Tag: pie

Betty Shimabukuro is Hawaiis Pie Expert – Day 145

Betty Shimabukuro is Hawaii’s Pie Expert

Day 145 – August 23 – Saturday

Betty Shimabukuro is the Food Editor for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin newspaper. We became acquainted when I emailed the Star-Bulletin asking for recommendations on the best pie in Hawaii. Betty suggested Ted’s Bakery in Sunset Beach (where I had a wonderful time yesterday), and she invited me to join her for pie this morning at Yum Yum Tree Restaurant in Honolulu. (Here is a link to Betty’s story about Ted’s Bakery — http://starbulletin.com/1999/04/07/features/story1.html.)

Betty and I had a good chat. She had the Yum Yum Tree’s Apple Pie, and I had the Macadamia Nut Pie made by Ted’s Bakery. The Macadamia Nut Pie was excellent.

During our breakfast pie meeting, Betty mentioned a local restaurateur who used to make a pie that she felt was really special. Then she picked up her cell phone and called Kelvin Ro. Kelvin has a new restaurant called the Diamond Head Market & Grill. He isn’t making the Banana Pie anymore, but Betty asked if he would make one just for me. I didn’t want Kelvin to feel obligated to make a special pie, so I spoke with him and told him I would come by and sample what he regularly carries.

I drove to the Diamond Head Market & Grill. It was reasonably close to my hotel. Unusual place — best described as a gourmet drive-in restaurant. I asked for Kelvin, and there he was with a bowl of bananas — making his special Banana Pie just for me. But he wasn’t expecting me until dinner time, and I was there at lunch. I told him I’d be back at 6, and I ordered a Portobello Burger, crispy fries, Plantation Iced Tea, and Diamondhead Torte for dessert. Everything was outstanding. The Portobello Burger was a huge mushroom, a big thick hamburger, and sauteed onions. The Plantation Iced Tea was homemade tea sweetened with pineapple juice. The Diamondhead Torte had a chocolate cookie crust, a layer of peanut butter, a layer of chocolate, a layer of bananas, another layer of chocolate, topped with whipped cream. An outstanding dessert — a great lunch.

I decided today needed to be a day of rest for my injured feet, so I bought a book at Border’s and spent the day on the balcony of the hotel room reading and napping. There are sights still to be seen, so I hope there’s enough time on Sunday and Monday.

Five lovely ladies in town for the American Society of Association Executives were in the elevator as I was heading out for my dinner pie. Harriet, Paulette, Cynthia, Pam, and Barbara. Paulette asked about the beads, so I told a 30-foot version of the story, and they went to their banquet wearing shiny new Round America beads. I met a number of nice people today — Lance at the hotel, Betty, Kelvin and Jan at Diamond Head Market & Grill, Taxi Driver Kevin (who says he gives great Oahu tours — 808-223-2000), and Tracy at Andy’s Arco Service Station.

I headed back to Kelvin’s place about 6:30, and he gave me a slice of the Banana Pie. A traditional pie crust on the bottom and sides, topped with fresh bananas cooked in a secret sauce, and topped with an oatmeal crunch topping. I’ve eaten Banana Cream Pies on many occasions, but never a Banana Pie. It was heavenly. I wish I had asked Kelvin if I could buy the whole pie. When you come to Honolulu, be sure to plan lunch or dinner at Diamond Head Market & Grill, and make dessert part of the experience!

As I walked along Waikiki Beach, there was a spectacular sunset. I was able to get some great photos. I planned to grab dinner somewhere, but the pie was so good that I just didn’t want to eat anything else.

A man on a street corner with a sign that said Waikiki is a “Violent Crime Area” caught my eye, so I went over to ask about it. I met John Cook. John was violently attacked in Waikiki eight years ago, and the person who kicked him into a coma (and was never punished for it) recently did the same thing to someone else. John goes out with a sign and stands on the corner to warn others. I walked back to the hotel a little faster than I would have before meeting John. I wish him the best of luck with his crusade. Before the trip, I would have seen John Cook and thought he was a nut. The lesson from this encounter is to try to avoid prejudging people.

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:
Honolulu Hawaii — Diamond Head Market & Grill — Waikiki
 

Five States of Rain – Day 129

Five States of Rain

Day 129 – August 7, 2003 – Thursday

I don’t like to spend much time writing negatively about the places we’ve been…though there were more negatives in the Northeast. I’ve spent a lot of time on business in the Northeast, and it just isn’t as pleasant as the rest of the country, in my opinion.

The day started with problems at the Borgata Casino & Hotel in Atlantic City. They tried to stick me with $49.10 in local phone charges for two calls to the local internet access number. In 128 days of travel, this happened only one other time. 99% of the hotels and motels have their phone call charges clearly posted on or near the phone. There was nothing at the Borgata, so I just dialed my local access number and did my website work. What upset me most about the Borgata is I felt they were trying to pull a fast one on me. There was no Express Check-Out copy of the bill under my door. Instead, the key holder has a little place to sign for Express Check-Out stating that your bill will be mailed to you. When I saw that, I immediately thought it was strange…because they could charge you anything, and then you’d have to deal with it by long distance when you discover it back at home. Then I went to check out, and the bill was much higher than it should be. I caught it, but I’d guess many would not.

The Borgata cashier woman got an unpleasant look on her face when I objected to the charges. She claimed the information was (buried) in the big thick 3-ring binder that contains promo material about room service, the spa, the casino, entertainment, and other hotel services. That would be about like putting the policies and charges on a page in the Gideon Bible — few people read either during their hotel stay. I asked to speak with a manager, and the cashier just walked away. I stood there waiting…hoping she had actually gone to get a manager. She finally returned with a young man. They said nothing to me and did not even acknowledge my presence, but they began fiddling with the computer. Richard, apparently a financial person of some type, finally looked in my general direction and indicated they were crediting $48.10 as there would be a 50 cent charge for each of the two local phone calls. No apology, just squeezing another buck out of me. While pleased to be getting the credit, I was in awe over the poor customer service that was being delivered by the Borgata.

I informed Richard and the Borgata cashier woman that I was writing a travel book and that I would be writing about this. I suggested that they do as virtually every other hotel/motel and put a big sign next to the phone if they insist on charging folks by the minute for local calls. Richard said he expected I would write that they apologized and credited the amount. I was credited, but I never received an apology, and I was not treated in a manner that would make me ever want to step foot in the place again.

As I drove out of the parking lot, I was charged $3 for parking my own car in an outside parking lot — even though I was an overnight customer of the hotel.

Overall, I wasn’t pleased with the Borgata. I’m surprised I wasn’t charged each time I used the elevator to go to my room on the 32nd floor — or charged by floor. Kimberly was very nice at check-in, but as I think back, I was ignored by four or five desk clerks who never acknowledged my presence. I finally had to ask which one of them would like to help me. I really liked Celeste and the folks at the barber shop. I enjoyed winning $100, and the room was very nice. My sandwich was poor; the pie was not nearly as good as the written description; the service was poor; the rates were high; and the charges for items that should be at no charge were poor. The common areas of the hotel and casino are not nearly as nice as a comparably-priced hotel in Las Vegas. Very plain. Almost makes you wonder if they were so far over budget that they cut back on the finish-out at the end of the construction.

I don’t know who owns Borgata, but there were definitely indications that this might be the first hotel they’ve ever built. Brand new hotel with four big off-color panels on the exterior that caused me to assume it was not open for business yet. Broken entry gates in the parking lot. And hotel room doors that slammed incessantly. The door slamming was like something out of a Three Stooges movie. Every time a room door closed, it made a noise that seemed to shake the entire floor. There were hundreds of rooms per floor, so it seemed continuous. Sorry, but I can’t recommend the Borgata.

The fog in Atlantic City was as thick as I’ve ever seen fog anywhere. As I drove out of town, it became heavy rain. Then the traffic just stopped on the Garden State Expressway. Several hours later, I managed to inch to a spot where a U-turn was legal. It was 2:30 pm before I re-routed to get to Delaware. I was very sorry that I couldn’t see Wildwood and its 50’s architecture and Cape May where I had a scheduled ferry trip, but there was no alternate route…and not much chance I could make the last ferry at 6 pm.

I drove the rest of the day. It rained in all five states that I visited today. I saw bits of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. By the end of the day, the trip Round America had been to every state except South Carolina and Hawaii. 48 down and just two to go.

In Newark, Delaware, I stopped at Bing’s Bakery. I popped in and got a very tasty peach pie. I met two ladies who worked there, Lora and Vicki, and then a customer named Theresa. They were excited that being in the book would be their 15 minutes of fame. The pie was $6.25 — quite a bargain.

There was no “Welcome to Delaware” sign as I was leaving Delaware, so I was out of luck on adding Delaware to my Welcome Sign collection.

At a gas station in Maryland, I met Jeremy. He was a really nice young man who was running the cash register. He saw the sign on the car and asked how I was going to do Hawaii. I told him, and I gave him a card. I told him his name was going to be in the book. Then, he came running out to the car and gave me a place to go for the best pie in those parts.

I followed Jeremy’s directions to Milburn Orchards where I got a flag photo, an orchard photo, a license plate photo, and a peach praline pie that weighs a ton and looks great. I asked a young man who is probably a family member (high school or college-aged boy) what the best pie was after I already picked one out, and he said that the peach praline was the best. Milburn Orchards grows 13 different varieties of peaches, and I learned that they ripen at different times. The peaches in their store were beautiful. Milburn Orchards had many different kinds of pies that I had not seen anywhere else.

I went back to the gas station and gave Jeremy half of a pie. He was really pleased, and I saw him eating pie as I drove away. The pie was very tasty, different. It had a praline syrup, really fresh peaches, a good crust, and some nuts on top. I didn’t consider it an award winner, but it was certainly different and excellent.

I saw signs for peaches, blueberries, plums. I didn’t realize there was that much farming in this part of Maryland, but it seems to be farm country. It was pretty, green, rolling hills, a nice area. It changed almost immediately when I crossed over into Maryland from the industrial northeast look.

The sun was setting when I reached West Virginia. I managed to photograph the “Welcome to West Virginia” sign, but I had to double back a couple times. The Shenandoah River was flowing by as I drove along.

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia is a quaint place with a lot of history. I photographed a flag and a license plate at the Harpers Ferry Town Hall. There were quaint old houses and buildings.

I saw a sign indicating that radar detectors are illegal. I didn’t have one, but it looks like Virginia has a law against them. I really enjoyed Kim and Cathy at the Fairfield Inn in Frederick, Maryland. I also met Scott, Shelly, and Celeste.

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:
Borgata Casino & Hotel — Bing’s Bakery — Milburn Orchards — Harpers Ferry West Virginia
 

Pie Pie Pie Pie Pie Pie Pie Pie Pie – Day 114

Pie, Pie, Pie, Pie, Pie, Pie, Pie

Day 114 – July 23, 2003 – Wednesday

Today was a pie day! We purchased nine pieces of pie today, and I personally sampled seven. We’ve now had 134 pieces of “pie” in 114 days.

The day began as all Wednesdays begin with our weekly radio talk show. DJ Dan McGrath called right at 7:11 am. We talked about Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and the pie at the North Dakota State Fair.

We drove all across the state of Minnesota today on U.S. Highway 2 — from East Grand Forks to Duluth. Minnesota has tremendous natural beauty with 15,000 lakes. We saw Lake Itasca today; it’s hard to believe that it is where the Mississippi River starts, but it is. Minnesota was the 32nd state admitted to the Union, and the 32nd state for us to visit on our trip Round America. We planned it this way. 🙂

U.S. 2 is an east-west U.S. highway that spans 2,579 miles across the northern continental United States.

There’s not a lot to see or do on Highway 2, but we did have four specific places to try to hit for pie, and we managed three of the four. The fourth went out of business five years ago.

We drove through Climax, Minnesota – probably an exciting place to live.

We met Terry at the tourist information office in Fisher’s Landing. There are 15,000 lakes in Minnesota. There are 65 towns in Minnesota that have lake something in them. My Minnesota license plate photo says “10,000 Lakes,” so it looks like Terry needs to call someone about a recall of every license plate in the state.

We passed by the Bagley Wildlife Museum was closed. The sign indicated there were over 750 stuffed animal bodies inside. We love animals too much to look at dead stuffed ones.

We passed by Paul Bunyan’s Animal Land a few miles after we crossed the Mississippi River. We knew nothing about it; we just passed it. The Mississippi is the same color up north as it is down south — ugly brown.

We had a very good Cherry Pie at the Maid-Rite Cafe in Bemidji, Minnesota. We also had our first-ever “loose meat” sandwiches (“the hamburger too good to be a patty”). We met the owner, Judy, and her very cute granddaughters, Bethany and Abby. Judy confided that she made her pie crust using Crisco.

We took a detour off Highway 2 to the tiny town of Palisade, Minnesota (population 91) because we heard the pie was great. Boz had an excellent Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, and I had a Banana Cream Pie that was okay, though not nearly as good as most of the cream pies we’ve had. Our waitress was very nice but we didn’t learn her name.

We then took a detour past Duluth to drive north on Highway 61 to Betty’s Pies in the town of Two Harbors. Betty’s has been recommended to us by people from all over — absolutely the most recommended pie place we’ve encountered. The first time we heard about Betty?s Pies was from the ladies we sat next to after the Pitchfok Fondue in Medora, North Dakota.

Betty Lessard opened the business in 1956 as a smoked.fish stand. She started baking her famous cookies and pies for something to do because the fish business was often slow. Soon, the baked goods outsold the fish, and in 1974, Betty changed the name of the place to Betty?s Pies and stopped selling fish altogether. Betty sold the business in 1984. In 1000, Betty’s Pies moved into a new, 3,000-square-foot “Pie-2K” building and went from seasonal to a year-round business.

We pulled up to Betty’s Pies a few minutes before closing time at 9 pm, and the place was packed. Angela took excellent care of us. We had half sandwiches that were excellent, and then we got after the pie. We saw pie being eaten at every table in the good-sized restaurant, and we saw folks carrying whole pies out the door. Betty’s makes 250 pies a day! There were 24 different pies available (one of the best selections we have seen on the trip), and we settled for 5-Layer Raspberry Chocolate and Chocolate Mint. We chose them primarily because we continue to try to have pies that are different from anything we’ve had. These pies were unlike anything we’ve had or seen on the trip thus far — excellent pies made extremely well. The best way to describe them is to say they are like multiple layers of pudding inside a world-class pie crust.

We brought slices of Strawberry Pie and Lemon Angel Pie back for Rachel and Susie at the Comfort Inn in Duluth, and we brought Blueberry Peach Pie and Great Lakes Crunch Pie back to the hotel room for a late-night snack and/or breakfast. I tried them both tonight, and they were excellent. I liked the Blueberry Peach Pie the best. The Great Lakes Crunch Pie is a multi-berry pie with granola and brown sugar on top rather than crust. I’d have loved it with a regular crust. While we don’t rank any of the Betty’s Pies that we sampled among the Top 10 pies we had on the trip, the selection was certainly among the best, and the 5-Layer Raspberry Chocolate and Chocolate Mint should certainly receive pie recognition for being totally unique in the world of American Pie. Betty’s was also doing the biggest pie business we have seen, and they’ve been doing it for 50 years!

A few World’s Largests passed before us today. World’s Largest Ox Cart near Crookston, World’s Largest Northern Pike in Erskins, and World’s Largest Loon in Loon Landing. We saw the big statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe in Paul’s birthplace, Bemidji, Minnesota. In Two Harbors, we saw a 35-foot tall statue of what looked to us to be a giant holding an oar while wearing a shirt and boots but no pants. We don’t have the slightest idea what it was supposed to be. We also saw a restaurant built inside a fish in Bena.

Grand Rapids, Minnesota is the hometown of Judy Garland. We stopped to see the World’s Largest Collection of Judy Garland Memorabilia, but the museum had closed early for the day. We did see replicas of the famous ruby slippers. We were mighty happy when our detour to Palisade took us right by Judy Garland’s childhood home located on the outskirts of Grand Rapids.

For the last week or so, it seems we spot deer crossing the road just in front of our car every evening as the sun is going down. Late today, it was a momma deer and two little ones. We really kept our eyes peeled for the last few hours of each day as the two-lane roads are often in deer territory.

As always, we met a number of nice people today. We met Terry at the Minnesota Tourist Information Office in Fisher Landing. We met owner Judy and her very cute granddaughters, Bethany and Abby, at the Maid-Rite Diner in Bemidji. We met Rachel and Susie at the Comfort Inn in Duluth. We met Angela at Betty’s Pies. We met Steve, a former missionary, at a Conoco station in Two Harbors, and then we met Julie in the lobby of the hotel in Duluth.

From our pre-trip research, we learned that Minnesota happens to have a significant number of Worlds Largests. Unfortunately, our choice of Highway 2 took us by only a couple of these. Wisconsin also has a significant number of “quirky” things to see, but not along our route. Boz and I have decided we will have to come back to Minnesota and Wisconsin another time to see more.

The Windsor family lived in Duluth, Minnesota for six months when I was five years old. My Dad tells a great story about the experience that I will share tomorrow; we plan to try to find the home we lived in back then. I was also President of a company with a big office in Duluth from 1992 to 1997, so we may drop in to see some old business associates there.

We were reminded repeatedly today how much we love good pie. And it is always inspirational to see a business that has become a huge success in a tiny place. While not on the scale of Wall Drug (attracting millions of people a year to a drug store in a town with a population of just a few hundred people), Betty’s Pies sells 250 pies a day to customers who visit its restaurant. Twin Harbors has a population of just 3,613. That multiplies out to 547,500 slices of pie per year or 150 slices of pie per year for every man, woman, and child living in Two Harbors.

Random Comments:

We passed two cars today. Passes #28 and #29 in 114 days.

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:Highway 2 — Maid-Rite Cafe — Palisade Minnesota — Betty’s Pies — World’s Largest Ox Cart — World’s Largest Northern Pike — World’s Largest Loon — Paul Bunyan and Babe — Bemidji Minnesota — Restaurant in a Fish — World’s Largest Collection of Judy Garland Memorabilia — Judy Garland’s Childhood Home
 

Twin Peaks and Northern Exposure – Day 101

Twin Peaks and Northern Exposure

Day 101 – July 10, 2003 – Thursday

We drove halfway across Washington state today — heading back east.

Today was a big day for pie. First, we had Cherry Pie in the cafe made famous in the TV series, Twin Peaks. Then we followed up with Apple Pie in Wenatchee, the apple capital of the world and the home of the world’s largest apple pie.

We had a lot of fun today. We saw the Snoqualmie Falls, the various locations where Twin Peaks and Northern Exposure were filmed, the Bavarian village of Leavenworth, and more. We saw the world’s greatest cow statue in Carnation, and we visited Dick and Jane’s Art Spot in Ellensburg. We met some especially nice people today.

We ran into Ralph, sales manager at the hotel in Lynwood, Washington, and he gave us a ton of sights to see. The desk clerk told us we needed to look up Ralph before we left town. Ralph had seen the elusive billboard on Whidbey Island, though he too believed that it had been taken down.

The first sighting of the day was an especially nice totem pole in Fall City.

The Carnation Research Farm just outside Carnation, Washington was built by the founder of the Carnation Company as a dairy stock farm. This historic 817 acre farm has been transformed to accommodate Leadership and Executive Training for the Nestle Company. We visited because we wanted to see the World’s Champion Milk Cow Statue. During the 1920s, the cow named “Segis Pietertje Prospect” had a yearly yield that exceeded 16,500 quarts of milk and 1,400 pounds of butter — ten times that of the average cow! Can you imagine producing 45 quarts of milk a day?

We saw a sign that said, “Blackberries killed and removed permanently.” I guess blackberries cause a problem for some crops.

Twin Peaks was an Emmy Award-nominated, Peabody and Golden Globe-winning television serial drama. Twin Peaks initially aired on ABC in 1990, and in its first season was one of the most successful television programs on TV. Declining ratings in the second season led to the series being canceled. Despite its short life as a TV series, Twin Peaks quickly became a pop culture hit. In addition, the series has been credited with influencing several television series in different ways, including Northern Exposure, Picket Fences, and others. These series have been referred to as “the next Twin Peaks,” either before their run or after popular success, and examine the human condition and the underworld of a seemingly perfect suburban setting.

Boz and I enjoyed the show, though we haven’t been Twin Peaks fanatics. Our reason for coming to the North Bend – Snoqualmie Falls area is cherry pie, the favorite dessert of FBI agent Dale Cooper (Kyle McLachlan) on Twin Peaks. After all, we are on a pie trip, and some of the most famous pie in TV history needed to be part of the trip.

While tasting a fresh piece of cherry pie at the Double R Diner, Cooper proclaimed “This must be where pie goes when they die.” The restaurant also made a “damn fine cup of coffee.” The Double R Diner seen on the series was actually the Mar T Cafe located at 137 W. North Bend Way in North Bend, Washington. The TV series was set in the North Bend area.

So, we made our way to the Mar T Cafe, and we had cherry pie and a cup of coffee in the same spot where Kyle McLachlan seemed to order a piece of “cherry pie and a damn fine cup of coffee” each week. We met Marissa and Heather at the cafe. They told us to go next door to a tourist information place, and we met Ed. Ed Stowie was an actor in several episodes of Twin Peaks. He told us all about the show, and he directed us to a number of locations that were used in the show. He also told us about people who come from all over the world to see the locations where Twin Peaks was filmed. We saw the mountains that are called the Twin Peaks. We saw the famous sign from the opening of Twin Peaks TV show. We drove to Snoqualmie Falls and saw the beautiful waterfall. This was the hotel and the waterfall featured in Twin Peaks. We also drove to Fall City where we saw the Colonial Inn. It was a roadhouse in Twin Peaks.

While in North Bend, we also saw the Train Depot, a railroad graveyard, and a giant log.

We then drove to Roslyn Washington. This town was the setting for the TV series, “Northern Exposure.” Northern Exposure was a quirky TV show about the cultural clash between a transplanted New York doctor and the townspeople of fictional Cicely, Alaska. It featured stories of how people of diverse backgrounds and experiences strive to accept their differences and co-exist. Plots revolved around the intricacies and eccentricities of the citizens of this small town. The show aired from 1990 to 1995. It was a Top 20 TV show for several years.

We took our 10,000th Round America photo today — looking down main street in Roslyn, Washington. This entire town was transformed into “Cicely, Alaska” for the TV show. We took photos of places we recognized from the show — Dr. Joel Fleischman’s window, the radio station, the bar, and some signs. We spent a little time watching a movie crew at work filing some scenes from a science fiction movie that was using some locations in town.

Dick and Jane’s Art Spot in Ellensburg, Washington scored high on the Quirk-O-Meter at first glance. I don’t recall how or where we heard about it, but we drove to Ellensburg to see it. It features a yard full of art — brightly painted wooden figures, bicycle wheel sculptures, and bottle cap decor. As I looked more closely, I realized this was not like some of the questionable art we have seen filling some yards across America…these folks really are artists.

Dick & Jane each received a BA in Art from Central Washington University, in 1971. Dick Elliott and Jane Orleman created the art site predominantly from their own play, but it is also a collection of the work and play of over 35 artists. Dick & Jane’s Spot is dedicated to the philosophy of “one hearty laugh is worth ten trips to the doctor.” They have been working on “the Spot” for 27 years. There are over 10,000 bottle caps and thousands of reflectors. The pieces in the yard are always changing. Old pieces decay and new ones are added. We met two tourists, Kathy and Tony, at Dick and Jane’s Spot.

When we were hundreds of miles away, we spoke to our son, Ryan, and we were distressed to learn that the first employee he ever hired for his business makes his home in Ellensburg! We were so very disappointed that we didn’t realize it and missed meeting Michael Stowe.

For some reason, I had on our list to go to Cashmere, Washington to Liberty Orchards to get some applets and cotlets candy. So, to Cashmere we went. The brochure says: “The blossom-fresh flavor of crisp Washington apples, the tangy goodness of ripe apricots, and the nutty richness of crunchy English walnuts have made our namesake Aplets and Cotlets our top sellers since 1920!” We were too late for the tour, but we bought some candy. Not my favorite. I wish I could remember why I thought we needed to go.

Cherry stands on the side of the road began to get our attention, so we stopped at one and met Josh, a fruit farmer from Cashmere. He was also a forest firefighter. Nice guy, and the best cherries we have ever eaten.

Leavenworth, Washington is a stunning Bavarian Village and a great success story. A small timber community, Leavenworth became the headquarters of the Great North Railroad in the early 1900s. The railroad relocated to Wenatchee in the 1920’s. With no easy access to the railroad, the sawmill closed in 1926, and the lumber company headed for more profitable areas. With the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression of the 1930s, followed by the war years, Leavenworth’s economy spiraled downward. These hard times plagued Leavenworth through the 1940s and 1950s. With little hope of an economic rebound, stores were closing and people were leaving as there were few job opportunities.

The city struggled until 1962 when community leaders approached the University of Washington Bureau of Community Development looking for ways to save the town. Out of this work came the idea to use the town’s beautiful natural surroundings and a Bavarian theme to attract visitors to the area. The town underwent an amazing transformation. The first six buildings were remodeled in 1965 and 1966, and the others soon followed. Two of the leaders instrumental in this effort were Pauline and Owen Watson, longtime residents of Leavenworth. One of the most impressive facts about this entire project is that it was financed with private money – no federal assistance at all. Simply dedicated people mortgaging everything they had! Leavenworth has become a premier destination for family vacations, holidays, recreation, and getaways.

Bavarian-themed shops are uniform in appearance throughout Leavenworth. It is as if you were in a village in Bavaria! Boz went shopping at the Nutcracker shop, because Ryan has received a Nutcracker as a Christmas gift every year. There are fabulous mountain views from Leavenworth — a beautiful area!

We even spotted the World’s Largest Suit of Armor in Leavenworth.

Smallwood’s Harvest is a tourist stop in Peshastin. Surrounded by fruit trees at the base of the beautiful Cascade Mountains, the farm at Smallwood’s Harvest offers attractions for young and old, including a petting farm, a maze, an enormous pumpkin patch every fall, shopping, and fun things to do.

It was well past supper time when we rolled into Wenatchee, Washington. We checked into the hotel and asked where we could get the best pie in town. Riley took care of us at the Comfort Inn. We took her advice and headed to Prospector Pies for dinner and pie. Ryan was our waiter. The Toll House Cookie Pie and the Dutch Apple Pie were both very good. Wenatchee is the Apple Capital of the World and is home of the World’s Largest Apple Pie.

The lesson for the day is to always take advantage of the assets you have. Leavenworth was almost dead as a town, and Pauline and Owen Watson knew something had to be done. They looked around and realized that Leavenworth’s assets were one of the most beautiful settings anywhere — a setting that lended itself to a Bavarian theme. So, they came up with the absolutely crazy idea of having independent businesspeople re-do their storefronts to have a Bavarian theme. The town took what it had and capitalized on it, and Leavenworth has become a significant tourist attraction and a thriving town.

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: 
Carnation Research Farm — Twin Peaks — Double R Diner — Snoqualmie Falls — Roslyn Washington — Northern Exposure — Dick and Jane’s Spot — Liberty Orchards — Leavenworth Washington — Smallwood’s Harvest — Prospector Pies
 

Best Pie in America – Day 100

Best Pie in America

Day 100 – July 9, 2003 – Wednesday

Day 100. Hard to believe. We are in Vancouver, British Columbia. One of the most beautiful cities in the world. Sorry Vancouver isn’t part of the US.

Wednesdays always begin with our weekly radio show. DJ Dan McGrath calls at 7:11 every Wednesday. This week, we talked about Alaska, Seattle, and the best pies of late.

We drove from Bellingham, Washington to Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada), then back down to Lynwood, Washington.

Canada has done a beautiful job at the border — gorgeous flowers and landscaping, great signage, and a wonderful monument. The United States has no flowers and untrimmed weeds growing in the median and along the highway. The good old USA needs to clean up its act visually at all of our borders.

We met a man at Canadian Immigration who goes only by a number — #154669. He would not tell us his name. I tried to bribe him with beads. I couldn’t get anything but 154669.

Vancouver is beautiful. The downtown, waterfront, and Gastown areas are especially beautiful. We loved the Gastown Steam Clock.

Gastown is where Vancouver began. One September day in 1867, “Gassy Jack” Deighton arrived (he received his nickname because of his penchant for spinning tall tales and talking without end). He stepped ashore with a barrel of whiskey, telling the millworkers that if they’d build him a saloon, he’d serve them drinks. The saloon was up and running within a day…just across the property line of the mill. Gastown was born.

Gastown fell on hard times during the Depression years and deteriorated into a stereotypical skid row area. When talk of demolishing the area became more widespread in the 1960s, a group of dedicated citizens took it upon themselves to save Gastown’s distinctive architecture and character. The city rallied around them. Gastown was not just saved, it was reborn.

Gastown is now a refreshing mix of old and new, downhome and upscale, a place for tourists, Vancouver residents, and office workers alike. Various shops have the streets buzzing during the day. A host of restaurants and nightspots keeps the area humming into the wee hours.

The famous Gastown Steam Clock was built by Raymond Saunders, owner of The Gastown Steam Clock Company located just opposite the clock. He built it in 1977 based on an 1875 design. The world’s only steam clock is powered by steam from an underground system of pipes that supply steam to heat many downtown buildings. The clock is a favorite photo location for tourists and provides a focal point for a trip to Gastown. The clock sounds its whistles every quarter-hour. Steel balls are raised to the top of the clock under steam power then slowly fall to power it. No one could tell me how the Gastown Steam Clock Company could be viable if this was the world’s only steam clock. I wondered if this was like the Yellow Pages commercial on TV about Arnold’s Rug, the guy with only one rug who was afraid to advertise because he might sell his rug.

The sky was a gorgeous blue today. We walked and walked. We enjoyed an excellent meal along the water at The Mill. Maria and Lionel took excellent care of us there. We met a tour guide named Maria and a man who said he was an author. The architecture in Vancouver is exceptional.

Chinatown in Vancouver is North America’s second biggest Chinatown. San Francisco’s is the biggest. Mandarin and Cantonese are spoken in 30% of Vancouver homes, which makes Chinese the largest “minority” ethnic group.

Stanley Park is a 1,000 acre park bordering downtown Vancouver. It is the largest city-owned park in Canada and the third largest in North America. The park attracts an estimated eight million visitors every year. A 5.5 mile seawall path circles the park. Much of the park remains forested with an estimated half million trees that can be as tall as 250 feet and hundreds of years old. There are approximately 125 miles of trails and roads in the park. The Project for Public Spaces has ranked Stanley Park as the sixteenth best park in the world and sixth best in North America.

Stanley Park contains numerous natural and man-made attractions that lure visitors to the park. The forest gives the park a more natural character than most other urban parks. Recreational facilities are abundant. The seawall is a popular destination for walking, running, cycling, and inline skating. The miniature railroad is popular. The park also contains tennis courts, an 18-hole pitch and putt golf course, a seaside swimming pool, and the Brockton Oval for track sports, rugby, and cricket. For entertainment, there is the Aquarium, Canada’s first and largest, and the Malkin Bowl, home to the local Theatre Under the Stars.

Over the years, a large collection of monuments has accumulated in Stanley Park, consisting of statues, plaques, and various other memorials commemorating a large variety of things. Among these is the statue of Lord Stanley. After we drove all through Chinatown and Stanley Park, we headed back to Washington.

Several people (Nathan at the Comfort Inn in Bellingham and the four Canadians we met at the restaurant in Bellingham) recommended pie at Dutch Mother’s Restaurant in Lynden, Washington, so we went. We have a new leader in the clubhouse for Best Pie in America. The Raspberry Pie at Dutch Mother’s was absolutely out of this world. It was so much better than the two excellent Raspberry Pies that we’ve had previously on the trip that we felt it must move to the top spot! We also had Bumbleberry Pie and Caramel Apple Pie, and they were all great. But that Raspberry Pie was truly exceptional. Big, giant raspberries the size of big strawberries, wonderful flavor, and a great crust. (After 148 days, the Raspberry Pie at Dutch Mother’s Restaurant was indeed named “Best Pie in America.”) Theresa and Trisha served us at Dutch Mother’s.

Lynden, Washington is home to the state’s largest Dutch community, which proudly displays its heritage with Dutch-theme shops and windmills. We stopped at the big windmill in Lynden. We met a family there — some folks in town doing sightseeing.

From Lynden, we went in search of a sign at Whidby Island. We saw Mount Baker as we drove south.

Whidbey Island is one of nine islands located in Island County, Washington. Whidbey is about 30 miles north of Seattle, and lies between the Olympic Peninsula and the I-5 corridor of western Washington. The island forms the northern boundary of Puget Sound. It is ranked as the fifth longest and fifth largest island in the contiguous United States (Padre Island, Texas is the world’s longest barrier island). The Whidbey Island Naval Air Station is the biggest thing on the island.

We went to Whidbey Island because of Carol at Accentrics, a store that Boz frequents in Atlanta. When Carol heard about the trip and our desire to photograph flags and patriotic displays, she told Boz that she collected photos of American flags. Carol saw a fabulous American Flag on a billboard near a bridge on Whidbey Island, Washington. Carol said she would love to have a photo of that flag. When Boz told me the story, we decided we would go to Whidbey Island in search of Carol’s billboard. Carol gave Boz a good description of where the flag billboard would be, so we were well-prepared. When we left Lynden, we headed for Whidbey Island in great anticipation of surprising Carol with a photo of her prized flag billboard.

It was 85 miles from Lynden to Whidbey Island. As we neared the island, we sat up in our seats and kept our eyes peeled. We were told the billboard was near “the bridge.” What we didn’t bargain for was a lot of bridges, a whole lot of bridges. We drove all around the island, and we drove over a lot of bridges, and we never saw a billboard with a flag. We drove up and down the highways on Whidbey Island, and we never saw a billboard with a flag. The sun set, and it was gorgeous — a beautiful yellow and gold sunset, and I took a wonderful photo of the sunset. But we were determined to find that billboard with a flag. We ultimately drove up to the front gate of the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station where we were quickly moved off to the side in a parking area with several soldiers carrying M-16’s. They must have feared we were terrorists, but they relaxed when they understood that we were simply trying to find a patriotic billboard. Unfortunately, Ken, one of the soldiers, said he had never seen such a billboard. About that time, a Domino’s delivery car pulled up, and Brian delivered some pizzas to the guard shack. We grabbed Brian as he was heading back to his car, and he informed us that he thought the billboard had been taken down. How disappointing! Carol, we tried.

The day ended in Lynwood where Paul took good care of us at the hotel. He is certainly one of the most enthusiastic people we’ve met about our trip.

The lesson we learned today is that the best can be found anywhere and anytime. We found the Best Pie in America on Day 100 in a town we never planned to visit. We found our way to Dutch Mother’s by following a suggestion from desk clerk Nathan and Canadians (Mary Ann, Guy, Suzanne, and Glen) who we met at dinner last night.

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.

Best Pie in America

More Information on the Sights Visited Today:
Vancouver British Columbia — Gastown — Gastown Steam Clock — Vancouver’s Chinatown — Stanley Park — Lynden Washington — Dutch Mother’s Restaurant — Whidbey Island
 

Foot High Pie – Day 61

Foot High Pie

Day 61 – May 31, 2003 – Saturday

I had not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, but seven pieces of pie today. I saw the gym where the movie Hoosiers was filmed, and I saw the world’s largest bottle of catsup. I drove the National Road — Highway 40 — through Indiana and Illinois. It rained much of the day, so I didn’t get out of the car much. I met really delightful people at the two restaurants I visited. I saw my first covered bridge of the trip, my second Madonna of the Trail, a big cross, and my 56th, 57th, 58th, 59th, 60th, 61st, and 62nd pieces of pie.

One of my favorite movies of all times is “Hoosiers.” I also love “Rudy,” and a number of other movies where the underdog works hard and succeeds in the end. The movies are even better when they are based on true stories, like “Rudy” and “Hoosiers.” Basketball is IT in Indiana, so it was especially important for me to see an important basketball sight in the state.

“Hoosiers” was released in 1986. It’s a movie about a small-town Indiana high school basketball team that wins the state championship. The film is set during 1952, when all high schools in Indiana, regardless of school size, competed against each other in one state championship tournament. It stars Gene Hackman as a new coach with a spotty past, Barbara Hershey, Sheb Wooley, and Dennis Hopper as the basketball-loving town drunkard, a performance that brought him an Oscar nomination. The movie was written by Angelo Pizzo, who co-produced “Rudy,” and was directed by David Anspaugh, who directed “Rudy.” The movie was loosely based on the 1954 Milan Indiana Indians becoming the smallest school to win the one-class Indiana state championship in the modern era against all odds. In 1954, Milan was a quiet rural town in the southeastern part of Indiana, with a high school of 161 students, but it became the scene of one of the greatest basketball stories in history.

So it was with great anticipation that I headed east from Indianapolis to the town of Knightstown, Indiana, site of the basketball gym that was used in the movie. The gym was closed, but I was able to peek in the windows. I couldn’t see much through the windows, but I replayed in my mind the movie and what I had read about that amazing team, and I couldn’t help but be inspired.

In hindsight, I wish I had planned to go to the town of Milan.

Knightstown has a lot of 19th and 20th century architecture with a number of properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places. I took photos of a great restored gas station. I saw an interesting gun shop. The sign was a giant bullet, and there were two giant bullet holes on the roof. I’m sure there was a lot more to see, but there was a lot of road ahead.

I headed back to Indianapolis on US 40, the historic National Road, the nation’s first federally funded interstate highway.

Back in Indianapolis, I went to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I drove in and enjoyed seeing this historic place. I’m not sure if I was supposed to be where I ended up. I just saw an open roadway into the Speedway, and I drove on in. A security guard waved me down and asked me to turn around and go back out the way I came in. I was happy to oblige, but I did hop out of the car and grab a couple of photos first. “The Brickyard” is the oldest race track in the country, and the Indy 500 is the most famous car race in the world. A half a million people were there just a few days before my visit for the race, held the Sunday before Memorial Day.

It was raining in Indy, and it rained most of the way to Illinois. I saw some cool barns today — Eaglesfield-Hunt Barn in Reelsville, Indiana, the Happy Valley Farms barn, and many others. I love the look of old barns — not sure why, I just have always loved the look of old barns and old buildings.

I visited Brazil…Indiana. I do enjoy the odd and funny names of towns. I have taken photos of many city limits signs for these towns.

I figured there are certain must-sees on a road trip of this type, and Terre Haute, Indiana was on my list because it is called the “Crossroads of America.” In the early days of cross-country travel, Terre Haute benefitted by its location on the old National Road (U.S. 40) between Indianapolis and Vandalia, Illinois. At about the same time, U.S. Highway 41 was commissioned between Chicago, Illinois and Miami, Florida. This north-south highway through downtown Terre Haute followed Seventh Street at the time, and met U.S. 40, which followed Wabash Avenue, the main east-west street in town. The Seventh and Wabash intersection thus became known as the “Crossroads of America,” and this is now memorialized with a historical marker at that corner. I found the corner, and took a photograph.

In the process, I’m afraid I found myself going the wrong way on a one-way street in Terre Haute, but Officer Ed helped me. No ticket — just help to get me headed in the right direction. Best Police award goes to Terre Haute!

Vandalia, Illinois was an interesting stop. Vandalia was originally the capital of Illinois, and I saw the Old Statehouse there as well as a Madonna of the Trail.

I stopped in Greenup, Illinois. I was attracted by really interesting overhanging porches on all the downtown buildings. It reminded me of New Orleans. I learned that Greenup is known as the “Village of the Porches” and is often referred to as the “Jewel of the National Road.” The Village of Greenup is filled with quaint antique shops. Many buildings in Greenup are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

I had lunch at the Stockyards Restaurant in Greenup. I just loved my waitress, Jenny. She was SO ENTHUSIASTIC about the food and as sweet and cute as can be. I enjoyed my Very Berry Pie.

Just outside Greenup, I saw a great covered bridge. The Jackson Covered Bridge spans the Embarras River.

I drove for quite a few miles with nothing much to see, and then I saw a small, hand-lettered sign advertising “Mile High Pie.” I got an immediate adrenalin rush, and I sat up straighter and became more alert hoping the Mile High Pie place was still in business somewhere down the road. I had just about decided that the pie place was long gone when I saw another sign promoting the pie. And I was really excited when I spotted the cafe!

I pulled into the Blue Springs Cafe in Highland, Illinois for pie instead of dinner. Carlene, Lauren, Raechel, Cami, Brett, and Brian greeted me. Cami was the manager, and she was great. I told them all about the trip and the pie-eating that I had been doing. They brought Tammy, their pie lady, out of the kitchen to meet me. Tammy makes as many as 100 pies a day, though Highland’s population is only 1,200. Tammy and Cami prepared a special plate for me of six different pieces of Mile High Pie. The pie was great. The pies are 12-inches high because Tammy puts this huge meringue topping on all of her pies. I thoroughly enjoyed talking with everyone on the staff, and the customers all got a kick out of seeing me eat six pieces of pie. Half the place was wearing Mardi Gras beads before I left.  Foot High Pie.

Tour buses were unloading as I headed out the door. The Blue Springs Cafe packs them in from buses. As I was about to hop in my car and head down the road, I met Tammy, Stephen, Brady, Little Allie, Edie, Kari, Luke, Marion, and Randy from New Mexico. They were just leaving the wedding of Marion and Randy’s son to a Casey Illinois girl, and they stopped for a pie. They were an especially lovely family, and I really enjoyed getting to know them.

My next stop was the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle in Collinsville, Illinois. It was huge and very impressive. The World’s Largest Catsup Bottle is on Route 159, just south of downtown Collinsville. The 170-foot tall water tower was built in 1949 by the W.E. Caldwell Company for the G.S. Suppiger catsup bottling plant – bottlers of Brooks Catsup.

This landmark roadside attraction was saved from demolition and beautifully restored to its original appearance in 1995, due to the efforts of a preservation group. In August 2002, it was named to the National Register of Historic Places.

My day ended with a sunset in Alton, Illinois.

My thought for the day is how impressed I have been with most of the young people I have met on the trip. Nice, well-mannered, well-spoken young people. Marion and Randy’s children seemed like really special young folks, and the staff at the Blue Springs Cafe seemed special as well.

Random Comments:

Today marked two full months since the trip began on April 1. It certainly doesn’t seem that long to me.

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:
Hoosiers — Knightstown Indiana — National Road — Indianapolis Motor Speedway — Crossroads of America — Vandalia Illinois — Greenup Indiana — Blue Springs Cafe — World’s Largest Catsup Bottle
 

Roswell New Mexico – Day 20

Day 20 – April 20, 2003 – Sunday

Roswell New Mexico

Every day has been an adventure.  Some more than others.  Today, April 20,  was heavy on adventure.  I went on an Easter Egg hunt of sorts.  More about this later.

I stayed at the Loco Motel (better known as the Roswell Comfort Inn).  According to three absolutely delightful ladies that I met at the checkout counter at the motel, when they had their carpets cleaned, it was written up in the paper, and it said “loco motel” rather than “local motel.”

Victoria, Jo-Jo, and Ana at the Comfort Inn in Roswell New Mexico - Round America 50-State Trip.  Day 20. 2003-04-20.Ana, JoJo and Betty Boop (Veronica) were a hoot.  All work at the “Loco.”  Veronica gave me a really cute handmade rabbit with a colored egg inside.  She wanted to go on the trip with me in the worst of ways – stuck her leg out and pulled her pants leg up a little feigning a Marilyn Monroe hitchhiker pose as I drove off.

Fun ladies.  A great way to start the day — Roswell New Mexico – Day 20.  I’d hate to guess how many times in my life I have checked out of a hotel or motel and just paid my money without saying a real word to anyone.  I asked about UFO’s or mentioned my beads or something, and the next thing you know, three of us are having a ball telling stories and talking.  I think we all need to talk to each other more.  It makes for a more enjoyable life.

I’ve certainly found that folks in smaller towns are much nicer than folks in larger towns.  I’ve also found that the folks who work in smaller places tend to be much nicer than folks who work in larger places.  Folks who work in less expensive places tend to be much nicer than those who work in more expensive places.  There’s a lot to be said for small.  As we learned on Day 1, there is a kinder and gentler America, and it is alive and well in small towns.

Roswell New Mexico – Day 20

Roswell is cool.  I really liked it there.  The city (47,000 people makes it a big city on this trip) appears to be much more prosperous than most of the towns I have seen since April 1.

The first adventure of the day was UFO’s!  I passed the New Mexico Military Institute on the way to UFO Central, which is right in the middle of downtown Roswell.  I absolutely loved the way so many merchants – even fine furniture stores and investment companies – had aliens and UFO’s in their windows.  Nothing like getting with the spirit!

It was June 24, 1947 when Kenneth Arnold saw a UFO near Roswell.  It was big news all over.  On July 5, 1947, Mac Brazel found debris.  The Roswell UFO incident is the biggest and best documented of the various alleged UFO sightings.

I began my UFO education in Roswell New Mexico – Day 20 at the Crash Down Diner where I met Richard Hesse and his daughter, Melissa.  Melissa owns the Diner, and Richard and his wife, Randhi, own the Starchild Gift Shop right next door offering a truly incredible selection of alien and UFO gift items.  It would make The Shell Factory proud!  I had a wonderful alien-shaped pancake for breakfast, smothered in caramel sauce and topped with ice cream, whipped cream, and nuts.  Yummy.  I met Carl Schlach from Michigan at the Crash Down.

UFO Evidence from Richard Hesse in Roswell New Mexico - Round America 50-State Trip. Day 20.  2003-04-20.
UFO Evidence from Richard Hesse in Roswell New Mexico – Round America 50-State Trip. Day 20.  2003-04-20.

Richard Hesse believes there is life out there.  He says “do the math.”  There are millions of stars, and the odds are that there is something out there somewhere.  It certainly seems possible to me.

In Roswell New Mexico – Day 20, I met two nice ladies who work at the UFO Museum – Phyllis and Wanda.  The museum is really well done with all types of displays about the Roswell incident and others — even has an area representing the position of those who do not believe.  The museum was free, but I made a donation.  I wish I had spent more time reading what was available.  I will return to Roswell with Bozzie Jane; we’ll make a vacation of several days doing Big Bend, Marfa, Roswell, and points in between.  Phyllis said she looks forward to meeting Barbara.

I was delighted to find an Office Max and a Target in Roswell New Mexico – Day 20.  I had been on the lookout for days for a place to get a new tape recorder.  I pulled up, and they were closed.  Easter.  I didn’t stop to think that this would be a factor throughout the day.  When you live in places like Dallas, Cleveland, and Atlanta, you expect to be able to buy virtually anything at any time.

I saw what I was sure was a spaceship as I headed out of town.  I snapped a photo.  Upon further investigation, it was the top of a grain silo, but it sure had the right look in the right place.  Maybe it is a spaceship masquerading as a grain silo.  I choose to be a believer.

Welcome to Roswell Sign in Roswell New Mexico - Round America 50-State Trip. 2003-04-20. Day 20.
Welcome to Roswell Sign in Roswell New Mexico – Round America 50-State Trip. 2003-04-20. Day 20.

Richard Hesse told me to be sure and check out the Roswell City Limits sign.  It says “Dairy Capital of the Southwest.”  What?!  UFO’s put Roswell on the map, and the city fathers are promoting dairy.  Those folks haven’t learned the important lesson that most small towns know: Celebrate what you got!  Roswell New Mexico – Day 20.

On 2/16/2024, the Roswell UFO incident is back in the news.

Today is a big day.  I am detouring several hundred miles out of the original path for the trip in order to see one and only one thing: Pie Town, New Mexico.  The place got its name from a lady who baked pies for the ranchers in those parts.  It has grown over the years from one lady to where it now has a population of 60.  I learned of it several years ago when someone gave me an article about great pie, and the Pie-O-Neer Café in Pie Town, New Mexico was featured.  A “Pie Trip” could not possibly be valid without a visit to Pie Town, so I carefully charted the course.  It’s literally as remote a location as is Big Bend – nothing of any consequence for 100 miles or more.  So, another adventure begins as I roll out of Roswell in anticipation of great pie – multiple pieces of delicious pie!

I saw some surprisingly interesting towns en route.  Lincoln, New Mexico is a neat little mountain town.  Lots of history.  Buildings are restored or are being restored.

Just after noon, I got my first glimpse of snowcapped El Capitan Mountain.  10 minutes later, I was in the cute little town of Capitan.  I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Capitan is the home of Smokey the Bear, and he is buried there.  I stopped at the Smokey the Bear Museum.

I also stopped at the Shell station to fill up and grab a Coke.  Corinna said “nice beads.”  As I’ve said, women smile and may comment.  But men tend to think I am a deviate of some type.

Since I left Del Rio way down in South Texas, I have essentially been without cell phone service.  New Mexico is no better, except in Roswell.

Most states had sent me a map, but New Mexico did not get one to me before I left, so  the map I got from Cody and Erica was very much needed.  According to the map, I was to be passing near part of the White Sands Missile Range.  That’s neat.  So when the sign said it was just five miles off the highway, the car just headed there automatically.  I had to see it.

All of a sudden I realized where I was!  The Trinity Site – the site where the first Atomic Bomb was tested on July 16, 1945.  This is a serious deal.

I pulled up to the main gate where I was met by Gus, the security man.  His badge looked a lot more official than Dr. Doug Blackburn’s.  I asked if I could go in, and Gus said I’d have to come back in October.  I told him I was just passing through, writing a book, and October just didn’t work well for me.  Gus didn’t think I was very funny.  He said: “October.”  I got the message, so I went to Plan B.  I asked if it was okay to take a few photos.  “No.”  I was wishing Rose was with me.  She knows how to get photos of forbidden stuff.  To Plan C, “Gus, may I take your picture?”  “No.”  Gus was a man of few words.  Perhaps I should always remove my Mardi Gras beads before approaching men with guns at military installations.  So, I hopped back in my car, hooked a U and went into Plan D.  I drove quickly away and snapped a few photos from a distance while Gus went back to reading the Sunday paper.  Rose would be proud.

Daniel and Chris accompanied Bill Windsor in Magdalena New Mexico - Round America 50-State Trip. 2003-04-20. Day 20.
Daniel and Chris accompanied Bill Windsor in Magdalena New Mexico – Round America 50-State Trip. 2003-04-20. Day 20.

On the road again, my next stop was Magdalena.  Never heard of it, but it is a nice little spot that is undoubtedly a small artist’s community.  Probably just a few hundred people there.  I met two nice boys, Daniel and Chris.  They were excited to have their picture taken, and then they got into the spirit of the trip and kept coming up with ideas of spots in Magdalena that I should photograph.  They followed me on bike.  I saw an Easter Egg Hunt in a park area with some great sculptures apparently done by a local artist.  I liked Magdalena.

I kept checking the map as Pie Town didn’t appear to be getting much closer.  There was a huge error on my Excel spreadsheet itinerary.  The number 100 was in the mileage column, but it was more like 300.  I just kept driving and driving and driving.

Pretty scenery, but you know how it is when you are mentally programmed for one thing and your system gets thrown off.  The next thing on my handy Cody and Erica map was the “National Radio Astronomy Observatory.”  I stopped to take a quick photo from a distance.  As I looked back at it in the rearview mirror, I realized what I had just passed.  THAT was The Array!  The site of the Jodie Foster movie, “Contact.”  Excellent movie!  Had I realized and known they have a video presentation, I would have driven over.

 

UFO’s, White Sands, and The Array.  This is adventure at its best!

 

A few miles down the road, I realized I had been in a big adventure for some time.  I had been looking for gas, but the little towns either had no gas stations, or they were closed.  When I hit Datil, a town printed in slightly larger, bolder letters on the map, I began to panic when the only gas station there was closed.  The last open gas station I recalled seeing was the Shell I visited 172 miles back in Capitan.  I figured I was good for about 70 miles max.  I pulled out the Cody and Erica map again to see if there was any town that had larger, bolder type anywhere near Datil.  There were no options.  The best bet looked like it was in ARIZONA – a ways past Pie Town!  I knew I couldn’t make it that far.  I began to panic.  All I had wanted to do was eat some pie.

 

There were very few cars on the road.  No wonder.  There ain’t no gas.

 

I decided the only thing to do was keep going toward Pie Town.  I passed the Continental Divide the first time at 5:05 pm and pulled into Pie Town two minutes later.  That annoying “you are out of gas buddy” light was shining for the last I don’t know how many miles.

 

Pie Town is really tiny, so I had no trouble finding the Pie-O-Neer Café.  Despite the gas situation, I was so excited to see it.  I took a few photos.  Then I went up the steps, and I saw it.  “CLOSED.”  No way I have driven 300 miles or so to eat pie and have Pie Town’s pie café closed.  Devastated was not the right word.

 

I knocked on the door.  A nice lady came.  They had just closed at 5.  I told her I had driven 5,500 miles to eat pie there, and I gave her my card and pulled the photocopy of the article out of my notebook to show her I was telling the truth.  She let me in.  They had just a few pieces of pie left.  I had Apple Walnut Raisin and Peach.  Very good!  I met the owner, Kim Bruck.  She and three brothers moved there from Chicago, so Pie Town had grown to population 65.  She told me that Coconut Cream, Oatmeal Raisin, and Apple Crumb are her best sellers.  I told her if it were not for the fact that I was almost out of gas that I would be in pie heaven.  She gave me a free slice of pie and a little pie-shaped magnet as a gift for Bozzie.

I enjoyed talking with her, but they wanted to close up and go home, and I wanted to see if I could find a landline to call AAA to put their service to a real test – delivering gas a million miles from nowhere.  Kim and her brother told me there might be a gas station open 22 miles west – usually open until 6, but not sure about Easter Sunday.

It was 5:45, so I said a quick goodbye and I drove very fast to Quemado where I could have kissed Robert, the attendant at J&Y Auto Service, when he was still open.

If it hadn’t been for two ladies and a flat tire in a huge RV, he would have been long gone.

Life was good again.  It is a shame that gasoline detracted from the visit to Pie Town, but thank heaven the Pie-O-Neer was even open on Easter Sunday and J and Y Auto Service.  I never thought I would be happy paying $2.89 per gallon, but I was.  Best gas by far.  Ain’t supply and demand grand.

Back to Cody and Erica’s map, I now had to re-route myself to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.  I identified a new way to go without backtracking, and I saw some gorgeous scenery in the many mountains of New Mexico.  Because I was driving in the mountains, the sun was shielded and it became dark much earlier than it does out in the desert where I’ve been for a few days.  As it got darker, the mountain roads became less enjoyable.  I passed the Continental Divide again about 9:30.  226 miles from Quemado, I pulled into the Best Western in Truth or Consequences.  The last 40 miles was spent hugging the yellow line as I circled a mountain with rocks to the left and black space to the right and no guard rails.  It was the only time I was glad Bozzie Jane was not with me.  When I told Tyler at the Best Western the road I had come in on, he said: “You drove that AT NIGHT?!” Yep.  I’m glad I couldn’t see; it was too dark to see, and my left eye was hurting the whole day.  At least there were no other cars.  I’m sure most of you are thinking that no one in their right mind would drive that far for two pieces of pie.  You’re absolutely right.  But it will be a fun story to tell.

The lessons of the day include these: Maintain a positive attitude.  Hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst.  Realize that life in small towns and remote spots has its trade-offs.  It’s unlike life in the big cities where many of us live.  For the most part, life in small towns seems gentler and happier to me, but there are always trade-offs, and one of the biggest is learning how to adjust for a limited number of places to shop and get essentials such as gas.  Unless you are crazy and/or really into pie, I don’t recommend a visit to Pie-Town.  It’s just too far.

***

Thanks to those of you who have emailed to say you have joined the trip.  I’m sorry I’m behind on the Daily Journal, and I’d love to email back, but I just don’t have the time.  There are 570 emails in my In-Box, and I haven’t even opened 127 of them that appear to be business-related.  The only business I have time for these days is sightseeing, pie eating, writing, photographing, and driving.

Pie is key to a good RoadTrip

The idea for a special trip originated in 2000.  I proposed to my ex-wife, Barbara Windsor (aka Boz or Bozzie Jane), that we go on “The Pie Trip” — just take off and travel the country and “eat pie.”  We would go on the backroads and eat in cafes and diners where the locals eat (where they always have pie) and just learn about the places we go and the people we meet.  We would write a book about the experience.  We became busy with business and a move to Atlanta, and the trip was postponed.  We were more than a little disappointed when we discovered a book titled American Pie published in 2002 that had a strikingly similar concept and a great name.

We modified our plans somewhat — choosing to make pie a part of the “Round America” trip but not the sole focus.  Rather than traveling randomly, we decided to visit every state, and we carefully researched the itinerary.  We remained committed to eating pie in as many places as possible, but we planned to do much more.  As we met with reporters and folks along the way who learned about the plans for our book (printed on the back of our business cards is “We’ll write about the places we go, the sights we see, the people we meet, and the pie we eat“), we began discussing pie more and more, and we became even more intent on finding the Best Pie in America.

Prior to the last state on the trip, Hawaii, we had eaten 167 pies in 136 days.  That’s a lot of pie.  I drove through Toledo as fast as possible and refused to step on a scale, but I’m sure I gained at least 20 pounds on the trip.  I did, however, enjoy every minute of it.  I pledged to try to remember just how much fun it was as I tried to lose the weight.  I did lose the weight, but then i was disabled when hit by an 18-wheeler at 70-miles-per-hour.  With an inability to exercise, I’ve done nothing but gain.

Prior to Hawaii, we had consumed 103 different types of pie.  We did our best to try new pies every chance we had, but that was the luck of the draw.  Bozzie Jane loves Coconut Cream Pie, and she wasn’t always as interested in trying new pies as she was enjoying her favorite dessert, so we downed 9 pieces of Coconut Cream Pie on the trip.  Only Apple Pie topped Coconut Cream in the totals — enjoyed 13 times.  6 Peach Pie and 4 Peach Cobbler; 6 Cherry Pie; 5 Key Lime; 4 Raspberry Pie; and 4 Banana Cream (my favorite type of pie).  We sampled pie in 36 states.  I’m not sure how we managed to miss 14, but it seems we have.  We’ll focus on getting pie in those states when we do the trip again.

We will update our totals to add Hawaii to the count as soon as the trip ends on August 26.  Halfway through the Hawaii trip, two Hawaii Pies have made the Top 10!

Overall, we can report that American pie is very good.  Most of the pies we consumed were quite good.  There were only a couple of bad ones.  The Best Pie in America is the Raspberry Pie at Dutch Mother’s Restaurant in Lynden, Washington.  The Worst Pie in America is the Blueberry(less) Pie at the Northside Cafe in Winterset, Iowa.  I still think the blue was added with a magic marker.

Click here to read the key sections of our Pie Report:

The Best Pie in America

Special Pie Places

The Great Pie Adventure

Unusual Pies

The Worst Pie in America

Our Methodology

Complete List of Pies and Rankings

 

The Best Pie in America

Ten places had pie that we considered excellent.  Five of the ten had been recommended to us, while five pie places were simply cafes, a restaurant, a diner, and a quick lube shop that just happened to catch our eye.  These pies are truly exceptional.  We know; we tasted 167 pies in five months.

It’s a shame that we can’t rate each of these pies as the Best Pie in America, because each was different.  In fact, we will be awarding plaques to each of these restaurants, and they will read “Best Butterscotch Pie in America,” etc.  When you find yourself in any of these towns, do yourself a favor, and make a point to go to these restaurants to eat pie.

  1. Raspberry Pie — Dutch Mother’s Restaurant — Lynden, Washington

This is the Best Pie in America!  Absolutely the very best we had.  Huge raspberries (the size of big strawberries) in a tasty slightly-congealed filling with a wonderful shortbread crust that was truly special.  It’s hard to describe as it was unlike anything else we’ve ever had.  Sweet and delicious.  We had four very good Raspberry Pies during the trip, but this pie was SO MUCH BETTER that it was clearly the Best Pie in America.  It’s the one pie that we’ve kept thinking we wished we had more to enjoy.  We enjoyed three slices of pie at Dutch Mother’s, and each was excellent.  The Bumbleberry Pie ranks 11th — making Dutch Mother’s the only restaurant to have two of the Best Pies in America.  Day 97.  Rating: 97.

  1. Key Lime Pie — Harry and the Natives — Hobe Sound, Florida

Wonderful Key Lime Pie — by far the best key lime pie we’ve ever eaten!  It’s hard to distinguish one key lime pie from the next, but Harry and the Natives simply makes it better than everyone else.  The crust was especially good — a traditional pie crust rather than a graham cracker crust.  It had a meringue rather than whipped cream, and the texture was fluffy rather than dense.  This pie held the #1 spot for 92 days until we reached Dutch Mother’s.  Harry and the Natives certainly wins the Best Place to Eat Pie award as it is a delightfully funny and entertaining place.  We enjoyed this pie with a Coke for breakfast on the fifth day of the trip Round America.  Day 5.  Rating: 96.

  1. Banana Heaven — Blue Heaven — Key West, Florida

This was not a pie; it was a dessert.  From what we could tell, the chef starts with bananas, butter, rum, and brown sugar, and the bananas are sautéed in that concoction.  The hot bananas and syrup mixture is then poured over a delicious banana bread, and if that isn’t enough, homemade vanilla ice cream is scooped onto the side.  The sticky, crunchy hot sauce was incredible.  It was OUT of this world, and so rich that we barely made a dent in it.  Fabulous dessert!  Bozzie Jane says it is the best dessert she has ever eaten anywhere anytime.  She would have ranked it #1, but we didn’t since it wasn’t actually a pie.  Day 8.  Rating: 95.

  1. Caramel Apple Raisin Pie — Plaza Restaurant — Santa Fe, New Mexico

We saw two police cars in front of the Plaza Restaurant in Santa Fe, and the officers confirmed that it was an excellent place to eat.  It’s always a good idea to eat where you see multiple police cars.  The Plaza Restaurant has been serving since 1918.  A delicious blend of fresh apples with cinnamon, caramel, and raisins in a great crust — served hot with homemade vanilla ice cream.  The combination was wonderful.  Quite a treat!  Day 35.  Rating: 94.

  1. Apple Dumpling — Blues City Cafe — Memphis, Tennessee

The Blues City Cafe is a cafe on Beale Street in Memphis Tennessee.  I went in for dinner as I wanted to eat a Barbequed Bologna Sandwich.  The bologna was only offered for lunch, so I ordered the full slab of ribs that I saw most folks eating.  Chef Myron Johnson told me he had a killer dessert, so despite the huge order of ribs and fries, I had the Apple Dumpling Dessert.  It was tremendous.  Fresh apples cooked in a dumpling crust, smothered with a wonderful secret sauce.  Served hot in a skillet with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Day 43.  Rating: 93.

  1. Butterscotch Pie — Rogers Restaurant — Lexington, Kentucky

Rogers Restaurant was one of the many pie stops that we made because of a recommendation from the folks at our hotel.  Chuck Ellinger, owner of Rogers Restaurant, just smiled when I asked about their pie.  The restaurant was packed with locals, and those who overheard our conversation were singing the praises of the pie.  Margaret then brought me a big piece of Butterscotch Pie – hot…right out of the oven.  It was really, REALLY good.  The butterscotch filling had a consistency a little lighter than key lime pie, great crust, and wonderful meringue topping.  I’d never eaten Butterscotch Pie before, and now I’ll eat it every chance I get.  Day 59.  Rating: 92.

  1. Mango Snow Cone — Freddy’s Fast Lube and Snow Cone Stand — Escobares, Texas

The story of Freddy’s Fast Lube and Snow Cone Stand is one of my favorite stories from the entire trip.  I began seeing one snow cone stand after another in the small towns that I passed through in the south.  It seems that small towns often cannot support a DQ or a drive-in snack bar, so many of these little towns have snow cone stands.  I took photos of a few that I saw in the first two weeks of the trip.  On Day 16, I saw an especially colorful one with an American flag straw coming out of the top, and I put the car into U-turn mode (something that usually happened 30 or 40 times a day on the trip).  I pulled up to Freddy’s Fast Lube and Snow Cone Stand in the little town of Escobares, Texas for a quick photo.  A man came running up to me wanting to know what I wanted.  I explained that I just wanted to take a photo of his stand.  He proudly announced that they had done all the work on it themselves.  He also showed me his very colorful and attractive umbrellas, and explained how they were made, but I couldn’t understand his heavy Spanish accent or the words he used.  At this point, we shook hands and exchanged names; he was Freddy Escobar of Freddy’s Fast Lube and Snow Cone Stand.  Freddy asked if I wanted anything, and I said “I’d love a Coke.”  He replied: “Snow Cone?” And I said, “Sure, give me a snow cone!”  He asked: “Flavor?”  I replied: “Grape.”  He said “Mango!”  I said, “Sure, mango it is.”  Freddy had to explain my order in Spanish to the young girl in the dark recesses of the snow cone stand who didn’t speak a word of English, and she began preparing my drink.  Her power appeared to be provided by an extension cord running from the Fast Lube shop just behind.  I can’t recall having had a snow cone since I was a child.  It took quite a while.  The window finally slid open, and out came a big Styrofoam cup filled with a mango-colored mixture with a straw and a spoon.  When I tell you my “snow cone” was AMAZING, please accept that I’m not exaggerating.  It was 94-degrees and I was thirsty, but this stuff was special.  The flavor was wonderful, but the consistency was what I couldn’t believe.  It was much better than the smoothies we get that tend to be glorified Slushees.  I don’t know what was hiding in that hut, but the end result was like an ice drink with the consistency of frozen yogurt.  I think Freddy should franchise; I can see Freddy’s Fast Lube and Snow Cone Stands all across the US.  Seriously, it was really, really good, and it never melted.  While my Mango Snow Cone is not a traditional pie, this “treat” was so special that I have to rank it as one of the best “pies” on the Round America trip.  Day 16.  Rating: 91.

  1. Rhubarb Pie — Dot’s Diner — Bisbee, Arizona

Dot’s Diner is part of the Shady Dell RV Park.  Shady Dell has rare antique travel trailers available for rent.  (See www.theshadydell.com.)  The fabulous fully-restored 1957 Dot’s Diner is there, and I had Rhubarb Pie.  Waitresses Mary and Kirsten recommended it.  I’d never had rhubarb, but I now know why my Dad loved it so much.  Big hunks of fresh rhubarb in a wonderful crust.  Served really hot.  Very tangy, and absolutely delicious.  Day 21.  Rating: 91.

  1. Olallieberry Pie — Linn’s Bakery and Eatery — San Luis Obispo, California

We had lunch and pie at Linn’s Bakery and Eatery.  We had a rare pie — Olallieberry Pie — a berry created from a cross between a certain type of raspberry and a blackberry.  We thoroughly enjoyed meeting Patty Carpenter and her husband, Bill, owners of Linn’s in San Luis Obispo.  For days, folks told us to go to Linn’s for pie.  It was everything we hoped for and more.  Day 74.  Rating: 91.

  1. Marionberry Pie — Otis Cafe — Otis, Oregon

The Otis Cafe is a tiny cafe in the even tinier town of Otis, Oregon — but the Otis Cafe has received national publicity as a great place to eat.  I had a wonderful breakfast there, followed by Marionberry Pie.  Marionberries are only grown in a limited area in Oregon, so I wanted to be sure and grab a slice of Marionberry Pie the first chance I got.  It was a delicious sweet berry pie.  Great crust.  Great pie.  Day 91.  Rating: 91.

  1. Bumbleberry Pie — Dutch Mother’s Restaurant — Lynden, Washington

Dutch Mother’s is the only restaurant to have two of the A-rated pies.  (See Pie #1 above — the Best Pie in America.)  The Bumbleberry Pie was a mixture of raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries.  Delicious locally-grown fruit in a wonderful crust.  We couldn’t eat all of this pie at the restaurant, so I polished it off later that night, and it was even better when I wasn’t trying to compare it to the Raspberry Pie.  If we had eaten this pie at another time and in another place, I suspect we would have ranked it even higher.  Dutch Mother’s can just flat do pie!  Day 97.  Rating: 90.

Special Pie Places

These are special pie places:

Blue Springs Cafe — Highland, Illinois:  I discovered the Blue Springs Cafe when I saw a small sign that advertised “Mile High Pie.”  I had to go.  I walked in and saw a dozen pies that appeared to be 12-inches high or higher!  Absolutely the most impressive pie display that we saw on the trip.  And the staff was great.  I met them all, and we had a grand time.  They cut thin slices of six different pies for me to taste.  They were all good.

Betty’s Pies — Two Harbors, Minnesota:  We heard about Betty’s Pies from as far away as the Grand Canyon and the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  Betty’s probably sells more pies each day than there are residents in Two Harbors.  It’s an amazing success story.

Pie-O-Neer Cafe — Pie-Town, New Mexico:  I drove 600 miles to eat pie in the town named Pie-Town.  (See the story below.)

Twede’s Restaurant — North Bend, Washington:  Twede’s is the restaurant that was the Double R Cafe in the TV series “Twin Peaks.”  The Cherry Pie is the best-known pie in the country as it was mentioned virtually every week during the run of the program.

Mystic Pizza — Mystic, Connecticut:  Pizza pie rather than dessert pie, but it was a treat to eat pizza in the restaurant “that made the movie famous.”

North Dakota State Fair — Minot, North Dakota:  The Lutheran Women make great pie.  We were disappointed there wasn’t a Pie Contest of some type.  Bozzie Jane and I figure we would make excellent judges at state fairs across America.

Harry and the Natives — Hobe Sound, Florida:  Wacky atmosphere.  We were just driving down the A1A (the highway that runs north/south along the Atlantic Ocean for much of the way through the state) near Jensen Beach, Florida the morning of Day 5.  We weren’t expecting to see much for a while as our list of attractions was rather short until we got further south, so we were just scanning the roadway (mainly looking for speed limit signs, I’m afraid — after the speeding ticket on Day 3) when I saw a giant robot – probably 40-feet tall.  I made one of my now-patented U-turns, and we found ourselves in the wacky parking lot of “Harry and the Natives” in Hobe Sound, Florida.  We weren’t sure what it was at first, but we saw a lot of people coming in and out, and we soon realized it was a bar/restaurant.  The “yard” was filled with an assortment of wacky things, and the front of the restaurant had funny signs and odd décor.  The interior was even better – hats stapled to the ceiling, lots of funny signs, and an incredible assortment of eclectic stuff.  The restrooms really are outside in “out” houses.  Boz ordered eggs and orange juice, but I felt Key Lime Pie and a Coke was the appropriate breakfast for Harry’s.  What a great place!

Ben & Jerry’s Factory — Waterbury, Vermont:  While not exactly “pie,” we expanded the pie category to include just about any dessert.  We love Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, and it was a treat to see the factory, take the tour, and enjoy some really fresh Cherry Garcia Ice Cream.  And there really is a Flavor Graveyard.

Dot’s Diner — Bisbee, Arizona:  Beautifully-restored 1957 Valentine diner in a trailer park where you can rent wonderful old travel trailers.  Like stepping back in time.

In addition to the above, we had pie at several orchards, at a cider mill, in several pie factories, from several street vendors, at a lube stop, in diners – cafes- and restaurants, at a theatre, in a winery, and brought to us by friends along the way.

 

The Great Pie Adventure

Day 20 was to be a big day.  I planned to detour several hundred miles out of the original path for the trip in order to see one and only one thing: Pie-Town, New Mexico.  The place got its name from a lady who baked pies for the ranchers in those parts.  It has grown over the years from one lady to where it now has a population of 60.  I learned of it several years ago when someone gave me an article about great pie, and the Pie-O-Neer Café in Pie-Town, New Mexico was featured.  A “Pie Trip” could not possibly be valid without a visit to Pie-Town, so I carefully charted the course.  It’s literally as remote a location as is Big Bend – nothing of any consequence for 100 miles or more.  So, another adventure began as I left the UFO’s of Roswell behind in anticipation of great pie – multiple pieces of delicious pie!

I saw some surprisingly interesting towns en route.  Lincoln, New Mexico is a neat little mountain town.  Lots of history.  Buildings are restored or are being restored.  Just after noon, I got my first glimpse of snowcapped El Capitan Mountain.  10 minutes later, I was in the cute little town of Capitan.  I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Capitan is the home of Smokey the Bear, and he is buried there.  I stopped at the Smokey the Bear Museum.

Since I left Del Rio way down in South Texas, I had essentially been without cell phone service.  New Mexico was no better, except in Roswell.

Most states had sent me a map, but New Mexico did not get one to me before I left, so the map I got from Cody and Erica (at a gas station the night before) was very much needed.  According to the map, I was to be passing near part of the White Sands Missile Range.  That’s neat.  So when the sign said it was just five miles off the highway, the car just headed there automatically.  I had to see it.  All of a sudden I realized where I was!  The Trinity Site – the site where the first Atomic Bomb was tested on July 16, 1945.  This was a serious deal.  I couldn’t get in to take photos, but I had fun trying.

On the road again, my next stop was Magdalena.  Never heard of it, but it is a nice little spot that is undoubtedly a small artist’s community.  Probably just a few hundred people there.  I met two nice boys, Daniel and Chris.  They were excited to have their picture taken, and then they got into the spirit of the trip and kept coming up with ideas of spots in Magdalena that I should photograph.  They followed me on their bikes.  I saw an Easter Egg Hunt in a park area with some great sculptures apparently done by a local artist.  I liked Magdalena.

I kept checking the map as Pie-Town didn’t appear to be getting much closer.  Then I realized there was a huge error on my Excel spreadsheet itinerary.  The number 100 was in the mileage column, but it was more like 300.  I just kept driving and driving and driving.

Pretty scenery, but you know how it is when you are mentally programmed for one thing and your system gets thrown off.  The next thing on my handy Cody and Erica map was the “National Radio Astronomy Observatory.”  I stopped to take a quick photo from a distance.  As I looked back at it in the rearview mirror, I realized what I had just passed.  THAT was The Array!  The site of the Jodie Foster movie, “Contact.”  Excellent movie!  Had I realized and known they have a video presentation, I would have driven over.

UFO’s, White Sands, and The Array.  This is adventure at its best!

A few miles down the road, I realized I had been in a big adventure for some time.  I had been looking for gas, but the little towns either had no gas stations, or they were closed.  When I hit Datil, a town printed in slightly larger, bolder letters on the map, I began to panic when the only gas station there was closed.  The last open gas station I recalled seeing was the Shell I visited 172 miles back in Capitan.  I figured I was good for about 70 miles max.  I pulled out the Cody and Erica map again to see if there was any town that had larger, bolder type anywhere near Datil.  There were no options.  The best bet looked like it was in ARIZONA – a ways past Pie-Town!  I knew I couldn’t make it that far.  I began to panic.  All I had wanted to do was eat some pie.

There were very few cars on the road.  No wonder.  There ain’t no gas.

I decided the only thing to do was keep going toward Pie-Town.  I passed the Continental Divide the first time at 5:05 pm and pulled into Pie-Town two minutes later.  That annoying “you are out of gas, buddy” light was shining for the last I don’t know how many miles.

Pie-Town is really tiny, so I had no trouble finding the Pie-O-Neer Café.  Despite the gas situation, I was so excited to see it.  I took a few photos.  Then I went up the steps, and I saw it: “CLOSED.”  No way I have driven 300 miles or so to eat pie and have Pie-Town’s pie café closed.  Devastated was not the right word.

I knocked on the door.  A nice lady came.  They had just closed at 5.  I told her I had driven 5,500 miles to eat pie there, and I gave her my card and pulled the photocopy of the article out of my notebook to show her I was telling the truth.  She let me in.  They had just a few pieces of pie left.  I had Apple Walnut Raisin and Peach.  Very good!  I met the owner, Kim Bruck.  She and three brothers moved there from Chicago, so Pie-Town had grown to population 65.  She told me that Coconut Cream, Oatmeal Raisin, and Apple Crumb are her best sellers.  I told her if it were not for the fact that I was almost out of gas, I would be in pie heaven.  She gave me a free slice of pie and a little pie-shaped magnet as a gift for Bozzie.  I enjoyed talking with her, but they wanted to close up and go home, and I wanted to see if I could find a landline to call AAA to put their service to a real test – delivering gas a million miles from nowhere.  Kim and her brother told me there might be a gas station open 22 miles west – usually open until 6, but not sure about Easter Sunday.  It was 5:45, so I said a quick goodbye and I drove very fast to Quemado where I could have kissed Robert, the attendant at J&Y Auto Service, when he was still open.  If it hadn’t been for two ladies and a flat tire in a huge RV, he would have been long gone.

Life was good again.  It is a shame that gasoline detracted from the visit to Pie-Town, but thank heaven the Pie-O-Neer was even open on Easter Sunday as well as J&Y Auto Service.  I never thought I would be happy paying $2.89 per gallon, but I was.  Best gas by far.  Ain’t supply and demand grand.

 

Unusual Pies

These pies were unusual:

Alien Pancakes — Crash Down Diner — Roswell, New Mexico:

Key Lime Pie-On-A-Stick — Key West Candy Company — Key West, Florida:

Elvis Pie — Pine Tree Restaurant — Williams, Arizona:

Grape Pie — Rosati’s Winery — Rosati, Missouri:

Caramel Concrete — Ted Drewe’s Frozen Custard — St. Louis, Missouri:

Apple Fritters — Applewood Grill — Pigeon Forge, Tennessee:

Olallieberry Pie — Linn’s Bakery & Eatery — San Luis Obispo, California

Marionberry Pie — Otis Cafe — Otis, Oregon

S’More Pie — Buckeye Roadhouse — Mill Valley, California:

Cheddar Cheese Fudge — CranBerry Sweets — Bandon, Oregon:

Lemon Pie — Dining Room at Shaker Village — Pleasant Hill, Kentucky —

5-Layer Raspberry Chocolate Pie — Betty’s Pies — Two Harbor, Minnesota:

5-Layer Chocolate Mint Pie — Betty’s Pies — Two Harbor, Minnesota:

Peach Pie — Zehnder’s — Frankenmuth, Michigan:

 

Worst Pie in America

We hate to list some pies as the worst, but a few weren’t good, and the flipside of the Best is the Worst.

  1. Blueberry Pie — Northside Cafe — Winterset, Iowa

Blueberryless pie.  Not a very good crust with some blue jelly slapped inside.  The hamburger was good, but the pie was the worst.

  1. Creme Brulee Pie — Pie in the Sky Cafe Booth — North Dakota State Fair — Minot, North Dakota

We’d never had a creme brulee pie, so I was anxious to give it a try.  I guess there’s a reason why we’d never seen one before — just can’t be done with a pie.  And a fair, where the pies have to be made as inexpensively as possible to sell at a low price, was the last place to try an “exotic” pie.  Becky was really nice, so we hate to rate her pie as one of the worst…but we gotta call ’em as we see ’em.

  1. Apple Dumpling — Gwennie’s Restaurant — Anchorage, Alaska

Everything was poor at Gwennie’s.

  1. Pecan Pie — Fairmont Hotel — New Orleans, Louisiana

I thought it was downright criminal for one of the nicest hotels in the deep south city of New Orleans to serve a manufactured pecan pie.  It was like a packaged pie that you buy in a grocery store.  Very disappointing.

  1. Peach Cobbler — Marriott Suites — Las Vegas, Nevada

I think one should never order pie in a nice hotel in a big city.  It’s never very good.  Virtually all major chains and fancy restaurants buy their desserts frozen from a group of national dessert manufacturers.  Good pie is almost always found in local cafes and diners.

 

Pie Methodology

We did use a system in rating the best and worst pies.   Each pie was given a numerical rating between 1 and 100.  We discussed each pie after eating.  Then each night, we gave each pie a numerical rating by looking at previous ratings for the same type of pie as well as at the ratings for other pies that we felt the pie was comparable to in terms of overall “goodness.”  We then assigned a numerical rating based upon how we felt the pie compared to others.  We left space in the early rankings so we had plenty of room for great new pies to be ranked above the first pies we ate.  Interestingly, the spread between the #1 pie and the #2 pie was just one point, but 95 days apart.

Rating food of any type is very subjective.  All of our tastebuds and likes and dislikes are different.  For example, I don’t like strawberries, so you won’t find any Strawberry Pie in our rankings, and we know there are some spectacular Strawberry Pies out there.  To compensate for our prejudices, we tried many, many pies that we would not normally choose.  We feel the system was good, though we would love to be able to taste the Top 12 side-by-side.

We recognize that we missed some great pie places and some great pies.  That’s inevitable.  We did ask many places what THEY felt was their best pie, and we usually tried that one.

We will do this again.  We’ll use the same system.  We’ll be awarding plaques and issuing news releases nationally as well as in the towns where we ate pie.  We hope the publicity from this initial Best Pie in America effort will cause many folks to email us to tell us great places and great pies that should be included next time.