Last Month, Kelly and I took a road trip to see my family in Oklahoma. On Wednesday, August 11, 2010, we left home in Acworth, GA, and travel South on I-75.
To bypass Downtown Atlanta, we transition to I-285 ("The Peremiter") West, then South onto I-20. We go West on I-20, pass Six Flags over Georgia, pass the rest of West Georgia, and travel into Alabama. We would have to go through Downtown Birmingham to get to our journey. I-20 and I-59 merge to become one freeway (I-20/59) and I noticed that a Cemetery marked a stopping point for I-20 by itself. My theory is that w/o the Merge with I-59, I-20 would no longer exist.
To get to Memphis, we would have to exit I-20/I-59 at Arkadelphia Road (U.S. 78). It was a sketchy road like Cobb Pkwy and Buford Highway are in Metro Atlanta. 12 miles from the time we exited, U.S. 78 would become a freeway for us.
U.S. 78 is marked as the "Future I-22 corridor" for the length of the freeway from Birmingham to the Mississippi/Tennessee State line. U.S. 78 took on a Northwesterly drive for us.
U.S. 78 would eventually turn into Lamar Avenue and get us to our next spot, I-240 West. Then I-240 would arc North until we exited at Union Avenue. After making the wrong turn (turning right) at the exit, we made a u-turn to get to our hotel.
Along the way, we drove past Sun Records and Auto Zone Park (home of the Memphis Redbirds).
Showing posts with label vacation travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation travel. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
109 days until our cruise
I can't wait to get on board our Carnival Cruise ship from Jacksonville.
Me and Kelly are only 109 days away from setting sail to the Bahamas. I need this vacation very, very badly.
Me and Kelly are only 109 days away from setting sail to the Bahamas. I need this vacation very, very badly.
Friday, June 19, 2009
The May 2009 Phoenix Trip
I was in Phoenix for a weekend getaway with Kelly in Late May. Friday was a travel day from Hartsfield Airport to Sky Harbor Airport. After we got on the road in our Toyota Yaris, We traveled down I-10 Eastbound to 40th street and took Kelly to Whataburger. I wanted us to experience Whataburger for all its glory, and we did. It was yummy. All this was done on May 29, 2009.
Saturday, May 30, 2009, we ventured into downtown Phoenix for our first trip to Chase Field (better known to me as the "BOB" or Bank One Ballpark). It was my first trip there in nearly 10 years, and the visit didn't disappoint. There was alot more Sedona Red inside the stadium. The Seats were still forest green. The roof was closed for the game, and sadly, the Braves lost 3-2 in 11 innings. After the game, we got ready for dinner at historic Monti's La Casa Vieja near Downtown Tempe, Arizona. It was my first visit there in nearly 2 years, and it was probably my 10th overall. I met an old friend from High School, Dan Karnes, and his girlfriend for a lovely dinner. For another blog post soon, I'll write about how they get me on the drinks.
Sunday, May 31, 2009 was outdoor day at the Desert Botannical Gardens. Before that we experienced yet another culinary delight, Jack in the Box. I had my usual 2 tacos plus a sourdough burger and Kelly had a Chicken Cibata Sandwich. Kelly tried one of the tacos, and I'll never forget her asessment of it. She said it was "pretty good, kind of nasty." Looking back on it now, how did I ever eat them in the first place? They tasted good to me then, but I'm not so sure now.
At the Desert Botannical Gardens, we checked out the blooming flowers, the cacti, and the glass exhibit throughout the garden. Alot of cool glass was firmly planted into the ground to make such beautiful art on a hot desert day.
Traveling to Atlanta from Phoenix while taking the red eye is a gamble. First of all, nothing is ever open at the terminal past 9pm over at Sky Harbor Airport. It is rough waiting 3 hours for a flight without proper food and entertainment. Luckily, we bought snacks and Kelly had her iPod with the best of the Daily Show from 2008. On my flight back to Atlanta, I got 2 hours of sleep on the plane. It is always tough to get a good night sleep on a plane.
I love you kelly and we will have fun on vacation again, this time to Chicago.
Saturday, May 30, 2009, we ventured into downtown Phoenix for our first trip to Chase Field (better known to me as the "BOB" or Bank One Ballpark). It was my first trip there in nearly 10 years, and the visit didn't disappoint. There was alot more Sedona Red inside the stadium. The Seats were still forest green. The roof was closed for the game, and sadly, the Braves lost 3-2 in 11 innings. After the game, we got ready for dinner at historic Monti's La Casa Vieja near Downtown Tempe, Arizona. It was my first visit there in nearly 2 years, and it was probably my 10th overall. I met an old friend from High School, Dan Karnes, and his girlfriend for a lovely dinner. For another blog post soon, I'll write about how they get me on the drinks.
Sunday, May 31, 2009 was outdoor day at the Desert Botannical Gardens. Before that we experienced yet another culinary delight, Jack in the Box. I had my usual 2 tacos plus a sourdough burger and Kelly had a Chicken Cibata Sandwich. Kelly tried one of the tacos, and I'll never forget her asessment of it. She said it was "pretty good, kind of nasty." Looking back on it now, how did I ever eat them in the first place? They tasted good to me then, but I'm not so sure now.
At the Desert Botannical Gardens, we checked out the blooming flowers, the cacti, and the glass exhibit throughout the garden. Alot of cool glass was firmly planted into the ground to make such beautiful art on a hot desert day.
Traveling to Atlanta from Phoenix while taking the red eye is a gamble. First of all, nothing is ever open at the terminal past 9pm over at Sky Harbor Airport. It is rough waiting 3 hours for a flight without proper food and entertainment. Luckily, we bought snacks and Kelly had her iPod with the best of the Daily Show from 2008. On my flight back to Atlanta, I got 2 hours of sleep on the plane. It is always tough to get a good night sleep on a plane.
I love you kelly and we will have fun on vacation again, this time to Chicago.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Sites of Phoenix from October 25th
Most of the day seemed like we were traveling on just about all of Metro Phoenix's freeways on this day. My girlfriend and I started our journey from North Phoenix going down I-17 Southbound. We took I-17 to its end and moved along to I-10 Eastbound before transitioning to U.S. 60 Eastbound towards Tempe and Mesa. We moved down the Loop 101 Southbound to Elliot Road to get to where I used to live in Chandler. I took Kelly to my old house in Heatherbrook in Chandler. It looked just about the same as when I moved out of there in 1992.
After stopping to my old house, I took her through where I went to school (Hendrix Junior High School in Chandler and then Dobson High School in Mesa for my sophomore year).
After the school stops, we took a break and went to Golfland in Mesa. I wanted to ride the waterslides a la Napoleon from "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure". I was disappointed to learn that the water rides were closed for the rest of the year. I wanted to be Napoleon for my girlfriend. I settled for playing video games.
I thought $20 would be enough for each of us to play video games for a while. $20 stretches so far over at golfland. We were there for what seemed like an eternity, but it was really 4 hours. I set some high scores in Frogger and Donkey Kong and played some guitar hero games as well. Me and Kelly were rushing to get rid of our credits so that we could see some other sites.
After golfland, I took her to Red Mountain High School in Mesa and showed her the football field where I flew my cap into the air in 1994. After that I showed her my 2 houses I lived in when I was in Mesa. I showed her the one house on Sea Pines Circle and the Big house on Sandal Circle. The exterior of the house was much different when I moved out of there in 2000 and when I last saw it in 2004. It got painted from a cream color to a purplish color.
After the mesa tour, we took the Loop 202 Westbound from Power Road all the way down to Dobson Road and we got a look at the Riverview Plaza and we got a look at the Tempe Marketplace for a short while. It was too commercial and not really local enough for me and Kelly to stop there. We settled on going down University Drive to look briefly at the Arizona State University Campus and drove past Mill Avenue before settling on parking at a garage for lunch. I took Kelly to Uno's Chicago Grill and we had some of the best deep dish pizza we've had in a long time. It was so good we had some of it for breakfast the next morning.
I had a bad headache at one point I turned over the keys to the rental car to the beautiful kelly and she got us back to the hotel and we took a nap before our next journey: Sugar Daddy's in Scottsdale, Arizona.
I took a circuitous route from the hotel to Sugar Daddys. We took the Loop 101 Eastbound, then it curved Southbound before exiting at Thomas Road. Along the way I was listening to KTAR 620-AM and heard that Oregon was thumping ASU 44-13, so I quit Listening and listened to some hard rock on 98-KUPD. Thanks to Kelly, she saw the Sugar Daddy's sign and we pulled in for a birthday party for a friend of my friend Mike Spinelli. I danced with my girlfriend and jammed w/some gut in a gorilla mask that had the hair of one Rick James.
Me and the birthday boy, Felipe, talked about Florida Gators football (how good it was) and how bad my Sun Devils were.
After the party, Me and Kelly were traveling down Scottsdale Road (later turns into rural road) and initiated Kelly into an IN-N-OUT burger, and it was awesome. It was one of the best burgers that We've eaten. Later on throughout the trip, I regretably never got to take her out to Whataburger. That's another awesome burger too.
We conclude this day traveling Westbound on the Loop 202, then Westbound on I-10, and then Northbound on I-17 to our hotel and went to sleep. Next stop, Sedona and the Grand Canyon.
After stopping to my old house, I took her through where I went to school (Hendrix Junior High School in Chandler and then Dobson High School in Mesa for my sophomore year).
After the school stops, we took a break and went to Golfland in Mesa. I wanted to ride the waterslides a la Napoleon from "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure". I was disappointed to learn that the water rides were closed for the rest of the year. I wanted to be Napoleon for my girlfriend. I settled for playing video games.
I thought $20 would be enough for each of us to play video games for a while. $20 stretches so far over at golfland. We were there for what seemed like an eternity, but it was really 4 hours. I set some high scores in Frogger and Donkey Kong and played some guitar hero games as well. Me and Kelly were rushing to get rid of our credits so that we could see some other sites.
After golfland, I took her to Red Mountain High School in Mesa and showed her the football field where I flew my cap into the air in 1994. After that I showed her my 2 houses I lived in when I was in Mesa. I showed her the one house on Sea Pines Circle and the Big house on Sandal Circle. The exterior of the house was much different when I moved out of there in 2000 and when I last saw it in 2004. It got painted from a cream color to a purplish color.
After the mesa tour, we took the Loop 202 Westbound from Power Road all the way down to Dobson Road and we got a look at the Riverview Plaza and we got a look at the Tempe Marketplace for a short while. It was too commercial and not really local enough for me and Kelly to stop there. We settled on going down University Drive to look briefly at the Arizona State University Campus and drove past Mill Avenue before settling on parking at a garage for lunch. I took Kelly to Uno's Chicago Grill and we had some of the best deep dish pizza we've had in a long time. It was so good we had some of it for breakfast the next morning.
I had a bad headache at one point I turned over the keys to the rental car to the beautiful kelly and she got us back to the hotel and we took a nap before our next journey: Sugar Daddy's in Scottsdale, Arizona.
I took a circuitous route from the hotel to Sugar Daddys. We took the Loop 101 Eastbound, then it curved Southbound before exiting at Thomas Road. Along the way I was listening to KTAR 620-AM and heard that Oregon was thumping ASU 44-13, so I quit Listening and listened to some hard rock on 98-KUPD. Thanks to Kelly, she saw the Sugar Daddy's sign and we pulled in for a birthday party for a friend of my friend Mike Spinelli. I danced with my girlfriend and jammed w/some gut in a gorilla mask that had the hair of one Rick James.
Me and the birthday boy, Felipe, talked about Florida Gators football (how good it was) and how bad my Sun Devils were.
After the party, Me and Kelly were traveling down Scottsdale Road (later turns into rural road) and initiated Kelly into an IN-N-OUT burger, and it was awesome. It was one of the best burgers that We've eaten. Later on throughout the trip, I regretably never got to take her out to Whataburger. That's another awesome burger too.
We conclude this day traveling Westbound on the Loop 202, then Westbound on I-10, and then Northbound on I-17 to our hotel and went to sleep. Next stop, Sedona and the Grand Canyon.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Sites of Tucson
Me and Kelly went to the San Xavier Del Bac Mission, Old Tucson, and the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum.
Kelly and I traveled down I-19 to get to San Xavier, and it's a cool old-looking church building. All the distanced posted on I-19 going towards Nogales and Mexico are all in meters or kilometers. I thought that was cool.
Kelly and I took great pictures of the building inside and out. We did a cool little hike up this small mountain too. Since I worked out really hard on Thursday, I felt the pain a bit on Friday.
Next stop, Old Tucson. We saw a cool reenactment of a bank robbery thwarted in the middle of the complex. After lunch, we saw "Cowgirl up" inside the palace theatre, and for some reason, I saw UofA banners on the stage. Those had nothing to do with the show and I made a motion to leave, but i stayed and it was a good show.
I panned for "gold" and found some.
Also, the mine tour was so much fun. The tour guide was asking me where I was from, and I said Atlanta. My name for the tour was Atlanta. When I heard the tour guide say follow the light, me, Kelly, and the group had to repeat "follow the light." When the tour guide asked me "Where are you Atlanta?", I said "over here." The tour guide was so funny and I'd tour with him again because he was good and entertaining.
I didn't know that some of the modern classics, "Revenge of the Nerds", "Little House on the Prairie", "Young Guns II", and "The Three Amigos" were all filmed at Old Tucson. I hope that Old Tucson will be used for movie filming more and more again.
Next stop, the desert museum. They even have drinking fountains there. For the first time, I saw dispensable sunscreen there too. I put some on because I have a history of sunburn. Me and Kelly saw some cool animals and a cool mountain lion that we adored. I saw lots of snakes at the beginning of the tour and found a few of them to be very colorful. I saw some cool rocks and got to take a piece of one home. Mine was a blue/green/silver rock that looked so shiny. I love shiny colors.
Last stop, the gift shop. You can never leave anywhere without walking into the gift shop. I have a prickly pear cactus ornament for Christmas this year. I wanted that turquoise tie, but it was $45 and up. I'll pass on that for now. Maybe later I'll find one on the cheap.
Tucson was a pretty neat town. Me and Kelly liked it. I wish we had more time to see more of the sites in and around Tucson.
Next stop, to I-10 and the Phoenix Area.
Kelly and I traveled down I-19 to get to San Xavier, and it's a cool old-looking church building. All the distanced posted on I-19 going towards Nogales and Mexico are all in meters or kilometers. I thought that was cool.
Kelly and I took great pictures of the building inside and out. We did a cool little hike up this small mountain too. Since I worked out really hard on Thursday, I felt the pain a bit on Friday.
Next stop, Old Tucson. We saw a cool reenactment of a bank robbery thwarted in the middle of the complex. After lunch, we saw "Cowgirl up" inside the palace theatre, and for some reason, I saw UofA banners on the stage. Those had nothing to do with the show and I made a motion to leave, but i stayed and it was a good show.
I panned for "gold" and found some.
Also, the mine tour was so much fun. The tour guide was asking me where I was from, and I said Atlanta. My name for the tour was Atlanta. When I heard the tour guide say follow the light, me, Kelly, and the group had to repeat "follow the light." When the tour guide asked me "Where are you Atlanta?", I said "over here." The tour guide was so funny and I'd tour with him again because he was good and entertaining.
I didn't know that some of the modern classics, "Revenge of the Nerds", "Little House on the Prairie", "Young Guns II", and "The Three Amigos" were all filmed at Old Tucson. I hope that Old Tucson will be used for movie filming more and more again.
Next stop, the desert museum. They even have drinking fountains there. For the first time, I saw dispensable sunscreen there too. I put some on because I have a history of sunburn. Me and Kelly saw some cool animals and a cool mountain lion that we adored. I saw lots of snakes at the beginning of the tour and found a few of them to be very colorful. I saw some cool rocks and got to take a piece of one home. Mine was a blue/green/silver rock that looked so shiny. I love shiny colors.
Last stop, the gift shop. You can never leave anywhere without walking into the gift shop. I have a prickly pear cactus ornament for Christmas this year. I wanted that turquoise tie, but it was $45 and up. I'll pass on that for now. Maybe later I'll find one on the cheap.
Tucson was a pretty neat town. Me and Kelly liked it. I wish we had more time to see more of the sites in and around Tucson.
Next stop, to I-10 and the Phoenix Area.
Welcome to Tucson
Thursday Night, me and Kelly arrived at the Tucson International Airport to begin our journey. When we got there, the airport looked dead. I mean, we were part of one of the last flights arriving into Tucson for the night. Getting our bags was easy and quick. Next stop, the rental car counter.
There were 7 rental car places within the airport, but Thrifty was not one of them. So I hit "1" to get a bus for one of the shuttle buses. We were the only passengers on board. We were also the only customers inside Thrifty. We have a shiny new Kia for the week to drive around Arizona and California.
I have to admit, I'm not too familiar with driving around Tucson. My faithful guide, and beautiful girlfriend, Kelly, got me to where I needed to be to get to our motel room, the Days Inn Suites.
on the stay at the motel, I expected better quality from Days Inn than what I got. The Air Conditioner didn't work all the time, there weren't enough clean towels, the TV wasn't where we slept, and there was no coffee maker. I'd have to give the Days Inn a 2 star rating. That's the best I can do.
for Friday, on to the sites of Tucson.
There were 7 rental car places within the airport, but Thrifty was not one of them. So I hit "1" to get a bus for one of the shuttle buses. We were the only passengers on board. We were also the only customers inside Thrifty. We have a shiny new Kia for the week to drive around Arizona and California.
I have to admit, I'm not too familiar with driving around Tucson. My faithful guide, and beautiful girlfriend, Kelly, got me to where I needed to be to get to our motel room, the Days Inn Suites.
on the stay at the motel, I expected better quality from Days Inn than what I got. The Air Conditioner didn't work all the time, there weren't enough clean towels, the TV wasn't where we slept, and there was no coffee maker. I'd have to give the Days Inn a 2 star rating. That's the best I can do.
for Friday, on to the sites of Tucson.
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