Sunday, January 8, 2012

Day 17 Texas Vacation Xmas 2011



We are awake and on the road early this morning.  We had to go to McDonalds for breakfast because the $180.00 per night Best Western does not offer a breakfast…  I don’t recall ever staying at a Best Western and there not being a free breakfast.  Shame on you Best Western Premier Mariemont.

It is a beautiful day for driving, in fact the whole trip home has been a pleasant drive.  There have not been any winter storms to deal with.

7528 Ohio, Dayton - I-75 North - Dayton skyline 7529 Ohio, Dayton - I-75 North - Dayton skyline

Ohio likes to paint their barns and storage tanks.

7533 Ohio - I-75 North - north of Wapakoneta, OH 7535 Ohio, Findlay - I-75 North - Flag City USA

Soon we were entering Michigan, the Canadian Border is not far now.

7552 Michigan - I-75 - Welcome sign

There is still ongoing construction at the I-75 exit to the Ambassador Bridge, this area has been under construction for the last 4 or 5 years.  Don’t follow your GPS through this area or you will surely get lost, just follow the roadside signs that direct you to the bridge.

7560 Michigan, Detroit - I-75 North - Detroit skyline 7563 Michigan, Detroit - Ambassador Bridge 7565 Michigan, Detroit - Ambassador Bridge

We had expected a long line of cars at Canada Customs, but there was hardly anyone there, we were through in under 20 minutes.

7570 Ontario, Windsor - Canada Customs 7571 Ontario, Windsor - Canada Customs 7573 Ontario, Windsor - Canada Customs - Welcome to Windsor, Ontario, Canada

We arrived home at 6pm.

To see all of the photos that we took today, you can see them on our FLICKR site.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Day 16 Texas Vacation Xmas 2011

We awake early and have a quick breakfast before hitting the road home.  It is another foggy start to the day.  We have another long day ahead of us.  A 600 mile / 1000 km day.   Our destination for tonight is Cincinnati Ohio.

7421 Arkansas, Little Rock - I-40 East - fog 7422 Arkansas - I-40 East - fog

Soon we are leaving Arkansas and entering Tennessee.  We cross over the Hernando De Soto bridge and pass by the “Great American Pyramid” in Memphis Tennessee.  This pyramid has a few other nick names.  The “Memphians” call it the “Tomb of Doom” or the “Pyramid Arena”

7431 Arkansas, West Memphis - I-40 East - Hernando de Soto Bridge and view of Pyramid in Memphis, Tennessee 7432 Tennessee, Memphis - I-40 East - Hernando de Soto Bridge 7435 Tennessee, Memphis - I-40 East - Pyramid from Hernando de Soto Bridge

A few hours further along, we see the familiar skyline of Nashville ahead of us.  We easily recognize this skyline because of the iconic “Batman” building.  This is the AT&T building in downtown Nashville TN.

7446 Tennessee, Nashville - I-65 North - Nashville skyline 7447 Tennessee, Nashville - I-65 North - Nashville skyline

The skies are clearing as we enter Kentucky.

7450 Kentucky - I-65 North - Kentucky Welcome sign and blue skies 7451 Kentucky - I-65 North - blue skies

We pass by a quilt barn and the National Corvette Museum as we race along I-65.

7452 Kentucky - I-65 North - barn quilt 7453 Kentucky, Bowling Green - I-65 North - National Corvette Museum

This RV caught our eye, there were lots of licence plates and bumper stickers plastered all over the back end.

7457 Kentucky - I-65 North

The moon was rising in front of us and the sun was setting behind us as we drove the final miles to Cincinnati.

7464 Kentucky -  I-71 North 7465 Kentucky -  I-71 North 7466 Kentucky -  I-71 North - sunset behind us

The Cincinatti skyline at dusk.

7481 Ohio, Cincinnati - I-71 (I-75) North 7482 Ohio, Cincinnati - I-71 (I-75) North 7483 Ohio, Cincinnati - I-71 (I-75) North

We arrived at the Best Western Mariemont shortly after 6pm.  This Best Western is rated the number one hotel in Cincinnati on Trip Advisor.  This is an old Tudor style hotel and we really enjoyed our stay here and when in the area, we will stay here again.

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Usually we would stay at a hotel closer to the border or drive straight home, but a few days ago we got in touch with an online blogging friend of ours and agreed to get together for dinner.   We have followed Denny Gibson’s blog these last several years because of his association with the Lincoln Highway and Route 66 and other scenic / historic roads that we have travelled.  We read each others blogs and we have chased each other around the country on these back roads, but we never were in the same place at the same time.  This was the perfect opportunity to finally meet because Denny lives in Cincinnati.

We met Denny in the restaurant on the main floor of the hotel, where we enjoyed a couple of beers and burgers and some great conversations about road trips past and planned.  Thanks for your hospitality Denny, it was a great evening and very nice to finally meet you.  I know our paths will cross and we look forward to seeing you again.

7502 Ohio, Cincinnati - Best Western Premier Mariemont Inn - Denny Gibson, Karen & Bill in hotel restaurant

After dinner Denny recommended that we walk a short distance to a small ice cream shop.  Graeter’s Ice Cream… the richest, creamiest ice cream that I have ever tasted.  Even Karen would agree that it was very good and delicious, but for her nothing beats Baskin Robins Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream.  We were still very full from dinner, so it was single scoops for each of us.

7503 Ohio, Cincinnati - Graeter's ice cream dessert

Here are some pictures of our room. The room even had a fireplace.

7488 Ohio, Cincinnati - Best Western Premier Mariemont Inn - our room 7489 Ohio, Cincinnati - Best Western Premier Mariemont Inn - our room 7493 Ohio, Cincinnati - Best Western Premier Mariemont Inn - our room

I spent a few minutes trying to figure out where the TV was and then I saw this little note.

7515 Ohio, Cincinnati - Best Western Premier Mariemont Inn - our room

With the push of a button, the portrait in the frame rolled up and there was our TV.

7511 Ohio, Cincinnati - Best Western Premier Mariemont Inn - our room 7516 Ohio, Cincinnati - Best Western Premier Mariemont Inn - our room 7517 Ohio, Cincinnati - Best Western Premier Mariemont Inn - our room

Tomorrow we will drive the final miles to home.

Friday, January 6, 2012

Day 15 Texas Vacation Xmas 2011


Today we are awake and up early, have a quick breakfast and we are on the road by 8am.  We have 600 miles / 1000 km to drive today.  It was a slow start though because of the fog.

7352 Texas - US-183 North - fog

Luckily the fog was lifting when we saw the cattle walking on the side of the road.

7353 Texas - US-183 North -cattle on road

After the fog burned completely away, the skies were blue and it was a lovely day for driving.

7354 Texas - I-35 North 7355 Texas - TX-31 East

We were ready for a break as we were driving through Corsicana Texas so we pulled over at the Collin Street Bakery.  Although we didn’t purchase a fruit cake, for which they claim they are world famous, we did buy fudge and brownies while we were here.   This bakery has been around since 1896.

7359 Texas, Corsicana - TX-31 East - Collin Street Bakery 7361 Texas, Corsicana - TX-31 East - Collin Street Bakery 7366 Texas, Corsicana - TX-31 East - Collin Street Bakery

As we were driving through Sulphur Springs Texas, we saw a “Western Wear” store.  Our upcoming summer plans are taking us to Calgary among other destinations and I had been considering buying a cowboy hat in Texas if I could find a store.  This was an opportunity to purchase our cowboy hats, so we pulled in off the highway and shopped in the Circle E Western Store.

7384 Texas, Sulphur Springs - Circle E Western Store just off I-30 East

The store clerk measured us and then we tried on dozens of hats, trying to figure out which style looked best.  We came out an hour later with 2 cowboy hats.  We will be in style for our visit to Calgary in July 2012.

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Back on the road again, we passed through the town of Texarkana which is on the State Border between Texas and Arkansas.

7389 Texas, Texarkana - I-30 East 7391 Texas, Texarkana - I-30 East 7392 Texas, Texarkana - I-30 East

We cross the border into Arkansas.

7397 Texas, Texarkana - I-30 East - water tower 7398 Arkansas, Texarkana - I-30 East - Arkansas Welcome sign

At 6pm we arrive at the Best Western Premier in Little Rock Arkansas.  We are taking advantage of the Best Western Reward Points that we have accumulated and we cashed in some of them for a free stay this evening.

The hotel was very nice, but I can’t say as much about the onsite restaurant.  We should have driven to the nearby Olive Garden, but after driving for 10 hours, I was tired and thought we could just stay put and eat in the hotel restaurant.  It was a bad decision.  There was literally nothing on the menu that Karen or I could pronounce, let alone even know what we were ordering.  The prices were astronomical, but I did see something with pasta on the menu.  We both like pasta, so even though it wasn’t on the menu, I asked our waiter if we could just have some plain spaghetti and meat sauce.  I am sure that I insulted him and his fancy restaurant by asking for such simple fare, but he agreed that he could come up with some sort of pasta and sauce dish for us.  He walked away, I am sure very insulted that we had no interest in anything on his fancy menu.  $50.00 later we went to our room.  I am sure it is very nice restaurant and you would really enjoy the meal and the ambience if you are into that fancy schmancy dining experience, but that is not our style.

7405 Arkansas, Little Rock - BEST WESTERN PREMIER Governors Suites - our suite 7410 Arkansas, Little Rock - BEST WESTERN PREMIER Governors Suites - our suite 7407 Arkansas, Little Rock - BEST WESTERN PREMIER Governors Suites - our suite

It was early to bed this evening, we want to be up and on the road by 7am in the morning.

To see all of our photos from today, you can click on this link to our FLICKR site.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Day 14 Texas Vacation Xmas 2011

We were awake by 7am and had a quick breakfast, then we finished packing the car.  We were on the road by 8am.

7173 Texas, South Padre Island - KOA Kampground 'Come Back Real Soon' sign

We drove over the Causeway to the mainland.

7174 Texas, South Padre Island - leaving on Queen Isabella Causeway

But after about 10 miles on our way, I remembered that I did not leave the key to the Airstream and that it was still on my key ring, so we got turned around and drove back to the KOA.

Now that the key is handed in, we can resume our drive.  

We drove through the town of San Benito Texas.  According to the water tower this is the hometown of Freddy Fender.

7189 Texas, San Benito - US-77 North (US-83 North) - Freddy Fender water tower

Similar to the drive South, as we were heading North, we saw many birds of prey sitting on the hydro poles.

7195 Texas - US-77 North - bird of prey 7196 Texas - US-77 North - bird of prey 7229 Texas - US-77 - bird of prey

Near Sarita Texas, our drive slowed to a crawl because the Border Patrol Check Point was open and all drivers were being stopped and questioned.  Since we weren’t smuggling anyone or anything, we were soon on our way again.

7209 Texas, Sarita - US-77 North - Border Patrol Checkpoint 7211 Texas, Sarita - US-77 North - Border Patrol Checkpoint 7215 Texas, Sarita - US-77 North - Border Patrol Checkpoint

We are heading North on US-77, here are some of the interesting sights we saw along the way.

7217 Texas - US-77 - horses 7223 Texas - US-77 - clouds 7241 Texas - TX-44 East - train

We exited US-77 and headed East on Texas 358 towards Corpus Christi Texas.  We are going to the North end of Padre Island to visit the Padre Island National Seashore for a couple of hours.

This is the John F Kennedy Memorial Causeway that takes us from the mainland across to the Island.

7247 Texas - PR-22 (South Padre Island Dr) - The John F Kennedy Memorial Causeway 7249 Texas - PR-22  (South Padre Island Dr) - The John F Kennedy Memorial Causeway 7250 Texas - PR-22 (South Padre Island Dr) - The John F Kennedy Memorial Causeway

This is the entrance sign to the Padre Island National Seashore.

7262 Texas - PR-22 (South Padre Island Dr) - Padre Island National Seashore sign

We paid our entrance fee and entered the park.

7266 Texas - PR-22 (South Padre Island Dr) - Padre Island National Seashore 7268 Texas - PR-22  (South Padre Island Dr) - Padre Island National Seashore entrance 7269 Texas - PR-22 (South Padre Island Dr) - Padre Island National Seashore entrance

There isn’t really much to see or do here, at least not at this time of the year.  We stopped at the visitor center and got our National Parks Passport Book stamped and bought some postcards.  They did have a hat pin for my collection and we also bought a couple of t-shirts.

7270 Texas - PR-22 (South Padre Island Dr) - Padre Island National Seashore - Malaquite Visitor Center sign

We walked along the beach.

7282 Texas - PR-22 (South Padre Island Dr) - Padre Island National Seashore - Malaquite Visitor Center - Gulf of Mexico 7291 Texas - PR-22 East (South Padre Island Dr) - Padre Island National Seashore - Malaquite Visitor Center - Gulf of Mexico 7292 Texas - PR-22 East (South Padre Island Dr) - Padre Island National Seashore - Malaquite Visitor Center - Gulf of Mexico

The only birds we saw were these seagulls.

7290 Texas - PR-22 East (South Padre Island Dr) - Padre Island National Seashore - Malaquite Visitor Center - Gulf of Mexico

I was expecting there to be a birding center here similar to the one on South Padre Island, but there is no such thing.  The land and sand dunes are set aside and protected by the National Park Service, because these beaches are the nesting grounds of the Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles but the turtles are only here in May when they come ashore to lay their eggs.  So if you want to see and learn about birds you can bypass this and go straight to the Birding and Nature Center on SPI.

After our visit to the National Seashore, we drove North on US-181 past the Aircraft Carrier USS Lexington.  The Carrier is on permanent display here in Corpus Christi.   The next time we are in this area we will spend some time in Corpus Christi and visit the USS Lexington.

7319 Texas, Corpus Christi - US-181 North - U.S. Navy Aircraft carrier 'USS Lexington' Museum in Corpus Christi Bay from Harbor Bridge 7320 Texas, Corpus Christi - US-181 North - U.S. Navy Aircraft carrier 'USS Lexington' Museum in Corpus Christi Bay from Harbor Bridge

We checked into the Best Western in Gonzales Texas.  We ordered pizza for dinner and got to bed early because we have a 600 mile / 1000 km day ahead of us tomorrow.

To see all of our photos from today you can click on the link to our FLICKR site.