It's time to put out my annual list of where I've traveled.
The highlight this year was adding Iowa to my list of states visited. That said, Iowa was roughly what you'd expect. Flat and lovely, pretty quiet.
So, I don't know whether this year was more travel than other, but I do know it was tiring.
Here's the list:
McHenry, IL
Portsmouth, OH
Fort Worth, TX (x2)
Tom's River, NJ
McPherson, KS
Monterrey, CA
Houston, TX
San Antonio, TX
Akron, OH
Davenport, IA
Fresno, CA
Puyallup, WA
Sheboygan, WI
Jump Rock, NC
Tampa, FL
Toledo, OH
Houston, TX
Cleveland, OH
Irvine, CA
Columbus, OH (x2)
Decatur, IL
Anaheim, CA
Greenville, NC
Lots of Ohio. Lots of Texas. Some California, North Carolina and Illinois...
Usually, I do some best and worst awards... I don't really have much to say though.
Best State for a Good Meal - Texas! Tacos, barbeque, Kolaches... you can't lose.
Best Rental Car - the Kia Soul I got in Greenville, NC - it was wasabi green, low mileage. Comfortable, and XM Radio.
Best Sandwich - The Horseshoe at D'Arcy's Pint in Springfield, IL.
Best Airport - Detroit (but only if you're not flying Southwest)
Most Improved Airport - Houston Hobby - the Chick Fil A makes a difference.
Worst Airport Massage - Miami. They basically tweaked something in my back bad enough that I ended up hobbling for the rest of the day.
Best Airport for Shopping - tie: Miami and Detroit.
Best Chain for Dinner on the Road - Cracker Barrel. The food is always the same, they never try to seat you at the bar or sigh if you want a table for one. Plus, the gift shop is interesting.
Best Field Trip - Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery. I got to see where Don Knotts, Truman Capote, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Natalie Wood, Marilyn Monroe, Karl Malden and many, many others were buried. Like this guy:
And as much fun as I had with the famous folks, the best epitaph of the trip belongs to an average citizen:
Best Hotel: The Roosevelt Waldorf Astoria - New Orleans, LA. Ok, this was a pleasure trip, but that hotel is all kinds of gorgeous.
Best Meal: Wurstkuche - Anaheim, CA. Sausage. Belgian-style frites. Hells to the yeah!
Worst Meal: Gondola Spaghetti - Decatur, IL. Never order from a place that sells pasta by the gallon, to-go. In theory, it was a great idea. In practice, it was a mess. The garlic bread was extremely sweet.
Worst Airport: LAX. This may be the one thing I agree with Donald Trump on. I'll pick any of the other area options over LAX. I even go so far as to avoid a layover there.
Best Airport for a Layover: DTW or MSP for Non Southwest flights. LAS or PHX for Southwest.
Second Best Thing About Travel: Hotel, Car and Airline Points.
Best Thing: Coming home.
ae
The highlight this year was adding Iowa to my list of states visited. That said, Iowa was roughly what you'd expect. Flat and lovely, pretty quiet.
So, I don't know whether this year was more travel than other, but I do know it was tiring.
Here's the list:
McHenry, IL
Portsmouth, OH
Fort Worth, TX (x2)
Tom's River, NJ
McPherson, KS
Monterrey, CA
Houston, TX
San Antonio, TX
Akron, OH
Davenport, IA
Fresno, CA
Puyallup, WA
Sheboygan, WI
Jump Rock, NC
Tampa, FL
Toledo, OH
Houston, TX
Cleveland, OH
Irvine, CA
Columbus, OH (x2)
Decatur, IL
Anaheim, CA
Greenville, NC
Lots of Ohio. Lots of Texas. Some California, North Carolina and Illinois...
Usually, I do some best and worst awards... I don't really have much to say though.
Best State for a Good Meal - Texas! Tacos, barbeque, Kolaches... you can't lose.
Best Rental Car - the Kia Soul I got in Greenville, NC - it was wasabi green, low mileage. Comfortable, and XM Radio.
Best Sandwich - The Horseshoe at D'Arcy's Pint in Springfield, IL.
Best Airport - Detroit (but only if you're not flying Southwest)
Most Improved Airport - Houston Hobby - the Chick Fil A makes a difference.
Worst Airport Massage - Miami. They basically tweaked something in my back bad enough that I ended up hobbling for the rest of the day.
Best Airport for Shopping - tie: Miami and Detroit.
Best Chain for Dinner on the Road - Cracker Barrel. The food is always the same, they never try to seat you at the bar or sigh if you want a table for one. Plus, the gift shop is interesting.
Best Field Trip - Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery. I got to see where Don Knotts, Truman Capote, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Natalie Wood, Marilyn Monroe, Karl Malden and many, many others were buried. Like this guy:
And as much fun as I had with the famous folks, the best epitaph of the trip belongs to an average citizen:
 |
| Godspeed, Frances. |
Best Hotel: The Roosevelt Waldorf Astoria - New Orleans, LA. Ok, this was a pleasure trip, but that hotel is all kinds of gorgeous.
Best Meal: Wurstkuche - Anaheim, CA. Sausage. Belgian-style frites. Hells to the yeah!
 |
| And cheap. This was $10. In California. |
Worst Meal: Gondola Spaghetti - Decatur, IL. Never order from a place that sells pasta by the gallon, to-go. In theory, it was a great idea. In practice, it was a mess. The garlic bread was extremely sweet.
Worst Airport: LAX. This may be the one thing I agree with Donald Trump on. I'll pick any of the other area options over LAX. I even go so far as to avoid a layover there.
Best Airport for a Layover: DTW or MSP for Non Southwest flights. LAS or PHX for Southwest.
Second Best Thing About Travel: Hotel, Car and Airline Points.
Best Thing: Coming home.
ae
Comments