West Coast to East Coast, July 2011

[DonnaR57]

Day 5 - Santa Rosa, NM to Sallisaw OK - 587 miles, 9 hours.

We departed from Santa Rosa this morning at 6:10 MDT, already fueled up, and heading east. Other than a rest area, our first stop was in Amarillo for Breakfast. The terrain we were crossing was high desert. We passed the Cadillac Ranch and saw that a group of motorcyclists were there. Our stomachs were growling, and we wanted to find breakfast instead.

A place that I found through some online reviews, all highly positive, was Calico County Cafe in Amarillo. The place was what I think of as "typical Texan" in decor, busy without being crowded, with locals (ours was the only out-of-state plate in the lot). Service was great. My husband ate the tall stack which was tall (those pancakes were thick and served with butter and HOT syrup). I had a Belgian waffle, which was served with already melted butter and hot syrup. We were served cinnamon rolls as well, but I admit that we were too full of breakfast to try them. The price was right. Definitely, this is on my "I would return here!" list.

Drive, drive, drive, stopping for a rest area and visitor information at the Oklahoma Tourist Bureau just inside the state. I have to get my hotel coupon books! The next stop was on the west side of Oklahoma City, at exit 140, for fuel. Word of warning: Oklahoma City is full of construction on I-40!

As far as other construction goes - there were a few places where there was a warning of a "cone zone", but it never existed. Yet others went to single-lane in both directions. None of these were on the OK DOT website! There was also quite a bit of traffic through the central part of Oklahoma. We finally lost most of it on the east side of OKC, when the vegetation changed from desert-like and ranches, to green trees and rolling hills!

We pulled into Sallisaw just after 4 pm CDT, which means we did almost 600 miles in 9 hours. That's not too shabby! We got a hotel through one of the coupon books. The Days Inn here is clean, but the room is TINY. It's comfortable, though. This is the first hotel we've stayed at in a couple of years that actually put 2 packets of decaf coffee in the room - - most of the time, we have to ask for decaf!

Dinner soon - will add more after.

UPDATE: From a couple of restaurant review websites and two personal recommendations on a cooking forum I've participated in, we asked our hotel about Shad's Catfish Hole. The hotel clerk said to definitely GO, it was the best place for the locals! It's about 7 miles down US 59, and then hidden behind a convenience store. It doesn't look like much on the outside, but the inside - all decorated in fishing and water decor. The food, though, is absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS! My husband, who loves good catfish, was in his element, because it was an "all you can eat" place. I had the chicken fillets (not a catfish person). The meal comes with beans, cole slaw, and hush puppies served family style, then you get your main dish served to you. The price for two was under $30 and we came away STUFFED. We wonder if we'll even have room for breakfast in the morning!

Thanks, Michael, we're in OK now. In about 20 miles or so eastbound tomorrow, we'll be in Arkansas. :-)



Donna

[Midwest Michael]

Warning to others: warn your bank that you are about to go on a vacation, so that they won't notice "unfamiliar activity" on your card and put a sudden HOLD on it! Ours was rectified through the phone call. Whew!

That is always a good reminder.

I had a similar problem last fall. A gift shop at Custer State Park's credit card machine was down, so they were scanning by hand the old fashioned way with the old carbon-copy imprint. Except, the clerk wrote down the wrong expiration date. When they processed it, it flagged as fraud and put a block on my card.

The problem is that it was on a holiday my credit union was closed! I eventually figured it out, only after I checked my email and found a notice from a 3rd party company that was handling the fraud alert to call them. I really never would have thought to check my email, and in fact, since I was on the road and camping, I wouldn't have even checked my email that day, if I hadn't stopped to try to figure out a way to get a hold of my credit union.

[Lifemagician]

Warning the credit card company is even more important for international visitors. I always notify Visa when I will be out of the country, and the estimated period of my absence, as well as the destinations. They are really on the ball these days. I have even had them contact me when I have made a significant (out of country) purchase online.

But I am not complaining. I am just happy they are watching it so closely.

Travelling with you Donna. Keep it coming.

Lifey

[DonnaR57]

Day 6 - Sallisaw OK to Cookeville, TN - almost 600 miles, in 9 hours 20 minutes

What a different day when it comes to weather. Up to this point, we've had either sunny and hot, or partly cloudy and hot. We had only that one squall of rain as we came into Phoenix on Saturday.....until today.

We were out of the hotel by 6 this morning and on the road a few minutes later. Within minutes we traversed into Arkansas. The terrain stayed about the same - mostly hills, trees, with a few farmer's fields - with overcast skies, not overly warm (GOOD!). That is ... until we were about 50 miles outside of West Memphis. The skies opened up and DUMPED water everywhere! We were literally driving behind somebody else's tail lights, hoping that he (and the people HE was following) would stay on the highway! That squall lasted probably 15 or 20 miles!

At Memphis, we crossed the Mississippi - - something I've done many times in my life before, especially since attending college on the river bluffs above that river. Today it seemed pretty special, though, mainly because we weren't crossing at St Louis or even Quincy, IL.

More rain squalls occurred in the western Tennessee area, including one just as we were leaving Nashville. When it wasn't raining, we were enjoying that beautiful tree-lined highway, with rolling hills. When you are so used to desert and not too much green, this just seems so different to us!

Traffic ... well, my husband commented that the Nashville-Memphis-Little Rock section of I-40 is among the busiest corridors for commercial truckers, with St Louis - Kansas City I-70 right behind it! We saw our share of traffic, and hubby also said that he has never gotten on-and-off the cruise control so much in one day. It almost wasn't worth going on cruise control at all!

Due to last night's incredible dinner, neither of us felt like eating this morning. So there are no breakfast stops to report. We ate a "cooler and snack bag" lunch at a rest area, and are planning to go out to dinner someplace here in Cookeville.

We are settled in America's Best Value Inn, which is a cheap and clean place to stay for the night at less than $40. There is a lovely, inviting pool .. but with the storm here (rain, lightning, thunder), not a good idea.

My cell phone has been run down to no battery power. Our oldest daughter announced to us yesterday that she is making us grandparents (first one) next February, and our youngest daughter just landed a full-time position that she wanted. So of course that means we've been on the highway talking to everybody in the family, including my brother (our host in NJ).

UPDATE: Dinner tonight was next door at Nick's Restaurant. It seems odd (to me) to have a nicer casual restaurant, not your typical family place, right next door to a very budget-minded motel. But there it was, and they were reputed to have "the best prime rib in town". Since we had basically not eaten much all day, it was time to splurge a little. The service was excellent, the food was also excellent, and the ambiance lovely. It was a huge place! One of the ladies at the table next to us kept having her phone go off, which was a bit annoying. I went ahead and had the prime rib, something I never make at home. Hubby had the seafood pasta, which he enjoyed a LOT! With the prime rib and other meat dishes, the salad is included. For the pasta dishes, though, salad costs extra. That seemed "odd" to me.

Tomorrow's goal: Staunton, VA. Though we have done walk-in's for every hotel to today, we have already secured reservations there. It's a Friday and the place is close to a National Park. Our plan is to drive Skyline Drive on Saturday morning, if the weather is decent. Otherwise we will slowly drive to NJ and maybe even stop in Hershey, PA...my brother wants us to arrive late on Saturday!


Donna

[DonnaR57]

I've just started a photo album under my member name, entitled "View from the Passenger Seat". This contains only those photos as taken from the road itself, when I'm riding (and not driving).

http://www.roadtripamerica.com/photo...3442&username=

Other photos will be added to this album as we go, and I may also start other albums, too.


Donna

[Utahtea]

Day 4 - Tempe, AZ to Santa Rosa, NM - 598 miles, 10 hours 6 min.

"Beep, beep!" went the alarm at 2:00 am. By 2:50 we were out the door, having said goodbye to my parents and packed the car.

By my calculations this was July 5...and if so...you got out of there in the nick of time! There was a dust storm they called a Haboob late that afternoon! Amazing pictures http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-major-...tory?track=rss

Utahtea....just getting caught up on your report...memo to self...subscribe to this thread! ;)

[Utahtea]

I've just started a photo album under my member name, entitled "View from the Passenger Seat". This contains only those photos as taken from the road itself, when I'm riding (and not driving).

http://www.roadtripamerica.com/photo...3442&username=

Other photos will be added to this album as we go, and I may also start other albums, too.


Donna

So we've seen a picture of Mr. DonnaR57, where is your picture? ;)

Utahtea

[Lifemagician]

Hey Donna, great photos. But buddy, could you get that hubby of yours to pull over long enough for you to get a good, face on shot of those roadside signs. I like to be able to read them.

Lifey

[Utahtea]

Our oldest daughter announced to us yesterday that she is making us grandparents (first one) next February

Congratulations! I love being a Grandma. They grow up so fast so enjoy!

Utahtea

[DonnaR57]

Stop for photos??? Not when we're on a Speed Run. Hubby has this thing about not stopping for anything except gas, food, lodging, and an occasional bathroom. Our girls like to say that Dad taught them how to have a superbly strong bladder! Today I got some that were a bit slower - we got stuck in a major traffic jam (more on that in a bit) so I had the camera hanging out the window quite a bit.

As for my photo - you may see one yet. Most of the time, I'm behind the camera. Hubby hasn't had me do any of the driving yet!


Donna