Southeastern US Road Trip: Day 1-3

We began the the day at 5:00 am after having and old fashioned sleep over at Michele's parents house. It was wonderful catching up with them and feeling like we were 18 again. 

We jumped on the NYS Thruway and headed to NJ. Once on 287 we made a decision to take a pit stop in Edison, NJ to visit the largest Edison Light Bulb! The lightbulb is located in a neighborhood, we weren't sure we were in the right place until we came around the bend to discover a huge cement monolith with a GIANT incandescent light bulb mounted on the top! There is a small visitor center, and some cute nature trails. It was really cool, and well worth the stop.

 

After leaving the lightbulb we had a hunger brewing and decided since we were in a state full of diners we would stop off and have some breakfast. After eating omelets in a diner that used cloth napkins (it felt really wrong), we headed to Virginia Beach to see Jessica, an old friend from college. 

After 14 hours of driving, and way to much traffic on I-95 we walked into Jessica's Beautiful new townhouse.

After many big hugs and a beer the three of use ladies washed the car stink off us and went to dinner at Rudee's Restaurant and Cabana Bar for seafood and Oyster Shooters (i'll explain later). 

This restaurant is special because their tables are made with glider benches and you can swing wile you eat! 

Jessica introduced us to Orange Crushes a VA Beach special, made with fresh squeezed orange juice, orange vodka, triple sec, sprite, and crushed ice. Delish! Next up was oyster shooters, these little treats are made with beer, hot sauce, a raw oyster, and cocktail sauce on the bottom. You drink it like a shot, and was actually pretty good, minus the cocktail sauce. 

The next day the three of us went to Virginia Beach. Our first beach day was a well deserved afternoon in the sun and sand after 14 hours in the car. 

It was hard to say goodbye to my old friend, but Michele and I were psyched, prepared and provisioned for our next stop - Conagaree National Park in South Carolina (but only after we stopped at Sonic for Breakfast Burritos-obvious choice because they have tatar tots in them!).

Alum Cave And Arch Rock Hike

Sunday, 7/26 Michele and I revved up for what we thought would be a moderate level hike through the woods. According to super reliable sources I.e. The Internet, it was supposed to be easy to traverse with little change in altitude, but promised scenic views and a pleasant day in the woods. Upon entering the trailhead we quickly realized that was not the case. The 2.5 mile trail consisted of steep, long inclines that ran along a mountain creek. It was a beautiful trail, but we were unable to really soak it all in because we were preoccupied with not dieing. At times I (Lindsay) felt like I needed to crawl in my hands and knees bc my legs were burning. We kept passing other hikers along the way who would cheer us on with words of encouragement like "you're almost there", turns out our definition of ALMOST is vastly different. The halfway point was Arch Rock a natural archway carved out by running mountain water. After a short rest we continued on to Alum Cave that was not in fact a cave but more like a natural bluff set high in the mountains. Drips of ground water from the cliff above welcomed us as we traversed the steep dusty earth. We decided this was the best place to have our burrito lunch which was interrupted by a boy careening down the steep embankment that formed the northern edge of the bluffs. He and his brother raced down, with his brother being the unltimate champian, because the younger one tripped and feel face first into the sand and Lindsay's back.

 

First Roadside Stop: Centralia, PA

Centralia is a near-ghost town in Columbia County, Pennsylvania. Its population has dwindled from over 1,000 residents in 1981 to 10 in 2010 as a result of the Centralia mine fire that has been burning beneath the borough since 1962. 

It looked like most of the fires have burnt out, or have simply moved down the coal vein. Even though there was no smoke coming from the cracks the abandoned route 61 stretch of highway was really beautiful. 

Most of the town was demolished through the powers of eminent domaine and 90% of what's left is hidden in the lush over growth which hides the scars of the demolition. Unused roads lead to forgotten driveways and form a lattice pattern which is the only hint that the land had once been developed.

Photos taken by Michele. 

Our yearly national park trip begins

Last summer when Michele and I were driving home from Acadia National Park in ME, where we hiked our asses off, swam in a lake with leeches and small fish that nibbled your toes and ate blueberry ice cream, we decided to make a yearly trip to at least one National Park every summer.

This summer we are headed to the 🌲Great Smokey Mountains🌲, a beautiful place Michele and I have always wanted to go.

This year we will not be taking Barb, my ever faithful 2007 FJ Cruiser, her 8 year old transmission and the 162,783 miles of roadway she's seen is keeping her home for this trip. [sad face] 😓🚎 

...but thanks to Scott at S&E Auto in Stone Harbor, NJ She's got a new alternator and battery and my husband and I could get home to VT so I could get my gear for our big trip! 

I can't wait to collect more miles and memories with my best friend of 17 years. Although I'm a Birkenstock and she's a Black Leather High Heel we love and appreciate our differences and always make time to support and challenge each other, not to mention make each other laugh beyond control and are totally ok with eating Slim Jim's and cheese for dinner. 

An excerpt from trees by Joyce Kilmer

"I think that I shall never see 

A poem lovely as a tree. 

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest 

Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast..."

7 years later, we are doing it again. Acadia here we come.

7 years after our first cross country road trip as young hungry 23 year olds.....And we just threw up a little bc we realized we were really young when we did that... Well, Michele and I are at it again. 

This time we're doing a 4 day adventure from Boston to Acadia National Park, a place we have both always wanted to see. We decided that our road trip blog from 7 years ago will become Michele and Lindsay's excellent adventures, and we'll use it to document our adventures with each other as life long best friends. We will be posting more as we go along, please peruse our archived posts from the trip 7 years ago. 

Next Stop: Portland, ME - the Cryptozoology Museum  

Roswell and Texas

Following a fun filled day in Santa Fe, Linds and I drove down to Roswell and promptly called eveyone we knew to tell them of the this town like we had never seen before. At first glance it appears quite normal. On the way in, the highway is filled with Holiday Inns, Wendys, and a variety of gas stations to suit your taste. Then as you immerse yourself further down mainstreet, you begin to notice that the street lamps have alien eyes painted on them. Interstellar cafes start to crop up until finally you reach the International UFO Museum and Research Center. Alien beings hang from street signs and replace manquins in the windows. Yes, we even saw an alien in a wedding dress. Although we stayed only long enough to take some choice photos, it was a great afternoon.

From Roswell we proceeded on to Fort Stockton, Texas where we decided to stop over on our way to Austin. In the morning as we prepared to leave we listened to the weather report and discovered that Highway 10, the very same highway we were about to get on, was experiencing severe flash flooding due to the monsoon like rains hitting that part of Texas. After listening to the detailed report, Linds and I made the executive decision to forego our trip to San Antonio and Austin. This was a bit of a buzzkill since those two cities where going to be the high point of our Texas experience. We know our parents appreciate our very responsible decision, but I must say that it made me miss those days in high school when responsibility was not our strongest personality trait.

NB: I think we failed to mention that while in Durango, CO I picked up the last Harry Potter book. While Linds drives, I read aloud chapter after chapter. It's amazing how quickly this passes the time and it's all we've been doing since. We're now 20 chapters deep and actually awaiting tomorrow's long drive just to find out what happens next.

With the flash flood warnings in our head we decided to head north to Dallas to spend the night. Unfortunately neither Linds nor I had done much research on Dallas so we were flying a little blind this evening with social activities. We stayed in a nice Quality Inn that provided a free shuttle into the heart of town. We had some fantastic Tex Mex flautas and then proceed to look for a bar that according to its website was a great "cowboy" bar. Another NB: Linds and I were only looking for two things in Texas--TexMex and BBQ. I can add that I was also looking for a handsome cowboy to flirt with. This was our mission for the evening.

When I was in college, my professors warned me about the misleading nature of the internet. I always believed them, perferring to seek out sources in the stacks at the library. When it comes to other things on the internet, like bar recommendations, Linds and I both took the cowboy bar's website at face value. Upon our arrival at bar (and after giving the bouncer our usual tale as to why two girls from NY are so far from home) I jetted off to the bathroom leaving Linds to wait outside. When I emerged, Linds had a concerned look on her face. She said we were leaving, and trusting her great judgemen, I left quietly. Once outside I asked what was going on. Linds replied that this particular cowboy bar was a Brokeback Mountain kind of cowboy bar. I glanced in the window and it all clicked. No wonder there were so many well groomed men there!

I just couldn't believe that the very first bar we stepped in to in Dallas was a gay bar. Of all the gin joints in all the world. Determined not to let this little mistep derail our evening, we went across the street to JR's of Dallas, another bar that looked pretty darn cute. Within thirty seconds of walking in the door, however, we saw that we made the same mistake. Attractive men were everywhere, conoodling with other men. We decided to sit down, have a cold beer, and decide what to do next. Some very nice guys from Houston chatted with us for a bit and apart from the two men (sitting in our direct line of sight) making out as though they were trying to produce babies, it wasn't such a bad place. Then the strip drag queen show started. I sat there in disbelief. All I wanted was a cowboy and instead I got a bunch of queens.

We finished our beer and left yet another bar in search of a new place. When Linds and I are on a mission it is very difficult to get us to quit. We headed over the the GhostBar at the new W hotel. This was my idea as I had heard some people say that it was a great new "hot spot" in Dallas. Turns out, "hot spot" means dim lighting, expensive drinks, and horribly loud techno music. We didn't even go in. Linds asked the guy at the door for some suggestions on where we could go next and we then headed directly back to the same street that our TexMex place had been. We walked in and were relieved to see a bunch of young people sitting around with pints, some playing pool, others watching the rugby game playing on the TV.

With lightened spirits we orded some drinks and sat down to relax. Yes, of course, you know this is coming....it was too good to be true. I was only one sip into my redbull and vodka when one of the guys playing pool came over to chat with us. Now, he actually started off as just a nice guy making conversation. That wasn't so bad until his pool partner came over to make conversation with us as well. This would have gone better for him if he had actually retained the ability to speak. Unfortunately, about four drinks previously, he had abandoned both his short term memory as well as the ability to form coherent words and phrases. Thus we found ourselves having to constantly remind him of our names, places of birth, and purpose in Dallas. I came to feel as though I was being interrogated by some hostile foreign nation and I could only utter the same three pieces of information over, and over, and over. Finally Linds and I abandoned the truth for far more rich stories. I became Melinda from Canada and Linds became Elisa from Boston. We met at McGill University in Montreal where we both earned our undergrad educations. The story could have gone further, but eventually the very drunk man wandered off thus leaving only the initial guy. He seemed nice enough until the conversation turned to his currently dating situation. He began to go off on how he was dating the love of his life and how he's 30 years old and been looking since he was 16 and how meeting people in bars was such a beating because women in bars are never really genuine...etc...

That was it. Linds and I threw up the white flag. We could take no more. We left the bar a full hour before closing time (and if you know us, you know how unusual that is) and headed home. Tomorrow we're going to go see book depository, get some BBQ, and then get out of dodge. Perhaps we'll run into some real cowboys along the way.

From Vegas to the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, and New Mexico

Well, we've reached the last leg of our fantastic trip. From Vegas we went on to the Grand Canyon. In true Lindsay and Michele fashion, we arrived in the Canyon park too late to get a campsite and found ourselves driving around the national forest just outside. Luckily you are allowed to camp anywhere in the forest that you please, so after we could drive no more we just parked, set up the tent and got ready for bed. Of course the local wildlife decided to have a curious moment, and all of a sudden we found ourselves sharing our site with a HUGE deer. I thought deer were supposed to be skiddish, but not this one. S/he came right up to our little site and walked all around as if trying to figure out why in the world two girls from new york were sleeping out in the middle of nowhere. After getting in the tent and snuggling down for bed, my eyes shot wide open as I heard the sound of hoves right next to my head. I turned to look at Linds and saw that she was as startled as I was. Then of course our little buddy decided to have some kind of deer-kegger right outside and soon there were many, many hoves to be heard. To top it off, something must have scared the group away because I woke up quite suddenly again thinking I was in that stampede scene in the lion king. Not the best night's sleep.

The next day we set out for the Canyon but out bodies being very dehydrated and sleepy, made our stay there rather short. Plus the weather was overcast and looking to rain so we took an abreviated hike and headed out towards Mesa Verde.

I must say that our drive along northern Arizona was stunning. The pancaked clay mountains had the most beautiful gradient from red to orange to yellow. In some places it looks as though the colors had been painted on in quick but determined strokes. Plus, being at such a high elevation made the sky look as though it had dropped down upon us. Just wait until you see the pictures.

We arrived in Mesa Verde, found a campsite, and had our last campfire of the trip complete with smores and long, laughter-filled conversations. Thanks to Linds I have found a new appreciation for camping.

The next morning we went on a self-guided hike/tour of some of the cliff dwellings at the park. It was amazing to me to see these houses, built in the 13th century, still standing and almost untouched. It definitely brought out the history geek in me.

From Mesa Verde we went to Durango, Colorado and had lunch along the main street. We did some window shopping, bought the latest Harry Potter book, and set out for Santa Fe. Along the way we decided to have story time so while Lindsay drove, I ready aloud the new book. So far we finished off 136 pages.

New Mexico is a little on the scary side. It had a similar flat landscape to South Dakota, but a completely different kind of barren feeling. For miles on end there were no signs of humanity--no cars on the road, no cows in the suprisingly green countryside, no homes, no power lines, no nothing. Linds and I paused our story to take a good look around and to carefully monitor our gas gauge. I now see why they chose New Mexico to develop and test the first atomic bomb.

Of course we drove into Santa Fe at night so we have no clue what awaits us tomorrow. We're going to try to visit the Georgia O'Keefe museum and get some yummy food before traveling on to Roswell. I am SO excited for Roswell and the crazies there.

Ok, I must sign off for now. We're getting very sleepy and we have a long day. I promise we'll try to put up more over the next two weeks. There's only 13 days left!!!