Have Laptop, Will Travel

Butterflies are free

2009-05-07T18:47:00.000-07:00

http://volcanoseven.com/Butterflies/HagerstownButterflies.html

My motel is only 1.2 miles from downtown Hagerstown. I started out to walk there this morning, but it started drizzling, so I got my car and drove instead. There is free parking in that area, on the size streets, as well as a public parking garage.

I wandered around the two block area called the Arts and Entertainment District. First thing I did was stop in at the Visitors Center, which was right on the corner, and pick up dozens of flyers and some post cards to send to family.

I had noticed the butterflies yesterday. Today I discovered that they are a temporary thing... they are to be auctioned off in a month to get funds for a new art center.

There's a theatre on Potomac street (indeed, I saw a lot of tuxedo clad men and black-gowned women exiting that thater, and could hear the delightful sound of laughing children within the building as I walked past) (to me, theater is a movie theater, and theatre is a place where they have plays.)

From Richmond, Va to Hagerstown, MD

2009-05-06T19:53:00.000-07:00

Where are the motels?

1. Rain
Well, it rained pretty much all the time I was in Richmond, VA. I wasn't too upset about it. Since I live only an hour or so away from Richmond anyway, I can go there anytime to see the Richmond Battlefield, and other things that I did not catch on this occasion.

2. On to Maryland
Fortunately, it didn't rain at all on my approximately 5 hour drive from Richmond to Hagerstown, Maryland (it would have been a bit less, but I made some stops along the way). I was very grateful for that because for about the last 2 hours of the drive, when I was near the "Beltway" of Washington, Baltimore, and passing Quantico) I was on some major-league highways - 4 and sometimes 5 lanes going in each direction, and everyone going 70 miles an hour.

3. Poor Woman's GPS
I have a "poor woman's GPS" which I invented myself - I took the clip off of a clipboard, and wired it to the top of my steering wheel. Then, I clipped my driving directions from the Yahoo Driving Directions website to it. I had gotten the directions specifically from the Virginia Aviation Museum to the Hagerstown Aviation Museum. It ended up working great.

I had the paper folded in such a way that I could see my speedometer (I don't want to get a speeding ticket, thank you very much) but could still glance down at the directions and with my peripheral vision still see what was in front of me. Hands free, directions always in sight, and accurate directions, too.

As I drove, I simultaneously rejoiced in solitary travel, and rued it. Had I had a passenger in the car, they could have been ready with their camera to take photos of some pretty nice scenery, and make list of all the Civil War and other tourist locations I was speeding by, for future reference.

As it is, I drove past Chancellorsville and Spotsylvania and Fredericksburg battlefields (more about those in a separate entry) but I did stop in at the Jackson Shrine (the building where General Stonewall Jackson died is still in existence, and a Park Ranger there will explain what happened, etc. - More in a different entry.)

My plan had been to drive to Hagerstown and visit the Aviation museum, then get a hotel for the night.

4. Where's the Tourist Info Office?
However, once I got close, I ended up taking two detours. (Hagerstown is a relatively large city - a little over 39,000 people, and there were several exits along the highway to get into the different parts of the city.)

The first time, I forget what exit I took, but I took it because there was supposed to be a Hagerstown Tourism Information Bureau on it. I expected to see it immediatley on the side of the road, but not so. I kept driving. Well, after five miles I didn't see a Tourist Information Building, so I turned around and got back on I-81.

5. A place to stay first, then the other stuff
I was supposed to get off on Exit 10 for the museum, but then I saw announced on those blue signs that they have at the endges of highways to alert people to food, lodging, and gas stations available (not to mention, Tourist Information Bureaus),
that Exit 6A had an Econolodge, and various other motels and hotels on it,
Well, I'd stayed in an Econolodge in Richmond, and was pleased with the bath, the fridge, and the free internet, so I decided I'd check out this one, and took the exit.

And I get from the access road to the intersection at the top, and I don't see a bank of food, motels and gas like I expected. No, I kept driving, and kept driving, and it had to have been about 5 miles before I came to the Econolodge. (Fortunately, there were a few signs on the right hand side of the road, an arrow pointing in the direction I was going, indicating that the motels were on that road. Somewhere.)

I started out annoyed at being tricked, but then I was glad I'd taken the exit because I actually drove through the downtown of Hagerstown, and there were large, and cute sculptures of butterflies everywhere (I shall return there tomorrow to take photos!) The architecture was interesting, also.

So, I got to the Econolodge, and this one was a 4-floor building (it actually used to be a Quality Inn), but I guess Econolodge bought them out. Paid $10 more than I wanted ($56 total) but everything was there - fridge, bath etc. (I forgot to mention. The Econolodge in Richmond had an iron and a blow-dryer and a coffee maker. This one doesn't have an iron, but it does have a small safe.) It's actually an interesting room. The countertop and sink is in the room itself, while the toilet and bathtub are in a room on its own. But there's also a table, the obligatory end tables with lamps, and a chest of drawers.

So after checking in and bringing up a couple of bags, I try to decide if I want to get to the Museum that day. But just as I'm about to decide, it started raining. Decision made.

So I've been doing some work ... and decided I'd stay here for an extra night, just to get caught up on various things, before moving on to Erie Pennsylania on Friday night.

Tales From the Road: They Do Things Differently in Richmond

2009-05-05T11:27:00.001-07:00

Okay, this is just a grocery store shopping story, however I feel like venting, so...

I decided to go to the Krogers at Laburnum Shopping center and pick up some frozen food stuff for lunch, dinner and tomorrow's breakfast. (I've got a fridge, not a freezer, but I doubt if letting the food thaw for one day is going to harm my health.)

So, I go into the store and pick my food.

I chose a Claim Jumper restaurant Chicken Fried Beef Steak, with Gravy, Mashed Potatoes and Corn on the Cob (Same great taste, less packaging), because I'd never seen the Claim Jumper Brand before and I wanted to try it out,
Marie Callender's Country Fried Pork chop, with bacon mash potatoes and vegetables,
and a big ol serving of Macaroni and cheese - and I already regret buying such a big portion... too late now, though. Anyway, that's my breakfast for tomorrow.

So, I decide to buy another reusable grocery bag. I place my goods on the little conveyor belt. I put the bag first, then the three frozen food items. "Please put the items in the bag, too." I say. In this way trying to imply that I also have to buy the bag. (Not to mention the fact that the purchase label was still on the bag, which should have made it obvious that I had yet to buy it. And if she wasn't sure she should have asked!)

Well, Krogers must be unionized, because they have the people who do the checking out, and they have people who pack your groceries and put it in your cart for you.

The lady in front of me was buying a lot of stuff, which the guy still had left to bag. But, I wanted my things put specifically in this white recycle bag, so I didn't see why I should have to wait. There was also the word closed on the credit card swiper thingy. "Does this mean you're not open?" I asked - because I'd never seen that before. But my check-outer, a fiftyish-or so (I'm not good at judging ages) white woman, said, "No. But he's not done packing yet." In a rather rude tone. "Even though I just want them in this recycable bag?" I ask. She says yes.

So she charges me for stuff, but I note that she does not ring up the bag. She tells me my total (and does ask if I had a Kroger card, which I had forgotten I had, as I rarely shop at this store) but I asked her, "Did you get the bag?" she said "Not yet." Then she puts everything in the bag and the bagger put it in a cart (which I hadn't used, not sure how it got there.)

Anyway, at this point I just gave up. I'm sure the bag only cost a dollar, and I'd given her her opportunity, and she was rude, so I just walked out of the store with a shrug.

Lesson to clerks at grocery stores - if you're rude, and you make a mistake like giving too much change or not charging for an item, chances are your customer will just walk out, thinking it serves you right. Whereas if you are polite, and you make a mistake, chances are they'll try to work with you to get the problem fixed so your drawer doesn't end up short at the end of your shift!

Final notes on Econolodge, and other stuff

2009-05-05T09:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I'd use the Richmond Econolodge again.

Originally I'd been a bit ticked off. I turned in my key this morning and got my receipt. Of course, the state nickel and dimes you to death with room tax and usage tax, but there was also a $1.50 charge for the safe I hadn't asked for and didn't use, which had be annoyed.

But then I checked out the Motel 6, just a few yards down the road... $39.99 per day ($2 more than Econolodge), plus an extra $3 for internet. And - no refigerator and no microwave and a shower, no bathtub. (And then add on the room and usage tax.)

So heck, from now on I'll look for Econolodges before Motel 6. Still a much better deal. (Of course, every location will be different, but I'm thinking the general politicies will be the same.)

I am currently ensconced in the Airport Inn, just next to the Motel 6. I splurged, I'm afraid, $56 for the night - $10 more than I'd paid last night. But I need to get my stuff put in order - yes, I should have been much more organized before I'd even left the house, so lesson learned there.

Anyway, I'm on the ground floor, so it'll be a lot easier to bring all my luggage in, and sort it better so I'm able to bring in only what I need, at every other motel I stop at. I still haven't found my toiletries bag, for example.

All stuff that should have been figured out better before I'd even left, but I was just so excited to be leaving home, and I'd had some last minute stuff for other people that I do freelance work for, and let's face it, I'd procrastinated. So now here I am in Richmond doing what I should have done two days ago.

Airport Inn
I'm in a non-smoking room. Bed is twice as big as the one yesterday. Carpet just as thin. Big old chair. Table with a chair. Several lamps. Bathtub is pristine. The rear of it goes straight down, presumably to discourage people from relaxing in it and reading a book while they soak, which is what I like to do (and was the same design as the one at Econolodge. I guess they want to discourage people re-heating their bath water two or three times while they soak..)

Refrigerator and microwave. Think I'll nip over to Krogers and pick up a hopefully cheap TV dinner.

Internet was free and I didn't even need a password to sign on to it, which I did for Econolodge. (One wonders if they are going to gear up to charge people for it. They had their own website that came up automatically, where one put in the password and username. Why do that unless they're eventually going to make people pay to use it?)

So, I had checked out of Econolodge, which took me a long time because I had so many bags to bring down. Also because I only brought one bag at a time, not wanting to overstrain my little arms. Anyway, then I went to the Aviation Museum which was a lot of fun, and I'll be sharing those photos as soon as I find the cable I need to download the photos. (All my cables and electronic stuff are in a green bag - I just need to find that bag!)

Then I went to Motel 6, and asked about the tub and the fridge first thing. Internet access is my main requirement, the fridge second, and the tub third. Since that Motel 6 had neither tub nor fridge...

The Airport Inn was right next door. I'm in the back rather than on the road, and I don't think I have any neighbors. There's a strip of lawn behind the building, then a fence, and then it looks like a residential area. (As there was behind the Econolodge, which I had noticed but don't think I had reported on.)

My TV channel changer didn't work and the battery compartment was sealed, so I brought it to the front desk, and she switched them out for me. People stealing batteries must be a frequent occurrence!

So, it's 12:54 pm. I will bring in all my visible bags now (the same stuff I had out yesterday), then go for a drive, and when I return, unpack everything in the trunk and try to get more organized.

Here's a tip...

2009-05-04T18:21:00.000-07:00

Before you carry your bags up to your new motel room - or even your new hotel room - run the bathwater to see if its going to be hot when you want it.

Just tried to take a nice long hot bath and the water never got above luke warm. I suppose someone else on the same floor - there's a room behind me that is coccupied - could have taken a bath and used up the hot water for a while. I'll give it another try in an hour or so.

But the tip still stands. Before you lug all your luggage into a new room, check out its basic amenities, to make sure you won't have to ask for a new room. Make sure the fridge works, and that you have hot water, and that either the air conditioner or heater works, depending on the season. Ohterwise, you jut have to duplicate the effort to move to a different room, so it make sense to check it out first.

I also can't find my alarm clock, which I know I put in a bag that I put in the front seat of my car...

Well..I normally do wake up at 10 am anyway, and check out time is 11, so I dont anticipate that being a problem.

But it's annoying.

Read the material your motel provides!

2009-05-04T15:05:00.001-07:00

Decided on a whim to look through the Econolodge In-Room Guest Directory. And lo and behold, there was a television channel lineup, specifically for the Richmond Airport Econolodge. That will come in handy - for all that I had promised myself that on this trip I would watch very little TV and read more books.

The official address is 5408 Williamsburg Road, Sandston, VA, 23150.

Phone 804-222-1020
Fax 804-222-1783
www.econolodgesandston.com

Buying cheap stuff!

2009-05-04T14:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday nipped out to Walmart and bought $60 worth of toiletries and things for my adventure. I had most of the stuff already, but I like starting out new adventures with new things.

So, I bought a 4 pack of plastic food containers. They were from Rubbermaid so I thought they'd be good, for all that they were $1 for the four, but they're not very good. Probably 1/2 the plastic they use for the good containers, and the skinny lid doesn't stay on properly.

Moral of the story - if you've got a choice of paying a dollar or five dollars for food containers, go for the $5 every time.

Report on the Econolodge, Richmond Airport, VA

2009-05-04T13:45:00.000-07:00

So gradually for the next 3 hours I'll move stuff around in my car, taking some stuff up to my room, etc. I need to have things set up so all the books and stuff I've brought along on an "as-needed" basis, are tucked away safely, and all the things I'll want on a day-to-day basis are in easy reach.

I'm on the second floor and I'm out of shape, so I've got to do it gradually.

Report on the Econolodge by Richmond Airport, on Williamsburg Road

$44 for a single room, including tax. (I won't pick up my receipt until tomorrow, I'll break it down then.) There are ice machines, and a laundry.

I had intended to take one of my pillows with me, then I thought, no, for reasons which now seem silly... anyway, I regret it. The pillows here, and probably at all the cheap motels I'll be staying in, are flat, useless things. If I come across a Walgreens I'll stop in and buy a decent pillow and a pillow case.

They had options of smoking or no smoking rooms, I'm in a single, no smoking. My bed is.... let me pull out my handy dandy tape measure...54 inches (4.5 feet) X 81 (6.75)

Carpet is thin but fine. There's night tables on either side of this narrow bed, with a lamp on each side. The clock is not only not plugged in, but has no capability of being plugged in. Someone appears to have ripped out the wires.

The bathroom light fixture is set up such that you have to turn on the fan first, then the light. If you just turn on the light, it won't come on. The bath is shallow, and has been painted with poorly-matching enamel paint, but which isn't peeling (unlike the paint my mother used to paint a claw-foot bathroom we once had!). So while I wish it was a pristine bath, I'm not going to let that prevent me from taking a nice hot bath tonight.

The tile floor is cold and perhaps a bit dampish. Towels are thin but there are a lot of them, so I've just put a couple on the floor as a rug. I brought a couple of my own towels, plus soap and shampoo, so as not to have to rely on any provided by motels. (And I still wonder why I didn't bring an extra pillow.)

TV is big screen and it has a remote - as they all do these days, of course - so that's good.

It has a narrow safe, perhaps 13 deep X 16 wide X 7 high, so I could stick my laptop in there if I wanted to, and my money, were I staying for more than one day...

Refrigerator...doesn't seem very cold...and a microwave that I'll try out tonight with a chicken dish I brought from home. (After today, all my meals will be from fast food restaurants!) Anywhere I go, wi-fi and fridge are critical. Fridge is necessary for all my Pepsis.

Also a round table iwth two armchairs. There's a smoke detector high on one wall...I won't bother to see if its got working batteries or not.

As you drive down Wiliamsburg Avenue, you will pass a variety of other motels, hotels and restaurants, but very shortly - even within walking distance - is Laburnum Avenue and Laburnum Shopping Center. There's a Walgreens, a Krogers food store, and a variety of other stores.

Somewhere in in one of my bags is my digital recorder. I'll keep that in closer proximity, once I find it, so I can record the names of businesses I pass by as I drive, so I can list them in this blog in order.

Purpose of this blog is many-fold, but one thing I want to do is enable people to be able to plan their trips using this blog as a guide (or material that I otherwise am collecting and hope to turn into a book.)

One annoying thing is that this TV has a hundred channels, but no channel ID card, so I don't know what's what.

The best laid plans of mice and me....

2009-05-04T12:47:00.000-07:00

I had intended to leave on my drive around America on May 1. But, someone whom I do freelance work for had said they were sending me a case (or at least a couple of bottles) of a drink called StarPower - all natural, made from Star Fruit. (Carambola). And I received an "official" communicae from the post office to my email saying that it was going to arrive Monday. So, I decide to postpone my trip to Monday.

Mail comes - no StarPower.

So, heck with it, I'm a pepsi drinker anyway.

So I drove up to Richmond, 70 miles away, and it was raining, but that's okay, as I've got books to read.

I check in to the Econolodge on the "hotel strip" beside the airport. Not sure if that was a mistake or not, and it seems to be inhabited by people who live here because they can't afford to rent apartments. Not that I care about that, much, I just want it to be quiet tonight when I'm trying to sleep. (The door is secure, and I'm not worried about intrusion. I just don't want my car broken into...)

But I went over to the Virginia Aviation Museum (located on the grounds of the Richmond Airport)...and it now closed on Mondays. So that was annoying.

Too much rain to drive into Richmond and walk around some Civil War sites, so I"m staying at the motel, and will do some reading.

All my luggage is still in the car, including the stuff I'd just dumped into the front and back seats, intending to sort them out later. Well, if the rain ever lets up I'll go get them.

I can hear cars going by on a regular basis. That doesn't bother me, I like the sound of travel - cars, trains, planes.... but there are some birds nesting outside my room, and if they cheep at night, I'll never be able to get to sleep!

Hagerstown, Maryland

2009-04-20T21:27:00.000-07:00

Well,the itinerary is slowly coming into shape. I haven't had much time in the last week or so to do any real planning, but in the next 10 days I'll be fleshing out the trip.

I'll be staying in Richmond for two days, to take in the Civil War stuff there, as well as visit the Richmond Airport which has the Virginia Aviation Museum.

Then, I'm going to drive up to Hagerstown, Maryland. Also full of Civil War stuff, there's also the Hagerstown Aviation Museum.

After Hagerstown, I'm going all the way up to Erie, Pennsylvania for a few days.

Ten more days until I leave for my trip.... I'm so excited!

Did a web search on the motels around Richmond Airport (I like staying beside airports - I like the sound of planes taking off and landing) and reviews were most unappreciative of Motel 6 and Super 8. Well, I'll risk one or the other anyway. As long as my room has a refrigerator so I can keep my Pepsis cold, I'm set...

Phones and Magazines

2009-04-15T13:50:00.000-07:00

Telephone
I'd expected to be able to borrow my dad's cellphone for my 3 month journey around the US, but he didnt' want it out of his hands that long, so I ended up buying a "pay as you" go phone, called a Tracphone. $52 for the phone and 60 extra minutes.

I'm kind of ticked, though, as there are hidden charges they don't tell you about. It should be that if you buy minutes, you should be fine. Not so. Every 90 days, your service "expires" if you don't buy more minutes, regardless of if you still have minutes left on your phone. So, every 90 days, you have to pay $20 to buy a new card.

Now, since I don't call anybody (I use Skype on my laptop) I don't even need this phone, it's just for emergencies. So I'm kind of annoyed. On the other hand, I suppose paying $80 a year for emergency phone service is no big deal....

I'm still reading the manual, and it has some nice features - but of course if you implement them they cost money.... anyway, I'm pleased with it. Every time I hold one of these fliptop mobile phones, I"m always reminded of the communicators from the Enterprise and Star Trek. A little jolt of nostalgia is always fun...

Magazines
I've got dozens of Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, AOPA Pilot, and other magazines that I've acquired and never read. (Not to mention quite a few books.) So that's another thing I'm going to do on this trip, make a conscience effort to read a magazine a day - and of course take the info gained from such reading and turn them into articles or blog entries on the internet.

I'm having fun packing, too. Got a big ol' plastic crate, and I"m packing all my mags in smaller boxes, and stacking them in there. Bringing along some dumbbells so I can get in a few minutes of weight training each day. (I'd thought about bringing my bike but there's no room in the trunk...).

15 more days to go...

Then, Richmond, here I come.

Aviation and Poetry...

2009-03-31T15:57:00.000-07:00

In doing my research for the aviation stuff I want to see in Ohio - a must see is the International Women's Air and Space Museum in Cleveland Ohio, I wanted to see what Wright Brothers material there was.

So I do a google search and come up with the Dayton Aviation Heritage Park.
http://www.nps.gov/daav/

And this is their description:

Three exceptional men from Dayton, Ohio, Wilbur Wright, Orville Wright and Paul Laurence Dunbar, found their creative outlet here through accomplishments and failures, and finally success. However, these men offered the world something far greater, they offered the world hope, and the ability to take a dream and make it a reality.

Now, reading that, wouldn't you think that Paul Laurence Dunbar has something to do with Aviation?

But it goes further...

Come see the new additions to the Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center plaza!
Call 937-225-7705 for directions. Chat with our knowledgeable staff, pick up literature and directions to our other sites, and find out about programs and special events during your stay. Or, you can join our e-mail list to receive updates on park events.
Extended hours - The Huffman Prairie Flying Field Interpretive Center is open until 6:00pm daily during summer months.

So, at the Dayton Aviation Heritage Park, dedicated to three men, the Wright Brothers and Laurence Dunbar, we've also got a Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center.

Well, gee, you might be thinking to yourself. I've read up on those Wright brothers and I've never heard of anyone named Paul Laurence Dunbar contributing anything to their tasks, let alone to aviation itself.

And of course you'd be right. Paul Laurence Dunbar has nothing to do with aviation. He was a black poet. Very famous, actually... but the thing is... he's got nothing to do with aviation! He may deserve a memorial... but why connect him up with the Wright brothers???

The Last Chance Tour

2009-03-31T11:31:00.000-07:00

I'm starting up a website now, where I'll be posting all my travel articles for my "Have Laptop, Will Travel" tour beginning May 1. I'm trying to think of a clever name for it. Right now, depressed as I am, I'm thinking of calling it the Last Chance Saloon Tour.

1. Last chance to travel around the country with affordable gas prices.
2. Last chance to see probably thousands of decades-old businesses that will fold in a year or so. (I'm talking about businesses along the highways and in towns, not the museums that are my main travel target...although who knows if they'll be able to survive...)
3. Last chance to see an America that's even vaguely prosperous.
4. Last chance to see an America that's even vaguely capitalism-istic. (Okay, so I've coined a new world.)

I'm afraid the country has already reached the tipping point. The government - Obama and his Democrats, are taking over the country with ease. It's Atlas Shrugged all over again. The doers and the creators are being forced out, the wealth is being spread around...and soon everyone, except the politicians, of course, will be equally poor. No more "exceptionalism" for the United States, as Rush Limbaugh puts it. No more leading the world... soon we'll be looking to China for handouts.

Well...I'm depressed. But, I'll have my three months of travel and adventure this summer. Hopefully the fond memories of that, memories of when I was happy, will be able to sustain me in a future of misery. Well...that's probaby melodramatic. As long as I've got my DVDs and a player to play them on, I'm happy. But when I think of what's in store for future generations...

Everyone reading this post. Take stock of your lives right now. Everything you own. How much you earn. How much it costs you to buy groceries and go travelling. What kind of car you have. How easy it is to do whatever you want to do. Regardless of your economic situation - whether you're poor and reading this on a library computer, or well off and reading this in the library of your home.... take stock of where you are, and where the country is.

Put that stock-taking away, and take it out in five years. If any of you, any of you, are any better off than you are now... well, first I'll be pretty surprised, but second I'd ask you to email me and tell me so! And how you managed to achieve that miracle!

Shape coming to my May journey

2009-03-30T18:53:00.000-07:00

I received a newsletter today (Hangar One News) from the National WASP WWII museum, located in Sweetwater, Texas. On Saturday, May 23, 2009 there's going to be a "Homecoming 2009" and I shall be thre. There'll be a free open house starting at 10 am. There's a dinner at 7 pm with featured speaker Major Bridget McNamara, USAF. It costs $25, don't know if I'll attend, scruffy as I'll be...(my traveling wardrobe will be shorts and t-shirts.)

Anyway, so that's how I'm going to arrange my month. First night Richmond, second night somewhere in Virginia as I check out some Civil War stuff in the area, third night Dayton, Ohio. I'll spend some time in Ohio, and then head westward, ultimate stop for at least a couple of days will be Minneapolis, Minnesota, my old home town. I'll look up a few people before continuing on towards Texas...

http://waspmuseum.org/

I'm also trying to think of names for the website I'll be creating out of my May cross country drive, something like the Last Chance Tour... as I'll lay odds of a million to one that half the businesses I drive past, will be out of business in another year or so, as so many businesses that have been successful for decades are now folding, one after the other....

That's why I've got to make this trip now, as quickly as possible. So much of the stuff I've wanted to see in the country may well be gone in another year or so...or so much more expensive to get to, after our economy bites the dust thanks to our new President...

Well, who is John Galt?
http://volcanoseven.com/WhoIsJohnGalt/ (Bumper stickers) Let's take the country back from the socialists!

From Richmond to Dayton, Ohio

2009-03-29T20:03:00.000-07:00

So much stuff has been going on in the last couple of weeks... I have a gig editing a weight loss book for an author. It needs a lot of work, but I'm up to the challenge, as per usual.

My plan is to leave on March 1, 2009 for at least a three month drive around the country. I'll spend most of the time on my own, but I've got relatives in Texas, and in Wyoming, whom I'll doubtless be visiing on my travels. I did have a brother in Seattle, but he's now in St. Croix, American Virgin Islans. So I might not go as far as Seattle, although it would have been nice to see the Science Fiction Museum there. However, a good thing came out of that --- my brother sold me his car at an inexpensive price, and that's given me the wheels to be able to drive cross-country.

Originally, I'd been planning on taking Amtrak, but let's face it, if you've got a car, you can go so many more places...perhaps next year I'll be able to fulfill the dream of travelling cross country by Amtrak.

Anyway, on the first day, I'm just going to drive to Richmond, Virginia, and spend the day and night there. There's lots of Civil War stuff there which I've long wanted to see, but despite the fact that I've lived am hour away from Richmond for three years, I've only been there a couple of times, and only for a few hours each time - to visit the aviation museum at the Richmond International Airport, and we walked through the Edgar Allan Poe house.

The next day, I'll set out for Dayton, Ohio, to see various Wright Brothers stuff and the Women's International Air and Space Museum. According to Yahoo Driving Directions, the WIASM is just an 8 hour drive away from Yorktown...so just a 7 hour drive away from Richmond.

I'll enumerate other plans in future posts.

Manifesto

2009-03-24T19:47:00.000-07:00

The purpose of this blog is twofold. I intend to chronicle my journey around the United States, and I hope to impress potential clients who will want me to write travel articles for them.

Beginning on May 1, 2009, I will begin my drive from Yorktown, Virginia cross-country around the United States. At the very least I'll drive as far as Minnesota. I may go as far as Wyoming...depending on if my relatives are there at the appropriate time... they will be travelling during the summer months, themselves.

Anway, from Minnesota, if I decide to stop there, I'll go south to Texas, because I want to see Avenger Field and the WASP museum there. Then I'll circle back towards Virginia, stopping at various locations as I go.

The trip might take me a month, it might take me three months. It all depends on how the money holds out. ; )

I'll be staying in Super 8s and Motel 6s along the route... I don't need anything fancier than that. Indeed, all I need is a room with Internet capabilities, and walls solid enough so that I don't have to listen to other people's activities during the night.

So, on May 1, I will begin my journey by driving up to Richmond, Virginia. It's only an hour away from where I live now. I will stay at a motel near the airport, and spend a day walking around and visiting the various Civil War related sites. I have already been to the Edgar Allen Poe house, but I'll probably return there, also.

Then, on May 2nd, I'll drive through some more Virginian towns that have Civil War related sites to see, and may stay in Virginia for one more night before going in to Maryland.

So for the next month and a half, I'll share my plans for the trip, and then beginning May 1, 2009.... the trip will begin.

And it will be awesome!