Camping With Susan Sarandon

The market's supply boats

We were ready to leave the heavy tourist scene of Savannah to camp on the Atlantic shore but little did we know that the camp ground, Carolina Beach State Park, Susan Sarandon was making a film next to our camp site.

Before we reached the camp our wondering along the coast lead us to the Independent Seafood Market where we purchased some fresh caught halibut for the evenings dinner. This little fish market was the quintessential small shop planted next the fishing boats moored for the next day's run.

We pulled up to the camp ground, staked out our claim to one of the last sites available and began to set up our gear. The new Coleman stove fired up with 2000 BTU's of heat to cook our meal. Sharon grilled the fresh veggies and then grilled the fish for a lovely dinner. All during our stay film production trucks and vans pasted by our campsite. Unfortunately Susan never came by for dinner.

Independent Seafood Market

The temperature that evening stayed cool but not cold, just perfect for sleeping under the stars with tall pines like sentinels creating a canopy above us. 

The next morning we stopped by the ranger office to check out the picturesque marina and then headed towards the Outer Bank ferry with Cape Hatteras our next stop.

It was a hard decision for dinner

No one was eating better than us.

Touching the Atlantic..Almost

As our rough planning for this journey began, Sharon lobbied to visit Savannah Georgia, a southern colonial city not touched or torched by the warring faction of the Civil War. So I compromised, I steered Cheeky to Savannah. What was the compromise? Happily married men understand matrimonial negotiating.

Our room is the top floor corner left

Earlier in the morning the decision was to find a room in Savannah earlier than our normal late late afternoon arrivals so that we could scout out the town before dark. The highway dropped us into the historical district where a tourist office sign brought us into a parking lot full of tour buses. The streets were buzzing with curious outsiders hands full of odd sizes of pamphlets, maps and brochures. I thought about giving the tourist office a try in helping with our quest for lodging but the tourist office assistant has about as much style and personality as a strip mall in Sierra Vista. I'm not snobbish about where to stay but being directed to chose between 6 corporate named hotels with 500 rooms is not my brand of hospitality.

Walking across parking lot with the tourist office to our backsides we get inside Cheeky and review some of the pamphlets but then we decided to give Minnie (feminine for Garmin) our GPS a try along with information we acquired and finally we came upon the "East Bay Inn", a charming inn located in the hub of historical district and close to the river front. I made a slight location error thinking the water feature out our window was part of the Atlantic but it was part of the river system very near the ocean.

Very comfortable yet elegantly tasteful

The woman at the front desk welcomed us and assured us we would really love our third floor corner room. The lobby had a warm upscale feel and when we entered our room it carried through the same feeling. The 20' high ceilings and 10' high windows created a lovely drama not found in most hotel rooms.

Walking the narrow streets of Savannah is really what its all about. Every four blocks there is a park named after a long past hero and the umbrella of the moss draped magnolia trees provide a canopy from the warm sun. The historical district not being all that large, within two days we pretty much touched on every street enjoying the unique pristine colonial architecture including strolling by Johnny Mercer's former home it was time to turn north out to sea.

Always amazed from the design born from faith

The parks provide a respite from overload of tourism

Beauty attracts beauty

The old southern charm

Sweet Home Alabama

Great way to start the day

Our stop following breakfast at Bob"s Fine Food.

I listen what people say about places they seem to know about but until I sees it myself, I've learned not to believe it. Originally I had planned to spend a bit more time in the deep south but the amount of away time I had available began to dwindle as the launch date kept moving forward. So...I deleted the deep south in favor of skirting the tops of Alabama and Mississippi. We left Memphis with Savannah Georgia as our destination but we left Memphis a bit late ( a lot more leaves to rake than I planned) so we had to choose a mid point to spend the night preferably camping under the stars. Checking the road map while rolling along the lush green rural countryside, Sharon noticed a mark on the map had a tee pee (a campsite designation) printed just south of the little Alabama town of Alexander in Tallapoosa County. The campsite was in the Windy Creek State Park and as always we pulled up to the office much later than most outdoors type folks arrive. With a little help from a friendly park ranger we did the late entry form, listened to a quick description of what sites are available, and began our hunt for the evenings campsite. Naturally we immediately became lost ending up in the day use only picnic area but the night ranger drove up and suggested we follow him to a nice on the water's but not before he began a long explanation as to how to exit the park. I quickly realized that people from Alabama love to talk and talk and talk. I pride myself on cutting to the chase when delivering basic information but these folks seemed to get paid by how many times they can repeat themselves though when the Ranger was finished and I began to follow him, Sharon asked if I understood what he said...I replied, "I can't remember or understand any thing he said". We laughed uncontrollably as we followed our pilot car while noticing the park was mostly empty but our ranger pointed out a site right next to an RV explaining this was the best site...yea but it's next to a generator running a TV. He left and we moved away from the RV camp to a sweet little bit of shoreline on Lake Martin. With the tent set up and my beautiful funny camper buddy and navigator extraordinaire, Sharon continued on doing the prep work for a late night dinner, I pulled out the old..very old Coleman propane stove which has worked fine up to...now. The old fire box suddenly developed more leaks than Watergate and just as volatile. So Sharon adjusted the meal to veggies alfresco. After our meal we quickly retired to our comfy Agnus (our tent's name) for a really wonderful sleep.

Since the stove was kaput our coffee needs went unanswered the next morning. The hot showers and beautiful mirror finish lake water was a weak substitute for a cup a Joe but soon our focus was to reach Savannah ASAP but along the way we had to replace the Coleman.

Let The Sun Shine

Eureka Tennessee was recommended by some Bisbee friends and it proved to be a nice charming haven. The cabin architecture was nothing notable but the amenities of a full kitchen where Sharon prepared a wonderful dinner and a covered porch to perch high above the sloping ground thickly covered with vibrant green was the perfect retreat.

My characterization of Sun Studios

In the morning we cruised the town, checked out one very nice gallery and headed to the land of Blues and Barbeque...Memphis Tennessee and to visit Sharon's Aunt Geri. Cutting through the rolling hills via the winding twisting roads slowed our pace putting us into Memphis in the late afternoon. We were tired and in need of some family time...raise the spirits of our hostess and check out ground zero of the birth of Rock and Roll...Sun Records and the Memphis Recording Service. But first I was told I must see the original world famous duck procession at the Peabody Hotel. This beautiful example of early twentieth century hotel architecture and craftsmanship proudly promotes a fowl display of ducks parading from the elevator to the center fountain all the while tourists and duck enthusiasts play paparazzi. It's unusual. whacky and sells a lot of booze. That afternoon we sampled...well we stuffed ourselves on some down home Memphis Que. I had the three meat plate doused with tangy sauce that was killer and Sharon had way too many ribs.

First came Memphis then came Sun

Elvis's Mic that became mine briefly

The next day our stop was Sun Records. This pie shaped two story recording studio has played host to every rock and roll legend at one time or another and was the spring board to the greats such as Muddy Waters, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Howling Wolf, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. My friend Ryan Bond insisted I visit this mecca of music history and I thank him for it was humbling to be in the essence of such world changing creativity.  The microphone that Elvis used to record his first hit, "All Shook Up" was within reach of me, the inspiration was overwhelming and I grabbed it and began channeling "The King" before being removed by security. Weakened, I left the studio with a sense of spirituality never felt before.

The Million Dollar Session

I was processed

After raking the magnolia tree leaves in the large front yard of Aunt Geri's, Sharon and I packed up Cheeky and pointed Southeast towards Savannah Georgia but stopping for a night under the stars before reaching the Atlantic.



 

Visit With My Niece Candace

 

Cheeky Monkey, the name of our 4Runner, is purring like a kitten heading east is cutting through the gentle rolling hills towards my niece’s home 50 miles south of Oklahoma City. We were greeted by my niece Candace, her husband Joe, three daughters (my grand nieces), one rambunctious boy, and an ark load full of various species of animals when we pulled up the dirt drive resting our front bumper to the fence of the first paddock. The atmosphere was a healthful mixture of chaos and love. The girls are all smart wonderful teens and the little boy’s energy has an endearing charm.

After an early dinner of barbeque at the Trails End café in Wynnewood proper and a quick tour of all the farm animals, Sharon and I gave all our blessings and love and they returned our good wishes along with a warning of rain. The sky seemed to be building up an aggressive wall of bruising looking clouds to the north, the exact direction of our next late night stop three hours away.

Within an hour the clouds began to let go their payload with a vengeance. The combination of pounding rain, darkness, road construction and the blinding light from oncoming vehicles had me very concerned whether I was on the road or not. I  elected to slow down to 30 mph and activate my emergency flashers. This menacing storm continued until we skirted past the south end of Oklahoma City when the thundering thumping sliding erupted forcing me to the side of the expressway. I looked at Sharon while pulling over exclaiming it can’t be…a flat tire….I just purchased these tires new a week ago!!! Once safely off the lanes of traffic but still on the pavement I surveyed the damage in the light rain. Sure enough, the right rear tire was flat, disfigured, and steaming. Fortunately the pounding rain had retreated but evidence of its return hadn’t. I quickly found the changing tools, dropped the spare from beneath the rear cabin, jacked up the axle, removed the flat, installed the spare, and lifted the flat onto the roof rack for future repair. The fortune part of this exercise was the changing tools were all there and the spare was good.

Returning to my pilot’s seat rain soaked and muddy, the rain began to pour again as we continued our trek to the Price Towers in Bartlesville, OK. The original ETA at the hotel was about 11PM but the delay of the weather and the tire change had us pulling up in front of this Frank Lloyd Wright designed high rise at 1AM. We were welcomed by a friendly disabled night clerk getting us efficiently checked in and up to our 12^th floor beautiful room. After a shower I joined Sharon beneath sheets for a  well deserved rest until the next mornings light.

The next day the hotel gave us our complimentary tour of the Price Tower and a bit of back ground on both FL Wright and Mr. Price, an oil pipeline fabricator tycoon.  This 19 story high rise is the only “skyscraper” designed by Wright that was ever constructed. True to form, the office tower was never quite functional and for many years lay dormant until a conservancy took control and began using it as a hotel/museum/arts center.  But even with the disfunctionality stigma, the Price Tower is a gem for Bartlesville.

 

After the tower tour, I had to find a tire replacement after learning my new flattened tire was unrepairable.  With the new tire on the rim and the old tire strapped to the top of Cheeky, we made our way towards Memphis but stopped about half way to camp in the Ozark town of Eureka. Unfortunately the rain poured steadily forcing us take refuge in a cabin with a kitchen and an inside Jacuzzi tub. If you can’t camp…then go for luxury.  

Clip The Corner of Texas

The rheostat controlled sun rose ever so slowly dim to dawn while the coffee brewed. Listening to the birds and staring off into the horizon is sweet meditation waiting to press the coffee. My thoughts are slow knowing I have a month ahead of me to make any decision. Sharon clawed her way out of tent to join my day. The only schedule is we need to get within spitting distance of Amarillo, Texas. I've searched out a state park just about 20 miles south of the city. By the few photos on some internet posts it's a miniature Grand Canyon (that's right Texas...our canyon is much bigger than yours). First Sharon and I must take one more soak in the hot springs before departing Faywood, NM.

Roadside attractions haven't changed since my mother drove my brother and I to Arizona in 1960 to start a new life. Every kind of gimmick to get you to pull off that interstate to shake some coins from your pocket will be deployed. The most overused magnet was the use of Jesus or God. One of the best I saw was the "Jesus Christ is the Lord Travel Center". I'm unsure of the connection between a quart of oil, a CD of Johnny Paycheck, or fried delights from the deli has to do with spiritual awakening but the parking lot was full so it proves I'm not up on the regional marketing hooks. Another impressive structure was a 200' high cross that could be seen for miles across the flat lands. The magnet that caught my eye...good enough to convince me to make a U Turn was the worlds largest pistachio. I couldn't believe my eyes looking at that 75' high nut balancing. It was stunning.

After a purchase of a medium size bag of the normal size nuts we continued towards Palo Dura State Park. I kind of misjudged the distance and we didn't arrive to the park until after 8PM which upon arrival the park was closed but a small road off to the right was the "afterhours" camp area. It was impressively thoughtful to accommodate us that way. Navigating around the cul-de-sac  we pulled into a secluded little nest. I set up the tent and put out the sleeping bags while Sharon made sandwiches. The wind was gusting strongly but it was not until the middle of the night when the wind began to whip our ass. All night and into the morning the relentless wind snapped at our tent like a bull whip. Up before the sun peeked off the horizon and before the coffee on we decided to pack quickly and hike into Palo Dura Canyon.

worlds largest pistachio

Within a half hour we pulled away from our camp, paid our entry fee at the entrance and did a quick drive around to find a trail. While searching I saw a set of restrooms by the RV camp area that had a hot water heater around back so I pulled in to have a quick shave and wash. When I returned back to my 4Runner I noticed a sizable puddle under the truck. Kneeling down while reaching under the carriage I realized this liquid was gasoline and if I didn't attend to this leak quickly we will have a major

Night Tent in Amarillo, TX

problem. I looked at the gas gauge and it read above a half tank. I started up the truck, programmed the GPS for a repair station and headed 20 miles towards Amarillo. I kept a close eye on the fuel gauge which was bobbing and dropping at an alarming rate. By the time we arrived at the address following the GPS, the fuel was near empty and the Toyota station was no longer at that location. Across the street was a Subaru service station. I checked with them and their two day wait was more than we could accept but the service manager suggested Aardvark Garage, only a few miles away. We followed his directions and within 10 minutes and very little gas we pulled up to the garage. The woman behind the desk said she'd have one of her men take a look at it right away. An older gentleman dressed in the appropriate mechanic garb drove my rig into the service bay, hoisted her up, and quickly determined the fuel line compression connection from the engine to the filter was worn but as he put it "I put a little more wrench on it than I feel comfortable but it could hold ten minutes or ten years" and he added" It'd be best to change the fuel line more sooner than latter". He pulled my truck off the rack and told me to get on my way. I asked if I pay the cashier inside but said I owed him nothing. I didn't feel right about this considering I have the means to pay. "At least let me buy you a lunch" I pleaded...he replied, "Just give a donation to our diaper fund" I pulled out $40.00 and hopefully made some Mom happy from the kindness of a garage mechanic in Amarillo.

Back On The Road America

Back On The Road has returned for it's American Tour 2013. Sharon and I have been overwhelmed by the welcoming from normal Americans across America in each All American City we have either visited, driven through, or bypassed on the interstates. Interstates I find very comfortable...the homogenization of America is clearly defined by the uniformity of its fuel stations, restaurant chains and shopping malls with dedicated exits while perched upon knolls afar. Venturing off this ribbon of freedom can result in unpredictable regional culture and language barriers...the experience we seek.

For my readers who didn't know the background to my excursion it's rather simple and done so many times before but I found it important to take this journey while the players are still alive both physically and mentally. I am a realist and I don't find being frank regarding such issues as limited time on this planet shameful or frightening... it's just the facts Jack. So I decided to explore my early past with very little knowledge available to me. I know my birthplace, hospital, grandparents farm, and one schoolmate name from my kindergarten class. There are stories for each of these topics and places and some interweave to enrich each other. Along the way Sharon and I will stop and sight see, visit friends and some of her family members as well. A mix of camping, hotels, and kindness from family and friends will rest our road weariness.

Typical camp...4Runner, table, and tent

To prepare for this journey I purchased a 1996 Toyota 4Runner 4x4 off Craigslist with 249,000 miles on her. I kind of fell in love with her because she is much like myself....a few dings and flaws, a lot of miles but still has much more adventure under the hood. The design of this vehicle is well suited for long distance travel on any road. After the purchase of this fine ride, I bought four new tires, and had Tim at Bisbee Bug install new front brakes, fuel filter, and check over everything else. She is ready for the road.  As in the movie "Captain Ron"..."If it's gonna happen...it's gonna happen out there"....and it did.

For the first part of the trip I have to work with Sharon's schedule. She must be back in Phoenix Tuesday, the 21st of May so she will leave the tour in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and fly back at which time I will then solo north to the Great Lakes and meander west towards Bisbee and all points along the way.

Day One...Faywood Springs

Once Tim Hall slammed the hood shut on the 4Runner I jumped in and drove the 100 yards to our house, threw in the remaining bags, programmed the GPS and off we ventured east to the Land of Enchantment. Our actual stopping point for this half day run is Faywood Springs, a natural hot springs camp about four hours drive. We've been to this oasis a number of times and if you've never been, you should. Along the way I was jonesing for some New Mexican green chile so once we arrived in Demming we sought out the Campos Restaurant...an unassuming down home eatery that prepares the local chile with lots of love. Once the chile and beer were safely in my tummy I resumed my driving position for the last 30 minutes of the drive to a rather empty Faywood. This is quite a contrast from our last visit. Within minutes the tent was erected we took a hike up to a vista point, watched a sunset and then with our towels in hand,  dipped into the pools of hot water. After a couple hours of soaking relaxation under the starry night sky we slipped into our sleeping bags and didn't move until the dawns early light.

Soaking away our weariness