Life is a Highway

For the record, I was in my house for only seven full days in the month of July.  I know, I'm a little nuts, but seeing as I barely did anything fun last summer (as wonderful as the people at Dana-Farber are, "fun" is not the right word to describe my time there), I was determined to pack in as much as possible this year.  So this entry accounts for about half of my July, and I promise you I didn't slack off during that time.

(And I know, I'm sorry... I could have picked a better title for this post, but it's just too cheesy and ridiculous to pass up and when I wrote this I was still kind of on pain medication.  And I wanted you to have Tom Cochrane song stuck in your head as much as I do.  Oh that sweet, sweet harmonica...)

In July, Tom and I flew out to visit my brother Josh and his wife Allie outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico.  We met my parents there, and the six of us had a grand old time enjoying the southwest in the summer heat.  The day we arrived also happened to be our 5th year wedding anniversary, and my family surprised Tom and me with a room at the Four Kachinas Inn in downtown Santa Fe for the evening.  It was such a nice gesture and such a nice place (really, we highly recommend it), we were thrilled to kick off this part of our summer adventures in Santa Fe.  The following day we met up with the family again, checked out the Farmer's Market, spent some time cruising around Canyon Road, visited the contemporary art space SITE Santa Fe, thoroughly enjoyed a Badass BLT (which features a 9 oz patty made entirely of bacon) at Dr. Fieldgood's, and finally returned to Josh and Allie's house in Rowe to relax, play games, do some more drinking and eating and being merry.  The following day we made our way to Albuquerque for an Isotopes baseball game, which they won!  (It was also free hat day, a double bonus!)

Besides the desire to see Josh, Allie, Tom, and me all in one place, my parents were motivated to do this trip for another reason: up until this summer, my Mom had visited 43 of the lower 48 states, and she was hell-bent on getting those last five.  So, Mom and Dad drove to New Mexico, from Vermont, by way of Canada and Montana.  I know it sounds like they might benefit from a long discussion with a cartographer, but their route was quite specific so she could cross a couple more states off her list.  Mom wrote about their experiences on her blog Highway 55, so if you're interested in their travels, you can read about them there.  After our visit to New Mexico, Dad and Tom had to return to the east coast, blaming something called "work," and Mom and I set off on the second leg of her road trip: from Rowe, NM to Stow, MA.  We were going to get the last three states on Mom's list: Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama, and stopping at as many Americana roadside attractions  and southern staples as we could.  We were able to accomplish quite a bit, so I'll try and be brief (yeah, right).

Upon leaving New Mexico, our first stop was the Cadillac Ranch, a public art installation sculpture in Amarillo, Texas, that has morphed over time into a graffiti art destination.  We came prepared with green and purple spray paint, and made our mark on the piece, along with a dozen other tourists.

Afterwards we had our first taste of southern Barbecue at Virdinski's BBQ Rub Shack, just a few minutes down the road and off the highway in Amarillo.  We quickly learned that BBQ really does taste better in the south.

That evening we stayed with my Mom's sister and her husband just outside of Oklahoma City.  We were fortunate to see some of my cousins and their children as well, some of whom I hadn't met before.  Even though we were only there for a few waking hours, both Mom and I were quite grateful to have had the opportunity to visit.

The next day we piled back into the car for our destination of Hot Springs, Arkansas.  On our way we stopped in Okemah, Oklahoma to see the hometown of Woody Guthrie.  A carved tree marks his ruined home site, and a statue and mural commemorates his life in the center of the small town.

We arrived in Hot Springs just in time to find out that most things close at 5pm, including the visitors center, the famous old bath houses and, to our great disappointment, the Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo.  So we strolled down Bathhouse Row and checked out the hot springs themselves at the National Park.  We were surprised to see the springs steaming even in the Arkansas summer heat.  For dinner we were able to find McClard's BBQ - Former President Bill Clinton's favorite BBQ joint.  (Nice green VT licence plate outside the restaurant!)

Let me tell you, Slick Willy did not steer us wrong.  McClard's ribs were the best ribs I've ever had, hands down, and I just can't imagine anyone in New England being able to replicate their awesomeness, as much as we may try.  Additionally, we sampled the tamale spread, which is a plate of Fritos, hot tamales, beans, chopped beef with barbecue sauce, chopped onions, all covered with shredded cheese and served with saltines for "dipping."  Bizarre and ridiculously tasty.

Before we left town the following morning we booked an appointment to experience the hot springs first hand with a traditional bathing package at the Buckstaff Bath House, the last bath house still running since their popularity in the early 20th century.  Our spa treatments were quite an experience; the water comes out of the spring at 147 degrees F, and is cooled to 100 degrees F for bathhouse use.  We were reluctant to get back in the car after our time in Hot Springs, but the road was calling.

Our next destination was Jackson, Mississippi, by way of Monroe, Louisiana in order to cross another state off my Mom's list.  Unfortunately, our timing wasn't great when driving through Louisiana, and we didn't end up stopping anywhere to really commemorate our arrival.  However, we did stop once we crossed the Mississippi river.  It's a rather large trickle of a stream down there...

That evening we ended up at Underground 119, a restaurant in an old speak-easy.  Good cocktails, live music, and an interesting, contemporary twist on southern food made it easily the classiest food joint we visited.  AND they had crayons on the table.  Complete win.

   

The following morning we made our way to Birmingham, Alabama.  There, after a quick lunch of curried goat at Yeh Man, we spent significant time checking out the Kelly Ingram Park, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the 16th Street Baptist Church and all the civil rights history that had happened in that city block.  All of the exhibits, memorials and public art pieces were incredibly powerful, and we were glad to have taken the time to stop.

We ended our day in Nashville, in a hotel outside the downtown area and near the Grand Ole Opry.  This part of the city seemed like a mini Las Vegas - endless hotels, bumper cars and other tourist activities, and tons of restaurants.  We patronized Caney Fork River Valley Grille, which specializes in "camp style" food.  Embracing the theme, we dined on delicious boar sausage, elk patties, gator tail, frog legs, some kind of meat stew, fried okra, corn fritters, and fried green tomatoes, while enjoying a backyard lemonade which I'm pretty sure included moonshine.  It was a touristy, gimmicky place, but hey, we were tourists!  (And yes, the frog legs tasted like chicken.)

The next part of our trip I had been looking forward to all week: bourbon country.  We stopped at two distilleries on our way through Kentucky: Willet, a smaller, family run place, and Four Roses, an internationally known name.  We took a tour at Willet, and had tastings at both.  Naturally we procured a couple bottles to bring home as well.

We arrived in Charleston, West Virginia that evening intending on going to bed early, as it was our last real touristy day on the road.  Much to our surprise, there was a concert happening directly across from our hotel, and there were food trucks, vendors, and locals lining the streets.  Charleston immediately won us over; the music was fun, and the atmosphere was great.  So much for going to bed early!

Our last two days were entirely driving, where we only stopped for food and bathrooms; no more tourist attractions.  Fortunately, we were able to spend the night in Silver Spring, MD with my aunt and uncle, and visit my grandfather whom I hadn't seen in a couple years.  Once again, it was fantastic to see family, even for a short while.  The following day we made it back to Stow in good time (mostly listening to a good mystery book), and Mom took off the next morning for VT.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I love to travel.  America is such a diverse land, home to so many fascinating cultures and places, how can you not want to experience as much as possible?  Every new place is an adventure, each new culture is an exploration, and every new person has a different perspective on life.  Packing as much of America as possible into ten days is something I will never regret.  Sure, it's nice to have "stuff" and "things" (especially bourbon), but to me, going on an adventure is the essence of living.  As they say, I can't take my stuff with me when I go, but the experiences I have and memories I build will sustain me and everyone I share them with far beyond any item or thing.  And that, my friends, is why I was never home this summer.