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Finale

My Thelma and Louise Road Trip took us across 19 states and 4620 miles. These are the feet that ran in all 19 states, 11 of them were first time visits for me altogether. Thank you Lori, for inviting me to join you and thank you readers, for giving me cause to blog and run! We drove home in time for me to celebrate 23 years of marriage to the love of my life. Here is my version of Eat, Pray, Love.

Day 9 & 10

Today's drive from Knoxville to Little Rock kept us on I-40. This was the first day the I-Pod was plugged in and Lori got to hear me sing musicals. I kept her entertained with Big River and Jersey Boys. She'll have to let you know if she's buying tickets when those shows come to town! We stopped at a Steak and Shake for lunch and split a patty melt. We immediately cast Tyler Perry as our waiter "Lovie" He was a hoot. We bypassed Little Rock and took I-30 to Bryant, AR. I had lived here from 2002-2005. We had arranged to stay with good friends who taught me everything southern. There is a difference in AR south and West TX south. Beginning with the heat and humidity! It was great seeing the Cason, Fricke and Seale families! My how your children have grown into beautiful young men and women. Thank you for your kind hospitality and laughter. It was a great last night celebration on our road trip! I woke up determined to run a real run in AR (not a roadside rest stop run or a run around Wendy's kind of run) Susan had told me how the neighbor hood had grown and I how to get to the new part, but instead I chose the familiar. I wanted to see the houses and trees that I had called home for 3 years. It was the perfect last run. Knowing that we wouldn't be home for 10 hours, we said our goodbyes and were on our way by 8:15. This drive was familiar. Lori and I reminisced about the week - Best Meal - our Italian feast @ Pat's, Best lodging -Green Manor Inn - Worst lodging -Do I even have to say it?! Best Drive -On Monday, when we drove from Albany through Vermont, New Hampshire and finally Maine. Best Laugh - too many to count!

Day 7 & 8

Enjoyed Barb's French toast and Ray's tour of his other job - taxidermy, before leaving the Greenwood Manor Inn. Who would have known there was so much involved in mounting a deer head? I feel like an expert and can tell you if your taxidermist did a good job or you wasted your money. Both Lori and I admitted we were dreading the drive today. ME, MA, NY, NJ, CT and finally to Lancaster, PA. I got my runs in and am on track for every state. One run was around Wendy's before a frosty, but it still counts. During the drive, we began casting our roadtrip in case Oprah is reading this and wants to make a movie. I would like Reese Witherspoon to play me and Lori can't decide between Valerie Bertinelli or Drew Barrymore. We arrived at Hotel Brunswick in downtown, Lancaster to an almost empty hotel. Our room was decent and we left to find supper. We ended up at an Irish pub, drinking Italian beer in Pennsylvania Dutch country - It worked for us. We mentioned our empty hotel to our waitress and she told us the hotel was haunted w/ghosts. GREAT! Once again I barricade the door, only to be reminded that locked doors don't matter to ghosts. Somehow we woke up without incident. Ready for our Continental breakfast, we went to the lobby to find a loaf of white bread, a toaster and a bowl of apples. We took the apples. Our Pennsylvania planning wasn't so hot - we had already passed by the Amish communities - the farms were beautiful, but we missed out on seeing Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis. So, we went to Hershey instead and took a tour of the chocolate factory. Lori was at the wheel and I was reading our book. She stopped abruptly at the West Virginia border realizing I hadn't run in Maryland. I get out of the car on the highway and run in the culvert back to Maryland and then back in to WV. I take the wheel once in Virgina, and get my VA run in at a roadside stop. Let me just say that Virgina wins the race in best Interstate highway rest stops. While driving southbound we see a wreck that has occurred in the Northbound lane. A semi went under an overpass and was too tall. The top of the trailer was ripped off. It was hauling beer and it was all over the road. I noticed that the bridge did not have the measurement on it like we see in TX. It was a mess. The drive continued through the Blue Ridge Parkway all the way to Knoxville. It's been a long day. I ran tonight - a real run in TN. 18 states down, 1 to go. Good night.

Day 6

Up at 6 - that's 5 for you on Central time! I had a great run around Harrison with a spectacular view of the lake. Our breakfast was wonderful and we have enjoyed getting to know our hosts. Barb and Ray bought the B&B last October and have 7 kids from age 15-26. We highly recommend the Greenwood Manor Inn! Rachel met us at the entrance to Camp Pinecliffe and we were off to Portland. In Maine, pedestrians have the right of way, as long as they are in a crosswalk. This is great when you're walking, not so much when you're driving. We reached the waterfront area and enjoyed all the shopping. This is not your typical souvenir junk. There was a large selection from imported items to local artisans. I think I bought something in the first 3 stores I visited. Lori had been singing the praises of lobster rolls so we found one for lunch - taking an expression from a friend of mine, we vowed to "eat nothing from the hoof" We also are avoiding all food South of the Border. We were getting a view of the harbor and Rachel knew I really wanted to see the ocean, so she got us headed in the direction of the Atlantic. The houses on the beach front were idyllic. Screened in porches and a short walk to the beach. I could handle it. It was nice wading in the surf and hearing the ocean. I could have stayed all day. After some R&R @ the B&B, we went to the Lobster Pound for dinner. This was my first full blown lobster experience! Another great day!

Day 5

After some map research of New England, we decided to forgo the tollway and take the countryside route. It was worth it! Lori and I are ready to relocate! It was a beautiful day and every place we stopped had flowers, greenery or a lake. Some highlights include Bennington VT, Meridith NH, Lake Winnepeasaukee in NH, Concord, the Capitol of NH, and the part of Maine we have seen so far. For my run, Lori dropped me off in Vermont and picked me up in New Hampshire! Our Bed and Breakfast is nice and we are the only guests for tonight's stay. We met Rachel at Camp Pinecliffe and were blown away. Yes, it is like Parent Trap. The camp is 93 years old and is privately owned. Girls go through an interview and are invited to attend. Each year they have to be asked back by the camp. The girls range in age from 7-15, wear uniforms and follow a pretty tight schedule. They have excursions to the beach, biking, or a week long camping trip to Quebec. Rachel introduced us to her group of 13 year-olds and they just wanted to hear us say "ya'll" It was so eye opening to see a different slice of life. We are looking forward to spending the day in Portland, ME tomorrow and finding some lobster!

Day 4

I manage to sleep until 7:30am and wake up to find 2 inches of light shining under the door. I was thankful for the sleep and the hot shower, but ready to move on from the Red Carpet Inn. Today we drove to Clifton Park just north of Albany. Lori's good friend Pat, was our host, along with her lovely parents. Pat was so gracious and had a wonderful Italian lunch for us. Lori said - that's just the appetizer - there was more food covered in foil waiting on the stove. It would have to wait. Pat wanted to show us Cohoes Falls. The falls are located on the Mohawk River and are 2nd to Niagra in the state of NY. They were magnificent! While Lori and Pat caught up, I took a nap followed by a great run in this beautiful community. Then, more food! We had it all! Egg Plant Parmesan, Peppers, Veal Cutlet, Salad that was so fresh and berries and cream for dessert. And yes, there was wine! Ciao!

Day 3

Indianapolis loves their NASCAR and their hot weather. That's all that was on the news. The Brickyard 400 Qualifier was today. Jeff Gordon and Richard Petty were all over the TV. I decided I would go for my run and look for Peyton Manning. No such luck - but I did get a drive by view of Lucus Oil Stadium where the Colts play and it is the future home of Super Bowl 46. Every year when the Super Bowl comes around and that long Roman Numeral is stretched across the baseball caps, I think, "that's my age! and that's a big ole number!" After breakfast, we hit a backroad instead of interstate and visited a farmer's market and a small town with some fun shopping. We were loving Indiana - except for the humidity. Once we hit Ohio we were back on interstate stopping for me to run and enjoying our Indiana tomatoes for lunch. Honestly, Ohio began to get kind of boring. We switched drivers about 2:30, and soon knew we needed a longer stop to give us a boost so we could make the drive into Buffalo for the night. About that time we saw an exit to Geneva on the Lake. We knew it would give us a glimpse of Lake Erie, so we took it. This ended up being our pearl for the day! This is a lakefront gateway vacation spot with quaint cottages, that overlook Lake Erie. There was live music, food, souvenirs, a great place to be. We stayed for a couple of hours and felt refreshed and ready to hit the road. Thank you Ohio! Pennsylvania was the next state. I'm saving my PA run for Amish country on the back end of the trip. Then our adventure for the day really began. Thinking we could just stop and get a room did not work for us tonight. NY is full of Tollways, and once you are on them and you are listening to your Garmin, Natasha, it's hard to get off! We missed our exit, couldn't turn around for miles so we kept going. When we did pull off to get a room there was no room at the inn - anywhere. Back to the toll road and eventually a state service center with a 24 hour Arby's, we weary travelers put Natasha to bed and took our laptops in and started looking for rooms. NO OCCUPANCY - until finally - The Red Carpet Inn - 40 minutes away - we booked it and were on our way. Once we arrived to the Red Carpet Inn that had green carpet, we were giving the key to room 101. This is a place the Giddeons don't even visit. No chain only a dead bolt. We lock the door and move all the unbolted furniture in front of the door. I've seen too many investigative reports on hotel bedspreads so I immediatly pull mine to the floor. There is no light in the shower/commode area so we pull in a floor lamp. After all our rearranging of furniture we place Lori's metal road buddy who I nick named "the boyfriend" on the table between us and went to sleep.

Day 2

True to my word, I rolled out of bed and ran this morning in Tulsa - Lori too! We were in the car by 7:30am and rolling down I-44. No trip on the Will Roger's Turnpike would be complete without a stop at the McDonald's over the interstate. After some coffee and a picture, we were heading to the Missouri line! I have been on this road many times in my life going to my grandparent's home, but I've never driven it. I could hear my parent's voices saying, "this is God's country!" As a kid I didn't think God would want to live anywhere other than Texas, but I have to admit the drive through the Ozarks was stunning! As we were nearing Rolla, I asked Lori if she would mind taking a side trip to St. James, MO. This was the first retirement home of my grandparent's until 1983. It's the one I grew up going to. I was driving the Durango and as we pulled into town I recognized the gas station and the corner bar. My eyes started to blur up with tears and I missed the turn to 510 E. Eldon. We wound our way back and drove to the house. There was a young lady in the front yard getting the sprinkler ready for her daughter to play in. I couldn't speak and Lori graciously took over and told the women I would like to have my picture taken in front of the house. After thanking the young women we asked her for suggestions on places to eat and ended up at a local dive for a grilled cheese sandwich. This had been a good day and it was only 1:30. While Lori drove I began reading Eat, Pray, Love orally. THIS IS A GREAT BOOK -STOP READING THIS AND GO BUY IT AND READ IT BEFORE THE MOVIE COMES OUT! I read until we could see the Arch in St. Louis. I can only remember being here once before and I was very young. We walked up and gazed at the architectural wonder. It was really quite something! Knowing that I hadn't run in Missouri. I handed Lori my purse and camera and took off. The Show-Me state was now showing me how hot it could get! We took off again, crossing the Mighty Mississippi and into Illinois. More reading and talking - what is that crop we keep seeing? corn? wheat? I can't tell. The gas bell dings and we realize uh-oh! Natasha, our Garmin, gets us to a Love's where we fill up and I run again - just around the parking lot, but I did run in Illinois! Lori's at the wheel all the way into Indianapolis. We found a hotel, had a good meal and are ready to get some sleep. It's been a good day friends. Make that a great day. More tomorrow - Ciao

Day 1

Lori arrived with the most organized car I've ever seen! We have a spot for everything! I LOVE Organization - it's one of my things! Anyway - we were off by 11:30am and on our way. As I write this I realize we didn't once turn on the radio, I-Pods or audio books today - just good conversation. We stopped for lunch on a roadside park near Floydada. We bypassed Wichita Falls and took a route that I wasn't familiar with going through Matador and Altus, OK. Our destination is Tulsa. We are staying w/my Uncle Ed and Aunt Norma. My memories of them include Ed's meticulous motor home and Aunt Norma's red velvet treasure chest shaped jewelry box filled w/turquoise jewelry. Sure enough, when we arrived, we had a tour of the motor home and the treasure chest was sitting on the table ready for me to look through! Aunt Norma told us the history of the pieces including a slave bracelet that was quite interesting! Then she gifted me with a beautiful strand of turquoise and a thunderbird ring! Ed gave me some family photographs of some great camping trips from years ago. One of my challenges I've set for this trip is to run in each state. I'm writing it down so I'll be accountable. I ran this morning in TX and will continue tomorrow! It's been a great day!

My cross country trip to Maine began a little over a week ago. Lori invited me to join her on an adventure that would lead us to her daughter, Rachel, who is a camp counselor in Harrison, Maine. All she had to say was "It's like the camp in Parent Trap" Our trip, "Road to Rachel" had begun.