Surprise Party!

"Not all who wander are lost.  Some have just had their train cancelled." ~ JRR Tolkien, revised

Yesterday, I wrote about the adventures of train travel.  It is definitely a unique experience.  Traveling by train offers you an opportunity to navigate situations and characters not easily afforded by other modes of transportation.  But there is one other journey method that comes really, REALLY close.  And our little band of travelers got to experience it just one short week after our train adventure to Virginia.

We had taken the train to attend a conference in Virginia Beach. The evening before we were to leave to come home, we returned, exhausted, to our room.  As we got on Facebook (because one is never too exhausted for Facebook!), I noticed that Amtrak's page mentioned that some of the trains in the midwest were being cancelled due to flooding on the Great Plains.  The California Zephyr, our ride home, was one of the trains.  We went to Amtrak's website and confirmed it and began to plan our escape travels home.

Since we had about a thousand pounds of luggage, and also numerous, huge display boards, flying was out of the question.  What are girls to do?

You guessed it.  We rented a car.  And so ensues the Great Road Trip West.

Did you know it takes THREE days of CONSTANT driving to get from Virginia Beach, VA to Colorado Springs, CO???

It does.

For those of you who find yourself on an unexpected road trip (which is probably half of all train travelers), please heed the following advice:  Attitude is everything!  Our gang decided not to get bent out of shape.  What else could we do?  We decided to enjoy the ride.  And what a fun ride it was!

Here are my observations from the road.  If you plan to make a trip by Amtrak, you may want to bookmark this post as a resource page!

*He who holds the keys...holds the power.  I did NOT want to stop at Colonial Williamsburg on the way home because I love history and knew we didn't have time to get out.  Unfortunately, I was not driving and found our car hijacked by Blondie.  Do you know how it KILLS a history lover to DRIVE through Colonial Williamsburg??? Who DRIVES through Williamsburg?  Oh yeah....us.  Good thing I grabbed the wheel before she could get to Jamestown!!

*If you are stuck on an unexpected road trip...enjoy the scenery. There is nothing greener than the Appalachian Mountains....or ALL of West Virginia, for that matter.  What beautiful country.  Blessed is the person who's surprise adventure includes this state.

*Where's the Beef?  It is in Kentucky where it comes in every form....but try to find a KENTUCKY Fried Chicken ANYWHERE in that state and you will be sadly disappointed!!!  Ridiculous!  I think that at the border of KENTUCKY, there should be little white haired men passing out free KENTUCKY Fried Chicken and biscuits!!  Know what you get instead?  A glimpse of Hell.  I hate to belabor a point....but once you enter the state all you see is a maze and tangle of fire breathing, smoking pipes and tubes.  Is that really the first impression you want to give people of your state?? (Apparently it is....Kansas had FOUR fiery refineries!)

*Don't Drink and Drive...Avoid Kentucky.   Indiana has a lot of wineries and a Wine Trail.  Kentucky cuts to the chase, ditching the wine and going straight to the hard stuff with their very own Bourbon Trail!  I might add that the Bourbon Trail is along a beautiful expanse of winding, two lane highway.  Bourbon + Windy Roads = DUH!

*What Did You Just Call Me? Instead of the Bluegrass State, Kentucky should be the We Don't Need No New Fangled Ideas...Like Cities State.  Because don't EVER ask someone in Cattletsburg, KY what CITY you are in.  I took a 10 minute tongue lashing from a WENDY'S employee about how I was NOT in a city, I was in a TOWN. Well, excuuuuuuuuuse me!

*Hitting the Jackpot! Sure the Gateway Arch was impressive....but the best thing about Missouri?  An overnight stay right by a TRADER JOE'S!!!!  I know that this may be a silly thing to get excited about to some of you, but for someone from Colorado, where there are no Trader Joe's, it was like winning the lottery!

*Beware Salina, Kansas.  Oh sure, it  sounds innocent but it is SCARY.  Just one, big truck stop.  In effort to make me feel okay about having to stay there (and yes, we HAD to stay there because there is nothing else in Kansas, anywhere.....ever) my husband cited a study he read saying Salina was supposed to be one of the best places to raise kids.  Really?  I think it depends on what you are raising your kids for.  If it is to drive a semi or a tractor....Salina is awesome!  All others....move to Colorado.

*I See Dead People's Houses: Kansas should not be the Sunflower State, as I never saw one.  BUT...they have a museum every 5 miles.  They should be the Look-at-the-Old-Houses-of-Dead-People-we-have-Here-in-Our-State State.

*Double Shot Espresso - The Patron Saint of all 12 hour day Road Trippers

*Who Needs an App for That?  When you are driving for three days on an unforeseen and unplanned trek, some instincts are acutely honed.  I am pretty sure Blondie and I know every Starbucks from Virginia Beach to Colorado Springs, such was our need for caffeine!

*WHAT?  And Kansas has TWO Starbucks.  ugh!

*Duh!  A state as flat and boring as Kansas needs LOTS of Starbucks!

*There's No Place Like Home.  There's NOTHING like the Rocky Mountains!!

So, all in all.....it was 30 hours of travel by car.  We couldn't see out the back window because we were stuffed to the gills with luggage and display boards!  But, we would do another Surprise Road Trip in a heartbeat...as long as we could plan it first!

Tell me your best Road Trip Tips!  For now, I

Gotta Mosey