Thread: Ramblings From The USA - 1

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Had a note from John Norton, aka johnboy, this morning saying that he was having some difficulty logging on to CHR from his laptop, and asking that I post at least the first installments of his "ramblings" documenting their trip to date. To that end, installment 1, as sent to me:

Saturday 22nd August.

Our elder boy Rick had come up the other day, so the three of us piled our bags and ourselves into the Calais, to Peter and Trish Rawcliffe’s, picked up Pete, out to Bell Block Airport, where we caught a plane at 10:30 am to head for Auckland, while Pete took our car back to his place,
Thanks Pete!

After an hour’s flight, landed Auckland and boarded another flight to take us to Los Angeles International Airport,

After a 12 hour flight we landed in LA, then took another flight which took us to Oklahoma Int. Airport landing at 6:00 pm and absolutely shattered...we’d taken Premium economy all the way, and Air NZ was the best value; whereas United’s was not worth the extra money, even though we did have more room than cattle class.

Couldn’t find the shuttle to Howard Johnson Express Inn, (feeling too knackered to look too hard to be honest,) so got a taxi to the place.
Into bed, and well asleep before 9:00…only to find that some gormless bastard had set the alarm (that’s the hotel’s alarm,) for 12:00.
Shut that damned thing off only to have it go off again five minutes later.
Sheesh!
This time,
it
will
stay
off.
It’s dead…I killed it.
But it was too late for my jet-lagged out-of-whack sleep patterns…I was still awake at 4:30 am, finally going back to sleep sometime then.

Sunday 23rd August.

Out of bed 7:30, brekky, and hit the road for Perry, booked in to the Super 8, (yep the fella there still remembers us,) then spent the next three hours or so organising all the various things that because of the weight factor you didn’t want to bring from NZ, but aren’t usually supplied by motels in the States; decent sized coffee cups, not paper cups, cutlery, a beer glass that holds more than two sips, ashtrays with a lid, milk for a cuppa, a decent bar of soap, a bottle (not a teensy sachet) of shampoo and so on.
Pizza Hut for lunch back at the motel, and Dick and Susie Smelser turned up with their two, Sarah and baby Kassidy.
Dick drove us over Route 66 a few years back with Susie riding shotgun, and we’ve been good mates ever since, a fine couple who epitomise all that is good about the American heart-land people.
So t was good to play catchup over the next few hours.
They joined us for a hamburger tea at Braums, right next door to the motel, Rosie, Rick, and I thought we’d have an ice-cream in a cone as an aperitif.
Yeah right!
After eating our bloody huge ice-creams none of us could face the thought of a burger.
I can’t get over the fixation Americans have with the size of their food portions; everything, even ice-creams, where what we would regard as JUMBO is their standard entry-level item, can be up-scaled to what we would regard as OBESITY, or CORONARY.

Monday 25th August.

Best sleep I’ve had so far; a full nine hours solid. Dick and Susie called for us at 8:00 am…away by 8:15, heading for the memorial at what was the Murrah building in OK city, the site of what has become known as the Oklahoma Bombing.
(The perpetrator Timothy McVeigh, was actually apprehended in Perry, not far from where we’re staying right now, by the local cop Charley Hanger.)
It’s a pretty emotional place.
There are rows and rows of named chairs, bigger ones for the adults, smaller ones for the children, each with a perpetual light underneath it…I’ve forgotten how many, but it’s close to the two hundred mark…and to see so many brings home that each one was an individual with loved ones, hopes, dreams, and aspirations, and the innocent kids with their whole lives in front of them…gut wrenching.
For what reason?
Why?
One perverted bastard’s hate.
And it’s still happening…Palestine, ISIS, Ukraine…although the tosser IRA have quietened down in recent years.
We were told that there was to be a ‘show’ in the museum itself in five minutes, but, quite frankly; I couldn’t have faced it.
I’m not an emotional bloke; but I walked away from there with a lump in my throat.
The pure malevolence of some people defies belief.

Anyway…next stop was Pops in Arcadia…a bit of an eye-opener for us parochial Kiwis…700 different flavours of pop (soft drink,) in stock; I’ve never seen so many different varieties and flavours in one place before in my life…and I had to order a glass of milk with my meal. (Okay; so I like milk! And there’s no added sugar.)
A good hamburger meal too; although a bit large for me…I had to remove the top bun and biff it away.

Next stop was the Round Barn, built initially in 1898, and totally refurbished some twenty years ago.
I noticed that all the diagonal cross-bracing was from bottom left to top right, and none from bottom right to top left, and passed a comment to the fella who was guiding us through.
He laughed, and said, “You’re not the first to point that out; we’ve had architects come through here and tell us this place shouldn’t be standing; but it is, and has done so for nearly 120 years!”
Good point.
Later, wandering though the outside exhibits, I noticed an old horse-drawn sickle-bar mower labelled as a ‘cycle’ bar mower.
Should I point out the mistake?
Nah…it’s not for me to say.

On to the Oklahoma Railway Museum, it looked extremely promising from outside the fence…but it’s closed on Mondays.
sigh.

Carry on to Oklahoma 45 Infantry Division Museum…that too is closed on Mondays.
Another small sigh; but at least we could wander around the static outdoor display of machinery and aircraft, (which was quite interesting in itself,) so the visit wasn’t an entire waste of time.
Back to the motel, where Dick and Susie left us, so we headed into Perry ( first stop was a liquor shop, half a gallon of Bacardi gold rum for US$33) to take Crunchie bars to Marilee Machias et al, only to find she had left work at 4:00, half an hour ago.
Bugger!
So we gave them to a staff member to leave on her desk for her to find in the morning, wandered across to a junk shop the other side of the square, (Rick has broken his favourite coffee cup that he’s had for twenty years and is looking to replace it; it has to be big, and have ‘character’,) only to be recognised virtually as soon as I walked in the door.
Crikey! I’m not that bad am I?
So we finished up giving them a Crunchie bar each too. The expressions as they sampled them were priceless…”Mmm, that’s nice!”
Okay…head for the Smelser ranch at Billings for tea, got out there and Dick promptly took us to the Indian reservation for ciggies…three cartons of Marlboro 100’s for US $154..one carton in NZ will cost NZ $140…so that should see me through the next day or three.
Back to Dick and Susie’s for barbequed pork ribs, sweet corn on the cob, and jacket roast spuds.
Bloody gorgeous.
Back to the motel.

Tuesday 26th August.

I thought I’d had this jet-lag body-clock thing beat after last night; but nah. Into bed about 9:30 – 10:00…only to be still awake at 4:00 am. And awake again at 7:00 when the alarm went off...

Keep em coming Roger and thanks for the posts!

I met up with John, his wife and son today around 2:30 at the junction of Route96 (old 66) and 39 about 40 miles west of Springfield. I gave them current maps of Missouri, Kentucky and Ohio. They followed me to where old 66 is still intact and we drove the 5 miles or so and stopped at the old gas station for a couple of pictures. They got back on I44 headed to Bowling Green, Ky and the Corvette museum. Wonderful people, wish there had of been more time.IMG_5864.jpgIMG_5868.jpgIMG_5865.jpg

Very nice! I wish them safe travels!

Tuesday 26th August.

I thought I’d had this jet-lag body-clock thing beat after last night; but nah. Into bed about 9:30 – 10:00…only to be still awake at 4:00 am. And awake again at 7:00 when the alarm went off.
Shakespeare said it: “Sleep, precious sleep; that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care!” or: “To sleep, perchance to dream.”
It’s 25 – 30 years since I last read ‘The Collected Works’, but some quotes stick in your mind.
Anyway…in to Perry the Kumback Kafe (sic) for a quick (not, as it turned out,) bite to eat before meeting with Dick and Susie again for a visit to the Chokosaw Cultural Heritage Museum.
Marilee was serving at the front counter when I walked in, ignored her customer and exclaimed: “New Zealand has arrived! Come in, come in, find a table, I’ll be with you in a minute, Marilynn’s here already!”
So we found a table, ordered breakfast, were soon joined by Marilynn, and spent a happy twenty minutes or so playing catchup before Marilee could get a break, pull up a chair, and join us.
“So that’s where that candy came from! I saw it on my desk this morning, there was no covering note, and it had me wondering!”
Fine people.
We spent a very happy hour or more with them catching up and reminiscing. Rosie had brought some necklaces with pendants inlaid with paua (the NZ abalone,) some time back, and had said at the time “The girls at the Kumback would enjoy these,” and they did too,
They didn’t know we were coming, my Ramblings from Rahotu are sent to Marilynn every month; but somehow she never got last month’s…dunno how that happened.
They’re not on this computer, so will send her a copy when we get back home.
(It seems she prints them off, and they are read to all the Kumback Koffee Klub girls... and to top it all off Marilee wouldn’t let us pay for our meal…thank-you very much for that; it is appreciated.)

Okay…away again, met with Dick and Susie, who drove us to the Chokosaw (pronounced with an acute accent on every vowel,) Indians’ Cultural Heritage Museum up near a town called Sulphur.
It was alright I s’pose in its way…but terribly biased to ‘show’ just how peaceful, industrious, and righteous they were.
Yeah right.
The idea of the ‘noble savage’ of days gone by are a myth; and always have been. They were every bit as venal as the people they were dealing with…it’s an undeniable irrefutable fact that they were selling their fellow Indians as slaves to the Spaniards.
I saw no mention of that awkwardness though…

Then off to the waterfall dubbed ‘Little Niagara’ at Sulphur itself,
It seems its major claim to fame is that it was in a ‘Terminator’ movie,
And Dick stripped down to his shorts and dived from the top!
I didn’t think you would mate!
Good on ya!

Back to Perry and the motel, final goodbyes to Dick and Susie, we won’t be seeing you for another two years at least; so think of us often and fondly, as we will of you lovable daft buggers.

Okay…now for the serious stuff…I/m not going to have a repeat of last night’s sleepless night…so I cracked the top on my rum bottle and drank several really stiff ones.
I got interrupted by a couple of earthquakes…but that didn’t faze me: I was determined I was going to sleep!
And I did.
Nine hours solid.
All good.

Wednesday 27th August.

Away by 8:15, ultimate destination Springfield.
Lunch was a Subway at Coffeeville…I nudged Rick, nodded towards a couple and said “That’s what happens when you marry your cousin.”
Umm…yeah…

And…just outside Baxter Springs…acre upon acre of yellow flowering ragwort!
Unbelievable.

We had arranged to meet up en route with Ken Thomas, a fellow Club Hot Rod member, at the intersection of 39 and 96; from where he would lead us to an untouched portion of the original Route 66.
And he did.
We would never have found it unaided…Paris Springs…old Route 66 itself…glass bowled fuel pumps, a couple of Corvairs, early fifties Nash police car…bloody gorgeous.
Thanks Ken…much appreciated.

And onwards to crash at a motel on the outskirts of Springfield.
All good.

Thank You Mr. Spears! It great entertainment reading JB's descriptions for the day.. Thanks for being the middleman..

Originally Posted by 34_40

Thank You Mr. Spears! It great entertainment reading JB's descriptions for the day.. Thanks for being the middleman..

It's not a problem, and as I told jb it literally takes about a minute, maybe two to copy the text from his e-mail, open this thread, add a title, paste & post. Looking forward to the installment when you're showing them around the New Bedford area, and sorry that I'll miss it!

I'm thinking that the group over nighted at the Munger Moss Motel outside of Lebanon, MO, which Rosie had researched as a popular place for travelers back in the day - it has quite a story! Munger Moss Motel: A Route 66 Classic

Originally Posted by rspears

I'm thinking that the group over nighted at the Munger Moss Motel outside of Lebanon, MO, which Rosie had researched as a popular place for travelers back in the day - it has quite a story! Munger Moss Motel: A Route 66 Classic

Had I known they were planning to stop that early I would have suggested the Rail Haven Motel in Springfield as Lebanon is some 60 miles east. Springfield Missouri Hotels | BEST WESTERN Route 66 Rail Haven | Route 66 Hotels
Most people aren't aware that Springfield is the birthplace of Route 66.

Originally Posted by NTFDAY

Had I known they were planning to stop that early I would have suggested the Rail Haven Motel in Springfield as Lebanon is some 60 miles east.

Ken, I think that the Munger Moss was on Rosie's "Must See" list, but I just got a reply from John saying it was "....a total letdown. The entire area was designated No Smoking. We hardly slowed....." Not sure where they landed for the night, but it seems they're on the road again, eastbound and down, loaded up and truckin'.

Well not really, a pet peeve of mine regarding American motels: they supply a microwave. Microwaves imply food, which, in turn, implies cutlery, And food also implies a cuppa. Who, in a civilised world, doesn’t have a cuppa with their tucker?
But no cups are provided, nor even a jug to boil water…and no cutlery
Moteliers must be uncivilised bastards.
And the microwaves themselves…All that a microwave needs is two dials, one for power level, another for time.
And two buttons: one for start, and another to open the door.
So why do they supply a machine that’s so bloody complex you need an honours degree in electronic engineering to drive?
Bah!

Thursday 28th August.

And another good night’s sleep, and without the help of the rum bottle this time too.
Away at last a bit after nine o’clock, trying to get this lot moving is like trying to herd cats; mission impossible.
They can’t seem to realise that an hour wasted at this end of the day is an hour’s options lost at the other end of the day…and so it turned out.

Ultimate destination St, Louis, first stop Lebanon for the factory outlets.
Rick and She went out on a feeding frenzy, while I sat in the car and read several chapters of my book; so everyone was happy.
Next was another similar place…The Plaza…same scenario…
Then head to Rollo and the Stubby Stonehenge.
Time for munchies first though.
Joe and Linda’s Tater Patch caught my eye…the parking lot was full of good-old-boys type vehicles; battered pick-ups and Harleys…always a good indication of good cheap tucker.
And so it proved.
It was good, there was lots of it, it was tasty, and it was cheap.
I managed about two-thirds of mine, got a styrofoam box for the rest, (which was still the size of a normal meal,) and all for just over $30 for all three of us.
Highly recommended.

So on to the henge.
A waste of time; extremely disappointed. It gave a very, very brief synopsis of the astronomical reasoning/science behind the structure, and the stones themselves were too small to be accurate, i.e. they were too small to cast sufficient shadow across the truncated inner circle. The stones were not shrunk to the same ratio as the circle.
So if you’re thinking of going to look at it…don’t bother.
Come to New Zealand…the henge in the Wairarapa is far superior.
And you’re welcome to actually wander right through it, unlike the original in the UK which is off limits entirely to Joe Public.
(And although ours is orientated to southern skies, the principle is the same.)

Right…on to St Louis City Museum…arriving outside it at 4:10.
Remember that hour we lost this morning with all the disorganised dicking about?
Well here it is.
If we’d arrived at 3:10…no problem…but at 4:10…it ain’t bloody worth it.
¾ of an hour to ‘do’ a museum of this size?
Yeah right.
So we found a motel..

Simple solution to your accompanying implement dilemma jb.......................the USA national meal...............a burrito! (read whatever meaning you want into that) Every fuel station, C store, whatever has a cold case (hopefully) full of them!!
Travel well............

A good solution, Uncle Bob! I shared with someone that in our travels all around NZ we found that every motel is like an efficiency apartment, with a small kitchenette, basic pots & pans, and dishes for two to four. Also, every place as "take out" places, which offer a variety of meals packed to go, many with limited or no seating area. Our motels are geared around sleep, many with areas for the "complementary breakfast" that's built into their price whether you eat or not, but they're not intended for in-room dining. They expect everyone traveling will be buying their dinner at a local eatery, which is not jb & Rosie's norm - they'll pull off the road, book a room and then backtrack to a suitable take-out place, and then be in for the night. Just a different approach.

I'm allowed access!
Oh frabjous day, calloo callay!
I tried to log on exactly as I have before; this time 'the machine' relented and recognised me as being me.

Many thanks Roger for being my surrogate...I don't know if this will last; so I may need to use you again, if that's okay with you.

Once again; thanks heaps, and thanks all of you for the kind comments.

Okay...here goes...copy/ paste from word:


Friday 28th August.

After my little hissy-fit of yesterday we got away today at about 8:15, and were walking in to the museum around 9:00…lots more better!
Rick didn’t want to come…that’s alright…do what you like…so we left him to guard the car.
We started at the roof top, someone (I think it was Joe Weimer, toomanytocount,) had told me about this some years ago. Well his time around we made it.
There’s a school bus up there, eleven stories up; and the nose is hanging twelve feet out over the edge of the building.
There was
no
way
in the
world
that I was going to walk out through that bus and peer out the open front door.
Eleven stories? Nah; I’m a devout coward. This is a grand area for kids young and old there are slides and climbs, and all sorts of fun activities…I saw one woman, younger than I, follow her grandchildren on a climb up the inside of a dome twenty-five feet up to the centre of the dome.
I would’ve liked to do that; but my right shoulder and right knee wouldn’t let me now.
Sob.
And the art-work!
Amazing!
Mostly collected rubbish; birds made from trombones, deer from bicycle sprockets and oe spanners, birds from air-horn trumpets, and even a working ferris wheel too!
We spent a good ¾ of an hour there, and loved it.

Back to the ground floor and worked our way up.
What a fun place!
Alongside the serious stuff is a huge amount of whimsical stuff alluding to various theme;, f’rinstance: Kenneth Graham’s Toad of Toad Hall appeared in several places/levels…with a row-boat, a gypsy caravan, and a motor car…poop-poop!
There was a lot about the architecture of the city too, focusing primarily on the partnership of Elmslie & Sullivan, who designed buildings from the ground up, including all details…capitals, finials, decorative griffins, even the down-pipes and door knobs.
Amazing stuff.
This place is a serious museum; but it’s also bloody good fun. We spent better than three hours there, and while I wouldn’t go back to-morrow, in another two/three years…hell yes!

Lunch at a Chinese restaurant at Butler Hill, broccoli, cabbage, carrot, all good. Veges you don’t get (or in minimal quantities,) with a burger,
I thought I’d get me a couple of beers for tonight, so wandered in to Schnucks, to see what was on offer.
I’m not familiar with American beers, there was a fella there stacking shelves, so I asked him what was a good dark beer.
“I don’t know,” he replied, “I’m a wine man myself.”
But we got talking, he told me he’d like to come to NZ, I told him “By all means come! We need the overseas funds!” and he laughed.
He wandered off, I wandered into the chiller and found…Arrogant Bastard!
A beer I’d tried a few years back and really enjoyed…so I bought a half dozen.

Walking across the car park, a car screeched around the corner, a fella jumped out, it was the bloke I’d talked to in Schnucks.
“Hoped I’d catch you,” he said, “we get beers in promos to give away; here, try these,” and he thrust a six pack of various beers into my hands, jumped back in his car, and was gone again, leaving me standing gob-smacked in the middle of the car park trying to stammer ‘Thanks!”
Crikey!
That was good of him!
The average American is a decent, honest, good hearted bloke. And my opinion of him rises every time we come here to his place.

Walked a bit further towards our car, saw a car I didn’t recognise, thought “what on earth is that?”
‘Merkur’, the badge said.
That rang no bells, so googled it.
It’s a Ford Mercury, based on German components, and sold as a Lincoln for the luxury market, manufactured circa ’64 to ‘’69.
I’ve never seen or heard of one before.

Okay…in to the car and keep on truckin’.
All the way to Blytheville.
Where we pulled in to a Super 8 to overnight before heading into Memphis tomorrow.



No edit, no spell check, I was just so surprised to get on to the site I just bunged it in as is.

How about that! Thought you should have been able to get on the site, but then at any given time..... Susan's been to that museum in St Louis a few times, but to my recollection I've not been there. Glad you're having an enjoyable trip, and I'm a willing surrogate, any time the access overseers happen to block your way here.

Safe travels,