March 9: Bradenton, Fl to Biloxi, MS...
Biloxi Mississippi is set on the Gulf of Mexico, which is weird for a Floridian to see, because we're used to the sun setting over the water, and here it sets in the street! Biloxi is a Casino town, kinda ghettoesque but on the water. To the west is Gulf Port, YUCK! I bought my laptop there. There's a lot of po folks here judging by the cars parked in Wal Mart last night ... Ruthie looked like a diamond! I even locked her! But Motel 8 is my landing spot! It has everything ... but nothing fancy. No surprises. Under $50. This room is $49 ... my goal is for hotels to average LESS than $50.
March 10: Biloxi, MS to College Station, TX...
Today, while westbound on I-10 I realized that this road is my trail of tears. I was crying for Alice, and I remembered being on this same stretch of Road when I found out Jill had died. Isn't that weird to have cried twice in the same spot, so far from home?
I took Alice to Wauchula one day, the fateful day when I ate quail, and while driving on Rt. 64, she said it looked like Texas ... and it does! Texas is one HUGE Wauchula! The men here really wear cowboy boots, big hats, and tight jeans. And me, without my spurs!
Tonight, I'm in College Station, TX. Home of Texas A&M, and ever since I got here, I have the "X More Miles Until We Get to Heaven" song stuck in my head ... the one from Best Little Whorehouse in Texas ... that line, "where memories and Aggie boys get made!"
Alice's viewing was tonight. She looked just like Muggy! Scary! An amazing amalgamation of people came. Aggies, DAR's, church people, Silver-haired legislature, and DPW ... I thought it was Department of Public Works ... but it was the Something of Professional Women!
Tomorrow is the funeral.
So far, no pretty scenery ... not like the Northern states. But I'm hopeful!
March 11: College Station, TX to Boerne, TX...
I'm in Boerne TX tonight. I got out of the funeral late, and hit rush hour traffic in Austin, and what I believe was San Antonio ... Haven't checked the map yet. It took me 4 hours to go 150 miles, YIKES!
Wherever I am is a lot prettier than East Texas!
I used a bathroom today that had one of those perpetual towel things! I didn't know they still existed!
Boerne is pronounced Bernie. I thought it was pronounced like the sound people make from porno movies ... Bairn chick a bairn bairn!
March 14: in Portales, NM...
I'm in the dead zone from Hell! No nextel, and no aol. I got as far as almost albuquerque and the interstate was closed on accounta snow ... record snow ... i turned back to portales NM, and I'm heading south on US 70 to I-10 .... I'll never make it through the mountains in March, I'll tell you what!
Chantal thinks I may have nextel by the time I reach Roswell ... but i ran into people at the rest stop where we all turned back who said most cell phones don't work in NM ... but i'll be in arizona before too long.
March 15: Portales, NM to Benson, AZ...
I drove as far as Albuquerque and got turned back because of a freak blizzard. People were caught in shorts and flip flops!
When I got back to Jenise's house, they predicted she'd get hit too, but not until 6:00 a.m. , and only and inch. Well, when I left at 5:30, that INCH was up to my calves! And I drove south, nearly to Mexico, to get out from under the storm. I stopped for the night in Benson AZ.
March 16: Benson, AZ to Tonopah, NV...
Arizona is the coolest state so far! It has piles of huge bolders that stand impossibly without falling over. And it has stones too, that have been carved into lacy things by the wind. And then there's those CACTUS men! They're everywhere. On distant hills they look like stubble on an unshaved knee! But they're all the same size! Where do their babies grow? Do they pop up like mushrooms or something?
Another thing about Arizona, the names of the places I passed! In order: Horse Thief Basin, Bloody Basin, Peacock Wash, Rattlesnake Wash, and Big Wash. Parts of Arizona are like Penn State, complete with the truck run-off things. It's so pretty!
Nevada came as a surprise! I kinda knew prostitution was legal, but ... GEE WHIZ! I passed two brothels today. The Shady Lady, and Cottontails. Both were sleezy little buildings on the side of the road where you'd expect to buy cheap cigarettes and fireworks. I guess I wasn't expecting that! I guess I expected a saloon with swinging doors and a piano. Las Vegas is HUGE!
And I'm in Tonopah tonight, hoping to see Kaye tomorrow. I thought I'd get there today ... she even cooked a turkey. I'm such a poop!
March 17: Tonopah, NV to Chico, CA...
I made it to Kaye's house. Her house is amazing, and in the bestest best location. It's within walking distance to everything, meaning WalMart, Krispy Kreme, and Starbucks.
We plan to go to San Francisco and San Jose tomorrow,
My struts are totally shot, and so are my tires! Only 20,000 miles! What the heck! The mechanic who was unable to rotate and balance my tires today said there's no way this is my fault. Hopefully the dealer will feel the same way.
OMG! California is so incredibly beautiful! I drove through the High Sierras today on one of those roads! The kind where there's a million mile drop into a beautiful valley, but ya can't look because you'll fall off the edge!
March 18: San Francisco, CA...
OK! Kaye and San Francisco are the bestest best part of the trip so far! We ate dinner at Pier 39, some crab place, and it was wonderful. We're staying in the poshest Hyatt for only $147 per night! I'm not believing it! She's the best bargain finder! And there's a revolving restaurant on top. We had dessert there. I had a chocolate martini. Hated it! I also had pumpkin creme brulee, in honor of Jamie ... it was decent ... but it's best not to mess with the original perfect thing!
We saw sea lions on pier 39. The information board says they started showing up after the earthquake in 1989, and were so popular with the tourons that they stopped using the docks there as commercial things, and now the sea lions have all these floating docks to themselves, and they really love the people, and seem to enjoy the attention. It's so cool! I love being shown around by Kaye ... she just loves this city,and makes it so much more enjoyable!
March 19: San Francisco, CA...
San Francisco is the bomb! Having Kaye show me the place is like someone having ME show them around Disney World! She LOVES the place, and knows all kinds of neat little facts, and the best times to move. We stayed at the Hyatt! It was just too cool! We started on the night we arrived with a crab festival ... Kaye loves them. So for breakfast on Saturday, I ordered Crab Hash with poached eggs! That was a risk! But OMG, it was sooo yummy! Then we went to some palace that was in the movie with the guy who built the time machine ... and we went to the beach that's under the Golden Gate Bridge. Photos everywhere, of course! Then we rode a trolley (BORING!) and left town. We ate lunch in Sausalito. By the way, remember the house boat from Drop Dead Fred? I saw where that was filmed too. In Sausalito, I ate currcurried duck. WOW! Then back to Kaye's where we ate yet again, and watched Terminal.
March 20: Chico, CA to Elko, NV...
Greetings from Elko, Nevada. Home of the Original, and annual, Cowboy Poetry Gathering. I got trapped in the High Sierras today. Cars w/o chains were forced to exit the interstate. A gas station sold me chains for $79, and charged an additional $20 to put them on. But before my turn came, the road was reopened, and I no longer needed chains. But I could only be refunded the $20 installation fee. The chains are mine as a momento! EBAY here I come!
When I left Kaye's this morning, it was 50 some degrees. In the mountains, it was snowing huge cotton balls, and the temp went as low as 28. Now, here in Elko, it's in the 50's! I have a lot to learn about mountain travel!
I just hope I make it through Utah tomorrow! But if I need chains in THEIR mountains, I'm equipped!
March 21: Elko, NV to Cheyenne, WY...
Hello from Cheyenne Wyoming, south east wyoming! Woo Hoo!
I made it through Utah. Before I got out of Nevada, I emptied all the quarters from my ashtray and donated them to the Nevada stupid slot machine fund. I feel better now, knowing I helped support lunacy!
I hit another blizzard today, right before I got to my hotel, between Laramie and Cheyenne. Ruth was trying to do pirouettes on the bridges, but prayer and 4th gear kept her going straight! I'm east of the Rockies now ... so hopefully the snow is all behind me now. But I'm not counting on anything! I'll be happy to see wolf spiders and palmetto bugs again, I tell you what!
March 22: Cheyenne, WY to Wichita, KS...
From Cheyenne I headed due south into Denver, which is east of the rockies. I turned left in Denver and drove to Salina KS, where I turned right, and now I'm in Wichita. Can't find the line man ... if you're old, that's funny.
East Colorado is all flat; it should be called REALLY REALLY western Kansas! Kansas is a hoot. I saw "South of the Border" type signs for a farm claiming to have a 5-legged steer, and the world's largest prairie dog. I suspect that it's one of those R.U.S.'s like they have at animal kingdom. If I were with someone, I would have stopped. Some funny memories could've been made there today.
Kansas also has, I'm not kidding, the OZ museum!
March 23: Wichita, KS to Tupelo, MS...
Hello from Tupelo, MS, birthplace of Elvis!
I forgot to mention something about yesterday, driving through Kansas ... I heard, and this is the TRUTH, a Small Calf Advisory! The little ones were in danger of catching a chill!
I left Wichita this morning. Drove south into OK ... which is pretty and pastoral, not boring as I've always been told. Then through Tulsa, during what I'm sure they believe is rush hour! As of when I arrived in Oklahoma this morning, before 6:00 a.m., I officially have been in every state in the contiguous United States. Forty-eight states in forty-nine years! How cool! Well! Does anyone want to send me to Hawaii and Alaska for my 50th? Anyone? **cricket noises** anyone?
The funniest road sign today, hands DOWN, goes to Toad Suck Park in Little Rock! Clinton has left his mark on THIS state, I tell you what!