on the bottom was what was going on .. the swim was skipped and we hit the road, Chicago was in our cross hairs.
No traveling without some good food so we stopped at Cracker Barrel, which serves breakfast all day every day. Luanne decided to have 2 eggs, grits, hash browns, bacon, country ham, sausage, fried apples, corn bread and gravy. I had french toast and sausage .. and Luanne's left overs :)
We hit the road again and made our way to Native Person Apolis (Indianapolis) and stopped at our first of two Hard Rock Cafes of the day. Luanne picked up a cool racing car pin to add to her collection, then we drove to the race track to see if anything was going on. As it turns out nothing was going on, we drove right in and walked into the grandstands .. they were washing the corner padding and that was it .. we took in the sights and made our way back to the car.
Next stop was supposed to be Chicago but an audible was called last minute and we took a right turn and drove to Ogden Dunes to see if any changes to the beach area we visited a few years ago (Marquette Park) had occurred. It turns out that the area is going through some upgrades, but over all the Gary Indiana area is still a rough looking area.
Now we were back on our way to Chicago, and after a few toll booths later we found ourselves at the second Hard Rock Cafe of the day .. Luanne again picking up a pin for her collection. After the pin was collected we drove and asked a police officer where to go to get a deep dish pizza, he said "go to 9th and State and look for Lou Malnati's" ... we did and after what seemed like forever, we got our deep dish pie, and it was pretty good .. not super fantastic, but a lot better than the crap we ordered the night before .. what a waste of cash that was! Spinellis Pizza, you suck.
After eating our pizza we drove up the interstate and found another Holiday Inn (Chicago Northwest) in Elgin, Illinois, regular price was 109$ but dropping the 'We work for the Federal Government' they chopped off 30 bucks .. gotta like that.
Tomorrow, Winnipeg (hopefully) we will see how it goes but there is a chance we could be home by this time tomorrow.
Over and out ..
No traveling without some good food so we stopped at Cracker Barrel, which serves breakfast all day every day. Luanne decided to have 2 eggs, grits, hash browns, bacon, country ham, sausage, fried apples, corn bread and gravy. I had french toast and sausage .. and Luanne's left overs :)
We hit the road again and made our way to Native Person Apolis (Indianapolis) and stopped at our first of two Hard Rock Cafes of the day. Luanne picked up a cool racing car pin to add to her collection, then we drove to the race track to see if anything was going on. As it turns out nothing was going on, we drove right in and walked into the grandstands .. they were washing the corner padding and that was it .. we took in the sights and made our way back to the car.
Next stop was supposed to be Chicago but an audible was called last minute and we took a right turn and drove to Ogden Dunes to see if any changes to the beach area we visited a few years ago (Marquette Park) had occurred. It turns out that the area is going through some upgrades, but over all the Gary Indiana area is still a rough looking area.
Now we were back on our way to Chicago, and after a few toll booths later we found ourselves at the second Hard Rock Cafe of the day .. Luanne again picking up a pin for her collection. After the pin was collected we drove and asked a police officer where to go to get a deep dish pizza, he said "go to 9th and State and look for Lou Malnati's" ... we did and after what seemed like forever, we got our deep dish pie, and it was pretty good .. not super fantastic, but a lot better than the crap we ordered the night before .. what a waste of cash that was! Spinellis Pizza, you suck.
After eating our pizza we drove up the interstate and found another Holiday Inn (Chicago Northwest) in Elgin, Illinois, regular price was 109$ but dropping the 'We work for the Federal Government' they chopped off 30 bucks .. gotta like that.
Tomorrow, Winnipeg (hopefully) we will see how it goes but there is a chance we could be home by this time tomorrow.
Over and out ..
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Day 11 - August 23, 2011 - Nashville and on to Louisville, Kentucky
We had a quick start in the morning - I grabbed some breakfast while Derek caught some more zzzz's. They were just putting stuff away, but as opposed to in Memphis last week, the lady was super nice and made sure I had enough of everything before she took it away. We decided against having a swim when we saw floaties on the surface (looked like the chemical reacting with something but still gross), so we were on our way very shortly.
About 2 hours later we arrived in Nashville, Tennessee.
A quick drive-by tour of the Parthenon, then to downtown Nashville to the Country Music Hall of Fame. We didn`t go inside the museum but checked out the gift shop and looked around for Stew Clayton`s name. Stew Clayton is from Manitou, and was inducted into the Old-Time Country Music Hall of Fame in 1989 and 2001. We were told his name is listed somewhere here, but it appears it may actually be at a Hall of Fame in Anita, Iowa (or Le Mars, Iowa?). The names in the Hall of Fame on the museum tour of the big names, and the Walk of Fame across the street has stars on the sidewalk for other big names. Anyway, it seemed we were not in the right place. I had read in a guide book about a Musician's Hall of Fame and wondered after it maybe it would be there - but the building this was in across the street from the Country Music Hall of Fame was actually demolished last year and they are building an expansion for the Country Music Hall of Fame. The convention centre kitty corner to the Country Music Hall of Fame is also doing expansion/development, and apparently there is some controversy around this.
We continued up 5th street and stumbled upon the old Ryman Auditorium, then walked down lower Broadway where they have a number of bars with live bands playing, restaurants such as Margaritaville and Hard Rock Café and a kazillion little shops. Totally devoted to any tourist who happened along. What would I do with a t-shirt that displayed "NASHVILLE" across the front? It gets a little old - each city/attraction is all the same. As the distance between us and the beautiful sands of Pensacola increases, the more I look forward to getting back home.
Leaving Music Row, we continued up and over to the Grand Ole Opry, running into some rush hour traffic on one of the many interstates circling downtown Nashville. We eventually made it and did a quick stroll around the property. There was a show starting at 7pm tonight - including Trace Adkins and others. Apparently tickets range from $28 to $58, depending on seat location. The Cumberland River which surrounds the Opryland property flooded in 2010, and many of the buildings here had experienced damage. The Grand Ole Opry is back up and running, but the Opry Mills Shopping Center is still closed and being fixed. This area is highly touristy as well - with the mall, Imax, a marine land, the General Jackson Showboat, Gaylord Opryland Resort, etc ... all right there.
Moving on, we made a brief stop at the Hendersonville Memorial Gardens to see where Johnny Cash is buried next to June Carter Cash and other members of the Carter family.
Continuing north, we crossed into Kentucky, driving past Bowling Green and Elizabethtown into Louisville. We checked out their Fourth Street Live! which is a covered block of restaurants and shops (kind of like a small version of Fremont Street in Vegas).
We crossed the bridge over the Ohio River into Clarksville, Indiana and stopped for the night at the Holiday Inn Lakeside. We had found a coupon offereing a decent rate - the place was alright, but needs to be updated. A neat thing was that they gave us snack bags with water, cheezies, granola bars because we are Priority Members (signed up at Pensacola).
Somewhere between here and Nashville, we crossed time zones - they are on Eastern so 1 hour later than normal (Central) time. We will get that hour back before we get to Chicago. So weird. A little confused on what time it really is this morning, doesn't help that the clock in the room was set half hour fast. Time to get out of Clarksville!
Onward to Chicago and beyond today (Wednesday).
About 2 hours later we arrived in Nashville, Tennessee.
A quick drive-by tour of the Parthenon, then to downtown Nashville to the Country Music Hall of Fame. We didn`t go inside the museum but checked out the gift shop and looked around for Stew Clayton`s name. Stew Clayton is from Manitou, and was inducted into the Old-Time Country Music Hall of Fame in 1989 and 2001. We were told his name is listed somewhere here, but it appears it may actually be at a Hall of Fame in Anita, Iowa (or Le Mars, Iowa?). The names in the Hall of Fame on the museum tour of the big names, and the Walk of Fame across the street has stars on the sidewalk for other big names. Anyway, it seemed we were not in the right place. I had read in a guide book about a Musician's Hall of Fame and wondered after it maybe it would be there - but the building this was in across the street from the Country Music Hall of Fame was actually demolished last year and they are building an expansion for the Country Music Hall of Fame. The convention centre kitty corner to the Country Music Hall of Fame is also doing expansion/development, and apparently there is some controversy around this.
We continued up 5th street and stumbled upon the old Ryman Auditorium, then walked down lower Broadway where they have a number of bars with live bands playing, restaurants such as Margaritaville and Hard Rock Café and a kazillion little shops. Totally devoted to any tourist who happened along. What would I do with a t-shirt that displayed "NASHVILLE" across the front? It gets a little old - each city/attraction is all the same. As the distance between us and the beautiful sands of Pensacola increases, the more I look forward to getting back home.
Leaving Music Row, we continued up and over to the Grand Ole Opry, running into some rush hour traffic on one of the many interstates circling downtown Nashville. We eventually made it and did a quick stroll around the property. There was a show starting at 7pm tonight - including Trace Adkins and others. Apparently tickets range from $28 to $58, depending on seat location. The Cumberland River which surrounds the Opryland property flooded in 2010, and many of the buildings here had experienced damage. The Grand Ole Opry is back up and running, but the Opry Mills Shopping Center is still closed and being fixed. This area is highly touristy as well - with the mall, Imax, a marine land, the General Jackson Showboat, Gaylord Opryland Resort, etc ... all right there.
Moving on, we made a brief stop at the Hendersonville Memorial Gardens to see where Johnny Cash is buried next to June Carter Cash and other members of the Carter family.
Continuing north, we crossed into Kentucky, driving past Bowling Green and Elizabethtown into Louisville. We checked out their Fourth Street Live! which is a covered block of restaurants and shops (kind of like a small version of Fremont Street in Vegas).
We crossed the bridge over the Ohio River into Clarksville, Indiana and stopped for the night at the Holiday Inn Lakeside. We had found a coupon offereing a decent rate - the place was alright, but needs to be updated. A neat thing was that they gave us snack bags with water, cheezies, granola bars because we are Priority Members (signed up at Pensacola).
Somewhere between here and Nashville, we crossed time zones - they are on Eastern so 1 hour later than normal (Central) time. We will get that hour back before we get to Chicago. So weird. A little confused on what time it really is this morning, doesn't help that the clock in the room was set half hour fast. Time to get out of Clarksville!
Onward to Chicago and beyond today (Wednesday).
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Day 10 - August 22, 2011 - Leaving Pensacola Beach and arriving in Athens (not Greece)
Our last morning on Pensacola Beach... =(
I had hoped to wake up in time (around 6:30 this morning) to watch the sunrise from the balcony overlooking the Gulf of Mexico but it was far too comfortable resting in the cozy clean bed. I was up around 8:30 to wake Derek up with a friendly reminder we had to hit the beach and catch some waves! Derek didn't last too long in the waves today because he got all squeamish just because he saw a baby fish. I toughed it out with my trusty new boogie board, and found some decent waves to ride. I was hoping Derek would come back out after a bit, so I didn't mention to him the fish I saw that was larger than Oscar. Regardless, Derek never made it back into the waves as our time to play at the beach was running out quickly...
We visited the hotel pool and lazy river one more time before we had to run upstairs to pack up. What an awesome pool that was ... we both had so much fun floating with the inner tubes down the lazy river and under the waterfall.
Leaving ourselves 15 minutes before check-out at 11am, we hurrie back up to our room to shower and pack up. Another awesome thing about this hotel was the provided luggage racks for hauling our bags between car and room. A nice perk.
Shortly after 11am, we started our trek back north. Over the first bridge, we were pleasantly surprised to learn the toll is only to get onto the island. It appears it was only $1, but still nice to be free! Because of our drive to Destin the other day, we happened to come onto the island from the east and so we avoided the toll all together .. not bad, considering we didn't know what we were doing! Through Gulf Breeze, and over the 2nd bridge, and we were back in Pensacola.
We stopped for breakfast at another Waffle House just north of Pensacola, on US-29. We had stopped at one a couple days ago, and felt it worthy another visit. They again did not disappoint - very tasty and filling ... enough to fuel us for a day of driving.
We opted to take US-29 N to AL-110 because this route cut straight north, as opposed to going back to Mobile, Alabama on I-10 and then up I-65. Our route appeared more direct but there were some traffic lights and small towns along the way. Overall, I think we saved some time (at least an hour ..).
Crossing into Alabama, we stopped briefly in the small town of Flomation so I could run in to check out the tourist centre. This was a unique stop, as it was in a tiny, old style house. The lady there was very friendly and happy to see me, so we chatted for a bit. Signing the visitor log, I noticed the last visitors were the 19th. I thought today's date was the 21st, and she said that was close enough.
We continued up I-65 to Montgomery, where we took a quick side-tour into the city and checked out Hank William Sr.'s memorial. He and his wife Audrey are buried there. Thanks to Nuvi for directing us there, no issues finding our way there or back to the interstate.
One thing that stood out about Montgomery is the number of Bail Bond businesses. It might have just been the area we drove through there (near what appeared to be a major police headquarters), but seriously ... I've never even heard of bail bond before today.
Another couple hours up I-65 and we reached Birmingham. For a city that claims only about 450,000 population, this place was crazy. Up to 6 lanes of traffic at some points. I had scoped out a couple highlights in my travel books which would take us into the city, so I punched the coordinates into Nuvi and off we went. Our first waypoint was Vulcan Park to see a pretty awesome view of Birmingham. They also have Vulcan statue which sits on the summit of Red Mountain.
Next drive-by attraction was Arlington Antebellum Home and Gardens. Like Vulcan Park, this also had a diamond rating in the CAA guide book; however, Arlington Antebellum was a bit of a miss for us and it wasn't actually open (we were just planning to view from outside and keep going), and it appeared to be on the edge of the projects. We got out of Birmingham very quickly after this.
We drove for another couple hours and reached Athens, Alabama. It was almost 8pm, getting dark and we were both hungry so we decided to stop for the night. We found a decent room at the Best Western Athens Inn (no Holiday Inn Resort on Pensacola Beach, but that's a tough act to follow), and settled in. We walked over to a nearby Ruby Tuesday for some grub - Derek had the Barbecue Grilled Chicken and I had the Parmesan Chicken Pasta, both with a visit to the Fresh Garden Bar. I also tried a Ruby Relaxer cocktail, pretty yummy!
Back at the hotel, we had a quick swim in the outdoor pool before retiring for the evening.
Plan for tomorrow is to check out Nashville, and continue northbound .. even further from the awesome white sands of Pensacola Beach.
I had hoped to wake up in time (around 6:30 this morning) to watch the sunrise from the balcony overlooking the Gulf of Mexico but it was far too comfortable resting in the cozy clean bed. I was up around 8:30 to wake Derek up with a friendly reminder we had to hit the beach and catch some waves! Derek didn't last too long in the waves today because he got all squeamish just because he saw a baby fish. I toughed it out with my trusty new boogie board, and found some decent waves to ride. I was hoping Derek would come back out after a bit, so I didn't mention to him the fish I saw that was larger than Oscar. Regardless, Derek never made it back into the waves as our time to play at the beach was running out quickly...
We visited the hotel pool and lazy river one more time before we had to run upstairs to pack up. What an awesome pool that was ... we both had so much fun floating with the inner tubes down the lazy river and under the waterfall.
Leaving ourselves 15 minutes before check-out at 11am, we hurrie back up to our room to shower and pack up. Another awesome thing about this hotel was the provided luggage racks for hauling our bags between car and room. A nice perk.
Shortly after 11am, we started our trek back north. Over the first bridge, we were pleasantly surprised to learn the toll is only to get onto the island. It appears it was only $1, but still nice to be free! Because of our drive to Destin the other day, we happened to come onto the island from the east and so we avoided the toll all together .. not bad, considering we didn't know what we were doing! Through Gulf Breeze, and over the 2nd bridge, and we were back in Pensacola.
We stopped for breakfast at another Waffle House just north of Pensacola, on US-29. We had stopped at one a couple days ago, and felt it worthy another visit. They again did not disappoint - very tasty and filling ... enough to fuel us for a day of driving.
We opted to take US-29 N to AL-110 because this route cut straight north, as opposed to going back to Mobile, Alabama on I-10 and then up I-65. Our route appeared more direct but there were some traffic lights and small towns along the way. Overall, I think we saved some time (at least an hour ..).
Crossing into Alabama, we stopped briefly in the small town of Flomation so I could run in to check out the tourist centre. This was a unique stop, as it was in a tiny, old style house. The lady there was very friendly and happy to see me, so we chatted for a bit. Signing the visitor log, I noticed the last visitors were the 19th. I thought today's date was the 21st, and she said that was close enough.
We continued up I-65 to Montgomery, where we took a quick side-tour into the city and checked out Hank William Sr.'s memorial. He and his wife Audrey are buried there. Thanks to Nuvi for directing us there, no issues finding our way there or back to the interstate.
One thing that stood out about Montgomery is the number of Bail Bond businesses. It might have just been the area we drove through there (near what appeared to be a major police headquarters), but seriously ... I've never even heard of bail bond before today.
Another couple hours up I-65 and we reached Birmingham. For a city that claims only about 450,000 population, this place was crazy. Up to 6 lanes of traffic at some points. I had scoped out a couple highlights in my travel books which would take us into the city, so I punched the coordinates into Nuvi and off we went. Our first waypoint was Vulcan Park to see a pretty awesome view of Birmingham. They also have Vulcan statue which sits on the summit of Red Mountain.
Next drive-by attraction was Arlington Antebellum Home and Gardens. Like Vulcan Park, this also had a diamond rating in the CAA guide book; however, Arlington Antebellum was a bit of a miss for us and it wasn't actually open (we were just planning to view from outside and keep going), and it appeared to be on the edge of the projects. We got out of Birmingham very quickly after this.
We drove for another couple hours and reached Athens, Alabama. It was almost 8pm, getting dark and we were both hungry so we decided to stop for the night. We found a decent room at the Best Western Athens Inn (no Holiday Inn Resort on Pensacola Beach, but that's a tough act to follow), and settled in. We walked over to a nearby Ruby Tuesday for some grub - Derek had the Barbecue Grilled Chicken and I had the Parmesan Chicken Pasta, both with a visit to the Fresh Garden Bar. I also tried a Ruby Relaxer cocktail, pretty yummy!
Back at the hotel, we had a quick swim in the outdoor pool before retiring for the evening.
Plan for tomorrow is to check out Nashville, and continue northbound .. even further from the awesome white sands of Pensacola Beach.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Day 9 - A day as a local
Today we hung out in town just soaking up the last bits of paradise Pensacola Beach had to offer. We strolled down to the ocean once again, and were surprised at the number umbrellas and chairs that were not set up yesterday, so we decided to make use of them. After a few minutes some dude comes up and gives us the low down that these chairs cost 5$ an hour to sit in .. so we paid up for an hour and enjoyed the scenery.
After our hour was up we jumped into the ocean and again, it amazes me how warm it is. A lot of little critters swimming today too. It is tough not to get a bit freaked out as I am in their environment .. advantage critters. Now, if I ran into a jelly fish while strolling down the street, I would not get freaked out because the critter would be in my environment. Lu seemed to be a bit more adventurous as she continued to splash around and even went down the beach to where some lady was screaming while she tried landing a little fish. From where I was sitting it looked like a baby shark, but it turned out to be just a little sucker type of fish .. apparently it had a poisonous back!
After the fish lesson we made our way back to the strip and had lunch at the tried and tested Sidelines restaurant, again it was good. After eats we walked along the storefront and checked them out, a few more souvenirs added to the collection and it was time to hit the pool and beach again. Luanne jumped into the ocean with her newly acquired boogie board .. battling the jelly fish and all.
After a quick supper we made our way to the local mini-putt, which was supposed to be open until 10 .. then we looked closer and found out the place will be closed the next 2 days .. oh oh.
After the missed mini-putt experience we came back to the hotel and changed into the trunks and jumped into the hot tub .. there was some fear the sun burned skin would boil in the hot water, to my surprise it was not that bad.
Tomorrow we will be heading to Nashville, Yee Haw!
After our hour was up we jumped into the ocean and again, it amazes me how warm it is. A lot of little critters swimming today too. It is tough not to get a bit freaked out as I am in their environment .. advantage critters. Now, if I ran into a jelly fish while strolling down the street, I would not get freaked out because the critter would be in my environment. Lu seemed to be a bit more adventurous as she continued to splash around and even went down the beach to where some lady was screaming while she tried landing a little fish. From where I was sitting it looked like a baby shark, but it turned out to be just a little sucker type of fish .. apparently it had a poisonous back!
After the fish lesson we made our way back to the strip and had lunch at the tried and tested Sidelines restaurant, again it was good. After eats we walked along the storefront and checked them out, a few more souvenirs added to the collection and it was time to hit the pool and beach again. Luanne jumped into the ocean with her newly acquired boogie board .. battling the jelly fish and all.
After a quick supper we made our way to the local mini-putt, which was supposed to be open until 10 .. then we looked closer and found out the place will be closed the next 2 days .. oh oh.
After the missed mini-putt experience we came back to the hotel and changed into the trunks and jumped into the hot tub .. there was some fear the sun burned skin would boil in the hot water, to my surprise it was not that bad.
Tomorrow we will be heading to Nashville, Yee Haw!
Day 8 - Beach baby, yeah!!
We woke up and had a quick breakfast, not a very big spread, but enough to get the engines started .. then back to the room, a little light packing and on with the trunks. We had to take another dip in the pool, we just cant get over how warm the water is everywhere. A few quick laps and we were off again.
Today we drove to Destin Florida via the main highway .. going past our hotel in favor of seeing more sights. The beaches were looking pretty good, the sand a crazy white, the water an amazing Caribbean blue and turquoise. We made our way to the Hard Rock Cafe in Destin, no watches so I was safe, Luanne picked up a pin and shirt.
We then headed back towards our hotel in Pensacola Beach .. we had decided on the Holiday Inn Resort .. to get there we took a different route, we crossed a big bridge and were on an island that you could see the water on both sides of the highway, very cool. With a speed limit of 35 MPH it did take a little while to get there, but it was worth the wait. We were very pleased once we checked in. As an added bonus we scored an ocean front room that we were not expecting .. and the room is the nicest by far.
After checking in we quickly made our way to the beach and ocean .. the water is crazy warm, like being in a bath tub .. we played for a while as sun began to set. We then made our way to the pool, that had a lazy river that was a lot of fun to ride down.
We then strolled down to Sidelines for a bite to eat, our eyes were bigger than our stomachs as we ordered some BBQ wings and a main course .. after the wings I was full ... we sat on the patio and enjoyed the night air, it felt like we were somewhere tropical, not what I was expecting from Florida, but really was liking it.
Nothing too crazy happens down here past 8 PM, as the sun goes down early it seems everyone packs it in early, as we are now.
Today we drove to Destin Florida via the main highway .. going past our hotel in favor of seeing more sights. The beaches were looking pretty good, the sand a crazy white, the water an amazing Caribbean blue and turquoise. We made our way to the Hard Rock Cafe in Destin, no watches so I was safe, Luanne picked up a pin and shirt.
We then headed back towards our hotel in Pensacola Beach .. we had decided on the Holiday Inn Resort .. to get there we took a different route, we crossed a big bridge and were on an island that you could see the water on both sides of the highway, very cool. With a speed limit of 35 MPH it did take a little while to get there, but it was worth the wait. We were very pleased once we checked in. As an added bonus we scored an ocean front room that we were not expecting .. and the room is the nicest by far.
After checking in we quickly made our way to the beach and ocean .. the water is crazy warm, like being in a bath tub .. we played for a while as sun began to set. We then made our way to the pool, that had a lazy river that was a lot of fun to ride down.
We then strolled down to Sidelines for a bite to eat, our eyes were bigger than our stomachs as we ordered some BBQ wings and a main course .. after the wings I was full ... we sat on the patio and enjoyed the night air, it felt like we were somewhere tropical, not what I was expecting from Florida, but really was liking it.
Nothing too crazy happens down here past 8 PM, as the sun goes down early it seems everyone packs it in early, as we are now.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Day 7 - August 19, 2011 - New Orleans to Pensacola
Made it up in time to run over to the courtyard at Prytania Park just down the block from our hotel. We grabbed a little cereal, pastry and coffee, then made our way back to our room at Prytania Oaks to hang out in the room and pack up. This was by far one of the nicest places we have stayed on our travels. The shower was awesome and the room was very comfortable!
We stopped at Slice Pizzeria on St. Charles before leaving the Garden District - Derek had the Trucker Calzone, and I had a slice of the Meat Lover's and the Italian Stallion pizza. The portions were generous and all was delicious!
We drove back into the French Quarter, down Bourbon Street and around some of the places we had seen yesterday. From here we made quick tour through the 17th Ward, and the Ninth Ward. These were some of the worst hit areas from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and they are still being rebuilt. Despite the many homes that have been rebuilt, there are still several boarded up with 'X's marked on them from the rescuers after the hurricane.
Next we were on our way over to Pensacola - across Mississippi and Alabama to Florida. We made a quick drive through Biloxi in Mississippi. There didn't seem to be much happening on the waterfront (at least where we were), and it seemed to still be recovering from Hurricane Katrina as well. The sand here though a nice white colour. Hope to see more of this in the next couple days!
Just before we went through the George C Wallace tunnel at Mobile, Alabama, we encountered our first serious traffic delay during this trip. Of course, I had just mentioned to Derek how we hadn't really run into any major traffic. There had been an accident on Exit 30 and the radio advisory told people to take Exit 27 or expect delays. We were unsure if we'd be able to get over the river if we took Exit 27 so we stayed on the interstate. This delayed us about 30 minutes. We did get a nice view of the USS Alabama as we went over Mobile Bay.
We chose Cracker Barrel as our dinner location for today - this has been a favorite on past trips. Tonight they did okay. Derek had a beef stew which was pretty tasty and I had the chicken n dumplins. A few too many dumplins for this cat.
We decided to pick one of the hotels at this same exit as we are only about 15 minutes out of Pensacola and we figured we'd stay a little cheaper tonight and upgrade for tomorrow. We checked in at the Red Roof Inn in West Pensacola. It's a decent room (hard to match what we had the last couple nights in New Orleans)and the otudoor pool was open till 10. The water temperature was about as warm as the surrounding air. Not used to that!
We stopped at Slice Pizzeria on St. Charles before leaving the Garden District - Derek had the Trucker Calzone, and I had a slice of the Meat Lover's and the Italian Stallion pizza. The portions were generous and all was delicious!
We drove back into the French Quarter, down Bourbon Street and around some of the places we had seen yesterday. From here we made quick tour through the 17th Ward, and the Ninth Ward. These were some of the worst hit areas from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and they are still being rebuilt. Despite the many homes that have been rebuilt, there are still several boarded up with 'X's marked on them from the rescuers after the hurricane.
Next we were on our way over to Pensacola - across Mississippi and Alabama to Florida. We made a quick drive through Biloxi in Mississippi. There didn't seem to be much happening on the waterfront (at least where we were), and it seemed to still be recovering from Hurricane Katrina as well. The sand here though a nice white colour. Hope to see more of this in the next couple days!
Just before we went through the George C Wallace tunnel at Mobile, Alabama, we encountered our first serious traffic delay during this trip. Of course, I had just mentioned to Derek how we hadn't really run into any major traffic. There had been an accident on Exit 30 and the radio advisory told people to take Exit 27 or expect delays. We were unsure if we'd be able to get over the river if we took Exit 27 so we stayed on the interstate. This delayed us about 30 minutes. We did get a nice view of the USS Alabama as we went over Mobile Bay.
We chose Cracker Barrel as our dinner location for today - this has been a favorite on past trips. Tonight they did okay. Derek had a beef stew which was pretty tasty and I had the chicken n dumplins. A few too many dumplins for this cat.
We decided to pick one of the hotels at this same exit as we are only about 15 minutes out of Pensacola and we figured we'd stay a little cheaper tonight and upgrade for tomorrow. We checked in at the Red Roof Inn in West Pensacola. It's a decent room (hard to match what we had the last couple nights in New Orleans)and the otudoor pool was open till 10. The water temperature was about as warm as the surrounding air. Not used to that!
Friday, August 19, 2011
Day 6 - Bourbon Faced on Shit Street
Thursday morning started out uneventful, we had a quick bite to eat at our hotel, The Prytania Oaks Hotel and then continued to plan the day. Around noon we walked over to St.Charles and had lunch at VooDoo BBQ, which was delicious .. Lu had the BBQ pulled pork sandwich, I had the BBQ brisket sub .. very good eats to get the day going.
After finishing our lunch we hopped aboard a Street Car which took us downtown in style, for a whopping 3 dollars we were hooked up for a return ride too.
We strolled down Canal street heading for the water .. the plan was to get to the waterfront and work each street up in an organized manner, not missing anything. Little did we know this plan was flawed, it would be impossible to check out every street in the French Quarter in a single day on foot.
On our way to the water we strolled into Harrah's Casino and played Black 6 on the roulette table, luck was no lady today ... green 16 came up. Luanne played 2.25 worth on the slots and we packed it up and left.
We then strolled down the waterfront, very humid and sweating was uncontrollable .. not a lot of panhandlers, that was refreshing. We then made our way to the first street that had shops selling their goods. One store after another we made it down street one .. now it was time to cross the street and go back .. which we did, this time a little faster and we found ourselves at the Hard Rock Cafe, where Lu picked up another pin for her collection and I added to my watch collection. We then continued on our stroll and were getting thirsty so we headed towards Bourbon street as we had to check it out at least once on our trip. So after a quick pit stop at a bar we found out we can carry our drinks on the street as long as they are not in glass containers .. this was good news and the start of our Bourbon Street experience.
After working our way to Bourbon street we took our time and walked the entire length, seeing a lot of homes in varying degrees of completion. We turned around and started our way back down Bourbon street to see the other end ... this included getting another drink to help replenish lost fluids. Then we found a place that had a 3 for 1 deal, I didnt believe it, but Luanne proved me wrong as I got 3 bottles of beer for the price of 1 .. wow. After enjoying the deals we found a bar that had free bull rides .. Luanne is one to never pass on a free anything, so be sure to ask to see the video the next time you see her :)
After a few more hours and few more drinks we decided it was time to stumble home .. so we made our way back to the street cars on Canal and as luck would have it our street car (which runs once an hour at this time) was right there .. we quickly jumped on and asked the driver to let us off at the VooDoo BBQ restaurant, our local waypoint. We made it there with no issues and stumbled home .. a night to remember.
After finishing our lunch we hopped aboard a Street Car which took us downtown in style, for a whopping 3 dollars we were hooked up for a return ride too.
We strolled down Canal street heading for the water .. the plan was to get to the waterfront and work each street up in an organized manner, not missing anything. Little did we know this plan was flawed, it would be impossible to check out every street in the French Quarter in a single day on foot.
On our way to the water we strolled into Harrah's Casino and played Black 6 on the roulette table, luck was no lady today ... green 16 came up. Luanne played 2.25 worth on the slots and we packed it up and left.
We then strolled down the waterfront, very humid and sweating was uncontrollable .. not a lot of panhandlers, that was refreshing. We then made our way to the first street that had shops selling their goods. One store after another we made it down street one .. now it was time to cross the street and go back .. which we did, this time a little faster and we found ourselves at the Hard Rock Cafe, where Lu picked up another pin for her collection and I added to my watch collection. We then continued on our stroll and were getting thirsty so we headed towards Bourbon street as we had to check it out at least once on our trip. So after a quick pit stop at a bar we found out we can carry our drinks on the street as long as they are not in glass containers .. this was good news and the start of our Bourbon Street experience.
After working our way to Bourbon street we took our time and walked the entire length, seeing a lot of homes in varying degrees of completion. We turned around and started our way back down Bourbon street to see the other end ... this included getting another drink to help replenish lost fluids. Then we found a place that had a 3 for 1 deal, I didnt believe it, but Luanne proved me wrong as I got 3 bottles of beer for the price of 1 .. wow. After enjoying the deals we found a bar that had free bull rides .. Luanne is one to never pass on a free anything, so be sure to ask to see the video the next time you see her :)
After a few more hours and few more drinks we decided it was time to stumble home .. so we made our way back to the street cars on Canal and as luck would have it our street car (which runs once an hour at this time) was right there .. we quickly jumped on and asked the driver to let us off at the VooDoo BBQ restaurant, our local waypoint. We made it there with no issues and stumbled home .. a night to remember.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Day 5 - August 17, 2011 - Memphis, Mississippi and New Orleans
Our day began a little later than our other days so far - we had just missed the end of breakfast (~9/9:30am), leaving us only an hour to pack up and get out. We had seen a sign at check in notifying guests that they'd be charged $10 for every additional hour past check out time, and so we were a little concerned about running into that issue. We weren't too concerned about missing breakfast - reviews on tripadvisor hadn't been too positive about that. Following a quick dip in the pool for me, and a issue-free checkout from the Scottish Inn and Suites, we were on our way.
We found a Denny's downtown, next to the ball diamond, and decided to fuel up for the day. We had an awesome breakfast - Derek had a The Grand Slamwich, and I had the All-American Slam. We also shared a 'breakfast appetizer' - the Pancake Puppies. These are little balls of deep-fried pancake batter. Yummy!
From here we did a quick drive-by of the Stax Museum and the National Civil Rights Museum. This is located at the old Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, outside of room 306.
Finding our way back to Sun Studio, we hung out there a bit, waiting for the next tour. Sun Studio is the recording studio where Elvis recorded "That's All Right" back in 1954. Other greats such as Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, etc recorded there as well. The tour was very good - the tour guide shared the history of the place and the people that came through there very animatedly. Could really feel the energy of the artists that have recorded there. In the studio, the tour guide painted the scene of the famous impromptu recording session on December 4, 1956 of the Million Dollar Quartet. We heard clips of the this session while standing in the very room where it happened.
It was now mid-afternoon, and time for us to hit the road - we were planning to make New Orleans by end of day. We headed south toward Jackson, Mississippi. We stopped quickly at the Welcome Centre where 3 very friendly ladies offered me coffee, provided me with any information I might need (and then some), presented me with a Mississippi pin and made me feel VERY welcome to Mississippi. They requested I sign the guest book, and seemed quite impressed how far we had travelled from Canada! Very positive feeling about Mississippi - too bad we were essentially driving through today. Hopefully, maybe we can spend a little time on the Mississippi Gulf Coast (perhaps Biloxi?) on our way over to Pensacola in a couple days.
We stopped at Canton (just before Jackson) for a quick bite - Derek grabbed some Arby's and I went over to Bumper's Drive Inn. I was fooled by the sign on the interstated which read Sonic Drive In. (We had found our first Sonic Drive Inn on our to Memphis, just outside Branson a couple days ago. This is an actual drive in restaurant where you drive up and order, and the server runs the food out to you.) Bumper's was a distant second to Sonic Drive In!
While sitting there eating our food at a picnic table, we could hear the loud chirping in the bushes/trees that we've been hearing for the last couple days - since about Kansas. I asked the server what that noise was - some kind of animal? She had no clue what I was talking about. She thought I meant the sound of the interstate traffic nearby - thought it was a vehicle or something - wasn't always there. After she left, we kept hearing this LOUD chirping noise, and I was in disbelief that the locals couldn't hear it. I guess they are so used to it, they don't even notice it anymore.
We did a quick drive by tour of Jackson, Mississippi, seeing the state building and several other colonial looking buildings. We saw many medical facilities in Jackson - turns out the city is an educational and medical centre for Mississippi.
The remaining 2-1/2 hours to New Orleans, we started to see areas that looked to be very swampy. The road appeared to built up from ground (like a big bridge), and we saw concrete walls alongside the interstate for stretch. We figured this either to keep cars from crashing into the swamp, or keep alligators off the highway, ... or maybe both.
We arrived at our hotel - the Prytania Oaks Hotel in the Garden District of New Orleans, and settled in for the night. The room is an old building that has been converted into hotel rooms - very nice and clean, and has some character. We discovered tiny lizards (geckos?) on one of a trip out to the car that night. He was hanging out on the side of the building. Then we saw a baby - not much bigger than a q-tip - scurry under the hotel room across the hall. From this point, we picked our bags up off the floor. I'd rather not take one home with me! We figure that these little lizards are probably like our mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are looking pretty good right about now. ;-)
Also just want to mention how hot it is here (and even since Memphis ..) - about 90 degrees fahrenheit (32 celsius) the other day. Maybe that doesn't seem that much hotter than back home on a nice summer day, but the humidity here is insane! We went over to the hotel courtyard for breakfast this morning around 8:30, and we were practically dying, just sitting in the shade. Will definitely be wearing my hat today, and drinking lots of water!
We decided to stay here one more night, to keep things simple and have a place to hang our hats for a day. We're going to walk half a block and catch the St. Charles Streetcar to go to the French Quarter today. Apparently that's the best way to go - parking is costly and the streets are narrrow. This is close and cheap ($1.25/person, $3 for a 1 day pass ... and only 40cents for seniors!) Will update on what we find in the French Quarter later today.
We found a Denny's downtown, next to the ball diamond, and decided to fuel up for the day. We had an awesome breakfast - Derek had a The Grand Slamwich, and I had the All-American Slam. We also shared a 'breakfast appetizer' - the Pancake Puppies. These are little balls of deep-fried pancake batter. Yummy!
From here we did a quick drive-by of the Stax Museum and the National Civil Rights Museum. This is located at the old Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, outside of room 306.
Finding our way back to Sun Studio, we hung out there a bit, waiting for the next tour. Sun Studio is the recording studio where Elvis recorded "That's All Right" back in 1954. Other greats such as Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, etc recorded there as well. The tour was very good - the tour guide shared the history of the place and the people that came through there very animatedly. Could really feel the energy of the artists that have recorded there. In the studio, the tour guide painted the scene of the famous impromptu recording session on December 4, 1956 of the Million Dollar Quartet. We heard clips of the this session while standing in the very room where it happened.
It was now mid-afternoon, and time for us to hit the road - we were planning to make New Orleans by end of day. We headed south toward Jackson, Mississippi. We stopped quickly at the Welcome Centre where 3 very friendly ladies offered me coffee, provided me with any information I might need (and then some), presented me with a Mississippi pin and made me feel VERY welcome to Mississippi. They requested I sign the guest book, and seemed quite impressed how far we had travelled from Canada! Very positive feeling about Mississippi - too bad we were essentially driving through today. Hopefully, maybe we can spend a little time on the Mississippi Gulf Coast (perhaps Biloxi?) on our way over to Pensacola in a couple days.
We stopped at Canton (just before Jackson) for a quick bite - Derek grabbed some Arby's and I went over to Bumper's Drive Inn. I was fooled by the sign on the interstated which read Sonic Drive In. (We had found our first Sonic Drive Inn on our to Memphis, just outside Branson a couple days ago. This is an actual drive in restaurant where you drive up and order, and the server runs the food out to you.) Bumper's was a distant second to Sonic Drive In!
While sitting there eating our food at a picnic table, we could hear the loud chirping in the bushes/trees that we've been hearing for the last couple days - since about Kansas. I asked the server what that noise was - some kind of animal? She had no clue what I was talking about. She thought I meant the sound of the interstate traffic nearby - thought it was a vehicle or something - wasn't always there. After she left, we kept hearing this LOUD chirping noise, and I was in disbelief that the locals couldn't hear it. I guess they are so used to it, they don't even notice it anymore.
We did a quick drive by tour of Jackson, Mississippi, seeing the state building and several other colonial looking buildings. We saw many medical facilities in Jackson - turns out the city is an educational and medical centre for Mississippi.
The remaining 2-1/2 hours to New Orleans, we started to see areas that looked to be very swampy. The road appeared to built up from ground (like a big bridge), and we saw concrete walls alongside the interstate for stretch. We figured this either to keep cars from crashing into the swamp, or keep alligators off the highway, ... or maybe both.
We arrived at our hotel - the Prytania Oaks Hotel in the Garden District of New Orleans, and settled in for the night. The room is an old building that has been converted into hotel rooms - very nice and clean, and has some character. We discovered tiny lizards (geckos?) on one of a trip out to the car that night. He was hanging out on the side of the building. Then we saw a baby - not much bigger than a q-tip - scurry under the hotel room across the hall. From this point, we picked our bags up off the floor. I'd rather not take one home with me! We figure that these little lizards are probably like our mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are looking pretty good right about now. ;-)
Also just want to mention how hot it is here (and even since Memphis ..) - about 90 degrees fahrenheit (32 celsius) the other day. Maybe that doesn't seem that much hotter than back home on a nice summer day, but the humidity here is insane! We went over to the hotel courtyard for breakfast this morning around 8:30, and we were practically dying, just sitting in the shade. Will definitely be wearing my hat today, and drinking lots of water!
We decided to stay here one more night, to keep things simple and have a place to hang our hats for a day. We're going to walk half a block and catch the St. Charles Streetcar to go to the French Quarter today. Apparently that's the best way to go - parking is costly and the streets are narrrow. This is close and cheap ($1.25/person, $3 for a 1 day pass ... and only 40cents for seniors!) Will update on what we find in the French Quarter later today.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Day 4 - Graceland and all that is Elvis
We woke up at our Ramada hotel in time to catch the end of the continental breakfast .. pretty basic options, but we were not really expecting much considering the price. The staff was very diligent in stopping breakfast at exactly 9:30, Lu was in the process of pouring some cereal into her bowl when the lady turned the cereal dispensers against the wall .. Lu had 2 fruit loops in her bowl .. very funny. What was not funny was the hotel turning the internet off at 10:30, 30 minutes before checkout .. negative good-will for Ramada.
Ok, so after packing up the vehicle and punching in the new coordinates it was off to the real Memphis .. the one in Tennessee, no longer in Arkansas everything just started feeling right.
We stopped at the first tourist info booth we could find, cause you can never have enough flyers .. then it was off to see the King. Nuvi had a good sleep last night and was not cranky at all, we arrived at Graceland and got a 9$ parking spot (oh ya, I knew how this day was going to go) .. and then proceeded inside to get some access, after reviewing the options we went with the Platinum package, this gave us access to Graceland, Elvis' planes, Elvis' cars and other Elvis themed events.
When walking through Graceland it came to light that today was the anniversary of Elvis' passing ... August 16th 1977. I have to admit after going through the whole experience it was tough not to be affected and felt some sadness, it was an experience that cannot be put into words.
Once the tour was over, we walked to the front of the mansion and waited for the crowds to disperse, there was a family taking pictures and Luanne offered to take a picture of all of them, this opened up a conversation with 2 history teachers and their daughter from New York. We had a really great conversation and I was impressed with their knowledge and respect for Canada, totally not what I would expect from an American from New York, a nice experience. They were on their way up from New Orleans and gave us an inside tip on a hotel they stayed at in New Orleans, we are in the process of booking a room there as I type. Stay tuned for the upcoming review :)
After Graceland and the other money grab tours we strolled down Elvis Presley Boulevard to find a big tent with some Elvis impersonators entertaining a crowd .. by the time I got around to sitting down while Lu checked out the last of our paid tours, I was horrified to listen to a guy who vaguely resembled Elvis (in his fat years) but had no similarities when it came to sounding like Elvis .. basically it was a karaoke contest and I couldn't wait to get out of there.
So about 5 hours after we arrived it was time to leave, we got our 9$ worth of parking let me tell you.
We typed 'Memphis' into Nuvi and off we went .. after a few miles and a few minutes we found ourselves driving right by the other main attraction of Memphis, Sun Studio ... we stopped in for a sneak peek to tomorrows main event, we also picked up a few souvenirs .. cant wait until tomorrow, I think this is going to be pretty cool.
We ate supper at the Hard Rock Cafe on Beale street, this street had a party like atmosphere that was nice to see, although I am not sure what the party was for, it was still cool to check out.
We then back tracked to a few blocks from Graceland and are staying in the 'Scottish Inns and Suites' which has a really wicked heated pool.
Time to crash and review all the sights and sounds of the day .. truly a memorable day was enjoyed from start to end.
Ok, so after packing up the vehicle and punching in the new coordinates it was off to the real Memphis .. the one in Tennessee, no longer in Arkansas everything just started feeling right.
We stopped at the first tourist info booth we could find, cause you can never have enough flyers .. then it was off to see the King. Nuvi had a good sleep last night and was not cranky at all, we arrived at Graceland and got a 9$ parking spot (oh ya, I knew how this day was going to go) .. and then proceeded inside to get some access, after reviewing the options we went with the Platinum package, this gave us access to Graceland, Elvis' planes, Elvis' cars and other Elvis themed events.
When walking through Graceland it came to light that today was the anniversary of Elvis' passing ... August 16th 1977. I have to admit after going through the whole experience it was tough not to be affected and felt some sadness, it was an experience that cannot be put into words.
Once the tour was over, we walked to the front of the mansion and waited for the crowds to disperse, there was a family taking pictures and Luanne offered to take a picture of all of them, this opened up a conversation with 2 history teachers and their daughter from New York. We had a really great conversation and I was impressed with their knowledge and respect for Canada, totally not what I would expect from an American from New York, a nice experience. They were on their way up from New Orleans and gave us an inside tip on a hotel they stayed at in New Orleans, we are in the process of booking a room there as I type. Stay tuned for the upcoming review :)
After Graceland and the other money grab tours we strolled down Elvis Presley Boulevard to find a big tent with some Elvis impersonators entertaining a crowd .. by the time I got around to sitting down while Lu checked out the last of our paid tours, I was horrified to listen to a guy who vaguely resembled Elvis (in his fat years) but had no similarities when it came to sounding like Elvis .. basically it was a karaoke contest and I couldn't wait to get out of there.
So about 5 hours after we arrived it was time to leave, we got our 9$ worth of parking let me tell you.
We typed 'Memphis' into Nuvi and off we went .. after a few miles and a few minutes we found ourselves driving right by the other main attraction of Memphis, Sun Studio ... we stopped in for a sneak peek to tomorrows main event, we also picked up a few souvenirs .. cant wait until tomorrow, I think this is going to be pretty cool.
We ate supper at the Hard Rock Cafe on Beale street, this street had a party like atmosphere that was nice to see, although I am not sure what the party was for, it was still cool to check out.
We then back tracked to a few blocks from Graceland and are staying in the 'Scottish Inns and Suites' which has a really wicked heated pool.
Time to crash and review all the sights and sounds of the day .. truly a memorable day was enjoyed from start to end.
Day 3 - we're not in Kansas any more ..
Woke up in Kansas City to a rainy morning ... funny how one can enjoy the rain after not seeing it for so long. It has not really rained back home for some time, the rain was a nice change.
In the rain we drove into Kansas City to the Grinders restaurant as featured on the Food Networks television show Diners, Drive-Inns and Dives, I had the grinder and Lu had the 'Le Hog' pizza, both were very tasty.
After a good meal we were on our way again, in need of some caffeine I stopped at a little coffee shop on the way out of town, a mere 20 minutes later we got our coffees and were once again heading south.
A few hours later and we rolled into Branson, Missouri .. little did we grasp the true nature of this tourist mecca ... what a surprise to see all the mini golf, go-carts, restaurants, tourist traps and the like all in a windy strip. We drove to the Tangers Factory Outlet mall and scored a few good deals .. nothing like picking up an 85$ shirt for $6.99 ... that was my best find.
After a few hours at the mall we typed in the address of our hotel in West Memphis and Nuvi advised us we would roll in at 2 am!! Oh oh, that was a lack of planning ... and after a few curse words to Nuvi we were back on the Interstate and making some ground. As we drove through the Ozarks (in the dark) we could only read about how beautiful a site we were missing.
Finally made it to Little Rock at around midnight and then a mini tour of the city and right back on the road again to Memphis. Lu took over for an hour while I caught some shut-eye, what a long day of driving .. had we not booked our hotel room before leaving Kansas City we would have been staying in Little Rock .. but on we went, rolling into West Memphis at 2:30 am after a little fight with Nuvi, who was feeling a little sensitive I am sure to my name calling as he continued to tell me "turn right at service road south" but it was a one way ... he was so stubborn after that too, wanting me to 'make u-turn' ... what a battle, but in the end I won.
We were checked in pretty quick, not a lot of people checking in at 2:30, got to the room, it was nice .. hit the sack as quickly as we could ... time to catch some zzz's.
Next stop, Graceland ... That's right mama, uh huh ..
In the rain we drove into Kansas City to the Grinders restaurant as featured on the Food Networks television show Diners, Drive-Inns and Dives, I had the grinder and Lu had the 'Le Hog' pizza, both were very tasty.
After a good meal we were on our way again, in need of some caffeine I stopped at a little coffee shop on the way out of town, a mere 20 minutes later we got our coffees and were once again heading south.
A few hours later and we rolled into Branson, Missouri .. little did we grasp the true nature of this tourist mecca ... what a surprise to see all the mini golf, go-carts, restaurants, tourist traps and the like all in a windy strip. We drove to the Tangers Factory Outlet mall and scored a few good deals .. nothing like picking up an 85$ shirt for $6.99 ... that was my best find.
After a few hours at the mall we typed in the address of our hotel in West Memphis and Nuvi advised us we would roll in at 2 am!! Oh oh, that was a lack of planning ... and after a few curse words to Nuvi we were back on the Interstate and making some ground. As we drove through the Ozarks (in the dark) we could only read about how beautiful a site we were missing.
Finally made it to Little Rock at around midnight and then a mini tour of the city and right back on the road again to Memphis. Lu took over for an hour while I caught some shut-eye, what a long day of driving .. had we not booked our hotel room before leaving Kansas City we would have been staying in Little Rock .. but on we went, rolling into West Memphis at 2:30 am after a little fight with Nuvi, who was feeling a little sensitive I am sure to my name calling as he continued to tell me "turn right at service road south" but it was a one way ... he was so stubborn after that too, wanting me to 'make u-turn' ... what a battle, but in the end I won.
We were checked in pretty quick, not a lot of people checking in at 2:30, got to the room, it was nice .. hit the sack as quickly as we could ... time to catch some zzz's.
Next stop, Graceland ... That's right mama, uh huh ..
Kansas City to Memphis
Woke up in Kansas City to a rainy morning ... funny how one can enjoy the rain after not seeing it for so long. It has not really rained back home for some time, the rain was a nice change.
In the rain we drove into Kansas City to the Grinders restaurant as featured on the Food Networks television show Diners, Drive-Inns and Dives, I had the grinder and Lu had the 'Le Hog' pizza, both were very tasty.
After a good meal we were on our way again, in need of some caffeine I stopped at a little coffee shop on the way out of town, a mere 20 minutes later we got our coffees and were once again heading south.
A few hours later and we rolled into Branson, Missouri .. little did we grasp the true nature of this tourist mecca ... what a surprise to see all the mini golf, go-carts, restaurants, tourist traps and the like all in a windy strip. We drove to the Tangers Factory Outlet mall and scored a few good deals .. nothing like picking up an 85$ shirt for $6.99 ... that was my best find.
After a few hours at the mall we typed in the address of our hotel in West Memphis and Nuvi advised us we would roll in at 2 am!! Oh oh, that was a lack of planning ... and after a few curse words to Nuvi we were back on the Interstate and making some ground. As we drove through the Ozarks (in the dark) we could only read about how beautiful a site we were missing.
Finally made it to Little Rock at around midnight and then a mini tour of the city and right back on the road again to Memphis. Lu took over for an hour while I caught some shut-eye, what a long day of driving .. had we not booked our hotel room before leaving Kansas City we would have been staying in Little Rock .. but on we went, rolling into West Memphis at 2:30 am after a little fight with Nuvi, who was feeling a little sensitive I am sure to my name calling as he continued to tell me "turn right at service road south"
In the rain we drove into Kansas City to the Grinders restaurant as featured on the Food Networks television show Diners, Drive-Inns and Dives, I had the grinder and Lu had the 'Le Hog' pizza, both were very tasty.
After a good meal we were on our way again, in need of some caffeine I stopped at a little coffee shop on the way out of town, a mere 20 minutes later we got our coffees and were once again heading south.
A few hours later and we rolled into Branson, Missouri .. little did we grasp the true nature of this tourist mecca ... what a surprise to see all the mini golf, go-carts, restaurants, tourist traps and the like all in a windy strip. We drove to the Tangers Factory Outlet mall and scored a few good deals .. nothing like picking up an 85$ shirt for $6.99 ... that was my best find.
After a few hours at the mall we typed in the address of our hotel in West Memphis and Nuvi advised us we would roll in at 2 am!! Oh oh, that was a lack of planning ... and after a few curse words to Nuvi we were back on the Interstate and making some ground. As we drove through the Ozarks (in the dark) we could only read about how beautiful a site we were missing.
Finally made it to Little Rock at around midnight and then a mini tour of the city and right back on the road again to Memphis. Lu took over for an hour while I caught some shut-eye, what a long day of driving .. had we not booked our hotel room before leaving Kansas City we would have been staying in Little Rock .. but on we went, rolling into West Memphis at 2:30 am after a little fight with Nuvi, who was feeling a little sensitive I am sure to my name calling as he continued to tell me "turn right at service road south"
Monday, August 15, 2011
Sioux Falls, SD to Kansas City, Missouri
After a filling breakfast and a quick swim for Lu, we were rolling by shortly after 10. First stop - we went into Sioux Falls to check out the Falls Park. This is a very pretty park in the middle of their downtown. Pretty landscape with the pink quartzite rock and the falls of the Big Sioux.
We made a quick drive through of Sioux City. Looked pretty rough, didn't like it and kept going. Not rough in a scary, bad way .. just not pretty. Reminded me of Keewatin vs Kenora.
Heading south on I-29, we ran into some more construction today, which seems to be pretty common all along for short stretches at a time. Have to slow down to about 100km/h from 120 for over a bridge, or a 1/4 mile, so no big deal.
However, we did run into a couple detours before and after Omaha, Nebraska / Council Bluffs, Missouri which ate up some of our travelling time. The first detour took us off I-29 at Exit 71, east on highway 680, then southwest on highway 80.
An upside of these detours was seeing some of the countryside. There are lots of rolling hills (Odessa Hills) in this area, and A LOT of corn fields. It is unbelievable how much corn is being grown in some of these states. As we got closer to Omaha, we started to see a crop other than corn .. but not sure what it is. My guess is chives. But will have to do some research on that.
Also in this area, saw of the wind mills like there are around St.Leon/Somerset back home. We had seen some in South Dakota the other day, but they started appearing again once the countryside got hilly.
A quick stop in Council Bluffs for fuel and a quick bite at Taco Bell. Then a quick drive through Omaha downtown. They have a pretty cool display with sculptures of people and horse-drawn carriages, and prairie grasses in a park setting in the middle of downtown. Being Sunday afternoon, downtown was pretty quiet, but regardless, it's amazing how quickly you can get out of a US city centre and cruising on the interstate.
We continued south from Omaha, hitting are second detour of the day. Turns out the detours are a result of some crazy flooding on the Missouri River. The lady at the gas station in Council Bluffs had said the interstate had been closed there since Father's Day in June. This detour took ous down Highwy 275 from Exit 35, and we couldn't get back on I-29 till highway 136 in Missouri.
The rest of the drive south to Kansas City was pretty uneventful. We made a 10 minute detour in St Joseph to view Jesse James' house (house he was shot and killed in), and made it to Kansas City by about 8:30. We drove into the city. Apparently it's smaller than Winnipeg (only 441,545 vs ~ 600,000), but this place is massive and overwhelming, with the all the roads not having a clue where we were going. Kansas City even has 2 airports. One on the north side, and 1 right in the middle of the city. Also very confusing, that the city is actually in 2 states. I believe anything we saw was all on the Missouri side. I always thought Kansas City was in Kansas (only) ... wouldn't that seem to make sense?
We scoped out a hotel near the airport (the north one, KCI) ... choosing the Microtel.
Before retiring for the night, we drove down the interstate a couple exits in search of grub. We found an Applebee's to serve this purpose. The restaurant had Extreme Bingo happening ... pretty cool , but very loud.. they were playing a TV show round when we arrived. They played tv show themes instead of calling numbers. Pretty neat!
Onward to Memphis today.
 |
| Welcome to Falls Park |
Heading south on I-29, we ran into some more construction today, which seems to be pretty common all along for short stretches at a time. Have to slow down to about 100km/h from 120 for over a bridge, or a 1/4 mile, so no big deal.
However, we did run into a couple detours before and after Omaha, Nebraska / Council Bluffs, Missouri which ate up some of our travelling time. The first detour took us off I-29 at Exit 71, east on highway 680, then southwest on highway 80.
An upside of these detours was seeing some of the countryside. There are lots of rolling hills (Odessa Hills) in this area, and A LOT of corn fields. It is unbelievable how much corn is being grown in some of these states. As we got closer to Omaha, we started to see a crop other than corn .. but not sure what it is. My guess is chives. But will have to do some research on that.
Also in this area, saw of the wind mills like there are around St.Leon/Somerset back home. We had seen some in South Dakota the other day, but they started appearing again once the countryside got hilly.
A quick stop in Council Bluffs for fuel and a quick bite at Taco Bell. Then a quick drive through Omaha downtown. They have a pretty cool display with sculptures of people and horse-drawn carriages, and prairie grasses in a park setting in the middle of downtown. Being Sunday afternoon, downtown was pretty quiet, but regardless, it's amazing how quickly you can get out of a US city centre and cruising on the interstate.
We continued south from Omaha, hitting are second detour of the day. Turns out the detours are a result of some crazy flooding on the Missouri River. The lady at the gas station in Council Bluffs had said the interstate had been closed there since Father's Day in June. This detour took ous down Highwy 275 from Exit 35, and we couldn't get back on I-29 till highway 136 in Missouri.
The rest of the drive south to Kansas City was pretty uneventful. We made a 10 minute detour in St Joseph to view Jesse James' house (house he was shot and killed in), and made it to Kansas City by about 8:30. We drove into the city. Apparently it's smaller than Winnipeg (only 441,545 vs ~ 600,000), but this place is massive and overwhelming, with the all the roads not having a clue where we were going. Kansas City even has 2 airports. One on the north side, and 1 right in the middle of the city. Also very confusing, that the city is actually in 2 states. I believe anything we saw was all on the Missouri side. I always thought Kansas City was in Kansas (only) ... wouldn't that seem to make sense?
We scoped out a hotel near the airport (the north one, KCI) ... choosing the Microtel.
Before retiring for the night, we drove down the interstate a couple exits in search of grub. We found an Applebee's to serve this purpose. The restaurant had Extreme Bingo happening ... pretty cool , but very loud.. they were playing a TV show round when we arrived. They played tv show themes instead of calling numbers. Pretty neat!
Onward to Memphis today.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Sioux Falls, SD
We stayed the night at the AmericInn in Sioux Falls, SD.
A nice place, with a nice heated pool and whirlpool. Continental breakfast in the morning included lots of options including waffles! Best part .. no worries of any little unwanted guests in the room. The room felt good as soon as we walked in!
The hotel is at Exit 77, conveniently located across the interstate from the Emerald Mall! Unfortunately, no time to check it out today.
A nice place, with a nice heated pool and whirlpool. Continental breakfast in the morning included lots of options including waffles! Best part .. no worries of any little unwanted guests in the room. The room felt good as soon as we walked in!
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| Derek (the blur) doing a cannonball into the pool |
The hotel is at Exit 77, conveniently located across the interstate from the Emerald Mall! Unfortunately, no time to check it out today.
The Farm to Sioux Falls, SD
Okay, leaving Canada took longer than originally planned. When we finally made it to the border at the Hannah crossing they seemed to be suspicious and made us get out of the car and go into the shack. Bubba threw on some rubber gloves and gave Felix (my car) a full cavity search. Considering we had nothing to hide we passed with flying colors.
We drove to Grand Forks, had some grub then hit the road again and drove straight through to Sioux Falls .. nothing significant today, but made some decent ground.
We drove to Grand Forks, had some grub then hit the road again and drove straight through to Sioux Falls .. nothing significant today, but made some decent ground.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Southward Bound - August 2011
Been a while since we've been on the road, but we're hitting the road once again! This summer - the US interior - heading straight south toward New Orleans and Pensacola Beach!
We finally got everything in order last night (Friday) after work and made it out to the farm ... all before midnight! Yeay us! We packed up Oscar and few of his favourite toys, including the squeaky mouse which was a delight at every bump and surface break we were lucky to experience on the trip to the farm. I assured Derek we'd only have to listen to it for the 2 hour stretch. I'm certain if we somehow forgot to remove the mouse before heading into the US, the mouse would probably be evicted before we made it to Hannah!
Oscar acclimatized nicely - only went to his safe place under the couch later this morning. But that's probably more to do with his scheduled nap time, than being a scaredy cat.
We were up early (enough) this morning (by 8am) and Derek and Dad got the oil changed on Felix (Derek's car). Later, I gave Dad a much needed haircut per his request. So that should even things up .. as I suspect it was probably more Derek shouting encouragements while changing the oil, than the other way around. ;-)
Just fueling up on some bacon and eggs this morning before striking out, and getting our maps and travel books ready for the trip. Dad is making last attempts at directing us west instead of south, and Mom is trying to find a way to sneak into the back seat without us noticing. Oscar, is having a cat nap.
Should be heading out around 11, which puts us behind a little bit, but still is not that bad. Target for the night is Sioux Falls, SD. Will update at our next destination!
We finally got everything in order last night (Friday) after work and made it out to the farm ... all before midnight! Yeay us! We packed up Oscar and few of his favourite toys, including the squeaky mouse which was a delight at every bump and surface break we were lucky to experience on the trip to the farm. I assured Derek we'd only have to listen to it for the 2 hour stretch. I'm certain if we somehow forgot to remove the mouse before heading into the US, the mouse would probably be evicted before we made it to Hannah!
Oscar acclimatized nicely - only went to his safe place under the couch later this morning. But that's probably more to do with his scheduled nap time, than being a scaredy cat.
We were up early (enough) this morning (by 8am) and Derek and Dad got the oil changed on Felix (Derek's car). Later, I gave Dad a much needed haircut per his request. So that should even things up .. as I suspect it was probably more Derek shouting encouragements while changing the oil, than the other way around. ;-)
Just fueling up on some bacon and eggs this morning before striking out, and getting our maps and travel books ready for the trip. Dad is making last attempts at directing us west instead of south, and Mom is trying to find a way to sneak into the back seat without us noticing. Oscar, is having a cat nap.
Should be heading out around 11, which puts us behind a little bit, but still is not that bad. Target for the night is Sioux Falls, SD. Will update at our next destination!
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