Saturday, July 30, 2005

The Rendevous and Its Evil Twin



A couple of weeks ago, I got a call from Avis asking me to call them back and tell them the mileage on my Buick Rendevous. When I called them back and told them the mileage (about 3200 more than when I rented it), they asked me to come into the office. This was going to be a problem, since I am all the way across the country from the office. Fortunately, they said I could go to any Avis location and trade in the car. I was somewhat disconcerted, since the Rendevous was larger than the car I had reserved (a Pontiac Vibe). We worried about how to make sure I got an appropriate car from Avis.

The worrying was all for naught, because the Avis representative said, "Would you like another Buick Rendevous?" The new car appeared identical, save for its California plates, low mileage and lack of a lingering cigarette smell. After looking at it for a while, we came to the conclusion that it might be a shade or two darker than the original, so we turned to photographic evidence.

In the picture above, the original is on the right. It is, in fact, slightly lighter than the car I currently have. How boring is the Rendevous is those are considered two different colors to choose from? Or are those from two different model years?

Saturday, July 16, 2005

Independence Day

Well, I've been somewhat slack in posting lately. Here's a recap of what we did when we got back to La Jolla after visiting Dateland. We walked down to the shore, watching the sun set along the way.



Then we settled down to wait for the La Jolla fireworks. We were a couple of miles north of the Cove, but this figured to be a good place to see the show when it started at 9. Around 8:30, fireworks started in a different location.



We soon figured out that our vantage point along the shore enabled us to see a number of fireworks shows up and down the coast. That was pretty cool. The La Jolla show ended up being the most enjoyable, and proved a memorable close to the Fourth.

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Dateland



The first time I passed Dateland, Arizona, a couple of weeks ago, I resisted the sign advertising the "World Famous Date Shakes". The second time, last Friday, Christina and I did not feel compelled to stop. Yesterday, however, my resistance was broken down, and Christina and I stopped there for lunch.



We got burgers, which were very good (though the gravy with which mine was soaked probably clogged my arteries then and there). I had a date shake, which wasn't bad. Not great, not terrible. Christina tried a sip, though, and pronounced it awful.

Saturday, July 02, 2005

Teddy Makes Another...Acquaintance?


I took this picture to show Teddy's continuing social skills, but that was before he and Rudy got into a fight. At one point I grabbed Teddy and lifted him out of the fight, but Rudy continued to clamp down on Teddy's neck with his teeth for another minute or two. Teddy was fine, however.

Sunday, June 26, 2005

Teddy Makes Friends

Saturday evening, we arrived at Aunt Pam's in Phoenix, for a much more comfortable evening than the previous three.

Teddy seemed vaguely curious about Higgins, Aunt Pam's parrot. Higgins seemed positively disturbed by Teddy.



Teddy got along with Maxie...most of the time.

New Mexico Road Signs

All I can say is I'm glad the Catholic Church finally came to its senses...



This is my failed attempt to take a picture of the sign for McGaffey, New Mexico. McGaffey is my grandmother's family name. It is a unique name in the sense that anyone with that name is related to us -- so this town must have been named after some relative.


Saturday, June 25, 2005

Cadillac Ranch

Late Friday, Teddy and I found ourselves in Amarillo, Texas, looking for the Cadillac Ranch, another attraction selected from Roadside America.

My copy of Roadside America dates to my previous drives across the country in 1992 and 1993. I used it to get directions to Cadillac Ranch. This turned out to me a mistake, as after a few miles on an unpaved road, I was calling around to find someone who could Google the location. Finally, my mother was able to tell me that the Ranch had been moved a couple of miles to the west.

After stopping at a truck stop to get further directions, I pulled off the side of the road (old Route 66), and went through a cattle gate on the side of the road, to the Cadillac Ranch, which is set a couple hundred feet off the road.







Fantastic. This is a much better henge than Stubby Stonehenge.

Jobe's Drive-In

Another idea I got from Roadfood was to stop at Jobe's Drive-In in El Reno, OK. I pulled into the parking space...



I figured the right thing to order at a drive-in restaurant was burgers, fries and a shake. But they were out of ice cream, so no shake. Sigh. Well, at least I'd have the drive-in experience of having a tray on my car to eat from.

Teddy and I waited patiently for my food...



When it came, it was delivered to me by a guy who handed me a bag. So basically, this was a somewhat less efficient version of a drive-through. The burger was somewhat better than a fast-food burger, I suppose. Fairly disappointing.

Thursday, June 23, 2005

Worst. Henge. Ever.

Another book I consulted before planning my trip was Roadside America. One of the sites it pointed me towards was Stubby Stonehenge in Rolla, Missouri. To quote the RA web site,
This half-sized Stonehenge replica was built by the high-pressure water lab at University of Missouri's Rolla campus as a way to showcase their stone carving skills.


The result, pictured below, is a testament to what you can create when you have no artistic vision...it looks so soul-less.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

King Ribs Bar-B-Q

I didn't have much time for stops on my cross-country trek. I did look up a couple of places to get a decent meal at Roadfood -- actually, the book, not the web site, which does not have the restaurant featured in this post.

My first stop was King Ribs Bar-B-Q in Indianapolis. I ordered my food to go (the only option) and drove to a nearby rest stop.



There, I enjoyed some very tasty ribs, some reasonable potato salad (not as good as Oma's of course), and some baked beans.

Tent Life

The first three nights of my trip, I camped at KOA campgrounds. (Or is that "kamped"?) I picked them because they were convenient to the Interstate, gave me a bunch of info on their web site, and had a uniform dogs-allowed policy. As I probably could have predicted, they were a mixed bag. The one in Ohio was OK...not many people were there, so I had a section of the campground to myself. Still, it was near a hospital or something, because I kept hearing ambulances all night. The one in Missouri was dreadful...I felt like I was right up against my fellow campers. And there was the aforementioned train crossing. In New Mexico, I had the best of the three. It wasn't very crowded, and the tent sites were set back from the road (Route 66) a bit.

Here you can see some key features of tent life...



I brought a bottle of Knob Creek along but did not get very far into it...getting in relatively late will do that.

I also brought a copy of John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley about his drive across the country with his French poodle. I'm really enjoying it, but I have not gotten much further into it than into the bottle of Knob Creek.

You can also see other crucial features such as my backpack, battery-powered lamp, breath mints, and of course, the cell phone I posted from.

In the foreground is part of the eggshell foam pad (very important...I wouldn't have been able to sleep on the unmediated ground) and my sleeping bag.



Teddy adapted to tent life fairly well...though soon after this picture was taken the first night, he discovered the comfort of the eggshell crate and insisted on bunking there the rest of the trip. He would look at me as if to say, "Hey, I'm almost 13, and you're dragging me across the country. Give me a break." Or perhaps I imagined it.

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Traffic Jam Redux

Well, I promised you pictures, and I don't want to start with the absolute best pictures...so here's a picture I took during the traffic jam I found myself in on Wednesday.

Monday, June 20, 2005

California

Well, I made it. More details (and pictures!) to follow. Apologies for the web site downtime yesterday; I'll have to find a new hosting service at some point.

Saturday, June 18, 2005

Flagstaff

I Just Got Backfrom Buying Postcards To Find Teddy In
The Front Seat Going Through The Trash. I Had On Idea
He Could Reach.


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Arizona

I Just Crossed Over Into Arizona. At This Point I Am
Mostly Interested In Driving To Aunt Pams. Maybe I
Will Only Stop For Gas.


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Albuquerque

Perhaps I Should Make A Left Turn Here... Getting My
Kicks On What Replaced Route Sixty Six...


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Friday, June 17, 2005

New Mexico

I Am Waiting For My Chinese Food. Texas Was Ok.
Finally Found Cadillac Ranci After Calling Mom For Directions.


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Texas

The Sink At Mcdonalds Was In The Shape Of Texas. They
Had Two Prints Of Dogs Playing Poker. Help. Under A
Thousand Miles To Go...as The Army Flies.


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OK

I Got Up Relatively Early Today. A Campground Next To
A Train Crossing Will Do That. I Am In Oklahoma For
The First Time. Seems Nice Enough. First Toll Roads Of
The Trip.


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Thursday, June 16, 2005

Ozarks

What A Long Day. No More Setting Up Tents In The Dark.
I Would Rather Sleep In A Car. I Did Manage To Stop
For Some Good Ribs And A Bad Replica Of Stonehenge.
Pictures Of Both Later.

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