Let's Go To Luckenbach, Texas

With Susy, Chloe and the boys. If you've ever heard the Waylon Jennings song then one can understand the desire to visit Luckenbach (pop. 3). This town has a post office, general store, and bar all the under the same roof. It definitely has a party atmosphere. Luckenbach has an outdoor stage and large parking lot, so many chili cook-off's and parties have happened here. The town itself is about 45 min. to an hour west from Austin, near Fredricksburg. The buildings in Luckenbach remind me of some places I've seen in the Caribbean. Many visitors have left behind their license plates and other various markings from wherever they may have traveled from. Additionally, the picnic tables have all been etched with a pocket knife with various sayings and names all speaking so highly of Luckenbach. If you are ever passing anywhere near here, it's worth the stop.

The Dixie Chicks Tour Bus

Thursday evening we enjoyed Roper's, a county bar, in Austin. An acoustic singer named Pete was performing. Somewhere near the end of the evening, Pete's producer purchased us all a drink, whiskey of course. Shortly after the bar turned it's bright lights on to signal closing time, Pete, took us out to check out his tour bus which he has just recently purchased from the Dixie Chicks after their Wide Open Spaces tour. Needless to say it was the ending to a perfect night .... until the chicken fried steak and eggs at Denny's. I don't know what it is about Denny's and me, I think it's the only time I can finish my plate. Their coffee is crappy but it's like junk. It's addictive. Susy was amazed at my appetite. After consuming a large meal at this fine establishment, we headed home. I picked up my phone to make a DD (drunk dial), but its 3:45 am in Austin and some better judgment stopped me.

Austin, Texas (2000 miles+)

Ahhh! Austin, where do I begin? First off, the last time I was in Austin, was a debacle of debauchery and I left Austin with my tail between my legs and a liver enlarged to the size of Texas. I know this because I woke up to my liver lying beside me whimpering like a whiney bed wetter. As I look back upon the stupidity now, it's one of those situations that is a shoulda-coulda, but now I know better scenarios. It started out with a restaurant called Trudy's that makes an amazing Mexican Martini and not for the weak. They're so great that no matter how big or small you are they will only serve you two before cutting you off. For good reason I might add. Needless to say the night began there and then ended up on sixth street which is the UT bar area. I was hung for days.
Now, I find myself back in Austin, older and wiser and open to finally experience Austin as a city, I got the nightlife out of me many moons ago. We arrived in Austin on Saturday evening and took it easy after our drive from Sweetwater. As I sit here trying to remember the brain cells are all gelatin from all the driving and days are mixing together as one. Luckily, this time it's not from an abundance of booze. I spent Sunday visiting with Eli Reed, a Magnum photographer who is now also teaching at the University of Texas. I worked along side of Eli while working on the documentary film A Mighty Times: The Children's March. I met Eli at a breakfast spot near UT and had a great conversation with him. After completion of the meal, Eli wanted to show me around Austin, so we spent the next several hours driving around seeing sights and talking. One of the places he took me to was an area known as Barton Springs, which is a river that runs through town and a section of the river is a swimming area. It's a cool spot in Austin. After geeking out on photography, cameras and photojournalism we said our good-byes and his parting words were, "Well if your in town till Wednesday morning we should try and do dinner one night." I immediately came home and shared the news with Susy and Tom and they were down. So on Monday I phoned Eli and invited him over for supper. We prepared a great dinner with grilled salmon in a lemon, garlic, pepper rub, Texas sweet corn on the cob and a delightful sun-dried pasta salad. Eli arrived on his motorcycle and to describe him, he is 6'5" or so and I've often heard him referred to as the gentle giant, which is the best way to describe him. We all sat around a table and discussed the situations going on overseas, photojournalism and ethics. It was a great night and to have such an honorable guest at the dinner table with such wisdom and charisma it was inspiring. Eli has covered so many events in his life and to hear him tell tales of Beruit or Sudan or some other assignment was spellbinding. Eli didn't leave till around midnight, not because we had him trapped, but because I think he was enjoying himself so much that he too lost touch with the time. It was a night I will never forget.
On Tuesday, Susy, Tom and I set off for Fredricksburg about an hour away from Austin to go and experience Texas wine country. The cork dorks, as we sometimes call ourselves visited about four wineries and the common thread between most of them is that they are much sweeter wine. Maybe it's because they have younger vines or just that Texans like things sweet, like their famous tea. When I say sweet I don't mean dessert style sweet, just not the dry, buttery style that California is known for. One of the wineries we visited, Becker, has had their wines served in numerous presidential dinners and surprisingly they made a very distinctive Viognier. Which I have only discovered within the last year, it is a crisp wine with accents of fruit, yet it is not sweet. A wonderful summer wine. While we were down in wine country we also stopped by Luckenbach, Texas which is based on an old Walyon Jennings song, but more on that in a separate posting.
This morning, Wednesday, we had a much later start to the day, we slept in a bit and then headed off to Trudy's for lunch. I had a date with a Mexican Martini. This time to show control. The drink itself is so delicious. The food there was good and we enjoyed dining on chimichangas. We had planned to leave Austin tomorrow and head to Hot Springs, AK and begin the journey toward Cincinnati, but we've decided to stay in Austin, so we are not paying for so many hotels and then shot gun to Cincinnati in two days with a stop off in Memphis for the night and for the BBQ ribs/chicken.
As for the humidity, many folks commented that I may not be able to handle it, granted that maybe true. Austin, though is humid right now, not a South Carolina humid, but it reminds me of my days in St. Thomas which was humid as well. My skin isn't so dry, I find it easier to breath and it's not so crippling that I don't even want to leave Tom's air condition house, unlike the summer's in Ojai where it can reach 106F easily. Susy has mentioned to me on various occasions that this is about as humid as it will be in Philly and if that's the case this isn't a big deal.
Cheers.

Sweetwater, Texas

Sweetwater, Texas is a small town located East of Abilene. Sweetwater reminded me of Ojai in the since that everyone knows everyone no matter where one is. It's a town you don't need to use your blinkers in because everyone knows where your heading. The people who live in Sweetwater are so kind and generous, which I'm learning is typical of Texans. We were fortunate enough to spend some time catching up with Betty, who is Tom's mom, and we hadn't visited with her since she was in Ojai. Betty had just got back from a two week vacation in Tanzania, Africa. Hearing the stories of her travels were told with such vivid emotion and description it was as though we were there. She is an amazingly captivating story teller. While we were in Sweetwater, Tom took us on the 'Tom Tour' which involved seeing the places he got in trouble as a youth. It was fun to finally put a place with all the stories we had heard over the past four years of friendship. In addition, he pulled out his f-me red '67 Impala and we took that for a spin. Which is such a fun car to drive. Even Susy got to drive a three on the tree car for her first time and she did a great job with a manual car.
In Sweetwater, we began the BBQ tour. We began our tour of Texan Brisket at Bucks and then the next day we savored Big Boy's Bar-B-Q. Of the two places we ate at it was interesting to taste not only the difference between how each place cooked their meat, but even the taste of the BBQ sauce at each place was distinct. If ever near Sweetwater though, I would recommend eating at Big Boy's, their brisket was a bit more tender although their ribs were slightly overcooked. As a whole experience, Sweetwater was a great place to visit and I look forward to returning for the infamous Rattlesnake Round-up. The Rattlesnake Round-up is a Sweetwater tradition that has been going on since 1958 and is the world's largest round-up of rattler's. The round-up consists of BBQ competition, pageantry, and the snake pits. Check it out at:
http://www.2camels.com/festival190.php3

Do You Know The Way To Santa Fe?

After a trucker somewhere in the middle of the desert begged to purchase our dedicated and loved road dog at a seedy truck stop, we made it to Santa Fe, NM. No worries - Chloe is our daughter and we made it quite clear that she most certainly was not for sale. Needless to say, I was especially happy to arrive at our Comfort Inn because I drove for a long leg, under the guidance of our road trip mascot, S-TURT (short for sea turtle) and with the loving patience of our precious Chloe. We reached our 1,000 mile mark on this stretch. In what visually appeared to be a larger version of Ojai, in the land of peppers, turquoise and heat, the four of us set out to find a salsa worthy enough to label hot and a turquoise necklace to add to my collection. We were successful on both accounts! After a wonderful day of walking around the historic section of Santa Fe, Brooks bought me an early birthday present, a turquoise pendant from a local artist who was one of multiple lining the park ready to sell to a passerby. (He has created a tradition of buying me jewelry every time he travels and I am so lucky to have some gorgeous authentic turquoise to add to my collection). Soon after, we found our way to a church labeled appropriately for its “miraculous staircase”. The church of the miraculous staircase gained public interest when a craftsman constructed a stunning wooden spiral staircase from the pews to the choir loft that has left engineers baffled to date. The staircase was carved and built without nuts, bolts, or nails and seemingly appears to also lack any type of load-bearing pole at all; yet it still stands today to be admired by all. With a taste for beauty and talented craftsmanship still lingering on our tongues, we found ourselves drawn to a photo gallery where original prints by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Ansel Adams, and Annie Lebowitz left Brooks ogling. If only we had $18,000 to purchase one. All of this excitement worked up a masochistic hunger for salsa, for I have been on a life-long journey to find a salsa hot enough to satiate my desire to burn my mouth and taste buds. If any place is equipped to face this challenge, I believed that Santa Fe was. And I was right. Baffled employees at the Chile Store asked me for my name and handshake after reaching into their vault to retrieve the hottest stuff I have ever consumed – “Famous last words, XXX chile sauce”. They couldn’t believe that I was able to consume it. In fact, many of the employees had never even gone near it. Because I had an empty stomach I was left with a bit of an upset tummy, but I have finally met my match. Hooray for Santa Fe.

Cadillac Ranch outside Amarillo, TX

This is one road side attraction that is an interesting aspect of Texas. I did go out of my way to see this, but it is not for everyone. It's a row of ten Caddy's with the front end buried in the ground. The Cadillac's are pointed facing west "at the same angle as the Cheops," in Egypt. This is one of the offbeat attractions in America that is interactive and allows one to spray paint at allow them to leave their mark on this attraction. According to RoadsideAmerica.com, " The Cadillac Ranch, located along the tatters of historic Route 66, was built in 1974, brainchild of Stanley Marsh 3, the helium millionaire who owns the dusty wheat field where it stands. Marsh and The Ant Farm, a San Francisco art collective, assembled used Cadillacs representing the "Golden Age" of American Automobiles (1949 through 1963)." To be here and experience this attraction, we were luckily enough to get here in time to watch the golden hour before sunset. To witness these Cadillac's buried nose down is a treat. We were all surprised to not find any profanities sprayed into the cars, which in a said comment against our country we were surprised. We did expect to find that someone had sprayed something offensive into the cars, yet there was none. These ten cars are buried into the middle of a field with nothing around them, it is a sight to see. If you are ever passing through Amarillo, TX I would recommend taking the frontage road between exit 60 and 62 on Interstate 40 rolling East. It's worth the stop, if anything to stretch your legs.

Prost! Nik

It is with much sadness that I say good bye to Nik, my German brother. He just left Tom's house headed for Austin airport to catch a flight back to Munich due to some prior commitments that he thought could be avoided until his scheduled return. I find myself sitting here at damn near 5 a.m. writing this wishing he didn't have to go. He is a giant with the heart taboot. His kindness and love extend beyond super human and he will be missed. He has a way of humor that can make anyone laugh and what I find so interesting is that as an exchange student who lived with me 13 years ago and opened my eyes to the cultural thoughts beyond my country I had known my whole life, we have continued to develop a deep relationship even though the Atlantic pond kept us apart.
We spent the final hours before he headed for the airport sitting at Tom's house burning a fine Montecristo #4, hecho en Habana, with a glass of IPA, discussing the aspects of life and friendship and what it truly means. Somewhere near the middle of the cigar, honesty, was the trait and common thread best described for a lasting friendship. He pulled out of Kenwood Avenue in a Yellow cab destined for his country with hopes that he may return to meet up with us in Cincinnati, OH ... we can only remain optimistic and move forward. We wish him a safe voyage home to Germany and look forward to the next time we can see him in person.
Prost ~


We should be updating the holes in our travelogue soon, we just wanted to wish Nikolai a found farewell.

G.A.R.T: Day Two (881 Miles)

We spent a majority of the day visiting the big hole in the ground, known as the Grand Canyon. This is the second time both Susy and I have visited this majestic place. To see just how colossal the canyon is is awe inspiring. Not only the beauty of the colors of each layer of crust, but being humbled by the scale and history. Each layer represents so many years of the Earth and then there are so many layers that one can't help but begin to think about ecology and the environment. Nik mentioned on numerous occasions how the Grand Canyon was so much larger than what he had in his minds eye. The width of the canyon alone blew his mind. Chlöe loved all the various smells associated with the canyon's floral and fauna, she was so happy to be running free and experiencing it. I couldn't help to think about the explorers who were moving west and what they thought of when they came upon the Grand Canyon. One day I hope to return and take a 7-10 day rafting trip down the Colorado River and experience the Grand Canyon from the river. While we were visiting the Canyon our Mayflower truck was delivering our household stuff to our new home in Newtown Square, PA. In one of the phone calls to Mary Ann, Susy spoke with her sister Amanda who told us about a new SkyWalk that is built out of glass and is a bridge that spans a part of the canyon so one can walk out over the canyon and look below with a feeling of suspension above the canyon floor. Unfortunately, the SkyWalk hasn't been built yet even though Popular Science magazine said it would be completed in 2006. Bummer. After we walked around the rim of the canyon we stopped off at a hotel that Susy had stayed at when she was 15, called El Tovar which is perched close to the rim of the canyon with a beautiful view where we sat had had a drink and took it all in. The hotel has an old west feel with a cozy atmosphere, it was a spectacle.
After visiting the Grand Canyon we headed to the Beaver Street Brewery and Cafe for a bite to eat. At this point we had worked up quite an appetite. The atmosphere of the brew pub was surprisingly family orientated with an outstanding menu of mouth watering choices. We all had a difficult time choosing what we wanted to eat as our main course. We ended up with steamed mussels in a yellow curry sauce, Guyere fondue, a wood fired white pizza, feta vingerette salad and a bowl of New England clam chowda. It was an amazing feast and the food was delicious. The beers I tasted were: a red amber ale, India pale ale, stout and a rasberry ale that Susy even enjoyed. All were so good but I only order a pint of red and IPA. The Beaver Street Brewery is a 120 barrel production brew pub which means at maximize capacity they can make up to 240 kegs or 3,720 gallons. If you ever find yourself in Flagstaff you must find your way to the Beaver Street Brewery (#11 Beaver St.) even if you don't enjoy beer. It's a culinary experience that is worth the visit alone.
Upon completion of our meal we headed up to the Lowell Observatory to hopefully gaze into the heavens, but it was a cloudy night so that was a bust. We did learn that the Clarke telescope was actively used for science back when NASA was working on the Apollo missions. The Lowell Observatory was utilized to map the Moon's landing spots for all the Apollo missions, but since then the observatory has used been used only for public education although they are under-construction for a new telescope with Discovery Channel which will be used for scientific research, but it isn't going to be completed until 2010.

At the time of this writing we are on interstate 40 heading to Santa Fe and we just crossed the New Mexico state line a few minutes ago. As of 12:37 p.m. on Wednesday we have travelled 881.6 miles.

Great American Road Trip: Day One

The Great American Roadtrip
A German, an American married couple and a Queensland Heeler dog set out on a cross country roadtrip to share experiences of Americana. The perspectives will all be different since we all perceive sensory information so differently. We don't know the outcome, but as we travel we will share our experiences and thoughts of America. This will be my fifth time driving across the United States and it will be Susy's third time and the Krazy Kraut, Nikolai, and Chloe the Heeler's first time.

Day One: 237 Miles to Flagstaff, AZ
Knowing my value for time, we started out a bit later than we had originally planned. We wanted to get out of Ojai around 9 a.m. which eventually ended up being 1 p.m. As I pulled up the Dennison Grade out of Ojai, Susy and I both commented on how it was a fitting departure. We originally arrived into Ojai up highway 33 from highway 101 and this time we left as if we had passed through town. As we wound our way up the grade to Santa Paula we found ourselves filled with so much emotion. Ojai was a wonderful place for us and we are so sad to say goodbye to the valley and all our great friends we made in the three years we lived there. We know we will stay in touch with them.
The route we took today took us through the desert and also allowed us to avoid Los Angeles, which in our minds is a wasteland. That's neither here nor there. Currently we our about 237 miles out from Flagstaff, AZ which is our planned stopping point. The desert area in eastern California is rolling hills dotted by the amazing Joshua trees. The hues are golden browns, and dark greens against a big deep blue sky that goes on forever. The interstate slices through the landscape. We have almost approached the golden hour of light and the sun is warming the desert that surrounds us.
As the day has gone on, the stress of everything we left behind h is beginning to fade as a distant memory. The details of moving can be so overwhelming that they stifle decision making. I'm exhausted physically yet my mind is racing with so many thoughts, did I forget something? is there some loose end that I forgot to tie-up before we left? In addition, I'm stoked to be beginning anew and many of my thoughts surround that.
Basically, life seems so surreal today, am I just on vacation? am I really moving across the country? I guess maybe its still all just mush in my mind.

The roses and thorns thus far: Rose, we are finally moving in a forward direction after taking care of months of extreme stress. Thorns: Del Taco really should be named Taco del Shame (their chicken doesn't really taste chicken which is hard to explain when so much food tastes like chicken.) The thorn for the day has changed, see below.

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We've arrived safely to our hotel in Flagstaff it's 12:37 a.m. and we cranked out 517.4 miles today and when we were about 37 miles out from Flagstaff we had an unfortunate event happen. Cruising down the road at 75 m.p.h (which is the speed limit in AZ) we tagged a small deer on the interstate. I did what I could to avoid the situation without putting us in grave danger, I acted quickly but the deer zagged when I zigged and we ran over it right down the middle of the car. I'm hopeful that the deer is alive, but I would be surprised. I'm saddened by the event but I did all that I could.