Scary Hotel video in WV

As promised - a tour of our hotel in WV:

A visit to the Wild Turkey distillery in Kentucky

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Originally uploaded by dieselboi

Wow, since Philly, I have been through Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky and tonight we're in Tennessee. We've got about 900 miles under our belt so far. We decided to stop here in Nashville for some music which we'll be seeing shortly. Today was a good day for visiting a distillery. We ventured into Lexington Kentucky, but didn't find much other than Lincoln's wife Mary Todd's former home. Seriously, we just weren't into Lexington, so shoved off. It was a cool town, but we were on a mission to get to a distillery. On the way out of town, I kept seeing signs for Woodford Reserve. Thinking as if we were in Wine Country, I thought we could see a few distilleries in one day, but Pete kept saying no, keep moving. I was an ass and was a bit whiney. Thanks to Pete though and we ended up at the Wild Turkey distillery!

I first tasted Wild Turkey in 1994 when working for the Kitzhaber for governor campaign - and yes, I had a shot with the guv. So cool. We arrived just in time to catch a tour. It began with a cheezy video, so we were both a little wary, but the tour was amazing. The tour guide took us everywhere and answered every question we asked except for anything to do with the recipe. Wild Turkey is Bourbon, which is at least 51% corn and no additives. It goes into the oak barrels clean and clear and gets colored by the aging process. What a day. I think the tour lasted about 1hr 45min and every minute was a learning experience. We could even put our finger in the mash to taste it while it was fermenting. I didn't, but wow, what access. I was in heaven. Just wish Anna was there to experience it with me. And yes, I got a patch and a bottle.

Filling the barrels:


Mash tanks - blurry because I wasn't supposed to take photos:

Some video:


So, off to see some music!

Clendenin WV

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Originally uploaded by dieselboi

After our night in the scary hotel - yes I survived - we ventured down towards Kentucky. We were hungry, so took one of the exits looking for grub. We found a diner in the dying town of Clendenin WV. Seriously, this town was on its last legs like so many towns we had seen on our drive through rural West Virginia. Only about 20 minutes outside of the city of Charleston and it was all boarded up and a little worn. It was even on the banks of a river. Out west, some developer would have snapped this area up and built up another Pearl district or something. So sad. Pete even spoke with a local who stated that this was actually the third death of the town. One good thing - baked apples for breakfast. Woot!

More Photos

Returning to Portland

I am back on the road today - May 12 - heading back across America. After a sad goodbye and some hugs, I wish my love Anna good luck with school and hit the road. It is going to be a tough time these next 14 months apart, but I truly believe we're strong and can do it. I miss you so much though Anna.

(due to technical difficulties and no real wifi, no photos or video today, but we'll work on that tomorrow.)

Today's drive ended up being about 500+ miles. Though, I'm not really 500 miles closer to home. I picked up my buddy Pete in Baltimore and he will be driving back with me. Our route will take us through the middle of the country - a part neither of us have spent much time in. Today was mostly West Virginia. And yes, you can start making the pig noises and jokes about taking shortcuts.

I have to say that WV is a beautiful state. We started off on the interstate, but quickly got off and headed into the Adirondacks to get some local color. It was only after getting off the beaten path that we realized we were headed in the right direction to hit 2 microbreweries. Woo hooo! As we left civilization for the forest, we stopped by a country store to get some liquid refreshments and Pete asked a question of the owner. She responded and I remember something to the affect of - "....and don't go down that road there....." It was a line right out of some horror flick where young kids do everything wrong and get kidnapped and eaten alive. We just laughed and headed in.

We stopped by Blackwater brewing after tackling about the first 100 miles of the Adirondacks and were not that impressed. Yeah, they brewed their own and it was good beer, but the brewer (who was on site and brewing right in front of us) wasn't that nice. She was actually a bit surly. After a single beer, we headed down the street to Mountain State Brewing in Thomas, WV. We drove right past and couldn't find them, so called. They turned us around and when we arrived, we discovered they were actually closed on Tuesdays - yet they would serve us because "he had nothing better to do..." What amazing hospitality. Oh, and their beers were great too. They had 4 on tap - an Amber, an IPA, a Stout and a Blonde. We got to taste each and then he offered a pint more. I only took the tastes as I was the driver for the day. Would you believe that - me being responsible? We chatted for about an hour with the brewer and it was a great time had by all. We said our goodbyes and headed off.

I had hoped to get to Charleston WV and we're close, but we both ran out of steam and decided to stop about 40 miles short. I used by trusty Blackberry to find a hotel and we ended up in Sutton WV at the Elk Motor lodge. For a whopping $36, we have a room (actually 2) with cable TV. The jokes about being at a hotel who's sign is turned off in the middle of WV keep on a coming. I will make sure to have something sharp by the bed before heading to sleepland. Honestly, it isn't bad. I have video, but there isn't WiFi here and uploading via cell broadband just doesn't cut it.

Best nuggets of the day:

• Front Royal, Virginia - ate a great lunch at County Seat Pub and Eatery and spoke with one of the individuals there who informed us that one of the most notorious confederate spies - John S. Mosby - made Front Royal and surrounding areas his domain. He was also known as the Gray Ghost and Disney made a movie about him. Some of his cohorts were caught in Front Royal and we learned that 2 were shot in the head in the parking lot of the restaurant we were eating at. Ahh, history.
  
• In West Virginia, we stopped at a liquor store to get some beer and I wanted to buy some whiskey. The liquor area's lights were off, so I asked - "Can I get some whiskey" - to which I received the answer - "Why no, there are no liquor sales on ELECTION DAY!" Seriously, that is the best liquor law I have heard yet. Don't want the donkeys and elephants getting drunk and fighting on election day I guess.
• Hotel!
  

OMG tired and sore

We made it into Philadelphia yesterday. After a great day in Pittsburgh on the 8th, we decided not to stay another evening and we headed out on the road. Around 9:30, just in time to catch Lost, we found a hotel in Carlisle, PA. Lucky enough, we got the last room in the hotel. They were having a car meet the next day.

After Carlisle, we came to Philadelphia. To be specific, we are not in Bryn Mawr, PA sitting in Anna's new apartment on a king bed we picked up yesterday. We rolled into town around noon and almost 12 hrs later, finally stopped moving and layed down on the bed. We were both tired, a little bruised and battered and sore from hauling around furniture. After spending some cashola on the apartment, we brought in all of Anna's worldly belongings, emptying the car for the first time in 1 week. Boy the car looked light. We then ventured off (the long way) to Uhaul and picked up a moving truck for the day. (They really gouge you on the mileage. Wish I had my brown truck over here.) The remainder of the day (now 3pm or so) was spent driving through rush hour traffic, trying to follow google map directions on my Blackberry while picking up furniture we found through friends and craigslist. One crazy story in all this is that we picked up a nice table, 4 chairs and a love seat from Lorrie, a friend of Eve's mother. Eve's mother is friends of people my parents met only 1 month ago on a Habitat for Humanity trip in Paraquay. Talk about 6 degrees of separation. I love the small world!

In the end, we got back to the house around 9:30 with a loveseat, a kitchen table, 4 chairs, a lamp, a small computer desk, a dresser, a king bed w/boxsprngs, and an Ikea bookshelf. The Uhaul was full. And getting all the stuff in the apartment was a chore, but we did it. We returned the Uhaul and thought we would try and find Target to get some little items we didn't have - like toilet paper.... That was a futile mission.

After getting some grub and returning home, we discovered we were missing a piece of the bed frame - we had left it in the Uhaul. So, another trip out into Philly to recover the piece. What a night.

Our first night sleep was good. We're up early as we needed to get out and about for some food and shopping. We still have a huge list of items we need to acquire before I return to Portland on Tuesday. Wish us luck.

Night 7 on the Road

Wow. I can't believe it's been an entire week of road tripping. I have to say, the drive from Minnesota to Pennsylvania pretty much sucked. Ohio was especially painful. The rain. The turnpike. The semis on the turnpike. Yuck.

We met up with a high school acquaintance of mine, John, in Pittsburgh. He put us up and we ended up having the soundest, most comfortable nights' sleep our entire trip. Pittsburgh was AWESOME and I wish we had more time to investigate the city. We're way too tired to upload the photos tonight, so they'll just have until later.

It's just another couple hundred miles to Philly. I spent a few hours today on craigslist trying to find furniture, most especially a bed. Let's hope something comes together by tomorrow night. If not, no worries, it'll all work out somehow.

I'm a big bore tonight! I think I'm just a bit distracted. Ok, signing off for now. Must recharge.

Pittsburgh

We're in Pittsburgh tonight visiting and staying with one of Anna's
high school friends. Just got back from a great meal and conversation
with John.

Today was another long mileage day. I figured yesterday we did 625
miles, today was more like 525 or so. Today we finally left I90 which
we had travelled on since Buffalo WY for 1495 miles. Today also marked
the passing of Indiana, Illinois and Ohio. Wow, three states in a day.

Tomorrow we will take in Pittsburgh and well, the Steelers too. G'night.

A visit to the grandparents

Yup, a visit to Canby MN and Winona Mn. My parents are from Minnesota, so as a child we visited often usually during Christmas or the first few weeks of summer. Canby is a farming town, whereas Winona is more of a business town on the Mississippi. Each had its charm as a child. Oh, the memories. I relayed many of those memories to Anna as we got closer and closer to Minnesota and Canby this morning. Canby is a little off the beaten track, so it took some efforst to get there, but it was worth it to see my grandparents home and the cafe where I would eat lunch with Grandpa back in the 70's and 80's. Initially, I couldn't find the house based on my memories, so had to call mom (she grew up there) and she was overjoyed that I was visiting.

I was then told I was a day early because my aunt from Minneapolis was going to be down that way tomorrow for lunch with all of thier cousins. Oh well, you win one you lose one. We wandered around town a little, but realized we needed to get some miles under out belt, so took off. On the way out of town, we also snapped some photos of the church where my parents were married in 1961 and where we attended funeral services for my Grandparents many years ago. Once again, "oh the memories."

Then it was off across Minnesota. Storms storms storms.

After what seemed like the longest drive so far (which it wasn't,) we decided to take the turn up to Winona MN where my father grew up. Honestly, it was tough because I didn't feel like we had the time, but then I thought - when will I be past here again - and took the turn. It was all of a 30 minute departure - easy! We found my dad's childhood home and my Aunt Helen's house to boot. My memories are more of Aunt Helen's home and playing scrabble on the porch for hours on end. I wish the weather was better and we had more time as I wanted to show Anna the Mississippi. But alas, we're on a schedule.

Oh, and South Dakota and Minnesota have a mini mart that just makes me chuckle.

Minnesota: The State that looks the same from one end to the other

Highlights: Laura Ingalls Wilder's hometown, Walnut Grove. What little girl didn't LOVE her books back in the 4th grade? We were too cheap to pay the $10 to visit the LIW museum, but we had fun perusing the gift shop;

cruising through Brett's parent's hometowns, Canby and Winona, which, from what I understand, are in the middle of absolute nowhere, connected to nothing and close to nada in every directionyet charming and sweet and full of good people. Afterall, my inlaws are from Canby and Winona and they're pretty swell. Besides, the Canby boys wrestling team were state champs in 76, 77, 79, 86, 94, 95 and 06;

fantastically terrifying thunderstorm, which, at one point, we discovered there was a severe storm warning in the exact area we were traveling and we were encouraged to pull off the road and seek shelter (we didn't). I'm still sort of recovering from the stress of the drive, as the storm went on and on and ON for, oh, a 150 miles, from MN to Wisconsin and in fact the lightening got even closer to us as we passed through La Crosse;

pelicans on one of the 10,000 lakes in Minnesota, just off Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Highway

So, the lightening was terrifying for me, though I silently tried to convince myself that statistically the probability of being struck while moving at 68mph in a Jetta are tremendously small (ironically, I learned later by some act of coincidence that lightening strikes the planet Earth something like 6,000 times per minute and 1,000 people are killed by lightening each year).

I'm tired.

Nodding Donkey in South Dakota

nodding donkey in South Dakota
Originally uploaded by dieselboi

Thought I would share this - whenever we travelled across the US with the fam in the family truckster, it was a little game to see who could pick out the "nodding donkeys" in South Dakota first. I never won. I think I was always reading or something. Well, just before we left South Dakota a couple of days ago, I grabbed this shot of one of the donkeys.

Sioux Falls

O.k., for those of you left hanging, we never did find a safe watering hole near Atomic City. I vacillate between beating myself up for not having the guts to enter that lonely dusty bar/cafe, to thanking my lucky stars we left the car running and beat feet out of that place.



Another time zone crossed today. And so, while my computer's clock says it's only 9:14pm, all the clocks around here say it's 11:14pm. Another hour - vanished. Driving across South Dakota on I-90 really took a lot out of me. That, and the crappy night's sleep at the Spearfish Quality Inn, the crappy jumbo prawn dinner (just thinking about it sort of makes me gag) at the Rusty Spur in Murdo SD and last night's crappy Chinese food caked on my jeans makes me weary.

But Mt. Rushmore was cool, and so was Crazy Horse (I estimate it'll take about another 200 years to finish that sculpture at the rate they've been going the last 60 years).

Deadwood was trippy at 9am; a little like Disneyland and a lot like Las Vegas and completely socked in with feet of snow.


Oh yeah, so was Spearfish, where we spent the night. Not just a few inches, but FEET. I'm impressed with how the main roads are kept so clear and bone dry. I'm sure it helps that that sun is out and today it reached about 75. But we saw snow well after Rapid City. My gosh, and the wildlife. I'm in love with deer and their sweet little faces and RIP all you dim little dead deer on the side of the road. And the prairie dogs are beyond cute, the way the stand up and stare at all the cars like we're the only entertainment in town.
Phoebe is holding up well. She just has this issue with early mornings at the hotels and all the comings and goings of guests in the nearby rooms. It's really annoying and I'm pretty sure I'm sleep deprived.


I need some sleep!

Mt Rushmore South Dakota

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Originally uploaded by dieselboi

We made it to Mt Rushmore and said hi the presidents. What a sight! And to think they did that stone work 60 some odd years ago. Wow! The photo is a little blurry thanks to the middle aged woman who couldn't figure out a point and shoot camera. Thanks lady!

We also saw Crazy Horse today and some big horn sheep. I'm blogging from the freeway right now, so making this short.

AMERICA!

Mt. Rushmore

We're here and all we can think of doing is singing the Team America
song - "America F*** yea! Goin to save the mother f'in world yeah!

I love America! Oh, and this huge granite sculpture is pretty awesome too.

WYOMING

Almost 400 miles under our belt today. And all of that across Wyoming - in some ways the long way. We had planned on going through Yellowstone, but the road was closed. Not sure if you heard, but South Dakota and parts of Wyoming had heavy snow on Friday. Oh well, it put us on a different path which took us through some of the most beautiful canyons I had ever seen.

During the drive, we went through some great small towns and really just enjoyed ourselves. Honestly, there were so many times today I wanted to moblog an experience, but just sat back and experienced it for myself. The memories will be there whether I blog or not.

We started the day in Jackson where there was snow on the ground. As we moved north toward SD, we were snowed on in one of the passes. Upon arrival in South Dakota - SNOW!

Oh, and along the way, we found aliens with ears by Devil's Tower:

waiting...

... for the in-room jacuzzi to fill so I can turn on those jets and soak away my weary bones. We're in Spearfish South Dakota at the moment. Wyoming was absolutely stunning and, at times, almost indescribable in it's sheer natural beauty. Ok, more later, my jacuzzi is calling...

Snake River Brewing .......

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Originally uploaded by dieselboi

I didn't want to put in the title anything like - "Snake River Brewing - whatev..." or "Snake River Brewing - Seriously?"

Maybe I should have.

Honestly, I looked forward to visiting Jackson's one brewery thinking it would be the shit when it turned out to be kinda a turd. I know, I shouldn't be so judgemental, but wow, the beer was kinda bland. We did a taster tray and only one of the beers was good enough that I would ponder getting a pint - the stout. All the other beers - a Pilsner, a Lager, a Pale Ale, a Mai-bock, a Porter and something with grapefruit zest left much to be desired. None of the beer really had a distinctive flavor - too malty or just plain bland. I honestly wondered if the brewer had ever heard of using Hops in beer.

Sorry Snake River, you get a C-.

Oh the detritus

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Originally uploaded by dieselboi

We're in Jackson Wyoming today after a short day of driving. I think we did like 100 miles or so and it felt like we'd been in the car for awhile. Driving over mountain passes isn't something to take lightly.

Upon arrival in Jackson, we realized we were in a town not wanting for money. There were jewelry stores, art galleries and real estate offices one after another. It don't think the recession is hitting Jackson yet. That said, once you ventured a couple blocks from the downtown core, you did see some sketch that is typical of a snowbum town - including this wonderful outdoor pool. This is part of the Western Hotel, a great bargain just blocks from both downtown and Snow King ski resort.

The day ended with us bar hopping downtown Jackson. Nice town and honestly, I would entertain living in a place like this if I were wealthy and had a helicopter.

due to a technical difficulty...

I cannot post the awe-inspiring photos of WYOMING people. I love it. It's beautiful beyond words. We're working through the kinks and hopefully I can post some photos SOON. You can check his flickr page if you wanna... www.flickr.com/photos/dieselboi. We've been hanging in Jackson Hole all day and will mosey out tomorrow.We've got 500+ miles to look forward to tomorrow, but I can't say I'm upset with the prospect. I'm digging the drive. Phoebe is a total trooper. She loves travelling with us. We decided today that if I can book a flight to PDX with her in June she'll just stay with me in Philly. The original plan was that she was going to drive across country and back with Brett. Suddenly having her with me just makes sense. Besides, Brett wants to catch a baseball game in St. Louis and it occured to us it may be difficult to find a place for her to hang while he's at the game. Ironically, I've found, while here in Jackson Hole, that the hotels are pet friendly, with the caveat that we cannot leave our pets in the rooms alone. Yet, there are very few public places that will allow you to bring your pets. That means we window shop and strain our eyes at the natural parks in the parking lots, leave her in the car, or hang out in the hotel room with her.

I've seen nature play out as if I'm watching the freaking Discovery Channel. I swear to god a hawk flew 15 feet from our car while we were driving and it was carrying a freaking salmon in it's talons that was all wriggling cuz I'm certain that bird just plucked it out of the Snake River. This place is amazing. 500 feet from downtown Jackson Hole you can waltz over to this goose habitat and watch hundreds and I mean HUNDREDS of elk chilling. We're surrounded by mountains and snow and all sorts of athletic type people which all sort of intimidate me but oh well I'm a city girl and that gives me some sort of cred somehow so it all evens out. We sat at this tavern earlier where we had to sit in saddles and they were totally f*(&ing uncomfortable but damn it if I didn't sit there for at least 45 minutes. Oh how I wish we could hang in WY undefinitely. We've met real live cowboys and friendly locals and Brett thinks the beer sucks but that's ok. It's stunning and quiet and for god's sake this town doesn't suffer for money; looks like they get plenty of business. Oh yeah, we're here in the off season.

500 miles tomorrow. Holy crap.

IDAHO

What a day. Another 300+ miles under the belt even though our odometer says we did 440 today alone. We had some diversions that added to the mileage. Oregon Trail, Boise microbrewery, Craters of the Moon, Atomic City... the list goes on.

My favorite part of the day was getting off the interstate on HWY 26 to head towards Craters of the Moon National Park. Idaho is pretty bland when one is driving I84. Seriously, it was boring. My only saving grace was getting to listen to Led Zeppelin Houses of the Holy while Anna and Phoebe slept. When we took the exit on HWY 26, while it was still pretty sparse and desolate, it was beautiful. We drove and drove, coming closer and closer to mountains still showing snow. Then came the landscape change that was Craters of the Moon. While it didn't look like the moon landing, it was pretty awesome. All that lava rock came from somewhere. I'm glad I didn't have a vacation home in its path thousands of years ago.

After Craters, we then came upon this area of Idaho that was mysterious. Seriously, we were headed toward a town named Atomic City for the sole reason that it was on the way and the name sounded cool. What we discovered was that the area between Craters of the Moon and Idaho Falls has a huge Department of Energy research area named INL - Idaho National Labratories. Oh, and there is nothing around this area - no towns, no turnoffs, nothing. Just off in the distance, you could see these huge compounds or plants and they were producing or researching something. Oh, and this whole area is surrounded by cinder cones and former volcanoes. I don't think it has anything to do with Atomic Energy research, but has much to do with ALIENS. Yup! ALIENS! I could feel the energy around the whole area and every mile there seemed to be a collection of specific rocks - like cairns - beckoning the next UFO. I was a little nervous because we didn't have any of our foil hats in the car. And then we ended up in Atomic City. I'll let the video do the talkin'.

Final note - we're in Idaho Falls at the Comfort Inn. So far, the hotel is top notch. I have never been to a hotel that provided a power strip for all the electronics. Well done Comfort inn.

Keep up with the photos here.

Atomic City is one strange place

We thought it might be fun to stop at the mini-mart/ice cream sundae/dessert/food/bar, but to be honest, I started getting a little freaked out by the place. What goes on in Atomic City? I saw a whole bunch of abandoned filing cabinets strewn for acres, which I immediately assumed came from one of the many high-security ultra secret massive fenced-off-in-every-direction-for-miles "testing facilities" (perhaps in error, though, honestly, I'm sure there's no where else they could have come from considering there's really no commerce or industry for 50 miles). There was not a single soul to be seen in Atomic City, yet the neon sign in the window of the mini mart said open. We were both too afraid to turn off the engine.

Breakfast dilemna

Super 8 in Baker City - you get what you pay for. Well, adventure is part of the trip. Now we have the ever challenging dilemma - continental breakfast at the hotel (heartburn and ....) or truck driver's breakfast down the road...

Either way, we're onto the 2nd day. Oh, and it is SUNNY!!!

Car View

A lot of today looked like this:



And that's ok because that's pretty darn amazing in my humble opinion.

We are such dorks. We had to stop east of Pendleton, up somewhere at about, say 4193 feet and take pictures of Brett playing in the last dregs of snow. Which, actually when you think about it, is pretty gross, but I was tripping on all the snow still on the ground.

Baker City is pretty rad, at least the little bit of it I've seen from the car, from Alberton's, and the hot tub of the Super 8.

Phoebe is a little trouper. She wouldn't have us both going to the hot tub this evening, however. My passion and intent for soaking my body won the moment and Brett stayed with her in this stinky room.

Alright, I'm going to finish this up so I can concentrate on Lost. Cheers everyone!!

TREES!

I am not going to document the entire day of our trip as I personally wouldn't think that is good reading. I will tell you about the Trees though. Just past Boardman on I84, we came upon these amazing forests of Ash trees. They were farmed and in perfect rows acre after acre. We kept looking down the rows as we drove by wondering why no one has filmed a horror movie in there. Imagine The Village. It was amazing:

I would love to throw on a backpack and venture into this man made forest. Everything in order and every tree the same height, age and thickness. I remember as a boy scout camping in an abandoned tree farm where the trees had overgrown. Yet they were still in rows and organized.

Stats for today: 300+ miles, 1 stinky hotel room, 3 beers (so far), and no fast food. Tomorrow - IDAHO.

oh, and snow: