Category: Daily Journal

Daily Journal

Home in Atlanta – Day 140

Home in Atlanta

Day 140 – August 18, 2003 – Monday

Home in Atlanta. The final segment of the trip — Hawaii — will be August 20 to August 25.

We spent the day organizing information for the book and updating the website.

The Daily Journal of Round America:

Each day, we collect our thoughts on a web page just like this. We drop in some of the photos from the day. Our goal with the Daily Journal is to write about the towns we visit, the sights we see, the people we meet, and the pie we eat. We write about where we are, where we’ve been, and where we are going, but we also make observations about what we’ve seen and done as well as about life in general.

You can follow our travels from the Daily Journal section of this website. Other pages of interest include the running report of “vital statistics” on the Trip Scorecard, our nominations for the Best & Worst of the trip, as well as a rating of the pie we eat. If you’d like to see information for a specific state or town, click here, and then click on the state of interest, and the full itinerary is shown.

Home in Atlanta

Home in Atlanta – Day 139

Home in Atlanta

Day 139 – August 17, 2003 – Sunday

Home in Atlanta. The final segment of the trip — Hawaii — will be August 20 to August 25.

We spent the day organizing information for the book and updating the website. We began collecting our thoughts about Pie today. See the Pie Report and the Pie Ratings.

We went over to visit Madison and her Mommy and Daddy this afternoon. Daddy Robert went wild at a toy store and bought Maddie all kinds of exciting new older girl toys.

One of the best things about traveling for the last five months was ignoring the newspapers, radio, and TV. It is so pleasant when you aren’t hearing all the bad news and the ridiculous politics that cause the Democrats to take positions directly opposite that of the Republicans and to say ridiculous things. It is amazing to me that the two-party system works, and it is so sad that just about everything has to be partisan.

Tonight I learned that 5.6 million living adult Americans have been in prison. That’s one in every 37 adults in the United States. If 2001 incarceration rates remain the same, about 6.6 percent of the people born in 2001 can expect to serve a prison sentence during their lifetimes. This compares with 5.2 percent of those born in 1991 and 1.9 percent of people born in 1974, according to the estimates in the study conducted by the United States Justice Department. These numbers do not even include those jailed — just those who went to a prison. How outrageous is this! As wonderful as our country is, we have real problems. I sincerely believe that we need strong gun control. When our forefathers said we should have the right to keep and bear arms, they had no idea that 7 percent of the children born the year Madison was born would grow up and go to prison.

The Daily Journal of Round America:

Each day, we collect our thoughts on a web page just like this. We drop in some of the photos from the day. Our goal with the Daily Journal is to write about the towns we visit, the sights we see, the people we meet, and the pie we eat. We write about where we are, where we’ve been, and where we are going, but we also make observations about what we’ve seen and done as well as about life in general.

You can follow our travels from the Daily Journal section of this website. Other pages of interest include the running report of “vital statistics” on the Trip Scorecard, our nominations for the Best & Worst of the trip, as well as a rating of the pie we eat. If you’d like to see information for a specific state or town, click here, and then click on the state of interest, and the full itinerary is shown.

Home in Atlanta

Home in Atlanta – Day 138

Home in Atlanta

Day 138 – August 16, 2003 – Saturday

Home in Atlanta. The final segment of the trip — Hawaii — will be August 20 to August 25.

We spent the day organizing information for the book and updating the website.

I took the day off today. We went to see Kevin Costner’s “Open Range.” We went to the 4 pm show, and the theatre was full. We thought the movie was very good. Gave it an 8 on our 1-to-10 rating system.

Our favorite movies of all times are: Waiting for Guffman, Rudy, Hoosiers, American Graffiti, Something the Lord Made, Best in Show, The Big Chill, Braveheart, Brian’s Song, The Castle, A Christmas Story, City Slickers, The Commitments, Dead Poets Society, The Dish, Door to Door, Duets, Eddie and the Cruisers, Erin Brokovich, Father of the Bride, Field of Dreams, Forrest Gump, Frequency, The Full Monty, Ghost, Gone With the Wind, Good Morning Vietnam, Goodwill Hunting, The Graduate, Grease, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, Hands on a Hardbody, I Am Sam, In America, It’s a Wonderful Life, Jagged Edge, Kinky Boots, Lean On Me, Les Miserables in Concert, Life is Beautiful, Little Miss Sunshine, Love Story, Meet the Parents, Michael, My Cousin Vinny, My Dog Skip, Mystic Pizza, National Lampoon’s Animal House, The Natural, Noel, October Sky, Pacific Heights, Paper Clips, Pay It Forward, Phenomenon, Pretty Woman, Primal Fear, The Pursuit of Happyness, Rain Man, Remember the Titans, Revenge of the Nerds, Risky Business, Rock, Rocky II, The Royal Tenenbaums, Saint Ralph, Seabiscuit, The Shawshank redemption, Shine, Simon Burch, The Sixth Sense, Sleepless in Seattle, Spitfire Grill, Stand By Me, Tender Mercies, Titanic, To Kill A Mockingbird, Unfaithful, The Usual Suspects, The Verdict, When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail.

The Daily Journal of Round America:

Each day, we collect our thoughts on a web page just like this. We drop in some of the photos from the day. Our goal with the Daily Journal is to write about the towns we visit, the sights we see, the people we meet, and the pie we eat. We write about where we are, where we’ve been, and where we are going, but we also make observations about what we’ve seen and done as well as about life in general.

You can follow our travels from the Daily Journal section of this website. Other pages of interest include the running report of “vital statistics” on the Trip Scorecard, our nominations for the Best & Worst of the trip, as well as a rating of the pie we eat. If you’d like to see information for a specific state or town, click here, and then click on the state of interest, and the full itinerary is shown.

Home in Atlanta – Day 137

Home in Atlanta

Day 137 – August 15, 2003 – Friday

Home in Atlanta. The final segment of the trip — Hawaii — will be August 20 to August 25.

We spent the day organizing information for the book and updating the web site. As part of this process, we reflected on the various aspects of the trip. When we began planning the trip, we established 10 Rules of the Road:

Rule #1 — See the real world. Stay off the interstate highways.

Rule #2 — Eat pie. Eat where the locals eat. Avoid franchised restaurants. “Slow food” rather than fast food.

Rule #3 — See the sights that others miss. No need to visit many theme parks.

Rule #4 — Plan to enjoy the unexpected. When something catches your eye, check it out.

Rule #5 — Try new things — new places, new people, new food, new experiences.

Rule #6 — Stop and smell the roses…or whatever. Don’t rush; enjoy the journey.

Rule #7 — Think local. Listen to local radio stations; read local papers; and watch local TV.

Rule #8 — Make the best of every situation, If it seems boring or ugly or wrong, look again.

Rule #9 — Be smart. Be safe. Be prepared. Exercise every day. Keep the gas tank full.

Rule #10 — Preserve the experience. Maintain a journal; keep records; and take a lot of photos.

We did a very good job of following these Rules. We primarily drove on two-lane roads, so we were able to see the “real world.” We ate where the locals eat, and we ate a lot of pie (181 pies in total). And the food was so good; we had only a few disappointing meals. We saw many sights that others miss. We most definitely enjoyed the unexpected. In fact, following tips from people we met along the way or checking out something that we just happened to see or learn about were among the most enjoyable experiences. We tried a lot of new things! We were “smart.” We absolutely preserved the experience — detailed notes on tape, hundreds of pounds of brochures and maps, and 13,884 photos thus far.

There is room for improvement, however. The trip took longer than originally planned, yet we didn’t really have the time to “stop and smell the roses” as we might have liked. To leisurely see all the places we went, one could spend a year-and-a-half or more on the road, and we just couldn’t spend that much time. While we thought local, we never had the time to listen to the radio, read the newspaper, or watch TV. We made the best of most situations — at least for the first half of the trip. Truth is, we got tired and a little lazy for the last 30 days or so. The web site was a very important part of the trip, but it really sapped our energy. The trip was also MUCH harder when Bozzie Jane was not along. It’s hard enough to drive and navigate and take photos, but the big loss when traveling alone is that you don’t have time to review the research and the brochures gathered along the way to make sure you see the best sights. And too much sightseeing time is eaten up with the work of travel.

There isn’t a lot that we will change when we do this again. We’ll try to improve on the areas that need improvement, but we’ll basically just try to live by the Rules of the Road. There are a few changes we’ll make on the preparation for the next trip, so I updated that web page accordingly.

The Daily Journal of Round America:

Each day, we collect our thoughts on a web page just like this. We drop in some of the photos from the day. Our goal with the Daily Journal is to write about the towns we visit, the sights we see, the people we meet, and the pie we eat. We write about where we are, where we’ve been, and where we are going, but we also make observations about what we’ve seen and done as well as about life in general.

You can follow our travels from the Daily Journal section of this web site. Other pages of interest include the running report of “vital statistics” on the Trip Scorecard, our nominations for the Best & Worst of the trip, as well as a rating of the pie we eat. If you’d like to see information for a specific state or town, click here, and then click on the state of interest and the full itinerary is shown.

Home in Atlanta – Day 136

Home in Atlanta

Day 136 – August 14, 2003 – Thursday

Home in Atlanta.

Miss Madison came over for a visit and dinner. What a cutie. She walks like a pro, and she’s speaking a few words. Madison’s mommy, Brittany, came too.

Boz fixed a GREAT Peach Mountain Pie for dessert tonight — an award winner! Aunt Wendy’s recipe.

Each day until the Hawaii segment is complete (August 20 to August 25), I will update the website with the progress for that day.

The Daily Journal of Round America:

Each day, we collect our thoughts on a web page just like this. We drop in some of the photos from the day. Our goal with the Daily Journal is to write about the towns we visit, the sights we see, the people we meet, and the pie we eat. We write about where we are, where we’ve been, and where we are going, but we also make observations about what we’ve seen and done as well as about life in general.

You can follow our travels from the Daily Journal section of this web site. Other pages of interest include the running report of “vital statistics” on the Trip Scorecard, our nominations for the Best & Worst of the trip, as well as a rating of the pie we eat. If you’d like to see information for a specific state or town, click here, and then click on the state of interest and the full itinerary is shown.

Home…Again – Day 135

Home… Again

Day 135 – August 13, 2003 – Wednesday

Home… Again.  Home in Atlanta. I managed to sleep 10 hours last night — that’s a first!

The weekly radio show with Dan McGrath was this morning. We talked about Washington, DC, the rain on the East Coast, and the Banana Cream Pie at the Atlanticville Restaurant & Cafe in Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina.

I spent some time with Kitty B Kitty. She watched me work from her favorite spot on top of my computer monitor. Miss Madison is coming over to visit tomorrow; she was off on a play day today. She is both walking and talking since I last saw her.

Our Internet Service Provider changed while I was gone, so several hours were spent trying to get my email and Internet Explorer working again. Once accomplished, I began processing photos. I also made a list of all the steps necessary to complete the web site, which includes work needed for writing the book. It’s a big list. It will take quite some time to complete.

Some of the major tasks to be completed on the web site include the following: Update each Daily Journal report and add additional photos; finalize the Best & Worst by adding additional nominees, choosing the Best and Worst in each category, and adding explanations of the awards); update each of the existing sections of the site; adding links to web sites for the various towns, attractions, restaurants, etc. We will also be creating separate web pages for many of the towns we visited as well as for key sights that we saw. The goal will be to make the Round America web site into a helpful tool for anyone wanting information about a particular place or sight that we’ve seen. As we take additional trips in the future, we will make that information and those photos part of the Round America web site.

Bozzie Jane has been working on the reservations for Hawaii, as the trip is not complete until we see the 50th state. We’ve been to Hawaii several times with the kids, but we HAVE to go again as part of the Round America trip. It looks like the flight to Honolulu will be August 20, returning on August 25.

The Daily Journal of Round America:

Each day, we collect our thoughts on a web page just like this. We drop in some of the photos from the day. Our goal with the Daily Journal is to write about the towns we visit, the sights we see, the people we meet, and the pie we eat. We write about where we are, where we’ve been, and where we are going, but we also make observations about what we’ve seen and done as well as about life in general.

You can follow our travels from the Daily Journal section of this web site. Other pages of interest include the running report of “vital statistics” on the Trip Scorecard, our nominations for the Best & Worst of the trip, as well as a rating of the pie we eat. If you’d like to see information for a specific state or town, click here, and then click on the state of interest and the full itinerary is shown.

One of My Favorite People – Day 134

One of My Favorite People

Day 134 – August 12, 2003 – Tuesday

I had a great time visiting Karen Jones in Charleston. She gave me a wonderful tour, and it was a pleasure to meet her boyfriend, Travis. Karen is one of my favorite people in the whole wide world, and while I was only with Travis at lunch, he seemed like a really special person, too. Looked to me like a match made in heaven!

We had a great hamburger at Your Place, a true “hole-in-the-wall” local restaurant. Home cookin’ at it’s finest. The BEST burgers for a fraction of what you would pay at fancy places. Two nice ladies served us.

Apologies to Charleston, as the magnet of home grabbed me and kept me from seeing sights the way I normally would have. Bozzie Jane and I will return to Charleston soon, and we will see everything then. So, I said goodbye to Karen and hit the highway. I drove down “the coast” to Savannah to complete the circling of America (as that was the coastal city where the trip began on April 1), and then I drove from Savannah to Atlanta.

I took a picture of the giant chair at Richardson’s Barber and Beauty Supply.

Dublin has very pretty Georgian-style and Victorian-style buildings and homes on Highway 80.

It rained most of the way from Savannah to Atlanta, so I didn’t see much, and I was simply tired and ready to be at home.

Lon was the first person I saw upon returning to Atlanta after 134 days. He was an actor. I met him at the gas station near our home.

I arrived home at 9:22 pm. I thought Boz would be surprised, but she was expecting me.

38,127 on the odometer. We logged 29,062 miles in our cars. I need to calculate the mileage in the rental car in Alaska and the loaner car in North Dakota plus the mileage we’ll do in Hawaii, and that will be the grand total for the trip. We could hit 30,000. We originally thought the trip would be about 20,000 miles, but we really didn’t know. It’s impossible to calculate the mileage on two-lane roads, the time you spend in towns, the mileage you’ll spend lost, the unexpected side trips that you’ll make, backtracking, etc.

The trip began 134 days before on April 1. The trip had been a spectacular experience, but I was happy to get home. We need to make reservations for Hawaii — state #50, and we will go just as soon as we can get a flight that will let us use our frequent flyer points. We hope this will be within the next two weeks.

I planned to spend a lot of time updating the website, processing photos, and writing. I planned to continue to maintain the Daily Journal until the Hawaii trip completed the journey.

And we do plan to take the trip Round America again. Next time, BACKWARDS! We’ll start in Atlanta, drive to Savannah, and then head north rather than south. The fatigue factor kept me from seeing as many sights in the east as I should have, so we’ll correct this the next time by starting there.

The lesson I re-learned today is that as enjoyable as travel can be, there is little that is more enjoyable than good friends and family.  And while there are fabulous places to see all across our amazing country, home is a mighty special place.

The Daily Journal of Round America:

Each day, we collect our thoughts on a web page just like this. We drop in some of the photos from the day. Our goal with the Daily Journal is to write about the towns we visit, the sights we see, the people we meet, and the pie we eat. We write about where we are, where we’ve been, and where we are going, but we also make observations about what we’ve seen and done as well as about life in general.

You can follow our travels from the Daily Journal section of this website. Other pages of interest include the running report of “vital statistics” on the Trip Scorecard, our nominations for the Best & Worst of the trip, as well as a rating of the pie we eat. If you’d like to see information for a specific state or town, click here, and then click on the state of interest, and the full itinerary is shown.

 

More Information on the Sights Visited Today:
Charleston South Carolina — Your Place — Dublin Georgia — Atlanta Georgia
 

45 Miniature Golf Courses – Day 133

45 Miniature Golf Courses

Day 133 – August 11, 2003 – Monday

The day was spent in the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area. It’s a nice beach area with activities galore, so it’s easy to see why 14 million people come here each year. Myrtle Beach has the Worlds Largest Number of Miniature Golf Courses — something like 45. I managed to see 23 of them. There are big Branson-like theatres, numerous Ripley attractions, and a great entertainment and shopping complex called “Broadway at the Beach.”

Broadway at the Beach and Celebrity Square are a huge entertainment / shopping complex. Very nice. I saw the big theaters, the aquarium, Planet Hollywood, the Nascar Park, and more. There was one attraction after another. We saw nothing like this when we visited Myrtle Beach a number of years ago. Either we were in more of a resort area, or it had grown tremendously. I suspected it was a little of both. I saw the huge Carolina Opry and the equally huge Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede.

Lunch was at Sam’s Corner — excellent hot dogs and the fastest service I believe I have ever experienced anywhere.

I drove up and down Business Highway 17 to see miniature golf courses. I saw Hawaiian Caverns, the home of the US Open, the US Professional Miniature Golf Association US Open that is. At Treasure Island and Captain Hook’s Adventure Golf, I saw gold legged mermaids on a fountain with an alligator. As with Sevierville, there seemed to be one pancake place after another in Myrtle Beach. Tons of pancakes.

I saw Mt. Atlanticus MinotaurGoff. Pretty clever. Jungle Lagoon Miniature Golf, Cap’n Cain Golf, Pirate’s Watch Adventure Golf, lots o golf.

Safari Golf. More pancake houses. Jurassic Golf…right next to yet another pancake house that had gone out of business. Shipwreck Island Adventure Golf, Ocean Adventure Golf.

There were a lot of painted carousel horses around Myrtle Beach?must be a fundraising program like so many others we’ve seen.

Rainbow Falls Golf, Lost Treasure Golf. Thunborough Family Amusement Park, Mutiny on the Bounty Caribbean Adventure Miniature Golf, The Tiki Miniature Golf. An endless supply of miniature golf courses.

Laura Lewis interviewed me for a newspaper article, and I met a number of nice folks. Natalie and Brian took care of us at the River Country Golf & Games Ice Cream Shoppe. Unfortunately, the place lined up for pie was unexpectedly closed for the day, so Laura and I settled for ice cream. Brian and Natalie served us. Cookie Dough Ice Cream…very good. I did manage to get some pie in Myrtle Beach later that day — got a Southern delicacy at a gas station — a Moon Pie.

Vanna White and Mickey Spillane are from the Myrtle Beach area.

I met Malcolm, John, and Thomas at the Shell Quick Lube. John spent a year and went across America on foot, bicycle and by rental car in various and sundry directions. I met Moose, Daniel, Wolf, Angie, and Michael at the Sparkle Car Wash in North Myrtle Beach. I took a few minutes for the PT Cruiser to get washed and oiled. This young man named Moose proved to be the only live “Moose” that we saw on the trip. Going mooseless was certainly one of the disappointments.

May Day Miniature Golf. Hawaiian Rumble Golf claimed to be the number one most famous mini golf in the world, the home of the Masters, said they’re rated number one in America by Golf Magazine.

I drove to Charleston, South Carolina at the end of the day, and I really enjoyed meeting up for dinner with Karen Jones. Karen worked with us in the late 80’s, and it had been 13 years since we had seen each other. Karen is one of my all-time favorite people, and she was, without any question, the best salesperson I have ever had the privilege of working with. She’s a professional dart player, a fine Wallyball player, and much more.

We had the best Fried Green Tomatoes and Fried Oysters at the Atlanticville Restaurant in Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina. And their Banana Cream Pie was fantastic! We met Jason, Jeff, and Ryan there.

49 states so far with just one to go. Hard to believe.

Pollianna and Patrick took excellent care of me at the Hampton Inn in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

The Daily Journal of Round America:

Each day, we collect our thoughts on a web page just like this. We drop in some of the photos from the day. Our goal with the Daily Journal is to write about the towns we visit, the sights we see, the people we meet, and the pie we eat. We write about where we are, where we’ve been, and where we are going, but we also make observations about what we’ve seen and done as well as about life in general.

You can follow our travels from the Daily Journal section of this web site. Other pages of interest include the running report of “vital statistics” on the Trip Scorecard, our nominations for the Best & Worst of the trip, as well as a rating of the pie we eat. If you’d like to see information for a specific state or town, click here, and then click on the state of interest and the full itinerary is shown.

 

More Information on the Sights Visited Today:
Myrtle Beach South Carolina — Myrtle Beach Miniature Golf Courses — Sam’s Corner — River Country Golf & Games — Charleston South Carolina — Atlanticville Restaurant
 

Stepping Back in Time – Day 132

Stepping Back in Time

Day 132 – August 10, 2003 – Sunday

Williamsburg, Virginia is quite a place! I’d never been. BIG. Quite a story.

Colonial Williamsburg is an honest-to-goodness fully restored/rebuilt Colonial town. John D. Rockefeller provided the money to acquire, restore, rebuild, and establish Colonial Williamsburg as a non-profit entity. It was and is an amazing project.

I had never been to Williamsburg, but we had heard so much about it through the years that I was really anxious to see it. It was different than I expected. It costs $39.95 if you want to be able to go in the buildings and learn about Colonial life. I always imagined it was just a real town that you got to walk around and see. It is fairly real, and you can walk the streets for free, but you do have to pay to experience it all. It’s quite expensive, but it must cost an awful lot of money to keep this place going. There are folks who just walk around as if they were working in the fields in Colonial time — just to set the tone for the experience.

I met an especially nice lady at the Visitor’s Center. She wants to take a trip like ours with her husband.

As you walk to the Colonial town from the Visitor’s Center, you pass over a bridge that takes you back in time with messages about significant points in time, such as — “At this point in time, you know people who own other people.” It was really effective in getting you prepared for Colonial times, and it caused you to think about how many really significant developments have taken place in a relatively short period of time.

It was really hot and REALLY humid. I walked and walked and walked, and didn’t even begin to see all the side streets. Boz and I will go back when it is cooler, and we’ll see more. It was truly gratifying to see something that has not been commercialized and touristized at all (with the exception of the entrance fee).

Just off the Colonial Williamsburg property is a row of “modern” shops. But in Colonial Williamsburg, everything is really authentic.

From Williamsburg, I drove down to Virginia Beach. I met Chris and Al at the Visitor Information Office. Virginia Beach has a nice beach area, but not a lot to see. Typical tourist-oriented businesses and hotels near the beach. Riding surrey-like bicycles up and down along the beach seemed to be a big thing.

I didn’t get a photo of them but there were “no cussing” signs all up and down the beach area. I’d never seen a “no cussing” sign before. Interesting.

I planned to visit the place that invented the ice cream cone, but I was unable to find it.

I met Delores and Judy at the Welcome Center just inside North Carolina — really enjoyable ladies to talk with…and very helpful.

I noted once again that the roads changed the second I passed from Virginia into North Carolina. North Carolina has had the best roads in the country for at least 50 years.

Due to the heavy overcast skies and rain (and forecast for more of the same), I skipped the Outer Banks and drove until midnight to get to Myrtle Beach. It was an ugly day.

I passed through the town of Windsor — chartered in 1768. I was sorry that it was dark and raining when I passed through Wilmington and the Cape Fear area. I saw a terrible traffic accident at 11:30 pm. At least one car had flipped.

South Carolina became state #49.

The Myrtle Beach area is really something for activities. There are more miniature golf courses than anywhere in the world, many golf courses, resorts spread out for miles along the coast. There are major dinner show theaters in Myrtle Beach…places where big country name performers come and perform. Lots of action in Myrtle Beach.

I checked into the Marriott Courtyard in Myrtle Beach just before midnight. Desk Clerk Barbara took good care of me at the hotel. Unlike a lot of nights, I never got sleepy tonight, so it wasn’t a bad drive.

Random Comments:

I watched the movie “American President” last night. It is an excellent movie, and one that I have enjoyed several times. I thought it was appropriate since I was just in Washington DC.

The Daily Journal of Round America:

Each day, we collect our thoughts on a web page just like this. We drop in some of the photos from the day. Our goal with the Daily Journal is to write about the towns we visit, the sights we see, the people we meet, and the pie we eat. We write about where we are, where we’ve been, and where we are going, but we also make observations about what we’ve seen and done as well as about life in general.

You can follow our travels from the Daily Journal section of this website. Other pages of interest include the running report of “vital statistics” on the Trip Scorecard, our nominations for the Best & Worst of the trip, as well as a rating of the pie we eat. If you’d like to see information for a specific state or town, click here, and then click on the state of interest, and the full itinerary is shown.

 

More Information on the Sights Visited Today:
Williamsburg Virginia — Virginia Beach Virginia — Windsor North Carolina — Myrtle Beach South Carolina
 

Dirty in DC – Day 131

Day 131 — August 9, 2003 — Saturday

Dirty in DC
 

If you don’t appreciate that we are at war with terrorists, all you need to do is spend five minutes in Washington, DC. It was sad to see police cars and barricades everywhere — clearly there because of terrorists.

I spent another day in DC today. The weekends are a MUCH better time to see the sights in DC as all the government folks are nowhere around. I saw a lot.

When I left the hotel, I went searching for a tourist information office. I finally found one, and I picked up a bunch of brochures. I spoke with a woman there who was not particularly nice or helpful, but she did tell me about a roadtrip book that she had read.

I drove by the Pentagon again. Lots of police cars.

I enjoyed the Smithsonian 40 years ago. I didn’t have time today, but Bozzie Jane and I will be back to see it in detail in a few months. I did spend some time at the National Gallery of Art. I especially enjoyed their sculpture garden. I discovered the World’s Largest Typewriter Eraser there.

A Confederate Drum and Bugle Corps was playing outside the National Museum of American History.

The buildings in Washington, DC are impressive. The Environmental Protection Agency has one of the most impressive buildings while the Department of State has one of the least impressive. Perhaps they should flipflop. I would think we need to impress folks more when they come to visit the Department of State. The Bureau of Engraving & Printing is also very impressive. Perhaps we could move those printing presses to a suburban location and give that building to either the Department of State or the Department of Homeland Security. The hot dogs served by the Smithsonian Hot Dog Cart were excellent!

I enjoyed the FDR Memorial. He was elected to four terms. Thank heavens we didn’t allow that when President Clinton was in office. I might have moved to another country rather than endure that embarrassment for another term. The FDR Memorial is divided into four areas — one for each term. It was especially interesting to see that the original memorial did not show President Roosevelt in his wheelchair. A sculpture showing him in his wheelchair was added after the memorial opened and folks expressed their chagrin over the glaring omission. The Jefferson Memorial is very impressive. The Korean War Memorial was very effective — shows a platoon of soldiers walking across a field. The Lincoln Memorial is very impressive, and it seems to be the most popular. I’m glad some folks were taking a picture of the spot where Reverend Martin Luther King stood when he gave his “I Have a Dream” speech as I might have missed it.

I saw the Vietnam War Memorial when I visited DC on business 18 years ago. It’s definitely different. Just a big long black granite wall with the names of the dead inscribed. There is a sculpture of three soldiers looking toward the wall. A lot of people were tracing the names of friends or loved ones off the wall. Nearby is a memorial to Vietnam Women. It shows two female medical personnel caring for a wounded soldier.

The Vietnam Women’s Memorial sculpture was done by Glenna Goodacre. Glenna was the wife of Bill Goodacre and is the mother of Jill Goodacre. Jill is a famous Victoria’s Secret model who is married to singer and actor Harry Connick, Jr. Bill Goodacre was my financial partner in one of my student enterprises at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. I’m not sure if I ever met Glenna. Jill was born after I graduated and moved away from Lubbock. Glenna is an incredibly talented sculptor, and I definitely wanted to see this memorial while in Washington.

A new memorial was under construction — World War II. There was also construction underway on the National Museum of the American Indian.

I was surprised that Washington DC was as dirty as it was. I would say that DC would rank right underneath Detroit in terms of dirty. There was trash everywhere — trash that people had thrown on the ground. I did not see anyone cleaning, emptying trash barrels, or anything and I covered a lot of ground. We need to fix this. Maybe we need to put the people at Disney World in charge of trash in Washington DC, and then it would be as pretty as the way the Canadians keep things at our borders.

I left the Washington DC area a little after 5 pm. Boz and I are planning to come back to Washington, DC for a more in-depth tour in October.

I stopped in Williamsburg at 7:30 pm, but the hotel rates were so high that I decided to drive on. I met Pam at a hotel while I was trying to find a room. Her hotel was full, but she was especially nice and helpful. A little further down the road in Yorktown, Virginia at a Marriott Courtyard, Brandon, and Glynis didn’t have a room, but they somehow made one available for me.

My thought for the day is that we need to clean up Washington DC — physically. There should be cleaning crews on duty at all times keeping the tourist areas clean and attractive. Our founding fathers designed and built the buildings in Washington DC so visiting dignitaries would be extremely impressed. They would be ashamed to see the trash on the ground and how less than impressive the popular areas are as a result.

The Daily Journal of Round America:

Each day, we collect our thoughts on a web page just like this. We drop in some of the photos from the day. Our goal with the Daily Journal is to write about the towns we visit, the sights we see, the people we meet, and the pie we eat. We write about where we are, where we’ve been, and where we are going, but we also make observations about what we’ve seen and done as well as about life in general.

You can follow our travels from the Daily Journal section of this web site. Other pages of interest include the running report of “vital statistics” on the Trip Scorecard, our nominations for the Best & Worst of the trip, as well as a rating of the pie we eat. If you’d like to see information for a specific state or town, click here, and then click on the state of interest and the full itinerary is shown.

 

More Information on the Sights Visited Today:Washington DC — Smithsonian — National Gallery of Art — World’s Largest Typewriter Eraser — National Museum of American History — Environmental Protection Agency — Department of State — FDR Memorial — Jefferson Memorial — Korean War Memorial — Vietnam War Memorial — Vietnam Women’s Memorial — World War II Memorial