Day 1 - August 3rd, 2007
We started out a little before 8am.My first mobile post was made from the Kangaroo Gas station in Manchester TN, about 20 minutes later.
8:17 am, mile 20-Cap'n's log, stardate 58055 - stopped for gas on way to airport.
We passed up the airport, picked up Becca's parents, and returned to the airport to drop Becca off. She would have to wait a while for the plane, but those of us in lesser transportation wanted to hit the road as early as possible.
10:36 am, mile 136 - Cap'n's log, stardate 58171 - dropped Becca at airport. Now hitting the road with the inlaws
Several miles East of Jackson, TN, we were ready for lunch. We stopped at a Subway sandwich shop located inside a tiny gas station much too small for a Subway sandwich shop. The employees left three cigarettes smoldering in an ash tray right inside the entrance. I inhaled more of their cigarettes than they did. Kathy took the initiative and relocated the cigarettes outside the door until such a time as the smokers could resume poisoning themselves and others.
12:35 am, mile 227 - Cap'n's log, stardate 58262 - lunch @ subway
2:40 pm, mile 357 - Cap'n's log, stardate 58392 - Hellooo, Arkansas!
Just across the Arkansas Line (aka The Mississippi River), in the confusingly named city of West Memphis, we stopped at a Pilot Travel Center for Fuel and restrooms. They Had a Subway sandwich shop. The Restrooms were typical of a high volume Truck Stop. Graffiti, filth, litter, etc.
4:45 pm, mile 488 - Cap'n's log, stardate 58523 - raining in Little Rock
On the southwestern side of Little Rock, We stopped for dinner at a Bojangle's Chicken franchise located in.... A Gas Station. Can't anybody build a restaurant without a gas station any more? The Restroom (which I was badly in need of) made me wish for the nicer one at the Pilot Station. They had one toilet, in a handicapped-accessible sized stall, the door to which.... didn't lock? no, worse. Didn't close all the way? Nope. The door to the one stall in the bathroom had been completely torn off the hinges! It was still in the restroom, though, sitting on the floor, so that if you wanted the barest modicum of privacy, you could haul the 4-foot by 5-foot hunk of sheet metal most of the way over the similarly sized opening, leaning it on the corner. Anybody over 5 feet tall could look right over it anyway, since it was sitting on the floor instead of the hinge about 18 inches off the floor, but at least it would cause someone to slow down a little. Maybe.
We stopped two more places that first day. Mt. Pleasant, TX, where we planned to take a Restroom and Fuel Pit Stop, but the fuel pump malfunctioned, and the Men's Room was so bad I decided that I would be better off just holding it. There was also a Subway sandwich shop inside.
Only a little ways down the road from there we tried again at a clean, comfortable, convenience store of relatively recent construction in Sulphur Springs, TX, where the facilities were much nicer.
At this point we were getting close to bedtime for the older generation of travelers, and a Hotel Stay was imminent. I didn't want to stay at the "Bargain" hotel at that exit, and we sure didn't want to spring for the really nice ones, so we decided to move on down the road, with the agreement that if we didn't find one we could all agree on by 10PM, we would settle for one nearby.
Not such a good Idea, in retrospect.
11:36 pm, Approx. mile 752 (no stardate given - Too frightened to go out to the car to check!) - Staying in scary "Dream Lodge" motel in Greenville, TX. Guy sitting in a lawnchair next to my door told me to let him know if I "need anything"
I have already posted in more depth on this, just follow the link.
Day 2 - August 4th, 2007
Saturday morning we got a bit of a late start, but made it to Dallas by late morning. After being completely confused by the directions for around 30 minutes, we determined that our destination wasn't actually in Dallas, but in Fort Worth. The directions were easy, once you got the right city.2:47 pm, mile 901 Cap'n's log, stardate 58936 - Lunch @ Riscky's Barbeque in downtown Fort Worth with Becca's extended family.
7:22 pm, mile 932 Cap'n's log, stardate 58967 - At the wedding, being held in an art gallery in the beautiful museum/art district in Fort Worth.
Day 3 - August 5th, 2007
11:14 am, mile 941 Cap'n's log, stardate 58976 - leaving the extended Family in Fort Worth, Going to dallas to see Jake and Becky.
12:56 am, mile 1,026 (Cap'n's log, stardate 59061) - Posting from Jake -n- Becky's fabulous tech-filled pad. Tried to post from Jake's iPhone, but couldn't make it work. Going to lunch now.
We took Jake's car to Plano for Lunch, so even though we spent ANOTHER hour on the road, It wasn't in our car, so it doesn't count.
3:06 pm, mile ? Cap'n's log, supplemental - lunch and "Cold Slab" ice cream @ "The Shops at Legacy" in Plano, TX with Jake and Becky
7:30 pm, mile 1,082 Cap'n's log, stardate 59117 - stopped for gas on way to the Blue Mesa Grill.
11:25 pm, mile 1,189 Cap'n's log, stardate 59224 - In Greenville again, this time in the Motel 6.
Day 4 - August 6th, 2007
9:12 am, mile 1,312 Cap'n's log, stardate 59347 - Entering Texarkana, after passing the towns of Old Boston, Boston, and New Boston, TX.
11:22 am, mile 1,436 Cap'n's log, stardate 59471 - Snack and potty break in Benton, AK
1:23 pm, mile 1,526 Cap'n's log, stardate 59561 - Lunch break @ KFC in Brinkley, AK. Fracas broke out between diners, nearly escalated into a fistfight.
3:45 pm, mile 1,678 Cap'n's log, stardate 59713 - stopped for gas in Jackson on way to airport.
7:33 pm, mile 1,855 Cap'n's log, stardate 59890 - picked up Becca, dropped off the inlaws, headed home!!!
approx. 9:06 pm, approx mile 1,955 - pulled into driveway, fed cats+dogs, went to bed.
Our overall Gas Mileage was roughly 33 MPG.
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