Archive for March, 2008
Sunday, March 9th, 2008
Any day that starts with a waffle is bound to be a good one. Although we got off to a later-than-planned start because of the time change [alright, it wasn’t just the time change. The hotel had a good breakfast spread and I went back for seconds…] The weather was fair and friendly, and the roads, like the sky, were clear. We made good time through the West Virginia mountains into Kentucky.
Picking up the beautiful Blue Grass Parkway at Lexington, we were startled and impressed by the Castle Farm of Thomas R. Post. Cheddar wasn’t scared of the lions on the gate, and wanted me to take this photograph to prove it:
Throughout most of the afternoon we coasted through Kentucky’s great rolling hills which appeared more and more green as we moved southward. We missed the wide country views when we traveled 65 south toward Nashville, so the day ended on a citified note but we made good time and put a lot of road behind us.
Tomorrow: Hot Springs, Arkansas!
Posted in On the Road | 1 Comment »
Saturday, March 8th, 2008
We set out on the road straight from Newark Airport, hoping to put as much road behind us as we could today. Some of the mountain views in Maryland and West Virginia were breathtaking. Today, though, they were breathtaking and snow-covered, too. From Maryland westward, we journeyed (kinda white-knuckled) in a persistent snowfall until we decided the wiser course would be to stop for the day.
We couldn’t find the Holiday Inn that the highway sign promised, so we turned back, retreating from the slippery mountain roads, and we settled into a cozy hotel further up the highway. After checking in (Woohoo! Free WiFi!) and grabbing a tasty burger in the diner across the way, we came back to watch a little Jeopardy and type up this blog post.
Ah, but the fun was just getting started…
(more…)
Posted in On the Road | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, March 4th, 2008
Rather than run the risk of spreading our time too thinly, we’ve decided to focus more on visiting places further from home, and less on those places that are within easy reach most of the time. As such, we’ll be traveling farther and faster the first couple of days in order to enjoy a longer stay when we finally reach San Antonio.
We’ve been advised to allow a good four days to take in the Alamo and other sights, so that’s what we’re intending, and probably sacrificing the visit to Washington, D.C., or at least postponing it until we’re on the way back.
Our first bona-fide vacationy spot will probably be Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas.
On the return trip, other revisions have us skimming along the Gulf Coast’s Creole Nature Trail, where Ollie and I look forward to wrestling alligators in the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge. After a festive St. Patrick’s day in New Orleans, we’ll head up through Mississippi and catch the Natchez Trace Parkway, taking in the scenery and cultural experience until we re-emerge upon civilization* near Nashville.
*Any area within a 3 mile radius of a Starbucks.
Posted in Preparations | 2 Comments »
Any day that starts with a waffle is bound to be a good one. Although we got off to a later-than-planned start because of the time change [alright, it wasn’t just the time change. The hotel had a good breakfast spread and I went back for seconds…] The weather was fair and friendly, and the roads, like the sky, were clear. We made good time through the West Virginia mountains into Kentucky. 
