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Travelogue:
Texas and More, June and July 2018
By Roger W.
Reini
By day:
June: 18 | 19
| | 21 | 22 | 23 |
24 | 25 |
26 | 27 | 28 | 29
| 30
July: 1 | 2
| 3 | 4 | 5
| 6 | 7 | 8
This is the story of a long trip covering Pittsburgh, Virginia,
Texas and places in between.
Prologue
This trip covers a lot of ground. Why is that? Well, I missed
out on a trip to Texas last year, thanks to hurricane Harvey.
And I wanted to see my nephew Brandon graduate from high school,
but the schedule did not work well for me. In addition, there
was a leadership workshop for technical committee officers held
at SAE world headquarters in suburban Pittsburgh. This trip
covers all three.
I spent much of the weekend before departing getting ready. I
packed my bags, did laundry, made sure that mail and paper
delivery had been stopped, getting travel-sized necessities such
as toothpaste, powder, etc. I did most of the loading of the car
on Sunday so I wouldn’t have that much to pack in the morning.
Top
FMonday Junet 18
My departure day started like a regular workday, for the first
half of it WAS a regular work day. But since I was going to load
the last few items of luggage in the car, it was clearly not a
regular day. I left the house slightly later than I normally
did, and I was delayed further when I stopped to get gas at
Kroger’s on the way in. I had my normal morning QSO with fellow
ham radio operator Dave, N8HKU, at least until he reached the
office a few minutes before I did.
That morning was a normal day at work. The weekly meeting for
working on design rules, which included participants from Mexico
and Germany, was not disrupted by Mexico’s upset victory over
Germany in the World Cup over the weekend. If wrapped up at 11,
the usual time, and after checking my desk for anything I might
have left behind, it was time to leave.
My vacation was NOT beginning today, but my travels were. I was
driving to the Pittsburgh area to attend a workshop at SAE world
headquarters for officers of technical committees. I had been to
the previous one in 2016. I had driven to that one, as well, but
back then I used a pool car (a Ford Edge). This time, I was
driving my own car (Lincoln MKZ Hybrid) because I would start my
vacation after the workshop.
I was on the road just before 11:15. I drove down Pelham Road,
which became Allen Road, thinking I could get onto I-75. I
thought the closure of southbound I-75 for construction ended
before Allen Road. No, it didn’t. I ended up driving Allen Road
to its end near Fort Street and Gibraltar Road. At last I could
get onto the freeway and start traveling in earnest. For a short
time, I listened to BBC OS on the BBC World Service, but I
eventually tuned in the Belgium-Panama game in the World Cup.
The drive down I-75 into Toledo was uneventful. I entertained
some thoughts about having lunch at Tony Packo’s, but I decided
against it. I stopped at the first service plaza on the Ohio
Turnpike east of Toledo; unfortunately, too many other people
had done so as well. I didn’t want to wait in a long line at
Hardee’s, so I went to the convenience store and got a roast
beef and horseradish sandwich and a bottle of diet Vernor’s. I
ate my lunch on the road. I had a hard time keeping a good speed
on the turnpike, thanks to several extensive construction zones.
I listened to England-Tunisia as I drove eastward and then
southeastward. This wasn’t true radio coverage of the match; it
was merely the TV audio being played on the radio. It wasn’t the
optimum experience, but I could follow the action. England won
2-1, by the way.
Shortly before 4 o’clock, I had reached Pennsylvania. By
4:30, I had pulled into the parking lot of the DoubleTree Hotel
- Cranberry, my home for the next three days. I had checked in
online and received a digital key, so I was able to go right to
my room. The elevator made it difficult to do so, though, as the
doors didn’t want to close properly. But I got onto and off of
the elevator without incident and got into my room. Later,
though, when I went to the elevator, it was passing by my floor.
Soon, one of the front desk clerks came up to tell me the
elevators were out of order (there were no signs to that effect)
and showed me to the stairs. I got what I needed from the car
and went back upstairs. I was glad that I was only on the second
floor.
For supper that evening, I went to the Saga Hibachi Steakhouse,
a Japanese restaurant just up the street. I went with Amar
Kashat of Eurotech, who was the secretary of the committee I
chair. The meal was excellent, but I found the meal size a bit
too large and wasn’t quite able to finish it all. As our meal
was prepared, we discussed several work-related items, including
what may have been a bombshell to him: I had applied for a
phased retirement program at work that, if approved, would see
me retiring from Ford by the end of the year. That did not mean
I was planning to leave the chairmanship of the committee or
leave the committee altogether. Back at the hotel, we sat in the
lobby and talked about a few more items before I went back to my
room and called it a day.
Top
Tuesday June 19
I have noticed that when I travel, the first night on the road
is one where I have difficulty sleeping. I’m not sure why that
is. It happened to me on this trip. I slept, but it wasn’t the
best sleep. That didn’t keep me from waking up around 6,
slightly later than I would normally awaken on a workday.
Slightly after 7, I went downstairs to the hotel restaurant for
their buffet breakfast. Because I was attending a
conference/workshop, I had received a voucher for free breakfast
each day of my stay, which was nice. I had no idea how much the
breakfast buffet would have cost. While I ate, Lorie
Featherstone of SAE in Troy, who was assisting with the
workshop.
I had attended one previous workshop in 2016. That was the first
year it was open to Ground Vehicles Systems committees; before
then, it was only open to Aerospace committees. There were more
representatives from Ground Vehicle committees this session, as
it had been better promoted to them. During the day, we had good
discussions and good participation in exercises. There was a
particularly vigorous discussion about the nature of copyright
and working with standards from other organizations such as ISO.
Lunch and snacks were provided at appropriate times during the
day. During one of those breaks, I picked up a bottle of Coke
Zero (or Coke Zero Sugar, to use the new proper name, but I
think the old one is just fine) that and a name on the label.
No, it didn’t have my name (I’d get one of those a few weeks
later), but it did have “Ford.” Appropriate, I thought, since I
was representing Ford at this conference/workshop.
Just like last time, there was a Tuesday night outing for
participants. Last time, we had visited the National Aviary;
this time, it was the Carnegie Science Center across the street
from Heinz Field. While we enjoyed drinks and dinner, we were
able to view the exhibits on the second floor. Most of them were
robotic in nature, including robots that shot basketballs and
played air hockey. There was also an articulated mechanical hand
which, by the push of various buttons, could be put into nearly
any configuration. One configuration that it could NOT be put
into was giving the Finger. There were replicas of several
famous robots from movie and TV history: Maria from
“Metropolis”, Gort, Robby the Robot, the Robot from Lost in
Space, Dewey from Silent Running, and C3PO and R2-D2. I had my
picture taken with the droids. There was also a large model
railroad layout that had a replica of Mister Rogers’ house, some
houses that looked like ones in the credits for “Mister Rogers’
Neighborhood”, including some that reminded me of the old NET
logo. I saw replicas of Forbes Field and Luna Park and a
small airport. All in all, a nice outing. When I got back
to the hotel, I put my two phones (work and personal) on
chargers and called it a night.
Top
Wednesday June 20
This was the second night on the road, so I slept a bit better
this evening than I had last night. Most of the day was similar
to yesterday, though today’s workshop session included a group
photo in front of SAE headquarters and a session of “Document
Ballot jeopardy”, where we reviewed the proper steps to conduct
a ballot on a proposed document following the rules of
“Jeopardy”. Our table placed third out of eight.
The session ended slightly early, but the bus back to the hotel
was late, so many of us were standing out in the lobby for many
minutes. Several others had arrangements to go to the airport
right after the workshop ended, but I was not one of them. When
the bus did arrive, we got on board and went back to the hotel.
I rested for a bit, and then I went out for some dinner. I
stopped at the nearby Barnes & Noble and Best Buy stores,
but J didn’t see anything I wanted. For dinner, I went to
Perkins, and here I observed a milestone: I ordered from the
senior menu from the first time. This was not my first senior
discount, by any means. The first few times, I received them
without asking and presumably without being eligible for them.
Maybe wearing reading glasses made me look older. Other times, I
received a proper discount, but I had not ordered from a special
menu. This time, I did. I had turkey and dressing, and it was
pretty good.
Top
Thursday June 21
.
I woke up this morning, took a shower, did my regular e-mail and
web checks, and then I went to breakfast in the lobby
restaurant. . The breakfast was good, as it had been for the
last two days.. But I wouldn’t be having any more breakfasts at
this hotel, for the workshop was over, and it was time to go.
And when I did go, I was no longer working; I was officially on
vacation.
When I left the hotel after 8:30, I got on the Pennsylvania
Turnpike and headed east. My ultimate destination was my
sister’s house in Ashburn, Virginia. My first destination,
though, was the Somerset service plaza, the second one I had
encountered. I didn’t need to use the restroom at the first
service plaza, but by the time I reached Somerset, I needed to
go. Then it was back on the turnpike until I reached Breezewood,
where I-70 split off to head to Maryland. It also served as
another chance to use the restroom, as did the Maryland rest
area east of Hagerstown. They also served as opportunities to
stretch and relieve any discomfort from sitting and driving.
I figured I would arrive in northern Virginia in time for a late
lunch, and I was in the mood for Mexican, so I programmed Apple
Maps on my iPhone to guide me to the Chuy’s in or near Sterling.
It did a good job of taking me there, but when I neared the
Loudoun County Parkway, I had a realization: it might be better
in terms of traffic if I were to eat at Uncle Julio’s at One
Loudoun. It would be a straighter shot to my sister’s versus
going to Chuy’s, So I went to Uncle Julio’s and had a good
combination dinner, although I would have preferred Chuy’s.
I arrived at my sister’s after 3 and marked in front of their
house. I brushed against the curb with my right front tire but
thought little of it at the time. All of the children were home,
although since they are now all adults, it doesn’t seem right to
call them children. My younger niece, Heather, was on the couch
recovering from surgery on her foot two days earlier.My older
niece, Candice, and my nephew Brandon were there as well. I gave
Brandon the second of his graduation gifts (the first being a
check in his graduation card): a copy of the Hidden Words of
Bahá’u’lláh. His sisters had received their own copies for their
high school graduations, and now it was his turn. I also got to
meet the two newest kittens in the household, Sasha and Pippin.
I met Pippin first, as he was the friendlier of the two. Sasha
would also show me friendship, but she was more skittish.
When suppertime came around, the plan was to order Indian food
as takeout. Brandon would go and pick it up. That made it a good
time for me to go check in at the hotel up the road. But when I
went to my car, I discovered that the right front tire was flat!
I did not have a spare tire; the car didn’t come with one (the
traction battery of the hybrid powertrain was back there, and it
left no room for a spare). It had a tire inflator and sealer
kit, which was in the trunk. So I had to partially empty the
trunk to get at the kit. The emptied contents of the trunk went
into the back seat, and I read up on how to use the kit. But I
couldn’t get the kit to work; the tire sealant was ineffective,
or I wasn’t using it properly.
Now I had a big problem: how would I fix my tire? I’d have to
have it towed somewhere, most likely the closest dealership.
This put a damper on my enjoyment of the meal, which in my case
was lamb meatballs. I couldn’t finish it; what I did eat was all
right, but I was just in no mood to finish it. That was due to
the large quantity of food and my having had a late lunch as
well as my worry about the car.. By this time, it was too late
to do anything tonight. So I made plans to come back over at 8
tomorrow morning and arrange for a tow to the closest
Ford/Lincoln dealer in Chantilly. My sister Sharon helped me get
all of my stuff out of my car and put it into her SUV, and she
took me up to the hotel.
Top
Needless to say, I did not have a food night’s sleep. I didn’t
have the hotel’s breakfast, either; no vouchers at the Hilton
Garden Inn for me, and I didn’t feel like charging it to the
room. I had a cookie and a Fiber One bar, both of which were in
one of the bags recovered from my car.
Before 8, I went downstairs to the lobby. When I went outside,
my brother-in-law Randy was waiting to pick me up. His work
schedule had him off today, fortunately. I learned that he would
also be retiring at the end of the year, joining me in
retirement. At the house, I arranged for a tow from Battlefield
Towing, who said that they would be there within the hour. One
hour became two, then three. Watching old Westerns like “Have
Gun Will Travel”, “Rawhide” and “High Chaparral” helped pass the
time, but I was growing concerned. Would I be forced to stay in
the DC area for additional days to get my car serviced?
The tow truck arrived after 11, and the driver took me and the
car to Ted Britt Ford/Lincoln in Chantilly. I got the car
written up, and they advised that it would probably be 90
minutes for the car to be reviewed and serviced. They must not
have been terribly busy that day. So I went to the lounge and
waited, using my iPad and iPhone to pass the time. The service
clerk came to report that the tire had been damaged on the side;
there was no way the sealer kit could have worked. I needed a
brand new tire, which did happen to be in stock. It was an
expensive tire, costing just under $300, but I could afford it.
And so, I was able to drive back to my sister’s. I wouldn’t have
to stay in DC another day, although spending time with the
family and playing with the kitties would have helped. For a
while, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue with my vacation;
maybe I would just go back to Michigan. But relaxation and a
tortellini dinner put me in a better mood; I would continue. I
made a hotel reservation for a hotel in Knoxville, my targeted
first stop on the way to Texas.
I went back to the hotel after 7 o’clock, on my own this time. I
packed several things back into the car and left the rest for
the morning. I could sleep a little easier tonight.
Top
It was the weekend, but I still woke up around 6 and did my
normal web and e-mail checks. I had another Fiber One bar and
cookie for breakfast (I wasn’t super hungry) and got under way
shortly after 8. The weather was cloudy, foggy and drizzly. It
wasn’t the easiest driving that morning, especially when I
wasn’t that familiar with the area. I was thrown a bit by the
presence of traffic lights on what I thought was freeway
(Highway 28 north of I-66); I guess it wasn’t a freeway there.
The fog let up around Front Royal, but clouds persisted for much
of the drive. I stopped at a travel plaza on I-81 at exit 298
for some gas for the car and Diet Coke for me. I listened to
World Cup games and commentary for most of the day as I drove to
the southwest. Traffic was heavy at times, and conditions in at
least one rest area were such that I could not stop; the parking
lot was full. I had to hold it until the first rest area in
Tennessee. Fortunately, I didn’t have to go THAT badly.
One of my reasons for traveling through Knoxville was to visit a
Field Day site. I had had done this when traveling before, in
2013. Field Day is an annual exercise in the ham radio community
that tests the ability of hams to work under emergency
conditions. The site I visited was in Kodak, Tennessee; the
station was W4D, which operated as a 5A station (5 transceivers
running on emergency power). When I opened my car door, the
muffled roar of the generators told me I was in the right spot.
That, was well as the big sign and the big antennas. The
operating environment was a park, which was very comfortable.
The chair I sat in while talking to some of the hams was very
comfortable, too; in fact, I started yawning like mad. That
didn’t bode well for operating., so I decided I wouldn’t.
The CW operator was doing well, but the one voice station I saw
was receiving extensive noise from a generator, so it wasn’t
that useful. After an hour, perhaps less, I left.
When I left, I was hungry. I thought I had seen a sign for a
Cracker Barrel restaurant. I had; it was north of I-40. I was in
the mood for Cracker Barrel, so I drove there. Being a Saturday
evening, I feared the place would be very busy with a long wait.
That proved not to be the case, though; I was seated right
away. And since I didn’t have lunch today (the occasional
potato chip does not count0, I was in the mood for a hearty
dinner. A meatloaf dinner with mashed potatoes, corn and okra
filled the bill. The meal was ready in hardly any time at all,
which surprised me. It tasted good.
I got back on I-40 and drove through Knoxville to the Holiday
Inn Express Knoxville Farragut. There wasn’t much around it, but
I was just interested in resting and sleeping., so I didn’t
care. I had room 101, and it was nothing like the Room 101 of
“1984” — although my inability to connect my MacBook Pro to the
hotel’s WiFi could have been. I could connect to the network of
the hotel across the parking lot, but not my own hotel’s. My
iPad could connect, but not by MacBook. So I used the iPad most
of the night, and if I needed a connection on the MBP, I
tethered it to my iPhone.
Top
Sunday June24
I woke up at 6:45 this morning, later than on
previous days. Perhaps I was starting to get into vacation
mode. I was certainly getting into hotel breakfast mode again,
now that I was staying at places where it was included in the
room rate. Yes, I had the hotel breakfast today, and because
it was a Holiday Inn Express, it included its famous
cinnamon buns. Yummy!
I left the hotel shortly after 8 and stopped almost
immediately at the shell station near the freeway. I had
problems using the pump I had first pulled up at, though; the
sun was shining right on the display, so I couldn’t really see
what it was directing me to do. So I moved around to the other
side of the pump and had no problem reading that display. And
so, with a full gas tank, I set off down I-75 toward
Chattanooga. An hour or so later, I was on i-24 in Chattanooga
continuing to the southwest. I-59 split off from I-24, and I
took that into Georgia and then to Alabama.
As had been the case the last few days, I was listening to
World Cup action. The first game saw England thrash Panama by
a 6-1 score, ensuring that the Three Lions would advance to
the Round of 16. I don’t remember the other games or scores,
but I could look them up. Later, I listened to the 60s on 6’s
Satellite Music Survey from this week in 1963. Those were the
songs that were topping the charts shortly after I was born.
Number 2 that week was “It’s My Party” by Lesley Gore, which
had been number 1 the week I was born. Number 1 was “Sukiyaki”
by Kyu Sakamoto.
The weather was sunny and warm today, a definite change from
yesterday. construction zones were also widespread, hindering
my ability to make the best time. Once again, I hose not to
stop for lunch. Now I had yet to make hotel reservations for
this evening, as I wasn’t quite sure where I would stop for
the night. It would be in Louisiana, to be sure, but where?
Slidell — Hammond — Mandeville — all were valid options. It
would depend on how my driving progressed. After stopping for
gas in Laurel, MS, I decided: I would stop in Slidell.
When I checked in to the Holiday Inn Express in Slidell, I
found that my MacBook would still not connect to the hotel
network. Doing a search with my iPad, I found a possible
solution involving deleting old preference lists. I did that,
and it worked. I could make a proper connection to the
network. One question was settled, but now another one loomed:
where to have supper? There didn’t seem to be many restaurants
near the hotel. I figured I could get something from the
nearby Walmart. It turned out I was more right than I thought:
the Walmart had a Subway restaurant. And so I got a foot-long
Italian BMT sandwich to take back to the room. While I ate, I
listened to the latest installment of the History of Africana
Philosophy, a spinoff from the podcast “The History of
Philosophy Without Any Gaps.”
Top
Monday Junet 25
I got up around 6 AM. No, I wasn’t falling out
of vacation mode. Remember, this was 6 AM Central time (thus 7
AM Eastern). I was still waking up later. i had been listening
to a stream of Music Through The Night, an overnight program
of classical music originating at Minnesota Public Radio.
Breakfast in the hobby was mostly the same as I’d had
yesterday in Knoxville, although I skipped one sausage
patty. A little after 8, I was on the road.
I was looking for one of the truck service centers (Pilot,
Love’s, Petro, etc.) to get a fountain drink. I didn’t find
any of those, but I did stop at a regular Marathon gas station
east of Baton Rouge and got ash fountain drink of Coke Zero. I
sipped that cup through Baton Rouge, over the Mississippi,
over the long Atchafalaya bridge, through Lafayette and nearly
to Lake Charles. I got some gas there (and made a bathroom
break) before heading through Lake Charles. i had seen reports
that the I-10 bridge in Lake Charles had poor safety ratings,
so I took the I-210 bypass. Its bridge was in better shape.
and not more than an hour later, I was in Texas.
My first stop was the Welcome Center and Rest Area just over
the Sabine. Unfortunately, the bathrooms were out of order due
to no water pressure. Fortunately, having just used the
restroom on the other side of Lake Charles, I didn’t have to
go that badly. I walked on the boardwalk behind the rest area,
which wandered through a swampy area. The sun was beating
down, and I was wearing a dark blue shirt. Not a good
combination! Back in the rest area, I picked up some
literature and set off on my way. There was a lot of
construction on the freeway between Orange and Beaumont,
making for some difficult driving.
By the time I saw the sign for the next rest area, I was ready
for a rest. This was not a state-run rest area, though; it was
operated by Chambers County. But I would say their rest area
was just as good as a state-run rest area; indeed, I’d say it
was better run than some. After my rest, I got back on the
freeway and looked for the exit for Highway 146. This was how
I would get to League City. The sites were mostly familiar,
although I was sad when I passed by the closed Laredo’s in
Seabrook. It had been my favorite Mexican restaurant in the
area (since 1982), but it was losing its building to highway
widening and expansion. They had yet to find a new location.
The fate of Tookie’s was better; it had also been forced to
move from its Seabrook location for the same reason, but it
was now operating in its new location in Kemah. I would have
to go there this week. For now, though, I continued down 146
past 2094 and past 518 down to Highway 96. Here, I drove
across town towards the Hampton Inn.
It was too early to check in at the hotel, so I decided to
have either a late lunch or an early supper at Jimmy Changa’s,
my favorite currently-operating Mexican restaurant in the
area. I was hungry, so I got one of their big combination
meals. I’m not quite sure if I finished it, but I came very
close if I didn’t. Then it was a short drive to the hotel.
Room 312 would be my home for the next four nights. It was
pretty close to the elevator, close enough that I could hear
the frequent electronic chimes (“ding-dog!”) that an elevator
was stopping at the floor.. But it wasn’t super annoying. I
got a baggage cart and was able to unload the car in one go I
did have difficulties with two of the bags wanting to stay on
the cart, but I got them to cooperate. I unpacked, and then I
could relax. My heavy-duty traveling was done for a few days.
It was also done for this evening, too, as I didn’t go out
that night. My late lunch was large enough that I was not in
the mood for supper. I got a bottle of Diet Coke from the
vending machine down the hall, but that was it..
Top
Tuesday June 26
Once again, I woke up around 6 in the morning. This morning, I
showered. Unfortunately, there weren’t any natural footrests on
the edges or corners of the bathtub for me to use in washing my
feet. There wasn’t enough room to put up a foot and give it a
good wash. I did as best as I could, though. Then I went down to
the lobby and had breakfast from the breakfast bar. Since this
was a Hampton Inn, there would be no cinnamon buns on the
buffet, but there were other items like little scones that were
all right. I did not go hungry.
For my first excursion of the day, I went to Kroger’s to get
some food and drink for my stay. This was the fairly new Kroger
Marketplace on the League City Parkway and the extended Hobbs
Road, the successor to the original Kroger’s in town on Main
Street and its subsequent location on the freeway. I had a
little bit of difficulty getting there, though, thanks to road
construction; I wasn’t able to get into the left lane to turn,
so I had to make a right turn and then do a U-turn (that’s
common enough in Michigan that it’s known as a Michigan left).
But I eventually got there and found a few items for the stay,
the most important being some pop I got some Caffeine-Free Diet
Dr Pepper, which I have never seen outside of Texas. There was a
time when I used to avoid caffeine in my drinks, but I’ve
started increasing my consumption of them again, but for home, I
try to stay caffeine-free. I also got some Fiber One bars and
another bag of Prime Rib & Horseradish potato chips, not to
mention two bottles of Top Chico mineral water.
With today being a sunny and warm day, i didn’t want my foot to
get roasted or steamed in the trunk, so I went back to the hotel
to drop off the groceries. When I got to my room, I found it had
already been cleaned and made up; that was good, quick service!
How I could go to my second destination of the day, the Buc-ee’s
in Texas City. Thanks to the ongoing road construction (the
freeway is being rebuilt so that instead of FM 646 going over
it, it will go over FM 646), I ended up staying on the feeder
all the way there. That wasn’t much of a problem, and I was soon
at the big Buc-ee’s travel center. I looked around the whole
place, spending some time in the sunglasses section, where I was
looking for a spare pair of clip-on sunglasses in case my
current ones became damaged. I did find a pair, and they worked,
although they were too big for the frames I had. I found some
cute cat pillows that my aunt, sister or younger niece would
have enjoyed. Eventually, I found something I would like: lunch!
I got a chopped beef barbecue sandwich and a cup of banana
pudding, along with a medium fountain drink of Coke Zero (I
still think of it with the shorter name, rather than “Coke Zero
Sugar”), all of which I consumed in the car. The A?C was running
at the time; there was no way I would have done that otherwise.
Then it was back inside for a bathroom break. Buc-ee’s is known
for their clean bathrooms, and I saw why.
Now I drove up to Fry’s in Webster. This took me right through
some major construction on the freeway and the feeder roads; I
had to pay very close attention to everything, more so than
usual because any built-in memory of the way lanes were was out
the window. Exits were not where they should have been, although
the one for Nasa 1 was (it wasn’t in the place I would
historically expect it, though, and it hadn’t been there for
years). Fry’s was still Fry’s, although its merchandise mix had
changed over the years. The CD and DVD sections had really
shrunk in the last few years, although the electronics component
section and the computer sections were as large as ever. They
also carried a decent amount of “As Seen On TV” items. I didn’t
get anything today. No, I left and drove back to the hotel by
way of Highway 3 and Walker Street.
Back at the hotel, there was a big crowd of people being served
lunch in the lobby/breakfast area. This had been catered in;
this was not supplied by the hotel. It was a meeting of Aaron’s
representatives (Aaron’s Rents/Sells). When I got to my room, I
tried to tune in the Nigeria-Argentina soccer game, but I had a
hard time doing so. The game was on Fox, and the list of TV
channels in the room said it was on channel 6. Well, I don’t
remember what was on channel 6, but it wasn’t the soccer game!
It turned out that the listing on the card was outdated; the
electronic program guide on channel 2 said the game was on
channel 9, and indeed it was. I knew my older niece Candice
would be rooting for Nigeria, but her hopes were dashed as
Nigeria fell to Argentina..
For supper that evening, I drove across the freeway to MOD
Pizza, one of those places that specialize in making a pizza,
then cooking it at extremely high heat for a short period so
that you received a fully-cooked pizza in minutes. There was a
MOD pizza near me in Michigan (Canton Township, maybe 3-4 miles
away from the house), and it was OK, although I preferred a
different chain, 1000 Degrees Pizza (but the one closest to me
had closed a year earlier)..The pizza here seemed greasier than
the ones in Michigan, although I wasn’t sure about that. I used
several napkins to blot the excessive grease. Then I went over
to the nearby HEB grocery store to see what they had. They had
plenty of Whataburger condiments, but they didn’t have the
Whataburger potato straws I’d had before. Were they no longer
available? Then it was back to the hotel to listen to some music
on iTunes and to start listening to the latest episode of The
Thomas Jefferson Hour.
<Top
Wednesday June 27
After waking up, doing my normal web and e-mail checks, and
having breakfast in the lobby, I did something important: I set
up my nieces and nephew as beneficiaries for key benefits at
work: my 401(k), my unused pension contributions, and insurance
policies. With retirement looming, I thought this was something
I should take care of.
My day’s travels started with a drive through Newport — the old
neighborhood. I drove past our old house; it was still there,
and there was a truck in the driveway. I drove to the back of
Newport and then out on Newport Boulevard. The part of the
boulevard north of the houses was becoming tree-covered, almost
like East Main in town. Fifty years of growth will do that. Then
I drove through town, not seeing too much that was obviously
different from my last visit. I stopped at the Target store in
Kemah, looking around for a bit but not getting anything.
Next stop, after a short drive around Kemah: Tookie’s in its new
location. It had moved from its old location in Seabrook
due to pending highway widening. I got there somewhat before 11
o’clock , so I had to sit in the car for a little while until
they opened. Once they opened and I went inside, the decor
was reminiscent of the old location. The menu was the same as I
remembered. I ordered a #198 burger (a double #99). However, I’d
forgotten how big it was; I couldn’t finish it. It ended up
being more of a #170 for me, I guess. Then I went up to
Nasa 1 and drove towards Clear Lake City. Again, there were no
major differences that I noticed. I stopped at the HEB on El
Camino Real to see if they had the Whataburger potato straws;
they didn’t. The store wasn’t as nice as the ones in League
City, which probably comes from its originally being an
Albertson’s.
Next, I drove over to Baybrook, parking in the traditional spot
by Macy’s (which started out as a traditional spot near
Joske’s). There had been some changes here; Sears had closed
down several months earlier. But the rest of the mall appeared
to be thriving, including the newer outside portion with the
theater and all of the restaurants. I didn’t visit any of those
places today. I did go to the Apple Store, though, and debated
whether I should get a new Lightning cable for charging my iPad.
My current one had a connection that was beginning to become
intermittent and out not be easy to repair. I held off on
getting it; I would wait until the condition of the old cable
became intolerable. When I left, I took Bay Area westbound to
reach 518, then took Hobbs Road down to League City Parkway (I
don’t think the part west of the freeway is considered Highway
96) and then back to the hotel. And then I watched Brazil win
its final group game in the World Cup.
What did I do for supper? Well, I waited for a while. I was
still pretty full from that burger at Tookie’s. When I did feel
hungry enough, keeping in mind that I ‘d had pizza last night, I
went to — CiCi’s Pizza. It was either that or Denny’s, and I
wasn’t in the mood for Denny’s. The pizza was a little bit
different tonight (some of it was flatbread pizza). I think I
was the oldest adult there who didn’t have a child with him. So
it was no culinary masterpiece this evening.. Then it was back
to the room do so some reading and to finish listening to the
current podcast of The Thomas Jefferson Hour. This week’s topic:
Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense.”
Top
Thursday June 28
Once I got up this morning, I went to the lobby for breakfast.
Today, I had a small omelet, a sausage patty, a muffin (not sure
of the berry in it; it wasn’t clearly blueberry), some yogurt,
and some orange juice. It was good.
For today’s travels, I started with a drive to Pearland Town
Center, taking 518 all of the way there. That was a pretty good
drive; it took me around an hour to get there. I parked by the
Barnes & Noble and waited for it to open up. Once it did, I
used the restroom (that orange juice was making its presence
known), and then I looked around for a bit. Then went out and
walked around the rest of the town center. There was a Mongolian
restaurant there; would I be interested in lunch there? Perhaps,
but not today. I visited the Macy’s and walked through there but
didn’t get anything. I walked elsewhere, but the only things I
got were hot and thirsty. Buying a Coke Zero and sitting in a
covered area took care of those conditions.. Back at the
Barnes ^ Noble, I did see two books on retirement planning that
appealed to me. But I wanted to get them in e-book format, so I
didn’t get either book.
Next stop: Joe’s Barbecue in Alvin. On the way there, some
raindrops were falling. This was the first rain I had
experienced in Texas on this trip. I thought I had better take
an umbrella inside when I got to Joe’s. And as I pulled in, it
started to rain more heavily. Once inside, the noise from the
roof told me it was raining even harder. I was here for one
thing: a barbecue baked potato, topped all the way. That potato
was big, but I was hungry; by the time I was done, there were
only a few small portions of potato left. All of the barbecue
and other toppings had been eaten. It was GOOD.
Next stop: Buc-ee’s in Texas City for some gas. Now in getting
there, I passed another Buc-ee’s at the corner of Highway 35 and
FM 517, but that was a smaller, local-scale Buc-ee’s. No, I
wanted to go to the full-fledged travel center Buc-ee’s.
After getting gas and using the bathroom, I didn’t get anything
else. It was back to the hotel to watch the second half of the
England-Belgium game. Belgium won, 2-1.
Now it was time to look for e-book versions of those two books
on retirement planning I’d seen earlier. One of them was easy to
find, and I got it. I got the Nook version at B&N, not the
Kindle version of Amazon, for I wanted B&N to get the
benefit. But I could not find an e-book version of the second
book, even though I recalled a statement on the cover that it
was available in e-book format. I sent a note to B&N via
their website; they replied that it was not available in Nook
format If I wanted it, I’d have to get the physical book. And so
I drove up to the store in Webster to buy it. And I wasn’t
remembering things incorrectly; that book did say it was
available in e-book format. That did not necessarily mean it was
available in Nook format, though. Now before I’d gone to
B&N, I visited to League City Walmart for some
glue/cement/adhesive. One of the rubber pads had come off the
bottom of my laptop stand.. When I got back to the room, I glued
the pad back onto the stand and let it sit for several hours.
I would have a late supper this evening; the potato from Joe’s
guaranteed that. When I did feel like eating, there was no way I
was going to have pizza. No, this evening, I did feel like
Denny’s. No, I didn’t order from the senior menu tonight; I had
one of their skillets instead. I believe it had egg, sausage,
potatoes and peppers. I’d had it before, and it was pretty good,
then and now.
Top
Friday June 29
Today marked the end of one phase of my vacation and the
start another. I would be leaving the Hampton Inn today and
heading to my residence for the next seven nights, The Crowne
Plaza Houston River Oaks. Contrary to its name, it was not
actually in River Oaks, although it was somewhat close to it. It
was actually on the Southwest Freeway west of Kirby Drive. Why
was I going there? That had been the option I chose when
redeeming my certificate for a stay at a “resort”. The
certificate had some from joining Holland America Privileges
during my Panama Canal cruise last year.
I got up, took a shower, packed up most of my things and brought
them out to the car before I had breakfast It wasn’t much (some
oatmeal, a muffin, a scone, and some yogurt), but it filled me
up, and it was good. Back to my room I went for a few minutes,
as I didn’t want to leave too early. I couldn’t check in at the
Crowne Plaza until 3. I ended up leaving around 9:3-.
My first stop wasn’t very far away. It was the Walmart down the
street, where I bought a pack of wasabi ranch flavor Harvest
Snaps. Then I got onto the freeway — with some difficulty,
thanks to the road construction — and headed into town. I exited
at Airport Boulevard, with my destination being the 1940 Air
Terminal Museum. I had heard about the place for some time — I
had even liked its Facebook page — but I had never been there.
It was the original passenger terminal for what was then Houston
Municipal Airport. It had been replaced in 1954 with the current
terminal building (since remodeled and expanded), at which point
it became Houston International Airport and is now William P.
Hobby International Airport. The building had been
abandoned and was in sad shape before restoration began in the
1990s. The main waiting area had been restored to its Art Deco
glory. There was a second-floor balcony, but it was closed to
the public.
I started reviewing the exhibits, most of which dealt with
airlines having a strong Houston Connection, like Braniff, TTA
(later Texas International) and Pan Am, with a little bit of
Southwest, too. I saw several years’ worth of timetables for
TTA, which I can remember being called “Tinker-Toy Airlines” (it
was really Trans-Texas Airways). I saw collections of china from
the airlines, back when it was china, not the plastic of today.
I even saw a model of what looked to be a Concorde painted in
Continental’s colors (Continental never flew the Concorde). I
watched a video of the history of the museum and started talking
with one of the volunteers (I never got his name,
unfortunately). He took me onto the ramp adjacent to the museum
and let me board a 1940s-vintage Lockheed Lodestar, originally
built for the military but converted into an 8-seat executive
aircraft. It was currently not airworthy, having been damaged in
hurricane Ike. Wing damage had been repaired, but propeller
damage would require much more money to repair. I got to see and
take pictures of one private jet and two Southwest 737’s take
off.
There was a hangar associated with the museum, but it was open
only on Wednesdays and the third Saturday of every month, so I
missed out on that. Looks like I have reason for a return visit
sometime. I had a good time at the museum. Now it was time to
leave. I went north on Telephone Road (I have to resist typing
“Telegraph Road”, which is in Detroit). and then I turned onto
Long Drive.That was the way we used to get to the South Loop
before the interchange with the Gulf Freeway was completed. It
looked vaguely familiar to how it did many years ago. Was there
still a Target store on the other side of the freeway? I
couldn’t see. That was the first Target in the area the I can
remember. I got onto the freeway and headed west There was a lot
of construction at the South Freeway interchange, and lanes
narrowed for a while, but I got through. I exited at Kirby Drive
and started north. There were quite a few other cars heading
north, too, and traffic was stop-and-go for several miles.
It was still too early to check in at the hotel, but it was the
right time for lunch. And the right place for lunch today, for
me, was the Chuy’s on Westheimer. I cam still remember that
being the location of Boardman’s Seafood Restaurant in the ‘70s.
The parking lot was quite full, and I had to wait a while for a
parking space to open up. However, the restaurant was not as
full as the parking lot; I was able to get a table right
away. Oddly enough, it was in the same area that I had a table
the last time I’d visited. I don’t know if it was the very same
table, but it was close. Naturally, I ordered the Comida Deluxe,
my favorite meal there. I’m not sure, but it may be the only
meal I’ve ever ordered there. And why not? I like it. It was
large enough that it took some time for me to finish it, which
wasn’t a problem because I was seeking to kill some time.
After leaving Chuy’s, I drove over to the Central Market a few
miles away. I didn’t plan on getting anything from here, not
just yet. Perhaps i would do so on a later visit. This store was
pretty close to the hotel, after all. When the time came, I made
my way over to the hotel. I had to go back to Kirby and go down
to the freeway, then take the feeder a short distance to the
hotel. I checked in, paid for my parking for the next seven
days, then parked in the garage next to the hotel. I was on the
second floor of the garage. In order to enter the hotel, I
had to go to the lowest level *by elevator or stairs), and there
was the entrance. To the right, the gift shop. To the left, the
pool and spa area. And the bank of elevators was a short
distance down the hall. I went up the 14th floor to find my
room, room 1409.
I found a luggage cart on the floor and retrieved it for ease in
bringing up the rest of my belongings. The room had a microwave
and a small refrigerator; I could get drinks and some other
things. It was a good-sized room with a king-sized bed and a
sofa that was really a sofa bed. The room had a single window
looking to the southeast. And what could I see? The Southwest
Freeway, mainly. In the distance were Hermann Park and the Texas
Medical Center. To the left, downtown Houston. And if I hadn’t
been able to see the Southwest Freeway, I sure could, and did,
hear the traffic on it!
After settling in, I downloaded and identified the pictures I
had taken today at the museum. That took a while. Then it was
time to decide what to do for supper. I had noticed an Elevation
Burger on Kirby not too far from the hotel, but it was not easy
to reach from the hotel. So I need up eating at the hotel
restaurant. Thinking I was getting something light, I ordered a
Caesar salad with grilled chicken. It ended up being a large
salad, too large for me to finish. If I’d not eaten aa big, late
lunch today, I might have been able to finish it. As I
left, I inspected the menus for the breakfast buffets: the full
buffet and the continental buffet. I also inspected the prices,
and then I determined that I needed to go grocery shopping and
get something for breakfast for the week.
Top
Saturday June 30
The room tended to be dark, so I left the
bathroom light on overnight with the door partially closed so I
would be able to see if/when I had to use the restroom in the
middle of the night..I also left the curtains open a crack to
let some light in, but that proved to be a mistake in the
mornings. It let too much light in, awakening me when I didn’t
want to be awakened. I might want that if I were working, but
not while on vacation. And then there was the air conditioning.
It worked fine; in fact, it almost worked too well. The room was
configured so that the main vent blew right onto the bed. This
would prove to be a problem over the next few days; more on that
later.
When I left the hotel, my first destination was the Kroger store
at the River Oaks shopping center. Here, I got some snacks and
drinks for the next week: some Caffeine-Free Diet Dr Pepper
(which I’ve never seen outside of Texas), some Pop Tarts (for
breakfast), some other snacks that I won’t mention here, and a
bottle of Topo Chico mineral water. That water is hard to find
in Michigan, which is a shame because it’s so good. Then i went
two blocks over to the Barnes & Noble store. This location
had a good collection of Texas-related books, as well as a
decent collection of space-related books (although the Webster
store has a slightly more expansive selection, in my opinion). I
bought two Texas-related books today — Houston-related, in fact:
one was on Houston aviation history (influenced by my visit to
the 1940 Air Terminal Museum), and the other on hiking/biking
trails in the area. That book would be more useful at cooler
times of the year.
When I left and got onto Shepherd, I turned right, to the north.
I'm not sure I was able to turn left. Going north, I was heading
towards I-10:the Katy Freeway. That would allow me to go to the
Katy Mills outlet shopping center. But before I reached the
freeway, I was inspired to go to the Galleria instead. I was
inclined to visit a Tommy Bahama store to get me or more
Hawaiian (or should that be Bahamian?) shirts. So I made a
U-turn of sorts, got onto Durham (which became southbound
Shepherd), turned onto Westheimer, and made my way to the
Galleria. I drove into one of the underground parking
areas, it wasn’t easy finding a parking spot; I had to go
farther down to find one.
In many ways, the Galleria wasn't that different from when I had
last visited. It still had the upscale shopping and high-end
stores it was and is famous for. The ice rink was still there,
as were the restaurants that surrounded it. I ate my lunch at
Sbarro, that prominent purveyor of mall pizza. It was decent
enough. Later, I visited the Microsoft and Apple stores (located
very close to each other, like a Home Depot and Lowe's. I looked
for the Tommy Bahama store using the touchscreen displays that
also held the store directories. Those were a bit confusing to
me, but I eventually figured it out and found the store. I also
found a shirt I liked (one that had a breast pocket). By then, I
was ready to leave.
It took a while for traffic to move on Westheimer, and during
most of that time, I didn't have the satellite radio available.
This frustrated me to no end; was it a hardware malfunction or a
bad reception problem? I turned off the car a couple of times I
was stuck in traffic, but it made no difference. That told me it
was a reception problem. When traffic moved sufficiently and i
got service back, that confirmed it. I turned onto Post
Oak, thinking I was in a lane that had to turn (I’m not sure I
was. I figured I could head back to the hotel via Richmond, but
I missed that turn and had to U-turn at Westpark to get back to
Richmond. Then I had to contend with construction on Richmond
while navigating back to Kirby and the hotel.
Back at the hotel, I brought all of my acquisitions to the room
(the food, the books and the shirt). I glanced at the books for
a while. I also worked on this travelogue for a while. When the
time came for supper, I decided to go to the Cleburne Cafeteria.
I knew I didn’t want to eat at the hotel tonight. I wondered if
the cafeteria was going to be busy; it was, but not excessively
so. There were a number of things on the menu that sounded
appealing and appetizing to me. I ordered the chicken fried
steak, figuring I couldn’t go wrong with that. It wasn’t
available immediately, so I got a number for later delivery. I
paid and found a seat, starting on my Jello while waiting for
the entree. When it came, I was surprised by how huge it was; it
was spilling off of the plate! I knew I wouldn’t finish it, so I
concentrated on finishing half of it. Unfortunately, I didn’t
really care for it. The meat was pressed very thin and was
overwhelmed by the breading. I don’t think I will have their
chicken fried steak again. Then it was back to the hotel for
night. On the way, I noticed a Kroger store at Westpark and
Buffalo Speedway, definitely closer to the hotel than the River
Oaks location.
Top
Sunday July 1
That air conditioning vent that was blowing on the bed became
too much to endure. Turning up the temperature didn’t help, for
it would still be cold when it was working. Turning it off
completely was not an option. Fortunately, I had the hoodie that
I received at the SAE leadership workshop. I wore it to sleep,
and it really helped. I didn’t think the hoodie would get much
use before fall, but I was mistaken. I’m glad I had it; I’m glad
I got it.
I took my time getting going this morning. I had a Pop Tart
(really a 2-pack) for breakfast this morning; I would do that
for every breakfast at the hotel, it turned out. aI went down to
the lobby for a while. to allow housekeeping to do their thing.
In the lobby,I did some reading and installed updates on my
iPhone and iPad.. And then I set off on my travels for the day.
My first destination was the Buc-ee’s travel plaza in Katy. This
one was fairly new, I understood. It had a slightly different
configuration than the locations in Texas City or Baytown, but
otherwise it was a typical Buc-ee’s. I didn’t need gas, but I
did get a phone case that can handle larger phones than my
current iPhone 6s (thinking my next phone may be one might be a
plus-size) and a cat-themed pillow. I wasn’t sure if it should
go to my sister or to my younger niece.
Next, I drove to Katy Mills by way of going through Katy proper
on old Katy Road. I’m pretty sure I’d never driven it, not that
portion of it. It was typical suburbia. At the freeway, I
went straight (south), and that took me to the outer ring road
of Katy Mills. I drove all of the way around it, looking for the
Fuddrucker’s I remembered eating at several years ago. But I
didn’t see it. Oh, there was a Fuddrucker’s, all right, but it
wasn’t on that ring road,,it was on another access road, which I
soon discovered. It had been a while since I’d been to any
Fuddrucker’s, and I enjoyed my visit here. They even had a
Coca-Cola Freestyle machine, so I was able to get my preferred
drink
Then I drove over to the mall. I parked and went inside; it
turned out I’d entered near the Rainforest Cafe. I decided to do
a loop around the shopping center, seeing what stores were there
without stopping at any of them; that would wait for the second
circuit. I didn’t keep that promise, though, as I entered the
Sun and Ski Sports store and the Bass Pro Shops store. That one
was for a bathroom break. And then I visited the stores I’d need
the first time around. First, the Books-A-Million; I didn’t get
anything there. Next came the Tommy Bahama outlet store, where I
saw the very same shirt I’d bought yesterday (and which I was
wearing today) for half the price. They had some other designs,
one of which I bought. One of the clerks at the counter
commented that she liked my shirt. When I told her where I’d
gotten it, she said “Naturally:.. Next came a visit to the
Nautical outlet, where I saw the shirt that I had bought on
board the cruise ship on my Panama Canal cruise. But that
shirt was not a tall-length shirt, nor did there seem to be any
tall-length shirts here. Also, I couldn’t find my size. One size
smaller or one size larger, yes, those were available, but not
my size. So the only thing I got was the Tommy Bahama shirt.
Now it was time to head back into town on the Katy Freeway,
making my way to the West Loop and the Westheimer exit. I paid
another visit to the Central Market, picking up a few things for
the next few days, and then it was back to the hotel.
For supper this evening, I would stay in and eat at the hotel
restaurant. From my table, I could hear the occasional sound
from a Lutheran group meeting in one of the conference rooms.
And what was I having while hearing those occasional sounds?
Steak and Stout Sliders with chips. That may have seemed a bit
strange in light of my eating at Fuddrucker’s for lunch, , but
it was different enough. Then it was back to the room for the
evening, where I read the latest edition of New Scientist
magazine on my iPad.
Up to this point, I had not turned on the TV in the room, but I
did so tonight. It turned ut that the only channels I could find
were over-the-air digital TV channels, and sometimes I couldn’t
find those. I couldn’t get anything on channel 8, the PBS
station. So the TV went off, and I continued reading until I
went to sleep. Now that would have been something had I been
able to continue reading while asleep!
Top
Monday July 2
This was the week of Jul 4. It was also the week that Ford
Product Development was shut down, with everyone having to take
four days of vacation (the 4th was counted as a holiday). I
would be off of work today, no matter if I was down here back
home, or wherever. So I would be getting up late, no matter
what. And that¡s what I did. I got up at 7 and had another
2-pack of Pop-Tarts for breakfast. Later, II listened to two BBC
radio dramas (actually, one drama and one comedy) via the
BBCiPlayer. Both of them had aired earlier in the morning on
Radio 4. One was a 5-episode drama called “Ground Control”,
which I lost interest in halfway through the run, and the other
was part 2 of a 6-part science fiction comedy called “The
Quanderhorn Xperimentations“. Later, I took a shower and
watched the Brazil-Mexico game, which Brazil ended up winning.
My big trip today was a journey to Rosenberg. I was going to
have lunch at the Holy Roast Coffee House, owned and operated y
a schoolmate of mine, Camille Shaw Rodriquez, and her husband
Frankie. It took som time getting out there; Rosenberg was
farther away than I thought or remembered. And then I had to
contend with road construction that disrupted the exits and
signs. I saw a sign for what I thought was Highway 36: but by
the time it had registered that it was, I was past the exit and
had to drive several miles out of my way to the next chance to
turn around. But I eventually got there. I had some difficulty
in figuring out the proper parking for the place for there was a
parking lot for some apartments that immediately adjoined the
coffee house and other shops, and after going there first, I
moved to a different lot.
The coffee house very nice, very clean and very welcoming
inside. I went to the counter to place my order. The micas plate
looked most appealing to me, so I officered that along
with a bottle of Topo Chico to drink. Now I’d told Camille I
would likely be visiting today; she popped out of the kitchen
just as I was asking if she was available. It turned out that
the man who took my order was her husband Frankie. I’d met him
at a reunion a few years ago but didn’t recognize him. Camille
sat with me while I ate and enjoyed my meal, and we talked about
a number of things, including the recent funeral of Alan Bean
(she had been a neighbor of his and knew his daughter Amy well,
better than I did), trips and vacations (including Alaska and
Panama Canal cruises), and retirement (how her father retired
from NASA at age 55, a situation that was about to face me, but
something my father was never able to do). It was a nice
visit, and it was also an excellent meal. Then it was time to
hit the road.
Because of the construction on the freeway, I decided to drive
back on US 90A. It was highly developed for most of the way,
although there were some empty areas. How long would they remain
empty, I wondered. I saw Constellation Field, the home of the
independent Sugar Land Skeeters; I’d considered going to a game
there, but the schedule wasn’t favorable. Eventually, I made it
to the Southwest Freeway and drove back to the hotel.
Housekeeping had not been by while I was out, which irked me a
bit. I turned on the TV to watch most of the Belgium-Japan
match; Japan had taken an early lead, but Belgium tied it up
and eventually won it in stoppage time. That would please
a friend and classmate of mine, Frederic Lambert, who was from
Belgium.
For supper, I went to the nearby Olive Garden on the other side
of the freeway, where I had shrimp scampi with asparagus,
tomatoes and angel hair pasta. It was good. Then it was back to
the hotel, where I took some pictures from my window with my
DSLR and zoom lenses. I discovered that I could see the top bowl
of Rice Stadium through my camera. Then I listened to some of my
iTunes music and did a little bit of reading before turning in.
Top
Tuesday July 3
Once again, that air conditioning vent blowing right onto the
bed became too much to take. I finally moved the thermostat to
78. That definitely reduced the amount of time it was on. If the
room got too warm or too humid, I would move it lower until it
became comfortable.
When I got up, I did my normal e-mail checks and Web checks and
what-not. I also confirmed where Thursday’s lunch meeting would
be: the El Tiempo Cantina in Webster, right on the freeway just
north of the Nasa 1 interchange (meaning the redone old one, not
the bypass). And then my travels for the day began. My first
destination: the Barnes & Noble on Holcombe. It was easy of
Buffalo Speedway, which I took down to Holcombe.I saw some
things there that interested me, but not enough for me to buy
them.
When I left the store, I proceeded west on Holcombe. This became
Bellaire Boulevard as Continued driving. . I drove under one
freeway; that would have been the West Loop. I came up on
another freeway, eventually; that would have been the Southwest
Freeway. I got onto the southbound feeder road and started
keeping an eye out for the Fry’s store I knew was out here. I
went quite a ways down but made a U-turn at Beltway 9, thinking
I had to have passed it. I stopped at a strip mall and checked
Apple Maps. No, I hadn’t passed it, I should have kept going. So
it was time for another turn, then back onto the feeder. I had
the destination programmed in this time, so I just listened for
the directions on when and where to turn. And what do you know,
the directions worked. I was there. I walked around the store
and saw some interesting things. There was an aluminum laptop
stand that looked really appealing to me until I double-checked
the price tag. What was really appealing at $19.99 became much
less so at $79.99. I also saw a device for converting Super 8
and regular 8mm films to files on an SD card; again, very
appealing, but with no price tag, I wasn’t about to get it. I
noted the information about the model for later checking.
It was too early to go back to the hotel, so I decided to to
travel east to Baytown and the third of four Buc-ee’s in the
area, the fourth being in Waller. Yes, I like Buc-ee’s and wish
they weren’t just in Texas. This time, I did refuel my car, and
then I went inside to look around, use the restroom, and get
some lunch while I listened to World Cup action. I got another
chopped beef sandwich and some more banana pudding. In fact, it
was the same lunch I’d had at Texas City Buc-ee’s last week. And
it was still good.
I decided to head back to the hotel. Traffic on the East Freeway
was moderate as I drove in past the Beltway and past the loop.
When I reached downtown, I stayed on I-10, planning to exit at
Shepherd/Durham and head to the hotel that way. That took me
past the northern edge of downtown, allowing me to see it in a
perspective I rarely saw. I couldn’t remember driving that way
before, in fact. Unfortunately, I missed the Shepherd/Durham
exit, had to get off at TC Jester and make a U-turn to
backtrack. Once I reached Durham, the trip back to the hotel was
pretty easy.
When I returned to my room, I aw that it had yet to be cleaned.
I wasn’t about to go out again, so I left my camera bag in the
closet while I went to the lobby. I was hoping that the game
would be on in the lobby, but it wasn’t. Hw would I follow the
match? Just as penalty kicks were about to begin, I remembered
that I could listen to the game via the SiriusXM app. Time to
get out the headphones and plug them into my iPad. I turned on
the game and heard a thrilling shootout — and then it was over:
England had prevailed! They were in the quarterfinals!
When I went back to my room, it had been serviced. I went to get
a Diet Dr Pepper to drink and found I was running low; I’d have
to go to the store to get some. I could do that after supper.
And what to do for supper? I looked for the nearest Genghis
Grill because I was in the mood for Mongolian barbecue, and I
found one close by, on the eastbound feeder road east of
Weslayan. This location was in a strip mall. The meal was all
right; after all, since you’re the one who selects the
ingredients and seasonings, the only person to blame if it turns
out poorly is you. Well, if the cook burns the food, you could
blame him or her, but that wasn’t the case here. And my meal
tasted pretty good, I must say. However, I’m more accustomed to
the way that BD’s Mongolian BBQ in the Detroit area operates,
and I prefer the experience there as opposed to Genghis Grill.
Next, I drove to the Kroger store at Westpark and Buffalo
Speedway. As I walked up to the store, I saw someone
pushing their cart in the middle of the main traffic way in
front of the store; the driver behind that person was not happy
about that. Inside, I looked at the prepared foods selection. I
might want to have something on hand for tomorrow, the Fourth. I
did find something: a po-boy sandwich from Antone’s. I also
found the caffeine-free Diet Dr Pepper I was looking for. Then
it was back to the hotel for the night Before turning in, I
listened to the latest episode of the BBC World Service’s
Stumped podcast, which covers the world of international
cricket. I started listening to the newest Thomas Jefferson Hour
podcast, but I found myself getting sleepy, so I turned it off
after the first segment.
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Wednesday July 4
I didn’t do much today; the weather saw to that. . When I
checked the conditions outside after it became light enough to
see, I could see that it was a very cloudy day. Clouds were
thick and laying low in the sky. It looked like it would rain.
And later on, that’s what it did.
It wasn’t obvious how heavily it was raining outside, but as the
morning went on, I could see traffic slowing on the feeder road
in front of the hotel. There must have been some flooding up
ahead, I figured. And then it got worse; vehicles were now
starting to go the wrong way up the exit ramp and get onto the
freeway.. I don’t think they had any alternative, unless they
wanted to sit there until the waters receded. News reports
relayed on Facebook suggested there was widespread flooding in
the area. my iPhone and iPad were regularly going off with the
sounds of weather warnings passed along via the Accuweather app.
I didn’t go anywhere today. For much of it, I wouldn’t have been
able to leave the hotel except on foot/. I probably needed a day
of rest , anyway. And so I stayed in the room, having half
of the po-boy from Antone’s; the rest if it would be saved
for supper.. I listened to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, which was
a special edition for July 4.I also listened live to BBC OS on
the BBC World Service via the BBC iPlayer. It (the show and the
World Service) gives a good international perspective on the
news without the hyper partisanship too common in some US media.
It turned out that flooding had been widespread throughout the
area. A big festival planned for west of downtown was cancelled
because the site had been flooded out. The fireworks for
that festival would still go forward, but people would have to
view them from alternate locations. I did see some fireworks
that evening, although this was from a different show. The one I
could see was in the Hermann Park area.
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Thursday July 5
My vacation would soon be ending, but it hadn’t ended yet. I
could still get up late or take my time getting started in the
morning. I didn’t wake up particularly late, but I did take my
time getting going.
Normally, when I’m in town, I’m staying in the League
City-Clear Lake area and would make a trip into town. Today, I
was doing that in reverse. I started out around 9:30 by taking
Buffalo Speedway down to the South Loop. but I had to deal with
construction and narrow lanes at the intersection with 288, and
then there was more construction at the intersection with the
Gulf Freeway. I stayed on the Gulf Freeway until I reached the
intersection with FM 2351, where I decided to exit and continue
heading down on Highway 3. I took that down to Webster and went
to Fry’s again.
When I’d been here last week, I had seen Tac-Glasses in the As
Seen On TV section. I’d seen those on TV (naturally), where they
were touted as significantly reducing glare. I wondered how true
that was, so I decided to get a pair to try them out. I would
have preferred a clip-on version, but there wasn’t one available
there. I wasn’t required to have prescription glasses to drive,
so I could use these sunglasses. And I got a chance to try them
out right away when I drove the short distance to El Tiempo
Cantina.
The restaurant had a wide porch for waiting customers. It looked
like it would be comfortable, but the low sun might cause
problems in the evenings. I hadn’t been there long before I saw
three friends and classmates walk up: Rob Wohrer, Jon Hall, and
Darwin Gilmore. Now I’d seen Rob and Jon fairly recently (in the
last two years, I’m sure), but I hadn’t seen Darwin since
graduation. We got a table for eight, but ultimately, there were
only five of us. Shawn Merrell had to drive from Angleton and
thus was delayed; while Lee Hart had to cancel because he was
waiting for the air conditioning repairman (an excellent reason
to cancel). I ordered the Las Vegas Plate: a taco, a
cheese enchilada, and a small sampling of chicken fajitas. It
wasn’t a large meal, but it was a good one. I’d go back again.
There are several El Tiempo Cantinas around town, including one
very close to the hotel where I was staying.
We talked about a number of things, such as the changes in the
area since our youth, retirement and post-retirement work
(sounds like a contradiction in terms, but it doesn’t have to
be), etc. I’d mentioned my retirement plans, while Darwin spoke
of his second career as a “professional parent”, living in a
home with seven boys in his charge, a foster home situation of
sorts (I don’t recall all of the details). And regarding the
changes in the area, I mentioned that I still want to see the
nearby intersection of Nasa Road 1/FM 528 with the freeway in
its old configuration, where the road went over the freeway as
opposed to the freeway going over the road.
When our meal ended, I went on to my next visit. My original
plan to visit the Ivens had fallen through. Instead, I was
visiting one of my teachers from my intermediate school years,
Candy Silcott. It was another good visit (they always
are). Her granddaughter Aviana was staying with Grandma and
Grandpa for the next several weeks to give her mother a vacation
of sorts. She was playing educational games on her iPad, and
Grandma, ever the teacher, was helping her out at times. A
discussion of DNA ancestry results turned into a search for the
history of vests, or waistcoats, as they are known in Britain.
How is that? Well, I’d mentioned that I had some English
ancestry (I have great-great-grandparents from Cornwall), and I
also mentioned that when I got a three-piece suit for
participating in debate tournaments, she called the vest a
“weskit”, which I later learned was one pronunciation of
“waistcoat.” Later, when I mentioned my upcoming cruise that
would be sailing from Boston, Candy suggested I contact
classmates living in/near Boston before I set sail (a good idea,
if time permits). And then, it was time to leave.
And so, with cup and can of Diet Coke in the cup holders, I set
off back to the hotel. Nasa 1 traffic was moderate through
Nassau Bay, then light on the bypass. Traffic on the freeway was
moderate but got heavier as I approached downtown. I was able to
get onto the Southwest freeway successfully and return to the
hotel. The Tac-Glasses really seemed to improve glare better
than the clip-ons I’d been wearing. When I returned to the room,
I found it had not been made. Now I had put out the Do Not
Disturb sign in the morning but took it down when I left for the
day. They should have checked later on in the day.
I wanted to take some Topo Chico bottles home with me, as it was
hard to find in Michigan. So I went to Kroger this evening to
get five bottles, along with another Antone’s sandwich. That
would be my supper this evening as I began to prepare for my
trip home.
Top
Friday July 6
Once again, I woke up around 6 o’clock and took my time getting
going this morning. I started my final pack-up around 8. I got a
luggage cart (conveniently available in the parking garage),
brought it back to the room, loaded my luggage, brought it down
and loaded it into the car. IAnd then I set off back to Michigan
a little after 9.
I didn’t want to get caught in the rush hour, which is why I
delayed my departure. Then again, there hadn’t been much
congestion on the Southwest Freeway, not on the portion I could
see from my window. I drove down to Buffalo Speedway, did a
U-turn, and got onto the northbound freeway.. Unfortunately, I
got into the wrong lane, and before I could do anything about
it, I was on my way to getting onto I-45, which I didn’t want to
do. I knew that if I went north, I could get over to the Eastex
Freeway, which is where I wanted to be. And so, I had an
unplanned ride on the Pierce Elevated the freeway that forms a
southern and western loop around downtown. Rob Wohrer had
mentioned that his parents had been the first to drive on the
newly opened freeway (they were the first ones after the ribbon
was cut). But it was slated to be torn down in a few years as
I-45 was rerouted to the other sides of downtown. So perhaps I
was driving it for the last time this morning. I took it up to
I-10, took that east to where I could get back onto 59/69,
and then headed north in earnest.
I was wearing the new Tac-Glasses this morning, and they sure
seemed to help in dealing with any glare. I kept driving to the
northeast and driving through all of the small and medium-sized
towns familiar from many trips between Texas and Michigan. I
stopped for a bathroom break at a convenience store south of
Lufkin and then continued on to Marshall for a gasoline and
bathroom break. I was listening to 60s on 6 most of the way up,
and it was there that I heard that one of the boats that used to
transport Detroiters to and from the Boblo Island amusement park
had caught fire and been destroyed. I had never been to Boblo
Island, nor had I ever been on any of the Boblo boats.
The skies were cloudier in northeast Texas than they had been
further south, so I swapped the Tac-Glasses for clip-ons for my
regular glasses. Then I had to contend with the occasional rain
shower. That had stopped by the time I’d reached Texarkana,
which I bypassed to the east by getting into its loop, which
eventually became I-49. Then I got onto I-30 and took that to
the rest area and welcome center for a bathroom break and a
chance to make a hotel reservation. How far did I want to go
tonight? I did want to get on the other side of Little Rock, but
I didn’t want to be driving too late, so I decided to reserve a
room in Lonoke. I tried reserving at the Hampton Inn, but the
app wouldn’t let me, so I reserved one at the Holiday Inn
Express.
As I drove up I-30, I continued listening to 60s on 6. When the
DJ’s shift ended, I changed to 50s on 5 for an hour, and then I
went to channel 4 and listened to the temporary Beach Boys
channel, which was similar to the Beatles channel and other
single-artist channels in playing a mix of hits, obscurities and
special programs devoted to the artist.
As I approached Little Rock, it started to rain, at times rather
heavily. Visibility dropped, , so I had to pay very close
attention to where I was going. But I made the right exits to
get over to I-40 without going through downtown. Too I was
heading east, past the Maybelline and Remington facilities
familiar from many previous trips. And then I saw the exit for
Lonoke and took it. Except it wasn’t THE exit for Lonoke. There
was another one farther down the freeway, the one I should have
taken. I didn’t think Lonoke was big enough to warrant two
exits, but it had them, and I’d taken the wrong one. I got back
onto the freeway, went to the correct exit, took that, made my
way to the hotel and checked in.
While driving to the hotel, I passed by a Waffle House.
That was where I would go for supper, after having checked in.
It was fairly busy when I arrived; in fact, every counter seat
had been taken. And since I recalled seeing signs that booths
were reserved for two or more people, I had to wait for a
counter spot to open up.. It took 15 minutes or so for a counter
spot to open up. One of the waitresses did say I could go to a
booth, but I chose to wait for the counter spot. When it did
eventually open up (several opened up at the same time; most of
those at the counter were children from a single family), I was
really hungry for supper. I hadn’t had lunch; I’d just nibbled
on thing in the car. So I got a fairly large meal (was it
called the All-American Meal) and enjoyed it. Then it was back
to the room for the night.
Top
Saturday July 7
I got up a little after 6 this morning and did my normal e-mail
and web checks. I kept listening to Classical MPR on iPad for a
while (I’d had it on overnight to help soothe me). Then I packed
up, had breakfast in the lobby, and was on the road around
8. I listened to the Ko Melina show on the Underground
Garage on SiriusXM; I hadn’t done that for a few weeks, thanks
to World Cup games being on at the same time.
It was a bright sunny morning, so I started out wearing the
Tac-Glasses, changing to the clip-ons later in the day. The trip
was uneventful as I drove along I-40 and then turned north onto
I-55. I stopped for a restroom break at a gas station south of
Blytheville and then got gas in Blytheville itself. But there
was a problem there: I distinctly remember pushing the button to
have regular gas dispensed, but I noticed that the price did not
correspond to the regular gallon price. It turned out I was
actually pumping premium gas, which was $3.09 a gallon, 50 cents
higher than regular. I wasn’t happy, but there was nothing I
could do about it. But that tank of gas lasted me to the other
side of Indianapolis.
I didn’t stop for lunch as I drove northward through Missouri
and then Illinois. At the first rest area along I-57 in
Illinois, I spoke with a couple from Dearborn Heights; they were
traveling to Chicago for the evening and had seen the Michigan
license plate on my car. Back ini the car, I continued
northward, then started heading northeasterly as I got onto
I-70. I was starting to think about where to stop for the night.
Terre Haute was too close, but Indianapolis would do. So at the
first rest area in Indiana, I made a reservation for the Hampton
Inn near the Indianapolis airport.
That hotel turned out to be south of the airport in a fairly
desolate area. I didn’t see any restaurants around the hotel.
The desk clerk said the closest restaurants were actually in
hotels. I went to the closest one, the Hilton Garden Inn, where
I had a burger and some tomato bisque. Back at the Hampton, I
got a bottle of Coke Zero and watched the Dodgers and Angels
play a Saturday night baseball game on Fox. I also started
getting used to Eastern time once again.
Top
Sunday July 8
I woke up a little after 7 o’clock, did my normal e-mail
and web checks, and went to the lobby for breakfast. I got a
little omelet, some yogurt, and some small Danish. I also got
something that I thought was redskin potatoes; it turned out
they were thin slices of sausage. I ate a couple of them.
When I got on the road after 9, I took the loop around town and
took it to I-69, which I then took to the northeast. Now I was
beginning to think I should stop for gas, and I did so shortly
after getting onto 69. The first gas station I saw, I could not
reach; I didn’t take the right exit from the traffic circle I
was in. So I went to the other side of the freeway and made sure
I could get to that gas station. I noticed that the price for
regular gas was $3.09, the same price as premium gas in
Blytheville yesterday. Bummer! But I was still getting great
mileage with the hybrid. After a stop inside to use the restroom
and to get a fountain cup of Diet Pepsi, , I was on the road.
As I drove north on I-69, I was listening to the 60s Satellite
Survey, which was counting down songs from this week in 1966; an
enjoyable survey, I thought The freeway was free of road
construction, something that couldn’t be said about I-469, the
bypass around Fort Wayne. That was one narrow lane for most of
its length, but the roadway opened up as I reached the exit for
US 24. No construction there, fortunately. Traffic was
light as I headed towards Toledo. I stopped at the Kroger
store southwest of Maumee for a bathroom break, then got back on
the road for the home stretch.
After the survey had ended, I tuned in the Radio Classics
channel and listened to programs from the series Mystery is My
Hobby, Suspense, and The Lineup. The last episode of The Lineup
was finishing as I pulled into my garage just before 3 o’clock.
Now it was time to unload the car and turn on the air
conditioning (not necessarily in that order). Laundry
would wait until tomorrow; work would follow the next day. My
vacation was over.
Top
THE END
Back to Travels page
© 2017 R.
W. Reini. All rights reserved.
Written by Roger
ReiniJuly July 29, 2018
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