Let's Go Somewhere - 10/7/2014 - Cross Country USA

Ally says:

So now that I’m finally free of the shackles of novel revision I can get back to talking about stuff I love here at the Forked Road.

Mainly, travel.

Traveling was something that I always wanted to do. My parents had a subscription to national geographic (didn’t everyone’s?) and as a kid I used to sit down in the playroom and flip through, amazed at pictures of the African deserts, the wildlife in Alaska, the teeming streets of Bejing.

The very first trip I took anywhere as a semi-grownup was to Chicago. I was in college and my then-boyfriend (now husband) and I decided that we would drive from Pittsburgh to Chicago for the weekend. It was huge. We were going on a journey. I sold off my music collection to be able to go. That’s how serious I was about it.

But that was just a weekend. We went to Boston and NYC a few times after that. But the first real trip was after graduate school in 2007. Armed with our higher learning degrees and staring down the double stock barrel of a life of public service work and loan repayments until the age of 64, we did the only thing we could: 

Grabbed whatever leftover student loan money we had and headed west.

Thanks Horace.

We left from Monroe, NY on a cool crisp morning, a cooler full of food and beer in the backseat, a supped up and meticulously checked transmission thanks to my dad, Big Ron, and a map. No GPS. First off this was pre-GPS in every car and secondly, GPS takes all the fun out of traveling. You never get lost you never discover something new. We kept a register in the front seat to manage our finances. Upon leaving we booked half the trip. From NYC to Texas. Everything after that was up to us.

So we climbed aboard our trusty steed, Rocinante, named after Steinbeck's camper from Travels with Charley, which is named after Don Quixote's horse and did as Horace commanded.

Here she is parked at the Steinbeck museum in California

From Baltimore/DC

To Nashville and Memphis

through Louisiana 

To the crossroads where they say Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil to learn how to play guitar

To New Orleans

To Texas

Cadillac Ranch

New Mexico

Arizona

Grand Canyon. I was too scared to go near the edge

through the desert 

finally arriving on the other coast in California

San Francisco

and then all the way back

through Salt Lake

Salt Lake Basin

and Denver

Rockies

St. Louis & Kansas City

Chicago

and finally back home.

Recently, I was called anti-American because of some of the poems I was writing for my How To Be An American series. That is a misunderstanding made towards people who just want this country to be better – for everyone here. Because she’s beautiful. And she’s ours. And she deserves a people who deserve her.

And that was where it started. A lifelong love of traveling. It’s a big world and we’ve only got so much time, friends. Pack only what you can carry. Let's go. 

Let's Go Somewhere-9/30/2014 Wildwood/Naples, Nashville

Aleathia says:

For our third anniversary together we decided we would like to go to one of the Quiet Places since we missed our usual summer trip.  In the past we had spent some days at High Tor which is not far from Naples, NY.  It is a great little town full of nice people.  It wasn't available so we stayed at a new place called Wildwood.

This place is more beautiful than the pictures give it credit for on the website.  The common room is an airy open space with a peaked roof like a ski lodge.

The decor is modern woodsy if that makes any sense.  It has accents of being a cabin in the woods but doesn't scream back country.

The kitchen is modern and fully prepared for cooking.  The bed is fantastically comfortable though be prepared to be awakened by falling acorns if you go there in the fall!

The best part of the place is the view of Canandaigua Lake from the back porch.  We watched the sunrise and the sunset here and it gave such a sense of peace to the day.

The owners of the house are gracious to leave basic medications in the cabinet like Tylenol and Ibuprofen and Tums as well as clean toothbrushes and toothpaste in case you forget your own.  They also leave a snack basket and a gift certificate for a free wine tasting at a local winery.  They also make available a binder full of restaurant menus and local attractions so you can plan your day while you drink your morning coffee.

In Naples there are great places like Bob and Ruth's, Inspire Moore Winery, Luigi's Pizza, and Rennoldson's Grocery.  If you go down the street a bit you will find the Middletown Tavern (home to slamming wings on Wednesday nights) and Joseph's Wayside Market for fresh produce and baked goods.  There are other various restaurants, ice cream places, and quaint stores to shop at.  As always, stop by Monica's for a pie.  She makes the goods.



John Says:

The New York Times recently published an article on the surging population in Nashville and the subsequent boom in real estate that runs in tandem to these sort of things.  One aspect of the article touched on the fact that many of the buildings of the legendary Music Row were being torn down to be replaced by luxury condos.  Ah, America.  While you may not be imbued with a sense of history, artists as diverse as Ben Folds, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison and The Monkees have recorded music in the studios on Music Row.  This Man recorded some 200 songs in the famous studio B.

Anyway the article got me thinking about the times that I had been in Nashville.  My wife and I went there for the first time in 2006 and then again while traveling the country in 2007. 

A must in Nashville is hanging out on Broadway. 

 The street is lined with honky tonks and juke joints galore.  While the strip has probably lost its authentic gleam as most places have lost their authentic gleam in 21^st century America, there’s still a lot to take in for someone looking to sit back, suck down a cheap Pabst, and get pleasantly buzzed to the sound of good music.  Key places along Broadway are: Bluegrass Inn, Legend’s Corner, Robert’s Western World (both a boot shop AND a kick ass honky tonk), The Stage, and the immortal Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, which was once home to the likes of Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline, and Waylon Jennings. 

 Add a drunken trip to Jack’s Bar-B-Que for some brisket and then stumble around the corner of 5^th Street to the Ryman Auditorium, home to the original Grand Ole Opry, and you have the makings of a pretty good night.

For those of you on a non-musical historical bend, Nashville is also home to its very own Parthenon.  Located in Centennial Park, the Parthenon is a full-scale copy of the original in Athens.  It was built in 1897 as a part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition.  In 1990 a re-creation of the Athena Parthenos statue was added to the structure.  The building is a pretty impressive place to wander around in….at least until the bars start to open.

Those of you who watch TV are probably familiar with the Blue Bird Café from the show Nashville.  I’m sure the place is overrun with tourists in the same way my blessed Spotted Cat in New Orleans became overrun with Treme fans a few years back.  But if you can squeeze in the Bluebird is a pretty good time.  They do this event there called In the Round which involves four local singers/songwriters playing and riffing on music while sitting in a circle.  It’s a pretty intimate experience for people.  One of the singers had his whiskey right on the edge of my table.  The Blue Bird, while a Nashville institution, is a touch removed from the city center, so you’d need a car/bus to get there.