Observations from the control room....

The Denali is a great car for long distance travel. Susan even agrees with me on this, even though prior to this trip, she had not driven it more than 4-5 times and then only for a few miles. She doesn't like to back it and I can't really blame her as the view rearward from the driver's seat is not ideal. It does have the back-up collision warning system that beeps if you get too close to something, but using that effectively takes a little getting used to.

However, she didn't have any trouble driving it for hours at a time on the trip. We switched off about every 2 hours which worked out really well. It gave each of us some time to relax (even snooze a little), but kept miles rolling. It's a tall vehicle, so you get a great view down the road and it doesn't get blocked by anything except the biggest of trucks on the highway. It has plenty of power to pass slower vehicles and it's very comfy. The electric seats are adjustable for any size person and the foot pedals are adjustable for any length of leg. Up to three personal settings for the seats, pedals and mirrors can be saved and restored at the touch of a button, so it is quick and easy to change drivers. I will say however, that no matter how comfortable a seat is, 7-8 hours a day sitting will wear you down. It was wonderful just to get out and walk around outside for a while when we arrived anywhere.

The OnStar feature was great. On the outbound side of the trip, we called OnStar every day around 2:00pm-3:00pm when we were sure how far we would be able to drive that day. We gave them our specs for a room (king-size, non-smoking, price range) and what town we wanted to stay in. They would then hang up, do the research and call us back about 30 minutes later with the reservation people for the hotel on-line with them. All we had to do then was read them our credit card number and get their exact street address. We then plugged that into the GPS and presto! We were taken right to the hotel. Easy as falling off a log. We didn't use them so much on the inbound leg of the trip because we were staying in Atlanta, New Orleans and San Antonio for two nights. We used the laptop to make reservations for those cities on-line. All in all though, I definitely thought the extra $7.95/month for the concierge service through OnStar was well worth it. They were always very friendly and willing to go the extra mile to make sure we got what we wanted.

There were zero problems with the Denali on this trip. I had the oil changed once when we were in North Carolina and had it washed once when we in San Antonio, Texas (see previous post about the day we left SA). Although it did get pretty dirty on the outbound part of the trip, it sat in the driveway at my Mom's house for the two weeks that we were there and a couple of pretty intense rain storms cleaned it up very nicely. We used my Mom's car (a Buick) while we were in NC because my Mom can't climb up into the Denali. The Buick is much lower to the ground and she can just turn around and plop down into the seat.

OK, now the downside of driving the Denali 9000 miles. The gas mileage! I present the following chart which speaks for itself:

Date	Price	Gallons	Miles	MPG
22-Jul	2.649	19.635	317.3	16.160
N/A
23-Jul	2.749	17.729	308.7	17.412
24-Jul	2.439	19.675	349	17.738
24-Jul	2.349	18.759	361.7	19.281
25-Jul	2.279	19.746	336.7	17.052
28-Jul	2.499	16.407	300	18.285
30-Jul	2.579	15.9	270.8	17.031
3-Aug	2.699	20.563	356.6	17.342
4-Aug	2.459	18.565	313.9	16.908
5-Aug	2.609	16.482	304.4	18.469
7-Aug	2.619	18.714	293.2	15.667
9-Aug	2.499	15.806	240.3	15.203
10-Aug	2.469	18.631	305.6	16.403
15-Aug	2.569	21.41	318.6	14.881
20-Aug	2.499	21.412	281.1	13.128
24-Aug	2.399	17.09	277.3	16.226
26-Aug	2.499	20.807	321.4	15.447
26-Aug	2.399	18.653	319	17.102
28-Aug	2.369	13.511	216.2	16.002
28-Aug	2.359	16.956	313.7	18.501
30-Aug	2.679	20.53	305.5	14.881
30-Aug	2.599	19.238	317	16.478
31-Aug	2.459	16.268	281.5	17.304
1-Sep	2.589	12.359	225.7	18.262
1-Sep	2.959	14.024	239.1	17.049
Avg price	2.531
Avg MPG	16.651

The one line above with the N/A on it refers to the one time that I failed to write down the mileage after filling the tank in Utah the second day we were out on the road.

The best mileage we got (19.281) was on the 300 miles downhill from Denver to somewhere in Nebraska. You can also see that the mileage gets much worse as we stay in place for more than one night. Two nights in Chicago, five in Marquette, two in Baltimore, 14 in North Carolina, 2 in Atlanta, 2 in New Orleans and 2 in San Antonio. We did a fair amount of local driving in each place and that brought the mileage down dramatically. There was also the nightmare day on I95 as we headed south to NC where we crept along at less than 25 miles an hour for several hours.

Note that as we leave the west coast gas gets cheaper. It is very cheap in the middle of the country and then gets more expensive again on the east coast. Note the jump on the last day as we drove back into California from Arizona. A dramatic difference! The last fill-up was in El Centro, California out in the desert east of San Diego.

Dealing with the aftermath....

After 9000!!!! miles in 41 days, the Denali was a mess. There were bug strikes jammed into every conceivable forward-facing orifice on the vehicle. Took it to a car wash in town and instructed them to pay extra attention to the whole front-end. It looks like the OCD wax job I did before I left paid off. All the big chunks came off pretty easy and a little extra rubbing by the drying team after passing through the mechanical car wash finished everything up nicely. I think one more time through the process and it will be really spiffy again.

Jesse planned to cook a pig for some friends of his over the Labor Day weekend (September 5-7). I didn't do much, but I did help him a little. He has now been through the entire process from beginning to end, so I think he is ready to solo the next time he wants to cook a pig. He said it turned out great and that everyone (about 70 people) had a great time.

While we were on the road, one of our tenants moved out of a rental unit we own. It was empty for nearly a month, so we really had to scramble to get it ready to rent again. I was down there working for about 6-7 hours a day for the past 5 days. Nothing major, just very dirty and in need of a little TLC. It's not quite there yet, but should be ready for move-in on Saturday, September 12. I showed it to several people who responded to the For Rent signs we put out, but none offered up a deposit check. Then today I was down there replacing several window screens that had gotten badly damaged and another person came to look at it. By 6:00pm I had a deposit check. I am very relieved.

I went back to the gym the day after we returned. I did a foreshortened version of my workout for three days in a row and then had to give it up to spend more time down at the rental condo cleaning up. I don' t feel too bad about that though, as it was very hot and the work was pretty physical. I came back home exhausted and drenched in sweat each day that I worked down there, so I figure that I got my exercise. I went back to the gym this morning for the first time since last Friday. It felt good and I think that I will probably sleep good tonight.

Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment, so I get to sleep in! Wow, that's going to feel good.

Wow! Home at last....

Tuesday, September 1, 2009 3:30PM. Forty-one days on the road.

We're home! We're home!

OMG! I love it. Everything about it!

Last leg.....

We blew into Casa Grande, Arizona about 4:30pm this afternoon, only it was really 3:30pm (I think). The whole time zone thing is a little confusing because you cross one or two of them in the couple hundred miles between Van Horn, Texas and here. We are now letting our cell phones be our guide to time zones as they shift automatically when you cross over from one to another (at they shift within the first 10-20 miles or so).

Anyway, we were expecting another dusty, desert town like Van Horn (see picture of Chuy's attached to previous post). It's not like that at all. It seems to be a brand new town where none of the buildings appear to be more than 5-10 years old. Lots of new houses, new businesses, new malls, etc. It really reminds me of Temecula, California about 10 years ago as it began to boom.

Susan stumbled across a place that piqued her interest for dinner. It is called Picazzo's Gourmet Pizza and Salads. Turns out that there are several of them around the Phoenix area. We were looking for a nice place with tableclothes where we could have a glass of wine and a pizza. We found it!

Picazzo's is great! If you are ever in the Phoenix area or Casa Grande for that matter, please do yourself a favor and give it a try. We split an excellent chopped salad and then a pizza they called the Vortex. It was excellent.

The place was in the old downtown section of Casa Grande and it was pretty clear that the town WAS a dusty desert town a couple of years ago. The old downtown area is mostly for lease and empty and it appears they are making some attempt to create a "historic" old town down there. Five or six blocks surrounding the downtown area are really old and shabby, but as soon as you move more than six blocks away, everything is brand new and modern.

We're spending the night here and then rolling on to home in the morning. We should be home by mid-afternoon. Can't wait!

Home, sweet home....

We left San Antonio Sunday morning about 11:00am and we are now focused on getting home. The night before we had been struggling with how to do the remaining miles: 1) two long days behind the wheel and be home Monday night or 2) three medium days and get home Tuesday afternoon.

We opted for number two and are currently in Van Horn, Texas. It was a fairly easy 5.5 hour drive from San Antonio to Van Horn and we got into town about 5:30pm. We stopped for about 45 minutes just outside San Antonio to have the Denali washed. The night before when we went to dinner at Pappadeux, we parked under a tree. When the sun went down, the tree became to home to about a hundred black birds who crapped all over my car.

If it wasn't Sunday night, we would have passed on the hotel's recommendation, but it turns out there was nothing else open. We had dinner at Chuy's Mexican Restaurant which turns out to be a shrine to John Madden. Most of you guys know that John travels to football games by private bus because he has a phobia about flying. He first stopped at Chuy's in Van Horn, Texas in 1987 because he wanted to watch a football game on TV and get something to eat. He has mentioned Chuy's on numerous broadcasts since then and stopped here every year. They have pictures on the wall of John with all the staff and John's wife and kids as well.

John's favorite dish is Chicken Picado, so naturally I had to try that. It was very good! If you are ever in Van Horn, please give Chuy's a try.

We hit the road early tomorrow morning for Casa Grande, Arizona. The last stop before home. Man, oh man! We will be home Tuesday afternoon. I am going to sleep for a week and not leave the house at all.

My San Antonio rose.....

We arrived in San Antonio, Texas after a very long day behind the wheel from New Orleans. Our luck with cool weather ran out in SA. It was over 100 degrees and very humid. It rained the first evening there.

My impression is that SA is a great city, very clean with lots of attractions. Two other cities we visited (Chicago and New Orleans) have a riverwalk in the downtown area, but SA raises the concept to a whole new level.

The riverwalk in SA is beautiful and there are lots and lots of high-rise residences, hotels, offices and restaurants with outdoor cafes on the river. This riverwalk was designed in 1929 by the famous architect, Robert H.H. Hugman who grew up locally and graduated from the University of Texas, SA. After serving an apprenticeship with an architect in New Orleans, he returned to SA and drew up the plan for riverwalk. The city didn't have the money to build it due to the Great Depression, but in 1939 got some federal funding through the WPA and that was the beginning of the riverwalk as it exists today. It is an intergral part of the downtown SA environment, beautifully designed and executed. Lovely place to walk along the river and enjoy refreshments. An artesian spring fed by an underground lake about 30 miles long continually pumps fresh drinkable water into the river in the middle of riverwalk. I have included a picture above of the spring as it flows out of the limestone aquifer. It's a terrible picture, but they wouldn't allow us to stand up on the barge to get a better picture.

We arrived late the first evening, so we just wanted something quick. The hotel recommended Aldaco's Mexican Resturant. Don't go there if you go to SA. They charge you $8 to park, it is loud and cold with no ambiance at all, there are no tacos, burritos or quesadillas on the menu and you cannot order ala carte. Other than that it is entirely mediocre.

The next day, we went to see the Alamo (of course, how could you not). I had heard it was small and it certainly is. It is hallowed ground to all Texans, however. I have included the obligatory picture of the entrance of the Alamo, but I also included a picture of a magnificent live oak that is over 150 years old in the courtyard. The picture doesn't do it justice because the courtyard is completely walled in and you simply can't back up far enough to get the whole thing in the picture. It really made for a very cool, shady space to enjoy a beautiful summer day.

There was a street fair on just in front of the Alamo and there were a number of classic cars parked on the street as part of the fair. Some nice vehicles, but there weren't nearly as many as at Crusin' Grand in Escondido every Friday night. Still, they were nice to look at.

We then went for a walk down on riverwalk and then up to the cathedral of San Fernando where the bones and ashes of the heros of the Alamo are interred. We were unable to go in the church because there was a wedding in progress. We then rode one of the tour barges that plow along through the area. The barge driver was very knowledgeable about the history of the town and riverwalk, so it was worth it. We then found a place called Mad Dogs British Pub and had some wings and a drink.

Later in the evening we went to dinner at Pappadeux Seafood House. If you have ever been to Texas, you have probably seen these as they are in almost every large town in the state. They serve Cajun style seafood and they are great. I don' t think they have reached California yet, but they have spread as far west as Phoenix. I highly recommend giving them a shot.

The big easy....

OMG!!! New Orleans was fun. We arrived around 4:30pm on Tuesday, checked in and headed out to find a drink and an hors d'oeuvre.

BTW, the hotel is a great place. It is called Le Richelieu and its in a quiet part of the French Quarter. It is just far enough away from Bourbon Street to be quiet, but near enough for a quick walk to all the cool things to do. It is a little old and shabby, but that is not uncommon among hotels in the FQ.

We were in room 226 and right across the hall (room 227) is the Paul McCartney Suite, so named because he stayed there for 2 months during the filming of "Wings". Anyone can rent the PM Suite and it is quite elegant. It has a small, but full kitchen, a sitting room and then the master bedroom suite. I tried to get a decent picture of the sitting room and the bedroom, but you can see that my photography skills are lacking. One whole wall of the bedroom is mirrored, so I wound up with Susan and myself in the picture.

It also has the distinction of being the only hotel in the FQ with FREE parking for guest's cars. This is a great feature as street parking in the FQ is very limited and all other hotels charge anywhere from $10 to $35 per day for parking.

They also have a nice little restaurant that is open from 7:00am to 2:00pm and a bar that is open until 2:00am. They serve excellent coffee and a full breakfast in the morning and the bar had Oban 14 available.

Anyway, we walked down Decatur Street and decided to go into a place called "The Corner On The Corner", so called because it is a corner bar on the corner of Decatur and St. Phillips. We ordered up some chicken wings that turned out to be outstanding. They were spicy, but dry and crispy rather than all gooey with sauce. Really good!

We also met Jordan the bartender (black and white striped shirt in the picture above). She helped us quite a bit by steering us to a couple of places where the locals eat and drink. Taking her advice, we went to "The Gumbo Shop" for dinner and had a great meal. I had chicken (what else?) gumbo and Susan had a Cajun Shrimp Salad. Both were very tasty and Susan's salad was loaded with spicy shrimp.

The next day (Thursday) we slept in until 10:00am. I guess the drive down from Atlanta was a little tougher than I thought. We went to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville for lunch and split a Shrimp Po' Boy. It was very tasty, but there was simply too much bread.

We then walked down to the N.O. Riverwalk to do a little shopping. Once again, we entered a large indoor mall and there were no more than 2 dozen customers in the whole place. I asked one of the people who worked there and she said that it was a little puzzling why, because they had a pretty good summer, but all of this week was simply dead. We speculated that it was because everyone was getting their kids back to school. This weekend is the Gay Pride Parade in N.O., so they were all hoping that business will improve.

We then walked back to the hotel and got the car to drive down through the Lower 9th Ward to see first hand was is going on down there. It's pretty sad. Along the main throughfares, many, many businesses are still abandoned and boarded up. On the side streets, at least one third of the homes are abandoned and boarded up.

Thursday night, we took the advice of the owner of the hotel and went to dinner at Irene's. I was surprised to find the place packed. It is apparently a local favorite. We split an appetizer of steamed mussels that were great. We also split a caprese salad and then Susan had the seafood cioppino and I had the fish of day which was drum. We finished up with coffee and baked alaska. It was an outstanding meal and I hardily recommend Irene's to anyone going to the FQ in NO.

We were once again extremely lucky with the weather. I have been in NO before in December and thought I was going to croak. It was nearly 100 degrees with 98 per cent humidity. This week, however was great. It was hot during the middle of the afternoon, but not too much so. We got a little steamy walking down to the Riverwalk and back in midafternoon, but the evening was very nice and comfortable.

After dinner Thursday night we walked down Bourbon Street until we found a club with live music that suited our fancy. I have included a picture inside the club of the group on stage. I also included a picture of the cocktail waitress that was constantly bugging me to buy a shooter from her. I finally gave in and bought a couple, as you can see the picture above.