Today we picked up Minnie, our little vacation home on wheels. After 10 days on the road, we are more than happy to to leave hotel life behind.
Reg directed the truck toward the blue sky and we were off.
It took awhile to clean and organize our space, but we’re already feeling pretty much at home. Reg and I have always battled over the thermostat, so while the wind howled outside, I bundled up to keep warm. Reg poured a cold drink and celebrated our return to traveling with Minnie, anticipating the adventures that await.
Taking a rest from our mad dash across the country, we planned two nights in St. Louis, looking forward to a day for stretching our legs and seeing the sites. We eventually realized we had landed in a special place; The Delmar Loop. Reg was skeptical as we set out to find dinner. Our little stretch of Delmar Boulevard felt, shall we say, a little rough around the edges.
It didn’t take long for Blueberry Hill Restaurant and Music Club to crush any misgivings either of us had. The St. Louis Landmark is part restaurant, part concert venue and part museum.
The most incredible tidbit of history we learned was a connection the legendary Chuck Berry had to Blueberry Hill. As a native of St. Louis and friend to owner Joe Edwards, he played over 200 monthly concerts at the venue from 1997 – 2014. We were told they were always on a Wednesday, and always a packed house.
A cozy booth for dining with lots to look at.
Years of graffiti scratched into our booth.
Old jukeboxes stand guard over us. Blueberry Hill’s collection of 30,000 records led to a #1 U.S. Jukebox rating by Billboard and Esquire and a #1 in the world rating by the BBC.
A collection of pop culture memorabilia covers every wall, nook and cranny.
Owner Joe Edwards has hosted nearly every big name in the music and entertainment industries, with few political figures thrown in for good measure.
More photos…so many photos!
The downstairs Elvis Room was the original concert venue.
Tina Tiuner with owner, Joe Edwards.
Willie Nelson
Disney Memorabilia
Hometown hero – Yogi Berra spent most of his career with the New York Yankees.
Joe Edwards with Burt Reynolds and Chris Rock.
We were told Ed Sheeran played a show before he really hit it big. Our server told us there were mobs of girls everywhere.
No pop culture collection is complete without Beatles memorabilia.
The Delmar Walk of Fame, similar to Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, features prominent people from St. Louis. More than 150 brass stars line the sidewalk. We were surprised by the number of names we recognized.
In the 1970s businessman and developer Joe Edwards spearheaded a movement to revitalize the stretch of street known at the Delmar Loop. He opened BlueberryHill in 1972. His accomplishments since that time have been remarkable.
After finishing dinner, we were surprised to see the neighborhood had come alive with crowds spilling out of bars and restaurants. That was the vibrant, eclectic neighborhood we were expecting.
Shining above Delmar Loop is the Moonrise Hotel, and it was our home for two nights. I should have taken more photos. While the lobby sports some pretty groovy mid-century modern furniture, it’s the glowing, psychedelic staircase that steals the show. Multiple display cases are chock full of space-themed memorabilia…all in all, very 1960-ish. It’s been quite an evening and we have an entire day tomorrow to rest up for. It’s going to take something pretty spectacular to compete with all this!
Canal rides are available along the Bricktown Canal.
I’ve always loved Oklahoma (the musical that is) but Reg and I had never given much thought to visiting the Sooner State…until this trip. Oklahoma City happened to be in the right place, at the right time for an overnight stop on our eastward journey.
Our reservation at the Hyatt Place in the Bricktown entertainment district was the perfect blend of comfort and fun. Just steps outside the door an entire neighborhood of shops and restaurants awaited. Bricktown is also the site of Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, home of the Oklahoma City Dodgers – the city’s minor league baseball team.
Dinner was another high point of our short stay. Pearl’s Crabtown wasn’t fancy, but we had been assured the seafood was top notch. Even on a Monday night the place was hopping.
We kept a close eye on the table behind us as the server dumped multiple pots of the Cajun Crab and Shrimp Boil on the paper tablecloth. We managed to get the before and after photos…it must have been good!I chose the Crab Pot Pie and Reg had Salmon with Fettuccine Alfredo. We were relieved to see our dinners arrive on plates.
So, at the end of the day, Oklahoma City soared to the top of favorite city of the trip…so far.
Next stop: The Moonrise Hotel which promises to “bring us out of our world for an unforgettable experience!” I hope you can join us!
Minnie has been parked in Virginia since last June, patiently waiting for us to decide her fate.
If you’ve followed our adventures, you may remember that we left Minnie in a storage yard in Virginia last June. At the time, we thought we might sell our Ashland home and move east, but when our sale fell through and the housing market followed down the hole, we decided to stay put. At least for now.
It was a long summer spent waiting for potential buyers to make an offer, all the while missing our portable coastal summer home. Rather than spend January stuck under dreary, cold overcast skies, we made the decision to head east to retrieve Minnie and bring her home by way of the warmer southern states.
But first, we had to drive through California during one of the rainiest winters on record.
Once we reached the Central Valley (and the torrential rain cleared) we could enjoy what weeks of drenching had left behind. Acres of gorgeous green grasses covered the normally parched fields and hills from Sacramento to Bakersfield.
The storms were not finished with the West Coast, but keeping a close eye on the weather it appeared we could safely reach Flagstaff, Arizona on Interstate 40, saving us at least a day and a half of driving farther south to Interstate 10.
Peanut butter and jelly from the ice chest, enjoyed at a roadside stop.
After an uneventful drive to Flagstaff, where hotels were not only booked up, but out of this world expensive, I madly scrambled to find a room, booking a hotel that had a restaurant so meals would be close by…just in case the 1-3 inches of snow that was predicted arrived overnight.
The morning view out our hotel room window.Staff was out early shoveling sidewalks.Cars and trucks were covered.Snowplows worked all night long to clear the roads.
What a surprise we woke up to. The Flagstaff airport reported 17 inches of snow. Pretty close to a foot greeted us, creating a giant snowball of anxiety. Fortunately, Reg had a pair of gloves in the truck and the hotel staff loaned him a shovel and assured him the roads ahead were clear. I like to think I did my share, packing up our room and loading our bags on the luggage cart…then pushing the luggage cart down the snow-lined path to load into the truck. What an adventure as we forged on ahead to Albuquerque where we had plans to have dinner with friends.
Clear skies ahead!
After just two days of driving, we’re off to quite start. What could possibly happen next?
The state of Nevada stretches out ahead of us on our marathon drive home.
It’s been nearly a week since we arrived home, enough time to feel as though we never left. Funny how that works. Although we’ve made two other trailer trips across the country, this was by far our most ambitious, spreading from as far south as Sedona, Arizona and north into the state of Maine.
For years Reg and I discussed the wisdom of a truck and trailer purchase. It’s nearly impossible to justify the cost, so when we finally decided to take the plunge, we promised each other we would use it…a lot. In the 6 years we’ve been trailer owners, we’ve done a pretty good job of keeping that promise. Thinking back through all our trips we figure we’ve spent the equivalent of 14 months worth of nights snuggling in a bed that is really just a little too small to be truly comfortable.
So, how did we fare on our 2022 road trip? Not bad considering all the doom and gloom reports of high gas prices (they were) and limited campground availability (they weren’t).
March 9 – First day on the road.
● Number of days on the road – 107
● Number of nights spent in campgrounds – 84
● Average cost per night – $58.00
● Miles traveled – 13,000
● Number of gas fill-ups – 45
● Total gallons purchased – 925+/-
Our cheapest gas was in Amarillo, Texas where we filled up for $3.40 per gallon on April 5. Our most expensive gas was at Stove Pipe Wells in Death Valley where we paid a whopping $6.09 per gallon. Needless to say, we added just 6 gallons, enough to get us back to civilization and a somewhat more palatable gallon price of $4.69.
Our most affordable campsite was in Ozark, Arkansas, an Army Corp of Engineers site that set us back $9.00 a night. We spent two nights. The biggest campsite splurge was in Williamsburg, Virginia where we were promised a lovely, large, quiet campsite for $108.00 (!) per night. When it turned out to be an equally short distance from a busy highway and a train track that ran commuter trains at all hours, Reg complained and got us a bit of a refund. This is all part of the fun…
53 days of hikes or walks for a total of 222 miles.
5 days of bike riding for a total of 79 miles…We had hoped to do more.
In the 6 years we’ve been trailer camping, we’ve visited 44 of our 50 states. It’s not likely we will add Hawaii to our list. Will we ever add North Dakota, Florida, Delaware, Rhode Island and Alaska? It’s hard to say. For now, Minnie is taking a well-earned rest, parked in Ashland, Virginia where she awaits our return to take her on another tour of the eastern seaboard.
After several marathon days along the road home I decided to hold a little pity party. “I’m tired and ugly,” I complained as we crossed yet another state line. ”My hair needs cutting, my bum is sore from all this sitting and I’m bored!”
The road home is a long one.
Not that I’m complaining about our trip. It’s been a great trip. We’ve seen so much of this big, beautiful country of ours and we’ve visited with family and friends, so I know how fortunate Reg and I are.
Ronald McDonald always had the coffee perking.Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center NebraskaSouthern Wyoming
It won’t be long now…but if only we could just blink and be home.
Tomorrow we pack up our memories and say goodbye to Maine, a state we’ve dreamed of visiting for years. How lucky we were to visit beautiful Acadia National Park before the real crowds of summer arrive.
Acadia National Park – Ocean Path
Friends Jeannie and Jeff came up to spend our last day with us at our cozy cabin. After a short walk, we lunched, laughed and enjoyed the view from the porch as a rain shower passed over. All too soon it was time to say goodbye…or should I say, until we meet again.
While this feels like the end of our trip, we still have over 3,000 miles to drive before reaching home. I think we’re both ready!
The sun was out and Cadillac Mountain was waiting for us. It was a great day for a hike and since we lost our reservation to drive up, we chose to walk to the top. The Cadillac South Ridge Trail was described as a moderately challenging 6.7 mile out and back trail. We felt we had a pretty good chance of summiting the 1,548 foot peak with enough energy left over to get back down again.
A sticky, muddy, puddle-strewn trail climbed steadily up, finally opening onto a mostly smooth, rock path. There were views in every direction and plenty of rock cairns and blue blazes marking the way. With the exception of several semi-intimidating rock scrambles (which required some booty-scooting on the trip down), we reached the summit right about noon. Perfect timing!
We made it to the top for a windy picnic lunch and a beautiful view.
We had a Monday reservation at 9 a.m. to drive to the top of Acadia National Park’s Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the North Atlantic seaboard. We awoke to pouring rain and a forecast of much more to come. Needless to say, we nixed the mountain drive.
Armed with Google maps, we opted for a drive farther north along the coast, curious about what we might find. The quintessential rugged Maine Coast, gorgeous even in the rain, coaxed us out of the truck several times in an effort to capture photo memories.
As the noon hour rolled around I expanded my google search for a promising lunch spot. After passing several closed signs, and dismissing the chance for a slice of gas station pizza, I guided Reg to tiny Corea Harbor, an out-of-the-way spot marked by a Google Map knife and fork icon. Lunch On The Wharf it was called. Perfect…just what we were looking for. We took a chance.
We arrived to a nearly full parking lot adjacent to a somewhat ramshackle wharf. The place must have quite the reputation. Even on a rainy Monday it was hopping with friendly sightseers, bike riders braving the rain and a handful of locals. Reg ordered a lobster roll with coleslaw and I had a grilled cheese and lobster sandwich with potato salad. Although Reg didn’t believe me, I think they used Velveeta cheese…no matter, it was good, the coffee was hot and our day was a success!
This little finger of land in Lamoine, Maine is where we’ll spend the next week before heading home.
We’ve reached the northernmost point of our trip and are comfortably settled in a spectacular log cabin overlooking the Mt. Desert Narrows body of water. We have plans to visit Maine’s Acadia National Park and hope to get together once more with friends Jeannie and Jeff…but other than that, we may just sit and enjoy the view from the deck.
Our host assured us there would be space for Minnie, and Reg backed her in like a pro. While he tended to all the details of parking her for the week, our host gave me a tour of our temporary waterside home. What a special place this is. Gorgeous inside and out…we may never leave!
After breakfast we took a short morning walk around the point, returning to enjoy a quiet Sunday watching the tide roll out…and then back in.
carryoncouple 