Day started early (don’t they all on the second half of this trip)? — Headed to their top breakfast place here — Pancake Pantry – famous for…..well, I will give you 3 guesses………ok! Time’s Up — I REALLY thought you get the correct answer…..Pancakes (no parting gifts)…..What? You say, you said it….or said it to yourself…I’m sorry I didn’t hear you -

Well, I opted for this place over the Waffle House that has been on my list ( a chain that is EVERYWHERE in the South) and it was a guilty pleasure — I had scouted the menu online and I knew what I wanted about 10 hours before the waitress asked me. I got the Swiss Chocolate Chip pancakes! I got a side of country bacon just to make sure I wasn’t running low on calories….don’t want to get lightheaded on my way to Louisville and Cincinnati.

Check out a PDF of their menu — let me know if I should have opted for something else — Pancake Pantry menu

Before you decide, you might want to check out a picture of my breakfast (who is this strange guy who takes pictures of all his food?).

So….Batter Up to the first power is complete -

I then took the ride to Louisville….but I somehow decided on an impromptu pit stop at the Jim Beam Distillery. This was more of a meet and greet type place with a short movie…..but unlike the Jack Daniels place (dry county), this visit was punctuated with a tasting of two bourbons, two from their “small batch collection”. We had Basil Hayden’s (aged 8 years) and Knob Creek (aged 9 years) — both cleared my sinuses to be honest — they were also pushing a relatively new product for them – Red Stag — Bourbon with cherry taste infused (or something like that)….well, I needed a souvenir and cherry flavored bourbon sounded manly enough for me….so Clayton bought a bottle.

So, not only am I doing the Smokie and the Bandit thing with lots of beer in my back seat, but I have added Cherry flavored bourbon to the mix — what a man!

While I was winding around the roads of Kentucky, I noticed a sign that said Boston 2 miles this-a-way —-well, I miss Boston, the traffic, the kind drivers, all that stuff — so I drove the couple miles with the aid of my handy GPS, and found my way to and through Boston…..Kentucky.

So, off to Louisville, for real this time -

Stopped in downtown for a visit to the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum — was a big hit! (ugh – puns galore today). They have a great looking entrance to the factory in my opinion.

Batter Up #2 – The tour took me through their working factory which was truly fascinating — watching mash bubble and have the person have you envision that being whiskey is one thing, but them taking blocks of wood and showing you live the way that becomes a major league bat is really great! Today, we were walking through the line while they were making bats for Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla, both of the Florida Marlins. I didn’t want to be a smart ass, but someone should tell them there are too many strikeouts in Uggla’s bats, they might want to find the defect.

They showed a brief movie, had some old artifacts and you could even swing some famous player bats — I took a swing with David Ortiz’s bat from a few seasons ago….no word if there is any steroid residue found in the bat handle

The day started to get away from me at this point, so I rushed up to Cincinnati and to my hotel 15 miles north of the downtown. Nice place — the hotels in the last stretch of days have been very nice and a comfort when I needed it.

Batter Up #3 – I went to the Reds-Phillies game downtown. Lots of people wearing their home town color of Red! These people were much more into it than Atlanta, but still missing that hard edge of the Northeast fan. Phillie fans added some spice to the crowd. They had a huge walk up attendance and it almost looked like they had trouble handling it — $14 got me a seat on the upper level — but I never sat in it — walked to different spots in the park, an inning here and inning there here is one view out from near first base -

– if I did sit in my seat — this is generally what my view would have looked like -

After taking in 6 innings and a Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy, I was ready to make my way back to the hotel — where I updated this thing and did some work for the part time job.

Ok – well, glad the blog got updated — heading north through Ohio, but staying in Cleveland tonight — Home tomorrow night or Friday depending on how things go -

Sorry the blog has been getting stale — computer problems yesterday — I couldn’t get anything really done -

So — I hope I don’t forget details of yesterday, and I hope this condensed version doesn’t make for poor reading….my apologies in advance -

Woke up and hit the road early — but before leaving Chattanooga, I wanted a photo of the Chattanooga Choo Choo — after all, very rich history and all — so here we go:

Ok, ok — that is NOT the Chattanooga Choo Choo….but pending a DNA test, there could be some relation…

Here is the “real” train — at sleepy 7AM local time —

I hope I didn’t wake anyone on the train…..well….not THAT train….but the “Chattanooga Choo Choo” is now an historical hotel — and there are train cars set up as hotel rooms — and you can book them like any hotel — below is my photo of the “train yard”, but I didn’t want to get too close…you never know what is going on in those trains…

Here is interesting stuff from their website –

Well, I quickly hit the road — but it would have been nice if someone told me the time zone splits Tennessee! I thought a whole state was always in the same zone, except some weird Indiana stuff….

So — I knew a segment of my ride was going to take about an hour and a half — but my trusty GPS (we are still dating) told me it would only take 24 minutes — I had it RECALCULATE! — same thing — it finally struck me that there was something going on with the time zones — so that answered that “issue”.

Drove up to Nashville – — got settled on a quiet Monday afternoon in the Music City -

My friend Mike from Woburn now lives in Nashville — I went to junior high and high school with Mike — we played baseball together as well – -he recommended Rippy’s for some BBQ lunch and I found myself heading there -

Ribs! RIBS! Meat fell right off the bone — Was a 10!!! Too bad I only ordered half a rack —

Wondered around town and decided to try a couple well-known places Mike recommended — Robert’s and Layla’s(I think those are the names) — I enjoyed some bands and a couple individuals singing in these bars and Mike met up with me for a beer -

We then decided to circle back — as Mike took me back to Broadway — and we did Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge and then a return trip to Robert’s

Robert’s at night – good music

Here’s me outside of Robert’s at night

In the in between stage, Mike went to play softball, but before that, he let me know where I could find some Fat Tire and I stocked up for the next few months —

There’s something about a many that has a backseat full of beer not sold north of North Carolina….

….I don’t have a problem…really

(blog is now about a day behind — will try and catch up to date tomorrow)

The days are now almost all going to have a major driving component, which means, I am going to feel like my ass has been kicked by the time I get settled in a place – I won’t be in any city or town for more than one night from here on out — this is the non-relaxation, sprint to Woburn -

Tentative plan is to leave Chattanooga in the AM — and stay in Nashville tomorrow night —- Cincinnati Tuesday night, Cleveland on Wednesday night….and perhaps home on Thursday night or Friday -

Today started in Savannah — waited for Starbucks to open — morning coffee got me on my way to Vidalia — a place where I hoped to get some onions and maybe dive into a yummy Vidalia breakfast — but the Vidalia was a disappointment — the town was a cross between Mayberry and Saugus — quiet side with no activity and then a major road with Burger King, Walmart, etc. — I checked Walmart for a deal on onions, but it seemed to be the ONLY thing Walmart had not had a price rollback on….

So, in parlance among friends, when we have nothing, or a zero, going on, we sometimes have an “onion”…even occasionally saying we have a “vidalia” — so, when I went to Vidalia, I came up with a big onion….

I quit Vidalia — but Vidalia owes me! I can taste it!

I did at least see where an old onion goes after it starts to go bad….you know those gnarly ones…they go here:

I moved on to travel to my cameo visit to Atlanta — nice morning ride — which was punctuated by a stop off an exit for Georgia Peaches — which I have NOT sampled yet — they look nice, kind of small….and the lady, while tempted, was not heard saying…”how do you like ‘dem peaches”?”….I would have had to say “kinda small”, and ruined her day…so I am glad we just did business and kept the chatter to a minimum.

Moved onto Atlanta — and parked for the Braves game -

I walked around the park and then walked up to the ticket window and the nice young lady said something to the effect of do you want the line for “right now” tickets (southern drawl may have been something else) or the “one dollar skyline seat line”? I thought I heard her correctly — but I asked her to repeat…she said yes, it is a $1 for the skyline tickets — and she started to say something else….but, the northerner interrupted her and said — I don’t need any more info — $1.00 is a good price for me -

So I paid my dollar, showed security what I was packing in my pockets and made my way in -

I mostly walked around, bought a Georgia Dog (Slaw, Vidalia Relish, Vidalia Onion) and a couple of cold ones…

Game wasn’t very interesting and I haven’t seen this empty a stadium in a while -

I left after 5-6 innings and took a quick ride to Buckhead (part of Atlanta) to check out some bars/restaurants, but there was road and building constructions, and the place did not look as great as advertised, so off I went — to Chattanooga — fun to say….

Nice quiant place, staying in a nice Marriott compliments of a priceline break —

Nice warm night here — took a spin down to the River front — walked amongst the major restaurants here — and selected a BBQ chain down here — Sticky Fingers — sampled their wings, with some Habanero BBQ sauce — pretty good — this was my Chatanooga Chew-Chew I guess — and the coldest beer in a week — a nice Sam Adams —

Don’t you know us northerners tend to be ice cold???

Off early in the AM to explore more of Tennessee before more of the homeward sprint later in the week…

(ten days in I should apologize for the typos….just typing out of my head)

Sorry – this southern drawl really has me checking my hearing sometimes — just now, I am used to hearing tour guides talk about bad fie-uhs instead of fires….it’s amazing how many one syllable words have two –

Ok — so tonight, I went to a minor league baseball game – the Savannah Sand Gnats — so….while the crowd was apparently chanting Go-nads! — it was actually Go Gnats! Place was nice, single A affiliate of the Mets….so, there were some New Yawk-uhs there — parking was free, general admission $7, 16 ounce Bud Aluminum bottle – $6 and a 14 ounce draft was $4 — that’s it for financials today -

The day started with a trolley tour of Savannah – which was a great way to get an overview — I never knew they had terrible fie-uhs here – burned many, many things – what wasn’t burned down by the fires, is apparently under threat of melting from the heat — ok…now, I thought the South was supposed to be hot — like, all the time — but they say we are having August weather – 95 degrees, heat index of 105 or so –

The one thing that strikes you on your first trip to Charleston, Savannah and other southern places is the Spanish Moss which hangs from trees — it is not part of these trees — it just hangs with the trees — the guides will tell you, “..it is neither Spanish, and it is not moss…” – Here’s a peek at one of about 20 photos I took of the stuff -

After the tour around town, I marched off to revisit some neighborhoods and to check out some things -

Having skipped breakfast, I did what most people do — find that famous ice cream place mentioned on the tour for lunch — a single scoop of huckleberry cheesecake ice cream fit the bill — this treat was purchased at Leopold’s Ice Cream, which has been here since 1919. It is currently owned by some Hollywood Director — so there are movie posters all over the inside wall –

The huckleberry was my choice to, again, try to go the southern route when possible — it narrowly beat out “Rum Bisque” -

Continued to walk around — took some pictures of some homes, some buildings, a cemetery and little things that struck my lens –

I went by the Lady and Sons — Paula Deen’s place, but, as advertised, lunch was banged out and you apparently need to spend the whole morning in line to eat there – ….option B — go next door and buy some Paula Deen goods — that was me!

I went to a popular spot — River Street — to check out some of their riverfront shops and bars. It is also a location where one of the famous icons of Savannah resides — The Waving Girl Statue. This woman, fell in love with a visiting sailor and when he left, she promised to look for his return every day — she supposedly waved the sheet every day — and waved a lantern every night for over 40 years!!! He never returned! They tell folks she died of a broken heart.

Soon after he left, the sailor was tracked down, he was asked about this woman who eagerly awaited his return…. and he said “…one in every port…” — ok, I made up that part —

After more walking (the feet are screaming in a southern drawl by now) — I took a ride out to Hilton Head Island (about 45 minutes or so) — and checked out the beach for a little bit — enough time to realize that some fantastic looking people make that beach their regular place — WOW!

On the way out of the Hilton Head area, I spotted a “smokehouse” for an early dinner – — now, while it was called the Smokehouse and it featured BBQ, this was more of a 99 or Fridays, so no Pit Master out back…nonetheless, the chow was very good (pulled pork sandwich and smoked wings, with a few Tires)…

After some manly chow, a few manly beers….sometime you need a manly men’s room —

Yes — I had my camera in a men’s room — Yes, I snapped this photo — Hey! Sometimes a guy needs some extra room in his urinal…..

Drove back through some heavy rain — and that’s when I pulled up to the Sand Gnats game -

Go Gnats!

I was up with the birds, which down here could be anything from the Nature Shows, let’s go with an Egret….

Ok…trying again, I was up with the Egrets….

Sorry — the truth is I was up with the people who fill their coolers from the ice machine. My room was #120, which means, the ice machine has an address of 120 and a half…. (for those of you who don’t want to read ahead, I am ALSO across from the ice machine tonight and tomorrow night). Some people are chick magnets….but it appears Clayton is just a magnet for ice machines -

Friends who have shared a beverage or two with me will not be surprised that I am found near the ice –

Well, I digress.

I took the hour or so ride down to Charleston and found the Visitor Center. The South must wake a little later as I was one of 5 people in a place the size of the Hilltop Steakhouse in Saugus…

Well. First old man travel tip….always use the facilities when arriving or leaving a Visitor’s Center.

So – I go in….and I was hit with a wall of scent –now….before you go THERE — this was early — I may have even christened my urinal for the day — the place smells like CINNAMON! I mean – STRONG — if I closed my eyes, I would have guessed I was in the Yankee Candle in Sturbridge…..I guess, if I ever was going to be sure I wasn’t in a bathroom on the Mass Pike, my nose told me the story -

Well….I settled in and decided to take the Gray Line historic tour — a 90 minute narrated ride around the Historic neighborhoods of Charleston — This was a good way to see everything and learn some local history –

(I missed one tour by 2 minutes, so I took a walking tour for about 20 minutes on my own)

I walked around — before my 10:00 tour and happened to notice what almost looked like my personal Starbuck’s — by what the jeweler is named next door -

I then continued down their version of Newbury Street — all top notch stores in old or restored buildings — and then, knowing that the new Apple I-Phone is out, I knew that there would be a HUGE line, just like the dozens or hundreds I have been seeing on the news — so…I was not surprised to see the whopping line below:

Yep – Five people….a count of 6 if you count the pooch (somewhere, there has to be an app for finding fire hydrants for that pooch, don’t ya think? “There’s an App for That”).

You will, however, notice, that this DOES warrant crowd control, as the police car parked out front tells you -

So –back in time for my tour and we breezed around town — it was an enclosed bus, so not possible to take photos during the tour -

After it finished, I decided to try and snap some photos of some homes….but parking near the biggest and best was impossible — so I found a decent neighborhood and took some photos of some medium sized homes –

And another one…

Not everything is that big — there are many “freeman cottages” which were built or given to freed slaves. These are the smallest ones around.

There are also small homes, that are supposed to be full size. Notice the one below. It is almost just as wide as that car out front….and the car is a CIVIC!!!

After the tour and snapping some photos, I headed to the Hominy Grill (website for restaurant) for a nice southern lunch — I ordered Iced Tea….”You mean sweet tea, hun?” …well, yes (says the northerner)! I then decided on southern fried chicken on a biscuit with sausage gravy — and I ordered two sides (out of about 20 on the chalkboard). I went with deep fried cheesy grits and “tomato pudding”. Everything was great! From Tea to Grits….

I talked myself into dessert — which is a little unusual — but I wanted more of the south in my mouth (easy does it!).

I asked what the Buttermilk Pie was….she said it was like a light custard…a little lemon, with fresh cream on top — “well, hun, it’s really like a Chess Pie…” — “OH!” (says, the northerner), “then I’ll take a slice!”.

Food TV – Buttermilk Pie Recipe

AllRecipes.com recipe for Chess Pie

…have no idea what chess pie is…

It was just as she said — and I was happy I ordered it -

Drove off to Kiawah Island — what a waste — who knew it was a private community at the end of the ride?? There is a public beach — but $7 for me to take a peek? See ya!

I drove by about the fourth place with “Buck” in the name today — and finally took a picture of one –

There’s a joke here, “…if you are looking for a stud, Buck is your man”…or, even worse “hey look, Buck has wood…”, but let’s try to move on…..

Hotel seems pretty nice — not near the attractions, but comfortable and clean — Courtyard Marriot — and yes! The ice machine is in the room across from me…
Tour in Savannah in the AM — and either hang among the neighborhoods or if I think I need some R & R, I may try Tybee Island (beach) –

Targeting a drive by Braves Game on Sunday, but keeping Atlanta for another trip….

Buh bye for now

As promised, had lunch at Tortuga’s Lie — vastly recommended — had fantastic Baja Fish Tacos — and picked up some of their hot sauce –

Day of driving from Outer Banks to a hotel in Georgetown, SC (between Myrtle Beach and Charleston) has me tired and maybe looking at trimming parts of my plans —

Just south of Myrtle Beach — I saw this sign — calling out to me to buy a home here –

After a planned cameo in Atlanta for a Braves game, it looks like Memphis might add a day to the trip — would Elvis really miss me anyways?

I may change my mind, but it looks like the first possible casualty of the long road — I would cut straight up to Nashville instead —

THEN — the great debate — inside passage along major roadways and major cities….or Blue Ridge Parkway (mountain route, less quick) –

We’ll see –

Hotel, sight unseen online when reserved, is semi bothersome — just not very comfortable and doesn’t seem to be in a great part of town –

Up early and out to Charleston for a southern style breakfast somewhere — then poke my head around before heading to Savannah — the southernmost part of the trip —

What a great relaxing spot — and I don’t even surf, fish, etc.!

Headed on the road shortly – after one last culinary stop here in the OBX (Outer Banks)! Tortuga’s Lie will be the spot — looks like I should have the Fish Tacos — they supposedly have some great hot sauce, which I may purchase to test against Buckin’ Caliente — the hot sauce prepared by my friend Sean, who allows me to make labels, grow peppers….and drink beer while he does most of the work in creating our hot sauces…

I may have mentioned this before, but they have lots of little crabs on the beach — Below is a still photo and then after that is a quick little video on youtube I posted of these little guys — (forgive the smudge on my lens)

See the YouTube Video of the Crab on the Move

I am still amazed at these other birds that fly up and down the coast usually swooping along close to the water –

Here is a YouTube video I posted of a flyby this morning -

So – time to close up shop on the relaxation portion of the trip — back to the road — after all, these feet were made for travellin’

South Carolina, Georgia….heads up….Clayton headed south…

Ok, ok — by now, if you have been reading along, you might know, the mornings are filled with trip to Food Lion for ice (hear me roar!) — so, after icing down the main cooler and the day cooler for the beach, I am ready for morning errand #2 — caffeine —

Today was an Ice Heath Bar Latte — pretty good for a bazillion calories — it is at a place at the end of the road – the Front Porch Cafe - place is very nice, people are very nice too — I actually hit here tonight as well, when I needed a little pick me up -

I then decided to take an hour ride out to Cape Hatteras Lighthouse/Seashore, to get to one of those beautiful beaches (not that ALL of them here seem to be that way) — I just like the ones where the wildlife are a little more involved…

So, I headed for Hatteras -

A nice hour’s jaunt out to the Lighthouse — which was MOBBED — I had contemplated climbing it — I guess it is what people do when they visit it — but too many people — so I just went to the next parking lot, a quarter mile away, and found myself on a practically empty beach — just great relaxation, within view of the Lighthouse…

Only wildlife today were pelicans — (I think they are pelicans)…

Before I left — I finally decided to see if I could have the self timer work for me — so I set it up on the back of the truck and this is how we did…

Boston Foodie, Clayton, gave into temptation and had a late lunch — the Philly Cheese steak at the Blue Moon — it was very good — about an 8 — but…..having fallen in love with the Mahi Mahi BLT, it was hard to match that! Still – a successful late lunch -

Did some driving around – to kill some of the afternoon — sun was hot today — low to mid 90′s — which is very hot for this coastal spot –

Before I came back, I decided to check something off the Outer Banks Bucket List — they have these Drive Thru Beer Stores….called Brew Thru — so, I had to fake like I needed a 6 pack and I pulled into this Beer Shack –

The young lady that helped me was very nice and handed me my 6 pack through the driver’s side window — as I was about to pull away — I saw THE BUCKET – which read “Tipping is Sexy” — so I reached for a buck — and rolled down the window and (kind of) yelled over….”Hey, I just saw that tipping is sexy” — she laughed and said thanks, taking the dollar into her hard working hands….and then, before I pulled away, she said “…You, Sir, are very sexy!” —

I laughed for about 4 blocks….

Clayton is bringing sexy back…..have you heard?

Last night – I debated skipping dinner — it was getting later and later as I enjoyed a Skinny Dip or two with the Innkeeper….hey — before you go THERE — it is a beer by New Belgium — the people who make my all time fave — Fat Tire — – it is their summer seasonal –

We probably had a couple — before I asked Kenny, the Inn keeper to take a picture of me enjoying the rocking chair at the Nags Head Beach Inn

It was soon after that photo that he reminded me that many of the kitchens of some of the good places close between 9:30 and 10:00 — and then he said — “I mean, Kevin, you’re like a Foodie…”. and he encouraged me to bail on my plan to skip dinner (or drink my dinner).

I decided to spring up the street (carefully) to the place I had checked out – the Blue Moon Beach Grill - I was the last person they sat — they were still busy — but they stop serving at 9 (ish) —

They recognized the “Boston guy” from the afternoon scouting mission and were eager to see what I would get —- I already knew what I would get — one of their favorites that they told me about in the afternoon — the Mahi Mahi BLT — which was “off the hook” (whatever that means…). They chatted me up and asked me where else I had been — and they thought I had hit all the good places, except of their favorites — Tortuga’s Lie – which may be the last OBX meal tomorrow for lunch…

The bartender, noting my dining experiences, asked me to come back sometime for their Philly Cheesesteak — which two waitresses also jumped in with their approval — so….that is a possibility — he talked briefly about how great the chef/owner is — and then he said — just wait, before you leave — try this — and he got me a half a cup of this Crab and Bleu Cheese Bisque — wow — I mean — AWESOME! I then told the guy they should make it, freeze it and ship it to folks….

I passed on dessert, as has been my practice so far — but I have been tempted by ice cream —

One place I DID not try for ice cream is a place next door — it’s an ice cream place, with that ever-popular name – “Booty Treats” — I guess it just opened….and I guess, that means, until they close, you can go there for Booty Calls…

So….the “Boston Foodie”, “Clayton”, has been enjoying the chow very much!

Drove out to Hatteras, to take in some nature and some beach time on a quiet, nature-carved beach –

Stopped at the Pea Island Wildlife Refuge for an hour — took a walk along one of the “ponds” away from the beach side — was pretty interesting and HOT — for here anyways — been over 90 — which they claim is rare here — or at least medium rare

Caught some views of turtles and some fancy, schmancy birds just hanging out, waiting for lunch no doubt –

I drove a few more miles out on Hatteras Island to find a beach spot that was less busy — but out this far, less busy means maybe 3 families instead of 5 – and yes, I am a family all by myself — I consider my cooler a close family member…etc. -

It turns out, I had plenty of company — on the beach and in the water — besides salamanders who greeted my walk to the beach, I was able to take in some crabs working their real estate on the beach — they did these holes on the beach – so they can hang out or have lil crabbies or whatever — you can see one of these guys below

After I say my tiny ass down in my beach chair and started the end of my book – A Prayer for Owen Meaney – I found myself fumbling for the camera — as a school or dolphin swam by — maybe 70 yards out — every time I tried to take a great photo – they dove under — below is the best I could do -

So – after that excitement died down, I got back into the book — and besides a few flies that challenged my day, it was tremendously relaxing — such an awesome beach and for as far as I could see was one couple 100 yards to the right and a couple families way to the left — never had such an awesome beach, so a day for the beach — and had so much room to myself —

Lastly — about 30 minutes before I left – a couple pelicans (I think) came for a visit — straight out from me — they appear HUGE — they landed in the water about 100 yards apart, but seemed to hook up within ten minutes — those Pelicans, they are something else when they put the move on…. here they are below

After pulling myself off the beach — I returned to the “neighborhood” and visited a highly recommended place – the Kill Devil Grill – for a Southern Fried Chicken Salad — which was an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10 — so much so, that I may return in the next couple days to try something else — place is great!

The afternoon continued with a beer and some World Cup (gulp) at the Red Drum, a place I went to the first night here and two blocks from my bed –

Finished up the afternoon by scouting out another recommended place called the Blue Moon Beach Grill (not sure I have that 100% correct) — chatted up the owners and staff and plan to visit tomorrow — unless the Kill Devil Grille brings me back….but then again, this is vacation, right? I can do both –

Buh bye for now…

Today began with ice errands — I was offered everything under the sun by the people running the B & B here, the Nags Head Beach Inn – but when they offer ice, I don’t have the heart to ask for pounds of the stuff for my coolers (plural) — went to the Super Market — got my ice, some beer, and my MVP shopping card — now I can get deals at Food Lion stores all over the country — I don’t see this card going on my key chain just yet –

Back to the B & B and then walked the 1.5 blocks to the beach — which was very nice — sand was wicked hot — wicked — but I had all my essentials (Equipment below), books, etc.

Spent a few hours reading and getting crispy — took a swim — water was real nice — and hey — no tar balls yet!

Back to the room — did some remote billing work for part time gig — and then I was off exploring Roanoke Island — I took a small hike through a National park (very small) and decided this could have been skipped altogether — I don’t know if they call it the Raleigh National Monument Park, or something like that — but it was a total zero — maybe if I had caught one the Ranger talks, I would know more about what was lacking — so, next door are these Elizabethan Gardens — and I am a sucker for Botanical Gardens (one of my manly qualities). Eight bucks got me into the gardens and while it was mostly shady, it appeared much was not in bloom. I think I have probably been too spoiled with the Botanical Gardens in Montreal, which are the best and a can’t miss for a Montreal trip.

All things considered, the trip to Roanoke Island was sort of a bummer (as seen below).

So, more relaxation than other days, but I am staring down the barrel of two more days of beach — but not sure the skin is going to cooperate — been trying to do 2-3 hours a day to keep from a full burn —

Ate local (Beach Road Grill) – fish and chips — fish was good, “chips” were pretty bad….but a good cole slaw saved a rating of B-

Beach in the morning….nothing else on the agenda…

Today, I left Norfolk, VA, which seem kind of quiet where I was for a little bit of time, but Granby Street looks like it has fun restaurants and bars…..

But — I was on the road early – headed to the Outer Banks, NC — for 4 nights — my first relaxation – - -

Once I got down here, I checked out the Wright Brothers National Monument — I am guessing the actual name is different from what I remember….but I caught some interesting information and a presentation from the Parks Service – this was given in a room where they explained different things using a replica below -

Most of us then went outside in the 95 degree heat to check out the spots where the Wright Brothers actually flew with that first airplane – - — you can vaguely see that the first 3 attempts were close in proximity in distance…..but off in the distance, you can see flight #4 was almost 3 times as far as any of the first three — do you think there was jealousy between the brothers…..I often thought of this…. this is the photo of the markers — may not show it well enough though….

I drove to Nags Head and saw that the largest Dunes on the East Coast were available to hike, in a State Park here — so I grabbed a water (after a warning from staff) and made my way out on the hike through the sand dunes — I never knew hiking in sand was such a difficult thing (for someone kind of out of shape)….we’ll see how the heels wake up in the AM

I drove through the area and through the greatest thunderstorm I have seen in years….everyone seemed to be driving (or not driving) with their hazards on —-

Well, after that subsided, I drove the hour out to the Lighthouse at Cape Hatteras —
beautiful sights on the way and I made my way through a few hamlets and wildlife areas — – I may go back — but for now, the lighthouse at Cape Hatteras will have to be enough of a memory — you can see the Lighthouse below.

Well, after that, I drove back to where I was staying and checked into my B & B — Ken (who I met) and Lisa (who I have not met yet) have owned the place for a while and Ken helped me with all my stuff — he was very informative —

Last I saw Ken, he was headed for one of the local restaurants — The Red Drum – two walking blocks from the B & B —

I showered and headed out to the same place -

They had 18 beers on tap – including Fat Tire from Colorado – possibly my favorite — I tried many of their taps — and then – got sucked into a Tequila shot with Ken, from the B & B —

SO – I basically had of drinks with the owner of the B & B, while his wife waited for him to come home — watched the end of the US Open Golf Tourney and then the Sox on Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN — I did this while routing Kenny in a game of pool —- which only shows how much he had drank during the evening — because I rarely win at pool…..I am no shark….

Had a couple beers by myself at a bar at the end of the street….the name escapes me….which I think, means the bar did it’s trick…. (Editor’s Note — which means, my note…Beach House Grill)

Night, night

(note: this was done Sunday, but somehow I left it in drafts — other posts down here will be about much more lazy days…)

Tonight is the second night of two in a Norfolk hotel, which ended up being nicer than the on-line comments — – is it perfect? Nope…but any wasted text here would be a 10 yard penalty for whining!

Got up early and decided to hit Virginia Beach (15 miles or so away) for a couple hours — it was really nice and it seemed to have a lot of regular people there — and there are some nice hotels in the area.

It turned out they were having some Arts Festival on the Boardwalk, so I decided to get my dose of culture and I strolled around and envied the people dropping lots of dough on some art —

After that culture, I changed to history mode and sprinted out to the Yorktown/Williamsburg/Jamestown area — they call it a historical triangle — and diehards could spend days here — I was attempting to squeeze in enough in 4-5 hours and I managed to do this by cropping Williamsburg out of the picture — So, Yorktown for a bit and then drive the 20 miles or so to Jamestown.

Watched a movie about the Battle for Yorktown and then had a guide discuss some artillery that was used by the English, French (a key ally in this battle) and the Colonists. They then did a couple oif blasts so we could hear the bang and see how much had to be done to get the canon to fire. A photo of the preparation is below and then, I tried to do a movie snippet with the camera –

See the Canon at Yorktown via this YouTube link — >> Click Here

After spending a couple hours here, I drove the 30 minutes down to Jamestown, to see where the first settlement was — and it was pretty interesting — lots of what I went to constitutes an archeological dig — you can see the many artifacts that have been unearthed and read how anthropologists weave history from little pieces they find (for instance, the number of buttons found with a skeleton may indicate what he or she was wearing and in turn that may clue them into whether the person was higher class, etc.).

Below is a snapshot of what a barracks would look like — some others were much smaller, with wood posts kept together with hardened mud –

I would definitely come back when I have more time -

Then it was an hour ride up to Richmond to catch some minor league baseball — the Richmond Flying Squirrels — and it was Sergeant Slaughter night — he signed autographs, but somehow, I took a pass….

The stadium people were overwhelmed — they had a large amount of walk up customers — between Father’s Day weekend, a 96 degree day, and of course, the chance for the Sergeant Slaughter autograph….I left after 5 innings to come back to Norfolk — the lines were huge and I just had given up managing the lines….

Except, for one snack – I got some cinnamon roasted cashews — which were yummy and of course they were necessary — I mean you have to watch out for the Flying Squirrels, they’ll grab your nuts…

Off to the Outer Banks tomorrow….relaxation for 4 days —

Well, was able to hit the road earlier than expected and traffic was light until the New York border — so, I was there at 2:20 PM and decided it was early enough to try and just wing it and head straight through the City — was a piece of cake really — more or less, little stop and go — but I hit the Joysey (pronounced Joy-Zee) line in 3 hours 35 minutes — pretty good (I think).

Zipped down the highway to Atlantic City (after pulling over to debate screwing Atlantic City and visiting my second home, Baltimore, to watch the Celts win game 7 with my friend Brendan and his family…..but, ahem, all parts of that plan went down the tubes….)

SO — Atlantic City —not sure what I expected….looks impressive from afar as you roll towards it — and I think this falls into the category of the best thing I could say about it -

Stayed at the Trump Plaza, via priceline — not bad….but room had a Zenith TV….lol, I know, I know, first impression is a strange one — I mean, a Zenith??

One other thing I did not expect was all the people with people push carts (there is probably a real name for these things) — They are everywhere — and few looked like this one below (this guy is resting, not hounding people…)

And here’s a tip — you got a bad ankle? a bad foot? a bad knee? Say….maybe even bad heels? Don’t let them see your slight limp….. flies to honey they were — I should have just hopped in one to shut em up — but I kept trying to hide the slight gait problem.

Watched the game at the Tropicana — special of the night were $5 40-ounce “quarts” — and while I have never seen the show, The Jersey Shore, I think I lived an episode or two with friends that I met — they just saw me clapping for the Celtics and wanted to hear “pahk the cah”…..

The basics — one of them brought the other one out for her birthday because her husband didn’t plan anything for her — guess this is what you do in Joysey…go to Atlantic City when you need a divergence — they helped pass the time and one of them has a story about every stranger in the bar — she made up stories about all of them — and thus, before they met “Kevin”, I was “Clayton” — they figured that was a good name for me — not sure how to take that one -

Here is a picture of Clayton and his Joysey Girls

Today, grabbed a Ferry at Cape May, New Joysey and followed that up with a leisurely ride down the coast, checking out Delaware Beaches before finally dropping onto Bethany Beach, DE for a couple hours

Then I traveled down to Ocean City, MD — but just tried to check out some of the Boardwalk — but it was mostly a cameo — snapped a photo just to show I was at a cheesey boardwalk-y place — Ocean City is nice — been there briefly before — would enjoy a few days there sometime — typical cheesey photo can be seen below…

I now sit in Virginia Beach — Starbucks, free wi-fi — headed to hotel in Norfolk — been using Priceline to save some dough — working well so far — tonight is $22 below any rate I can find for this place — just a moderate place — just hoping it is clean — and – OH – and maybe has something other than a Zenith for TV — might even root for a Sanyo

Got here via an interesting roadway – I traveled 100+ miles from Ocean City and it included a 20 mile “vehicle crossing” of the Chesapeake Bay (you can check it out here)- — it’s part bridge, part tunnel….so, they call it a vehicle crossing…..but I’d try calling it a “tridge” or “brunnel”….but that’s just me – you can call me old school….if you don’t prefer calling me Clayton

Decided to lump in some more personal time at work to try and beat the traffic through or around NYC…..Day 1, underway….

Having planned to score a place down the Cape last week was met with a broker who never got back to me…..so, I guess it was Wednesday or Thursday when I decided, how about driving down South and coming back a little inland…?

So…I have gone from Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras, as in the Outer Banks, NC — !

So…while much of this is big the (large) seat of my pants, I now know I will be in the outer banks for 4 days next week – Looks like the weather genie has sprinkled some perfect weather for me – North Carolina Sunshine

So…right now, leave midday tomorrow — the Bronx Bombers are at home, so a New York rush hour may be even worse, so I might pull an End Around to get around the city…. staying in Atlantic City for night 1, catch a Ferry in Cape May Friday morning, hope to have Delaware Beach sand (or even Ocean City, MD) relaxing my Plantar Fasciitis by Noon or shortly after that –

(Over Under on me complaining about my heels is set at 6.5 times for the duration of the trip)

Ok — still working this new stuff out on the blog, but here is the deal if you want to comment/post.

To comment on posts, you need to register. You will be sent an email with a funky password. Once you log in, you will be brought to an admin screen where you can change your screen name, password, etc. –

Once you have registered and logged in, you are free to post.

HOWEVER, it requires me to approve your FIRST comment only. Once I approve your first comment, it “green lights” you for future comments.

So….everyone in the pool!

This blog was a long time coming.  For one reason or another, I have always wanted a place to dump some random thoughts, some cool photos or a joke that only makes me laugh.

Well…..the Vacation to Nowhere is now about to happen and I decided this may be the perfect time to launch a blog.  Will it be something I keep up?  Who knows…but for now, I get ready, make sure I can edit this and play around with various templates -

I hope you catch the Buzz…