From Cuernavaca to Ottawa, Spring 1999
Sunday, April 11th, 1999
We left Cuernavaca at 9:45 am, in 24 degree C clear skies and entered the south end of Mexico City about 50 minutes later. Leaving Sunday morning paid off in that there was no stop and go traffic through Mexico via the Periferico (the west side expressway). In fact we maintained between 80-110 km/h right through the city. We passed through the tunnel in front of the Inverlat tower (the edge of Chapultapec Park - roughly in line with the center of the city) in 20 minutes, and another 20 minutes later exited the north end of the city. Best time yet for us.
The road from DF to Queretero is mainly 6 lane divided and the locals like to keep the traffic moving along. Most of the time we were following traffic at about 150 km/h, but in one section, we had to drive at 180 km/h to keep up with the locals. This is the fastest we have ever had this car up to, but the road is excellent. We hit the Queretero bypass at 12:30 in 29 degree weather and then crossed the Tropic of Cancer at 3:50 pm at a temperature of 39 degrees. Although we had now left the "tropics" and entered the "temperate zone" it sure didn't feel like it. After driving at these high speeds in 39 degree weather, when we stopped at Las Palmas in Matehuala, the car wouldn't idle, stopped and put on the "oil" light. After supper at Las Palmas, I checked the oil and the water, and everything was OK, so I guess the oil got a little thin in the extreme conditions.
The "Robalo Veracruzano" (Sea Bass with Tomatoes, Onions and Olives) was excellent as usual. We caught a little CNN and went to bed early.
Monday, April 12th, 1999
We left Matehuala early, 9:10 am, and it was pleasantly cool at 18 degrees with a slight overcast. Although we had had 4 lane divided all the way to Matehuala, it now changed to the old two lane road. We saw some signs of the future twinning of the road, but it looks still a long way off. The weather quickly cleared, but the temperature did not rise much. When we got to the Saltillo bypass and re-aquired the four lane divided road, it got very overcast and by the time we got to Monterrey there was a light rain. After the rain, the temperature began to rise again. By the time we got to Reynosa at 2 pm, it was already 37 degrees. We had to stop at a Gigante, to buy some Campbell's Lentil soup (Sopa de Lentejas a la Mexicana) for importing into Canada, because we had forgotten to do so in Cuernavaca. Then we had trouble finding the car "permiso" return place again, and finally joined the lineup to cross into Texas. Then some time to buy gas and get something to eat in McAllen, before heading out again at 4:15 pm. Of course, when we entered Texas we decided to think American, so we recorded the temperature as a mere 97 degrees F.
We decided to bypass Corpus Christi and head on closer to Houston. According to the AAA book, we wouldn't find anyplace nice to camp out in until El Campo, Texas. A nice new Shoney's without a restaurant. However, a big bed (king), a big TV (27", assembled in Mexico) and a nice desk with a plug and telephone jack for the laptop, so, here we are. We went out to eat, nothing to write home about, but the weather was nice and balmy, about 78, and we went for a nice walk, to and from supper.
Just to set the record straight, the tolls in Mexico from Cuernavaca to Matehuala came to 198 pesos and from Matehuala to Reynosa came to 182, for a total of 380 pesos (just about $60 Cdn). One way to Acapulco is 351 pesos, quite a difference!
Tuesday, April 13th, 1999
Tuesday, we left El Campo in light rain at 75 degrees F, and got to the Galleria in Houston at about 11 am. We did not leave there until 4:15 pm. However, we did not just shop, we had very nice Shrimp Etouffee in the Galleria at a fast food place called The Big Easy Cajun. We also mailed some letters brought up from Cuernavaca, sorry, one day late, but from a bigger city, so it should get off quicker. Although we did that around noon, at a real US Post Office, the sign said pickup at 5 pm.
Carol led the way through Neiman-Marcus, Dillard's, Banana Republic, the Gap, and lots more, pointing out things I might be interested in, but in the end I bought 5 things for myself and she got nothing for herself. Surprise! When we finally left Houston, we decided we should exit Texas, and got as far as Lake Charles in Louisiana. There we continued with our cajun eating and went to "Steamboat Bill's" for a Gumbo (soup) for me and a Catfish dinner for Carol. However, we soon noticed that everyone else was eating giant 2½ foot diameter platters of steamed, spiced crawfish. Next time we will join them, the crawfish looked delicious and the diners were all very adept at shelling them. We drove around the lake to visit a grocery store so Carol could buy some unique US products (not available in Canada) for her sister. The town is currently dominated by a casino, but from our drive, we could see its fishing town roots.
Wednesday, April 14th, 1999
On Wednesday, we left Lake Charles at 9 am in 74 degree overcast. The TV had been warning us of tornados and heavy thunderstorms over West Texas, that were heading for Houston and would get to Lake Charles by evening, so we were, in effect, running away from a storm. We, in fact, encountered some heavy rains early in our morning drive, helping to wash some of the Mexican dust from the car. From Lafayette to Baton Rouge, we again traversed a fifty mile swamp on an Interstate 10 entirely elevated on piles going into the water. I noticed the pilings had an interesting repetition pattern, probably to prevent longitudinal motion.
___________________ ____________________ ____________________ | | /\ | | | /\ | | | /\ | |
The pairs of slanted piles replacing the single piles at other locations was in the center of each of the disjointed roadway segments.
At Baton Rouge, we crossed the Mississippi and took the I-12 bypass to avoid New Orleans. Carol did not want to go there. When we crossed into Mississippi, the state, I decided we would get off I-10 and take the shore road, highway 90, to make up for missing New Orleans. A wonderful drive, through Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian, Gulfport and Biloxi, 4 lane divided all the way, with a 45 mph limit. In Pass Christian we passed between beautiful white columned ante-bellum homes facing the beach, and the white sanded beach of the Gulf of Mexico. We took a few pictures, it was quite a setting, although the Gulf water is somewhat brown, and not very appealing for swimming, but that may be the price for having off-shore oil. Then it got somewhat honky-tonk, again with many casinos, and then east of Biloxi it got ante-bellum again.
We rejoined I-10 and entered Alabama, crossed the Mobile River via a tunnel and a subsequent 7 mile bridge over the delta. Soon, we left Alabama and entered the Florida panhandle, through Pensacola to Gulf Breeze and Navarre. We stayed in Navarre, overlooking the Santa Rosa Sound. We kept up our cajun habits and went for supper at a place called Rick's Crabshack, right on the Sound and had Grilled Tuna and Steamed Jumbo Gulf Shrimp. Superbly fresh and tasty! The weather is still a balmy 75 degrees with continued overcast. Even here the locals are worried about the coming weather from Louisiana, and have posted small craft warnings, but they do feel it will blow out before it gets here.
Thursday, April 15th, 1999
We awoke Thursday to a very sunny day in the sunshine state and went downstairs for a glass of Florida orange juice, and bagel with cream cheese, and coffee. The Gulf was covered with whitecaps as the wind was significant. We set out after breakfast and a look at USA Today, at 10 am and it was already 80 degrees. Further down the sandbar we came to Fort Walton Beach and then over another bridge to Destin. The sandbar here is quite narrow and we could watch large waves breaking on both sides. The sand was again fine and white.
Then we left the island over another bridge and headed north and east to I-10 and then across the inland part of the panhandle to Talahassie, the state capital and on to Jacksonville. From there north along I-95 to Brunswick, Georgia, where we had planned to call it a day.
When we reached Brunswick, where Carol had picked out our accommodations, we were following the directions in the book and missed the street. We drove right through the town (to the "other side of the tracks", so to speak) and couldn't find the street or the motel. There were few people out and about at the time (6:15pm) so we decided to ask directions at the police station. Carol went in and the place was completely deserted - even though all the doors were open. A sign on the glass partition read, "In off hours, dial 14 or 18 for police assistance" (via the phone which was hanging on the wall). She picked up the phone and dialed the number but nothing happened; the second number yielded the same result. No one had yet appeared. There was also a sign which read, "If the phone rings, please answer"!!! The phone never rang, no one ever appeared and she left the police station without any "assistance". We finally found our motel after talking to a passing motorist.
During our travels around the dilapidated downtown of Brunswick, a crab processing town, we found little of interest. They were planning a Crawfish Festival this weekend, but we were not going to stay more than overnight.
After settling into our motel, we found a local seafood place, Captain Joe's and had nice fresh crab cakes along with a salad bar. No liquor licence, so we had no nightcap.
An e-mail Chain Letter
We received a chain letter promoting a gas boycott. I decided to break the chain with this reply (which I thought I would share with you):
Hate to destroy a chain letter, but after 4 1/2 months in Mexico, paying 4.48 pesos per litre for gas, about 71 cents Canadian/litre or US$1.79/US gallon, I cannot get too worked up. Now I have just crossed southern US, from the Mexican border, through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle, and everywhere regular unleaded is selling for around 99 cents US a gallon, about 39 cents Canadian per litre or 2.47 pesos Mexican per litre.
Like most people, I do catch a few minutes of CNN per week, and I noticed that the people of California are in a flap because gas has gone over $2 a gallon there, mainly because the people there are so wedded to their cars that they will pay it anyway. I guess Texans are smarter and the other southerners are poorer than Californians. I also understand that the boycott planned for California on April 30th is being promoted by telling people to fill up the day before or the day after the boycott. Now I KNOW Texans are smarter!
If you are wondering how I know there are about 3.8 litres in a US gallon, you really have to thank the plumbing outfit, American Standard. Whenever I am in a public washroom, staring at the wall, with no graffitti to read, I look down at the urinal and if it is American Standard, read "3.8 Lpf - 1 gpf" as a constant reminder. The first time I noticed this I had to check it out and from an American high school book found it was 3.7854, but I think 3.8 will do.
Happy tank filling!
In Georgia regular unleaded is 89 cents! (do your own conversion) They must be smarter than Californians too.
Friday, April 16th, 1999
Friday morning we got up early, had breakfast and left at 9 am in 57 degree weather. It is our first encounter with cold weather in about 5 months. We headed for a Factory Outlet in Darien, Georgia, because Carol had not bought anything for herself in Houston. After two hours there, she still had bought nothing for herself, and I had again picked up 5 little items for myself. This is in contrast with our 4 and 1/2 months in Mexico, where Carol bought all sorts of dresses and skirts and tops, etc., etc. and I had bought nothing but one short sleeved shirt for me. I guess this means Carol is a Mexican girl now and I am more American in my shopping habits.
After this detour, we made for Savanna, Georgia. We entered the city from the south on Abercorn Street, passing through fabulous high class residential areas on this wide 4 lane boulevard completely enclosed by the overhanging oaks with long tendrils of Spanish moss hanging down almost to the car roof. The city has a strange but interesting layout of many squares in the downtown, it has to be seen to be appreciated. We ended up at the riverfront, a cobblestone, recently made, trendy area on the river, about a story below Bay Street, at the main city level, with many shops, bars and restaurants. However this is still a work in progress. We did not choose to partake of this offering, but headed back out again, northwest along Bay Street back to I-95.
Next stop, Charleston, South Carolina. Here we stopped for a few hours, walking around between Meeting Street and East Bay/East Battery, and between Queen Street and South Battery Street. Interesting sites were the St. Michael's Episcopal Church, the French Huguenot Church, the big houses downtown with their two story balconies facing the river and the art galleries/shops along East Bay Street. We stopped for a latte at a little trendy coffee shop on Broad Street and two hours later ended back on the other end of Broad Street for a delicious Crab Patty on Red Rice, at "BJ's Broadstreet Cafe". The crab was much nicer than the night before, more gently cooked, spicier and meatier. Also the cornbread on the side was lighter and tastier.
The main difference between Savanna and Charleston was that Charleston felt like a place one could live. The people seemed "like back home", and the "trendy areas" were mature and not forced, they felt like they had just grown naturally, rather than imposed to attract tourists. It was a place both Carol and I would feel very good about visiting again. One unfortunate item in common for the two cities was that they were both somewhat overrun with tourists (silly thing for a tourist to say), and it is only April.
I think now the mood is to hot foot it back home (now that we have gotten through Georgia without notice by their notorious speed traps), so we left town at night and settled in just off I-95 near the golf haven of Lake Marion and Santee.
Saturday, April 17th, 1999
On Saturday morning, we left again at 9:15 am, again in 57 degree weather, so we donned sweaters this time. We went by Florence in South Carolina, and then Fayetteville and Rocky Mount in North Carolina, then around Richmond , Virginia, then onto a local road from Fredericksburg, Warrenton, to Front Royal, all in Virginia, to bypass Washington DC via its horsey suburbs. The last few miles were through the Shenandoah Valley. In fact we were camped on the banks of the Shenandoah River in the Shenandoah National Park. It is already a cool 57 and they expect temperatures in the 40s overnight. We see people everywhere in sweaters and jackets, and the trees, instead of lush green foliage, now have new yellow green leaves and some have just buds. Our spring in reverse again.
We are now within striking distance of Ottawa, so we are really moving. We opted for pizza and beer in Front Royal, mainly from lack of anything more interesting, and had half of the pizza left over due to overordering. We had a good night's sleep because of the cool country weather and the beer.
Sunday, April 18th, 1999
We left Front Royal, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley, on Sunday morning, in 54 degree overcast weather and headed north along I-81. From Virginia to West Virginia to Mayland and then crossing the Mason-Dixon line into Pennsylvania, we proceeded, finishing off our left over cold pizza (it really tasted much better cold than hot), with only comfort stops and a gas stop in Pennsylvania. The price of gasoline had slowly escalated from 99 cents in Florida and South Carolina to $1.05 in North Carolina, Virginia and even in southern Pennsylvania. Our next refueling took place in northern New York state at $1.17.
When we reached Syracuse, NY, at about 4 pm, we stopped at the Carousel Mall to give Carol a last chance to redeem herself in the shopping arena. She did and purchased two very nice items at the Banana Republic, a silk cardigan and a cotton blouse. We had a light snack of fast food, spicy sesame chicken over rice for me and coffee and cookies for Carol.
Then, at 6 pm on to the border. In Ogdensburg, we stopped for gas and some groceries for home and some fresh water and coke. Then up 416 to Ottawa. Here we stopped briefly at Boushey's for some more groceries to refill our larder and arrived at home.
Trip Statistics
The total trip took 59 hours of car time and covered 5,600 kilometers which is 3,500 miles.
Later...
The next 2 days were filled with unpacking for Carol and opening mail for me. Then, catching up on friends and neighbours and preparing the taxes from the freshly opened statements. Only 9 days until delivery day to the federal government.
April, 1999
