Travels and Tribulations
Pittsburgh’s Interstate system running through their downtown is so convoluted it makes St.Louis’s seem logical and free flowing.
To the old bitty seating tables at the Italian restaurant full of elders dining in a strip mall in Pittsburgh who stuck her nose up at me because I didn’t have a reservation… bite me… we tried to eat at a local establishment but against my wishes ended up thoroughly enjoying the Olive Garden. Thanks for the nice dinner.
I did not look this up, but I am convinced that North Carolina has the most smokers per capita in the United States.
I did not look this up either, but I am convinced that the little border town of Blue Field, West Virginia which is about 5 miles off of Interstate 77 not only holds the dubious distinction (in my mind) of being the most obese town per capita in the United States, but also the town with the least teeth. The old school K-Mart did have restrooms, which I am thankful for.
I have completely lost my faith in MapQuest as the 45 miles from the Interstate 81 to Boone, NC took nearly two hours. MapQuest didn’t take in to account that you can’t drive 55. You can barely drive 45, and mostly you are driving 35 with curvatures and switchbacks through the mountains with no shoulder and no guardrails to the steep dropoffs.
A view from the Blue Ridge Parkway, just south of Boone:
Dear Gatlinburg, TN Police – be on the lookout for a silver SUV with a supersized cooler in the trunk filled with 4 cases of Bud cans and twelve pack of MGD. You will find their empty boxes in the shopping cart corral.
Speaking of Gatlinburg, if you’ve never been there, it’s the Lake of the Ozarks and Wisconsin Dells combined and on steroids, and they have a built in vacuum designed to suck money out of your wallet. The most amazing thing is when you cross over into the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. In the span of 30 seconds you leave a neon jungle and enter a forest canopy. I’ve never experience two places so diametrically opposed butting right up against each other. It’s quite an experience.
While taking a relatively short hike through the Great Smokey Mountains towards Laura Falls, I found this sign to be terrifyingly true:
Along that pathway we encountered a Mama & Baby Bear just about 100 feet away up the hillside, and later two deer with big racks only about 15 feet away hiding in the tall grass.
Another reason I love XM Satellite Radio – not only could I hear Pat & Ron broadcast a few Cub games, but I was able to hear the dramatic final two rounds of the 2008 (British) Open (Golf) Championship and Greg Norman’s near Cinderella story.
I didn’t expect much out of our last sleepover, but the Louisville Slugger Factory Tour is definitely worth a visit, as is nearby Louisville History Museum which specialized in weaponry from the medieval period through the early 1900’s and deserved much more time than the hour and a half that we had available.
I’ll never get tired of rounding the bend on I74 to see Peoria’s skyline. As Frank Sinatra sang, “It’s nice to go traveling, but it’s oh so nice to come home.”
July 21st, 2008 at 9:38 am
That Blue Ridge Parkway looks like it would be a BLAST to drive. I started heel-toeing and double-clutching phantom pedals at my desk as soon as I saw the picture.
July 21st, 2008 at 12:17 pm
The speed limit is 45, leadfoot.
July 21st, 2008 at 12:56 pm
45 on roads that curvy is fun.
July 21st, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I can’t remember, did they get rid of the Fon Du Lac bridge in the midst of all that construction? If they finally demolished that thing, the view rounding the bend would be one of the best in the world, IMO.
I always thought it was a blemish. Some people I’ve talked to think it’s one of Peoria’s loveable and unique little quirks, and what Peorian hasn’t parked at Bob Evans and scaled it at some point in their lives, but from the second I became an opinionated motormouth onward I’ve felt it was a stain on what could be one of the best views in the country.
Also, just to put a bug in your ear, that would be a cool video for your youtube account if you’d want to take the time. I mean, you have Aiken St, you gotta get “the bend” up there too!
July 22nd, 2008 at 2:23 pm
I can’t figure out why you were in Boone, North Carolina. I didn’t know you guys were into TM. The Maharishi Englightenment Center is just outside of Boone, one of the largest Maharishi settlements in the country. Of course, they don’t allow cars on the campus, everyone parks at the bottom of the mountain and takes a golf cart up.
http://boone.globalcountry.net/
July 23rd, 2008 at 7:14 am
Boone - in the heart of NC hill country and just off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. That’s why we stayed there. We didn’t do any meditation.
So let me get this straight - No cars, but golf carts are allowed? Don’t you think they should walk? I think that would be more enlightening.
July 26th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Ya know, someone could tell me when I make typos…