Scarlett Goes West
 

I will try to spare you the boredom of a 5 day drive
from Florida to Oregon, with a man behind the wheel
whose name has suddenly changed to Mario Andretti and a
large Poodle in the back seat, who has decided not to
speak to me for the duration of this loooong <i>going
bye bye</i>.
He still gives me looks that speak
volumes, ...&quot; and how long is this ride going to
last?&quot;
I will try to give you the highlights (that I
remember) , and some tips if you ever lose your mind
and think it is a good idea to drive across the US in
the summer.

We had a list with us when we left, for all of the La
Quinta hotels located along the highways that we would
be taking..La Quinta accepts dogs at all of their
hotels (except NYC) and they do not charge a fee
(except one in Columbia,Mo. and no one should stay
there anyway).
We left Jacksonville, Fl. on Tues morning early, everyone
so excited about finally being on the road to our new
home, all that packing finished with, and just a wide
open road and country ahead of us.

We flew through Georgia..the weather was great, we
figured Chattanooga would be the first nights stay. We
arrived around 5-5:30 in the evening, checked in and
walked around.
Pup was interested in the hotel room, I
was interested in finding a place to have dinner. We
were lucky enough to find one of the best Mexican
restaurants that we have been to in years!
Mariachi..just off of Rt 75 in Chattanooga, Tenn .
This La Quinta is pretty shabby and not one I would
recommend, Pup gave it a paws down, thin walls, dirty
floors,lumpy bed.

Wednesday- Tenn, Ky, Mo.
Tennessee is very pretty, those mountains! Nothing
special happens on this day, other than a large truck
going around a 2 lane mountain road and deciding to
lay down..picture a dinasour lying on its side, too
big to get up by itself, blocking all traffic..men in
trucks with large hooks trying to drag that damn
dinosaur back up and out of the way...it took a while
but they did it!
Just what the Yankee needs, incentive to go Faster to
make up time.

We see that Arch ahead, hello St Louis!
We fly past the Arch and on to Columbia, Mo. to stay the
night.
We have called ahead, we booked a King room. When
we arrive, they give us a Suite because the King was
taken..charge us the same rate..fine with us. We order
a pizza delivered, we all fall asleep around 9pm. Pup
is starting to wonder about us, why can't we find our
home, trying out a different bed each night isn't as
fun as he thought it would be.

Flying along highways with intermittent radio stations
( we decided against the new satelite radio) we are
forced to Talk to each other! Imagine!
I think it was a pleasant change for the Yankee to hear me say something other than Slow Down, Watch out and Stop!

He started talking about the years when he traveled
all over India and the people he met and let me tell
you, I have known this man more than half my life, he
still surprises me with the best stories and charms me
all over again. Even if he has a New Yorkers idea of
How to Drive..
So the time flew and before we knew it, we were in
Nebraska.
The La Quinta is right off the highway (Rt
80 ) and brand new. Again we are upgraded to a suite
but this one is wonderful and I am at the point in the
trip where I will make a deal with that husband of
mine to stay 2 nights, I will cook for a month without
one night out if he will let me sleep there 2
nights...But he is right, we have to get this drive
over with..Pup sighs, the deal is made, we leave the
next morning and I don't have to cook until I feel
like it ...(remember this ladies)

Nebraska is lovely. We could see all of it from the
car! The Tornado Warning card in the hotel did not
thrill me, where in the world do you run when you are
staying in a hotel? The lobby is all windows..happily
we were able to stay the night in our room with no
running from funnel clouds.
The hotel is next to a country club..walking the Pup
was a treat..better than the typical stop, truck stop,
gas station, sun beating down on us, trucks roaring
by..here we only had to be sure not to get bonked on
the head with a golf ball.
To be continued-

so far so great Scarlett - can't wait to hear more!

There are so many times I wish I could type a heading that says &quot;Karen Goes West&quot;. Or more accurately, &quot;Karen Stays West&quot;.

We find that when were in areas with spotty radio coverage, we end up listenting to Dr. Laura b/c she's the only thing we can find. When all the stations scan through FM without talking, sometimes you can find her on AM. I don't often agree with her, but she's a piece of work.

Was it hard for you to drive and not sight see at all? That would be soo difficult for me!

Love the &quot;paws down&quot; reviews. Waiting for more, Scarlett. I must admit to being very sad there is little or no chance I will see you, The Yankee (Sr Andretti) and Pup sitting at a sidewalk cafe when I visit St. Augustine next. I do understand the attractions of Portland, however.

My dear Scarlett, I do realize you were on a mission, but you could at least have waved or honked the horn as you sped thru Dalton, GA, only 30 miles from your stay in Chattanooga.

Glad to hear that Mariachi was a good restaurant. That location has been plagued with unsuccessful restaurants over the years. Maybe this one is here to stay.

Sweet pup, does he like his new home?

Continue please...........((r))

... great that travel was safe ... you'll enjoy the west coast as many of us do. But what a long time to be couped up in a car. Welcome, and is this a temporary or permanent relocation? Have a good day, and ciao.

This post sounds like the next storm of the season: Hurricane Scarlett :B

We are waiting for the camel details! Your trip sounds so nice. Ours were always so harried...colicky infants, way too many pets, and of course never enough time. So glad that your trip didn't involve any of that, lol! I thought of you last weekend as we were driving on I-84 and it was hot, hot, hot.

What a nice trip this is shaping up to be! Just you, your man, your dog, and some good Mexican food. What else could you want?

That's so funny about the radio station thing...did you get to any of those spots where you hit &quot;scan&quot; and it just keeps going and going without stopping? We do lots of road trips and my DH is so paranoid about this happening that he brings along his ipod with thousands of songs. The kids are propped up in the back with their headphones on, watching one of the dozens of DVDs we bring along. No quality family time for us, lol!

Scarlett, did you do any of the driving? Seems that whenever we take a road trip, the times I drive there's always construction detours, rain, or traffic jams.

Have you started cooking yet?

Hi Scarlett! Welcome back to Fodors! Glad you made it safe and sound to your new home. You have me totally intrigued by Oregon, we've explored the Pacific Northwest but only Crater Lake in Oregon. Looks like we missed alot and i'll have to plan yet another long road trip! :)

Looking forward to catching up on old posts (i don't get on line nearly as much as i'd like) and also hearing about your road trip west. (You know how our family loves road trip adventure! ;))

Thank you !! ((F))

I have not started cooking yet :)
I am so sorry I didn't wave when passing Dalton Ga, fogive me &amp; come here, I will say hello properly :)
Yes, I did drive. He took the morning shift (not my best most alert time) and I did after lunch..of course, he would tell me I can go faster...I was going 85.
Yes! the radio scan would just go through the numbers over and over.... We did sing sometimes for our own amusement..someone in the car made up his own words to songs, the other one looked puzzled and went back to gazing out the window..It was not bad, as in not having a tv in the apt for the first week, once you are over the initial missing it, you forget it is there.
Part 2 &amp; the End coming up~

We found this great diner near the hotel (La Quinta-North Platt Ne)..Pennys
Diner. Seems some company is opening them near hotels
all over the country, the old fashioned &quot;railroad
diner&quot; ..all silver with great old music playing and
old fashioned food..meat loaf, grilled sandwiches,
great french fries..Have I mentioned that when taking
a drive like this- you cannot possibly be on a
diet..You have to eat what is available and sometimes
it is just french fries and a turkey sandwich..The
good part is that there is no fridge in the car so
when you get bored, you still can't eat.
Pup, by now, is looking at us with this sad look and
just climbs back in the car each morning. He thinks
this is his new life.

I have never seen so much corn.

We do see a camel, young one,(1 hump) no idea what it was
doing in a corral with a horse, but maybe Mama camel
was nearby. There were llamas and a bison too. Horses
everywhere as well as cows. .. and more corn. And when
there was not corn growing, there was hay.

We hit the West the next day. Wow.
We pass these huge trucks with cattle in the back. One
of the trucks says on the side Cattle Drive. Hmmm, the
West has changed..although I doubt the cows see the
irony in it.
My daughter tells me upon hearing of how many cows I
see going somewhere, that they are really stud cows
and they are being taken somewhere , where they will
live out their lives chewing and fooling around...she
has a rosy picture of what happens to beef cattle :)

Wyoming-amazing..mountains, very windy and antelope
all along the road! They are no dummies, they stay
near the cattle and eat the grass. They are so small,
with these dear little black faces..they played and
the buffalo roamed ...
This is when we started to see the Wind Mills.the
Turbine sort. all along hills in the distance, these
futuristic wind mills..

Utah was fantastic, the rock formations and mountains,
the smallest poorest looking house will have at least
2 horses outside. We stayed at a La Quinta with the
Great Salt Lake in the distance..this hotel is ok but
a bit musty and I was not charmed by the jacuzzi tub
in the middle of the room..Pup was curious but not for
long. He knows that no matter how big the bathtub, he
has to get back in the car and go bye bye again.

We arrive in Portland on the 5th day..in the
afternoon. I controlled myself and did not hug and
kiss all the men at the desk. We went to our room and
ordered room service and fell asleep just after dark.

We are now moved in and settling in nicely in our new
apt. We are So loving Portland. The weather has been
perfect, warm days, sunny and clear and cool nights.
Pup has gotten over his dread of having to get back in
the car and is enjoying meeting so many people and
pups every day. He has decided that he likes it here
..

I took a drive like this twice before.
When I was a child, my mom and dad and I drove from
San Diego to NC. I was too young to really be bothered
by the length of the trip, I have only a photo of the
3 of us with the same red plaid shirt on, in the
Sierras.
When I was 13, we drove with my baby brother to
Arizona to visit relatives. It was summer, the car was
no air conditioned. It is a wonder my father was able
to get us back in the car to drive home.
So I was not that thrilled with the prospect of such a
long drive.

Now, I can only say that I am so glad that Pup made it
the only possible way to get to Portland from Florida.
We saw things that we won't be seeing again.
We met nice people along the way, truckers who petted
Pup and talked about the pup they have at home.

This country is so amazing and so huge and rich and
just awe inspiring. Miles and miles of corn and grain,
cattle for as far as the eye can see, ..
We have things to complain about and there are things
that should be changed, but the one thing that is
certain, this is a beautiful country and we should all
be very proud of it. I think it would be great if
everyone were able to get out for a week or two and
see as much of it as you can. And take your pup if you
want, it is good for all of us ..The End- for now~

Hey scarlett, thanks for the follow up. Sounds like my kind of trip lol.

I totally agree, this is an amazing country and we all should drive across it at least once in our lives. People will often ask *WHAT* is our destination on our cross country trips, but the trip itself is most of the destination. There is just so much else to observe and take in (that can't be seen if flying) while getting to each wonderful national park or city, and that alone, is definitely worth the time.

Hope you, the Yankee and pup have many wonderful blessings in your new home! XO

Oh Scarlett, this is truly a beautiful trip report. And yes, we have a beautiful and amazing country with a lot of good and kind people.

I love the fun part of your report also...and can only imagine how confused and then resigned dear Pup must have been, LOL.

You know I love Portland as much as you do. You are truly in a beautiful city and state. Big hugs to all three of you. Have a fun weekend!

So, Columbia, Mo. was NOT a highlight? I went to college in that town and thought it was just fine but pretty much all I saw was the campus and BOYS!!! :D So it worked for me. Maybe would not be so charming these days. Fun report and happy you are settled in. Next summer you can start pickin' beans and berries, some of us can show you the ropes. (:

crefloors--LOL! Shhhh...don't let Scarlett know that the GTG is really a berry picking adventure:D

Dear Scarlett, you must consider writing for a travel journal or such..this was so fun to read ! Oh, and I can just hear
the new words to old songs... Mr R5
is the &quot;new text&quot; expert !
A recent example of Dean Martin crooning
<i>&quot;They tried to tell us we're too young...&quot;</i>
is, at our house,
<i>&quot;They tried to sell us egg fu yung...&quot;</i>

Me thinks a long road trip might do one of us in :)
R5

PS: Would you be so kind to send me your new e-mail as my computer crashed
this week.
@};-

Here's one for ya, from a 90's country song (I forget which one):

Real version: &quot;I've got the woman that I love....sittin' next to me.&quot;

DH's version: &quot;I've got the woman that I love....bouncin' on my knee.&quot;

What a drive Mz Scarlett. Glad you three arrived safe and sound, the Great La Quinta Road Tour a thing of the past.

I'm always amazed on our trips, how vast this country is, and how much open space remains! Our move was only two days of driving...can't imagine 5, and HobieCat was voted best traveler in our car by a long shot. She was the only one who did not complain about the driver's speed, just curled up on the back seat and slept the days away...same as home! She sends Pup her love. :D

Good for you -- it's always a &quot;blessing&quot; to arrive from a long road trip unscathed.

If I may ask, why did you make this cross-country move? (Jobs, family, cost of living, whim, etc.) Were there other locations that made it on your &quot;short list&quot; of possiblities? And do you think (at this point anyway) that this move will be your last major one?

Not meaning to be prying -- just curious.

crefloors, Columbia Mo was fine...the hotel was not so fine..But I saw no reason not to visit Columbia again..maybe I won't drive there though :D

Nimrod, mostly whim.
We were not happy living in Florida and we are blessed with the ability to pack up and go find somewhere that might be more to our liking.
London and Paris were also on the list but no one had the heart to make Pup fly cargo..
so far, we are most happy with Portland.

Razzle, darlin, your email is on its way..((F))
Love..hope you are feeling better today?

OO, Hobie cat is such a sweetheart, Pup sends his love back ((L))

Hi darlin, am feeling better. My email was returned, that confused me. Will try again a bit later.

I have been cleaning out drawers again, LOL. A nice relaxing job and consequently feel real organized. And popping onto Fodors from time to time today. Thinking of you and wishing I was in Portland. Give Pup a hug for me.

Welcome back to Fodors, Scarlett. You are always such a delight to read. My daughter and I will be doing a road trip this coming week from Denver to L.A. She's already driven solo from Chicago to Denver, but soon Mom will be on board for shared driving duties and a leisurely look at the southwest. This child is my world traveler and just visiting her has taken us to places that we wouldn't have otherwise gone. While it's wonderful to plan these trips, it would be oh-so-nice to have her closer to home on the east coast. Do I remember correctly that you have a son living in Japan? My girl spent 6 months there, although that's one visit that we did not make. Well, good luck to you and yours as you make your new home in Portland. ((#))

Scarlett darling! Max our dog sends dog kisses to Pup. Man-o-man was he mad at us for leaving him to go to Kauai! So mad, he and mrlou are off on an icecream/yogurt run! Welcome home to your new home!! Ironic once again, that we return together on the same date! Good Times!!!!!!!

Great &quot;trip&quot; report, Scarlett. I loved the &quot;I have never seen so much corn.&quot; Neither have I. Hope you enjoy Portland. I'm sure this is a good week to be there considering the hurricane scare!

Thank you ellen ((F))

elsiejune, yes, my baby boy lives in Tokyo. There have been murmurs of the possibilities of his coming back to the US...our fingers are crossed tightly. I want to visit him there before he leaves though. But we also want to go to Italy and he would be welcome to take that trip with us too..so lots of possibilities ahead .
My best advice for these road trips is to get up early and get on the road while you are fresh and rested. Stop whenever you need to, don't eat much during the day..Stop around 5-6 and have a nice dinner and go to bed .. lol.
Without a dog you will have a much better choice of nice hotels. We had to take the luck of the draw with whatever La Quinta was in the town we &quot;landed&quot; in ~

gypie honey, pups forgive everything quickly. Pup has almost forgotten the drive..today he was quite happy to hop right in the car and stick his head out the window.
Did you bring your pup something from Hawaii?

Thanks neworleanslady! Have a great time in Prague!

I will!! As long as I can get out of here!

What a wonderful trip!

I have also driven across country twice. Once as a child from VA to CA and back and the other time in college from SC to CA and flew home.

Didn't appreciate it either time.

Glad you are settling in and I'm jealous of the cool weather!

Sounds like a great trip, Scarlett! Thanks for the report. :)

Thank you for the trip report. It was wonderful!

It's funny the things you learn about your spouse when there's no radio!

I'm starting to understand why my parents enjoyed Sunday road trips; we would all fall asleep in the backseat and my parents could actually have a conversation. Now that my husband and I have a toddler, we've started taking those Sunday road trips, too. We can talk away while she's snoring in her carseat! :)

Portland sounds lovely!

:-X&gt;:D&lt; :*
Welcome to the Left Coast!

So nice to know you've arrived safe &amp; sound. That is one smart Pup, knows you'll be getting back in the car, so he can show off his yodeling skills! Glad you've made it and that you're enjoying Portland!

BC

Enjoyed your trip report, Scarlett! It reminded me of a trip in 1981 when we were headed to Colorado and having a problem with radio stations; we bought a cassette of Neil Diamond's The Jazz Singer at a truck stop in Minnesota and played it over and over. Being an immigrant myself, listening to &quot;Coming to America&quot; while driving through this wide and beautiful country was so awesome. This weekend we're leaving on a road trip &quot;out west&quot; and we're taking along a CD of The Jazz Singer, and renewing our appreciation for the vastness and beauty of our country.

Wonderful report! have you considered a set of travel books possibly titled, &quot;The Further Adventures of Scarlett, The Yankee and Pup&quot;? The title's an instant million seller.

By the way, Do you mind if I pry a bit and ask what it is that you and/or The Yankee do that allowed you to pick up and move accross the country? Was it a job opportunity or simply a whim? Do you have the same type of jobs in Portaland or are you beginning fresh with new career(S)?

Thanks,

AL ((d))

Al, we are lazy no good loafers and do not work.
I think moving to Florida from NY was the 'whim' .. this one was much more thought out and we came here a couple of times to househunt and be sure.
I used to live in Hawaii and California, so I sort of remember what the West Coast feel was, totally different from that 'feel' when I arrived in NYC all those years ago. So I feel very comfortable here and the Yankee is liking it more and more every day.
That writing idea sounds good..perhaps we will work on that, where can I go next, with Pup? :)

So the secret is just don't work!? Gee, I wish I'd thought of that. Kudos to both of you (and Pup) for being self-sufficient.

By the way, do you and The Yankee wish to adopt a 46 year old, just laid off, &quot;Everyman&quot;. I'm a hell of a chef.

AL ((d))

And I make a great martini!

Scarlett,

I hope you will be very happy here with us left-coasters. I live in Spokane but am very fond of Portland.

My sister and I are very proprietary and protective about the northwest. In fact, my sister made a comment the other day about the fact that she rather resented the fact that the Columbia River travels through Canada as well as the northwestern United States. We laughed, of course, but I understood completely, except that I also feel a sense of ownership about NW Canada as well.

I can't wait to read your reports about your travels in Oregon and points west.

Hey Al, I'll adopt you! :0) My Mother downsized and I ended up with her glass martini set from the 60's complete with glasses, pitcher and stirrer. Looks like something out of a James Bond movie.

Scarlett-I think Pup should go to Rodeo Drive and show those purse riding hairless rodents they call dogs what a real dog looks like.