Tonight we are in McDonough, Georgia, just south of Atlanta. It was cloudy most of the day and started raining between Chattanooga, Tennessee and Atlanta and has been raining ever since.
We didn't do anything special today, except drove the back roads and got to see some of rural Tennessee and Georgia. Our intentions were to go to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, but we (the driver/navigator) forgot the time change and we didn't arrive in Atlanta until after 5:00 PM. And then, there was the traffic! For some reason the traffic on the interstate highway through Atlanta was bumper to bumper both ways. Who would have thought it would be that heavy on a Sunday afternoon?
Tomorrow we plan to make it to Orlando, Florida and our destination. We have no plans to stop for anything along the way, but we never know what will look interesting and draw us in.
More tomorrow.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Saturday, September 29, 2012
This Bud's For Uly
This morning was just as beautiful as yesterday. We left Hannibal, Missouri and drove The Great River Road to St. Louis. Once there we continued our presidential theme and went in search of the Ulysses S. Grant Historical Site.
As we drove down the street we saw a large fenced in area with neatly maintained buildings and well manicured lawns and flowers. On one side of the road was an official marker for the Ulysses S. Grant Historical Site and directly across was a sign for Grant Farms with directions for parking. We followed the flow and commenced to pay our entry fee and parked. Like sheep we followed the rest of the flock into the park and prepared to board the tram.
Things began to look suspicious when I noticed an Anhueser Busch logo. Hmm? During the tram ride, with about twenty five 0-10 year olds and parents, we realized we had made a wrong turn. We were in a Busch wildlife park developed on land once owned by the Grant and Dent families. The park has a farm theme with small rides for children and a petting farmyard/zoo. And, of course, there are Clydesdales. Coincidentally it just happens to be across the street from the historical site.
But do not fret. As with all Busch parks there is a hospitality pavilion and we had a couple of nice cold FREE beers.
After lunch we went across the road to the real U. S. Grant Historical Site. That was the home where President Grant and his wife lived before he lead the Union Army in the Civil War and then the nation as president. It's not a presidential library but pretty cool just the same.
From St. Louis we drove past hundreds of cotton fields to Jackson, Tennessee where we are staying for the night. We are heading for Atlanta tomorrow and hope to visit the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library. That is, if we don't turn into a Coca Cola Park by mistake!
More tomorrow.
As we drove down the street we saw a large fenced in area with neatly maintained buildings and well manicured lawns and flowers. On one side of the road was an official marker for the Ulysses S. Grant Historical Site and directly across was a sign for Grant Farms with directions for parking. We followed the flow and commenced to pay our entry fee and parked. Like sheep we followed the rest of the flock into the park and prepared to board the tram.
Things began to look suspicious when I noticed an Anhueser Busch logo. Hmm? During the tram ride, with about twenty five 0-10 year olds and parents, we realized we had made a wrong turn. We were in a Busch wildlife park developed on land once owned by the Grant and Dent families. The park has a farm theme with small rides for children and a petting farmyard/zoo. And, of course, there are Clydesdales. Coincidentally it just happens to be across the street from the historical site.
But do not fret. As with all Busch parks there is a hospitality pavilion and we had a couple of nice cold FREE beers.
After lunch we went across the road to the real U. S. Grant Historical Site. That was the home where President Grant and his wife lived before he lead the Union Army in the Civil War and then the nation as president. It's not a presidential library but pretty cool just the same.
From St. Louis we drove past hundreds of cotton fields to Jackson, Tennessee where we are staying for the night. We are heading for Atlanta tomorrow and hope to visit the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library. That is, if we don't turn into a Coca Cola Park by mistake!
More tomorrow.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Not The Vacuum Cleaner Guy
We started out this morning at about 8:00 AM not really sure which route we were taking. We decided to drive through Iowa, taking the roads less traveled, not the interstate highways. Our route took us through Decorah, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and lots and lots of small towns.
Today was beautiful, sunny and clear showing off the colors of the fall leaves. There were so many pretty turns in the road lined by the green, gold red and orange leaf covered trees. And we were surprised to barns with Pennsylvania Dutch type barn hex signs. It's like seeing quilt block patterns on the end of a barn.
Lunch was in Coraville, Iowa at Bandana's BBQ. The food was good and the decor was really cute, with bandana valances on the windows and tin wash tubs and pails for light fixtures.
From there we drove to West Branch, Iowa and visited the Herbert Hoover Library and Museum. No, not Hoover the vacuum cleaner guy, Hoover, the President guy. But I will say the floors were really clean. That's the first Presidential Library we've visited and it was pretty cool.
Tonight we are in Hannibal, Missouri. We ate supper at a small gas station diner. The food was good/okay, but the ambiance left a bit to be desired. I wasn't sure if we were dining with the people of Wal-Mart, or litigants from Judge Joe Brown. We saw three women in the place (one of whom was our server) and I'm pretty sure that they didn't have a full set of teeth combined.
More tomorrow.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Getting Ready
Well, we're packing up for our next road trip. On Fri., Sept. 28 we are heading to Orlando, Florida for the month of October. So, get ready for my mile by mile and state by state descriptions and comments starting on Friday.
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