Packing…

We leave for South America in about 36 hours… It’s time to pack… We have lists… we have the stuff… we are tearing our hair out… figuratively…

We will be gone for 22 days… You cannot carry enough clothing for 22 days... we will have to do laundry along the way… but we (or she) are trying to carry enough not to…

We start with a flight to Rio via Atlanta… Atlanta will be cold, we have a long layover so we are likely to go downtown to explore. Rio will be hot… We have a day of touring in Rio before boarding the ship…

Once aboard we sail south… to Buenos Ares… to Montevideo, to Puerto Madryd Argentina… along the way we will be in cities, aboard the ship, and hiking in a National Park… From there it will get colder… The Falklands… then down to Antarctica… back to Ushuaia Argentina (aka Terra del Fuego) and Punta Arenas Chile… We end at Valparaiso Chile… then van via the wine country to Santiago for our flight home…

We need cold weather gear… sweaters, jackets rain gear… we need hiking gear… we need casual urban clothing… we need formal wear… (I own a tux… I am taking two shirts… there is a joke there… ) I am taking at least 4 pairs of shoes… I have never carried 4 pairs of shoes on a trip before…

We are talking three checked bags… two suitcases and a garment bag… we are each carrying to carry-ons… Me a back pack and a computer bag… Tina a really big purse and a bag…

We have our technology, a computer, two cameras, a GPS, binoculars… We have maps, a compass…

The suitcases are eventually finite space… Airlines have rules about weight… We will need to lug the carry-ons about Atlanta…

It’s all about enough stuff vs. mobility… At least once we get on the ship we don’t have to haul stuff for 20 days… ships are good that way.

Closure, Home… for a couple of days…

It was a great trip… long drive and all…

I landed at SFO last night at about 11:30, 25 minutes ahead of schedule… I love Virgin America… Their staff is nice… the passengers are nice… its worth more to fly Virgin…

Thoughts…

On the journey... There is a lot to see if you are willing to pause and get off the Interstate… we got off at most towns with a “Historic Route 66” marker… There is a world parallel, within a mile of the Interstate, a really fun, interesting world.

The cities of “middle America” are great with lots to offer… we particularly liked Oklahoma City (Bricktown), Ft Smith and Little Rock… Memphis has lots to offer… but Beale Street is a bit Spring Break… A place to party, but we had fun, and Graceland is real... a not to be missed attraction.

Road side attractions should not be avoided… the Cadillac Ranch (itself a parody of road side attractions) particularly. The steak at the Big Texan is not the best in the world (its good) but you should not avoid it, instead embrace it.

McDonald’s and other chains are not a good option… in 6 days we visited Starbucks three times… We never went to McDonald’s…

If you get a chance, visit Graceland.

The postcard is not dead as an art form… I don’t mean the color photograph of a canyon or significant building reproduced in color. I mean the post card with big letters saying “Welcome to …”, the Photo of Elves’ Cat, the photo of Bill Clinton’s Cat… The post card is under siege from the email… long live the post card… We found that the post card selection at the Big Texan, The Clinton Library and Graceland were particularly good.

We had more connectivity on this trip than expected… Steph and I both had web cell phones… we were never more than 10 minutes away from e-mail and the web… We had live GPS… I had Wi-Fi at Dulles, and on the plane flying home.

Travel is no longer equal to isolation.

You need to visit Graceland… really

Washington DC is worth the trip… it’s a spectacular city, the home to a great government… its obvious… If you haven’t been here you need to visit to understand. I recommend crab cakes… or crab cake sandwiches… I like the Eastern Market or the Capital City Brewery… but I am not an expert, only a visitor…

Embrace the city where ever you are…

Remember to visit Graceland….

Now to pack for the next adventure…

Day 7, Washington DC and home

Thursday, January 5, 2010

Washington DC area…

I awoke early to see the girls (my grand nieces, Maddy and Kate,) off to school. Then sat around talking with Jen, my niece, and the daughter… Finally taking it easy… I had to pack, sorting the mess in the car, the kind of mess that only a long car journey can generate… for the flight home.

Bags packed Steph and I drove up to the metro station and took a train into D.C. We got off at the Union Station station, and had lunch at the Capital City Brewery… having fortified ourselves for the cold we set off to walk from Union Station across the National Mall to the Hirshhorn Gallery store… I had seen a book on duct tape projects there a month ago, but they had sold out… today I got it… we then walked to the metro for a trip back to our car… It was bitterly cold out… the Capital reflecting pool was mostly frozen… there was ice on the walk ways… It will be nice to return home where it is up to 50 degrees warmer.

Steph then drove to Dulles Airport, to the Smithsonian Air and Space museum there… like all Smithsonian museums it is free, but they charge $15.00 for parking… but we discovered they stop charging for parking at 4:00 (this may be a winter thing) and seeing as we arrived at 3:59, we didn’t have to pay for parking…

We started in the observation tower, watching the planes land… then into the museum itself… It is overwhelming, a huge space stuffed with aircraft… a Boeing 707, a Concord, a SR-71, the Enola Gay… planes parked on the floor, planes hanging from the ceiling, 3 high, planes upside down, planes nose up… and a separate wing for the space artifacts, including the Shuttle Enterprise… I find the museum impressive, but not a great museum... they throw the artifacts at you... they overwhelm you with stuff, but they fail to tie the goodies together. They fail to tell a story. The planes are wonderful... The space exciting... but the museum doesn't come up to the standards of the other Smithsonians...

They announced they were closing a bit after 5:00… we made for the gift shop and exit…

Steph drove around the airport to the departure area… We said our good byes and I walked in… I found the Virgin America counter (they are the best damn Airline flying today!!!) checked one bag and walked to security… where I found… NO line… no one in line ahead of me… I cleared security in a couple of minutes, found my way to the gate and here I sit blogging… About 8 hours from now I will be home… It will be midnight… I will be tired, but I will be home…

Then I can start to plan for Saturday’s morning departure for South America… I understand its in the 90’s in Rio… from a high of 20 yesterday, to 90 Saturday… a 70 degree swing in 5 days… It works for me.

Bye for now, Randy

Cross country, 6th day... Virginia at last...

Monday January 4, 2010

We got up early only to find it still dark, had breakfast, packed up then went to the car just before 8:00… it was snowing… just light flurries, but it was snow… It was cold… 18 degrees…

The snow was a concern, but the road was dry, and traffic was moving fast… as went north the flurries got heavier… snow started to accumulate along the shoulder. Wisps of snow blew across the road… but the road remained dry. The temperature varied from 17 to 22 degrees…

We crossed the border into Virginia about 9:20…

9:30 found us in Bristol Virginia, in need of gas… and they have a Starbucks… the roads away from the interstate were snow covered, icy and difficult… having found gas and boutique coffees we got back on the road pointed northeast.

A few miles beyond we left Interstate 40 for Interstate 81, and continued up the Blue Ridge.

We reached Roanoke Virginia at 11:40… They have a transportation museum… Roanoke is a railroad town so trains dominated the museum. I liked the museum… but we were walking around in snow freezing our b%#$s off… There is a second museum in town dedicated to the photography of O Wilson Link… I walked the 4 blocks to the Link museum while Steph drove… they have a dedicated trail… well done… The photography was great… the museum well organized… we could have spent much more time, but the road called…

Back on I-81, we continued north another 60 miles or so before leaving I-80 and heading west towards Charlottesville Virginia. We climbed again before dropping down, out of the Blue Ridge proper, in to the rolling hills of the coast… Charlottesville was home to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello… we visited on a cold afternoon… It is a special place, he a special man… even with the underlying issues of declaring “all men created equal” yet owning slaves, and possibly bearing children with one of them. We spent more time than expected… we met a brick layer restoring a chimney and talked for some time… then down the hill to the parking lot on the last shuttle and heading north the last 75 miles or so to Lorton Virginia, and my nieces’ home to end the road trip…

A few miles from our destination the temperature finally reached 32 degrees, the first time it had been above freezing in the last 48 hours. It’s still way too cold…

We arrived at 7:08, greeted by grand nieces, had dinner and talked with family. Tomorrow I will pack, we will do something in nearby Washington DC before Stephanie drops me at the airport for a evening flight… I should be home before midnight… Virgin says I get free wi-fi on the plane, so the nest post is likely to be from something like 35,000 feet.

Totals for today, 473.8 miles in 11 hours and 39 minutes of driving

3048.8 miles for the trip

Cross country, Fifth day Graceland and the Ryman

Sunday January 3 2010

We got up late… alarm at 8:00. Showered, packed and checked out a little before 9:00… First we went down town in search of Sun Records… having found the birth place of Rock and Roll we moved on towards Graceland… and breakfast… be believed that with all the motels near Graceland a Denny’s would be found nearby… there was none, but there was a Crispy Cream and the hot light was on… coffee and donuts, how good does it get… the Crispy Cream offered free donuts to Elves impersonators and to anyone with a Graceland receipt on the King’s birthday (this Friday, January 9th )

Having eaten we went to Graceland… bought our tickets… got on the shuttle and off to the Mansion… It was great… It is surprisingly middle class… and over the top… all at the same time. We liked it… having toured, we visited the gift shop… Then back on the road… to Nashville…

Along the way we got off to see the Casey Jones Museum which had signs along the highway… I was perplexed… We were in Tennessee, the famous accident happened in Vaughn Mississippi… why a museum here? It turned out he lived here, and they have preserved his house and surrounded it with a tourist mall… beyond the house it was a gift shop in search of a museum, with bus parking.

We reached Nashville about 2:30… Went to the Ryman… took the tour… smelled the “Hillbilly Dust” had our picture taken on stage with guitars…

We tried walking about “The District” n afterward, but it was 18 degrees with a wind… and it was just too cold, so we got back in the car and headed east towards Knoxville… All along the road we saw frozen springs, dipping down hillsides forming large ice falls… really spectacular if it wasn’t so cold. We have had snow or ice along the way since before Williams Arizona, over 2,000 miles so far…

We arrived in Knoxville at 7:25 pm (we had lost another hour when we crossed into the Eastern Time Zone) just after dark, found a motel, (Best Western) found dinner… It was 18 degrees and dropping after dinner… with the wind chill it felt like 13 degrees… we took a swim after dinner.

Tomorrow we may make it to D.C…. If we don’t it won’t be an issue… I don’t have to be there until Tuesday night…

Totals for today, 426.9 miles in 7 hours and 15 minutes of driving
2,575 miles for the trip (so far)

Fourth Day, OKC to Memphis

Saturday January 2, 2010

Up at 7:00, I showered first, then checked email while Steph showered and packed… We have the weather channel on… its 18 degrees outside with snow flurries expected tonight… its cold across the Midwest, bitterly cold… We can handle the cold, but are worried about snow… it makes for slow travel…

We went to Starbucks… a Mocha and a Latte… then back to the Oklahoma bombing memorial… this time in daylight… Still moving… still cold… I think the cold added to the experience…

Back to the Highway… Eastbound again… The countryside changes from plains to forest as we move east… Oklahoma likes to announce construction work… as many as 14 signs as you approach… a single sign as you leave the “zone”…

We stop for gas once in Vivian OK before reaching the border with Arkansas…
Arkansas border: 11:03 am, 1,831 miles…

We stopped at the Arkansas “Welcome” station just over the border… A really nice visitor center… great restrooms… great information… nice people… a great welcome.like it.

Back to I-40… at Little Rock we leave the interstate to visit the Clinton Library… We have lunch in a Mexican Café… We like Little Rock…

We find we really like the state of Arkansas… We didn’t expect to… but we do… on lots of levels.

Back to I 40, Gas at Parkin AK, back on the Hwy…

We cross the Mississippi River into Tennessee (Memphis) at 4:50, 2,142 miles since San Mateo. We have crossed the 2/3 way mark. Its sunset.

We check in to our motel… we go out to explore… There is a bowl game in town… The Liberty Bowl, Arkansas and East Carolina… They are prepping for crowds and possible trouble along Beale street… we go early… we walk the street… a band is playing Gram Parsons in the “Rum Buggy Café” We go in… we enjoy the music of Pam and Terry… we drink (I more than Steph, she is the driver) we buy the CD… We leave when they stop and the crowds from the bowl game start to show… Live music on Beale Street… its is what it is all about.

Back to the Motel… Blogging… thinking of sleep… we will visit Graceland tomarrow… they open at 10:00… getting up early is not needed…

Third Day... Albuquerque to OKC

Friday, January 1, 2010










We started out in Albuquerque… The alarm went off at 7:00, in the car by 7:58. It was 22 degrees… There was a Starbucks less than a block away… I sat in the car with the engine on… Steph went in… We did a quick drive around old town… I took photos of the church, and two Civil War cannons, abandoned by confederate forces during their most westward advance. It was a really pretty clear day. There was a balloon on the horizon… we left town at 7:58.

Steph noted that we receive the last of the Starbucks Christmas cups… they timed it right… the Christmas stuff ran out on New Years day…

We reached Santa Rosa at 9:54, got off the freeway and followed old route 66, both in search of the old road, but also in search of gas… Santa Rosa still had the old Rt 66 feel, particularly a really nice restored Conoco station… Many businesses were closed, likely for the winter, but felt like the mother road. It was a stark contrast to Tucumcari, the nest detour of the interstate in search of the Mother Road… Tucumcari was sad, mostly failed business…

Beyond Tucumcari we crossed into Texas at 11:20 mountain time, and lost another hour as we passed into the central time zone… we are now 1,304 miles from San Mateo.

In Adrian Texas we followed the mother road off the Interstate and found a surprise… the midway marker for the original Rt 66… The town still remembered its heritage… the next town, Vega Texas did not, but not in a bad way… it seemed to have outgrown the old road… All along the way to Amarillo the old road closely followed the modern highway…

Just outside Amarillo we visited what may be the highlight of the trip… the Cadillac Ranch a 1970’s art project which buried 10 vintage Cadillacs nose down, fins up in a wheat field… Visitors are encouraged to spray paint or otherwise decorate the cars and add to the site… We spray painted with found paint, then I created the installation in miniature with discarded spray paint cans in place of the cars. Steph was not impressed, but it made me happy.

Just beyond in Amarillo we visited another classic Texas roadside attraction, The Big Texan, a famous steak house which offers a free meal if you can consume 4 ½ lbs of beef plus side dishes… we settled for 12 oz Rib eyes… I had a beer (Texas size) so Steph took over driving for the next leg…

We reached the Oklahoma State line at 4:29, 1,485 miles from home. At least this time we didn’t lose any time…

We followed the mother road off again in Grick for more gas… We lost the sun soon after… We arrived in OKC at 6:29 and found our hotel… theny went exploring… the first stop was the Oklahoma City Bombing memorial… I am not sure what to say about it... it is moving, more so as we saw it at night, each of the chairs representing one lost was lit from within... the large entry's were spectacular, if stark... you greve for the lost, but its not clear whether I should be angry or sad... and if angry who at...

We followed by driving around, finding the Brick Town neighborhood… we walked about, had dinner at the local brew pub, and were back in the room before 8:00… Brick Town was everything the old Pueblo in Albuquerque was not... a lively neighborhood... We were impressed.

Totals for today, 560 miles in 7 hours and 28 minutes
1,646 miles for the trip (so far)