The Getaway - Thawing Out

Well, now just why would a retiring (and shy) couple of reasonable intelligence leave a perfectly good home and take on an adventure? This might be why.

Or this.

 

 Or even this.

And most definitely this.

 

So last Thursday, we packed up the Traverse with the usual moderate load, consisting primarily of wedding gifts being relocated to California,

and departed the deep freeze for a 19 day cross-country trek to parts south and west. Here are a few notes on the first leg of our journey.

The first order of business was to thaw out. Unfortunately it took over 1000 miles and several states to accomplish this. We headed west on I-94, then south on I-69 until we encountered this milestone.

Here we took lunch at this upscale eatery,

and promptly headed across the state to - you guessed it -

where we hung around long enough to have dinner at another upscale classic.

At this point I should explain a major change in our travel habits and why these pictures are significant. Up until our last trip to Florida in December, we embraced what for years has been known as "the Cathy plan". That is making it from home to our destination (usually somewhere in Florida) as quickly as possible. We would customarily arise at 5:00 am, depart at 6:00 and drive 1200 miles (about 18 hours) in one blast, stopping only for nature calls, gas, and the fastest food we could find. The Cathy plan was so named because while we were checking into a motel one night during an earlier family trip, Cathy asked "why are we stopping here, we're not there yet, can't we (read you) just keep going?" I didn't have a good answer, at least not an answer that impressed her. So for the next trip the Cathy plan passed without filibuster, and became habit.

You have to remember that while Nancy and I were sharing the driving work on these trips, Cathy, Christy, often Ted, and sometimes a guest vacationer were spending their time in a deluxe full-sized conversion van watching movies, playing video games or cranking out tunes with their Walkmen, Diskmen or iPods (depending on the decade). So why stop at a boring motel? Who needs to rest up from sitting still? I've always thought that an important part of parenting is seeing the world through your kids' eyes. But I admit, occasionally, it can get away from you.

Finally, after all these years, as we were putting the finishing touches on our December Christmas trip plans, we reinvented ourselves. We knew that weather conditions were iffy, and that the Cathy plan won't work if you have any delays. Also, a slower pace, with meals out of the car and an extra stop or two to stretch our (aging) legs sounded attractive. And like all retirees, we have all the time there is. So the Cathy plan was mothballed and replaced with the new "senior plan" (or as I like to refer to it - the old man plan). Thus, instead of driving through a Mickey D's or Wendy's and digesting our grease burgers and fries in flight, we are now able to dine more leisurely, digesting slightly less unhealthy food sitting down inside of a restaurant. So you see, compared to what we had been doing, Subway and Denny's are upscale.

But back to the first leg of the trip. We headed west through Illinois to Missouri. Here is a perhaps less than prime shot of the St. Louis arch as we crossed the Mississippi. The lighting could be better, but if you squint a little and turn your computer just a bit clockwise, you can make out....naw. Forget it. Just take my word for it. The arch is there.

The highest temperature we attained on our first day out was 13 degrees. We kept warm through the magic of modern auto technology and a few hot beverages sipped from these old friends.

 

We spent the night in Lebanon, Missouri, in a road-side Best Western not quite prepared for the extremely cold weather (near zero just before dawn). The little wall heating unit cranked its heart out all night, but it still took socks, a hoodie and a bit of survival huddling under the thin blankets to make it through the night. Brrrr.

We arose early on the second day and headed to Oklahoma. My photographic prowess was suffering as we crossed the state border because my fingers had not yet thawed out, but I managed this shot of the "Welcome to Oklahoma" sign.

Okay. I missed the sign entirely. This photo-through-the-car-window shtick is trickier than it looks. To prove I was actually in Oklahoma, I was able to get this shot of the sign marking the Oklahoma City turnoff to good old OU.

 

What?

Finally we made it to the Lone Star state,

 

but were distressed to see several signs displaying this message.

Are you kidding? A 1000 miles and six states and we're still threatened with winter storm warnings? Uh...what's a couple of seniors to do? Oh well.

Here's a shot of my dash as we motored into Waco for dinner. Note the temperature.

Yes. Still freezing. You'll also notice the mileage for the day - 599 - with still a little over 100 miles to go to Ted's. And if you look closely, you'll see that I'm taking a picture of the dash while cruising on I-35 at 75 MPH. I guess I was ready for a dinner break, this one at an El Chico. I had the pork taco plate, definitely a step up from our past road fare.

We made it to Ted's just fine and on time around 8:00 pm, and cleared our road dust by having Wisers Manhattans and catching up with our Austin friends Sue and Jesse (Ted was actually out at a concert last night, an "instrumental post-metal" band called Russian Circles; like you, I've never heard of them).

Today, it's finally warmed up to the 60s. It feels great. And the next few days look even better.

That's it for the first leg of our trip. We'll be relaxing in Austin for the weekend, then heading west on Monday. I'll keep you posted - literally :-)

GPC