My Fiftieth: Hawaii

More often than not, I wait until the first day of a trip is past and the journal for that day posted before making an entry here. Not this time. One reason is that most of the first day will be spent flying so there may be little or nothing worth reporting. Even if there are things to post, I may not have the time or energy to do it in a timely manner. The fact that all that flying involves six time zones won’t help. There are certainly enough potential problems with the first day’s journal post to justify doing the blog post a little early but I must admit that the timing just might be affected by my own excitement.

That the destination is Hawaii accounts for some of the excitement but hardly all. I have previously visited forty-nine of the United States as well as the District of Columbia which means that Hawaii will complete the set. That’s a pretty big deal to me and the fact that I’ll be celebrating my seventieth birthday while I’m there is kind of a big deal, too.

In addition to the special occasions it contains, this trip is different than most in the degree of planning involved. Flying is required which means that start and end dates had to be firmly nailed down in advance. Same thing with hotels and rental cars since a full hotel or a sold out rental fleet isn’t something I want to deal with on an island. So, although I’ll be able to exercise spontaneity at meal time, I pretty much already know where I’ll be and when I’ll be there. Tomorrow, March 23, I head off to spend six nights each on Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii (The Big Island).  

The journal for the trip is here. This entry is to let blog subscribers know of the trip and to provide a place for comments.

Road Crew Redo

It was just about a year ago that I set out for what was supposed to be a Nashville musical triple play. After a night in Louisville, I would head to “Music City” for a night at the Bluebird Cafe, a night at the Grand Ole Opry, and a night listening to road fan favorites The Road Crew. Major snowfall kept me from the Opry and totally wiped out the Road Crew performance. I did catch three talented musicians at the Bluebird. The story of that trip is here.

I’m trying again. When snow kept me from the Opry I was told I could apply the price of the ticket to another anytime during the next year. When I learned that the Crew would be performing this Saturday, I called the Opry and managed to beat the one year expiration date by a day. Not surprisingly, prices have gone up so that I had to cough up an additional six bucks but I’m set for the Opry on Friday and the Road Crew on Saturday. Two Thursday night shows at the Bluebird were sold out.

The journal for the trip is here. This entry is to let blog subscribers know of the trip and to provide a place for comments.

Finding It Here

The goodies at right are what Oven Master Mary calls “a few cookies”. They certainly added some color and sweetness to a gray first day of my 2016 Christmas Escape Run. That first day ended in Athens, Ohio, and is now posted. The next two nights will be spent in Burr Oak State Park near Ohio’s version of Rim of the World. 

The journal for the trip is here. This entry is to let blog subscribers know of the trip and to provide a place for comments.

Sixty-Six and More

dav5k2013ddfAlthough it won’t be particularly intense or precise, I’ve just begun what will be my fourth end-to-end run of Historic Route 66. Once I decided to attend the Los Angeles International Route 66 Festival at one end of the highway, the decision to start the drive at the other was an easy one. Along the way I’ll take part in the DAV 5K which is something I will also be doing for the fourth time although the first three were in Cincinnati and this one will be in Tulsa. I invite folks to “sponsor” me with a contribution here. The picture is of my friend Dave and me finishing the inaugural event in 2013. Before heading home, I’ll visit my son in San Diego and take in a concert.

The journal for the trip is here. This entry is to let blog subscribers know of the trip and to provide a place for comments.

Alaska

alaskamapWhen I posted a prelude to this trip (which I called Alaska) in the journal, I noted that I might come up with a clever name before I actually hit the road. Now you can see how that went. But, even without a clever name, I’ve completed and posted the journal for the first day of what promises to be the longest, in both time and distance, of any road trip I’ve taken. I’ve little doubt that, somewhere along the way, the route I follow will vary from the one in the map at right but what’s shown is what I intend and what I actually do should be close. The route shown is over 9,000 miles without side trips or missed turns. DeLorme estimates driving time for the shown route at about 200 hours. At the time of posting this I have no schedule but have been calling it a six week trip when asked. Two weeks to Alaska, two weeks there, and two weeks to home seems reasonable but I’ve made no commitments this side of Labor Day and only tentative ones beyond.

The journal for the trip is here. This entry is to let blog subscribers know of the trip and to provide a place for comments.

New Old Ohio

ov1890A couple of Ohio History Connection sites are reopening this weekend after pretty big makeovers. On Saturday I visited Ohio Village which moved from the 1860s to the 1890s since I last saw it. I’ll reach the Hayes Presidential Center, which reopens with new displays after a major renovation. Saturday’s journal has been posted.

The journal for the trip is here. This entry is to let blog subscribers know of the trip and to provide a place for comments.

JHA Conference 2016

jhac16I’m on the way to my second Jefferson Highway Association Conference. It’s in Carthage, Missouri, this year. The heart of the conference takes place on Friday and Saturday with some pre-conference welcoming activities planned for Thursday and an optional sociability run available Sunday. I will be attending the Celebration of the Life of Laurel Kane in Afton, Oklahoma, on Saturday so will miss the day’s bus tour but hope to take in some of the sights on my own. I’m getting there on US-60, coming back on US-62, and staying at Boots Court while in Carthage. Beyond that, plans are flimsy. The photo at right is of the spot south of Louisville, Kentucky, where US-60 split from US-31W (Dixie Highway) and started carrying me towards Carthage in earnest.

The journal for the trip is here. This entry is to let blog subscribers know of the trip and to provide a place for comments.

Rock ‘n’ Rail Redux

pic01cThe train was canceled on my first attempt to ride the rails to DC for a concert and on the second attempt it was hours late. This time it was just right and I’m in the nation’s capital ready to see Willie Nile and his band perform their new album. I’m just a little late for the cherry blossoms and the weather doesn’t look all that promising but I hope to get to look around the mall a little bit before show time.

The journal for the trip is here. This entry is to let blog subscribers know of the trip and to provide a place for comments.

Road Crew in the Fork

pgsPuckett’s Grocery & Restaurant is the target of this trip but there will be some stops along the way. Puckett’s is in Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee, which, for me, is a little beyond Nashville. I have Music City evenings planned for the Bluebird Cafe and the Grand Ol’ Opry at Ryman Theater before my evening with “America’s Route 66 Band”, The Road Crew, at Puckett’s. You know the saying, “When you come to a Road Crew in the Fork, take it.”

The journal for the trip is here. This entry is to let blog subscribers know of the trip and to provide a place for comments.

It’s a Wanderful Life

iawlIt has been three decades since the slogan “Wander Indiana” came and went but I’m going to do just a tiny bit of that over Christmas. The first day, with plenty of that Indiana rain, has been posted.

The journal for the trip is here. This entry is to let blog subscribers know of the trip and to provide a place for comments