And, sadly, this is where it ends...

I'm sorry to report, dear readers, that the Great American Roadtrip has been cancelled, or at the very least postponed. There are all sorts of personal reasons for this decision - gas prices being near the very top. With gas expected to be topping $4 this year, and us travelling more than 5,000 miles it seemed silly. Another tipping point for me personally is the bail-out of Bear Stearns, and its effect on NYC's economy. Arguably, this has naught to do with me personally, but it just seemed fiscally irresponsible to be taking a trip just before a giant recession. It could have been our own Grapes of Wrath roadtrip across America. Now, all of this could seem like sour graping about not being able to go...so, I'm keeping this blog open, in hopes that we can eventually take this trip in the next couple of years or so. And periodically, we'll keep adding various places that I think we should add to the itinerary.

It all started with a couch...

Or, rather, my quest for one.

I needed to furnish my new house, and Joy suggested North Carolina. "It's the furniture capital," she said. So we drove through a blizzard from NYC to North Carolina, to visit Rovan, Joy's parents, not to mention 7 furniture stores in 2 days. 

And there it was.

It was the 7th store on the last day, 15 minutes before closing. I sat on this couch. I loved the colors -- deep reds and browns, with greens and golds mixed in. And it was a sectional, just what I wanted. Never one to act on impulse, I needed to think about it during the 10 hour drive back to NYC. I couldn't not think about it, and I changed my mind at least two dozen times. So to distract me, Joy and I started talking about a trip. Yes, the Great American Roadtrip. With Rovan. In a RV that thankfully got downgraded to a minivan because I doubt my ability to drive a RV. Across the US of A. My one stipulation? Roswell, NM.

And so it began.

The best ice cream in the country. Really? Let's find out.

With a statement like that, surely we need to verify it. Apparently, they serve Blue Bell Country, and we'll be driving right through it. Hah. They also give creamery tours, and one is a juuuuuust a wee bit off the beaten path between Wichita and Oklahoma City. And, even if we don't get to visit the creamery, I'm sure we'll be stopping often to sample.

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

Winston Churchill Memorial & Library, Fulton, MO

How can we skip the Churchill Museum? He was one of the world's greatest leaders. This is where he first mentioned the Iron Curtain falling across Europe. World leaders have spoken here.

And most important - it's on the way between STL and KC.

Yeah, we're SOOOO going.

3 Reasons We Should at Least Try for San Diego

1 - The World’s Largest Lemon – in the city of Lemon Grove, it sits next to the San Diego Trolley tracks at the corner of Broadway and Main Street.

2 - Maritime Museum - home of the 18th century British warship used in the Russell Crowe movie "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World".

3 - Legoland! Darn...it's even more expensive than Dollywood.

Favorite Meal of the Day

My job this trip is to find interesting places to eat. Let's face it. I'm the one who needs to eat on a semi regular schedule, else I get cranky. So it's only fitting that my job is to schedule the meals on our Great American Roadtrip.

I know at least one person who has professed to loving breakfast any time of day. Therefore, first up is Pancake Pantry. Founded in 1960, it's the first pancake house in Tennessee.

You may have guessed that they serve pancakes here, and you'd be right. I'm already looking forward to choosing between the Caribbean pancakes with bananas, pecans coconut and powdered sugar, or the sweet potato cakes. Then there's the wild blueberry (pictured). And one must not forget the Swiss chocolate pancakes. They also have eggs and ham and hash browns, if you're not in the mood for pancakes. And the OJ is always fresh. That's what they say, anyways.

And they'll prepare box lunches to go -- no empty box there. HA!

It's a good thing I've decided to lose a few pounds before we leave for this trip.

O.K. Corral, okay?

Tombstone, AZ Thinking that because we're in the neighborhood that we should add in Tombstone. Apparently, the gunfight didn't really happen at the O.K. Corral, but rather, up the street a bit. But, it'd be supercool to see it anyway. I'm watching Tombstone as I type, and it's not *all* that great. But, still - Boot Hill Cemetery! The Wild West! Creepy Doc Holliday and issues-ridden Wyatt Earp! Ok, ok, back on task. I'm totally adding it in, as a "would be cool if we could fit it in," but not as a must-see. Unless someone else - and I'm actually looking at the BOY on this trip - wants to see it too?

Train, Anyone?

I haven't looked at the map, but I'm hoping the Southern Appalachia Railway Museum is somewhere between Hillsboro and Nashville. Wouldn't it be cool to take the Secret City Scenic Excursion Train? Trains are pulled by 1950's vintage Alco diesel locomotives. Seating is in an air-conditioned coach and a dining car, both restored from the 1940's era of passenger railroading. An open-air concession car has souvenirs and snacks for sale. Trip is about an hour.

Where it all began...

On our first roadtrip together, some 10 years ago, we drove from NYC to Niagara Falls. On the way home, I saw a sign for Millard Fillmore's Birthplace. I told them we had to stop and see it. You can't just drive by Millard Fillmore's birthplace!!! My roadtrip buddies collectively said, Who? And thus, two items were added to Roadtrippers Canon: 1) Always plan an itinerary...one that includes the major, minor, and mostly obscure attractions. 2) Always include a U.S. Presidential site. And now, here's KIA, backing their position that no one's ever heard of Millard Fillmore, our 13th president. (Play the KIA's Unheard of Presidents' Sale video.) Lesson learned. Never NOT stop at an interesting stop.

And speaking of discovery...

Metropolis, Illinois Along the Great River Road about 25 miles or so off the beaten path between Memphis and St. Louis. What spells kitsch more than a Super Museum and Super statues and cutouts all over the place? Yep. We're SOOOOOOO stopping, if only to add another state. There's the Americana Hollywood Museum & Gift Store, and a Harrah's, too. Hey, maybe Dean Cain will show up for this trip, too!

With Open Arms...

So, because we're doing 14 states in 14 days - ok, fine, it's really 12 states in 14 days - I've been filling out a million opt-in forms to get all the free visitor guides. I'm expecting lots of wasted paper (which, of course, I'll recycle), and a lot of email spam. But here's the sweetest note ever, from my new BFF in Montana (just click on the image to see it big). Oh, I know it's an auto-response, but it gives new meaning to the phrase MT Note.

Blue Skies and Open Roads: America, wherefore art thou?

Hopefully this blog will seek to inform and maybe entertain you, dear readers, about this seminal roadtrip that every American - nay, every human - should make: the cross-country trip to discover America. And, if I figure out how to do it, all of us should be able to post whatever our hearts' desire. I'm talkin' Roadside Attractions, people! I'm talkin' sweet travel deals and travel tips! I'm talkin' grub - and no, Julie, not real grubs. Well, you get the picture.

Well, now I've gone and done it.

After years of making fun of bloggers and their need to get their voices out there, and thinking OMG, the big-headed hubris of these people thinking that other people might actually care about their lives, thoughts, and opinions, I was finally conviced to host a blog.

This one. Where, admittedly, only four people in the world might care about its contents. The four going on this roadtrip.