Monday, Dec. 31, 2012--Banquete, Panama
All night long last night we had high winds with rather heavy rain. By today, the winds continued, but the rain had turned to a swirling mist. We were told this is the normal weather pattern for this time of the year.
Our breakfast at the hotel was good. They made us hot chocolate and served us freshly squeezed orange juice and a plate of fresh fruits--pineapple, papaya, and banana. From the egg choices we each ordered the omelette. We ordered the omelette with ham, the waitress asked if we wanted "en toto" which we took to mean that we wanted it also with cheese and vegetables which were listed as possibilities. We got a cheese only omelette and are not sure what the problem was. From the bread choices, we got the hojaldras, a local fry-bread.
My San Antonio friend Merryl has a long-time friend Totsie who lives here in Banquete with her husband Winn, his mother Wanda and their dog Jazz. Totsie and Wanda came to pick us up at 9:30 and took us to their home in the hills. It's a very nice place with views of coffee plantations, a nice lawn with flowers, and lots of windows which allowed for steady breezes through the house. We played with Jazz, had cappuccinos, toured their home, saw Totsie's weavings and her Japanese loom, and talked about everything from around-the-world travel, to their web design business, to living in Panama as an expatriate, to the problems related to dementia (which Wanda has and our mothers had), etc.
They gave us a driving tour of the area, and we eventually stopped at the Panamonte Hotel, a historic inn from the early 1900s where we ate lunch--burgers with fries for Wes, Winn, and me, and pumpkin soup and a salad for Totsie.
After lunch, they left to visit Winn's brother and his family who also live here, and Wes and I walked back into town. We barely made it back to the hotel before the swirling mist began again. We stayed inside for a couple of hours, then we went out exploring the town more. People were active in the local park, along the streets, etc., in preparation for and celebration of the New Year. While out, we stopped at the supermarket and bought some rum, cola and peanuts to have in the room to celebrate the new year ourselves.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Cool with Rain
Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012--Santa Fe to Banquete, Panama
Today was a big travel day. We were up early and waiting at the road in front of our hotel for a bus at 7:30. Fortunately, one arrived in only 5 minutes. An hour and a half later, we were in Santiago where the bus station was bustling and we had to ask about the bus for David, since we couldn't see a sign designating it. We were told it was across the street, and a nice man there guided us to it on a side street. Luggage was being loaded on top of a bus that was already full of passengers. We were escorted to the back of a long line of other people waiting to go to David. A quarter of an hour later, that bus pulled off and another replaced it. They took our luggage, and we rushed forward with our line to get on the bus hoping we would get good seats. We were far enough back in line that we just barely missed having to sit over a wheel well. Therefore, our location was fine, but it lacked comfort. It was another small bus which meant each bench could really only hold about 1 1/2 butts even though they force two people to sit per bench.
The bus for David left about 45 minutes after we joined the line for it. The trip was a little over 3 hours on a bumpy concrete roadway with me sitting half-way off the seat into the aisle. It seemed as if the trip would never end. Eventually, however, we arrived at the terminal in David, got our luggage, and left within 5 minutes on another crowded, small bus for Banquete. That trip took a little over an hour. When we arrived, we had been traveling for over 7 hours and were exhausted.
Just as we got off the bus at the park in the center of town, it started raining. We walked about 2 blocks towards our hotel and had to seek shelter under an entrance to a building. We were tired, needed to use the bathroom, were hungry, etc. Finally, after maybe 15 minutes, it turned to drizzle and we were able to make it the other two blocks to our hotel.
We are staying at the El Oasis Hotel. It's one of the better places in town. The beds are good, the sheets are soft, the TV has lots of cable channels, the wifi signal is strong, and we are hoping that the breakfast tomorrow morning will be great.
Around 4:30 p.m., we went out to find a place to eat. I hadn't eaten all day, and Wes had only had a granola bar. We went to El Sobroson which our guidebook said was popular with both locals and tourists. Even at that hour, it had a long line of customers at the cafeteria-style counter and had tables filled with used dishes waiting to be cleaned off. We each picked out dishes that looked good to us. I got a rice with lentils, chicken with a cream sauce flavored with giblets, roasted plantains, and coleslaw. It was a huge plate of food that was filling, but it lacked the great flavor of the food we had yesterday in Santa Fe while costing twice as much.
The wind and rain began again while we were eating, so we headed back to the hotel. It hasn't let up all evening. It must be associated with a cool front coming through. We've stayed inside the room and relaxed. We got a call from my friend Merryl's former college mate who lives here. She and her husband will pick us up tomorrow morning after breakfast and take us to their place for a visit.
Today was a big travel day. We were up early and waiting at the road in front of our hotel for a bus at 7:30. Fortunately, one arrived in only 5 minutes. An hour and a half later, we were in Santiago where the bus station was bustling and we had to ask about the bus for David, since we couldn't see a sign designating it. We were told it was across the street, and a nice man there guided us to it on a side street. Luggage was being loaded on top of a bus that was already full of passengers. We were escorted to the back of a long line of other people waiting to go to David. A quarter of an hour later, that bus pulled off and another replaced it. They took our luggage, and we rushed forward with our line to get on the bus hoping we would get good seats. We were far enough back in line that we just barely missed having to sit over a wheel well. Therefore, our location was fine, but it lacked comfort. It was another small bus which meant each bench could really only hold about 1 1/2 butts even though they force two people to sit per bench.
The bus for David left about 45 minutes after we joined the line for it. The trip was a little over 3 hours on a bumpy concrete roadway with me sitting half-way off the seat into the aisle. It seemed as if the trip would never end. Eventually, however, we arrived at the terminal in David, got our luggage, and left within 5 minutes on another crowded, small bus for Banquete. That trip took a little over an hour. When we arrived, we had been traveling for over 7 hours and were exhausted.
Just as we got off the bus at the park in the center of town, it started raining. We walked about 2 blocks towards our hotel and had to seek shelter under an entrance to a building. We were tired, needed to use the bathroom, were hungry, etc. Finally, after maybe 15 minutes, it turned to drizzle and we were able to make it the other two blocks to our hotel.
We are staying at the El Oasis Hotel. It's one of the better places in town. The beds are good, the sheets are soft, the TV has lots of cable channels, the wifi signal is strong, and we are hoping that the breakfast tomorrow morning will be great.
Around 4:30 p.m., we went out to find a place to eat. I hadn't eaten all day, and Wes had only had a granola bar. We went to El Sobroson which our guidebook said was popular with both locals and tourists. Even at that hour, it had a long line of customers at the cafeteria-style counter and had tables filled with used dishes waiting to be cleaned off. We each picked out dishes that looked good to us. I got a rice with lentils, chicken with a cream sauce flavored with giblets, roasted plantains, and coleslaw. It was a huge plate of food that was filling, but it lacked the great flavor of the food we had yesterday in Santa Fe while costing twice as much.
The wind and rain began again while we were eating, so we headed back to the hotel. It hasn't let up all evening. It must be associated with a cool front coming through. We've stayed inside the room and relaxed. We got a call from my friend Merryl's former college mate who lives here. She and her husband will pick us up tomorrow morning after breakfast and take us to their place for a visit.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Bites and Mountains
Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012--Santa Fe, Panama
When we returned to our room last night after having dinner on the porch and using the computer in the lounge (the only place with wifi), we were surprised to find that we both were covered in bites. They were mainly on our arms near the elbows and on our legs at the bottom of our shorts and on the back of the calves. Wes had said he thought he felt bugs, but I didn't feel anything. We must have each had 50 bites. However, the spots were small, did not result in welts, and did not itch. We aren't sure what caused them, but we were happy not to be feeling miserable.
The main purpose of being in Santa Fe is to hike in the mountains exploring the area. We walked to town and ate a fantastic breakfast in a small cafe--a chicken leg in a wonderful sauce seasoned with local herbs and accompanied by two freshly made pieces of fried flat bread. It was the best meal we have had on the trip, and it cost a total of $3 for the BOTH of us.
We planned a loop trip. We headed out of town toward the east, curved around the north side of town, and came back in from the west. It took about 4 1/2 hours. The scenery was beautiful, but the hills, especially with the high humidity and heat were difficult. Actually, they were steep mountains rather than hills. We came to a swimming spot on the river east of town. No one was there, but it was a beautiful area. Then we headed off the main road onto a local country road that took us far up and across a mountain. A few houses were scattered along the way. Usually, someone was on the porch to greet us as we passed. All of them had nice flowers in the yards and most of them had trees loaded with oranges and tangerines. Everyone seemed a bit surprised (and happy) to see us walking, but none of them thought to offer us a fruit from their trees. When we found a spot with a breeze, we would pause under the shade of a tree and enjoy it. But within a few minutes of walking again, we were hot and sweaty.
We were using a map the owner of our hotel had provided for us. It was quite accurately made making it easy to know which roads to take. There was a turn off for a waterfall at one point, but we could see the trail went up a mountain. We figured we had seen Niagara, Iguazu, etc., and that it wasn't worth the effort to climb that mountain (45 minutes up plus return) to see another we didn't even know existed until a few weeks ago.
At a small church, we stopped to sit on an outside bench for a while. One of the problems with the entire route was that there were few places to sit. If we stopped for the breeze, we had to stand. Although the church building blocked the breeze somewhat, we still enjoyed being off our legs which were aching from inclines of about 45 degrees!
As we approached the river again on the west side of town, the road was really two ruts. With no one in sight, I saw a tangerine tree with fruits low enough to pick. I picked two of them for us to eat. There were many on the ground rotting, so I didn't feel bad about taking two. Mine was so refreshing! Unfortunately, Wes had about 1/4 of his tumble out of his hands onto the ground as he was trying to pull off sections to eat.
The second place we passed the river was so remote that it had only a walking suspension bridge. (Sorry that photo at the link is blurred; it's the only one I could find of the actual bridge we crossed.) The river was so peaceful there with rapids both above and below the area. We watched the water a while and then crossed the bridge. Two teenage boys were there enjoying making the bridge bounce some. They had been swimming in the water just before we arrived, because their suits were wet. They were nice, however, and let us cross without creating havoc. I told Wes that I'm sure both of them will fondly remember their days of swimming on the river and bouncing on the suspension bridge without a care in the world when they are adults.
We were in a very remote area after passing the suspension bridge. It was quite special because of all the beautiful butterflies. As we walked along a road only passable on foot or horseback, we passed an area where swarms of butterflies swirled and flitted around us. Just past there, we were back on an unpaved road for autos and found a good place to sit in the shade on stones beside the river. Am American man and his daughter were there swimming. (We could hear them speaking English). And a man walked up to us who was hiking along the river. He was a local man living with his wife and parents who goes hiking along the river regularly.
Back in town, we were exhausted. We returned to the room and watched TV while enjoying the air conditioning. Then we walked back into town in the evening to have dinner at the same place where we had breakfast. I had a plate of rice with fresh tomatoes, onions, and chunks of roasted pork. Wes had the same except it was a chicken breast in the same sauce as what we had for breakfast. Dinner was $4.50 for the BOTH (not each) of us and was fantastic.
We will leave here for Boquete tomorrow. We were able to get a hotel reservation in a nice place and are just hoping we won't run into problems getting buses. It will take 3 of them to get us there.
When we returned to our room last night after having dinner on the porch and using the computer in the lounge (the only place with wifi), we were surprised to find that we both were covered in bites. They were mainly on our arms near the elbows and on our legs at the bottom of our shorts and on the back of the calves. Wes had said he thought he felt bugs, but I didn't feel anything. We must have each had 50 bites. However, the spots were small, did not result in welts, and did not itch. We aren't sure what caused them, but we were happy not to be feeling miserable.
The main purpose of being in Santa Fe is to hike in the mountains exploring the area. We walked to town and ate a fantastic breakfast in a small cafe--a chicken leg in a wonderful sauce seasoned with local herbs and accompanied by two freshly made pieces of fried flat bread. It was the best meal we have had on the trip, and it cost a total of $3 for the BOTH of us.
We planned a loop trip. We headed out of town toward the east, curved around the north side of town, and came back in from the west. It took about 4 1/2 hours. The scenery was beautiful, but the hills, especially with the high humidity and heat were difficult. Actually, they were steep mountains rather than hills. We came to a swimming spot on the river east of town. No one was there, but it was a beautiful area. Then we headed off the main road onto a local country road that took us far up and across a mountain. A few houses were scattered along the way. Usually, someone was on the porch to greet us as we passed. All of them had nice flowers in the yards and most of them had trees loaded with oranges and tangerines. Everyone seemed a bit surprised (and happy) to see us walking, but none of them thought to offer us a fruit from their trees. When we found a spot with a breeze, we would pause under the shade of a tree and enjoy it. But within a few minutes of walking again, we were hot and sweaty.
We were using a map the owner of our hotel had provided for us. It was quite accurately made making it easy to know which roads to take. There was a turn off for a waterfall at one point, but we could see the trail went up a mountain. We figured we had seen Niagara, Iguazu, etc., and that it wasn't worth the effort to climb that mountain (45 minutes up plus return) to see another we didn't even know existed until a few weeks ago.
At a small church, we stopped to sit on an outside bench for a while. One of the problems with the entire route was that there were few places to sit. If we stopped for the breeze, we had to stand. Although the church building blocked the breeze somewhat, we still enjoyed being off our legs which were aching from inclines of about 45 degrees!
As we approached the river again on the west side of town, the road was really two ruts. With no one in sight, I saw a tangerine tree with fruits low enough to pick. I picked two of them for us to eat. There were many on the ground rotting, so I didn't feel bad about taking two. Mine was so refreshing! Unfortunately, Wes had about 1/4 of his tumble out of his hands onto the ground as he was trying to pull off sections to eat.
The second place we passed the river was so remote that it had only a walking suspension bridge. (Sorry that photo at the link is blurred; it's the only one I could find of the actual bridge we crossed.) The river was so peaceful there with rapids both above and below the area. We watched the water a while and then crossed the bridge. Two teenage boys were there enjoying making the bridge bounce some. They had been swimming in the water just before we arrived, because their suits were wet. They were nice, however, and let us cross without creating havoc. I told Wes that I'm sure both of them will fondly remember their days of swimming on the river and bouncing on the suspension bridge without a care in the world when they are adults.
We were in a very remote area after passing the suspension bridge. It was quite special because of all the beautiful butterflies. As we walked along a road only passable on foot or horseback, we passed an area where swarms of butterflies swirled and flitted around us. Just past there, we were back on an unpaved road for autos and found a good place to sit in the shade on stones beside the river. Am American man and his daughter were there swimming. (We could hear them speaking English). And a man walked up to us who was hiking along the river. He was a local man living with his wife and parents who goes hiking along the river regularly.
Back in town, we were exhausted. We returned to the room and watched TV while enjoying the air conditioning. Then we walked back into town in the evening to have dinner at the same place where we had breakfast. I had a plate of rice with fresh tomatoes, onions, and chunks of roasted pork. Wes had the same except it was a chicken breast in the same sauce as what we had for breakfast. Dinner was $4.50 for the BOTH (not each) of us and was fantastic.
We will leave here for Boquete tomorrow. We were able to get a hotel reservation in a nice place and are just hoping we won't run into problems getting buses. It will take 3 of them to get us there.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Remote Panama
Friday, Dec. 28, 2012--Panama City to Santa Fe
We rushed after getting up and having breakfast. We knew we had quite a trip ahead. It started with a city bus from our neighborhood to the main bus station in Panama City. There, we had to wait about 10 minutes before the next bus from the company that had sold us our ticket arrived. We were lucky to get on early and get good seats. By the time it left 30 minutes later, people were told they had to wait for the next bus. It's the beginning of a long weekend with many people going home to celebrate the new year.
After 3 1/2 hours, we arrived in Santiago. There, we had to change buses again. Fortunately, just 5 minutes after our arrival, a bus for Santa Fe arrived. There was a rush for it, but the young man who handled the luggage and tickets saw us, grabbed our bags, and told a man inside to save two seats for us. An hour and a half later, we arrived in Santa Fe.
Our hotel is outside of town. We have to walk uphill about 1/2 a mile to get to the center of town. The center isn't much, though. This is really a SMALL village in the mountains. It's a dead end, too. Visiting here is like visiting Boxelder in Texas. It's quiet and remote.
After resting for a while in the room, we walked into town. We explored up and down some of the streets. There is a small general store, a small fruit and vegetable market, a few places offering rooms that looked mostly closed, a small school, and a scattering of local houses. Many homes have a saddled horse outside ready to use for local transportation. Many lawns have colorful flowers. Crocuses are very popular, too. And almost every home has both an orange tree and a tangerine tree.
Mountains surround the town, and clouds float in and out of them. The air is cooler than in Panama City, but it is still humid. Everyone was friendly.
Our room is clean, but it isn't as nice as what we had in Panama City. It will be fine, though. I don't think we will stay for 3 nights as we had planned. It's likely we will stay only two nights just because the place is so remote. Tomorrow, we will explore the area.
We rushed after getting up and having breakfast. We knew we had quite a trip ahead. It started with a city bus from our neighborhood to the main bus station in Panama City. There, we had to wait about 10 minutes before the next bus from the company that had sold us our ticket arrived. We were lucky to get on early and get good seats. By the time it left 30 minutes later, people were told they had to wait for the next bus. It's the beginning of a long weekend with many people going home to celebrate the new year.
After 3 1/2 hours, we arrived in Santiago. There, we had to change buses again. Fortunately, just 5 minutes after our arrival, a bus for Santa Fe arrived. There was a rush for it, but the young man who handled the luggage and tickets saw us, grabbed our bags, and told a man inside to save two seats for us. An hour and a half later, we arrived in Santa Fe.
Our hotel is outside of town. We have to walk uphill about 1/2 a mile to get to the center of town. The center isn't much, though. This is really a SMALL village in the mountains. It's a dead end, too. Visiting here is like visiting Boxelder in Texas. It's quiet and remote.
After resting for a while in the room, we walked into town. We explored up and down some of the streets. There is a small general store, a small fruit and vegetable market, a few places offering rooms that looked mostly closed, a small school, and a scattering of local houses. Many homes have a saddled horse outside ready to use for local transportation. Many lawns have colorful flowers. Crocuses are very popular, too. And almost every home has both an orange tree and a tangerine tree.
Mountains surround the town, and clouds float in and out of them. The air is cooler than in Panama City, but it is still humid. Everyone was friendly.
Our room is clean, but it isn't as nice as what we had in Panama City. It will be fine, though. I don't think we will stay for 3 nights as we had planned. It's likely we will stay only two nights just because the place is so remote. Tomorrow, we will explore the area.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Casco Viejo (Old Town)
Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012--Panama City
We met a nice couple at breakfast yesterday morning from San Francisco--Steve and Naomi. We visited with them at breakfast again this morning. We were going today where they were yesterday, and they were going today where we were yesterday. We helped them with what we learned about catching the buses, and they suggested a couple of things for us to do while in the Casco Viejo area.
There were more buses running today than last evening, but supposedly still only 50% of them are on their routes. My guess is that the government has the right to force them back to work if fewer buses than that run. The city is building a metro, but until it is finished bus service is critical for the city.
We took a Red Devil bus today to go to Casco Viejo, the old part of Panama City. Red Devils are not air conditioned, and they are really just old school buses fancied up with paint and flashy features.
Casco Viejo is a small peninsula which was all that existed of the city in the early 1900s when the canal was built. Over the years, it crumbled as the city expanded. Today, it is partially restored and going through a major period of restoration. It has the feel of the French Quarter in New Orleans or the old town in San Juan, Puerto Rico. When it is totally restored, it will be a fantastic area for tourists. Now it is interesting to walk the narrow streets seeing restored buildings beside ones with large trees growing out of their roofs and others only with outer walls still standing. There are small plazas, churches, church ruins, a promenade, museums, the national theater, etc. We spent about 3 hours exploring the area. Because of the heat and humidity, we had to stop occasionally to sit in the shade or to stand in front of a fan at a church. There is little air conditioning in that part of the city. We saw the golden alter at San Jose Church, the small Panama History Museum, and the National Theater (both in front and behind the stage). The whole area was a good place to just stroll and visit.
When we left Casco Viejo, we walked Ave. Central to Plaza Cinco de Mayo several blocks north. The street was lined with old shops, street stalls, small restaurants, etc., serving the rather poor people of the neighborhood. It reminded me of the shopping districts in Laredo or El Paso near the border to Mexico.
We tried to go the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo. We found it only to discover that they were closed for the holidays and installing a new special exhibition. An older man (I'm not sure if he was an employee or the artist of the new exhibition) asked us to come back after Jan. 1. Then he added, "I like Obama; Obama is my friend."
Heading back to Plaza Cinco de Mayo, we stopped at a small, local restaurant. We both had a large plate of chicken and rice for a total bill of $3.50.
After that, we decided just to walk all the way back from there to our hotel. Slowly, but surely, the neighborhoods kept improving as we made our way. One interesting thing to observe was that stores often had young men hired as security guards who would sit atop unfolded ladders on the sidewalk looking into the stores watching the customers. Each had a billy club attached to his ladder--some were made of wood such as policemen would use and others were made of metal pipe. Their job, apparently, was to watch for anyone trying to leave the store without paying for merchandise and to stop them using the clubs.
The walk back to the hotel was interesting, but it was quite difficult in the heat and humidity at 14:30. We BARELY made it to our nearby Rey Supermercado where we knew we could buy a 2 liter Coke Zero for $2. It was so refreshing to have that cold drink. Wes' entire shirt was damp by the time we got back to the room. We spent about 3 hours just enjoying the air conditioning before going out again briefly in the evening to explore another part of our neighborhood and find a snack for dinner.
This was our last day in Panama City. It's a very dynamic city filled with many skyscrapers. From a distance, the view of the city is much like that of Asian cities with all the modern buildings. And the city overall is clean and nice. We haven't felt uncomfortable about wandering and exploring anywhere we wanted.
We met a nice couple at breakfast yesterday morning from San Francisco--Steve and Naomi. We visited with them at breakfast again this morning. We were going today where they were yesterday, and they were going today where we were yesterday. We helped them with what we learned about catching the buses, and they suggested a couple of things for us to do while in the Casco Viejo area.
There were more buses running today than last evening, but supposedly still only 50% of them are on their routes. My guess is that the government has the right to force them back to work if fewer buses than that run. The city is building a metro, but until it is finished bus service is critical for the city.
We took a Red Devil bus today to go to Casco Viejo, the old part of Panama City. Red Devils are not air conditioned, and they are really just old school buses fancied up with paint and flashy features.
Casco Viejo is a small peninsula which was all that existed of the city in the early 1900s when the canal was built. Over the years, it crumbled as the city expanded. Today, it is partially restored and going through a major period of restoration. It has the feel of the French Quarter in New Orleans or the old town in San Juan, Puerto Rico. When it is totally restored, it will be a fantastic area for tourists. Now it is interesting to walk the narrow streets seeing restored buildings beside ones with large trees growing out of their roofs and others only with outer walls still standing. There are small plazas, churches, church ruins, a promenade, museums, the national theater, etc. We spent about 3 hours exploring the area. Because of the heat and humidity, we had to stop occasionally to sit in the shade or to stand in front of a fan at a church. There is little air conditioning in that part of the city. We saw the golden alter at San Jose Church, the small Panama History Museum, and the National Theater (both in front and behind the stage). The whole area was a good place to just stroll and visit.
When we left Casco Viejo, we walked Ave. Central to Plaza Cinco de Mayo several blocks north. The street was lined with old shops, street stalls, small restaurants, etc., serving the rather poor people of the neighborhood. It reminded me of the shopping districts in Laredo or El Paso near the border to Mexico.
We tried to go the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo. We found it only to discover that they were closed for the holidays and installing a new special exhibition. An older man (I'm not sure if he was an employee or the artist of the new exhibition) asked us to come back after Jan. 1. Then he added, "I like Obama; Obama is my friend."
Heading back to Plaza Cinco de Mayo, we stopped at a small, local restaurant. We both had a large plate of chicken and rice for a total bill of $3.50.
After that, we decided just to walk all the way back from there to our hotel. Slowly, but surely, the neighborhoods kept improving as we made our way. One interesting thing to observe was that stores often had young men hired as security guards who would sit atop unfolded ladders on the sidewalk looking into the stores watching the customers. Each had a billy club attached to his ladder--some were made of wood such as policemen would use and others were made of metal pipe. Their job, apparently, was to watch for anyone trying to leave the store without paying for merchandise and to stop them using the clubs.
The walk back to the hotel was interesting, but it was quite difficult in the heat and humidity at 14:30. We BARELY made it to our nearby Rey Supermercado where we knew we could buy a 2 liter Coke Zero for $2. It was so refreshing to have that cold drink. Wes' entire shirt was damp by the time we got back to the room. We spent about 3 hours just enjoying the air conditioning before going out again briefly in the evening to explore another part of our neighborhood and find a snack for dinner.
This was our last day in Panama City. It's a very dynamic city filled with many skyscrapers. From a distance, the view of the city is much like that of Asian cities with all the modern buildings. And the city overall is clean and nice. We haven't felt uncomfortable about wandering and exploring anywhere we wanted.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Hot and Muggy!
Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012--Panama City
Unfortunately, the air conditioner blows right onto my bed. Most of last night, I slept with covers mostly over my head. But no air conditioning is even worse. This is a hot, muggy city. Even though this is the dry season here, there is very high humidity. It's impossible to be outside and be comfortable.
We caught a bus to to the main terminal this morning where we switched to a bus to the Miraflores Visitor Center, the Panama Canal overview sight and museum. We saw three different ships going through the canal while we were there. We also saw a 3-D film about the canal and toured a 4-floor museum. The most interesting experience was a room in the museum with projected images of going through the canal as if you were up in the bridge of the ship. It was speeded up so that in a few minutes you got the entire experience of going through the locks, across the lake, and through the other locks with all the tug boats and small guidance trains doing their jobs. Virtual Tour: http://www.panamatours.com/Pancanal/Canal_pics.htm
When we got back to the main bus terminal, we walked through the Albrook Mall just so we could be in air conditioning for a while. It is a HUGE mall, though. We kept expecting it to end, and it would just make a slight turn to a different direction over and over again.
The big surprise was trying to get back to our part of town at 4:30. All of a sudden, instead of a bus every couple of minutes, there was maybe one every 20 minutes. Then we saw a man with a news camera. Wes guessed that a strike was occurring. Fortunately, we squeezed onto a bus going our way. I had to watch carefully, however, because it wasn't going back exactly as we came. I could tell when we were near our area and told Wes to watch out for Av. Brazil. Two men sitting by where I was standing told me we should get off at the next stop and go to the right. Sure enough, it was the perfect place for us to find our way to our hotel. Back in the room later, sure enough all the news was about a bus strike causing thousands to have trouble getting home.
We ate at Jap Jap, a place near our hotel that specializes in grilled chicken. We bought a whole chicken and a baked potato and shared it for dinner. It was very tasty with a very nice dipping sauce for the chicken. Then we walked to the nearby supermarket to buy a cola. Each of us drank an entire 1.25 liter cola within an hour. We were so dehydrated from the heat.
Unfortunately, the air conditioner blows right onto my bed. Most of last night, I slept with covers mostly over my head. But no air conditioning is even worse. This is a hot, muggy city. Even though this is the dry season here, there is very high humidity. It's impossible to be outside and be comfortable.
We caught a bus to to the main terminal this morning where we switched to a bus to the Miraflores Visitor Center, the Panama Canal overview sight and museum. We saw three different ships going through the canal while we were there. We also saw a 3-D film about the canal and toured a 4-floor museum. The most interesting experience was a room in the museum with projected images of going through the canal as if you were up in the bridge of the ship. It was speeded up so that in a few minutes you got the entire experience of going through the locks, across the lake, and through the other locks with all the tug boats and small guidance trains doing their jobs. Virtual Tour: http://www.panamatours.com/Pancanal/Canal_pics.htm
When we got back to the main bus terminal, we walked through the Albrook Mall just so we could be in air conditioning for a while. It is a HUGE mall, though. We kept expecting it to end, and it would just make a slight turn to a different direction over and over again.
The big surprise was trying to get back to our part of town at 4:30. All of a sudden, instead of a bus every couple of minutes, there was maybe one every 20 minutes. Then we saw a man with a news camera. Wes guessed that a strike was occurring. Fortunately, we squeezed onto a bus going our way. I had to watch carefully, however, because it wasn't going back exactly as we came. I could tell when we were near our area and told Wes to watch out for Av. Brazil. Two men sitting by where I was standing told me we should get off at the next stop and go to the right. Sure enough, it was the perfect place for us to find our way to our hotel. Back in the room later, sure enough all the news was about a bus strike causing thousands to have trouble getting home.
We ate at Jap Jap, a place near our hotel that specializes in grilled chicken. We bought a whole chicken and a baked potato and shared it for dinner. It was very tasty with a very nice dipping sauce for the chicken. Then we walked to the nearby supermarket to buy a cola. Each of us drank an entire 1.25 liter cola within an hour. We were so dehydrated from the heat.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Arrival in Panama
Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012--Panama City, Panama
There were no problems at the airport in San Antonio this morning. No lines to check in or to go through security. Our flight was full though, and it was a superliner thanks to the tailwinds that got us to Houston in about 35 minutes!! In Houston, we had a short walk to our connecting gate where they were just starting to load the flight to Panama, another one that was full.
I sat beside a 31-year-old American surfer from San Francisco who was excited to be away for a few days of surfing here. He was a talker!! He really loves electronics and never wanted to shut anything down when asked to do so. He had a new Asus tablet with an external keyboard, a set of $300 headphones by V-Moda, a Boosteroo portable amplifier to improve the sound from his cell phone, and a Motorola cell phone. He demonstrated the headphones to me by selecting various songs and letting me hear the sound. It actually was very good.
There were no problems getting processed through immigration and customs at the airport, and Dan, the surfer, joined us in our collectivo taxi which provided the cheapest way to get into town--$11 per person vs. $14 per person if only two of us took a taxi.
There was one glitch in our plan. We had trouble finding our hotel. It's a small place called Entre 2 Aguas. I had marked its location on my map and I guided the taxi driver to within a block of the hotel. However, we didn't see its small sign when we went past it. We stopped half a block away and some local people tried to help us with their cell phones. They found the website and telephoned the hotel, but there was no answer. They said it should be nearby. Rather than letting us walk up and down the street and look for it, the taxi driver insisted on taking us. He drove to a parallel street and we saw nothing. Then he moved even further away on another street. I knew it was a bad move. Eventually, we paid him an extra $3 and he left. We then walked back to where we had been first, and found our place quite easily. The biggest problem was the high heat and humidity. By the time we got back to there--maybe 3 blocks from where the taxi left us--we were really perspiring. But the man answered the bell and told us he and his wife had just arrived. That's why they hadn't answered when the first helpful group called the hotel.
Our room is huge--two king size beds, a large flat-panel TV, a safe, a refrigerator, etc. It's quite convenient to Calle Espana, a street with many shops and restaurants. Because it is Christmas, we only found a couple of places open. One was a KFC, so we went there and had some chicken wraps and fries for dinner. Tomorrow, it should be much easier to find local food available.
Neither of us slept well last night, and we got up at 4:20 this morning. Therefore, we are very tired and are going to bed early. Tomorrow, there is a full schedule for exploring!
There were no problems at the airport in San Antonio this morning. No lines to check in or to go through security. Our flight was full though, and it was a superliner thanks to the tailwinds that got us to Houston in about 35 minutes!! In Houston, we had a short walk to our connecting gate where they were just starting to load the flight to Panama, another one that was full.
I sat beside a 31-year-old American surfer from San Francisco who was excited to be away for a few days of surfing here. He was a talker!! He really loves electronics and never wanted to shut anything down when asked to do so. He had a new Asus tablet with an external keyboard, a set of $300 headphones by V-Moda, a Boosteroo portable amplifier to improve the sound from his cell phone, and a Motorola cell phone. He demonstrated the headphones to me by selecting various songs and letting me hear the sound. It actually was very good.
There were no problems getting processed through immigration and customs at the airport, and Dan, the surfer, joined us in our collectivo taxi which provided the cheapest way to get into town--$11 per person vs. $14 per person if only two of us took a taxi.
There was one glitch in our plan. We had trouble finding our hotel. It's a small place called Entre 2 Aguas. I had marked its location on my map and I guided the taxi driver to within a block of the hotel. However, we didn't see its small sign when we went past it. We stopped half a block away and some local people tried to help us with their cell phones. They found the website and telephoned the hotel, but there was no answer. They said it should be nearby. Rather than letting us walk up and down the street and look for it, the taxi driver insisted on taking us. He drove to a parallel street and we saw nothing. Then he moved even further away on another street. I knew it was a bad move. Eventually, we paid him an extra $3 and he left. We then walked back to where we had been first, and found our place quite easily. The biggest problem was the high heat and humidity. By the time we got back to there--maybe 3 blocks from where the taxi left us--we were really perspiring. But the man answered the bell and told us he and his wife had just arrived. That's why they hadn't answered when the first helpful group called the hotel.
Our room is huge--two king size beds, a large flat-panel TV, a safe, a refrigerator, etc. It's quite convenient to Calle Espana, a street with many shops and restaurants. Because it is Christmas, we only found a couple of places open. One was a KFC, so we went there and had some chicken wraps and fries for dinner. Tomorrow, it should be much easier to find local food available.
Neither of us slept well last night, and we got up at 4:20 this morning. Therefore, we are very tired and are going to bed early. Tomorrow, there is a full schedule for exploring!
Sunday, December 16, 2012
New Trip Coming Up
Dec. 16, 2012--San Antonio, TX
I'll be departing on a new trip on Christmas Day, Dec. 25. I'll be in Panama, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua for a total of 7 1/2 weeks. There won't be a set itinerary this time. I want to be free to change my plans as I go along.
The first week will be the hardest part of the trip, because the week between Christmas and New Year's is a time when almost everyone in Panama travels. I have made reservations for two places for the first 6 days. However, it's not just hotels that are affected. Getting a seat on a bus may be even more difficult. The big problem will come on Dec. 30 when I try to go from Santa Fe to Banquete. I am hoping that if I cannot make it all the way, that the potential stopping points are non-traditional vacation spots where a hotel room should be available. I can't make a hotel reservation in Banquete, because it is quite likely that I will not make it there. If I do make it there, however, friends of a friend have kindly offered to let me stay with them if I cannot find a hotel available once I arrive. Therefore...
It should be an interesting, and maybe sometimes exciting, trip. I'll post regularly so that those of you who want to know where I am and what I am doing can check the blog. In the meantime, have a very happy holiday season.
I'll be departing on a new trip on Christmas Day, Dec. 25. I'll be in Panama, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua for a total of 7 1/2 weeks. There won't be a set itinerary this time. I want to be free to change my plans as I go along.
The first week will be the hardest part of the trip, because the week between Christmas and New Year's is a time when almost everyone in Panama travels. I have made reservations for two places for the first 6 days. However, it's not just hotels that are affected. Getting a seat on a bus may be even more difficult. The big problem will come on Dec. 30 when I try to go from Santa Fe to Banquete. I am hoping that if I cannot make it all the way, that the potential stopping points are non-traditional vacation spots where a hotel room should be available. I can't make a hotel reservation in Banquete, because it is quite likely that I will not make it there. If I do make it there, however, friends of a friend have kindly offered to let me stay with them if I cannot find a hotel available once I arrive. Therefore...
It should be an interesting, and maybe sometimes exciting, trip. I'll post regularly so that those of you who want to know where I am and what I am doing can check the blog. In the meantime, have a very happy holiday season.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Finished a Book
Sunday, August 19, 2012
I finished reading Lives of the Circus Animals by Christopher Bram. I began it while traveling and have read a few chapters each day. It is about a group of people in New York with most of them involved in theater. It's well written, and it is a nice bedside book with most chapters being only a few pages long. Bram also wrote the book that was the basis for the film Gods and Monsters. I gave Circus Animals 3 stars out of 4.
I finished reading Lives of the Circus Animals by Christopher Bram. I began it while traveling and have read a few chapters each day. It is about a group of people in New York with most of them involved in theater. It's well written, and it is a nice bedside book with most chapters being only a few pages long. Bram also wrote the book that was the basis for the film Gods and Monsters. I gave Circus Animals 3 stars out of 4.
Monday, August 06, 2012
Closing the Loop/Returning Home
Sunday and Monday, Aug. 5 & 6, 2012—Arkadelphia
to Hope to Texarkana to Boxelder to San Antonio
I knew that Bob and Judy Maroney would be
at church in the morning, and I didn’t want them to have to worry about lunch
for me, so I told them I would be at their home in Boxelder in the early
afternoon. I stayed at the motel for a
while and read the newspapers on the computer.
Then I slowly drove their direction.
I pulled off the expressway in Hope, Arkansas and drove downtown. I walked up and down their major streets just
to get some exercise.
I arrived in Texarkana Detroit
To get more exercise and delay my arrival
further, I went to the local Central Mall and walked up and down its pathways. It’s a small mall, but quite adequate for the
size city Texarkana Altus , Arkansas
I got to Boxelder about 13:30. We visited inside because of the heat,
talking about books, politics, the university in Corpus Christi
In the evening, we sat outside on their
patio. There was lightning in the
distance, but it never rained. Finally,
a small breeze developed which made it more comfortable. We could hear the sounds of an owl in the
distance, frogs near to us at the pond, etc.
Monday morning, Bob and I sat outside
having coffee and watching the hummingbirds, the herons, the turtles, etc.,
until Judy was up. She made us a
breakfast of bacon, eggs, zucchini bread, melon, and jams. It was delicious.
After that, I excused myself. I knew they had chores that needed doing, and
I had a long ride home. I left there at
10:00. With a quick stop for a kolache
in West around 13:30 and another one for gasoline in Waco
a few minutes later, I arrived in San
Antonio
I tried to get onto the computer, but
couldn’t connect to the Internet. When I
tried calling ATT, there was an announcement that they had a major DSL outage
that was affecting service. Therefore, I
wrote this up on the computer and saved it.
I’ll probably go to a nearby McDonald’s to see if their wifi (also ATT)
is working or not so I can post it.
Steps Walked: 9330 (2 days)
Miles Driven: 583 (2 days)
Trip Expenses/Distances: I was gone on the trip for 6 weeks and 1 day—43
days. During that time, I spent a total
of $3282.33 for an average of $76.33 per day.
I drove a total of 7414 miles (11,929 km) for an average of 172 miles (277 km) per day.
Saturday, August 04, 2012
Meandering through Arkansas
Friday and Saturday, Aug. 3 & 4, 2012--Bentonville, Van Buren, Altus, Clarksville, Conway, Little Rock, and Arkadelphia
Mike, my high school friend who drove up to join me, and I decided to drive back to Bentonville to see two museums we missed Thursday because of their closing hours. After breakfast, we drove back up there and stopped first at the Walmart Visitor Center which opens at 6:30!! There's not a lot worthwhile to see, but it was interesting seeing the old advertisements from the newspapers, following the progress as the company expanded, etc. NOTHING was said about Gibson's Discount Centers, yet it was quite successful with the same concept for years before Walmart. My guess is it is much like the fact that the Walt Disney Corporation never admits that Walt Disney's 1949 visit to Tivoli Gardens (with its rides based on Hans Christian Anderson characters, it's very effective use of space by having sections backed up to others, etc.) in Copenhagen is what caused him to have the idea for Disneyland rather than his own unique talent to come up with the idea. I'd bet that Sam Walton saw what Gibson's was doing and just duplicated it in a bigger and better way.
From there, we went to the Museum of Native American History. It's rather interesting with LOTS of displays of arrowheads, spearheads, axe heads, etc. It also had wonderful exhibits of headdresses, beaded work, etc. It wasn't obvious who was paying for the museum or why it was there, but it is worth seeing if someone is coming for Crystal Bridges (which we saw Thursday) and the Walmart Visitor's Center.
We returned to Fayetteville where Mike got into his pickup to return to Oklahoma and I left for more wandering. My first stop was Van Buran, an older town in western Arkansas. I walked the streets seeing the old bank, the old opera house, and the various stores.
From there, I headed toward nearby Ft. Smith. I knew little about the city, but I guessed that it had not grown much over time and had, therefore, a depressed economy. The neighborhoods seemed to fit my assumptions. Downtown was more alive than I expected; they've done a rather good job of keeping stores in the buildings and in enlivening the area with loft apartments. Heading to the local Sam's Club for gasoline, I got in a MESS. It's the highway that goes to the former Ft. Chaffee and also has all the present-day shopping facilities. It was one big traffic jam at 12:45!!
I took a back road out of Ft. Smith, because Bob Maroney had suggested I go to Altus, the wine producing area of Arkansas. It's a small town near a lake. The area is atmospheric. I found signs for 3 different wineries. One, when I tried to follow the sign, took me a direction I didn't want to go, and I turned around after about 5 miles. But I found two of the wineries just to the east of the town side-by-side. Although they have other grapes, like most wineries in this part of the country they mostly use muscadine grapes which produce a somewhat sweet wine.
I rejoined the main highway in Clarksville, but I drove through the town first. It is another older town that I wanted to explore, but it wasn't as nice as Van Buren.
I spent the night at a Days Inn in Conway. It's a college town with one state university (University of Central Arkansas) and two private universities (Central Baptist College and Hendrix College). It was HOT, so I just stayed inside my room for the rest of the evening.
Saturday morning, I drove by the campuses in Conway before heading out. They gave the town a bit of the atmosphere of Abilene in Texas. The Baptist campus was quite small, but the other two were nice.
My main goal today was to visit Little Rock. I parked near the Clinton Presidential Library and visited there. It was fine, but I will never go to a Presidential Library again. They are all really just propaganda museums. Although I voted for Clinton, there was no need for me to re-visit his presidency, to see the gifts that were given by foreign leaders, to see another reproduction of the Oval Office, etc. (I was once at the Lyndon Johnson Library and saw all those things there, too.)
Downtown Little Rock is attractive. There is an old warehouse district between downtown and the Clinton Library that has lots of shops, restaurants, bars, etc. It backs up to the river through town which has been landscaped nicely and has good trails used mostly for biking. I went to the Saturday market which was nice. I happened by their Peabody Hotel (built by the Memphis hotel) just 15 minutes before the march of the ducks (a tradition at all Peabody Hotels where ducks come out of the elevator, walk along a red carpet, climb steps, and then hop into a pond in the lobby where they spend their day). I went inside to see the event and visited with some members of the Wall Family which had 400 people there for the family's 100th anniversary reunion.
Next door to the Peabody, I toured the Arkansas State House Museum which is in the original capitol building. Built rather cheaply, they had to eventually abandon it and build a new one in the early 1900s. This one has been restored and has various exhibits now.
Although it was warming up quickly, I walked to the present capitol building and toured it. It is much nicer and bigger than the older building. It is also much simpler than most of the capitol buildings I've seen on this trip. It has an understated elegance rather than an overstated one like most capitol buildings. It is pretty, however.
I had one last stop to make from there--the Arkansas Arts Center. It's must interesting exhibit was art produced by tattoo artists. It wasn't their tattoo art; it was prints, photographs, paintings, etc., they had produced. It's obvious that people who became tattoo artists have great talent.
It was too hot to do anything else by the time I left town at 13:30. I stopped at Sam's Club and bought gas. Then I drove to Arkadelphia where I had a reservation at a Super 8 motel for the night. After staying in the room for a a couple of hours, I went into town to see the downtown area, the state university (Henderson) and the Baptist university (Ouachita). Both have nice campuses, although I found Ouachita to have a more impressive one.
Steps Walked: 22,855 (2 days)
Miles Driven: 391 (2 days)
Mike, my high school friend who drove up to join me, and I decided to drive back to Bentonville to see two museums we missed Thursday because of their closing hours. After breakfast, we drove back up there and stopped first at the Walmart Visitor Center which opens at 6:30!! There's not a lot worthwhile to see, but it was interesting seeing the old advertisements from the newspapers, following the progress as the company expanded, etc. NOTHING was said about Gibson's Discount Centers, yet it was quite successful with the same concept for years before Walmart. My guess is it is much like the fact that the Walt Disney Corporation never admits that Walt Disney's 1949 visit to Tivoli Gardens (with its rides based on Hans Christian Anderson characters, it's very effective use of space by having sections backed up to others, etc.) in Copenhagen is what caused him to have the idea for Disneyland rather than his own unique talent to come up with the idea. I'd bet that Sam Walton saw what Gibson's was doing and just duplicated it in a bigger and better way.
From there, we went to the Museum of Native American History. It's rather interesting with LOTS of displays of arrowheads, spearheads, axe heads, etc. It also had wonderful exhibits of headdresses, beaded work, etc. It wasn't obvious who was paying for the museum or why it was there, but it is worth seeing if someone is coming for Crystal Bridges (which we saw Thursday) and the Walmart Visitor's Center.
We returned to Fayetteville where Mike got into his pickup to return to Oklahoma and I left for more wandering. My first stop was Van Buran, an older town in western Arkansas. I walked the streets seeing the old bank, the old opera house, and the various stores.
From there, I headed toward nearby Ft. Smith. I knew little about the city, but I guessed that it had not grown much over time and had, therefore, a depressed economy. The neighborhoods seemed to fit my assumptions. Downtown was more alive than I expected; they've done a rather good job of keeping stores in the buildings and in enlivening the area with loft apartments. Heading to the local Sam's Club for gasoline, I got in a MESS. It's the highway that goes to the former Ft. Chaffee and also has all the present-day shopping facilities. It was one big traffic jam at 12:45!!
I took a back road out of Ft. Smith, because Bob Maroney had suggested I go to Altus, the wine producing area of Arkansas. It's a small town near a lake. The area is atmospheric. I found signs for 3 different wineries. One, when I tried to follow the sign, took me a direction I didn't want to go, and I turned around after about 5 miles. But I found two of the wineries just to the east of the town side-by-side. Although they have other grapes, like most wineries in this part of the country they mostly use muscadine grapes which produce a somewhat sweet wine.
I rejoined the main highway in Clarksville, but I drove through the town first. It is another older town that I wanted to explore, but it wasn't as nice as Van Buren.
I spent the night at a Days Inn in Conway. It's a college town with one state university (University of Central Arkansas) and two private universities (Central Baptist College and Hendrix College). It was HOT, so I just stayed inside my room for the rest of the evening.
Saturday morning, I drove by the campuses in Conway before heading out. They gave the town a bit of the atmosphere of Abilene in Texas. The Baptist campus was quite small, but the other two were nice.
My main goal today was to visit Little Rock. I parked near the Clinton Presidential Library and visited there. It was fine, but I will never go to a Presidential Library again. They are all really just propaganda museums. Although I voted for Clinton, there was no need for me to re-visit his presidency, to see the gifts that were given by foreign leaders, to see another reproduction of the Oval Office, etc. (I was once at the Lyndon Johnson Library and saw all those things there, too.)
Downtown Little Rock is attractive. There is an old warehouse district between downtown and the Clinton Library that has lots of shops, restaurants, bars, etc. It backs up to the river through town which has been landscaped nicely and has good trails used mostly for biking. I went to the Saturday market which was nice. I happened by their Peabody Hotel (built by the Memphis hotel) just 15 minutes before the march of the ducks (a tradition at all Peabody Hotels where ducks come out of the elevator, walk along a red carpet, climb steps, and then hop into a pond in the lobby where they spend their day). I went inside to see the event and visited with some members of the Wall Family which had 400 people there for the family's 100th anniversary reunion.
Next door to the Peabody, I toured the Arkansas State House Museum which is in the original capitol building. Built rather cheaply, they had to eventually abandon it and build a new one in the early 1900s. This one has been restored and has various exhibits now.
Although it was warming up quickly, I walked to the present capitol building and toured it. It is much nicer and bigger than the older building. It is also much simpler than most of the capitol buildings I've seen on this trip. It has an understated elegance rather than an overstated one like most capitol buildings. It is pretty, however.
I had one last stop to make from there--the Arkansas Arts Center. It's must interesting exhibit was art produced by tattoo artists. It wasn't their tattoo art; it was prints, photographs, paintings, etc., they had produced. It's obvious that people who became tattoo artists have great talent.
It was too hot to do anything else by the time I left town at 13:30. I stopped at Sam's Club and bought gas. Then I drove to Arkadelphia where I had a reservation at a Super 8 motel for the night. After staying in the room for a a couple of hours, I went into town to see the downtown area, the state university (Henderson) and the Baptist university (Ouachita). Both have nice campuses, although I found Ouachita to have a more impressive one.
Steps Walked: 22,855 (2 days)
Miles Driven: 391 (2 days)
Thursday, August 02, 2012
Crystal Bridges
Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012--Eureka Springs to Fayetteville/Bentonville
My hotel had only a mini-breakfast this morning. I had a raisin bagel with cream cheese, a bowl of cereal, a muffin and orange juice. While eating it, I visited with a couple from Holland. They are driving around this area for 4 weeks. Next, they will head to Louisiana for some cajun music. They were surprised that I have traveled so much (the typical European reaction to Americans they think work all but 2 weeks a year) and were amazed that I was able to retire at age 53 (because it is almost impossible for anyone to do that in Europe). They were a nice couple, and I was able to tell them about some of my travels in their country. They hadn't expected that a tourist had been anywhere other than Amsterdam.
I drove through the Ozark hills to Fayetteville. When I arrived, I parked next to the University of Arkansas campus and spent 1 1/2 hours walking around the area. The campus is in a mess because of construction right now, so I had to deal with getting around it. They are taking out streets that went through the campus to create a walking spine which is now popular with university campuses. Also, they are remodeling many older buildings. The campus has a number of new buildings. The older ones have the most character, however. In terms of campuses, it was somewhat ordinary looking in my opinion. It's not a big university, so the campus is not very big. UTSA has about 7000 more students than the University of Arkansas has.
After touring the campus, I walked down Dickson Street which is the business street serving the campus (and essentially connecting it to downtown Fayetteville). It is lined with businesses, but 1 out of every 3 is a bar. They had some fantastic happy hour promotions going.
At noon, I went to the hotel and checked in. Mike O'Neal, a friend from high school who now lives outside of Norman, OK, was driving here to meet me so we could see some of the tourist sites together. He arrived at 13:00. We immediately headed to Bentonville to tour the Crystal Bridges Museum, a museum of American art established by Alice Walton and the Walmart Corporation. It's about a 30-minute drive north of Fayetteville.
The museum was very nice. The architecture is interesting, the setting is nice, and the art was worth seeing. We spent about 2 1/2 hours there. After going through it all, we went through again looking for places to take some photos.
After the museum, we headed downtown to the Walmart Visitor's Center which consists of the original Walton's 5 & 10 store. Unfortunately, it was closed for a special event. Normally, it is open until 21:00 each day. That was a disappointment.
We returned to Fayetteville, and I drove around the outer edge of the university campus so that Mike could see it. It was too hot to try to walk around. My car showed it to be 104 degrees F. Then we drove out to a restaurant I had found via research--Mama Dean's Soul Food. It is a small place operated by a black family. They have a set price for a meal that includes 1 meat, 2 sides, and 1 dessert. I had fried chicken (a huge breast and a wing), purple-hulled peas, mashed potatoes with brown gravy, hot water cornbread, banana pudding, and iced tea. The portions were very large. It all was wonderfully tasty. I was way too full when I left.
Mike wanted something to drink, so we went by Sam's Club and bought a bottle of white wine to drink in the room. We caught up on visiting about various topics while drinking the wine. We also spent some time trying to figure out what each of us will do tomorrow.
Steps Walked: 12,352
Miles Driven: 122
My hotel had only a mini-breakfast this morning. I had a raisin bagel with cream cheese, a bowl of cereal, a muffin and orange juice. While eating it, I visited with a couple from Holland. They are driving around this area for 4 weeks. Next, they will head to Louisiana for some cajun music. They were surprised that I have traveled so much (the typical European reaction to Americans they think work all but 2 weeks a year) and were amazed that I was able to retire at age 53 (because it is almost impossible for anyone to do that in Europe). They were a nice couple, and I was able to tell them about some of my travels in their country. They hadn't expected that a tourist had been anywhere other than Amsterdam.
I drove through the Ozark hills to Fayetteville. When I arrived, I parked next to the University of Arkansas campus and spent 1 1/2 hours walking around the area. The campus is in a mess because of construction right now, so I had to deal with getting around it. They are taking out streets that went through the campus to create a walking spine which is now popular with university campuses. Also, they are remodeling many older buildings. The campus has a number of new buildings. The older ones have the most character, however. In terms of campuses, it was somewhat ordinary looking in my opinion. It's not a big university, so the campus is not very big. UTSA has about 7000 more students than the University of Arkansas has.
After touring the campus, I walked down Dickson Street which is the business street serving the campus (and essentially connecting it to downtown Fayetteville). It is lined with businesses, but 1 out of every 3 is a bar. They had some fantastic happy hour promotions going.
At noon, I went to the hotel and checked in. Mike O'Neal, a friend from high school who now lives outside of Norman, OK, was driving here to meet me so we could see some of the tourist sites together. He arrived at 13:00. We immediately headed to Bentonville to tour the Crystal Bridges Museum, a museum of American art established by Alice Walton and the Walmart Corporation. It's about a 30-minute drive north of Fayetteville.
The museum was very nice. The architecture is interesting, the setting is nice, and the art was worth seeing. We spent about 2 1/2 hours there. After going through it all, we went through again looking for places to take some photos.
After the museum, we headed downtown to the Walmart Visitor's Center which consists of the original Walton's 5 & 10 store. Unfortunately, it was closed for a special event. Normally, it is open until 21:00 each day. That was a disappointment.
We returned to Fayetteville, and I drove around the outer edge of the university campus so that Mike could see it. It was too hot to try to walk around. My car showed it to be 104 degrees F. Then we drove out to a restaurant I had found via research--Mama Dean's Soul Food. It is a small place operated by a black family. They have a set price for a meal that includes 1 meat, 2 sides, and 1 dessert. I had fried chicken (a huge breast and a wing), purple-hulled peas, mashed potatoes with brown gravy, hot water cornbread, banana pudding, and iced tea. The portions were very large. It all was wonderfully tasty. I was way too full when I left.
Mike wanted something to drink, so we went by Sam's Club and bought a bottle of white wine to drink in the room. We caught up on visiting about various topics while drinking the wine. We also spent some time trying to figure out what each of us will do tomorrow.
Steps Walked: 12,352
Miles Driven: 122
Wednesday, August 01, 2012
Eureka Springs
Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012--Harrison to Eureka Springs
I had noticed last night that there was a doughnut shop on a pad site in front of my hotel. Well, when I went downstairs for breakfast this morning, there was a tray of assorted doughnuts!! It was so nice to have something different. I ate one with strawberry frosting and another with lemon frosting. I also made myself a waffle.
It didn't take long to reach Eureka Springs, but it took a while to find the Travelodge where I am staying. I drove by it FOUR times without seeing it, mainly because I thought I recalled it looking brown in the photos at the website. Instead, it was a a bright blue (as it is on the website)! As I did all of that driving, I realized I shouldn't have made a reservation. There are lots of cute motels that look very clean and have signs displayed with vacancies at $39 per night for two. So I spent too much money on the room I reserved. Although it was early in the morning, the lady was able to let me check in.
I left my room at the hotel and walked to town. Eureka Springs has one main road that goes through the center of town, and it is too narrow for parking. Parking is a premium in the entire town. They run a shuttle bus system for $5 per day so that people can leave their cars at the motels and ride it. But as I was driving around town, I watched out for it. It was obvious to me that they weren't coming around often enough. So I just walked into town, around town, and back. It was only difficult at the end when I had to climb a very steep hill to get back to the motel. It still wasn't a big problem for me, though.
I walked down one side of the main street downtown looking in the shop windows and continued onward through a nice old residential neighborhood with homes from the 1800s. Then I turned around and returned on the other side of the street. I found the neighborhoods to be more interesting than the shops. The shops had the usual choices for tourists like you find in Fredericksberg and other tourist towns. Even though there are lots of art galleries here, I didn't see a single one with art that would appeal to me; therefore, I never did enter any of the galleries. By the time I got back to the motel, I had been gone 2 1/2 hours and it was HOT.
I spent much of the afternoon in my room watching the Olympics, reading, and catching up on things on the computer. Then I went back out again planning to see the Thorncrown Chapel, but it was closed. I'm sorry to have missed it, but I feel as if I have been there from all the photos I have seen of it.
I finished reading We Disappear: A Novel by Scott Heim. It was an interesting story. I gave the book 2 1/2 stars out of 4.
Steps Walked: 12,432
Miles Driven: 95 (2 Days)
I had noticed last night that there was a doughnut shop on a pad site in front of my hotel. Well, when I went downstairs for breakfast this morning, there was a tray of assorted doughnuts!! It was so nice to have something different. I ate one with strawberry frosting and another with lemon frosting. I also made myself a waffle.
It didn't take long to reach Eureka Springs, but it took a while to find the Travelodge where I am staying. I drove by it FOUR times without seeing it, mainly because I thought I recalled it looking brown in the photos at the website. Instead, it was a a bright blue (as it is on the website)! As I did all of that driving, I realized I shouldn't have made a reservation. There are lots of cute motels that look very clean and have signs displayed with vacancies at $39 per night for two. So I spent too much money on the room I reserved. Although it was early in the morning, the lady was able to let me check in.
I left my room at the hotel and walked to town. Eureka Springs has one main road that goes through the center of town, and it is too narrow for parking. Parking is a premium in the entire town. They run a shuttle bus system for $5 per day so that people can leave their cars at the motels and ride it. But as I was driving around town, I watched out for it. It was obvious to me that they weren't coming around often enough. So I just walked into town, around town, and back. It was only difficult at the end when I had to climb a very steep hill to get back to the motel. It still wasn't a big problem for me, though.
I walked down one side of the main street downtown looking in the shop windows and continued onward through a nice old residential neighborhood with homes from the 1800s. Then I turned around and returned on the other side of the street. I found the neighborhoods to be more interesting than the shops. The shops had the usual choices for tourists like you find in Fredericksberg and other tourist towns. Even though there are lots of art galleries here, I didn't see a single one with art that would appeal to me; therefore, I never did enter any of the galleries. By the time I got back to the motel, I had been gone 2 1/2 hours and it was HOT.
I spent much of the afternoon in my room watching the Olympics, reading, and catching up on things on the computer. Then I went back out again planning to see the Thorncrown Chapel, but it was closed. I'm sorry to have missed it, but I feel as if I have been there from all the photos I have seen of it.
I finished reading We Disappear: A Novel by Scott Heim. It was an interesting story. I gave the book 2 1/2 stars out of 4.
Steps Walked: 12,432
Miles Driven: 95 (2 Days)
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Thank You for the Music
Tuesday, July 31, 2012--Branson, MO to Harrison, AR
My hotel had scrambled eggs and biscuits with gravy for breakfast. It was nice to have fewer sweets for a change. Most of them have had waffles, muffins, pastries, oatmeal, etc., and I have gotten tired of so many sweet choices.
I had one last show to attend before leaving Branson this morning at 10:00. It was at the God and Country Theater which specializes in tribute shows that feature the music of a famous artist or group. This was a touring show from Las Vegas entitled Thank You for the Music: A Tribute to ABBA. I was surprised at the quality of the production and disappointed at the low turnout for it. There were fewer than 20 of us in the audience. The four performers came out with great enthusiasm, good costumes, a nice sound, and good lighting. They worked hard, and it must have been difficult for them knowing that they had so few people to see the show. The problem, I think, is that Branson just isn't the place for such a show. Everyone here wants to hear country and western music. The saving grace was that the manager of the Andy Williams Theater was in the audience along with the owner of the production company for this act. Later, I read on their website that they have regularly had sold-out audiences in Las Vegas. It's too bad they didn't here. But the show was good. They took the songs in the sequence they were written and produced and told what was happening in the lives of the ABBA members in relation to each of the songs. It would have been exciting seeing the show with a full house.
I drove to Harrison after seeing the show. It's an older city in northern Arkansas. I expected it to be a better place to visit from what I had read in a guidebook. I walked the streets downtown, but there wasn't much else to do. There is a river several miles south of town with camping and trails, but the trails are linear rather than loop trails, so it wouldn't have been easy for me to walk them. Instead, I picked out a barber shop from the 3 I found in town and got a haircut. Unfortunately, it was no better than the cuts I get at home, and, as I usually do, I had to doctor it up after getting back to the room.
There is an Aldi here. It's a German supermarket chain that is popular in Europe and has been expanding here in the US. (They also own Trader Joe's.) Arne and I used to shop at Aldi in Copenhagen. They are known for having cheap prices, special offers (one-time buys they are selling at good prices), cheap butter, etc. I bought some chips, some hummus, and some cookies. Instead of eating out tonight, I ate those in my room.
Steps Walked: 4539
My hotel had scrambled eggs and biscuits with gravy for breakfast. It was nice to have fewer sweets for a change. Most of them have had waffles, muffins, pastries, oatmeal, etc., and I have gotten tired of so many sweet choices.
I had one last show to attend before leaving Branson this morning at 10:00. It was at the God and Country Theater which specializes in tribute shows that feature the music of a famous artist or group. This was a touring show from Las Vegas entitled Thank You for the Music: A Tribute to ABBA. I was surprised at the quality of the production and disappointed at the low turnout for it. There were fewer than 20 of us in the audience. The four performers came out with great enthusiasm, good costumes, a nice sound, and good lighting. They worked hard, and it must have been difficult for them knowing that they had so few people to see the show. The problem, I think, is that Branson just isn't the place for such a show. Everyone here wants to hear country and western music. The saving grace was that the manager of the Andy Williams Theater was in the audience along with the owner of the production company for this act. Later, I read on their website that they have regularly had sold-out audiences in Las Vegas. It's too bad they didn't here. But the show was good. They took the songs in the sequence they were written and produced and told what was happening in the lives of the ABBA members in relation to each of the songs. It would have been exciting seeing the show with a full house.
I drove to Harrison after seeing the show. It's an older city in northern Arkansas. I expected it to be a better place to visit from what I had read in a guidebook. I walked the streets downtown, but there wasn't much else to do. There is a river several miles south of town with camping and trails, but the trails are linear rather than loop trails, so it wouldn't have been easy for me to walk them. Instead, I picked out a barber shop from the 3 I found in town and got a haircut. Unfortunately, it was no better than the cuts I get at home, and, as I usually do, I had to doctor it up after getting back to the room.
There is an Aldi here. It's a German supermarket chain that is popular in Europe and has been expanding here in the US. (They also own Trader Joe's.) Arne and I used to shop at Aldi in Copenhagen. They are known for having cheap prices, special offers (one-time buys they are selling at good prices), cheap butter, etc. I bought some chips, some hummus, and some cookies. Instead of eating out tonight, I ate those in my room.
Steps Walked: 4539
Monday, July 30, 2012
Branson
Monday, July 30, 2012--Springfield to Branson
It's a short drive from Springfield to Branson. The route is lined with businesses, so it really just all flows together as one large community. There is a big change in terrain, however. Springfield is on flat land, and one enters the Ozarks before arriving in Branson. Once one exits and drives down "The Strip" in Branson, it's a whole other world--one of gaudy buildings and massive traffic jams. Except for the scenery, I could have imagined myself back in Yellowstone creeping along behind a long row of cars. The only thing that made me feel better was that there was MORE traffic going the opposite direction.
I missed my turn for my hotel. After going a mile or so too far, I turned around. Coming back, I missed it again. (Unfortunately, the only directions they had given were to watch for the Andy Williams Theater and turn at the Dairy Queen after it. Well, I saw the theater both times, but missed the Dairy Queen!) On my way back for the third time, I just started watching for a street to the left after passing the Andy Williams Theater, and right there was a Dairy Queen. The street, however, is packed with gaudy buildings, so a Dairy Queen sign doesn't stand out well among all the rest. It was much easier seeing the Titantic Theater, the Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater, etc.
Fortunately, a room was available even though I arrived rather early (around noon) for check-in. The lady at the front desk came originally from Ft. Worth, and she gave me lots of good information--a place to buy show tickets without paying a premium, a schedule for shows this week, advice to avoid any place referring to itself as a tourist information office, how to use back streets to avoid the traffic jams on the main street, etc. She also said that things are more hectic this week than usual. She said it seemed that everyone realized all at once that summer ends and school begins again in a week or two.
I studied her information and decided on two shows--one this afternoon at 15:00 and one tomorrow morning at 10:00. I called, and they delivered my tickets to the hotel by 14:00. In the meantime, I researched where I will go next and made reservations for hotels for the next 3 nights--one in Harrison, one in Eureka Springs, and one in Fayetteville.
The New Shanghai Theater for my afternoon show was just down the street from my hotel. I saw The New Shanghai Acrobats of China. It was a two-hour show that was better than I expected. It wasn't as snappy and quick as the shows in China or the major ones that tour the US and charge $80-100 per ticket. Instead, it had plenty of drawn-out pauses for applause. But for $30, it was worth it. I sat on the fourth row in the center of the theater between two families. One was from Iowa, but I didn't visit with the other. Almost everyone was either elderly or in a family group. The theater is large, and only about 1/4 to 1/3 of it was full which seems understandable for a Monday matinee. The group performs the show twice a day EVERY day! (They are truly from China, so they apparently do not have to meet any kind of limits on working hours. They perform here about 10 months a year and go back to China for two months during the winter.)
After the show was over, I drove down to the dam on the river that goes through town. It's massive. And above it is The Chateau on the Lake, one of the fancy resorts here.
The town is FULL of hotels, including very large ones. (A Radisson across the street from my hotel is maybe 8 stories high and is very long.) The town also has so much for tourists to do in addition to all the theater shows. I can't imagine anything people might want that they do NOT have here. It seems that everyone with any kind of idea of how to make money has come here to try to do so!!
During the early evening, I went to downtown Branson. I walked the streets seeing the shops there. Then I went to the end of the street to Branson Landing, a new development along the river with all the chain stores, dancing water fountains, and a promenade along the river. It was a pleasant place to walk and watch people, although the air still felt quite warm at 18:30.
I was glad to get back to my hotel without too much of a traffic hassle. Will stay inside for the rest of the night. Have another show to see tomorrow morning before heading out for Harrison just a few miles further down the road.
Steps Walked: 6558
Miles Driven: 69
It's a short drive from Springfield to Branson. The route is lined with businesses, so it really just all flows together as one large community. There is a big change in terrain, however. Springfield is on flat land, and one enters the Ozarks before arriving in Branson. Once one exits and drives down "The Strip" in Branson, it's a whole other world--one of gaudy buildings and massive traffic jams. Except for the scenery, I could have imagined myself back in Yellowstone creeping along behind a long row of cars. The only thing that made me feel better was that there was MORE traffic going the opposite direction.
I missed my turn for my hotel. After going a mile or so too far, I turned around. Coming back, I missed it again. (Unfortunately, the only directions they had given were to watch for the Andy Williams Theater and turn at the Dairy Queen after it. Well, I saw the theater both times, but missed the Dairy Queen!) On my way back for the third time, I just started watching for a street to the left after passing the Andy Williams Theater, and right there was a Dairy Queen. The street, however, is packed with gaudy buildings, so a Dairy Queen sign doesn't stand out well among all the rest. It was much easier seeing the Titantic Theater, the Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater, etc.
Fortunately, a room was available even though I arrived rather early (around noon) for check-in. The lady at the front desk came originally from Ft. Worth, and she gave me lots of good information--a place to buy show tickets without paying a premium, a schedule for shows this week, advice to avoid any place referring to itself as a tourist information office, how to use back streets to avoid the traffic jams on the main street, etc. She also said that things are more hectic this week than usual. She said it seemed that everyone realized all at once that summer ends and school begins again in a week or two.
I studied her information and decided on two shows--one this afternoon at 15:00 and one tomorrow morning at 10:00. I called, and they delivered my tickets to the hotel by 14:00. In the meantime, I researched where I will go next and made reservations for hotels for the next 3 nights--one in Harrison, one in Eureka Springs, and one in Fayetteville.
The New Shanghai Theater for my afternoon show was just down the street from my hotel. I saw The New Shanghai Acrobats of China. It was a two-hour show that was better than I expected. It wasn't as snappy and quick as the shows in China or the major ones that tour the US and charge $80-100 per ticket. Instead, it had plenty of drawn-out pauses for applause. But for $30, it was worth it. I sat on the fourth row in the center of the theater between two families. One was from Iowa, but I didn't visit with the other. Almost everyone was either elderly or in a family group. The theater is large, and only about 1/4 to 1/3 of it was full which seems understandable for a Monday matinee. The group performs the show twice a day EVERY day! (They are truly from China, so they apparently do not have to meet any kind of limits on working hours. They perform here about 10 months a year and go back to China for two months during the winter.)
After the show was over, I drove down to the dam on the river that goes through town. It's massive. And above it is The Chateau on the Lake, one of the fancy resorts here.
The town is FULL of hotels, including very large ones. (A Radisson across the street from my hotel is maybe 8 stories high and is very long.) The town also has so much for tourists to do in addition to all the theater shows. I can't imagine anything people might want that they do NOT have here. It seems that everyone with any kind of idea of how to make money has come here to try to do so!!
During the early evening, I went to downtown Branson. I walked the streets seeing the shops there. Then I went to the end of the street to Branson Landing, a new development along the river with all the chain stores, dancing water fountains, and a promenade along the river. It was a pleasant place to walk and watch people, although the air still felt quite warm at 18:30.
I was glad to get back to my hotel without too much of a traffic hassle. Will stay inside for the rest of the night. Have another show to see tomorrow morning before heading out for Harrison just a few miles further down the road.
Steps Walked: 6558
Miles Driven: 69
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Surprising Springfield
Sunday, July 29, 2012--Kansas City to Springfield
Today represented another move back toward home. I had decided to stop in Springfield, because it had several listings in the guidebooks and because I was unsure of how crowded and expensive Branson might be. I arrived around noon and, since I wasn't supposed to check into my hotel until after 15:00, started to explore the town, .
First, the size of Springfield surprised me. I had heard of it mainly because it used to be considered the "home" of Silver Dollar City, a western amusement park that has existed since I was a child. (Branson is now listed as its home, although the park has not moved as far as I know.) Otherwise, I really knew nothing about the city. When I got here, I found it ringed by expressways like a large city. Then as I explored, I realized I was going long distances, passing multiple Wal-marts and K-Marts, seeing lots of large industrial sites, etc. I even passed a Lexus dealership which none of the cities in Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota or South Dakota had and which Corpus Christi doesn't have. Instead of the town of 30,000-50,000 that I expected, I realized it had to be bigger. A later check on the Internet indicated that the metropolitan area is about 450,000, slightly larger than that of Corpus Christi's metropolitan area.
I had a streak of luck. While following a sign for a tourist information center, I found the Springfield Nature Conservation Center. It's a small park with walking/hiking trails. I immediately set out to walk their outer loop trail which is about 3 miles long. It was such a pleasant experience, even if it was a hot afternoon. The trail went up and down hills, through a prairie section, along a creek, etc. I saw deer, redbirds, and other wildlife. I was really perspiring when I finished the hike, though. I saw on the car thermometer that it was 99 degrees F outside as I departed.
I decided to stay mostly inside after that. I drove by the Missouri State University (formerly Southwest Missouri State) campus, the second largest public university in the state with 20,000 students. It looked attractive from the car.
Then I drove up and down the streets in the downtown area. Walnut Street was lined with beautiful old homes. And downtown itself covered a large area with many buildings that have been converted to loft apartments. It's close to the university (and to a private university named Drury University [Congregationalist or United Church of Christ--a very liberal church]), so it seems that the proximity helps keep downtown alive and thriving. There were many shops, lots of bars, movie theaters, a live entertainment theater, etc. (The town also is home to Evangel University (Assemblies of God) and a connected seminary, but I doubt that their students contribute much to the night life, especially the part that involves drinking alcohol.)
I stopped by their local Battlefield Mall just to walk some more and to watch people for a while. It was larger than I expected, but was a rather typical mall. Nothing in it appealed particularly to me other than the indoor air conditioned space for walking.
On the way to check into my hotel, I passed the Bass Pro Shop. I had seen signs on the highway about it and thought nothing of it. But it was HUGE--a central building with a side building and a side wing that had been added on, and it was in the central part of town instead of on the outskirts. I parked and entered just to see their exhibits. There was a tourist desk. I overheard a man talking to tourists there. He said that this is the ORIGINAL Bass Pro Shop and that it draws more tourists than any other individual tourist site in Missouri. (The St. Louis Arch is second.) Unfortunately, the whole place is undergoing a remodeling. The museum building was completely closed because of it. But the major building still was amazing to see even though it had a couple of off-limits areas where remodeling was occurring. Anyway, I happened upon the biggest tourist site in Missouri without even knowing about it. Click here for a video.
I stopped at Sam's Club for gas and bought a slice of pizza to serve as my dinner before continuing to the hotel. Tonight, I am staying inside. There is an Inspector Lewis program on Masterpiece Mystery I have not seen, and I have a 5-bar connection (best possible) to the Internet on my computer. Plus, I have brochures to read about Branson so I can decide if I want to stop there tomorrow or not.
Steps Walked: 11,850
Miles Driven: 224
Today represented another move back toward home. I had decided to stop in Springfield, because it had several listings in the guidebooks and because I was unsure of how crowded and expensive Branson might be. I arrived around noon and, since I wasn't supposed to check into my hotel until after 15:00, started to explore the town, .
First, the size of Springfield surprised me. I had heard of it mainly because it used to be considered the "home" of Silver Dollar City, a western amusement park that has existed since I was a child. (Branson is now listed as its home, although the park has not moved as far as I know.) Otherwise, I really knew nothing about the city. When I got here, I found it ringed by expressways like a large city. Then as I explored, I realized I was going long distances, passing multiple Wal-marts and K-Marts, seeing lots of large industrial sites, etc. I even passed a Lexus dealership which none of the cities in Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota or South Dakota had and which Corpus Christi doesn't have. Instead of the town of 30,000-50,000 that I expected, I realized it had to be bigger. A later check on the Internet indicated that the metropolitan area is about 450,000, slightly larger than that of Corpus Christi's metropolitan area.
I had a streak of luck. While following a sign for a tourist information center, I found the Springfield Nature Conservation Center. It's a small park with walking/hiking trails. I immediately set out to walk their outer loop trail which is about 3 miles long. It was such a pleasant experience, even if it was a hot afternoon. The trail went up and down hills, through a prairie section, along a creek, etc. I saw deer, redbirds, and other wildlife. I was really perspiring when I finished the hike, though. I saw on the car thermometer that it was 99 degrees F outside as I departed.
I decided to stay mostly inside after that. I drove by the Missouri State University (formerly Southwest Missouri State) campus, the second largest public university in the state with 20,000 students. It looked attractive from the car.
Then I drove up and down the streets in the downtown area. Walnut Street was lined with beautiful old homes. And downtown itself covered a large area with many buildings that have been converted to loft apartments. It's close to the university (and to a private university named Drury University [Congregationalist or United Church of Christ--a very liberal church]), so it seems that the proximity helps keep downtown alive and thriving. There were many shops, lots of bars, movie theaters, a live entertainment theater, etc. (The town also is home to Evangel University (Assemblies of God) and a connected seminary, but I doubt that their students contribute much to the night life, especially the part that involves drinking alcohol.)
I stopped by their local Battlefield Mall just to walk some more and to watch people for a while. It was larger than I expected, but was a rather typical mall. Nothing in it appealed particularly to me other than the indoor air conditioned space for walking.
On the way to check into my hotel, I passed the Bass Pro Shop. I had seen signs on the highway about it and thought nothing of it. But it was HUGE--a central building with a side building and a side wing that had been added on, and it was in the central part of town instead of on the outskirts. I parked and entered just to see their exhibits. There was a tourist desk. I overheard a man talking to tourists there. He said that this is the ORIGINAL Bass Pro Shop and that it draws more tourists than any other individual tourist site in Missouri. (The St. Louis Arch is second.) Unfortunately, the whole place is undergoing a remodeling. The museum building was completely closed because of it. But the major building still was amazing to see even though it had a couple of off-limits areas where remodeling was occurring. Anyway, I happened upon the biggest tourist site in Missouri without even knowing about it. Click here for a video.
I stopped at Sam's Club for gas and bought a slice of pizza to serve as my dinner before continuing to the hotel. Tonight, I am staying inside. There is an Inspector Lewis program on Masterpiece Mystery I have not seen, and I have a 5-bar connection (best possible) to the Internet on my computer. Plus, I have brochures to read about Branson so I can decide if I want to stop there tomorrow or not.
Steps Walked: 11,850
Miles Driven: 224
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Hot Day in Kansas City
Saturday, July 28, 2012--Kansas City
Today was my day to try to experience Kansas City. It worked out quite well considering the heat. I made it to every place I intended to go but one.
I started by going to Country Club Plaza. I've always heard about it mainly because I grew up in the Dallas area. Dallas has a hard time of accepting that they were not first and the best. They want to claim that their Highland Park Village was the first suburban shopping center in the US--designed and built as a shopping center rather than a collection of shops and restaurants haphazardly developing in a neighborhood. Everyone else accepts that it was Country Club Plaza and Dallas now claims that theirs was the first INWARDLY planned and developed shopping center (meaning that the stores face inwardly and the cars park in a parking lot inside the center rather than on the street). Like The Village in Dallas, The Plaza has a Spanish design. However, it is a much bigger development with much more elaborate architecture and lots of fountains and statues scattered around. Furthermore, unlike The Village in Dallas, it was not pinned in by the neighborhood. The Plaza area has continued expanding and growing with wonderful hotels, apartment buildings, etc., that have developed for blocks around its periphery. Because of that, The Plaza has remained THE destination in Kansas City since it opened in the 1920s. I wandered the streets taking photos of the elaborate Spanish details in the designs and enjoying the general atmosphere. As far as shops and restaurants are concerned, it is a mostly upscale center filled predominantly with national and international chains--H&M, Tiffany's, Forever XXI, P.F. Chang's, the Cheesecake Factory, etc.
From there, I headed just a few blocks northeast to the two major museums which are on either side of the campus of the Kansas City Art Institute. I started with the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. Unlike the exhibits I saw yesterday, these were wonderful--contemporary art that required talent to be done and that showed artistic accomplishment. From there, I walked to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. It sets on a campus that is much like the grounds of a castle with a terraced lawn filled with sculptures (including 4 badminton gamecocks) produced by internationally known artists. A comprehensive, large museum, the exhibits there varied--Greek, Roman, Asian, European, and American accomplishments in painting, sculpture, decorative arts, etc. Their new Bloch Building housed a very nice contemporary art collection, too. I paid to see their special exhibit which was drawing a large crowd--Decorative Arts at the World's Fairs, 1851-1939. They had exhibits of glassware, ceramics, furniture, jewelry, etc., that had been displayed at various world's fairs as examples of work by the world's best artisans. For each item, there was a note to tell when and where it was displayed, and often there was more information to tell why the piece was considered to be so special. Many of them had notes indicating that they had won prizes given by the fairs.
I had been out 5 hours already by the time I left there. I headed toward the downtown area and stopped in what is called the Crossroads Art District just south of downtown to see an exhibit at a branch of the Kemper down there. From that location, I walked uphill to explore downtown. Unfortunately, it is mostly an office district, so it is like a desert on the weekends. I took photos of some of the interesting architecture--the new twin theaters called the Kauffman Center, the science-fiction-looking towers of the convention center, theaters, older office towers, etc.
By the time I got back to my car, I was hot and dehydrated. The temperature was about 98 degrees F and I had been away from the hotel for almost 7 hours. I had planned to go a few blocks further to see the Crown Center, an office/shopping/entertainment complex built by the Hallmark Corporation. It's sort of the Kansas City version of The Galleria area in Houston. But I was tired, and neither the architecture nor the idea of going to a shopping center appealed to me. Instead, I drove to the nearby Costco and bought a soft drink. I drained the cup 3 times while there and had a "happy hour" sampling their tastings for the day. Then I filled the cup a final time and returned to my room.
Steps Walked: 19,706!
Miles Driven: Minimal, since I stayed within a few miles of my hotel
Today was my day to try to experience Kansas City. It worked out quite well considering the heat. I made it to every place I intended to go but one.
I started by going to Country Club Plaza. I've always heard about it mainly because I grew up in the Dallas area. Dallas has a hard time of accepting that they were not first and the best. They want to claim that their Highland Park Village was the first suburban shopping center in the US--designed and built as a shopping center rather than a collection of shops and restaurants haphazardly developing in a neighborhood. Everyone else accepts that it was Country Club Plaza and Dallas now claims that theirs was the first INWARDLY planned and developed shopping center (meaning that the stores face inwardly and the cars park in a parking lot inside the center rather than on the street). Like The Village in Dallas, The Plaza has a Spanish design. However, it is a much bigger development with much more elaborate architecture and lots of fountains and statues scattered around. Furthermore, unlike The Village in Dallas, it was not pinned in by the neighborhood. The Plaza area has continued expanding and growing with wonderful hotels, apartment buildings, etc., that have developed for blocks around its periphery. Because of that, The Plaza has remained THE destination in Kansas City since it opened in the 1920s. I wandered the streets taking photos of the elaborate Spanish details in the designs and enjoying the general atmosphere. As far as shops and restaurants are concerned, it is a mostly upscale center filled predominantly with national and international chains--H&M, Tiffany's, Forever XXI, P.F. Chang's, the Cheesecake Factory, etc.
From there, I headed just a few blocks northeast to the two major museums which are on either side of the campus of the Kansas City Art Institute. I started with the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. Unlike the exhibits I saw yesterday, these were wonderful--contemporary art that required talent to be done and that showed artistic accomplishment. From there, I walked to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. It sets on a campus that is much like the grounds of a castle with a terraced lawn filled with sculptures (including 4 badminton gamecocks) produced by internationally known artists. A comprehensive, large museum, the exhibits there varied--Greek, Roman, Asian, European, and American accomplishments in painting, sculpture, decorative arts, etc. Their new Bloch Building housed a very nice contemporary art collection, too. I paid to see their special exhibit which was drawing a large crowd--Decorative Arts at the World's Fairs, 1851-1939. They had exhibits of glassware, ceramics, furniture, jewelry, etc., that had been displayed at various world's fairs as examples of work by the world's best artisans. For each item, there was a note to tell when and where it was displayed, and often there was more information to tell why the piece was considered to be so special. Many of them had notes indicating that they had won prizes given by the fairs.
I had been out 5 hours already by the time I left there. I headed toward the downtown area and stopped in what is called the Crossroads Art District just south of downtown to see an exhibit at a branch of the Kemper down there. From that location, I walked uphill to explore downtown. Unfortunately, it is mostly an office district, so it is like a desert on the weekends. I took photos of some of the interesting architecture--the new twin theaters called the Kauffman Center, the science-fiction-looking towers of the convention center, theaters, older office towers, etc.
By the time I got back to my car, I was hot and dehydrated. The temperature was about 98 degrees F and I had been away from the hotel for almost 7 hours. I had planned to go a few blocks further to see the Crown Center, an office/shopping/entertainment complex built by the Hallmark Corporation. It's sort of the Kansas City version of The Galleria area in Houston. But I was tired, and neither the architecture nor the idea of going to a shopping center appealed to me. Instead, I drove to the nearby Costco and bought a soft drink. I drained the cup 3 times while there and had a "happy hour" sampling their tastings for the day. Then I filled the cup a final time and returned to my room.
Steps Walked: 19,706!
Miles Driven: Minimal, since I stayed within a few miles of my hotel
Friday, July 27, 2012
Kansas City
Friday, July 27, 2012--Des Moines to Kansas City
I was on IH 35 from Des Moines to Kansas City. It isn't nearly as busy in this part of the country as it is in Texas. It was a 3-hour drive without the tension I would have had on stretches of it at home.
My Days Inn is "brand new." The quotes are based on the fact that the building has been here, but it has just gone through a complete remodeling. Everything is new--the beds, the TVs, the carpeting, and even the windows. Their wifi signal is a bit weak, but I seem to get a fast response.
I have been reading literature since arriving just after lunch. Missouri is a state that never sent me tourist information in response to my online request. I stopped at the tourist office on the border and picked up some things. Because I expected the Olympic opening ceremonies to be broadcast live beginning at 15:00, I decided to do my research and watch the ceremony before going out.
I discovered that my location is good. The major tourist sites are within 5 miles of my motel. I only reserved my room for two nights, so today and tomorrow consist of my time for exploring. (Almost nothing is open Sunday morning.) Fortunately, I found out that the three museums that are supposed to be must-see sites are open until 9 p.m. tonight and one of them is open until 9 p.m. tomorrow night. Two of them are near a famous neighborhood I want to see, so I decided to save those for tomorrow so I can park in one location and see them together. I thought I would go tonight to see the Nerman Museum on the southwest side of town (inside Kansas) after seeing the Olympic ceremony. When the Olympic ceremony didn't come on at 15:00, I checked on the computer and discovered it will be broadcast on a delayed basis at night. I quickly changed my plans and headed for the Nerman.
The Nerman is located on a community college campus, and it took about 20 minutes to get there. It's in a very modern building which I could recognize from the photos on their website. It specializes in contemporary art which I tend to enjoy. However, much of what they had on display today did not impress me. The pieces were by fairly young artists, and I get the feeling that they are being allowed to be sloppy--showing no indication of skill in the production of their work. Out of 3 ceramists who were in a show, only one (a German named Matthias Hess) had produced anything that looked like it took skill to do so. The work by William J. O'Brien and by Arlene Shechet looked like junk that needed to be discarded. Only a few of the paintings and photographs from the permanent collection of the museum looked like quality had been a factor in producing them. The museum, in a wonderful building, was a disappointment.
I stopped for a quick bite to eat and got back to my room in time to write this before the Olympic ceremony began. Will be out doing lots more in Kansas City tomorrow.
Steps Walked: 4499
Miles Driven: 237
I was on IH 35 from Des Moines to Kansas City. It isn't nearly as busy in this part of the country as it is in Texas. It was a 3-hour drive without the tension I would have had on stretches of it at home.
My Days Inn is "brand new." The quotes are based on the fact that the building has been here, but it has just gone through a complete remodeling. Everything is new--the beds, the TVs, the carpeting, and even the windows. Their wifi signal is a bit weak, but I seem to get a fast response.
I have been reading literature since arriving just after lunch. Missouri is a state that never sent me tourist information in response to my online request. I stopped at the tourist office on the border and picked up some things. Because I expected the Olympic opening ceremonies to be broadcast live beginning at 15:00, I decided to do my research and watch the ceremony before going out.
I discovered that my location is good. The major tourist sites are within 5 miles of my motel. I only reserved my room for two nights, so today and tomorrow consist of my time for exploring. (Almost nothing is open Sunday morning.) Fortunately, I found out that the three museums that are supposed to be must-see sites are open until 9 p.m. tonight and one of them is open until 9 p.m. tomorrow night. Two of them are near a famous neighborhood I want to see, so I decided to save those for tomorrow so I can park in one location and see them together. I thought I would go tonight to see the Nerman Museum on the southwest side of town (inside Kansas) after seeing the Olympic ceremony. When the Olympic ceremony didn't come on at 15:00, I checked on the computer and discovered it will be broadcast on a delayed basis at night. I quickly changed my plans and headed for the Nerman.
The Nerman is located on a community college campus, and it took about 20 minutes to get there. It's in a very modern building which I could recognize from the photos on their website. It specializes in contemporary art which I tend to enjoy. However, much of what they had on display today did not impress me. The pieces were by fairly young artists, and I get the feeling that they are being allowed to be sloppy--showing no indication of skill in the production of their work. Out of 3 ceramists who were in a show, only one (a German named Matthias Hess) had produced anything that looked like it took skill to do so. The work by William J. O'Brien and by Arlene Shechet looked like junk that needed to be discarded. Only a few of the paintings and photographs from the permanent collection of the museum looked like quality had been a factor in producing them. The museum, in a wonderful building, was a disappointment.
I stopped for a quick bite to eat and got back to my room in time to write this before the Olympic ceremony began. Will be out doing lots more in Kansas City tomorrow.
Steps Walked: 4499
Miles Driven: 237
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Quite a Surprise!
Thursday, July 26, 2012--Des Moines
It was cooler today after all the rain last night. Even into the afternoon when it became warm, it wasn't like a convection oven wafting heat against me. The high is forecast to be 93 degrees today and only 86 tomorrow. What a relief from the 100+ temperatures. I wonder if it will save the corn? The stalks actually still look green. I had expected them to be brown from the sun. Maybe the rain and the milder temperatures will allow the farmers to get the crops in before they burn up.
I was out early today to explore downtown. I went first to the Iowa Capitol. It is impressive on a high hill with not only a main dome but also four corner domes. Inside it was light and airy. It was obviously larger than the ones I've seen in the previous states; the population of Iowa is much larger. I had to go through security here, but then I was given a map and allowed to give myself a self-guided tour. It is a pretty building. I was told by the man at the tourist desk not to miss the library, and it was quite nice with about four levels of books on wrought iron flooring with circular stairwells going up to them.
From the capitol, I headed to the Iowa State Museum nearby. It had very nice exhibits about the history of the state. There was an especially good exhibit about the period of the Civil War--the numbers of men who went to war, the resistance that existed against participating in the war, how the women managed to do the farming while they were gone, the hardships of fighting the war, etc. There were also honest exhibits about how Iowa, although a free state, legally blocked Blacks from having full citizenship privileges. There were many other exhibits--about the native culture, about the arrival of the Europeans, about the development of mining and farming, etc.
A disappointment came next. I had hoped to visit the Borlaug Hall of Laureates which is in an old building with nice murals and other features. Unfortunately, the sign on the door said it is open to the public only for limited hours on Tuesdays and Saturdays. I will already be gone before it opens again.
Leaving that part of town, I drove eastward to see the Iowa State Fair grounds. The fair here is considered to be the ideal state fair. The grounds are in the process of being prepared. The fair starts in just two weeks. Too bad I will miss attending it.
I parked on the west end of downtown and went to the Pappajohn Sculpture Park. It is a long city block that is filled with sculptures owned by the Des Moines Art Center. I wandered through the grass taking photos and being very happy that the afternoon temperatures were so much better than they have been being.
From there, I headed to the Des Moines Art Center. I entered and started touring. I walked into the first small hall and saw art that did not impress me much--a rope with plastic bottles partially filled with colored water hanging by twisted wires from it, a piece of plastic packing binding stuck onto the wall and falling loosely according to its bends from its use around a box, etc. I looked at the name of the artist, and that's when I got a surprise. I KNEW (know) him! His name is Tony Feher, and he lived in Corpus Christi growing up and for a few years after college. He was best friends with artists in town, but I never knew he considered himself to be an artist or was trying to be one. We weren't close friends, but we have gone out together, and he has come to my home. Anyway, the surprise was further enhanced when I discovered the main gallery was full of his work. His art is the major exhibition there currently. In the main room, there was a "coffee table" book that has been published about his work. And on the Internet, there are many articles about him and many photos of him with other artists and of his works. I had not heard anything about him and had not thought about him since he left Corpus Christi in the early 1980s. Researching on the Internet, I discovered that he was recently in San Antonio as a resident artist at ArtPace and that he had an exhibit there that ran through the spring. I don't know how I missed that information. Anyway, it was a real surprise to see his name. And I find it difficult to understand that the work he produces sells for tens of thousands of dollars.
This evening, I went to Valley Junction. It's the original downtown of the town of West Des Moines. It has two long blocks of store buildings from the early 1900s. I had read it was a tourist site, and when I looked it up on the Internet, it said that tonight was an event night--a farmer's market combined with live music. I drove about 4 blocks from my hotel and caught a free shuttle bus there. Because of I was one of the first 400 drivers to take the shuttle, they gave me a $5 coupon for buying anything I wanted there. I used the coupon to buy a pork loin sandwich--two thick (3/4") slices of pork on a hamburger bun and topped with barbecue sauce. Later, I bought a piece of peach pie from a lady who had made them at her home with a homemade crust. I walked up and down the streets for two hours listening to the music--a young man singing folk songs, a trio singing songs from the 60s and 70s, a jazz band playing big band music, and a rock band playing more modern music. There was a big crowd and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. It was fun watching the people, seeing the foods, hearing the music, and just being in a crowd.
Steps Walked: 18,590
Miles Driven: 33
It was cooler today after all the rain last night. Even into the afternoon when it became warm, it wasn't like a convection oven wafting heat against me. The high is forecast to be 93 degrees today and only 86 tomorrow. What a relief from the 100+ temperatures. I wonder if it will save the corn? The stalks actually still look green. I had expected them to be brown from the sun. Maybe the rain and the milder temperatures will allow the farmers to get the crops in before they burn up.
I was out early today to explore downtown. I went first to the Iowa Capitol. It is impressive on a high hill with not only a main dome but also four corner domes. Inside it was light and airy. It was obviously larger than the ones I've seen in the previous states; the population of Iowa is much larger. I had to go through security here, but then I was given a map and allowed to give myself a self-guided tour. It is a pretty building. I was told by the man at the tourist desk not to miss the library, and it was quite nice with about four levels of books on wrought iron flooring with circular stairwells going up to them.
From the capitol, I headed to the Iowa State Museum nearby. It had very nice exhibits about the history of the state. There was an especially good exhibit about the period of the Civil War--the numbers of men who went to war, the resistance that existed against participating in the war, how the women managed to do the farming while they were gone, the hardships of fighting the war, etc. There were also honest exhibits about how Iowa, although a free state, legally blocked Blacks from having full citizenship privileges. There were many other exhibits--about the native culture, about the arrival of the Europeans, about the development of mining and farming, etc.
A disappointment came next. I had hoped to visit the Borlaug Hall of Laureates which is in an old building with nice murals and other features. Unfortunately, the sign on the door said it is open to the public only for limited hours on Tuesdays and Saturdays. I will already be gone before it opens again.
Leaving that part of town, I drove eastward to see the Iowa State Fair grounds. The fair here is considered to be the ideal state fair. The grounds are in the process of being prepared. The fair starts in just two weeks. Too bad I will miss attending it.
I parked on the west end of downtown and went to the Pappajohn Sculpture Park. It is a long city block that is filled with sculptures owned by the Des Moines Art Center. I wandered through the grass taking photos and being very happy that the afternoon temperatures were so much better than they have been being.
From there, I headed to the Des Moines Art Center. I entered and started touring. I walked into the first small hall and saw art that did not impress me much--a rope with plastic bottles partially filled with colored water hanging by twisted wires from it, a piece of plastic packing binding stuck onto the wall and falling loosely according to its bends from its use around a box, etc. I looked at the name of the artist, and that's when I got a surprise. I KNEW (know) him! His name is Tony Feher, and he lived in Corpus Christi growing up and for a few years after college. He was best friends with artists in town, but I never knew he considered himself to be an artist or was trying to be one. We weren't close friends, but we have gone out together, and he has come to my home. Anyway, the surprise was further enhanced when I discovered the main gallery was full of his work. His art is the major exhibition there currently. In the main room, there was a "coffee table" book that has been published about his work. And on the Internet, there are many articles about him and many photos of him with other artists and of his works. I had not heard anything about him and had not thought about him since he left Corpus Christi in the early 1980s. Researching on the Internet, I discovered that he was recently in San Antonio as a resident artist at ArtPace and that he had an exhibit there that ran through the spring. I don't know how I missed that information. Anyway, it was a real surprise to see his name. And I find it difficult to understand that the work he produces sells for tens of thousands of dollars.
This evening, I went to Valley Junction. It's the original downtown of the town of West Des Moines. It has two long blocks of store buildings from the early 1900s. I had read it was a tourist site, and when I looked it up on the Internet, it said that tonight was an event night--a farmer's market combined with live music. I drove about 4 blocks from my hotel and caught a free shuttle bus there. Because of I was one of the first 400 drivers to take the shuttle, they gave me a $5 coupon for buying anything I wanted there. I used the coupon to buy a pork loin sandwich--two thick (3/4") slices of pork on a hamburger bun and topped with barbecue sauce. Later, I bought a piece of peach pie from a lady who had made them at her home with a homemade crust. I walked up and down the streets for two hours listening to the music--a young man singing folk songs, a trio singing songs from the 60s and 70s, a jazz band playing big band music, and a rock band playing more modern music. There was a big crowd and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. It was fun watching the people, seeing the foods, hearing the music, and just being in a crowd.
Steps Walked: 18,590
Miles Driven: 33
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Moving Around
Wednesday, July 25, 2012—Omaha
to Lincoln to Des Moines
I headed to Lincoln
Fortunately, the International Quilt Study Center and Museum was away from the
center of town. I spent quite a while
there seeing their exhibits. They had
some wonderful quilts on exhibit ranging from old ones made in the 1800s to
contemporary designs created recently.
I drove around and through the University of Nebraskacampus trying to get to the Sheldon Art Museum to see its
exhibits and had to give up. It was
obvious that it would be impossible to tour the campus or to get anywhere on it
because of parking restrictions and construction.
From there, I headed to the NebraskaCapitol building. Fortunately, there
were some parking spaces near it, although they had a one-hour limit. The building is a tall one similar to the
capitol in Baton Rouge
I gave up on Lincoln
after that and headed for Des Moines Omaha
Steps Walked: 6000
Miles Driven: 240
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