Tag: driving

“Up in Memphis the music’s like a heatwave. White lightning, bound to drive you wild.” — Alannah Myles

On By HanneIn Food, TravelLeave a comment

After what seemed like a whirlwind of adventure to get to New Orleans it was time to head north. Nashville is about 530 miles north and a little east of New Orleans, which translates to about 8 hours. I wanted an early start to the day as I had plans to stop in Birmingham, AL to stop at the Civil Rights Institute which was open from 1-5pm. By the time I was on the road (after a detour to drive through the Garden District, and to swing by Starbucks) it was close to 9am.

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I got to within 23 miles of the Institute when I hit some stormy weather. No tornado warnings, just a total downpour. I ended up exiting the freeway to wait it out in a CVS parking lot because I couldn’t see and the amount of water on the roadway was incredible. Very thankful for those new tires because I was certain I was going to skid off the road at one point. I didn’t arrive at the Institute until nearly 3pm, but it was absolutely worth finding my way downtown for. Because it’s free on Sundays the place was packed and we had to go inside in groups so that they could space everyone a little bit. Also because the A/C was having a hard time keeping up with all the people in there and it was a little too hot in some areas. It was very eye opening disappointing in a way. To see how far we HAVEN’T come in the past 60 or so years is, well, sad. AMERICA, PULL YOUR SHIT TOGETHER.

I wanted to grab a late lunch in Birmingham, but my radar showed a massive front headed toward Nashville (3hrs north) that had already caused problems in Memphis and had flood watches popping up all over central Tennessee.

I skipped lunch and headed North, watching as the storm clouds rolled in… and then nothing. I had about ten minutes of a sprinkle of rain and that was it. Nothing every materialized and I watched the dark clouds just roll on by. Damnit. My dinner (some diner near my hotel) was mediocre in comparison to the few places I had sought out in Birmingham. Oh well, I was able to get a pretty long, decent nights sleep.

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Rockin’ on the front porch.

The following morning I started off with a visit to the Belle Meade Plantation. What caught my attention about this place is it’s influence on the American Thoroughbred. I had *THE* best guide who led the tour of the house (no pics allowed inside, boo). He wove together the family history of FIVE generations who all seemed to be named the same, state history of Tennessee, slavery and the civil war as well as all this equestrian history. And it all comes down to this one horse I’d never heard of: Bonnie Scotland. I don’t remember the exact number, but something like 120 of the 143 Kentucky Derby winners can be traced back to this horse. Man O’War, War Admiral, Seattle Slew, California Chrome, Secretariat, etc.

So I spent a little longer touring the house, the carriage barns, the stable, etc, because it IMG_9742was 11am before I even hit the gift shop (and I’m not leaving without touring the gift shop). From there I headed to Downtown Nashville and circled FOREVER before spending a small fortune on parking. My plan was to tour the Ryman auditorium and then hit the Johnny Cash museum. Unfortunately, the Ryman was packed, so I just hit the Johnny Cash museum before my three hour drive West to Memphis.

Aside from the ridiculous amount of road work, it was a pretty easy drive. I detoured

slightly to drive through Loretta Lynn’s Ranch which is everything and nothing. When you first turn in there is an office for the campground/RV park, signs to a pool and arcade. You then drive past concert grounds, a motorcross… place (who knew she was into that?) before arriving at a gift shop and museum and place for horse rides, plus what looks like a private residence. In any case, the museum was closed (A/C broke). I let my GPS guide me back toward the highway and it took me on a long, narrow gravel road in the middle of nowhere for miles. At one point I almost turned around, but when I zoomed out on the GPS I saw it did know what it was doing.

And now, I’m in Memphis.

IMG_9780Because I’ve just got one day here, I stuck to Beale St., the Peabody ducks and a few of my favorite places to eat. But I feel like the next time I’m here, it’s time to discover a new part of town. I was a little let down by the hotel this year (the room is fine, the bed comfy) but the staff has been cold and unwelcoming which is a complete turn around from the last several times I’ve stayed here. For the past several years this has been hands down, one of my most favorite places to visit. And this time, just a standard hotel within walking distance of one of my fav. places to booze it up.

Speaking of, one of my absolute favorite places in Memphis is the Kooky Canuck. A

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Flying Moose: Melon, citrus vodka, raspberry rum, sour and mist. 

Canadian restaurant. But the drinks here are amazing. As are their fried green tomatoes and fried pickles – both of which are pretty much life. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Thick cut, juicy with just enough breading to keep things interesting, but not get gross.

Tomorrow I head further west to Oklahoma City. It’s about 7 hours (direct on I-40). It’ll be interesting to approach from the other direction, but I doubt I’ll need my GPS. I have a full day scheduled for the following day visiting my favorite shops, driving through a specific neighborhood in Moore that I’ve toured every year since the tornado. It’s been interesting to see how everything just slowly comes back together. And of course a martini at my favorite bar, Flint.

Ciao!

“Everything in life is somewhere else, and you get there in a car.” E. B. White

On By HanneIn Uncategorized4 Comments

Yo. I just bought a car.

Like a real grown-up car.

One that I had to finance because I don’t have nearly twenty grand in cash lying around.

Let me start that, while I knew this day was coming, I’m not sure I was ready for it. But I jumped in with both feet and had a pretty good time. While full of great memories and

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Old friend.

amazing adventure, my old 1994 Camry with nearly 240,000 miles is at the end
of her long career. While not junk yard material yet (c’mon it’s a camry, with a little work she’s got another 100K miles left in her), it’s just not a car that I would trust on a road trip across the US, which is something I’d like to do again.

So this past weekend, knowing mostly what I was looking for, I grabbed my check book, my loan pre-approval, and headed down to Burien Toyota to look at a bright blue (sounder blue, I might add) 2014 Camry LE. Unfortunately, the person who traded it in, had driven with some sort of motorbike on top of it and there were a ton of scratches. A ton. I understand that buying a used car means that it’s not perfect, but it looked awful when you got close – obviously why it was priced so competitively. So then I found a 2014 Camry LE with only 14,000 miles on it. Super low miles and priced to sell at only $17,999. I drove it, my mom drove it and it was a great car.

$17,999 was a bit more than I wanted to pay, but for a great car… it wasn’t a bad price. We got it down to $17,499, but the big boss came over and was so pushy and in a rush to sell. It just wasn’t a comfortable experience. I said that I was looking closer to $17k and waffled a bit, but then I had to get to an appointment. I left and came back, and they said they just couldn’t budge from $17,499. If he had left it at that, I probably would have gone back after a visit to Renton, but rather than just say that $17,499 was their best price, I got this whole talk about how they need to make money for this new building they are building.

Um, what? Last I checked I came to buy a car, not a building. And we’re $500 apart, that’s not even half a fridge for the employee break room.

So I left. The original guy followed me out to my car, offered to look at some older cars, and then offered to call me if the boss changed his mind. Whatever.

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We are going to have so much fun together!

I went to Renton and test drove a car, but upon closer inspection, there was a crack around the headlight. There was no carfax info on it, so it looked like someone had fixed it and repainted it themselves. No thanks.

Sunday morning I headed up to Rodland Toyota in Everett. It’s where my dad bought his highlander in 2014 and if the same guy had been working there still, I would’ve gone there first.

What a difference between Rodland and Burien. I mean, night and day. I enjoyed the time I spent at Rodland. I never felt pressured, there was no rush and when I wanted a minute to talk to my parents to get their view on the deal we had semi-settled on, he was happy to walk away and give us some quiet time.

I ended up paying a little more than what I wanted, but for the car I got, I’m not concerned. It was a great experience and other than the fact that I’m not broke AF and committed to a legit loan, I have zero negative comments about the deal.

That said, while I was waiting to sign the finance papers, the guy from Burien called to ‘chat’. “Too bad buddy, I’m already signing papers up north.” He hung up.

So if you need a car, go see Russell Pyles and tell him Hanne sent you. Unless you’re interested in a 1994 Camry needing a little work, let me know.

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Evan ‘checking the engine’ for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination and brings eternal joy to the soul.” – Wyland

On By HanneIn Travel, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Two weeks ago we took an extended weekend down to Newport, Oregon. Newport and the surrounding area has long been a happy place for the family. Camping, Mo’s, salt water taffy, Beverly Beach State Park, kites, whales, Depot Bay, barking sea lions, salty sea air, Oregon Coast Aquarium, crabbing, gift shops, the beach.

IMG_6755Oh, and the smell of campfire.

While it’s been a long time since we’ve camped, instead moving to the dog friendly Best Western at Agate Beach.  That said, it doesn’t mean we’ve given up on the campground 100%.

We had a combination of credits and gift cards for 3 free nights, so we headed down IMG_6747 Thursday afternoon to stay through mid-day Sunday. Because the hotel is dog friendly, the Boo got to come along and be a ‘beach dog’ – she was thrilled. We played in the tide pool, chased the waves (well, she did), searched for shells and played with seaweed (and then passed out later on).

IMG_6741Friday we spent most the day in Downtown Newport. We ate at Mo’s, wandered the shops and watched the Sea Lions fight for space on their designated dock.

Saturday had a slow start, but we spent the afternoon on the beach and then headed to our camping site for a fire. We roasted hotdogs for dinner and made s’mores for dessert. The campground was full, and we felt slightly guilty about holding a campsite from someone who would’ve spent the night, but for $28 bucks, it was worth the campfire and cheap (but delicious) dinner.

In all, it was a great, albeit short weekend away.

 

Best Western Agate Beach Inn review: 3.5/5 stars.

I love this hotel. We’ve stayed here numerous times over the years and for the most part, it’s fantastic.

The beach: You walk out the back door, and down a little hill and you are on the beach. If you’re lucky enough to have a beach view, there is nothing in your way.

The rooms: Clean, but dated. For the price, I’d expect it to be a little more updated. On one hand, maybe because we’ve always stayed in a dog-friendly room (certain ones are designated for the pooches), perhaps they just aren’t updated..? Spruce it up, and this would be a top place on the coast to stay.

Restaurant: Decent for breakfast. The Banana fosters french toast was a little soggy and overly sweet when it arrived. Then I realized they made it with banana bread. Stick to regular french toast for this dish, Best Western. You’d win an award.

The cost: CHECK YOUR CREDIT CARD ACTIVITY AFTERWARD. Ok, so they made things right immediately when I called, but I was frustrated to see that they double charged me for the pet fee ($40, instead of $20 per stay) despite the fact that they shouldn’t have charged it at all – we paid it in cash when checking out.

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“Best way to live in California is to be from somewheres else.” ― Cormac McCarthy

On By HanneIn Travel, Uncategorized1 Comment

Had a (mostly) fantastic long weekend down in the Bay area and along the Oregon coast. A little rocky to start – some asshole in front of us lost some of their camping supplies and we hit their frying pan. Luckily it was only a tiny scratch and we laughed about it the rest of the way down.  The drive down was long, hot and oh-so-boring. We hit temps as high as 110, added nearly an hour in construction detours and with nothing but dry, brown grass, it’s not exactly my favorite drive.

photo 2 (8)We arrived just past dinner time on Friday, checked in and headed to my favorite ‘Crawdaddies’ for dinner. It’s a hot, garlic, shrimpy mess – but well worth it. Saturday we were up and headed into San Francisco. We explored the wharf, found the house/park they used for Full House (yep), Lombard Street and then popped over the Golden Gate Bridge.

The reason for the trip was the Sounders vs. San Jose Saturday evening. Jason wanted to go to see the new Levi’s Stadium and I, of course, to see my team. Clearly he got the better half of the deal. We weren’t awful (and much better than the game against LA) but it was still uninspired and we just couldn’t connect. We ended up going to see Guardians of the Galaxy afterward to ease the pain. Great movie!

The drive up along the coast was much better than the drive down. It was cooler (fucking cold, according to Jason). But it was sad in some ways, photo 2many of the small towns along the way in very sad shape. Eureka, once busy with lumber mills and fisherman, has taken an obvious nose dive. The town is run down, homeless (most looked like they were on some sort of drug) were roaming the streets and the conversation we were privy to in the pub was… sad. Gold Beach was similar, though the people were friendly. The bartender invited himself up for a cup of noodles or bagel dog – when I said I didn’t have either of those (or know what a bagel dog was), he invited himself up for a popsicle. Um, okay. But it was funny – everyone knew every one and at the grocery store, the lady in front of us mentioned something about her brother going away. Jason asked where (thinking he was joining the army or something big like that) and the lady at check-out looked up and was like who the fuck are you? Clearly we were outsiders and they all know each others business. Turns out the chick’s brother was only headed down to LA (must be for school).

The best part of the drive back might have been the Trees of Mystery. What a great (little) hike and then the gondola ride further up into the forest. It was cloudy so we couldn’t see far, but it was still fantastic. No bigfoot sightings, but plenty of Elk, deer, a lizard and other little creatures (and road kill) along the way. My favorite tree was this one – a single tree with 12 smaller trees growing off of it. Amazing! Others grew in absurd angles, in tight clusters and/or with massive girth.

It, of course, wasn’t a trip to Cali without a stop at In & Out.

No visit is complete without a peek at the resident sea lions.
No visit is complete without a peek at the resident sea lions.

The last stop was my forever favorite, Newport, Oregon. We met my parents at the KOA where they spent two nights with the dog. Once they were packed up we headed in to Newport for lunch at my most favorite Mo’s (on the water, not the one across the street). Shrimp salad in an avocado, chowder and garlic cheese bread. I don’t think, in 15 years, I’ve ever had anything else. In fact, I don’t remember ever ordering anything else. Jason headed out right after lunch with a long drive back to the Tri-Cities, but we hung a bit longer and walked through a few shops.

Overall, the trip was fun. I just wish we could’ve come home with three points (or even one), but we can’t win them all.

 

Capitan Douchwaffle, at your service. ;)
Capitan Douchwaffle, at your service. 😉

 

“Always focus on the front windshield and not the review mirror.” ― Colin Powell

On By HanneIn TravelLeave a comment

I thought I’d post a few stats from my time on the road.

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Somewhere, Montana.

Total miles driven: 6,988.
(srsly, I should’ve circled the block a few times to hit 7k)
Total gas cost: $874.45
Highest Gas Paid: $4.15 (just outside Chicago)
Highest Gas Seen: $4.32 (Chicago)
Lowest Gas Paid: $3.19 (Louisiana)
Lowest Gas Seen: $3.13 (Louisiana)Average MPG for the trip: 29.5 mpg
Number of Tornados: 1
Number of Tornado Sirens: 2
Number of ‘Severe Weather Storms’: 5
Number of wild gators touched: 1
Number of Bison within spitting distance of my car: Too many to count.
Number of ‘Pirate Propositions’: 1
Number of Celebrity Sightings: 2 (Mark Harmon… and Frank Marshall counts, right? I tried looking for Kevin McKidd in New Orleans, but no luck).
Best State: Tie between Wyoming and Louisiana. Oh, and Tennessee.
Worst States: Tie between Colorado and Texas. Shit. Hole.
Number of Museums: 10
Number of Dead President’s homes I visited: 2
Number of homeless people I had coffee with: 1
Number of hotel staff I wanted to bring home with me: 4

~*~

Number of times my car hit 200,000 miles: 1!

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