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Post by whitefang on Oct 15, 2019 10:26:16 GMT -5
Yeah, well like I said, I went there in '91 and haven't been back since. Odd thing.... In Texas, we couldn't find( on our pathway anyway) a decent steakhouse for love or money. And the gas prices were anywhere from 50 cents to $1.00 a gallon higher than in Detroit! And the Freeway OFF-ramps were more like driveways than "ramps" of any kind. And the exit signs didn't give the customary "1 mile"; "1/2 mile"; "1/4 mile" etc. warning. They read just a big "EXIT HERE" right at the spot the exit was! Whitefang
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Post by jbone on Oct 16, 2019 6:36:49 GMT -5
Sounds like you were on Rt. 75 in Dallas, noted for short exits. As far as steak houses it helped that I lived there in Dallas and Denton for 23 years. I had some top notch meals at places like Ruth Chris Steak House, Prairie House, and others. Prairie House had either the 10 or 14 ounce chicken fried ribeye steak and would feed me when I was hosting a jam night there. I had the 14 ounce one time and was so full I almost had to go home. It was so good I had to eat the whole thing! One place in Ponder Texas, north of DFW about 50 miles, in the middle of farm and ranch land, was very old and steeped in tradition. Aged beef their specialty. Funky looking bring your own beverage place. All sorts of celebs would show sometimes and there'd be a line out the door. I got a duo gig in Ponder a few times and the deal was, $60 guarantee each in tips and the manager would make up any difference, and also they would feed us anything but steak. Burgers were huge and excellent and the chicken melted in your mouth.
Texas is a huge state and as long as I was there I saw only a fraction of what's there. I may get to check out the south end of the state this winter.
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Post by whitefang on Oct 16, 2019 9:32:37 GMT -5
Huge state no kiddin'. It took us the same time( and near the same distance) to get from Detroit to Memphis as it did to get from there to Laredo! The first leg was 3 states( Ind. KY and Tenn.) and the second leg only 2( Arkansas and Texas, Texas, TEXAS! ) It's a beautiful state though, and I feel for those there who are going through all the difficult weather now. Whirefang
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2019 10:08:54 GMT -5
We lived in Austin Tx for 2 years or so. Back in 1982 or 83 or so. I really like Texas.
I always used to travel through Texas on my way from New Jersey to San Diego County Ca on surf trips with my two sons.
I did that so often that I never had to read a map. Rt 72 to RT 70 in NJ, to 295/95 down to the Beltway around DC on the north side, to I 66 West to I-81 down to Knoxville TN to I-40 to I-30 to Little Rock to I-20 near Dallas/Ft Worth then on I-20 to Near Van Horn Tx to I-10 to I-8 near Casa Grand Az. I-8 to I-5 north to Cardiff By The Sea CA. I would get from NJ to West of Memphis on day 1, sleep, west of Van Horn TX on day 2, surfing at San Elijo State Beach by 2 PM on day 3. 20 hour driving shifts 4 hours sleep, and a wake up in the cold surf in North County CA. Did that every year for about 10 years or so. And reverse that every spring to get back East for the summer surf season.
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Post by jbone on Oct 16, 2019 12:16:43 GMT -5
Dragging 5k pounds behind us we go a bit slower and do stops every 2 or 3 hours. Especially since Jo had a healed up- mostly- lumbar fracture, we like to stretch the legs and it's also handy to grab a snack in the rolling house while we're sitting still.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2019 16:26:02 GMT -5
Those trips out west was back in the day when I was young, nowadays I drive half way to Northern California in 6 hours, get a motel at Grapevine California (we start out at noon, & get fuel for the next day, and get to the motel by 6 to 7PM) Next morning after a leisurely breakfast in a restaurant nearby, we hit the road and get to my in-laws house by 5 PM, near Clear Lake California then I am done for the week until I head back. When I had my travel trailers, (I went from an 18 foot Terry Taurus to a 24-1/2 foot Sunline, to a 32 Foot Jayco) Anyways when I was traveling with my pull behind trailers, I would drive three or four hours, get fuel, and eat in a restaurant or in the rig, & do that 2x then look for a RV park for the night, or stay in a rest area if no RV parks were available. Those 20 hour daily drives are in my long past amigo.
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Post by jbone on Oct 16, 2019 20:34:57 GMT -5
We've got park reservations 2 nights and then we'll park at a wally world one night and then roost in Little Rock a few days. I can do maybe 7 or 8 hours actual driving sometimes but fatigue can be a killer, literally. After a few days in the Rock we'll get the next episode figured out. I'm hoping to get a store gig in Florida Panhandle. Gotta wait to find out. Or head to south Texas.
DBM, we've had an 18' a 27" 28', and now a 25. Nissan Titan has been our tow vehicle all along and it's been a good one.
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Post by jbone on Oct 18, 2019 20:20:15 GMT -5
Yesterday we had the big storm come in and last all day. Big wind and sideways rain. All the night before and yesterday. We was rockin'. 35-45 mph gusts.
Today we did the short leg of the trip to Little Rock.
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Post by whitefang on Oct 19, 2019 9:19:05 GMT -5
So, if the trailer was rockin', probably nobody came a-knockin', eh? Whitefang
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Post by jbone on Oct 19, 2019 21:32:16 GMT -5
Longer drive today and 2 more like it Sunday and Monday. About 400 miles each day.
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Post by jbone on Oct 21, 2019 16:11:09 GMT -5
Very long drive yesterday. About 10 hours but it turned out a great sunny day. Lexington Va. to Dickson Tn., about 500 miles. Parked at a Wally world overnight. Noisy but free! We opted to get through Nashville on a Sunday because traffic and storms on a Monday morning would have been nightmarish. Today we got rolling pretty early and made Little rock at about 1:00. 300 miles. Some rain but it cleared out and it's 70 and sunny today! We're here for a few nights and on to the next place, pretty sure it's Pharr Tx.
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Post by whitefang on Oct 22, 2019 9:59:59 GMT -5
Well. It's been quite some time since I've heard the reference "Wally World". Funny how some stores get cute nicknames... There used to be a chain of thrift shops 'round here(where when I accompanied my wife is where I'd find some interesting old vinyl LPs, and later CDs) They were oficially called Value Village, but folks pared it down to "V V's". When she was in her late teens, my Mom used to call the Salvation Army(where a poor girl like her could afford to buy any clothes)"Sally Anne's". An appliance store chain in these parts, called ABC WAREHOUSE just gets called "The WHOREHOUSE" in these parts, and MEIJER'S THRIFTY ACRES is just known as "Shifty Acres". A lot of it too is regional. What're some 'round you're parts? Whitefang
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Post by jbone on Oct 22, 2019 22:24:40 GMT -5
I don't recall much like that but THE watering hole in the hometown used to be WET GOODS.
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Post by whitefang on Oct 23, 2019 9:31:34 GMT -5
Yeah, like I said, probably a regional thing. For instance, nobody in the Downriver Detroit area called it "White Castle". We usually referred to them as "Monkey Meats". Like those Montgomery Wards stores everyone( and I think this one was countrywide)called "Monkey Wards". BTW-- we called those little White Castle burgers "sliders" way back in the day, but not because the COMPANY did, WE called them that as a slight snark implying they had the tendency to "slide" right through you! Seems they turned a negative into a positive and now EVERY tiny burger, whether theirs or not, is called a "slider". Somehow(and for some reason) however, we didn't ever refer to the similar tiny burgers made by White Castle's biggest competitor, TOP HAT HAMBURGER as "sliders". Go figure. Whitefang
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Post by jbone on Oct 23, 2019 13:40:06 GMT -5
White Castle was in Dallas and Crystal in Memphis. Identical mystery meat.
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