Eggy Space

Road Trip Summary

2009-06-04T14:23:00.000-07:00

Overview Map - The Dark Blue States Were Visited

My 2009 Cross-Country Road Trip included 25 states and took 28 days. Here are some of the notable places and statistics.

Trip Highlight	Visited 21 states for the first time (Added to my refrigerator magnet collection)
Low-Light #1	Food Poisoning
Low-Light #2	Bad Weather in Florida (Disney cut short)
Most Scenic Drive	CO-82 Mountains near Aspen, Colorado
Distance Driven	6787.3 Miles
Gas Cost	$645.61
Longest Day's Drive	652 Miles. Amarillo, Texas to Forest City, Arkansas
Shortest Day's Drive	95 Miles. Grayson, Kentucky to Lexington, Kentucky (got ill)
Free Hotel Rooms	6 Nights at Harrah's properties, Thanks to the Total Rewards Program!
Least Expensive Hotel	Rodeway Inn, Lake City, Florida. $43.55 (including tax)
Most Expensive Hotel	Ramada Limited, Green River, Utah $84.71 (including tax)
Total Hotel Cost	$1182.47 (22 nights, plus 6 free)
Average Hotel Cost	$53.75 per night ($42.23 if including free room nights in the denominator)
Highest Elevation	12,095 feet. Independence Pass, Colorado
Best Free Souvenir #1	I Survived Highway 50 Certificate (The Loneliest Road in America)
Best Free Souvenir #2	Free Disney Buttons
Free Tour #1	Tabasco Factory (okay, it costs $1 toll to cross the 'bridge')
Free Tour #2	NPS Mississippi Riverfront Walking Tour (from the French Quarter)
Biggest Regret	Not making a U-Turn to go the Woody Creek Tavern
Best Cultural Art	Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, Texas
Most Interesting City	New Orleans
Best College Town	Lawrence, Kansas
Best Meal	Lunch at Commander's Palace, New Orleans
Least Time in a State	Ohio: About 17 minutes in Chesapeake
Favorite Road Snacks	Banana Chips and Punjabi Mix (Tasty, but a bit prone to spilling)
Best Investment	Garmin Nuvi 260W GPS Unit (I am now a GPS believer!)
Most Played CD	Chronicle by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Preparation Mistake #1	Not checking the CD's in my changer before leaving home
Preparation Mistake #2	Not bringing Chinese Medicine (for Food Poisoning)
Most Amazing	The History of Mike the Headless Chicken
Most States in a Day	5 States in a Day: NC, VA, WV, OH, KY
Best $1 Spent	Tour of Genoa (Colorado) Wonder Tower

See all of the Road Trip postings (with a minimum of page breaks). Or, for postings by state, click on an underlined state in the table below:

Alabama	Alaska	Arizona	Arkansas	California
Colorado	Connecticut	Delaware	Dist. Of Columbia	Florida
Georgia	Guam	Hawaii	Idaho	Illinois
Indiana	Iowa	Kansas	Kentucky	Louisiana
Maine	Maryland	Massachusetts	Michigan	Minnesota
Mississippi	Missouri	Montana	Nebraska	Nevada
New Hampshire	New Jersey	New Mexico	New York	North Carolina
North Dakota	Ohio	Oklahoma	Oregon	Pennsylvania
Puerto Rico	Rhode Island	South Carolina	South Dakota	Tennessee
Texas	Utah	Vermont	Virgin Islands	Virginia
Washington	West Virginia	Wisconsin	Wyoming

It was a good trip, but it would have been better if:

I had more time,
I did not get food poisoning,
I had better luck with the weather (particularly in Florida).

Road Trip Day 28 - Home! Sweet Home!

2009-06-01T09:58:00.000-07:00

I woke up about 8am feeling like maybe I had one Strawberry Daiquiri too many, but hey, they were free! I slowly got ready to leave. I checked out, took my things to the car.

Then at the 11am opening time, I made one last trip to the Lucky Noodle Bar. This time, I got an order of Beef Stew Noodle (五香牛腩湯河粉) to eat there, and an order of Beef Chow Fun (干炒牛河) as take-away. They charge $1 per dish for take-away orders, but they package them very well and they don't leak.

I leave Harrah's Reno about noon. I had a great time, ate well, and won money! It only takes about 20 minutes to hit the Nevada-California border.

I decided to stop and visit some friends at a small town in Nevada County , California, before heading home.

This concludes my Road Trip. I stuck fairly close to my initial planned route and schedule. I had some good times, and some not so good times. I will need to give it some thought, and write up what I might have learned from the experience.

Road Trip Day 27 - Harrah's Reno, Buffet and Noodles

2009-05-31T19:56:00.000-07:00

Warning: I got carried away in this posting talking about the food at Harrah's, Reno. If you don't care about food, you might want to skip over this post.

Last night, I ate my Chinese Beef Stew Rice Noodle Soup (五香牛腩湯河粉) at the Joy Luck Noodle Bar at Harrah's Reno. It is a simple dish, but I really like it. The Noodle Bar has other interesting things like Pad Thai (泰式雞蝦炒粉), Beef Chow Fun with Black Bean Sauce (豉椒炒牛河), Lemon Grass Marinated Pork Chops (香茅豬扒燴米粉), Stir Fried Curry Rice Vermicelli with Shrimp & BBQ Pork (星洲炒米粉), and Wor Won Ton Egg Noodle Soup (鍋雲吞湯麵). Then I played the slot machines until a little past midnight and did quite well (I have put some money 'in my pocket' and am certain to go home a net winner).

This morning, after a relaxing shower in my large clean bathroom, I went downstairs to brunch. On Saturday and Sunday, Harrahs Reno's Carvings Buffet has a Champagne Brunch from 8am to 2pm. While it might not be quite as fancy as some of the much more expensive Champagne Brunches in Las Vegas, it is very good and is only $12.99. I paid with Total Rewards points so it was free. The buffet has a:

Italian Station - Brick oven pizza, grilled vegetables, pastas
Salad Bar - Build your own (or they will build special ones for you), peel and eat shrimp, mussels, Jack Daniel's Chili, and soup
Carving Station - Prime Rib, Turkey, Ham, Keilbasa
Mexican Station - Fish, thin New York Steaks with Chipotle Butter, Enchiladas, Rice, Beans, warm Tortillas, Guacamole, and Salsas
Asian Station - Pan Fried Noodles, Pot Stickers, BBQ Pork, and Noodles-To-Order (Beef Stew Rice Noodle Soup again, for me!)
The American Station - Eggs Benedict, Mashed Potatoes, Bacon, Sausage, Scrambled Eggs, Hash Browns, Chicken Fried Steak, Baked Beans, Chicken, Gravy, Corn
Dessert Corner - Pie, Cake, soft Ice Cream, Fresh Fruit Crêpes, Cookies, Cheesecake (they virtually always have it in some form, ask if you don't see it)

I am not a big champagne drinker, but I had a couple of weak Mimosas (to which I added Grenadine Syrup that I carry in a small bottle for just such occasions).

I ran into my 'Casino Friend', Sally, who likes playing the same bank of slot machines that I do. It was really a coincidence that she was here at the same time, because we both only go to Reno, NV about 3 or 4 times a year. Sorry, I can't tell what our favorite games are!

I ate at the Joy Luck Noodle Bar again about 7:30pm, this time having Seafood Fried Fun Hor (干炒河) just to be flexible. The Noodle Bar is fast, cheap, and they are very accommodating about adjusting ingredients to your personal taste.

I gambled until about 2am, and had a good time.

Road Trip Day 26 - Nevada - US Highway 50 - The Loneliest Road in America

2009-05-30T00:56:00.000-07:00

I had breakfast in Ely's Hotel Nevada and Gambling Hall 24 hour restaurant. The food (at breakfast and dinner last night) was good , reasonably priced, and service was very friendly and attentive.

Two unique things worth mentioning about Ely, Nevada:

There is an operating steam train and railway museum - The Nevada Northern Railway Museum (these are a real hit with train buffs and kids),
There are numerous interesting murals around town.

I had seen posters for "Highway 50 Survival Guides" in some of the local businesses. I picked up one of the passport sized Survival Guides near the hotel registration desk.

The Survival Guides are part of a "Loneliest Road in America" promotion. The Loneliest Road moniker was coined by Life Magazine in a (not completely complimentary) article written about Highway 50 and rural Nevada in July 1986. The State of Nevada subsequently adopted "The Loneliest Road in America" as an official designation for part of US-50.

The Highway 50 Survival Kit promotion involves taking your passport for validation at any of various locations in five different towns along "The Loneliest Road":

If you get all five validation stamps, you can send in a postage-paid card and receive a "I Survived Hwy 50" certificate and a commemorative souvenir.

You can pick up your Survival Guide at certain locations on the Loneliest Road:

At the east end at the Hotel Nevada and Gambling Hall, Convention Center, Chamber of Commerce, and other places.
At the west end at the Fernley Chamber of Commerce (if it is open), and sometimes at the Wigwam Restaurant and Museum where the original Moe is Back.
If you are planning a trip in advance, it would probably be safest to request a Survival Guide online.
If you going spur of the moment, you can download a PDF of the Survival Guide (without Validation page, but you could probably have any piece of paper stamped and send it in for your certificate).

I had traveled the Loneliest Road before, but getting the passport stamped added a fun scavenger hunt dynamic to the trip. It also made me have more contact with local people and places. The Survival Guide has useful and interesting information about each town and is like a mini tour book.

Depending on their interests people will have different favorite sights along the Loneliest Road. I think that almost everybody will find Sand Mountain impressive and the old Shoe Tree very interesting (you might regret if you don't bring a pair of shoes to contribute). I like this Shoe Tree, 48 miles east of Fallon even more than the Shoe Tree near Milltown, Indiana.

Trip Advice for Northern Californians: It is about 280 miles from Fernley, NV to Ely, NV. A good 3 night trip from the San Francisco Bay Area is to spend a night in Lake Tahoe or Reno, then go to Ely (and spend the night at The Hotel Nevada), then return spending the night in either Reno or Tahoe.

By the time that I reach Reno, I am within 4 hours of home, but I am going to spend two nights at Harrah's because I am craving my favorite noodles at the relatively new Joy Luck Noodle Bar (which replaced the Lucky Noodle Bar and is even better). I am also looking forward to sleeping in a spotless room with comfortable bed and lots of pillows (and I will gamble a bit, too).

It is Saturday night and they only had standard rooms available when I called my Casino Host two days ago. However, this room is definitely the Ritz compared to some places I have stayed in the past month!

Road Trip Day 25 - Desert Solitude, sort of

2009-05-29T00:51:00.000-07:00

The breakfast at the Ramada Limited in Green River, Utah was lousy. I arrived for breakfast at 8:25am and there were 3 waffles, some bread, no fruit, no yogurt, 3 cold eggs without shells sitting uncovered, some rock hard bulk donuts, and cheap flimsy paper plates. Wow, my most expensive room in 3 weeks and such a lousy breakfast! I do have to admit, the hotel did have good pillows.

I left Green River about 10am heading west on I-70. Stopped several places to enjoy the beautiful view and geological features of San Rafael Swell.

After a couple of hours, I reached Salina, Utah, and found its best known attraction, an old statue of Ute Chief Blackhawk which is sometimes misidentified as Milkshake Man. Other than the statue, Salina is known for a 1945 massacre of German POWs.

I am heading to Ely, Nevada, and my GPS unit seems like it wants to route me west on Utah SR-161 (to Utah SR-257 to US-50). Fortunately, an employee at a Chevron Station in Cove Fort, Utah convinces me not to go that way since "It is a dirt road, and not good at all". I subsequently confirmed this with satellite images. Unfortunately, I was unaware of the fort in Cove Fort, which offers daily free tours.

I headed north on I-15. It is interesting to see speed limit 80 MPH signs. It was raining and there was road work going on, so the actual 80 mile an hour drive was rather short lived.

I left I-15 heading west on a boring Utah portion of US-50 for about 2 hours until I hit the Nevada border.

It takes about an hour to reach Ely, Nevada from the Utah-Nevada border on US-50 (which becomes less flat and more interesting). I drove by the Bristlecone Motel (which was the #1 rated motel in Ely according to Tripadvisor.com) but there was No Vacancy. Actually, I should mention that I found Tripadvisor.com very useful during my road trip for its ordinal ranking of hotels (and motels) within a city. The number two rated hotel in Ely, The Hotel Nevada (and Gambling Hall), did have rooms available (and was less than $45 including tax, breakfast not included).

The Nevada Hotel and Gambling Hall is a very unique place. The 6 story building was built in 1929 and is full of memorabilia, curios, and old photos. My room on the fourth floor was large and the WiFi reception was great. The bed was a little soft for my taste. The bathroom was very small and had several signs warning about water pressure (but it worked great for me). The employees in the hotel, from desk clerk to waitress to bartender, were all very friendly and customer focused. The casino is comprised of slot machines on the ground floor, and a fairly small card room in the basement. At registration, I was given a coupon for a free Margarita at the casino bar, and a beer across the street at The Liberty Club. There was a 24 hour Happy Hour with 99 cent Margaritas and $1 beers.

The Hotel Nevada would be a great place for motorcycle riders or car clubs to visit. Actually, there were some guys there from some type of Corvette Club. The hotel and casino are fun and Highway 50 west of Ely is a great uncrowded road.

Road Trip Day 24 - Colorado: Aspen and Mike the Headless Chicken

2009-05-28T02:58:00.000-07:00

Checked out of the Rodeway Inn in Colorado Springs about 8am. While I was originally planning to take US-50 through Canon City, Gunnison, and Montrose to Grand Junction, I changed my mind and am going to Glenwood Springs via Aspen. Again, I am glad to have my GPS unit as it helps me navigate out of Colorado Springs on US-24. I stop for gas in Woodland Park, Colorado, which has sort of a Lake Tahoe feel to it (sans lake).

The scenery is nice. After about three hours on the road (US-24) I branch onto CO-82, it is quite narrow and steep in places and really not the type of road that I enjoy (your mileage may vary). Eventually I reached the summit at Independence Pass on the Continental Divide. I was happy to have a parking lot to stop at and a trail to stretch my legs. There was really a fairly big crowd of people (about 20 or so) stopped there. Somebody helped me take the obligatory Continental Divide photo so I could have symmetry with my one taken three weeks ago in New Mexico.

It took about 45 minutes to drive the 20 miles from Independence Pass to Aspen and I arrived about 12:30. Aspen is a pretty and clean town, but there did not seem to be much happening. I walked around - there are nice houses and bike trail / walking areas. I did not go into any of the fancy boutiques or galleries. Hardly anybody seemed to be around except for gardeners, painters, and maintenance people - I guess all the action is in the winter. I had a difficult time finding a restaurant which was open for lunch and ended up at Tasters, a sandwich and pizza place (my Italian Sandwich was quite good).

I headed out of town on CO-82 northwest towards Glenwood Springs at about 2:30pm. I missed the turn-off to Woody Creek. I subsequently felt guilty about not paying homage to Hunter S. Thompson at the Woody Creek Tavern. After a bit more than an hour, I reached Glenwood Springs, and got on I-70 going west. I stopped at a rest area in Rifle, Colorado for a soft drink and a quick nap.

At about 6:30pm, I arrived in Fruita, Colorado (just west of Grand Junction), in search of "Mike the Headless Chicken". Actually, I had put "Mike the Headless Chicken" in my GPS about a month earlier, and had forgotten exactly what he was. After my GPS indicated that I had passed him, I parked the car and walked around until I found him.

Actually, the "Mike" here, is a metal sculpture dedicated to the memory of a rooster who lived in Fruita (in the 1940's) without his head for 18 months. It is an inspiring story of a simple Western Colorado chicken, who through a twist of fate survives his beheading and becomes famous and traveled throughout the United States as an entertainer. Unfortunately, Mike met his demise in March of 1947 in a motel room in Phoenix, Arizona. The city of Fruita, Colorado has an annual festival to celebrate the life and spirit of Mike the Headless Chicken.

I would encourage you to Google "Mike the Headless Chicken", or click here.

Just across the overpass over I-70 is the Western Slope Vietnam War Memorial. This interesting tribute is open 24 hours, 365 days, has a 'Huey' helicopter, and Rolling Stone Music.

Crossed the border into Utah about 7pm. A Filipina and her American boyfriend from Los Angeles also were there taking a photo.

Arrived in Green River, Utah about 8pm. Went to several hotels, they were either full or price gouging. Finally, I checked into a room at Ramada Inn Limited ($84 including tax) - the most expensive room on my road trip (and certainly not the nicest). I could not maintain a Wi-Fi connection from my room, so I sat in the lobby doing email for about an hour.

Avoid Green River, Colorado if you are looking for a bargain motel room.

Road Trip Day 23 - Eat on a Plane! Colorado Springs

2009-05-27T11:00:00.000-07:00

I left the Genoa Wonder View Tower at about 5:30pm. I am afraid that I made Jerry Chubbuck late for dinner, but he insisted that I could take my time.

Finding Interesting Attractions on a Road Trip:

I have used Roadsideamerica.com's map tool (see Colorado State example) a lot to help find interesting places near my Road Trip route. Not only did I learn about the Wonder View Tower here, but also my next stop: The Airplane Restaurant. In addition to finding the attractions on the Roadsideamerica maps, you can also organize and save them to 'My Sights', then subsequently load them as Points of Interest (POI's) to your GPS unit. I found it very easy to load these custom POI's to my Garmin Nuvi 260W using Garmin's free POI Loader software.

The Airplane Restaurant is near the Colorado Springs Municipal Airport and one of its unique features is that you can 'Eat in a Plane' (a real plane!). If you have a larger group, prefer more openness, or suffer from aerophobia, you can 'Dine in the Airport Terminal'.

The restaurant is full of interesting aviation memorabilia. The restaurant staff wear flight crew uniforms, and there are aircraft related sounds in some unexpected places in the restaurant (don't miss the restrooms). You can even take turns flying the plane (Note: Don't worry, I Photoshopped in the sky and clouds in the picture below).

The aviation themed menu offers a variety of soups, sandwiches, and entrees. I opted for the French Onion Soup and Blackened Ahi Tuna over Cajun Rice with Chipotle Citrus Butter (served with sauteed vegetables). The Ahi was very good. The Airplane Restaurant serves beer, wine, and has a full bar (including some aviation theme specialty drinks, of course).

The Airplane Restaurant was previously known as Solo's Restaurant (their URL is still http://www.solosrestaurant.com/ and the name in the website has not been updated as of May 2009). I was there about 7:30pm on a Wednesday evening and the larger tables in the plane were full, but there were seats available at the small tables and in the terminal.

The Airplane Restaurant (719-570-7656) is at 1665 N. Newport Road (one block east of Powers on Fountain Blvd) and next to the Radisson Inn and Suites Colorado Springs. Open for Lunch and Dinner (Monday to Saturday 11am-9pm and Sunday Noon-8pm). Just watch for the plane, you can't miss it.

If you are in the Colorado Springs area and want an interesting experience (especially if you have any young aviators in your family), you should visit the Airplane Restaurant.

After dinner, I found an inexpensive ($43.75 using a hotel coupon) room at the Rodeway Inn in Colorado Springs. The room was in a strange location on the back of the building.

I used the decent strength Wi-Fi, did some hand wash in the sink, and went to bed by midnight.

Road Trip Day 23 - Genoa Wonder View Tower, Colorado

2009-05-27T02:42:00.000-07:00

It was raining when I checked out of my hotel in Salina, Kansas, at about 10am. Headed west on I-70. Unless you like silos and flat land there does not seem to be much to see in Western Kansas or Eastern Colorado.

Took a brief nap in a rest area near Colby, Kansas, and passed into Colorado about 3:15pm.

About 78 miles west of the Colorado-Kansas border is an amazing attraction which I was unaware of until researching for my trip. The Wonder View Tower, in Genoa, Colorado, was built as a roadhouse and tourist attraction in 1926 and was the tallest building between California and the Mississippi River at that time.

According to the Denver Post, the current owners, Jerry and Esther Chubbuck have owned the tower for more than 40 years. Jerry Chubbuck seems to be part Archaeologist, historian, satirist, and entertainer.

The one dollar admission to the tower and museum was my best entertainment value during my trip. The museum contains more than 20,000 Indian artifacts, many of them arrowheads found by Chubbuck himself. Jerry will be more than happy to tell you about his famous discovery of a 8,000 year old 'Bison Kill Site'. Jerry offers to refund the admission fee if you can correctly guess the identity of ten of his special museum pieces while playing a game called 'Guess What' (which he seems to enjoy as much as you do).

The Tower itself has 87 steps, in some places is quite narrow, and is probably not appropriate for people with claustrophobia or acrophobia. The postcards claim that the ability to see six states was "proved by Ripley". The states are Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

Amazing treasures are in each of the 20 rooms! Many of the items are for sale (especially antique bottles, rocks, dinosaur bones, and meat grinders). If you can't find it here, you don't need it (maybe I got that backwards). The oddities, such as two headed calf, and eight legged pig embryo must be popular with children.

Also known as the Genoa Tower to people in the area, the Genoa Wonder View Tower and Museum are located on the north side of I-70 on the frontage road at the west end of Genoa. March to September: 8am - 8 pm (Call to confirm). Other months by appointment. Call 719-763-2309

The Wonder View Tower in Genoa, Colorado is definitely worth a visit!

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Road Trip Day 22 - Lawrence, Kansas: 1968 Pennies

2009-05-26T02:43:00.000-07:00

Was woken up by housekeeper at 8:50 (I was not happy)! The hotel breakfast was quite good. Checked out at 10:30 and started driving west on I-70 from Columbia, Missouri. Stopped at a Stuckey's / BP Station for gas and bought some state refrigerator magnets that I needed (Note: It is against the rules to buy the magnet before you get to the state; if you could, then why even go on the trip?).

Crossed the border from Kansas City, Missouri to Kansas City, Kansas.

Debated having some Kansas City Barbecue. The following were recommendations from some friends at Chow.com:

I wasn't ready to eat so I continued on I-70, which turns into the Kansas Turnpike. I was also getting anxious to get to one of the three primary destinations for my trip: The world's largest collection of 1968 pennies in Lawrence, Kansas.

Lawrence is only about 50 minutes from the Missouri - Kansas border. I stopped at the Lawrence Visitor's Center (in the restored Union Pacific Depot). There were two very helpful people at the visitor's center, but surprisingly, they were unaware of the famous penny collection about exactly one mile away. They seemed somewhat amused, but a little confused, when I explained my long pilgrimage to visit the pennies.

Lawrence, Kansas is an interesting city. It is very much of a college town being home to the University of Kansas and Haskell Indian Nations University. Downtown Lawrence feels somewhat like how I imagine that Berkeley or San Francisco would have felt in the late 1960's. The good weather had apparently lured many people into the streets. There were many students, people playing guitars on the sidewalk, and colorful people walking around.

I easily found street parking near 'Beyond the Door' at 918 Massachusetts Street. Beyond the Door is a Hippie Shop (not a Head shop). The shop has a lot of interesting vintage clothing, tie-dye and Grateful Dead T-Shirts, inexpensive jewelry, posters, etc. I bought some unique earrings.

Beyond the Door also hosts the public display of the world's largest collection of 1968 pennies. I met Gregor Brune, a lifelong Lawrence resident and curator of the collection. Gregor is friendly, articulate, and apparently 'consumed by all things 1968'. A recent 'American Profile' article gives some history about Gregor Brune and the 1968 penny collection. I had brought some 1968 pennies for the collection, and am now one of the largest contributors.

Gregor and I had a very good lunch (I had Chicken and Crawfish Gumbo) at the Free State Brewing Company. When it opened in 1989, Free State was the first legal brewery in Kansas in over 100 years.

After lunch, I got back on the I-70 Kansas Turnpike and headed west. I was like a moth towards a candle when I was lured by the signs of the 'OZ Museum' 9 miles off I-70 to Wamego, Kansas. Unfortunately, I arrived there a few minutes after the 5 pm closing time (I should have called on my cell phone to save time and gas). I was, however, able to see some Ruby Slippers in the window.

It took about 1.5 hours to drive from Wamego to Salina, Kansas where I spent the night at an inexpensive motel.

Road Trip Day 21 - St Louis Gateway Arch and Casino

2009-05-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

The Chrysanthemum Tea, young coconut water, sleep, and Advil seemed to improve my muscle aches and body temperature. The hotel breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express (Evansville Indiana) was much better than most of the breakfasts so far on my trip - there were scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage, some type of meat patties, warm whole eggs, waffles, good coffee, apple juice, orange juice and some take-away fruit. I had thought about spending two days here to try and restore my health, but was feeling so much better that I decided to move on. Checked out about 11am, went to a nearby Buehler's Buy Low grocery store to buy some canned drinks and Advil.

Drove west on I-64, crossing into Illinois about 1pm.

Made it to Missouri about 3:30pm. It was raining very hard in St Louis as I neared the Gateway Arch. The parking lot for the arch was $6, and since I was not going to be getting out and walking in the rain, I just drove by, and then continued west on I-70.

After about 25 minutes, the rain had stopped and I saw a sign for Harrah's Casino. Harrahs St Louis is near the Missouri River, about 3 miles off of I-70 in Maryland Heights, a western suburb of St Louis. The Harrah's complex is clean, new, and attractive. To enter the casino, you evidently need a Total Rewards card, or a readily available free guest pass. I had a free carbonated drink in the casino, and had plans to eat some noodles (and was hoping they had a restaurant similar to the Joy Luck Noodle Bar in Harrah's Reno). Unfortunately they don't serve noodles in St Louis on Monday. Anyway, it was nice to see the casino and stretch my legs.

I drove west on I-70 for another hour and a half, and stopped at the Comfort Inn in Columbia, Missouri. When asked about noodles, the young desk clerk recommended his 'favorite restaurant', the 'Great Wall Chinese Buffet'. My $12 dinner really filled my noodle void - they had a good selection and the staff was friendly.

Louisville Sluggers and Shoe Trees

2009-05-24T00:04:00.000-07:00

I felt a lot better after sleeping and taking some flu medicine (but was very disappointed that I forgot to bring herbal flu tea). A different woman was in the hotel office, she was friendly and helpful.

Drove to Louisville, and went to the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory. I am not really a baseball fan (I don't really understand the difference between a goal and a touchback), but it is a fun place. The guy running the batting cage convinced me to give it a try and even took my photo (I only sort of hit one ball out of ten with the machine on the slowest setting).

Passed into Indiana, and let my GPS guide me to a famous Shoe Tree near Milltown, Indiana. It was quite a bit further off the highway than I expected, and it was quite secluded (again, I had visions of Paris Hilton in House of Wax).

Actually Shoetree McFelea Lane seemed like more of a Shoe Tree forest than a single Shoe Tree. There was one predominant Shoe Tree, but several minor ones up and down the road. I contributed a pair of green rubber boots to the primary Shoe Tree. I was well prepared, having drilled a hole in each boot and lashed them together with a strong shoe string. It only took me 3 tries to lodge them in their new home.

I still was feeling some flu-like aches, so I went to the Aihua Oriental Market in Evansville to get some Chrysanthemum Tea, Young Coconut Water, and Ginseng. Then I checked into a Holiday Inn Express.

Road Trip Day 19 - Flu-like Symptoms in Kentucky

2009-05-23T00:10:00.000-07:00

Not a great day. After breakfast I drove about 80 miles and did not feel very good. I spotted a church with a shady parking area and got off the freeway. I threw down a blanket on the grass by the Lexington United Baptist Church.

I drank some liquids and after an hour or so was not feeling any better, so I drove back to The Best Western Country Squire in Winchester. A rather unfriendly, desk clerk said she would not honor the hotel coupon because ~it is not valid this weekend~. I was not feeling well enough to drive any further, so I checked in and went to bed. Swine Flu (H1N1) had been in the news a lot, but I did not have all of the symptoms.

Road Trip Day 18 - Four States and Hillbilly Hot Dogs WV

2009-05-22T20:26:00.000-07:00

Left Mooresville and headed north on I-77. I-77 crosses the narrowest part of Virginia (about 60 miles), so it was a very brief visit.

Continued north to Charleston West Virginia, then headed west on I-64 / The West Virginia Turnpike, again a toll road which felt like literally highway robbery.

About 4pm, I decided to go the Hillbilly Hot Dogs in Huntington, WV, rather than the more remote original Hillbilly Hot Dogs located in Lesage, WV. Hillbilly Hot Dogs has gained exposure from a number of television shows, such as Guy Fieri's Diner's, Drive-ins and Dives.

While New York and Chicago have their unique Pizzas, and Boston has their Chowder. West Virginia apparently has a love affair with the hot dog, and they have their own ideas about hot dog toppings. I never realized that there was such a robust culture built around hot dogs in West Virginia.

There are blogs and websites devoted to West Virginia Hot Dogs.
There are festivals devoted to West Virginia Hot Dogs.
There are even unconfirmed rumors that a Robert C. Byrd West Virginia Hot Dog Museum and Library may be considered for development under the Economic Stimulus Package.

Since my immune system is still not 100% after my food poisoning episode in Amarillo, I decided to play it safe and only have an order of Garlic Fries, and a 'Scott's Man on Fire Dog 5x Spicy Sauce'(I just could not bring myself to eat coleslaw on a hot dog).

The Garlic Ranch Fries were covered with melted cheese (which most Asians probably are not wild about). The menu said the 'Scott's Man on Fire 5x Dog' was spicy, but I found it a bit bland (I guess I should have asked if they had any 10x or 20x Spicy Sauce). That said, the ambiance is truly unique, and my visit to Hillbilly Hot Dogs was definitely the highlight of my visit to West Virginia.

After my meal, I crossed the Ohio River on the Robert C. Byrd Bridge into Chesapeake, Ohio. I will always equate West Virginia with hot dogs and buildings, roads, and signs saying 'Robert C. Byrd'.

It was very brief visit to Chesapeake, and was really just done to add legitimacy to buying an Ohio Refrigerator Magnet.

I drove on to Grayson, Kentucky, where I spent the night at a Day's Inn across the street from a K-Mart.

Road Trip Day 17 - Mooresville, NC - Race City

2009-05-21T15:09:00.000-07:00

Had a very good breakfast (Waffles, OJ, Coffee, Yogurt, etc.) at La Quinta Inn, Savannah. Checked out about 10:30 and began traveling north. Passed over the Talmadge Memorial Bridge into South Carolina.

Passed through South Carolina into North Carolina. It is so nice to be out of the rain! Went through Charlotte and started to look for a hotel. Mooresville, North Carolina, is known as "Race City" because it is home to Dale Earnhardt Jr. and many other NASCAR Teams.

All the businesses in town have banners such as "Welcome Race Fans!". I feel just a little bit out of place because I would probably not even recognize Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, or even guitar smashing Kyle Busch. I contemplate buying a NASCAR hat, but it seems a bit silly for one day.

Mooresville is modern, clean, and seems to have a lot of accommodations and restaurants. I get a room at the Ramada Limited Inn ($49.99 + tax using a coupon). I wanted to eat at the China Garden Buffet adjacent to the hotel, but it was closed due to a kitchen fire.

It was a nice stay except for the fact that my room was just opposite the noisy ice machine (I should have checked the Feng Shui before taking the room).

Road Trip Day 16 - Georgia on My Mind

2009-05-20T01:34:00.000-07:00

Left Kissimmee. Did a quick stop at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex. The cheapest tour seemed to be $38... I saw some fun stuff from the ticket booth area and parking lot, and I questioned whether going in would provide me with $38 of marginal utility.

Also did a quick stop at Daytona Speedway. There was news on the radio about some schools and roads being closed because of flooding.

It was raining so hard that visibility was almost zero, so I decided to get off the freeway in St. Augustine and go to a McDonald's. A number of people seemed to have the same idea. The grill at the McDonald's was "not working because of the storm". Got going again after about an hour.

Stopped at the Georgia Visitor Center (or G ORG A VIS TOR CENTER per its sign) - was watching The Weather Channel and using Wi-Fi for about 5 minutes when an employee came and turned off the TV. After a few more minutes, about 5:25pm somebody yelled "We're closing". There seemed to be several employees talking among themselves, and not really interested in helping visitors. It was not a particularly welcoming experience.

Drove to Savannah. Got a room at the very decent La Quinta Inn and Suites on Abercorn in Savannah Southside (only $49 plus tax using a coupon from a hotel discount book). I thought about going to Paula Deen's The Lady and Sons Restaurant, but I could not get through on the phone to check on the wait time. Instead, I ate at nearby Pakwan, an Indian Restaurant which had okay food, but very friendly service. I guess I will always wonder what I missed at Paula Deen's.

Road Trip Day 15 - Last Day at Disney's Magic Kingdom

2009-05-19T03:27:00.000-07:00

I arrived at the Disney Transportation and Ticket Center parking lot at about 8:45am. It seemed that the rain had caused some type of problem with the Monorail to the Magic Kingdom and there was a huge queue. A cast member told me that it would be faster to take the ferry.

I went through the security check at Magic Kingdom. I have not mentioned it before, but they search all backpacks and bags ~for things which threaten safety~ at the entrance to all of the Disney parks.

The first thing that I did when I got to Main Street was find a vendor selling Disney rain ponchos. I had decided that these $8 ponchos looked effective, stylish, and allowed more air circulation than the raincoat that I had been using. By about an hour later it was definitely providing more ventilation because a one foot rip had originated at the neck. I had to hold it together with my hand to keep the rain out. Fortunately, later in the day I was able to exchange it for a new poncho.

Some of the highlights (and mostly not very high):

The Jungle Cruise - My guide was very funny!
Thunder Mountain Railroad - It seemed better when I was younger.
Splash Mountain - At least I did not need to worry about getting wet (I all ready was from the rain).
Buzz Lightyear's Ranger Spin - Each rider controls their own Laser Cannon. Actually this attraction is probably aimed at young kids.
Tomorrowland Speedway - It started raining very heavily and I got drenched.

I hid from the rain for about an hour in a seasonal restaurant, The Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station, which was closed. While I was there, I talked to a Disney photographer who seemed to be a bit of an amateur meteorologist and said that it was very uncommon for it to rain all day long like it had been doing. He said it normally rains hard for an hour or two then gets nice.

I bought a magnet on Main Street because I knew that my spirit had been broken, and I would probably be blowing off my last couple of days at The Most Magical Place on Earth.

When I returned to my hotel room, the door was ajar. Maybe this was because it was the only day that I forgot to leave a tip for housekeeping, or maybe it was related to plumbing work that day (there was an announcement about the water being off for several hours). Nothing was missing from the room, but I was wet, hungry, and fed-up with rain and crowds.

RT Day 14 - Disney Animal Kingdom & Epcot

2009-05-18T02:00:00.000-07:00

Had breakfast at the Golden Corral Buffet on the way to Disney from the hotel. Golden Corral has a good selection of food and a pretty big crowd who all seemed to want to wolf down as much food as quickly as possible before they go to the theme parks.

I have decided to drive rather than take the hotel shuttle bus to Disney World Animal Kingdom Park. I am surprised at the military precision of the people directing traffic in the parking lot. I saw somebody park in an incorrect spot and there was no way that the transgression would be tolerated. Parking is $12 a day, but you can leave and return or go to any other Disney parking lot.

It was raining as I ran to the parking lot shuttle tram. Went into Animal Kingdom, got a FastPass with a time about 1.5 hours later for the Kilimanjaro Safaris, and then walked through the drizzle on the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. About halfway along the trail, it began raining cats and dogs. It was mayhem. People on electric scooters were running into pedestrians. Children were screaming, and anyplace with cover became packed with uncomfortable sweaty crowds and parents trying to grab children crawling around on other people's feet.

Expedition Everest had some type of malfunction and the safety team was rescuing riders from one of the steep areas. Expedition Everest seemed like it was closed for a couple of hours, but there was no problem when I road it later. It is Monday and I can't believe how crowded it is - I spoke with a cast member, and they assured me it really was not crowded at all.

Went on the Wildlife Express Train, saw one poor pathetic elephant over 100 yards away behind an ugly building with an ugly purple metal fence (I think that the bad weather is affecting my mood). By about 4 o'clock I am ready to leave and am not even willing to stand in a long line to have my photo taken with Goofy or Pluto.

I drove to the Epcot parking lot. It started to rain again (after a very brief break). Went to Spaceship Earth, then walked around the World Showcase (spending more time at some countries and none at others). The Epcot Fireworks at 9pm were spectacular!

Back to the hotel about 10 pm.

Road Trip Day 13 - Disney Hollywood Studios & Downtown Disney

2009-05-17T23:22:00.000-07:00

Slept in and had lunch at the Golden China Restaurant buffet almost next door to my hotel. The food was decent, but they did not have Chinese Tea! What Chinese restaurant does not have Chinese Tea? That is like a Chinese restaurant that does not have chopsticks (don't get me started, I have been there, too).

About 1pm, drove to Downtown Disney. Downtown Disney is a shopping, restaurant, and entertainment area which is sort of fun (it is also sort of, or very, crowded on Sunday afternoon). It is on the shores of a lake which is probably man-made (sorry, I have been in Florida a little more than a day and I am starting to question if anything is real). I walked around, window shopped, people watched, and was disappointed that Characters in Flight (a hot air balloon ride) was shut down because of wind. Drove back to the hotel and used the Wi-Fi until about 5pm.

Took the hotel shuttle to the Disney Transportation Center, then the Disney Bus to Disney Hollywood Studios. It is Sunday, and the intermittent rain has only slightly reduced the crowd. Taking advantage of Fast Pass, I was able to get into Tower of Terror, and then because of rain induced confusion, the line was short to Aerosmith's Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. Both of these rides are fun, but very short! I went on the Studio Backlot Tour (because the waiting area was out of the rain). They made apologies that they could not do some of the demonstrations because of wind and rain. I sat in a puddle in the tram during part of the tour.

By the time that the Studio Backlot Tour ended, the rain had stopped, and people were running towards the daredevil action demonstration "Lights, Motors, Action". I followed the crowd happy that I would be able to see this show. Unfortunately, after about 45 minutes waiting in the stands, they announced that the show was canceled "Due to Inclement Weather". The weather was no worse than it had been 45 minutes earlier (and actually probably better). It was surprising that there was very little swearing or property damage after the announcement.

A number of the rides and exhibits were closed, and I was happy that I had four more days to cover everything. I went to catch the hotel shuttle a little before 8pm. While the waiting areas for the Disney owned buses have covered waiting areas, the hotel buses are out in the open. I got drenched and mad waiting for the bus. I also came to the conclusion that the free shuttle to Disney was false economy. It is better to pay $12 for parking and have more flexibility and less waiting. I will make a more detailed posting on this at some point.

Road Trip Day 12 - First Day at Disney World

2009-05-16T02:17:00.000-07:00

Got up before 8am and talked with the very friendly hotel manager during breakfast. Checked out about 9:15 and began driving south towards Lake Buena Vista (and Disney). The tolls on the Turnpike were a shock ($2.50, $1.25, $1). I am okay with paying bridge tolls, but this road did not seem so special.

Arriving in Kissimme about 1pm (after a stop for gas), I found the Best Western Lakeside (7769 West Irlo Bronson Highway). It is not new or fancy, but it is located fairly close to Disney and has a free shuttle. There is a big pool, some food options, and a little store. It was only $52.69 (Best Western Website special AAA Rate), the rooms have a refrigerator, microwave, and safe. Also, the WiFi reception is good. Quite a few families from the United Kingdom seem to stay here. It is ranked about #14 of 215 hotels in Kissimmee by Tripadvisor.com, which is pretty good (I'm almost a little surprised).

The desk clerk, Mary, was understanding about letting me look at the actual room before I decided to register (sometimes I am a bit funny about Feng Shui issues, when I am staying more than one night). I had to spend some time on the phone with the fraud detection unit of my credit card company since I had spent money in so many places without calling in a travel notification (I normally do this if I travel internationally, but did not think about it on a driving trip).

I went shopping for snacks and organized things in the room. At 5pm, I took the hotel's shuttle to the Disney World Transportation and Ticket Center. I had looked at ticket prices previously and realized that the first and second days were really expensive, the third reasonable, and after that they were cheap. I decided to buy a six day park-hopper pass (about $293 including tax). I figured that as long as I was here, I might as well get my fill of Disney World - I could have bought a shorter ticket and extended it, but did not want to hassle with lines at the ticket booth (and days 5 and 6 only cost $3 each).

It was Saturday, and quite busy, so I decided to only familiarize myself with the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. This way I would know where things were when I attacked them in earnest during the week. I did opportunistically go on a few rides (but the waits for many of the popular ones were really long). I went to the fireworks in Magic Kingdom at 10pm. The fireworks were spectacular, but it was very crowded and I needed to leave before they ended, to make sure that I made it back to the transportation hub by 10:50pm to catch the shuttle back to the hotel.

Note: If you are going to go to Disney World for the first time, you should probably do some type of advance preparation so you know the popular attractions, and tips and tricks. Theme Park Insider seems to be one very good source of this type of information.

Road Trip Day 11 - A Muffuletta and a Long Drive

2009-05-15T23:16:00.000-07:00

Walked to the Central Grocery about 9 am. Central Grocery is the acknowledged birthplace of the Muffuletta. It was quite good, and the staff at Central Grocery are friendly. I also bought some Cajun spices. Muffulettas are available in at least a half dozen New Orleans establishments.

I wanted to get some beignets for the road, but there was a huge queue (at least 75 people) at the to go window at Café du Monde.

I checked out of Harrah's. I had a great stay! I start driving east towards Disney World in Florida with no particular destination in mind. I stopped at the Alabama Welcome Center and pick up some hotel coupon books, and at the Florida Welcome Center for information and a free cup of Florida Orange Juice. I end up driving to Lake City, about 100 miles east of Tallahassee. I stay at the Rodeway Inn for $40 plus tax (using a walk-in coupon).

Not a terribly exciting day, except for my Muffuletta sandwich, but at least I made it to Florida. By the way, the crowd photo (above) at Café du Monde is a joke (the crowd was not really as bad as the photo).

Road Trip Day 10 - Lunch at Commander's Palace

2009-05-14T23:05:00.000-07:00

Had coffee and a pastry for breakfast. Walked through Harrah's Casino to the Canal Street entrance. Louis, a very nice southern gentleman was manning the security station, and he gave me good directions to where I could catch the streetcar to the Garden District.

The streetcar is $1.25 exact change (and at least one of the women drivers is not so friendly or helpful). I used my GPS to identify some points of interest (Emeril's Delmonico, for one) along St. Charles Avenue. I alighted at Washington Avenue.

Commander's Palace is a New Orleans institution (and previous stomping grounds of Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse). I looked at the menu, and since it was only 11:10 am, I was able to get a table without a reservation. By 12:15 the place was packed. The meal and service were EXCELLENT (one of my waiters had just graduated from Tulane). I could not pass up the 25 cent Melon Martini (weekday lunch special when ordering an entree). I had Turtle Soup, Sugarcane Smoked Pork Tenderloin & Crawfish (with Andouille Sausage-Potato Galette, and Chardonnay & Tasso Marchands de Vin). The Creole Bread Pudding Soufflé was a perfect dessert. My experience at Commander's Palace was fantastic and worth the $50 (including tip).

After lunch, I ventured a little way into Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, but kept the visit quite brief because of:

Rumors about safety in New Orleans Cemeteries,
Flashbacks of Easy Rider (though it was shot in St Louis Cemetery No. 1),
A sudden rain shower, and
The fact that many Chinese people don't like to go to cemeteries when they will be gambling.

I returned to St. Charles Avenue to catch the streetcar back to Canal Street and my hotel. This time the driver was a man who was friendly and helpful.

In the late afternoon, I went out into the Arts District right behind Harrah's Hotel to see if I could find out what was being filmed on the street and in some old warehouses. Sylvester Stallone was filming The Expendables. Although they were blocking off the street to cars, they were nice enough about letting pedestrians watch the action if we stayed on the other side of the street. I am a long-time Stallone fan and it was fun to see him up close.

Had some Gumbo Soup for dinner at the McAlister's Select Deli on the casino floor courtesy of Total Rewards Points.

Road Trip Day 9 - Around New Orleans

2009-05-13T01:01:00.000-07:00

Got up early to be at the National Park Service Office (419 Decatur Street) in the French Quarter by 9 am. They have an informative free walking tour which focuses on the Mississippi River and the evolution of New Orleans. The walk is mostly along the river and ends at Jackson Square. Danny, the NPS Ranger, was very engaging and entertaining.

Next, I went to Café du Monde to try the beignets and cafe' au lait. Café du Monde was highly recommended by a friend, and sure enough, I love the beignets (though I think the French may have stolen the recipe from the Chinese and just added the powdered sugar).

Went to the French Market, Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie's house (they were not home), walked along Bourbon Street. Bought a can of Budweiser and drank it on the sidewalk (since this is one of the few places that drinking alcohol in public is legal). Bought some Beignet Mix , Pralines, and refrigerator magnets. Walked along Canal Street back to Harrah's to relax and shower before dinner.

Tried unsuccessfully to get into K-Paul Louisiana Kitchen for an early dinner without a reservation. Settled on the heavily promoted "Gumbo Shop". The Daiquiris, soup, and Alligator Sausage were quite good. I thought the Crawfish Étouffée was just okay (too much thickener).

Gambled a bit and used the Internet in the hotel business center before going to sleep.

Road Trip Day 8 - To New Orleans

2009-05-12T02:49:00.000-07:00

Visited the Conrad Rice Mill and Company Store on the way out of New Iberia. This is evidently the oldest operating rice mill in the USA. I did not go on the tour because of a timing issue. Maybe if I went on the tour I would have been more impressed.

It was about a two hour drive from New Iberia to New Orleans. I checked into a beautiful room at Harrah's New Orleans overlooking the Arts & Warehouse District. The room has a large flat screen TV, refrigerator, safe, and a lot of marble in the bathroom. There is a greeter in the hotel lobby who, along with elevator key cards, seems to provide a very high level of security.

After a shower and a nap, I spent some time in the casino. I used Total Rewards points to treat myself to a free dinner at the Harrah's Casino Buffet. The buffet had a number of regional specialties and was very good. Interestingly, there is security screening at each door to the casino, and people under the age of 21 are not even allowed into the Buffet.

Gambled some more after dinner, but went to bed by midnight since I was anticipating a busy following day.

Road Trip Day 7 - To Avery Island, Louisiana

2009-05-11T01:28:00.000-07:00

Had an amazingly slow breakfast at the hotel, but at least I got a rubbery waffle and a one egg omelette (with no fillings) for my 45 minute wait. I also had an interesting conversation with an couple who had strong opinions about Rihanna, Scientology, Tom Cruise, and John Travolta.

Crossed the Mississippi River from Natchez into Louisiana.

Stopped at a very nice Louisiana State Welcome Center in Vidalia.

After a leisurely four hour drive, I arrived at Avery Island (via Alexandria and Lafayette).

Avery Island is, of course, the home of Tabasco Sauce. I stopped at a rather humorous toll house (on the right side of the road) where a friendly Cajun man passes you a pamphlet then collects your one dollar using a long stick with a clothespin at the end. After paying the toll, you cross a "bridge" about 15 feet long (which you really may not recognize as a bridge). Avery Island has two primary attractions:

The factory tour consists of a brief video about the history of Tabasco Sauce, the McIlhenny family, and Avery Island. After the video, you walk through a viewing area above a bottling line in the factory, and then to a display area. Each visitor gets several free mini-bottles of Tabasco Sauce.

The Tabasco Country Store has a special meaning to me, because it is featured in one of my favorite slot machines. I spent a lot of time in the store looking at many Tabasco and spice themed items which I had not seen before. I made half of a meal at the free tasting bar and then ate an order of excellent Crawfish Étouffée at the picnic tables outside. I could not resist a few souvenirs from the store, including some Tabasco Earrings, Tabasco Potholders, Tabasco Refrigerator Magnets, and some Spicy Pickles. I found the Tabasco Factory tour and Country Store very enjoyable and worthwhile.

After all the time I spent in the store, visiting the Jungle Garden was not really an option as it was approaching 5 o'clock. I stayed at a Best Western Hotel in New Iberia which was quite nice (and only about $61 + tax using a coupon from a hotel book which I picked up at the welcome center). One interesting thing about this hotel was the notice placed prominently in the room:

I was quite happy that I did not receive any calls during my stay about gas leaks.

Road Trip Day 6 - Graceland and Mississippi

2009-05-10T12:57:00.000-07:00

Had the free breakfast at the Hotel (a couple of mini-donuts and a cup of coffee). Checked out and drove to Tennessee across the Mississippi River, arriving at Graceland at 9:20 am. Parking is $10, but at least it seems somewhat secure.

It is Sunday, so the tours don't start until 10, but the ticket office is open and has a small queue. There are 3 different tour options, I opt for the middle one which is probably the most popular. My ticket is $33 ($27.90 with AAA discount). I am given a ticket for the 10:20 tour, and walk around looking at other exhibits (some are not open yet).

Each visitor receives an Audio Tour Device as they join the queue for the buses which take us across Elvis Presley Boulevard to the mansion. Before getting on the bus, everybody has their photo taken in front of a Graceland backdrop - you can buy the photos in a package when you return for $25 (yeah, right).

The audio tour format is quite good, it allows you to move at your own pace. I am not sure if 'mansion' is really the correct word. I think it is really more of a big gaudy house, with a nice facade and some interesting out buildings. Also, it is a big piece of property and is landscaped nicely. Many of the exhibits are quite good. I added quite a bit to my previously very limited pool of Elvis knowledge. If you are nearby, Graceland is probably a "Must See" even if you are not a huge Elvis fan (it will make you more of a fan).

With my car still in the Graceland parking lot, I went next door to Chinese Buffet. I thought that eating a lot of steamed rice might be good therapy after my food poisoning. The buffet was about $10 (Sunday lunch is evidently more expensive than other days).

Crossed into Mississippi, and followed a 'Tourist Information' sign on the freeway on a wild goose chase. I guess they only want tourists on weekdays.

Found the very nice state run Welcome Center (with free soft drinks and friendly staff) a few miles later.

On the recommendation of others, I took part of the 'Natchez Trail Parkway' south through Mississippi. It was quite secluded and had no traffic, I saw some wildlife (coyote, turkey, armadillo, deer, and rabbits). I think I would have preferred taking a wider, faster road (but some people people love Natchez Trace). I was quite happy to get to Natchez, Mississippi and find a hotel about 7:30 pm as darkness was closing in.

Road Trip Day 5 - Oklahoma, Arkansas

2009-05-09T00:57:00.000-07:00

Got an early start, about 5:30 am. I am not 100% recovered (maybe not even 50%), but I need to get moving because I have reservations in New Orleans in a few days.

Stopped at the huge Cross and Stations of the Cross in Groom, Texas. Quite impressive, but a bit eerie since I was the only person there. Also quite cold (I wrapped myself in a fleece blanket since it was easy to find). Also drove by the Leaning Water Tower.

I'm just happy to have Amarillo in the rear view mirror. I am hoping to get back on schedule and go to Graceland tomorrow. I need to cover quite a bit of ground.

I cross the border into Oklahoma. Kudos to Oklahoma for having a place to pull over by their gateway sign.

My next stop is the Oklahoma City Memorial. I am glad that I have my GPS as it leads me through the city in some places that I would not want to be stopping to check a map. The memorial is impressive. I did not tour the museum, because I want to get to Little Rock before the Clinton Library and Museum closes.

There is not really a good place to stop for a photo as I enter Arkansas. But that is okay, I don't really have time (I am on a mission to get to Little Rock). I hit a traffic jam in Little Rock caused by a couple of fender benders.

I arrive at the Clinton Museum Store 2 minutes past closing time. There are happy sales people and customers smiling and laughing inside the store, but they ignore my pleading and the pitiful faces that I make through the window. I guess I don't blame them, they have lives, too. But can't they understand, I only want to buy a refrigerator magnet... How long can that take?

A couple from Alberta, Canada (who had no interest in refrigerator magnets) took my photo in front of the Clinton Library and Museum.

Despite my bad mood and weakened condition, I decide to continue East to get closer to Memphis. Because of the accidents on the way in, I decided to take an alternate way out of town. Aided by GPS, I drive through a deserted and dodgy area, then past the airport, into another traffic jam of teens and twenty-somethings. Evidently there was a rock concert called Edgefest. People were abandoning their cars on the freeway and walking. There seemed to be almost no crowd control. With all the mayhem, it seemed like hotel rooms would be difficult to get nearby, so I should continue towards the Tennessee border.

Exited I-40 at Wheatley, Arkansas. But just did not have a good feeling about the hotel of my choice (I kept thinking about The House of Wax). Despite having been on the road for 12 hours, I decide to drive on to Forrest City.

I get a room at Luxury Inn in Forrest City for $36 plus tax (using a walk-in coupon from a pamphlet at a welcome center or rest area). I can appreciate a bargain even when I am recovering from food poisoning and hallucinating from exhaustion. $36 even includes free breakfast and wireless internet (which does not quite reach my room).

I fall into bed wondering why I did not just fly to Banff for vacation.

Road Trip Day 4 - Food Poisoning

2009-05-08T13:28:00.000-07:00

[Note: This posting is more about food safety than travel highlights.. Read at your own discretion.]

About one o'clock in the morning I woke up and got violently ill. Over the next several hours, I emptied the complete contents of my stomach (and more).

I might have gotten some satisfaction about the weight loss, if I was not afraid I was going to die. I can joke about it now, but it was not at all pleasant.

I was weak and after several hours decided to try to replenish some fluids. I was unsuccessful in my attempts to consume (and retain) warm tea or warm instant oatmeal.

When the sun began to rise, it became obvious to me that I probably would not be able to travel after two hours of sleep. A friend brought me some Saltine Crackers (which I could not successfully eat) and a soft drink called Sierra Mist (similar to 7Up or Mountain Dew).

I considered going to a hospital emergency room, but decided that rest and rehydration were the priorities. Fortunately, the room was quite dark, and I slept most of the day (except when I was on my knees).

Sierra Mist and Pepto Bismol were the only things that I could tolerate until evening when I ate a few crackers. It is not clear that Pepto Bismol was a valid treatment for food poisoning. I wish I had some Activated Charcoal Tablets or Powder (though it may not have been the right thing to do either).

[ Looking back, I suspect that the source of my infection was probably either:

The Sweet Peach Iced Tea (made locally in the restaurant), or
A raw Jalapeño (of which I ate about one quarter).

It was later called to my attention that some food servers were plating the garnishes with bare hands. Actually, it is quite interesting to watch the restaurant's webcam (where you can see one of the two plating areas). I am also guessing that maybe they view the Jalapeños as decorations and possibly don't wash them. I have learned since that restaurant-made Iced Tea is notorious source of coliform bacteria (see the Escherichia coli portion of this article). Never again, will I order Iced Tea at a restaurant! Never again, will I eat uncooked Jalapeños in a restaurant! I think this episode impacted my health and energy for the rest of my trip.]

Road Trip Day 3 - To Amarillo, TX

2009-05-07T00:51:00.000-07:00

Had a couple of Svenhard Pastries (I bring individually wrapped ones from Costco along on road trips) and some coffee for breakfast.

Went to see Gallup's "Dude Man" Cowboy muffler man at 416 W Coal Avenue.

Did some browsing at First American Traders (one of Gallup's many Craft and Pawn Shops. 'Pawn Shops' in Gallup don't have the negative connotation that they do in some other places).

Began my drive east on I-40 (Historic Route 66). Stopped at Continental Divide for gas and a photo.

In Grants, New Mexico, I found the Uranium Cafe to be closed. There seems to be a recurring history of it going out of business.

I am listening to the audio book "My Life" by Bill Clinton since I am planning to go to the Clinton Museum in Little Rock. Actually, I read the book a couple of years ago, and it was long (>1000 pages) and somewhat painful. The Grammy Award winning audio book is abridged and since Clinton is reading it, is quite interesting (and it was available in the library).

Stopped at the Route 66 Casino to stretch my legs and use the facilities. With all the signs you can't miss it (on the western outskirts of Albuquerque) - Clean, friendly staff, and definitely a Route 66 theme. I signed up for a Ultimate Rewards Player's Club card and received a free gift of a nice insulated car cup.

I drive through Albuquerque without stopping in the city. I stop near Tucumcari for gas. It's about 42 miles from Tucumcari to the Texas border. I am trying to take photos of all the state welcome signs - this one I took from an off ramp at a funny angle. I really appreciate it when the state provides a tourist friendly turnout by their welcome sign. My GPS system really helps me with my Welcome Sign Quest, because it displays a dashed line on its screen for the state border.

It is about an hour drive from the New Mexico - Texas border to Cadillac Ranch.

Some people have said that Cadillac Ranch has a special energy source, similar to the Pyramids of Egypt, Stonehenge, Machu Picchu, or Jerusalem. There is no doubt that it attracts Pilgrims from all over the world. After visiting Cadillac Ranch, I can't believe that this was only one of my Secondary Destinations!

I leave Cadillac Ranch with a new feeling of enlightenment. It only takes about 20 minutes to drive to my destination for the night: The Big Texan Motel, Amarillo. It is still light so I can look at the Texas Shaped Swimming Pool (which for some reason is locked and there is yellow barrier tape on the gate - it looks nice enough though). I also check out the Horse Hotel, which seems to have several guests, and is a very nice feature for people who take their horses on road trips.

The motel is right next to the Big Texan Steak Ranch. This is another tourist Mecca which seems to have been made famous by the free publicity generated by its "Free 72 Ounce Steak Challenge".

Though I once ate 30 sticks of Satay, and another time ate 20 eggs, my better judgment keeps me from seriously considering the Steak Challenge (also steak is not really my cup of tea).

The atmosphere is fun with wait staff in western outfits and some roving cowboy musicians (who thankfully stayed away from me). It seems pretty busy for 8:30 pm on Thursday night. I order the "Six Flags of Texas" (which is Fried Catfish, Shrimp, Chicken Strips, and two Spare Ribs, side dishes of Fried Okra and Soup, and a Sweet Peach Iced Tea. The Fried Okra was the standout, everything else was pretty mundane.

An Asian guy was doing the Steak Challenge. He gave it a good try, but the steak got the better of him. Oh well, at least he got a T-Shirt, plastic cowboy boot shaped beverage cup, and a doggy bag of leftovers for his $72. You can see whether anybody is doing the Steak Challenge right now by using to the Big Texan's live webcam.

I used the wireless internet until about 11:30 and went to bed.

Road Trip Day 2 - To Gallup, NM

2009-05-06T01:14:00.000-07:00

Had a good free (Courtesy of Total Rewards) leisurely (a bit slow) breakfast at The Beach Cafe in Harrah's. Checked out of hotel a little later than I hope to at about 9 am.

Crossed the Colorado River From Laughlin, Nevada to Bullhead City, Arizona. Arizona is in the Mountain Time Zone. My GPS unit deals with time zones seamlessly, it shows you the arrival time in local time zone of the destination.

Went about 30 miles to the Powerhouse Visitor Center and Route 66 Museum in Kingman, Arizona. Kingman is very proud of Andy Devine who spent his youth there. They are less happy being associated with more recent resident Timothy McVeigh. I picked up some brochures, and bought some Route 66 earrings.

Drove through Flagstaff without stopping, and on to Holbrook, Arizona. Holbrook has one of the somewhat mandatory Route 66 stops: Wigwam Village #6. This is one of three remaining Wigwam Motels built in 1930's through 50's. The Holbrook Wigwam is on the National Register of Historic Places. Possibly more impressive to some people is that Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King stayed there during Oprah and Gayle's Big Adventure. An obliging pedestrian took my photo, and then it was back on the road.

Since I was running a bit late on my schedule, I decided not to stop at Stewart's Petrified Wood.

Gallup, New Mexico is about 23 miles past the Arizona Border.

I arrived at The El Rancho Hotel, in Gallup, about 4:30 pm. The El Rancho is historical and very unique. There is a lot of movie memorabilia throughout the hotel and each of the rooms is named after actual guests (such as John Wayne, Errol Flynn, Jane Fonda, etc.). Of course, Ronald Reagan's name was on the Presidential Suite. My room was Joel McCrea (who???). The El Rancho is the type of place where everybody is friendly with each other. There was an interesting assortment of Europeans, retired couples, a couple on motorcycles with their pocket dog, and a group of women doing an escorted Route 66 tour in a passenger van.

I ate at the Olympic Kitchen with some friends who moved to Gallup about a year ago. We share several plates of Native American food, which included Navajo Tacos, Mutton Stew, Lamb Stew, and Frybread. The restaurant staff was friendly and accommodating and the food was very good.

I used the wireless internet in the hotel lobby, and chatted with some other guests until about midnight.

Road Trip Day 1 - To Laughlin, NV

2009-05-05T11:10:00.000-07:00

Got an early start at about 7 am.

Interstate 5 down the Central Valley of California is a bit boring, and you need to pay attention or you find yourself going way above the speed limit. There are a variety of decent gas stations and rest stops, usually with plenty of travelers around, along I-5. I stopped to stretch in one rest stop and for gas in Kettleman City.

Needed to put a 'Via Point' for Wasco to force my GPS system to route me via Highway 46 to traverse to Highway 99 north of Bakersfield. From 99, the route is Highway 58 to I-40 to US-95 to NV-63 and finally a few miles on the Needles Highway.
I know the route to Laughlin fairly well, but using the GPS:

shows me my distance to next turn,
displays the estimated time of arrival at final destination,
shows an accurate digitally displayed MPH,
ensures that I will zone out and miss a turn or off ramp.

Once I started to lose reception with the radio stations in the Bay Area, I realized to my horror, that the correct disks were not in my CD changer. What I did have:

Chronicle, a Greatest Hits Album of Creedence Clearwater Revival. I am not sure whose CD this is, but I now know the words to Susie Q and Proud Mary.
Ta Ra Rum Pum, The soundtrack album from an Indian movie. I think there are two words I understand on the album Hey and Shona.
The Immaculate Collection, A Madonna biggest hits album.

Fortunately, I do have three fairly long audiobooks which I am planning to listen to on the trip. However, I really only like to listen to audiobooks when I know there is a long uninterrupted stretch of road. Had a lunch of whole grain Rotini pasta salad from my ice chest in a very windy Mojave East Park at about 1:30 pm.

Arrived at Harrah's Laughlin Hotel and Casino at about 6:30 pm. Great room with a view of the pool and the Colorado River. Took a shower. Played slot machines for about 15 minutes before dinner. Immediately won $270. My room and buffet dinner were free, courtesy of the Total Rewards Program. Gambled some more until a little after midnight, net winning for the evening was $364. If I did not need to leave early the next day, I would have kept playing.

Road Trip Preparation - Last Minute Items

2009-05-03T01:04:00.000-07:00

Several Days Prior to Leaving:

Use up or give away perishable food
Plan for plant watering and yard care
Make sure a friend or relative has a key to the house
Notify bank and credit card company(s) and let them know I will be traveling in North America for about a month
Put a Hold on mail
Remove unneeded items from car (e.g., home remote controls)
Remove unneeded cards from wallet
Remove unneeded keys from key ring
Secure valuables
Disable interior release for car trunk (for better security)
Update answering machine message (to send email)
Organize maps and tour books
Create GPS Favorites for some of my initial destinations
Set timer for lights, yes, I like to do this the day before to see if it works as expected

The Day of Departure:

Turn-off heater/air conditioner
Unplug chargers and unneeded electronics
Turn water heater to pilot or vacation setting
Turn off washing machine, sink, and toilet supply hoses (especially if plastic)
Make sure that everything that was packed has been loaded in the car
Double check that I have auto registration, insurance information, important phone numbers, reservation confirmation numbers, and possibly passport with me
Double check that all small appliances and heater or air conditioner are off, and all doors and windows are locked

Road Trip Preparation - One Week to Go

2009-04-24T21:44:00.000-07:00

Get the car serviced. It is better to do it now than to have problems on the trip. Get any major maintenance done a week or two in advance, in case there are any problems with the work.

Oil change
Scheduled maintenance
Fluid levels
Tires, belts, wiper blades (check and replace if needed)

Shop for road food:

Breakfast stuff (Individually wrapped pastries, instant oatmeal, granola, instant coffee, tea bags)
Snacks (Dried fruits, chocolate covered coffee bean s, Indian snack mix)
Some drinks (Water, juice, soft drinks)
Other stuff that jumps off the shelf at Trader Joe's

Other Things to Do: Cancel or reschedule appointments during the trip.

Use up or give away perishable food.

If you have medical needs, make sure you have enough prescription medicine to last during your trip.

Arrange with friends, neighbors, doorman, or security to watch your residence (Water plants; pick-up newspapers, fliers, etc.).

Pay bills and plan for any which might come due during your absence.

Clean up (It would be embarrassing if you die and your survivors find a messy house).

Road Trip Packing

2009-04-23T23:08:00.000-07:00

My Road Trip Packing Advice:

Don't take too much stuff.
Soft bags are better than hard suitcases.
Use different style (or color) bags for different things.
Have one or two bags which you take into your hotel. Leave things you don't need in the hotel room out of site in the trunk of the car.

Of course, it is much more challenging packing for multiple people in a small car. I was not constrained by space, so I probably did bring more than I really needed.

Road Trip Packing Lists:

Tara at planning-fun-road-trips.com has several good Road Trip Packing Lists.
Rolling Stone (and a number of other sites) has some good ideas for Road Trip Music.

Special Topic - Hardware for a Road Trip:

With pervasive Wi-Fi access in hotels, a netbook is a perfect traveling companion. I love my Samsung NC10.
Make sure that your batteries and memory cards are charged (if applicable) and in your camera.
Make sure that you are bringing the correct chargers and cables for your mobile phone, digital camera, computer, GPS, MP3 player, and other personal digital appliances.
Make sure you have enough capacity for the photos you might take (extra memory cards or the ability to download to another device).
It is good to take a 6 foot multi-socket extension cord, since many hotels have their sockets in inconvenient places.
Though you will normally be able to access a wireless network, it is good to have an Ethernet cable, because some hotel rooms also have RJ-45 jacks which provide a better connection.
A Kensington Security Cable is useful for locking your computer in the trunk of the car or to an immovable object in a hotel room.
It is handy to put most of your hardware together in a small pack. I am using a North Face Butt Pack for this purpose. This always comes into the hotel room (for charging, etc.).

Road Trip Preliminary Route

2009-04-22T14:43:00.000-07:00

.

Once I decided to go on a road trip, I needed to decide where to go. Living on the West Coast put some limits on where I could go (North, East, or South). Initially, I considered a northerly trip going to Banff, but then decided that a southeasterly trip would give me an opportunity to see a lot of places where I have not been. As I mentioned, it is probably good to have some primary destinations or activities for your road trip, and then flesh out the trip.

The following is the preliminary route which evolved for my trip.

My Primary (Core) Destinations Are:

Gallup, New Mexico - to visit a friend.
New Orleans, Louisiana - Because some people love it, and some people don't.
Florida - To go to Disney Magic Kingdom and Epcot.
Lawrence, Kansas - To see the largest collection of 1968 pennies in the known world.

My Secondary Destinations:

Harrah's Laughlin Hotel & Casino, Laughlin, Nevada.
Cadillac Ranch and the Big Texan Restaurant, Amarillo, Texas.
Oklahoma City Memorial.
Clinton Library and Museum, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee.
Tabasco Factory, Avery Island, Louisiana.
Louisville Slugger Museum, Louisville, Kentucky.
The Gateway Arch, St Louis, Missouri.

My Tertiary, Opportunistic Destinations (mostly drive by and look) Include, Among Others:

Wigwam Motel #6, Holbrook, Arizona.
Huge Crosses, Groom Texas.
Natchez Trace, Mississippi.
Kennedy Space Center, Titusville, Florida.
Shoe Tree, near Milltown, Indiana.
Mike the Headless Chicken, Fruita, Colorado.
Wonder Tower, Genoa, Colorado.
The Loneliest Road in America, Highway 50, Nevada.

Preliminary Route Map (the letters represent only a subset of destinations) View Larger Map

Road Trip Planning Tools and Resources

2009-04-21T11:59:00.000-07:00

.
Excellent Road Trip Planning Resources:

www.planning-fun-road-trips.com is a great site for ideas about possible routes, Road Trip philosophy, Check Lists, etc. It is a very good site to help put you in the mood and help develop some structure around your planning.

RoadsideAmerica.Com and particularly their state and province maps of (generally offbeat) attractions can add a lot of fun stops to your road trip. RoadsideAmerica.Com offers a free tool called My Sights Route Planner .

It allows you to build a trip plan around the site's voluminous attraction data.
You can sequence the attractions, then print maps and directions.
I used this tool to create Custom Points of Interest (POIs) files for my Garmin Nuvi GPS unit. A special program is required to load the POIs. I found it good (for usability purposes) to limit the number of POIs in a single file.

Many of the attractions in RoadsideAmerica.Com are free. Some example attractions:

Carhenge - An awe inspiring site in Nebraska which I visited on a previous road trip.
Unique Museums, such as the Spam Museum in Austin, Minnesota.
Several Shoe Trees and many Muffler Men, some of which I hope to see on my trip.

Google Maps is one of several sites which you might use for laying out your trip and calculating travel times and mileages. I used it to help define some reasonably sized driving segments (generally 4 to 5 hours, but sometimes longer since I had a lot of country to cover). Comments on Road Trip Route Planning: Even if you are going to be using on-line resources, it is very helpful to have one or more hard copy maps.

I liked using AAA's United States Map, since I could see my whole planned trip on one large sheet of paper (and since I am a AAA member it was free).
Since I have a GPS unit, I was not very concerned about having detailed maps for all of my journey, but this may vary depending on where you are going and if you plan to use many minor roads.

It probably makes sense to pick a few key destinations and then opportunistically add some destinations along your planned route. This might be called a 'core and explore' strategy.

Going on a Road Trip!

2009-04-20T10:21:00.000-07:00

Why a Road Trip?

Gas prices are down from last year.
There are still a lot of States where I have not been.

Where Should I go on My Road Trip?

If I go south there are more States where I have not been (that means I can collect more refrigerator magnets).
I've always wanted to go to Texas and see cowboys with big belt buckles.
I can probably find someplace free to stay in New Orleans (either with Brad and Angelina or at Harrah's).
As long as I am fairly close, I might as well go Disney World in Florida (I've never been there before).

Planning and Preparation for my Road Trip My next few posts will cover a little more about the planning process and preparation for my road trip.

Thai Fried Pineapple Rice - Part 1

2009-04-03T20:30:00.000-07:00

. This is a good dish for when you have company or attend a potluck.

It is an attractive dish and most people really like it.
It can be cooked ahead and then warmed up before serving.

While this is not really a difficult dish to prepare, it is important that you plan ahead and are organized when you begin cooking. This post covers the advance preparation steps. Note: The white rice should be cooked and refrigerated at least one day in advance, and I actually prefer 2 or 3 days in advance.

Shopping or Inventory List:

A whole Fresh Pineapple
3 Cups Cooked rice (1 Cup raw, Thai Fragrant Jasmine preferred)
1 Cup small raw peanuts with husks - for garnish
1 Egg
¾ Cup Chinese style sausage
¾ Cup Shallots
1 clove Garlic finely chopped
¼ Cup Shrimp
½ Cup Luncheon Meat (Spam) – Optional
¼ Cup Frozen Petite Peas
Oils: Peanut (or vegetable) for frying, Sesame for flavor
3 teaspoons Fish Sauce (or Soy Sauce if you prefer)
1 Tablespoon Turmeric Powder
Salt or soy sauce (optional)
White pepper powder
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 pinch of Cinnamon Powder
Prawn Crackers make a nice accompaniment to the rice

Advance Preparation Steps:

Up to three days ahead (at least one day ahead): Cook the rice in advance and refrigerate
Up to two days ahead: fry ¼ Cup finely chopped shallots in 2 Tbsps of peanut oil until brown, reserve oil for other use and put shallots in an airtight container for garnish
Up to a day ahead: Make a boat (if desired). Discard core. Chop ½ cup of flesh and reserve, and ½ cup of ½ inch cubes to make sweet pineapple, save ½ cup of juice
Up to a day ahead: Make sweet pineapple by cooking ½ cup of cubed pineapple in a small pan with 1 Tablespoon of sugar and a pinch of cinnamon, let cool
Fry peanuts (no need for oil) for about 5 minutes

Prior to cooking:

Cut sausage in half lengthwise then into ¼ inch slices
Cut luncheon meat into ¼ inch cubes
Mince the garlic
Finely chop remaining shallots
Measure other ingredients
If using them, fry the Prawn Crackers

Remaining steps will be covered in Part 2

Thai Fried Pineapple Rice - Part 2

2009-04-03T19:58:00.001-07:00

. See the Ingredient List in Part 1 (where the time consuming work was done). Now, the actual cooking will be fairly quick and easy.

Utensils:

A large wok or a very large frying pan
A Chinese or wooden spatula
A large bowl for serving
About 6 small bowls for reserving cooked ingredients until later steps
Some small spoons available for tasting and spreading garnishes

Cooking Steps:

Heat the wok, add a bit of oil, scramble the eggs, cook lightly, set aside
Fry the Chinese Sausage on medium heat for one minute, set aside
With 2 Tablespoons of peanut (or vegetable) oil, add the finely chopped shallots, and cook over medium heat for 30 seconds. Add garlic and cook another minute
Add shrimp pieces and cook until they have a bit of color
Add the luncheon meat and cook about 5 minutes
Add the chopped raw pineapple for a quick fry then set all ingredients aside
Add 1 Tablespoon peanut oil and 1 teaspoon sesame oil and cold 'cooked rice' to the pan and fry (about 5 minutes)
Add 3 teaspoons fish sauce and 1 Tbsp turmeric powder (and soy sauce if desired)- mix well
Add previously reserved shrimp, luncheon meat, sausage, pineapple, eggs, plus peas and 1 Tbsp pineapple juice (more if dry) sprinkle with a pinch of white pepper powder
Mix well, cook 5 minutes on medium heat, turn off and let cool Transfer to pineapple boat and cook in oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees (if desired). Otherwise, cover and heat the mixture in wok shortly before serving and transfer to bowl.
Garnish with crispy shallots, sweet pineapple, fried peanuts (the garnish is important)

Ready to serve!

This photo is a double batch

Oldest Known Eggy Photo

2009-03-27T00:02:00.000-07:00

. I am probably about 4 years-old and my eldest sister is about 14. We are at my grandmother's plantation near what is not now the Ikea on Alexandra Road. My grandmother raised pigs and chickens, and had a guava plantation. .

There are hardly any farms left in Singapore.
The Union Farm Eating House is one of the few places you can experience old agricultural Singapore.
Union Farm Eating House 435A Clementi Road Tel: 6466 2776 Photo Credit: flapbunny at Vox.com I Their paper wrapped chicken is great, and the ambiance is very special (very good photos at the link above).

Another Roadside Attraction

2009-03-26T22:52:00.000-07:00

This is probably only funny to me... ... and a handful of folks who have been here before.

Three Cups of Tea - An Amazing Story

2009-03-25T22:25:00.000-07:00

"Three Cups of Tea" is the non-fiction story of an American Humanitarian (Greg Mortenson) who has committed his life to building schools (primarily for girls) in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Photo Credit: “Image courtesy Central Asia Institute.”

It is an amazing story that has action, suspense, romance, good, and evil. It is about 330 pages of reading which you will probably find hard to put down. All of the readers in my book club were moved by this story.

Three Cups of Tea has received much popular acclaim and was on the New York Times Best Seller List for more than 100 weeks. It has been translated into a number of languages. There is also a 'Young Reader's Edition' a children's book, and audio versions.

Purchases of Three Cups of Tea made through Amazon.com (or certain independent bookstores) via a special link on the Three Cups of Tea website will generate up to 7% of proceeds to benefit Greg Mortenson's non-profit organization (The Central Asia Institute).

How to Make a Pineapple Boat

2009-03-24T15:56:00.000-07:00

. A Pineapple Boat makes a festive bowl for fruit or rice dishes. It is especially appropriate as a bowl for Pineapple Rice. Here is the step by step procedure for creating a Pineapple Boat (a.k.a., Pineapple Bowl): 1. Assembly your pineapple and tools. 2. Trim the ends off of any unattractive leaves. You can trim the leaves with rounded or pointed tips. 3. Using a stiff blade sharp knife, cut an approximately one inch slice from the pineapple. For this type of presentation bowl do not cut through the crown. To make two serving sized bowls, you may want to cut the pineapple in half (through the crown). 4. Set the small piece aside for possible use as a lid. 5. Trim around the edge of the flesh, being careful not to puncture the skin. A grapefruit knife may be useful for this. 6. Carefully cut a line down the center of the pineapple. You want to cut as close to the skin as possible without puncturing it. It is not really a problem if you don't get close enough to the skin because you can scrape any excess out at a later point. Of course you will want to save the pineapple flesh for other uses. 7. Cut wedges from the center line to the cut at the edge. It probably goes without saying by this point not to cut through the skin. Repeat the process until the pineapple is hollow. Clean up any rough spots with a scoop or scraper. 8. Wrap the completed Pineapple Boat in aluminum foil and keep in the refrigerator for up to one day. Now, you can use your Pineapple Boat to make this delicious Thai Pineapple Rice recipe!

Steamboat is The Chinese Equivalent of Fondue

2009-03-22T15:57:00.000-07:00

Steamboat is a broth based cooking technique which is popular in China, Southeast Asia, and other places. Some people say that the word Steamboat originated from mispronunciation of the words 'Steam Bowl'. Steamboat is a communal cooking experience where each guest selects their own choice of ingredients and cooks them on a burner at the table. While very popular as an 'At Your Table Buffet' in restaurants, Steamboat is also very feasible to make at home. See some more information which I wrote about Steamboat here. Some ideas for making Steamboat at home: Select one type of broth

Chicken Broth
Fish Broth (Silverfish: Tiny Anchovies, Fish Bones, or Salted Fish)
Spicy Tom Yum Broth
Chinese Herbal Soup Mix
Or others

Choose whatever additional ingredients that you may like

Noodles (Bee Hoon, Kway Teow, Yellow Egg, Glass)
Steamed Rice
Fish Ball
Cuttlefish Balls
Prawn Balls
Fish Slices
Sotong
Prawn
Scallops
Artificial Crab Slices
Chicken Meat Slices
Pork Meat Slices
Beef Balls
Wonton Dumplings
Mushrooms (Golden, Straw, Button)
Tofu
Eggs
Spinach
Chinese Cabbage
Bamboo Shoots
Szechuan Vegetables
Soy Sauce
Chili Sauce

The spicy dipping sauce used at Coca Restaurant in Singapore is excellent. It is a secret recipe, but I have a pretty good idea of some of its primary components.

Recent Reviews At SharedReviews.Com

2009-03-20T23:06:00.000-07:00

Vintage Bugis Street Photos - Old Singapore

Also see my other page with more Bugis Street photos.

For Dracula and Day Sleepers - Blackout Curtains

Miracle Grow Plant Food Review

Three Cups of Tea - You Must Read This Book!

It's the Water - Innowave UVF Water Dispenser

Interlink Rechargeable Bluetooth Mouse VP6151

COOLMAX USB Laptop Cooling Pad NB-200 Review

Vintage Bugis Street Girls

2009-03-09T01:30:00.000-07:00

Bugis Street was a popular tourist entertainment area in Singapore from the 1950s to 1980s. Bugis Street was particularly popular with foreign sailors and military people because of the friendly people who worked there made them feel at home.

Although a good time was evidently had by all, things (and people) were not always necessarily what they seemed.

In the mid-1980's this area of Bugis Street went through a redevelopment process and the entertainment area was displaced. Today, Bugis Street is a bustling modern shopping area.