TravelStream™ news feed for member cshilakes on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/cshilakes en-us Copyright ©2010 TravelPod.com Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:26:03 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1055807460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1055807460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1055807460/tpod.html Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:26:03 -0400 150 Days, 31 States, 20 National Parks, 3 Time Zones AND 2 Toddlers

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Washington DC, District of Columbia, United States

June 9 (Day 40) Williamsburg, VA
We arrived in Williamsburg to beautiful weather and wonderful accommodations at the Williamsburg Inn. Williamsburg is the Revolutionary War-period city and seat of colonial government for the fledgling United States. We strolled the streets admiring the beautifully restored and maintained structures. Eighty-eight buildings in Williamsburg were from pre-1800 and scores more had been reconstructed. Chris had been here when he was a child but remembered little of the town itself. We found a couple of pluses in Williamsburg: a) a very family friendly attitude, and b) many streets in the central historic district are closed to traffic and are wonderful pedestrian malls. We put Isabelle in the stockade and noticed how well behaved she was. We considered building our own travel-version of the stocks to ease the rest of our trip and are working on a prototype. This is a place where if the girls were in elementary school, the living history would be incomparable. As it was, Jocelyn and Isabelle had their run in with history, at Shields Tavern. This was a creaky floor boards, fowl roasting on the spit and tankards of ale- honest to goodness tavern. We discovered a wonderful concoction called a "rummer" from a 1700s popular tavern drink of dark rum, apricot and peach brandies, lime juice and a dash of cherry. These helped the meal to pass more quickly for Chris and Kirst. When the strolling minstrels came by our table to serenade us, Jocelyn proceded to cover her ears and scream "too loud, too loud". This must have prompted the minstrels to summon Mr. Shields, the proprietor in period costume, who plopped down, powdered wig and all, next to Jocey and asked "and what do we call the little moppet?" Jocelyn looked at Mr. Shields sideways and went back to her coloring, to which Mr. Shields said "oh, we would rather scribble than speak with Mr. Shields?" Everyone in the restaurant got a big kick out of it, except for Shields himself.

June 10-11 (Days 41-42) Charlottesville, VA
From Williamsburg it is a 90 minute drive up to Charlottesville, home of Jefferson's Monticello and the University of Virginia (founded by Jefferson). We really enjoyed Charlottesville and would put it at the top of the list of towns we have visited so far on our trip. The "horse country" is beautiful, with sprawling pastures framed by white fences, and we took several drives through the rolling hills surrounding the town. We stayed at a fantastic destination resort called Keswick Hall, just outside of Charlottesville. Keswick featured a wonderful Provence-style country home nestled in a valley with a patchwork of fields and woods. An Arnold Palmer golf course was added to the long list of great courses Chris was unable to play so far on this trip. We did arrange some babysitting here and were able to get away to see Monticello, Jefferson's architectural wonder and 3,000 acre plantation. You cannot visit this region and not see Monticello. It is a must. Jefferson was a Farmer, a Statesman, Scientist, Draftsman and true Renaissance man. Several interesting juxtapositions with this man, who wrote that "all men are created equal" and yet owned slaves. The tour guides here are very knowledgeable and entertaining. We walked the UVA campus with the girls, with plenty of room to romp on "The Lawn", behind its famous Rotunda. We entered the cozy campus chapel, which was deserted, and showed the girls some wonderful stained glass windows and enjoyed a few minutes of silent prayer and reflection on our journey so far. We tried to check out the Asian art collection at the university art museum, but it would not open for two more hours so we had to move on. As we returned from the campus a storm was brewing and we had a spectacular light show as a strong thunderstorm rolled over the valley outside of Keswick Hall. Having grown up in Michigan, Kirsten and I both miss summer thunderstorms, which are virtually non-existent in California.

June 12 (Day 43) Fredericksburg, VA
We rolled into Fredericksburg, which is spelled slightly differently than its Texas counterpart but has a similar charm. Some famous Civil War battles were fought in and around this area, including the Battles of Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg. This town is heavy on Civil War history and merchandising, largely tastefully done. Unfortunately, we are not Civil War buffs. We window shopped on the quaint streets, reloaded on books and toys for the girls and took a self-guided historical walking tour with a couple of noteworthy sites, including a revolutionary war-period apothecary's shop, with living history demonstrations of bloodletting with leeches and the like. All very interesting and thank goodness for modern medicine.

June 13-16 (Days 44-47) Washington, DC
We split our time in our nation's capital between two locations, L'enfant Plaza (just south of the National Mall and the Smithsonian Museums) and then on to Georgetown, in Northwest DC. We absorbed as many museums as possible during our first two days, including some or all of the Air and Space, Natural History, Hirshhorn (Modern Art), Sackler (Asian), African (especially Moroccan tapestries), Arts and Industry. The Air and Space is the most visited museum in the world, and it seemed like everyone was there the day we went. It is an amazing collection of aerospace achievement with the entry hall itself showcasing the original Wright Brothers Flyer, Lindburgh's Spirit of St. Louis, John Glenn's Mercury capsule, Apollo 11 Capsule, X-15 (first through sound barrier) among other artifacts. We tried to take the girls to an IMAX film on helicopters and that failed when Jocey bailed ("too loud, it scares me..."). Chris took in the entire Hirshhorn in half an hour (close to a world record) while the girls and Kirsten napped in the hotel. That evening, we took the girls for a special treat, a ride on DC's spectacular subway system, called the Metro. Their eyes bugged out as they entered the cavernous, honeycombed metro station and they giggled for two full stops as we zipped through subterranean DC. On Sunday morning, Kirsten watched the girls while Chris took a fathers day run around the Lincoln Memorial, stopping only to see the Korean War Memorial and the World War II Memorial (currently under construction). After the run, the girls played on the lawn beside the Washington Monument and rode the carousel beside the Smithsonian "Castle". We then moved cross-town to a fantastic new Ritz Carlton in Georgetown, in Northwestern DC. This new hotel is built inside what was formerly the Georgetown incinerator, with the theme of the hotel having to do with temperature (Fahrenheit, the restaurant and red color scheme throughout the brick hotel). This was the most kid-friendly hotel we have been in on the trip. They delivered a "Candyland" game to the girls upon check-in and the doorman brought milk and cookies to them at bedtime. We had Fathers' Day dinner at Benihana's, the girls loved the show and the food as well. The next day we strolled the streets of Georgetown with the girls in the morning, hired a babysitter for the afternoon, and worked out at the small spa and fitness center and had dinner at the hotel restaurant for a quiet evening together.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1062448080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1062448080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1062448080/tpod.html Mon, 01 Sep 2003 17:32:32 -0400 150 Days, 31 States, 20 National Parks, 3 Time Zones AND 2 Toddlers

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Mill Valley, California, United States

Aug 15-16 (Days 106-107) Sun Valley, ID
We arrived in Sun Valley to spend two days in the famed resort and see our recently-transplanted neighbors, The Ryans. The Sun Valley Lodge was quite bad and got us off on the wrong foot. Rooms were bad, service worse, but it is the only show in town. We would recommend trying at to rent some time from vacancies at Les Saisons, a brand new timeshare in downtown Ketchum which indicated it rented owners' time. The girls were interested in seeing some of the figure skaters rehearsing for an ice show the next day at the Sun Valley Lodge ice rink, they had never seen real ice skating and were mesmerized. We had some babysitting our first night there, so we had dinner at East Avenue Bistro, which was excellent, and later drove around the valley to get the lay of the land. The valley is beautiful, but different than we had expected, with more open land and fewer trees than we had envisioned. Must make for great bowl skiing in wintertime. The next morning we also had a sitter, so we had a quiet morning coffee and people-watched; Sun Valley is not that different from Mill Valley, we concluded, and we are itching to get back home. In the afternoon we visited The Ryan "compound", their beautiful new home, and went to a picnic/concert with them back at Sun Valley Lodge on a beautiful evening. The girls engaged in some interpretive dance on the lawn outside as the soprano performed in the big white tent, which brought great amusement to those of us on the lawn.

Aug 17 (Day 108) Mc Call, ID
We had our first travel setback, when a highway closure out of Sun Valley turned a 160 mile drive into a 300 mile slog on a rerouting. The drive took us back into the desertlike plains south of Sun Valley and through Boise. The drive really improved when we took ID-55, a scenic parkway north from Boise and along the Payette River. Stunning canyons of pine, miles of serious whitewater, kayakers and river runners galore and almost no one heading into McCall. McCall is a small resort town situated on Payette Lake in Western Idaho. Our stay at Hotel McCall was situated right at the lake shore and after the long drive, we took the girls to the beach almost immediately. They built sandcastles, oblivious to the ever-present smoke from nearby wildfires and major tanker plane and helicopter operations taking water from the far end of the lake. That evening we came across a brand new ice skating rink which had open skating. Despite neither of us skating since elementary school, we decided to rent skates and take the girls for their first ice skating experience. Unfortunately we forgot our camera for this one. The girls were a little bewildered, but wanted to keep going back on the ice until our backs gave out.

Aug 18 (Day 109) Joseph, OR
Our drive to Joseph would take us through some interesting scenery along the Idaho and Oregon borders, including the Hell's Canyon area. Here are some of the deepest gorges in the United States, at over a mile deep. We wound our way along the Snake River, passing several hydro dam projects, then intoWallowa national forest land, with 60 miles of hairpin turns through beautiful pine forest and some very large burn areas. We arrived at Wallowa Lake Lodge early in the afternoon, beautifully situated at the base of 10,000 foot mountains and alongside an alpine stream emptying into a lake at 5,000 feet above sea level. We took the girls to play in the stream, which was warm enough to wade for short periods of time, and they threw rocks and sticks into the water and slid down the sandy embankments until they were exhausted. The deer here are too tame with all the human contact and protected parkland, and literally followed us into our cabins on several occasions.

Aug 19 (Day 110) Walla Walla, WA
We wanted to see the Washington wine country just over the Oregon border and had a fairly non-descript drive from Joseph. We stayed at a B&B in a residential and college campus area. The town of Walla Walla and the surrounding vineyards could not compare to the Wine Country in San Francisco, and so we investigated a few vineyards, of note were Seven Hills, L'Ecole No. 41 and Ruloh. We had a nice walk through the residential area until Isabelle was knocked over by a puppy and later took a face plant with bloody lip and scratched face. Since then, whenever Izzy has seen a dog she says "doggy boo-boo" so we hope she will not be scarred for life. We had a wonderful dinner and some local wines at Grapefields on Main Street in Walla Walla.

Aug 20-21 (Days 111-112) Mt. St. Helens, WA
We had a long drive from Walla Walla but it was well worth it once we headed west from Yakima towards the foot of Mount Rainier, which suddenly reared in front of us as we twisted and turned along a roaring glacier melt stream. Rainier, at 14,400 feet is volcanic and heavily glaciated, and you could see the bluish-white peak from 80 miles away as it rises abruptly from the surrounding terrain. We then headed west towards Castle Rock, just outside Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. We stayed at the very comfortable Blue Heron Inn, which had fabulous views of the Volcano from 30 miles away across Silver Lake. Most of you remember the eruption of St. Helens on May 18, 1980. What was called the Mt. Fuji of the US had been swelling with magma for a couple of months and a large quake created a massive slide which then uncorked an explosive eruption, melting the glaciers on the peak and causing massive lahars (mudflows) for miles along the Toutle River. The lateral blast from the eruption projected rock, trees and pumice at 600 miles an hour for tens of miles to the north, scouring the land down to bedrock and pushing the waters of Spirit Lake 600-feet up the side of the surrounding basin, leaving behind a pool of superheated mud and logs. We spent one entire day in the park, which stretches 30 miles along the highway and features five separate visitors centers. The most dramatic stop was at the main visitor center 5 miles from the crater, which is still stripped of vegetation and was the location where a USGS volcanologist was taking readings that fateful morning. The multimedia presentation about the force of the blast and the recovery of the surrounding areas was well done, and Jocelyn sat through the entire film in the dark theater with volcanoes exploding, although she shook like a leaf from time to time and I could feel her heart pounding through her chest. We were proud of her fortitude.

Aug 22-24 (Days 113-115) Seattle, WA
It was Kirsten's first time in Seattle and we used the stop there to recharge the batteries before our final push down the coast. We stayed at the Fairmont Olympic in the downtown area, which was convenient to Pike Place Market. We enjoyed this large public market and partook of the great produce and baked goods offered every day, wishing that San Francisco had a similar marketplace. We took the girls on the Seattle Monorail, which had been built for the 1962 World's Fair and now shuttles people between downtown and the old Worlds Fair site; it now features a plaza of carnival rides and most importantly, the Experience Music Project (EMP), which was perhaps the coolest hands-on music museum in the world. The special installation this summer featured a Disco retrospective, complete with Saturday Night Fever dance floor, which Jocey and Izzy monopolized for 30 minutes, as well as a series of small studios with very expensive drum sets, keyboards and guitars that you can play to your heart's content without the risk of anyone else hearing how little musical talent you really have. We all were really impressed with this museum. The next day we drove across Lake Washington to check out Redmond, Bellview and Medina, the land of Microsoft. We loved the views from the bluffs overlooking the lake, across downtown Seattle and on to the Olympic Peninsula, our objective for the next two days.

Aug 25 (Day 116) Port Townsend, WA
This morning, we took the Suburban across to the Olympic Peninsula via the Bainbridge Island ferry, which departs from downtown Seattle. The short 45 minute ferry ride was pleasant and scenic. We drove another 90 minutes north to Port Townsend, a very picturesque town that sits on the northeast end of the peninsula. This town is the most tourist-friendly in Olympic. Although we stayed at the reputedly "haunted" Castle Manresa, the only frightening element of our stay was the shabby state of this old, creaky former seminary. It must have scared AAA into a 3 star rating, is all we can figure. We were impressed, though, with the many local artisans in Port Townsend and browsed the galleries. We were ready, however, to quicken our pace down the coast as we were really beginning to see the home stretch. We drove around the perimeter of Olympic National Park on our way to Quinault (250 miles) and saw many logging towns, trailer homes, clear-cut forest just outside of Park boundaries and on local Indian reservations, and huge lumber mills belching steam. It is clear what pays the bills around here. In the park itself, we visited the Hoh Rain Forest on the western side of the Olympic Mountains for its mossy, dripping old growth forest. We donned our rain gear and took the Hall of Moss Trail from the ranger station. The girls enjoyed romping around on the trails, picking up the detritus from the forest floor and stomping in the eternal puddles filling the parking lot. From there it was a short drive to Quinault.

Aug 26 (Day 117) Quinault, WA
The Quinault Lake Lodge was a pleasant enough overnight at the southern border of Olympic Park. There are more rain forests nearby to explore, but we mostly let the girls play along the lakeshore, had an early dinner and turned in for the night. It apparently rains a lot here. The lodge had a two story rain gauge bolted outside, measuring the seasonal rainfall in feet, with 7 feet so far this year. We are really moving now because we are ready to get home.

Aug 27 (Day 118) Portland, OR
This was a mistake. We thought we were going to be close to the Willamette Valley wine country and a local winery suggested a hotel when we were making reservations. Turns out this hotel, called The Rivers, was practically in downtown Portland but really not close to anything of interest. Our energy is running low at this point, so we enjoy the hotel grounds, take the girls for a blackberry hunt along the Willamette River and go to bed early for a 300 mile drive to Gold Beach. Are you detecting a sense of urgency here?

Aug 28-29 (Days 119-120) Gold Beach, OR
Long drive down I-5 through Eugene, then 126 to the Oregon Coast and down 101 to Gold Beach. Two frustrating things about the drive. Number 1, drove through Coos Bay, home of legendary runner Steve Prefontaine, and saw nary a reference to this fact. I mean, "Pre" was the only thing going for this town and the chamber of commerce missed it. Second, I have to drive completely past Bandon Dunes (top golf course in the country) because the girls are napping and to stop in the pro shop will wake them. So I am twitching as we drive right past Bandon. We get to our final stop on the trip, the Tu Tu Tun Lodge along the Rogue River. This was a great final stop to recharge the batteries. The lodge has won rave reviews in travel magazines and is rated one of the top 50 resorts in the world. I would call the décor "plush rustic" and the location is just perfect, at a bend in the Rogue with pine-covered rolling hills. We get some babysitting here; the resort is kid-friendly, with separate dining area for the kids, great river access and the beach a 10 minute drive away. We take the girls to the ocean for a picnic, and the weather was just beautiful, no fog and a deserted beach. Dinners here are fantastic and family-style, with all guests sitting at large tables and sharing conversation. There are many other activities here such as jet-boat rides 80 miles up the Rogue, but we are content to stop moving for 48 hours and stay out of vehicles of any type as much as possible.

Aug 30 (Day 121) Mill Valley, CA
We wake up, say to the girls "we are going to Mill Valley today" and they run out to the car. We are all ready to go home, and all that stands between us is a 409 mile drive. We stopped for gas once and knew we were close to home when we saw premium for $2.55 a gallon. Another stop for a burrito in Willits. That was it. Did we stop for the beautiful sea stacks near Brookings, OR? No. The towering splendor of the Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt? Nope. As fast as our GPS could reel off the miles, we were on a mission. Besides, after this journey, anything in California is a day trip! We got home, kissed the ground, kissed our faithful Suburban and are staying around Mill Valley for a while.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1060898760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1060898760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1060898760/tpod.html Fri, 22 Aug 2003 19:38:22 -0400 150 Days, 31 States, 20 National Parks, 3 Time Zones AND 2 Toddlers

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Big Sky, Montana, United States

Aug 8 (Day 99) DeSmet, SD-Badlands-Keystone, SD
We split the long drive from Minneapolis to Keystone, SD with an overnight stay in DeSmet, SD. This little town's claim to fame is it is the homestead of Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House on the Prairie). Now, neither Kirsten nor I could remember much (any) of these books from school (much less the TV series), but our travel bible recommended this small town so we went. We visited the homestead and rather than the tourist trap we had expected, it ended up being a very good experience for the girls. The homestead was as it was in the late 1800s, and a small one room schoolhouse was brought to the site from its previous location three miles down the road. The land around the site approximates what the open grasslands of the prairies looked like at the time (less than 0.1% of the Great Plains remains as it was). The homestead is a living museum, with horse rides, farming demonstrations, rope making and the like. The highlight for the girls was a covered wagon ride of about half a mile to the school house, where they dressed in traditional clothes, recited alphabet and counted for their teacher, Mrs. McGuire. Jocey and Izzy were able to take the reins of the wagon on the way back to the homestead.

We left DeSmet and made the 350 mile drive to Keystone, our base of operations for Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse and the Badlands. When we made the reservations to stay in Keystone, they warned us that it was the same week as the Sturgis Harley Rally, the largest global gathering of gang members, auto body repair experts, ex-strippers, investment bankers and anyone else who can afford a tricked-out chopper. Approximately 300,000 bikers descended on western South Dakota, and it seemed many of them were heading west with us on I-90. We decided to hit the Badlands on the way to Keystone, and took a quick tour through the scenic loop for some good pictures. We were flagged down by a couple of bikers who were from Texas and asked us for some tools and jumper cables for their dying Harley (1,500 mile ride w/o a toolkit? Rookies). That was the first and only time we were acknowledged by a biker in our two days there, although Chris felt as if he had bonded with the biker community.

Aug 9 (Day 100) Keystone, SD
We headed out early to Mt. Rushmore, and our location in Keystone made it very easy as it was a 5 minute drive from our Holiday Inn Express. What can we say about Rushmore? Some people say they expected it to be bigger. It was exactly as we had expected. One interesting tidbit we had learned was that originally sculptor Gutson Borghlum had placed Jefferson to the left of Washington, but they ran into bad rock, so they blew up the original Jefferson visage and moved him to better rock to the right of Washington. We hiked under the faces for an up close look at Washington's nostrils and Lincoln's mole and as we returned to the Suburban the sky was looking quite dark. Temperatures all week had been hovering around the century mark and the air was incredibly dry and static-filled. So these dry electrical storms would fire up over the Black Hills almost every day. As we drove the 30 minutes to Crazy Horse, lightning was shooting everywhere and this storm was big enough to squeeze out a torrential downpour with small hail. You know what? Those bikers don't look so tough when they are drenched and pelted by hail. Anyway, we went to Crazy Horse because Chris had always heard how much bigger a sculpture it is, saw a documentary about the monumental effort by the sculptor and his family to honor this great indian chief. The face of Crazy Horse is complete, but that is it. The sculpture looks the same as it did in a documentary Chris saw 10 years ago. The side of the mountain has the head of the chief's horse painted on it to suggest the finished sculpture. We predict it will be finished at about the same time as William Jefferson Clinton's face is added to Rushmore.

Aug 10-11 (Days 101-102) Devils Tower-Big Horn, WY
Conveniently, Devils Tower is just a two hour detour off of I-90 on our way to Big Horn, WY. We made it a must-stop because of course, it is the famous landing strip for alien spacecraft in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". The 900 foot tall tower of basaltic columns was created by what geologists call a magma intrusion, or lava which pushed through a weak section of earth's crust and cooled rapidly, forming these massive columns. We were there in beautiful weather, and the girls loved "bouldering" on the chunks of rock which had cleaved off of the tower over hundreds of thousands of years. We watched climbers well up the tower, as this is a climbing mecca. A major victory was Jocelyn's 1.3 mile excursion around the base of the tower without any backpack time. Chris's back was very thankful. After the tower, we drove over some beautiful ranchland to the north and west towards Sheridan. We arrived at one of our most memorable locations in Big Horn, at Spahn's Bighorn Ranch. We drove six miles out of Big Horn and on two miles of dirt road to a cabin which literally had a 100 mile view across the valley floor. This was a RUSTIC cabin, complete with a mouse we chased out the first night, and a resident collection of moths. The next morning we took a quick tour of downtown Sheridan, seeing the famous King's Saddlery and visiting a saddle museum, in which we were truly fish out of water. The real excitement happened when we decided to put out trusty Suburban into 4WD and journey into the backcountry for some real four wheelin'. We traveled approximately 5 miles into the wilderness to a land of ATVs and fording rivers. There were several times we came to a VERY steep downhill or boulder field and decided (probably against better judgment) to press on. Our trusty Suburban came through. The reward was a beautiful, broad river of snow melt in which we waded and watched braver souls cross in ATVs and pick-ups. The night before we left for Red Lodge, the moon was nearly full, the night was warm, and another round of electrical storms was firing in the distance. The evening had a strange atmosphere, with full moon out the east window of our cabin and lightning flashing out the west window.

Aug 12 (Day 103) Red Lodge, MT
Our drive to Red Lodge took us along the striking Big Horn Range and Beartooth Mountains. The most notable part of this trip was descent down a winding 10% grade for 18 miles, which was the hairiest drive for us to date. Red Lodge is in south central Montana and was a quaint, western mining town with an up and coming ski resort. We stayed at the Pollard Hotel on Main Street and basically stretched our legs and window shopped for our short overnight stay. Our drive the next day had us on a fairly long stretch of I-90, with our first signs of the wildfires which had been scorching the state. We had a lunch stop in Bozeman and the weather remained hot as we strolled the streets at high noon. We looked forward to the trip south to Big Sky and we were rewarded by scenic views of the Yellowstone and Gallatin Rivers as we climbed to the 6,000 foot elevation of the ski resort of Big Sky.

Aug 13-14 (Days 104-105) Big Sky, MT
Big Sky is exclusively a ski resort which happens to stay open for the summer. There is no town to speak of other than for the convenience of the mountain bikers and hikers passing through. We rented a magnificent cabin in the Powder Ridge development, which was brand new and one of the nicest accommodations we found on the trip. We would recommend it for anyone skiing in Big Sky, close to the slopes and wonderfully appointed. We would love to come back to Big Sky to ski, which is when it clearly would shine. We did get some babysitting and the two of us took in some hiking and a dinner at the resort. The smoke became quite thick at times as distant fires blew over the peaks, which was a little unsettling. The next day we drove to over 350 miles to Sun Valley, Idaho, passing through the extreme northwest tip of Yellowstone Park, which we had not seen in our trip there last summer. As we entered Idaho on US-20, we passed through some very interesting terrain which was not at all what we had expected from Idaho, high desert, lava beds and a nuclear energy research facility on a 900 square mile compound in the middle of nowhere. The tiny town of Arco (pop under 1,000) had a sign advertising it as the first city lit by nuclear power, and I guess it was chosen because of its location (in case anything went wrong with the first reactor the rest of the world would be far removed). From there we climbed to the north into Sun Valley.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1060302600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1060302600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1060302600/tpod.html Sat, 09 Aug 2003 22:14:51 -0400 150 Days, 31 States, 20 National Parks, 3 Time Zones AND 2 Toddlers

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Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

July 21 (Day 82) Berlin, OH
We headed to Amish country in central Ohio, and our route there took us through some interesting areas of West Virginia and along Route 7 North, following the Ohio River in eastern Ohio. One interesting observation, we stopped in Wheeling, WV at a BP gas station, at about 10AM, and at least four different people coming out of the mini-mart there had Slurpees. At 10 AM. Instead of Slurpees, from now on we will them West Virginia Smoothies. Anyway, the Ohio River is lined with steel mills, massive, impressive, rusting and sooty engineering marvels and a reminder of the might that the US once held in steel production. The loss of that competitive advantage has definitely impacted the region, for as we left Route 7 and followed 39 West towards Amish country we drove through some really depressing towns, like Salineville. The towns had an abandoned feel, and most everything was shuttered. We could tell that at one time, these towns were more populated and much more prosperous. As we drove west, the landscape opened up into rolling farmland and we saw our first black horse-drawn buggies. The town of Berlin is the heart of Amish country, with something like 80,000 Amish in the area. The Amish only own as much farmland as the family can work by itself without mechanization, so many small farm plots and white homes dot the landscape. We found the Amish people pleasant, but they definitely viewed us as outsiders and we felt a bit odd at times. They were definitely warmer to the girls. The women wear head covers and plain dresses, the men dark clothes and straw hats with beards, but no mustaches. It was interesting to feel the cultural gap as strongly as we did here. Our accommodations here were a wonderful little pine cabin along a small fishing pond, a short walk into town. During the evening, as I type this on the porch, the pond is still, thunder rumbles from fading thunderheads in the distance and the field to my right is filled with the flashes of scores of fireflies.

July 22 (Day 83) Berlin, OH-Cleveland, OH
We awoke early in the morning to visit a famous cheese-maker in Berlin and pick up a few samples. We also drove multiple times past horses and buggies as Kirsten hunted for that perfect shot on a country road. The morning was foggy and drizzle gave an interesting atmosphere to the farms as we drove across many gravel country roads. We arrived in Cleveland around lunchtime after driving through an amazing electrical storm which impressed/scared everyone in the car (except for Izzy, who laughed uproariously). We stopped to pay our respects at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which was heavier on the paraphernalia and light on the actual music, in our opinion. Anyway, they had an amazing U2 exhibit on the top two floors and we spent most of our time there. Afterwards, we drove through a few of Cleveland's less inspiring neighborhoods with the windows rolled up and finally arrived at our overnight, The Baricelli Inn, in the city's Murray Hill neighborhood, basically a "little Italy". The streets were paved with red brick, the area was a little gritty, but it was near the Cleveland Museum of Art and some homey Italian restaurants and cafes. We hit the Museum of Art the next morning, with Kirsten taking Jocelyn to see some famed Indian Bronzes and Chris taking Isabelle to see basically the rest of the museum (largely western art, baroque through contemporary). Considering it was Cleveland, the entire collection was quite good.


July 23-24 (Days 84-85) Dearborn, MI
We arrived in Southeastern Michigan to visit Chris's extended family and to see the famed Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum, which we had not seen since elementary school. We spent time on both days with the girls' great grandmother, Isabelle. It was wonderful to see great grandma as it had been over a year since we had been to Michigan. We spent time with both sides of Chris's extended family and had dinner for twenty at our long-standing favorite local Mexican restaurant, El Nibble Nook (name notwithstanding). Great grandma and aunts, uncles, cousins and friends attended. The next morning we headed to the newly-reopened Henry Ford Museum, which features amazing displays of American industry and manufacturing history, really a showcase of Detroit's glory days. The largest steam locomotive in the world is on display, as is every conceivable example of the evolution of the automobile and the culture which built up around it. A few of the famous autos on display included the Bugatti Royale, one of the rarest and most expensive cars in the world, the limousine in which JFK was assassinated, and the earliest horseless carriages. Very interesting and well laid out.

July 25 (Day 86) Grand Rapids, MI
From there we headed west to visit with Kirsten's aunt in Battle Creek (Home of Kellogg's Cereal) and her folks (Jochen and Nancy) in Grand Rapids, MI. Jochen and Nancy would join us for the next three days, travelling up the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. The girls were thrilled to spend time with "Oma" and "Opa" (German for Grandma and Grandpa), especially having Oma read to them and play with Kirsten's old toys and watching Opa work at his loom. We were thankful to have Jochen and Nancy's expertise as we headed into Northern Michigan, as they have ridden most of the byways on their bicycles and know of many hideaways and scenic detours. Kirsten went back to her old home and it was a melancholy visit, as the area has become quite developed since her parents had sold it. The large forest which was in her backyard is now subdivided with large homes going up. Many backroads around her house were barely recognizable.

July 26 (Day 87) Sutton's Bay, MI
We headed north from Grand Rapids with Jochen and Nancy in convoy through towns like Cadillac to the far northwest corner of the lower peninsula. Our primary goal for journeying here was to see the Sleeping Bear Dunes, on the coast of Lake Michigan near the towns of Grand Haven and Empire. But first, we had to stay at the Fig Tree in Sutton's Bay. Let's say the accommodations were memorable, but for the wrong reasons. Maybe it was the fuchsia paint, maybe the hot pink fuzzy picture frames on the wall. Perhaps it was because we were all six basically in the same room. Could have been the ceiling fan which we were afraid would come spinning down at any moment. The clincher: what seemed to be top fuel drag racers screaming up and down the street till the wee hours. The town of Suttons Bay was really not memorable, except for the street signs which said "Warning: Cars do not stop for pedestrians at crosswalks" and they were not kidding. I do not think we will be heading back.

July 27-28 (Days 88-89) Petoskey, MI
Our trip to Petoskey started out much better than our night at the Fig Tree. We headed west for a short drive to Sleeping Bear Dunes, some over 600 feet high. We had a wonderful time with the girls scaling these mountainous sandboxes and exploring the coastline, which was beautiful, windswept and largely deserted. We then retraced our steps to the east and headed north to Petoskey, a playground for the executive set from lower Michigan and the Chicago area. These areas are decidedly upscale, and show little of the recession which continues to grip most of Michigan. Petoskey is famous for its beaches strewn with Petoskey stones, which are fossilized coral deposits broken up during winter storms and thrown on to the beaches. Stylish mansions line the Harbor Springs shoreline. And we explored the towns of Charlevoix, Petoskey and Harbor Springs.

July 30 (Day 90) Upper Peninsula, MI
We had one of the most scenic drives of our entire trip up MI-119 (Called "The tunnel of trees") to the town of Cross Village on our way out of Petoskey and on to the Mackinac Bridge. 119 travels along the bluffs of Lake Michigan on a single lane road, in and out of beautiful stands of hardwood with glimpses of the azure waters of the lake, with hints of what would come in the Upper Peninsula (UP). We paused at the foot of the Mackinac Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in the world, for a few shots and to let the girls stretch their legs along the rocky beach. We then headed over the bridge and felt immediately as if we had entered a different country. The geography of the UP, the culture, the weather-all are quite different after that five mile ride over the bridge. We kept close to the shore of Lake Michigan as we traversed the UP, and saw literally turquoise colored coves and bright sandy beaches that looked out of place in the pine forests, but the entire coastline was beautiful. We drove down 183 to the town of Fayette (thanks Jochen), on the "Garden Peninsula" and found a fairly hidden beach in a state park there, where the girls suited up and waded in the water (too cold for me). It was a perfect little cove and a perfect way to break up the five hour drive. Late in the drive, as we approached our overnight in Menominee, MI, we crossed the 10,000 mile mark on our drive and also moved back into the central time zone.

July 31-Aug 2 (Days 91-93) Door County , WI
We spent three lazy days in one of the most scenic and visited sections of Wisconsin. Door County is at the tip of a peninsula which juts out into Lake Michigan just north of Green Bay. The County's primary business is tourism, with cherry orchards a close second. We arrived just as the cherries came into season, and the trees were literally sagging under the weight of the fruit. We took the girls to a pick-your-own orchard ($5 for a 10 lb pail) and could have filled it in less than five minutes, the cherries were almost falling off of the branches into our pail. The girls enjoyed eating two and placing one in the pail, so our progress was slowed. I don't care if I don't see another cherry until next year. We took a trip to Whitefish Dunes State Park, hiking out to a fairly deserted stretch of pristine Lake Michigan coastline for a picnic with the girls. We watched several beautiful thunderstorms form in the distance over the lake each afternoon, but the weather in Door remained benign throughout our stay. We had some babysitting here, so we were able to take a run one morning on the quiet country roads outside of town and enjoy a quiet paper and coffee at Leroy's, the local java house. We stayed all three days at the Eagle Harbor Inn in Ephraim, the most picturesque town on the peninsula. The Inn had great rooms and we would recommend it highly if you ever visit Door.
Aug 3-4 (Days 94-95) Spring Green, WI
We had a bit of a strange visit to Spring Green. Our primary objective was to visit Taliesin, the home, summer studio and final resting place of Frank Lloyd Wright. Spring Green is pretty much at the opposite end of Wisconsin from Door County, and no roads really connect the two regions, so it was a long, circuitous drive. When we did arrive at the House on the Rock Resort, we found our babysitter had cancelled, and so we could not take the Taliesin tour (no children allowed in the house). We did have tickets to the House on the Rock included in our hotel stay. Now, those of you who have not heard of this major tourist attraction are indeed missing something. The House on the Rock is an architectural monstrosity/museum of everything kitsch which we entered with trepidation. We came away somewhat surprised at the unique collection and scale of this place. It has to be seen to be believed. They have everything from a million piece miniature circus to the largest collection of automated music machines to the largest carousel in the world. All perched on this bluff overlooking the beautiful Spring Green valley. It would take a full day or more to see it all. It is dark and spooky throughout most of the exhibits, and the whole experience was bizarre. Kirsten ended up taking Isabelle to Taliesin for a walking tour of the exterior of the buildings, but found the general upkeep of the property a disappointment but felt it was worth the visit to where FLW "broke the design box". We checked out the downtown of Spring Green in all of five minutes to see a few FLW inspired buildings on our way out of town, found the streets deserted and depressing and decided to move on.

Aug 5 (Day 96) Red Wing, MN
Our drive up to Red Wing took us northwest along the mighty Mississippi River through towns like La Crosse. We marveled at massive barges moving through huge lock and dam systems and weaving through narrow channels up the "big muddy". We arrived in Red Wing and checked into the St. James Hotel, an historic building overlooking the bend in the Mississippi. A couple things struck us about Red Wing. First, the entire downtown is almost entirely of red brick construction, which was very pleasing to the eye. Second, the downtown area is dominated by massive Archer-Daniels-Midland grain silos. You may know Red Wing for a couple of other enterprises, Red Wing Shoes and Red Wing Pottery. We checked out factory stores for both, but nothing really caught our fancy.

Aug 6-7 (Days 97-98) Minneapolis, MN
Our last stop in the Midwest was a town I called "Minni-no-place" on my many business trips in the dead of winter, but we actually found some interesting sights and one last touch of civilization before our push to the west coast. We stayed at the Grand Hotel, which is primarily a business hotel. The best thing about this hotel was Club Blu, a sushi bar and dance club where we took the kids. Club Blu has, of course, all blue lighting, waiters all dressed in black, the latest electronica and house music and large plasma TVs on the walls playing videos of ocean life (you find the same creatures arranged nicely on your plate with a dab of wasabi). The waiter verified that Jocey and Izzy were the youngest ever at Club Blu and we had one of our best meals on the trip with them. They ate California rolls, miso soup, rice and spring rolls. This shocked the waiter. Isabelle then got up and had several tables of business diners clapping for her while she performed interpretive dance to some pounding sound track. The next day, we traveled to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden on the outskirts of town, famous for the sculpture of an enormous cherry balanced on a massive spoon. We also stopped into the Frederick Weisman Art Museum, but the building itself was vastly better than the collection inside. Finally, we broke down and went to see the Mall of America, which is truly gargantuan, but we did not buy a single thing, other than tickets for kids' rides at the amusement park housed inside of the mall.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1058728560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1058728560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1058728560/tpod.html Sun, 27 Jul 2003 17:10:15 -0400 150 Days, 31 States, 20 National Parks, 3 Time Zones AND 2 Toddlers

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Laurel Highlands, Pennsylvania, United States

June 28-29 (Days 59-60) Sandwich, MA
We drove east on 195 to Cape Cod to visit our old next door neighbors from Mill Valley, Bob, Kelly, Claire and Ben Kozub and Lucy (their bulldog). Bob and Kelly are living the good life in Sandwich, Massachusetts in a beautiful home built in the 1830s with plenty of space for the family to roam. Sandwich is just over the Bourne Bridge on the bay side of Cape Cod, and is one of the oldest towns in Massachusetts. The land is a mix of farmland, salt marshes, and historic hamlets. The Kozubs live only a quarter mile from a quiet private beach and a thirty minute drive from their spanking new Doral powerboat cruiser, so the water is never far away. The children got along famously during the two days in Sandwich, and the adults got along just as well (especially since Bob and Kelly had arranged babysitting, which allowed us to get some adult time together). Jocey and Izzy, Ben and Claire have the same temperament and the kids played very well together. Both of our girls became proficient at riding their first scooters and sharpened up their sidewalk chalk artwork. Jocelyn especially enjoyed dressing up in Claire's dance recital costume and tap shoes after Claire returned from a performance, and Jocey ran around the yard in the shoes until her feet were literally blistered. We had loads of fun with Bob and Kelly, a great night out with Sushi at a cool sushi bar inside what must have been a colonial-period building, steamed whole lobsters the next night at the Kozubs (fresh lobster, and the most delicious lobster meat we have had), and a wonderful afternoon on the Doral in between, cruising Cotuit Bay with some good wine and great conversation.

June 30-July 8 (Days 61-69) Martha's Vineyard, MA
Our days in Martha's Vineyard are all about family. We know the Vineyard well as Chris has been going there for over 15 years, longer than he has known Kirsten. It is now a family tradition to meet on MV every 4th of July week, with Chris's sister Jessica and her family joining us to spend time with Grandpa and "Boosha" Shilakes at their home just outside of Edgartown. The Vineyard is still a very special place to us, despite the familiar routine (perhaps because of the familiar routine). The Vineyard is a 45 minute ferry ride from Woods Hole. The island is a mix of rolling hills with hardwood, pine forests and old farms, all very low set and private homes. Three towns on the island each have a different feel: Edgartown (preppy with Federal architecture), Oak Bluffs (Rastafarian with Victorian architecture) and Vineyard Haven (tourist-trappy with more commercial architecture). Our entire week was spent playing at the beach, flying a kite, golfing, going to galleries, eating great meals, visiting light houses. Special treats included a rousing 4th of July parade in Edgartown which rivaled Mardi Gras, an interesting trip into Oak Bluffs to look at the dreadlocked crowd cozying up beside mega-yachts, a five mile road race with Kirsten, brother-in-law Ray and Chris dueling on the asphalt and some great photo sessions with the family in studios and on the beach.

July 9-11 (Days 70-72) Boston, MA
We took a short 90 minute drive up to Boston and stayed at the new Ritz on Boston Commons. Despite all of Chris's many trips to Boston on business, he had not really toured the city. We also had the good fortune to have the Kozub's babysitter, Cara, come up and give us some "adult time" in Boston. The City of Boston reminded us in many ways of San Francisco, and we for the first time felt some real homesickness. We spent our three days walking the Freedom Trail past Fanueil Hall and the markets with their assortment of local eateries and shops; touring the Boston Atheneum (A private library with wonderful art and literary collections just off of the Commons) and The Boston Museum of Fine Art (MFA) with its top notch collection of western art, as well as the dynamic Harvard Square area. The girls were wonderful during our stay here, and actually fell asleep on cue for both the MFA and our Newbury Street gallery stroll for two consecutive days. Chris even managed to squeeze in some cinematic action, catching Terminator 3 at the new Cineplex adjoining the Ritz while the girls napped at the hotel. We had adult dinners at the renowned Ambrosia on Huntingdon and then at a dynamic Mongolian barbeque, called Fire and Ice, in Harvard Square.

July 12 (Day 73) New Hampshire
On our way up to Crotched Mountain in New Hampshire, we stopped off in Salem to see the Peabody Essex Museum. We thought the witch tours would be a little much for the girls, so we took in the museum, which had been open less than a month and had wonderful Asian art collection for Kirsten to take in, especially the Chinese and Japanese "export art" collection. Chris had fun with Isabelle in the childrens' activity area, where Izzy played with a giant felt board and created bugs out of felt scraps. We then drove into New Hampshire to stay at the Inn at Crotched Mountain. This was a picturesque (although rainy) B&B situated on the slopes of Crotched Mountain. If the weather had cooperated, we had planned some great hiking on the many trails on its forested slopes. However, the bad weather forced us to visit the rather nondescript town of Peterborough, where we were hard pressed to spend more than 45 minutes walking the streets. Oh well, New Hampshire was but a brief waypoint on our way up to Vermont, where we planned to spend almost a week's time.

July 13-14 (Days 74-75) Woodstock, VT
We traveled north into Vermont, stopping in towns like Weston along the way. Each village has a slightly different feel, but all are home to a quintessential general store. Weston has perhaps the most famous, The Vermont Country Store, and we stopped there to consume some of the local products, extra sharp cheddar and maple candies. We fell in love with Woodstock, so far the most picturesque stop on our journey. Maybe because it reminded us so much of Mill Valley, we had to do several double takes, and not just in terms of left wing political demographics. So similar is the topography that Mt. Tom, not Mt. Tam, hovers over the city. We felt at home in the mix of local stores, book shops and coffee houses and fell in love with the wonderful Federalist architecture which dominates the quaint town square and green. We hiked to the top of Mt. Tom and took in the broad sweep of every shade of green imaginable, from farmland to pine to hardwood which lie across the rolling hills. One wonderful characteristic of Vermont is the total absence of billboards, so as we drove through towns like Weston and Quechee they had the feel of small European villages. We took the girls to the Marsh-Billings Farm to see a working dairy farm, cows with full udders and the full nine yards. They still are drinking milk so it must not have been too traumatic for them. Another benefit of Woodstock is its close proximity to Dartmouth College just across the border in Hanover, NH. We romped with the girls on campus lawn and strolled the streets on a beautiful afternoon.

July 15 (Day 76) Lyndonville, VT
We headed 90 minutes north of Woodstock to the town of Lyndonville and the most child-friendly B&B we have seen. The Wildflower Inn is totally geared to kids, and we were shocked at the high quality of the accommodations, food and especially the activities and facilities for children. It was nirvana for the girls. They have a kids-only restaurant called Daisy's Diner. Jocey bravely ventured in on her own and participated in the hoe-down themed party at the diner, making her own sheriff's vest and singing campfire songs. We were very proud of her. We watched as the girls rode on a "zip wire" back and forth between two trees, played dress-up with ballet costumes in an enormous chest and even tried their hands at air hockey. Add to this a veritable menagerie on the Inn's own farm with sheep, cows, horses and rabbits. The girls were sad to leave this slice of heaven perched on a ridge over a scenic valley.

July 16 (Day 77) Shelburne, VT
Our next stop was an historic farm along Lake Champlain in the northwest corner of Vermont called Shelbourne. What we thought was going to be an old farmhouse turned out to be a magnificent brick structure in the vein of an Elizabethan palace. We drove two miles in onto the property and found ourselves alongside the lake, on a grassy hillside replete with beautiful gardens and magnificent old growth trees. We lounged on the lawn while the girls ran among the trees and, believe it or not, came across a man playing a mandolin while his wife quilted beside him. We had a wonderful dinner while the girls were with a fantastic babysitter named Amanda (we wanted to bring her back to California with us). The sunset over the lake and distant Adirondacks of New York was incomparable.

July 17 (Day 78) Manchester, VT
We traveled south through more picturesque towns along historic route 7A down Vermont's western border, passing through towns like Stowe, where we bought cider slushes for the girls and stopped at a wonderful café called the Mist Grill situated inside an old grist mill alongside a cascading waterfall. To the west loomed the everpresent Adirondacks, but they gave way to the Green Mountains as we approached Manchester. For you fly fishing enthusiasts, this is where The Orvis Company was founded and is headquartered. Manchester is also a shopping mecca for outlet hounds in northern New England, with many high-end retailers ensconced in vintage homes instead of strip malls; while aesthetically appealing, the traffic in the downtown area was appalling. Luckily, we were heading just outside of Manchester to stay at a resort called The Equinox, which has a great reputation, but was resting on its laurels a bit. Isabelle got off on the wrong foot with the hotel staff (especially the gardeners) when she started to help herself to the plantings just outside the front door. We took in the town and wandered off the beaten path here into a beautiful village called Dorset, which has truly some of the most picturesque, idyllic property we have ever seen. Of course, this is summer time. We might have a different opinion in the long, hard winters which characterize this region.

July 18-19 (Day 79-80) Williamstown. MA
We had a short one hour drive to Williamstown, situated in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. This is the home of Williams College. We were spending a couple of days here to see two museums at opposite ends of the spectrum; The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge and the Mass Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) in North Adams. The Rockwell museum was staffed by a mix of people straight out of his paintings, which was amusing. One prim gallery docent called our girls "exquisite", which was the first (and probably only) time we heard this. The museum had every Saturday Evening Post cover ever painted by Rockwell (well over 300) displayed in a single room, and also the more famous originals of "The Four Freedoms" and such. They also had a special exhibition of The Art of the Berenstain Bears, which the girls loved. We then shifted gears for the Mass MoCA in North Adams. This collection was housed in an old factory space, which we thought was very cool. Some of the "art" left something to be desired, and we definitely had to use some parental guidance (censoring) to keep the girls from future nightmares, such as the hogtied stuffed rats being pulled in an endless circle around the floor. Jocelyn did enjoy the enormous pink palace of Saran Wrap in one installation. Otherwise, we had a nice dinner in Williamstown and a memorable evening on the Williams College running track, where Jocelyn and Izzy showed early middle-distance potential running laps with their father and where Jocelyn had a go at the long jump. We had the longest drive of our trip on the 19th, 530 miles from North Massachusetts to Western Pennsylvania. This took nine hours in all and on balance it was a lot of highway, good weather and minimal breakdowns from the girls. There WERE some real psycho semi truck drivers to add a few adrenalin rushes.

July 20 (Day 81) Laurel Highlands, PA
Our primary objective in southwestern PA was to travel to an architectural touchstone located in Ohiopyle, Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. As we have traveled the country, we have made a conscious effort to visit as many FLW creations as possible. We stayed nearby at a resort called Nemacolin Woodlands, which is primarily a massive development for visitors to Fallingwater and Pittsburgh residents looking for a get away. It is a bit over the top, with skiing in winter, and just about every activity imaginable in summer. They did have a fantastic spa, with a surprisingly good Asian-fusion restaurant and we had every healthy meal we could there after a real culinary drought in upper New England. We decided to get a babysitter for the trip to Fallingwater, so that Kirsten and I could really enjoy the visit. The drive to Ohiopyle is scenic enough, passing over the Youghigheny River filled with river-runners in kayaks, tubes and rafts. Upon entering the Fallingwater property, you pass through some beautiful woodlands and gather at a very well-designed visitor center. They must run nearly 100 tours a day through here, every six minutes, though we made reservations weeks in advance and would recommend you do so if you ever travel there. Fallingwater itself was in even better shape than we expected for a concrete home built over a waterfall in the 1930s, and given the visitor traffic it has seen for the last 40 years. The house is cantilevered out over the falls and from the outside hangs gracefully from the cliffs. The exterior decks and outdoor spaces take in the amazing location and are quite welcoming, as was the living room. However, most bedrooms had very low ceilings and were Spartan, as Wright believed the space outdoors should be made more inviting. The house had elements which again reminded us of our home on Oakdale, and the homesickness came back. It is a long time on the road.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1056896640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1056896640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1056896640/tpod.html Wed, 09 Jul 2003 17:02:15 -0400 150 Days, 31 States, 20 National Parks, 3 Time Zones AND 2 Toddlers

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Newport, Rhode Island, United States

June 17 (Day 48) DC-New Market, MD-Annapolis, MD
We were supposed to travel to New Market for an overnight stay at a small antiquing town northwest of Baltimore, as we drove north from DC, the rains began to fall more steadily and the prospect of a rainy day trapped in a small B&B with nothing but antique shops nearby sounded less appealing, so we drove on to Annapolis for an overnight. Annapolis was for a short time the capital of the fledgling US, and the town has tremendous character, as the home to the US Naval Academy. Its naval heritage carries over to its residents, all of whom seem to own a sailboat. The city dock was crowded with beautiful boats, even as the rains poured down. We covered the girls with raincoats, boots, and hotel towels and waded out into Annapolis, treating the girls to a hot chocolate to warm them and window shopping in the cold rain. We decided to go for a true local dinner and drove to Mike's Crab House for a steamed crab dinner. For those who have not had the pleasure, you are given a mallet, your table is covered with paper and a pile of whole crabs (steamed with Old Bay spice) is dumped in front of you. You then proceed to crack, hack and stack the shells of the crustaceans while picking the crab meat from every nook and cranny, washing down your efforts with a local beer. For Kirsten, it was too much effort and too many innards to be enjoyable.

June 18 (Day 49) Annapolis-St. Michaels-Oxford, MD
We walked the Capitol area of Annapolis in the morning as the weather cleared briefly and then traveled across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, across the top of the Chesapeake to the eastern shore of Maryland. Here the quaint fishing towns of St. Michaels, Cambridge and Oxford are nestled along the eastern shore of the bay. We wove our way in and out of small inlets southward through the famous town of St. Michaels, whose streets are lined with boutiques and restaurants. Our goal here was the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, which highlighted the shipping and fishing industries which have shaped this area. The girls clambered in and out and around old sloops, tug boats and lighthouses, all refurbished by the Museum. We then moved south again to Oxford, a picturesque village along a river which empties into the bay. We stayed at the Robert Morris Inn, and the girls enjoyed playing in the narrow ribbon of sand along the river bank, chasing the mallards into and out of the water, and watching the children from a nearby yacht club race their sunfish in the setting sun. The feel of this town was very relaxed and the atmosphere was more than just a lazy summer afternoon. We gathered that the tranquility lasts year-round here.

June 19 (Day 50) Oxford, MD-Lewes, DE-Montchanin, DE
We woke to pouring rain which stayed with us across the Delmarva Peninsula to the beach community of Lewes (pronounced Lewis), Delaware. We traversed the peninsula on local roads, weaving through farmland which abruptly opened up to coastline. The rains stopped just in time to let the girls pull out the beach toys and splash on a beautiful community beach. They basically had the beach to themselves and were thrilled to stretch their legs and coat themselves in sand still wet from the torrential rains of an hour ago. We drove the quaint streets and admired the tasteful development of this community, which was what we had hoped the Outer Banks would have been. From Lewes we headed north on scenic Route 9 through wetlands and wildlife preserves to Montchanin Inn in the Brandywine Valley of Northern Delaware. Along Route 9 we encountered the huge juxtaposition of the cooling towers of a nuclear facility looming over these wetlands; it was an imposing and unsettling sight. As we arrived in Wilmington and our destination for the evening, we stayed at what was supposed to be a top notch small luxury hotel called the Inn at Montchanin Village. Service was horrible, rooms were nice. 'nuff said. Don't stay at this property unless you enjoy abuse from the hotel staff.

June 20 (Day 51) Brandywine Valley and Bucks County, PA
The rains poured down on a biblical scale as we took in the sights in the Brandywine Valley, which straddles the Delaware/Penn border. This area is chock-a-block with revolutionary war-period homes, quaint villages and Dupont money. The Duponts are huge patrons of the arts and the per capita museum ratio is the highest we have seen in our journey. Lucky for us we have a day of museum hopping scheduled, as the rain came down in torrents from the moment we awoke. We went to Frank's Place for breakfast, which was in all of the guide books for its famous "griddled muffins", so of course we had to go. Isabelle broke something the minute we sat down at the table and that put us in the penalty box with our waitress. She must have "lost" our order on the way to the kitchen and it took 50 minutes for pancakes with two hungry girls melting down the entire time. So it got our morning off on the wrong foot. We then had a whirlwind day of museums around Doylestown, PA, including the Brandywine Museum (focus on NC and Andrew Wyeth (native sons of Brandywine), Longwood Gardens (Dupont's personal, massive arboretum), Mercer Museum (incredible collection of 18th and 19th century industrial equipment) and James Mitchener Art Museum and Library. Highlights for us were Jocelyn and Isabelle among massive orchid collections and rose gardens at Longwood, some phenomenal Wyeth paintings and a wonderful art bookstore at the Brandywine Museum. We then spent the night at a wonderful B&B called the Barleysheaf Farm, although the rains prompted only a brief visit to the sheep paddock from Jocey and Izzy.

June 21-22 (Days 52-53) Princeton, NJ
We left Bucks behind and traveled the Delaware river shore, visiting the small towns of New Hope, Lambertville and Frenchtown, stopping briefly to see where Washington crossed the Delaware during the Revolutionary War. From there we made the short drive to my alma mater, Princeton University, to visit the campus and celebrate Kirsten's birthday. We stayed at the Nassau Inn on Palmer Square, directly across from the campus. The Inn is convenient to campus, but that is about all it has going for it. The rains continued off and on throughout the weekend, but were intermittent enough to allow us to visit the old stomping grounds. I had not been there in ten years, and the campus had changed significantly. It was difficult finding my freshman dorm, which had been surrounded by new structures. The soccer fields which were visible from my dorm window have been replaced by new dorms, so time marches on. Nevertheless, the girls enjoyed running through the campus before Kirsten's birthday dinner at JB Winberies on the summer solstice. Sunday, we had a leisurely morning breakfast, toured the Princeton Art Museum (with its extensive Asian collection, for Kirsten) and strolled through a summer solstice street fair being held on Nassau Street.

June 23-25 (Days 54-56) Southold, Long Island, NY
We headed for the North Fork of eastern Long Island to visit with our friends Ken and Maggie Burke and their nine month old daughter, Lucy, and Portuguese Water Dog, Henry. The drive through eastern NJ, Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens along the Belt Parkway was familiar territory but we do not miss the horrific traffic in the NY metro area. We drove through the parkway system which carried us to the eastern reaches of the island, heading up the north fork to Southold, a land of vineyards, sod farms and quaint shoreside towns. We had initially intended to stay for two days with the Burkes, but so enjoyed our time we extended our stay for another day. The girls loved spending time with baby Lucy and Henry, and we enjoyed our time with Ken and Maggie, getting caught up and touring the beautiful countryside, eating wonderful meals and drinking great wine. Of particular note was our inaugural stay in the "Duck House", a guest house which Ken built by hand and Maggie decorated. The cozy cottage was stocked with more amenities then most high end hotels, with a view of the inlet filled with waterfowl. As if the birds outside were not enough, the walls of the Duck House were filled with Ken's collection of duck prints. A beautiful beach was a five minute walk from the house, and the views of Long Island Sound and the south fork were incomparable. We could have spent another week, given the Burke's hospitality and the special slice of Southold we experienced. As it was, we ran out of time to vineyard hop, play golf and explore the eastern end of the island.

June 26-27 (Days 57-58) New London, CT-Cranston, RI-Newport, RI
We drove to the eastern end of the North Fork, to catch the auto ferry from Orient Point, NY to New London, CT. The girls enjoyed the 90 minute boat ride over Long Island Sound. From New London we took a short 45 minute drive to my sister, Jessica's, house in Cranston, Rhode Island. We were hooking up with my sister, brother-in-law Ray and nephews, Christian and Keegan, to caravan down to Newport for an overnight of family time. This was our first time in Newport and we were impressed. We spent our first day in the downtown area, strolling Thames Street with its stores and restaurants, swimming in the Hyatt's pool and grabbing a quick meal for eight. A local treat is called Del's, which is a frozen lemonade with bits of lemon rind mixed in. Both adults and children enjoyed Del's. The next morning the Reilly family headed back to Cranston (we would see them next week on Martha's Vineyard). We had a busy day, hitting the Museum of Yachting for a whirlwind history of the America's Cup, the International Tennis Museum, a drive along Bellvue Avenue and the astounding row of mansions built by shipping magnates in the 1800s and 1900s and, finally, a sunset walk above the cliffs on the north side of Newport Island.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1055107260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1055107260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1055107260/tpod.html Sun, 15 Jun 2003 17:35:18 -0400 150 Days, 31 States, 20 National Parks, 3 Time Zones AND 2 Toddlers

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Duck, North Carolina, United States

June 3-4 (Days 34-35) Asheville, NC
Our drive to another destination resort would take us through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited national park in the country. On our way, we stopped along the Arts and Crafts loop just outside of Gatlinburg, a wonderful assortment of scores of local artists along an eight mile loop which winds through the foot hills of the Smokies. This was the highlight of the day, as the park itself was a bit of a let down. The mountains would basically be classified as hills west of the Mississippi, and were pleasant enough, but nothing we had seen many times over on our trip. As we descended into western North Carolina, we entered the Cherokee Indian reservation, which is as depressing as every other indian reservation we have been through, especially with billboards saying "Domestic Violence is Not Part of Our Culture", ramshackle casinos and curio stores tended by aging keepers in worn headdresses. We arrived in Asheville shortly and would spend the next two days at The Grove Park Inn, a massive Craftsman resort built in the hills above Asheville. Asheville gained its popularity as a health destination in the early 1900s due to its bracing mountain air and nearby sulphur springs and Grove Park was built as a destination resort in the 1930s. The massive lobby holds two three story fireplaces built from local boulders pulled from the hillsides and beautiful oak woodwork. A bonus for Kirsten is another top notch spa, which was just added two years ago. We were here to relax in this historical setting, and so took runs, relaxed in the spa (parked under the massaging waterfall hot tubs) and wandered around the historical downtown, which is nestled into the valleys between the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains. We did venture on one sightseeing sojourn here, to the Biltmore Estate, where the Vanderbilts spent time in the country when outside of New York. This massive estate had a 5 mile drive around the grounds, an arboretum and a winery. The house itself was magnificent, and had the expected collection of Louis XIV furniture, impressionist paintings and Napoleon's chess set. More interesting was a full-on pipe organ in the banquet room, a bowling alley and pool in the basement and so on. Unfortunately this was yet another location which prohibited photos inside. We had fun taking the girls through the estate in back packs, telling them to be on the look out for the prince and princess in the "castle". Jocelyn kept asking the guards where the princess was, and don't you know it, we just kept missing her (out getting lunch, napping, helping the queen, etc.). The search for royalty did get us through the entire mansion without a meltdown, though.

June 5 (Day 36) Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill
We spent a day in the "research triangle" area wandering the campuses of Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill, checking out the museums and overnighting before our push to the coast the next day. We really enjoyed the small town feel of Chapel Hill, which had all the resources of Duke and UNC at its disposal, including an art museum with the largest collection of Asian art in the southeast, which Kirsten enjoyed critiquing.

June 6 (Day 37) Belhaven
Our arrival in Belhaven gave us the first hints we were approaching the Atlantic Coast. This tidewater area of North Carolina had a very similar feel to the bayou area of Louisiana, from the socioeconomic diversity to the sprawling plantations (tobacco instead of sugarcane this time). As we drew into town we thought we were going to have another St. Martinville on our hands, as the town looked deserted and run down. However, a half mile further down the road and we were in a different landscape of harborside homes, sailboats in their slips at marinas and our destination the Riverview Marina and Hotel. We had an introduction to the Carolina mosquito while in Belhaven. We were eaten alive. These bugs somehow extract pints without even a hint of a bite. Anyway, we felt Belhaven was a bit strange, we could not put our fingers on it, but we were happy to move on to our next destination resort, the Outer Banks.

June 7-8 (Days 38-39) Duck, NC (Outer Banks)
We drove through marsh land and stunted pine forests from Belhaven out to the narrow sand spit called the Outer Banks. Many of you may know the Outer Banks as a common landing point for hurricanes and tropical storms moving up the eastern seaboard. We were shocked and stunned at the amount of over development from Nags Head up to the town of Duck, where we were staying. Mega house upon mega house, each an arms length apart and strip mall after strip mall. It was a huge disappointment for us. We drove south to Cape Hatteras to see the famed lighthouse and seek out some unspoiled beach. We were relieved to see the park service had preserved what it could of the coastline. Our trip to the Hatteras light was also a disappointment, as we were not allowed to carry the girls to the top. So we admired the structure from afar, more so because this massive building had been moved 800 yards inland on hydraulic jacks recently to protect it from the encroaching ocean. We made a quick stop at the old lighthouse location and let the girls play on the beach for five minutes before a rain squall moved in and it basically continued to rain for the rest of our stay on the outer banks. Thankfully the rain was spotty and we were able to visit the other primary attraction for us, The Wright Brothers Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, just south of Duck. This green plot is protected by the national park service, thankfully, as just outside the gates we saw the First Flight Buffet and the like. As you may know, this year is the Centennial of Flight, and the park is gearing up for that date on December 17, which will be 100 years to the day of those famous four flights. When we went out to the markers which show the distance the Wright Flyer covered in those four test flights, we were shocked at how short the first flight was. It is literally a stone's throw or less in 12 seconds. The final flight that day, at 59 seconds covered a more impressive distance.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1054587780/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1054587780/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1054587780/tpod.html Sun, 15 Jun 2003 17:19:11 -0400 150 Days, 31 States, 20 National Parks, 3 Time Zones AND 2 Toddlers

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Gatlinburg, Tennessee, United States

May 31 (Day 31) Memphis
We stayed close to Beale St., the musical heart of Memphis, at a guest house called the Talbot Heirs. The Talbot Heirs had been a refurbished apartment building, in the vein of the Hotel Oceana in Santa Monica, so a spacious suite, hip art on the walls and bright colors. The girls loved to romp here and we had a great location from which to operate. We hit the new "Rock n' Soul Museum" run by the Smithsonian, which had a wonderful CD-based audio tour where you could walk to any display in the museum, key in the number and hear the period music, interviews or news events associated with the kiosk. The exhibits here ranged from Elvis costumes to early radio studio sets to interviews with Al Green, music by the Bar-Kays and the like. More R&B than rock in this museum, but this made sense given we were in Memphis. We took the girls down to Beale Street for dinner and this area was much more toddler friendly than Bourbon Street. The girls danced to some great street blues bands and then we had dinner at a Hard Rock, which was again one of the few toddler-friendly establishments on Beale. The only item of note that evening was when I awoke to what I thought were gun shots in the wee hours, heard a lot of police sirens which sounded too close for comfort. Sure enough, next morning on the news there was a shooting which basically took place on our doorstep. Yikes. Well it was certainly cleaned up quickly because there was no sign of it in the morning; I suppose that would be bad for tourism traffic on the way to Beale Street.

June 1 (Day 32) Nashville
We awoke early to visit the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis before moving on to Nashville. We took a streetcar to this very well done museum, which is basically built into the Lorraine Motel, where MLK was assassinated. The street car lets you off at the top of a grass amphitheater in an industrial area; as you move down the walkway, directly in front of you is the famous motel balcony we have all seen in the photo of the slain civil rights leader, with his aides pointing to the window where James Earl Ray fired those shots. The façade of the hotel is intact, and the museum traces the civil rights battle from slavery days through to a dramatic climax as you actually walk into room 307 where Dr. King spent his last day, left exactly as it was that day. You then move across the street to the building where the assassin operated, and an archive of the evidence in the case against Ray. You then actually see the recreated room where the shots rang out, and can look from the window across the street to the balcony of the Lorraine. Very powerful and well done museum. For the curious, we did not go to Graceland. From there we headed to Nashville, again to take in some of the musical heritage that Tennessee offers. We arrived late afternoon and settled into the Lowes Hotel directly opposite Vanderbilt University. This is a great hotel chain for kids, and every one we have been to has given the girls a small welcome gift and has been very child friendly for dining and other requests. We walked with the girls to Centennial Park near the university, the girls played, we walked up to a full scale reproduction of the Greek Parthenon in the Park and visited a duck pond which had Canadian Geese and their little furry yellow goslings. We had dinner at a local eatery (Rotier's) and the girls had their usual grilled-cheese sandwiches, of which they never seem to tire.

June 2 (Day 33) Gatlinburg
Before we headed to the Great Smoky Mountains, there was one last order of business in Nashville, as much as we abhorred the thought of it: The Country Music Hall of Fame. Now we both know absolutely nothing about country music, except that we hate it. I believe this is a prerequisite for a happy marriage, you both either have to love or hate this music, there is no compromise. We went in with low expectations and expected a very cheesy experience. We have to say, though, that this new museum was very well done, beautifully designed and leaning towards early country and bluegrass, which was presented in a palatable fashion. Don't get me wrong, we have not added Garth Brooks to our CD collection, but we give this museum "two hoots and a holler," especially because they had archives of "Hee Haw" that you could view at your leisure and we had forgotten how funny those guys in the corn patch were. From there it was another long, nearly 4 hour haul to Gatlinburg. We were staying at the Buckhorn Inn outside of Gatlinburg, and good thing, because Gatlinburg is the "Gateway to the Smokies" and the gatekeepers look to be McDonalds, Subway, Dairy Queen and Ripleys Believe It or Not. We instead found the Buckhorn, well out of town on what seemed like hundreds of acres of property. We were given a key to the "Bebb House", which was the home of the original developer of the property and was a secluded three bedroom house with sweeping views of the Smokies from the living room. We got this for a relative song, and should have stayed longer than an overnight. However, we had a babysitter that evening for the first time in a while and had a quiet dinner for two in the Inn dining room watching sun set color the mountains.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1054434540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1054434540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1054434540/tpod.html Sat, 31 May 2003 23:21:21 -0400 150 Days, 31 States, 20 National Parks, 3 Time Zones AND 2 Toddlers

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Oxford, Mississippi, United States

May 28 (Day 28) New Orleans-Jackson, MS
We left New Orleans after the beignet binge at Café du Monde and headed for a quick two day jaunt through Mississippi. As it turns out, we perhaps should have stayed longer. Some of the friendliest people we have yet encountered were found here, and the heavily wooded, rolling hills of the Oxford area were scenic. Our drive up I-55 was the fastest way out of New Orleans and we decided to bypass the swampland in favor of a direct shot to Jackson. The only item of note about this segment of the trip is that, apparently, I-55 is one of the most expensive pieces of highway ever engineered and implemented (other than Boston's Big Dig). Because they couldn't lay concrete down on the boggy ground of northern Louisiana, they instead built 30 miles of 6 lane causeway over the bayou. You are 30 feet above marsh and water for an incredible distance and keep waiting to touch ground, but it just goes and goes. Not a reason in and of itself for traveling on I-55 in these parts, but it was interesting and we are happy our tax dollars are helping all of the bayou folks find a quick way to the New Orleans casinos. We arrived in Jackson, MS late in the afternoon and stayed at the Millsap-Buie House, a bright bed and breakfast with a view of the state capitol building. The only thing Chris will remember is a daunting three story climb to our room here with the contents of the Suburban on his back. So far his vertebra are only compressed and not herniated. We saw little of this city as it was largely state government oriented and had chosen it basically because it was a springboard to the Natchez Trace, which we would embark upon the next day.

May 29 (Day 29) Jackson, MS-Natchez Trace Parkway-Oxford, MS
We left Jackson early for a 150 mile segment along the Natchez Trace (Trail), a scenic and historical parkway running from Natchez, MS to Nashville, TN. The Trace follows an old Indian trail later used by Mississippi River runners called "Kaintucks". These enterprising fellows would, in the Antebellum days, ferry goods down the Mississippi to Natchez, then sell their rafts for scrap rather than fight the strong current back up-river. They then began the lonely hike back up the Trace to their homes, where they would start the trade loop all over again. There are numerous historical sites along this trail, and as it is a parkway, speed limits are set at 50 mph, entry and exit are very limited and no commercial traffic (trucks) is permitted. This set the stage for a leisurely cruise back in time, the first real "Sunday drive" of our trip. Our first stop on the trace was at the Mississippi Arts Collective, which showcased local artists work. We then started up the Trace in earnest, the narrow ribbon of pavement turned on gentle arcs through the Mississippi countryside, alternating stands of southern pine and old growth hardwood rolled by. The parkway was immaculately manicured and the Park Service seemed to be mowing the natural grasslands every few miles (groundskeepers here surely have guaranteed life employment same as the painting crew of the Golden Gate Bridge). Miles would go by with no traffic in either direction, nary a crack or pothole to be found in 150 miles-in other words, driving nirvana. We drove by impossibly dense carpets of black-eyed susans in wide open fields, then just as quickly the canopy of hardwoods would close over us and we would be in a sun-dappled tunnel of green. We hiked in a Bald Cypress Swamp with the girls in packs, the majestic cypress seemingly drowning under the still waters of the swamp, an unbroken expanse of green algae looking flat and smooth like pool table felt around the roots (see the pics...) We saw box turtles sunning themselves on a log, sharing some space with a baby alligator maybe 2 to 3 feet in length. No, we did not see its mother...the cypress swamp was definitely a highlight of the Trace. We even stopped for a picnic with the girls, which they enjoyed, stretching their legs, scratching in the forest with sticks and just laying back in the sunshine on the picnic blanket. We exited the trace in Tupelo and bypassed Elvis' birthplace in favor of dinner in Oxford. Oxford is well known as both the home of University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) and also William (Sound and the Fury, The Reivers) Faulkner. It is a great town with wonderful resources, great book stores and restaurants and an EXCEEDINGLY friendly populus. We stayed at the Oliver-Britt House, a B&B right in close to the town square. We are finding B&Bs are the way to go in the south, with large suites, high ceilings, and beautiful post-civil war period architecture. We walked the square, window shopped, chatted with students and townsfolk alike and had dinner in a restaurant called "208 Lamar" that reminded us of our favorite Mill Valley restaurant, the Avenue Grill (now closed). We reloaded on books for the girls at a wonderful book store, since our car and bedtime reading had exhausted our inventory. We strolled back to our "home", watching kids play in front yards and chatting again with folks in the yard as if we had been neighbors for years. There are advantages to small town living away from big cities. Oxford, MS is our winner for southeast small town, with a Fredricksburg, TX feel to it.

May 30 (Day 30) Oxford, MS-Memphis, TN
The girls are becoming quite adept at falling asleep in a new bed almost every night, and life on the road seems to be agreeing with them. They are becoming hotel/B&B critics in their own right; Jocelyn usually looking for fold-out bed quality, running room and "brightness" and scents (ambiance, I guess); Isabelle looks for bathtub space, availability of note pads and pencils and number of closets, drawers and crawl spaces to hide Kirsten's cosmetics or Chris' electronics or car keys. Whenever we are in an elevator, Jocelyn asks if we are going to get stuck (because of an elevator which paused for five seconds in San Antonio). Anyway, the girls are usually sleeping until 7 AM or so, and then we roll out to breakfast at the Bottletree Bakery (famous and mentioned in Oprah magazine, Kirsten tells me). The baked goods were tasty (blueberry muffins and molasses-baked bagels) and we were fuelled for our visit to Rowan Oak, William Faulkner's residence from 1930 to his death in 1962. Now I haven't read Faulkner since high school but we just felt we should go (maybe to inspire us to read some Faulkner in the future). We found the gates to Rowan Oak chained shut. Undaunted, we parked the car outside the property and walked in (the signs said "No trespassing at night"). A sign on the door of this beautiful, white mansion said "closed for renovation, please feel free to walk the grounds", which we did, the girls playing amid the spreading Oaks, pines and most impressively, magnolias in bloom with creamy white flowers the size of salad bowls. No tours of the house, but we could see the attraction to Rowan Oak for the author. We made the 90 minute drive to Memphis without much to note. We had lunch at the world-renowned (Peter Goldmacher recommended) Rendezvous for a plate full of "dry" ribs (the way they prepare them here). The dimly-lighted restaurant was decorated in old-Memphis memorabilla and the wisecracking waiters seemed to have worked there for decades, at least We had never seen Isabelle eat so much in her life, she was on a mission (as were we). We continue to eat our way through the South (excellent regional recommendations by "Food Finds" on the Food Channel), and at some point we will get back on track (we promise, Tina!).
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1054351080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1054351080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cshilakes/shilakesusa2003/1054351080/tpod.html Sat, 31 May 2003 00:03:37 -0400 150 Days, 31 States, 20 National Parks, 3 Time Zones AND 2 Toddlers

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New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

LOUISIANA HIGHLIGHTS: superdome, the gumbo shop, ornamental ironwork, voodoo, scary confederate flags, beignets, café au lait, inaccessible sidewalks, def jam rappers at the ritz, riverboat, plantations, spanish trail, bayou, spanish moss, beads, mint juleps, egrets, daquiris-to-go, aquarium, alligators, live jazz, acadian culture, cotton, cemeteries, oak trees, evangeline, jambalaya, powdered sugar, louisiana purchase bicentennial

May 23 (Day 23) St. Martinville-Lafayette-Breaux Bridge-New Iberia
We woke up to a traditional southern breakfast of beignets (square donut-like pastries with powdered sugar) and thick café au laits made with sweetened condensed milk. It is really difficult to keep a diet down here and this problem would last through New Orleans. The Old Castillo Hotel, formerly a girls' high school, was a bit thread bare, but put us comfortably on par with the area. The only person sharing the hotel with us was a scholarly-looking fellow who turned out to be a modern-day sleuth for PBS' new show "History Detective."

For you poetry fanatics (we are not) the "most photographed tree in America" was just outside our window here. If you have read "Evangeline", the fateful lovers of the poem met under this tree. From our crawfish and red beans meal last night, we could tell we were in Cajun Country. The Acadians (shortened to Cajuns) had fled religious persecution in Nova Scotia and settled in the Bayou, lending their own unique French culture to this area. Street signs here were bilingual in French and English. Bayou Teche, a languid, lugubrious river ran past the hotel and everything in this county moved as sluggishly as the Bayou Teche. We took the girls to Vermillionville, just outside of Lafayette, which recreated a 19th Century Acadian village. It was very well done, with actual restored structures and Cajuns performing tasks of the period, spinning cotton and weaving, blacksmithing and the like. The girls enjoyed a little Cajun music with an accordion player in an old school house. From there, we basically toured the "The Old Spanish Trail" via paved and unpaved side roads up through Breaux Bridge while the girls napped. It is simple, beautiful countryside, broken by small hamlets and huge spreads of sugar cane fields. We arrived that evening in New Iberia. This city closed at 5 PM on a Friday night of Memorial Day weekend. The streets were rolled up. We hunted for somewhere to eat for an hour, almost gave up to fast food and then found the only restaurant in town and had a decent meal before retiring.

May 24 (Day 24) New Iberia-Avery Island-Morgan City-Houma-Napoleonville
Another day of touring the Bayou, with some twists and turns. Our final destination today will be "Madewood" an actual historical Sugar Plantation in Napoleonville. Between New Iberia and Napoleonville we pass through more quaint towns. However, there is one anomaly which stands out time and again, which we have not seen anywhere else on our tour to date: the proximity of people in abject poverty to those in new, sparkling monster homes. We noticed a clear socio-economic pattern radiating outward from plantations, to smaller antebellum-style homes, modern mega-houses, tract homes, and then trailer homes. This same pattern repeated itself time after time as we traveled down the bayou. We will be driving along and literally next door to a trailer home with a trash pile burning in the front yard will be a one or two year old, 5,000 square foot home. It is a very unusual and unsettling juxtaposition for us. We make a short sidetrip to one of our meccas, the McIlhenny Tabasco Plant in Averey Island (not truly an island, but a massive salt dome that rises from the surrounding swamp land). On our way out to the island, we see our first confederate flag being proudly hung in a trailer home window (hmmmmm). We enjoyed our tour of the plant, even though it was one big commercial (no surprise, right?) Jocey shrieked "SPICY" at the first whiff inside the plant, although she brightened up when they handed her a tiny souvenir bottle. We stocked up in the gift shop to be walking Tabasco billboards from head to toe. From there we went on a futile search for a place called Wildlife Gardens in Houma (Ho-Ma). This is one of these places in the swamp where you can supposedly pet a Gator and so on. As we followed the signs which kept saying "2 Miles to The Gardens" the road kept getting sketchier and the trailer homes went from shabby to downright scary. For the first time, we said "even if we found this place, we would not leave our car" so we bailed on "The Gardens" and also bailed on the Swamp Tours we were going to try in the area. We drove on to Napoleonville and Madewood Plantation. Staying at a plantation for an overnight made us a bit uneasy, you understand. This was, in the antebellum days, a 3,000 acre sugar plantation with 300 slaves. As we arrived, we were greeted by "T-boy", an 82-year old white tour guide who had lived and worked on the plantation for his whole life (we had to take his word...) We had a tour of the mansion, carriage house and so on. What was spooky was when he pointed back to the last surviving "slave quarters" of 30 originally on the property. That is what brought it home to us. We had a babysitter for the girls that evening and had a five course southern dinner in the dining room with guests from France, Luxembourg, L.A, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Kansas City. It was a beautiful house, we saw a piece of history, but we were happy to be just spending an overnight as it felt a little awkward there, like a living museum.

May 25 (Day 25) Napoleonville-New Orleans
We drove to New Orleans from Madewood that morning, a short 90 minute drive. This was the first time any of us had been to the Big Easy. Chris had avoided it religiously on business, and so it is one of the few major US cities he had missed with Merrill. We would be spending the next 3 days here and recharging at the Ritz on the edge of the Vieux Carre (French Quarter). We arrived late afternoon, and took the girls to one of the most famous restaurants in the French Quarter, called Gumbo House. It had been there forever, and we had heard rave reviews. So out we went, the neophytes, into the streets of The Quarter, on Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend. First thing we learned, this city is very stroller unfriendly. The Quarter is a historical district and is built on a swamp, so things sink, buckle, curbs jump and handicap ramps are non existent. We almost destroyed our stroller trying to negotiate the streets. So we finally made it to Gumbo house, weaving through the drunken throngs on Bourbon Street, to feast on delicious Chicken Andouille Gumbo, Red Beans and Rice and REAL local beers. We beat a hasty retreat to the hotel and had learned enough that the next two days would improve and we would come to enjoy this city.

May 26-27 (Days 26-27) New Orleans
Over the course of our next two days in New Orleans, we hopped on the St. Charles Street cable cars and journeyed west to the Garden District, a wooded, serene section of the city with beautiful antebellum homes and a famous cemetery. We visited the contemporary art museum and the D-Day Museum (some heavy censoring for Jocey and Izzy at both). We hit the Aquarium of the Americas, which rated average among aquariums we have seen. We took a horse and buggy tour through the Quarter; the girls loved it and we sipped on Hurricanes from Jean Lafittes Blacksmith Shop ( a famous bar in the quarter) as the horse trotted us effortlessly through territory which abused our stroller the prior day. Following the horse ride, we stopped at Patout's for dinner with the girls, dark storm clouds transformed The Quarter with a different electric energy as the wind whipped. Still, it did not rain (we have not seen one drop since we left Santa Barbara). The girls flirted with the band, which dedicated a Louis Armstrong song, "What a Wonderful World" to them and Isabelle danced with papa. In return, the girls gave their crayon drawings to the band members. We returned to the hotel, where Kirsten wanted to try a Mint Julep and we found out it tasted less like mint and more like Bourbon, ugh! Chris visited the Harrah's casino at the end of Canal Street, won some house money, gave it back (as usual) and we called it a night. All in all, a great deal of fun, but Nawlins' took some getting used to.

May 28 (Day 28) New Orleans-Jackson, Mississippi
There was one last gastronomic adventure we had to undertake before we left the Big Easy. We set out early for Café du Monde, for THE BEST beignets and café au lait in the world (this is all they list on the menu). We easily found a table at 8:30 AM, as most of the drunks were still three sheets to the wind at their hotels. The beignets came to our table BURIED under powdered sugar, literally. Jocey and Izzy's eyes grew wide at the prospect of their breakfasts. They attacked with reckless abandon on a beignet binge, and were powdered from head to toe with sugar. As they bounced out of Café du Monde on their beignet high, we hoped the sugar crash would not be too brutal. We checked out of the Ritz and Kirsten asked that we go to a Whole Foods in the Garden District. As we had not been in one since we left Mill Valley, Kirsten broke into a huge smile as if seeing an old love. The only more euphoric development for her would be if she saw a Peet's coffee shop in the Deep South. We now headed north towards Jackson, Mississippi to join the Natchez Trace.
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