Introduction - Schenectady NY

In 2002, two sisters, aged 74 and 69, set off to accomplish one of their shared dreams - to drive across the United States and see the sights.

On the way, they visited friends and family, saw lots of sights, survived treacherous snow-covered mountain passes, and suffered through disease and skimpy, but free, motel breakfasts.

This is their story.

Judy and Mary Harriett

20020311 Highway in PA

The family gave us a nice going away party last night. I will keep this notebook and also will use a tape recorder to preserve our memories on this trip.

We took our time getting on the road this morning, had breakfast and read the paper. We had packed most stuff in the car last night so we had our overnight bags and some food stuff to fit in. We were off about 10:00 AM. We had to back track after a couple miles to get the log book, instructions and information sheet Mary Harriett had prepared. There were no delays getting to the Verrazano Narrows bridge and over Outerbridge. We got on Rt. 1 for a few miles then onto 130. Followed that to the Penn Turnpike (via NJ Turnpike). We had lunch at Marcie’s Diner near Bordentown NJ and got to Lancaster PA about 3:30 PM. We checked into the Park Inn, and went to Carol’s. We spent the afternoon having chatting over tea. George came home and we visited some more. We went to dinner about 8:00 PM - George’s treat. We got back to the motel around 11:00 PM. Mary Harriett read some of the book to us and we had devotion. Did a little exercise.

Carol

20020313 Emmitsburg MD

We ate our oranges and bread for breakfast and watched the news before leaving the room. It was raining outside. We had no trouble getting on Rt. 30 and driving right out of Pennsylvania into Maryland. Right over the border was the town of Emmitsburg MD, where there is the shrine of Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton. We stopped, did a tour of the Basilica, talked to a nice little nun there who gave us a tour. We went on into the town and had lunch at the Carriage House Inn. We had soup and sandwich, not bad. Drove on past Harper’s Ferry WV, on to Fort Royal VA. We followed Rt. 340 over to Rt. 11, up over the Blue Ridge Mountains through fog. Rt. 11 is busy road - through towns with lots to see. We saw many cows in VA, most are beef cows, but we did see some Holsteins. We decided to stay in Staunton. When we got into town, we stopped at the library to ask about places to stay. The Best Western was recommended and we got directions. It was a nice place with a good restaurant next door, Mrs. Rowe’s.

20020317 Chattanooga TN

Awake about 7:30. Mary Harriett asked if I’d heard the thunder, but I hadn’t, although it looked like it had rained in the night. Good thing we weren’t sleeping in the tent. Went to breakfast in the lobby and the girl at the desk called the Methodist Church up the road to find out what time the service is held. We reorganized the stuff in the van a little, found the batteries for the boom box. When we got to church, we were warmly greeted. The pastor was there at the door and gave us each a pencil. After church we drove into Chattanooga TN. We parked at the Chattanooga Choo Choo spot and took the shuttle bus. The driver left us at the Sticky Fingers restaurant, where we ate our dinner with lots of other people. We walked up to the Aquarium. We were shocked at the admission price of $12.95, but it was really a great place. The idea was to show the habitat of the beginnings of the river. There were trees and plants growing out in the open air and birds flying around. There was a pool for river otters, then trout and we worked our way down through the river story to the Gulf of Mexico. We went back to the car on the shuttle and found our way to Rt. 24 which has a turn off to Rt. 59. We went through the extreme northwest corner of Georgia. When we crossed into Alabama, we stopped at the visitor center, talked with the ladies and got coupon books. We drove almost to Birmingham AL, to Trussville AL to the Holiday Inn Express. I had coupon for it and got points on my Priority Club. We got lots of literature on what to see and do in Birmingham. Went to a Cracker Barrel for supper, I had mostly veggies. We went into Central Standard Time when we got to Alabama.

20020319 Montgomery AL

We got on the road about 9:30 AM. We took Rt. 459 and missed the turn off to Rt. 65. So, in finding our way back, we found Rt. 31 which took us south toward Montgomery AL. We went almost there, got gas and got on Rt. 65, so we could go to the center of the city. We found the Union Station visitors center. We took the trolley ride around some of the city for $.25. Our driver recommended the Farmer’s Market Cafe for lunch. It was good. We started out for Mobile AL about 2:30 PM and arrived about 5:15 PM to find our Holiday Inn.  It is a smoking room, had no chairs, my bed only had one sheet, and our view is the roof of the convention center with air conditioners, but it is only $49. We got the room for 5 nights. We had dinner at McAllister’s Deli. Oddly, both our lunch and our supper was the same price!

20020321 Mobile AL

We were up and out early, about 8:00 AM. We had breakfast at a Cracker Barrel, then went to the local Festival of Flowers. We took a couple of wrong turns to get there, but saw some beautiful neighborhoods. We watched a taping for TV formally opening the Festival featuring the mayor of Mobile and the people who were responsible for the festival. Lovely displays but I think we’ll enjoy seeing the real gardens when we go to Bellingrath Gardens tomorrow. We explored the Old Shell Road until we found the Brick Pit, which is reported to have the best damn B-B-Q in Alabama. I had ribs and Mary Harriett had pulled pork. The meal comes with beans and coleslaw. It was ok, I’m not an expert in BBQ, it was all kind of sweet to me. Then we had a nice tour of the Bragg-Mitchell house, built in 1855.  Drove over on other side of Mobile Bay and stopped at the visitor center. There are lots of things to see over there. Thought we might go to a movie tonight but we didn’t find one we wanted to see. Called Elizabeth. The sun goes down about 6:15 PM and it gets dark. I find that hard to get used to in warm weather. 

20020322 Theodore AL

Up at 8:30! We took a look at what was offered at the breakfast buffet and decided to try our luck elsewhere. We took the long way around, but found a postoffice. Mary Harriett mailed The Outlander to Carol G. and I got a stamp to send a card to Mats and Gunilla. We found Crumbley’s Family Restaurant, where I had scrambled eggs, toast, fries, orange juice and coffee. We got to Bellingrath Gardens around 11:00 AM. We toured the grounds and house, saw the Bohm birds and got out of the gift shop with only post cards. We needed gas and Mary Harriett asked one of the grounds keepers for the nearest gas station. We drove down the road. I saw a sign that said Exxon-Mobil to the left so we went that way only to find out it was the refinery, not a station. We back tracked and found a little back country store with two pumps in the front. A nice man came out and pumped $10 worth of gas for us. We drove on down to Dauphin Island AL. Saw the fort and estuarium. We drove to the west end where a lot of houses are built up on “sticks”. Drove back up to Mobile and ate at Nan-Sea’s restaurant, which was recommended in the book. We decided to stay for a movie, found Springdale Mall and saw “A Beautiful Mind” ($4.50). We even got ice on the way home.

20020323 Dauphin Island AL

We got up about 8:30 and decided to try Dick Russell’s for breakfast. I had orange juice, coffee and biscuits with sausage gravy. Mary Harriett had biscuits with sausage patties, honey and coffee. It was ok. We got the tank filled and drove over the bay to Dauphin Island AL and Fairhope AL. We saw some of the Azalea Trail Maids out and about. It looked like the 10K Azalea Race was over and everyone was going home. We saw some lovely homes and grounds on the east side of the bay. The day was cool, but no humidity, so it was comfortable. We drove down one road that went to a marina with lots of sailboats where they were giving lessons. Saw some interesting sights, one sign said “Ecor Rouge”.  It was a cliff of red clay that was the highest on the eastern seacoast between here and Maine. We drove down to Point Clear AL and back up to Fairhope. Oh, when we got to Dauphin in morning, we stopped at the library to check e-mail. Win said Carolyn’s mother was in health facility near the new library and they were trying to get her father in there also. We ate shrimp salad for lunch on the pier in Fairhope. We looked around town, in and out of shops, and got some coffee and ice cream.

20020325 Natchez Trace TN

We got up and partook of the breakfast at the motel. We decided not to tour the house at Natchez because they were only open to tour packages. It is Pilgrimage Celebration Time there and you have to sign up for a tour which is four hours. Instead, we headed out of town and got on the Natchez Trace. We made several stops along the way, to either read the signs or, at one stop, to see one of the remaining “stands” where people could stay while walking the trace north. We asked the guide about places to eat and she suggested the Piggly Wiggly in Port Gibson TN. The store has plates of food and sandwiches, etc. I got fried chicken wings, turnips greens, pinto beans and corn bread, and also bought grapes. Mary Harriett got tuna salad, saltines and pecan pie. She also found “Bruce’s hot sauce” and bought oranges and chips. We drove to the next picnic area and ate our food. The drive was lovely. We saw lots of dogwood, red bud in flower and leaves coming out on the trees. We saw a wake robin which looks a lot different from the ones up north. May apples were in abundance and a tall yellow flower that I think was a cress or a rocket. We got off at Jacksonville TN and took I20 to Vicksburg TN. We stopped at the the information booth and picked up a map of an historic driving tour of Vicksburg, so we did that. It seems most of the historic houses on the tour were bed and breakfasts. We were surprised at how hilly Vicksburg is. We decided we didn’t want to tour any of the houses, so we headed back to I20 and across the river into Louisiana. We're staying at the Days Inn in Tallulah LA. We ate at the truck stop - good.

20020325 Emerald Mound, Natchez Trace Parkway -2

20020325 Picnic spot on Natchez Trace -2

20020327 Hot Springs AR

We checked out about 9:00 AM and went to library. We checked e-mail and chatted with people. Got messages from Win, Steven, Beth, Cathy and John. I sent a message telling them where we are going. We then headed out to the Aquaculture Research Center. A guide showed us the labs and some experimental ponds. Mary Harriett had some interesting questions. We left about 11:30 and drove to Hot Springs AR. We stopped at small town on the way for lunch at Daisy Queen where we shared a taco salad and some fried chicken. Before we got to Hot Springs, we decided to check out Lake Catherine to see if we could stay in a cabin there. There was a cabin available for $70 a night, but we decided not to take it. We went back to Hot Springs and picked out the Happy Hollow Motel. It is about as old as I am but clean and has four chairs, a refrigerator and a TV. We walked to the “historic” downtown area and strolled by shops. Beautiful almost full moon tonight.

20020330 Grove OK

Visiting Don and Chris in their lake house in Grove OK. After breakfast, we went to Har-Ber Village. It is a collection of 100 some buildings with artifacts from the area to show what the frontier life was like. Several log cabins were brought here from towns in Arkansas, Oklahoma, etc. We went back to the lake house and got stuff organized to leave. At the grocery store, Mary Harriett picked up a few things and Chris got things she needed for Sunday dinner.  We left about 4:30 in two cars. I rode with Don and Chris rode with Mary Harriett. We rode along old Historic Route 66 and arrived at their house in Tulsa about 7:30. Beautiful house - so many interesting things to look at. Don showed us a box Mother had given him that had family stuff in it, tin types, photo album, little things. It was definitely from Cousin Marion R. About 10 we had some libations and played a game of 31. Chris won. It was after 11:30 when we got to bed. Mary Harriett and I are sharing a room with twin beds. with our own bathroom, closet, and thermostat, so we can control the temperature for our room.

Chris and Don

20020331 Tulsa OK (Easter)

Easter Sunday dawned with beautiful weather; blue skies, cool in morning, but warmed up into the 70’s. We got to church with Don and Chris at 8:00 and crowds of people were already hurrying in. We got a seat in the back row. Lance, Vanessa and Lillian (her mother) were already there. I estimated there were 500 people in the sanctuary, but I couldn’t see into the balcony. When the service was over, there were people waiting + pushing their way in for the 9:30 contemporary service and there is another service at 11:00. We met the rest of the family outside the church. Justin, Karla and their two children, Nicole and Austin. We drove around Tulsa OK until it was time to meet everyone at the Country Club for brunch at 10:30. After the meal, we saw more of Tulsa and at 1:00 went to Gilcrease Museum. A friend of Christine’s came to show us the exhibits, she made it much more interesting. When we walked in the door, we were greeted by an official greeter, Donald said we were from New York, the man said “not from Hoosick Falls?”. Of course, we said ”Yes”. There is a special exhibit of Grandma Moses in the gallery. Of course we had to tell our Grandma Moses stories. Donald’s sister, Shirley and her husband, Bill, came for supper. We had a wonderful meal; brisket, roasted asparagus, salad, cheesecake and strawberries for dessert. After supper we played “31”.

I called the family about 5:00 and talked to Andy, Cathy, Nancy, Christopher, Helena, Steven, and Cindy Ann. Used up one of the twenty minute cards. Mary Harriett called John and Linda. We couldn’t reach Ann and Bruce. Will try tomorrow. 

Austin and Nicole

Karla, Justin, Austin and Nicole

20020401 Tulsa OK

We were up by 7:30 and had coffee here. Mary Harriett called Chrysler places to see if she could get an oil change for the van and made an appointment for 2:00. We went to the Savoy for breakfast and had biscuits and sausage gravy. Then we went to see Don's business, the Fintube plant, and visited Lance’s Chiropractic office. In the afternoon, I stayed home while Mary Harriett and Don went to the garage and Chris got groceries. Mary Harriett is collecting charms for her bracelet on this trip. Chris called several stores to see if any had a silver charm with an oil derrick and she found one. We had left our film at Moto Photo in morning so Mary Harriett and Don picked those up and she got her charm. We looked at pictures, got snacks and dinner. Don cooked some chicken breasts on grill and we had squash, rice, and salad, was all delicious. After supper we played “Oh Hell”. Don won. Then “31”.  Mary Harriett won. We talked some more, then off to bed at 12:00.

20020403 Fort Worth TX

After Tulsa, we headed to Fort Worth TX to visit with Cindy Ann's parents and sister's family. When we arrived, we had dinner, then watched the DVD that Nancy sent. It was wonderful to see it. We got up at 8:00. Amy made a very large breakfast for us; grapefruit, oranges, plums, bananas, mangoes, and three kinds of toast. Amy and Bill took us to the Botanical Gardens in morning and we toured the Japanese garden. It was wonderful and very peaceful. It was very windy and cool, it must have been in the 50’s. We had lunch at Sara’s where she served ham and cheese in pita bread with strawberries. After lunch, we went to the Modern Art Museum, but the exhibits were all architecture stuff - models and drawings. We picked up Sara’s kids, Ian and Madeline and then drove around downtown Fort Worth, Cow Town and some of the mansion areas. We went out to dinner at Uncle Julio’s where I had a very good white fish, called tilapia. We enjoyed talking with Jarrod, Sara’s husband. We drove around the downtown area after dinner to see it lit up. Very nice. When we got home we were checking on our route for tomorrow and while talking with Bill, Nancy called. I was supposed to call her tonight. Everything is ok, to bed early.

Amy, Bill, Madeline, Sara, Mary Harriett, Jarrod, and Ian

Judy, Bill and Amy

20020404 Austin TX

We got on the road about 8:30. Bill left to play golf, so we wanted to be up to say good bye to him. We took 30 to 35 W going south. We stopped at a Walmart in Hillsboro to get a couple of things, including ice. We stopped in Austin TX to go to the Wildflower Center that Lady Bird Johnson started. We bought some postcards in the gift shop and I got a discount for being a member of Landis Arboretum. They had some beautiful things there. I was very tempted to buy a skirt, blue denim with embroidered flowers on it, only $40. I can’t get over how flat the terrain is. When we go up on an overpass. you can see for miles. We drove on towards San Antonio TX and looked over our coupon books and decided to stay at the Comfort Inn out on Rt 10. It is 6 miles out of town, but the tour bus comes to pick up guests. We are on the ground floor and the car is right outside our room. That is the way I like it, because I can run out when I forget something or want to bring in all my stuff. Ate dinner at the restaurant right next to motel. Made reservations for a full day tour of San Antonio. 

20020405 San Antonio TX

I set the alarm so we would be up in time to have breakfast and be ready for the bus to pick us up for the tour at 8:30. We were up before the alarm and were fed and ready by the time the bus came. It was the “Grand all-day tour”. We went to the Japanese Sunken Garden, IMAX, riverboat ride, and got our lunch at the Menger Hotel. They had a wonderful buffet for only $8.75, then we toured the Alamo on our own. It was very crowded. We got back on the bus at 2:00 and went to San José Mission, Mission Concepción, Spanish Governor’s Palace and Market Square. We definitely want to go back to stroll around the Riverwalk area. The IMAX film was the battle at the Alamo. We were not impressed with Market Square. We got a “Lone Star” beer, but it tasted a lot like a Bud. We were delivered back to Comfort Inn about 6:00. We had asked the bus driver about a place to eat and he suggested the “Little Red Barn”. So, we drove out, after checking directions at the desk. I estimated there were about 180 cars in the parking lot, so we expected to wait, but we were ushered right to a table by a young lady carrying salads. We ordered steaks and baked potatoes, which were very good. We got back to motel with no trouble. Now to write postcards and plan next part of our trip.

20020412 Santa Fe NM

We headed up to Santa Fe. Boy, is the landscape bleak. I can’t imagine how anyone settled there in the first place. Mary Harriett says the mountains look just like Spain so the Conquistadors must have felt at home. We drove into the city about 2:00, found a place to park, walked past many interesting shops to the San Francisco Cafe to get a meal. We walked up to the Plaza to check to see if tours left from there and there was a tour about ready to leave (5:00), so we got on. It was a terrific tour, what a city! What views and terrific sculptures for sale in the galleries we went by. This motel has a very nice room for its breakfast, but not a lot of choices. I had toast with peanut butter. We drove to the City Center and started serious shopping. Mary Harriett bought a charm and watch bracelet at the first store. The woman was very knowledgable and told us about the different kinds of turquoise. We worked our way up to the “plaza”, went by the Native Americans, sitting on the porch of the Governor’s Palace. We looked over dozens of things, I finally found a bracelet for Elizabeth. We went round the corner to find a place to eat and there was the Wagon that was mentioned in Eating Across USA. We got the Carnitas special and lemonade. Then on to the library. We were able to get on a computer for 1/2 hour to get and send e-mails. It has been very interesting to go into libraries in different cities. We went to the Loretta Chapel which has a very famous staircase. Then we went on to the Museum of Indian Cultures. Saw some rugs which reminded me I have Win’s grandfather’s Navaho rugs. I must get them out to see what condition they are in when I get home.