It Was Actually Them

When we were on our vaction, I posted how we strolled down Venice Beach and saw a film crew shooting scenes of some guy with a hot dog hat giving out samples. And in and around the area was what we believed were celebrity look-alikes of Paris Hilton and Kelly Osborne. We were only half right.

In the latest issue of People magazine, there is a snapshot of Kelly Osborne and Kim Stewart (Rod Stewart's daughter) filming the pilot episode of a new reality series on Venice Beach on May 30, 2007. Wow, I was only one degree of separation from the "Prince of Darkness" that day. I guess it was our brush with greatness... another reality series... however great that is.

In this photo, I tried to capture the two of them. Unfortunately, I think Kelly is behind the photographer. But I did get a good picture of Kim.

Route 66: Day Sixteen - Home Sweet Home

Our adventure on historic Route 66 and ensuing travel had come to an end shortly after 3:30pm this afternoon when we finally arrived home. And it was cicadas who welcomed us back after their 17-year absence.

We started to leave Topeka, KS at 7:40am and the rest of the trip was mainly uneventful. We travelled along I-70 through Kansas City until Kingdom City, MO where we turned off on East US 54. I know this road very well as I have taken it many times when visiting relatives.

After we stopped in Pittsfield, IL for some lunch, we put the top down for the first time in a few days for the remainder of the way home.

Though I may from time to time complain about Peoria and the state of Illinois, it is always good to get back home... especially after almost 2 and a half weeks of living out of a suitcase and different hotels, not to mention eating in restaurants every night. And finally, not to be in a car for several hours each day. My car is very nice, but I think this is going to be the last "long" road trip for it. For long road trips, it really needs a little more leg room and storage. But fuel mileage, you can't beat it. We filled up in Topeka last night and I still have just under a quarter tank left here in Dunlap.

It has been a unique adventure this past 16 days. After I roughly tallied up our expenses, I thought "Wow, we could have went somewhere really nice." But we couldn't have stayed as long or have seen as much or have had the experiences we had from getting our kicks on Route 66.

I want to thank everyone who visited this blog to somewhat live vicariously through us as we made our trek across the USA.

Final Stats:
Miles Travelled, today: 438 miles
Miles Travelled, total trip: 4,866 miles

Today's travel time: 8 hrs
Travel time, total trip: 122.3 hrs
Today's avg speed: 54.75 mph

Today's fuel mileage: 31.1 mpg
Fuel Mileage, total trip: 29.9 mpg

Number of States Travelled: 11 (IL, MO, KS, OK, TX, NM, AZ, CA, NV, UT, CO)
Number of Digital Pictures taken: 484 (not including pictures taken w/ film)

Reg Unleaded Gas Price/Gallon, High: $3.99 (Needles, CA... the desert)
Reg Unleaded Gas Price/Gallon, Low: $2.89 (today, western Missouri)

Gasoline Expense, Entire Trip: $628.86
Lodging Expense, Entire Trip: $2,075.59 (or about $129 per night)
Meals, Booze, Shopping, Misc (est): $1,300 (yikes!)

Vacation & Memories of a Lifetime: Priceless... it pays to Discover!

Route 66: Day Fifteen - Road Warriors

As the great American poet Jonathan Cash put it:

"I've been everywhere, man,
I've been everywhere."

Beth awoke me this morning at 6:15am Mountain time right in the middle of a dream. I was completely out, not even realizing where I was. The travel home is starting to take a toll on us road warriors.

Anyway, we started back out on the road at 7:42am from Grand Junction, CO. The western side of Colorado was very scenic riding. We saw many views of the hills, mountains, Colorado River, condos, pine trees and so on. We went past many popular ski areas including Powderhorn, Aspen, Vail, Beaver Creek and a few others. Denver wasn't too bad to drive through as we missed rush hour. But after that, it got to be a very boring drive. Just flat terrain for miles and miles. And then there was Kansas.

What happens in Kansas stays in Kansas and do you know why? Because nothing happens in Kansas. No offense to the fine citizens here, but this has been one long ass dull state. As we've hit the eastern half of the state, the scenery has been slightly improving. But because of this, we don't have much to report.

Tonight, we have set up camp at the Sleep Inn in Topeka, KS... and guess what... this is a SVI property! This is the first and only SVI property we've encountered thus far in our 2 weeks of travel.

Tomorrow, we plan to finally arrive at home sometime late afternoon. According to the Garmin GPS, it is 465 miles away. So sometime tomorrow night, I plan to post the final stats and anything interesting that may happen to us tomorrow. But for now, I'll leave you with some more photos from the two weeks past while we've been on Route 66, America's Main Street.



Big blue whale in Oklahoma.

The round barn in Arcadia, OK.


Leaning water tower; Texas.


Cadillac Ranch; outside Amarillo, TX


Wigwam Village; Holbrook, AZ

The shoe tree; Amboy, CA

Santa Monica pier; Santa Monica, CA

Stats:

Miles Travelled, today: 784 miles
Miles Travelled, total: 4,428 miles
Today's travel time: 12.38 hrs
Today's avg speed: 63.3 mph
Today's fuel milage: 32.8 mpg
Encounter with wildlife: 1 (turtle crossing I-70 west of Salina, KS)

Route 66: Day Fourteen - Eastbound & Down

"Eastbound and down, load it up and truckin',
we're gonna do what they say can't be done.
We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there,
I'm eastbound just watch the Bandit run."

Today has been a long day. It essentially started when we got on the road from the Holiday Inn in Santa Maria, CA at 4:40am, Pacific Time. It was still dark as we started to head eastward towards home. But once the sun started coming up, we were entering the desert and it was very picturesque. Before long, we were encountering Joshua trees, which look really cool. And speaking of cool, it was that in the desert at that time of the day.


In one respect, we came full circle when we reached Barstow today as we came across Historic Route 66. But sadly, we did not get on this route and instead took I-15 towards Las Vegas. We entered back into Arizona, but only briefly until Utah. And Utah was a really scenic state... lots of rock formations and badlands (pictured left is Beth in Utah). In Utah, we got on I-70 and headed on into Grand Junction, CO where we are hold up for the night at... you guessed it... Holiday Inn Express. We stayed at Holiday Inn so much that I've already signed up for their Priority Club.

By now, it seems like its been so long ago when we were in California. But it was just about 17 - 18 hours ago.. or something like that. The voyage home hasn't been that bad as we've had lots to look at while we travel. That will probably change in east Colorado or Kansas. Oh well.


Stats:
Miles Travelled, today: 913
Miles Travelled, total: 3,644
Today's travel time: 14.58 hours
Today's avg speed: 62.6 mph
Today's fuel mileage: 30.1 mpg
Today's low temperature: 50 degrees F
Today's high temperature: 104 degrees F

Route 66: Day Thirteen - The Voyage Home

Well, we haven't made it too far today on our return home... we're still in Santa Maria! Although at different hotel. So I guess we did make it a few miles.

The embarrassing story will get out somehow, so let's get it over with. As I mentioned in the previous post, the party last night carried on at Tom and Kim's, and some of us over-indulged. Actually, it really wasn't over-indulgence, but rather the wine just hit sudden and fast. This morning the hangover was so severe that it wasn't likely that the voyage home would begin. And to make matters worse, the hotel we were staying at was booked for tonight!

I thought about staying at Tom's place, and they had already offered. But Beth's allergies to dogs, and the kids being kids, would not make for a suitable environment. In addition, we really didn't want to impose. We looked into different hotels and many were booked because the Rodeo is in town. Fortunately, the Holiday Inn had availability. So we had to pack everything up, check into the Holiday Inn, come back to pick up the injured and return back to the Holiday Inn.

We expect to return home on Tuesday. As for starting out tomorrow, it will be very, very early.

Stats:
Miles travelled, today... I don't know, 5-10 miles

Route 66: Day Twelve - Santa Maria

Day twelve (Fri 6/1/07) of our trip was very fun. We are staying an extra day in California so that we can see the band Tom Stevens is a part of perform tonight. The name of the band is Midnight Sun and it is a five piece band (Tom plays the drums... here he is with his daughter Megan) that plays a lot of covers from the 50's up to today. They even have a few original songs as well. The gig they had was at the Cottonwood Creek Winery for some type of open house event they had going on.

Tom took half the day off and I offered to be a roady. Meanwhile, Beth went shopping and hung out with Kim while we were getting ready. It was kind of interesting to see how another band is organized and how they set up their set. They were scheduled to play from 6 - 9 pm.

During the show, I worked as photographer and I believe I'm probably the first to video tape them. I hope I did them good. Then in the last set, they invited me up to play with them for a couple of songs. So, having never ever played one note with these guys before, the 2 songs we did were ones I do with Nootril Drop... and in the same key! Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison, which I dedicated to Beth and Surrender by Cheak Trick. It was a blast.

While the audience wanted more even after the 2 encores, we had to shut down as the winery wanted to close. The party continued afterwards at Tom and Kim's place, where some folks might have over-indulged.

Tomorrow, day 13, we will begin to make our trek back home. We don't plan to go through South Dakota and see Mt. Rushmore or the badlands, but instead plan to take I-70 through Colorado, Kansas & Missouri.

Later.

Route 66: Day Eleven

Yesterday (5/31/07) we said goodbye to Santa Monica and proceeded up the Pacific coast (at least as much as we could) to Santa Maria to visit Tom and Kim Stevens and kids. The weather was in the mid-60s and a bit cloudy, which was OK with me as I got even more sun from the previous day's walk on the beach. I'm more a "redneck" with a farmer tan than before.

The drive up California Hwy 1 was nice until we had to get on US 101. There were some detours in Oxnard, which was confusing to follow. North of Santa Barbara, we stopped to refuel... and I hate these gas pumps out here in California. For starters, they don't allow the little metal clip that allows the fuel to pump automatically. You have to hold the handle the whole time. If that's not enough inconvenience, there's also a rubber mask that is to fit over your (don't know what to call it at the moment) fuel tank interface so gas fumes won't escape. Of course, this tricks the gas pump that your tank is full, so every .2 gallons that gets pumps, it shuts off. So with my left hand, I hold back this mask and my right hand has to continue to pump fuel. And it's all self-serve now days.

We arrived in Santa Maria around 3:30pm. Kim and her daughter Megan were home along with Ginger the 120 lb. yellow lab. We had a couple of beers and later Kyle and Kevin arrived home next, wondering who's cool car was in the driveway. Later, I dropped Kyle off for a ball game in that really cool car. Tom then came home from work and we had another couple of beers. Kim called the local Radisson and got us a room for a couple of nights.

We checked in and discovered that they have the sleep number beds; two of them. I looked forward to try them as I am not really impressed with the astronaut/memory foam mattress we have at home.

We met back up with the Stevens family and went to dinner at Cool Hand Luke's. Dinner was pretty good as I had never heard of this chain before. The kids really liked it and were the ones that suggested going there. We went back to the house and watched a little TV and then called it a night. Can't wait to try the sleep number bed.

Stats:

Ooops... left the notes in the car. I'll have to check back later.

Update (stats for 5/31/07):

Miles Travelled, today: 168

Miles Travelled, total: 2,731

Today's avg speed: 37.33 mph

Today's fuel mileage: 27.9 mpg

Route 66: Day Ten - Santa Monica

While we are no long travelling historic Route 66, we still refer to this trip as our Route 66 trip. Now into Day Ten, today we never once got into any vehicle.

We slept in today until about 8:30am. After breakfast we headed out for a long walk up the beach to Muscle and Venice Beaches. As us Midwest people say, we are in the land of fruits and nuts. It was still fairly early for all the street artists and performers to populate Venice Beach, but we still had plenty of people watching opportunities.

We spotted a film crew following a couple of young women. I paid most attention on the first girl, a tall blonde who somewhat resembled Paris Hilton. As they went past us, Beth thought the other girl was Kelly Osborne, daughter of Ozzy Osborne. So we thought it was some other reality show. We also witnessed staff people with clip boards getting people who were filmed to sign waivers and disclaimers.

A little further up the way, we saw another film crew, this time filming some guy in a tie dyed shirt and some kind of hot dog hat. He was talking to the passerby and offering sausage samples. He was working with a food outlet there, named Joni's Sausage Kingdom, or something like that. I overheard someone with the film crew answering someone's question about whether Kelly Osborne was involved. He vaguely answered him say she was, but not directly. Huh? We then witnessed the two women bicycling back and forth and noticed that they were not really who they appeared to be.

We did get to sample some sausage... it wasn't bad. And we finally deduced that this was some kind of promotion or TV commercial being filmed for this food outlet, using some celebrity look alikes.

After lunch, we headed back to the room and did some laundry. I was on my absolute last day of underwear. And then it was nap time. After I awoke, I noticed I got some more sun today... the farmer tan is stronger than ever.

For dinner, we walked a couple of blocks into town to an open air type mall/shopping area. We ate at an establishment called Yankee Doodles, which was a sports bar. It had large pane glass so that you can look out at passerbys and do more people watching. I'm not a big people watcher, but I am good at making some sharp observations. Here's a couple.

I noticed a large number of women wearing straight leg pants/jeans. To that I say, "Thank God." It's time to move on from those awful bell bottom and flaired pants. It was bad in the 70's and equally bad in the 90's and 00's. Of course, by the time this trend gets to Peoria, it will be over with everywhere else.

The most unusual observation I made was a couple of mid-Eastern decent/beliefs, with the women completely shrouded in sheets/clothing/robes... whatever you call that stuff they cover themselves up with. It is their belief that women should be covered and not be seen. But the interesting thing was she was carrying with her a Victoria's Secret bag. What is she wearing under that getup?

For tomorrow, we plan to drive up the coast until Santa Maria and visit some friends. We'll keep you posted.

Stats:
Miles travelled, today: by auto... 0, by foot... maybe 4
Miles travelled, total: 2,563
Today's sunblock factor: 0

Route 66: Day Nine - We Made It!!

We have finally arrived at the end of the road... Santa Monica! But first, let's begin from the start of the day.

We left the Best Western in Needles, CA at 6:35am. After refueling and stopping at the local Wagon Wheel Restaurant for breakfast, we were on our way by 7:30am. It wasn't to difficult to find Rt 66 this morning; our hotel was located right on Rt 66.

One of our stops was in the town of Amboy. Right before you get to the town, you get to see a "shoe tree," which is a tree that several people have thrown shoes into. We also got to see the Amboy Crater. It is a mini-volcano, which last saw volcanic activity 10,000 years ago. We also checked out Roy's Motel & Cafe in Amboy, which was featured in the 1986 film The Hitcher and also the 1993 film Kalifornia with Brad Pitt.

Outside of Daggett, CA is the Calico Ghost Town, which was about 6 or 7 miles out of our way. Thinking it was a real ghost town, we altered course to visit it. Turns out, it was, for lack of a better term, a tourist trap. We went through it to find out what it was about. It was an old silver mining town which eventually went dead when the silver either ran our or the market bottomed.

After we got under way, we stopped briefly to look at the Bottletree Ranch. Constructed by Elmore Long, aka "the Bottletree Man," his front yard contains several posts that holds many bottles. Everyone needs a hobby I guess.

By this time we're beginning to notice that the climate is changing and that we are coming out of the desert. And we are getting closer and closer to civilization (before there were times we were the only souls in the desert for miles). At this time we had a choice and according to the directions, we could go Interstate all the way, but was somewhat dangerous as several lane changes are needed; or we could continue on old Route 66. I decided to take 66 all the way. What a fool I was.

That was around 2pm Pacific time I made that decision. For more than 4 hours and better than 60 miles was stop and go, traffic light to traffic light of shit we had to deal with. Directions for the most part was easy as we only had to stay on one street, until later. Beth thought we needed to finally get onto the San Bernadio Freeway South 110. I exit and for whatever reason, missed the exit we needed to take. Instead, we wound up on part of the LA Freeway during rush hour traffic, stuck in the wrong lane(s). I thought that we were now screwed. I really hate large cities with a firery passion. But we got lucky and I was able to exit off of this mess into downtown LA. Great!!

Beth was able to navigate us back towards Rt 66, but it took a solid hour to do so and get us into Santa Monica, where Rt 66 comes to an end at the corner of Lincoln and Olympic. At that point, there is a pier where you can drive on and park. We stopped and turned off the car at 6:27pm Pacific time. We were here. End Route 66.

After walking and looking around a bit, it was now time to find lodging. Right across the street is a Holiday Inn. Holiday Inn has been good to us this trip thus far and they were this time around. We booked a room for a couple of nights and then returned to the pier for a couple of drinks. Picked up the car, parked it at the hotel, moved our stuff up and we were set.

I talked with Tom Stevens tonight trying to coordinate a time to get together. Turns out Tom and his band have a gig Friday night. Beth and I made an executive decision to stay an extra night so we can see them play. I signed up to be a roady.

Though our travels have ended on Route 66, which in some respects is a bit sad, but our vacation continues and I'll check in as always.

Today's Route 66 Fun Fact: Roy's Motel & Cafe and the entire town of Amboy, CA was purchased by Albert Okura in 2005. Okura is the owner of Juan Pollo Restaurant chain in California. He has plans to restore Roy's and Amboy to its original 1950's luster. However, as we drove through in 2007, not much progress has taken place.

Stats:

Miles travelled, today: 324 miles

Miles travelled, total: 2,563 miles

Today's avg speed: 27 mph

Today's fuel mileage: 26.8 mpg

Encounter with wildlife: 2 (a couple of peacocks at Calico Ghost Town)

Number of stupid decisions: 1 (deciding to drive though various LA cities)

Route 66: Day Eight

Back on course to Rt 66 today!

After breakfast at the Grand Hotel, we headed out at 10:50 am mountain time (9:50 local time) and proceeded south on AZ 64 to Williams, AZ and back onto Rt 66. Though we were coming down a mountain, the car reached it's peak fuel mileage at 34.4 mpg. And soon, we were about to enter real desert country, and primarily on old 66.

Our first stop for roadside attractions and fun was in the town of Seligman, where not only are they located on the original Route 66, but one store features a number of mannequins. There were a number of other shops and cafes there as well. It was a refreshing sight to see a town that survived so well though the years on 66.

As we continued, the weather got drier, sunnier (is that a word?) and hotter. According to the car's thermometer, it was as high as 95, and it was only 2pm. We even witnessed a couple of those mini-tornado, dust swirls along the way. We stopped at a gas station to acquire some water and snacks in the event we don't come across any places to eat. Our next stop was going to be in Oatman, AZ and we hoped that we could find some food there.

As we started getting into real desert country, the road began to twist and twine up another hill/mountain. We made a quick stop to see the Schaffer's Fish Bowl Spring, where there is a natural stream of spring water, with the water getting caught in a bowl of rock that looks like cement. Wow, what a sight. The water was all green and complete with an empty beer bottle in it. We continued across the pass and twisted and twined until we reached Oatman, AZ.

Oatman's claim to fame is to be the honeymoon location of Clark Gable and Carol Lombard at the Oatman Hotel. This town's tourist gimmick, if that's what you want to call it, is that they allow mules to roam freely through town. You can purchase carrots to feed the mules, too. Beth got some carrots to feed the mules and almost got herself into a feeding frenzy. The mules know who's got the goods.

The town is nothing but shops and restaurants, but in the style of the old west. It was actually a pretty cool place to visit. It appears to be in the middle of no where.

We spent a couple of hours there looking around and having lunch. By the time we were leaving, the temperature reached 100 degrees! On our way to California!

Route 66 continued as it did before. It twisted and twined until we hit Interstate 40 to cross the Colorado River. By then the temperature was 102. It did reach a peak of 104 degrees. But yes, it's a dry heat... (end sarcasm). It may be better than humid heat, but it's still hot. And like fools, we did all this with the top down. I'm not so sure about doing that tomorrow.

With only a quarter tank of fuel, getting late in the afternoon/early evening and about to enter the Mojave Desert, we decided to stay the night in Needles, CA, where we are now camped out in the local Best Western. Tomorrow we'll start out early to beat the heat. We expect to come into Santa Monica by the end of tomorrow, if we don't get carried away at the Joshua Tree State Park or something.

Stats:

Miles Travelled, Today: 254
Miles Travelled, Total: 2,239

Today’s Avg Speed: 34.25 mph

Today’s Fuel Mileage: 33.3 mpg

High Temperature: 104 F

Route 66: Day Seven

What a day. We started off by getting up early (5:30am local time/6:30 mountain time) after staying at the Wigwam Village… have you slept in a wigwam? We stayed at Wigwam #15 and it was a bit cozy. There was no phone, no Internet and no clock. But did have air conditioning and cable TV… up to 13 channels. The owner of the establishment, who was an extremely nice individual, was quite proud of the place. His father had started the Wigwam Village in 1950 and he was keeping up the tradition.

Beth at one point last night stopped into the main office to ask a few questions regarding area codes in the state of Arizona. The gentlemen even place some long distance calls for her on his own dime. At the time, a couple of guys came into the office asking if there was availability that night. Unfortunately not. The owner then stated “I wish my dad had built more of these,” insinuating that lodging there must be in high demand.

At 7:40am (mountain time) we said farewell to the Wigwam Village and started to head west on I-40 towards Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. Most of Rt 66 does not really exist along this stretch of highway, so it was easier taking I-40. We made a quick stop to look at the “twin arrows,” a stopping point along 66 which is now defunct. Once we got near Flagstaff, we were able to get back onto 66, which was a very nice stretch of road. We stopped at Miz Zip’s Café, which offered one of the better breakfasts I’ve had this whole trip. Flagstaff looked to be a really nice town.

We eventually started to head northward towards the Grand Canyon. This is a sight that must be seen in anyone’s lifetime. After a lengthy drive, and a good walk up to the rim, you finally see the canyon and it just hit you! You just say “WOW!”

We walked around the rim for quite a bit and saw many views of the canyon, but little of the Colorado River. We rode back on one of the shuttle buses, which the driver claimed that it is about 20 degrees hotter at the bottom of the canyon than were we were on top. The weather was actually quite pleasant; sunny, warm but plenty of cool breezes.

At many of the locations around here, they try to discourage you from feeding the animals. I noticed a few crows and squirrels that were panhandling for food. One couple, who met up with a squirrel sort of ran away from it, slightly in fear. I claimed not to worry that it would not harm them; they weren’t so sure. Obviously big-city-folk who’ve never seen a squirrel. Once they ran to safety, they got their camera and took pictures of the dangerous varmint.

Then I got to witness the speaker bring the word of Jesus. He went on and on about how we will all someday die, and how will we meet our maker and are we following the ten commandments and so on. Other people started listening to him at first, but slowly walked away. But soon a park ranger came up saying, “Sir! Sir!” attempting to shut him down. The speaker stopped. I then heard him mention something like “freedom of speech.” I thought, “Oh boy, here we go!”

He started to go on and shortly thereafter, the park ranger interjected. The speaker stopped and said thank you. The audience applauded, but I don’t know if the applauded the speaker or the ranger.

If you decide to come out, plan to spend a couple of day because there’s plenty to see. I noticed some people who packed a lunch to eat while watching the scenery.

We liked the place so much we wanted to stay at the hotel which is on the premises. However they were booked. Instead we drove out of the park and are now camped out at the Grand Hotel just south of the Grand Canyon. We had a quick dinner at the hotel saloon with a few Blue Moon beers (they didn’t have Heineken) and rum and cokes… and safe to say, we’re drunk. You should have heard the coyboy banjo player with the earing. But this place is very rustic like someplace you’d find at Jackson Hole.

The game plan for the rest of the trip is that we will get on our way tomorrow back on Rt 66 and expect to come into Santa Monica, CA by Tuesday. We’ll spend Wednesday there and on Thursday head to Santa Maria to visit Tom and Kim Stevens. Friday morning we’ll finally head home.

Lastly, our farmer tans are coming in just nicely.

Stats: (corrected - I didn't compile the 8 miles from the canyon to the hotel)
Miles Travelled, Today: 194 (was 186)

Miles Travelled, Total: 1985 (was 1,977)
Today’s Avg Speed: 35.1
Today’s Fuel Mileage: 29.8
Encounter with Wildlife: 6 (elk west of Flagstaff; CA condor & 4 elk at Grand Canyon)

Route 66: Day Six

Note: Since we didn't have Internet access last night, this post was written on the evening of 5/26/07, but posted a day later on 5/27/07.

“Standin’ on a corner in Winslow, AZ
Such a fine sight to see”

Today (5/26/07) it turned out to be bit of a down day for us and we “took it easy” as we eventually headed into Winslow, Arizona.

After sleeping in, we departed out of Holbrook, AZ at 11am Mountain Time (10am local time) and checked out the Meteor Crater. The place was a lot bigger than I had imagined from all the pictures I’ve seen of it over the years. We took the tour around the edge of the crater where Harold the tour guide gave us plenty of valuable information on this natural landmark.

We then headed back to Holbrook and stopped along what Harold described as a “66 survivor” for lunch. A place called Falcon Family Restaurant. In business since 1955, it is still operational along Rt 66 after all these years. Of course, it sits in Winslow, AZ which helps.

And speaking of Winslow, AZ, basically a town whose only claim to fame is a single line in the Eagles’ song Take It Easy, was not what I thought it was. Much smaller, in size and population, than I had imagined. No offense to the citizens of Winslow, but there’s nothing there. There’s an intersection in town right on Rt 66 that is adorned by the Eagles and allows folks to get their picture taken standing on the corner. One particular corner was fenced off because fire had struck a building with a painted mural of a girl in a flatbed Ford and an eagle perched on a window.

We stopped for a quick break in Jackrabbit, AZ and had a photo opportunity to ride the rabbit.

Entering back into Holbrook, we checked into the Wigwam Village, where the motel rooms are build at Indian TeePees. It’s like going back in time. While we have a window air conditioner and a modern, cable ready TV, there is no Internet and no phone. A lot of defunct classic autos are parked in the parking lot to give it a 1950s feel. And the room key is a real key.

Today’s Rt 66 Fun Fact #1: According to a sales clerk in Winslow, Jackson Browne, who co-wrote the song Take It Easy, was traveling through Winslow, AZ when his car broke down. While waiting on repairs, he was standing on a corner.

Today’s Rt 66 Fun Fact #2: The meteor that hit the Earth and created what is known as the best preserved crater on Earth, made its impact 50,000 years ago. It was estimated at 150 feet long and hit the Earth at an 80 degree angle traveling at 20,000 mph. According to Harold, 20,000 mph is like getting on a plane in New York and landing in LA 5 minutes later. The impact created the equivalent of an explosion of 20 tons of TNT.

For Day Seven, we plan to take the trip to the Grand Canyon, even though its well off the course of Route 66.

Stats:
Miles Travelled, today: 130 miles/ 140 miles (after eating dinner)
Miles traveled, total: 1,791 miles
Today’s Avg Speed: 21.6 mph
Today’s Fuel Mileage: 30.6 mpg

Route 66: Day Five

Yesterday was a bit long. After going to dinner and a hot tub, and with online difficulties, I wasn't able to post last night. So let's start from the beginning for day five.

We stayed the night in Albuquerque, NM. Bugs Bunny always needed to take that left turn out of Albuquerque, but we didn't have any trouble. We finally got in the car at 9:16 local (Mountain) time and made our way for a good breakfast at Waffle House. And then we were really on our way.

There was some difficulty finding Rt 66 just coming out of Albuquerque. The directions we had wasn't very clear, so we made our best guess and went with it. It worked! But western New Mexico wasn't too exciting in the way of roadside attractions and hokey tourist traps. Some of the way out yesterday we needed to travel on I-40 because Rt 66 was either a dirt road, totally in disrepair or just didn't exist.

We finally came across the continental divide. This is the point in the US where if you should spit on one side, it will drain in the Atlantic Ocean. Spit on the other side and it will drain in the Pacific. At this point was some "Indian Village" supercenter shopping etc. Beth wanted to stop and look around. Meanwhile, I decided to play with Dennis' Garmin Pocket PC GPS device. For a location that it gave me, it said "Top of the World." The GPS also give you your estimated elevation, which stated 7,280 when I stood next to a non-functioning house drawn wagon that stated "Continental Divide Elevation 7275" on the side. I placed the GPS on the ground and then it read exactly 7,275. Cool!

Our next highlight was entering Arizona and eventually came into the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. After a quick lunch, we made our way into the park. It's 28 miles long and we would exit out on the south end of the park. So we missed some of Rt 66 here and there, though, we did see some some of the original 66 within the park itself. This place was very interesting. We first saw the Painted Desert, where it is similar to the badlands of South Dakota. As you drive further, you come into an area where some remains are left from the inhabitants of the area some 900 years ago. Then you find the Petrified Forest, large trees that have been preserved for millions of years. This was cool to look at. You would see an area that almost looked similar to someone who had clear cut a wooded area, only these stumps were rock.

There are strict rules about not taking anything out of the park. Of course Beth wanted to break the law and picked up a regular rock to take with her. It was explained that in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, visitors were taking pieces of petrified wood out of the park (which didn't exist at the time) to keep or sell. Once the park was established, this act was outlawed so that these remains can be enjoyed by future visitors. As we approached the end of the park, we encountered signage stating that our car would be searched. They were serious about this rule. Beth simply threw the rock out of the car. Turns out, they never inspected our car.

We came into Holbrook, AZ for the night as we probably spent about 3 hours in the park. I was exhausted. First I was trying to figure out the local time as it appeared that we were in Pacific time. Then I tried unlocking the wrong room door. We were assigned room 217. I tried to open the door for room 211, but room 216 was directly across the hall from 211. As for the time, much of Arizona doesn't use daylight savings time. I wasn't crazy.

After checking into the Holiday Inn Express (our 3rd one), we went out to eat dinner. When paying the bill, the waitress gave us a coupon to a gift shop next door where they would give us a free piece of petrified wood. Huh? And when we came into the Holiday Inn, I noticed chunks of petrified wood used as landscaping. What was all this talk about limiting what comes out of the park and leaving these artifacts for future generations? Where is all this coming from? Whatever.

Today's Rt 66 Fun Fact: It is believed that Ernest Hemmingway wrote The Old Man & The Sea in the town of Villa De Cubero in western New Mexico. There's not much in the town.

Today will be day six and we plan to take it easy as we've been on the go for so long. We plan to see the Meteor Crater and look around Winzlow, AZ. I'm on a mission to get my picture taken standing on a corner... sort of an ode to the Eagles song Take It Easy. Tonight we are set to lodge at the Wigwam Village and tomorrow we're changing plans to go see the Grand Canyon. Until then. <note: I have no idea if the Wigwam village has Internet access, so it might be another day until I check in.>


Stats:
Miles travelled, today: 283/286 (going to dinner)
Miles travelled, total: 1,661
Today's travel time: 10.75 hrs
Today's average speed: 26.3
Today's fuel mileage: 31.5
Number of fighter jets: 3 (outside of Albuquerque)
Encounter with wildlife: 2 (a lizard and rabbit in the Petrified Forest)

Route 66: Day Four

We slept in and a got a bit of a late start today. Beth was a little nervous last night that there severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes north of us last night. Everything was fine.

We awoke to 51 degree temperatures. And it wasn't until 10am when we got in the car, with our first stop at, for the first time this trip, McDonalds. After a couple of bacon egg and cheese biscuits, we were on our way to see the Cadillac Ranch just west of Armarillo, TX. The Cadillac Ranch is a ranch you can walk on to visit a number of Cadillac have been buried in the ground. Cattle run free and they might even walk up to you. Along this line of buried cars are empty spray paint cans and markers that people have discarded over time after they have placed their artwork on these cars.

Our next stop as in Adrian, TX where lays the mid-way point from Chicago to LA. It's day 4 and we're only half way there?! We stopped at the Midway Cafe, which sits exactly on the half way point. We met Fran, who was the owner and/or manager there who told us some stories about the place. They too were met by the producers of the movie Cars, where their restaurant was the model for Flo's V8 Cafe in that movie. Two of her waitresses were the inspiration for the twin Miatas in the movie as well. These two waitresses were also invited to the premiere of Cars in South Carolina at the SC International Raceway. They were given the total red carpet treatment and got to meet many of the people behind the making of the movie.

We crossed the time zone into Mountain time and the New Mexico border. We later met up with "Peter from France" and the rest of his French motorcyclers. For a long stretch of the way in New Mexico, Rt 66 is either not passible or no longer exits. Therefore, we had to travel on I-40, where the speed limit is 75. So we made some pretty good time today.

The car is handling very well on the trip. The fuel mileage is so good that I have to pull over every once in a while and drain some gas off. Today was a new fuel mileage high... 32.7 mpg. It was a bit cold this morning and we travelled with the top up. This is when I realized that I get better fuel mileage with the top up. It's also been very windy; I might have had a tail wind.

But the one thing I realized how this trip is different is that most vacations we take, we hussle and scramble to catch a flight or bus on time. We wait in lines, hail cabs and do whatever and stress out just to reach a destination. This trip is not really about a destination, it's more about the journey to that destination.

Tomorrow we should enter Arizona. We have reservations for Saturday night at the Wigwam Village in Holbrook, a motel with units built like Indian TeePees. We can probably make it there by tomorrow if we really wanted, but there's plenty to do around there. We might hang around there for a while. There is the Petrified Forest, Meteor Crator and Windslow, AZ.

Stats:
Miles Travelled, Today: 294 Miles/299 Miles (after going to dinner)
Travelled, Total: 1,378
Today's Travel Time: 8 hrs
Today's Average Speed: 36.75 mph
Today's Fuel Mileage: 31.5 mpg
Number of Wind Farms: 3

Route 66: Day Three

The kicks keep coming on Route 66! And the kicks keep getting more and more unique and adventurous.

Today started off just before 10am when we backtracked a few miles to take a look at the Round Barn in Arcadia, OK. According to Butch "the Barn Man," this is the only round barn along Rt. 66.

But then getting out of Oklahoma City was a pain in the ass. After driving in what seemed like circles, we decided to get on I-44 and then I-40 for a good hour until Clinton, OK, a location for the next roadside attraction. This time it was a giant Indian at a car dealership. While there, we refueled and ate outside at the local Sonic. The wind was so strong that our lunch almost blew away. But finally, back on the road.

The highlight of today was in Erick, OK where we met Annabelle and Harley at the Sandhills Curiousity Shop. They self-proclaim themselves as the redneck capital of the world; a pompous title if I must say. They also claim to be "mediocre music makers," as they serenaded us with a couple of songs during our stay. No more than we walked into the door, they gave us a big warm welcome with a hug; and Harley with his long ZZ Top beard even kissed us on the cheek. What the hell did we just get ourselves into?

Not only playing a couple of songs for us on their acoustic guitars, they also told us many stories along Rt 66 and how they got started doing... well... whatever they're doing. Of the stories was how they worked with the producers of the movie, Cars. They used their building as a model for one of the buildings in the movie. They were even invited to California for the premier of the movie, but declined the invitation. And then the topic of kids came up and we claimed our daughter was Trixie. Guess what? They too have a yellow lab, Dolly. So we had to meet Dolly while we were there.

So Harley locked up the store just in case someone might want to stop in and we walked towards the back to their house. It was there we ran into two French Harley-Davidson motorcycle riders who were riding Rt 66. They were taking a moment for a picture when Harley and Annabelle invited them to their house as well. Only one of them, "Peter from France" would venture into the house; we think the other rider was too scared.

It wasn't long until I smelled the distinctive odor of marijuana; Harley had one going right in front of us. Dolly was too nervous to really meet us as she was cautious of guests. We went back to the store, took a few pictures, tipped them for their hospitality and we were on our way. In all, we spent a solid 2 hours with them.

The last part of today's travels brought us to see the tilted water tower in Britten, TX, the largest cross in the Western Hemisphere in Groom, TX and the Bug Farm in Conway, TX. We finally stopped for the night in Armarillo, TX. Tomorrow we stop to see Cadillac Ranch, the midway point and off to New Mexico!!

Stats:
Miles Travelled, Today: 316
Miles Travelled, Total:1,084
Today's Travel Time: 10.5 hrs
Today's Average Speed: 30.095 mph
Today's Fuel Mileage: 27.9 mpg
Turnaround Times: numerous - lost count
Today's Encounter with Wildlife: 1 (a snake in western Oklahoma; possibly a roadrunner too, but it was too far to see clearly)
Number of Pawn Shops: 9

Route 66: Day Two

Another action packed day on America's Mother Road!

We headed out at 9:05am from the Krystal Aire (a non-smoking hotel... get it, "crystal air") hotel in Springfield, MO with a short stop at Shell to re-fuel. About 25 miles west of Springfield, we came into a very small town called Gay Parita... not that there's anything wrong with that. There we came across a refurbished, replicated 1940-50s era gas station. It even had the price of 15 cents for a gallon of gas. That caught my attention.

We pulled right up to the pump for a photo op to appear that I pulled in to refuel. I had no idea who owned the place or if we'd be tresspassing. Soon as we were about to drive off, here comes the owner. A very nice gentleman named Gary. He then opened the place up for us, showed us around and told us some info regarding Route 66.

We then continued on and made it into Kansas. Our first few miles in Kansas was, well, pretty rough roads. We did come across the Rainbow Bridge, which is a strech of the original Route 66, complete with the painted road sign on the pavement. But Route 66 doesn't run through Kansas too far and soon we were crossing the Oklahoma state line. Our first few miles into Oklahoma we came across an oncoming manuer truck, which the stench lasted for some time. "This state stinks!," Beth exclaimed.

Sometime after lunch, we came across the Summerside Winery just outside of Vinita, OK. Who would have known they grow grapes and make wine in Oklahoma. They do. We didn't get any bottles of wine, but tasted a few and picked up a great picture book on Route 66. The photos helped us better find our way.

We also made a stop in Catoosa, OK, which is home to the Blue Whale Swimming Park. It closed in 1988, but was a structure where kids could jump off and swim in a local pond.

As we drive along Route 66, it is somewhat "depressing" as Beth put it as you see so many defunct structures and closed businesses. Some of these towns we go through almost look like real to life ghost towns. The rolling tumbleweeds blowing across the street would make it complete. And you'd be surprised at the number of pawn shops and trailer parks. And further surprising, it is next to impossible to find a good diner or cafe. We run into the occasional McDonald's and such, but a good hometown cafe has been somewhat hard to find when we're hungry. And we have yet to run into a Starbucks.

Tonight we are camped out at the Holiday Inn Express in Edmond, OK. First thing tomorrow after breakfast we are going to check out the big round barn in Arcadia, OK, back just a few miles and then off for Texas!

Today's Route 66 Fun Fact: Four miles off of Rt 66 at exit 28A near Foyil, OK is the world's tallest totem pole at 90 ft high at Totem Pole Park. The park also has an 11-sided fiddle house for the fiddles of Nathan Galloway, who carved his own fiddles.


Stats:
Miles Travelled, Today: 321
Miles Travelled, Total: 768
Today's Travel Time: 10.75 hours
Today's Avg Speed: 29.86 / hour
Today's Fuel Mileage: 28.8 mpg
Today's Turnarounds: 2
Today's Encounter with Wildlife: 1 (a wild turkey in Missouri)

Route 66: Day One

We have arrived safe and sound in Springfield, MO at roughly 8:20pm and everything is so far, so good.


After last minute packing and securing the house, we backed out of the garage at 8:25am. Our first stop; the SuperPantry to fill up with fuel. I forgot about that last night, but we're in no hurry. While at the SuperPantry, we encountered our first oddity and only in the first 10 minutes of our trip. Beth watched the store attendant wave furiously and act a bit silly through the store window. She didn't know if he was waving at us or not, but we realized that this comedian wanna-be was waving at someone else.

Next stop, Hardee's. I can't get going until I get a good couple of bacon egg and cheese biscuits and a large Diet Coke. It was about 9:15am when we actually got on our way.

We got onto Rt. 66 at Elkhart from I-55. Travel was pretty smooth until Springfield, IL, where it was difficult to tell where 66 actually went. Eventually, you have to get back onto 55 and pick 66 up further south at Chatham. Of course, once we got back onto 55, we hit backed up traffic for several miles. Gridlock!!!!!

Most of 66 in this area are those side, frontage roads you see along side 55. The rest of IL went smoothly. We went around St. Louis via I-270 and then picked up I-44. Most of Missouri was complete, though we'd get lost at times and Rt 66 is not marked well in areas. Rt 66 anymore has become state or county roads or frontage roads. But much of it so far has been clear of traffic and in good shape.

There hasn't been a lot of roadside oddities and interest yet. At St. Robert, MO, there was an adult center like that of some of those "trading posts" you see that sell fireworks, moccasins, etc. This place had exotic dancing, bookstore, novelties and liquor. Then next to that was a lookout point that overlooked the Missouri Ozarks. We're gettin' our kicks on Rt 66 here!

I've been pleased with the car so far in the trip. The fuel mileage is incredible. Before Springfield, IL, we hit a high of 28.9 mpg!

Well, until tomorrow when the odyssey continues.

Stats:
Miles Travelled, Today: 447
Miles Travelled, Total: 447
Today's Driving Time: 12 hours
Today's Avg MPH: 37.25
Fuel Mileage: 28.3 mpg
Today's Turnaround Times: 6

Happy Earth Day!

I first heard about Earth Day in 1990 during a visit to see a friend of mine, Matt Astel, at SIU at Carbondale. I think it was during Springfest, and the students there had this huge beach-ball type ball of the Earth. Someone said, "Yea, it's Earth Day."

"Earth Day???????" I responded back. At that time, I started making all the jokes about burning tires, dumping styrofoam into a landfill and leaking freon from my air conditioner on Earth Day. Going on 20 years later, the humor continues.

In the mid-90's, I joined the Peoria Jaycees and became it's newsletter editor. For an April Fool's issue for April 1996, I presented this following story. And surprisingly, some people actually believed it. Enjoy!


Jaycees Announce Earth Day Festivities

Earth Day 1996 is to be held on Monday, April 22 and the Peoria Jaycees has a whole host of activities planned. "This is going the be the most exciting Earth Day in Central Illinois... ever!", exclaimed Peoria Jaycees president Steven J. West at a press conference on April 1. Commander West also claimed that the Peoria based volunteer organization was fired up and enthusiastic about the Earth Day projects it has planned. The now defunct Nature Conservancy committee reunited to handle the various activities that are to take place. Headed up by Beth Barr and Andrea Peters, several different types of projects to promote Earth Day and the environment will take place with different "teams" carrying out different assignments (see tentative schedule of events on page 3). "I'm really excited about this", stated Ms. Peters, "it's good to see that the Jaycees are concerned about the Earth's environment and are ready to do something about it. I just hope we have enough hours in the day to get everything done."

During the press conference, Ms. Barr and Ms. Peters explained how each team divided the project work. Dan Schmidt has volunteered to head the team to burn old truck tires in a corn field (in which Dan said 'burning tires makes you strong'). Rusty Greene is in charge of the team to dump volatile car batteries in the Illinois River. Another team, lead by Cindy Schwerer, is set to cut down several oak trees, making birds and squirrels homeless. Cindy was especially fond of this project as she had stated "The best thing about a tree is what you do with it after you cut it down." A fourth team which has yet to be assigned a leader will be releasing freon from air conditioners into the atmosphere. "The opportunities for Earth Day are endless", stated Ms. Barr, "we would like to encourage as many people as we can for our Earth Day festivities." If you are interested in helping out on Earth Day, please call the Jaycees hotline. And just remember, every day is Earth Day!

Life Without A Dog

It's been slightly a little over a month now without Trixie. It was (and still is) quite an adjustment to make, both large and small.

There's the obvious things, like not having to be home early to let her out or having to find a dogsitter for a long weekend. But smaller things you don't think of. I never realized how I subconsciously sat aside some morsels of food on the dinner plate for her to eat. And the first time I cut the grass this spring, I didn't have the "help" I was accustomed to. I would look around occasionally to make sure she was OK (she was blind the last couple of years), but then realized she wasn't there "helping" me cut the grass.

Beth is still dealing with her hives. Months before Trixie's passing, Beth began to get hives. She went to an allergy specialist, who claims that she ate something that triggered an allergic reaction to... get this... dogs. On a recent visit to her sister Kerri's, she began to break out in a very big way when she went to pet Kerri's dogs. Beth now believes it might be caffeine as she thinks in most all of those occasions, caffeine was involved.

We finally got Trixie's ashes back. It came complete in a really nice wooden box with a brass name plate with her name on it. Jack asked about where Trixie was buried, but I explained to him about cremation. "Let me see," he says. The ashes were in a bag, which he just had to touch... twice. Jack also has says on many occasions, that we "should get another tan dog, and if it is a girl dog, (we) can name her Trixie."

We hope to get a dog again someday, pending this hive business. It just won't be soon.

Trixie (12/18/94 - 3/17/07)

Trixie was laid to rest around 2am on Saturday, March 17, 2007, from complications of an enlarged spleen and liver. The vet believed it was possibly due from a tumor which sadly there was little we could do for her. Fortunately, the vet also believed that Trixie did not suffer any pain and that she was just merely uncomfortable at times. She was 12 years old.

In the past couple of years, Trixie displayed no signs of hip dysphasia or arthritis, which is prevalent for larger dogs. She also had a good amount of energy and very playful for a dog of her years. The past week appeared routine for Trixie. There was a day or two where she was very sleepy, but she was also known to have allergies around this time of year, which would slow her down a bit. She was also known to want to eat grass as she would get an occasional upset stomach with her allergies.

It was early afternoon on Friday, Trixie did not want to finish eating some potato chips that were given to her, which is very odd for Trixie. But later that afternoon, she did eat a milk bone treat and showed a little increased energy in the early evening. But by mid to late evening, it appeared she could not get comfortable when trying to sleep. We watched her for a while, but by midnight, we decided to take her to the animal emergency clinic. After examination, we learned of her condition and realized that the day we all dreaded was here.

By this time, Trixie was sleeping on the cool floor of the exam room and appeared to be relaxed and calm. There wasn't any real indication that she was nervous, uncomfortable or in pain. We decided that because she was so calm that this would be a good time.

In Trixie's 12 years, she lived a very full, happy and carefree life (though thunderstorms would stress her out a bit) with more love than any dog would know what to do with. Uncle Charlie Schafer once commented that Trixie "was the best dog." Charlie was known to tell a tall tale or two, but in this case, he was completely telling the truth.

This is a huge adjustment for us, and while we miss her, we are doing ok.

Santa Claus To File Bankruptcy

North Pole (RLO News Service) - Santa Claus plans to file Chapter 13 bankruptcy within the next few days announced Santa CEO Kris Kringle at a late-afternoon press conference yesterday. Kringle sited intense competition from big-box retailers, mainly Wal Mart, along with cheap labor from abroad and outsourcing.

"Ho, ho, ho!! It's getting to the point where a Jolly ol' St. Nick can't run a time honored operation anymore," confessed Kringle. While Santa Claus can still under price Wal Mart and other retailers by simply giving away toys, Kringle admitted that overhead at the North Pole headquarters have simply skyrocketed.

"Other companies have outsourced its employment needs, or manufactures its products with cheap labor to minimize expenses. Ho, ho, ho!! However, Santa Claus still maintains an expensive labor contract with the United Elf Workers that includes premium wages and generous medical coverage," Kringle added.

Santa's contract with the UEW is to expire at the end of 2006. Kringle announced that in the reorganization of Santa Claus, a new contract with the UEW will have to be woefully scaled down or Santa will also outsource and manufacture toys with cheap labor from countries such as China. "All options are on the table. Ho, ho, ho!!" confessed Kringle.

Kringle closed the press conference with saying, "Ironic. Those child-laborers will be making the very toys I'll be delivering to them at Christmas."

Kringle wished everyone a Happy New Year!

Lumberjacking

This post is dedicated to Uncle Charlie.

With not much to do over Christmas, Larry, Zach, Max and I went about to cut down a couple of dead red oak trees in my back yard. Rewind about 3 years ago. One of these trees had just died. My uncle Charlie wanted to ensure that it was cut down. He came up for a visit and while here, wanted to help cut it down. Turns out that the tree sat on a small incline, and if not cut properly, would fall onto my iron rod fence. Long story short, it would be more work than we were prepared to do at the time.

Since then, the red oak about 10 feet from this tree also died. So now I have 2 dead trees back there.

Over Thanksgiving, I was telling my brother in law Larry how I was low on firewood and that I have these 2 dead trees in the back yard. "Let's cut them down at Christmas," was Larry's thought, "because there's not much do to do over most of that time" (actually, we both surmised that).

Today, we cut down not one, but both those trees and split all the wood. We first cut down the tree that died last. Got that cut up and split and then we went after the tree that Uncle Charlie and I were going to tackle 3 years ago. Larry went about making the proper cuts, and then started putting the wedges on the back side of the tree. But a small miscalculation was made. Had this tree fell one way it would hit the fence; another way it will hit a really old and big white oak. However, it fell almost 180 degrees to where we wanted it to. While it did not hit the fence or any other tree, it did require us to haul the wood a little further to the log splitter. Oh well!

I think we got about a full chord of wood in all. Of course the wood will need to dry and age, but we'll be ready for the 2007-08 winter. I'm sure Uncle Charlie was looking after us and would be proud that we got this thing down, though a little bit unplanned.

Christmas Cards

It might be a little late, but our Christmas cards have been sent out!

I've noticed this year that we haven't received as many as we have in the past. In addition, we almost didn't send any this year because it just seems like we were busier than usual. So while we did manage to get them out, we did send about a third fewer cards this year. No offense intended if you did not get a card, but we reserved them for mainly people we only see or talk to a couple times a year.

Some of the cards we receive contain the "Christmas letter." These letters usually chronicle the sender's past year. I've heard some people say that they only showcase how great these other people's lives are. I beg to differ as appearent from a Christmast letter I received yesterday from Joe & Gina Orendorf. Anyone who knows Joe knows he's somewhat accident prone and has come to terms with it. According to their letter:

...and Joe's never ending injuries from various sporting mishaps.
There has not been one week this year that Joe has played hockey and not been injured. He then gets back on the ice, re-injures himself in the same location or elsewhere. He has been known to disable himself while coaching his 6 year old son. He refuses to give up as this is his love. However, I am convinced a hip, knee or elbow replacement is in his immediate future.

I hope that Joe has coverage by AFLAC.

In light contrast to this brief letter we received, we await the "Christmas manifesto" that we receive from Jeff Pulfer. Last year we received a multi-page debriefing of Jeff's year past. Way to much info, but reading about the hot, Russian girlfriend was entertaining.

Merry Christmas, Happy Festivous or whatever holiday you and your family celebrate.

Snow Day!

We got more snow in the last 24 hours than what we've had in the last 2 years. According to WEEK TV 25, North Peoria had about 12.5 inches. We normally don't get snow like this... at least not since those winters back in the 70's. And this storm couldn't have hit at a more inconvenient time.

Since we hardly have had any snow in the last 2 years, I haven't used my snowblower during that time. I tried starting is last Spring and it would start, but would not stay running. I planned to have it tuned up this Fall. About a week ago, I called to get an appointment and they said to bring it in whenever I like. It's been in the mid-60s for the last half of November and I figured I had plenty of time. On Wednesday, they were predicting 6-12 inches of snow for Friday. Yeah, I've heard this story way too many times before... and all we end up with is a dusting. I was wrong this time.

Beth's sisters Kerri and Pam were due to come into town this weekend to Christmas shop. So Beth felt it important to get our driveway cleaned. And shovelling was not going to work. We decided to brave the elements and drive into town to get her parents snowblower, not to mention clean their driveway before they give themselves a heart attack.

It took 3 attempts to get up the driveway with the Ford F-150 4x4. We then realized just how hard we were hit. Knoxville Ave in north Peoria was only 1 lane and looked like there hadn't been one snow plow to take care of it. We saw at least 15 cars in the ditch and abandoned. Peoria looked like a ghost town... almost everything was closed. Even McDonald's was closed. We got to Beth's parents and found that the roads in their subdivision was not even plowed yet. It looked like only one truck had already been through.

We cleaned up their driveway, made off with their snowblower and then helped a gentleman dig out his truck on University St. Once home, we cleaned off our driveway with the help of our neighbor Paul, who has a Honda 4 wheeler with a blade.

Gotta love a good snow day!

Oktoberfest in Hermann, MO

Yesterday Beth and I returned from a long weekend in Hermann, MO, along the banks of the Missouri River.

We left Thursday night for St. Louis with our friends Matt & Jane Hoffman. We arrived at the Trainwreck Saloon in Westmont just in time to watch the final few innings of the World Series, where the Cardinals won their 3rd game of the series!!!


On Friday, we headed out on Rt. 94 which runs along the Missouri River. There are several wineries along this route. Though the weather was a bit shitty, we managed to taste test several wines. In the mid-afternoon, we pulled into Hermann, checked into the Harbor Haus Bed & Breakfast and eventually stepped into the Concert Hall saloon (the oldest bar west of the Mississippi) and watched the St. Louis Cardinals win the '06 World Series (after watching a really bad guitarist/singer with several missing teeth).

Saturday we stopped at the Stone Creek Winery for more tasting (where this picture was taken). We then enjoyed 3 bottles of wine along with some fine cheese, crackers and sausage. We next stumbled (figuratively and almost literally) into the Hermannhof Winery. I think another 4 bottles were consumed, but my memory becomes really fuzzy from this point on. During this time, Beth and Jane provided some drunken life lessons to some chicks that were sitting next to us. I don't know how much of that valuable information was received. But they were very fun to hang out with and they appreciated the effort. There was also a series of "drunk dialing" going on.

Hermann, MO has an Oktoberfest each weekend in October. The biggest turnout is somewhere around the first couple of weekends. But the last weekend turned out to be a good time none the less.

End Of An Era

Earlier this past week, we officially put Aunt Jeanie & Uncle Gene's house on the market. You can view the listing here.

They were my great aunt and uncle, but were sort of my grandparents. The best way to describe them is to compare them to Edith & Archie Bunker on "All in the Family"... only Uncle Gene could be many times grouchier; and voted Democrat.

They moved into the house on the south end that we are now selling in the mid-1950's. It has a mini-apartment to the side and 2nd floor of the house. We actually lived there when I was a baby. There's been a lot of Sunday dinners and Thanksgivings over those 50 years. Aunt Jeanie made many pies and Uncle Gene did plenty of cussin' over those same years as well.

Aunt Jeanie passed away last November after staying for about a year and a half at Lutheran Home. Before that she was at an assisted living facility. Uncle Gene stayed at the house but moved into a nursing home shortly before Aunt Jeanie died as he was having knee replacement surgury. Uncle Gene passed away last April; just months after Aunt Jeanie passed. They were both 91 years old.

Trixie Dog

In the last month or so, I've had a couple of people inquire to how Trixie was doing. Some of them were uneasy asking, not sure if she was doing well or even around.

I'm happy to report Trixie is doing very well. Last year she did succumb to blindness, but other than slowing down a bit due to age, she is still the same loving, playful, energetic dog.

Trixie is currently 11 years old (she'll turn 12 in December) and has no problems with arthritis or hip-dysplasia, which is prevalent in larger dogs. She is also maintaining a healthy weight in the mid-80s, despite the fact I usually slip her plenty of bacon or sausage on weekend mornings. Not to mention, Granny gives her plenty of Frosty Paws and milk bone treats.

Besides eating, Trixie's favorite things to do is to go for a walk on the Rock Island Trail. You can't even say the word "trail" unless you mean it. Even though she's blind, she can stay on the trail pretty good. She'll start to walk off of it and hit the tall grass, which she then changes course and get back on track... until she walks off on the other side of the trail.

Trixie's other favorite thing to do is to play with her rock. Yes, that's right... a rock. She will take an ordinary rock and bark at it, paw at it, roll on it and nudge it down the gulley so she can chase after it. She will lose it in the gulley, but 90% of the time, she will find that same rock and bring it back.

They say with Labrador retrievers, each day after 10 years is a blessing... we have been blessed.

Beer, Boats & Bands

Here's a few events from my month of August.

Great Taste of the Midwest
August 12 was the Great Taste of the Midwest in Madison, WI. I made the trek up there to try some tastey brews with Randy Stevens and Jason Kneer. Originally, Beth and I were to go up there with Randy and Jenni. However, Beth's 25th high school reunion was then scheduled for that weekend in which she wanted to attend. Beth told me to go on ahead to Madison, and since Jenni didn't want to be the "token female," it turned into a guy trip.

There's a few hundred beers to try, though I probably only tried about 10-12. After a while, you find a table with good beer and few people waiting in line. We met up with some of our Jaycee friends up there as well. Later that day, we continued the party in downtown Madison, where we found it's next to impossible to hail a cab.


Rock The Boat
I think the third time's the charm with this Peoria Jaycees event. The first couple of years of organizing this event saw mediocre to poor results. But this year, with some good promotion, the event appears to be a success. Basically for a $30 ticket, you get a two hour cruise on the Spirit of Peoria, with all food and drinks free. Music this year was from Rachel's Hippo.

The weekend started Friday, Aug 18 with the Peoria Jaycees Homecoming, which is where we invite back past members, honor and roast our president from the previous year and celebrate our anniversary. Again, they wanted me to fry chicken for dinner. Uncle Charlie I think would be proud. I cut and cleaned all the 10 chickens to be fried that Friday. Then that night, about all I did was stand. Midday Saturday as I started to unload my truck from the night before, I felt some tightness in my back. "Oh no" I said to myself, knowing that we looked forward to going to Rock the Boat that night. Sure enough, my back was going out on me.

I stretched it, iced it, downed some Alieve and sucked it up and went to the boat anyway. Good thing I don't dance.


MDA Benefit in Princeville
Last night, Nootril Drop was the top act (only because we were about the only act) at an MDA Benefit that was held in Princeville. They had blocked off the section of Walnut St. where they served pork sandwiches, beer and soda. Also a ton of raffles and prizes. They also have a converted semi-trailer that configures into a stage where they had us set up. Things went really well and I think we picked up a couple of leads for future gigs.

I Want My MTV

Twenty-five years ago today, Music Television, MTV hit the airwaves. Unlike Al Gore who claims to have invented the Internet, I invented MTV. Unbeknownst to me was that MTV was already on the air and I just didn't know it existed.

But as a teenager in high school, I would see these videos over late night/weekend TV. I then thought how cool it would be to have a channel that would play nothing but music videos like radio stations play songs. Back then I thought that you'd have a play list of 25, maybe 30 songs and you'd be done. "They have to make more videos for it to work well," I thought.

Anyway, the following summer I saw the announcement on a "dead" cable channel that coming soon, Music Television. That was 1982. Now I'm middle aged and MTV is nothing but shit. They don't even play music videos anymore, do they? And if they did, it's nothing good. I guess you can still consider it a "dead" cable channel.

Brother Can You Spare $10 Trillion

There is a fairly new television/satellite network called G4. It more or less another Spike TV, geared for men and/or the younger crowd. A big part of their programming is Star Trek, in which they have created Star Trek 2.0. It's a totally interactive way of watching Capt. Kirk and crew. It keeps statistics on how many "red shirts" die, how many times Spock says "fascinating" or how many times Dr. "Bones" McCoy says "He's dead, Jim." There also a chat room to discuss while watching. And among this Star Trek 2.0 is the Spock Market.

The Spock Market is really a mock stock market based upon conventions, utilities, equipment and characters in the Star Trek television show. Since the end of April, I've amassed over $10 Trillion Federation Dollars. I'm in the top 1000 players, though I don't know how many are playing. But before you start thinking I'm a complete nerd, the top people have over $260 Trillion FDR.

You have to watch the show and look for plot twists and story lines to determine what will make money and what won't. With my knowledge of the show, over 30 years of viewership, I thought this would be a cinch. Not so. However, I've still managed to do well for doing this on and off.

Sadly, I'm about to lose almost all of it. By next week, G4 will be finished running all 79 episodes and will start again with episode #1, and reset all Spock Market participants with only $15,000 FDR. A Spock Market crash if you will!! Tough times are ahead. Maybe I should take Shatner's advice and "get a life."

Play the Spock Market at 10pm CDT on G4 (channel 354 on DirecTV / www.g4tv.com). See you in the pits.

Another Saturday, Another Party

Last week Saturday, we had my cousin Alan and his family come up from Missouri for a visit. Not only did we take Alan for a very hot and humid walk in the woods on some ground Dennis is looking at purchasing, but we took everyone to the HOI Fair. The kids loved it once we left the demolition derby and headed for some rides.

And today it's two different festivities.

The first is a 50th Anniversary Party for Ken & Jan Tompkins. We used to be neighbors way back in the 70's, but still keep in touch. Ken was kind of our "Kramer" from Seinfeld; he'd come over on weekend mornings in his bathrobe and cup of coffee. We didn't mind... actually we enjoyed it.

And while I'm in my old stompin' grounds, my friends Brad and Mary are having a party right around the corner. Though Brad's party doesn't start until 7pm, I told him I could stop by around 5pm and help him tap the keg. I might have to taste test the product as well to ensure it's fresh and safe for consumption.

Convoy

Many of you knew I was a big fan of the William Shatner Priceline.com commercials from 1999-2000 where he "sang" various songs. I had previously searched the Internet looking for any of these videos and came up empty... until yesterday. By dumb luck, I noticed the new ad by Priceline was to be featured on the Internet before TV. I went to check it out and low and behold... Convoy!

Live... In Concert

Nootril Drop had a gig last Saturday (7/1/06) out in Mapleton, IL (that's me on the far left in the photo, then moving right, Rusty, Ted and Dave; Darin can't be seen behind all those drums). This was a fun, but interesting event.

For starters, the place we played at was formerly Shooters, a strip club. Yes, we played on a stage that was once used by naked female dancers. The event was a private party of sorts for a group known as New Attitudes. This is a clean and sober, Christian biker/Harley Davidson club (a club, not a gang). So, for the entire show, we were sober. Not one beer was had by any of us. As if performing on a stage once used by strippers was a first for us, the no drinking while playing was as well.

We didn't know how the not drinking would work out for us. Speaking for myself, I like to have a few Heinekens, not only to relax, have fun and enjoy myself, but it kind of helps the nerves and vocal cords as well. But we managed... and managed very well. We all came out of the event believing it was the best show we've put on yet! We get better and better.

As for the New Attitudes, a group of very friendly people. No more than we arrived, they were very courteous, helping unload our equipment and offering plenty of food and n/a drinks. I think they had bought the old Shooters building and then made it their clubhouse. It's a good size facility, but the downside is they are across the highway from a chemical plant. The smell is atrocious at times.

Anyway, everyone seemed to enjoy the show and Nootril Drop hopes to make a repeat appearance sometime.