Month: September 2021

Friday, September 17, 2021

The drive from Williamsville, NY to Gainesville, VA should have been around seven hours. It was much longer. There was a lot of construction on the Pennsylvania Turnpike that slowed traffic to a crawl in several places and each time we encountered one of these zones traffic was backed up for miles. The frustrating part was that in only one of these zones was work actually being performed.

We’re going to be staying at Deborah’s brother’s house until a day or so before the wedding (the actual point of this entire trip).  Her mother and father have already been here for about a week.  We have a lot of catching up to do. For our first night in town we were treated to dinner from Manhattan Pizza.  Nephews David and Robert joined us.  It’s truly New York style pizza and, although it might not be mistaken for the real thing, was pretty good.

Saturday, September 18, 2021

For the most part we hung out around the house.  For dinner we had a home cooked dinner.  It was a festive occasion as the prospective Bride and Groom joined us for a Thanksgiving-like meal of roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing and the best Thanksgiving food ever: cranberry sauce from a can.😉

Sunday, September 19, 2021

Last night Deborah had shown Stephanie, the Bride, her outfit for the wedding.  It was not deemed colorful enough so today the five of us met Stephanie at an outlet mall to try to find something better.  Deborah’s usual pattern is to find something she likes in the very first store she goes into, spend the next few hours traipsing through every store in the mall only to return to the first store and buy the very first outfit she tried on.  Today was no exception.  After several hours pounding the pavement we were all too tired to try to find matching shoes.  We left that activity for another day.

We had dinner at a nearby restaurant called Blue Ridge Seafood.  It reminded me of one of those run-down shacks you see in Maine that usually have the best lobsters.  This place was equipped with long picnic tables covered in thick butcher paper.  I had a good feeling about this place. Deborah and I started off with a cup of New England style clam chowder.  It was very thick (maybe even too thick) and filled with large chunks of fresh clams and the usual vegetables.  It was very good.  For the main course Deborah ordered the twin crab cake dinner and I ordered the fried oysters.  It was our intention to share.  The crab cakes were darn good.  They were mostly fresh crab with a spicy seasoning.  The oysters were not up to the same standard.  They were a little watery and didn’t burst with flavor.  Could they have been frozen?

Monday, September 20, 2021

Deborah’s father, Richard, has always been interested in the family’s genealogy. COVID has provided him with a lot more time to pursue his hobby.  A large chunk of his father’s family came from Luray, VA.  His new discovery was a website called FindAGrave that pinpointed the whereabouts of many of his ancestors.  This morning we headed out to rural Virginia to try and find some of their markers.

Some of the cemeteries were rather old and small and had rather vague descriptions of their locations.  We scoured the web for additional information and found very little.  We tried using Google Earth to see if we could find them visually in the areas we suspected they were.  We didn’t have a lot of success.

We headed for Beahm’s Chapel Cemetery.  We knew that a number of his relatives had been interred there.  We hoped that, perhaps, it had been consolidated with some of the smaller cemeteries or at least we’d be able to find a local with more knowledge of the area.

Beahm’s, named after a local family, was a large, well kept cemetery with magnificent views of the surrounding mountains.  There was an office on the grounds but they were closed on Mondays.  We corralled one of the groundskeepers and asked him a few questions.  All he knew was that there were a lot of Judds buried there. We spread out and spent about 90 minutes scouring the cemetery.  There were many family plots spread throughout with the name Judd.  Richard recognized many of the names and suspected that most were distant relatives.  We photographed over 100 graves but never found the exact ancestors we were looking for.

A little disappointed we headed back into Town.  We needed more information and we needed a bathroom break.  Both were to be found in the Luray Visitor’s Center.  We were advised to try the local library; they had an extensive genealogy section and were just across the street.  They also made a recommendation on where to get lunch.  Our next stop: West Main Market and Delicatessen.  

Because of COVID we couldn’t enter the deli.  A woman came to the door, took our order and told us we could eat at one of the tables outside.  They had hot and cold sandwiches and salads.  We all ordered sandwiches.  Deborah and I shared an asiago chicken panini.  It was freshly made and quite delicious.

By now the group was getting tired and there was little enthusiasm for continuing the adventure.  Finally we decided to try the library.  The general sense was that we wouldn’t find anything and we could call it a day.  The librarian was very helpful and provided us with a stack of books containing information on the local cemeteries.  We each took a few books and starting scouring them for information.  The first book I tried was no help.  I picked up another and perused the index.  Something caught my eye and I turned to page 267.  There it was: the name of the person and the name of the cemetery we had been looking for.  There were even some vague directions on how to get there.  I took out my iPhone, went to Google maps and converted to satellite view.  Bill came over and helped me trace out a route.  We took pictures of all the relevant pages in the book and were on our way.

The problem was that the cemetery resided on personal property.  We pulled up the drive, looked around and didn’t see the cemetery.  Nobody wanted to trespass or even knock on the door and ask any questions – nobody but me that is.  I walked up the long drive, knocked on the door and asked the woman who answered about the cemetery.  She knew exactly where it was.  I asked her if she minded if the family looked about.  She was very gracious.

The cemetery wasn’t easy to find because it was in an area that was completely overgrown.  I pushed my way through the undergrowth and found the fence that surrounded the cemetery.  According to the books we’d read in the library the cemetery hadn’t been maintained in many years.  It was in pretty bad shape.  Some of the gravestones were laying on the ground and some had been worn so badly they couldn’t be read.  I photographed as much as I could and headed out.  No one else was brave enough (or foolhardy enough) to follow me in.  Afterwards I hoped that I hadn’t been tramping in poison ivy.  That would have been a disaster.  Donna said it looked like Virginia Climber Vines; I hope she was right.

Saturday, September 11, 2021

After a long and uneventful drive we arrived in Williamsville, NY, a nice little suburb just outside of Buffalo and home to our niece and nephew. We planned to stay for a week. Our agenda consisted mostly of playing with their three kids and eating – a lot.

My sister from Long Island come up for the trip so we had a full house. At least the ratio of adults to kids would be closer to 2:1. Being used as a jungle gym for a week was going to require frequent rest periods.

Within the first 24 hours we’d had takeout at Dinosaur Bar-B-Q (the best bar-b-q we’ve ever had), gone to Duff’s to get wings (some of the best we’ve ever eaten) and Paula’s to get larger than life donuts. They make a huge variety of donuts but some of their most popular include the peanut butter filled and cannoli filled. We got 60 wings and 18 donuts and although we didn’t eat them all the first day they were gone more quickly than you can imagine.

On Monday we did some roughhousing inside and then pretended to work up an appetite by running up and down the block while the kids rode their bikes. We had to prep for the evening’s meal at the Steaming Crab. Those boys just love their crab. The meal started off with a large piece of cheesy bread infused with crab flavoring. We ordered seconds. Then we ordered three huge boils that included shrimp, clams, mussels and, of course, crab. Along the way we ordered three more pounds of steamed mussels. Who can afford to feed three growing boys?

Tuesday morning found us eating a late breakfast at a restaurant called Break’n Eggs. Afterwards we had intended to go apple picking but along the way we re-routed to another farm to pick raspberries called Greg’s U-Pick. It turned out to be a charming place with a large store of freshly picked fruits and vegetables and a bunch of farm animals. Kids and adults alike had a great time feeding the goats, cows and pigs. Turkeys were running around wild and there were chickens everywhere. It was delightful. We eventually got around to picking some raspberries too. At the end we consolidated our haul into one, large container. Dinner was at a nearby place called the New York Beer Project. The menu was strictly pub food but it was very good. The noise level was so high that it drove us out as soon as we had completed our meals.

Wednesday, after two of the kids went to school, we found ourselves at an interesting little coffee house called Great Lakes Coffee Roasters. They had a large back room with games and TVs. We enjoyed a relaxing adult conversation and talked about plans for renovating the house. The coffee was delicious, too.

On Thursday we headed to Canalside, a lovely park along the Erie Canal. Much of the park was dedicated to war memorials. The park is also a museum with many war relics dating mostly from World War II. There was a battleship you could tour for a fee ($16.00 for adults), which included a tour of an old diesel submarine. Along the way we found some old war planes, a tank, a portion of a 16″ gun and other similar items. We had a great time walking along the shore stopping to see all of the sights.

That night we finally made it to Alethea’s Chocolates. It’s both an ice cream parlor and a candy store. We’d been there many times before and it never disappoints. The candy store has a large array of the usual suspects in both milk and dark chocolate and of course they sell the local speciality called Sponge Candy. I like it a lot.

We were off early the next morning for another long drive. Our destination: Gainesville, VA.

Friday, September 10, 2021

We had a quick breakfast at a neighborhood McDonald’s and walked our way up to the Lincoln Park Zoo. It was about two miles distant. The zoo, founded in 1868 with the donation of a pair of swans, is one of the few free zoos left in the United States. Today it has over 1,100 animals in its collection. On the day we were there the Great Ape house was temporarily closed for repairs and the big cat exhibit containing the lions and tigers was closed for construction. Still, we saw zebras, polar bears, chimpanzees, giraffes, sea lions and so much more.

After a couple of hours we left and walked another two miles to Wrigley Field. The stadium dates from 1914. The Cubs starting playing there in 1916. The team was purchased by chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. in 1921 and by 1927 had been renamed Wrigley Field. When I moved to Chicago the baseball season was just about over and I never got to go to this historic field. I was looking forward to seeing it. Being one of the oldest ball parks around we were not quite sure what to expect but we were pleasantly surprised to see an updated, modern looking stadium with all the expected amenities. The restrooms were especially clean.

We purchased a variety of food items and headed to our seats. We’d scored seats in the first section just behind first base. They were really good seats and at $134.72 including all fees, graft and corruption, thought we’d gotten a pretty good deal (oh, how times have changed). We’d gotten there early enough to see the teams warm up. It was a warm day and we were rather hot after our long walk but fortunately our seats were in a shaded area.

The ball game was fun for the first few innings or so. Chicago was leading by a score of 1-0. During the first seven innings the Cubs stayed with their starter and the Giants had used seven or eight pitchers. Eventually the Giants got hot, knocked out the Cubs starter and started pounding the ball. The final score was Giants 6 and Cubs 1.

After the game we wanted to visit a shop we knew of in Old Town. We tried calling an UBER but they wanted about $60.00. Finding no taxis around we opted for the subway. Walking towards the subway we spotted a taxi. $15.00 later we were in Old Town. Our destination was a shop called, “The Spice House” on North Wells Street.

I’d taken a number of people to The Spice House and it was universally loved. They have a vast collection of spices. There are several versions of each spice from different parts of the world and an explanation of how they differ in taste and texture. When we used to go there was an open bag or jar in front of each spice from which you could sample. Take too much? No problem. Just throw it on the floor. The place smelled wonderful. Because of COVID they no longer have open bags/jars of things lying around but the shop still smells great. We purchased a couple of hostess gifts and walked towards my old apartment. We intended to have dinner at a restaurant we’d eaten at many times before.

We entered the restaurant and started reading the menu. Not only weren’t our favorite dishes there any longer but it seemed like there was nothing of interest at all. We were very disappointed. We walked out without ordering. We checked out the menus at a few nearby restaurants until we settled on The Weber Grill Restaurant. We’d been there before and the food was very good. As the name implies they have about 20 grills in the kitchen and cook just about anything they can on them.

Deborah had a chicken Caesar salad and I had a patty melt. When we asked for the check our waiter returned with a free dessert: a chocolate brownie topped with vanilla bean ice cream. The brownie was warm, rich and gooey and the ice cream was creamy and delicious. It was the best thing we ate all day.

It had been a good day.

Wednesday, September 8, 2021

Another long drive. Our goal was to make it from Denver all the way to Kansas City, KS. Both of us were feeling a little tired and so we made multiple stops along the way. Deborah found a highly rated place in Hays, KS for lunch so we stopped at Professor’s Sandwich Shop. The place specializes in farm to table products and puts their local honey into as many menu items as possible.

Deborah had a bowl of tomato soup made with local, organic tomatoes. It was definitely home made and very tasty. I had a BLT on Texas toast. It was a simple sandwich but was packed with a ton of bacon. We both had their honey’ed lemonade with our meals. It was surprisingly good. Our meals came with two small cookies made with whole grains and local honey. The cookies were interesting but nothing special. The entire meal was very good but it came at a price. $24.99 for a simple lunch seemed rather high. At least they took credit cards.

One of the main reasons we pushed ourselves to get all the way to Kansas City was so we could have barbecue for dinner. In one day we had traveled through a good chunk of Colorado and through virtually all of Kansas. That’s a lot of straight, flat, boring driving so we were really looking forward to a great dinner. There are reputed to be many fabulous places for barbecue in KC but one name is near the top of every search: Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que. They now have three locations. We headed to the one that was closest to our hotel.

The first thing we noticed was that the drive-thru line extended quite a way. We thought that was a good sign. Inside the large dining room we studied the extensive large menu for a few minutes. We had intended to get a sampler plate so we could try a number of things but, surprisingly, they didn’t have anything like that so we ordered the ribs special (four ribs and two sides) and a two-meat dinner with one side. For our meats we got the pulled pork and the house specialty: burnt ends.

Overall the food was very good but wasn’t even close to the best barbecue we’d ever had. All of the meats were juicy and tender but they lacked that smokey flavor that you long for. The burnt ends, simply put, weren’t. Burnt ends are supposed to be the overdone edges of the pork were the sugar in the sauce is blackened and crunchy and delicious. These were chucks of pork with some of the skin on them. Nothing more. The pulled pork was exactly the same meat as the burnt ends except it was shredded.

We also had three sides. The potato salad was home made and good. The spicy cole slaw was hardly worth eating. Perhaps the best thing we had all evening was the dirty rice. It was white rice with onions and peppers with bits of pork mixed in. It was spicy and delicious. It’s worth mentioning the barbecue sauce. It was quite good. Initially it tasted a little sweet and almost fruity but there was a spicy kick to it. Total cost with two fountain sodas: $45.57.

• Mileage Today: 623.7
• Total Mileage: 1,445.9
• Total Miles Per Gallon: 36.0

Thursday, September 9, 2021

We left our hotel early because we had another long drive. Our hotel was offering a grab-and-go bag for breakfast but it just didn’t appeal. After our rather heavy dinner the night before we decided to just head out and eat something when we felt like it.

We drove for quite a ways and eventually stopped at a Pilot Truck Stop. Pilot / Flying-J stations have been a favorite of ours for many years. They always have great food and services. We look forward to clean bathrooms, good coffee, interesting food choices and soapy squeegees to clean the bugs off our windshield. This one was in Osceola, IA and it was a little disappointing. The store was small, a little grungey and they had very little in the way of food choices. Even the squeegees were old and worked poorly. We just got gas and left.

Around 11:00 am we got to Newton, IA and found a Culver’s. We discovered Culver’s on our last trip across the country. They are mainly in the midwest region but the first one we ate at was in Savanah, GA. Culver’s has a rather large menu for a fast food restaurant but we usually get the butter burgers or chicken fingers. Their food is above average but the real reason to go is for their custard. It’s fantastic. For about $3.50 you can get a rather large cup of vanilla or chocolate ice cream with various toppings or a variety of mix-ins. Highly recommended.

Along the way we made a stop at my ancestral home of Davenport, IA. Yes, I know how weird that sounds but when several of my relatives came from the old country in 1914 they made their way to Davenport and stayed for several years with some of their family who had immigrated previously. We couldn’t resist stopping in and imagining how different it was over 100 years ago when they were there.

Running low on gas and approaching Dixon, IL we couldn’t find any of our preferred truck stops so we tried one we’d never been to before: Road Ranger. They are not nearly as plentiful as the Pilot stations but you see them now and again. It was as nice as the Pilot stations we like and had even more interesting food choices. We’ll definitely add them to the list of approved places to stop.

We’d been going along at a decent clip all day. For the past seven hours or so we’d been maintaining a steady 80 MPH. On a long trip like this using cruise control becomes essential and our car has a pretty nifty one. You can choose an exact speed to set (it’s digital) and it will maintain that speed. What makes this one special is that it uses LIDAR. If any car gets too close it will automatically reduce speed and even apply the brakes if necessary. When proper spacing is again achieved it will automatically speed up to the pre-set speed. It does all this without the driver having to do anything. We’ve used it a lot and it’s 100% reliable.

When we were about 40 miles outside of Chicago our GPS was indicating that we had over an hour to go. Traffic! We had over an hour’s worth of big city stop and go traffic. It was especially tiring because we’d already been on the road for so long. My leg ached. Eventually we made it to our hotel and began thinking about dinner plans.

About ten years ago I lived in Chicago for about a year. I was in-between jobs and I was offered a position with one of Chicago’s biggest investment firms. The pay was great so how could I say, “No”. During that time Deborah was living / teaching in NH. Fortunately there was a school vacation of about a week just about every other month. Whenever this happened she would fly to Chicago and I would play tour guide. We’d see all the interesting sites and eat at all of the interesting restaurants. It was a little hard living apart but we made the best of it. Of course this time we’re only going to be in town for two days so we’re just going hit some of the highlights.

We decided dinner would be at Lou Malnati’s. Lou’s is the quintessential Chicago Deep Dish Pizza. If you’ve eaten at Pizzeria Uno I’m sorry for you. Lou’s is different and MUCH better. We used to go to the original / only location ten years ago but now there are a half dozen locations around town. We headed to the one on Michigan Ave. We had tried to call ahead for reservations but were told they don’t take them. When we arrived we were told our wait would be around 30 minutes and they’d text us when our table was ready. We walked up and down The Miracle Mile for a while and by the time we got back our table was ready. We got the Malnati Chicago Classic. The small is enough for two people. It has sausage and comes with a butter crust. It never disappoints. Having grown up On New York thin crust / Neopolitan style can you really call this pizza? The answer is a definite, “No” – but it is good food. Total cost: $21.62.

• Mileage Today: 532.0
• Total Mileage: 1,977.9
• Total Miles Per Gallon: 36.3

Monday, September 6, 2021

We started the morning by having breakfast in a place called Main Street Bagels. You may ask, “Why would you risk trying bagels in Grand Junction, CO?”. Well, this is supposed to be an adventure. Besides, the place was highly rated and we were quite curious.

When we walked into the door we were struck by the lack of smell. Bagel places always smell strongly of, well, bagels. We looked at the display case and they had the usual suspects and some creations that might be out of place in The Big Apple. They also had a variety of flavored creamed cheeses and even claimed to have lox. We weren’t that adventurous.

We settled for a sesame with plain creamed cheese and an everything with scallion creamed cheese topped with red onion. The bagels were quite good but didn’t quite have the right texture. They were lighter and fluffier than anything we’d eaten before. Two bagels, a small coffee and a medium hot chocolate set us back a little over $19.00. Maybe this was just like NYC!

The trip to Denver was supposed to take just under four hours. It was longer. It was a Monday on a holiday weekend and, even though we got an early start, there was a lot more traffic than we anticipated. Firstly, climbing through the Rockies slowed things down quite a bit and once we got to Arapaho Forests the road became thick with vacationers. Of course, there were the usual construction delays, too. It took more like five and a half hours and we were both quite tired from driving in traffic.

Itching to do something fun we drove directly to Larimar Square. It’s reputed to be a nice pedestrian shopping district that is closed to cars. We parked in a nearby lot and easily found the square. There wasn’t much to it. It was a short block with the usual stores. Many of the stores were closed for the holiday. Having been in Denver before I knew of another, similar pedestrian shopping district nearby so we headed that way. The 16th Street Mall was just a couple of blocks away and was much busier. In fact, it resembled a fairgrounds with open air food courts and food trucks lining the adjacent streets. We walked up and down the entire mall and enjoyed the sights and sounds. It too contained the usual set of national stores. I really miss the days when you could travel to another city, state or country and be immersed in things that were unique to the area. Those days are probably gone forever.

After settling into our hotel we found a local place for a late lunch. It was the Next Door American Eatery. The menu was small and eclectic but seemed rather fun. Deborah ordered a falafel sandwich and I had a grilled cheese with tomato soup. The falafel had the usual ingredients and a few you wouldn’t expect to find but it was freshly made and very tasty. The grilled cheese was made with Tillamook Cheddar and the soup was homemade. It was a good meal. As a matter of fact as soon as we started eating we felt a lot better. We had intended to try to eat only two meals a day but I don’t think that is going to work for us. We’re going to try to have a light lunch along the way. Cost: $28.20.

In the same shopping mall was a very highly rated ice cream place so we headed over there for dessert. It was actually just a takeout only booth that had tables and chairs in the courtyard. The sign said they had a special: Baked Alaska Pop. It was a chocolate ice cream bar, covered in dark chocolate with flamed meringue. I had to try that. Deborah got a small dish of their banana pudding ice cream.

The banana pudding had a strong banana flavor, had pieces of graham cracker mixed in and was smooth and creamy. The Baked Alaska was more like marshmallow than meringue but it was delicious. The two items cost us $10.79.

A weird note about Denver and COVID: very few people in the streets and stores downtown were wearing masks – including the shops that had signs that said wearing masks was mandatory – and this includes the people working in those shops. We found a sign at our hotel saying that wearing a mask was required but none of the staff were wearing them. We just don’t understand that kind of behavior. It’s a worldwide pandemic. People are getting sick and dying left and right. Wearing a mask doesn’t seem like a big deal to protect other members of society from a deadly disease. You’re required to wear a seat belt? Who are you hurting but yourself if you don’t? Where’s the outrage? But wearing a mask to protect other members of society is an infringement on your rights? Enough said.

• Mileage Today: 261.3
• Total Mileage: 790.3
• Total Miles Per Gallon: 36.0

Tuesday, September 7, 2021

We were surprised to learn that our hotel was still offering a buffet breakfast. Most hotels that I am aware of have stopped doing that because of COVID. We checked it out. The area was spotlessly clean, staff were watching and cleaning up after everyone and everyone seemed to be acting responsibly. We decided to have breakfast there.

Afterwards we headed to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. They have a free, eleven mile drive where you can see all sorts of wildlife.

It was a lovely, clear day and we started off on the drive, heads swiveling from side to side, looking for anything that moved. Before starting out I switched the camera from the standard lens to the long lens; I didn’t want to miss anything.

The landscape was mostly rolling prairie with scattered trees and a few, large water holes. We figured it shouldn’t be too hard to see what was out there. Initially we spotted a few deer and some ducks. About four miles in we saw a large, black lump up ahead along the road. As we approached a magnificent male Bison got to his feet and gave us the opportunity to shoot some nice photos. We were surprised that he was all by himself as there were supposed to be quite a few.

After the halfway point we spotted a huge field filled with prairie dog mounds. Dozens of the little critters were scampering all over the place. As we drove along we found more and more. They are such cute little things.

Up ahead we saw another car stopped by the side of the road. That usually indicates some sort of sighting. We looked and looked for a while and didn’t see anything until Deborah finally found a coyote laying among the ground cover. We watched for a while as he licked himself and occasionally looked at us giving us good opportunities for photos. Eventually he got up and slowly walked off.

Eventually we crossed a gate that told us we were in Bison territory. We had our eyes peeled. Bison are large creatures that usually travel in large packs. We expected they would be easy to spot. We didn’t see any. It was a little disappointing.

For lunch we went to a place called Four Friends Kitchen. It’s a restaurant that specializes in Southern style foods. Deborah ordered the chicken with waffles (who could have guessed that) and I ordered the chicken with grits. The chicken was deboned, fried white meat. The waffles were served with a syrup flavored with citrus that was surprisingly delicious and an amazing caramel/pepper butter. According to the menu their grits are imported from Georgia and are cooked overnight to insure they are very flavorful and creamy. Actually, they were nothing special at all. Overall the meal was first rate except for the house specialty. Go figure.

In the afternoon we went to the Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum. Admission was $19.95 per person. The museum is housed in a very large hanger that used to be part an air force base. There was a large number of displays ringing the hanger with emphasis on local airman, astronauts and national guard.

The middle of the hanger contained a large number of airplanes representing all wars from WW1 until the present. Two of the most interesting were planes that we had never seen before. One was the B-18 Bolo Bomber, one of only six that still exist and a B1-A Lancer, one of only four prototypes ever produced. Another interesting plane was a Schweitzer SGS 2-33A Glider. It was the same glider that Cadet Sully Sullenberger had flown when at the Air Force Academy.

By far our favorite was the 3/4 scale model of a Star Wars X-Wing fighter, complete with an animated R2D2. It was produced by agreement with Lucas Films and was signed by most major characters from the original Star Wars series.

• Mileage Today: 31.8
• Total Mileage: 822.1
• Total Miles Per Gallon: 35.5

Sunday, September 5

It’s been a long time since we’ve done anything worth blogging about but this week we set off for a new adventure. We’re driving across country (again) to attend our niece’s wedding in Virginia. We plan many stops along the way and will try to have some fun while staying safe.

Our original plan was to drive East along the Northern route and West along the Southern route with an extended stay in New Orleans. The hurricane changed all that. We still plan to drive East along the Northern route but we have no idea what route we’re going to take on the return trip. We cancelled all of our reservations along the Southern route. We’ve decided to put off any further decisions until after the wedding.

This morning we set out early. Deborah decided that our first stop should be Starbucks. She’s used to drinking several cups of coffee every morning and she desperately needed her fix.

We wended our way North from Las Vegas and stopped at Grind Coffee Shop in Cedar City, UT. Our intent was to make a quick stop, use the facilities and get some more coffee. As we walked in we were greeted by the wonderful smell of roasting coffee. I had a light breakfast and thought I might get one of their breakfast sandwiches but the place was mobbed and the wait for any food items was 35 minutes. Instead we opted for a couple of danish. We shared an almond danish and another filled with apple and berries. Both of the pastries were excellent and tasted as though they were made with lots of butter. We asked the barista if they were in house and she said, “No”. She had no idea where they got them. We also got two iced mochas. They were ok but, because of the flavoring, it was really hard to judge the quality of the coffee. Rookie mistake!

After fueling up we headed East on I-70. This was new territory for us. We went through some absolutely gorgeous country that reminded us of pictures we’d seen of Monument Valley. We drove through miles of interesting sandstone cliffs that were carved by many years of wind and rain. This area is actually the beginning of the huge area that ends in the Grand Canyon.

We stopped for lunch in the town of Green River, UT. We had chosen a well reviewed place called Ray’s Tavern, which specializes in burgers and bar food. When we got there we had second thoughts. The place looked rather rough and reminded us of places where biker gangs come to rumble. We decided to go in and if we didn’t like what we saw to choose another place.

Inside the place with busy with a typical lunch crowd. We ordered two cheeseburgers: one with fries and one with cole slaw. The half pound burgers were made from fresh beef and the fries were freshly cut with skin on. Both were excellent. We were glad we stayed.

Before departing Town we had one more stop to make. We had to see the world’s largest watermelon! Green River is a well known place where premium watermelons are grown. Just outside of the John Wesley Powell River History Museum there is a large watermelon made from wooden planks. Who wouldn’t drive out of their way to see that!

Our last stop for the day was in Grand Junction, CO. We’re just planning a quick overnight on our way to Denver.

• Mileage Today: 529.0
• Total Mileage: 529.0
• Total Miles Per Gallon: 35.0