As with many Americans I am no stranger to holiday traffic. The dreaded three day weekend beast of clogged highways and trips that drag on forever, which is the inevitable result of the influx of road travelers. It's a fact of life that Americans have lived with for decades. I was dreading it myself prior to the ride from Nashville to Memphis on this Memorial Day weekend.
I had originally planned to leave for home on Sunday thus beating the impending traffic jam of the long weekend altogether, but my plans changed like plans tend to do and my wife and I were set to leave on Monday. I decided that I wasn't going to be anxious or mad about having to battle my way through the hoards of vehicles. I wanted to be calm and relaxed. And I was.
The wife and I started out from Nashville shortly after 4pm. I figured we'd be in store for a 5 or 6 hour ride due to traffic. I was wrong and happily so.
There was the normal Nashville traffic and I figured that soon we'd be bumper to bumper. But it never came. We drove smoothly through city after city with hardly a slowdown. My long feared traffic jam never materialized and if anything the road was unusually empty. I've been in worse traffic on that long stretch of I-40 at 10pm on a weekday. I'm not sure why there was no traffic, but there wasn't.
Showing posts with label I-40 car trips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label I-40 car trips. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Summer plans finalized
One of the nice things about being a teacher is the summer vacation. I'll get roughly 2 months off and it is something that I will greatly enjoy and treasure. I don't want to just sit around my apartment watching Netflix all summer, so the wife and I are going to do some traveling.
We toyed around with several possible destinations like Yellowstone National Park, Florida, Colorado and Mammoth Caves. However, we settled on San Francisco, California. We couldn't decide on a destination. Until this past Sunday.
Talking to my cousins about my upcoming parenthood the discussion came to our trip (we were originally going to California, but money was becoming a problem). My cousins offered us a gift of money in order to make the trip. I was floored. I hadn't expected this at all. My excitement level jumped and I had a hard time staying focused. I wanted to start planning.
Since we are driving I wanted to see as much as possible without doing too much. We decided that our first stop for the evening will be Amarillo, Texas. At first it was just a reasonable place to stop and get some sleep. However, after looking around on the internet I discovered that Amarillo is home to The Big Texan. We will definitely dine there on our first night out. I always enjoy eating at famous places or places that have a novelty. Besides, I hear that the steak is good. I will, however, not be doing the 72 oz. steak challenge. I know when to quit.
After The Big Texan we will have a bit of a drive to our next destination: The Petrified Forest. I've wanted to see this for about 15 years and finally it seems that I'll be able to see it. Since the wife's condition we will not be doing any super hiking or anything too strenuous. I figure we'll spend an hour, two at most at the Petrified Forest. Our second bed spot will be Flagstaff.
Day three will see us at the Grand Canyon. I've seen it once, but it's definitely worth another look. It's also on my wife's list of places she wants to see in the US. I wish we were able to hike down to the bottom, but that will be for another time.
Our last leg alone will be from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas where we'll meet up with my cousins Mike and Ben. From there it's up to the Sierra-Nevada Mountains, Yosemite and then finally San Francisco. I'm sure it'll be a great trip and I'm very excited.
If you have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to contact me.
We toyed around with several possible destinations like Yellowstone National Park, Florida, Colorado and Mammoth Caves. However, we settled on San Francisco, California. We couldn't decide on a destination. Until this past Sunday.
Talking to my cousins about my upcoming parenthood the discussion came to our trip (we were originally going to California, but money was becoming a problem). My cousins offered us a gift of money in order to make the trip. I was floored. I hadn't expected this at all. My excitement level jumped and I had a hard time staying focused. I wanted to start planning.
Since we are driving I wanted to see as much as possible without doing too much. We decided that our first stop for the evening will be Amarillo, Texas. At first it was just a reasonable place to stop and get some sleep. However, after looking around on the internet I discovered that Amarillo is home to The Big Texan. We will definitely dine there on our first night out. I always enjoy eating at famous places or places that have a novelty. Besides, I hear that the steak is good. I will, however, not be doing the 72 oz. steak challenge. I know when to quit.
After The Big Texan we will have a bit of a drive to our next destination: The Petrified Forest. I've wanted to see this for about 15 years and finally it seems that I'll be able to see it. Since the wife's condition we will not be doing any super hiking or anything too strenuous. I figure we'll spend an hour, two at most at the Petrified Forest. Our second bed spot will be Flagstaff.
Day three will see us at the Grand Canyon. I've seen it once, but it's definitely worth another look. It's also on my wife's list of places she wants to see in the US. I wish we were able to hike down to the bottom, but that will be for another time.
Our last leg alone will be from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas where we'll meet up with my cousins Mike and Ben. From there it's up to the Sierra-Nevada Mountains, Yosemite and then finally San Francisco. I'm sure it'll be a great trip and I'm very excited.
If you have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to contact me.
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