{"id":1026,"date":"2015-07-22T15:03:37","date_gmt":"2015-07-22T15:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=1026"},"modified":"2015-09-09T00:35:28","modified_gmt":"2015-09-09T00:35:28","slug":"a-mid-summer-travelog-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=1026","title":{"rendered":"A mid-summer travelog – Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"

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There in the quiet, [I] could finally come to think about\u00a0what I had seen and try to arrange some pattern\u2026 \u00a0Maybe understanding is only possible after.\u00a0 Years ago when I used to work in the woods it was said of lumber men that they did their logging\u00a0in the whorehouse and their sex in the woods<\/strong>.<\/h4>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0–\u00a0\u00a0\u201cTravels with Charley\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/h6>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And so it seems to have been with my recent road trip.<\/p>\n

As noted in Part I<\/a>, I love John Steinbeck\u2019s Travels with Charle<\/a>y. \u00a0So I decided to model my recent two-week road trip<\/a> after his.\u00a0 (To make my travelog<\/a> a microcosm<\/a> of his.) \u00a0And I’m not alone: \u00a0See A “Travels With Charley” Timeline<\/a>, which noted among other things that\u00a0\u201c’TRAVELS WITH CHARLEY’ MAKES A LOUSY MAP.” \u00a0(That criticism notwithstanding, it’s a pretty interesting read..<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

One thing I remember is his saying lumberjacks did their whoring in the woods and their logging in the city – i.e., the bar and\/or whorehouse.\u00a0 Which is another way of saying that it’s only now that my trip is over that I can look back and relish the memories just lived through.<\/p>\n

\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/1\/16\/Delaware_Memorial_Bridge.png\"Like kayaking across the Delaware River just below Wilmington (at left), or seeing Atlantic City from the 32d-floor penthouse of a swanky hotel, or hiking 17 miles in a day and a half on New york City’s hard concrete sidewalks.But more about that later.<\/p>\n

To bring you up to speed, I started off by leaving the Atlanta area shortly after noon on Friday, June 26.\u00a0 (Actually, after lunching with Mi Dulce<\/em> at the Olive Garden near Conyers GA.)<\/p>\n

A note:\u00a0 When I first formulated my plan, I assumed I’d need to get around the Atlanta Beltway<\/a> – always a challenge – before the traffic got really<\/em> bad.\u00a0 Then I further assumed I could get to Columbia SC by the end of the day.\u00a0 That original plan also envisioned me camping on the way up, but that was when the spring weather was nice and cool.<\/p>\n

It was also before I started reading the fine print<\/a> about camping these days.<\/p>\n

Steinbeck’s method of camping may have been feasible in 1960, but not today.<\/p>\n

Motor homes and recreational vehicles swarm<\/em> the highways, and most localities now have stringent regulations about such vehicles camping overnight, as Steinbeck did.\u00a0 (On the other hand, some high-volume businesses welcome<\/em> such RVs in their parking lots overnight, figuring the occupants will spend some money there.)\u00a0 But the key difference is the cost of staying overnight in a campground, even if it’s a state park.<\/p>\n

\"\" I figured to save some money on the way up to \u00a0Atlantic City<\/a>\u00a0– where I was to meet my brother and sister-in-law on Sunday night, June 28 – by taking along a tent.\u00a0 But again – as I found out – the days of camping a la<\/a><\/em> Steinbeck are no more.<\/p>\n

Then there was the weather to consider.\u00a0 (Steinbeck took his road trip after Labor Day.\u00a0 I took mine in mid-summer, when the hordes of touristy-types were in full force.)\u00a0 Meaning by the end of June the weather was a little too hot.\u00a0 All of which meant that for just a tee-toncey<\/a><\/em> bit more than the price of sweating out a summer’s eve in South Carolina or Virginia, I could sleep in a nice air-conditioned motel room.<\/p>\n

\"\"Be that as it may<\/a><\/em>, that first night I made Florence<\/a> – farther than Columbia – and stayed at a Thunderbird Inn<\/a>.\u00a0 On Saturday June 27 I made my first sight-seeing stop, the Airborne and Special Operations Museum<\/a> in Fayetteville NC, home of Fort Bragg<\/a>.\u00a0 (Not to be confused with Fort Bragg, California<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

That ASO Museum<\/a>\u00a0brought back memories of my younger days, like \u00a0when I too jumped out of perfectly good airplanes… \u00a0And it was well worth the price of admission. \u00a0I could say the same thing about downtown Fayetteville<\/a>. \u00a0It’s a charming little downtown area, and not at all what I’d been led to expect.<\/p>\n

But the drive up I-95 from there turned out to be trouble. \u00a0For one thing, I had to battle a long line of rain and thunderstorms all afternoon. \u00a0For another thing, the interstate was packed with tourist-traffic, so I had to keep getting off, taking back roads and eventually coming back to I-95.<\/p>\n

I’d planned to take the back road to the\u00a0Jamestown Ferry<\/a>\u00a0to Williamsburg<\/a>, but eventually it got too late in the day<\/a> for me to take that scenic interlude.\u00a0 I ended up not getting to the Motel 6 in Williamsburg – where I’d made an online reservation – until 8:00.\u00a0 Driving in through town I noticed the businesses in the area had no lights.\u00a0 My thought was, “What? \u00a0Do they roll up the sidewalks at 7:00 around here?<\/em>” \u00a0Then I spotted the motel and pulled in.\u00a0 A whole bunch of people started cheering like mad, and I thought, “Geez, they’re really friendly here!<\/em>“<\/p>\n

As it turned out, they’d had no power since 5:00, when the passing storms knocked it out.\u00a0 So the power – and the lights – had just come back on as I pulled in.<\/p>\n

The next morning – Sunday – I woke up early, at 5:30. \u00a0I got a McDonald’s senior coffee and walked through the touristy areas of Williamsburg while it was still quiet.\u00a0 (I used to like Williamsburg a lot more. \u00a0Now it’s too much like Disney World<\/a>, where you buy a too-expensive all-inclusive ticket, then try to figure out how to maximize your cost-benefits.\u00a0 I guess a part of me is as grumpy as Steinbeck was, sometimes<\/em>…)<\/p>\n

From there I drove across the bridge from Hampton Roads to Norfolk, then down to Virginia Beach and up to where I supposed the First Landing State Park<\/a> was.\u00a0 (Noted below.)\u00a0 I now<\/em><\/strong> know that I passed very close by it, but never did actually see it. \u00a0(The phone-map-app isn’t infallible after all, especially when you’re trying to drive while viewing it<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

\"\"Eventually I took the\u00a0Chesapeake Bay Bridge<\/a> – seen at right – and up to the\u00a0Cape May Ferry<\/a>. \u00a0 In this way I planned an “end run<\/a>” around the twin monsters of traffic around Baltimore and Washington D.C., not to mention the endless tolls on I-95.\u00a0 That plan mirrored Steinbeck’s own end run through\u00a0 Ontario<\/a>, thus “bypassing not only Erie [PA] but Cleveland and Toledo.*”<\/p>\n

His trick play<\/em> ended in harassment and humiliation by U.S. Customs Officials.\u00a0 Because of that he stayed that night in the most expensive auto court<\/a><\/em> he could find, “a pleasure dome of ivory and apes and peacocks.”\u00a0 There he ordered room service with all the trimmings:<\/p>\n

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I overtipped mercilessly.\u00a0 Before I went to sleep I went over all the things I wished I had said to that immigration man, and some of them were incredibly clever and cutting.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

My<\/strong><\/em> end run was marred only by my missing the 4:15 ferry by a hair.\u00a0 Because of that I had to order a beer and sit around the Lewes<\/a>, Delaware<\/a> terminal, waiting for the 5:15 boat.<\/p>\n

The point is I guess in some ways I am<\/em> very much like Steinbeck.\u00a0 (Notwithstanding my devotion to aerobic exercise on the road, as noted in Part I<\/a>.)\u00a0 I may take interstates to make good time, when necessary.\u00a0 I despise “5:00 traffic,” and especially when it lasts from 7:00 to 10:00 in the morning and 3:00 to 7:00 in the evening, as it tends to do these days.<\/em><\/p>\n

So anyway, my goal that fine Sunday was to reach Atlantic City and it’s famous Boardwalk<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To be continued…<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The upper photo is courtesy of\u00a0Walden – Wikipedia<\/a><\/em>, on the “reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings” made famous by\u00a0transcendentalist<\/a> Henry David Thoreau<\/a><\/em>. The caption: \u00a0“Walden Pond<\/a> discussed extensively in chapter, The Ponds<\/strong>.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Re: Steinbeck’s book.\u00a0 The quote about lumberjacks and whores is on page 109 of my 1980 Penguin Books edition.\u00a0 The part about his proposed “end run” into Ontario runs from page 84 to 88.\u00a0 And for a site with a number of TWC<\/strong> quotes see Travels With Charley \u2013 Route 99<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Re: The Atlanta Beltway, better known to locals as “the Perimeter” and\/or the Bypass<\/strong>.\u00a0 It has the honor of being “one of the most heavily traveled roadways in the United States, and portions of the highway slow, sometimes to a crawl, during rush hour<\/a>.”\u00a0 See Interstate 285 – Wikipedia<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

The “airborne” photo is courtesy of Facebook:\u00a0Airborne & Special Operations Museum Foundation<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Re: Chesapeake Bay Bridge<\/a> image.\u00a0 The caption: “view of the Virginia Beach<\/a> entrance to the bridge.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Re: “missing the 4:15 ferry by a hair.”\u00a0 I would have made it, but got behind some knucklehead at the red light at the Highway 9 turn-off to the Lewes terminal.\u00a0 This particular knucklehead didn’t know the rule about right on red<\/a>, so he let six or seven cars turn left<\/strong> into the terminal, coming from the other direction.\u00a0 I missed getting loaded on to the 4:15 ferry by two cars…<\/em><\/p>\n

The lower image is courtesy of A Look Back at Atlantic City Boardwalk [VINTAGE PHOTOS]<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0 *<\/p>\n

Re: \u201ccamping a la<\/a> Steinbeck<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0<\/em> The notes below are another advantage of writing that Steinbeck didn\u2019t have.\u00a0 As noted, \u201cI figured to save some money on the way up \u2026 by taking along a tent.”<\/em><\/p>\n

The first night out I planned to pitch a tent at the\u00a0Sesquicentennial State Park<\/a> southeast of Columbia.\u00a0 The price would have been from $19 to $27 for a night, with water and electricity.\u00a0\u00a0 Then the second night I figured I could reach First Landing State Park<\/a>, between Norfolk and Virginia Beach.\u00a0 I\u2019d never been there, and prices were said to range from $24 to $32, \u201cplus tax.\u201d \u00a0According to the camping link at Park Fees \u2013 Virginia Department of Conservation<\/a>, the \u201cstandard\u201d fee for one night is $24, while a site with water and electric cost $35.<\/em><\/p>\n

At first that $24 didn\u2019t seem too bad. \u00a0At least when I did my original planning, back when the weather was still cool. \u00a0(At least half the cost of a Motel 6.)\u00a0 But then I started reading the fine print.\u00a0 The rate for First Landing was for Virginia residents<\/strong>.\u00a0 For non-residents the cost was $28 for \u201cstandard,\u201d and $41 for a site with water and electric. \u00a0Which brought to mind the days of my youth \u2013 circa 1965 \u2013 when\u00a0my mother took at least three of us boys around the United States \u2013 twice. \u00a0She could only do it by tent-camping, because that was far less expensive.<\/em><\/p>\n

But those days are no more.\u00a0 The explanation may well be that our politicians may still be saying<\/strong>, \u201cRead my lips: no new taxes<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 They may still be saying<\/strong> that, but instead of \u201ctaxing,\u201d they\u2019re nickel-and-diming<\/a> us right and left<\/a>.\u00a0 One result is that tent-camping is no loner a feasible way to save some money on a road trip like mine.\u00a0 It now costs almost as much as a motel…<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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