We had a great time in Tennesssee, so it was sad to leave. But as always, the trip must go on. Denae also had to leave early in the morning. She was going to work, then up to Cincinnati for a friend's wedding.
We hit Interstate 75 and followed it through a wild, green and rainy Kentucky. The drops were big and fat, and we gave our windshield the run for our money. I must admit it was rereshing. After days in hot and humid heat, we were happy to welcome the cooling water.
The trip up to Columbus, Ohio went pretty smooth. We stayed at another Days Inn a few miles outside dowtown. Nothing much to do there, but we were hungry and wanted to dine out at one of the many nearby restaurants. We chose one called J. Alexanders. The exterior didn't promise much, and having already seen tons of cheap eateries around we figured we'd hit up a reasonable grill. Boy, were we wrong! We were met by a posse of sleak waiters dressed in suits. We should have turned around while we could. After we were seated, a waitress came over and presented herself, the entire menu, today's specials and appropriate wine combos. I was impressed by her ability to remember all that! I respectfully declined the specials, and instead scoured the menu for something under $25. I settled for a fish and chips-sorta-dish, Jamie a hamburger. Aren't we classy? We tried our best to savour the overpriced food, but the pain my creditcard felt haunted us the rest of the evening. So much for being on a budget.
After dinner, we took a stroll on the campus of the nearby Pontifical College Josephinum.
We retreated to our room a short while later, watched Dexter and geared up for next day's drive to Buffalo, New York!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Backlog!
Ahhh... man, what happened? I was sooooo determined to blog every day and update you on every little thing that we experienced. Don't worry, I will get back to it. I just got the pics uploaded, so I will start right now.
In the meantime, you all know we landed safely in Norway.
Some pics of our new land.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Days 14 - 15 - Sweet Tennessee!
I'm not going to lie, it was hard to say goodbye to my sweet Ally. We had such a good time in New Orleans, but it was time to move on. Jamie and I still had to finish our trip, and Ally had to get back to business (she was set to be an extra in a movie that was being filmed in New Orleans, before heading back to Belfast where she is finishing up her PhD in linguistics).
Next stop: Birmingham, Alabama. You might wonder why on earth we'd want to stay at such a (seemingly) random place, but it's just the perfect stop between New Orleans and Knoxville, Tennessee, where we were headed next. We didn't want to drive too far during such high temperatures.
Birmingham was fine. We didn't have to energy to do much, but there was a fine BBQ place across the street. The waitress, who was sweet with a very distinguish Southern accent, told me I looked like Katy Perry. Compliment or fishing for extra tips? But yeah, I tipped her :)
The next day we arrived sweaty and stinky in Knoxville. We were very excited to see our friend Denae D'Arcy again. Denae and I worked together at KVAL in Eugene; I was the producer, she was the anchor. She's one of those extraordinary talented people that will succeed in pretty much anything. Denae is a savvy journalist, reporter, blogger and businesswoman. She's also gorgeous, funny and the perfect hostess. The guestroom was better than any hotel I've ever stayed at, and we even got gifts!!
In the evening, Denae took us for a tour around town. We got too see her new workplace, WATE 6. The station is inside a castle, I kid you not. What baffled me a little, is that they still use beta tapes and linear editing! But it was a fun experience, and it looked like a great place to work.
We had dinner at a fantastic pizza place called Tomatohead. The pizza was a fabulous blend of andouille sausage, spinach, mushrooms and black beans. What a feast!
We also got to see the home of James White, a Revolutionary War officer who built a fort around the city in 1786.
Knoxville has a lot to offer, from eccentric thrift stores, music stores, fashion boutiques to fine dining. It has a little bit of everything, rich history, old buildings, fascination people and good food! I fell in love with the MAST General Store, which has pretty much anything retro or country.
We loved staying with Denae and her cat, Violet. Fingers crossed that her hubby Kingsley will arrive shortly. He's currently staying in London while the couple work out some visa matters. I'm impressed to see how much work Deane had put in to the property already. The house was flawless, and we enjoyed fresh herbs and vegetables from her garden for dinner. How does fried green tomatoes sound? Let me tell you, it's freaking delicious! We feasted on roasted chicken with fried tomatoes and okra. Heavenly!
Next stop: Birmingham, Alabama. You might wonder why on earth we'd want to stay at such a (seemingly) random place, but it's just the perfect stop between New Orleans and Knoxville, Tennessee, where we were headed next. We didn't want to drive too far during such high temperatures.
Birmingham was fine. We didn't have to energy to do much, but there was a fine BBQ place across the street. The waitress, who was sweet with a very distinguish Southern accent, told me I looked like Katy Perry. Compliment or fishing for extra tips? But yeah, I tipped her :)
The next day we arrived sweaty and stinky in Knoxville. We were very excited to see our friend Denae D'Arcy again. Denae and I worked together at KVAL in Eugene; I was the producer, she was the anchor. She's one of those extraordinary talented people that will succeed in pretty much anything. Denae is a savvy journalist, reporter, blogger and businesswoman. She's also gorgeous, funny and the perfect hostess. The guestroom was better than any hotel I've ever stayed at, and we even got gifts!!
In the evening, Denae took us for a tour around town. We got too see her new workplace, WATE 6. The station is inside a castle, I kid you not. What baffled me a little, is that they still use beta tapes and linear editing! But it was a fun experience, and it looked like a great place to work.
We had dinner at a fantastic pizza place called Tomatohead. The pizza was a fabulous blend of andouille sausage, spinach, mushrooms and black beans. What a feast!
We also got to see the home of James White, a Revolutionary War officer who built a fort around the city in 1786.
Knoxville has a lot to offer, from eccentric thrift stores, music stores, fashion boutiques to fine dining. It has a little bit of everything, rich history, old buildings, fascination people and good food! I fell in love with the MAST General Store, which has pretty much anything retro or country.
We loved staying with Denae and her cat, Violet. Fingers crossed that her hubby Kingsley will arrive shortly. He's currently staying in London while the couple work out some visa matters. I'm impressed to see how much work Deane had put in to the property already. The house was flawless, and we enjoyed fresh herbs and vegetables from her garden for dinner. How does fried green tomatoes sound? Let me tell you, it's freaking delicious! We feasted on roasted chicken with fried tomatoes and okra. Heavenly!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Days 11-13 - Oh, New Orleans!
After a rather unfortunate encounter with the idiots of the Livonia Police Department (which delayed our arrival in the Big Easy, grr!) we entered New Orleans just as the temperatures were soaring in the upper 90s.
But all woes and misery were soon forgotten when we were greeted by my friend Ally at her family's house on Jefferson. I was thrilled to see her again! Ally became one of my best friends after we met during my studies at the University of Oregon. She was actually one of my GTFs, as well as my bed-fellow, however in a strictly platonic sense! :)
The family house was once owned by Ally's great great grandfather, J.M. Burguieres. It's a stunning mansion located in Uptown, just a short walk from coffee shops, boutiques and vintage stores on Magazine Street, and the streetcar that takes you from St. Charles Ave to downtown.
Ally, the perfect hostess, took us on several sight seeings around town. I don't think Jamie and I have walked so many miles ever... he he. We toured the campuses of nearby Tulane and Loyola Universities, Audubon Park, drank and ate our way down Bourbon Street, browsed through various voodoo shops, visited the French Market, cooled down with iced coffees and popsicles, and engaged in some questionable activities. Key words: home made ouiji board and hunting for the angry frog who resided in the pool.
New Orleans is an energetic and vibrant metropolis. The city was founded in 1718 by the French Mississippi Company, and named after Phillid d'Orleans, who was regent of France at the time. The French lost control over the territory to the Spanish under the Treaty of Paris, but regained it in 1801. Most of the architecture in the French Quarter was build under Spanish control. After the Haitian Revolution in 1804, the city saw a surge in immigrants from Haiti and Cuba. All the new settlers doubled the French-speaking population, as they learned French as their first language in the region. To this day, there's a rich diversity among the peoples of New Orleans, which is what makes the city so unique and alive. Everywhere you go, you see people of different colors, hear different languages, music and rhythms - it's amazing, and certainly better than plain white Oregon! Louisiana is also famous for it's Creole and Cajun cuisine. Trust me, sometimes all you need is a big bowl of gumbo. It's simply delicious!
The Big (not so) Easy!
Finally! This is what I've been looking forward to for a very long time...New Orleans! After hauling all our stuff out from our muggy hotel room in Shreveport, we loaded up trusty old Buddy and hit Interstate 49.
Louisiana is, to put it bluntly, just stunning. I love the humid subtropical climate, the wetlands, the swamps and moss-covered trees. The state has a mixed variety of multicultural and multilingual heritages, thanks to French, Spanish and African ties. Still, Louisiana has blood on its hands, and unfortunately racism is still prevalent in the South.
There's a baptist church on every corner, I kid you not. I found it almost scary to drive through small rural towns that had perhaps one grocery store, a couple of feed store and a gas station among scattered sheds and buildings that were falling apart. But the churches, it seems, are practically recession proof. Heck, you don't need to fix the roads or build more schools - as long as there are churches where the white folks go..that's all you need.
Keep in mind that we drove on a Sunday. Since all the good folks were hanging out in the presence of their god, we had the roads pretty much to ourselves. But when we turned onto Highway 190, things turned ugly.
Picture this. Officer Dick Weed from the Livonia Police Department is eager to earn his shield. He was picked on at the police academy, never had a girlfriend, and still lives at home with his momma. His face - nicely decorated with cold sores - is a great reminder that God does have a sense of humor. So you can only imagine his joy when he spots a van with tinted windows and Oregon plates. Surely these outta-town folks who are out driving on a Sunday must be up to no good. My, they're probably smuggling meth all the way from Ore-gahn. So Dick Weed decides to follow this evil vehicle in hopes of finding a good reason to pull it over.
Meantime, Annie is driving while keeping an alert eye on the speedometer. She's already spotted the police vehicle that's following her. Nice and easy. Ops, there we go. We're getting pulled over.
Officer Dick Weed can barely contain himself. He's so eager to get inside the van and put his sticky fingers all over the bags of drugs, that he forgets to present himself, and doesn't tell the driver the reason for being pulled over. He mumbles something about driver's license and proof of insurance. He sees the young lady driving. She's not even American! How on earth! Surely these folks must be evil. He then sees the young man in the passenger's seat. Black hair, tattoos, piercings! Is this satan's spawn? He must be!
Jamie gets asked to step out of the vehicle, and is basically harassed. Dick Weed asks him if he has any warrants out for his arrest. Seriously? I though *I* was being pulled over for speeding? It's obvious we're being profiled for A) our car, and B) our looks.
To make a long story short(er)...Dick Weed proceeds to bring out his K9 to sniff out drugs. He claims the dog marks on the driver's side (which would be where I sat) and calls out a colleague. He again asks Jamie if he smokes or uses drugs.
This is ridiculous. I ask Herpes Face how his dog marks (I know how police dogs work, and I kept an eye with the dog the entire time).
"He sits."
"I didn't see him sit. He kept walking around the car."
"Umm.. he made a weak remark."
"Well, he either sits, or doesn't sit, right?"
I shake my head, and just have to laugh. If the dog sniffed out drugs on the driver's side, Herpes Face should have questioned me, shouldn't he? I guess I don't fit the perceived profile of what a pot smoker looks like.
Herpes Face spends a long time going through our stuff. He just HAS to find something, these people cannot possible just be on a road trip! They're from Oregon, and the guy is tall and has tattoos!
Here's a newsflash, Livonia Police Department. I suggest you remind your little boy scouts what police work is. It's definitely not wasting your precious tax dollars on pure harassing. Tell Herpes Face he needs to either go back to Sunday school, or resort to a career as a test bunny for herpes cream. He's a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Louisiana is, to put it bluntly, just stunning. I love the humid subtropical climate, the wetlands, the swamps and moss-covered trees. The state has a mixed variety of multicultural and multilingual heritages, thanks to French, Spanish and African ties. Still, Louisiana has blood on its hands, and unfortunately racism is still prevalent in the South.
There's a baptist church on every corner, I kid you not. I found it almost scary to drive through small rural towns that had perhaps one grocery store, a couple of feed store and a gas station among scattered sheds and buildings that were falling apart. But the churches, it seems, are practically recession proof. Heck, you don't need to fix the roads or build more schools - as long as there are churches where the white folks go..that's all you need.
Keep in mind that we drove on a Sunday. Since all the good folks were hanging out in the presence of their god, we had the roads pretty much to ourselves. But when we turned onto Highway 190, things turned ugly.
Picture this. Officer Dick Weed from the Livonia Police Department is eager to earn his shield. He was picked on at the police academy, never had a girlfriend, and still lives at home with his momma. His face - nicely decorated with cold sores - is a great reminder that God does have a sense of humor. So you can only imagine his joy when he spots a van with tinted windows and Oregon plates. Surely these outta-town folks who are out driving on a Sunday must be up to no good. My, they're probably smuggling meth all the way from Ore-gahn. So Dick Weed decides to follow this evil vehicle in hopes of finding a good reason to pull it over.
Meantime, Annie is driving while keeping an alert eye on the speedometer. She's already spotted the police vehicle that's following her. Nice and easy. Ops, there we go. We're getting pulled over.
Officer Dick Weed can barely contain himself. He's so eager to get inside the van and put his sticky fingers all over the bags of drugs, that he forgets to present himself, and doesn't tell the driver the reason for being pulled over. He mumbles something about driver's license and proof of insurance. He sees the young lady driving. She's not even American! How on earth! Surely these folks must be evil. He then sees the young man in the passenger's seat. Black hair, tattoos, piercings! Is this satan's spawn? He must be!
Jamie gets asked to step out of the vehicle, and is basically harassed. Dick Weed asks him if he has any warrants out for his arrest. Seriously? I though *I* was being pulled over for speeding? It's obvious we're being profiled for A) our car, and B) our looks.
To make a long story short(er)...Dick Weed proceeds to bring out his K9 to sniff out drugs. He claims the dog marks on the driver's side (which would be where I sat) and calls out a colleague. He again asks Jamie if he smokes or uses drugs.
This is ridiculous. I ask Herpes Face how his dog marks (I know how police dogs work, and I kept an eye with the dog the entire time).
"He sits."
"I didn't see him sit. He kept walking around the car."
"Umm.. he made a weak remark."
"Well, he either sits, or doesn't sit, right?"
I shake my head, and just have to laugh. If the dog sniffed out drugs on the driver's side, Herpes Face should have questioned me, shouldn't he? I guess I don't fit the perceived profile of what a pot smoker looks like.
Herpes Face spends a long time going through our stuff. He just HAS to find something, these people cannot possible just be on a road trip! They're from Oregon, and the guy is tall and has tattoos!
Here's a newsflash, Livonia Police Department. I suggest you remind your little boy scouts what police work is. It's definitely not wasting your precious tax dollars on pure harassing. Tell Herpes Face he needs to either go back to Sunday school, or resort to a career as a test bunny for herpes cream. He's a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Next: Finally NEW ORLEANS!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Day 10 - In the deep south
Jamie enjoying shrimp Po-Boy at Monkhouse Seafood Diner.
There's a baptist church on every corner in the south.
It's been a while since my last posts - time sure flies when traveling! So I will try to recount what happens as good as I can, and while my memory is more or less intact.
We were happy to get away from Clinton - that place was creepy. Continuing to follow I-40, we drove through no less than 4 states in one day! Briefly, that is. After passing Idabel in the south-east part of Oklahoma, we entered Texas again. Ah, how we missed the smell of fresh manure. After approx. 35 miles, we drove into the town of Texarkana at, you guess it, just after entering Arkansas. A few miles later... we're in sweet Louisiana!
Our first stop there was Shreveport. It's the third-largest city in Louisiana. According to Wikipedia Shreveport is "the commercial and cultural center of the Ark-La-Tex, the area where Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas meet. Many people in the community refer to the two cities of Shreveport and Bossier City as Shreveport-Bossier".
The part of the Mississippi river that runs through the city is often referred to as The Red River. The riverfront area here was absolutely stunning, with gorgeous private estates, lots of piers, and public places.
After checking into our motel for the night, we ate dinner at the Monkhouse Seafood Diner. This was my first encounter with real southern food, so there's no need to elaborate my lack of knowledge of the cuisine lingo. "What's a Po Boy?" You get it. Nevertheless, I indulged in an enormous fried crawfish Po Boy with fries. Yumm! Jamie tried the shrimp version. Our first Louisiana meal definitely lived up to our expectations.
Full and happy, we retreated to our cool hotel room, watched a few episodes of Dexter and passed out.
Next: The Big Easy!
Friday, July 30, 2010
Off the main road
There are so many things about America that I love and adore. I love the diversity, the double standards, the greasy food, and the fact that sometimes you just don't know what's around the bend.
I'm really fascinated by small town America. It's as if time stands still in some of those places.
We've seen a lot of odd spots on our trip. One of my favorite... the little town of Alanreed, Texas. It has a motel/gas station/post office/convenience store. The sign in the window proudly proclaims that the town's population consists of: 52 people, 104 dogs, 88 cats, 2 skunks and a few snakes.
When he read that, Jamie got in a hurry and wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. He said he didn't want us to get stuck there. (But if we did, we'd have one helluva adventure!)
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