Our 2005 Cross Country Vacation
We took off from Hanford on the afternoon of June 3 after spending the morning packing up. We needed a ride to the train station from a neighbor of ours because the taxi service in Hanford is a total joke. We were already checked in several days in advance so we went out to the platform soon after arriving at 220 pm for our 236 pm train (715 to Oakland). The train arrived around 250 pm and was fairly crowded so we went to the back of the train. The train was further slowed down by a handicapped person trying to exit the train in a wheelchair (section 508 for you). We sat in the fourth car (out of four) which turned into more of a party because Kid Rock was on board. I figured he must have been in the video shoot earlier in the week when I noticed that two fellow Detroit rappers were in town. After half the train departed in Fresno and unloaded several people who were attending a mega concert featuring Bryan Adams and Def Leppard scheduled for the following day, I headed up to car 2 which was the dining car; and ordered a pizza and salads. Car 1 was reserved for a group of school kids from Atwater and emptied out as we stopped there. We arrived in Richmond at 735 pm (which was 45 minutes late), and transferred to a BART orange line train which we took 11 stops to the mausoleum (a cookie cutter stadium) which was hosting game between the Athletics and Blue Jays and noticed that the majority of the fans there were Jays fans from north of the border. From there we took a $2 shuttle to the Jet Blue terminal where we quickly checked in our bags then had dinner before quickly flying through the security checkpoint and onto flight 318 to Sterling. Flying Jet Blue is much different than flying a major airline. Satellite TV is available and we were able to track our flight as well. After flying over San Francisco after takeoff I recognized flying over Sacramento, Reno and Elko. Because of violent thunderstorms over the central states the plane took a more northerly track. I fell asleep over Gillette and woke up over La Crosse (where several of my former co-workers live). After flying north of skyscraper filled Chicago, I noticed a huge stadium which could only be the "big house" in Ann Arbor. The plane then went over my old home over the north hills near Pittsburgh then landed 30 minutes late in Sterling. It was around 85% full, and the only recognizable person on the plane I could identify was record producer Brendan O'Brien. After landing we stopped for coffee and my brother was waiting in the baggage claim area for us. We headed to my folks and ate breakfast at one of my former hangouts then ran 8 miles through my old territory.
The next day turned hot as temperatures neared the 90 mark. We went to a baseball game at RFK stadium (another cookie cutter) to see Ryan Church slam a a three run home run to send most of the 40000 in the crowd home happy. Funny thing was that most of the crowd was Oriole fans and the O's were playing in Detroit. The teams we watched were the Nationals and Marlins. We cleaned our new car out the next day and and only spent $3 doing so. That afternoon some violent thunderstorms produced flash flooding and large hail. When the Sterling office activated the HAM's and their ECC booth, I was "here to serve" and answered the call to duty for three hours (so much for annual leave) by measuring hail and reporting flooding. It was a bit different dealing with a different group of people after working with several of the same people for over five years.
The next morning we took off and got on the beltway to I-66 then headed west. When WMZQ faded out there was nothing wrong with the radio as Aaron Tippin (who I first met in 1983) cruised by us. We had lunch near James Madison University as we took I-81 south before stopping at a rest area for a severe thunderstorm near Atkins for 45 minutes. We turned off on I-26 through Johnson City and Asheville, noticing the trucker who helped unchain me near Truckee (while on a business trip last year) waiting for a wrecker that was on the way, then bailed in Columbus. We visited my grandmother for two days then took off again. Atlanta has a bad pollution problem and is a total mess. We stopped in a town west of Atlanta and ran into a former teen icon who will not be named. Then it was on to Birmingham where we did some property scouting for family business. We also stopped by a mega Wal-Mart in Pell City and strongly believe that Hanford needs one just like it. We ended up calling it a day near Laurel.
A week into our trip we went through Hattiesburg (which has the "house of Favre" and the "house of Worley") then went onto New Orleans where we took a carriage tour. After sampling some great food we continued to go west on I-10 and noticed the Orange County Chopper gang passing us just before we parked for the night in Lafayette. We noticed Emeril Legasse and Gary Allan the following day as we went through two ugly cities in Lake Charles and Beaumont then to my former home in Houston where I showed Angie "the dark year". The street signs look nicer, but the bad traffic and pollution remain. After lunch in the Galleria, it was onto Seguin where we did our laundry and spent the night. The next day we went onto San Antonio and looked at the exotic birds at the Alamo. Then a river boat cruise and I bumped in Ruben Studdard (who was to perform the national anthem) and got on the nationally televised pre-game show for game 2 of the NBA finals. After a quiet drive through South Texas we stopped in Fort Stockton and took a plunge. We spent Monday the 13th going through El Paso and Las Cruces. Jaurez looked really bad though. We parked for the night in Lordsburg at an old motel, and found a good pizza place which is popular with the locals. I also experienced an unheated pool which felt great.
The next day we drove through Tucson and Phoenix which were hot as usual. We stopped in Indio and played video games with some kids who felt lonely because "daddy is in Iraq". We arrived home on the 15th and had our new car with us. Now to sell one of the old ones. Some highlights of the trip are below.
Angie enjoys her book in the terminal.
David after checking out the end of the game in the bar.
We hug just before taking off.
This nasty thunderstorm made us stop for 45 minutes.
Us just before taking off again.
We returned to Mississippi for the first time in almost four years.
This world trade center tower survived 911.
We loved the carriage ride through New Orleans.
We spotted this rare turtle near Orange, Texas.
Exotic fish at the Alamo.
Making romance at the Alamo.
The ducks have missed us ever since we moved.
David enjoying the rapids.
Angie had blast shopping along the river.
The pregame show begins.
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