Slow news this week (9/26)

Ok, so skimmed thru his stories (I just dont follow people like that sorry). Got some ideas of things but still wonder about the move. Seemed like a big thing when Jeff left and now again. So was just asking. Maybe a quick review of the 2 yr stent on the next cast.

Jeff said:
Yeah, I much prefer the Eastern time zone. I'd feel even better if I had an orange on my license plate.

you mean like New York? Cool!

Yeah, I'd feel better on this coast as well. With the unstable ground on the west coast and the lack of decent parks in the Northwest, I'd be gnawing on twigs in boredom.

Driving with cats?

God bless you, and protect you.

That was my job in our move, and that was only from Columbus to Louisville (Ohio). One chose to ride on the dashboard and meow the entire time, one chose to cuddle by my feet and make braking impossible, and the other...well, he cowered in a corner of the back-seat. Fun was had by all.

Come on down Jeff. I think you were born to be a resident of Orlando.

Wow, I didn't realize 90 passes through Cleveland. Straight shot eh? So will you miss the 5?

5 as in I-5? That goes directly through Seattle, and I lived on the east side. But yes, I-90 almost the whole way, except through Chicago. Also followed I-80 (Ohio Turnpike) when they split. This was my planning map.

The cats weren't bad. I had to pill the two boys, so they were basically stoned until sundown each day, at which time they started to get active again. The other two mostly napped and hung out. I did two nights in hotels, and they got all of their eating, drinking and pooping out then. One of them barfed in the window cill on the second night.

Driving cross-country, on that route at least, is something everyone should do. Not counting most of South Dakota east of Rapid City, and Minnesota, you'll pass through some of the most amazing terrain anywhere. The Cascades and the Columbia River Gorge in Washington, practically everything in Montana, the rolling and rugged landscape of Wyoming, and of course, Mt. Rushmore... so amazing. It would be more interesting if it weren't with cats, and I had a co-pilot.

And yes... palm trees and pools are the long-term goal.

It is a great drive.

I was lucky enough to have two parents who were teachers. When I was 8 we drove cross country over a few weeks in the summer. We drove along much of your route going west, went south through California, east along the southern states, and then back up the east coast. Did much of it on the cheap as we were fairly poor... stayed with friends along the way or in college dorms. Occasionally in a Motel 6 if we had nowhere else available.

This was, coincidentally, where my coaster love started. I was told if I was good in the car that whenever we saw an amusement park we'd stop and spend some time no matter what our plans were. Got my first trips to CP, Lagoon, Marriott's Great America in Cali, and a few others on that trip. Car broke down on the way to Knott's, so we had to skip it, but still got to go to Disneyland the next day. I remember thinking that Demon (which was fairly new at the time) was the most awesomest thing I'd ever experienced. Later in life, I realized that they went to these parks for themselves as much as me... however, it did keep me good in the car. :)

It was neat without the internets to plan with. We had no idea Lagoon even existed, but I remember vividly to this day driving down the highway and seeing that white coaster out the window, getting to the hotel then turning back around to spend the night at the park. (Although it's not in my track record because unlike the Demon, I really don't remember the ride that well.)

I could see Devil's Tower this time from 90, which I think is like 20 miles from the freeway. Going the other way, I blindly followed the Garmin and went through scary nowhere on US-212. There was no phone signal, and I think we passed a dozen cars total the entire way. Scary with a pregnant lady at the time.

I should mention that the only place on the way back that did not have 3G coverage was the Ohio-Indiana border. The most remote locations in Wyoming, however, did.

Did you make a pit-stop at Wall Drug in South Dakota? That place might as well be an amusement park. :)

Doesn't that place advertise 500 miles out both ways? I remember stopping there with my parents in the 80's.

Corkscrew Follies said:
Doesn't that place advertise 500 miles out both ways? I remember stopping there with my parents in the 80's.

I had never heard of it, so I looked it up. Seems like the "driving cross country" version of South Of The Border on the way to/from Florida.

Everyone always asks, but no, I have no interest in going there. It would mean getting off the freeway and getting to my destination later. I can't emphasize how boring that part of South Dakota is, and it was 95 degrees that day!

Don't worry Jeff, you're not missing anything special.

^^Since Mike mentioned South of The Border, and it *is* a slow news week - I'll just mention that Pedro's Mouse is no longer....it had been removed as of about two weeks ago (and no more than about a year ago, as I drive that way to my family in Eastern NC). Didn't really think it merited its own thread, LOL, but it fits right in here now.

I thought I read the mouse was sold.

I was under the imnpression that the mouse hasn't operated in years.

It hasn't. I think it operated for maybe a year and closed in 2002.

Mouse or not, annoying the @#$% out of me with billboards for 150 miles is no way to attract my business. The South of the Border signs were beyond annoying. I love traveling, but I hate tourist traps.

~Rob

Apparently most people feel the same, because it's an absolute ghost-town in there (we stopped by once a few years ago to get some pics of the SBNO rides).

I wanna stop at Cap'n Spaulding's and go on the Murder Ride!