Oregon Bound...Part One

We don't fly anywhere, but do road trips to wherever we want to wind up. You see the country that way. And, we're just not wired for being in a cramped quarters with a bunch of strangers, or waiting for hours to take off.

We had things planned out, but unfortunately, we hadn't checked about one thing until last minute. Cheyenne has a huge rodeo, and we're going into the hub of it. We thought we would be able to get a room somewhere in Sidney or such places. Our first night we stayed in Walnut Iowa, trying not to do too many miles in one day. We did 380 miles that first day. Stayed in a Super 8. One word of warning, Super 8's are not what they used to be/ up to par. And we know this, but once in a while we take a chance that they are kept up, or haven't had the opportunity to become run-down by the people who now own them. But this one was fine, still good, although ran by someone different, now than last we were here.

This was a good stopping point, but we didn't go to the diner that night. You really don't know what sort of food you might get. But, earlier, we did stop at a Denny's and ate a huge meal, so we chose to eat "light" for dinner with cheese (wine) and snacks (beer and more wine), and watch "Friends". The meal part of our trip would become our problem. Stopping in large towns where it's hectic, after you've already driven four hours, you aren't in the mood for idiots, and lots of unfamiliar traffic. There would be times we didn't get a lunch. The second day was one of those days.

Already not prepared to see so much traffic all the way into Nebraska, after Omaha, or even North Platte--which would, by then, be very few people on road, including semi's--we were worried this was traffic going to Cheyenne Days. Let me just say that this is like the super bowl for rodeos. People out west really get into them and we learned that motels were booked solid even as far as 200-250 miles away. I can't imagine anyone wanted to drive 4 hours each way to go to a damned rodeo, but that's just me.

One thing about traveling west, you go through time zones, and going west, you gain an hour. When our clocks showed 1:26, it was really 12:26. How cool is that? This gives us a little cushion of time to get to a motel and check in.
Our hopes to eat a good lunch was dashed when we didn't get off at Lexington, like we'd planned. Somehow we didn't realize our exit was coming up. You get zoned out, sometimes and just don't read signs. So we spent the next two hours pulling off 3 times in all, trying to find a Subway. Let me tell you, if you can't get to any other place (and we shun burger joints, especially McGarbage), a Subway is usually clean and good. But the place we did pull off to, Dennis and I went into the rest rooms and they were really filthy. We left. The best way to judge a restaurant is by the bathrooms. Remember, those people who serve you have to use it too.

Anyway, it completely turned Dennis off on this one and we left.

Down the road we head. We kept finding parking lots in North Platte were totally full. We usually go to Whiskey Creek, but we walked in--this is at 12:45--and there were people waiting to be seated. Well shit!

All the other restaurants in the area were the same. This was not normal. We took out whatever food we had and ate it in the truck, then drove on, worried about finding any motel room later on. Believe me, this was looking really bad.

We reached Ogalala, thinking we might be able to find something. There were at least 3 hotels, some with three stories. We decided to try a Travel Lodge, that had outside doors to your room. Love those because you can unload and load quickly when traveling. This is how the old motels used to be, back in the 60's, and it seems that some are going back to that. Then there are your "mom & pop" ones that are this way. They don't offer any "free breakfast" (it's not free, it's included in your bill, duh!), and you get them about $20 cheaper than those fancier ones.

Dennis went inside, I stayed in the truck, just in case we wouldn't get a room. I waited, watching people roaming around, noticing that there was a restaurant next door and a truck plaza as well, for anything we might need.

Moments passed, and I was pretty sure his being inside so long meant there was a chance we had a room. Dennis came out with a sheet of paper in his hand (the bill), a smile on his face and threw his hands up (relief). He said we were very lucky. They'd had a cancellation, and we got a room there. According to the people inside we wouldn't have gotten a room anywhere around here, not as far back as in middle of Nebraska.

We were double lucky and had a room downstairs. This had 2 queen beds, and there was barely room to move around. I don't know who designs motel rooms, but they should be shot. Especially the moron who places the toilet paper holders where you have to be a contortionist in order to get hold of it!

We went to the restaurant and had two excellent steak dinners for $6 @. We then chilled in the room and watched TV until we went to bed.

Well, I'll stop here. Our first few days usually are not so hard. We seemed to be screwed from the beginning. But being lucky enough to get a room here was purely luck.

Next two days we head to the coast, and into Oregon where we've never been before. Thanks for stopping by and hope you will join me in my travel journal. Until next time.

Motel Hell III - Bemidji and Beyond!

Hey, guys, I started work again, so this is a bit delayed. But, I continue and hope to get this travel log done!

August 2, Minnesota Rt 2 heading west

We traveled through the level, yet wooded area I remembered from coming up here with my family to go fishing. We came to Cass Lake, and OMG, it had really changed from a small town to a tourist area. There were Indian-run casinos, of course. Even a nice rest area, where we could get maps etc., which wasn't there at all back when.

After lunch we walked around Bemidji--and finding a parking spot was a challenge. In fact the small town was grid-lock with bumper-to-bumper traffic. I do not recommend it for a destination. We did find a motel, and for the life of me, it wasn't memorable.
We walked through some of the shops, some I remember, and others I don't. This has been built up too. At least certain things were memorable, like the statue of Paul Bunyan and his blue ox.

August 3rd

I was happy today, because I'd found my earrings--my favorite ones that we bought years ago in Eagle River, NM. And my husband joked that I'd pretended to lose them in order to buy more. Hey, $6 for earrings is cheap!

Anyway, we continued west, into North Dakota. Here the speed limit was 80! Yeah, Dennis said 75 mph, was plenty fast, and yet you'd think it was but we saw a state trouper had pulled over some dummy who felt he could go even faster. Idiot.

It's odd how each state has its own particular look. In North Dakota with its wheat fields and sunflowers with the distinctive tree line to separate the very flat acreage between fields. In Minnesota, flat with some forest, interrupted by lakes. Lots of lakes.

We were going on new roads we hadn't driven before--the whole point of this trip "Going places where we've never gone before". But it becomes boring at time, for sure. I think that's why most people fly. Good for them, stay off the roads and out of our way!

We had to find a rest stop in order to use the bathroom. There were few, if any, and weren't where you needed them. We were hungry as well. But the place we stopped at was a gas/restaurant/casino. Bad timing, the men's room was being cleaned, so he had to go over into the smoky casino and he said he ran all the way out. We found a Subway down the road.

NOON:
We came down into South Dakota (80 mph!, but we stay 75), trying to make decision if we should head home. We had packed enough for an extra day, so decided why not go to Mitchel and see the Corn Palace. Which is what we decided to do.

Brookens
We stopped and stayed here once before. The street is being torn up, so we were happy to not have to go far. We got gas and went right across the way to the Days Inn, which is where we stayed the last time we were here. There's a restaurant here, so you don't have to leave and go somewhere for dinner. It's all part of the problem of traveling on the road. The restaurant changed to Ground Round. We've never eaten here before.

There is a college here and so, naturally the room was not up to par. In fact the toilet seat wasn't bolted down right, and there was a large hole in the wall, hidden by a waste basket. The door to the bath was also, at some point, busted, but they'd painted over that. And the floor looked as though it may have seen a mop about five years ago.

Before I go on I have to talk about one of my pet peeves--toilet paper dispensers. Why is it that hotels think you are double jointed, or have the arms of a gorilla? You either have to reach far back, or way in front or something that has you wondering who decided this was a good spot for the TP dispenser?

The one below was at a Hampton Inn, which we paid way too much for. Learned quickly they are now owned by Hilton. So, if you want to pay through the nose, fine. We had no choice. At least their breakfast was very good--and I don't  care what it says, you DO pay for the damned breakfast!

The worst place we had both room-wise and breakfast-wise would be here at the Day's Inn. More on that in a bit.

That night, we went to the Ground Round. Now, we've never eaten here, and I really don't know why I didn't take a picture or two. We had a male waiter, and as far as we're concerned, they tend to be better at serving. He asked what he could start us off with (drinks), and we both wanted beer. I'd already downed two of those little bottles of wine before we came down, because, hey, I'm on vacation! So we went with our usual, and he asked "Short or tall?"
Shrugging we said "Tall". Well, it was TALL. The glass was a mug and it was as tall as my forearm! Okay then.
We then decided on the smallest stake and it was covered in Bearnaise sauce and asparagus. Thought we'd go with mashed potatoes too. Had the salad, and that was good, but we wanted to have room for the meal.

When it came Dennis was impressed. He said it looked exactly like the picture in the menus, and it was excellent. When it comes to food, presentation, and taste, Dennis is the perfectionist and he will tell you when you've screwed it up. He gave it and "8". And possibly because he made glowing comments about the meal, we got a free ice cream. There you go. I gave it a "10"!

Returning to our room we settled down for a movie--this was "The Lone Ranger" with Johnny Depp. I'd seen it before, but Dennis hadn't. I told him this will be good, so we watched it--until the 20 commercials in a break got to us and sleep was in order.

The Day's Inn was supposed to have "speedy check-out" where they actually slip your bill (which has been paid), under your door by morning.

Didn't happen. Dennis went down to find out where his bill was. He said the guy who was doing morning shift actually didn't apologize but said "I had a rough night", which is no excuse at all, and very unprofessional.

Again the breakfast area looked as though it hadn't been clean since Obama was in office, and although the coffee was good--there was actually a "medium roast"--the price of our stay at $92, gave us the worse so-called "continental breakfast" over all. I would like to tell them where they can put their continental breakfast, and it wouldn't be on this continent.

In the news: Governor of  S. D. announced he was changing parties from Democratic to Republican saying "I can no longer [help or serve] you as a democrat", and now his vote will be one more in Trump's corner.

And someone on this news station spoke about Chicago being the "most dangerous city in the world", but I'd have to say he's overblown that statement. However, I don't have any plans on going to that city (or any city), any time soon.

If we'd had more time and money, we'd have headed for the Bad Lands. But we are only going as far as Mitchel. After a rest area stop, we saw dozens of egrets resting in trees along a waterway.

By the time we reached Mitchel S.D., we were starving. And, of course, more construction sort of hampered our trying to get around. We at least made it to the Corn Palace.

The theme was "Rock of Ages" all the designs are made with some part of the corn plant. I've never seen it in my life, but Dennis had when a boy. It was interesting to see all the pictures of the palace down the years, inside.

Dennis was not going to eat something from a sandwich shop, we accepted some free water, and nasty hard pretzels. We went to a local gas station which didn't have any food at all in it, but said "Our other one {blocks away], has food. As our go-to for something to put in our stomachs, we've gone to gas stations, where there is some sort of food. In fact we would use such places to get our coffee and some muffin or such just to get down the road.

The theme of the rest of our trip, it would seem was STARVATION.

We head back east on I-90. At this time bikers--and I mean hundreds of them--were going west to the Stergis Rally. A lot of them ride, but a few choose to haul them. All for the bragging rights, I suppose.

1:00pm: Finally we found a place to eat lunch--a very late lunch. This town was called Luvern, and the place was Papa-something or other. I didn't care, as long as the food was eatable. It was a tight little diner, where they packed people at small tables. We actually found a booth. We chose the "hot plate" with a salad--buffet style. Today was meatloaf, mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans, for less than $10 @! Now a deal is a deal, and when you think about it, if it's good, who cares? I pigged out. I was so damned hungry. The meatloaf was 4" square, and I ate every bite, because when we got there I was ready to eat my own arm!

We found a Super 8 at Fairmont. Nothing fancy, and we knew that bikers were still coming through, because there was a sign in front, with a bin with pieces of wood saying "use kick-stand blocks". The room was okay, but we had to move a damned folded up bunk out into the hall. It worked to keep people from going by our room at the head of the stairs--they went around the other way. Hahah. Had to put towels down along the floor at the door to keep the smoke from seeping in. Gak, I hate smokers!

We went and got a pizza across the way in the Holiday Inn--some sort of restaurant there. We talked to a pleasant college student. I even managed to give her my name and titles of my books.
Our room cost us $125. We may as well have stayed in the Holiday Inn!

We ate breakfast at a Perkins. Now, I don't know why I insisted on eating there. The bacon was thin and too crispy, Dennis had tried to get his eggs over medium and somehow they screwed that up. He ordered a fruit cup--got a couple of pieces of melon, 5 grapes and he was not impressed. I had a waffle, which was just right, and had more bacon than Dennis got, for some reason. We should have gone across the way for the price we paid for this breakfast! Never again.

We headed back then, and since the trip back home is always boring and depressing.

Well, that's it for this trip. Thanks for coming along!

Motel Hell Part I

It's the luck of the dice when you go from one motel to the next, not knowing what you'll pay. Sure. We could have made advanced  reservations, but my husband doesn't like to be tied to some schedule when he travels. So, we just get to a town and hope for the best.

If you've never stayed in a motel/hotel, I've gotta say one thing, you get what you get no matter what you pay. You get a bathroom, bed, TV, and maybe you'll get a refrigerator/microwave, and a window over the parking lot. Some motels include the usual "continental" breakfast. As if the word "continental" is something special. You get bad coffee and stale donuts at the very least. Other places will give you a hot breakfast, actually prepared by someone. Usually this is some sort of fried meat, maybe potatoes, scrambled eggs that look like something from a M.A.S.H. unit, and lumpy oatmeal. There could be waffles, there might be pancakes, it all depends on what the motel is willing to fork out (it's not "free", you've paid for it).

My experience is, you sometimes get lucky. Luck in finding a place to eat nearby (dinner and breakfast), that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

Our first stay was in Eagle River, Wisconsin. We try and find the "Ma & Pop" style motels, because, usually they don't cost much--around $60-$70, tops. Plus, you can usually park right in front of your door. This is good for when you have a lot of heavy stuff to haul in, as they are usually only one-story deals.

We found a place called "Edge Water Inn", it was right off the river, next to a restaurant that we went to the last time we stayed in this town years ago. When we got out, there was only an old Golden Retriever laying under the patio table in front of the office. She was friendly, and came right up to us. When we saw the note on the door saying the person in charge was "relaxing" on the dock out back, we wondered how to get there. No fear, the dog, being as smart as most Goldens, walked to a narrow opening through to the back of the motel.She waited for us to follow. And we found the middle-aged, rotund woman down a flight of steep steps in a lounge chair on a deck off the water, blowing up some sort of individual rafts.

We asked if she had any rooms available. She had two double queens--"maybe". Well we wanted to get that confirmed. She finally got up, saying she had a family reunion and there weren't many rooms left, said something about apartments too. We noted that there were rooms down below the main rooms facing the river, and those must have been the apartments (or suites). Eventually we got a room, near the end, away from the office and all the "family reunion" stuff, and got settled. We realized we had a door to the back deck, and this is where we spent some time relaxing that evening, watching the boats go by.

We paid $94.00 after tax, and for that money, I'd give the room itself a 3, since it needed dusting, but otherwise clean. But the view was a 5. However, the place really needed some up-keep. We didn't lean on the railing, as it was a bit wobbly, and could have used a coat of paint. The decks were rather worn, and should have been stained, and a few boards should have been replaced. Up-keeping on such a place should really be #1 in priority, especially where railings could fail. But this was an older couple, neither of which looked energetic enough to make beds, let alone some of the up-keep needed.

Their reunion commenced as promised, and even though she said we could join them, we aren't that interested in other people's relatives. Thank you. It was a good thing they pretty much contained their partying on the outer-most deck, shown below.

The restaurant next door is called White Spruce, and can be pulled up to via boat, much like this motel. They have a beer garden on their deck. I remember it from last time, but since it began raining, and there was thunder, they didn't seat anyone outside. Bummer. As usual, more than enough food was served. Salad is always first, and it was very good. I had eggplant Parmesan, and Dennis had something called "smoked meatloaf", which he didn't care for. I think my husband could have been a food critic. He really missed his calling.

Getting back to our room, we had difficulty navigating through the stations on the TV. This was Direct TV, with a thousand and one stations, and I do believe you need a PhD in order to understand how to use it. We wound up watching a Harry Potter movie, and could not find any news stations anywhere, not even in the morning.

Even though motels say they have coffee in the morning, they don't have coffee until they've rolled out of bed and made it. We resorted to our old standby by getting into the truck, and finding a gas station store, which always have coffee and some sort of sweet rolls. Plus, we needed ice. 'Nuff said. We got down the road heading for Land O' Lakes, and wherever the road takes us next.

It's beautiful country up this way, and I like it because it doesn't get boring (like 200 miles of Illinois and more than 300 miles of Iowa). I'll be back with rest of trip and Motel Hell Part II.

From The Broom Closet

The other day, to get the season off, I gave you CLOWNS.

Today just sort of catching up on HALLOWEEN stuff. 

If you're like me, I just don't have room for all of my brooms and hats. Maybe just leave them out like this. I don't think anyone would jump to any conclusions, do you?



Make-up.
Sort of hard to figure out what to do as this Halloween. But sometimes you can find something to give you a nice green glow, or show off those fine cheekbones, and wicked eyes!





And decorating shouldn't be too hard. Just get your pet spiders to work extra hard in the next few days...


We've always got some munchies and finger food for guests! Makes you drool, doesn't it?





Some Creepy Recipes from The Kitchen. if you want...

www.thekitchn.com/15-creepy-clever-halloween-foods-179552

And decorating the backyard for your guest can't be overlooked, or over done!




People are just dying to get in to my party...



Or... out...


And I wait until then, watching for my guests to arrive on Halloween night.


Thanks for stopping by!
Please excuse me now, I really have to get the water out of my ears...

all images from Pinterest!

The Forgotten Holiday

Christmas decor, lights, six-foot tall Santas who move, or the kind you blow up and put out on the lawn, and fake Christmas trees have taken over what was the Halloween displays in stores.

Sure, people begin thinking it's only a month or so away, but Christmas isn't the next holiday. Thanksgiving is. Everyone I've talked to calls it "the forgotten holiday".

Well, what is Thanksgiving, really? Aside from the history, to me it's a turkey dinner that smells and tastes so good you can't not cook one. One year we went to a restaurant, and it just wasn't the same. No left-overs, for one thing. You wait hours for it to be done, and all the real work comes at the end when you try and get the potatoes mashed and the gravy done just right and heat up rolls....

Since it's only Dennis and I these days we do the easy microwave potatoes, now. And since he's staying away from bread (and really so am I), we don't do stuffing. Why be in misery afterward, right? But I miss it. I miss making it in the morning, and getting that turkey stuffed. Oh, yum!

I don't know why this holiday has come down to a meal (some are simple, like ours, some are lavish with lots of pie and deserts), and having family over, and football, and then wanting to just nap wherever you are while the game is on.

Maybe because there aren't any gifts involved. But isn't the gift in family? The people you love? As a tradition Dennis and I make a toast to either each other, or say something we want to be known, like how we've gotten through a year of hardship, or whatever the case was for our year.

Do you have any traditions for Thanksgiving you want to share here? Leave them in the comments, I'd love to hear about them!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Yes, my time of year. I'm putting up a short post today. Right now we are playing our videos of horror movies. They'll play all day long. Later on we'll have root beer floats, and pizza for dinner. Just a way of celebrating. 

Didn't get any creepy cookies for Halloween, but here are a few to make you drool on my facebook page

And here's a link to some yummy cookies over on flicker

And if you want to take the test to see what literary monster you most resemble, go to Grammarly. It might be a shocking revelation!

Here are some photos to enjoy from my collection of Halloween, plus comics.

A great place to take a nap, if you're a cat

Decorating is easy if you have a... coffin just lying around.

YUMMY

What a sweetie pie... just don't get close to her. She bites!

You definitely need one of these on Halloween.

Well, my husband needs to be gluten-free, so, why not witches?

Svengoolie was the host of all those old horror flicks I watched as a teen. 

He still hosts on a local station every Saturday.

Man, I didn't think it would take the yard man that long to dig up the septic tank... hmm, must have been pretty toxic, huh?

Whatever you serve this Halloween, eat well, and whatever you do, have fun!

Being Thankful

The kittens are into their sixth month of life. If we had not adopted mother feral cat, that probably wouldn't have happened.

I stand outside on our steps watching them play, and their crazy antics. Looking around myself, I live in a rual setting, quiet. So quiet this day. Four geese fly directly over my circa 1906 farm house. The kittens and I look up to watch them. I can hear their wings shush-shush-shush as they fly over.

Being thankful is difficult to do. You always wish for more, and the things you have sort of get buried in your needs and wants.

I'm grateful for our health, and the roof over our heads. For the food we can put on the table, and our jobs. There are people who have gone through devistation who can't say this. So, I'm being humbled into saying I am grateful.

I'm grateful also of the friends I've made, here and in my day-to-day life. I'm often amazed by how easily people come to like me. But I think I've gotten past the amazed part of that. I guess I'm a likable person with a bubbly personality. I've been told that it comes through in my emails and probably here. I try to stay "up". What's the point of grumbling? People quickly tire of that and don't need to be reminded of the things that tick them off. So, yeah. I try to stay positive.

So, I'm thankful to you people out there who stop by this blog. I'm fortunate enough to have you guys around to want to stop by this site. It wasn't very long ago I thought I'd never have all the followers I have, and have people who actually interact and leave comments here. I love you guys!

So, today my husband and I are baking the turkey. It's just the two of us, and we're off all week so we can eat turkey for a few days.

Next week I'm going to be part of this chat/promo thing. As soon as I know exactly what I'm supposed to do, you'll be the second people to know (^;
Have a safe, happy, wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone!
 

Wicked Wednesday ~ Not So Wicked

Hello, my pretties. I am enjoying the fall colors just now coming on around us. We are lucky in having some very nice, comfortable temperatures and dry days stringing many along. My husband and I hope to get away to a nearby state park and take in some of the great fall colors there.

It's the time of year that has always been my favorite. I'd always looked forward the Halloween, and so certainly it gets me excited. The first morning when I smell autumn in the air, I know that the time is right. Decorations around the house is up. My only lament is that because we live so far out we don't get trick-or-treaters. But that's alright. I hope to go to one of the festivals going on around us. One goes on the weekend of Halloween, and I can't wait for that. Lot's of people will enter their pumpkins all dressed, carved and so forth and will be on display at the court house lawn. The usual hot apple cider, coffee etc. with brats, ribs, pork chops and so on from the food vendors along the streets. It's always fun to go to.

What do you do around this time of year to ring in the Halloween season? Have you carved a pumpkin yet? Decorations?