Our Trip In Pictures

As the main purpose of our trip was to spend some quality time with The Big Guy's mom, our activities pretty much consisted of visiting with her for a few hours in the daytime, breaking for dinner, visiting again in the evening until bedtime and going home to my s-i-l's for a bit of rest before repeating the routine the next day again.

We did, however, catch a few notable moments along the way on film (or should I say, in digital images?)



The Missouri River ON the parking lot of the Ameristar Casino in Council Bluffs, Iowa. We found the roof of their garage a great vantage point to see the flooding in the area. The road we normally go into Omaha on (I-29) was closed the entire time we were out there due to the flooding. I suspect it will be closed for sometime to come as the roadway itself and its underpinnings has been damaged by being submerged for so long. It made for some rather congested traffic on I-80 which was already under major repair construction in that area.


We did manage to squeeze in an exciting sports event while we were there. The advantage to going to see a 5/6 (year old) ball game is that they keep them short - 4 innings only - no outs, no score, everybody on the team bats each inning (no matter how many pitches it may take) . The other biggie was, they played at 8:30 in the morning when it was only in the high 80s (before the day's heat kicked in!) I think she's gonna be a star!!



Sunrise somewhere over Central Iowa. (I almost slept through it completely as we got up and on the road at 4:30 a.m. that day.)






Outside temperature (on blacktop) stopped in a traffic jam (for over 2 hours) on I-80 in Des Plains, Illinois on the way home. (The "official" temp in Chicago at the time was 100.) Don't you always wonder what the problem was when the jam suddenly breaks and there is no evidence of any apparent reason at all as you move on ?

It was really WAY TOO HOT to do much of anything but sit in the airconditioning for the entire time we were away. We were in the midst of that 2-week major heat wave the Midwest experienced. (Unfortuantely, it folowed us back home and attacked the East Coast, too, just as we got home!)

So, there you have it, folks, our ENTIRE travelogue. Hope you enjoyed it while in a cool room.

Smiles Over the Miles

The best thing about our trips are the smiles and laughter we share along the way.

The following are in no particular order.

With the quickly climbing price of gas, I know many folks are once again planning "Stay-cations." This sign at a gas station car wash in a Toledo suburb had my mind wandering a bit.

Can you read it?
It says
"TAKE AN UNDERWATER TRIP
Our car wash is open."

Can't you just picture a family donning snorkel gear from their local Dollar Tree, piling the gang into the family SUV and taking this Underwater Adventure ? Do you think they've painted fish on the walls behind the sprayers and brushes?
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Just East of the Illinois state line, we saw this billboard encouraging migration to Indiana:

Illinoyed by high taxes?
Settle in Indiana

This is not the first time we've seen signs encouraging folks to escape across that state line. Indiana is the only place I've seen try to harvest their neighbor's residents. Let's get real - they just want you for your tax dollars, too.

As you roll along I-80 between Gary and Chicago, one is bombarded with signs pushing Gentleman's Clubs and Nudie Bars, as if these were Chicago's only claim to fame. Some are quite enticing, many use humor. Mixed in among them is an interesting ad for a jewelry store. A very sensuous looking gal's bare shoulders and thick luxuriant hair catches your eye. White lettering above her states, "She wants a stud." Below her, it advises, "Give her two." There is a beautiful pair of glistening diamond earrings rounding out the picture! There are lots of other jewelry ads along this section of highway, too.

So --- do you think there's a correlation here? Buy the "little wifie" a gift to compensate for stopping off at the girlie bar?
The family's 17-year-old has finally gotten his first car. Nearly as old as he is, it appears to have been garage kept and looks beautiful - no scratches, dents or visible wear. (Yet!) It gets great mileage, too. That's because it doesn't run! His Grandad describes it as a vehicle to get one from Point A to Point B. Problem is, it only gets to Point A and then won't start again. It'll keep him in school, though. Once he gets there, he'll be stranded as the car won't start again!

We heard an appropriate riddle for him on the radio in Ohio - "What do the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus and a $2,000 reliable used car have in common?" (That's what he paid.) "They're all imaginary!!" Well, everybody else in the family laughed.

That same guy got his first checking account while we were there. The bank has a special "Student Account" that functions as a checking account, using a debit card but does not issue actual paper checks for transactions. He'll be able to deposit and cash his pay checks. (He works part time). Of course, we all had advice for him and advised him to save a little from each pay for a "rainy day." This went right over his head and he asked what we meant. Again, Grandad, in his wisdom, said, "You need a little cushion for when a rainy day comes along and you need some cash." Our boy just looked confused and, shrugging, said, "No, the ATM's work when it rains. They all have a roof over them."

No wonder this country is in such deep financial do-do. No one is saving for emergencies because all the ATM have roofs!!

FINALLY HOME!!!

It's been a long road trip and it seems much longer when one doesn't have internet service the whole time!!

I missed y'all!!!

I've got all kinds of things to tell you but, for now, I'll just give you a view of the road trip itself.

We started out in snow in Western Pennsylvania and Ohio:

After the first evening with about an inch of snow in PA, the weatherman sort of inferred we'd drive out of the mess along about Pittsburgh. Well, we didn't. The roads were fine - perfectly clear, but there were places along the Ohio Turnpike with several inches of snow on the grassy areas and the skies did not look promising at all. Okay, they were actually a bit threatening!

We found sunshine and something resembling Spring as we entered Indiana. We started relaxing and enjoying the weather.

And then...



We checked out the rising Mississippi in Davenport, Iowa. My camera doesn't do well at night but this is a shot of the sidewalk and street at the entrance to Rythym City Casino. The water on the roadway was several inches deep and that's a sand bag wall behind the stop sign. That's the first time I've ever been close enough to touch the sand bags!

We woke up to a new world the next day, driving in beautiful sunshine as we crossed Iowa.

Nebraska welcomed us to "The Good Life" as we crossed the old Mormon Bridge on I-680 (I mean, what could be better than visiting the birthplace of Arbor Day?!?) We did find warmth, sunshine and true signs of Spring there. Yep, "the good life" felt good !
We did NOT see any snow on the way home. We even saw green grass and even a few forsythias in Ohio this week. It rained from the Ohio/Pennsylvania border all the way home (at least it WASN'T snow!!!)

I'm happy here at home, nestled in among our bright yellow forsythias, daffodils and even some tulips. Our saucer magnolia is in bloom. There are many flowering trees brightening the scenery all around us.

I think Spring is here in Maryland.

It's good to be home.

Englishtown Auction and Marketplace

Once again, we've had one of our stimulating misadventures! This time I'm chalking it up to a combination of mid-winter blues and cabin fever. I HAD to get out in the world!!!

Picture is from Englishtown Auction's website.
We saw clouds and piles of snow!

So, for years, I've been hearing tales of a wondrous marketplace "up the road" in New Jersey. The Englishtown Auction combines a farmers market, outlet center shops, flea market, food vendors, arts, crafts, antiques, and, oh yeah, auctions, too. All this on just two days a week, Saturday and Sunday, year round. It's been happening there since 1929!!!! They have five large buildings and 40 acres of outdoor vendor space. It is the largest of its kind - anywhere. --- And, we had never been there before!!

With decent weather forecast for the day and nothing else on our schedule, it seemed a brilliant plan. Earlier in the week, I'd been online looking for a particular item and finding they don't sell it online but they do have a shop at Englishtown, I had that extra push I needed. It is about a 2 1/2 hour trip so I expected The Big Guy to shoot it down but he actually knows folks who have gone there frequently and I think I sparked a little curiosity in him.
So, not so bright, but early this morning, we set out for New Jersey. We hit almost no traffic so the trip was easy, until we got off the main highway. I had printed out the Mapquest directions but forgot to grab Samantha (our GPS) from the other car. I should know from experience, MQ sometimes has problems differentiating its right from left when it comes to turns. This was one of those occasions.

After proceeding an extra 1 1/2 miles down a country road looking for a specific intersecting road, we turned around and went back to the main highway and tried going the opposite direction. Aha!! There was the road we were looking for! Things got back on track until we came to the dreaded DETOUR. Seems the bridge was out! After some finagling and backtracking, we finally stumbled upon the Auction site. In good weather, it might be awesome!! (See pics.)

Today was cold, cloudy and windy (not in the forecast) and the parking lot was full of piles of snow with narrow driving paths and limited spaces available but we found a spot. The semi-paved and gravel surface was very muddy and a bit slippery to walk on but all that mess was on the parking lot. The sales area itself was plowed clean and the pavement there was dry.

I was shocked to see how many outdoor vendors were set up on this day. We were also disappointed to see how many indoor shops were closed. (I'd say half.) One vendor told me, "It's February. They go South." You really can find just about anything there. I saw garage-sale shoe rejects, brand new mink jackets, appliances and musical instruments, endless sock vendors, foods of all ethnic styles - both ready to eat and grocery supplies. Clothing, jewelry, audio equipment, car supplies and more. There was one great shop full of vintage toys. I'm talking 1960s era G I Joes and wooden Fisher Price. Just imagine what's there when they're all open.

I found the guy I was looking for but he didn't have what I wanted. After chatting a bit, he promised to send them to me later this week when the items come in and simply mail a bill with them. He told me he's still trying to develop a way to sell online through his website. We did manage to spend a whopping $47 (including a really tasty lunch) at the market plus the gas for the 3 hour drive each way and $9.70 in tolls. I should say $10.70 as we got shortchanged by a toll taker on the NJ Turnpike. I'd already started rolling when The Big Guy realized it. He says we probably won't go back - too far, too big, TOO EXHAUSTING!! (He's really getting grumpy in his old age!)

On the upside, we needed to pass his favorite casino on the way home. (I use the word "pass" loosely here.)

***Oh, we stopped at one of the rest stops on the Turnpike and I saw plain white T-shirts featuring the green Turnpike logo. You know, if the best souvenir you can find on vacation is a shirt featuring a turnpike logo (for ANY state), you need a better travel agent!!

The trip home (and sunrises)

I document most of the sunrises we see when traveling. Unfortunately, both of our travel days coming home dawned a bit cloudy and overcast so the sunrises weren't very spectacular.

We described this one as the "Sun Break-Through" which occurred "somewhere over Iowa" about 8:30 a.m. when the clouds finally started breaking up. It really was pretty - just not as bright and colorful as a normal sunrise.


Again, the second day, the sky was quite overcast which makes for easy driving when you're heading East. By the time the clouds broke and we really had glare from the sun, it was high enough in the sky to not be so blinding to the driver.

This shot was taken somewhere near Toledo.

Believe it or not, we found yet another casino on the way home!! Actually, we really didn't know about this one. As we approached the Ohio/Pennsylvania line we discussed possible side trips. We consulted Samantha, our GPS traveling companion. (Yes, our GPS has a name and personality! Doesn't yours?) She suggested the Mountaineer Casino in Newell, WV.

She then guided us through this winding route that took us from the Pennsylvania Turnpike onto some tiny little country roads that carried us through the towns of Industry and Shippingport in PA and eased us back through a tiny corner of Ohio right to the Old Newell Bridge. (It looks a lot bigger, and newer, in this pic!) At the end of the bridge you make a sharp right and drive through some of the most beautiful countryside around, then through the tiny town of Newell and brings you, suddenly, to a large, beautiful modern casino, resort and conference center.

(Yes, I DID paint that shirt The Big Guy is wearing.)

We spent a few hours here and enjoyed a tasty dinner before heading out on the road again. This would make a great weekend destination for us sometime. The area is absolutely beautiful and the surrounding town had oodles of interesting looking shops featuring antiques, collectibles and gift items in their windows. In addition to many enticing looking restaurants in town, the casino features something like 5 restaurants on the premises, a salon and spa and an indoor pool, as well as a showroom. Oh, and there is a factory outlet for Fiestaware in this town, too!

We made a point of leaving before dark as we knew those country roads might be challenging after the sun went down. We really wanted to be back on a highway by then.

Along the way we came across a few new sights for us. We had never seen portable traffic lights but they had them on this little country road where they wanted traffic to form alternating single lanes around construction. This one was in the area of Raccoon Creek State Park (I just loved that name! I also loved the names of some of the roads in the area, like "Potato Garden Run".) Of course, we live in an area where they'd probably try to steal the portable lights so maybe that's why we've never come across them before!

My camera was still processing that shot when The Big Guy burst into laughter over a sign by the side of the road. Handpainted on a piece of plywood and tied against a pole, it advertised "Far Wood For Sale" and gave a phone number. I guess this guy really does "write like he talks." He refused to go back to let me take a picture of it!

That wasn't the last weird sign we saw! On our way toward Pittsburgh and the Turnpike, we saw this sign directing us to the correct exit to get to the Moon !



Speaking of signs, two of the cuter ones I saw on the way out were one on a collision repair center in Western PA that claimed "We're always happy to meet you by accident!" and featured a little cartoony car that was quite smashed up. A big sign on a restaurant (I think in Indiana) advertised "Breakfast, lunch, dinner or anything else we can cater!"

Oh yeah, I almost forgot the sign on a donut shop in Davenport, Iowa that claims "Diets are overrated!"

Don't you just agree with that last one?!?

I'm baaack!!!

Remember that New Year's goal to post daily? Well, I blew it -- again.

I had a good excuse. We were away for 5 days - just lounging around with good friends, eating well, chatting and just enjoying the company. It was wonderful!!!

Seriously, I did think about all of you, my readers. I even prepared some posts that were supposed to run while I was gone. Unfortunately, I ran into some internet access problems Thursday night when I tried to pre-post so only Saturday's post ran. So, sorry.

(Did you ever notice most of our road trips seem to involve snow along the highway? What's up with that?)

We visited some very close friends who, unfortunately for us, moved to South Carolina two years ago. They were our running buddies and are sorely missed. It's a 10-11 hour drive these days so our visits are few and far between. When we get together we savor every moment. This weekend was no exception.

Both halves of this couple are excellent cooks. We ate really, really well! There was jambalaya, biscuits with sausage gravy, lentil soup, cheese tortellini, cheese fondue with all the fixin's, chicken fried steak, cake and more!!!

We didn't do many activities away from the house - we were too busy eating !! There was lots of time to lounge around, relax, play with the pets (a cat for every lap!) and just be together.

I had a great weekend. I hope y'all did, too!!

On the road again ....

One last post before hitting the road for Omaha. The van is packed. All I have to do is make one last drug store run and pack the coolers. (Oh yeah, toilet seat broke last night so Home Depot is a MUST! The folks staying here at home might complain without it.) Will pick The Big Guy up just past lunchtime and the trip is on!

I think I actually got everything done. I've got a duffel full of projects to work on. I've stock piled posts to run in my absence (no internet connection at my in-laws). I know I'll go through withdrawal! (There won't be any Working the Shows Wednesday themes till I get back. Sorry!) I've included some holiday projects and a giveaway in those posts so be sure to check them out.

Well, got to get moving. (Was just waiting for Home Depot to be open.)

See y'all on the rebound.

Be good, y'all!!!

Road Trip Laughs

This time of year, we spend waaay too much time in the car!! I got tangled in my sheet this morning as I was trying to reach the alarm. It was like being in a straight jacket! In describing the funny tale of getting out of that mess, I referred to my side of the bed as “the passenger side!”
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A flushing tale:

While using a rest stop on the Interstate last week, I chuckled as I heard a young mother in the stall next to me struggling with a toddler who was afraid of “the magic toilet!” At first, the term confused me until I realized she meant the automatic flushing. It seems her tiny little tush gave the electric eye too much chance of flushing while she was still using it and that terrified her. The poor flustered mother promised she wouldn’t let it flush while the little one was sitting but alas she couldn’t keep her word and the child let out a blood curdling screech when it flushed. Mommy was quite embarrassed when she emerged to face the laughter of those folks at the sinks.

I can understand how that little girl felt, even with a larger bum, I’ve occasionally had a premature flush and it can feel like it’s going to suck you right in. I can only imagine how frightening that could be to those with such a tiny backside!!

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The long and winding road:

After the funeral on Monday, the family was all heading back to one of the family homes for a gathering. This would involve a journey of about 26 miles on a number of winding country back roads. The veterans’ cemetery is enormous and traffic is carefully controlled and directed while on the property. A nephew had thoughtfully e-mailed directions from one of the main highways not realizing we would all be directed out of the cemetery onto a back road and not onto that highway. As happens the crowd left in small clumps of 2 or 3 vehicles. Another of my nephews advised he had a GPS and we should follow him out to the main highway. We had an elderly uncle following us in this small caravan. I did not realize we had a yet fourth car following him! Those two cars were in contact by cell phone.

The plan went well until the first major turn after exiting the cemetery. Somehow, my uncle became confused and pulled over and stopped. The Big Guy saw this in his mirror and also pulled over. Unfortunately, my nephew didn’t notice all of this and kept rolling. He didn’t realize he’d lost the rest of us until he’d made a number of turns. At that point, he pulled over, waited, finally gave up and continued on his way to the house. Everyone had turned their cells off during the service, and those in his vehicle had not yet turned them back on so we were unable to reach them for instructions.

At this point, we proceeded on our own. Coming to a major intersection that demanded we make a choice, we made a semi-educated guess and turned left. Our three cars all made the left. A mile or two down the road, we finally heard form my niece in yet another vehicle. They were just leaving the cemetery and were following her daughter who was in a vehicle using GPS. We should have turned right!

Our little caravan made a U-turn and headed back the other direction. (We still didn’t realize we had two cars behind us.) Every so often, my niece called back with instructions as they made turns. Ultimately, we were following the car that was following the car with the GPS. Of course, we had about 12 miles between us and them!

Along the way we made a wrong turn and toured a shopping center before getting back on the road. The funny thing about that was the last car in our little train missed us doing that and made the correct turn, getting ahead of us. She eventually realized she’d lost us and pulled over. As we passed her, she jumped back in line. Eventually we reached the point at which the written directions kicked in and we were able to complete the journey smoothly.

Ultimately, at that point, our tears had turned to hysterical laughter both for those of us in the circus parade and those at the house hearing it play out. As folks began to leave the house at the end of the day, many did need instructions out to main highways. The running joke was “I’ll follow you. You know someone with a GPS!” Sort of reminds you of the line, “I’m not a doctor but I play one on TV!”

“Zero degrees!! What is this, the NEW South?”

We finally rolled in this evening from our first Road Adventure of 2009. We drove 600 miles to the South just to find colder weather and snow! Well, that wasn’t the original goal. I am definitely not a winter gal - I try NOT to do snow at all and I can’t stand the cold.

I should have been suspicious when we needed to change our outgoing route due to snow forecasts. We normally take a Western route, hugging the Appalachians, Blue Ridge and Smokies but decided to take I-95 South to Richmond and then swing west on I-85. Turned out to be a wise move. As we passed through Washington, D.C., we picked up the radio reports of weather-related school closings in the first three counties we would have hit using that route. We caught a few snow flurries as we drove past Potomac Mills Mall in Northern Virginia but were soon sailing along in some very chilly sunshine. We arrived at our South Carolina destination at a cool 20 something temperature. (Okay, so we’d hoped for the 50s!!)

We awoke to an 11 degree morning on Friday. We hadn’t been that cold at home yet this winter! Worse yet, we awoke to a rare snow-covered lawn on Sunday morning. (We felt so privileged!!!) Again, we have not had that much snow at home this winter - yet. I don’t think we ever hit 40 degrees over the 5 ½ days we were there. We ended up staying an extra day to avoid driving home in the snow through North Carolina and Virginia yesterday. The icing on the cake, or should I say mountain, was the 0 degree reading we found as we passed the “Welcome to Tennessee” sign on Route 81 this morning. Some Southern welcome! And, yes, we did see snow along the shoulders - all the way home!!!

We did, however, have a wonderful and cozy visit with close friends who have become family over the years. We hardly noticed the cold between the great meals, wild card games and laughter. We always have a hearty laugh when we’re together and that’s what makes those long hours behind the wheel and even those frigid temps worth the effort.

So, until we chat again, keep a smile on your face and a laugh at the ready because : Laughter is an instant vacation. ~Milton Berle