On Tour in the USA - Page 5

diminished · 05-27-2009, 06:33 PM

We've made it as far as Mackinaw today,just short of Michigans Upper Peninsula,but hit a few things on the way.We caught 'The Bottle House',a house constructed from old glass pop bottles in Kalena,well worth the 5 minute detour,then spent a pleasant hour rolling 'backwards' uphill, at a Mystery Hill near Malcolm (MI),that had to be one of the most bizarre experiences I've ever had.Persistence giggled her ass off,but it left me feeling a bit disorientated.
We also visited a Shoe Tree near Kalkaska (about 3 miles north of the town,along US-31),finally finding one at the third time of asking (First time was the wrong place - honestly,who has 2 towns named the same in the same state..lol,second time we tried in the right place,the road was shutoff due to maintainance,third time's the charm.).
We rounded off the day with Persistence haggling a motel down from $99 to $69 for a 3-room suite,with not 1,but 3 TV's,I can watch 'Family Guy' on the toilet,later.Thats been a pretty fine day,even tho its been our first day of cold and lousy weather,but as Brits,we're well hardened to such conditions

Perry Winkle · 05-30-2009, 03:51 PM

If you get to my corner of the Rockies (Helena, Montana), give a shout. We don't have healthy food. We don't have beautiful people. But we've got plenty of good hiking and fabulous weather along side a heaping helping of gallows humor from the mining days--Last Chance Gulch, a bullwhacker statue and oversized metal cattle skulls.

diminished · 06-01-2009, 08:42 PM

Thanks Perry Winkle,we'll bear that in mind...we are visiting Montana later in the trip.

Right now,we're negotiating Illinois,after doing Michigan's U.P and Wisconsin.
Despite the claims of the locals around Mackinaw City,we found plenty to entertain us on the Upper Peninsula...Painted Rocks Lakeshore was spectacular (thanks for the tip Monster),and Lakenenland,a collection of junk-art outside of Chocolay,was well worth a visit.'Da Yoopers Tourist Trap' (I forget where) was an unashamed attempt to cash in on...well,not much,but it made us laugh (especially the 'Dinosaur Gonad' - a round rock - 'excavated' whilst they were building the establishment,) and we spent some money there.'Yooper' philosophy seems to be pretty close to Geordie,maybe they're a lost tribe of Northerners.
Highlights of Wisconsin included the Nightfall Motel (Woodruff),where we received the warmest of welcomes from the people who run it,and The ForeverTron (another collection of junk-art,constructed from old fairground and carnival equipment) which was simply jaw-dropping.Oh yes,and a model of a Giant Badger which guards a 'Gentleman's Club'.Low points were Wisconsin Dells,which alleges itself the 'Waterpark Capital'.I'm sure its fine for those seeking that kind of entertainment,but the sheer quantity of billboards per mile set my teeth clean on edge,it reminded us too much of home (the worst kind of tourist trap).
We're finding Illinois a bit more puzzling.Probably due to the 90+ degrees of heat.We had to abandon ship and pull in to a motel early today,and I'm sitting typing half baked down my right hand side,from sitting in the passenger seat.That was through the window glass too.
I am,however,soothing the pain.We've discovered that Walmart (oppressors of the working man they may be,but I have very few ethics when it comes to spending our accumulated hard-earned cash) sells Wild Turkey Whiskey for under $20 a bottle.We'd usually pay around 25 UKP (about $40,I think at current exchange rates) at home,thats if we could find a store that stocked it on a regular basis.
I'd type more,but I feel a drunkening coming on

*burp
Cheers!
Dim&Persistence

monster · 06-01-2009, 08:51 PM

Didn't we warn you about Wisconsin Dells? we meant to, sorry

diminished · 06-01-2009, 08:58 PM

Must have been the Budweiser that made me forget.

Our motel even had some sort of local band playing outside until about 11-30.I have no objection to live entertainment,but it has to be music I like,and I'm not much into 80's Hair Rock,Persistence was a little entertained tho.I was more freaked out to walk past and see many bikers,with no beer coolers,and not a whiff of anything illicit upon the breeze.
No offence meant to anyone who lives there,but it was a bit like Blackpool,minus the charm,but cleaner.

monster · 06-01-2009, 09:02 PM

If you do go to Mammouth Caves, expect more of the same.....

diminished · 06-01-2009, 09:09 PM

*crosses Mammoth Caves off the list.
After googling ticket prices...
*crosses Graceland off the list.

monster · 06-03-2009, 07:32 AM

I still think Graceland's worth visiting -yeah $28 is a lot of moolah, but it is interesting, even if you weren't a fan. Maybe sleep in your car one night and use the motel money?

diminished · 06-03-2009, 08:46 PM

Too late,we've already busted westward

On the outskirts of St.Louis now,after visiting the 'Our Lady of the Snows' shrine,Cahokia Mounds and trying to track down a painting of a Piasa Bird in Alton (tonight's motel has a guide with the address for that one,we'll get it tomorrow.).

I'm quite unsure about St.Louis,we've either been circling it all day,like a predator circles its prey,or its slowly sucking us in,like we're caught in its gravitational pull.

I'm wanting to go visit the Gateway Arch tomorrow,after laundry duty and that painting,Persistence keeps pulling faces tho,I dont think she wants to get any closer to the city than we already are.

monster · 06-03-2009, 08:53 PM

...free beer at the factory......

monster · 06-03-2009, 08:54 PM

you gotta go up the arch. the stick you in a pod like the inside of a cable reel.....

Elspode · 06-03-2009, 08:54 PM

Garden of Eden in West Central Kansas off of I70 a piece.

Leila's Hair Museum in Independence, MO

diminished · 06-03-2009, 09:10 PM

Didnt realise you could get to the top of the arch,and it looks like we get a discount for our Annual National Parks Pass thingy,that might have just sealed the deal for Persistence.

The Garden of Eden is a probable too,but I'm finding that Hair Museum just a little too creepy.Maybe its a European thing.If I could get a haircut while I was there,I'd probably be up for it tho.I'm gonna need to get sheared pretty soon

monster · 06-03-2009, 10:12 PM

hey yo, dwellars, these people are cool... if anyone can see their way to offering them a bed for the night, I'm pretty sure they won't steal the family cat and they'd have more $$ to experience the real weirdness that you Merkins have managed to throw together. or if not a bed, then at least a meal with veggies. I think they've had three vitamins between them since they landed -two when they can to see us and one by accident in a McDonald's salad for which the manager heartily apologised......

Undertoad · 06-03-2009, 10:52 PM

*sigh* another thing we could do if the damn boy wasn't living here

05-27-2009, 06:33 PM	#61
diminished Why Aye,Man! Join Date: May 2009 Location: At the moment,'Merika Posts: 101	We've made it as far as Mackinaw today,just short of Michigans Upper Peninsula,but hit a few things on the way.We caught 'The Bottle House',a house constructed from old glass pop bottles in Kalena,well worth the 5 minute detour,then spent a pleasant hour rolling 'backwards' uphill, at a Mystery Hill near Malcolm (MI),that had to be one of the most bizarre experiences I've ever had.Persistence giggled her ass off,but it left me feeling a bit disorientated. We also visited a Shoe Tree near Kalkaska (about 3 miles north of the town,along US-31),finally finding one at the third time of asking (First time was the wrong place - honestly,who has 2 towns named the same in the same state..lol,second time we tried in the right place,the road was shutoff due to maintainance,third time's the charm.). We rounded off the day with Persistence haggling a motel down from $99 to $69 for a 3-room suite,with not 1,but 3 TV's,I can watch 'Family Guy' on the toilet,later.Thats been a pretty fine day,even tho its been our first day of cold and lousy weather,but as Brits,we're well hardened to such conditions __________________ They [Young People] have exalted notions, because they have not been humbled by life or learned its necessary limitations; moreover, their hopeful disposition makes them think themselves equal to great things.They would always rather do noble deeds than useful ones: Their lives are regulated more by moral feeling than by reasoning ...They overdo everything - they love too much, hate too much, and the same with everything else. Aristotle circa 350 BC

06-01-2009, 08:42 PM	#63
diminished Why Aye,Man! Join Date: May 2009 Location: At the moment,'Merika Posts: 101	Thanks Perry Winkle,we'll bear that in mind...we are visiting Montana later in the trip. Right now,we're negotiating Illinois,after doing Michigan's U.P and Wisconsin. Despite the claims of the locals around Mackinaw City,we found plenty to entertain us on the Upper Peninsula...Painted Rocks Lakeshore was spectacular (thanks for the tip Monster),and Lakenenland,a collection of junk-art outside of Chocolay,was well worth a visit.'Da Yoopers Tourist Trap' (I forget where) was an unashamed attempt to cash in on...well,not much,but it made us laugh (especially the 'Dinosaur Gonad' - a round rock - 'excavated' whilst they were building the establishment,) and we spent some money there.'Yooper' philosophy seems to be pretty close to Geordie,maybe they're a lost tribe of Northerners. Highlights of Wisconsin included the Nightfall Motel (Woodruff),where we received the warmest of welcomes from the people who run it,and The ForeverTron (another collection of junk-art,constructed from old fairground and carnival equipment) which was simply jaw-dropping.Oh yes,and a model of a Giant Badger which guards a 'Gentleman's Club'.Low points were Wisconsin Dells,which alleges itself the 'Waterpark Capital'.I'm sure its fine for those seeking that kind of entertainment,but the sheer quantity of billboards per mile set my teeth clean on edge,it reminded us too much of home (the worst kind of tourist trap). We're finding Illinois a bit more puzzling.Probably due to the 90+ degrees of heat.We had to abandon ship and pull in to a motel early today,and I'm sitting typing half baked down my right hand side,from sitting in the passenger seat.That was through the window glass too. I am,however,soothing the pain.We've discovered that Walmart (oppressors of the working man they may be,but I have very few ethics when it comes to spending our accumulated hard-earned cash) sells Wild Turkey Whiskey for under $20 a bottle.We'd usually pay around 25 UKP (about $40,I think at current exchange rates) at home,thats if we could find a store that stocked it on a regular basis. I'd type more,but I feel a drunkening coming on *burp Cheers! Dim&Persistence __________________ They [Young People] have exalted notions, because they have not been humbled by life or learned its necessary limitations; moreover, their hopeful disposition makes them think themselves equal to great things.They would always rather do noble deeds than useful ones: Their lives are regulated more by moral feeling than by reasoning ...They overdo everything - they love too much, hate too much, and the same with everything else. Aristotle circa 350 BC

06-01-2009, 08:51 PM	#64
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	Didn't we warn you about Wisconsin Dells? we meant to, sorry __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

06-01-2009, 08:58 PM	#65
diminished Why Aye,Man! Join Date: May 2009 Location: At the moment,'Merika Posts: 101	Must have been the Budweiser that made me forget. Our motel even had some sort of local band playing outside until about 11-30.I have no objection to live entertainment,but it has to be music I like,and I'm not much into 80's Hair Rock,Persistence was a little entertained tho.I was more freaked out to walk past and see many bikers,with no beer coolers,and not a whiff of anything illicit upon the breeze. No offence meant to anyone who lives there,but it was a bit like Blackpool,minus the charm,but cleaner. __________________ They [Young People] have exalted notions, because they have not been humbled by life or learned its necessary limitations; moreover, their hopeful disposition makes them think themselves equal to great things.They would always rather do noble deeds than useful ones: Their lives are regulated more by moral feeling than by reasoning ...They overdo everything - they love too much, hate too much, and the same with everything else. Aristotle circa 350 BC

06-01-2009, 09:02 PM	#66
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	If you do go to Mammouth Caves, expect more of the same..... __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

05-30-2009, 03:51 PM	#62
Perry Winkle Esnohplad Semaj Ton Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: A little south of sanity Posts: 2,259	If you get to my corner of the Rockies (Helena, Montana), give a shout. We don't have healthy food. We don't have beautiful people. But we've got plenty of good hiking and fabulous weather along side a heaping helping of gallows humor from the mining days--Last Chance Gulch, a bullwhacker statue and oversized metal cattle skulls.

06-01-2009, 09:09 PM	#67
diminished Why Aye,Man! Join Date: May 2009 Location: At the moment,'Merika Posts: 101	crosses Mammoth Caves off the list. After googling ticket prices... crosses Graceland off the list. __________________ They [Young People] have exalted notions, because they have not been humbled by life or learned its necessary limitations; moreover, their hopeful disposition makes them think themselves equal to great things.They would always rather do noble deeds than useful ones: Their lives are regulated more by moral feeling than by reasoning ...They overdo everything - they love too much, hate too much, and the same with everything else. Aristotle circa 350 BC Last edited by diminished; 06-01-2009 at 10:14 PM.

06-03-2009, 07:32 AM	#68
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	I still think Graceland's worth visiting -yeah $28 is a lot of moolah, but it is interesting, even if you weren't a fan. Maybe sleep in your car one night and use the motel money? __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

06-03-2009, 08:46 PM	#69
diminished Why Aye,Man! Join Date: May 2009 Location: At the moment,'Merika Posts: 101	Too late,we've already busted westward On the outskirts of St.Louis now,after visiting the 'Our Lady of the Snows' shrine,Cahokia Mounds and trying to track down a painting of a Piasa Bird in Alton (tonight's motel has a guide with the address for that one,we'll get it tomorrow.). I'm quite unsure about St.Louis,we've either been circling it all day,like a predator circles its prey,or its slowly sucking us in,like we're caught in its gravitational pull. I'm wanting to go visit the Gateway Arch tomorrow,after laundry duty and that painting,Persistence keeps pulling faces tho,I dont think she wants to get any closer to the city than we already are. __________________ They [Young People] have exalted notions, because they have not been humbled by life or learned its necessary limitations; moreover, their hopeful disposition makes them think themselves equal to great things.They would always rather do noble deeds than useful ones: Their lives are regulated more by moral feeling than by reasoning ...They overdo everything - they love too much, hate too much, and the same with everything else. Aristotle circa 350 BC

06-03-2009, 08:53 PM	#70
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	...free beer at the factory...... __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

06-03-2009, 08:54 PM	#71
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	you gotta go up the arch. the stick you in a pod like the inside of a cable reel..... __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

06-03-2009, 08:54 PM	#72
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	Garden of Eden in West Central Kansas off of I70 a piece. Leila's Hair Museum in Independence, MO __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog

06-03-2009, 09:10 PM	#73
diminished Why Aye,Man! Join Date: May 2009 Location: At the moment,'Merika Posts: 101	Didnt realise you could get to the top of the arch,and it looks like we get a discount for our Annual National Parks Pass thingy,that might have just sealed the deal for Persistence. The Garden of Eden is a probable too,but I'm finding that Hair Museum just a little too creepy.Maybe its a European thing.If I could get a haircut while I was there,I'd probably be up for it tho.I'm gonna need to get sheared pretty soon __________________ They [Young People] have exalted notions, because they have not been humbled by life or learned its necessary limitations; moreover, their hopeful disposition makes them think themselves equal to great things.They would always rather do noble deeds than useful ones: Their lives are regulated more by moral feeling than by reasoning ...They overdo everything - they love too much, hate too much, and the same with everything else. Aristotle circa 350 BC

06-03-2009, 10:12 PM	#74
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	hey yo, dwellars, these people are cool... if anyone can see their way to offering them a bed for the night, I'm pretty sure they won't steal the family cat and they'd have more $$ to experience the real weirdness that you Merkins have managed to throw together. or if not a bed, then at least a meal with veggies. I think they've had three vitamins between them since they landed -two when they can to see us and one by accident in a McDonald's salad for which the manager heartily apologised...... __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

06-03-2009, 10:52 PM	#75
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	sigh another thing we could do if the damn boy wasn't living here

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