When things don 't go as you envisage - my 2018 trip.
Since this was my ninth trip to the United States (to see family and catch up with friends), and especially as the last eight trips all left me with wonderful memories, there was no reason to think that this trip would be any different.
How wrong I was!
It started at LAX, where security would not allow my carry-on, which had just come off a 15 hour flight across the Pacific, to continue to Boston. A bit of a kerfuffle. Soon resolved, and I was on my way.
On arrival in Boston, one of my checked suitcases was missing. It would have to be the one with four months of my medication in it. Daughter met me, and was not at all perturbed - I was frantic. "Happens all the time," she said. It was a relief to see the suitcase on her doorstep the next morning.
Daughter, unlike her brother, who also lives in Boston, likes to get to know the place where she lives, and take visitors on tours to what she thinks is the most interesting/important. So for the first time I went to Boston Common, the adjoining gardens, the beautiful avenue which leads up to them, and all the other places in Boston which I had not seen.
We spent a whole day walking along the Charles river, with all its features and attractions. When I say 'walking', I have to emphasise that she was walking and I was on my small scooter.
Another day we went to the John F Kennedy library and museum. This was particularly interesting for me, as I recall all those events so clearly. Was like going back more than half a century.
On Patriots Day she took me to Concord, and all the happenings there, and between there and Lexington, where she lives.
Other days we went further afield. There was a place, not all that far away, where there was a yarn mill and store. Not that I need more knitting yarn, but I still bought up big, just because it was different to what I have at home. We also went to Salem one weekend, and saw all the witches trail and museum. Did some tours, and really had a great time. During lunch one of my lenses fell out of my spectacles into my lunch. I had not noticed that the frame had broken. Exactly what I needed (not!) - a new pair of frames. Fortunately grandaughter's spectacle maker was able to fit me with a new frame, the very next day.
After two weeks with my daughter and her family, I went to visit my son, and his family. His older daughter was about to have a birthday, and it was just on Easter, so we all celebrated together.
About four weeks after my arrival I made a trip to North Carolina, and organised for the van to go to the mechanic, and get attended to. The insurance had not yet come through, so we had it taken the short distance from the storage to the mechanic by towtruck.
Thirty nine days after my arrival, I finally had confirmation that the van was insured and road worthy. It was the 29th April when I flew back to Greensboro to pick up my van. Picked it up on Monday morning 30th, and spent most of that day getting organised to hit the road. By now, my feet were itching to get onto the open road and see a bit more of the lower 48.
Lifey
The Lemonade turned rancid.
Thanks Buck.
Yeah! up to that point I was coping. The lemonade was quite successful. Did not keep long though. It was önly hours later, it all started to turn rancid.
My rough plan was to drive the US highways as much as possible, and as little on the interstates as I could manage. Wanted to make it to Big Bend N.P. and the Gulf Coast in Texas. And of course any attractions and places of interest along the way. I had 12 weeks to accomplish this, and call in on other family and friends further north.
But one day at a time. That first night I stayed at a large TA truck stop in Mocksville NC. Enjoyed my meal in their restaurant and was glad I could charge my scooter battery and laptop, and check email. It must have been well after nine, when all batteries were fully charged. I installed the battery back in the scooter, packed up my computer and headed off to retire for the night.
After a wonderful night's sleep in my trusty van...... next morning I was looking for something which I knew was in my bag........ but I could not find my bag. Then I realised that I did not recall bringing it back the night before.
Panic set in! (Yeah! I am an expert at panicking.) I rushed (on my scooter) into the restaurant to see if anyone had found it, but none had. The more I thought about it the more I realised it was not there when I left. I would have seen it. It was on the seat next to me, in the booth where I was sitting. All I can think of is that putting the battery back on my scooter left my other possessions completely unattended/unguarded.
Police were called to check the CCTV, but to no avail. They could not identify anyone. Frankly the attitude of the police, even though they were friendly enough, was much like 'we've got better things to do'.
My bag contained everything. Purse, with more than a thousand dollars in two currencies and numerous cards, phone, camera and all those other things we females throw into our bag. [The bulk of my cash is kept in my anti-theft bag in a safe spot.]
So now I was without phone and without cards including my driver's licence. I noted my son's, my daughter's and a friend's phone number off the computer, before I hit the road. But try finding a public phone these days.
That morning I had breakfast, for which a truck driver paid (without my knowledge), and several people came and offered me assistance. I made one phone call for help using my computer. Help came directly and regularly thereafter, via emails, which I checked twice a day.
All plans were now out the window. It was I-40 all the way to I-49, and on to Joplin. I had my route and stops emailed each day. All I had to do was drive. But, as Murphy would have it, even that run was not without further issues.
In northern AR I realised I did not have enough fuel to see me through to Joplin. The first place I saw I decided I would just get $10 worth, and fill up at Pilot when I got to Joplin. It took some ten minutes to pump $10 fuel. I was told they were having a problem with the pump. In reality - and the young man in charge was not aware - the tanks were empty and I was pumping the dregs out of the bottom. Now the van would not run at all. It just hopped a few metres.
No phone, no public phone, no wifi in the immediate vicinity. [How did we ever become so dependent on all this technology?]
A gentleman from CO saw my distress and offered to help. Got him to dial glc's number, and together the two men worked it all out. A short while later I was on the road again, but not until the gent had spent something like $100 dollars buying the required items to fix the fuel, and fill the tank at another pump. He would not take any money, and a later attempt to reimburse him was rejected.
On my arrival in Joplin I was greeted with the words ....... "Do you get the feeling that maybe you should have stayed home this time?"
I was ready to throw it all in.
Lifey
Thanks, but can't say I am 'happy' to share.
Thanks Rick and Dave.
I know it was/is an adventure, but at my age I am not too eager to have too many new lessons to learn. Would just prefer things went smoothly, without hassles.
Am still waiting for the replacement of some of the cards lost - my automobile club, my taxi card and my health insurance membership have not yet turned up.
Driving without a licence became very stressful, despite the police having told me that if I was pulled over to give the Mocksville police card and tell them to call it for licence details. It was only when I came back through Mocksville and picked up the police report, I noticed it did not mention a driver's licence at all despite me having given them the details. So if anyone had called, there would not have been any information. Thank God it was never needed.
Lifey
South to Texas.... and north again.
On the first day I enjoyed driving at my leisure over country roads in the southwest corner of MO, and into OK. Detoured past the Lake O' The Cherokees and ended up staying in Jay on US-59. Lovely little town. Took my time to go up and down the main street, before settling in for the night.
Without a camera, I lost the motivation to make detailed notes of routes and places. Was just out to enjoy myself. Next day I meandered slowly down scenic OK-10/82, and side roads, past another State Park and more Lakes. Rarely a truck to be seen. I was in my element. That night I stopped at a truck stop in Sallisaw. Spent some more time in southern OK much of it around US-259 and in the Ardmore region. It really is a pity that those who stick to the interstates miss out on the gems one sees along the way - small towns, unique shops and rural scenery.
After crossing into TX at Denison, it was over lunch that I got to chat with a local couple. They told me for scenic routes I should look for the FM highways - these are the old highways which the farmers used. They go through small settlements. past ranches, and some magnificent buildings. Unfortunately, I was not able to find many, but did enjoy those I found.
It was an urgent need for someone to look at my fridge that saw me heading for DFW. The weather was now quite warm, even though it was only mid May. Fortunately, after two referals, I found a gentleman who looked at the fridge, found a loose wire under the bonnet, and fixed it in a couple of minutes and did not charge me. By now I had spent a couple of nights around the city, and was finding the heat quite oppressive. It was time to re-assess my plans.
US-287 took me to Childress where I picked up US-83 north. I had noted that it heads all the way north to the Dakotas and the Canadian border. I was eager to get out of the heat. It ended up being a good and interesting highway, with a sprinkling of heavy transport, but not enough to take away the enjoyment. In KS I took a detour to Dodge City. Had been there before, but just wanted to check it out again. Besides, there is a great truck stop!
When I got to I-90, I headed east to St Paul, to visit friends. Had an enjoyable and relaxing time with them, that last week of May. Spent much of our time doing jigsaw puzzles. Things were starting to look up.
Lifey
US highways and scenic local roads through small towns.
My next stop was to be Chicago, or more exactly Orland Park, where I had a luncheon appointment with friends on Saturday. That gave me two and a half days to get to the restaurant.
Back on local route 11, I first headed for Monroe where there is a great cheese place - Baumgartner. Bought some cheese to give to my friend and had a lovely lunch. Then learned about all the dollars on the ceiling, and of course I too had to add one. There's a real knack to getting it to stick up there - and great applause when it does. They all go to some good cause at the end of the year.
Continued on to Dubuque, and took the Great River Road south to Davenport. Next day I took US-6 towards Chicago, a lovely drive, to make sure I would be on time the next day, remembering Chicago traffic. We had a lovely lunch in a restaurant where there was also a brewery. Very nice and interesting, in great company.
By now my friend in St Paul had notified me that my new credit card had arrived, so I needed to head back to St Paul. After lunch on that Saturday I headed back to Sth Beloit, and next day shot straight up I-94 to St Paul. Did not stay, just had a cuppa, and back to the FJ at Roberts for the night.
It was while waiting to be served that a lady came up to me, and asked if the van outside the front door was mine. She had seen the flag on the rear window, and introduced herself. Some 20 years ago she married a US citizen, who was then living in Australia. She invited me to her place for the night. It was a few miles away, and I followed her home. Set on 8 acres the modest house was preceded by two large flag poles - one with the US flag and one with the Australian flag. I met all the family, Dad, two older boys 19 and 16, twin girls 13 and two little ones, 6 and 18 months. Seemed that there was much she wanted to catch up on, though she has megular trips back to what she still considers home. It was quite late when we said goodnight. With that full house, I chose to sleep in the van.
Breakfast was early, as my hostess had a busy day ahead of her. I took my time meandering the scenic roads of rural Wisconsin - WI-64/US-63/WI-70 to Manistique, where there was reported to be a large Shell truck stop, with a great view. I could not find it, so stopped in at the BP to ask, only to be told it used to be Shell, but has been BP for more than three years. The internet had not yet caught up. Oh well!!?
Lifey
Heading to the Canadian Border.
Goodness, how time flies. It is now almost 10 weeks since I was able to continue on here. Somehow life's issues got in the way. Now that I have put those issues in the hands of a competent professional, I can once again devote myself to completing this trip report.
It was the 14th of June when I continued along the Great Lakes, which I think at times was called the Circle Route/Ohio Coastal Trail. Kept as close to the coast as I could all day, and gently made my way to Austinburg for the night. It is also the day on which I clocked over 100.000 miles in the van, since I purchased it.
My plan now was to go to the Canadian border where there were a few sites about which I had read, that I wanted to check out. It was US-20, I-90 and I-86 which saw me to the Pilot at Kanona NY. Did not do much sightseeing, and only stopped for lunch. It was a smooth trip on the highways. Next day I wandered over scenic routes and other minor highways, around the Finger Lakes, a nice scenic area which made me want to linger. After lunch it was off to the FJ at Pembroke for the night.
On Sunday I headed north to the coast of Lake Ontario, and followed NY-18 for a long way along the coast, stopping many times to enjoy the area, together with the summer weekend crowd. It took all day to do the short distance to the Pilot in Liverpool NY. New York Scenic Byway, US-20 (which I have driven several times before) took me into Albany, whence I headed to the Pilot in Castleton-on-Hudson. It was very interesting to see the mumerous German and Dutch names along the way, on buildings, bridges and streets. A measure of how the influence of the early settlers has been preserved.
From here-on I was well aware that Pilot/FJ truck stops would be few and far between, if any at all. Some research was now required to find suitable stops along the rest of my route north.
Lifey
Destination:- US-1 Northern terminus.
Quote:
( ...... or vice versa).
Yup, it is vice versa! :-)
My next destination was also by the Canadian border. I headed to Maine, and the northern terminus of US-1. On previous trips I have driven just about all of US-1 from Key West - the southern terminus - to North Carolina..... for no other reason than that I wanted to drive it. Driving these older roads opens one's eyes to so much never seen from the interstates.
First I crossed NH on some incredibly scenic roads through the White Mountains. [It was along one of these that I was pulled over by police, but to this day do not know why.] They never really told me. Once in ME US-2 took me to I-95 and onto my destination for the night - Dysart Restaurant and Truck Stop - not far from Bangor. A very pleasant place to stay for the night. I was now also very close to another attraction which had been on my list for years - the Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory. Years ago, I saw a documentary about the construction of this bridge. Some of the locals were very helpful in giving me explicit directions how to get there and avoid going through Bangor.
Once I got to Bucksport, virtually at the base of the bridge, I called into the information centre where some very helpful ladies made me most welcome and told me all about the local area, and the points of interest..... not the least of them the concrete sculptures trail mostly along US-1 in ME, each created by a different artist. Unfortunately the first three I found were not accessible, so I gave up on the rest.
The bridge itself is one of those scenic cable bridges. The views from the observatory are wonderful. Along each side of the tower there is a photo with the highlights one can see marked on them. They also have a very slow lift for those who are unable to climb stairs - one wheelchair or two people at a time. There is also a historic fort there to view, but the path to it was rough and thus not accessible.
Leaving the bridge, it was straight up US-1, a pleasant and in places quite scenic route to Fort Kent. I had planned to check into a motel, and as it was, the terminus of US-1 is virtually in the drive way of the Northern Door Inn. There is a board there stating how far to Key West via US-1. Seeing me on my scooter they booked me into the room next to the office which is fitted out with an accessible bathroom, and the closest room to breakfast, coffee, etc., for which I was most grateful.
It was a lovely and relaxing weekend at the motel, right next to the border crossing to Canada. In fact I could see the control post from the window. A few metres into the US was a tiny rest area with the complete route of US-1 engraved on marble(?), a few seats and flag poles.
Yeah! you could not visit here without knowing that you are at the Northern terminus of US-1.
Lifey
