Today was the end of my 2010 cross country trip. At the end of the day, I would be home. The car was not due until the next day (May 22nd), but I wanted to have time to unpack the car. It was due at 3:30pm, so I did not want to stay an extra day and take the chance of any kind of delay and then face a penalty by returning the car late.
I started out with the breakfast buffet at the Erie, PA motel. Since this was a truck stop motel, their free breakfast consisted of access to the restaurant's breakfast buffet, rather than the standard institutional cereal, waffles, near-rotten fruit, and unhealthy pastries whose taste did not justify the calories. The breakfast buffet was great. My plan was to have more than I normally would and try to avoid having to stop for lunch. Not only did I not want to waste the time, but I wanted to save money.
After having a great breakfast, I fueled up and began the long trip. The fastest method to get home would be to take I-90 for most of the way. But that also included about $14 in tolls. I instead took I-86. In Pennsylvania, I-86 is great. You know you've crossed into New York not by the welcome sign, but by the fact that the nice smooth road surface has ended and been replaced by numerous bumps and other problems.
The views along what is referred to as New York's "Southern Tier" are very nice. There are mountains and lush forests. It seemed odd being back in New York again after 46 days, and having been as far as the Pacific Coast about a month before.
I know this route well enough that I no longer needed the GPS to give me directions. This is my third time taking this route. I did this exact route going home from the 2009 Fall trip. I needed to follow I-86 until it dropped interstate status and went strictly by its other name of NY Route 17. Then in the Binghamton area I would briefly take I-81 (for less than a mile) to I-88. I-88 would take me northeast from the Southern Tier to New York's Capital District area. From I-88 I would briefly travel I-90 to get to I-87 (the Northway) to get home. However, I kept the GPS on for most of the way to get an accurate prediction of when I would get home.
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NY Route 17/I-86 briefly straddles the New York/Pennsylvania state lines. I got off there to buy gas. Even though PA has a higher gas tax, gas was cheaper than in NY based on what I had seen along the way. I was also getting a little hungry. The gas station had a Subway. I decided to have lunch even though I planned not to. This was my last Subway sandwich for the trip (and the last one I've had so far). Being that I was back in the Northeast, I was again able to obtain points on my Subway points card. It seems this generally works in the coastal states plus Nevada and Utah. It does not work in the Midwest at all.
I had gotten a much earlier start, plus this was spring rather than fall. When I got to I-88 in the Fall 2009 trip, things had begun to get dark. Today, I was in the daylight all the way through I-88.
As I left I-88 and got onto I-90, I was officially back in my home area, NY's Capital District. Once I got onto the Northway (I-87), it just felt strange to see all the familiar interstate signs. Thankfully, I came at just the right time to avoid the rush hour traffic for the most part.
When I got home, I noted the mileage on the car. I had put 5,033 miles on the previous car to get to San Francisco. On this car, from San Francisco to home, I had put 7,120 miles on the car. The total number of miles driven on this trip was 12,153 miles. I was amazed. Originally, I did not think I'd cross the 10,000 mile mark.
After getting home and having dinner, I had to begin the process of unloading the car. While I had packed the original car neatly, things were really out of order after so much travel. Also, I had not packed slowly and neatly when transferring from the car with the tire problem to the next car in San Francisco. It took quite a while to unpack.
Since I still had the rental car, I wanted to take it to Walmart to do a grocery order. I wanted to put the miles on that car while I still had it rather than using them on my own car. Of course, after seven hours of driving, I was absolutely exhausted. Still, I did it. I got back after 10:30pm. I definitely needed some sleep.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
May 20, 2010: Cincinnati, Ohio area
This was my last day of actual travel events. The next day would simply be traveling home. I had a lot to do today, including seeing the birth place of Ulysses Grant, visiting a relative, and seeing a friend who I have corresponded with for years online. All of this was going to be very hectic. Then I had a six hour drive to get up to Erie, Pennsylvania for a stopover.
The first stop would be the birthplace of Ulysses Grant, the 18th president. This would totally close the gap in presidential sites. After visiting this site, I would have seen a site related to every president for whom a site was available, up to Dwight Eisenhower. I would consider Eisenhower a modern president. (Presidents before Eisenhower who do not have any public site available include Zachary Taylor (#12), and Grover Cleveland (#22 and #24).) Even among modern presidents, this trip allowed me to see a site related to Kennedy and one related to Reagan. So, the number of leftover presidents whose sites I have not seen is very limited at this point.
Grant's birthplace was located on US 232 in Moscow, Ohio. It is in a small area called Point Pleasant. The GPS did not have US 232 in Moscow listed. I decided to head out to Moscow, OH and see if I could find signs. As I was driving, I remembered I had written down the phone number for the birthplace and they provided directions to me.
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Grant's birth home was very small. The bedroom and kitchen were in one room. The family stayed in this house until Grant was 11 months old. There were items of clothing from the Grant family. The oldest item was a boot made by Grant's father that is now over 200 years old. Photographs with flash were allowed.
After the very brief tour, I spent some time chatting with the staff of the house. We swapped historical stories about the presidents of the era, settlers in New York, and about the weather. This was not exactly a very popular spot for visitors, and I think the tour guides were enjoying getting a chance to talk to someone from outside the area. But, I was crunched for time and I had an hour to get to my next stop.
My next item on the agenda was visiting my cousin's wife and her son, my first cousin once removed. I had last seen them three years ago in Maryland. They since moved to the Cincinnati area in the city of Mason. I typically see at least one relative on these trips (the 2009 trip is the only exclusion), so it was good to be able to keep that tradition.
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My cousin and his wife's home was only about two years old. The whole neighborhood was around the same age. Surprisingly enough, the GPS got me there without a problem. I spent about an hour with my cousin's wife and her son, watching him put together train tracks for his model trains. We tried to get pictures of him, but he was not interested. He would put his head down and laughed about it. I was not fast enough. I stayed for about an hour, but then I had to get to a late lunch with a friend I've known for years.
Getting into downtown Cincinnati was an adventure. I had to go to Elm Street, of all places. In some commercials for the GPS device, they always talk about going to Elm Street. Cincinnati has two streets by this name. One is in a residential area and the other is in the downtown business district. I wanted the latter but picked the former from the menu. Getting to the residential area, I then added an extra twenty minutes to my travels, delaying my friend who was at work.
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I finally got to the business district and thankfully, there was a parking space right on the edge of the road. We found a restaurant nearby to allow maximum time to talk. We had crepes with artichokes and various cheeses.
After the visit with my friend was over, I was officially on the way back. All travel events were done. I simply needed to get to Erie, Pennsylvania, for the night.
However, along the way, I did stop in the Amish area of Ohio (near Mansfield) for dinner. There was a great Amish restaurant just off I-71. I didn't have a lot of time so I got the buffet. This was not as good, but the dessert was absolutely delicious. I had German Chocolate pie. That was well worth the calories and extra cost. I purchased some items to bring home.
View Larger Map
I got into the hotel in Erie, PA around 10:30pm. This is a hotel that still charges for Internet access, so I didn't use that. I got some rest and was ready for the long journey home.
View Larger Map
The first stop would be the birthplace of Ulysses Grant, the 18th president. This would totally close the gap in presidential sites. After visiting this site, I would have seen a site related to every president for whom a site was available, up to Dwight Eisenhower. I would consider Eisenhower a modern president. (Presidents before Eisenhower who do not have any public site available include Zachary Taylor (#12), and Grover Cleveland (#22 and #24).) Even among modern presidents, this trip allowed me to see a site related to Kennedy and one related to Reagan. So, the number of leftover presidents whose sites I have not seen is very limited at this point.
Grant's birthplace was located on US 232 in Moscow, Ohio. It is in a small area called Point Pleasant. The GPS did not have US 232 in Moscow listed. I decided to head out to Moscow, OH and see if I could find signs. As I was driving, I remembered I had written down the phone number for the birthplace and they provided directions to me.
View Larger Map
Grant's birth home was very small. The bedroom and kitchen were in one room. The family stayed in this house until Grant was 11 months old. There were items of clothing from the Grant family. The oldest item was a boot made by Grant's father that is now over 200 years old. Photographs with flash were allowed.
After the very brief tour, I spent some time chatting with the staff of the house. We swapped historical stories about the presidents of the era, settlers in New York, and about the weather. This was not exactly a very popular spot for visitors, and I think the tour guides were enjoying getting a chance to talk to someone from outside the area. But, I was crunched for time and I had an hour to get to my next stop.
My next item on the agenda was visiting my cousin's wife and her son, my first cousin once removed. I had last seen them three years ago in Maryland. They since moved to the Cincinnati area in the city of Mason. I typically see at least one relative on these trips (the 2009 trip is the only exclusion), so it was good to be able to keep that tradition.
View Larger Map
My cousin and his wife's home was only about two years old. The whole neighborhood was around the same age. Surprisingly enough, the GPS got me there without a problem. I spent about an hour with my cousin's wife and her son, watching him put together train tracks for his model trains. We tried to get pictures of him, but he was not interested. He would put his head down and laughed about it. I was not fast enough. I stayed for about an hour, but then I had to get to a late lunch with a friend I've known for years.
Getting into downtown Cincinnati was an adventure. I had to go to Elm Street, of all places. In some commercials for the GPS device, they always talk about going to Elm Street. Cincinnati has two streets by this name. One is in a residential area and the other is in the downtown business district. I wanted the latter but picked the former from the menu. Getting to the residential area, I then added an extra twenty minutes to my travels, delaying my friend who was at work.
View Larger Map
I finally got to the business district and thankfully, there was a parking space right on the edge of the road. We found a restaurant nearby to allow maximum time to talk. We had crepes with artichokes and various cheeses.
After the visit with my friend was over, I was officially on the way back. All travel events were done. I simply needed to get to Erie, Pennsylvania, for the night.
However, along the way, I did stop in the Amish area of Ohio (near Mansfield) for dinner. There was a great Amish restaurant just off I-71. I didn't have a lot of time so I got the buffet. This was not as good, but the dessert was absolutely delicious. I had German Chocolate pie. That was well worth the calories and extra cost. I purchased some items to bring home.
View Larger Map
I got into the hotel in Erie, PA around 10:30pm. This is a hotel that still charges for Internet access, so I didn't use that. I got some rest and was ready for the long journey home.
View Larger Map
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
New Route Map
I posted a new route map on the right side, covering the final part of my trip from May 17 - 21, 2010.
May 19, 2010: Herbert Hoover National Historic Site
While I had been to Iowa once before (in 2007), that was nothing more than a token visit. Back then I drove up I-29 in western Iowa, mostly through torrential rain and I was afraid I was going to have a severe accident. The only activities I did were to eat dinner at a truck stop and buy gas and postcards. That's not much of a visit.
This time, I was in eastern Iowa and had an actual destination in the state. I even stayed overnight. Iowa seems to have quite a number of insects. It was hot and they would not leave me alone. It's very flat with some occasional hills.
Herbert Hoover was the 31st president. He is most associated with the Great Depression. Unfortunately, he was president at the wrong time. After a bubble in the 1920s, it was bound to burst. A few months after taking office, the stock market crash of 1929 happened. The boom times of the 20s simply could not last. To make matters worse, Hoover was not able to connect with the people. He was an engineer, but lacked the charisma needed in a president. This is similar to what destroyed the presidency of Martin Van Buren, the 8th president. (I know a lot about Van Buren since he was Kinderhook, NY.) After the wildly popular Andrew Jackson, Van Buren lacked Jackson's charisma. The economy crashed in 1837 shortly after Van Buren's presidency began, and he was unable to fix it.
Hoover had an illustrious career before the presidency. Under the Wilson administration, he helped feed starving people in Europe. He wanted to be in public service. He was popular and well known then, and served as Commerce Secretary under Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge. When Coolidge declined to run for a second full term, Hoover ran for president in 1928 and won by a landslide. Hoover was sworn into office by Chief Justice William Taft, who had served as the 27th president (Taft was the only former president to swear in a successor).
In the case of Hoover after he lost the election for his second term, there was a coordinated effort by FDR's people to write history to blame him for the crash. FDR would then get the credit for fixing it. In the final days of his presidency, Hoover tried to implement programs and wanted assurances that FDR would continue these programs. Hoover's interest was in helping the American people, while FDR's interest was in his own legacy. FDR's own people admitted they hesitated because they wanted the blame to go to Hoover.
During the FDR years, Hoover was shut out of the public eye. His reputation was ruined. The museum referred to this as his wildnerness years. After FDR's death, Harry Truman brought Hoover out of obscurity, asking him to head up relief efforts in the aftermath of WWII. Truman and Hoover became good friends, even if they disagreed politically. Truman also asked Hoover to reorganize the Executive Branch. Hoover was delighted and felt this new work added years to his life.
Hoover was also a strong intellectual. He was very much against Communism and against mediocrity. He believed in individuals doing extraordinary things. He promoted individualism while still having people look out for each other. But he felt it was important for people to strive to be "uncommon people" rather than just "common people." Even at age 88, he had great optimism for the country. He wrote around forty books, including a book about Woodrow Wilson. It is said that this is the first time a former president wrote a book about a predecessor. However, John Quincy Adams wrote a book (published after his death) about James Madison and James Monroe, his predecessors.
I visited Hoover's grave site, which is a simple slab containing his name. As Hoover grew up as a Quaker, he was taught humility. The grave site does not mention that he served as president. In that sense it's similar to James Madison's grave which simply says "Madison" and his birth and death dates.
I saw the birth home, which is extremely small. Hoover came from humble beginnings. His family lived in that home for a short time before moving on. He made a decision to purchase and preserve his birth home and often visited West Branch, Iowa, to remember his roots.
The National Park Service has recreated the entire neighborhood where Hoover was born. (They have done the same with the neighborhood where Abraham Lincoln lived as an adult in Springfield, Illinois.) There is even a working blacksmith shop which does everything as it would have been done in the 1870s. Products are sold and demonstrations are done at the shop.
After leaving the Hoover home, I went to get lunch. West Branch is a quaint little city and had a couple of small restaurants, but I didn't have time to wait. I needed fast food because I had an eight hour drive ahead of me. I also needed to go to a place with an Internet connection since I could not get online at the hotel the previous night.
My next hotel was in Erlanger, Kentucky. This was just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. While it was nice to include Kentucky as a state visited in this trip, the real reason I selected this city was that it has a hotel that required the minimum amount of points. It was also an airport hotel and airport hotels are typically very clean.
View Larger Map
The drive to Erlanger, Kentucky went through eastern Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and finally into Kentucky. I would be in five states today. It was a daunting drive and took over eight hours. There was a change in my planned drive as I-80 eastbound was closed in Iowa going towards the Illinois line. I had to take another interstate (I-280?) to I-74.
I thought I might end up passing through one of these states without getting out of the car. But, I bought gas and dinner in Illinois, and more gas in Indiana. Prices were around the $2.60s in Indiana.
In Indiana, my heart sank as I noticed that I-465, which is a "beltway" around Indianapolis, was under massive construction. Signs warned that drivers should seek alternate routes. Thankfully, during the time I got to that area, there was not a lot of traffic. Things were slow, but tolerable.
The hotel in Kentucky was an adventure all in itself. It was around 11:15 or so when I arrived. I was exhausted. I had crossed from Central Time to Eastern Time (in Indiana) so I lost an hour. I wanted to get into my hotel room and rest. The clerk told me that I had "already checked in." I explained that I did not check in already and nobody was with me. She thought perhaps it was just a data entry error and gave me a key card. She hoped nobody else was in the room. She could have called to find out.
When I got up to the second floor, I knocked on the door just in case. There was no response. The key card would not work. The clerk gave me another key card. That one did not work. She asked another staffer to go up with me. That third card did not work. A fourth card was given. All the while, time was wasted and I was really looking forward to getting some sleep. The fourth card worked....and the door was partially locked. A man yelled asking what was going on. The hotel had messed up and gave me a key card to a room occupied by someone else!! Thankfully it was the hotel staffer that opened the door. He apologized profusely.
When we got down to the front desk, the man was on the phone with the clerk, expressing his outrage (and rightfully so). The clerk gave him lip service and then said to me "Nasty, nasty." I just looked at her. He had a right to be nasty when he was interrupted in his sleep.
Finally, I was given a new room and a key card that worked. I was worried that I'd again open the door on someone already in the room. Since they had plenty of rooms available, if they were not sure whether the first room was occupied, they could have given me the second room to start with. At least an hour was wasted with this inept nonsense.
I had at least another two hours worth of email to do, plus I had to determine the final hotel I wanted to stay at, near Erie, Pennsylvania. I didn't get to sleep until around 2am.
This time, I was in eastern Iowa and had an actual destination in the state. I even stayed overnight. Iowa seems to have quite a number of insects. It was hot and they would not leave me alone. It's very flat with some occasional hills.
Herbert Hoover was the 31st president. He is most associated with the Great Depression. Unfortunately, he was president at the wrong time. After a bubble in the 1920s, it was bound to burst. A few months after taking office, the stock market crash of 1929 happened. The boom times of the 20s simply could not last. To make matters worse, Hoover was not able to connect with the people. He was an engineer, but lacked the charisma needed in a president. This is similar to what destroyed the presidency of Martin Van Buren, the 8th president. (I know a lot about Van Buren since he was Kinderhook, NY.) After the wildly popular Andrew Jackson, Van Buren lacked Jackson's charisma. The economy crashed in 1837 shortly after Van Buren's presidency began, and he was unable to fix it.
Hoover had an illustrious career before the presidency. Under the Wilson administration, he helped feed starving people in Europe. He wanted to be in public service. He was popular and well known then, and served as Commerce Secretary under Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge. When Coolidge declined to run for a second full term, Hoover ran for president in 1928 and won by a landslide. Hoover was sworn into office by Chief Justice William Taft, who had served as the 27th president (Taft was the only former president to swear in a successor).
In the case of Hoover after he lost the election for his second term, there was a coordinated effort by FDR's people to write history to blame him for the crash. FDR would then get the credit for fixing it. In the final days of his presidency, Hoover tried to implement programs and wanted assurances that FDR would continue these programs. Hoover's interest was in helping the American people, while FDR's interest was in his own legacy. FDR's own people admitted they hesitated because they wanted the blame to go to Hoover.
During the FDR years, Hoover was shut out of the public eye. His reputation was ruined. The museum referred to this as his wildnerness years. After FDR's death, Harry Truman brought Hoover out of obscurity, asking him to head up relief efforts in the aftermath of WWII. Truman and Hoover became good friends, even if they disagreed politically. Truman also asked Hoover to reorganize the Executive Branch. Hoover was delighted and felt this new work added years to his life.
Hoover was also a strong intellectual. He was very much against Communism and against mediocrity. He believed in individuals doing extraordinary things. He promoted individualism while still having people look out for each other. But he felt it was important for people to strive to be "uncommon people" rather than just "common people." Even at age 88, he had great optimism for the country. He wrote around forty books, including a book about Woodrow Wilson. It is said that this is the first time a former president wrote a book about a predecessor. However, John Quincy Adams wrote a book (published after his death) about James Madison and James Monroe, his predecessors.
I visited Hoover's grave site, which is a simple slab containing his name. As Hoover grew up as a Quaker, he was taught humility. The grave site does not mention that he served as president. In that sense it's similar to James Madison's grave which simply says "Madison" and his birth and death dates.
I saw the birth home, which is extremely small. Hoover came from humble beginnings. His family lived in that home for a short time before moving on. He made a decision to purchase and preserve his birth home and often visited West Branch, Iowa, to remember his roots.
The National Park Service has recreated the entire neighborhood where Hoover was born. (They have done the same with the neighborhood where Abraham Lincoln lived as an adult in Springfield, Illinois.) There is even a working blacksmith shop which does everything as it would have been done in the 1870s. Products are sold and demonstrations are done at the shop.
After leaving the Hoover home, I went to get lunch. West Branch is a quaint little city and had a couple of small restaurants, but I didn't have time to wait. I needed fast food because I had an eight hour drive ahead of me. I also needed to go to a place with an Internet connection since I could not get online at the hotel the previous night.
My next hotel was in Erlanger, Kentucky. This was just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. While it was nice to include Kentucky as a state visited in this trip, the real reason I selected this city was that it has a hotel that required the minimum amount of points. It was also an airport hotel and airport hotels are typically very clean.
View Larger Map
The drive to Erlanger, Kentucky went through eastern Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and finally into Kentucky. I would be in five states today. It was a daunting drive and took over eight hours. There was a change in my planned drive as I-80 eastbound was closed in Iowa going towards the Illinois line. I had to take another interstate (I-280?) to I-74.
I thought I might end up passing through one of these states without getting out of the car. But, I bought gas and dinner in Illinois, and more gas in Indiana. Prices were around the $2.60s in Indiana.
In Indiana, my heart sank as I noticed that I-465, which is a "beltway" around Indianapolis, was under massive construction. Signs warned that drivers should seek alternate routes. Thankfully, during the time I got to that area, there was not a lot of traffic. Things were slow, but tolerable.
The hotel in Kentucky was an adventure all in itself. It was around 11:15 or so when I arrived. I was exhausted. I had crossed from Central Time to Eastern Time (in Indiana) so I lost an hour. I wanted to get into my hotel room and rest. The clerk told me that I had "already checked in." I explained that I did not check in already and nobody was with me. She thought perhaps it was just a data entry error and gave me a key card. She hoped nobody else was in the room. She could have called to find out.
When I got up to the second floor, I knocked on the door just in case. There was no response. The key card would not work. The clerk gave me another key card. That one did not work. She asked another staffer to go up with me. That third card did not work. A fourth card was given. All the while, time was wasted and I was really looking forward to getting some sleep. The fourth card worked....and the door was partially locked. A man yelled asking what was going on. The hotel had messed up and gave me a key card to a room occupied by someone else!! Thankfully it was the hotel staffer that opened the door. He apologized profusely.
When we got down to the front desk, the man was on the phone with the clerk, expressing his outrage (and rightfully so). The clerk gave him lip service and then said to me "Nasty, nasty." I just looked at her. He had a right to be nasty when he was interrupted in his sleep.
Finally, I was given a new room and a key card that worked. I was worried that I'd again open the door on someone already in the room. Since they had plenty of rooms available, if they were not sure whether the first room was occupied, they could have given me the second room to start with. At least an hour was wasted with this inept nonsense.
I had at least another two hours worth of email to do, plus I had to determine the final hotel I wanted to stay at, near Erie, Pennsylvania. I didn't get to sleep until around 2am.
Monday, May 24, 2010
May 18, 2010: The Long Drive to Iowa
I started off redeeming my free breakfast ticket at the Grand Country Music Hall. The breakfast choices were amazing. If I wasn't trying to lose weight I would have really enjoyed it. Still, I did sample some of the food. They had Ozark Omelets, biscuits, scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, apple and cherry turnovers, plus a number of other things.
Aside from music, Branson is big on odd comedy. On the wall, I noticed what looked like a picture in a frame with an elderly couple. But then the characters began to talk, complaining that their children never came to see them and never phoned them. The husband pointed out that they don't have a phone where they are. There was a lot of back and forth discussion and then suddenly the conversation ended and the picture "froze" for a while. But still, it was cute and surprising in an entertaining way.
After breakfast was done, I began the long journey northeast. I left Branson and drove about an hour on US 65, headed towards Interstate 44. After about an hour on I-44, I went on a series of US routes, working my way up to West Liberty, Iowa. The Missouri countryside is beautiful. There were lots of small shops along the way and lots of farms. I passed through the state capital, Jefferson. I saw the actual capitol building from the road.
View Larger Map
The drive took over eight hours (counting stops for meals) and there were lots of turns onto different roads. There wasn't a simple interstate that would take me up to the area I intended to visit.
One interesting (to me) point in the drive was when I got close to the Illinois state line while still in Missouri. There were signs pointing to Monroe, Missouri and Quincy, Illinois. The fifth president was James Monroe and his Secretary of State was John Quincy Adams, who was the sixth president.
By the time I crossed the state line into Iowa, the sun was setting. But, I was able to at least see a little bit of the farm land as I continued to drive north. Iowa is very flat. From what little I've seen, I would say it's flatter than Kansas. Minnesota (which is directly north of Iowa) is also quite flat. Missouri is mostly flat too, but it does have the Ozarks in the south.
The last ten miles of the trip was along I-80. The Herbert Hoover national historic site was well marked along the interstate. I had to drive five miles east of that for the hotel. When I got off the exit for West Liberty, the GPS had me take a left turn when I needed to take a right. Thankfully I didn't go far before I realized the GPS messed up again.
The hotel I chose was an Econo Lodge. It took the minimal amount of points. Going there in the dark sort of frightened me a bit just based on looks. I was expecting something filthy based on the outside. However, it did have good ratings on Trip Advisor.
When I checked in, I was given a security code for the Internet. This was different from the usual ID/password used at most hotels. This was a security code used at the time you connected to the wireless network. I got a little nervous about that.
When I got into the hotel room, I was pleasantly surprised. It was clean and the facilities were nice. It's hit or miss with Econo Lodges. Sometimes they're really bad and other times they can be very reasonable even if not as fancy as a Comfort Inn. (The fanciness of a Comfort Inn translates into higher costs and higher numbers of points required for free nights.)
Unfortunately, my fears about the Internet were realized. Despite typing the code correctly several different times and trying a number of ways to connect, my computer refused to connect. Thankfully, I had already reserved the hotel for the next night (just inside Kentucky along the Ohio state line). Still, it's nice to be able to check up on email and such in case of emergencies. On the positive side, lack of Internet access meant I could get to sleep a little earlier that evening. I would need that sleep because the next day would be another brutally long drive. Iowa to Kentucky is a lot of driving, with three states (Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio) in between.
Aside from music, Branson is big on odd comedy. On the wall, I noticed what looked like a picture in a frame with an elderly couple. But then the characters began to talk, complaining that their children never came to see them and never phoned them. The husband pointed out that they don't have a phone where they are. There was a lot of back and forth discussion and then suddenly the conversation ended and the picture "froze" for a while. But still, it was cute and surprising in an entertaining way.
After breakfast was done, I began the long journey northeast. I left Branson and drove about an hour on US 65, headed towards Interstate 44. After about an hour on I-44, I went on a series of US routes, working my way up to West Liberty, Iowa. The Missouri countryside is beautiful. There were lots of small shops along the way and lots of farms. I passed through the state capital, Jefferson. I saw the actual capitol building from the road.
View Larger Map
The drive took over eight hours (counting stops for meals) and there were lots of turns onto different roads. There wasn't a simple interstate that would take me up to the area I intended to visit.
One interesting (to me) point in the drive was when I got close to the Illinois state line while still in Missouri. There were signs pointing to Monroe, Missouri and Quincy, Illinois. The fifth president was James Monroe and his Secretary of State was John Quincy Adams, who was the sixth president.
By the time I crossed the state line into Iowa, the sun was setting. But, I was able to at least see a little bit of the farm land as I continued to drive north. Iowa is very flat. From what little I've seen, I would say it's flatter than Kansas. Minnesota (which is directly north of Iowa) is also quite flat. Missouri is mostly flat too, but it does have the Ozarks in the south.
The last ten miles of the trip was along I-80. The Herbert Hoover national historic site was well marked along the interstate. I had to drive five miles east of that for the hotel. When I got off the exit for West Liberty, the GPS had me take a left turn when I needed to take a right. Thankfully I didn't go far before I realized the GPS messed up again.
The hotel I chose was an Econo Lodge. It took the minimal amount of points. Going there in the dark sort of frightened me a bit just based on looks. I was expecting something filthy based on the outside. However, it did have good ratings on Trip Advisor.
When I checked in, I was given a security code for the Internet. This was different from the usual ID/password used at most hotels. This was a security code used at the time you connected to the wireless network. I got a little nervous about that.
When I got into the hotel room, I was pleasantly surprised. It was clean and the facilities were nice. It's hit or miss with Econo Lodges. Sometimes they're really bad and other times they can be very reasonable even if not as fancy as a Comfort Inn. (The fanciness of a Comfort Inn translates into higher costs and higher numbers of points required for free nights.)
Unfortunately, my fears about the Internet were realized. Despite typing the code correctly several different times and trying a number of ways to connect, my computer refused to connect. Thankfully, I had already reserved the hotel for the next night (just inside Kentucky along the Ohio state line). Still, it's nice to be able to check up on email and such in case of emergencies. On the positive side, lack of Internet access meant I could get to sleep a little earlier that evening. I would need that sleep because the next day would be another brutally long drive. Iowa to Kentucky is a lot of driving, with three states (Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio) in between.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
May 17, 2010: Arkansas and Branson's Grand Country Jubilee Show
When I got up this morning, the plan was to see the Down Home Country breakfast show starring Splinter Middleton (yes, that's his name) and then begin the long journey to eastern Iowa. Iowa is directly north of Missouri, but I was in southwest Missouri. Getting up to eastern Iowa was going to take at least eight hours.
The Down Home Country show is at 10am central time. It comes with a free breakfast buffet. However, by the time I arrived (about ten minutes before the show started), they did not even bother to give me a breakfast ticket because I wouldn't have been able to get into the show in time.
The show was very nice. "Harley Worthit" was there, doing the comedy. I didn't realize some of the comedians were shared between shows. There were a number of country songs sung both by Splinter Middleton and other singers. One woman had an incredible voice, though I don't remember her name.
During intermission, my plans changed. I overheard a man talking about Harrison, Arkansas. I talked to him and he said it's a great place to live. This is the closest decent sized city (bigger than Branson in terms of population) in Arkansas. In this trip I had planned to make time to see Harrison as a potential place to live so I could be close to Branson without living in Branson. But, as time went on I decided to skip it. There was no way I could squeeze a visit to Harrison, AR going south and then head northeast to West Liberty, Iowa (where the next hotel was located). But, I calculated the days I had left and realized that I could reasonably stay an extra day and still get home in time to turn in the rental car by May 22nd.
At the end of the Down Home Country show, they announced that if we showed our ticket stub, we could get $10 off the Grand Jubilee show which takes place at 8pm. I wanted to see the Grand Jubilee but originally figured I'd have to save it for a future visit to Branson. But, since I decided to stay another evening in Branson, now I could see it.
In purchasing the ticket for Grand Jubilee, I asked about my breakfast ticket. I was given a ticket for a free breakfast buffet the next day at the theater. This was definitely going to be much better than the free breakfast at the hotel which consisted of nearly rotten bananas and lots of high calorie donuts, biscuits, gravy, etc.
After leaving the theater, I headed to Harrison, Arkansas. I thought it would take an hour, but it really only took only about forty minutes. The GPS had its usual problems going through the Ozarks again, showing me floating through space off the road, etc. But, road signs were clear so the GPS was not necessary until I got into the city.
View Larger Map
The city of Harrison is like most other cities with lots of shopping and the usual services you find in a suburb. There are around 12,000 people living in the city. But what I liked was the "downtown." It was a square and looked like one was stepping into the past by a few decades. The courthouse was in the middle and small shops surrounded it. It was a quaint spot and I felt totally safe. The people in Harrison seemed very friendly.
The Arkansas primary was taking place on Tuesday, May 18th, but there was a sign at the courthouse saying "Vote Here." Perhaps they allow early voting in Arkansas.
After spending a little bit of time just taking things in, I decided to quickly visit one of the smaller towns (population below 500). I chose Bellefonte because it was the closest. It has a population of around 400. There were a few businesses along the main road but not much. I turned around and headed north back to Branson to spend some time at the hotel before the next show.
When I got back to the hotel, I was assigned room 202. This was the same exact room I stayed in when I visited Branson in November, 2009. I've stayed at this particular hotel on three different visits in 2008, 2009, and now 2010. It's the only hotel anywhere in the country where I've stayed in three different trips.
The Grand Jubilee was definitely worth it. I would consider that one and the Baldknobbers as the two best shows out of the five I saw. The Grand Jubilee is an elaborate show complete with comedy, lots of songs, imitations of famous groups from the 1960s and 1970s, etc. One of the violinists from the Down Home Country Breakfast show was performing in this show. The show primarily included New South, which is a quartet of young men who sing both Gospel and contemporary music. There were also two other singers who appeared at various times. There were constant costume changes. All the performers sat down and talked with audience members during intermission and after the show.
Overall, the Grand Jubilee was a great ending to my visit to Branson. I can't wait to return for more. There are several other shows I want to see.
The Down Home Country show is at 10am central time. It comes with a free breakfast buffet. However, by the time I arrived (about ten minutes before the show started), they did not even bother to give me a breakfast ticket because I wouldn't have been able to get into the show in time.
The show was very nice. "Harley Worthit" was there, doing the comedy. I didn't realize some of the comedians were shared between shows. There were a number of country songs sung both by Splinter Middleton and other singers. One woman had an incredible voice, though I don't remember her name.
During intermission, my plans changed. I overheard a man talking about Harrison, Arkansas. I talked to him and he said it's a great place to live. This is the closest decent sized city (bigger than Branson in terms of population) in Arkansas. In this trip I had planned to make time to see Harrison as a potential place to live so I could be close to Branson without living in Branson. But, as time went on I decided to skip it. There was no way I could squeeze a visit to Harrison, AR going south and then head northeast to West Liberty, Iowa (where the next hotel was located). But, I calculated the days I had left and realized that I could reasonably stay an extra day and still get home in time to turn in the rental car by May 22nd.
At the end of the Down Home Country show, they announced that if we showed our ticket stub, we could get $10 off the Grand Jubilee show which takes place at 8pm. I wanted to see the Grand Jubilee but originally figured I'd have to save it for a future visit to Branson. But, since I decided to stay another evening in Branson, now I could see it.
In purchasing the ticket for Grand Jubilee, I asked about my breakfast ticket. I was given a ticket for a free breakfast buffet the next day at the theater. This was definitely going to be much better than the free breakfast at the hotel which consisted of nearly rotten bananas and lots of high calorie donuts, biscuits, gravy, etc.
After leaving the theater, I headed to Harrison, Arkansas. I thought it would take an hour, but it really only took only about forty minutes. The GPS had its usual problems going through the Ozarks again, showing me floating through space off the road, etc. But, road signs were clear so the GPS was not necessary until I got into the city.
View Larger Map
The city of Harrison is like most other cities with lots of shopping and the usual services you find in a suburb. There are around 12,000 people living in the city. But what I liked was the "downtown." It was a square and looked like one was stepping into the past by a few decades. The courthouse was in the middle and small shops surrounded it. It was a quaint spot and I felt totally safe. The people in Harrison seemed very friendly.
The Arkansas primary was taking place on Tuesday, May 18th, but there was a sign at the courthouse saying "Vote Here." Perhaps they allow early voting in Arkansas.
After spending a little bit of time just taking things in, I decided to quickly visit one of the smaller towns (population below 500). I chose Bellefonte because it was the closest. It has a population of around 400. There were a few businesses along the main road but not much. I turned around and headed north back to Branson to spend some time at the hotel before the next show.
When I got back to the hotel, I was assigned room 202. This was the same exact room I stayed in when I visited Branson in November, 2009. I've stayed at this particular hotel on three different visits in 2008, 2009, and now 2010. It's the only hotel anywhere in the country where I've stayed in three different trips.
The Grand Jubilee was definitely worth it. I would consider that one and the Baldknobbers as the two best shows out of the five I saw. The Grand Jubilee is an elaborate show complete with comedy, lots of songs, imitations of famous groups from the 1960s and 1970s, etc. One of the violinists from the Down Home Country Breakfast show was performing in this show. The show primarily included New South, which is a quartet of young men who sing both Gospel and contemporary music. There were also two other singers who appeared at various times. There were constant costume changes. All the performers sat down and talked with audience members during intermission and after the show.
Overall, the Grand Jubilee was a great ending to my visit to Branson. I can't wait to return for more. There are several other shows I want to see.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
May 16, 2010: Two Branson Shows
I planned to just stay two nights in Branson and get home by Thursday. As Sunday would be my last evening there, I would see an afternoon and evening show, then one on Monday morning. Then I would head north. My plan for Monday was to go to West Branch, Iowa, to see the birthplace and museum for Herbert Hoover, the 31st President. This would be a lengthy drive of almost eight hours.
I started out on Sunday with Mass. The church was packed. Evidently it must be a Midwest thing to do to celebrate the Ascension during the regular Sunday Mass instead of a special Thursday Mass. Just as they planned to celebrate the Ascension on Sunday in Wichita, they did the same in Branson, Missouri. The priest was visiting from Kansas City (about four or five hours away) and came to speak about the Redemptorists' magazine.
After Mass, I planned to get my tickets for the afternoon and evening shows. I could get them at the door, or at the hotel where I was staying. But, neither option would give a discount. Throughout Branson, there are "welcome centers" where you can buy discounted tickets for shows. Some will really save money; others will just eliminate the sales tax. Even Walmart in Branson sells discounted tickets.
I stopped at a welcome center which promised discounts. The clerk said he is not the one who regularly does tickets. He tried to do the tickets for the afternoon show I wanted, but ultimately ended up wasting a lot of time. When he called the theater (they have to call the theater to find out seating availability), he was informed that his office no longer had a contract with the theater. So, he ultimately sent me on my way without a ticket.
I needed lunch so I went to the Branson Mall which included a Walmart with a Subway. The mall had a kiosk where you could allegedly get 70% off tickets, but there was nobody at the booth. Walmart itself had discount tickets, but I was told to come back later when the ticket staff were present. By that time, I risked being late for the show. So, I ultimately went back to my hotel and paid full price for the tickets. Next time, if I can better predict what I'm going to do, I'll pay for them online and print them out (of course in this trip I did not have the ability to print anything).
There aren't a lot of Sunday shows, but I was here and wanted to take advantage of the time. I settled for a show by Moe Bandy, which included comedy and country music. This is a professional country singer from previous decades who now spends much of his time in Branson. I had never heard of him before. The show was okay, but definitely not as good as the Baldknobbers from the night before. There was a sidekick named "Harley Worthit" who dressed up like an old man. He would periodically come out on the stage dressed up in ridiculous costumes (at one point wearing a Walmart bag over his shirt), talking about how weird other people are. Someone asked where he got his clothes and he indicated that he goes to the landfill early in the mornings. At the end of the show it was revealed that the actor was at most in his forties. It's amazing what a hat and certain clothes will do to make someone look older.
I was tired of Subway, so I ate at Fuddruckers, which is a chain restaurant (we may have one on Wolf Road). It's between fast food and a real restaurant. But it has a nice presentation and the food is delicious. They have a huge array of items you can add to burgers including salsa, chopped onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and a few other things. The fries are much better than standard fast food type fries. It was good for a change of pace. I didn't have the time to sit around for a longer full service restaurant.
Later in the evening I saw Clay Cooper and the Country Express. This was a bit of country music plus a number of other songs from previous decades. He began the show by indicating that he had to announce the 84th birthday of one of the audience members. He asked the person what he used to do, and the "old man" said he used to be a professional dancer. The drummer suggested he come up on stage to demonstrate. As he came up, it was obvious that his face was made up with rubber masks to look "old." He had a cane and hobbled a bit but then he suddenly was able to jump and do all kinds of stunts, finally tossing his cane away. At the end of his act he suddenly started hobbling again and "fell." Then he jumped up and ran backstage.
At another point, an audience member's cell phone rang. Clay Cooper asked if he could take the call. He pretended to be the person's assistant. Then he revealed that the audience member's cow was loose. He asked the person on the phone to see if he could get him back into the pasture. This whole thing was probably arranged too.
Clay Cooper's six year old son was one of the performers on stage. His son would dress up as Elvis, and even a young Michael Jackson with a huge afro wig. During the act, the afro fell off and he hastily tried to get it back on right. At one point there was presidential jeopardy featuring Abraham Lincoln, Bush 43, and Obama. Ultimately, the show was nice but I still liked the Baldknobbers better.
I started out on Sunday with Mass. The church was packed. Evidently it must be a Midwest thing to do to celebrate the Ascension during the regular Sunday Mass instead of a special Thursday Mass. Just as they planned to celebrate the Ascension on Sunday in Wichita, they did the same in Branson, Missouri. The priest was visiting from Kansas City (about four or five hours away) and came to speak about the Redemptorists' magazine.
After Mass, I planned to get my tickets for the afternoon and evening shows. I could get them at the door, or at the hotel where I was staying. But, neither option would give a discount. Throughout Branson, there are "welcome centers" where you can buy discounted tickets for shows. Some will really save money; others will just eliminate the sales tax. Even Walmart in Branson sells discounted tickets.
I stopped at a welcome center which promised discounts. The clerk said he is not the one who regularly does tickets. He tried to do the tickets for the afternoon show I wanted, but ultimately ended up wasting a lot of time. When he called the theater (they have to call the theater to find out seating availability), he was informed that his office no longer had a contract with the theater. So, he ultimately sent me on my way without a ticket.
I needed lunch so I went to the Branson Mall which included a Walmart with a Subway. The mall had a kiosk where you could allegedly get 70% off tickets, but there was nobody at the booth. Walmart itself had discount tickets, but I was told to come back later when the ticket staff were present. By that time, I risked being late for the show. So, I ultimately went back to my hotel and paid full price for the tickets. Next time, if I can better predict what I'm going to do, I'll pay for them online and print them out (of course in this trip I did not have the ability to print anything).
There aren't a lot of Sunday shows, but I was here and wanted to take advantage of the time. I settled for a show by Moe Bandy, which included comedy and country music. This is a professional country singer from previous decades who now spends much of his time in Branson. I had never heard of him before. The show was okay, but definitely not as good as the Baldknobbers from the night before. There was a sidekick named "Harley Worthit" who dressed up like an old man. He would periodically come out on the stage dressed up in ridiculous costumes (at one point wearing a Walmart bag over his shirt), talking about how weird other people are. Someone asked where he got his clothes and he indicated that he goes to the landfill early in the mornings. At the end of the show it was revealed that the actor was at most in his forties. It's amazing what a hat and certain clothes will do to make someone look older.
I was tired of Subway, so I ate at Fuddruckers, which is a chain restaurant (we may have one on Wolf Road). It's between fast food and a real restaurant. But it has a nice presentation and the food is delicious. They have a huge array of items you can add to burgers including salsa, chopped onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and a few other things. The fries are much better than standard fast food type fries. It was good for a change of pace. I didn't have the time to sit around for a longer full service restaurant.
Later in the evening I saw Clay Cooper and the Country Express. This was a bit of country music plus a number of other songs from previous decades. He began the show by indicating that he had to announce the 84th birthday of one of the audience members. He asked the person what he used to do, and the "old man" said he used to be a professional dancer. The drummer suggested he come up on stage to demonstrate. As he came up, it was obvious that his face was made up with rubber masks to look "old." He had a cane and hobbled a bit but then he suddenly was able to jump and do all kinds of stunts, finally tossing his cane away. At the end of his act he suddenly started hobbling again and "fell." Then he jumped up and ran backstage.
At another point, an audience member's cell phone rang. Clay Cooper asked if he could take the call. He pretended to be the person's assistant. Then he revealed that the audience member's cow was loose. He asked the person on the phone to see if he could get him back into the pasture. This whole thing was probably arranged too.
Clay Cooper's six year old son was one of the performers on stage. His son would dress up as Elvis, and even a young Michael Jackson with a huge afro wig. During the act, the afro fell off and he hastily tried to get it back on right. At one point there was presidential jeopardy featuring Abraham Lincoln, Bush 43, and Obama. Ultimately, the show was nice but I still liked the Baldknobbers better.
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