TravelStream™ news feed for member roundamerica on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/roundamerica en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 04 Dec 2008 02:39:04 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roundamerica/2/1228336200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roundamerica/2/1228336200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roundamerica/2/1228336200/tpod.html Thu, 04 Dec 2008 02:39:04 -0500 Atlanta to Paris and Back....by Car

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Natchitoches, Louisiana, United States

Barbara and I briefly visited Natchitoches, Louisiana a few months ago when we got lost trying to get to Alexandria.&nbsp; We saw just enough to know it was a lovely place.&nbsp; Our daughter, Brittany, loved Natchitoches when she was here a few years ago for her Vanderbilt roommate's wedding, Kristen Gahagen.Natchitoches is a beautiful small town!&nbsp; Barbara and I loved the looks and feel of Madison, Georgia, and we rated it "Best Small Town" on our first trip Round America...but we liked Natchitoches even better.Several motion pictures have been filmed in Natchitoches, including <i>Steel Magnolias, <i>The Man in the Moon, <i>The Horse Soldiers, NBC's <i>The Year Without a Santa Claus, <i>The American Standard, as well as a Lifetime Television's series <i>Scarlett.&nbsp; We obtained a map at the Visitor's Center, and we drove around to see most of the locations where <i>Steel Magnolias was filmed.&nbsp; It's such a great movie.Natchitoches attracts over one million visitors annually.&nbsp; The city has 11 national chain hotels and nearly 50 bed and breakfast inns, including the Steel Magnolia House.&nbsp; The city's tourism center is the downtown river walk. This includes Front Street, which overlooks the river walk and is bordered by an assortment of shops and boutiques. The city has identified this area as the Historical District. Natchitoches has long been known for its popular Christmas lighting festival which is held the first Saturday in December.&nbsp; In 2008, the festival will celebrate its 82nd year.&nbsp; We usually hate it when the sun goes down as it ends the sightseeing for the day, but most of the lights were up, and we saw quite a display after the sun set.&nbsp; If you can ever visit Natchitoches, Louisiana during December, by all means go to see a lovely town and an absolutely gorgeous holiday display reflecting off the lake.&nbsp; It was spectacular!I'll add more to this tomorrow....See our Natchitoches Louisiana Sightseeing PhotosCopyright 2008, Round America and William M. Windsor
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Atlanta, Georgia, United States

We reached Atlanta about 3:30 pm.&nbsp; Our car has finally been repaired, so we traded our loaner car for our real car, and we arrived home about 4:00.We thoroughly enjoyed the Trip From Atlanta to Paris and Back...by Car !!!Copyright 2008, Round America and William M. Windsor
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Vicksburg, Mississippi, United States

We drove two-lane roads across Louisiana at night until we cut up to I-20 at Monroe, Louisiana.&nbsp; Our old-standby Marriotts were both full.&nbsp; We had an always good country cookin' meal at Cracker Barrel.&nbsp; Then we drove east to Vicksburg.The first two&nbsp;hotels we tried in Vicksburg were also full.&nbsp; We were pleased to get a room at the Holiday Inn &amp; Suites.&nbsp; The Internet connector was broken (has happened to us before), so I was unable to upload photos or the blog.Vicksburg has some interesting sights and a number of casinos for gamblers.&nbsp; We've visited Vicksburg before, so we are just here for the bed and a shower in the morning.Travel Tips: If an Internet connection is important to you as it is to me, always check the connector BEFORE you unpack and get settled in the room.&nbsp; The little clip that gives a proper connection seems to get broken off by careless people.&nbsp; Request a different room unless the hotel has a Plan B.&nbsp; The Holiday Inn &amp; Suites had no Plan B for us.&nbsp;Copyright 2008, Round America and William M. Windsor
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Shreveport, Louisiana, United States

It's about a 70-mile drive from Texarkana to Shreveport...another drive that I have done more times than I can count.We lived in Texarkana from 1953 to 1961, and then we lives in Shreveport, Louisiana from 1961 to 1963.&nbsp; My Dad was the General Manager of KCMC-TV in Texarkana, and he moved the NBC station to the larger Shreveport location, built the largest television tower in the south, and designed and built a new TV station in Shreveport with a new name -- KTAL-TV.&nbsp; TAL for "tall" and TAL for Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana since the station reached all three states.We had an excellent lunch at George's Grill.&nbsp; The Coconut Ice Box Pie was especially tasty.I will add more about Shreveport tomorrow....See our Shreveport Louisiana Sightseeing PhotosCopyright 2008, Round America and William M. Windsor
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roundamerica/2/1228316400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roundamerica/2/1228316400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roundamerica/2/1228316400/tpod.html Thu, 04 Dec 2008 02:08:07 -0500 Atlanta to Paris and Back....by Car

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Texarkana, Texas, United States

Marriott hotels are always very good.&nbsp; Unfortunately, our room had the smell of sewage.&nbsp; We didn't complain, though I guess we should have called it to their attention.&nbsp; Bozzie Jane forgot our bag of dirty clothes, and the front desk lady came running out to the parking lot to flag us down.&nbsp; She wins our award for Best Desk Clerk!I LOVE Texarkana.&nbsp; It was a wonderful place to grow up.&nbsp; We moved to Texarkana in 1953, and we moved from Texarkana to Shreveport, Louisiana in 1961.&nbsp; I attended first through seventh grades in Texarkana.It was a kindler and gentler place to grow up.&nbsp; We played in our neighborhood and Spring Lake Park, and my parents never had to worry about our safety.&nbsp; We had wonderful friends and&nbsp;great neighbors.Barbara and I visited&nbsp;my family's&nbsp;old homes, my schools, my Dad's television station, and more.&nbsp; We also saw the big sights in Texarkana.&nbsp; The biggest sight is the State Line that runs right down the middle of the area and divides Texarkana Texas from Texarkana Arkansas.&nbsp; One of the most popular postcards of all times was one of a cowboy pulling a donkey by a rope at the State Line; it had&nbsp;the caption: "My head is in Texas, but my ass is in Arkansas."&nbsp;I'll write more about Texarkana tomorrow.&nbsp; I wanted to get these photos online tonight.&nbsp; More to follow....See our Texarkana Sightseeing PhotosCopyright 2008, Round America and William M. Windsor
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Texarkana, Texas, United States

After visiting a furniture store on main street in Pittsburg, we hit the two-lane bound for Texarkana.&nbsp; It was dark, so the only thing we saw was an extremely impressive display of Christmas lights covering several acres near Redwater, Texas.&nbsp; I snapped a photo, but I couldn't begin to do it justice.We stopped at Big Daddy's Pawn Shop on the way into Texarkana.&nbsp; My notes indicated that it had a giant rabbit.&nbsp; We didn't see a rabbit, but it was dark, and Big Daddy must have been home watching TV.We drove straight to Bryce's Cafeteria.&nbsp; Bryce's has been in business since 1931, and the food is great.&nbsp; Real home cooking; they just cook up a lot of it.&nbsp; It's a BIG restaurant that's always filled with the locals.&nbsp; Bryce's has a fabulous selection of pies.&nbsp; Tonight, I had the Peach Cobbler, and it was really good.&nbsp; We used to go to Bryce's Cafeteria when I was a grade schooler in Texarkana.&nbsp; More about that tomorrow as we tour Texarkana.See our Texarkana Texas Sightseeing PhotosCopyright 2008, Round America and William M. Windsor
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Pittsburg, Texas, United States

"Bo" Pilgrim and his brother Aubrey, founded Pilgrim's Pride in 1946 with a&nbsp;small feed store in the small town of Pittsburg, Texas.&nbsp; Bo expanded his successful poultry company to eventually distribute food products around the world.&nbsp; He capitalized on his last name with the signature hat, a successful marketing gimmick&nbsp;that he famously wore to all events and functions. Something possessed Bo to erect a giant memorial to himself in front of the Pilgrim's Pride headquarters in Pittsburg.&nbsp; The Giant Bo Pilgrim Head is 37-feet tall.&nbsp; We figure it must be the World's Largest Bo Pilgrim Head.&nbsp;In 1902,&nbsp;Burrell Cannon, a Baptist preacher-inventor, built an airship based on a description in the Biblical Book of Ezekiel. The craft was said to have flown briefly in Pittsburg, allegedly beating the Wright Brothers by a year.&nbsp; The "Ezekiel Airship" was destroyed in rail accident on its way to the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. There's a historical marker at the original Pittsburg Foundry site, on Fulton Street, and a full-sized replica&nbsp;displayed at the Northeast Texas Rural Heritage Depot &amp; Museum.&nbsp; We visited the museum, but it was closed.&nbsp; We'll plan to see it and Bo Pilgrim's home, Cluckingham Palace, when we next visit Pittsburg, Texas as we go Round America.See our Pittsburg Texas Sightseeing PhotosCopyright 2008, Round America and William M. Windsor
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Paris, Texas, United States

We have made it all the way to Paris !!!This is a photo of the airplane on the outskirts of Paris.The plane is a little worse for wear.&nbsp; Thank goodness we didn't have to fly to Paris on that plane.We just drove the 63 miles from Sherman to the second largest Paris in the world -- Paris, Texas.We really got a kick out of Paris.&nbsp; Our first stop was on the side of the road to photograph the Paris City Limits sign.&nbsp; Then we had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Becky Semple, Tourism Director for the Paris Texas Visitors and Convention Council.&nbsp; Becky's office is at the Chamber of Commerce office in the old Union Station train depot.&nbsp; Becky is filled with love and enthusiasm for her town, and I cannot imagine finding a better ambassador for Paris!&nbsp; She reminded Barbara and me of our closest friend in the world, Carolyn Bazzo.&nbsp; Becky gave us all kinds of goodies -- an Eiffel tower, pins, Campbell's Soup, Pace Picante, restaurant and pie recommendations, and information galore.&nbsp; If we hadn't met Becky, we would have visited the Eiffel Tower and a few other sights, and we would have been down the road.&nbsp; Instead, we got to see the 14-foot monument of Jesus wearing cowboy boots and other Paris landmarks.Please do yourself a favor, and put Paris (Texas) -- the second largest Paris in the world -- on your travel plans list.&nbsp;Go straight to the Union Station Tourist Information Office, and tell Becky that Bill and Barbara from Round America sent you!The 14-foot Monument of Jesus wearing Cowboy BootsThe Eiffel TowerI'll have to finish today's blog tomorrow and add many more photos as I can't keep my eyes open....See our Paris Sightseeing Photos.Copyright 2008, Round America and William M. Windsor
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Sherman, Texas, United States

As we continued east from Gainesville, the scenery is mainly tan grass in pastures, barbed wire fence, and scattered farming and ranching equipment.&nbsp; Not much to see.But in the boonies near Sherman, Texas, there is another Goode: Jay Goode.&nbsp; Jay runs a sandblasting business, and he has a Muffler Man out next to his shop.Next Stop: The Airport for Paris !!!!!See our Sherman Texas Sightseeing photos.Copyright 2008, Round America and William M. Windsor
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Gainesville, Texas, United States

Barbara doesn't know where we are going about half the time.&nbsp; I don't tell her what's on tap, so she will be surprised when we drive around a bend on a two-lane country road and see four giant people and a fiberglass calf standing in a field.Out in the country near Gainesville, Texas is the home of Glenn Goode.&nbsp; He started his M-Man collection in 1971, when he bought one from a Go-Cart track in Garland, Texas for five dollars.&nbsp;&nbsp; The Uniroyal Gal was bought from a car dealer in Wichita Falls, Texas.&nbsp; His next acquisitions were two Big John grocery goliaths obtained from a grocery chain in Hickman, Kentucky.&nbsp; In late 2006, that he'd added a baby calf to the group.&nbsp; Mrs. Goode must be a very understanding woman to allow these giants to stand beside the road near her home!We really enjoy seeing sights of all types as we travel.&nbsp; But truth be told, I would rather see the World's Largest Ball of Twine than the Grand Canyon.&nbsp; We have visited and photographed hundreds of World's Largest and big things; I will continue to add to my photos of the World's Largest on Flickr.Oh, we also saw an oil well with a rabbit sculpture on top as we drove down the highway in Gainesville.&nbsp; It will not be a surprise to any of you that if I owned an oil well, I would definitely have some sort of character riding on the pump jack.&nbsp; Those who followed our travels earlier this year know that our son, Ryan, and I are planning to erect the World's Largest Chili Dog.&nbsp; We are still trying to find the right piece of land in the booming metropolis of Purley, Texas.&nbsp; Like Mrs. Goode, Ryan has a very understanding mom, and I have a very understanding wife.See our Gainesville Texas Sightseeing photos.Copyright Round America and William M. Windsor
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