Chapter 23: The Final Countdown
...this is the U.S.S. Nimitz...Where the Hell Are We?...
(Now there’s an odd film. Or where you thinking of the odd song?)
2018: The 50-State Tour goes on hiatus for Drew’s first Walt Disney World Extravaganza. Our reasoning for doing this in 2018 is as follows:
1. It’s Disney. Isn’t that reason enough?
Yes…
Yes it is.
(it’s generally all the justification I’ve needed)
3. Drew is now over 40 inches tall (yes, he’s big for a 3-year-old), so he hits the magic number for most of the rides.
Big young’en for 3.
That will certainly make dealing with the attractions more equitable.
4. My brother and sister-in-law want to take their kids for the first time, and asked for us to go with them to provide expert assistance.
Hummmm…
This could be very interesting.
5. I saw that Star Wars Land is opening in 2019. While I love Star Wars, I hate crowds. And I think this announcement means 2019 is going to be insane at WDW. I have learned the value of patience as I’ve aged, and do not feel the need to be the first to get the latest gadgets, see the new movies, or ride the new rides. I’m happy to wait out the crowds and head back for my taste of Star Wars land in a couple of years.
Ding, Ding, Ding!!!
Hate crowds as well (especially insane ones)
We’ve been enough to know what we enjoy and we know we’ll be back.
As such, hitting every single “experience” ain’t a priority.
Case in point (and proof that I may actually be as nuts as even I claim to be)…
We were down there this past May, but purposely ignored the Avatar opening.
In fact, we actually left WDW the very day of the grand opening.
Like I said, I’ll be back and by then it’ll be far more manageable.
2019: Pacific Northwest. This will get us to Oregon and Washington (and hopefully we’ll get to see
@Steppesister !). My struggle in looking ahead at this trip is trying to figure out if I should go for Glacier National Park or Yosemite. I think it’s probably biting off more than we can chew to do both in the same trip.
That should be interesting as well.
I’m thinking that you go for Glacier and try to get back to California on a later trip
But of course, it ain’t my trip to plan.
I’ve got family in WA that I need to go out and see so I’ll probably be headed up there some time in the near. I wonder if I could talk them into a bit of a road trip.
Hummmmmm…
2020: Just after Sarah graduates high school, we’ll be ready to take on Alaska. As long as I have the funding figured out by then.
“Money, money, money, money, money… We can’t keep doing this Bob!”
Actually, yes we can. I don’t know how, but you’ll figure it out.
I heard someone mention a cruise as a good way of actually seeing AK, and I’ve been pondering that same thing. There’s another thing I wonder if I could talk my WA relatives into.
Best Attractions We Visited
1. Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, South Dakota
I suspect some members of your family may have ranked these is slightly different orders, but…
how can you go wrong with hidden fortresses, government secrets (even old now unclassified ones), and potential explosions.
Top 5 Meals
1. Kansas City BBQ Extravaganza, Kansas City, Kansas
That would be difficult to top
Most interstates qualify, but they are generally the most direct routes, so…
Best Drive
Needles/Iron Mountain Highways, Black Hills, South Dakota
Yep…
That one went on the list after the first few sentences of that part of the chapter.
Are there bad DisMeets?
Wait…
Don’t answer that.
Things I Never Need To Experience Again
5. I-94 through North Dakota
4. I-80 through Nebraska
Did I ever tell you our “interstate radio” story?
Not all that much to it and I think I’ve written that up somewhere but I can’t remember who the poor unfortunate sole was that I inflicted that one on.
1. 9 hours of flight delays, followed by a cancellation, followed by our bags disappearing for 2 days, followed by getting up at 1:30 a.m. for the new flight, followed by discovering all of our clothes are soaked in our luggage.
Nothing else even comes close to that debacle as something not to be doing over.
A Poor Man’s Pre-Trip Report for the Deep South, 2017
As a poor man…
I approve of this
I was abandoned long ago and I’ve yet to even be found.
Day 1: Driving all day to my uncle’s place in Virginia. Crash there.
No time for Luray or the Udvar-Hazy, I take it.
Day 2: Hiking/shooting stuff, as my uncle likes to do. Then drive to Cherokee, North Carolina.
Well that’ll make up for some of that long drive.
Cherokee huh?
Hitting the casino?
There’s a pretty good outdoor play up there and the museum of the Cherokee, but alas, neither one is free.
Oddly there’s an outside possibly that we’d be up very near Cherokee moving the boy back into school ‘round then but I ain’t certain that’ll happen.
Day 3: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, followed by Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Day 4: Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, Georgia. Still undecided on doing World of Coca-Cola or CNN Studios tours.
The Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History (home of “The General”)
is between Chatt and Hot-lanta…
just sayin’.
We did WOC on a trip into ATL a couple years ago (free tickets or I might have skipped it).
It is interesting; lots and lots of memorabilia, and of course the famous tasting room. It might be good for the kids. Now, if you do go there, don’t be standing in line to see “The Vault” (at least not a long one of any duration). All you’ll see is a “vault” door and at some point after enduring what’s basically a long commercial, they open the door to reveal… nothing.
And, add another vote for The Varsity. Just for the experience if nothing else.
What'll ya’ Have! What'll ya’ Have! What'll ya’ Have!
(oh, and somebody should order an “FO” while you’re there.)
Day 5: MLK National Historic Site in the morning. Then driving west to Arkansas, with a stop for BBQ in Memphis.
I was going to suggest the MLK site over the WOC, but you got it covered.
Traveling via I-20, I-22 & I-40 I take it; long drive there. The “Q” in Memphis should be worth the price of admission but it’s too bad you can’t detour up to Huntsville for the Rocket Center. I also suspect that the corner of US61 & US49 and/or the Blues Museum is just too far off the path but you could stop by the “Elvis” shack in Tupelo.
No really, you “could”, I just don’t necessarily expect that you would.
Day 6: Hot Springs National Park, followed by Crater of Diamonds State Park and a quick hop across the border to cross off Oklahoma. Sorry, Oklahoma. Spending the night in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Happy Gem hunting
Heading into Hugo, OK to see the Circus & Showman’s Cemetery and then grabbing a bite at Angie's Circus City Diner?
Of course there’s also the World’s Highest Hill up in Poteau, OK
You may not get to clime Everest, but you can drive up all 1999 feet of Cavanal Hill
:
Day 7: Vicksburg battlefield (Mississippi), then New Orleans (hopefully visit N.O. Jazz National Historic Site).
Both of these should be excellent.
The kids may not all agree right now, but they should remember them well.
Day 8: Thought about more New Orleans here (WWII Museum), but instead we’re managing long drives over the next two days. Stopping near Pensacola, Florida for Gulf Islands National Seashore, finishing the night in Tallahassee, Florida.
Only one day in NoLa and missing the W2M?
Understandable but unfortunate.
I say leave one day earlier and work that in.
(Unrealistic, I know, but someone had to say it out loud at least once)
Make sure to really enjoy the stop at the shore then.
Day 9: Driving all day to W. Palm Beach, Florida.
That’s going to be a bit of a slog
I-10 & I-95 or I-75 & The Pike?
Any plans to break that up a bit?
Day 10: Everglades National Park and Biscayne Bay National Park, returning to W. Palm Beach.
Have you notified C.J.?
He knows where all the bodies are hid… errr… I mean a great deal about the area.
(and most certainly where to find the best bars)
And while a drop in visit to the Pirate’s Shark Hunting Vessel is likely imposable it would be ridiculously cool.
Day 11: Kennedy Space Center,
An entire morning of shear unparalleled awesomeness!
followed by [REDACTED – TOP SECRET]
Day 12: [REDACTED – TOP SECRET]
Top Secret?
Well there there’s only one possible explanation…
Rope drop at The Holy Land Experience followed up with a bit of relaxation at Machine Gun America, a nice early dinner at the “European Gourmet McDonald's” and then the astounding wonders of the Tupperware World HQ Museum.
Well done sir!
Well done indeed.
Day 13: Driving all day to Fort Mill, SC. Possible DIS meet(s) happening.
After all that central Fla excitement, you’re going to drive 8ish hours to my home town?
What a monumental let down.
For shame!
Stopping at one of the GA sea isles on the way for a bit of NPS-PBJ per chance?
You need to either leave the hotel no later than 7am (6:30 would be better) or just wait until after 9ish. You do not want to deal with I-77 & I-85 in Charlotte on a work day morning.
Just no…
But while you’re here, I’d like to make at least one more pitch for a stop at the NC Transportation Museum (and I’m not even being the littlest bit snide here). It’s just off I-85 in Spencer and most certainly on your way (and most certainly an awesome collection of rolling stock and artifacts)
And you’re going to need that long spate of unconsciousness after all that driving.
So there you have it! I think this may actually set a new road trip record for mileage for us. Unfortunately, that mileage will be piled onto our own van this time.
Is you eldest up to the point being able to do any of the driving yet
(or is that just too terrifying to even contemplate)?
Let me know what you think!
Brilliant!
That’s long since been an accepted fact.
This trip changes nothing.
Any suggestions? Things we should do differently? Places to eat? Things we shouldn’t miss?
Already done way too much of that in this post (and in other venues).
You may now officially ignore all of my ramblings.
(It’s the only logical choice.)
Coming Up Next: I’ll do a quick TR of our Texas vacation over spring break, if I ever get the photos uploaded.
And I’ll be here to ruin it for everyone else
(it just may take me a while to respond as you’ve undoubtedly noticed).