H-102 L H 68 L 58 RAIN H H 77 L 60 T-STORMS M H 86 L 67
L-70 C H 95 L 75
Bear update: The Bear says The Piratesses Were Holding Up Cars In The Other Lane To Get Money To Escape From Me Party. TR says, “They became highwaymen.” Moose say, “You’re a highwayman, Bear!” Lou says we will have a Highwayman Party. We will serve Highway Foods.
We woke up to sun. Will it last? It lasted, and the temperature in Harrisonburg climbed to 102.
Tucson 107/80 Bedford 88/66 T-STORMS Brooklyn 95/74
We woke up at 7:30AM. We got dressed and ate CP in the breakfast room. We checked out of room 110 at 10:14AM. Our first pit stop was at exit 118C at Shell and McDonalds to get gas and take the dog for a walk. I took advantage of the stop to download a lot of email. The second pit stop was at a McDonalds at exit 146. The third was at exit 188B at Lexington where we had lunch. It was mobbed. It was also a couple miles off the highway. They were really slow making the lemonade. The fourth pit stop was at exit 213 Pilot Travel Center. It proved very useful. The dog got a walk. We bought a flat of water, got postcards for the first time in days, bought more snacks for Kenny, and even cashed out $40.00 at the ATM. I wish we could have eaten lunch here. The Arby’s looked good. So did the takeout sandwiches. We got off the highway for the day at exit 243 in Harrisonburg right after the exit for Charlottesville on 64. Now we’re in an area we haven’t driven in since the early 80’s when Gary and I first went to Pittsburgh in the Rambler Ambassador before we learned the shortcut. We’re in the Ramada in room 109. Gary’s doing laundry. We just counted all the money for the second time on this trip. Two weeks ago today we left Tucson.
We went to Cracker Barrel for dinner. I’ve seen I don’t know how many Cracker Barrel signs across the country. I figured that one of these days we’d stop in. We had ham, catfish, and meatloaf. We took out fried chicken for Sabaka. I found a birthday card for Gertrude.
Say no to the Bistro in Radford: Last night we went to the Bistro Bar and Grill at the La Quinta in Radford, Virginia. It was convenient just down the hallway, the first La Quinta I’ve seen with an eatery. But the convenience was offset by the lack of value. They charged us $64.09 for 2 chicken fettucines, one lasagna, and one takeout chicken sandwich with thin slices of cheesecake for dessert. The meals were tiny. They had no accompaniments except for almost invisible salads, dry bread, and small glasses of iced tea and Coke. We were still hungry at the end of the meal, nor was anything that tasty. We certainly wouldn’t eat here again. Unfortunately no stand alone restaurant is next to the motel, which is probably why we shouldn’t have stayed here to begin with. The Mexican grill at the Best Western across the street is probably the same sort of set up as the Bistro.
We’re in Virginia but everything is off the road. We were getting spoiled on I-40 with all those truck stops and travel centers every few exits. Now on I-81 going north everything seems to be located wherever the towns are. And where are towns such as Radford and Lexington but off the highway several miles! That means an extra three miles or so one way and back again added to the trip mileage. That was true last night with the La Quinta in Radford and was true at lunch today with the McDonalds at Lexington. I guess all the hills don’t help, but it doesn’t seem very traveler friendly. At least all the rest areas seem to be open, but you have to do better than that.
Dog/Cat Report:
Sabaka’s making out like a pig. For lunch he gets a McDonalds burger. For dinner he gets fried chicken usually with rice. He likes the variety. Tonight he feasted on brown rice and chicken fried chicken from Cracker Barrel.
Putlitz’s ears perk up when the dinner arrives back at the room. He always has to sample the dog’s food. He would be disappointed otherwise.
Tonight when we got back Putlitz was displaying himself in front of the motel window as usual. He’s about as conspicuous as conspicuous can be.
Shopping List:
1)dog rice
2)dog meat for one month
3)potato chips
Leave at Dog Camp:
1)Putlitz’s bed
2)stroller
3)soft-sided carrying case for Putlitz
4)hard-sided carrying case for Putlitz
5)PPP in totes
6)dog treats, rice, dog bones, cat crunchies, etc in totes
7)dog and cat flea and tick stuff, dog’s ear wipes
8)dog’s shampoo
9)dog toy, cat toy
10)dog’s bed and blankets, dog’s red plastic water dish, dog’s car water dish and stand
11)dog meat for freezer for one month
This trip becomes more fantastical all the time. On our way back from the Cracker Barrel the phone rang. It was Nam calling Gary. She wanted us to stop by on Sunday after we took the pets to the kennel. Guess what? We’ll go there BEFORE we take the pets to the kennel next to South Park.
It really knows how to storm back East. You could forget in Tucson. The monsoon is about ready to begin next week. But it’s nothing like this. It looks like a tornado out there. The traffic signs are blowing around like flags.
Still no contract . . .
What next?