back from road trip

Left Tuesday morning, in tall and long rented moving truck. (not U-haul–never use them, they have always been difficult to deal with) I can’t recall the name of the moving truck company my youngest used for this trip but their service was friendly and prompt. It was 3 steps up to the cab, and a few miles long. Monday she loaded most of it, as the friends she had lined up didn’t come to help. I got home from work at 3 and helped her finish up. we didn’t get on the road till almost 10 though on tuesday, due to various have to do odds and ends. It was interesting trip (4 days) I made a few notes along the way, but have apparently lost them. so will have to pull from my now scattered memory. by the way if anyone mentions road trip to me, in connection with my taking one, anytime in the next 2 years…. I’ll scream.

We left Colorado, chasing Fall backwards to the east coast. the flat lands of Kansas were remarkable only by the Billboards along the way. a sign would appear in the distance, a face on the sign, bearded… and when closer yet, you read Jesus Loves you! or Jesus saves! or something related to Jesus. every 30 miles or so it seemed.  the only graffiti we saw was on the over pass, and it read Jesus loves you! We didn’t hit Missouri till the next day. spending the night in a Days Inn. never never never go there. they didn’t even have clean towels, of coffee for the rooms coffee pot. we had to call and ask for them, and then go pick them up. my bed (daughter and grand daguther had separate bed) had wrinkled sheets , so I slept on top of the top sheet. and  this was NOT a cheap motel! the "continental breakfast in AM was really bad coffee, and a make it yourself waffle, but the orange juice was real.

can you rate a state by its billboards? Missouri was notably NOT Kansas. the huge billboards in this state read "Nude women", "gentleman’s club next stop" and "Adult store" etc. the billboards in Illinois , were shiny and bright, and 3 stories in the air. totally amazing to this western US lady. they were also over the tops of the trees. and OH MY GOD. the trees! tall. huge. and a lot of them! my son in law who spend major parts of his life on eastern coast once told me that the trees in Colorado were Not trees. and after seeing the giants that grow from Kentucky on south, I have to agree. the land is Forested. It reminded me of Alaska, where you can not see the forest for the trees. the roads were lined with thick tall trees. Annoying to me, as I like to look out and see the sights. but now it was limited to trees. Except for the smoky mountains, were once in a while I could see a dip and see mountains, covered in green trees. Oh yes, the land is green from Illinois on. If you have never traveled West, you don’t understand, the prairie (Kansas) is brown, and the "high plains" roll right up to the rocky mountains. which are rock, and a few evergreens. Most of our forest is now beetle killed and brown. I’m waiting– as most folks, for the big one. the fire storm that will wipe out the now brown and dead forest that covers our mountains. I expect it will be a major catastrophe, with power lines down, etc. one newspaper suggested it would affect folks clear to California. But no one does anything about it. so we wait…

ST Louis, is that the name of the town at end of Missouri, and you cross the river into Illinois? I think of cities as new, and top of the line; this one  at least where the major highway went, was bombed out.,literally. the tall buildings had no roofs, and backs of them were gone. maybe you don’t’ see it from a small car, but being up high, I saw it. the neighborhood by the Arch is SAD, empty buildings, gaffe ii, ugly. except for the one area right by the Arch. I looked down, as we started over the smaller bridge (didn’t take the interstate one as it goes thought down town and turning a big rig in small areas was not happening! unless we had to) (can’t recall the name of the smaller bridge) looking down, I saw 4 horse drawn carriages lined up outside a fancy hotel. it was such a total opposite from the destroyed buildings around it, that it stuck in my mind. and then we were in Illinois. I loved the farmland, and the farm houses. It is interesting to see that different areas of the country have different styles of homes,esp the older ones.

America has such a varied countryside, and each area has its own "culture" , all Americans but each with slightly different "norms" and ways of life. I wondered when the last time a president of the US has taken a road trip, and met the PEOPLE along the way, in the gas stations, rest stops, restaurants, motels?

the 3 yr old did fairly well on the trip, my daughter had planned ahead and had her well supplied with various toys. but what she enjoyed most was the play dough, her Barbie dolls, and watching the little video player cartoons. However by the 3rd day, she was just not happy about getting back in that truck. but then I wasn’t either.

on the morning of the 2nd day, we had to spend 4 hours in a Kansas repair shop. the fuel light had come on a few miles before we stopped, and we waited till AM, to call repair (from the motel room) Candy did have road side protection so it didn’t cost us. the verdict was that it was rust in the fuel tank. they changed filters and sent us on the way. On day 3 (full moon) we had a lot of set backs, mainly the truck was not starting correctly, till at the end of the day, and only a couple of hours from Charleston, we stopped again for the night. Candy was afraid if we stopped for gas we would not get the dang thing started again. Again we called from hotel room and got road side assistance. this guy was great, he came to us, and started the rig with spray stuff, said it was not rust in the fuel tank, it was low oil pressure( and as this was a diesel truck, it runs off of oil pressure). and oh, yes we could spill diesel all over it, while running the engine and no problem– so we could get gas and leave the engine running. He said he would make sure the truck was pulled from the line and fixed, he offered to order a new one for us to complete the trip on. but that would mean unloading and reloading and we were 2 hours away from Candy’s new home. so he started it up and we didn’t shut it down till it was in her new driveway. the last day, the 4th, we could only make 55 miles an hour, due to the low oil pressure, but we made it. and unloaded it, her husband came home from work early and helped. Cassidy was glad to see her dad, and her pet bull dog. and I was just glad not to be driving. They live in Summervile. can’t see the town for the trees, but it seems that is the way the south is, can’t hardly find the stores for the trees. gives one a sense of isolation, even though you are in middle of a huge town, or city.

those 12 hour days of  driving take a toil, but I enjoyed seeing the country. the huge leaves on the ground at a rest area in Tennessee, or was it Georgia by then? and REDS , the are red bushes, intermingled with the yellows, green, and brown. several trees were already leafless. but the weather was good all the way. not even rain.

On sat. candy, cassidy and I went to Charleston and I got a driving tour and stopped at the visitors center.

Loved the huge old buildings, and the streets there are filled with tourists. we decided it was like Estes park (a Colorado tourist town) only bigger. I noticed the license plates on the south Carolina cars. a tree with a quarter moon on the left side and under it the logo that said "log on to SC.com" I thought it was odd. but maybe that is the modern logos. I remember when Colorado had "Colorful Colorado" on its plates, now its just Colorado and some mountains. After the city tour we went to the Beach on James island. this was what I drove 4 days to see, and experience. I love beaches and this was a perfect day. white sand , dunes, flat long stretch to the water. breakers rolling in, miles and miles of open water. Cassidy build a sand castle, and we picked up sea shells. I have now waded in both the Pacific and the Alantic Ocean.  loved it. I could live there.

Sunday Candy and Cassidy drove me to airport in the afternoon, I flew out from Colombia SC to Houston Texas. I hate the unknown about flying, where do you go, is the flight ready, are you going to be bumped or delayed, etc. I never relax till I’m in the seat. we arrived in the dusk,  about 7 at night. we flew over the ocean up the coast on the last part of the ride. interesting to see the deltas (the rivers flowing into the ocean) once in Houston I had to find someone to tell me how to get to the next gate, it involved a tram ride and then they changed the gate. but I made it. the flight took forever to load, and my back was hurting all the way. the first plane was only 3 seats in a row, one on one side and two on the other. the second was 3 seats on each side and much longer plan. It took forever to load. I only had the carry on suit case so no problems with baggage. once I figured out how to turn off the annoying video that was on back of each seat, it was fine. one was supposed to "swipe your credit card" on it and then you could watch a movie or tv show. just annoying. and now they toss you a small sack of peanuts and a free small drink, if you want more you have to pay for it. sign of the times I guess. I recall when my first plane ride, at 16 I flew from Denver to South Dakota to visit my sister , who was living up there with her husband and small kids. I dressed up, and was served a meal! Now its blue jeans, and peanuts. The flight up to Colorado had a good outside show, we passed by a storm, it was night and the clouds lit up with lighting , repeatedly. amazing to watch.

but I was ready for the lights of Denver, finally back home. My middle daughter picked me up and drove me home. its going to freeze tonight. we have had a long fall, but winter is coming.

I have to day off to adjust my mind to life back in Colorado. no more road trips , PLEASE! well other then the 4 hours to my dads house this weekend…