How many times do you get to take a road trip across the United States? If you are like my wife, then you pack up the car and take a plane to the west coast and wait for the car to arrive by truck. But, for me, growing up in a military family requiring us to move every 3 or 4 years has instilled within me a sense of adventure and desire to travel. My trip to wine country next week will be my second going cross-country, only this time I will be actually doing the driving and heading east to west. The last time was in 1981 when my family drove from Monterey, CA to Tampa, FL and then up to Chesapeake, VA for our final destination – whew!. Since I was only 11 at the time, most of my days were spent playing punch bug, the license plate game and doing crossword puzzles. There were no backseat DVD players back then, much to my dismay. And I walked up hill both ways to school in the snow too! Not to mention, we were riding in a VW beetle. Talk about tight quarters.
Trip Itinerary and Map
If you noticed on my last post I included a picture of a map which links to my public Google Map of my trip. The current state of the map only has 5 stops that mathematically ended around 500 miles each day. The rest of this week, I am going to tidy this plan up a bit to ensure more interesting stops and to ensure I don’t end up in some one horse town sleeping in my car. One of the things I am looking to do is stop at 1 or 2 (max) wineries in each state assuming they are pretty close to I-40 as I have a desire to make decent time and make it to Healdsburg by the weekend. So far, I am having good luck finding some in AR and OK.
Now, I would like to ask YOU to help add to my list of sites to see along to I-40, even if it’s just a 30 second step-out-and-take-a-picture type of moment. What’ll it be? Biggest ball of yarn? A winery? Best steakhouse in Texas? Put your recommendations in the comment section below. If I use your suggestion, I will include a photo and/or Twitter, FB, blog post, etc… and give you credit for a fantastic recommendation during the trip!
Hit the road in ATL early and stop in Memphis for lunch at Payne’s BBQ for the world’s greatest pork BBQ sandwich (chopped, w slaw of course, hot BBQ sauce). http://www.yelp.com/biz/paynes-bar-b-que-memphis
Here’s a photo to make you hungry – http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaplanbr/2048527454/
By the way, a driving tip for the road to memphis, don’t follow the instructions you have, take 20W to 65N, take i-20 to 65-N then after 2 miles or so take the Daniel Payne Rd/Lewisburg exit, left at the end of the ramp, then right on Coalburg Rd (first major light west of the highway) then left onto 78W after a couple miles. Much faster.
Okay, so I don’t know that I would say that it is the best steakhouse, but there is a genuine Texas oddity in Amarillo. The Big Texan Steakhouse is famous for challenging it’s customers to eat a 72 ounce steak, with sides, in one hour; if you make it, the meal is free. I wouldn’t recommend trying to accomplish this feat, but it might be worth getting a picture of the place. I don’t think it gets more Texas than that place.
LOL! You got that right, “Go cross-country by plane and wait for the car to arrive by truck.”
Here are my recommendations:
1. I hear Memphis has great BBQ. I’d love to hear how it compares to North Carolina’s.
2. As you pass by Muskogee, OK please say “HI” to Merle for me. He’s just an “Okie from Muskogee” after all.
3. Be sure to pass through “Amarillo by Morning.”
4. Please stop off in Arizona and pay homage to Thelma and Louise.
5. As you drive north in California, don’t go too far and pass the “Mendocino County Line.”
Brad, thanks for the BBQ link and the faster route… love it!
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Ben, I think I just saw a Man vs. Food episode where Adam tried to eat the 72 ounce steak… crazy!
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Jonj, you are hilarious! I actually have been signing Amarillo by Morning in my head since I started mapping my ride…
From about OKC to Bakerfield, I-40 parallels US Route 66. Lots of funky dinner and attractions along the way. My favorite town from a similar trip a few years back was Tucumcari, NM. Cold beer and good grub.
Also, as you go through Eastern Arizona, Take it Easy. Try standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona. Such a fine sight to see. It’s a girl my lord, in a flat bed Ford, slowin’ down to take a look at me.
My 12 year old neice had no clue why we were singing for about 2 hours one afternoon.
Come on baby… don’t say maybe…
Yeah, I was gonna say the Big Texan in Amarillo, but Ben had it covered….
Make sure to see the Cadillac graveyard right off the highway in Amarillo. Also, the old Route 66 route from Kingman, AZ that goes through Oatman is an interesting detour, especially if you like extremely windy roads.
I made that same drive 2 years ago. I drove pretty fast, but here were the highlights:
*Detour to Hot Springs, Arkansas. Do the baths–and then compare them to the ones in Calistoga when you arrive on the Left Coast! On the way back to the freeway, get beef jerky from the little Amish roadside stand–best in the world, seriously.
*Stockyard City, Oklahoma is a bizarro, uberkitschy place for a rest stop. They have the original Cattleman’s, which is great for steak and eggs.
*In Flagstaff (*great* town), don’t miss drinks at the Museum Cafe and the Hotel Monte Vista, too. Love Flagstaff!
*In New Mexico, the Galisteo Inn is reasonably priced and utterly lovely. Also, if you get a chance to ramble to Santa Fe, there are some great Japanese baths there, and the International Folk Art Museum is impressive too.
Of course, when you get to Sonoma, come to Tin Barn Vineyards and let me pour your road-weary self some vino! Happy trails.
Great, great reference. Will Ferrell is the man, a man-god, if you will. Hopefully your trip will be equally badass.
Amy and Steven, great options, thanks! Will see how those play into the plan.
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You know, I need make sure I have some good road tunes as well… other than the obvious Eagles reference above, what else should I check out?
Maybe I’ll take a crack at some tunes for you. do you accept old-fashioned compact discs?
Oh, and driving that close to Las Vegas and not going is a travesty.
Joe, I do have a 6-disc changer in my dash, but I prefer something I download to my iPhone… then again, beggers can’t be choosers so they say…
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p.s. I have been marking the places people are recommending on the public maps as “starred” locations. Turns out Gruet is not far from I-40 in Albuquerque
Just don’t mention Gruet as you pass through Texas. The name is pretty much anathema around here after the Cap*Rock mess.
Ben, 10-4, good buddy…. sounds like that was a real mess wasn’t it? I’ll be sure to reach out to you when I get a better feel when I’ll be near Amarillo so you can make a gametime decision to meet up or not… can you email me your cell?