Winfield Trip (Quick Overview)

We're back - we had a great time. Bruce had to back in the office by Wednesday.

Here's the rough outline:

Friday 8th - Bruce picked me up at about 7 pm and we hit the road. Drove through CT, NY and NJ. Slept in a truckstop in New Smythe, PA.

Saturday - Warm and muggy, head for Gettysburg. Arrived mid morning. Went to the cemetery and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Check out the shops.

2PM - leave and head for Metawan, W.VA. Drove through West VA all day. Would like to see more. Stopped in Charleston for supper. Continued on.

Arrived in Metawan and it was dark. Tired and looking for someplace to sleep, couldn't find anything we trusted, so we slept in the parking lot of a Dollar Store. Very foggy, warm and muggy. I couldn't sleep it was so oppressive. Woke up the next day and guess where we were - just a few feet from the Hatfield/McCoy site. Very small town, everything was closed as it was Sunday morning. Bought a Hatfield/McCoy coaster and got pictures of the intersection of Hatfield Drive and McCoy Drive. Got pictures of a local football hero named Paul McCoy #22.

Crossed over into Kentucky - pretty but not 'blue' grass. Homes are probably expensive even thoough you are in the middle of Appalachia. Drive through Kentucky most of the day. Arrive in Nashville in the evening.

Spent two nights in Nashville at a Country Inn. Nice, but about 8 miles from downtown. We checked out Nashville, big modern city like Vegas, not what you'd expect. Next day we go shopping in the Music District (about 2 blocks wide and 4 blocks long). Quite warm. Had ice cream. After supper, we meet up with Dave Parks, a friend of Bruces (and now mine) who is a school teacher and bus driver who is trying to crack into the music biz in Nashville. He takes us bar-hopping for the music. Loaded with tourists. Get home late.

Tuesday morning up early, head for Kansas. We were slated to visit Adams, TN for the Bell Witch site, but the place is privately owned and we decided not to take the time out in cas there were not having tours that day, so we ended up in Memphis around noon. Encountered rain heading towards Nashville but we drove through it. Stopped in Memphis, had lunch and checked out the shops. Quite hot. Stay out of the sun.

After Memphis, cross the Mississippi, into Arkansas. Another planned stop, Murfeesboro Diamond Mine is cancelled due to time. Drive through Arkasas, would like to see more of that state. Pretty state with a bad rap. Had pizza in Fort Smith. Pizza in the midwest sucks. Drive all day in Arkasas, hit Oklahoma at night. Pick up free maps and refrigerator magnets along the route. Forgot to get one in Maryland before entering West Virginia.

Oklahoma at night, Gas $2.06. Cheap there. $2.40 in Illinois and $2.87 in New York, go figure. I was asleep when we entered Kansas at 1 am or so. Gets cool at night, need jacket. Set up tent. Already difficult to find parking and the festival doesn't even officially start till Thirsday. Beat Colorado friends.

Bruce always has called me Bones (from Star Trek). Our campsite is known as the 'mASSholes', (he had a state seal on the side of the tent). We are next to the River Rats (Colorado and Oklahoma) and the Dirt Dawgs (from Kansas) nearby. Bruce tells them I am coming. Connie of the Dirt Dawgs makes me an embrodered flag that says 'The Dirt Dawgs Welcome Bones' and the lettering is made out of bones. Great people. Make a lot of new friends.

Thurs to Sunday the 17th. Bluegrass festival - packed with campers and tents and locals. Each day is quite hot, in fact by Saturday it will be 95 with a heat index of 97 and I felt like I was in Vegas again. Too hot on Saturday, so Bruce and I take a side trip to Wichita. We should have gone back to Oklahoma since we didn't see any of it. Went to a yard sale and for pizza. Again pizza sucks. Prairie and cornfields. Nice people. Land of Oz.

Satuday night get tornado watch as cold front comes through. Pours like hell and lightning. We manage to stay dry as the tent is made of canvass. But we were ready for anything. Music stops as storm approaches. People jam all night.

Sunday leave at about noon and head for Niagara Falls. I-70 most of the way. We hit Missouri and Illinois, sleep in Indiana.

We look for a mailbox and end up in Richmond, IN to check it out and buy Rozz a present at a jewelry store. Looks like Fall River useed to. Granite buildings and nice architecture. Buy souvenirs. Drive through Indiana, Ohio, PA and New York and get into Niagara at about 10. We stop in two casinos, one in OK, where I lost $40 and the other at Niagara where I got it back. Visit a few Hard Rock Cafes. Sleep in Niagara. Go to Falls and night and take Maid of the Mist cruise in the morning. Leave for home Tuesday afternoon. Rain from Indiana (sleeping there was very muggy and it poured) into Ohio and almost followed us to the Falls.

Tuesday no rain in the morning, follows us home along the Mass Pike. Stop for Papa Ginos. Good pizza. Arrive in Braintree at 8:30.